Jahm Ske's

My favorite Jamaican restaurant is Jahm Ske’s (pronounced Jam-skis) on Albany Avenue in the McDonald’s Plaza. 1291 Albany Avenue. Monday-SAT 6AM-12AM, Sunday 8 AM – 11PM
(860) 246-7778

They are the busiest and most consistently good place I have been to. I often order breakfast there. Recently I had akee and saltfish, which is the Jamaican national dish. Ackee is a yellow fruit that looks like scrambled eggs. It is sauteed with saltfish (cod), onions and peppers. Breakfasts traditionally come with boiled green banana, yam, and dumpling. This dish will cost $10. Expensive, but very good.



If you want a cheaper alternative, order okra and saltfish or cabbage and saltfish, which will cost you $6 for a small size. The meal, thanks to the boiled green banana, yam and dumpling is very filling and will keep you full for hours.

Jahm Ske is also great for lunch and dinner. Jahm Ske’s jerk is not too spicy. Those who don’t like spice at all should order stew chicken, which is just stewed slow cooked chicken. Their oxtails are also delicious and the gravy is fantastic.



If you are looking for something extreme, try the Goat's Head Soup available on Fridays. Goat's Head Soup is made from goat brains with some vegetables and maybe some dumpling thrown in. It is considered an aphrodisiac.

Jahm Ske doesn’t serve pork products.

Tastease Doughnuts

Tastease 70 New Park Avenue (860) 233-2235
Mini and Midi Doughnuts

If you like doughnuts, this hole-in-the-wall shop on New Park Avenue is the place. Tastease midi doughnuts (smaller than a regular doughnut, but bigger than a mini doughnut) are made fresh early every morning and hand-decorated by the husband and wife who own the place. In business for business for 8 years, they have 36 different varieties. They open at 7 on Tuesday through Friday and 8 on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday and Monday. While they are open until 3 each day, it is not unusual for them to sell out in an hour or less, particularly on Saturdays.

When I first went in, I asked for a half dozen, but, disoriented by the variety, I was completely unable to choose, so I finally said, just give me a dozen and you pick. Here’s what I got: pumpkin, apple with crème cheese, red velvet with raspberry crème, Oreo cookie, blueberry, orange juice, pancake, maple, lemon crème, swiss chocolate, and some others.

I usually don't even eat doughnuts. I was just going in to try the place because it was there. I ended up eating five in a matter of minutes and nine within the hour. They taste just like they are named. These are gourmet, filled with love and tender care, doughnuts. I tell people they are made by elves. The hardest part for me is deciding which one to eat. They taste so good, but they are so beautiful, I don’t want to destroy them; I just want to look at them and show them to people.



I am now a Johnny Appleseed of Tastee doughnuts. I buy a dozen or two (the doughnuts are put in pizza boxes) and I walk around handing them out to friends and strangers. I will leave a box in the EMS room of a hospital or at a nurse’s station. I will drop a dozen off to a friend with children. I’ll hand a box to the homeless men in the park across from the shelter. I feel like I am doing the world a good deed.

Midis are 50 cents each, a half dozen for $2.95, a baker’s dozen for $4.95. You can get one of each variety (called a 3-dozen gourmet platter) for $14.00. If you are worried about the doughnuts being sold out, you can call ahead the night before and put in an order that they will reserve for you.

You can also get breakfast sandwiches and minidoughts, which I haven’t tried yet, but they are always sold out by the time I get there.

Seashore Jamaican Restaurant

 

Seashore is on Garden Street just off Albany Avenue. It has excellent seafood soup and conk soup – great to have in the winter. It comes in a Styrofoam cup. Careful of inhaling little flakes of scotch bonnet pepper which give the soup a strong kick.

They have some excellent fish dishes (Jamaican’s love whole fried fish), but fish in general should be avoided when working on the ambulance as unless eaten quickly and disposed of, it can significantly stink up the ambulance. I go here quite reguarly. The service is fast, the food very good. It's location makes it very convinient to hit from Saint Francis.

Papa's Pizza

54 Union Place
Hartford
860-727-9930

Sunday to Thursday 6 AM-4 PM
Friday and Saturday Open ALL Night

Papa's Pizza is an all-purpose open most hours place for breakfast, sandwiches or pizza slices.  I buy breakfast there frequently.  It takes about five minutes for my order of bacon, potatoes and rye toast.

I used to eat here all the time when I worked nights.

Italian Gourmet Deli & Bakery

Italian Gourmet Deli & Bakery
15 Hartford Road
Newington, CT 06111

(860) 665-1467

Open Monday through Friday 7A-4P

This little gem is right on the Area 16 corner of Main and Stoddard. They have daily lunch specials for $8. You get an entre such as Swedish Meatballs, fresh carved turkey, meat and cheese lasanga, sheppard's pie, stuffed pork, and two sides. The menu changes daily. You can pick up a monthly calender listing the choices. They also have excellent homemade pizza for $2 a slice and deli sandwiches made with fresh baked bread. Very delicious food.

Here's the shepard's pie with a double side of green beans.



You also get a buttered fresh made Portugese roll. Here's roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy and mixed vegetables.

Julia's Restaurant

Julia's Restaurant
American and Brazilian Food
1631 Park Street
Hartford, CT
(860) 519-5293
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM Everyday

This is a small very interesting restaurant that you could drive by many times without knowing it was there. While they have a full menu, they also have a take-out buffet. It costs $8.50 for a full carton. When I went it, it appeared to be family run with the family possibly living upstairs. The grandmother came down the stairs (with a small child in tow) and served me. She showed me all the entres in the buffet and then shared out for me into a carton what I wanted. The buffet selection is small, but the food is homecooked and tastes it. I got white rice, chicken with yucca, stewed pork, linguine with shrimp, a fried plantain, and some cauliflower salad. It was well worth the price. But if you are interested in less food, I would try the Ben Brasil Buffet which is by the pound. If you want a larger selection try the Brazil Buffet and Pizza Grille, but if you want both a lot of food and a reasonable price, go to Julia's.

It is worth noting their hours. They are open everyday until 10 and also advertise breakfast.

Cisco’s American Breakfast and Mexican Cuisine

Cisco’s American Breakfast and Mexican Cuisine
254 Hartford Avenue
Newington, CT 06110
(860)666-0703

Mon-Thurs 5:30 AM – 3 PM
Friday 5:30 AM – 9 PM
Sat 7 AM – 9PM
Sun 7 AM – 3 PM

Cisco’s serves a traditional American breakfast and then authentic Mexican food for lunch and dinner. I ordered two soft shell tacos (chicken and pork) for $4.50 and got them within 3 minutes. They were very good. My partner got two hard shell tacos and they were homemade shells. They offer the full array of Mexican specialties: enchillads, burritos, tamales, fajitas, chile rellenos, gorditas, quesadillas, etc.

Ashley's Place

Ashley's Restaurant
221 Main Street
Hartford
(860) 247-8730
Open 6-3 7 Days a Week

This is a great cheap old fashioned breakfast place. I went in and got bacon, toast and home fries in about 4 minutes. Best bet is are you at at Hartford Hospital, call in your breakfast order, pick it, and then go available. The place is run by a tiny old lady who is extremely nice. The place is always crowded and has very friendly vibe to it. It is right next to the fire station. They do omlets, pankackes, etc.

Sophia's Breakfast and Lunch

Sophia’s Place is a little hole in the wall breakfast, lunch place in Newington that is home-cooking with a Central European flavor. I went in today and ordered stuffed cabbage with mashed potatoes. The cabbage is stuffed with some kind of meat and grain, and covered with a tomatoey sauce. The food was already cooked and just needed to be heated. It took three minutes. You know how some foods leave a taste in your mouth. I am still tasting this food two hours later, and it still tastes good. They also serve pierogies, meatloaf and meat blintzes. They have potato pancakes for breakfast, but I am not certain how long they take to make. The waitress was a pretty young girl with an Eastern European (? Polish accent), and I caught a glimpse of the older woman (Sophie) in the small kitchen. She smiled at me as she handed my order to the waitress.


I went back a few days later and had potato pancakes with apple sauce for breakfast. I left six minutes after I walked in. They were pretty good -- I have never had potato pancakes before -- but I probably wouldn't order them again.



Sophia's Place
134 Market Square
Newington, CT 06111
Open 6:00 A.M. till 5:00 PM
Tuesday through Sunday
(860) 666-1942

Mr. Snapper's Restaurant

1450 Albany Avenue, Hartford
Phone (860) 241-0619

Mr. Snapper’s Restaurant on Albany Avenue sells small porridge for $2.50 and fried dumpling for 60 cents. This small meal will keep you full until lunch time. The porridge is smooth, tasteful and has a hint of cinnamon. They have different flavors of porridge on different days, but it always seems to be plantain when I go in there. The fried dumpling is thick, soft and filling. Dumplings are basically flour, milk and butter mixed together and deep fried in oil.

Mr. Snapper's also has a full range of Jamaican dishes such as jerk chicken, ox-tails and curry goat.