Heirloom at The Study in New Haven

When my family and I book hotels, we always try to research what is the newest and cleanest hotel in the destination city. New Haven in Connecticut is an old college town thanks to Yale's history and prestige. Fortunately for us, we stayed at one of the newest hotels in town, The Study at Yale. We previously stayed here during the holiday just last year. It's a great place to stay if you want to be centrally located in around campus.

The accommodations are clean and comfortable. And even better, the hotel restaurant, Heirloom, serves great tasting food. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and a lounge menu between meals. It's been tasty and consistent on each of our trips.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read more about the food photos.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album.

Apizza in New Haven

The east coast is the birthplace of American style pizza. In particular, New York and New Haven are the noted cities which still house the original pizza/pies/apizza (whatever you call it) restaurants.

Being fans of food and history, my family tried out the infamous Frank Pepe's. Despite it's media hype and reputation, we actually preferred the more artisan style of pizza at Kitchen Zinc.

This time around, we tried another New Haven apizza spot, Modern Apizza. The bottom is nice and crispy from crust to center. It's also a thin pie, which I prefer. Overall taste, though, didn't impress me too much. It's a great place to eat in or take out if you're craving for a standard American style pizza. But if you're looking for a quality pie with a great pizza dough taste and quality ingredients, I still prefer Kitchen Zinc's pizzas.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album.

Caseus - Cheesy Goodness in New Haven

I love local spots when I'm any city around the world. Meaning to say, I try to avoid global and national chains (e.g., Starbucks). I want to see and taste what the locals are doing.

In New Haven, one of these local spots is Caseus, a local cheese shop and bistro. It's local popularity has expanded to the trendy food truck, as well. Caseus is a cool, chill place to eat outdoors when the weather is warm and sunny, or indoors in a tavern-like atmosphere. If you're in the mood for some cheesy goodness, this is the place to go.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about each picture.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album.

A Sunday Dinner Italian Style

For our last meal in New Haven and in the east coast, my family and I enjoyed some comforting Italian food for our Sunday dinner at Basta. We dined here before when we first visited New Haven. With the feast in front of us, it was truly an Italian Style Sunday Family Dinner. The portions are so generous - perfect for family style eating.

I should have busted out with my Italian accent to make the meal even more authentic.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about each of the food photos.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Brunch at Heirloom in New Haven

There are some Sundays and holidays when you wake up and just crave for brunch. In our family, brunch is usually at least past 11:30am and most often past 12:30pm. New Year's Day is one of those perfect days for a brunch. So with the family together, we gathered at our hotel restaurant in New Haven.

Heirloom is the restaurant at The Study at Yale Hotel. It serves local ingredients from local Connecticut farms. The food is good and fresh but the service could be better. At times it felt very lacking and flaky. As much as I emphasis quality ingredients, I also feel the need to constantly stress that service is the key factor that brings back customers.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about each of the food photos.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Pizza at Frank Pepe's

I've been a pizza lover for probably as long as I was weaned off baby food. Thankfully, my taste for quality pizza has greatly improved. I can still remember that as a kid, I loved Pizza Hut because of that pan fried bottom. Years and pounds shed later, I now crave artisan pizza - that fluffy, chewy, crispy thin crust pizza.

So, when it comes to visiting pizza places I have a much higher marker than Pizza Hut. These days, Howie's Artisan Pizza is the place to beat. Going to New Haven, I was excited to try what is supposedly one of the best pizza places in the nation, as it is also one of the oldest pizzerias.

Frank Pepe's specializes in Napoletana-American pizza. It is hyped by many chefs and food writers as one of the best pizza places out there. I don't get it. It was just a decent pizzeria. The margherita pizza was pretty decent, and the best of the three pies we ate. Their specialty White Clam Pie was an oversalted, soggy mess. Perhaps it was the day I went there, but because of that one experience, I don't know if I could go back. I need to have that memorable first time experience in order to go back and further patronize a place.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about some of the food photos.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see my slideshow here.

Snowpocalypse 2010

If you have been keeping up with the news and current events over the holidays, I'm sure you've read about the blizzard that hit the east coast right after Christmas. In New York City it was fittingly called "Snowpocalypse." Totally. It was so amazing to watch the progression of the blizzard the slow slow process of cleaning up the slushy mess.

Here are a bunch of pictures I took throughout my whole week in the city:

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

New Haven, Connecticut

I'm proud to say my brother is a student at Yale's School of Management. So that means, in the next two years, I'll have New Haven eats featured here.

Lenny's, Branford CT
If you're in the upper east coast, the search for fresh and reasonable seafood is a MUST. This was our first adventure. Good seafood, but not at a good price.
The Menu

The View of the Marsh

Outside Seating
If you don't attract mosquitoes and ticks, this is a really nice outdoor seating space. Actually, the weather is so nice and warm outside that any you should sit outside every chance you get. Alas, I attract mosquitoes and ticks. No really, I am a mosquito magnet. In the course of this 10 day east coast trip, I had 12+ bites.

Inside Seating
As a result, we transfered our seats inside.

Landshark Lager
This was an ok summer lager. It reminded me of a sweeter Corona. Personally, I'm more of a fan of Japanese lagers.

Fish 'n Chips
A decent batch of fish and chips. When it comes to fish and chips I look for the lightness and the crispness of the batter, as well as the freshness and the lightness of the fish. As for the fries, I love thin, crispy fries. The fries weren't great, but the fish wasn't too bad. It was fresh and light, but I wish the batter were lighter and crispier.

Oysters
Nice, fresh oysters, but it wasn't as plump as I wanted them.

2 1/2 lb Lobster

Cut in Half
After some struggle to open up the body of the lobster, we asked to have our lobsters cut in half. Check out that succulent meat and the fat filled head! Like all seafood, the head is the best part.


Bistro Basque, Milford CT
We stayed in the town of Milford, just south of New Haven, for a few days. This was one of our great finds in downtown Milford.
Olive Oil

Piquillos Rellenos con Ensalada Mixta de Txanguro
Chilled piquillo peppers stuffed with Iberian style crab meat salad. A great refreshing start!

Gratin de Chou-Fleur
Cauliflower gratin wrapped with Serrano ham. I've grown to really enjoy cauliflower. This gratin had a great texture with the taste of baked cheese.

Crab Cakes
Mmm! I love crab cakes, and this small plate lived up to my standards. Generous with fresh crab and crispy on the outside.

Gambas al Ajillo
Sauteed shrimp in garlic sauce. I was expecting a plate similar to Bocadillos. This small plate felt like a home-cooked winter night's dish.

Chorizo
In line with the gambas, this also had that home-cooked feel. It reminded me of a non-canned Pork and Beans.

Txipirones
Basque style squid in an ink sauce. The sauce could have had more depth, but I enjoyed this because it reminded me of arroz negro.

Tapas Cazera
A napoleon of Shitaki mushrooms topping red cabage, spinach and duck confit. This was tasty! Each layer had a bold taste, and all together they complimented each other well.



Kitchen Zinc, New Haven CT
Take a walk behind Zinc, and you'll find this lovely pizzeria. The inside was well decorated, but since it's summer you have to take advantage of the outside seating area before the winter season.
The Menu

The Inside

Brews for the Night
Ommegang Witte - Soft-bodied wheat brew, with bold tastes of orange and lemon.
Old Burnside Ten Penny Ale - Scottish amber ale with little hops.

Long Trail Ale - Full bodied, clean tasting amber ale.

Organic Greens
Some extra fiber to start the dinner. A good salad with bits of pine nuts and a nice balsamic dressing.

The Pizzas!...I mean, The Pies!
Overall, this was a great pizza place. Thin crust, crispy, and not overly oily.

Tomato Red Pie

Portobello White Pie


Prime 16, New Haven CT
A fun bar and a place for some pretty good burgers.


Philly Cheese Steak Burger with Onion Rings

Blue Cheese Burger with Fifty Fifty (Skinny Fries and Sweet Fries)


Basta Trattoria, New Haven CT
Come with an appetite and be prepared for big plates. The appetizers are called "Small Plates" - Hah, right!
The Menu


The Wines
Terrabianca “Campaccio” Super Tuscan and Bortoluzzi Merlot. Both delicious, smooth wines that paired well with the meal.

Sicilian Calamari
A great starter. Well fried and nicely coated with a spicy tomato sauce.

Escarole Saute
Escarole sauteed in garlic with bits of capers and anchovies. We love and eat our greens and vegetables.

Risotto with Corn and Parmesan
Not a good order. It was pasty and under-seasoned.

Rigatoni alla Vodka
Delicious! The sauce was well-seasoned and coated the pasta generously.


Marius, New Haven CT
A decent place with an amazing lobster deal. For $12.95 you get a 1 1/2 lb lobster with salad!

Bread and Focaccia

Roasted Eggplants mixed with Sweet Tomatoes and Sweet Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Albarino
This light white pairs well with seafood.

Fresh Lobster and Corn Salad
Generous servings of lobster and corn. A great plate!

Grilled Lobster
The shells were incredibly thin, which means the lobster was incredibly fresh.

Primavera Risotto
A pretty good plate of risotto.


Follow that Cupcake
New Haven's first cupcake truck!

Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting
Mmm! Light, moist, and a creamy frosting.

Chocolate Cupcake and Chocolate Frosting
Another great cupcake!

Chocolate Cupcake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
And another great cupcake!

Look at the Moistness!

I can't wait to visit this truck again, I mean, I can't wait to visit my brother again!