It’s amazing what you can find in your own backyard.

My husband and I recently moved, and the process of selling one house, renovating another, downsizing, packing and unpacking consumed every spare moment of the past year. So we were eager to get out of the house this spring and start exploring our new town — Manchester, Conn. — which, by the way, Money Magazine just named Best Place to Live in Connecticut. (Manchester was once home to the world’s largest silk factory complex — but that’s a subject for another blog.)

We decided to try Bistro on Main, just one of a dozen or so eateries along historic Main Street. The bistro is a scratch kitchen whose friendly and enthusiastic staff serves sophisticated French comfort food. With a focus on high-quality local, seasonal, sustainable ingredients, the menus change regularly. What a treat to sit in a cozy bar sipping delicious vodka drinks (his, a gimlet; mine, a martini) and sampling incredible ingredients from all over our state (and elsewhere in New England) without having to budge from our own zip code.

We often choose to make a meal of starters or small plates, an option that proves worthwhile at Bistro on Main since there is so much to sample. Our favorites that day (we intend to return for more) included a charcuterie plate overflowing with salami from Oui Charcuterie at Before and After Farms and several types of artisan cheese from The Mystic Cheese Co., accompanied by dipping sauces of subtle and unexpected flavors, along with crusty ciabatta from Hartford Baking Co. Another savory selection was moules Provençal, steaming fresh-caught mussels in a succulent tomato and herb sauce … and more bread. And we could not resist the mouthwatering chocolate cake and coffee from a local roaster.

Bistro on Main also sources ingredients from MarWin Farm (farm-fresh poultry), The Farmer’s Cow (dairy and eggs), Colgan Farms (produce), Connecticut Farm Fresh Express (produce) and Boston-based Red’s Best Seafood, among other suppliers.

But perhaps the best thing about Bistro on Main is it is a social enterprise owned and operated by the Manchester Area Conference of Churches, training people with significant barriers to employment for jobs and careers in the hospitality industry. Workers are all paid a fair wage, and no tipping is allowed. All profits go back into MACC programs as an investment in the community.

With a twofold mission to deliver an exceptional dining experience for guests while breaking cycles of poverty through work readiness training, Bistro on Main seems to succeed on both fronts. And, as it turns out, doing good can also taste good!

— Jan Hecht, senior editor