A feast for the senses at Fire & Spice

I found myself with a free afternoon yesterday, and since it was a beautiful sunny day with autumn leaves in full glory, I decided it was the perfect opportunity for a road trip. My mission had two goals: spice & chocolate. The two are not necessarily incompatible, I soon found.

I headed north to a little hole in the wall treasure, Fire & Spice, a vegan Jamaican restaurant in the west end of Hartford. It's a casual eating spot with three tables and a large counter where you order items from their warming trays to go. A medium container with 5 items costs $7.95 - truly a bargain!

It was tough to decide with all of the offerings displayed in front of me, but I decided on a heaping portion of sauteed greens (kale & collard), pumpkin rice, jerk tofu, barbecue tofu, and Ital stew. Each was rich, flavorful, and comforting as if prepared with love.

I also ordered the samosas (2 for $3) - one lentil and one potato. These were crisp and tasty and worked perfectly scooping up the remaining sauce at the bottom of my container.

It was a quick lunch and perfectly satisfying for the next leg of my adventure: a trip to Divine Treasures, the vegan chocolate shop in Manchester.