Archive for the 'Shopping' Category
West End Weekend
Won’t you visit my neighborhood in the West End of Hartford this weekend? We’re having a host of activities and surely there will be something to make everyone smile.
Kick off your weekend yummy-style Friday on your way home from work. Stop by the United Methodist Church at the corner of South Whitney and Farmington Avenue from 4-7 for the season’s first West End Farmer’s Market. Partake in the (free) Strawberry Shortcake Festival and support some local farmers by purchasing produce, breads, and meats for your weekend meals.
On Saturday, from 9-2, be on the lookout for bargains and come to our first annual West End Neighborhood Tag Sale. Tons of families will be participating. You’ll be sure to find some treasures, and it’s a great opportunity to admire some of the fine architecture in the West End. Kyle and I will be selling some of our stuff, so cruise down Oxford Street and try to find us.
Free items for you if you say “I read your blog!”
On Saturday and/or Sunday, stop by Elizabeth Park for the Annual Rose Weekend Festival. It’s running both days from 11-4. Check out the rose gardens, perennial gardens, annual gardens, arts and crafts, and other activities. Just don’t feed the ducks!
No More $280 Burritos in the West End
Kyle and I live near some very good restaurants on Farmington Avenue in the West End of Hartford; Tisane, Ichiban, Abyssinian, and Monte Alban.
A few months ago we met some friends for dinner at Monte Alban. Because we were running late and it was cold outside, I whined my way into convincing Kyle to drive us there, rather than making the .4 mile walk. There was no close street parking available, so we parked way in the back of the “Kinko’s lot” on Farmington Avenue, at the corner of Kenyon and Farmington.
The lot was essentially empty, it was after 6:30pm, and we thought everything was fine. Apparently we missed the “We will tow you with no exceptions” signs that were posted on the side of the building, not anywhere near where we parked.
We went into Monte Alban and enjoyed our dinner, which took about an hour. Then we proceeded back to the parking lot and the following dialogue went like this…
Amy: Hey, where’s the car? Didn’t we park right there? [pointing to empty parking space]
Kyle: Huh, the car doesn’t appear to be here. [scratching head]
Amy: Was the car stolen?!?!? [twitching and flailing starts]
Kyle: Calm down, calm down. I think we were towed. Yep, hey look, it says on the building that they’ll tow you. [starts rummaging for cell phone to call faded number on sign]
Amy: Towed? Towed where? Towed why? This lot is completely empty and no one is parked here! [voice getting shriller, flailing increasing]
Kyle: [speaking with towing company] Do you have our car? It’s a BlahBlah, license plate Blah. Okay, well where do we pick it up? Berlin. How much will that cost? $280, cash only. When can I get it?
Amy: Berlin? Why is the car in Berlin? $280?!? Are you kidding me?!?! [cursing starts, time to be spent in purgatory greatly increasing]
Long story short: we walk home, drive to the far reaches of Berlin, wait a half hour to meet some guy at a completely shady location, pay him $280 in cash (IRS audit anyone?), and drive home. Amy is in the doghouse for being “lazy” and making it the most expensive burrito dinner ever. [Although I later heard from another friend that they once had a $280 beer at Tisane due to the same unfortunate circumstances]
So why am I telling you about this? The parking situation for these four popular restaurants has recently improved. Some proactive West End residents worked with the property manager of the “Kinko’s lot” to secure some after hours parking spots for these restaurants.
You can now park in one of these 27 yellow-lined spots at the back of the parking lot…
Just make sure you follow these rules…
Seriously, follow the rules. If you park in a non-yellow lined space and leave that lot for other business, you will be towed. All the way to Berlin. So they can charge you $4 a mile for the towing. Am I still bitter? Nah…
A Cheesecake Factory Preview
Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate in a waitstaff training exercise at the new Cheesecake Factory restaurant located in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square shopping area. The restaurant will officially open for dinner on Thursday, November 1 at 5:00pm.
I’ve eaten at Cheesecake Factories in the Boston, DC, and Denver areas before (the last time being about a year and a half ago) and the West Hartford establishment carries along the traditional decor and menu options. For the training exercise, we were only able to try certain appetizer and meal selections, which was fine because lunch was free and it was a learning experience for the staff. The food was the same quality that I’d experienced at other locations. The waitstaff is still learning and has a few more days of training to tweak things before they officially open on Thursday.
If you’ve never been to a Cheesecake Factory, here are my suggestions…
1. You should go, at least once, just to experience it. The menu is quite extensive and you will be able to find something you’ll enjoy. You may even be overwhelmed by the number of selections available.
2. The amount of food they give you is tremendous, but it’s also not cheap. Appetizers are priced from $8 and up. Dinners start around $10 a plate, most average around $15-$20. Desserts start at $7 (most of the cheesecake is $7 a slice).
3. The food is good, but if you’re not careful you will end up with a big belly ache when you leave. My husband and I typically split an appetizer, main dinner, and piece of cheesecake and that seems to work. It also helps the wallet.
4. The cheesecake really is fantastic and they have a seemingly endless number of options. If you like fruity cheesecake, they have it. If you like chocolate cheesecake, they have it. If you like candy cheesecake, they have it. So, just have a piece of cheesecake!