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CTMQ > Food & Drink > Best, Unique, & Historic Restaurants & Foods > Connecticut Food Tour of the World

Connecticut Food Tour of the World

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The Most Difficult and Delicious Section of CTMQ
CTMQ Ethnic Food/Restaurant Tour

Skip the intro and go straight to the list!

Here’s something you may not know: writing about food is very, very difficult for me. I can’t do it very well at all, but at least I’m friends with a few quality food writers. As I embark on these little food adventures “around the world in Connecticut,” I want to be clear: I’m not good at this.

Calvin enjoying Afternoon Tea at Tea Roses Tea Room, Cromwell

I know a little bit about food, but not enough to be any sort of knowledgable source about it. I can write about experiences, and that’s what these pages will be about – sometimes more than the food.

Also, I can’t take good pictures of food either. Food photography is ten times harder than food writing. Seriously. It is very easy to make a world class dish look like vomit. The best food bloggers aren’t always the ones who write the best, but oftentimes they are the ones with the best pictures. That is not me.

Furthermore, taking pictures of a meal is just so… gauche. I hate doing it so much I can’t even think of the right words to express my difficulties doing it. I don’t want servers or fellow diners to think that I’m a Yelper or a food blogger. And I don’t want to distract other diners with a flash or a “pose.” I rather enjoy my quiet anonymity.

Oh yeah, I also don’t eat cows or pigs as a general rule. And I can’t just decide to go eat haggis in Clinton on a whim, for a million reasons. And while I’m picking on myself, I’m not really into desserts either.

So what the heck am I doing this stuff for? I’m not sure.

Rasham rules

I’ve started and stopped a few different food things on CTMQ. But this specific idea should be different – and better. If CTMQ’s mission is to “Destroy the myth that there’s nothing to do in CT,” (and it is) then I think highlighting some of the state’s more unique and often exciting restaurants fits that bill. Better yet, this should be the rare thing on this site wherein I am joined by non-family. Once in a blue moon anyway.

Longtime readers may remember my “World Cup Tour 2006” that was similarly themed. If this turns out to be half as fun as that was, it’ll be worth it.

I started this whole thing in the spring of 2013 by inviting a slew of friends to all meet up at a chosen restaurant and have a lovely evening. I did this three times and it was a blast. But it also wasn’t really “me,” at all. Too much hubris required and too many moving parts. So I scrapped that whole plan.

Shout outs to those who participated in those meals though! You now have a little asterisk in your life history: “I went to one of the CTMQ dinner things! An idea that fizzled out immediately after it began!” Anyway, after those few gatherings, I decided to continue the idea alone and/or with my family – or with one or two friends maybe. We’ll see how it all turns out.

Seeking help from social media proved worthwhile and I’ve compiled a decent list here. Additional input is always welcome. There’s a bias towards Hartford County. Because I live here. But by all means, please argue your case for additions or substitutes to my list below. The is merely a bunch of suggestions, not definites. (Especially since restaurants open and close so often.)

Salmon Pie from Chez Ben, Manchester


CTMQ’s CT Restaurant Tour of the World

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Comments

  4. How about some Irish at Anna Liffey’s in New Haven? Yes, there really is such a thing as “great Irish food”

  6. Skip Cora Cora. Go to la Kerencya in Hartford. Better. And there’s awesome entertainment on weekends.

  8. Perhaps. But keep in mind I have two little kids and while there’s a great Vietnamese restaurant in Danbury, it just makes sense to eat at one nearer to my house. (And one which can accommodate more than 3 people at once, even if it’s not the best in the state.)

    I’ve eaten at maybe 8 of these places. And I’m okay with that.

  9. I recommend Istanbul Cafe in New Haven 245 Crown St, don’t know about the West Haven place.
    Also, South Indian is more different than traditional Indian than Pakistani is, so I’d say Udipi Bhavan should be on your list.

  10. Oh, and my former colleague who is the child of Portuguese immigrants says the best Portuguese in town is Costa del Sol.

  13. If someone claims to be of Portuguese heritage and says that Costa del Sol is the ‘best Portuguese in town”, shame on them for betraying their heritage. Costa del Sol clearly states that it is a ‘taste of Spain”. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Despite similarities, we are our own culture.

  16. Sarah – I think bringing people to Broad Street in New Britain, outside of the dining experience, is something that might surprise and even amaze some people. Storefront after storefront without a word of english. Also, we’ll be able to go to a Polish deli and buy all sorts of mystery meats in tube form the making of which the young Polish women can’t begin to explain in english. That’s what I”m talking about.

    Gaspar – I knew the Afrikan place would be fleeting, unfortunately. The Tibetan place is still open to my knowledge (it was 2 weeks ago). I know there was a Tibetan “goods/furniture/knick-knacks” store that closed in MIddietown last year. I’ll sort it out.

    As we know, a few of these will surely close before we get to them. Perhaps we should hurry to those we know are struggling.

  17. Austrian- Old Heidelberg has closed permanently. I’ve heard great things about Watch Factory. German- skip East Side (sorry I know people all want to go have the big beer, go ahead you’ll have a lot of fun but not authentic food). Polish: try Staropolska for legit home cooked style, Belvedere if you want modernized Polish food while sitting, as my friend Ox just told me… “in the lobby of a modern European hotel” with techno Polish disco in the background. SHU West Hartford – a huge YES. We are Szechuan fans (we’ll drive to Lao in Milford). SHU, who also runs HAN Hot Pot in West Hartford (corner Prospect & Park) just opened a new location in Fairfield http://www.ctbites.com/blog/2017/11/8/shu-restaurant-in-fairfield. Also LAO Milford just opened a Fairfield location too. Portuguese: Primavera Pub, Hartford (on Newington border). Real country food, homey place, you’ll see what the others are eating and strike up a conversation, cozy. Irish: I hear Playwright in Hamden is the place to go. Our latest find is Rivers Edge Bistro in Unionville center, billed as “Mediterranean” but covers ALL the countries around the Mediterranean, Sunday buffet was amazing (get there early) and the owners are a delight. Excellent for vegetarians and meat eaters alike, amazing flavors, relaxing environment, one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve ever had.

  18. We are lucky to have a great Thai restaurant near us – Thai Ocha, Route 10 in Simsbury near the Granby town line. We usually get the house sampler as our appetizer (love the wontons!) and I almost always order Pra Raam. Fanastic! You can’t go wrong with their Pad Thai or Drunken Noodle dishes either.

  19. I am looking for food tours in the Hartford area. For example, New Brittan including a couple of stores where we would sample cured and/or smoked meats and sausages with a Polish/English speaking leader that can focus the various traditional uses of the products and discussion of all the interesting jarred and canned goods. Wind up the tour at one or two restaurants.

    If you know about this type of tour, please let me know.

    If you want to put something like this together and know a potential group leader, I would be glad to round up a crew to attend.

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