Simsbury’s Popover Bistro and Bakery was one of the first bakeries I ever profiled on my blog, so I am so excited to share their latest offering with you. The bakery/café/restaurant is co-owned by Pam Landry Paydos, Colin Reynolds, Jose Viola, and Faith Crowe. Their business has continued to grow since they opened in 2014, through an expansion of their menu and utilization of even more local ingredients (like liquor from Hartford Flavor Company and local dairy from Lebanon’s The Farmer’s Cow). Popover creates dishes that are filling, loaded with protein, vegetables, and color, while maintaining their commitment to healthy options; a number of the items on their menu are also gluten-free and vegan.
In keeping with their trend of offering the healthiest and most filling bang for your buck, Popover will be releasing a new “Secret Popover” each month. They kicked off January with a Mexican-inspired popover using chorizo, sweet potatoes, black beans, eggs, smashed avocado, and salsa. The bakery stays true to their namesake by serving oversized popovers with every dish. Popovers are essentially a U.S. twist on English Yorkshire pudding, which are made in a large popover pan with butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and flour. Their popovers flaky and, despite their large size, incredibly light. Once packed with a protein-heavy filling, the popover acts as a shell that carries the weight (literally) of its edible accompaniments. Everything in this popover worked well together— the salsa added a little heat without providing an overpowering amount of spice. The sweet potatoes, which seemed like the black sheep ingredient, paired surprisingly well with the stuffing. They added both sweetness and softness to the fiery chorizo and grainy texture of the black beans.
If you go to Popover to try their secret creation, bring a friend! Not only because someone else deserves to try this flavorful treat but because you will definitely, definitely need help finishing the whole thing (unless, of course, you’re like me and leftover popovers are just as good as day-of popovers…).
Thank you to EAT IN Connecticut and Popover Bistro and Bakery for sponsoring this post! As always, opinions and taste buds are 100% my own.
Kelly in the Kitchen 