Dining

Art Brings Freedom — And Business — To Blue Orchid

by | Aug 25, 2022 8:55 am | Comments (0)

There’s a reason for the vibrant colors in Sarahi Zacatelco’s self-portrait. That’s how I feel now,” Zacatelco said. I’m a survivor,” she said, and those colors mean freedom” — freedom from a bad situation she left behind, and freedom to accept the support of others she has found in New Haven. It’s also a celebration of the freedom to work on myself and to work on my art. I left everything behind. All the depression. All the hard feelings. Everything.” It’s the same impulse that led her to make a painting of a pair of wings. Now I’m flying,” she said. Now I’m free.”

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New Eatery Brings "La Isla" To Hamden

by | Jul 17, 2022 10:41 am | Comments (1)

Olivia Gross File Photo

Leli and Darcus Henry with daughter Leila at their new restaurant.

Olivia Gross Photo.

Plaintain cups with pork: a La Isla specialty.

Leli and Darcus Henry spent their Covid-19 quarantine wishing for a Hamden-based restaurant that served authentic, home-cooked Puerto Rican food. When they didn’t find one, they opened their own.

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Zaroka Gets A Reboot

by | Jun 29, 2022 9:29 am | Comments (1)

Olivia Gross Photo

Fresh mozzarella naan with Italian seasoning.

Olivia Gross Photo

Mahesh Pirthiani, the new owner of Zaroka.

After 21 years of running his own 7/11 franchise, Mahesh Pirthiani was in need of a new project. Luckily, his favorite restaurant was looking for a new owner.

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A&I Brings New Haven To The Green

by | Jun 27, 2022 9:45 am | Comments (0)

Brian Slattery Photos

For its concluding day on Sunday, the International Festival of Arts and Ideas hosted or facilitated a slew of activities on the New Haven Green that kept people there from morning to night, beginning with circuses and magicians, continuing through jerk chicken and dancing, and ending with a drag show about the need to reconnect with a sense of pride.

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Ancient Recipes Please Modern Palates At Sanctuary Kitchen A&I Event

by | Jun 22, 2022 9:52 am | Comments (0)

Karen Ponzio Photos

Leek chard fatayer made by Sanctuary Kitchen

Could 4,000-year-old recipes translate into a feast to tantalize the tastebuds of today’s dining aficionado? At the hands of chefs from New Haven’s own Sanctuary Kitchen, it turns out they more than satisfied. Around 30 diners gathered at RAWA Tuesday night for an International Festival of Arts and Ideas event where a three-course meal prepared by Sanctuary Kitchen was presented in conjunction with Yale Peabody Museum, inspired by writings from tablets that are a part of their Babylonian collection. 

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Gastronomy Tour Puts The Grand In Grand Avenue

by | Jun 13, 2022 9:28 am | Comments (6)

Karen Ponzio Photos

Mussels from La Molienda Restaurant and Bar

Enchiladas, ceviche, plantains, and pastries were served up with a side of history, as the Grand Avenue Gastronomy Tour returned as part of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas Saturday. Twenty participants, led by Lee Cruz of the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association, ate their way down and around Fair Haven while also learning about the neighborhood itself: past, present, and future.

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Greetings From Nashville!

by , and | May 11, 2022 4:27 pm | Comments (20)

Independent reporters Laura Glesby, Maya McFadden, and Nora Grace-Flood on scene at New Haven's newest direct-connection destination.

It took less than ten minutes through TSA, two hours on a plane, and a timeless rock track sung by a musician moonlighting as a Lyft driver to transport a trio of New Haveners to Nashville. 

In the same amount of time, three hyperlocal reporters and homebodies were transformed into tourists, traversing beyond transportation-themed press conferences into new territory bordered by bluegrass, barbecue and surprisingly substantial bike lanes for a car-centric state. 

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Hamden Looks To Lift Spirits By Allowing Booze Sales At Town Events

by | Apr 7, 2022 2:55 pm | Comments (5)

Next year, these a capella ladies will likely be able to buy alcoholic drinks at Hamden Fest ...

... but other town events, like this dance for disabled children, will probably still not include liquor.

It’s June 11, 2022. You’re getting ready for a day of purchasing homemade postcards, sampling the products of local potrepreneurs, and either encountering or evading politicians campaigning at Town Center Park during the annual Hamden Fest. 

How much would buying an ice cold Corona on-scene contribute to the experience?

This year’s attendees of Hamden Fest may get to find out for themselves, thanks to a proposed amendment put forward by Hamden’s mayor to allow for the sale and distribution of alcohol at town celebrations on a case-by-case review basis.

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$11.65 Burrito & Smoothie Bring Summer Closer

by | Mar 29, 2022 1:03 pm | Comments (1)

Arturo Morales adds the meat fresh off the stove to make the Buffalo chicken burrito, a special on Tomatillo's menu.

I bit into a Buffalo chicken burrito, cooled it off with a sip of mango-coolada smoothie — and my taste buds were reminded, amid a cold late-March afternoon, about what to expect from the summer flavors up ahead.

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