While the staff members won’t give away the recipe for their meat sauce, they will give you some hints (no hot sauce, no beans; just meat and spices) and even let customers buy it by the pint. Though the shop has at least a dozen different types of award-winning fruit, nut and cream pies, perhaps none are as famous as her Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, as seen on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Familiar yet exotic, the Swedish meatballs are plated over a signature gravy and accompanied by small dishes of lingonberries, pickles and potatoes. My best vegetable soup recipe is perfect to prepare on a crisp autumn afternoon. The diner has been serving Dagwoods (its signature French-style burger) with root beer floats since first opening as a carhop in 1948. Chef Marcell Davidsen, a native of Denmark, works closely with nearby farms to curate much of the restaurant’s seasonal menu, but one of its most-popular dishes remains year-round: G. Swensen Meatballs. Since opening as one of New Haven county’s first sushi bars in 1982 by Chef Bun Lai’s mother, Miya’s has shifted its focus in the last decade to what the team calls “future sushi,” following Seafood Watch’s sustainable seafood guide and relying heavily on invasive species and plants for the majority of its menu. It sounds like Daym gives these 3 Connecticut restaurants his highest compliment -- a '5 ALL DAY.' Must Eats. Carlson’s Landing, Essex. It’s delicious and forward-thinking food that is challenging notions of what sushi can be. In a town known as a destination for pizza lovers, relative newcomer Bar has its own cult following. Céntrico Taqueria & Tequila Bar, Bethel. Sycamore Drive-In Restaurant. Every meal at The Whelk should begin with the restaurant's addictive smoked-trout dip, served with crispy trout skin and Parker House rolls. No tiny bake shop, Nora Cupcake has transformed itself from a small operation with a dozen or so flavors to a thriving business with a staggering 300 varieties of cupcakes. In-season, whole belly clams are excellent, but the Black Duck Burger is the restaurant’s year-round specialty. Sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms smother a 6-ounce Angus burger patty — available in a 3/4-pound size for heartier appetites. 5 Things To Know, Best All-You-Can-Eat Deal: Evergreens at the Simsbury Inn (Simsbury), Best Bar: The Griswold Inn Tap Room (Essex), Best Beer: Fuzzy Baby Ducks by New England Brewing Co. (Woodbridge), Best Burger: The Original Burger at Louis' Lunch (New Haven), Best Chinese Restaurant: Peking Edo (New Haven), Best Cupcake: Sugar Cupcakery & Bakery (East Haven), Best Food Truck: The Mercado Food Truck (Glastonbury), Best Hot Dog: Super Duper Weenie (Fairfield), Best Ice Cream Stand: Ferris Acres Creamery (Newtown), Best Lasagna: Rossitto's Ristorante (Branford), Best Mexican Restaurant: El Charrito (Riverside), Most Romantic Restaurant: Vue 24 (Mashantucket), Best Pancakes: Somewhere in Time (Mystic), Best Pasta Dish: Lasagna, Consiglio's (New Haven, Best Pizza: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven), Best Restaurant for Breakfast: Dottie's Diner (Woodbury), Best Sandwich: Abbott's Lobster in the Rough (Noank), Best Seafood Shack: Abbott's Lobster in the Rough (Noank), Best Steakhouse: David Burke Prime, Mashantucket. Tavern on State, New Haven. A favorite is the avocado Gorgonzola bacon burger, described by former Connecticut Magazine writer Kate Hartman as “at once creamy and crunchy,” with the Gorgonzola cheese providing “the perfect tangy balance to the beef.”. Ching’s Table 64 Main St. Valencia Luncheria began as a tiny BYOB eight-table luncheonette, but it has since expanded its soulful Latin American comfort food and drink menu while staying true to its arepa, empanada and rice-and-beans roots. But first, a note about Connecticut's current culinary scene. Food. 12 Places To Get Tacos That Are Out Of This World Good In Connecticut. Prospect Dairy Bar and Marcus Dairy Bar keep that tradition alive.. Smyth's Trinity Farm in Enfield produces glass-bottled milk, cream, yogurt and butter – not to mention seasonal eggnog made with, you got it, real eggs. Read our picks for the best food & dining in Connecticut. Though pumpkin pies can be found in pretty much any grocery store in autumn, Michele’s have a devoted statewide following, thanks to local Connecticut ingredients and a treasured traditional pie crust recipe. All of Bar’s oblong pizzas are cooked in a natural gas-burning brick oven — a departure from the coal-burning ovens of their famous New Haven “apizza” neighbors. Best ramen: Kawa Ni Westport Since opening in 2014, this casual Japanese spot has powered Connecticut’s otherwise sparse ramen scene, gaining a well-deserved cult following in … Each is hand-packed and cooked using a custom-built steam cabinet. The website's list of 30 must-visit establishments in Connecticut features those that are among the nation's very best. Abbott’s serves three different sizes of hot lobster rolls: the Original Hot Lobster Roll, with a quarter pound of lobster meat; the “OMG” Hot Lobster Roll, with 7 ounces of meat; and the “LOL” Hot Lobster Roll, packed with a full pound of lobster. — to having been the birthplace of the hamburger, at the still-thriving Louis' Lunch in New Haven. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. Slice Squabble. Go to: If not, it’s just as easy to grab a box of doughnuts to go. Living // Food. Many citizens prefer Prime Burger over other big-name national chain burger stores and for good reason. These 7 Iconic Foods In Connecticut Will Have Your Mouth Watering. A 2-ounce block of cheddar cheese is also steamed, then poured over each burger, encapsulating the patty in an envelope of cheese. The clam pie, in particular, has inspired hundreds of imitators with few matching the intoxicating combination of Romano cheese, fresh garlic, olive oil, parsley and clams. Painted wooden booths, enamel-top tables, old gas station memorabilia and carhop mementos set the scene. I love to use leftover sausage, zucchini, spinach, and tomatoes. Divided and served simply on a plate, the roasted chicken is crispy on the outside and supremely juicy, with hints of smoke from the fire. Though the restaurant is known for well-appointed charcuterie boards and a gastropub menu, its most-famous offering may be the macaroni and cheese. Mama Chow, Fairfield. 12 Chef-Recommended Grocery Store Hot Dogs,... Footlong West Virginia-Style Hot Dogs with... © 2021 Discovery or its subsidiaries and affiliates. If you’re lucky to score a seat at one of Lakeside’s few tables, or the counter, you’ll also enjoy a view of Holts Ice Pond. Incredible dining experiences at these 10 restaurants in beautiful Connecticut! Especially when those highlights involve food. The state "actually has a lot going for it when it comes to food," the website says. San Diego-style (or California) burritos are alive and well in Connecticut at Danbury’s Green Grunion truck. Topped with brioche breadcrumbs and baked to a golden brown, the dish can be topped with Berkshire pork, house bacon lardons or chiles. Hamilton Park / High George, New Haven. The Best Food and Drink in Connecticut for 2019 Gallery. The diner is fairly small and homey. Cappy’s opened as a shoe-shine shop that sold hot dogs to entice new customers, then flipped its business model to focus solely on the meat-topped hot dogs that customers demanded. In September and October, Michele Albano and her staff transform a truckload of Connecticut-grown pumpkins into 4,000 pounds of pumpkin puree. In and around New Haven, vintage bakery ovens turn out what may be the nation’s best pizzas. But the burger doesn’t become the famous Ted’s Steamed Cheeseburger until the beef is topped with its molten-cheese partner in crime. Owner Gary Zemola, a culinary school graduate, is a strong proponent for fresh and well-sourced ingredients. The key to their success may be how little things have changed over the years. With more than 50 flavors to choose from, the shop usually has something for every taste, but the majority of ice cream fans are there for just one; the locally inspired Cow Trax is many a regular’s top choice. Looking for the best overall restaurants in Connecticut? Since 1998, they’ve been dishing up classics like roast pork noodle soup from cart one, stir-fried noodles at cart two, and Taiwanese-style Chinese dishes like rice with meat sauce and stewed egg from cart three. Food. Pub food is a breed of its own. Dining. Go to: It could be the gentle symphony of moos from a nearby herd of cows, or the bucolic 150-year-old dairy farm setting, but Newtown’s Ferris Acres Creamery is one of Connecticut’s most-beloved ice cream destinations. Threats Of Violence Heighten Inauguration Security — And Anxiety, the ineffable Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, This Restaurant Named Best Breakfast In Connecticut: People Magazine, This Is The Best Burger Restaurant In Connecticut, New list Says - Patch, 'I Have Never Felt That Bad': EMT Describes Battle Against Virus, 11 Good News Stories: Kidney Bean’s Promise; Pizzeria’s Special, Police Officers Among Latest Charged By FBI In Capitol Siege, Will Inauguration Day Bring More Insurrection? "To get specific, Connecticut stakes a claim to having been the birthplace of the hamburger, at the still-thriving Louis' Lunch in New Haven; New Haven is also pretty much the pizza capital of America, home to the ineffable Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (not to mention such standard-bearers as Modern Apizza, Sally's Apizza, Ernie's, Zuppardi's, the Brü Room at BAR, and Mike's Apizza); and with its 96-mile coastline, Connecticut is a great place for seafood, too," The Daily Meal writes in its analysis of Connecticut's culinary scene. These dishes sound simple, but when done right they can send your taste buds on an incredible journey. The cozy 50-year-old Stamford breakfast and lunch spot has plenty of diner charm and a full menu, but its small cake doughnuts are the signature move. Mill Street Bar & Table, Bar-style pizza is characterized by its defiantly thin crust, best sampled at Colony Grill in Stamford. 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