Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in NYC: Chinatown
Egg Custard
I can’t get over all the amazing options NYC has to offer. I also can’t get over how claustrophobic I feel. The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is one thin, narrow joint, with barely enough room to squeeze in and place your order. The wide range of flavors – everything from durian to pandan – and the surprising complexity of these flaavors, makes the crowding hassle totally worth it. Of the flavors we got, I liked the almond cookie best, and then the green tea, although seriously everything was amazing. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Lychee and Green Tea!
Sesame!
Almond cookie!
CloverEats: La Berg in NYC
Our first stop in NYC was this darling patisserie in Midtown. La Bergamote offers the usual brunch fare, but where it really shines is in its delightful pastries. The cases are filled with beautiful little creations, some almost too pretty to eat. But fear not, dear readers, for eat them we did, even the little chocolate mouse with its little almond ears. And I’m happy to report that everything was delicious. My favorite was the raspberry pastry, which was filled with berry, and was the perfect amount of sweetness (that is, not too sweet). Of course the fresh-squeezed orange juice and eggs benedict were fantastic as well. We saw outside and our waitress was excellent. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverEats: Barracuda in New Haven
$5 Happy Hour Mango and Passionfruit Margaritas
$5 Happy Hour Mango Shredded BBQ Pork Arepas
We wandered into Barracuda a mere seven minutes before their Happy Hour ended at 7PM, but were able to squeeze in our orders just in time to get pretty much everything for a mere $5 each! These three small plates were more than enough for us and also provided leftovers for lunch the next day. The mango-flavored margarita was much better than the passionfruit one, which the bartender explained to us as a balance of sweet and sour with tequila. My favorite of the dishes was the chorizo mac and cheese, but all three were fantastic. The tres leches dessert was a bit on the sweet side, but I think I’m coming to realize that tres leche in general, despite being one of Fred’s favorites, is too sweet for me. I’ve also had their dollar oysters during happy hour, which were tasty and delicious. Overall, a great meal, really nice atmosphere, and fantastic happy hour deals. We spent $20 each. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
$5 Happy Hour Chorizo Mac & Cheese
$5 Happy Hour Platano con queso – plantain with melted mozzarella, honey, lime, sour cream
Tres leches
CloverEats: Junzi Kitchen, Broadway, New Haven
The other day, we were just talking about the range of make-your-own style restaurants in New Haven – Tikkaway, Pitaziki, and the like. We lamented the lack of a similar Asian offering. Lucky for us (and all of New Haven), Junzi Kitchen pops up to fill the void in our hearts and bellies. Offering your choice of a (knife-cut!!!) noodle bowl or a chun bing wrap, you can choose from a variety of tasty fillings/toppings.
With everything from fresh plants to peg board walls, the atmosphere feels refreshing and hip. At the same time, the food offerings are authentic – There are several wooden panels and stools at the front of the restaurant, but we opted for takeout. The noodles were pulled from the pot right in front of us. I have spent many a post emphasizing my love for knife-cut noodles, and how it’s hard to find it, and so was delighted by their availability here. We both opted for noodles but also got some bing on the side to test. The bing had excellent texture. We were expecting the noodles to come with broth but instead they came with sauce, which was good, just unexpected.
Got some cucumber sides and some iced tea. Everything was tasty! No, it’s not NYC-level Chinese food, but it sure is a delightful addition to the New Haven lineup! Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverEats: Union League Cafe in New Haven
Fig Old Fashioned and La Vie en Rose
Sweet potato puree
We tried to visit the Union League Cafe a few weeks ago but it was closed for a private event. On this attempt, we arrived a few minutes before they opened at 5PM and were surprised to find a line out the door. There were also private events but none taking up the whole restaurant. It seems most of the diners had reservations, but we were lucky and able to nab a table for two. The restaurant quickly filled to max capacity and we were glad we had come so early. I really liked the stained glass windows and the atmosphere of the restaurant. Our drinks were both great but also quite strong, one would have been plenty for us to share! These little parmesan breads were delicious, as was the bread and butter, which we promptly polished off. Our empty basket was quickly replaced with a new one full of warm bread. Fred never even got through his water despite his rapid drinking pace (he usually finishes both his and my water glasses before a waiter notices and refills our water); the servers were impeccably attentive. Our entrees were not bad, but not as good as I would have expected from the excellent drinks and amuse-bouche. Dessert was lovely. It was a pretty pricey meal, and we were asked if we were celebrating anything, which we were not. I can see why the Union League Cafe has a reputation for being one of New Haven’s nicest restaurants, with classy atmosphere and very good service, but I felt it was kind of stiff, and at $130 for our meal, I didn’t think the entrees were quite top notch enough to justify that price tag. Maybe I’ll come back sometime and give it another chance, but in the meantime, I have more of a desire to eat again at Pitaziki than I do here.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Macaroni Charlotte – sauteed mushrooms, swiss chards persillade, burgundy truffle and parmesan emulsion
Brandade de Cabillaud – cod, potato, garlic confit, cod brandade, parsley aioli
CloverDrinks: Healthy Corner Juice Bar in NYC Hell’s Kitchen
We walked by this juice/smoothie shop on the way to the train station and thought it’d be refreshing to stop in and grab a drink. The Avocado Smoothie (avocado, banana, ginger, mango, orange, soy milk) was pretty expensive at $7.25, and I was expecting it to be amazing. Unfortunately, it was way too icy and gave me more brain freezes than a smoothie should. The owners recommended the Oh, Mango as the most popular smoothie (mango, pineapple, strawberry, orange), which was also way too icy with not enough fruit. Maybe they have better days, but given this experience, I would not come back. There are so many other options out there!
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverEats: Oaxaca Kitchen in New Haven
Passionfruit lemonade
Mole rojo – chocolate red mole chicken
Atmosphere: lots of interesting tile, wood, and decorations; outdoor seating available.
Drinks: I got a passionfruit lemonade that was sweet and refreshing, but nothing amazing.
Entrees: Of the three tacos, the best was definitely the fish taco; it helped that the fish was fried. The other two meats were somewhat dry. The mole sauce was very complex, but the chicken was of poor quality, with texture and taste of frozen chicken.
Dessert: The flan was really fruity, and not too sweet.
Service: A lot of the reviews on Yelp dock points for service, and while things weren’t speedy, they also weren’t particularly slow, and we were checked on frequently.
Price: We spent $25/person.
Overall: A better restaurant than its low Yelp rating represents, but overall just another average Mexican restaurant.
Yelp; website.
Soft tacos – beef short rib, fish baja, pork belly
Flan
CloverSnacks: Baked by Melissa in NYC Garment District
I love NYC’s little boutiques, although Baked by Melissa actually has quite a few locations throughout the city. We stopped by this one for a few little cupcakes. The space was bright and clean, with the front wall completely open, making it feel more like a food stand than a shop. Reasonably priced at $1/cupcake, we tried three different ones – both Cookie Dough and Deconstructed Cookie Dough (tasted pretty similar), and a chocolate-filled pink velvet (slightly pricier at #1.50) that was a little minty. Overall, a nice quick bite, but nothing that would make me crave them in the middle of the night.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverEats: Kumo Habachi in New Haven
We hiked to the top of East Rock Park and were in the mood for something hearty and so decided to check out Kumo Hibachi. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to sit at the hibachi table unless we both ordered a meal, so we opted to sit in the regular area and share one order of hibachi. It started off with a pretty pitiful little salad, although the sauce was a little thicker than other sushi restaurants’ sauces are. We got the filet mignon and chicken with noodles. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the filet, it was much more tender than I would have expected from a hibachi restaurant. The chicken was a little overcooked, and overall the dish was high on the salt and low on other flavors, but it was large amount of food for the $24, even if we didn’t get the hibachi experience. I’ve been to two other hibachi restaurants and found the experience pretty similar, with the usual egg-flipping and onion-steam-choo-choo-train tricks. It’s fun for a group, however, and certainly depends on the chef who is cooking, so I can’t really speak to the hibachi experience here. We also got a Sunflower Roll, which is incredibly expensive at $17 for so simple a roll, but luckily Kumo offers a 50% discount, making it a much more reasonable price. As we paid, however, we noticed that we were charged the full $17, but they quickly apologized and corrected this when we pointed it out. Yelp reviews frequently mention service as a weakness, but I thought the waiters weren’t bad overall, although Fred did go through both our cups of water and had to ask for a refill, which doesn’t happen at most restaurants. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Filet mignon and chicken hibachi
Sunflower Roll – salmon, asparagus, fried, spicy miso sauce
CloverEats: Zinc in New Haven
The Spice Trader: Opihr gin, Lillet Blanc, cardamom, orange peel
Singaporean Noodles: Rice Noodles/ Red Chile + Coconut Milk/ Tofu + Lime/ Green Beans + Bean Sprouts
Grilled Yellowfin with Tamari Cure/ Vegetable Spring Rolls/ Fried Spinach/ Wasabi Oil/ Chile-Garlic Sauce
Polenta Brulee: Arepa/ Brown Butter Ice Cream/ Corn Milk
We stopped by Zinc for dinner after seeing it recommended several times. It was a very nice atmosphere, and we didn’t have any trouble getting a seat for two at dinnertime. I was very impressed by my cocktail, but unfortunately, our entrees weren’t anything special. I wonder if we just happened to order the wrong dishes, because it seems like Zinc gets so much love everywhere we look. Dessert was quite lovely; I’m fascinated by how often the arepa makes an appearance in New Haven dishes. Maybe we’ll give Zinc another try someday.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
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