The year in mouthfuls
By Todd Lyon
From the New Haven Register
 | Chef Jeff Sansone, left, chef and co-owner Denise Appel and co-owner Donna Curren at Chow, a dim sum and wine bar.
Jeff Holt/Register galleries |
Plenty of restaurants opened in 2005, but only a select few made Todd Lyon’s best-of list. I gain about five pounds every year, and never take it off. It’s an occupational hazard, resulting in a wardrobe that I’m constantly outgrowing, like a teenager with a perpetual growth spurt, but in the wrong direction.
Still, I’m proud to be made of fine dining. And the dining here in New Haven gets better and better, thanks to a growth spurt of our own that seems as if it’s never going to stop.
Of all the new restaurants that have opened in our county this year — and there’s been lots of them — a few stand out as personal favorites.
In no particular order, they are:
Pacifico
220 College St., New Haven,
(203) 772-4002
Rafael Palomino’s colorful, Nuevo-Latino place at the long-neglected corner of College and Crown caused a sensation when it opened earlier this year. Pricey but worth it, the two-story space is now an established destination for delectable cuisine woven from a variety of Spanish-speaking cultures — and the wine list is excellent, as well.
Pazzo Ristorante
730 Boston Post Road, Westbrook, (860) 399-4444
What was once a house and then a deli on Route 1 in Westbrook is now a charming Italian restaurant with especially flavorful cuisine from the hand of Chef Michael Achilles, whose work has wowed me before (most recently at Gabrielle’s in Centerbrook). Currently, Pazzo is expanding, and will soon reveal a large, second dining room with lofty ceilings that promises to be extra pleasurable in the summer months.
Martin’s, An American Cafe
25 Whitfield St., Guilford,
(203) 458-1300
Marty Ferrari has reinvented the "family restaurant" with Martin’s, a fun and lovely eatery on the Green that was once home to Esteva. What sets Martin’s apart is that it serves breakfast — big, serious breakfast — in the morning, then lunch, then becomes a fine-dining establishment at night. Weekend brunches have been a big hit, and Martin’s has become a crowd-pleaser for all generations and a much-needed social center for Guilfordites.
Pot-au-Pho
71 Whitney Ave., New Haven, (203) 776-2248
New Haven was long overdue for a good Vietnamese restaurant, and our prayers were answered by Pot-au-Pho, a wonderful two-story restaurant near the corner of Trumbull that specializes in soups. Owner Sophie Nguyen and her family have perfected the art of Pho, which is fragrant Vietnamese soup that’s more or less assembled at the table. There are lots of other tasty specialties as well, all healthful and warming and affordable, and very welcome.
Wasabi
350 Boston Post Road, Orange, (203) 795-5856
It’s the best new sushi restaurant to come down the pike in some time. Though small and unpretentious, Wasabi has an inventive kitchen that integrates flavors from France, Italy and China into its special dishes, with great success. The sushi is spanking fresh, and don’t forget to order dessert — there’s a list of original creations by Chef/Owner Tom Ke, and I’m personally crazy about them.
Fire
7 Elm St., New Haven, (203) 787-9000
This fall, Polo Grille ended its eight-year run on the corner of State and Elm and, after ambitious renovations, reopened as Fire. The space is completely transformed into a contemporary urban eatery with dramatic lighting; the menu is equally transformed, featuring an eclectic assortment of dishes by Chef Luke Lamparelli, many of which were born in countries near the equator, and many of which are kissed by fire in a brick oven that can be seen from the main dining room.
Cafe Goodfellas
758 State St., New Haven, (203) 785-8722
Chef Gerry Iannaccone, of Tenderloin fame, has done it again: He had the nerve to open a mob-themed restaurant on State Street, and it’s working. There are campy posters and flat-screen TVs playing classic gangster movies, but the food is serious: His menu of Little Italy-style dinners are top notch. Warning: Goodfellas gets progressively louder as the night goes on, so if your tolerance for din is low, reserve a table before 7 p.m.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Beach House, in the Woodmont section of Milford, is big, attractive, expensive and has very good steaks and seafood ... Basta on Chapel Street, a small place with a big menu of tasty and socially conscious Italian-American dishes ... Oolong Tea Bar, the first of its kind in New Haven, with a huge assortment of loose-leaf teas, perfectly brewed to order ... and, though it’s not strictly new, the reborn Ristorante Luce, a whole new incarnation of the former Rafaello’s in Hamden.
Todd Lyon of New Haven is a freelance writer. |
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