Connecticut - Editor’s Favorites

Adventure in Good Taste Describes This Lobster Dinner Cruise
 

A thrilling and tasty adventure awaits just off the coast of southeastern Connecticut with help from the Mystic Whaler, a schooner that offers, among other cruises, a lobster dinner cruise. Departing from its summer berth at the city pier in New London, the Whaler takes visitors on a sail to view the scenic waters, lighthouses, and coastlines of Fisher’s Sound. Learn the history of many islands and lighthouses. Haul a line, take a turn at the wheel, or plot your course. A special guest – of sorts – of the three-hour dinner cruise is a boiled lobster (accompanied by the traditional clam chowder) served onboard. Guests can crack shells and dip lobster meat while they take in the sunset and the spectacular water views. Check the Whaler’s schedule on its website for Lobster Dinner Cruise dates; they are scattered throughout the summer. Phone: 1-800-697-8420.

Brewery / Restaurant Calls Itself “Stylish Escape With Endless Possibilities”
 

South Port Brewing Company’s Restaurant & Brewery have offered culinary excellence and brewing expertise to Connecticut visitors for 11 years. SPB’s owners say the restaurants, in Branford, Stamford, Southport, Milford and Hamden, are more than restaurants; they try to serve guests as a friendly neighbor with guests’ comfort in mind or “a stylish escape with endless possibilities.” SBC’s 27 home-brews are processed with the finest natural ingredients meant to satisfy everyone from the casual taster to the sophisticated connoisseur. Sampling is encouraged. Phone: 203-256-2336.

Coconut Cake “a Mile High” Is One Enticement at This Cafe
 

Chef Carole Peck was darned serious when she named her Woodbury restaurant the Good News Café. This is a hip, upbeat and friendly restaurant with our focus on good food from local farms. The menus offer a range of original dishes including appetizers and salads, vegetarian compositions, fresh fishes, local farm-raised meats and seductive sweets. Fans of the Good News Café travel from far and wide for the desserts that have won Connecticut Magazine statewide honors -- Chocolate Yankee Doodles, Mile-High Coconut Cake, and Mocha Pecan Pie, to name a few. And the Good News Bar pours 30 wines by the glass, thirst-quenching cocktails, aged Scotches, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and many brands of beer. None of this can even describe the enthusiasm for food and service to be found at the Good News. Open daily except Tuesdays. Phone: 203-266-4663.

Cultural Center on Historic Farm Offers Classes, Kitchen Store
 

Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford in Connecticut’s Litchfield region is not easily categorized. To begin with, it is a combination of two historic, 19th-century dairy farms with authentic farm architecture that is in use today (and listed on the National Register of Historic Places). The property is preserved and managed by stewards who are devoted to protecting this piece of New England agricultural history and its buildings, stone walls, and fields. The property includes a cultural center, museum, art gallery, and – in a building known as the Silo – a retail store offering gourmet foods, high-quality cooking supplies, and gifts. The Silo is also home to a cooking school, offering cooking classes taught by culinary faculty from around the country. Classes are offered for both the novice and the experienced cook, children and adults. The farm and its cookery offerings have been luring food fanatics for decades. Phone: 860-355-0300.

Dedicated Carnivores Should Visit this Brazilian Restaurant
 

Unabashed lovers of meat dishes need to make tracks for Churrascaria Braza in Hartford, a unique dining experience modeled after the Brazilian tradition of serving slow-roasted meats at tableside. This tradition originated in the south of Brazil in the 1800s. The concept is to serve a wide variety of different cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and poultry in succession at tableside. Menu is a fixed price for all you can eat. Dinner starts with a buffet of salads, peel-and-eat shrimp, grilled vegetables, and appetizers. To start tableside meat service, guests use a small disk with a green side and a red side. The green side signals waiters to begin service; red stops service. Dinner consists of 12 to 15 selections of different meats, seasoned carefully and slow-roasted over an open rotisserie. Just remember: leave your vegan friends at home. Phone: 860-882-1839.

Downtown Chic Finds a Home in South Norwalk
 

Historic South Norwalk, better known as SoNo, is delightful mixture of classy and tasteful restaurants, shops, and clubs, museums and galleries. The neighborhood is anchored by the Maritime Aquarium on North Water Street, and it includes the Norwalk Museum, the Norwalk Hat Factory (now a traditional hardware store), Oyster Shell Park (with views of Norwalk Harbor). Our interest here is in food, and it is plentiful. Among the choices in this pedestrian-friendly area are Goccia Ristorante (Italian) at 203-642-3355, Barcelona Wine Bar (Mediterranean) at 203-899-0088, El Acapulco (Mexican) at 203-853-6217, Habana (Cuban) at 203-852-9790, Kazu (Japanese) at 203-866-7492, O’Neill’s Pub & Restaurant (Irish) at 203-838-0222, and The Loft (a martini bar) at 203-838-6555, as well as steak and seafood eateries. Keep an eye on local calendar listings for food- and history-related festivals at SoNo. They include the SoNo Arts Celebration (in August), the Norwalk Jazz Festival (July) and the Norwalk Oyster Festival (September).

Elegance in Every Detail Describes Foxwoods’s Paragon
 

The word paragon means the tops, and the Paragon restaurant at Foxwoods Casino and Resort in Ledyard fits that description in any number of ways. First, it is situated on the 24th floor of the Grand Pequot Tower, with stunning views of the Connecticut countryside. Next, Paragon is one of only seven Connecticut restaurants to earn the AAA Four-Diamond rating. A French- and Asian-influenced menu tempts sophisticated palates with lobster thermidor, Wolfneck Farms organic ribeye steak and spring lamb rack. At Paragon, diners can indulge in caviar and select from tableside service of carved Dover sole or Chateaubriand for two. A comprehensive wine selection is also offered. An elegant setting for a pre- or post-show drink, the Champagne Bar offers more than two dozen champagnes by the bottle, half-bottle or glass as well as a variety of champagne cocktails and martinis. Is Paragon the tops? Hmmm... could be. Phone: 800-FOXWOODS.

Feed Your Mind at This Book-Laden Eatery
 

Feed the belly; feed the brain. That could be the motto of the Traveler Restaurant in Union, in the northeastern corner of Connecticut. The restaurant is a combined eatery and used book bin, which, for many of us, is pretty close to heaven. In addition to the solid, satisfying American cuisine served year-round, Traveler welcomes every diner to take three used books from the restaurant’s collection. While waiting for your meal, you can browse and find just about anything you can imagine: children’s books (just say “no” to video in the car), fiction and non-fiction, cookbooks, you name it. About 5,000 selections are available for diners to browse and take. Downstairs, in the Book Cellar, you can choose even more selections, for a small price. The menu offers a variety of offerings, including vegetarian meals and a kids’ menu. For the head or the stomach, it’s all good. Phone: 860-684-4920.

Leffingwells Martini Bar Takes You Out of this World
 

Among the artistic delights of the spectacular Mohegan Sun in Montville is a jagged, three-story crystal mountain known as Wombi Rock. A zig-zag climb up several short flights of stairs through the mountain takes explorers to Leffingwells martini bar, serving 50 specialty martinis. In addition to the bar, tiny intimate clusters of plush chairs and cocktail tables tucked in cul-de-sacs all through the mountain allow you to snuggle up for a drink and small talk. Overhead is the 150-foot-wide planetarium dome that uses fiber optic technology to project displays of constellations, sun cycles, and clouds. Visitors can view the nighttime sky and constellations as they would appear on a late summer night. Several spots in the three-story mountain offer views of the vast gaming floor below – watch for James Bond to waltz into view. Open daily, 11 a.m. to midnight or later. Phone: 888-226-7711.

New Haven – Inventor of the Pizza – Serves the Best Pies Anywhere
 

According to legend, the American version of the pizza was born in New Haven in the early 1900s, created by Frank Pepe, an Italian restaurateur (note to New York and Philly: we are not prepared to mediate any Creation Story disputes). As the New Haven story goes, Pepe opened his first pizzeria on Wooster Street and in 1938 his nephew left the family business and opened his own pizzeria, Sally's. Later, Pepe moved out of his original store, now called The Spot, and opened a larger restaurant. Today, Frank Pepe's Pizzeria (157 Wooster Street at 203-865-5762) and Sally's Apizza (237 Wooster Street at 203-624-5271) and Frank Pepe's The Spot (163 Wooster Street at 203-865-7602) are among the top choices of pizza connoisseurs. Note that these establishments are within burping distance of each other, so a comparison tour along Wooster Street is always a great option for a long Saturday afternoon.

Rustling Wind Cheese Company Raises Cheese Making to Art
 

This story starts with a small dairy in Falls Village whose owner, Joan Lamothe, realized she had to ramp up the value of her milk in order to turn a fair profit. So, in 1998, Lamothe and Florence Brocklehurst, a British native and master cheesemaker, founded Rustling Wind Cheese Company. Cheeses such as Chesire, Wensleydale, and goat cheese are sold at the company store, which is open seven days a week. Along with cheeses, the business has expanded into making and selling jams and jellies, chutneys, pickles and relishes, maple products, goat’s milk fudge, goat milk soap, and hand-knit clothes from the farm’s own sheep’s wool. A relaxing springtime drive to Rustling Winds, located in lovely Litchfield, is a joy all by itself and the cheese and other foods are a superb treat to flavor the day. Phone: 860-824-7084.