Spris

Spris is exactly the sort of resturant I am inclined to dislike. It is (or at least tries to be) chic and it is pricy. Even worse, it is located on Constitution Plaza.

For those that don't know, Constitution Plaza was a good example of terrible post-World War II uban planning. In the late 1950's, a group of WASP corporate leaders (known as the Bishops) pushed for the demolition of the heavily working class, largely Italian-American, and considerably run down east side of Downtown Hartford that ran along Front and Market Streets (and even further east, almost to the river until the construction of I-91).

In its place was be errected an above-ground plaza with parking below and shopping and resturants above bounded by new mini skyscrapers. As originally conceived, the plaza was to extend to Main Street via a foot bridge running down Temple Street which would connect this city of the future to the most important shopping district in the region (with Sage Allen and G. Fox right next door on Main Street and men's and women's clothing stores still on Pratt and Asylum Streets). On the eastern end (where the Hartford Steam Boiler Building now sits) would be an arena. Consistent with post-war thinking, Downtown would become a massive office park and retail center with plenty of parking and no pesky working class (or worse yet, poor) ethnic types milling about.

Like so many other working-class neighborhoods (Boston's West End and the South Bronx to name two) Front Street and its residents never stood a chance against the rising tide of post-war urban renewal and the raw power and subtle influence of the Bishops. By 1964 the east side of Downtown was gone except for Dominic LaTorre's poultry shop (LaTorre refused to sell to the Travelers and his balls and truly remarkable ability to generate publicity won him many supporters and earned him the nickname "the chicken man"), Constitution Plaza was done (or at least as done as it was going to be), and old narrow Front Street had been replaced by the far more traffic-friendly Columbus Boulevard (the only remaining trace of Front Street's Italian-American heritage).

Because the original developer failed, however, the project was not fully completed. The arena never got built, nor did the 1,500 high-end apartments that had been planned, or the Temple Street bridge. As a result, the Plaza was not connected to Main Street, there was no natural draw to bring thousands of people onto the Plaza outside of business hours, nor were there any residents in the immediate area. This left Constitution Plaza an elevated and isolated office park and its retail area slowly withered away, leaving the plaza even more desolate.

Among the many things that got demolished as a result of the destruction of Front Street were a number of old-fashioned Italian resturants. Some, like DePasquale's (the same DePasquale family which now owns and operates the First & Last Tavern) and the Parma (which was the base of operations of the legandary Democratic powerbroker John M. Bailey and which relocated to Glastonbury - Bailey moved to the Hearthstone (now the Polo Club) on Maple Avenue) are still a part of our collective memory. Others, like the Village Grove Tavern, Pippy's, and Mickey's Villanova Resturant are almost entirely forgotten.

I guess it is somehow fitting that super-modern Spris with its new school Italian cuisine now sits on Constitution Plaza.

I have been to Spris a few times, but only once for a full meal (they have a large and very cool bar). Last night my wife and I decided to try it again.

We started with two appetizers - the eggplant rollattini with pesto goat cheese in tomato sauce($8.50) and the octupus with fava beans ($11.00). The eggplant was simply amazing (:> :>). The flavors were outstanding with the pesto goat cheese and the tomato sauce offsetting each other nicely. The consistency was also good.

The octopus, however, was not that great. We had this appetizer the first time we dined at Spris and it was delicious, especially because the fava beans were soft and tasty and provided a good contrast to the chewy octopus without overpowering the taste of the octopus. This time, however, the octupus was undercooked (not like sushi, but still undercooked) and the fava beans were also undercooked (:<). For dinner, I had one of the specials, a stuffed veal tortolloni ($20) and my wife had the tagliatelle ($19). My dinner was just outstanding. The flavors in the stuffed veal tortolloni were excellent and the pasta was so fresh that it tasted like some one's grandmother had just finished making it from scratch.

The tagliatelle was also very good and the pasta equally fresh. The flavors really came out as you ate, which made Old World patience and manners a virtue.

There was, however, a small problem with the tagliatelle as the shrimp was over-grilled and thus a bit rubbery. Frankly, the dish would be just as strong, if not stronger, if they simply deleted the shrimp and cut down on the number of things that could go wrong in its preparation. On the plus side, however, the lobster broth in which the tagliatelle was cooked was excellent.

It bears repetition that the pasta in both dishes was outstanding. Truly outstanding. If you claim to love pasta and you haven't eaten at Spris, you must do so immediately or you will lose a lot of credibility with anyone who has.

We also had a bottle of '06 Monte Pulciano. It was dry with a sweet finish. It was good, but it probably would have been better had it been decanted as it seemed like a young wine. On the whole we both liked it but thought it was a bit overpriced at $40 (in fact, most of the wine list seemed overpriced and actually a bit pedestrian).

We both had desert and there was nothing pedestrian about either dish. My wife had mint chocolate chip gelato ($6.99). It really wasn't gelato as the consistency was much more like ice cream. Whatever you call it, however, it was wonderful.

I had the Crespelle alla Nutella ($6.99) which is a a crepe with Nuttella ('Hazelnut chocolate'). I also had a scoop of hazelnut gelato, which really was gelato and which really was delicious. The crepe was good, but the Nuttella was fantastic - rich and a wonderful blend of flavors (if you haven't had Nuttella, you need to try it, but don't bring any home, because you will gorge yourself and gain 20 pounds).

The first time we went to Spris the service was not good, which was remarkable given that it wasn't really busy. Last night, with even fewer patrons (if you are wondering how Spris can stay open it is because it does a slammin' lunch business) the service was better. Still, the service was only adequate, which really is inadequate for a fine dining establishment.

The interior of Spris could be fantastic, but it is not. The furniture is a beautiful dark rich wood and there is wonderful stonework (it is really a form of sculpture with stones stacked within semi-open wire mesh containers). The giant red ceiling treatments (which you can see in the picture) are way, way too much and they give off a strange red light that bathes the center of the dining room (as my wife said, "what girl on a date wants to sit under a red light?"). The ceiling treatments also clutter what would otherwise be a spacious and open dining room.

The red ceiling treatments are a good example of trying too hard to be stylish. As Coco Chanel said, "when accessorizing always take off the last thing you put on."

One other thing my wife and I both found annoying was the music. It was too loud and a lot of it was house music, which is an odd choice, even for a place aspiring to be super trendy. The ambiance was somewhat salvaged, however, by a wonderful Sade track. She has an amazing voice and at 51 she is still stunningly beautiful.

On the plus side, there are windows everywhere and you can get a great view of Constitution Plaza, which is bathed in artificial light once the sun sets (you can get an even better view from the outdoor patio). Looking out onto the Plaza you really do feel like you are part of the city of the future (whatever its shortcomings as a piece of urban redevelopment, Constitution Plaza deserves the praise it gets as a piece of urban architecture. It's just a shame that you can't see that from street level and there isn't more on the Plaza to attract greater foot traffic).

Back to Spris. The bottom line is that it is a very good restaurant, but it isn't a great restaurant, it isn't even the best Italian restaurant in Hartford, and it has problems with service and ambiance. Still, if you love fresh homemade pasta, you must go there for dinner. The pasta alone is well worth the trip, even if you don't make Spris part of your restaurant rotation.

Here's the link to Spris' website: http://www.sprishartford.com/