Sad City Guide To Downtown Lunch: The Sit Down Spots

So you've moved up a couple rungs in your career and no longer do you have to rely on the Sad City Guide To Quick Downtown Lunch to acquire, consume, and return to work within an hour. No, with a little more time on your hands, you might want to enjoy a nice sit down lunch, that won't break the bank, but will allow for some time with colleagues and friends over more than a sandwich.

You're a little more established, but thoughts of grandiose success and glory have long since retreated with youth. You're body isn't as tight as it once was, but your paychecks have acquired some heft. You drink good wines and expensive whiskeys, but the hangovers are much worse. You're more concerned about taxes and education, but your idealism has faded. You've accepted the fact that the promotion to New York isn't coming and you're going to be grinding it out in the hollowed out husk of downtown Hartford for the duration of your professional career.

It's just the natural order or things. As Phil Simms once said "once my brain figured out what I had to do, my body couldn't do it anymore."

But this is about lunch it Hartford, so without any further ado, we present the latest Sad City Guide:



Salute:
Salute was opened by a break away faction of the former Hot Tomato's restaurant. There's differing stories of what, why, and who, but they hardly matter for out purposes. Salute is one of the best lunch options available. While paying restaurant prices for pasta dishes is a personal pet peeve, Salute's offerings make it worthwhile. The sandwiches are burgers are always very good. The strawberry salad is excellent for those looking to stay light on their feet the rest of the afternoon.

Check out the Hartford Food Guy's full review here.

Salute is quite popular with the lunch crowd so make a reservation, especially on a Friday. You'll have no chance of getting in without one. The outside patio makes for a perfect people watching spot in warm weather.
FIVE BEERS

Arch Street Tavern:
Arch Street Tavern is an interesing place because you literally have no idea what might be going on there on any given night. Mondays Arch Street features big band swing music, on a weekend night you might find dubstep, the latest hot dj, the Beat City Beauties, or a rock cover band. It's Hartford's entertainment equivalent of buckshot.

We've heard Arch Street was once the spot for power brokers to lunch. It makes sense given the proximity to City Hall and the Federal Court. While the lunch scene no longer attracts the powerful, Arch Street still offers up a solid lunch in a great tavern ambience. The burgers are our favorites.
THREE BEERS

Vito's By The Park
Vito's has the misfortune on being an Italian spot right next to the much ballyhooed Salute. This makes for a tough and unavoidable comparison. What Vito's does have going for it is some really good pizza and a nice raw bar. That said it's confusing as to why a lunch menu would have an extensive pizza selction, twelve pasta dishes and yet only two sandwiches.

While the inside of Vito's is nice, the atmosphere can feel too old-fashioned, in a stuffy kind of way. We had terrible service last time, but we are pretty sure (or at least hope) it was the dudes first day. Go with the pizza or raw bar.
THREE BEERS

City Steam Brewery
City Steam would gain bonus points for brewing their own beer. But this is in the lunch category. We don't know about you but we're yet to get so jaded where we need to drink during lunch, so alcohol options do not factor into these ratings.

Where City Steam scores here having a menu that is through and through solid. From salads, to burgers, to pork sandwiches, City Steam is through and through solid. The waffle fries are excellent.
Not too mention the usual lunch hostess is pretty much the best looking female in Hartford. So good looking it makes you think "you must be in the wrong city."
FOUR BEERS

Vaughn's Public House
Vaughn's serves up traditional American pub fare with some Irish dishes thrown in. We've had lunch at Vaughn's a couple times and while we don't have anything to rave about, we certainly don't have anything to complain about. A solid option.
THREE BEERS

Rio Grill
Rio is a newer entrant in the downtown scene. Rio is different from most in that you pay for your food by the pound. Rio is a South American style grill specializing in meat, lots and lots of meat. While salads and sides are available, the pay by the pound system makes it a losing proposition to stock up at the salad bar. If you like meat, lots and lots of meat, this is the place to sit down and get your carnivore on.
FOUR BEERS

The Tavern Downtown
The Tavern Downtown always seems to fly under the radar. Not the loudest of the fanciest of bars or kitchens, it seems to get forgotten. For us it's the "hidden" gem of downtown. Excellent burgers and sandwiches, killer mac and cheese, great booths. The Tavern Downtown is one of the better lunch options around.
FIVE BEERS

Trumbull Kitchen
For a sit down lunch Trumbull Kitchen is hard to beat. Our favorite dish is the seared tuna salad, but you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. One of Hartford's most popular restaurants, you're best off making a reservation.
SIX BEERS

Apologies to the places we missed, we can't be everywhere.