"Brazil, where hearts were entertaining June We stood…read morebeneath an amber moon And softly murmured "Someday soon" (Frank Sinatra) There were two food trucks at Hartford's Westside Square Food Court, and since I usually go for the more unusual cuisine, I chose Gulla Grille's Brazilian menu for lunch. Their lineup offers nine entrees served with two sides ($12-$19) and eight solo sides ($6-$7). The entrees are three kabob plates (Churrasquinho) with a half pound of chicken, pork or beef and two sides, steak, salmon or stew specialties, and two vegetarian options. I wanted to try their Feijoada ($15) "The Most Popular Brazilian Dish" - an enticing stew of black beans, sausage, bacon, beef, rice, plantains and kale. But it wasn't available right away and I didn't want to wait 20 minutes for it to get cooked up. Instead, I went for an order of Churrasquinho with Chicken and sides of Kale and Yucca fries for $16. It was delicious!! Everything on the plate was delicious. The grilled chicken was tender and flavorful with nice grill marks. It was stellar. The Yucca fries were very good too, yes, they tasted a lot like French Fries, but the texture and taste were slightly different. And the kale surprised me a lot -it was soft and tender and delicious, nothing like the cardboard or Styrofoam-like kale I had experience with. The crowning glory of my lunch came when the cook asked "Do you want some of our hot sauce?" Of course I did, and he handed me a quarter cup plastic container of beige/orange sauce. Prepare yourself before you try it because it is nuclear! Of course I loved it. I also liked the way the owner walked over during my meal and asked how I liked it. We exchanged some banter about his hot sauce! The Gulla Grille was a hit for me.

Great food, tried it today at the Wapping Fair. Good customer service and delicious food. Had the…read moresteak and 2 sides of sweet potato fries.

We hired Pika Food Truck to cater our wedding, and they were absolutely incredible. The food was…read moredelicious, and our guests are still talking about it! Lauren and her team were so wonderful to work with and made everything seamless. We can't recommend them enough--whether you're checking out their food or hiring them for an event, you won't be disappointed!

I hired Pika for catering my baby shower event. The food was fantastic and everyone at the shower…read moreraved about the flavor and variety. I would recommend them to cater if you enjoy Latin cuisine

This is the second time I have bought something from this truck. Where I live has food trucks come…read moresome nights and the first time I tried this place, the wait was a long time. They were supposed to be here from 4-8 and I didn't time how long it was taking but I went up there twice and they claimed that they were waiting for the rice to finish. I probably was one of the first customers so I figured they might not have been ready and they had given me a free soda and a free dessert and extra pork so I wasn't too irritated about the situation. Plus the people who work the truck are very nice. Today, I was incredibly annoyed because I should have just cooked like I planned to. My food would have gotten done faster than they boxed up the food I bought. I paid almost 60 dollars including a tip to wait almost an hour for two pork bowls and rice. I wasn't given a wait time when I ordered the food so I just went to sit in my car outside my building since I figured it wouldn't take that long. After half an hour I decided to go see why the thing they gave me hadn't buzzed yet. When I went over, they were chatting up other customers having a great time. I asked about my order and they claimed it had been called already, so I figured it was just a mistake, but then someone else said they were still waiting on one more pork bowl. So I went inside, put away my groceries, washed my dishes, took out the trash and finally when I returned the food was done. If they ever come back here, I won't be spending my money with them, as nice as they are, they have held up my time twice and the food isn't worth my time. Oh and all I got for all that wait was a "God bless you" so I hope the Lord blesses them with better time management and that we never meet again.

I first visited La Cocina Cubano Food Truck about a year ago, with the intention of trying a Cubano…read moresandwich, but I got distracted by a Chicken Fricassee special they had that day. I finally tried the Cubano today, and it's the best Cubano sandwich I've had in CT. I know everybody is anxious to hear a guy originally from the Ohio suburbs break down a Cubano sandwich. So hear you go. Many CT places make good Cubanos, but they're more Cubano-adjacent than authentic. I don't think anybody but La Cocina gets the bread right in CT. The owners' Dad is Cuban and has owned a bakery. He makes the bread for these Cubanos. The bread is what you would find at the good Miami bakeries and sandwich shops. Fresh. Thin. Wide. Tasty. It has terrific color and texture when it's pressed on a Plancha. A lot of CT places have some good ingredients for their Cubanos, but the balance of ingredients and flavors is wrong in some way. A Cubano has two flavorfully impactful ingredients -- Mustard and Pickles. Although ham can be too salty in large quantities, the remaining Cubano ingredients are more or less mild. Swiss has less salt than many cheeses. And the pork umami flavor is subtle as well. I find some places ruin their sandwiches with an overly aggressive mustard or distracting pickles. La Cocina's Cubano flavors are perfectly balanced, and really allow the juiciness and umami flavors of the slow roasted citrus Mojo marinated pork and the texture of the bread to stand out. The sliced pickles are tasty and almost have a slight Gherkin vibe to the brine, and the mustard is mild and applied in a quantity that complements and doesn't overpower anything. The Swiss was perfectly melted and stretchy, and its mild flavor was just right. I highly recommend La Cocina's Cubano. Check their Socials to find the truck at locations such as near Bushnell Park and Trinity College. 5 Stars

The food here is authentic Brazilian food and it's made to order so that's always a plus …read more Service is always 100% welcoming and warm , I've been coming to park like market for 3 years in a row now and the food gets better and better . Definitely recommend!!

National Paella Day was celebrated today at Gula Grill in the Parkville Market. I ordered the…read moreBrazilian version of the several offered and it was great. The spice level was perfect and it contained chorizo, chicken and steak. The meal was made to order and came out real hot. I also enjoyed the Mango Lemonade. The lady behind the counter took the order, prepared it and had it ready in good time. Always look forward eating/visiting PVM and today was no exception.

Always meeting expectations! Above and beyond! We love…read moreordering the family sized combo for work functions. Just right to feed 12-16 people and still more to go around. This time we opted to get two sides of plantains with veggie fried rice and the 4 whole chickens and it comes with 2 liter sodas. The plantains are always ripe and sweet. The chicken is tender and the rice is oh so delicious! It comes with two kinds of sauces. One with cilantro and the other with curry. Yum yum yum! The staff are very friendly and catering. I cannot wait to taste their food again!

We ordered Rockin Chicken by DoorDash. Rockin Chicken is a modern Peruvian restaurant that features…read morecool art in the branding. Everything I ordered (including the rotisserie chicken, fried rice side, Macaroni with green sauce), was pretty good. Nothing popped relative to other area Peruvian options. The Papas (cut potatoes that are usually somewhat crispy) side dish didn't travel well, but that's a reality of a delivery. 3.25 Stars

Cute little spot, it's more of a grab and go, I was really craving mofongo so I came only for that!…read moreI got the chicharron one. I ordered online so I didn't really get to sit there. The lady at the front was nice. It was quick service. There's lots of options on the warming buffet, definitely would love to try other dishes from here! The mofongo had a lot of flavor! It was nice and tender, and the chicharron was perfect.

Cheap, good, and tasty…read more Heard this place recently opened up, so decided to make the trek here to give them a try. They are a very small place. A single table and two chairs. It's very much an order and run place. I don't know the cuisine well, so I asked the server to curate me a plate and I bought everything they recommended. I got their lunch special, two empanadas, a potato ball, and some flan. Got my to go containers then took them home for pics. Everything was seasoned and had its own distinct flavor. The potato ball was wrapped in a seasoned pastry and stuffed with a meat mixture. It also had a spicy mayo which gave it some richness and a little zip. That was a great bite. The stewed beef reminded me of a beef stew meat. Stewed in tomato and celery, fork tender and pretty good. The pork was tender but dry, the mayo from the potato ball helped in that matter. The sweet plantains were a nice reprieve from the heavy meats, the yellow rice was cooked in stock which made the rice a flavorful filler. The beans were more like a soup, not my style but still good. The flan was firm but the syrup was lightly sweet. A nice sweet treat for the end of a meal. I saved the empanadas for a later meal. But they look good. The price for everything was 24, which is actually quite affordable for the amount of food you get. It's simple food done well in ample portions and priced well. It's a great option for the area, with the only detractor being that it's not in the best location and unless you know what you want it's not the easiest menu to navigate. It's worth a try!

I hadn't been to El Mercado in years and honestly forgot how great of a place it really is. They…read morehave four different food counters from different Hispanic countries (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru and Colombia/Venezuelan). Being Dominican my self I find myself going to the Dominican counter but this time I went to the Peruvian Counter and ufff.. I am glad I did!! For about $13 I got a meal that easily feeds 2-3 people. Their meal consist of a choice of Rice which I chose "arroz chaufa" Fried rice and Shrimp and Fried beef. For salad I went with the potato salad and the chicken soup and chose a Passion fruit juice for my drink. Definitely a heavy lunch but I shared my big portion with a coworker and there were left overs. The only con I would say is finding parking could be a struggle but besides that it is worth venturing to this side of town.

El Mercado is a supermarket with a cool food court on Park Street in Hartford. The food court,…read morewhich includes a Mexican spot, a Peruvian spot, a Colombian spot and a Dominican spot was the draw for me. There's a bit of seating and I ate my Oxtail, fried plantains, and rice and beans there. It was very good. I imagine the market has a wider selection of foods and goods you might need for Hispanic and Latino cooking. The Parking Lot is a bit tricky, both in terms of finding a spot and navigating your way out if you're lucky enough to get into the lot. El Mercado is a classic Hartford place you should check out at least once. Four Stars

Fast, friendly service. Ordered the rockin chicken bowl - delicious, perfectly cooked, and…read morescrumptious sauces. Also ordered the kids' chicken cutlet - very good. Nice to have fast service with kids.

Omg. This restaurant is horrible. I ordered Chicken and it was bloody and uncooked. Who teach these…read morepeople how to cook. I would not recommend anyone to eat here. Well don't order the chicken anyway......