Again I was meeting someone from the Hartford area half-way… that culinary wasteland I’ve written about. I suggested to Connie that she find a place to meet, hoping she might discover a place that’s worth the visit.
Not being from the area either, Connie did her research resulting in two options. We ended 
up at Michael’s Trattoria on Center Street.
Sue, our waitress, was the overly chatty but fairly efficient type described the specials, not included in the reasonably priced, Northern Italian menu. Funny. Neither was the eggplant parmigiana that I ordered — at least it wasn’t listed on Connie’s menu! Not sure why it’s only on some menus, something that Sue chuckled about as she mentioned that she serves tons 
of it.
The eggplant was okay, but I prefer the very thinly sliced and peeled version. Michael’s serves it with a substantial amount of pasta (albeit a bit too al dente , AKA hard and inedible). The seafood salad special was fresh.
After the meal, I looked forward to a double espresso. Silly me. It was watery, and tasted like instant coffee.
Michael’s is nothing to go out of your way for, but if you’re in the neighborhood…
Next time, we’ll try the other place Connie found!
Michael’s Trattoria
344 Center Street
203.269.5303
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