Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Fire & Spice


Tonight I'm feasting on leftovers from Fire & Spice Vegan Restaurant which I also enjoyed for lunch today.  The restaurant is primarily for takeout, a tiny little space on Sisson Avenue in Hartford formerly occupied by the short-lived and long-loved Kebra Negast.  Essentially, it's the same location, same decor, same owners, and nearly the same West Indian menu (but with less faux meats and more raw foods. . . and just as delicious).


Vegans on a budget should definitely make a point of dining here.  For a measley $7.95, you get a HUGE pile of as many of the offerings you can cram into one medium sized container.  I ordered two and chose the I-tal Stew (West Indian for "vital" and traditionally made with yams, cassava, okra, beans and spices), Red Beans and Rice (which had a nice coconutty undertone), Chana (curried chickpeas), Barbeque Tempeh (generally, I'm not a tempeh fan, but I always seem to love it when somebody else makes it, as was the case with theirs), Spiced Potatoes (again, a nice mellow coconut undertone), and Sauteed Kale and Greens.  This was more food than three of us could handle for lunch.


If you're planning a visit, let me know.  I definitely want to check it out again!

2 comments:

Elizabeth J said...

I love, love, love Indian food, and my husband and I are always up for it! We also do our best to eat lots of veggies at home, too. Wow, such a great price for all that yumminess- we have family up north there, we will definitely check this place out next time we come through!

mary said...

It really is one of Hartford's hidden gems, and worth checking out! But just to clarify, it's West Indian (i.e., Caribbean), which has some similar spices and flavors, but a cuisine all its own. Fortunately, there are also a couple of great options for Indian food nearby: India Oven on Park Rd. in West Hartford and Cosmos International on Farmington Ave. which is an Indian grocery store with a little takeout area in back. They make the best Masala Dosas! There's also a new Indian restaurant in Bloomfield called Naatiya which has vegan options on their menu - I have yet to try it but I've heard good things!