Connecticut Restaurants

[Zeemanb]

Gotta throw a quick comment in here re: Modern Apizza....

I went to a party in Manchester, NH over the weekend, and one of the Connecticut guests stopped by Modern when they opened on Friday to pick up a couple of pies and bring them along (they were going to get Pepe's, but something about Modern opening earlier, not sure).

So anyway, around midnight I spied a couple of pizza boxes over on the counter and helped myself. One was plain cheese and the other was mushroom and pepperoni. Even cold and made 12 hours ago, I was pretty astonished. Amazing pizza. Thinking someone had it delivered from a local restaurant, I asked a couple of the guys where I could order my own. "New Haven", came the reply, followed by a good half hour or so discussion with a few CT residents on New Haven pizza. It was pretty funny when I was raving about it to some of my NYC friends in attendance, and they insisted "Ah, it's just because you're buzzed.".

We have some okay pizza here in Kansas City... plenty of Chicago and St. Louis style, wood fired, standard chain stuff like California Pizza Kitchen, but I think I can safely say we don't have anything like what I ate this weekend. It's been a couple of years since I've eaten NY pizza like Lombardi's or John's, but even then I don't remember them being as good as what I had at the party. Not trying to start a NYC vs. NH pizza feud, I'll happily go back out east and do more research before rendering judgment.

Anyway, damn that was good pizza. If anyplace like Modern (Pepe's, Sally's, etc.) can be bribed into FedEx overnight delivery, just let me know!

Jerry

[bushey]

Now I'm really mad .

I was schedule to go to a seminar tomorrow morning just south of New Haven and was planning to stop at Modern for lunch on my way home to try my first-ever New Haven pizza..........the seminar got moved to a location much closer to work and not even with justifiable distance of lunch-in-New Haven.

I'll just have to plan on a special field trip.

[Scargo]

Last night we ate dinner at "Kudeta", at 27 Temple Street, in Downtown New Haven, across from the Criterion Cinemas. That's "coo-day-tah".

It has been open about two weeks, according to the waitress. The interior is very chic. There is an area around the sushi bar which is cozier and smaller than the main dining area. I recommend it if you want a more intimate feel. In the sushi bar dining area there is the expected sushi bar, at which you can sit, and about eight, two-top tables, of which four are seperated by red transparent curtains. There are lights above these curtains which change color. This might make you feel you were dining in Las Vegas, with neon lights changing around you if you sit in one of their four nooks. We sat out in the open area in front of the sushi bar. There were several orchids plants on the bar. The've spent a lot on looks and on sound deadening accoutrements in this place!

We really enjoyed our meals. I had a total of four different sushi and sashimi and it was all delicious. They have a nice selection. We were given an excellent, free toro tuna tartare with a spicy sauce, nicely decorating the plate, "compliments of the chef".

I had the spicy giant prawns in a dark, plum sweetened sauce with jalapenos and loads of garlic. Sorry, I can't remember its name. It came with baby bok choy and rice. Funny, the rice was not quite sticky enough to pick up with chopsticks....

She had two appetizers; the vietnamese spring rolls and a chicken filled pastry (don't remember the name). She was suprised that they were both deep fried. The triangular, chicken-filled pastry ones were tasty. The spring rolls were not impressive. There were about eight small ones and I felt the small amount of contents were overwhelmed by the fried wrapper.

The wine selection (by the glass) was very good. I had a Pinot Grigio and a Chardonnay and she had a Shiraz and Cab. They bring the bottles to the table and pour, so you see what you are getting!

Service was excellent. The only thing is we dropped $101 for the two of us. That was four glasses of wine, one main entree, two fried appetizers, one sushi roll, and three sashimi orders. Not necessarily a cheap meal but the place is classy and well run. A very impressive beginning! Their website exists in name only, at this point, so you'll just have to go there......