Book Review: Unique Eats and Eateries of Connecticut

ConnEATicut
Unique Eats and Eateries of Connecticut, Mike Urban (2021)

This won’t be your typical CTMQ CT Book Review. But what would that even be? I don’t know. This is a good book! Any Connecticutian who likes to go out to eat would be well-served by this book.

This book is also part of a massive universe of Unique Eats and Eateries of [City/State] books put out in recent years by Reedy Press. There are a ton of them, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t necessarily bad. If every other one employed an actual local writer, then that’s awesome.

Our little Connecticut was covered by Mike Urban, a food and travel writer. Mike served as vice president and associate publisher of Globe Pequot for more than ten years – the outfit that would likely be the one to publish a mythical CTMQ book if such a book were ever to exist. He’s written for “Yankee” and lives in Old Saybrook according to the cover blurb. (New Haven per Amazon bio, but I’m going with Old Saybrook and you’ll see why below.)

Urban also wrote the Maine version of this book which, if I was MEMQ, I’d be sore about.

The book covers 85 restaurants and food experiences in the state. Much of this has been covered by Roadfood and this very website over the last two decades – and that’s fine. Good, even. Urban’s track record for hitting places that are still open in 2025 is impressive – he mostly chose businesses that had been open for a long time. Very smart.

This list, again, is a very good list – even if he seems to include every single sea-side seafood/lobster roll place in the entire state. I’ve decided to simply give the entire list to you right here, with links to my visits, but obviously without Urban’s own erudite writing about each place. The ordering of the book is completely nonsensical which… I guess is a thing with these books? It’s dumb, but I’ve followed it below.

Closures are all since the author’s travels in 2021 or so. My visits were done for a variety of reasons over the last two decades.

The Place, Guilford
Mexicali Rose, Newtown
O’Rourke’s Diner, Middletown: (Closed)
Parkville Market, Hartford
Antojos, Norwalk
Traveler Food & Books, Union
Arethusa Farm Dairy, Litchfield
Sultan’s Turkish Restaurant, Waterbury
Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough, Groton: Sound-side lobster/seafood place # 1
Goulash Place, Danbury: (Closed)
Pho 501, East Hartford
Pepe’s Pizza, New Haven
B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill, Stonington

Monkey Farm, Old Saybrook: Hometown cookin’ # 1
Frog Rock Rest Stop, Eastford
Makris Diner, Wethersfield
Minas Carne, Danbury
Bloodroot, Bridgeport
Grano Arso, Chester
Rein’s Deli, Vernon
Atlantic Seafood Market, Old Saybrook: Sound-side lobster/seafood place & Hometown cookin’ #2
Heibeck’s Stand, Wilton
Bill’s Seafood, Westbrook: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #3
Lakeside, Diner, Stamford
Bishop’s Orchards, Guilford
Harry’s Place, Colchester
Shady Glen, Manchester
Union League Cafe, New Haven
Blackie’s, Cheshire:

Willimantic Brewing Company, Windham
Black Duck Cafe, Westport
Sally’s Apizza, New Haven
Lilly’s Soul Food, Windsor
G-Zen, Branford (Closed)
Bridgewater Chocolate, Brookfield & West Hartford
Lobster Landing, Clinton: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #4
Costello’s, Groton: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #5
Bohemian Pizza and Tacos, Litchfield
Flanders Fish Market, East Lyme: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #6
Dottie’s Diner, Woodbury
Long Wharf Food Trucks, New Haven
Fromage, Old Saybrook: Hometown cookin’ #3
Bufalina, Guilford
City Fish Market, Wethersfield
Sycamore Drive-In, Bethel
Ford’s Lobster, Groton: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #7

Log House Restaurant, Barkhamsted
Liv’s Shack, Old Saybrook: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #7 & Hometown cookin’ #4

Roseland Apizza, Derby
Doogie’s, Newington
Corner Restaurant, Milford

Clam Castle, Madison: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #8
Staropolska, New Britain (Closed)
Blue Oar, Haddam (Closed)
Tangiers International, Hartford
Super Duper Weenie, Fairfield
Clamp’s, New Milford
Jessica’s Garden, Marlborough
Laurel Diner
Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock, New London: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #9
Griswold Inn, Essex
Quaker Diner, West Hartford

UConn Dairy Bar, Mansfield
Liuzzi Gourmet Food Market, North Haven
Taste of China, Clinton
Louis’ Lunch, New Haven
Black-Eyed Sally’s, Hartford
Millwright’s, Simsbury
Lobster Shack, East Haven: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #10
Ted’s Steamed Cheeseburgers, Meriden
Modern Apizza, New Haven
Zip’s Diner, Killingly
Sea Swirl, Stonington Sound-side lobster/seafood place #11
Vinny’s Roast Beef and Deli, Wallingford
Himalaya Cafe, Old Saybrook: Hometown cookin’ #5
Taino Smokehouse, Middletown
Westfair Fish & Chips, Westport: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #11
Guilford Lobster Pound, Guilford: Sound-side lobster/seafood place #12
Metro Bis, Simsbury
Glenwood Drive-In, Hamden
The Pantry, Washington
Winsted Diner, Winchester (Closed)
Essex Shad Bake, Essex
Norm’s Diner, Groton
Zuppardi’s Apizza, West Haven

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