Will be visiting a friend up in Hartford, CT this weekend. Any local recommendations for good bars/eateries to go on Saturday. Also looking to hit up a local brewery as well. And as always, need some good shops to bring some tasty treats back home to NJ. Thanks for all the input.
Kays in East Hartford is a GREAT liquor store. If you have time on Saturday, you should take a ride up 84 and go to Tree House Brewery.
For food, I would strongly recommend Max Burger in West Hartford. They have great burgers and, usually, a very strong tap list. They keep it up to date at the below link. http://www.beermenus.com/places/5878-max-burger Also decent and in the same area is McLadden's. It's an Irish Pub with decent food and 80 beers on tap. The down side is that the beers tend to be pricey. For example, McLadden's will have Gandhi Bot on tap for $8 for a 10oz pour, while Max Burger will have 12oz pours for $6.75. But, if you're in the area, it's worth checking out. They also keep their tap list up to date on their web site. I would avoid Plan B in West Hartford, their tap list generally is bad and their is really only street parking and there is no call ahead program. Really, this place should not be an option when Max Burger is in the same town, just not in the same ball park. But that's just me. The Glastonbury Plan B has a better tap list. Also, if you like rare or medium rare burgers, then skip this place. They do that pink or no pink crap, which seems odd for a burger first restaurant. For package stores, Manchester Wine and Liquor and Harvest in West Hartford are both very strong. Also good in West Hartford is the Wise Old Dog. For breweries, if you're willing to travel, go to New England Brewing. Best brewery in CT, no one else is close. If you don't want to travel, there are a bunch of breweries in the Hartford area (Relic,, Top Shelf, Back East, Hooker, Burnside, Firefly, etc). All of them are OK, no real stand outs. Of them, Relic is prob the best. They do a bunch of dif styles, pretty strong. For all the breweries, make sure you check out their sites for information on hours and whats on tap, except for New England Brewing. For them, go to their Facebook page or twitter, as they dont update their web site. Good luck and enjoy your stay in CT.
Firebox in hartford is also a solid bar/eatery. Food is really good and tap list is usually solid. They had this tap list posted on facebook on June 30. Dogfish Nobel Rot Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break Jacks Abby Mass Rising Captain Lawrence Reserve IPA New England Galaxy IPA Founders All Day IPA ON DECK... New England Ghandi Bot Evil Twin I Love You With My Stout
Second on Kay's Wine and Spirits in East Hartford and Harvest in West Hartford. Kay's has a great selection and exceptional service, although they did mention when I went in there last week that a lot of new limited releases are gonna be released next week, but they are a great spot.For bars, Birch Hill Tavern in Glastonbury has a great tap list. They are on beer menus, if you want to check the list.
Depending on when you're going, if you take 15N in CT instead of 684 to 84E you can stop at New England Brewing in Woodbridge right off exit 59. You can fill growlers and taste their ridiculously good beer. Their hours are only Wed-Fri 3-7, Sat 11-4. Bring some Carton and Kane up too for your friend (or me if you want to IP trade).
Also Relic Brewing is worth checking out, probably 15 min from Hartford. He makes some interesting beers.
Thanks for all the help guys. I think we are definitely going to Firefly Hollow brewing and we will be in West Hartford for a little so I will stop by those stores as well as Kay's in East Hartford. Unfortunately I wont have time today to stop at Carton or Kane but if anybody is interested in Carton Cans (077xx, Monkey chased weasal, or BOAT) let me know and we can set up a trade, or Kane growlers as well. Thanks again.
