Best Dining in Connecticut | 2015 Editors’ Choice Awards
Hungry? The Nutmeg State offers plenty of restaurant options for hungry residents and visitors alike. Here are our picks for the best food & dining in Connecticut for 2015. BEST SUSHI MIYA’S SUSHI, New Haven Don’t expect tuna: This is futuristic sushi for the adventurous! Chef Bun Lai is so passionate about sustainability that he […]
Best Big City Dining in Cow Country |
Arethusa al tavolo, Litchfield
Photo Credit : Julie Bidwell
Hungry? The Nutmeg State offers plenty of restaurant options for hungry residents and visitors alike. Here are our picks for the best food & dining in Connecticut for 2015.
Best Big City Dining in Cow Country | Arethusa al tavolo, Litchfield Photo Credit : Julie Bidwell
BEST SUSHI
MIYA’S SUSHI, New Haven
Don’t expect tuna: This is futuristic sushi for the adventurous! Chef Bun Lai is so passionate about sustainability that he maintains his own seaweed and shellfish beds and trains his team to dive and fish. Do your part to rid the world of pests by selecting from the invasive-species menu. Ordering Kanibaba, a dish made with Asian shore crabs, is the tastiest thing you can do to clean up Long Island Sound. Sushi rolls: from $3.
68 Howe St. 203-777-9760; miyassushi.com
BEST FLATBREADS
QUERCIBELLA, New Hartford
Chef Carl Rynecki is reinventing flatbread pizzas at this convivial little out-of-the-way eatery. The only thing more enticing than sampling his delectably quirky, farm-to-table-inspired topping combos, such as Marwin Farm duck sausage, d’Anjou pear, cranberry, goat cheese, arugula, and candied pecans, is perusing the enormous list of specialty and locally sourced ingredients and inventing your own wood-grilled sensation. Flatbreads: from $14.
280D Main St. 860-238-4261; quercibella.com
BEST BAR FOOD
ENGINE ROOM, Mystic
Want bacon-fat caramel popcorn with that “BIG stack” double cheeseburger with smoky secret sauce? That’s an easy decision compared with choosing from 50+ rare and wide-ranging bottled and draft beers. The team that catapulted Mystic’s Oyster Club to acclaim has transformed the riverside Lathrop Marine Engine factory into the home of grown-up happy meals. Entrées: from $12.
14 Holmes St. 860-415-8117; engineroomct.com
BEST HIDDEN LOBSTER SHACK
LOBSTER LANDING, Clinton
Situated down a narrow drive, this marina-side shack is tricky to find. Don’t bother searching online; they don’t have a website. What they do have—headlining a menu board that typically features only three items—is toasted sub rolls loaded with a quarter-pound of freshly shelled, lemon-spritzed, butter-slathered lobster. A heated tent extends the season through December. Lobster rolls: $16.
152 Commerce St. 860-669-2005
BEST BIG-CITY DINING IN COW COUNTRY
ARETHUSA AL TAVOLO, Litchfield
Arethusa Farm owners and Manolo Blahnik execs George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgaitis added a restaurant to their agrarian empire in 2013. Chef Dan Magill styles dishes such as Foraged Mushrooms & Arethusa Camembert Ravioli with primo ingredients, including dairy delights from Arethusa’s famously pampered cows. Service is extraordinary; the vibe unpretentious. You’ll wish that every meal of your life ended as blissfully with a shot glass of milk and a cookie. Entrées: from $25.
828 Bantam Road. 860-567-0043; arethusaaltavolo.com
BEST LOCAVORE EXPERIENCE
COMMUNITY TABLE, Washington
Yes, that’s a beehive out back: Taste the honey in a Bee’s Knees cocktail as you’re indoctrinated into the practice of mindful dining. Chef Joel Viehland sources raw materials from a who’s who of local, ethical growers, foragers, and producers. The black-walnut tables were made from trees cut down in the back yard and the hand soaps in the restrooms are made by the pastry chef. Entrées: from $24.
223 Litchfield Turnpike. 860-868-9354; communitytablect.com
BEST CUPCAKES
HARDCORE SWEET CUPCAKES, Watertown
He plays guitar in a hardcore punk band and rocks at rolling fondant. She went from baking for their kids’ parties to inventing decadent grown-up treats like Drunk Jack Balls (beer-fudge and pumpkin-ale cake truffles). Since winning Cupcake Wars in 2013, Jeremy and Nicole Braddock’s edgy, irreverent sweets have been all the rage.
20 Main St. 860-417-6660; hardcoresweetcupcakes.com
BEST SPORTS BAR
BOBBY V’S RESTAURANT & SPORTS BAR, Windsor Locks
Connecticut native and former Major League Baseball manager Bobby Valentine’s latest venture isn’t fandom central just because the largest of its 70+ indoor and outdoor TVs is 17 feet wide. Culinary Institute of America–trained chef Jordan Stein hits a home run with filet mignon sliders and nachos grande enough to be a meal. Entrées: from $9.
11 Schoephoester Road. 860-627-5808; bobbyvsrestaurant.com
BEST MEATLESS CAFÉ
THE MUSICAL FOREST CAFÉ, North Haven
Think meatless dining isn’t satisfying? Try the vegan-bacon mac-and-cheese panini at this tiny tiki bar inside the Music Center of North Haven. When owner Mark Minotti’s serious illness responded positively to a macrobiotic diet, he decided to share his newfound knowledge. Burgers, Philly cheesesteak, and Costa Rican empanadas are all on the menu, as are vegan baked goods. Minotti handmakes all of the “meats.” Lunches: from $6.95.
473 Washington Ave. 203-234-8865; musiccenternorth.com/Stagetime-Cafe.html