Prizes for dining out? Yes, and at one restaurant a diner’s ‘knees buckled at how delicious’ it was

Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant
·3 min read

Could there really be prizes for eating out?

It’s the slowest time of the year in the restaurant industry, so Carlos Mouta, developer and owner of Parkville Market, is sweetening the pot to draw more customers.

Mouta has launched a passport program, which encourages diners to try more variety at the market, by giving prizes, culminating in a grand prize drawing March 27.

In addition to the passport program, Mouta started another promotion he hopes will be continuous: participating vendors will offer a low price deal Monday through Friday for those who eat at the market between 2:30 and 6 p.m.

They will offer special deals on food for $5 and under and alcohol drinks for $3 and under.

The market has 20 eateries, with a few more coming on board, and three bars under one roof.

Mouta said the Passport Program occurred to him because he realized most people, including his friends, were always eating at the same few places.

“People were not being adventurous,” Mouta said. “A good friend goes to the market every day and only ate at three or four places.”

He said Parkville Market is great, in part, because one doesn’t need to travel to “eat food from all over the world.”

“I believe someone can find something from each vendor that’s delicious,” Mouta said.

One of those vendors with an international flair is Chef Rui Correia, who recently celebrated the grand opening of his Piri Piri Q which serves Piri Piri chicken, a spicy chicken dish that’s crispy on the outside, moist inside.

“It’s meant to please. Who doesn’t like good chicken?” Correia has said. “So far people are enjoying fresh chicken with a kick.”

Hartford Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julio Concepcion said he tasted food from Piri Piri Q a few weeks ago when Mouta brought him some, “and my knees buckled at how delicious they were.”

Here is how the Passport Program works:

Spend a minimum of $10 at the restaurant of your choice and bring the receipt to The Pint bar and receive a stamp for that restaurant. If you have five, ten, 15 or 20 stamps you will win a prize.

Complete all passport pages by March 27 and you will be entered to win free Parkville Market meals for a month.

As for the $5 and under food, as well as alcohol drinks for $3 and under, that doesn’t mean the primary menus will be changed. The food at that price will be a special menu created by the individual businesses.

Mouta said construction workers who start early and many others end work by 2:30 p.m. and may want to grab a bite.

The following eateries are now open in the market where people dine in a communal manner:

  • Brazilian Gula Grill

  • Burrito Loko

  • Flor Do Mar, seafood

  • Fowl Play, Tennessee spiced chicken

  • Hartford Poke Co., Asian bowls

  • Head Over Berries, various coffees

  • J. Fry Co. Dirty fries, French fries w/toppings

  • Jamaican Jerk Shack

  • Koji2go, sushi

  • Las Tortas Mx, Mexican

  • Meltdown, burgers

  • Mercado 27, Peruvian

  • Mofongo, Puerto Rican

  • Pho King Spot, Vietnamese

  • Piri Piri Q, Portuguese

  • Portly Pig, BBQ

  • Que Chivo, El Salvador

  • Sno ‘n’ Dough, desserts

  • Taiwan Night Market, Taiwanese street food

  • Twisted Italian, Italian