I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again and again until I stop hearing it.

The phrase “hidden gem” is terrible.

I’m guessing those who use it were also really bad at playing “Hide and Seek” as children. They were told to find a spot to hide, and they decided to stand in the middle of the field at recess.

The phrase pops up on tourism sites and in food review columns. They don’t always use the exact phrase “hidden gem” to describe a spot. “Off the beaten path” and other variations appear as well.

Gems? Sure. Hidden? I don’t want to call it casual racism, but. . .

Amateur food reviewers and professional, published writers have dubbed these hidden gems: El Nuevo Sarape, Le Bijou Pastry Shop and Restaurant, Ipanema Cafe, Feng, Hot Pots, Banana Brazil, Antojitos Colombianos, El Mercado, La Casita del Sabor, Piolin Restaurant.

The phrase seems to get used more frequently when referring to ethnic establishments, even when they are in the heart of downtown in the state’s capital city. All of the aforementioned spots are either on busy, commercial streets (or in the case of Bijou, easily viewable from one).

Feng is right there on Asylum Street. You don’t need to slink down a dark alley and give a secret knock to gain access. The sign is huge. It’s a known, popular spot.

Ipanema Cafe is on Hartford’s always busy Park Street; half the building is painted yellow and green. El Nuevo Sarape is on Broad Street in the walkable Frog Hollow neighborhood. Hot Pots on Main Street has a snazzy sign, and even if you are never convinced to go in, how could you not have noticed it? El Mercado? Always bustling.

It feels iffy to refer to restaurants, and other places, that are located outside of predominantly White neighborhoods, as being “hidden,” especially when they are all along commercial corridors. It’s not like the people using this phrase are happening upon a pincho stand on an entirely residential side, side street. Those exist, and I wouldn’t bristle at someone using the clichéd phrase to describe one under those circumstances.

Whatever the reason (unfamiliar with neighborhoods where languages other than English are spoken regularly, unfamiliar with cuisine that’s not Five Guys, unfamiliar with the existence of places not advertised on highway billboards) it’s blech.

This is a very long way to introduce my new series on Real Hartford, “Unhidden Gems.” Every other Monday, I’ll be posting about one of Hartford’s treasures sitting right out in plain sight — restaurants, clubs, cultural centers, and other places — that are either on or easily visible from one of Hartford’s main streets.

It should be noted that inclusion on this list does not mean I personally think the establishment is top notch, has the best pizza (or whatever) — only that it is contributing something to the culture of Hartford.

Coming in one week: A Buick dealership converted into a mosque