New Haven Food Guide: Winter Edition

Though I am sitting in rainy Portland, Oregon while writing this, I can still vividly remember the biting cold of New Haven winters. After all, it was only a year ago that I was finishing up my final semester at Yale, cozied up in the library or a coffee shop as snow was falling outside.

Winter in New Haven was a surprise to me. Of course, I'd "seen" east coast winters through TV shows like Gilmore Girls, but those were filmed in L.A. and did nothing to prepare me for the reality of the situation - Rory and Lorelai never even wore actual winter coats for heaven's sake! I found the snow on Yale's campus to be quite magical, even as it turned to gray sludge as winter marched on. I invested in a long, down coat that became my armor against the plunging temperatures. Real east-coasters would probably have scoffed at me, all bundled up in my hat, gloves, scarf, and coat, my face barely visible through all the wrappings. But I still enjoyed the winter months, despite the dark and cold, and I look forward to going back again one day.

As a follow up to my New Haven fall food guide, here are my favorite things to eat in New Haven during the winter:

Lunch: Chancho Arepa

Rubamba: 25 High St., New Haven

If you have not gotten onto the arepa train LET ME HELP YOU. Arepas are these amazing corn cakes that are flattened and then topped/filled with a variety of yummy things like veggies and meat. The arepas at Rubamba are Colombian style arepas; they are sweet and cakey and made with bits of corn and mozzarella cheese. It is truly as amazing as it sounds.

Before college I'd eaten an arepa once before, but it was a Venezuelan style arepa; it was less sweet and looked more like a sandwich. Rubamba Latin Gourmet is well known in New Haven for its arepas. The restaurant itself is very small and due to its popularity, if you go with a group you'll often have to wait for a table (worth it!!) I don't know when I first went there, but it was a game changer. I ordered the Chancho arepa, the best one on the menu IMO, and never looked back.

The Chancho arepa is topped with orange, cuban style pulled pork; it is wonderfully sweet and sits atop the sweet arepa corn cake and a circle of rice & gandules (peas). There is guac, sour cream, and lettuce on top and yummy fried plantains on the side. It is a hugely satisfying meal and the perfect stomach-and-heart-warming lunch during the winter.

P.S. (If you were still looking for reasons to go, Rubamba also has excellent churros to finish off your meal 😉)

Drink: Mexican Hot Chocolate

Willoughby's Coffee & Tea: multiple locations in New Haven

I've been a Mexican hot chocolate fan ever since I first tasted it at Moonstruck, an excellent Portland chocolate company. I love the flavor of the cinnamon and the kick of spice it has. So much better than regular hot chocolate!!

I discovered the Mexican hot chocolate from Willoughby's with my friend and roommate, Heidi, during our sophomore year of college. We had just finished our last final exams of the winter semester and were feeling celebratory. Heidi and I have always been big coffee shop goers and had been to Willoughby's before to study. We went and ordered some well-deserved treats to congratulate ourselves for finishing the semester.

As it turns out, we ended up loving the Mexican hot chocolate, and the end-of-semester Willoughby's trip became a tradition between us. Sadly, we did not get to finish our tradition of going to Willoughby's after finals because of Covid-19, but I have utter confidence that we will return for the hot cocoa again!

Willoughby's is currently open for pickup.

P.S. (I'd also like to give a special shout out to the ginger molasses cookie from Willoughby's which I also ordered and also became a staple of our Willoughby's trip!)

Dinner: Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Tarry Lodge: 278 Park St., New Haven

I think it's safe to say that spaghetti alla carbonara is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) comfort food. It's hard to go wrong with creamy, cheesy pasta and perfect little bites of pancetta or guanciale. If it is on the menu, I will get it approximately 75% of the time.

The carbonara at Tarry Lodge is some of the best I've ever had (and I've been to Italy! ~cue eye roll~) But seriously, Tarry Lodge knows what they're doing. The restaurant is part owned by Joe Bastianich (aka the scary judge from Masterchef!), who also owns several Michelin-star restaurants, so it's not surprising that the food is good.

My mom and I went to Tarry Lodge when she visited me in New Haven for parent's weekend my freshman year (it's definitely the kind of place you have your parents take you to if you can since it's a little pricey). I ordered the carbonara (naturally) and was happily blown away by its deliciousness. I mean, it's not surprising that carbonara is good. But I have yet to find a carbonara that I like better than Tarry Lodge's. Is it the little bursts of savory-ness from the guanciale? The perfect amount of black pepper? The freshly grated parmesan on top that makes me never want to say "when" to the waiter? Who knows, but it's damn good.

Since that first time at Tarry Lodge, I've gone back pretty much every time my mom visited campus, bringing friends, aunts, cousins, Will, etc. It's one of those restaurants where I rarely order anything else because the carbonara is THAT GOOD.

Tarry Lodge is currently open for indoor seating, outdoor seating, pickup, and delivery*.

*Cannot speak to how spaghetti alla carbonara tastes delivered. That sounds potentially not very good. But who knows maybe the magic of the Tarry Lodge carbonara stretches even to the extra 10 minutes it takes for delivery!

Late Night: Junzi After Hours

Junzi Kitchen: 21 Broadway, New Haven (also has locations in NYC)

Photo taken from Junzi's Facebook page because I had no photos of my own, probably because I'm always devouring my Junzi late night immediately upon receiving it

Late night food is a must in a college town and I can almost guarantee that no one does it better than Junzi. Junzi is a relatively new eatery, opened in 2015 by some Yalies. They specialize in healthy, seasonal northern Chinese cuisine. Their main menu is definitely worth trying, but it is the night menu - Junzi After Hours (or Junzi Late Night as all of us called it) - that truly shines.

My favorite late night menu item is hands down the General Chu's chicken - fried pieces of chicken drizzled with a spicy sauce. The chicken came either on its own or in a rice bowl or a bing wrap. I was at Junzi almost every weekend for General Chu. There's nothing like biting into a huge piece of fried chicken at 1am surrounded by your best friends.

I also liked the Mala Instant Noodles from the late night menu - spicy ramen noodles with either beef or tofu. The spice level was perfect, making it feel as though my sinuses were cleared without losing any of the flavor.

I have many fond memories of gathering with friends at Junzi Late Night, waiting for our bings or rice bowls to be ready. Junzi was the kind of place where if you showed up on a Friday or Saturday night, you were almost sure to see someone you knew. Sometimes I'd wait in the long lines that would build up and eat it, smushed into the tiny tables there. Other times I would order ahead on Snackpass, usually right at 10:30pm when it opened to beat the rush, and pick it up to be consumed on the floor of someone's dorm room.

Tragically Junzi After Hours is currently on hold 😢. However, you can still order from the normal menu for pickup and delivery.

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Winter is a time for coziness and warmth, particularly in our food. I hope that if you are in the New Haven area (or ever plan to be) that this post helped you decide what to eat!

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See you next time,

- Evan