by | Jan 4, 2019 1:41 pm | Comments (6)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Chef Sunny Cheng: Trust me.
Omakase is a Japanese phrase that means, “I leave it up to you.” Chef Sunny Cheng and his wife, Kathy, are betting New Haveners will do just that when they stop by their new sushi bar, Otaru — and embark on a sushi adventure.
by | Dec 20, 2018 1:14 pm | Comments (5)
Thomas Breen photo
Pastries ready to much at Olmo’s takeout shop.
A mountain of cheese has given way to a river of baked goods, as the late restaurant Caseus’s much anticipated successor is now open for business.
by | Dec 13, 2018 8:33 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Williams.
Terminal 110 on Sargent Drive was already crowded Wednesday evening, the tables near the stage accounted for and the bar area bustling, when Anthony Williams stepped to the microphone.
“Time to network, maybe meet somebody,” he said. “Maybe you meet someone who’s struggling, tell them they’re going to make it. You never know.” He continued: “You had a bite to eat. You had something to drink. Now it’s time to feel the vibe.”
by | Dec 10, 2018 1:07 pm | Comments (0)
Allison Hadley Photo
Sam Linden.
Though it was ostensibly a neutral event space in the pristine white walls of the New Haven Museum, a dinner gathering entitled “Deep Roots,” held on Saturday evening, felt very much like a conglomeration of several family dining rooms.
Each table was carefully laid out not only with a program, but with a series of name tags and markers to make the attendees more comfortable with each other, creating new conversations across new, round tables. It was a meal for the entire New Haven family.
Continue reading ‘Deep Roots Nourish Diners At New Haven Museum’
by | Dec 7, 2018 1:09 pm | Comments (5)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
For the love of tequila: That’s why successful restauranteur Sonia Salazar has brought the drink and her popular food to Temple Street.
by | Dec 4, 2018 8:30 am | Comments (0)
Cara McDonough Photo
On a Friday evening at the downtown location of the Wine Thief, a small crowd gathered near the tasting table was awaiting their next pour, eyes trained on the woman providing it.
by | Nov 16, 2018 1:15 pm | Comments (3)
Allan Appel Photo
The site, at 65 Broadway, in the alley way between book and computer emporiums.
A restaurateur is planning to open a new high-end Indian restaurant in the corridor between Broadway’s Yale Booskstore and the Apple Store, at the site of the shuttered Thali Too, a vegetarian Indian eatery that closed in 2017.
He plans to get a liquor license. But, he said, his people will be very well-behaved — so he doesn’t see why he’d have to close up at 11:30 p.m.
Continue reading ‘Thali Too Successor Wins Right To Stay Open Late’
by | Nov 16, 2018 8:28 am | Comments (5)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Mayor Harp and Alder Greenberg join owners Coffin and Bodak, and GM Corina cutting the ribbon.
In a town where getting a good slice is a given, Robin Bodak and Doug Coffin thought adding one more place to the apizza landscape couldn’t hurt, especially when in a place where people have good memories.
Continue reading ‘“Next Door” Reimagines The Neighborhood Bar’
by | Nov 1, 2018 9:35 pm | Comments (15)
Tim Wilson explains the growler to Mayor Harp.
It took brothers Tim and Shaun Wilson a little longer than they’d hope to get the doors of the city’s first production brewery and beer hall open — about three years — but nobody was counting during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at their Nicoll Street facility.
by | Oct 31, 2018 7:39 am | Comments (3)
Markeshia Ricks Photos
City officials joined the owners of Patty’s Caribbean Cuisine …
… and International Tastebuds for a dual ribbon cutting on Congress Avenue.
The taste of the Caribbean has come to Congress Avenue thanks to three immigrants who’ve recently decided to put out shingled — right next door to each other.
by | Oct 12, 2018 8:13 am | Comments (3)
Thomas Breen Photos
Markeshia and Brian take a taste before saucing it up.
Poké is the latest trendy dish to sweep into Downtown New Haven, with the fourth spot in a year about to open.
Three intrepid New Haven Independent reporters went on a mission to find out more about New Haven’s new yen for a bowl of fresh veggies and raw fish.
by | Oct 9, 2018 2:33 pm | Comments (4)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
September in Bangkok owner and head chef Winyu “Win” Seetamyae.
September in Bangkok is the best time to get rice, one of the mainstays of Thai cuisine. Winyu “Win” Seetamyae hopes New Haveners will consider any time of the year “September in Bangkok” when they have a hankering for Thai food.
by | Oct 1, 2018 4:50 pm | Comments (5)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Union League owner and Chef Jean-Peierre Vuillermet joins his staff, family and friends on Chapel Street.
The Union League Cafe is the place in New Haven where people make big deals — in life and in business. And on Monday afternoon people gathered to celebrate the French-inspired brasserie being a big deal on Chapel Street for 25 years.
by | Sep 25, 2018 3:06 pm | Comments (1)
Allan Appel Photo
Owner Sampson, left, with satisfied customer Yale economics major Nathalya Leite.
Chunks of the bottom-crawling creature, not stringy fragments. And not a modest helping, but a hefty four ounces. Slathered in tons of butter.
by | Sep 16, 2018 9:44 am | Comments (1)
The fourth annual New Haven Grand Prix, held on Friday night, solidified the event not only as a bike race, but as a downtown block party for all ages.
by | Sep 14, 2018 7:49 am | Comments (5)
Thomas Breen photo
Olmo chefs and co-owners Craig Hutchinson and Alex Lishchynsky with Olmo general manager Tessa Cooney.
Tamales made with fermented pork sausage and farina. Coal-roasted vegetables served with housemade ricotta. A 32-ounce dry-aged ribeye steak.
Oh yeah, and one-dollar bagels, baked in house every morning and available seven days a week.
Those are a few selections from the eclectic menu of Olmo, the new restaurant, catering service, and take-out spot that will replace the recently closed Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro at the corner of Trumbull Street and Whitney avenue downtown.
by | Aug 2, 2018 2:26 pm | Comments (5)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Brother and sister team, Frank and Tina Carpentari run the business with their dad, Frank Sr.
A homespun, Connecticut-based chain is putting out a shingle on Chapel Street and adding chicken nuggets to New Haven’s foodie landscape.
by | Jul 25, 2018 3:57 pm | Comments (0)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Antonio Arcos and Dawn Jara at Tuesday’s BZA meeting.
You can still call it Carmine’s. But it’s no longer Carmine’s Tuscan Grill.
Instead, when you next eat at the Italian restaurant in the Amity section of the city, know that you’re eating at “Carmine’s Di Vega Ristorante & Bar.”
by | Jul 20, 2018 11:37 am | Comments (4)
Barista Meg Rattanni creates latte art.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Ballaro and Negreiro at the newly opened Fussy Coffee in Science Park.
The story of how Fussy Coffee at Science Park came to be named is a joke between David Negreiro and his brother-in-law and business partner Joe Ballaro.
On one level, it’s a tongue-in-cheek riff on how pretentious some coffee shops can be. On another level, it’s about the two men’s love of a good coffee after a meal.
by | Jul 12, 2018 4:57 pm | Comments (14)
Thomas Breen photo
Soon to shrink: The cheese display.
Partners Jason Sobocinski, Craig Hutchinson and Alex Lishchynsky: “Let’s face it. Vegetables are the future.”
More vegetables. Less cheese. And more take out.
Jason Sobocinski is banking on that formula as he prepares to close his popular decade-old Trumbull Street restaurant and fromagerie Caseus and reopen under a new name, ownership, and menu.
by | Jul 5, 2018 8:12 am | Comments (17)
Pizza chef Mike Zullo makes a MSG pie with mushrooms, summer squash, and goat cheese at new Next Door eatery.
Mike Zullo tossed a ball of pizza dough in the air, rolled it flat, and topped it with sauteed mushrooms and slices of yellow summer squash that had been prepared in an adjacent kitchen earlier in the day.
As he lifted the pizza into a massive wood-fired oven, customers just a few feet away flipped through a drinks menu that contains cocktails infused with syrups and infusions made in that very same kitchen.
by | May 29, 2018 4:37 pm | Comments (2)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
The national champions, their coaches and principals with Mayor Toni Harp at City Hall.
A team of Wilbur Cross High School women brought home a first-place trophy to their school and a national championship to their state and the New England region. Not for the athletic ability or even their academic skill, but their business acumen.
by | May 24, 2018 7:37 am | Comments (1)
Serena Cho Photo
J.P. Dempsey’s, undergoing renovations.
JP Dempsey’s will no longer be a bar exclusively the province of Patriots fans.
by | May 23, 2018 3:50 pm | Comments (3)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
The lines in front of Jesse “J-Hop” Hardy’s barbecue truck during last year’s festival.
The city’s fourth Food Truck Festival promises to be bigger than last year with more food choices and a dragon boat regatta that will start earlier in the day.
by | May 14, 2018 2:50 pm | Comments (3)
East Wall Westville’s festival installation.
DAVID SEPULVEDA PHOTOS
Green Goat dairy goats begin their assault.
A second New Haven “Goatville neighborhood” was opened in Edgewood Park during Westville’s 21st annual Artwalk festival.
But this “neighborhood,” a wooded and overgrown corner of the park, has real, live goats that will be performing special community service for several years to come.