Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
Mamoun’s | New Haven
I’m sure their generous hours (open until 3 AM, open 365 days) make Mamoun’s a big hit among students pulling all nighters around the end of the term. Sure, it was great to be able to get food there when other places around were all closed, but I feel like I must be missing a piece of the puzzle. While decently flavorful and filling, I found nothing that really made Mamoun’s stick out as outstanding, to as to receive all the praise it has gotten. They gave us extra pita in a plastic bag labelled from where they got it. Maybe I’m just not a fan of their tanihi-based ‘white sauce’ they use, preferring a much more garlic-yogurt topping than the one they use. Check them out: Yelp, Website
Heirloom | New Haven
We stopped by Heirloom for breakfast (it was a weekday so it was just regular breakfast rather than their full brunch spread). I had never been to The Study before but I immediately loved the feel, the plants, the big windows. For breakfast, we split the “Study at Kale” Frittata that had egg whites, milled tomatoes, parmigiano and burrata, with sunflower seeds and farm lettuces. This was absolutely fantastic, especially the burrata, which just tasted so fresh! Then we got some blueberry pancakes for our sweet end of the meal. These were unfortunately just okay, kind of mealy and not as flavorful or fluffy as I would have liked. The grapefruit juice was delicious and fresh as well. We spent ~$30 for the two of us. I’d definitely like to come back some time for dinner! Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
The Pantry | New Haven
We stopped by The Pantry on a frozen weekday morning and were able to get seated immediately, although I hear on weekends the line snakes out the door and around the corner. There are free books in the foyer! It’s a cute little diner that serves breakfast, the cinnamon roll pancake being absolutely fantastic. It had the perfect amount of sweetness and great texture. The salmon eggs benedict wasn’t bad either. Cash only. We spent ~$20 for the two of us. Check them out on Yelp!
CloverEats: Caseus in New Haven
“painted hills grass-fed beef, brioche bun, red onion, frites aioli, house pickles, sharp cheddar”
Mac and Cheese (“raclette, gouda, comte, cheddar, provolone, bread crumbs”) with pulled pork
Of the places in New Haven that have been recommended to us, Caseus was the hardest for us to get to; they aren’t open for dinner on Mondays or Tuesdays and are closed Sundays. Furthermore, they are a pretty small space and fill up quickly; we were told the wait would be 40 minutes for two of us. Fortunately, we were able to snag a table on the patio, which other patrons passed up given the cool winter evening. There were big space heaters and blankets, and we ordered hot cider, so it wasn’t too bad in terms of weather. I’m sure the patio is fantastic in the summertime.
We went with classics – Fred got the burger (“painted hills grass-fed beef, brioche bun, red onion, frites aioli, house pickles, sharp cheddar”) and I got the Mac and Cheese (“raclette, gouda, comte, cheddar, provolone, bread crumbs”) with pulled pork. Our waitress proclaimed that their burger was the best burger in town, which I was hesitant to believe until I took one delicious, tender, juicy, savory bite. Amazing! I do have to say my Mac and Cheese wasn’t as good as I was hoping, especialy at a whopping $24. I’ll try the grilled cheese next time or just go for a burger, especially since I was chomping away at Fred’s the whole time. We got the Pot de Creme for dinner, which was a sweet, satisfying way to top off the meal.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Tarry Lodge | New Haven
Il Cacciatore – whiskey, gingerbread syrup, apple cider
Egg Yolk Raviolo with Acorn Squash & Goat Cheese
We’d walked by the Tarry Lodge on multiple occasions before, but hadn’t really noticed it until it was recommended to us a few weeks ago. Once we’d read about it and seen some photos, we had to go. It’s a Mario Batali restaurant, so very Italian, but with some interesting dishes. We were able to get seats on a Saturday night with just a ten minute wait. The highlight of our meal was this egg yolk raviolo, which has an over-easy egg inside and is simply delightful. My cocktail was also fantastic, tasting like autumn and the holidays.
The egg yolk action shot.
Gnocchi All’ Amatriciana
Brasato Ravioli with Balsamic Butter
I thought the gnocchi had fantastic texture; often, I find it too soggy, but this had perfect bounce. The balsamic butter sauce was also very good, creamy yet tangy. Everyone on Yelp raves about the olive oil soft serve, but I found it unusual; still, it was fun to try. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Olive Oil and Chocolate twist with biscotti crumble and candied pistachios
16 courses at Miya’s | New Haven
We saw some really interesting photos of Miya’s online, and eventually bought the Groupon that so many comments mentioned. It’s $85 (50% off) for dinner with drink pairings for two ($105 on Friday/Sat/Sun), and it looks like over 1000 tickets have been purchased.
Pumpkin Miso Soup
Firecracker
I really like the premise of sustainable sushi, and the bits of creativity scattered throughout the menu. 
Tokyo Fro – crispy potatoes with creamy tomato sauce – “made out of Japanese afros genetically engineered to be nutritious and delicious”
The series of drinks that came with our dinner were delightful. The Firecracker above was very spicy, but I loved the beer cocktails; they had just the right amount of fizz. 
Tatsutage – vegan chicken marinated in spicy ginger
I really thought the appetizers were the strongest part of the meal – the pumpkin/squash miso soup was a welcome change from the plain miso soup we’re all used to, the Tokyo Fro was tasty, the vegan chicken was delicious, and the ramen noodles had fantastic bounce. 
So many pieces! Goat cheese, sardines, mango chutney, shrimp, avocado, sweet potato, invasive species, among other ingredients.
Watermelon beer cocktail! My favorite drink of the night.
While very fun, with interesting ingredients (lots of invasive species, among which was a little mini crab made to be eaten whole), most of the sushi was not really to my taste. It might have been the rice, or the fact that a lot of the fish was pretty salty, or that some rolls had some major spice going on, but I didn’t really like any of the sushi. I thought it was fun and adventurous but probably wouldn’t get sushi if I came back.
Overall, I thought the service was great – from the guy who took our reservations over the phone and our waiter who kept up to speed on Fred’s water intake, everyone was nice and friendly. The Groupon deal really came with a lot of food, and while I didn’t love the sushi, I enjoyed everything else and thought it was a fun and adventurous experience. I recommend it! Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverSnacks: Treat House in NYC
I’m delighted that NYC is a big enough city to support these creative little boutiques. Treat House is basically fancy little rice krispies treats that come in different flavors and toppings. They were quite cute, but do rice krispies treats mesh well with all the toppings? I like berry, but I didn’t think it went well in the form of a rice krispie. Maybe I should have stuck to the basics, because while these were tasty, they were nothing amazing, nothing I’d really crave.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
The best thing I’ve eaten all year: Danji in NYC
It’s fitting that the best thing I’ve eaten all year was in NYC. We headed to Danji late one night. Danji was reportedly the first Korean restaurant to get a Michelin star, although it has since lost it. We made reservations, and were glad we did so because it’s a pretty small space. It feels very trendy, and I’m sad I didn’t bring my larger camera, because I feel like the dim light made it hard for the Sony A6000 to capture how magnificent the meal was. We started with the kimchi trio (our waitress recommended this over the banchan and pickled vegetables), and I especially liked the kimchi radish. We thought about doing the tasting menu ($48/person), but after we added things up, it wasn’t much different than just ordering everything individually, price-wise, and we thought it’d probably end up being too much to eat. My cocktail, a soju sangria, was good, but just basically tasted like sangria. The service was top-notch, although I thought it was silly that there were wooden disposable chopsticks rather than real ones, and that our menus were in drawers.
Kimchi trio
Spicy yellowtail sashimi
Soju sangria
We also got some spicy yellowtail sashimi that was great, but the true star of the meal, of the entire trip, of literally the whole year, were the Bulgolgi Sliders. These were absolutely perfect. The bulgolgi was so flavorful, just the right amount of sweetness, and almost melted in my mouth. The buns were buttery and smooth, it was absolutely amazing. I’d come back to NYC just for these. I texted all my NYC friends to tell them about this. Really, absolutely superb.
Bulgolgi sliders – literally the best thing I’ve eaten in the last year
Spicy ‘KFC’ Korean Fire Chicken wings
Everything else, while still fantastic, just didn’t compare to the sliders. The KFC wings were amazing, although a little too spicy for this foodie’s tolerance. The kimchi bacon wet fried rice was also great, although a little on the heavy side; I wish there were more pickled vegetables or something sweet to cut the density. Still, fantastic. Unfortunately, there was no dessert, which is a shame because I think some twist on green tea would have been great. The two of us spent $100, a cost I’d happily pay again for such a fantastic meal.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Kimchi bacon spam wet fried rice
CloverEats: Aria Hell’s Kitchen in NYC
We met up with some friends at Aria. We had originally planned to go to its neighbor restaurant, Briciola, but Aria had a lot more space. They had the same wine list, on the same little blackboard tablets. It’s a really nice location, lots of wood and big windows, but it was kind of disappointing that their wine came in cups rather than glasses. I mean, they call themselves a wine bar, right? We got a few little dishes, nothing was too special. Still, they were accommodating of our group of friends and there was nothing particularly wrong with the experience.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverSips: Bibble and Sip in NYC Theater District
We came across this adorable little cafe while waiting to meet up with some friends for dinner. I loved all the alpacas and the atmosphere was adorable. I got the signature matcha jasmine latte and was impressed at the matcha-whisking action. Of course, it was also adorable that they draw little alpacas in your latte. The latte was fantastic, although a bit on the sweeter side, and so was the blueberry tea and earl grey panna cotta (which came in delightful little jars). It was crowded, like everywhere in NYC seems to be, so there was only standing room, but halfway through our sipping, some seats opened up. Check them out on Yelp !
Matcha jasmine latte
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