Fall Visit to West Hartford's Delamar Hotel and Artisan Restaurant

Social Media Promotion : Portions Sponsored

After staying a weekend at the beautiful DELAMAR in Greenwich CT I was so excited when I was included in an invite to tour the newly opened DELAMAR West Hartford and dine at the Artisan Restaurant!  Located close to West Hartford's Farmington Avenue business, shopping, and restaurant district, and at the foot of one of my favorite shopping destinations, the Blue Back Square, this hotel is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

We loved Hartford county's newest boutique hotel with onsite amenities that includes fine dining at the Artisan Restaurant and a full-service luxury spa.

We started our visit in the lobby where we viewed the gorgeous artwork on display from the New Britain Museum of American Art. This ever changing gallery of curated art at the DELAMAR is absolutely amazing. As an added bonus guests of the hotel are invited for a complimentary visit to the museum. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the incredible chaise sculpture made entirely of quarters that is certainly the centerpiece of the hotel lobby.

We viewed several of the rooms, suites, and junior suites, some with balconies and beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Rooms are light-filled and roomy - perfect for the busy traveler or for a relaxing weekend getaway.

Every room included comfortable seating perfect for unwinding after a business meeting or shopping excursion.

True to boutique hotel standards, the artworks and decor, both in private rooms and public areas, is absolutely spectacular. 

The Delamar West Hartford is sure to be a destination for corporate conferences and business meetings, as well as a special event and wedding venue, offering both interior and outdoor facilities and spaces.

After our tour of the hotel we returned to the adjoining Artisan Restaurant for some cocktails and dinner.

The Artisan offers happy hour cocktail specials and has an extensive list of specialty and signature cocktails.

Seating is available in the tavern, the garden (weather permitting) and in the beautiful restaurant. The menu features local and seasonal flavors with New England-inspired cuisine with Chef Frederic Kieffer's own twist and European flair. Chef Kieffer has an on-site garden, where he grows a variety of produce used in his seasonal menus.  Artisan provides all room service and catering for banquets and special events.

We enjoyed some delicious salad - with veggies fresh out of Chef's Garden and some delicious seafood, chops, and steaks. My tuna pictured below was absolutely divine!

And for dessert I went with a creamy luscious custard with a sweet little Madeline cookie on the side! 

For my next visit to the Delamar you'll find me at the DELAMAR Spa for one of their wide array of full service treatments - offering everything from manicures and pedicures to custom treatments. There are even bridal services available.

Photo Source: The Delamar West Hartford

The newly opened DELAMAR Spa offers some of the best and newest treatments straight from Europe. DELAMAR Spa’s primary partners in skincare are Valmont, specializing in cellular skincare from Switzerland, and Biologique Recherche from France. Both companies are long time family-owned businesses where the owners are personally vested in the science, results, and the overall experience. 

Learn more about the spa's many treatments at https://delamar.com/west-hartford/spa/treatments/

If you are looking for a place for your next conference or special event, be sure you view the DELAMAR Hotel! It's located 20 minutes from Hartford's Bradley International Airport, and less than two hours from both Boston and New York City.

Visit the Delamar West Hartford and Artisan Restaurant soon!

Delamar Hotel and Spa

1 Memorial Road
West Hartford, CT 06107
(860) 937-2500
https://delamar.com/west-hartford/our-hotel/amenities-services/

Artisan Restaurant

27 LaSalle Road
West Hartford, CT 06107
(860) 726-4090
https://delamar.com/west-hartford/dining/

Disclaimer: We were invited to the Delamar Hotel and Artisan Restaurant by members of the hotel's management and marketing team, however all views expressed are our own. Portions of this review were sponsored.

© Home Place 2017

The Cook and the Bear in West Hartford

Social Media Promotion: Sponsored

We finally made it! The Cook and The Bear is one restaurant I had been waiting and waiting to have an opportunity to visit. I loved the origins of this great collaboration between Millwright's chef and owner Tyler Anderson and the talented Jamie McDonald of Bear's Smokehouse. 

Made on Premise BBQ sauces
served in cute lil' honey bears

The duo first came together at a farm to table dinner, and then paired up in a series of pop up dinners. The sheer popularity of these dinners demanded a permanent pairing, and hence, the inception of "The Cook and The Bear" resulted in a win win!

Small and cozy and located in the heart of West Hartford's popular Blue Back Square, the Cook and the Bear continues to win over the locals and offers up a casual barbecue menu in a fun setting. 

Fresh Pickling Going' On!

Patrons order off a cute clipboard menu that features small bites, salads, sandwiches, snacks, entrees after 5pm, and smoked meats, sides, and combos.

The Cook and the Bear Clipboard Menu

A small but satisfying beer, wine, and cocktail menu is also available that features some fabulous specials!

So many of the cocktails at The Cook and The Bear are made with fresh ingredients. The marinated cherries served in many of the drinks are marinated on premise in bourbon and are incredibly delicious! So good that I thought they were made of chocolate!

Drinks at the Cook and the Bear
(Left) Draft Beer.   (Right) 90s 2.0 Appletini 

Wendy from CT Lifestyles and I shared this fun cocktail found below - the Tom Selleck! It was fruity-juicy, potent, and oh so tasty! And it was served up in a fresh scooped out pineapple. 

Another great thing about their cocktail menu is that there are 'mocktails' available of several of their offerings - for those that want the flavor but not the 'punch'!

After sipping on some cocktails we moved on to our appetizers and starters enjoying everything we sampled! A simply MUST ORDER when you visit are the bacon wrapped dates! 

Grilled Corn, parmesan, poblano

Bacon Wrapped Dates
Chorizo Stuffed - Spiced Yogurt 

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
Everything Bagel Spice

Crispy Pork Rillette - Fried Green Tomato
Sauce Choron

Burnt End Sliders
Flavors of French Onion Soup 

Charcoal Roasted Chicken Wings
Sesame Seeds - Buttermilk Dressing

Believe it or not - after sharing all those starters we found a little bit of room to move on to some smoked meats and proteins. We sampled some delicious thick cut pastrami, chicken, short ribs, and briskets.

Chicken-Smoked and Grilled
Smoked Brisket

Did someone say BURGER??? 

The Rodeo Burger
Wagu Beef - Cheesy Sauce - Onion Rings

And accompanying our proteins we ordered an assortment of sides. 

Traditional in their origins, but each had such an interesting twist. Wonderful flavors to add to our meal! Mac and Cheese Gratin, Broccoli Casserole with Rodeo Cheese and Crispy Shallots, Cabbage and Fennel Slaw, and Grits with Fennel Jam. 

Hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to it would be that amazing Broccoli Casserole!

Well, our dinner wouldn't be complete without dessert, and The Cook and The Bear rose to the occasion with some seasonal happy endings! 

Think of flavors like pumpkin pie, and apple spice, and you've got  just a bit of an inkling of what's in store for you at this incredible new barbecue restaurant!

Be sure you visit The Cook and the Bear soon!

The Cook and The Bear

50 Memorial Road
Blue Back Square
West Hartford, CT
860.595.3345
https://www.thecookandthebear.com

DISCLAIMER: We were invited to this sampling by members of The Cook and the bear's management and marketing team, however, all views and opinions are our own.

© Home Place 2017

Shop The Blue Back Square in West Hartford CT

Social Media Promotion

 #ShopTheBlueBackSquare
#BlueBackSquare (Part II)

Last weekend I received an invitation from Kat of A Little Bird Told Me to attend a lunch and shopping promotional event at the beautiful Blue Back Square in West Hartford CT. Of course I was on board with this event! Shopping and Food? Count me in!

If you haven't already read my recap of Part One you can read it HERE. (It's all about lunch at Vinted Wine Bar and the merchants (ElyseRyan Jewelry  and Nelson Salon and Spa) that met with us there.)

And here is Part Two, all about the stores we visited at the Blue Back Square, West Elm Furniture Store, Ooh La La Boutique, and the NoRa Cupcake Company.

West Elm Furniture Store

I started at West Elm Furniture Store and almost didn't make it out. Seriously. This is a store you could spend all day in and still keep finding great little vignettes you didn't see the last time you walked by.

West Elm features modern furniture,  bedding, room decor, and dinnerware and offers complementary design services by their in-store style experts.

Here's a slideshow of more finds at West Elm Furniture Store.

West Elm Furniture Store is located at 91 Memorial Road in West Hartford's Blue Back Square.

For more on West Elm visit http://www.westelm.com/stores/us/ct/west-hartford-blue-back-square/

Ooh La La Boutique

Next I visited the cute little Ooh La La Boutique, whose items feature "the playful side of sophistication" !

#ShopTheBlueBackSquare at Ooh La La Boutique

I especially loved their jewelry and picked up a few sparkly statement necklaces for holiday parties and date nights!

#ShopTheBlueBackSquare at Ooh La La Boutique

And I absolutely ADORED this deep navy dress with a bold tomato red peony print! I was even more happy when I learned that fellow event attendee Rosa from the fashion and lifestyle blog Lady Diana's Pearls purchased it!

#ShopTheBlueBackSquare at Ooh La La Boutique

Find accessories, jewelry, scarves, dresses, and more at Ooh La La Boutique!

Ooh La La Boutique is located at 80 Memorial Road at the Blue Back Square in West Hartford.

For more on Ooh La La Boutique, visit their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Ooh-La-La-Boutique

NoRa Cupcake Company

I finished my shopping at NoRa Cupcake Company, a company I was very familiar with - but had never been inside their store! Lucky me was in for a treat as I perused their seasonal cupcake flavors and settled on one special flavor to bring home to the resident grinch in our household. LOL!!

Shop the Blue Back Square at NoRA Cupcake

With all these amazing flavors of cupcakes, like Drunken Santa, Butterfinger, and Buddy the Elf, it was so hard to choose!

Shop the Blue Back Square at NoRA Cupcake

But I just couldn't resist the fun flavors of The Grinch! Chocolate coconut cake, white chocolate mousse filling, green vanilla bean frosting, and a smattering of shredded coconut. Hello YUM!

Shop the Blue Back Square at NoRA Cupcake

NoRa Cupcake Company is definitely NOT your mother’s cupcake company!
NoRA's recently opened at 103 Memorial Road in the Blue Back Square in West Hartford and their main shop is in Middletown CT. They also have a Lil' NoRA Cupcake Truck!

For more on NoRa Cupcake Company visit them at http://www.noracupcake.com/

Again thanks to Kat of A Little Bird Told Me for inviting me and to all the merchants who hosted us, West Elm Furniture Store,  Ooh La La Boutique, and the NoRa Cupcake Company!


For more information on the Blue Back Square visit http://www.bluebacksquare.com/

Read Part One of this event ==>  HERE.

For more pictures of this event 

visit the Home Place facebook page HERE

and while you're there, don't forget to "like" us!

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event by members of the merchants' public relations and marketing firms, however, all views expressed are my own.

Lunch at Vinted in the Blue Back Square - West Hartford CT

Social Media Promotion

 #ShopTheBlueBackSquare
#LunchAtVinted (Part I)

Last weekend I received an invitation from Kat of A Little Bird Told Me to attend a lunch and shopping promotional event at the beautiful Blue Back Square in West Hartford CT. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to finally visit this great little shopping district in West Hartford that I had heard so much about.

Rather than make this a super long post - I'm breaking my recap into two parts. Part One will be all about lunch at Vinted Wine Bar and the merchants (ElyseRyan Jewelry  and Nelson Salon and Spa) that met with us there --- and Part Two will be about the stores we visited at the Blue Back Square. (Read Part II about my shopping experience HERE)

Vinted Wine Bar

The event started officially with a sampling of the NEW lunch menu at Vinted Wine Bar, a member of the Federal Restaurant Group, with establishments in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Vinted has an amazing selection of wines by the glass and a fun American tapas menu that goes perfectly with this quaint little place.

Vinted Wine Bar West Hartford CT

I adored the wine stations that surrounded the room with some great selections. I even spied one of my all time favorites the Prisoner Red (below, second from left).

Wine Stations - Showcasing and chilling over 60 varieties of wine

We started our lunch off with a nice light white wine, the Igreco Filu Bianco Calabria. The perfect selection for a luncheon with friends! Ever so slightly acidic, with a fresh clean flavor profile, this was a great Italian white wine to start our tasting with!

The bottle looks a bit like a minion, no?

Igreco Filu Bianco Calabria IGT, Italy

For our first course, we had a delicious Roasted Shrimp Kale Salad made with julienned apples, spiced walnuts, fresh radishes, with a creamy buttermilk dressing.

Roasted Shrimp Kale Salad

Next we had a delicious de-constructed platter, the Winter Beet Salad, made with smoked yogurt, porcini 'dirt', charred red onion and prosciutto.

Winter Beet Salad at Vinted Wine Bar

Next up on our luncheon sampling list --  the Truffle Risotto Balls with a truffle butter sauce. I could eat these all day, every day. They were ohhhh soooo goood!

Truffle Risotto Balls at Vinted Wine Bar

We then sampled a crisp cocktail perfect for the holiday season, an Apple Spice Cocktail, perfectly presented with a sugared rim and citrus peel. I have to say, this was a great plus for me as most wine bars I visit don't pay such close attention to their cocktail and spirit menus. Vinted has a cool craft cocktail menu with everything from Juleps to Moscow Mules! Definitely a plus!

Apple Spice Cocktail

Another great item we sampled was the Forest Mushroom Quesadilla, stuffed with aged cheddar cheese, sauteed kale, roasted garlic, parmesan, and chili oil with a charred scallion sour cream dip on the side. So incredibly good!

Forest Mushroom Quesadilla at Vinted Wine Bar

Everything was delicious! Other items available that day were a Honey Barbecue Chicken Slider (does that sound amazing or what?) and another craft cocktail, a modern take on the classic Grasshopper!

While all this food tasting was going on we also met with ElyseRyan Jewelry and members of the Nelson Salon and Spa who were on hand for beauty tips and makeovers.

ElyseRyan Jewelry

ElyseRyan Jewelry is beautiful and her philosophy of giving back is just as lovely. Depending on the item, a portion of proceeds is donated to the Ilya Peckerman Fund benefiting the Vasculitis Foundation’s Research Program or to the Easter Seals organization. Owner, designer, and hand-crafter Elise Rosenstock is equally giving, and gifted all the lunch attendees with her Easter Seals cuff bracelet. (Thank you Elise!!)

ElyseRyan Jewelry - Easter Seals Gives Back Bracelets

ElyseRyan Jewelry - Vasculitis Foundation Bracelet

For more about ElyseRyan Jewelry visit http://elyseryan.com/

Nelson Salon and Spa

The team from Nelson Salon and Spa also visited with us during our time at Vinted, offering makeovers, makeup tips, and more beauty secrets.

Nelson Salon and Spa

Nelson Salon and Spa is a luxury, full service salon providing a wide range of services in the West Hartford area.

For more about Nelson Salon and Spa visit http://www.nelsonsalonspa.com


This meetup was so much fun! Big thanks to Kat for inviting me and to Vinted Wine Bar for a delicious sampling of their new lunch menu! And additional thanks to ElyseRyan Jewelry and Nelson Salon and Spa for the informative afternoon!

Vinted Wine Bar
63 Memorial Road
West Hartford CT 06107
860.206.4648
Visit them online at http://vintedwinebar.com/

For more information on the Blue Back Square visit http://www.bluebacksquare.com/

Read Part Two of #ShopTheBlueBackSquare ==>> HERE 

For more pictures of this event 

visit the Home Place facebook page HERE

and while you're there, don't forget to "like" us!

  Disclaimer: I was invited to this event by members of the merchants' public relations and marketing firms, however, all views expressed are my own.