Dispatches from Food Haven

Of all the things that have changed since you left Yale—assuming you go back, say, ten years or more—the happiest may be the food scene in New Haven. Sure, we’ve lost some old favorites—the Yankee Doodle, the Copper Kitchen, and, most recently, the Educated Burgher—but it is hard to overstate the variety and quality of culinary options that have popped up downtown.

So we were not surprised that something called Livability.com recently declared New Haven the No. 1 Foodie City in America. The only surprise was that their writeup focused on old favorites like Pepe’s pizza, Claire’s Corner Copia, and Louis’ Lunch, when they could have mentioned newer, more adventurous options like Caseus (the gourmet cheese shop and bistro at Whitney and Trumbull) or Soul de Cuba (the tiny Crown Street taste of the Caribbean) or the burgeoning villages of food trucks at Ingalls Rink and the med school.

The latest food news has new restaurants coming to some long-dark locations owned by Yale. Harvest Wine Bar, a “farm to fork” wine bar which already has a location in Greenwich, will open this summer at 1140 Chapel Street, in the subterranean courtyard next door to the Yale Center for British Art. (Depending on your age, you’ll remember the spot as West of Eleven, Whistler’s, or, most recently, Scoozzi.) Also imported from Fairfield County is Tarry Lodge, a pizzeria and restaurant launched in Westport and Port Chester, New York, by a team that includes celebrity chef Mario Batali. They’ll open this fall at 228 Park Street, in a building on the site of the former Park Street Subs. (Mmm, speaking of bygone New Haven eateries . . . )

___________________________________________

The Yale Alumni Magazine is published by Yale Alumni Publications Inc., an alumni-based nonprofit that is not run by Yale University. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration.