by | Apr 19, 2017 12:31 pm | Comments (2)
Courtesy Doug Coffin
Coffin (at desk), with other original members of the co-op.
Doug Coffin loves the idea of a new food co-op in New Haven, like the one that opened in the late 1960s and closed in the 1980s. But he doubts people have the interest in “putting in the time and effort that’s needed to sustain such a place” anymore.
by | Apr 14, 2017 8:04 am | Comments (2)
Lucy Gellman Photo
A 23-pound chocolate egg is nearly blocking an aisle at an Orange Street market — and no one plans to move it until Monday.
by | Apr 13, 2017 3:05 pm | Comments (6)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Trachten and Decker agreed and then slightly disagreed.
How late should restaurants with bars be allowed to stay open? What should matter more in the decision — the bar’s need to make money, or nearby residents needing sleep?
The Board of Zoning Appeal considered those questions, then decided to allow two proposed restaurant/bars on different sides of town to serve alcohol and provide a reduced amount of parking.
Continue reading ‘Money Wins Out Over Sleep In Zoning Votes’
by | Apr 7, 2017 2:00 pm | Comments (1)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Ibrahim, beta testing.
Courtesy Mmm Pies & Gourmet Desserts
Mubarakah Ibrahim didn’t expect a cancer scare to lead her to any sweet treats. But when a doctor found a growth on her uterus, she was hit with a thought that pierced her to her very core: What if I never get to eat bean pie again?
by | Apr 6, 2017 3:22 pm | Comments (9)
Lucy Gellman Photo
The three partners outside their restaurant-to-be.
Big Green Truck Pizza is planning to lay down brick-and-mortar roots — and feed the surrounding Jocelyn Square neighborhood the way owner Doug Coffin remembers Humphrey’s restaurant doing in the 1990s.
by | Apr 4, 2017 7:43 pm | Comments (2)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Hair, with his creation.
Stanley Hair’s orchid-studded triple-layer cake was exhibit A Tuesday for the opportunities a new Newhallville cafe will offer unemployed and underemployed people looking for culinary careers.
by | Apr 3, 2017 8:02 am | Comments (1)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Carrie Savage’s James & The Giant Peach.
Lego James summited a giant frosted peach. Moby-Dick’s insides were starting to melt. Julien Sorel got blanketed in raspberries. In separate corners, Hemingway’s Robert Jordan traded his bullets for chocolate chips, and sweet Lizzie Bennett firmed up her relationship with a toothpick.
Continue reading ‘Creative Arts Workshop Takes A Bite Out Of Fiction’
by | Apr 1, 2017 8:52 pm | Comments (14)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Ready to rumble!
Winding his way down a narrow aisle, Colin Caplan motioned to his left, where the red paneling and small windows of Louis’ Lunch beckoned from the cold. This was the birthplace of the hamburger, Caplan informed his listeners, and now a New Haven legend.
Then he added: Crown Street is all uphill from here, so people will have to pedal a little harder.
Continue reading ‘The Party Bike Sails On Its Maiden Voyage’
by | Mar 30, 2017 2:37 pm | Comments (4)
Dion Liu lifted a long ribbon of raw pork with tweezer-sized tongs, inspecting its slick red surface. He displayed it to the table’s guests. He dipped the pork into a bubbling, boiling metal pot of broth, swishing the meat from side to side for almost a minute. Then he pulled it out, cooked to medium rare, and placed it gingerly on his diners’ plates.
It was now up to the diners to finish the cooking job.
by | Mar 23, 2017 7:48 am | Comments (3)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Wilson: Think Stony Creek Brewery.
A planned New Haven brewery has the go-ahead to open its doors in the fall and produce up to 45,000 barrels of beer a year — with the proper equipment to make that happen.
by | Mar 20, 2017 7:48 am | Comments (1)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Captain Genesis Padilla of the state championship team.
Before pushing the start button on the kitchen timer, set for 45 minutes, the students of the Wilbur Cross culinary competition team are typical teens laughing and cracking jokes.
Then the time keeper asks if they’re ready. And they get serious.
Continue reading ‘Cross Culinary Squad Cooks Its Way To Top’
by | Mar 10, 2017 8:50 am | Comments (4)
Thomas Breen photo
Hot dog man Sweeney: “Don’t put dollar up front!”
The city came one step closer to realizing a new regulatory framework for monitoring New Haven’s food trucks, carts, and stands thanks to a vote following a three-hour public session at City Hall.
by | Mar 9, 2017 9:19 am | Comments (27)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Knight and Bolduc with Chef Camacho (center) Wednesday night.
Westville welcomed a plan for a new restaurant at an empty former bank building while expressing reservations about another at a former problem bar spot, as developers made their pitches.
by | Mar 8, 2017 7:12 pm | Comments (2)
Lucy Gellman Photo
A toast launches New Haven’s sour beer journey.
Tipping a glass of orange-red beer into her mouth, Elizabeth Nearing realized she wasn’t in New Haven anymore. She was back on the playground with her third-grade class, sneaking mouth-puckering warheads candies before the end of recess.
Continue reading ‘“Sour Fest 2017” Brings New Taste To Town’
by | Mar 2, 2017 4:10 pm | Comments (0)
Karen Ponzio Photo
The 30 in 30 club.
Early in the evening on Wednesday, Outer Space owner Steve Rodgers broke the sound of glasses hitting the bar and people chatting with an exclamation.
“Hey everyone, time for a group photo! Bring your glasses!”
He directed the crowd to the stage, where eager patrons took pictures. The subjects smiled, laughed, made gestures behind each other’s heads, hugged, and generally had a blast as friends often do when they’re sharing something they love. In this case — the hosting of the Outer Space’s monthly 30 in 30 club — the something they loved was beer.
Continue reading ‘30 In 30 Club Celebrates Friendship And Foam’
by | Mar 2, 2017 1:07 pm | Comments (3)
A furry diner returned to the Southern Connecticut State University caf — and it’s not quite clear if it’s the last time he and his friends show up to eat.
by | Mar 1, 2017 2:36 pm | Comments (12)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Wilson: Returning to zoning board with modifications.
A group of alders and East Rock residents ended Monday night ready to raise a pint in a new neighborhood watering hole — even if the place is still months in the making.
Continue reading ‘East Rockers Toast Brewery’s Revised Plan’
by | Feb 20, 2017 8:58 am | Comments (20)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Banking on dinner at Fountain and Central.
Allan Appel Photo
Dream team Camacho & Bolduc: Headed for Westville?
The empty former First Niagara Bank branch in Westville’s commercial heart may soon find new life as an eatery run by one of the city’s more successful restaurateurs — and revive some of the dining scene lost in the fire at the old Delaney’s across the street.
by | Jan 27, 2017 1:08 pm | Comments (5)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Chef Wright. His brother handles the meat.
Inside New Haven’s newest Caribbean restaurant, Qulen Wright sautéd the brightly red and yellow peppers, onions and garlic to create the base for Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and saltfish — except there would be no saltfish.
“I’m the vegan cook,” Wright said. “So I can make it without the fish.”
by | Jan 27, 2017 9:32 am | Comments (1)
Lucy Gellman Photo
The lobster and rice cakes.
Peter Guo has a routine at the end of every January: pick out the freshest fish and vegetables from his favorite markets, buy enough pork, lotus root, and yu choi for 600 customers in two days, put on his starched apron and splattered chef’s cap, and get to work.
Continue reading ‘Gingery Chicken On The Menu For Year Of The Rooster’
by | Jan 27, 2017 9:31 am | Comments (0)
Paul Bass Photo
Gateway student Yakira Ralda serves a customer.
Chad Kinsman found a tasty companion for tackling an existential crisis Thursday afternoon, courtesy of two hippies from Vermont: a cup of brown bourbon ice cream.
by | Jan 13, 2017 10:00 am | Comments (9)
Michelle Liu Photo
Fontana faces alders Thursday night.
David Yaffe-Bellany Photo
Sweeney at work on Long Wharf.
“When I started on Long Wharf, it was the seagulls, the pigeons and me,” Bob Sweeney said. “There was no people.”
Now he has swarms of human company — and he asked city lawmakers to “go easy” on them.
by | Dec 23, 2016 1:10 pm | Comments (4)
Brian Slattery Photo
On Friday morning, cars lined State Street all around the #1 Fish Market. Cars were parked on side streets, and people hustled across the state thoroughfare with grocery bags full of seafood. The market’s own small parking lot was completely full. A line snaked out the door and stretched across the entire front of the building. Some people would be there for hours. But everyone was in a good mood.
They were part of an annual ritual that has been going on for years. The #1 Fish Market — which many consider the best in the New Haven area — becomes the epicenter not only for anyone who wants seafood for their holiday meal, but also specifically for the Italian-American tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which stipulates that a family serve an enormous meal of, you guessed it, seven fishes on Christmas Eve.
Continue reading ‘Fish Market Keeps Christmas Eve Tradition Alive’
by | Dec 23, 2016 8:30 am | Comments (0)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Fitzmaurice and Slomba.
Friday’s programs on WNHH radio go full steam ahead into the end of 2016, exploring last-minute local shopping, recapping a crazy year of news, and looking at how New Haveners get their holiday season on.
by | Dec 22, 2016 1:17 pm | Comments (1)
Lucy Gellman Photo
Standing before a hot plate and sacks of sugar, semolina flour, and ground nuts, A (who asked not to be identified by her name) prepared to perform culinary magic. Her hands flew through the still air, 30 pairs of eyes following her every move. The swift flick of her wrist. A spoon stirring slowly through simple syrup.
As she spoke, a fast thread of Arabic running from her to the audience, translator Malak Nasr stepped forward to distill her sentences. Two cups of sugar. Four cups of coarse semolina.