Sad City Hartford

Hot In Hartford: Cotto vs. House

2012-02-15T07:36:00.000-05:00

It's a good old Yankees vs. Red Sox battle in the final match of the first round as Councilman Cotto starts his defense of his Hot In Hartford title being pitted against Channel 3 news anchor and Face The State host Dennis House. No one can dispute that Mr. Cotto and Mr. House have become Hartford staples and credits to the city.

Councilman Cotto recently won his re-election bid for City Council as a member of the Working Families Party. An active Councilman and member of the community, Mr. Cotto is one of, if not the, most visible and outspoken Council members. Mr. Cotto is also a long standing friend to Sad City, and not only is he the defending Hot In Hartford champion, he has the unique distinction of being the only person interviewed twice by Sad City. Recently Councilman Cotto has been utilizing YouTube and uploading "Fireside Chats" to communicate with Hartford residents.

Mr. House is a long time city resident approaching 20 years working and living in Hartford. Mr. House anchors the 6 o'clock and 11 o'clock news on Channel 3. If you watch the Survivor season premiere tonight at 8 pm, (not like we always watch or anything) you will likely see Mr. House on a promo for the evening news. In addition to his anchor work, Mr. House also hosts the excellent Face The State which can be seen every Sunday morning. While Face The State does an excellent job covering topical news events and politics, our favorite part is the "flashback" segment where Mr. House always pulls up some awesome archival footage of Hartford. Often these segments are sports related as Mr. House is one of the many who wish for a return of the NHL to Hartford. Mr. House also writes The Hartfordite blog updating us on Hartford area news, politics, and his family adventures with his wood paneled wagon.

Dating In Hartford II

2012-02-14T07:24:00.001-05:00

Way back in 2010 we took a look at the dating scene in Hartford. Despite our best intentions and research, the search was fruitless and we were left to slink back alone to our Mom's basement and our blogging. Over a year later, and with Valentine's Day approaching, we were considering a venture outside to attempt to date again. When we got outside, we learned that February had apparently become a spring month and the brightly shining light was too much for our eyes. We quickly retreated back to the basement and to the laptop, deciding that it would be better to return to our old standby, the Craigslist Missed Connections section to see how people find a date.

Walmart After work - w4m
I was just leaving the store and I saw you pass me going in. You were tall, white male, blue button up shirt, beige kakis, you had dark hair, a little facial hair, about 24-27 yrs old. You were sooo hot! Nice ass too!
What position did you have your hands in while walking? A pic would be great confirmation. I would never forget your face. You'll be very happy with mine :)

So let's get this straight. February is now spring and Wal-Mart employees are now sought after in the dating pool? Exactly WTF has been going on around here? This really, truly seems like the bizarro world. Also, what the heck does "[w]hat position did you have your hands in while walking" mean? Finally, do any of us believe that last line?

Ocean Job Lot, Wethersfield - w4m (Hartford, CT)
We met onl[i]ne on May 31st, 2011..........in person at job lot.....parking lot, remember?
I only want to wish you a Happy New 2012, and I hope this year bring you good things..........

still remember you!.............mmmmmmmmmmm!

Now we've moved to Ocean State Job Lot? This is starting to make us feel really, really bad about our inability to get a date. It's also probably time for this woman to realize that when you haven't heard from someone you met SEVEN months ago in an Ocean State Job Lot parking lot, it probably isn't going to work out. I guess one could admire her ability to wait.............and wait............................mmmmmmmmmmm!

I need you - w4m - 26

Our love is like morning dew. Thirst quenching and invigorating in the morning but dissapates and dries out towards the day's bitter end. But I still long for you, I still care for you and dammit I still need you. Not need in the sense of being taken care of, but need in the sense of loving. The bones in my body ache for you, my heart beats slow and everything else gets out of focus, all I see is you. Are you there? Is it really you? Or am I just living inside the dream. Has this nervous ache resounded throughout my entire being for so long that it physically manifested you before my eyes? My eyes must be playing tricks. I couldn't be so lucky, twice.

I just need you to say it, feel it, even if it's for the last time. Press your tender lips to mine and electrify our senses one by one. Kiss my eyelids shut and pull me closer. I need it. I need you.

Anytime you invoke "morning dew" just stop and walk away from the keyboard. Please.

Whole foods checkout - w4m - 28

You were in the express checkout lane yesterday wearing what I think was a [N]ew Britain EMT sweatshirt. I was in the lane over and doubt you saw me. You are so adorable and just seemed to be a genuinely nice guy... Which probably means you're taken. Are you?

What about seeing this person at the grocery makes you think he is "a genuinely nice guy?" The fact he shops at Whole Foods? That fact that you "think" he was wearing a New Britain EMT sweatshirt? We really don't even see a shred of evidence that would point towards this gentleman being "a genuinely nice guy." You might be just a tad too trusting.

YOU MAY BE MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR - m4m

SUNDAY AFTERNOON I WAS AT THE 91 SOUTH REST STOP IN WALLINFORD FOR A LEGITIMATE REASON, AND I SAW THIS GUY IN A SAAB - THIS VERY HANDSOME MAN. HE FOLLOWED ME TO A RESEVOIR WATCHING DUCKS AND THEN HE GOT SCARED AND LEFT. I REALLY WANT TO MEET THIS GUY AND GET TO KNOW HIM-. IF YOU READ THIS- PLEASE EMAIL ME BACK- I AM EMOTIONALLY AVAILABLE. THANKS

Do you need a comment on this?

airplane - m4m - 50 (SF)

[W]as on a plane next to you today from SF. Hot Hispanic kid. Wanted to reach over and rub your crotch.

Probably a good decision to not go ahead and do that.

Guy with the red Shirt correctiona facility - m4m - 29

U cought my eye today 1/25/11 at the Correction facility... i couldnt resist the oportunity to talk to u so i too it when i told u to look for the info u needed online... i would love to get to know u!!! Tell me where in line, what color was my coat and what was i holding so i know it was u!!!

The Correctional Facility? Yeah, that tops Wal-Mart and Ocean State Job Lot.

BREAK TIME

Beautiful Blonde, who works on the Berlin Tnpk - m4w

You work on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington, Your manner and beauty distracted me more than once. We caught eyes a couple of times. What a smile glowing from your thin body. I hope you see this post.. Tell me where you work so I know it's you.

Seems to us that simply saying hi and introducing yourself might have a slightly better chance and being successful. But then again what do we know?

oakwood soccer mom..... - m4w - 41

I see u each week and can't shake ur beauty. I want to ravish u but we're both married. I think u feel the same way but we haven't spoken too much yet. If u think u im talking to u, tell me what color ur hair is and when ur at oakwood.

Boy, people really jump to some conclusions on here. "We haven't spoken much, but I think you want to cheat on your husband with me." Guess confidence counts for something right?

Hot blonde in black - m4w - 35 (Starbucks at West Farms)

Yesterday afternoon I was behind you in line. I was all in black as well. You had on heels and you were so gorgeous and sexy :)

Because all hot 35 year old blondes who go to Westfarms Starbucks love meeting aging goth dudes through Craigslist Missed Connections.

sexy blonde cashier - w4w - 19

when you looked at me as you handed me my change, your eyes pierced right through my soul. i knew i had to have you. the date was February 9th. im too nervous to talk to you in person, but my idea of our ideal date would be me and you, making candied bacon, watching some always sunny, obviously hot sex, and id definitely rub your feet any time you want. so please get back to me as soon as you see this.

-love always, big bertha

That is not a good online handle if you are trying to pick people up.

Rocky Hill McDonalds this morning behind 2 very cute brunettes 2/6 - m4w

It's worth a shot - so hopefully one of you will see this :) This morning I was in line behind two very attractive brunettes at McDonalds in Rocky Hill on the silas deane highway. It was around 1030ish if I had to guess. One of you was ordering a strawberry shake and the other got an ice cream. If it helps any I was behind you with the short, kinda spiky hair, jeans and sport jacket on. Anyways you guys were very cute and funny. If by any chance you do see this I'd love to talk some more. I should've been more conversational this morning and now I am wishing that I was!

Well, here goes....maybe you will see this and we can get together for a drink and conversation :)
Talk soon!

Nope, not going to work.

UConn vs seton hall half time show - m4w - 20 (XL Center Hartford)
You where in the half time show for the UConn men's basketball game today.
I could not take my eyes off you ;).
Your figure, your smile, the way you moved hypnotized me.
You are blonde, Caucasian, and beautiful.
You for the most part were dancing in the middle of the basketball court,
on the husky face logo.
Id love it if you email me!!!

Because all UConn cheerleaders love meeting guys through Craigslist Missed Connections.

What have we learned? Well it seems that men will post on Missed Connections anytime they interact with a good looking female while she is working. Beyond that, hopefully we can mine this data and land ourselves a date on this most serious of all holidays.

The Weekly Whale

2012-02-13T09:15:00.001-05:00

Apparently it wasn't 2012, it was just January that was vexing the Whale. After a winless first month of the year, the Whale started February by not losing until the 12th, an overtime loss in Bridgeport. That ended a five game winning streak that gave the Whale a three point division lead over Bridgeport. The Whale return to the XL Center with games Friday and Saturday night and then play in Providence on Sunday.

Check out detailed game wrap ups and more Whale news at CTWhale.com and at the Courant's hockey page.

Introducing Hartford's Johnny Taylor

2012-02-10T07:34:00.002-05:00

Johnny Taylor was one these pictured 1938 Negro League All-Star Game players

February is Black History Month. At Sad City one thing we waste about as much of our time on as Hartford is baseball. While baseball is an amazing sport and America's pastime, it shouldn't be forgotten that until 1947 baseball despicably operated under the even more despicably named "Gentleman's Agreement" in which owners only employed white players and African-Americans were forced to organize their own leagues. Seeing as how many of us are Red Sox fans, it would be remiss to not point out that the Red Sox were the last team to integrate due to well known racist policies (hey, it is Boston) a factor that certainly contributed to the teams mediocrity in the 1950's and early 1960's.

So yeah, whenever anyone wants to argue that todays players don't match up with Ruth, Cobb, or Gehrig because of expansion, juiced balls or steroids, kindly point out that those pre-integration players weren't even competing with all of the best players in the United States.

Over February we've decided to take a look at some Negro League players, some with Hartford ties, some without. Today we introduce Johnny Taylor with excerpts from just an awesome, awesome article by Jon Daly originally done for Sabr.org (Society for American Baseball Research). Although it might seem like a lot of text below, it's only a small portion of the original article. It's a great read.

Also check out City Hall for a cool display on the Tuskegee Airmen.

"The year 1933 was one of the low points of the Great Depression. Even Babe Ruth was not immune to economic circumstances, as he took a pay cut of $23,000 from his previous year’s salary of $75,000. The Single-A Eastern League had folded in July of 1932 and with it the Hartford Senators. This was back when baseball was pretty much the only game in town. Fortunately, Bill Savitt, a jewelry store owner, gave the Insurance City some peace of mind. He leased Bulkeley Stadium, erstwhile home of the Senators, and had his semipro outfit, the Savitt Gems, take on all comers; barnstorming outfits like the Georgia Chain Gang, colored teams, other local nines, the Philadelphia Athletics.

Savitt’s best player may have been a pitcher who was still in high school on the Gems’ opening day. Johnny Taylor went on to have success in the Negro Leagues and Latin America. Had he been born a decade later, he might have made it to the majors.

John Arthur Taylor, Jr. was born in Hartford to John and Etta Taylor, on February 4, 1916. Johnny’s father was a lather in the building trades. Johnny grew up in the South End on Douglas Street. The South End was a predominantly white area at the time.

At Bulkeley High School, he concentrated on track until his senior year. Johnny was a high jumper and pole vaulter. But when he became a senior, Taylor pitched for a Bulkeley Maroons team that included future major leaguer Bob Repass and future high-school coach and scout Whitey Piurek.

On April 28 he started Bulkeley’s opening game at Goodwin Park, against rival Hartford High School. Three days later he struck out 17 and gave up just two hits against West Hartford High in another home game. A week later he struck out 19 Hartford Hilltoppers at Elizabeth Park to go to 3-0.

On May 20 Bulkeley crushed undefeated Weaver High, 18-1, at Bulkeley Park. Taylor hit a home run over the left-field fence that was the longest hit by a high schooler in that ballpark. But his best performance was yet to come. In the season finale against New Britain, Taylor struck out 25 and gave up just one hit as the Maroons won, 13-4.

Albert Keane of the Hartford Courant reported that New York Yankee scout Gene McCann was interested in Taylor. When McCann found out that Taylor was not white, he tried to get him to pretend he was Cuban. The light-skinned Taylor refused.

Taylor wound up spending most of the rest of the summer pitching for Home Circle of the Greater Hartford Twilight League, which played most of its games at Colt Park, which had 20 baseball diamonds.

There were rumors that Taylor turned down offers from Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh Colored Giants. He signed with the New York Cubans, owned by Alejandro Pompez, after Taylor’s aunt had a chance meeting in NewYork City with Frank Forbes, the business manager of the Cubans. Pompez made his money in the numbers racket, but also dabbled in baseball.

Taylor was signed by Frank Forbes for $175 a month and $2 a day meal money. He went 6-4 and struck out 55, second to teammate Luis Tiant, Sr. Taylor pitched as the Cubans played the Savitt Gems in Hartford in late August. He beat the Gems 7-0 and fanned 15. The Cubans returned in September and lost to the Gems. (On the way to Hartford, the team bus was in an accident on the Berlin Turnpike, near Hartford, but it didn’t keep the Giants from playing.)

Taylor came home to Hartford in 1937 and played for the Savitt Gems. While still hobbled by his injuries, he faced Will Jackman and the Philadelphia Colored Giants in a 20-inning marathon. He struck out 22 and went on to beat Jackman twice more that year. He went 13-1 for the Gems before reinjuring his back.

Several teams sought his services in 1938. Initially, he planned on returning to New York, but he wound up signing with the Pittsburgh Crawfords for $400 a month.

In 1939 an eight-team semipro league called the Connecticut State Baseball League was formed. During the Memorial Day weekend, Taylor pitched for the New Britain entry against New London. Because he was black, the New London team protested the use of Taylor in a game, and representatives of the league’s teams wound up voting 6-2 to ban Negro players

In September 1941 the prodigal son made a visit to Hartford with his Mexican All-Stars. The team included Josh Gibson, Sam Bankhead, Ray Dandridge, and Willie Wells. They played the Saviott Gems, whose starter was hometown rival Pete Naktenis. Taylor and his All-Stars won in ten innings, 7-5, as Johnny fanned 15.

After a two-year layoff, Taylor, by now 33 years old, signed a contract in late May to pitch for the Hartford Chiefs of the Eastern League in 1949. Perhaps the first black member of the Chiefs, he went 6-7, mainly in relief. He was released by the club in November and hung up his spikes.

Taylor was a trailblazer for black golfers in Connecticut. He started as a youth at
the municipal course at Hartford’s Goodwin Park, which was near his neighborhood.

In 1975 the Boston Red Sox made it to the World Series. In a moment of détente, Cuba let Luis Tiant Sr. and his wife travel to the US to see his son pitch. Taylor went to Fenway Park to see his old teammate and had a tearful reunion.

Johnny Taylor died on June 15, 1987, after an extended battle with cancer. He lives on in a sense as a minor character in Mark Winegardner’s novel The Veracruz Blues.Taylor was the best Negro Leagues player born in the Hartford area and perhaps the best Hartford native to play the game, period."

People Of Hartford: How Are You?

2012-02-08T20:33:00.000-05:00

These days TV antennas have been rendered useless with the analog to digital tv conversion that took place in 2009. Those of us old enough can remember playing with the metal rabbit ears (or even classier, a metal coat hanger) as we struggled for reception. Nowadays one can purchase a one inch thick 3D television for under $1,000 and watch sports in high definition. Kids these days have it too easy.

Though the television antennas are now obsolete many can still be seen on top of older houses in Hartford. Some houses, like the pictured house on Barker Street in the South End, have super sized antennas that can only be described as amazing. How tall is this antenna? With that extension on top, we'd have to venture a guess of 25-30 feet. More importantly than how tall is the antenna, what could, or more accurately, what couldn't this monstrosity pick up? While a sensible explanation is that since the South End is traditionally an immigrant heavy neighborhood, the antenna was installed to pick up broadcasts (likely soccer matches) from the owners home country.

A more fun explanation is that this South End resident was picking up extra-terrestrial broadcasts or perhaps even broadcasting a pirate television channel? Seriously, this thing looks more powerful than WNPR's satellites on top of the Dankosky Building. From the old days we remember you could usually get four tv stations using a metal coat hanger as an antenna. Does anyone want to venture a guess on how many channels and the furthest broadcast that could be picked up by this bad boy?

Hot In Hartford: The Beat City Beauties vs. Howard Baldwin

2012-02-08T07:37:00.001-05:00

Old is new and new is old and we're all here together.

This match pits a group of young women practicing an old art against a gentleman working to build ice hockey in Hartford as he once did as a younger man. The Beat City Beauties have taken Hartford by storm in short time with their throwback burlesque show. A dance troupe of young, athletic women have made a big splash on the Hartford scene in short time with their throwback shows that evoke another era. With an expert mix of sex, athleticism, humor, and nostalgia, the Beat City Beauties have rapidly become a must see act on the Hartford circuit.

Howard Baldwin started making his mark in Hartford in the 1970's and is looking to make a bigger impact than ever today. A founding member and Commissioner of the WHA before he was 30, Mr. Baldwin was one of the original driving forces in bringing professional hockey to Hartford. After a spell out of the city, Mr. Baldwin returned last year taking over management of the Hartford Wolfpack, rebranding them the Hartford Whale, proposing a renovation of the XL Center, and advocating the return of the NHL to Hartford.

Old is new and new is old and we're all here together. But who is Hot In Hartford?

Center Church Stained Glass

2012-02-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

We don't get inside churches all too often. Yet last week, during one of those classic warm, pleasant New England February afternoons, we walked by the Center Church to find the doors wide open for those who wished to see the inside. With the February sun shining brightly, we couldn't pass by the chance to see the stained glass and decided to risk it and check it out. It turned out to be a very worthwhile trip as the Center Church has some great stained glass. If you get a chance to visit on a sunny day it's highly recommended. Above is Thomas Hooker, father to all Hartfordites. More after the jump.

Hot In Hartford: McEnroe vs. The Mayor

2012-02-06T07:38:00.000-05:00

The voting continues with a battle between Colin McEnroe, last years runner up and recipient of The Howard Stern Award for furthest advancing radio personality and Mayor Pedro Segarra who dominated the Hartford Mayoral election on his way to winning his first full Mayoral term. Mr. McEnroe is well known for hosting The Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR. Mr. McEnroe also writes the "To Wit" blog, a two-time winner of the Advocate's Best Of in the blog category.

Mayor Pedro Segarra took the helm of Mayor under less than ideal circumstances after the resignation of disgraced former Mayor Eddie Perez. Since taking the Mayor post, Segarra has excited Hartfordites with noticeable improvements the tearing down of the much maligned "Butt Ugly Building," acquiring the Capitol West building for a planned spring time demolition and bringing a much needed feeling of change and optimism after the too long and embarrassing reign of Eddie Perez. Segarra easily won a full term in the November elections. Will he fare as well in Hot In Hartford?

The Weekly Whale

2012-02-05T11:34:00.002-05:00

Finally. After a winless January the Whale were finally able to get their first victory of 2012 Friday night at the XL Center by defeating the Albany Devils 3-2. The long awaited victory was not without moments of trepidation as Albany closed to within one with a late goal and had a few close attempts to tie the game in the final seconds before the horn sounded ending the Whale's 2012 winless drought.

The Whale followed up the win Friday night by starting a win streak with a 4-1 road victory over the Hershey Bears. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers saw their 11 game winning streak end this week allowing the Whale to climb into a first place tie with 51 points. This week the Whale have a home game Tuesday against the Syracuse Crunch before hitting the road and visiting Springfield and Worchester this weekend.

XL Center Contest Winner

2012-02-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

The following post is the winner of the XL Center essay contest written by Steve Jones, who also has a blog the Centrist Student. Steve has won himself a pair of center ice CT Whale tickets and we hope he enjoys the game! We would like to thank all entrants and congratulate Steve on his victory. His winning essay follows.

As a graduating senior in college, I will be returning to Connecticut permanently in May of 2012 searching currently very competitive waters for employment. No matter where my career will take me, Connecticut is my home, Hartford is my city. And I am proud of both right now, though I notice their imperfections. The main one is the image. We've suffered a decade of multiple recessions, leading up to the Great Recession of 2008. Meanwhile, our grand projects along the Hartford River and in Hartford itself have been panned failures largely as a result of the damage done by the economic instability our nation has suffered. And we continue to suffer from it, though we are recovering now, and looking forward.

That is why I implore not just my hard-working Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Rep. Hurlburt, and Senator Tony Guglielmo, but the entire state to look back to Hartford and its chances as a come-back kid in the coming decades.

Our state has been seen as a rising star for young people to work, as Malloy has commented in recent interviews. And there are many aspects to making a city appealing to the youth. Like Boston and New York City, Hartford is a city of New England. It has its depth of history, notoriety, and icons. One of those icons that has been gone for many years is the Hartford Whalers. We lost the Whalers in 97' and lost out bid on the Patriots to Massachusetts in the early years of the 21st Century. So for a decade and a half, we have been without an icon to represent our state to the nation. But we shan't fret, as we see those in Phoenix, Columbus, and elsewhere costing the NHL more than they make, and moving is the best answer. We do not know for certain if Hartford is one of those choices, though it has been spoken in some circles. But this is certain: Young people enjoy a state symbol through sports. It is why many in Connecticut are proud Patriots fans. They represent the region.

But our youth, and much of the state deserve an icon they can look to in sports that expands a university or college not everyone goes to. We may love UCONN, and it is a strong partner at the XL Center, however our state can only thrive off of college sports for so long. It is why you see Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers, Bruins, Islanders, and all sorts of national teams represented in this state. We want more. We need more.

So we must look to advocate the NHL through the development of our own nationally renowned center that can carry a NHL team. Though this is not our only goal.

To provide a revamped, modern XL Center would bring about a new life to the city. We expand the attractiveness of many bars/restaurants in the downtown area while providing new opportunities. Filled with IMAX movies, newer bars, newer restaurants, and a hub for sports; our capital can once again be like our rivals of the region. But we must not try and argue this will be the next Times Square or Madison Square Garden. Hartford faces may obstacles in making itself a rival to these two. And we should not try to emulate them. Hartford is Hartford, so we should fight until everyone is fighting for it, instead of against it. This notion I often see online and in person about Hartford, much like the center, needs to change.

Anyone who visits the center for a game knows the seating styles are old, the bathroom structure is old, the rafters are both old and drab. They almost reflect the often lifelessness or stagnation we have faced on multiple fronts. As we break towards a new leader for CT, we must reform our old center and wake all those naysayers up from their pessimistic slumber. They lived through tough times and saw many defeats, but this is not what our future young leaders and workforce should be forced to expect.

We can invest in a future that enlivens and emboldens those in Connecticut to be even more proud than they already are. Pride comes through success and striving for competition. And sports emulate this spirit. The NHL should be what we reach for, but looking far past it to those in our state who will build the economy, become active citizens, and come to be proud of our sadly underrated city. Because they will be the ones to come to Hartford with family and friends, to provide their children with happy memories of a fun and lively Hartford.

Let us turn the page of our slump, our sadness, our sullen disposition. Encourage those you know to learn more about the prospects of a revived XL Center, a revived downtown, and a revived spirit. We may have lost it in recent years, but it is not gone as long as we fight and we write for our city. Our Hartford.

Hot In Hartford: Jenna Carlesso vs. Johnny Spigot

2012-02-01T07:34:00.001-05:00

After an absolutley epic battle between John Dankosky and Daniel Schwartz, we resume Hot In Hartford at the point where last year's semi-finalists again start their journeys towards a championship. While readers are well familiar with Hakaan's notoriously low quality photoshopping (Jumper's the go to for photoshop and editing video), this matchup is also notable for the kind of crappy quality photos of both contestants (sorry to both of you). Despite the quality of the photos, that doesn't diminish the quality of work each candidate brings to Hartford.

Ms. Carlesso works as a reporter for The Hartford Courant, covering Hartford's neighborhoods and City Hall and writes Hartford CityLine with Vanessa Del Torre. Jenna joined the Courant in 2009 and we have been enjoying her reporting ever since. In the wide open world of the internet where everyone has a blog and is writing for free, you've got to respect someone that got trained and is capable of doing it for a living.

Mr. Johnny Spigot is the legendary bartender at Hartford's legendary West End bar, The Spigot Cafe. Despite rooting for the Yankees, the 88 car, and regularly committing battery on Sad City members with "flying ninja coasters," we are happy to overlook these and nominate Johnny for the contest. Always quick with a quip, a great drink recommendation, and the abilityto remember customers, Johnny really makes The Spigot feel like the bar where everybody knows your name.

Who is Hot In Hartford?

Another Interesting Chart

2012-01-31T07:26:00.001-05:00

We have to admit whenever some website has a chart or list of "Best Cities For..." we are always suckers to click through no matter how inane the topic. Usually we end up as disappointed as when we click the Yahoo! News headlines. Seriously, how great do those Yahoo! stories seem and then; click,boom, disappointment? It's almost like they have people constantly manipulating the headlines to come up with a formula that will result in the most clicks.

We really like when a list includes Hartford. Not too long ago our fine little city was rated as the top city for recent graduates to get jobs. While it is true that these days being named the top city for grads to get jobs is a little like being named the top player on the Mets, it's still is nice to be number one.

Last week the Business Insider wrote about a Brookings Institute report that ranked Hartford as having the highest per capita GDP of the world's 200 largest metropolitan areas. Bridgeport, our rough and tough neighbor to the south ranked fifth ahead of sexier cities like New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Stockholm, Seattle, Dublin, Paris, and Los Angeles.

Now we are going to go out on a limb guess that this survey encompassed surrounding towns and didn't measure just within the city limits. If this chart really underscores any point it's that the Northeast, with four cities in the top 11 (five if you want to include D.C.) is crazy expensive.

Of course that makes sense to us, since as children of the Northeast, we adamantly believe that the Northeastern U.S. is pretty much the focal point of everything and the most important place on Earth. Why else do you think they always promo TV shows with Eastern time listed first? Now if only we could just get rid of January, February, and March.

The Weekly Whale

2012-01-29T23:03:00.000-05:00

For the first time since Sad City started The Weekly Whale column, the Whale have fallen from first place. After once having a commanding lead in the Northeast Division, the Whale are still winless in 2012 and have fallen to second place being surpassed by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. While the Whale haven't managed a win in 11 games, the Sound Tigers have been white hot and have't lost in 11 games.

The Whale only played two games this week, both at the XL Center on Friday and Saturday. While the Whale continued to play competitive hockey, they continue to not be able to get goals at the crucial times and they fell to Scranton Wilkes-Barre 3-2 on overtime Friday night. Penalties continued to plague the Whale as all three of the Penguins goals game on the powerplay.

Saturday night saw the largest crowd of the season as 11,181 visited the XL Center to see the Whale take on the Springfield Falcons. The teams put on an exciting and spirited game but the Whale once again lost by one goal as they fell 2-1. Several times during the final minutes of the game it looked as if the Whale would be able to get the tying goal, but they couldn't manage to draw even and remain winless on 2012. In 2011, it seemed like the Whale managed to come up victorious in one goal games, but in 2012 the scales have tipped the other way and the one goal games keep going down as losses.

The AHL now breaks for the All-Star game and the Whale resume at home on Friday against the Albany Devils.

The 1936 Flood

2012-01-27T07:28:00.000-05:00

Ever since we attended Paper Mania a few weeks ago we've found ourselves browsing around the web and looking at old postcards. If anyone has ever done any late night web surfing, you are probably aware that Ebay is the most dangerous of all late night web sites. Late night Ebaying is how you end up with a lot of 10 identical Whalers pennants. Seemed like such a good idea at the time.

We recently picked up this gem of a postcard depicting the March 1936 Morgan Street flooding. Now this looked like a little too much of a flood to be caused by an overflowing Park River, so off to the research lab (Google) we went. We found this info on CT History Online, a gem of a website for Connecticut history.

"On March 12, 1936, rain began falling across Connecticut, as well as all of New England, and poured down for the next nine days. Fourteen inches of rain, coupled with melting snows from the area's mountains, unleashed on Connecticut the greatest floods in its history to that date. The Connecticut and Farmington Rivers and all of their tributaries became raging torrents. Water and ice flows tore out bridges, highways, roads, and railways. The dam at New Hartford burst, and homes and buildings were washed away or destroyed. The waters at Hartford rose to a level of 8.6 feet higher than any previous flood level on record, flooding most of the downtown commercial area. Fourteen thousand people were left homeless, several were dead or missing, and epidemic disease threatened the population. The National Guard was called to action as the ravaging floods paralyzed business, traffic, communication, and home life, as the cities and towns along the rivers became the principal centers of destruction. While loss of life was small, damages exceeded $100 million, making it the costliest New England weather event to that time. "

We also found this really cool post from CT Museum Quest which has an amazing picture of a marker on the Polish National Home indicating how high the water level reached in the 1936 flood. Unbelievable! So we learned something about history and about a cool Hartford landmark. Learning isn't all that bad so we guess late night Ebaying isn't all that bad. Until the next purchase.

Car Trends In East Hartford

2012-01-26T07:34:00.001-05:00

We don't travel to our sister city East Hartford too often. Maybe about once a summer to have a beer on the river at 125 Riverside or once every couple years to an early season (i.e. warm weather) UConn football game. Besides that, we just don't find ourselves compelled to cross the river too often. What we've been missing out on is what appears to be a return on the "car pickup" hybrid, a style first introduced by the Chevrolet El Camino in 1959.

While this type of car seems to have faded from fashion decades ago, loyal reader Farm Boy occasionally treks out to our neighbor to the East and has photographic proof that East Hartford may be bringing the "car pickup" back into fashion as he spotted two on a single journey. Amazing. Almost as rare as the mysterious urban lion we were able to spot and photograph a couple months back.

The Strange Saga Of The El Mercado Jags Jersey

2012-01-25T07:28:00.001-05:00

Fans of Sad City know that we love the El Mercado grocer and often frequent the various dining establishments within. Over the course of the last year and a half there has been one thing inside the El Mercado that has endlessly confounded us. One store in the market sells various non-food wares. The vendor sells t-shirts, cell phone cases, sunglasses, mini flags and religious paraphernalia. There is also a handful of futbol (soccer to us) team jerseys for sale. Makes sense, since soccer is, by a wide margin, the most popular sport just about everywhere in the world except the United States.

Hanging amongst the various soccer jerseys is a sports jersey so out of place that it defies belief. We can't even fathom how it came to be at the market. The curious jersey is a #52 jersey of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

While we would expect soccer jerseys to be the popular at a Latin market, we wouldn't be all that surprised by the presence of an NFL jersey as it is by far the most popular sport in the United States.

What we would expect though is a local team like the Jets, Giants, or Patriots. If not one of the local teams one would certainly expect to see a jersey of one of the major national teams like the Cowboys, Steelers, Raiders, or Packers. Maybe even a Colts jersey given their ties to areas with local Dwight Freeney and former UConn stars Dan Orlovsky and Donald Brown. But the Jacksonville Jaguars? They are right at the top of the list of boring, nondescript, NFL franchises with the Atlanta Falcons.

We searched high and low for meaning in the #52 Jaguars jersey. The Jaguars have never really had a historical player in their short history. Perhaps there was a player of Latin descent that wears #52 for the club? Nope, #52 is worn by Daryl Smith, of Albany, Georgia, a decent player for sure, but not exactly the type of player that inspires jersey sales from a mediocre team 1,000 miles away.

What could it be? For a year and a half we wondered without a clue. Then we started paying attention to the NFL around Thanksgiving. During this time a national frenzy was building up around Mr. Tim Tebow, a young quarterback who often seemed to play terribly, only to suddenly become very effective at the end of the game and lead his team to stunning victories.

At the center of all this excitement was the fact the Tebow is devoutly religious and often often took a knee in prayer around the field, something that became a national phenomenon known as "Tebowing."

We knew Tim Tebow had been an extraordinarily successful player at the Univsersity of Florida. What we didn't know is that Tebow grew up in Ponte Vedra Beach Florida, a mere thirty minutes outside of Jacksonville. We remembered the many religious icons depicting Jesus Christ for sale at the the store at El Mercado. Finally!! An explanation for the presence of the Jaguars jersey. The El Mercado and Hartford had been "Tebowed!"

All we all know, Tebow works in mysterious ways.

Hot In Hartford: Dan Schwartz vs. John Dankosky

2012-01-23T22:25:00.002-05:00

We reach the halfway marker of Hot In Hartford with a match up of intellect far beyond Sad City's capacity. Daniel Schwartz is a well respected attorney at Pullman & Comley, working cases in employment law, commercial litigation, and trade secret enforcement. Mr. Schwartz has been named in the "40 Under 40" by the Hartford Business Journal (July 2010) and has been named as a top lawyer by numerous publications. Mr. Schwartz is also the author of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, one of the most widely read blogs of its kind and has been named as a Top 100 Blog produced by lawyers for three consecutive years.

John Dankosky also has a blog "Where We Blog" but is better know for his "Where We Live" radio show on WNPR. Where We Live always provides interesting takes on local news and recently made state wide news by having Governor Dan Malloy in studio for an hour where the Governor answered questions about responses to Hurricane Irene and Snowtober, CL&P, and the XL Center. We recently ran into "Where We Live" producer Tucker Ives at a CT Whale game, and while all agreed that Hot In Hartford was silly, we also agreed that since we regularly spend our weekends at minor league hockey games, we don't have anything better to do and got word that the "Where We Live" camp is looking to best their NPR rivals.

Burgers Abound

2012-01-23T07:21:00.000-05:00

Recently we found ourselves in conversation about grapefruits, a fruit we enjoy, but noted that the grapefruit doesn't seem to enjoy much popularity with the under 60 crowd and remarked that it was not an in fashion food. The discussion then shifted to what foods were in fashion. We came up with bacon, avocados, berries, and burgers. Burgers and hot dogs are often viewed as the quintessential American foods, and while the popularity of the burger has never really waned, the last couple years have seen a burger renaissance with successful restaurants serving up burgers as never before imagined.

It seems to us that Plan B was the local pioneers in this movement. With locations in Glastonbury and West Hartford, Plan B and their gourmet burgers were an immediate success and continue to be so as both locations are always packed with customers. Max Burger, another excellent restaurant by the Max group, soon followed in West Hartford Center along with a Five Guys in Farmington.

Now Hartford is getting into the burger fun.

We recently visited the State House Square food court for the first time a while and had our first taste of the Texas based burger chain Mooyah which opened in May. The first thing we noticed about Mooyah was a cluster of people waiting. A good sign for sure, as Mooyah looked to be the busiest of all the restaurants in the food court. Second we noticed the "Mooyah" sign which incorporates Hartford landmarks. Very cool.

Mooyah has a simple ordering process that kind of reminded us of the legendary In-N-Out burger chain, low on frills and straight to the point. Basically pick a burger size, (turkey and veggie are available) toppings, and sauce. We got a burger, fries, and a drink for under $10 and despite the lengthy line, the wait for our food was only a couple minutes. Mooyah also offers milkshakes, which we have yet to try. A great lunch option to add to your Hartford lunch rolodex.

More recently, Burger Baby opened in the space formerly occupied by Mayor Mike's. Burger Baby is more formal than Mooyah, in the mold of a Plan B esque burger joint. We had heard rave reviews around town so we had high expectations when we visited. We weren't disappointed.

The Burger Baby menu is basically a "wow, I can't decide" type menu. A plethora of great and unique burger options are offered. We finally made a choice and added orders of the much celebrated duck fat and Parmesan foam fries. Both the fries and the burgers earned all the compliments we had heard. A job well done by Burger Baby. We are definitely going to be making multiple return trips to try and eat our way through the menu.

Sad City highly recommends both Mooyah and Burger Baby and we are excited to have both in town making excellent burgers.

The Weekly Whale

2012-01-22T10:45:00.001-05:00

2012 continues to vex the once high flying Whale as the team remains win less in the new year. The week started with a 4-2 road loss in Portland before the Whale returned home to the XL Center for the weekend. Friday saw the Whale host the St. John's IceCaps in a game in which the IceCaps goalie Edward Pasquale made one of the best saves anyone will ever see robbing Kris Newbury of a sure goal. The amazing save proved to be huge as the game went to overtime where St. John's scored only 16 seconds into extra time.

Saturday the Norfolk Admirals came into town on Wade Redden bobble head night. It looked like another rough night for the Whale when Norfolk scored on their first shot of the game. The Whale then caught fire scoring three goals in seven minutes and chasing the Norfolk goalie from the game. At 3-1 early on, it looked like an easy win for the Whale, but the Admirals clawed their way back into the game, taking a 4-3 lead on a powerplay after a Whale penalty following the tying goal. The Whale quickly struck back to tie the game and for the second straight night the XL Center saw overtime.

After the five minute overtime, the Whale took an early lead in the shootout and the crowd was prepared to celebrate a long awaited victory. St. John's had other ideas as they tied the shootout and sent the contest to extra shots. Both goalies held there own, but finally the IceCaps scored and the Whale win less streak reached 9 games.

The Whale still hold first place in the division. but only 2 points separate first and fourth. The next game is Friday as the Whale are once again home on both Friday and Saturday this weekend. Check out Paul Doyle and The Hartford Courant's game coverage here.

The Civic Center Collapse

2012-01-20T07:28:00.002-05:00

This week marked the 34th anniversary of the Hartford Civic Center roof collapse. As bad as the collapse was, it was very lucky that no one was killed in this mishap. Only hours before, the venue hosted a UConn-UMass basketball game. This was way before Marcus Camby, Cliff Robinson, and even Jim Calhoun.

We looked at these pictures of the roof collapse way, way back in the Sad City vault. Today, a generation has passed since the roof collapse and Hartford is facing a major decision on the future of a downtown entertainment. Many dream of an NHL return. The Civic Center collapse happened before Hartford even had an NHL team.

In 1974 Howard Baldwin moved the WHA New England Whalers from Boston to the Hartford Civic Center. In 1979 four WHA teams joined the NHL as the rest of the league folded. The Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets, and Hartford Whalers survived and joined the NHL.

Only the Oilers remain. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup five times between 1983 and 1990. None of the other WHA teams won a Stanley Cup, or even made the finals while in their original cities.

The current NHL season saw the Atlanta expansion franchise relocate to Winnipeg, giving the city a hockey team for the first time since the original Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes in the late 1990's. That Phoenix franchise is widely expected to move next season with Quebec considered the favorite and Las Vegas and Kansas City considered strong contenders. If a team were to end up in Quebec City, Hartford would be the last of the four WHA teams to got have an NHL team.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

The Hartford Courant has the best photo gallery of the collapse.

The awesome Facebook page "My NHL Includes Hartford" has more great pics.

Hot In Hartford: Chion Wolf vs Rick Green

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

We now return to our regularly scheduled "Hot In Hartford 2012" during this very abbreviated week with a match between WNPR's Chion Wolf and the Hartford Courant's Rick Green. So far the two Hot In Hartford matches have been lopsided as the XL Center and The Russian Lady advanced to the quarterfinals. This time a human advance to the next round as these Hartford heavy hitters make their "Hot In Hartford" debuts.

Chion Wolf works for WNPR where she co-produces The Colin McEnroe Show with Patrick Skahill. Her voice is familiar to NPR listeners from her intro and Last Word on the show in addition to being heard on bumpers throughout the day. She is also a talented photographer and voice over artist. Ms. Wolf is also somewhat of an expert on chili and whiskey and once judged a National Chili Contest.

Rick Green writes the CT Confidential column for the Hartford Courant. It really in an excellent read and a great source for local news. Whether it's the latest CL&P debacle, an insightful look into the future of the XL Center and the possibility of the NHL, a discussion of the new gambling legislation, or a review of the latest presentation of the iQuilt, Mr. Green's CT Confidential column is always one of the first places we look for a reaction on the latest local happenings. A must read.

Who is Hot In Hartford?!?!

The Sad City Ballot

2012-01-17T06:30:00.000-05:00

It's election time across the U.S. on Sad City, and in Harford as the Advocate Best Of voting is underway. Last year, our first in existence, we didn't win, place or show in the Best Local Blog category that was won by a cooking blog. Colin McEnroe's To Wit was the only Hartford blog represented finishing third after winning two years in a row. Sad City did finish second to CT News Junkie (of whose network we are now a member of, if you can't beat em....) in the Best Hyper Local News Site, a pretty good achievement for a six-month old blog that doesn't even try and bill itself as a news site. We thank you very much.

Sad City has now been cranking out posts for a whole year and a half (seems like longer than that doesn't it?) and it's time to vote again. We could simply just ask you to vote for us in a few categories and post the link, but what fun is that? Seeing as how we are the silver medalists in "Best Hyper Local New Site" we thought we would give a look at our ballot before you went to CTNow.com and cast your vote for Sad City. Without any further ado presenting the always unbiased, Fair And Balanced Sad City Best Of 2012 ballot.

BARS & CLUBS

BEST ADULT ENTERTAINMENT CLUB:

We'd love to support Hartford and vote for the Gold Club but as ardent supporters of worker's rights and having read the Advocate's cover story on the Gold Club using questionable methods to get dancers to sign a very Club friendly employment contract, we just can't cast that vote. Good job by The Advocate covering an underreported story on workers' and women's rights. Exploiting a vulnerable class is not what Sad City supports.

ABSTAIN

BEST BAR:

Easy choice. Great beer, great prices, great bartender, no live music, lots of tv's, baseball cards, old sports memorabilia and Golden Tee. A no-brainer.

The Spigot Cafe.

BEST BARTENDER:

Another no-brainer. Cancels out liking Yankees by liking NASCAR. Some points deducted for supporting the 88 car, but then again that's become akin to liking the Mets. He didn't make "Hot In Hartford 2012" by not being the best bartender in town.

Johnny Spigot.

BEST BATHROOM:

This is as much as "most improved" vote as a best vote. Once Hartford's Most Awkward Bathroom, the Sad City good deed team was on the case and will take credit for the dividers being put in. Just another example of Sad City getting things done.

Great job Half Door!

BEST BEER SELECTION IN BOTTLES:

Another easy win. You can stand there, look at the bottles and space out for as long as you want before you select one of the wide and varied options. What more could you want? (Watermelon Ale)

The Spigot Cafe

BEST BEER SELECTION ON TAP:

This one took a lot of thinking. The Spigot is good, Half Door is good. City Steam is cool and has their own thing going. We have to give it up to a West Hartford spot on this one.

Plan B

BEST BREW PUB:

No competition here.

City Steam

BEST CHEAP BEER:

Excuse me sirs, but I think you meant to say "Old Time Classic" beer.

The Spigot Cafe

BEST COLLEGE BAR & BEST PLACE TO GO AFTER THE BARS CLOSE:

We are in our 30's and don't feel qualified to vote. How depressing is that?

Abstain

BEST PLACE TO HOOK UP:

We've been through this before. We aren't qualified for this one.

Abstain

BEST HAPPY HOUR:

Lots of good candidates here. Chili's is not one of them.

Trumbull Kitchen

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR:

Kind of a bizarre category since it's going to be very dependent on where you live.

Mario's Cafe

BEST NEW BAR:

Best decor too.

The Russian Lady

BEST PUB:

McKinnon's places second here, but note, after a Whale game you can go to McKinnon's and get a buy one, get one drink deal with your ticket stub. The bathroom radio is pretty amusing.

Half Door

BEST SPORTS BAR:

We hate the "Sports Bar" designation so this is an abstain.

WHEW. Intermission.

This ballot is huge. Let's chop it down a bit. We aren't going to vote on the Books, CD, DVD's, (CDs, seriously?), Driving, Drinks (Hooker Watermelon), Getting Married (ask Jumper), Health and Beauty (we have neither), Home and Garden (ditto), Live Music (too old), Professional Services (haven't used them), Shopping (Amazon), Sports & Fitness (does fantasy baseball count?), The Arts, and People & Places.

Ok, that makes life easier. Let's return to our ballot!

RESTAURANTS

BEST AMERICAN/CONTINENTAL

Tough call with Trumbull Kitchen. More unique menu takes it.

Firebox

BEST BAR & GRILL:

Too early to consider Burger Baby. Plan B is just short here.

Max Burger

BEST BREAKFAST SPOT:

Apologies to Half Door, Mo's, Tisane, and East West Grill.

Goldberg's

BEST BUFFET:

Slight in stature, buffets are never great deals for us. Is the Bellagio in the Advocate's voting range?

Royal Masala

BEST CHINESE:

Black Bamboo

BEST COLOMBIAN:

La Fonda

BEST DINER:

Mo's

BEST GREEK:

Slam. Dunk.

Tangier's

BEST INDIAN:

Kashmir

BEST IRISH:

It's more of a gastro pub than an Irish place. (Irish food isn't good)

Half Door

BEST ITALIAN:

We can still make better Sunday sauce than any of them.

Salute

BEST JAMAICAN:

Dunn's River

BEST JAPANESE:

Feng

BEST KOREAN:

Ichiro

BEST LOOKING WAITSTAFF:

Half Door

BEST MEDITERRANEAN:

Costa Del Sol

BEST MEXICAN:

So many awesome, awesome choices. We love Monte Alban and El Sarape but,

El Tepyac (or whatever it's called inside El Mercado)

BEST MIDDLE EASTERN:

Love them all but have to go with

Abbyssinian

BEST NEW PLACE:

Burger Baby

BEST OUTSIDE DINING:

Monte Alban

BEST PACIFIC RIM:

East West Grille

BEST PERUVIAN:

Cora Cora

BEST POLISH:

Polish National Home

BEST PORTUGUESE:

La Primavera

BEST PUB FOOD:

Half Door

BEST PUERTO RICAN:

Comerio

BEST RESTAURANT:

The El Mercado, not a restaurant itself, wins by having four awesome restaurants under one roof.

BEST SEAFOOD:

Max Oyster

BEST SUSHI:

Feng

BEST THAI:

Thai Truck

MEDIA

BEST HYPERLOCAL NEWS SITE

We were second place last year.

Sad City Hartford

BEST LOCAL BLOG

Well this a slam dunk right? With all due respect to the others on the list, does anyone even approach the quality and quanity of Sad City posts?

Sad City Hartford

BEST LOCAL TWITTERER

Following us on Twitter gives you some additional insight into the Sad City world. We also promise wewon't even blow up your feed. Let's face it, no one needs to tweet over 20,000 times.

Sad City Hartford

BEST RADIO SHOW

We can't choose between our great friends Colin McEnroe and Craig The Porn Star

BEST TV NEWS ANCHOR

While Sad City friend Gerry Brooks used all his Jedi Mind tricks on us, he didn't understand the power of the dark side. We'll award the tiebreaker on being our neighbor.

Dennis House

BEST TV STATION

They have Survivor

WFSB

BEST TV WEATHERMAN

He's good on Twitter

Ryan Hanrahan

Well that's it for us folks, take it for what it is. Hope you will cast your ballot and support us for Best blog, hyperlocal news site, and twitterer. We'll accept other categories you might think we deserve.

The Weekly Whale

2012-01-15T12:57:00.000-05:00

It's been a tough road trip for the Whale as the team is on a frustrating six game losing streak. Not long ago it looked like the Whale might run away with the Northeast Division but their current skid has shrunk the division lead down to two points and only five points separates first and last place in the division.

The week started with a 3-1 loss Sunday to the last place Springfield club. The Whale then traveled to Norfolk for a rare two game series. The back to back games did nothing to change the Whale's road woes as they fell 3-1 Friday and 4-2 Saturday. Five of the six games on the current losing streak have been road games and the Whale remain winless in 2012.

While it will hurt the Whale, it is still happy news that leading scorer and former AHL Player of the Week Kris Newbury was called up to the NHL to join the New York Rangers. We will miss his ability in Hartford, but look forward to him performing at hockey's highest level. Good luck Kris!

The Whale play one more road game Wednesday in Portland before finally returning to the XL Center for home games against Worchester and Norfolk Friday and Saturday. Come out and support the Whale as they try to right the ship and hold onto first place in this crucial part of the season.

Hot In Hartford: Craig TPS vs. The Russian Lady

2012-01-13T07:33:00.000-05:00

The XL Center soundly defeated the Hartford-New Britain Busway in the first "Hot In Hartford 2012" matchup. The second match pits returning Hot In Hartford contestant Craig The Porn Star against returning Hartford bar The Russian Lady in what should be an exciting battle.

Long time Sad City friend Craig (he was like our 52nd fan on Facebook) is the evening dj at legendary Hartford rock station 106.9 WCCC. Craig can be heard Monday through Friday from 7 to midnight, and for over a year and a half Hakaan and Craig can be heard discussing the latest happenings in Hartford on Wednesday nights during the 9 o'clock hour. Last year Craig survived the first round of Hartford by winning a brutal Hell In A Cell cage match against new Whale mascot Pucky Ackbar. Will he advance this year?

To advance Craig will have to defeat The Russian Lady, the legendary Hartford bar that closed in 1997 and made its return to downtown this fall. While one generation of Hartford revelers missed out on partying at The Russian Lady, and we tire out in our early 30's, a new generation is enjoying the famous bars return to downtown while the older generation can visit and reminisce about debaucheries past. Those who visit on Fridays can even see Craig dj'ing at the famous downtown bar.

For those who haven't visited the new Russian Lady yet, it has the best decor of any Hartford bar. Filled with dark wood and antiques, the highlight for us is the ground floor bar which is constructed out of 900 year old Chinese doors. Right across the street from the XL Center, it's a great place to stop in for a drink before an event. Worth the trip for the decor alone.

Who is Hot In Hartford? Vote on the sidebar! After you're done voting head on over to The Advocate's Best of Hartford Poll and vote Sad City!

Sad City Contest: Win Premium CT Whale Tickets!

2012-01-12T07:23:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of excitement about downtown development both at Sad City and across all of Hartford this week. Tuesday saw another presentation of iQuilt, the comprehensive plan to reinvigorate downtown by making it more pedestrian friendly increasing the connectivity of the downtown area. A very cool idea and the exact type of big thinking that we feel Hartford needs. Some people still find time to put the plan down, but there are always some people that are going to react negatively to anything that isn't exactly on their personal agenda, so really, what can you do?

Then last night the first round of voting in "Hot In Hartford 2012" commenced with the XL Center soundly defeating the Hartford-New Britain Busway, a project for which it is difficult to find supporters. A couple months ago Howard Baldwin put forth a plan funded by the Aetna that stated that the XL Center could be refurbished for $105 million and that a refurbishment (amongst other factors) could entice NHL team could possibly return to Hartford for the 2017-2018 season.

There has definitely been some confusion about what the XL Center refurbishment plan called for. Some seem to think Mr. Baldwin is asking the state to pour money into his arena so he can acquire a team and bring it here. Not accurate. The XL Center is owned by the City of Hartford who currently leases the arena to Northland. Northland assumes total responsibility for the building, absorbing losses and retaining profits.

For whatever you might think of the XL Center, everyone we have talked to (including those that would really know) have nothing but good things to say about the current management group of the XL Center. The lease to the XL Center expires at the end of either 2012 or 2013 and if Northland doesn't renew and a new lessee isn't found, the XL Center and the City of Hartford could have quite an interesting problem.

Second, the proposed refurbishing of the XL Center wasn't a "refurbish to bring the NHL back." It was more going with the widely held consensus that the XL Center either needs to be refurbished or rebuilt and proposing a plan to do it with the possibility of the NHL one day returning to Hartford. Even without the NHL, the XL Center is still home to the CT Whale, UConn Huskies, and various other events.

In a tiny state that is always ranked in the top three wealthiest states in the nation, has residents and towns amongst the richest in the world, and has two of the world's largest casinos, is it that crazy to think that in the capitol city of a state with all that we night actually get ourselves a modern arena for entertainment?

When asked about the plan, Governor Malloy said that the state was not interested in Baldwin's plan. Just yesterday Governor Malloy was on Sad City friend John Dankosky's Where We Live radio show and was asked about the possibility of the return of the NHL to Hartford. After going on a bizarre diatribe naming almost every UConn sports team and even citing University of New Haven football team (we've won Hartford tons of Super Bowls on Madden over the years, no mention there Governor?) Malloy stated that he was firmly behind the XL Center but also that he had talked to NHL Commissioner Bettman and that he did not believe that the NHL was coming here in the near future, although maybe one day "lightning could strike."

It is important to note that Commissioner Bettman always tries to downplay the failing NHL franchises. The Atlanta Thrashers relocating to Winnipeg came together rapidly over this offseason. Just now, halfway through the current season, is the NHL finally admitting (something we all knew) that the Phoenix franchise is failing and will likely be relocated this offseason. There are a handful of other franchises failing in other markets that will almost certainly need to relocate over the next few years.

Here's where Sad City has a chance for you to express why you think an arena is important to Hartford and to win two great lower level center ice seats to see the CT Whale play at the XL Center. Write us and tell us (and your elected officials) why you think it is important for Connecticut's capitol city to have a modern arena to host events in downtown. It can be as long or as short as you'd like and the winner will be featured as its own post on Sad City. The winner will also receive two lower level center ice seats to see the Whale play the Springfield Falcons at the XL Center Friday February 17 at 7 PM.

Let's make the deadline for this contest Sunday January 29. Email your entries to HakaanLoob@gmail.com. If there are lots of strong entries, we might post more besides the winning entrant. Please remember to let us know how you want us to credit the entry if posted.

RULES & DISCLAIMERS:

All entries must be emailed to HakaanLoob@Gmail.com by 11:59PM EST January 29, 2012. Send entries either in email text or attached in Microsoft Word format. The winner will be chosen solely by the discretion of Sad City Hartford LLC. Sad City Hartford LLC will post the winning entry on the blog Sad City Hartford and reserves the right to post any or all entries to contest on the blog at anytime.

Once contacted the winner will provide a valid mailing address to send two (2) tickets to the CT Whale game at Hartford's XL Center on February 17, 2012. Winners are responsible for all transportation and expenses incurred traveling to, from, and at the game. Winners assume all responsibility for their behavior and actions while at the game and are not agents, guests, or invitees of Sad City Hartford LLC or any of its board or members.

By submitting an entry to this contest, the entrant(s) certifies that they have read, understand, and agree to the above terms entitled "RULES & DISCLAIMERS"

Paper Mania!

2012-01-11T07:22:00.001-05:00

Anything look familiar about this argument?

Last weekend the XL Center hosted Paper Mania as the event returned to Hartford. We were disappointed to have missed the event the last time around. Not being the best publicized event to hit Hartford, we nearly missed it again this time, but got wind of it towards the end of the week. We visited early Saturday morning not knowing what to expect and hoping to find something cool for an apartment. We had no idea what we were getting into. Only a couple minutes after walking into Paper Mania we realized that it was much bigger in size and scope than we had imagined.

When we first entered we saw everything from a table full of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, a huge Ted Nugent poster, military and travel advertisements, more postcards than could be counted, and sports and music memorabilia of all kinds.

Early on we realized that our hopes of finding some incredible bargains were likely not going to come to fruition. While you could find almost anything on paper that you could imagine at, it was an event for collectors and dealers, not people looking for "something cool for their apartment." From what we can tell, Paper Mania seems to be one of the largest shows of its kind. That meant lots of pricey items.

That John Lennon Imagine promotional poster? "Best price $300." Old NHL pennants? "$40." Ouch. Ever see a $2000 vintage travel advertisement? We hadn't until Saturday. Now we've seen a handful of them. Even so, if we had visited and not purchased anything, just seeing all the stuff was a well worth the $8. The sheer volume and scope of items for sale at Paper Mania was mind-boggling and it really can't be explained without actually attending.

Although most of the items we were interested in were wel out of our price range, we still did manage to nab a couple great items at a reasonable price. One vendor was selling prints of old political cartoons for $20. We bought an 1890 print criticizing Grover Cleveland for giving away American workers "lunch" to cheap immigrant laborers. Boy they really argued about some weird stuff back in the 1800's. Good thing we got all those problems sorted out.

Postcards were very popular items at Paper Mania. There were tens, if not hundreds of thousands of postcards available. While not postcards collectors, we did pick up a trio of postcards, one (pictured above) featuring downtown Hartford and one that featured Brandon, Vermont, site of the last Sad City travels post.

The point at the Brandon postcard that is hidden between the foremost and the next building on the right is where the washout under the building featured on the Sad City post was. Where the road wraps around the corner on the left is where the second pictured washout is. Mind you Brandon, Vermont is a very small town. Pretty incredible what you can find at Paper Mania.

If you missed it we highly recommend checking it out next time around. We are very confident that you will find it well worth the price of admission. Hopefully the event will be well publicized and we can keep you posted on the next Paper Mania.

Sad City Travels: Brandon, Vermont

2012-01-10T07:07:00.002-05:00

Vermont is different. Last time we visited Vermont, we explored some rural blight. Depending on where one goes in the state, it can lead to very different views of Vermont. Some go for the inns, some go to ski, some go to Burlington, some are way up North, some are in the valley. For a sparsely populated state, Vermont has a ton of different viewpoints. One thing rings true though, Vermonters are almost universally a tougher breed than us from Connecticut. The summer storms are just more proof to that point.

Way back this summer when Hurricane Irene pretty much missed Hartford and gave southern Connecticut a big kick, most were surprised to hear that the storm hit Vermont harder than anywhere else. Not known as a hurricane hotbed, the landlocked state flooded from the heavy rains and saw incredible damage.

These photos were taken a month after the storm. We can attest that even in November, over two months after Irene, roads and bridges were washed out and life was far from normal. But being Vermont, there wasn't much complaining to be heard. Vermonters just kind of make do.

You can get a lot of different views from a lot of different angles in Vermont. Almost all of them are pleasing to the eye.

Hot In Hartford: XL Center vs. New Britain Busway

2012-01-08T11:24:00.000-05:00

XL Center image courtesy of www.ctvisit.com Bus Image courtesy of www.environmentalheadlines.com

The first match up of "Hot In Hartford 2012" features the XL Center squaring off against the Hartford-New Britain Busway. The XL Center is the current home to the CT Whale, UConn basketball, and hosts many other events throughout the year. Formerly home to the Hartford Whalers and a slew of minor league sports teams, the XL Center is reaching a critical point in its existence as the current lease expires soon and renovations or a new arena must be considered in the upcoming years.

Former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin made headlines recently when he unveiled a $105 million plan to refurbish the XL Center. When asked about the plan Governor Dan Malloy stated that he "wasn't interested."

What is getting built is the over $500 million busway between Hartford and New Britain. Designed to ease the traffic congestion between Hartford and New Britain, the public response seems to be dubious at best. The Busway is currently slated to open in 2014. An interesting use of public funds. Hopefully, it will at least stop at the stadium so we can catch a few Rock Cats games.

Which is Hot In Hartford? Vote on the sidebar!

The Weekly Whale

2012-01-08T09:33:00.003-05:00

It's been a rough start to 2012 for the Whale who have yet to make a check mark in the W column in the New Year. On Monday the Whale started the New Year by losing a shootout to the Portland Pirates. On Friday the road struggles continued as the Whale fell to the defending Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators on the road.

Saturday the Whale returned the friendly confines XL Center to face the Springfield Falcons. The game would be a tale of two goalies. Springfield goalie Mark Dekanich did his best to keep the Falcons in the game and only surrendered one goal early despite an onslaught on shots by the Whale. Whale goalie Chad Johnson then allowed two quick goals and Springfield went up 2-1.

It appeared that the home success of the Whale would continue as Hartford barraged the Springfield net with shots and pulled ahead 4-2 in the third. Springfield closed the gap to 4-3 and then stunned the crowd after tying the game with the goalie pulled and 35 seconds left to play. In overtime Dekanich made an amazing save on a wraparound attempt to preserve the tie and send the game to a shootout. Springfield then won 2-1 in a shootout to send the XL Center fans home disappointed for the first time in awhile.

The Whale still hold a five point lead in the division as they go on a January road trip. The next home game isn't until January 20.

Sad City & WCCC Discuss Pizza

2012-01-07T09:03:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we more or less unwittingly had a pizza week here at Sad City. First, we had the Sad City Guide To West Pizza and then that was followed up with a New Haven Edition of Sad City Travels. People sure do love and are passionate about their pizza.

Listen above to Hakaan calling into WCCC to discuss pizza and the great pizza debates with Sad City friend and "Hot In Hartford 2012" contestant Craig The Porn Star.

Hot In Hartford 2012

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

A New Year has arrived and that means it's time for those who made noise in 2011 to battle it out for the most prestigious of all local awards, Sad City's: Hot In Hartford! The first Hot In Hartford saw Councilman Luis Cotto score a surprising victory to take the coveted title. The Councilman recently defended his Council seat and will now try to defend his Hot In Hartford title as the 2012 pool is announced.

Last year many voters asked "What does Hot in Hartford mean? "Is it the candidates physical appearance?" Sad City made the calculated decision not answer. "Hot In Hartford" means whatever the voter wants it to be. Want to vote on the bigger news maker? Go for it. The most attractive? That's fine. Funniest? Sure. Vote whoever you want, Sad City is a blog for people, written by people.

The only rules are that the top four finishers from last year are automatically invited back to the tournament. That's automatic entry for Cotto, Colin McEnroe, Howard Baldwin, and Jenna Carlesso. The other big change is that while last year all contestants ( well except Mon Calimari Pucky Ackbar) were humans, this year all nouns are eligible.

Certainly one of the most prestigious honors that can be bestowed on any Hartfordite! Without any further ado, the "Hot In Hartford 2012" contestants!

LUIS COTTO: The defending champion also defended his City Council seat. Fresh off his Council swearing in, Cotto now looks to defend his Hot In Hartford title.

COLIN MCENROE: The To Wit blogger and WNPR radio host was last years runner up which leads us to another "Hot In Hartford" announcement. Radio is Sad City's favorite medium. We love it. If forced to choose between radio and television, it's a no contest for radio.

Since radio personalities often don't get the coverage that television personalities do, Sad City has created The Howard Stern Award for "Hot In Hartford's" highest finishing radio personality.

It's kind of like the Cy Young Award.

Stern is, of course, the most successful radio personality ever and worked at WCCC in Hartford in the early 1980's. We are very proud to have such a legendary media personality connected to Hartford and to name this award after him. Congratulations to Mr. McEnroe on his 2011 Howard Stern Award.

HOWARD BALDWIN: A semi-finalist in 2011, Mr. Baldwin returned to Hartford in a big way last year by taking over management of the Hartford Wolfpack and rebranding them as the CT Whale. This year Mr. Baldwin has made headlines by being the only person to present a viable plan for the XL Center.

JENNA CARLESSO: Considered my many to be a surprise semi-finalist last year, the Hartford Courant reporter looks to follow up 2011 with another strong "Hot In Hartford" showing.

MAYOR PEDRO SEGARRA: Most experts rated the Mayors "2011 Hot In Hartford" performance as a disappointment. After trouncing the field to win a full term as Mayor, Segarra hopes to perform as well in "Hot In Hartford 2012."

JOHN DANKOSKY: Mr. Dankosky hosts the very popular "Where We Live" on WNPR and has his own blog. This is his first appearance in "Hot In Hartford."

DAN SCHWARTZ: Mr. Schwartz is not only a very successful Hartford lawyer, but also a popular blogger as well. Hard to believe anyone could do both of those things. This is his first appearance in "Hot In Hartford."

THE XL CENTER: Full time home to the CT Whale, part time home to the UConn Huskies, and host to countless events downtown, the XL Center has been a critical part of Hartford's downtown for decades.

THE BEAT CITY BEAUTIES: The Beauties have quickly become a must see on the Hartford circuit with their burlesque show. The Beauties make their "Hot In Hartford" debut as the first ever group entrant.

DENNIS HOUSE: Host of Face The State, a Channel 3 News anchor and blog author, Mr. House is a long time Hartford booster and resident and a supporter of Hartford hockey. With a resume like that, you don't even need to invite us on your tv show to make "Hot In Hartford." But you certainly can if you'd like!

THE RUSSIAN LADY: A longtime staple of Hartford's downtown, The Russian Lady got quite a makeover and made a triumphant return to Hartford in 2011.

CHION WOLF: Recognized by many as "the voice of WNPR." Ms. Wolf also helps produce The Colin McEnroe show and is a talented photographer. The up and coming Ms. Wolf makes her first appearance in "Hot In Hartford."

THE HARTFORD-NEW BRITAIN BUSWAY: One of the more interesting examples of government spending on record, the Hartford-New Britain busway is going to happen and generated a lot of conversation in 2011.

CRAIG THE PORN STAR: Evening host at legendary Hartford rock station WCCC, Craig and WCCC are always promoting Hartford. Craig makes his second "Hot In Hartford" appearance.

RICK GREEN: Author of CT Confidential at The Hartford Courant, Mr. Green's column is a great source of Hartford and CT news. This is his first appearance in "Hot In Hartford."

JOHNNY SPIGOT: Legendary bartender at the legendary Hartford bar, the always unbiased Sad City staff is able to overlook his Yankee fandom. This is his first appearance in "Hot In Hartford."

That's it folks, your "2012 Hot In Hartford" field! Leave your favorites, dark horses, underdogs, and who got slighted by not making the field in the comments. Voting will start next week!

That's Totally Radical Dude

2012-01-04T20:08:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since we featured a Hartford Houses Of Worship post. We saw that there are many Hartford Houses Of Worship that are really cool to look at from the outside, but staying in touch with our New England purtitanical roots, the great majority of them are very plain and ordinary looking. It also is very rare that it's the name of a House Of Worship that catches our attention, but his sign really stood out. Found in a generic office building on Farmington Ave, this seemed like an appropriate post the day after hardcore Christian Michelle Bachmann dropped out of the Presidential race.

We don't know what goes on in a Radical For Christ Ministries service. Except for that whole tax exemption, it isn't any of our business either. We aren't going to speculate on what might go on, and we aren't going to attend and pass judgement, but what we are willing to do is bet that whatever it is that does go on in the Radical For Christ Ministries, it almost certainly isn't boring. It is probably closer to radical dude!

"Snoop We Got News...."

2012-01-04T07:23:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of www.hiphop.popcrunch.com

"Your girl was trickin' while you was draped in your county blues." Wait, wait, wait a minute. Wrong Snoop. We meant to refer to America's third most famous Snoop, Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, famous as a cold-blooded assassin from the greatest tv show ever made, The Wire. While this blog is primarily about Hartford, it was in no small part inspired by an attempt to write a Wire inspired script based on Hartford. In fact The Wire has probably been mentioned more than anything on this blog outside of pay phones and Mexican food.

We were excited to learn from The Hartford Courant that Snoop Pearson will be appearing at The Wadsworth Thursday, January 5th at 8PM to sign copies of her autobiography Grace After Midnight. If you aren't familiar, it would be a worthwhile read as she has quite the story.

Snoop appears in the upcoming film Diamond Ruff which shot scenes in Hartford a few months back. Diamond Ruff writer Joe Young will also be at The Wadsworth on Thursday when The Wadsworth will screen a trailer of Diamond Ruff along with two episodes of The Wire.

While we think the after discussion with the museum crowd might be possibly the only way to diminish a viewing of The Wire, it should still be a very cool and very worthwhile outing. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, free to members. More info at http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org.

While we don't know what episodes The Wadsworth plans to air, Jumper and Hakaan did happen to have a late night Christmas Eve conversation about the five best scenes in The Wire. Easily making the list was this Snoop scene that opened up season four. (Language NSFW)

The Weekly Whale

2012-01-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

First things first, congratulations to Whale star Kris Newbury for being named AHL Player Of The Week for the week ending January 1. The Whale leading scorer, Newbury was sensational last week with eight points in four games as the Whale continued their hot play and increased their Northeast Division lead to seven points over Adirondack.

Since the last Weekly Whale, the Whale have continued their stellar play at the XL Center and a little bit of shakiness on the road. The week started with a 3-2 loss to I-95 rivals the Bridgeport Tigers on Monday. Tuesday the Whale returned home the next night to face Albany in a pivotal divisional battle. With a special deal for students the XL Center was really rocking before one of the biggest crowds of the season on Tuesday.

After jumping to an early lead, the Whale got themselves in trouble by taking a ton of penalties. While they did surrender a goal on a lengthy 5 on 3, giving up only one goal was a successful effort given the magnitude and length of the penalty kill and the Whale ended up with a 3-2 victory.

On Friday the Whale traveled to the curiously spelled city of Worcester where their road struggles continued as they lost a tight match to the Sharks 4-3. More fun was to be had Saturday.

New Years Eve was quite the day for Hartford and the XL Center as not only were the Whale back home in Hartford for a special five o'clock start time, but the UConn men played a game at the XL Center at noon. While it's commonplace for hockey/basketball games to happen on back to back nights, the same day turnover with just a couple hours in between is quite a feat. Check out this awesome video of a dedicated XL Center staff changing the venue from basketball to ice hockey in just a couple of hours.

A huge home crowd packed the XL Center at night to celebrate the holidays in a battle against I-91 rivals Springfield. While the Falcons took a 2-1 lead into the locker room after the first period, the Whale really poured it on and dominated the rest of the game to take a 5-2 victory and start New Years Eve off right for the XL Center faithful.

Big news was made New Years Day as it was announced that the Rangers had waived sometime star/all the time aggravator Sean Avery and it appeared that he would be returning to the Whale. Avery officially returned to the lineup on Monday to center a line with Ryan Bourque and Aaron Voros as the Whale traveled to Portland, Maine to take on the Pirates.

The Whale had a 2-0 lead after the first period and a 3-1 lead after the second, but penalties bit them again as Whale defenders were tasked with killing a 5 on 3 at the end of the game and gave up the tying goal to end regulation at 4-4. Portland scored in the overtime period for the victory as the Whale road struggles continue.

The Whale are still comfortably in first and playing awesome at the XL Center. This week sees them travel to face the defending Calder champions Binghamton on Friday and return home Saturday to to continue the I-91 rivalry with Springfield. Get tickets and caught up with all Whale news at their official site. See you there!

The Scariest Mattress Colony

2011-12-30T20:49:00.000-05:00

While we have long featured mattress colonies on Sad City, this one seems more suited to Halloween rather than the Christmas season. Since it's the final mattress of 2011 you could also consider this monstrosity the "boss" mattress colony. Found after dark on Babcock Street, this partially shredded mattress colony looks like it is eating itself. Perhaps the mattress colony is trying to fortify itself as Mayor Segarra gets ready to introduce a plan to rid the city of its mattress problem.

Whatever might have been going on, the two young gentleman hanging out on the sidewalk sure seemed befuddled as to why someone would stop a car to take pictures of a pile of mattresses as night. "Just some official mattress business folks, nothing to see here." "Just let us knock of the 2011 boss mattress, save the princess, and make our way to level 2012." This Christmastime mattress colony is the most insidious looking mattress colony we have come across to date.

Sad City Hartford Comic: The Reverse Flasher

2011-12-29T06:37:00.000-05:00

We're pleased to present a new comic strip here on Sad City Hartford, The Ongoing Mundane Adventures of Martin Martinczk. The comic strip is a bout the boring happenings of an insurance claims manager living in Hartford. This week's episode is about a "reverse flasher." What's a reverse flasher? You'll just have read the comic to find out, won't you?

Future episodes may or may not appear sporadically. Enjoy! (The full comic is after the jump.)

A Great Hartford Christmas Gift

2011-12-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

Unless you're watching a Lexus commercial, a good Christmas gift is a gift that has utility, nostalgia, surprise, or any combo of the above. Unless this is your first time to this blog you also know that Hartford was once home to the NHL and that Sad City are Hartford hockey boosters. What you might not know is that our little gem of a city once hosted an NHL All-Star Game. To be fair, we aren't fans of All-Star games in any sport, and tend to think of them to be wastes of time.

But way back in 1986, an era before every game, every highlight, every night, everything was readily available on television, the internet, and your phone; way, way back then, All-Star games did mean a good deal more.

On February 4, 1986, the NHL All-Star Game was held right here in Downtown Hartford. Those days were halcyon days for the NHL as two incredible dynasties were crossing. That night, in Hartford, at the height of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty, five of the six starters from the Campbell Conference were Oilers including a dude named Wayne Gretzky. Other players you may have heard of included; Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Andy Moog, (yup, the Oilers had two All-Star goalies,) Jari Kurri, Denis Savard, and Dale Hawerchuk.

Hakan Loob did not make the team.

The Wales Conference featured Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque (father of current Whale forward Ryan,) former Whaler Mark Howe, Mike Bossy, rivals Peter Stastny and Mats Naslund, and Whaler Sylvain Turgeon. For those not familiar; no amount of talent has ever graced the ice in Hartford before or since. And that is not even up for debate.

Our hometeam won this game on an overtime goal by Islander Bryan Trottier, assisted by his teammate Mike Bossy. With a string of four straight Stanley Cups just broken (seriously, I swear the Islanders won four straight Cups, look it up,) this was the last gasp of dominance from an Islanders Dynasty that had ceded their throne to the Oilers Dynasty.

So for Christmas I got these two coffee mugs. The 1986 NHL All-Star Game in Hartford. A total surprise and classic pieces that and reflect on the glory days of hockey in Hartford. In some ways 1986 and the NHL All-Star Game are so far away, and in some ways right around the corner.

But at least we can catch a lift to New Britain.

Pay Phone #37 - Grocery Store Edition

2011-12-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

We haven't featured a pay phone in our great Pay Phone Search in quite awhile and what would the Sad City holidays be without one? Pay Phone #37 is located outside the Stop & Shop on New Park Avenue. One thing you'll notice about living in Hartford is that grocery stores, or the lack thereof in downtown, is a topic of continuous hand-wringing in our fine city.

At this point we all realize the short lived, poorly executed, Market at Hartford 21 is not going to return. Yet we still don't think that Hartford is all that lacking in grocery stores. There's hardly anywhere you can live in Hartford and not be 10 minutes away from at least a grocery store.

For all the complaining about the lack of a grocery store in downtown, we can recall living in Boston's North End and there sure isn't a grocery store around there. At least in downtown Hartford it's somewhat feasible to own a car, try dealing with no car and no grocery store. In Los Angeles everything is twenty minutes away. We'd challenge anyone to pick an address in Hartford and not find a grocer within 20 minutes. Heck, you can even use the Sad City Guide To Grocery Stores. If it's really too much trouble, there's always Peapod to deliver.

Hartford is also a pretty small city and there are more than ample grocery stores right outside the city limits. We are also surrounded by Trader Joe's, Hall's Market, Bliss Market, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop and a pair of Whole Foods. It's not really all that hard to get groceries out here.

The Stop & Shop featured in this post is a fine all purpose grocery store right in the city that we imagine didn't require a sizable investment from the city. While Stop & Shop may not have the speciality foods found at Trader Joe's or the quality of meat found at Hall's or Bliss Markets, it is more than adequate for all basic grocery needs. They also have some of the better bagels in Hartford. Stop & Shop earns bonus points with us by paying homage to Hartford history with Hartford Pay Phone #37. You can even use it to call 411 and find out where to buy groceries.

BONUS: Non-working gold pay phone found inside Theaterworks. We're pretty sure we've seen this one outside on the sidewalk before. Sent in by reader/runner/classmate Colleen V.

The Weekly Whale

2011-12-26T10:01:00.001-05:00

Just as it's a slow week at the office for many last week, it was a slow week on the ice for the Whale who only skated once, taking the ice in Hartford against Adirondack on Wednesday night. With only one game during the week, the Whale made the most of it and once again gave the Hartford fans an exciting show en route to a 3-2 victory at the XL Center on a great goal by Pavel Valentenko with 16 seconds to play that thrilled the crowd and sent everyone home happy.

The victory extended the Whales lead in the Northeast Division to five points. The upcoming week is a big one for the Whale. Tonight they travel down I-95 to face Bridgeport and then return to Hartford tomorrow night for a crucial matchup with the second place Albany Devils. The Whale then travel to Worcester Friday night and return home for a 5PM New Years Eve tilt against the Springfield Falcons.

Tomorrow will be a great chance to see a first-second place matchup and a 5PM game on Saturday will be a great way to kick off New Years Eve. Highlights from Wednesday are below.

Return of the Sad City Hartford Yule Log

2011-12-24T07:42:00.001-05:00

Since it's December 24 today, we've gone up to the attic (the place where we store our old Wolf Pack merch and Hannukah decorations) and dusted off the Sad City Hartford Yule Log. Throw it up on your flatscreen, set it to loop and be mesmerized. Happy holidays, everyone.

Sad City Artford, Part 2

2011-12-22T22:25:00.001-05:00

Demon Perez, finger on iPad

There's good news and bad news about our proposed art exhibit. The good news is that apparently the aye's have it. An overwhelming 95% of readers surveyed are in favor of some sort of exhibition that documents the sad city experience in an artistic, most-likely post-modern fashion. That's the good news.

So what's the bad news? The bad news is that 100% of our readership recognizes that we are too unmotivated to pull it off alone. We're looking for help. Maybe some sort of local arts group would be up for helping us get our act together. (Cough, cough, Greater Hartford Arts Council, cough)

Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey. We're going to go back to our West End cave and continue to work on some sort of formal proposal. We'll report back in a few weeks. Until then, if you're an aspiring Hartford artist, feel free to shoot us emails of what you've got if you want to get in on the action.

Billy's Neon At Night

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

One of the best things about the Christmas season is the many displays of bright lights. Almost makes you wonder why we all just don't display colorful lights all year round. While Bushnell and Goodwin Park have excellent Christmas displays this year, Billy's Package Store is still the undisputed champion of Hartford lights.

The Billy's Package (Pack?) Store sign on New Park Ave is far and away the best neon sign in Hartford. Our last visit to Billy's sign came during the day and everyone knows you really have to see a neon sign at night to fully appreciate this majestic medium. While neon is not everyone's favorite, we are fans and wouldn't mind seeing more neon around town. Lots more. But, we agree with the Mayor, no casino please. If this tiny state is broke despite being home to two of the biggest casinos in the world, there really is no need for more.

Sad City's Guide To Holiday Shopping

2011-12-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Wait until the last minute to do your holiday shopping? Racking your brain to find the perfect gift for that person on your list who has everything? Well here comes Sad City to the rescue with our one stop shopping, one size fits all holiday gift guide. When you find the perfect gift you know it and that's why Sad City's Guide To Holiday Shopping starts and ends with one item.

When selecting the perfect holiday gift you want something that says "thoughtful" and speaks to the recipients individualism. These days it is a popular idea to get holiday gifts locally to support local products and businesses. Here again Sad City has found the sweet spot.

These classy, elegant, yet understated string of lights is sure to make your loved ones eyes well up with tears and tug at the heartstrings as the wrapping paper goes flying. One doesn't have to be Santa Claus to know that every boy and girl desires a string of lights in the shape of Miller Light cans this holiday season.

This gift really hits the mark for the civic minded too. Sold at our local Wal-Mart, this Miller Lite string of Lights gives you a chance to support one of the largest stores in Hartford. Heck, Wal-Mart is a lot better than the terrible housing projects it replaced right? Plus Miler Lite is sold in almost every package store within the city limits so this gift is a real show of support to local business.

Finally in these trying economic times, many will be looking for gifts that are durable and will stand the test of time. Made out of top grade plastic, you can be sure that this string of lights will be decking the halls for many Christmas seasons to come and is sure to become a family heirloom passed down through the generations. It's a winner on all fronts!

No need to thanks us folks. Just think of it as a little holiday gift from Sad City to yourself. May all your Christmases be white and all of your egg nogs spiked.

Sad City Travels: New Haven

2011-12-19T20:49:00.001-05:00

While we are on the topic of pizza, we would be remiss not to mention New Haven, our neighbor to the south. Those of us that are diehard Hartfordites probably find it tempting to hate New Haven. After all, New Haven gets the benefit of some advantages that Hartford doesn't, and some of those seem a little unfair. New Haven is the home to Yale University. While Hartford has it's share of excellent schools, none are Yale. When your city is home to a university that has a $19.4 billion endowment and has educated five U.S. Presidents, well, that's going to help out quite a bit.

New Haven is also located conveniently close to New York City. Being only a short train ride from the worlds financial center is also very beneficial to New Haven. Now Hartford can't move any closer to New York, but it would be nice to be connected to Metro North, but that's another story for another day.

Its not all roses for New Haven though as the city famously let the New Haven Coliseum become so outdated that it was eventually closed in 2002 and demolished in 2007. Today New Haven still has no major arena to draw acts. Certainly Hartford won't be repeating that mistake.

As many know New Haven is also famous for having perhaps the best pizza in the world. Whether one prefers Pepe's, Sally's, or Modern, everyone seems to have an opinion and everyone thinks their favorite is hands down the best pizza to be found. This is where Sad City has to make a confession. Despite living within an hour of all these amazing pizza places for most of our lives, we had somehow managed to never visit any of these world famous pizzerias. Disgraceful, we know. There is really no excuse at all. Well last month that was remedied as we finally visited Pepe's.

That evening Pepe's was out of their clam pizza so we settled for a margherita. It was great, no question about it. Was it the best pizza in the world? No idea. We still haven't tried Sally's or Modern. But we will say it was just about the best pizza we have ever had, and there none of the close contenders are in Hartford. Sad City gives credit where credit is due, and New Haven has us on pizza.

We've also tried mashed potato and bacon pizza at BAR, a combination that seemed moronic when first suggested to us but turned out to be an awesome revelation. Seriously, bacon and mashed potato, who knew? Without a doubt, New Haven has some incredible pizza. No shame in losing to New Haven in that department, as the general consensus is they could put up their pizza against anyone.

Other Sad City favorites in New Haven include the Union League Cafe and Toad's Place, a legendary rock club where you actually want to pay the cover to see the bands play. New Haven is a very cool city and while lots of it's advantages over Hartford are due to sheer luck and geography, us Hartfordites shouldn't hate New Haven because of it's good fortune. Instead we should be happy to have a nice, similar sized city so close to visit and strive to make some of our own good fortune right here in Hartford. Let's just not take them on head to head in the pizza department.

Sad City's Guide To West End Pizza

2011-12-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

If there is one food in America that appeals to almost everyone across all ages, it's pizza. You'd be hard pressed to find a town, no matter how small, that didn't have at least one pizza place. Pizza also comes in a massive array of types, quality levels, sizes, and, often most importantly, toppings. While Hartford certainly doesn't have the pizza heritage of its sister city New Haven, it can certainly boast of its share of quality pizza joints. Seeing as how trying all of them, or anywhere even close to that would take forever, (not to mention drastic weight gain and the onset of diabetes) Sad City has decided to break down Hartford's pizza options by neighborhood.

First up is the West End. For purposes of the guide (and our health) we rated each place on a slice of cheese pizza. The rationale? Toppings really come down to a matter of personal preference and if a place can't get a simple slice of cheese right, it really can't be trusted to do toppings any better. So without further ado another Sad City Guide, this one to West End Pizza.

Ed. Note: Pizza was scored on a scale of 1 to 6 beers. Score was based on quality of pizza only! Other factors are listed for reference.

SGT. PEPPERONI
Cost of Slice $2.00
Address: 498 Farmington
Large Pie: $16 (20'')
Delivery: Yes
Hours: Sat-Sun 11am-2am
Pizza: 5 Beers

This is some really good pizza. A nice thin crust pie with the right amount of sauce and cheese. Plenty of seating inside and some really cool posters decorating the wall. The highlight poster is, of couse, the iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. A really good spot and one of the best pizzas in the area. If there is any downside, the website is almost comically bad, featuring about 2/3 of a page of the menu.

CITY PIZZA
Cost of Slice $2.00
Address: 498 Farmington
Large Pie: $12 (16'')
Delivery: Yes
Hours: M,Tu,W: 11am-12am Th: 11am-2am F-Sa: 11am-3am Su: 12p-11p
Pizza: 3 Beers

While we got a very solid slice, there was way too much sauce on the slice and it caused the cheese to partially slide off. There were also a little too much cheese and despite loving cheese, too much can just gum up the taste of a pizza. City Pizza is a solid option.

BONUS: City Pizza Fun Fact: When you call City Pizza a recording starts off by telling you that "this call can be recorded for training purposes." Now, it is very common to hear that recording anytime you go through the hell of calling customer service of a big company, but a small pizza shop? Sad City thinks that this has to be in retaliation to a barrage of prank calls. Has to be right? Training? C'mon.

The audio on these calls are NSFW and contain adult language. If that offends you, just skip them. But they are really, really funny.

SOUTH WHITNEY PIZZA
Cost of Slice $2.00
Address: 264 South Whitney
Large Pie: $12 (?'')
Delivery: Yes, also will deliver cigarettes and Phillies. Party on Hartford!
Hours: M-TH: 10am-11:30pm F-Sa: 10am-2:30am Su: 11a-11:30p
Pizza: 3 Beers

South Whitney just underwent a very nice renovation that gave the place a complete facelift. South Whitney has fresh new decor and seating and a cool bar area on one side. We were pleased to see an open kitchen. There is no doubt that we feel better about ordering take out from a nice clean place with a kitchen the customers can see inside than some place with peeling paint where you can only glimpse the corner of a dirty looking stove in the back. We could assume this encourages good food handling, cleanliness, and fresh ingredients but then again Taco Bell lets drive through customers see right into the kitchen and has no compunction whatsoever about dispensing most of the ingredients of a chalupa through a caulk gun, so who are we to know anything?

South Whitney actually cuts their "slice" into two slices, which is helpful if you are eating while walking or driving. (Ed. Note: If you insist on eating and driving, please until you are sitting at a light on Farmington to take your bites, you'll have ample opportunity. Safety first!)

It's a good, solid slice of cheese. There was just a tad too much grease but not a bad slice at all. The rest of the food we saw and the menu looked very appetizing and we wouldn't mind hanging out at the bar and giving more a try, but this guide is strictly based on a slice of cheese. Another solid option.

SISSON AVE PIZZA
Cost of Slice $2.50 + 50 cent surcharge if you use a credit or debit card on an order under $10.
Address: 479 Farmington
Large Pie: $12 (16'')
Delivery: Yes, also will deliver cigarettes and phillies. Party on Hartford!
Hours: M-TH: 10am-11:30pm F-Sa: 10am-2:30am Su: 11a-11:30p
Pizza: 3.5 Beers

There always seems to be some sort of confusion going on at Sisson Pizza. First it took us four tries to actually get a slice. Four tries? The first time we tried was on the night of Snowtober. Sisson Ave was open that evening but they weren't doing slices. That's fine, we'll give them a pass on that, you have to figure they were getting bombarded with delivery orders that night, so a total pass. The next time we went they had apparently just opened and had no slices available. Ok. Don't see what it takes to start a cheese pizza, but maybe they had opened five minutes before we got there. On the third trip we had no cash and were annoyed by the service charge so we passed.

On the fourth try we finally got our slice of cheese. For all the irritation that went into getting a slice at Sisson Pizza, they do make a pretty solid pizza. Really big slices too. Curiously, while they are located on Farmington Ave, Sisson pizza seems to think they are located on Framington Ave. It happens.

A-1 PIZZA

Cost of Slice $2.50
Address: 274 Farmington
Large Pie: $11.45 (16'')
Delivery: Yes, $1 delivery charge
Hours: M-SU: 11am-11pm
Pizza: 2 Beers

When we got to A-1 we stood at the counter for a solid five minutes before any of the four employees acknowledged us. When we got our slice, well it was big. It was also greasy and the cheese was a little burnt. It wasn't terrible, but A-1 Pizza should be your plan B or C.

PIZZA HUT & DOMINOS

Cost of Slice: Who cares.
Address: In the Taco Bell and the plaza across the street.
Large Pie: Will make you sick.
Delivery: Doesn't matter
Hours: Open very late.
Pizza: 0 beers

We have been subjected to Pizza Hut and Domino's two or three times in our lives. It's gross.

BONUS: Vegas Blvd. has awesome, awesome pizza. You will have to order a whole one and they don't always make pizza. Not too mention it can be tricky to figure out when Vegas Blvd is open. But if you get a chance, the pizza is excellent.

The Weekly Whale

2011-12-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

The Whale had a decent week with one win, one loss, and one overtime loss, and extended their division lead to 4 points. The week started on Sunday with 3-2 a loss in the second half of a home and home series at Providence. The Whale returned home to face I-95 rivals Bridgeport Friday and scored a spirited 6-3 victory. It was a tough game and featured fisticuffs a mere 28 seconds into the game and 8 goals in the first two periods. Saturday night saw the rival Bruins return to the XL Center.

In front of a very healthy crowd the Whale managed to have a 1-0 lead despite being outplayed until goalie Chad Johnson shot himself in the foot by misplaying a puck and handing Providence the tying goal. The overtime period was very exciting and even featured a penalty shot by Jordan Owens for the win with 15 seconds to play. The Providence goalie was able to stop Owens and some other good Whale attempts in the overtime to send the game to a shootout. Providence then prevailed 2-0 in the shootout sending the crowd home a bit disappointed despite the exciting game.

With the Christmas holiday next weekend it's a slow week for the Whale with the only game on Wednesday night against the Phantoms at the XL Center.

The Legend of Doc Ellis

2011-12-17T11:07:00.003-05:00

In all the excitement of last week, we neglected to mention that we reached our 500th post. To commemorate this milestone we present you with this awesome rendering of the legend of Doc Ellis and the LSD no-hitter by No Mas. What is fact is that Doc Ellis did pitch a no-hitter on June 12, 1970. Ellis, who died in 2008, always maintained that he was high on LSD during the game.

Ellis said about the game;

"I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the (catcher's) glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters, and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes, I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. I started having a crazy idea in the fourth inning that Richard Nixon was the home plate umpire, and once I thought I was pitching a baseball to Jimi Hendrix, who to me was holding a guitar and swinging it over the plate. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn't hit hard and never reached me."

Sadly no known footage exists of the Ellis no-hitter. As amazing as it is in an era where everything on a baseball field is charted, catalogued, analyzed, and digitally available, it was commonplace in the era Ellis played for TV stations to tape over games and re-use the tape. Most experts believe this is what happened to the footage of the game. The Ellis no-hitter might be the most sought after tape of a baseball game that might possibly exist somewhere.

That's Quite A Sleigh

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

We have to give this car owner credit for the Christmas spirit. We have to admit, it would be pretty cool if everyone drove around with a massive wreath on their grill and a candy cane on their antenna Christmas week. Not only would it be festive but it would have to cut down on road rage incidents right?

We could totally see 2006 Santa rocking this Excursion as his sleigh. Of course in today's post everything collapse, energy conscious society, 2011 Santa would have to rock a Prius as his sleigh. Sadly, that means smaller presents for everyone. It's a recession you know.

Sad City Artford

2011-12-15T05:48:00.001-05:00

Here's the idea...an art exhibit that features nothing but paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations that focus on Hartford mattresses and pay phones. The work would be created by either based in the city or with roots in the city. Our blog readers would serve as the jurors and curators of the show. Over the next few months we would run polls where you could vote on whether or not a piece was show-worthy.

Vote now. (NOTE: We couldn't figure out how to embed the stupid survey into the post. Sorry.)

Voting closes at 9 pm on Sunday. Expect to be spammed over Twitter as we whore for votes.

The Wall Street Journal?

2011-12-14T21:47:00.002-05:00

The Wall Street Journal? If you has suggested to us, even two days ago (never mind at our birth) that Sad City might even be read, never mind mentioned by a Wall Street Journal reporter...well, you would probably own a solid, albeit old, gas guzzling pickup truck. When we noticed someone named Shelly Banjo, labeled a Wall Street Journal reporter was following us in Twitter, our first reaction was "that name sounds made up." Then again you are reading someone who in the second week of Contracts class was asked what they thought of a case and replied "I thought the name Judge Learned Hand sounded made up." Academia was never exactly our forte.

Ms. Banjo was actually very real and we talked to her about a story she was doing on Mayor Segarra's new aggressive approach on improving the city. The article is here, but it's behind a paywall. As an addendum to her story Ms. Banjo added the blog post above where Sad City got mentioned. While we love the mention, there is an error in that I am the only creator of the blog. While he has certainly been the less active of the two, the fact of the matter is the blog wouldn't exist without the partnership with Jumper McKay. Jumper has without a doubt wrote some of the most amusing posts ever featured on Sad City.

Anyway. We are humbled, super stoked, and hope readers new and old keep enjoying our work and enjoying our city from both near and far. Thanks to all who take the time to read.

Also the very best of luck to The Second District. Sad City lore will tell you this blog was totally inspired by The Wire, so if you guys can pull off a show of that ilk, anything even close to that...awesome.

Readers new and old might like:

Our adventures Urban Kayaking with Hartford's hidden river.

An Overpass Love Story

Hartford Guides

We Tweet pretty randomly too.

Oh yeah, now that we've made a NYC paper we probably need a driver for our power lunches. Apply within. Working for peanuts is all good and fine, but I can show you a better time.

More Of Hartford By Phil Lohman

2011-12-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

Without question the coolest thing about doing Sad City is the people we've met through the blog. When we featured a simply awesome cartoon map of Hartford by Phil Lohman the Courant put out in 1989, we got an email from our good friend Steve Goode from the Courant, who told us that Mr. Lohman had done some other Hartford maps over the years. Well we then got to digging up Mr. Lohman's email address. The next day we had a response with an invitation to call. After a few minutes on the phone we were on our way over to Mr. Lohman's house.

Mr. and Mrs. Lohman couldn't have been nicer. We chatted about Hartford, trading our memories and thoughts on the city in their kitchen. Mr. Lohman had laid out some pieces on his table which he then started telling me about. He started with the piece we had featured on a post entitled "The Lohman Map." Mr. Lohman let us know that he appreciated the name of the map but that it was never intended to be called "The Lohman Map." We explained that it was actually coined by WNPR's Colin McEnroe, who simply said "oh The Lohman Map" when Sad City friend Chion Wolfe told Colin that she had photographed a map for us.

Mr. Lohman then showed us the article that the map originated from and pointed out hidden secrets in the map where he had put his co workers', friends', wifes' and daughters' (also a blogger) initials in various spots throughout the city. While the map is pretty awesome just to explore on its own, it's downright incredible to check it out with the creator and his wife and have the map's secrets pointed out.

Ed. Note from Mr. Lohman: Done for a Courant Commentary editorial headlined, "Go With The Flow, Why Hartford Should Bring Back The Park River" written by editorial writer Daryl Perch in 2004, praising the value of the Park River. As you know, that final run of the river is buried under Bushnell Park and then under the Conland-Whitehead Highway that goes to I-91. This drawing projects how the unburied Park River might appear as an urban linear park connecting Downtown with the Colt area.

Yeah, that's a drawing of the famous Park River opened up. Damn, that looks unbelievable.

Mr. Lohman then showed us two more maps of Hartford he had done. The one pictured at the top of this post is in the same style of the other map but focuses more on just downtown. The map below was to reflect the new riverfront after the Adrian's Landing project. Both are extremely cool and feature the unmistakable style of the original map. Just a really awesome way to draw Hartford.

Finally, Mr. Lohman showed us a very cool drawing he did of the Center Church to commemorate it's 350th anniversary. The three of us chatted for a little while longer before we thanked Mr. and Mrs. Lohman and left. Amazingly, Mr. Lohman gave us a couple of his drawings to take home. Our collection of cool Hartford stuff just got a huge influx of awesome. Many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Lohman who were about as nice and welcoming a people as you could hope to meet. Sad City thanks you and wishes you both Happy Holidays.

Another El Mercado Gem

2011-12-11T22:04:00.001-05:00

Last week when we wrote about our travels to Philly and the awesomeness of the Reading Terminal Market, we opined that every city should be so lucky to have such an incredible market. While it has been well documented that Sad City is a huge fan of El Mercado on Park Street, we aren't going to get all Hartford cheerleader silly and claim that El Mercado is anywhere on par with the Reading Terminal Market, but it's adding more great restaurants and is really a great place to get Latino food.

While most of our dining at El Mercado has been at the Mexican restaurant with the occasional stop at the Dominican restaurant, we had noticed that El Mercado has added a Peruvian and Columbian restaurant. This weekend we tried out the fairly new Peruvian restaurant Autentico Sabor Peruano (Authentic Peruvian Flavor). It's an impressive and varied menu but one item in particular made our decision a no-brainer; ceviche.

For those not familiar, ceviche is raw fish marinated in lime juice. It's probably not for everyone and there are plenty of other cooked dishes on the menu, but at Sad City, we almost universally believe that if it came out of the water, it should be served as close to raw as possible. If you like fish, the ceviche is a great choice. We ordered our ceviche with everything, fish, shrimp, and calamari. The heaping plate came out in about fifteen minutes with vegetables and a side that looked like beans but tasted more like nuts.

The ceviche was great. If we had one regret it was adding the shrimp and not just going with the straight fish ceviche. Shrimp cocktail is all well and good, but as far as seafood goes we tend to find shrimp to be a bit overrated. Overall it was a great dish and we love the fact that we can grab some ceviche for lunch right on Park Street. Entrees at Autentico Sabor Peruano run from $9 to $15 and all the food we saw come out was served with heaping servings of sides. In addition to ceviche there are a handful of different chicken and beef entrees. Autentico Sabor Peruano also delivers all over Hartford.

As a bonus to the afternoon we were met on our way out of El Mercado by some young ladies selling pastries to raise money for a women's shelter. For a mere $5 we got a tin full of delicious cream cheese filled pastries that we are snacking on as we type. We were told what they were called but we already forgot (aging man, aging). Whatever they are, they are good. Another great El Mercado journey. El Mercado is located at 704 Park on the corner of Babcock.

For Sad City's Guide To Mexican Food click here.

Book Review: Finding Fernanda

2011-12-11T15:30:00.001-05:00

Erin Siegal went to high school with Hakaan in the sleepy Connecticut suburbs just outside Hartford. While Hakaan went onto be fascinated by the modern American urban experience and write a silly, albeit somewhat successful blog about Hartford, Erin has gone onto become a proper journalist and author a book on child trafficking in Guatemala. These days she is working in Tijuana and probably seeing things that would make even the most hardened Hartfordite's eyes pop out.

We received Finding Fernanda about a month ago. It's kind of surreal to see the name of someone you grew up with on the cover of a real and proper book, but there it was. Very cool. We continued to get more impressed as we turned the pages.

Finding Fernanda is the non-fiction story of both a Guatemalan mother and an American women searching to find Fernanda, a young girl who was taken from her birth mother and put up for adoption. When a mid-western American family intends to adopt her and add Fernanda to their family, they fall in love with pictures and videos the adoption agency sends of Fernanda.. When they are suddenly told that Fernanda is no longer available to be adopted, the women who intended to adopt Fernanda is heartbroken and startes to starts to search for the child from the States. Eventually her path crosses with Fernanda's birth mother who has been searching for her daughter in Guatemala for over a year.

Finding Fernanda uses U.S. Embassy cables and exhaustive reporting to bring to the light the human trafficking aspect of the international adoption industry and the U.S. Embassy's awareness of the potential of stolen children being adopted into the U.S. from Guatemala. The story follows a U.S. adoption agency that cloaks itself in religion and deflects any suspicions from clients by telling them "it's God's plan" while profited handsomely from adoptions that are at the very least extremely questionable and more likely cases of human trafficking. Finding Fernanda shines a light on the most disturbing aspect of adoptions, children being stolen in the name of profits. Finding Fernanda is a must read for anyone who has been involved in adoption or is considering international adoption and an excellent read for anyone concerned about human rights and human trafficking. A remarkable job of reporting and storytelling.

Follow Erin Siegal on Twitter here.

Order Finding Fernanda on Amazon.

The Weekly Whale

2011-12-11T15:02:00.001-05:00

The Connecticut Whale are almost midway through the season and reside in first place in the Northeast Division with a three point lead over Adirondack. It wasn't a great week in the standings for the Whale as they went 1-2 losing to Binghamton Sunday, followed by a loss to Hershey Friday in a rematch of the Bourque Bowl. Saturday was a huge night for the Whale and Hartford hockey as the game against Providence was the first televised Hartford hockey game in years. A healthy and energetic crowd turned out to see the Whale prevail 3-0 over the rival Bruins in a chippy, physical game that was tied 0-0 going into the third period. While we didn't see any brawls in the stands that were guaranteed at Whalers-Bruins games in the old days, we did see a lot of the fans sporting Bruins gear getting lustily booed by the home crowd. It also was "teddy toss" night, a promotion in which fans bring teddy bears and toss them onto the ice when the Whale score their first goal. It's pretty surreal seeing hundreds of teddy bears flying through the air. A great night of hockey at the XL Center.

This week the Whale travel to Providence today to finish up the home and home series with the Bruins and then return home for the weekend with two more rivalry games as Bridgeport comes into town Friday and the Bruins return on Saturday. It should be another great weekend of hockey in Hartford.

The Travelers Tower

2011-12-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

The Travelers Tower is the most iconic building in the Hartford skyline. Even the Hindenburg flew by the tower to check it out. Built in 1919, the tower was the seventh tallest building in the world when it was constructed. The Travelers Tower was the first building outside of New York City to be over 500 feet tall and was for many years the tallest building in New England. At 527 feet tall, it is currently the second tallest building in Hartford, only City Place I at 535 feet is taller.

The Travelers is of course a historic insurance company having been founded in Hartford in 1864. The Travelers had many insurance industry firsts, including the first automobile, commercial airline, and space travel insurance policies. The red umbrella, one of which can be seen outside the building in downtown, is one of advertisings oldest logos having first been used in 1870.

While the Travelers Tower has been the work home of thousands of Hartford area residents over the decades, today it is the home of Amelia, a peregrine falcons who has nested outside the 21st floor since 1997. (She saw a real estate opportunity after the Whalers left town.) Amelia has had eight children while living at the Travelers Tower. You can learn out Amelia and try and get a glimpse on the live Falcon Cam at the Peregrine Watch website here.

A Sad Anniversary

2011-12-08T16:43:00.001-05:00

Today marks 31 years since John Lennon was murdered. His death was one of the greatest wastes of talent ever. While we aren't quite sure the message Yoko was sending by knitting blindfolded through this performance, John was really, really, really into her so we'll cut her some slack. Shine on John, shine on.

What Do We Think Of This?

2011-12-07T18:25:00.001-05:00

Last month Forbes put out this interesting migration map. The map measure not only the inbound and outbound migration of an area, but the inbound and outbound per capita income. A quick glance at the Hartford County map shows that the population has increased slightly since 2005. The stats also show that the outbound income is $2,500 higher per capita than the inbound income. What does that tell us? Well you can draw your own conclusions and read the analysis of four "experts" here. All we can tell is that, predictably, a lot of people go down to Florida, and it doesn't appear any Hartford County residents caught Palin Fever and relocated to Alaska.

Open House Today At Greater Hartford Welcome Center

2011-12-07T18:08:00.001-05:00

Can it be that bad if there's money for this billboard?

For those of us who don't wait for the last minute and simply order gifts off the internet, here's an idea that triples as a gift, support for the arts in our fine city, and a tax deduction! That's really a trifecta not found in many places. Today the Greater Hartford Arts Council will host a day-long festive holiday party to celebrate the Greater Hartford Welcome Center and the Let*s GO Arts! Holiday Promotion. During the open house morning visitors can dine on cookies and other snacks while afternoon visitors can enjoy some free wine and cheese. Seriously, how does anyone turn down free wine and cheese? We plan to be all over the havarati and brie so be sure to get there before we devour it all.

ABOUT THE LET*S GO ARTS! HOLIDAY PROMOTION

Those who donate $50 to the United Arts Campaign are automatically enrolled in the Let*s GO Arts! program, where they receive 2-for-1 tickets and discounted admission to plays, concerts, movies, and museums, 10%-20% off local area restaurants, discounted classes, local services, and more.

With the Let*s GO Arts! Holiday Promotion, current Let*s GO Arts! members can gift an additional membership to another for $25. Non-Let*s GO Arts! members can donate $50 and receive a membership, in addition to giving another $25 to share the membership with a friend. More information can be found here.

WHEN: TODAY, December 8, 10am-3pm; 4pm-7pm.

WHERE: Greater Hartford Arts Council, 100 Pearl Street, First Floor, Hartford, CT 06103.

EVENT: During the afternoon, visitors can enjoy free hot chocolate, cookies and other snacks. In the evening, a free light wine and cheese reception will be held. Throughout the day, attendees who donate and receive Let*s GO Arts! memberships can participate in a drawing where they can win gift certificates to restaurants like Salute and Black Eyed Sally’s, free tickets to performances at Hartford Stage, Harford Symphony Orchestra, and Ballet Theatre Company, and other holiday trinkets.

Beyond Thunderdome: A Pro's View

2011-12-06T23:36:00.001-05:00

Over the last year and a half or so we have explored the Hartford I-91 overpass a couple of times. First there was a solo journey on a hot summer day which ended with us being spooked by some sort of feral beast as we started to explore the underbelly of the overpass. The next time we visited the overpass we made a thorough investigation and ended up with some really cool pictures. That investigation lead to the a post about a Hartford Overpass Love Story, a post many have stated is the funniest post in the history of Sad City. Those posts piqued the interest of Robb Cyr, a professional photographer whose family had owned a house on McLean Street and he emailed us and asked about the location.

As is far too commonplace Mr. Cyr first asked about the safety and bringing a model and camera equipment to the area. We chuckled to ourselves and responded that as long as he wasn't planning on skulking about at 2 am around the overpass, we were sure that he would be fine. We also told him that it would be a great location and would love to see the results when he did the shoot. While we think we do some decent writing and photos here, we certainly aren't presumptive enough to think of ourselves as photographers or journalists (all of Hakaan and Jumper's photos on this site have been taken with a cell phone) and we were very interested in what a professional shoot would look like.

As we are always happy to promote the arts in Hartford, we told Mr. Cyr that we would be more than happy to showcase his photos, especially since he was showcasing a part of Hartford itself and that Sad City had inspired the work. The shoot did take some time to come together, but last night we finally got to see the results as Mr. Cyr sent us his shots. We think you will agree with us that they are very cool photos. We also got an email detailing his experience at the shoot.

"When I saw your original 2 blog posts I immediately thought this would be a great place for a location shoot. When I visited the overpass I was pleasantly surprised at how much legit use this bridge gets. During our shoot we had 3 joggers and 2 mountain bikers come through. I think this speaks to a lot of things in Hartford, Some areas and places might look a little precarious but If you take the time to carefully explore, you find that Hartford isn't ENTIRELY a sh*t storm of bullets and drugs. I hope these photos help people realize that if you visit some of the roads less traveled in the area you may find your new favorite spot. My aim with these photos was to have fun and introduce a little bit of friendliness to a structure that has a pretty rough appearance. I hope you and your readers enjoy."

Well as we wrote back to Mr. Cyr, he more or less summed up the entire purpose of this blog in that email. We are glad we inspired someone to get out there and check something out in town and it's even cooler that these photos were the result of the blog posts. If there is anything we try to get across on Sad City it is that there is a ton of interesting places to explore in the city that really have no danger whatsoever. This interesting coil of concrete and fencing included.

Now time for credit where credit is due. Photos by Robb Cyr. See more of his work on Facebook here or check out his website at www.robbcyr.com. All parties claim that the models real name is Serafine Clearwater (heck why not, we've seen Peerless Price play football and God Shammgod play basketball) and for booking she can be reached at Sendmoreparamedics@yahoo.com. Assistant on the shoot was Eliot Geller. Once again, thanks to all involved in the shoot and we're are glad Sad City was an inspiration!

For Sad City's photos on the trip through click here.

For the Overpass Love Story discovered by Sad City click here.

Also check out Sad City's Favorite Hartford Photos at CTPhotoJunkie here.

More photos from Mr. Cyr's shoot below.

Sad City Travels: Philly; Helen Ubinas Edition

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yes please!

A few weeks ago we visited Philadelphia. Just a few days later Sad City friend and former Hartford Courant columnist Helen Ubinas announced that she had relocated and was working in Philadelphia. Over the weekend Helen announced that she was making her first visit to our favorite part of Philly, the Reading ~~Street~~ Terminal Market. In our experience this is hands down, the best food market we have ever visited.

We saw some other stuff in Philly. We saw that Love sign, and the world's largest television at the Comcast headquarters. We checked out a Flyers-Maple Leafs game in which we were once again reminded that ice hockey is the world's greatest live sport and where we were momentarily transported back to 1999 as ex-Whaler Chris Pronger took a stick to the face and legendary Czech winger and mullet wearer Jaromir Jagr scored two goals. No we didn't run up the stairs to the Rocky statute and we weren't in town long enough to check out any museums. Yet nothing we saw, and we doubt nothing we missed could have topped the awesomeness of the Reading ~~Street~~ Terminal Market.

When we were told we were going to a food market we weren't sure what to expect. Having lived next to Quincy Market for years, we are aware that some of these markets are little more than glorified food courts. The Reading ~~Street~~ Terminal Market is better described as a glorious food court. There are so many options, it would take weeks, if not months to sample everything. We ended up with an awesome roast pork sandwich with some incredible sharp provolone. We followed that up with some fresh squeezed lemonade and a piece of baklava. It was one of those times when we wished we could just keep eating and eating. In addition to the plethora of places to grab lunch, there were areas to buy produce, meats, fish, groceries, and other household good. A resident could get almost anything they needed at the market and have dozens and dozens of great lunch options to choose from.

A market like this is an awesome addition to any city. The amount and variety of great food available at the Reading ~~Street~~ Terminal Market is simply mind blowing. Our favorite part of Philly. Good luck to our friend Helen Ubinas in her new city and we certainly hope she enjoys the market. Returning to it will be on top of our list next time we are in town.

How Loud Is Too Loud?

2011-12-04T19:46:00.001-05:00

Except for the extraordinarily wealthy, living in an urban environment means living in close proximity to others. It also means you have to tolerate others and at times curb your own behavior for the benefit of your neighbors. One thing that can be tricky in the urban environment is determining the appropriate volume level at which to play music. While we all love playing our favorite music at a healthy volume, we have to remember that our favorite music isn't necessarily our neighbors favorite music and even if it happened to be, our neighbors might not be in the mood to hear it at the moment.

It can be a tricky dichotomy especially when alcohol is involved. Our crack research staff has determined that as the amount of alcohol consumed increases, so does the volume level that one judges to be appropriate. The type of music also effects the volume level. In the example above the band Motley Crue is being played. It's hard to play a band like Motley Crue at a low level. So city dwellers what do you think? How do you determine how loud to play your music? Is the music above at an appropriate level? Sad City yearns for your knowledge.

On Bended Tree

2011-12-02T09:14:00.001-05:00

The October snowstorm gaves us many headaches and some unbelievable sights. Now, over a month removed from the storm, there are still remnants of the damage around town. One of the more interesting things we've seen as a result of the storm are trees bent in seemingly impossible positions. This tree is bent over Sad City's favorite, the Park River.

This tree is on White Street. We wish the area around it would get pruned so we could really take in this amazing white birch that's bent at an almost ninety degree angle.

Hartford Business: Del Norte Grocer

2011-12-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

When we were going into the Pan De Oro chip factory a couple weeks ago, we noticed what appeared to be a Mexican Grocer at the end of the industrial park Pan De Oro is located in. Being in an industrial park, we first guessed it was a restaurant supply type store, selling products in bulk. After all, an industrial park next to train tracks didn't seem like the place where one would find a small grocer.

After our visit to Pan De Oro we watched a train chug past as we stood about 15 feet away and then stopped in to Del Norte and found, much to our surprise, that it is in fact a small Mexican grocer. While chatting with the owner, we learned that the shop has been in business about three years. A small shop, the grocer has a small deli case of meats, a good produce selection, and a lot of imported groceries. While we love Mexican food, we passed on the pork rinds and container of rendered pork fat.

When we did go to purchase a jar of mole sauce the owner told us that if we wanted some authentic mole sauce we should try the other kind located in the cooler that contained other sauces and seasoned pork. We took him up on the advice, and when we later prepared the mole sauce with a chicken leg quarter and brown rice, we were glad we had listened.

If you're looking to make some Mexican, Del Norte is worth checking out. The address is 3468 Main Street. The shop is located far off the street, basically when you see a red brick complex and the street numbers are close, pull in. Of course while you are shopping at Del Norte, you might as well pop in and visit their neighbor and our friends over at Pan De Oro for some great local chips.

The Beat City Beauties Hit The Liquid Lounge

2011-11-29T14:03:00.001-05:00

Over the last year Liquid Lounge at the CT Science Center has quickly became one of the must attend events on the Hartford social calendar. Liquid Longe returns Friday, December 2, highlighted by the Beat City Beauties who are well on there way to establishing themselves as a must see event on the Hartford circuit. The Beauties are a burlesque dance troupe with six members: Maddy Hatter, Buns Anderson, Patty Cake, Victoria Van Layer, Glam Chop, Anna Tainment and Leena Colada. The group has been performing for about a year but came into the conscious of many in the area through this excellent Hartford Courant article by Bettina Hansen in late October. It's a great piece of work and we aren't going to pretend we can do any better.

We did get the chance to do is to visit the Beat City Beauties during a rehearsal for the show at the Liquid Lounge. The show is going to be a vaudeville type show featuring a strongman (we believe the strongman to have trained as a wrestler as we heard him tell a Beauty while setting up for a suplex that "Killer Kowalski taught me this.") Seeing a very, very large man having acrobatic moves be performed on and around him by much smaller women is quite a sight. No doubt it should be something to see Friday at Liquid Lounge.

While we it was fun to watch the Beauties rehearse with the strongman, we did have a couple nervous moments on some of their more daring moves where we thought we might be witness to an unfortunate Beauty taking a vicious fall, but luckily such a scene was averted.

During a break from rehearsal we sat down to chat and have a clementine with the Beauties. Currently at six, there has been a somewhat revolving cast and the group performs once a month. Some have a dancing and/or cheerleading background while others have no similar experience. We aren't quite sure if tattoos are a prerequisite to membership in the troupe, but it appears possible. We also aren't sure if they intend to take up the Sad City suggestions to go "full on vaudeville" by incorporating midgets and fire eaters into the show, the whole group was friendly and outgoing and all were a pleasure to meet.

Sadly, the Friday show won't feature the usual Beat City Beauty attire of thongs and pasties, as despite being a 21+ event, the museum event planners were worried about how some of the board members might react to such attire. A museum censoring thongs and pasties? Well we certainly can't exactly endorse that decision, but nonetheless, we can assure you Liquid Lounge will be fun and the Beauties will put on a great show. Liquid Lounge is at the Science Center December 2, from 6-10PM. The event is 21+ tickets can be bought at the door for $15 or $10 before the event at the Science Center website.

For more on the Beat City Beauties Bettina Hansens' article that was referenced above is a must read. Bettina's photos of the Beauties are also a must see. Check out the Beat City Beauties website here and be sure to "Like" them on Facebook here. Also check out this video of the rehearsal we attended.

Reflection on The Wire

2011-11-29T06:07:00.001-05:00

Illustration from the 19th Century novel that HBO's The Wire was based upon.

Last night, a friend mentioned that she had episode one of season one of The Wire ready and she was finally ready to take the plunge. She asked what to expect. I told her the following:

"You want to know what to expect? Here's a prediction of what will happen. You're going to watch the first two or three episodes and you're going to think to yourself, 'What the hell was all the hype about? I'm confused and I don't know what the hell is going on.' Then some friend will convince you to stick with it and by episode 6, you're totally hooked. Like Bubs on a bender, you spend all of your free time watching episode after episode, season after season, consuming the show. You become desperate when your Netflix discs don't re-up fast enough. Eventually you get to the end and of the show and you become 'one of those people.' You talk about it constantly at parties. You emphasize things like the 'Dickensian Aspect.' You can't watch Boardwalk Empire without whistling the 'Farmer in the Dell.' Eventually you come to recognize that, just like all of those cultural blow-hards often say, it truly is the ultimate dramatization of the death of the American City. Enjoy!"

That goes for all of you out there in Sad City Hartford land, too.

Do you remember Jai-Alai in Hartford?

2011-11-28T08:59:00.001-05:00

Sad City Hartford favorite Gerry Brooks getting his Jai-Alai.

Does anyone out there remember Jai-Alai in Hartford? Hakaan and I were both way too young to ever go before it shut down, but we grew up fascinated with the cool, legal gambling in Connecticut before the casinos. I'm currently working on an upcoming creative project that draws on our city's Jai-Alai past and I would love to talk to people who got experience the joys of Hartford Jai-Alai. For those of you who have no clue about what I'm talking about, here's a quick historical refresher.

Imported to the United States from Spain, Jai-Alai is hard to describe. It's much better to watch.

The sport is now well beyond its glory days. It's rise and fall can most likely be linked to Mafia connections and the rise of Native American casinos in Connecticut.

Currently, all that is left are some devoted hardcore fans and empty buildings that dot the state. But now that Whitey Bulger has been found, maybe the sport can flourish again.

As we said before, we're currently working on a creative project about Jai-Alai in Hartford. If you or anyone you know has past connections to Jai-Alai or access to any of the current Jai-Alai buildings, please let us know.

Remember When It Snowed?

2011-11-27T10:53:00.001-05:00

When talking about the great weather yesterday we realized "remember it snowed a foot four weeks ago?" The weather in this part of the world is really pretty amazing. That reminded us of the Sad Snowman that reader Eric C. sent to us from Bushnell Park a few weeks back. Eric C. sent us apologies for the blurriness from his Blackberry (C'mon people, just get an Android or iPhone) but it is still worth noting that this picture was taken on November 3. Wasn't it was something like 70 degrees out yesterday? And winter hasn't even started yet. One of the great and maddening things about living in New England.

Sad City Comic Strip: The Bus To New Britain

2011-11-25T23:20:00.001-05:00

Thankful for Mattress Disposal

2011-11-25T09:41:00.001-05:00

Sad City readers are no doubt familiar with the mattress problem that plagues the sidewalks of Hartford. While the Mayor has recently taken steps to combat the mattress problem, Sad City recently spotted a truck full of discarded mattresses making their way to their final resting spot off the Jennings Road exit. While we could not confirm whether or not these were Hartford mattresses, it is encouraging to see some going to meet their maker.

Face The State Looks at the XL Center Plan

2011-11-24T09:41:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy of courant.com

Last week, to much fanfare, Howard Baldwin unveiled his plan to upgrade the XL Center in downtown with the long term of attracting an NHL team. While we all love the idea of an NHL team coming back to Hartford, many question the viability of the plan. Even without an assurance of the NHL returning, Sad City supports the plan.

The XL Center is there, it is also old. As we see it there are three options: upgrade it, build a new stadium, or let it rot and die. Option three would leave Hartford without a downtown venue for events and a whole block in downtown empty and rotting. For us option three isn't an option. Here Sad City friend Dennis House interviews an economist that worked on the plan to upgrade the XL Center about the viability of the plan. Video analysis after the jump.

The Coliseum Club

2011-11-23T09:30:00.001-05:00

There is no place in Hartford that evokes as many memories for Sad City as the ~~Hartford Civic~~ XL Center. The long time home to the Hartford Whalers, Hartford Wolfpack, and now the CT Whale, there is no place in Hartford that we have visited as many times over as many years. For over a quarter century, just a few years before we started this blog, we have been enjoying ice hockey at the arena. Not a lot has changed inside the arena since Ron Francis, Mike Liut, and Kevin Dineen patrolled the ice for the Whalers. Sure patrons can't suck down cigarettes in the concourse between periods, but even the Whalers old banners and retired numbers still hang from the rafters.

One major change at the XL Center has been what is quite possible the best kept secret in Hartford: The Coliseum Club. The Coliseum Club is the XL Center's version of the upscale bar and dining areas now found in every major stadium in the country. These upscale lounges are really great ideas, it's awesome to have a place to grab a beer where you can stretch out and enjoy the game. At most stadiums access to these lounges is only permitted with purchase of a certain tier (i.e expensive) ticket. This can lead to some humorous and mind boggling sites. For instance when Sad City visited Citi Field last fall, we were able to score $90 face value tickets at a deeply discounted price (it's the Mets). While the lounge was very nice, it was a little bizarre seeing a family of four at a game with premium tickets, sitting down for a meal, and no one even facing the playing field. But then again like we said, it was a Mets game in September.

We aren't sure when the Coliseum Club opened. We were first clued into it by some friends early last season. The lounge is a great renovation to the building, open, clean, and elegant. While we haven't tried the food at the Coliseum Club, it has a full menu, and a great beer selection. The walls are decorated with action shots of events the venue has held over the years. There are great photos of not only ice hockey, but The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and others that have passed through our city. For those who just don't want to sit right at the bar or stand and watch the game, there is always ample seating for Coliseum Club patrons to enjoy. As we were told when we visited last Friday, "if it's open, feel free to grab a seat." Our group of five had no troubles finding five seats in a row. The best part? The Coliseum Club isn't a "premium tickets" only lounge. If you bought a ticket to the game, you can get into the lounge and stay there for as long or as little as you like.

The game we went to on a Friday night was one of those games that reminds you that ice hockey is by far the best sport to see live. For those who might wonder about watching the game from the rafters of the building here is another secret, there are no bad seats at a hockey game. The seats on top of the building give a whole different perspective and you can really see the plays developing. On this Friday, The Whale played a close game with the rival Bridgeport club and the match went into overtime tied. The game looked destined for a shootout until the Whale scored a scintillating goal on a break away to win with six seconds left in the overtime. Really a great night at the old XL Center. For those looking for a fun night on town we highly, highly recommend checking out the XL Center and The Coliseum Club lounge. If you've never seen live ice hockey, you won't regret it, it is the best live sport. While the Whale offer affordable prices and a great night out, who knows, maybe good attendance at the game could lead to the return of the NHL to Hartford.

The Whale host the rival Providence Bruins tonight. The next home game after that is the 29th against Hershey. Buy tickets at the box office or at 1-800-745-3000. It's a slam dunk value for a night out in town.

The Mezmerizing Carlos Food Dancers

2011-11-22T05:18:00.000-05:00

From time to time, we love to feature great dancing on Sad City Hartford. Earlier this week, we stumbled upon quite possibly the greatest dancing the city has ever seen…and it is all available on YouTube. And it's not just the dancing that's amazing. The video productions themselves are pretty mind blowing in their stripped down,authentic aesthetic. Sad City Hartford is pleased to introduce pielcanela75. She's like the D.A. Pennebaker of YouTube clips shot in off-brand grocery stores.

Pielcanela75's best work is a series of three short clips of dance contest held in the a Carlos Food on Albany Avenue.

The first video features a character named the Nutty Professor. The Professor show comes solid moves, but he gets a bit shy when he finds out that he is going to be featured on "YouTube.com."

The second video features the Cobra Woman.

The third and most glorious clip features Hutchinson. Looking like a 40-year-old version of Steve Urkel, Hutch has some serious moves.

The Lohman Map

2011-11-21T08:15:00.001-05:00

We've had our eye on this cartoon style map of Hartford by Phil Lohman for quite some time. We first saw it in the basement of one of our friends and was very happy to have the opportunity to acquire one a couple weeks ago. (Incidentally, this same map hangs in the Pan De Oro chip factory) It seems that the map was distributed by The Hartford Courant to celebrate 225 years in print. Since the map states that The Courant started "on a hard-operated press" in 1764, we did some hardcore number crunching and DNA analysis to date this map at 1989. It's a very cool and unique map and a glimpse at how Hartford was a generation ago. Huge thanks to Sad City friend Chion Wolf for taking the photo of this map for us. If you would like the full size jpeg, email us here.

What is Hartford's Vibe Score?

2011-11-20T08:28:00.001-05:00

MapQuest, best known for supplying hundreds of directions print outs that sat crumpled up in the back of my 1998 Saturn, recently released a new service called MapQuest Vibe. According to the press release:

"MapQuest Vibe (mqVibe) uses its patented search blended with social algorithms to generate real-time rankings of neighborhoods, hotspots and points-of-interest."

Roughly translated, this means a bunch of interns sit around a conference room, drink Natty Ice and throw darts at a map to determine the scores. The info is then distributed on their web site and iPhone app. The scale is 0-10. And yes, the North Meadows pulled a 0.9. They are not the city's lowest scoring neighborhood.

So how does Hartford stack up overall?

MapQuest claims that each score is generated by user data on MapQuest, user voting and external data. A score is then generated off the rankings of the following dimensions:

Popularity (They play an ongoing game of "F, marry, kill." This often results in conversations like, "OK, I F New York because it's New York. I marry Chicago because they make the best deep dish pizzas. I kill Charlotte because Charlotte deserves to die.")
Going out (e.g., best places to spend money.)
Burby-ness (How many national chains are around? The thicker the air is with the stink of Chili's Awesome Blossom grease, the higher the score.)
Edgy (Their web site says it means, "How likely an area has more gritty or colorful aspects of urban society in that neighborhood."
Walkability (Are the streets paved well enough to ensure a smooth ride in my motorized scooter? High score! By the way, am I fat because I'm in a scooter or am I in a scooter because I'm fat?")

While this makes sense in theory, Hartford's scores make very little sense.

OK, first off, we totally agree with giving Behind the Rocks a 0.8. For those not familiar, Behind the Rocks is that neighborhood between Walmart and Trinity that is a sea of public housing, crummy tract houses and forgotten mattresses. But the rest of the ranking are completely insane. First off, who calls Downtown "CSS Con?" Second, 9.5? Have they ever been Downtown and tried to score a decent sandwich on Sunday afternoon? To put this in perspective, Midtown West in Manhattan only scored a 9.1. Third, look at the map. How do they draw their borders? With crayons and a couple bottles of St. Ides?

As for other crazy mqVibe rankings:

The West End, an absolutely awesome place to live, only scored a 3.2. What? Was it too edgy?
Speaking of edgy, Frog Hollow (7.8) and Frog Hollow North (8.3) received some insanely high scores. We're big fans of both neighborhoods, but that seems a bit much.
At least they can recognize the North Meadows for the wasteland that it is.
As always, we can rely on Bridgeport to show us the bright side.

In conclusion, like I learned that time I tried to drive to Florida only using MapQuest printouts, while they might have a good general sense of things, you cannot trust MapQuest to get the details right.

Using Our Illusion

2011-11-19T06:43:00.001-05:00

The Gunners circa 1987. Image courtesy of www.100xr.com

Guns N Roses returns to Hartford for the first time since 2002 tonight to play the Comcast Theatre. While today all that remains of the legendary lineup is Axl Rose, Sad City is just old enough to remember GNR as the seminal group that blew the doors off the hair band genre with Appetite for Destruction and then followed that effort up with the awesome and over the top Use Your Illusion I & II.

That got us to thinking, what if Use Your Illusion had just been one single album? What songs would have made the cut? Since the pair of discs produced a lot of memorable songs, cutting it down to one disc would be quite a task, but that's what we are here for. Presenting the Sad City Use Your Illusion album.

I. Don't Cry: Classic song, classic video. Love when Slash drives the Mustang off the cliff while his lady is screaming at him. Then it goes into his solo and he chucks the guitar down, presumably onto the wreckage.

II. Live And Let Die: Great cover

III. November Rain: Probably the era's greatest rock ballad.

IV. Don't Damn Me: The album is going to need some straight forward hard rock tracks and this fits the bill.

V. Yesterdays: The most underrated GNR song.

VI. Locomotive: Love the whole sound of this one.

VII. You Could Be Mine: Another no brainer, smash mouth rock song. Also forever linked to T2, the greatest action flick of the era.

VIII. Civil War: It's a long and bizarre song, but it's a good one.

IX. Knockin' On Heaven's Door: Two cover songs seems like a lot, but like Live and Let Die, this is a great one.

X. The Garden: Good sound, plus the video has lots of urban blight.

XI: Double Talkin' Jive: Another good straight hard rock track.

XII: Back Off Bitch: Maybe the hardest rocking track on the whole list.

XIII: Bad Obsession: It's really, really catchy.

XIV: You Ain't The First: Unique and a nice addition.

XV: Right Next Door To Hell: Another great hard rock track.

Didn't Make The Cut

I. Dust N' Bones: Just doesn't resonate.

II. Perfect Crime: Too hectic. Doesn't have the right GNR feel.

III. Garden Of Eden: Just not as good as the others.

IV. Get In The Ring: Nah. What happened to Spin magazine anyway?

V. Shotgun Blues: Not a huge fan.

VI. So Fine: There's just no way a Duff song is getting on.

VII. My World: Terrible. It's like GNR's Revolution #9.

VIII. Pretty Tied Up: Not good enough.

IX: 14 Years: Still don't know what it's about.

X: Breakdown: Very, very close. Just missed.

XI: Estranged: Personally love this song, but there's (a) already enough slow songs and (b) already enough long songs. This music video boggles the mind at the time and given the state of the music industry, it is even more mind blowing today. How did the pitch to shoot this go?

"We are going to need to rent a barge and a helicopter to get a shot of Axl walking on deck alone and then a stunt double for a shot of him jumping off the barge."

"And how does this fit into the storyline?"

"It doesn't, in fact, there isn't a storyline at all."

"OK, SOLD!"

Welcome To The Jungle

2011-11-18T09:38:00.001-05:00

As an urban area Hartford isn't known for an abundance of wildlife. Yet this weekend Sad City went exploring in search of some Hartford wildlife and was able to spot and photograph the rare Hartford Urban Lion. Even more shocking is Sad City has evidence that this particular lion is gainfully employed by Clemens Place. During the time we observed the Hartford Urban Lion, the lion seemed not only docile, but friendly. While he gave this appearance outwardly, it could be a ploy to lure passing motorists into his lair. Sad City was sure to keep a safe distance from this rare and majestic creature during this very stunning photo shoot. More photos after the jump.

ESPN Talent Trashes Hartford

2011-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

Michele Beadle, ESPN personality and avid Green Bay Packers fan has issues with Hartford's trash problems...and surprisingly it has nothing to do with all of the available mattresses. For those not familiar, ESPN, the self-proclaimed world wide leader in sports, is located in Bristol, Connecticut, about 18 miles from Hartford. Beadle, whose talents are talking well on camera and being good looking, co-hosts an unbelievably unwatchable show, SportsNation, that airs on the network weekday afternoons.

If you haven't seen SportsNation and think we are being overly tough on the show, we urge you to tune in. We dare you to make it through 20 minutes. The set is so busy and slapdash it makes our eyeballs hurt, the format makes no sense whatsoever, the show tries too hard to integrate new technology like Twitter in an effort to be hip. It's one of those shows that when people see a rerun in ten years they are just going to shake their heads.

While the show uses Twitter, Ms. Beadle herself of course uses the micro blogging platform to interact with her fans. Twitter is really the final step in what we like to call "The Howard Stern Effect." With the success of The Howard Stern Show largely based on Mr. Sterns personality, for years writers and broadcasters have been trying to "show their personalities" with, at best, mixed success and occasional disaster. Twitter is an easy platform for everyone gets to show off their personalities. As you might expect, this often leads to disastrous, yet hilarious results. This leads us to Ms. Beadle's Twitter.

While we don't follow Ms. Beadle on Twitter, we were clued into this Monday post of hers proposing to change the city from Hartford to "Trashcan, CT." That's nice Michelle. Thanks.

First, her claim isn't all that believable, at the very least it's grossly exaggerated. We are certain we have spent much, much more time than Ms. Beadle cruising Hartford streets and we have never seen anything close to an entire street lined with trash and televisions. Trust us, we would have a handful of pictures of it. Unless...

We have a theory on this witty post that was tweeted at about 11 am on a Monday morning. What could have been going on Monday morning that would have a lot of trash and discarded televisions on the streets? Hmmmm.....maybe, just maybe, a little something called trash collection?

Ms. Beadle grew up in Texas as the daughter of a Valero executive (and we all know what great people energy company executives always are) so she's almost certainly totally in touch with the majority of Hartford residents and trash collection in a city. It is our theory that Ms. Beadle was driving through Hartford on a Monday morning before trash collection and did not understand the concept at all. Why would the daughter of an oil executive who works on-air at a major network need to know about the concept of inner-city trash collection?

While we assume Ms. Beadle probably didn't think twice about her tweet and was likely pretty desperate to think of something besides professional wrestling to tweet about and show off her personality. That said, she really should find some other way to do it than to take a piss on the capitol city of the state in which she got an unbelievable career opportunity in. Thanks Michelle!

Austin is Weird, Hartford is an Underdog

2011-11-16T05:37:00.000-05:00

(EDITOR'S NOTE: We're pleased to introduce "Travels in Other Sad Cities, new series on Sad City Hartford. Hakaan and Jumper have been on the road a lot lately so they are documenting their comings and goings. Don't worry...it will all still tie back to the homeland. Our first city will be the rather happy city of Austin, Texas.)

One of the coolest places to visit in the U.S. is Austin. While the majority of Texas can be a godawful place that's almost as bad as Arizona, within Austin city limits is pretty great. The country's best music, great food, a crazy bar scene that really only has one rule, it's hard to argue that Austin isn't one of the Top 5 cities in America.

One of the things that Hartford could stand to learn about from Austin is that Austin embraces who they are. Austin has an incredible amount of authenticity. They embrace their roots. They embrace the massive college that was dropped in the middle of town. They embrace their weirdness. Hell, their slogan is, "Keep Austin Weird." Austin is comfortable just being itself. One of my biggest issues with Hartford's efforts to brand itself is that it is trying too hard.

The consortium of business and civic organizations that have driven the rebranding process for the city have had the best intentions to drive people to Downtown Hartford, but the output has focused on what they think people want to hear - not who we actually are. We are the ultimate underdog city. People like underdogs. If we embrace that idea and let everything we do promote the city play off that character, I think we'll see a better result.

-----------

I first got to know Austin after my friend Jon passed away two years ago. Jon was a guy who lived with a ton of passion. He lived his entire life with an earnest honesty and infectious enthusiasm. Jon’s manner was always a breath of fresh air in a time of post-post-post modernism and people who walk around with irony oozing out of every single one of their pores.

Jon was also the kind of guy who brought people together. Every year friends of Jon's from around the country gather in Austin to hang out and celebrate him and all of the close friendships that he fueled. We got together again last weekend. The video below captures a bit of the spirit of the event.

Learn more about The Revival Fund, the charity that was started in Jon's memory.

Learn more about East Cameron Folkcore, the band that supplied the music for the video.

Inside The Pan De Oro Factory

2011-11-14T18:06:00.001-05:00

Visiting the Pan De Oro chip factory on Main Street was something that had been on the Sad City agenda for quite a while but for whatever reason took a a while to get around to. When we finally visited last week, it was a what took so long moment. We made our way to the factory thinking we'd grab a bag of tortillas, chomp some down and write about the chips.

The factory is located in an industrial area of North Main Street. We weren't even sure if we were walking in the right door. When we first saw Rick Stevens he asked if he could help us. "We are looking for some chips."

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that not only were we in the right place, but when buying chips out of the factory they cost only $1 a bag. Can't beat that deal. Rick then asked how we found out about Pan De Oro. When we replied Twitter, he asked "great, did I follow you back, i always try to do that?"

"Ummm, not sure, the account is Sad City Hartford."

"Oh ok! Would you like a tour of the factory?"

A tour of the factory? Yes, I think we would enjoy that very much.

Hair net on and inside the production area we witnessed how a tortilla chip gets made. It's pretty amazing to see the level of of thought and detail that goes into a production line making chips on this scale. There are machines, conveyers, tumblers, and other equipment everywhere. We were walked through the process of becoming a chip all the way to getting into the bag. This includes a machine that measures the chips to the ounce and then seals the same amount in each bag.

It's an impressive operation right in Hartford. There ~~had to be about 20~~ are 72 employees at Pan De Oro ~~working when we visited~~. We had no idea there was this sort of operation going on right in town, and it's probably a safe bet that we aren't the only ones.

After we finished our tour of the factory is was time to go home and find out what was really important, how do they taste? We had no complaints on our first taste of the Pan De Oro tortillas. Just the right thickness, crispiness, and saltiness.

For the next test we then decided to make some guacamole and see if the chips would break when loaded up. Once again the Pan De Oro chips passed the test, and be assured, we were really loading the guac on.

You can't go wrong with these chips, at the very least as good as other chips you will find in stores and at $1 a bag at the factory, they are a great deal and buying them supports a local Hartford business. Check out the Pan De Oro factory on 3478 Main Street. It's worth the trip. Sad City recommends.

Sad City Hartford Guide to Walmart

2011-11-13T20:47:00.000-05:00

Guess where this photo was taken.

People often make a big deal about the fact that big box stores homogenize our society and make everything the same. To a certain extent, it's true. They often bring a certain level of standardization to things. But as easily as you can identify the connecting threads like logos and signage that exist from store to store, there are often very telling divides that exist when you examine a single retailer with stores in several communities. Anyone who has ever flipped through pics on Wal-Creatures or wandered into a Walmart in Mississippi knows what I am talking about.

Although they are only 11 miles apart, the Hartford and Avon Walmarts might as well be run by different companies. The inconsistencies between the two stores can create a fascinating, consumerized lens that spotlights the differences between the two communities as a whole. Community wealth, ethnography, cultural preferences and societal issues all come to life when you juxtapose the two stores. To help you better make sweeping judgements and gross oversimplifications of the complex socio-economic forces at play in our great state, we've created a handy guide to help you understand the difference between the Avon and Hartford Walmarts. We're sure you could probably do the same thing if you looked at the respective school systems of the two communities, but that level of access is much harder to come by and the contrasts are far more bleak.

So without further ado, the Sad City Hartford Guide to Understanding Class Disparities Between Hartford and Avon by Examining Their Respective Walmarts.

The Parking Lot
Obviously the cars in that fill the parking lot of the Avon parking lot are different from the cars in Hartford. Beyond simple automobile value, the vibe is different. In Avon, Girl Scouts and their mothers sell cookies at folding tables with linens. Carriages are orderly stowed in the carriage return. Gardening supplies sit unsecured on the sidewalk. The loudest sound you will hear is a toddler throwing some sort of tantrum. In Hartford, a rent-a-cop cruises around the parking lot in a dented security car with flashing yellow lights. Bass from car steros vibrates in the background. Guys perform oil changes and other small car repairs in the far end of the lot. Dozens of carriages litter the lots and provide random obstacles as you try to park.


Hartford always has grape soda at the front of the store. That's messed up, right?

The Greeters
In Avon, the greeter is typically some good natured retired gentleman who took the job because he wants to remain active. In Hartford, the greeters don't so much as greet as they audit the receipt of each exiting, non-white customer. Seriously, watch what happens in that exit line. It's pretty messed up. Also messed up is the way the Hartford Walmart always seems to have large displays of grape and orange soda right as you walk into the store. I know that this touches on a very sensitive topic, but you would never see that same display set up at the Walmart in Avon.

Perhaps the source of Hartford's mattress problem

The Shelves
The shelves in the Avon Walmart are orderly, well stocked symbols of abundant supply and efficient management. The shelves in Hartford feel like they were organized by meth heads with ADD. The order is random. Half the shelves are inexplicably bare when others are piled sky high. Random boxes are everywhere.

Hartford Walmart apparently sells crumpled up boxes. Awesome.

The Crowds
Why the heck does it always seem like the Hartford Walmart always seems to have random children under the age of ten wandering the store after 9 p.m. on a school night? You know that kind of crap doesn't go do in Avon.

Specialty Products
Avon Walmart carries an abundant supply of t-shirts that features wolves, eagles and large-mouthed bass. Hartford Walmart has more than 62 varieties of Jesus and Mary candles. Nothing else needs to be said.

Check Out Lines
Other than the lack of order, the complete understaffing and the fact that a fist fight can go down at any minute the Hartford Walmart's check out line is very similar to the Avon Walmart's checkout line.

Avon checkout lines in all of their glory.

Experience the joys of the line at the Hartford Walmart.

Craig and Sad City Discuss October Snow

2011-11-12T12:44:00.001-05:00

Well it seems like everyone finally has their power back from the crazy October snowstorm. Sad City friend Craig timed the storm perfectly and was out of town for the duration. Sad City called into WCCC to update Craig on the fun he missed.

Click here to see Sad City's October snow photos at CT New Junkie.

Twain House for Free Tomorrow!

2011-11-11T14:44:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love Mark Twain and who doesn't love free stuff? Well tomorrow Hartford residents combine these two awesome things as the Mark Twain House is free to all Hartford residents thanks to a grant from The Hartford Financial Services. The Twain House will be open 9:30 to 5:30 and guests can check out a short film be Ken Burns and see the Steampunk exhibit that Sad City visited a couple weeks ago. Click here to check out other Sad City adventures with our friends and neighbors over at The Twain House.

Click here to read Sad City's amazing Mark Twain revelations!

Sad City Visits A Russian Bazaar

2011-11-10T18:49:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't need some nicely decorated wooden eggs?

Anytime we hear the word "bazaar" we are in. It just seems to add an aura of mystery and excitement that "swap meet" or "flea market" just don't convey. Bazaar just seems so exotic, even more so when it's a Russian Bazaar. So when we saw signs for the Russian Bazaar at a church on Scarborough Street, we knew it was a no-brainer Sad City visit.

While today the U.S. propaganda machine has its sights squarely set on the Islamic world, Sad City is just old enough to remember when the propaganda machine positioned Russia as the great enemy and threat to the American way of life. Behind the "Iron Curtain" the country was painted as cold and forbidding and a factory for producing elite, machine like hockey players and a terrible menacing boxer that fought our great upstart hero in Rocky IV. Meanwhile with the passage of time, the Russian military threat has subsided, the people are no longer looked upon as mysterious, some of their hockey players are good while some are not, and no one cares about boxing or Sylvester Stallone anymore.

While we had visions of dozens of booths hocking exotic and elaborate Russian wares, we were initially a little disappointed. There were only about a dozen tables and half were selling goods that weren't particularly unique or Russian. After a buying a raffle ticket to win a Keuring or a T.V. we ventured in and were happy to find some uniquely Russian tables.

The best part of the bazaar was the food. There were desserts and candy. We ate at the kitchen having a couple different varenikis (Russian pierogis) and a golubsty, a cabbage wrapped dish. All were excellent.

Browsing the other booths we saw jewelry, Russian Coca-Cola and Harley Davidson shirts, and dolls. There were also Russian breads, jams, and other prepared foods. We aren't normally big dessert eaters, but we couldn't leave without a piece of baklava. Baklava is just plain awesome. Sad City writers have been known to creep into sleeping peoples refrigerators to devour more baklava that we were allowed.

The atmosphere was neither cold not forbidding. The people were friendly and while we were disappointed that we didn't run into t.A.T.u or Pavel Bure or pick up any cool CCCP hockey jerseys, we did have some great food and saw some cool Russian stuff. And we got to visit a bazaar. A successful Sad City Hartford adventure.

Extra Winter Coats? Do some good

2011-11-10T17:14:00.001-05:00

Time to dig deep into the closet and drag out those old Raiders and LA Kings starter jackets and donate them to a good cause. Agave is downtown on 100 Allyn Street. Reward yourself with a nice margarita after your good deed. Check out this causes Facebook page here. Check out Sad City's Facebook page here and our Twitter page here.

Face The State Flashback: The Hartford Rams

2011-11-10T09:03:00.002-05:00

Pic courtesy of The Hartfordite

Face The State is an excellent local news program on Sundays at 11 AM on Channel 3. It is hosted by Sad City friend Dennis House. Heck, Hakaan even appeared on the show this summer. While Face The State is usually dedicated to current events, occasionally Dennis will use a segment to revisit a news topic of days past. A couple weeks ago he aired this great flashback (video after the jump) a news event that somehow, we at Sad City totally forgot about.

This clip is great for many reasons. First, when we say "1994" it doesn't seem all that long ago. Then when you get to thinking about it, boy, was that a long time ago. It seems like forever since L.A. had a football team. Second, how awesome is the clip of Bo Jackson when the Raiders are mentioned? Third, while today the idea of an NFL team coming to Hartford seems far fetched, this clip shows that this type of big thinking mentality for the city was alive not too long ago. With four to six NHL teams facing dire financial situations, it isn't a stretch to think that one day soon Hartford may have the opportunity to score another NHL franchise. Now wouldn't that be something?

Ed. Note: No word on whether if the Rams stadium had extended out to the Marlborough area they would have been renamed the RHAMs.