Max's Oyster Bar: First Stop on the West Hartford Culinary Tour

Mitch and I hit West Hartford hot spot Max's Oyster Bar last Friday night for dinner and cocktails. I must admit this is my second trip to Max's, the first being with RRR, Lynnie and Dan-O on a pre-move scout. I was too overwhelmed with a day of apartment and car shopping to blog, but I was determined to document what will be one of many visits to the premiere restaurant of my new hometown.

First of all, the cocktails are outstanding. Crisp, clean and smooth are words to describe the ones I've tasted and the upside of these potential D.U.I. makers is that I will eventually be living within walking distance of the restaurant. The white cosmopolitan (Absolut Citron, Cointreau, White Cranberry and Lime Juice) and the Maxarita (Sauza Hornitos, Chambord, Grand Manier, Lemon-Lime Juice) were delicious and I am eager to try Max's Bloody Oyster (complete with freshly shucked oyster)!

This outpost of Max's restaurant group centers around their raw bar. On my initial visit I enjoyed the Jonah crab cocktail but on this trip, while Mitch happily satisfied her oyster jones, I headed for the appetizers and enjoyed the Maryland crab cake with jicama slaw. The crab cake was fresh and flavorful and although the kitchen was a bit heavy handed on the remoulade the crab to breading ratio was spot on. The jicama provided a nice bit of crunch to the smooth sweetness of the crabmeat.

For my main I went decided to choose one of the fish selections of the day with my choice of sauce. The Alaskan halibut with shallot herb butter was the winner, mainly due to the plethora of salmon and tuna choices on the menu this particular evening.

With a choice of a side, I went with the "rustic pasta" aka mac n'cheese with goat cheese. It was as decadent and creamy as you are imagining. Not the best mac n'cheese I've ever had but that didn't stop me from cleaning my plate. The halibut had a great char on it and I actually left a bit due to my overindulgence in the mac n'cheese side. Plus I HAD to leave some room for dessert.

Upon our server's suggestion (and since I couldn't convince Mitch to go for the key lime pie), Mitch and I shared the Valrhona "Baked" Hot Chocolate. It was an almost custard-like souffle dish of warm chocolate with a side of vanilla bean ice cream which was almost as impressive as the chocolate. I was not impressed with the house made marshmallow accompanying the dessert, but then again I am eternally spoiled by City Bakery's homemade marshmallows... nothing will ever come close!

RRR and I also ate at Trumbull Kitchen during our pre-move scout, another restaurant in the Max group located in Hartford and I can tell you that I will be paying more visits to that location as well. And as an incredible parting gift from two of my beloved former co-workers, I received a gift certificate for a chef's tasting at Max Downtown also located in downtown Hartford. If I keep this up, I think "Max" should put me on the payroll!

West Hartford Farmer's Market

Not quite the Union Square Greenmarket but at least there is a farmer's market! Yes, life in surburbia makes me grateful for whatever culinary gifts I receive.

After perusing the few stalls mainly filled with plants, I managed to taste some lovely cow's cheese and purchased two varieties of cucumbers: lemon and verbina.

The woman running the stand suggested trying these odd shaped lemon cucs chopped up in a tuna salad and I think add some capers, salt, pepper and mustard and call it a day! I am expecting a slightly tart taste to them when I finally get to chopping.

I also bought some verbena cucumbers which are apparently used for pickling. I had one verbena with some pickled beets and goat cheese over mesclun greens and then in a simple salad of cucumber, grape tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The verbenas were firm and fresh and not bad for 50 cents.

Not too shabby as I've only begun to get a taste of Connecticut produce!