Dawn Holder’s installation in the ArtWalk Gallery at the Hartford Public Library is like visiting Florida at this time of year. The porcelain garden is a foray into an otherworldly springtime.
It made me nervous as hell.
Not particularly clumsy, but not particularly graceful either, I fall into the category of worrier. In all my time working retail, I was fortunate to have smashed only one item. It was a large, Waterford crystal vase. It cost more than I made in two weeks at the time. While ringing it up, I was very mindful of handling it carefully when somehow it slipped. The crash was heard on the other side of the large store. While worried that I would have to pay for it (I didn’t) and embarrassed for being careless, I still enjoyed the bright, tinging sound it made as it burst apart. If you can ever afford to smash a hefty piece of crystal, I strongly recommend it.
I did not know who made the vase I broke, but I do know Dawn Holder. Knowing how awful I would feel if I decimated a piece of her artwork, I tried to keep a safe distance from the flowers that seemed to grow out of the library’s floor. Continue reading 'The Idea of This Perfect Edenic Place'»
Between working and trying to unpack dozens of boxes, I have been a little preoccupied. This past weekend, I was lucky to get out for a few hours to enjoy the warm sunshine.
Continue reading 'Cedar Hill Cemetery'»
Very fancy restaurants tend to make me feel uncomfortable and provoke bad behavior in me, like imitating that scene from the Blues Brothers. Dish did not bring this out of me. When I showed up wearing jeans and a decidedly not fancy shirt, the restaurant staff were just as welcoming as if I arrived in an evening gown.
Months ago I read some review that said the decor was reminiscent of bondage.That was not really my impression, though it definitely felt industrial inside. There are chains hanging from the ceiling. There’s a water feature. Near the time we were getting ready to leave it sounded like karaoke had started on the other side of the restaurant. I don’t see karaoke listed on their website, so it may have just been a cover band.
To drink, I had sangria. You can not tell from the photo, but it was essentially a keg-sized glass. Continue reading 'Dish'»
The final community listening session for the Planning & Zoning Commission will be Tuesday evening at Rawson School. So far, there have been sessions at the Pope Park Rec Center, United Methodist Church, and Metzner Rec Center. Each session has focused on proposed land use for nearby neighborhoods.
Continue reading 'Proposed Land Use for Hartford’s Neighborhoods'»
Asylum Hill, Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Blue Hills, Clay Arsenal, Economics, Environment, Frog Hollow, Hartford, POCD, Parkville, South End, Urban Renewal, West End, architecture/design, blight, class, commentary, community, downtown, housing, library, neighborhoods, north end, parks, photos, quality of life, south green, tax money in action, transportation
This shows some of the produce available in El Mercado, a marketplace and food court on the corner of Park and Babcock. Admittedly, there are a number of items in the market that I can not identify, but as anyone can see, they have the fixings for homemade guacamole. Aside from the eggplant (not pictured), everything appeared fresh.
The small markets in Hartford get a bad rap for not carrying nutritious foods. Much of the time, this reputation is deserved; however, El Mercado’s shelves and bins were stocked with plenty of nutritious choices. Sure, the food court area is predictably meat-centric, but I did not see greasy hamburgers and fries among options. Continue reading 'more photos of frog hollow'»
Yesterday was a spectacular let down in terms of the lack of snow, but I went for a walk anyway.
Continue reading 'Day Off Downtown'»
With Valentine’s Day approaching, and with a close friend going on a top secret date which led to discussion about what makes for a great or horrible date, and with an acquaintance asking me last night what I like about Hartford, I write this report on what I think makes for a (nearly) perfect night out.
Before riding my bicycle to the Wadsworth Atheneum, I began by having an impromptu conversation with my neighbor and was then joined by another resident on the block. There was a fire in a nearby house early Thursday morning, so we were all updating each other and feeling grateful that nobody was injured.
Upon arriving at the museum, I had my choice of parking spots: an entirely empty bike rack that meant my walk from parking spot-to-front door was under thirty seconds. After stashing my helmet and jacket inside one of the museum’s lockers, I grazed from the snack table and listened to the dj. When he was there a few months ago, I did not care much for his musical choices, but he had selections from an entirely different genre this time. Friends and friends-of-friends trickled in; among them included Jude, who writes about the MATRIX exhibit far better than I could. When I first began visiting the museum in the 1990s, the MATRIX was among my favorite sections of the Wadsworth. Continue reading 'On Any Thursday'»
Breaking a long drought of not dining out, I decided to satisfy my curiosity about Tamarind Grill during Taste of Hartford Restaurant Week, an event I would find more enjoyable if there were more vegetarian options and/or if the $20.10 price felt worthwhile for the existing veggie options. Since meat-free meals are generally less expensive, restaurant week usually means getting less of a bargain. It’s not that these restaurants have nothing vegetarian on their menus — they do. But if the goal is to get new customers via the restaurant week, they should have no problem catering to what is a sizable portion of the population. If a self-described steakhouse does not want to do this, there’s no love lost, but most restaurants do not fall into this category. A small salad, pasta, and dessert cost far less than $20 to prepare. If most of the participating restaurants added a glass or wine or a hearty appetizer to the vegetarian option, I would call it fair. Continue reading 'Tamarind Grill vs. Restaurant Week'»
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