New Haven Food Guide: Fall Edition

Note: If you are reading this I hope you are doing well as we anxiously await the election results. It seems like ages since actual election night on Tuesday! I for one made an election night dinner of Sloppy Joes (in honor of not-so-sloppy Joe Biden - my boyfriend Will thought a better name would be Sloppy Uncle Sams). I also made apple crumble (crumbling like our democracy lol). I also distracted myself by writing this blog post. I hope this provides you five minutes of stress relief where you can look at pictures of delicious food!

I went to college at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. I graduated this past May from my house in Portland, Oregon. The usual pomp and circumstance of a graduation ceremony was one of many casualties of the coronavirus.

As the year progresses, "memories" from the past few years have been popping up on my Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Most are photos from my time in New Haven and many are of food. Especially during such a tumultuous year, I've found myself missing the New Haven food scene - restaurants that I frequented, dishes that I loved, coffee shops that I studied in. These photos are comforting and bittersweet reminders of a wonderful time of my life, and the friends that made the memories special.

Here are some of my favorite fall New Haven foods:

Lunch: Butternut Squash Soup

Olmo Kitchen: 93 Whitney Ave., New Haven

I ate this gorgeous butternut squash soup from Olmo at brunch with my friend Heidi this past fall. I remember both of us had been having a rough week and really needed to get away from campus and just vent to each other. This warm, beautiful, cozy soup was the perfect dish on a blustery fall day in which I just needed some comfort. I loved the creaminess. The granola on top added a wonderful crunch to the texture and complemented the sweetness of the soup.

Olmo is an amazing little place that I feel like isn't well-known by most Yalies. It is largely a bagelry and sells amazing homemade bagels. During normal times Olmo also has a restaurant with a fantastic rotating menu with brunch, lunch, and dinner. During corona time, Olmo is currently doing Olmo@Home, a subscription service where you can get meals delivered to your doorstep every week. They have different meals each week and they all look delicious - I'm truly upset that I am not in New Haven to try these! In addition, you can also purchase beer, wine, and other small provisions.

Dinner: Spicy Miso Ramen

Mecha Noodle Bar: 201 Crown St., New Haven

This was actually my last meal before leaving New Haven for what I thought would just be spring break, but in reality turned into forever (well not forever - but I don't know when I'll be back next).

Mecha holds a special place in my heart. It is my favorite casual restaurant in New Haven and the unofficial spot for me and my three girlfriends, Sarah, Meghana, and Anusha.* I almost always order the spicy miso ramen. It is everything you would want on a chilly day - warm, hearty, and full of flavor. A soft-boiled egg is a great addition to this dish.

Besides the spicy miso ramen though, Mecha's steamed baos and red oil dumplings are also delicious. Mecha also has great seasonal specials making it an excellent choice for fall (or winter). Mecha is currently open for indoor dining and for takeout/pickup.

*Food is a large part of my friendship with these three and you'll probably hear more about them and our food tours in the future!

Drink: Chaider

Blue State Coffee: multiple locations in New Haven

Now I will (shamelessly) admit that I am mainly a Starbucks girl - I love a good pumpkin spice latte. However, Starbucks is ubiquitous and I wanted something more particular to New Haven for the New Haven fall food guide.

I really enjoy Blue State's Chaider. I'm a big chai latte fan to begin with (this used to be my usual coffee shop order back before I drank coffee), and apple cider is of course, a quintessential fall drink. The Chaider is, as you've likely guessed, a combination of chai tea and apple cider. What I like about chai is its spiciness, and the chai adds a nice kick to the sweetness of the apple cider.

Blue State was one of the go-to study spots when I was at Yale and it was common to pass by and see someone you knew through the windows. I had friends who would often get there early in the morning to nab a good table, and then camp out all day until closing doing work. While Blue State wasn't my main study spot (it was a bit loud and crowded - I prefer coffee shops with less people I know to distract me!), it always sticks in my mind when I think of New Haven. Blue State also supports many non-profit organizations and donates money to them which is cool.

Blue State is currently open to-go.

Dessert: Pumpkin w/Ginger Molasses Cookies Ice Cream

Arethusa: 1020 Chapel St., New Haven

Arethusa, known as the premier ice cream place in New Haven, always fascinated me. It is owned by the president and vice president of Manolo Blahnik shoes (aka the Sex and the City shoes). The owners are apparently very rich and Arethusa Farms is apparently (as a friend described it to me) like a "cow spa". As a side note, I had intended on going on a farm tour at Arethusa Farms in the spring was sadly unable to because of Covid. Hopefully I'll make it one day!

Arethusa's ice cream is incredibly rich and creamy. I've eaten a lot of ice cream in my lifetime and Arethusa has to be some of the creamiest that I've had. I usually don't have a problem downing a large quantity of ice cream in one sitting, but I have difficulty finishing a small scoop from Arethusa! This is also because Arethusa's scoops are enormous - one scoop is really more like two. The pumpkin ginger molasses ice cream (not actually pictured above)* is a wonderful autumn-y flavor. The pumpkin is not too overwhelming (a fine line with pumpkin) and the ginger molasses adds a nice depth. It is definitely worth saving room for this dessert!

Arethusa is currently open to-go.

*The above photo is actually of the chocolate (a great flavor) and peppermint, a winter seasonal flavor that was awful and tasted a bit like toothpaste (I think they actually discontinued it).

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I hope you enjoyed this fall food guide! It was fun to put together and walk down memory lane through my favorite fall dishes. Even though I don't know when I'll be in New Haven next, I'm pretty certain I'll have all of these foods again in the future. If you ever find yourself in New Haven (or if you're there now!), check these places out!

- Evan