Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
CloverEats: Red Tomado in New Haven
Giant spinning gelato machine
Like the Chipotle of pizza, Red Tomado allows you to customize your own pizza, making it on the spot and then firing it in their oven for two minutes to give it a delicious crisp. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the pizza here, besides being very affordable (~$6-7), the pizza’s got great texture. I wish I had added a few more toppings to my margherita pizza, however, as the pizza’s flavor wasn’t super complex, but Fred’s customized pizza with pineapple, onion, garlic, among other toppings, was delicious. There’s a great open space that’s pretty hip for a to-go pizza place, and a very impressive spinning gelato machine. The gelato itself was less impressive; I tried the cannoli flavor because it seemed to have been depleted the most, suggesting some kind of popularity, but it was not as good as Fred’s oreo flavor. Overall, a great fresh deal for pizza that I’ll definitely be returning to! Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Make your own pizza!
Margherita Pizza
Oreo and Cannoli flavored gelato
CloverLunches: Roia in New Haven
Roasted Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Pork Belly Sandwich: spicy aioli, pickled carrot, watercress and hand picked local lettuces
Roia has a great atmosphere, located in what used to be the Taft hotel, it has a great vintage feel, high ceilings and tile floors, a sprig of fresh flowers at each table. It’s supposedly named after a river that touches Italy and France, and like its namesake, is supposed to bring elements of both cuisines into its menu. We stopped by for a brief lunch, which I suppose is never fair to judge a restaurant on. We were the only people in the restaurant, but everything was still lovely, our waiter was excellent. We skipped drinks because it was early in the day, but I was quite intrigued by some of their cocktails and their lengthy wine list. Our sandwiches, while a little over-grilled (see the burnt tops), were absolutely fantastic. My pork belly was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender. The pickled carrots, while simple, were so perfectly prepared; they really emanated an essence of carrot, as cheesy as that sounds. The crisp, fresh lettuce that accompanied our meal was lightly brushed with a gentle vinaigrette, and to my surprise was excellent. It’s rare that a restaurant is able to elevate something as simple as this. Overall, a fantastic glimpse into what I’m sure is a great dinner experience, and I’m eager to return for the full experience. Check them out on Yelp or at their website; we paid $15/person for our lunch.
CloverEats: Soul de Cuba Cafe in New Haven
Pollo Moderno: marinated chicken breast breaded and lightly fried served under mango, guava, pineapple and black bean salsa served with arroz blanco, frijoles negros and platanos maduros
We heard great things about Soul de Cuba, and so decided to take the walk there to see what all the fuss was about. It was reasonably crowded at dinnertime on a weekend, and it’s definitely a small space, but we were able to snag an open table. People who came afterwards weren’t so lucky, but were able to get seats at the bar. There were only two people working in the whole restaurant, which granted is a small space, but they definitely had to keep moving in order to keep up with everyone. Lots of distinctive art on the walls, and the menu seems to have a very authentic air to it. The pollo moderno pictured above was absolutely fantastic, with extraordinarily flavorful, tender chicken and an unusual but excellent salsa. (more…)
New restaurant! CloverEats: K2 in New Haven
K2 just opened recently, and had a 20% off Dim Sum special as part of their grand opening, so we went to check them out. First of all, the atmosphere is really lovely, with great use of traditional wood accents, as well as neat touches such as some tables being made from unique pieces of tree. It certainly has a nice, upscale feel to it, although I don’t know why so many Chinese restaurants insist on having multi-colored water bubble walls.
Beef Rice Roll
Scallion Pancake
Pork Bun
The service was prompt, and for a restaurant that just opened recently, seemed to have already ironed out most kinks. The presentation was also more sophisticated than most dim sum restaurants, although they utilized a menu rather than the rolling carts of other dim sum places. I didn’t mind this too much, but dim sum traditionalists may take note.
Pork and Century Egg Porridge
Chicken Dumpling in Malay Style
While I loved the atmosphere, service, and presentation, I was disappointed in the quality of the food, it just didn’t taste as fresh as other dim sum places I’ve been to. Perhaps it’s just the dim sum, as there were a number of interesting fusion dishes on their regular menu (goat cheese spring rolls, for example). There’s a pretty huge menu, even including sushi, but I wouldn’t mind a smaller menu if everything on it was nailed down. That’s not to say I won’t be back, because our breakfast was only $24, a decent deal for when you’re craving dim sum.
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Custard Buns
CloverEats: Thali in New Haven
Hyderabadi Cocktail – lime, cucumber, honeydew, mint
Thali is quite close to our apartment so we’ve actually been there a few times since settling in. It’s very solid Indian food, and in case you’re not within walking distance, there is a parking lot right across the street. Surprisingly, it’s never been super busy when we’ve gone for dinner, so seating has never been an issue. I was pleasantly surprised by their cocktail menu, as I feel a lot of ethnic restaurants aren’t very creative with their drinks. Thali has several interesting offerings, including the above-pictured hyderabadi cocktail, which was delightfully refreshing on a warm summer evening.
Butter Paneer
CloverEats: Lalibela in New Haven
I really enjoy Ethiopian cuisine because of injera, the sour spongy bread that everything is served on. When we saw Lalibela, we had to try it out! We stopped by on a Saturday evening, so had the pleasant surprise of a pianist! “Ato Charles” plays every Saturday from 6:30-9:30 and is really fantastic!
CloverEats: Shake Shack in New Haven
Sometimes you want a burger in a setting more casual than Prime 16 but better than McDonald’s. Shake Shack fits that space perfectly. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few things that need to be improved at this location – for one, when ordering the burger, we weren’t told that it would come with literally nothing but a burger and buns. What about lettuce, tomato, veggies, etc? It would have been nice if that were clarified. The patty itself was pretty good, but the burger itself was lacking in toppings.
It’s a really nice space, with giant windows, lots of greenery, great style, and foosball available! Unfortunately, this burger shop was OUT OF KETCHUP. What. This is absolutely ridiculous, and seemingly impossible. Furthermore, the staff was pretty rude about it, not even apologizing but giving us an angry, “we’re out of ketchup,” no further explanation.
ShackMeister Dog – cheddar, cheese sauce, ale-marinated shallots
The hotdog was disgusting – pure salt and barely any meat flavor. The cheese fries were similarly bad, with cheese sauce that tasted artificial and had the texture of plastic once it proceeded to congeal. The milkshake was bland, but the cup of plain custard was surprisingly delicious. I’m intrigued by the Skull & Cones Concrete, vanilla/chocolate custard with ‘shattered sugar cone’ and peanut butter and chocolate truffle cookie dough, which is the only thing I would probably get if I were ever to return.
Cheese fries
Overall, a nice casual burger with tasty custard in a stylish location but severely lacking in several major areas. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
CloverSnacks: The Mochi Store in Jake’s Diggity Dogs
Li Hing Mango and Sakura
It’s a little confusing to see two rather different signs pointing to the same location. The Mochi Store is inside Jake’s Diggity Dogs, which is unexpected, but when we caught a glance of the sign while walking down Crown St, we had to check it out. (more…)
CloverEats: Barcelona in New Haven
Grilled Hangar with Truffle Vinaigrette
Barcelona is so hip that it has an unmarked door. Fred had tried them when he stayed at the Omni hotel, which it is right next door to, and raved so much about it that I had to try it out. Pictured above is the hangar steak, probably the most frequently mentioned tapas dish on Yelp. Unfortunately, it was a little on the chewy side, despite appearing a perfectly pink medium-rare. (more…)
CloverEats: Olea in New Haven
cochinillo: roasted boneless suckling pig, lemon, thyme, honey port wine, parmesan cheese dauphinois potato, petit mesclun salad
Probably one of the best meals we’ve had so far in New Haven, Olea offered some really fantastic and delectable dishes. Pictured above, the cochinillo was excellent, rivaling the flavors of cochinillo I had in Spain. Everything about the restaurant was great, from the atmosphere to the service to of course the food. (more…)
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