New Haven: Reveal Thyself

yeh, for school. lol, the rumor used to be that my college master's husband was a regular at partners. I used to go to the burrito cart a lot but I got terrible food poisoning from it once, plus I think it closed down when roomba did because it was part of roombas... not sure

Roomba's no more. The burrito carts carry on, but I'm not a fan. What's with the slaw? Whole Enchilada on Whitney has new management and some damn good burritos, sans slaw. BTW, Roomba successor Bespoke passed into other hands. The Camachos opened a very high-end restaurant in Branford. Haven't tried it yet. Sounds amazing.

have you been to ibiza? it was the one restaurant I felt regret about not eating at while I was there

also I heard miya's is now only serving sustainable sushi, good on 'em. though I was never really a fan of the place, too overpriced for what it was

Bun Lai is batshit, in the best possible way. Miya's has gone not just sustainable, but as local as possible. his latest kick seems to be finding creative uses for invading species, both animal and vegetable. but, yeah, the restaurant is well outside of my current starvation budget. no more Ride the Wild Donkey Rolls for me, at least for a while. everyone should look up Miya's menu. it's a trip.

re: Ibiza. just once, ages ago. IIRC it lived up to the hype, but so did the three-figure bill. did celebrate a B-Day at rival Barcelona a couple of years ago, and it was just as good (and nearly as pricey, though i was spared that bullet). the Ibiza owners opened a tapas place in Hamden that i've been meaning to check out. it's supposed to be (a little) more reasonable.

Greetings from New Haven

http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad184/sdolnack/b8b9d2c4.jpg

PS Claires Corner Coupia-- not actually all that awesome!

nope, not even a little bit awesome. i don't get the universal raves about her Lithuanian coffee cake, either. it's like a roofing shingle. if you need to veg out, try Elaine's Healthy Choice, just up the street from Broadway. Jamaican vegan fare. funky, cheap, and tasty. welcome to town, btw!

Okay so what are everyones recommendations w/r/t:

a) museums
b) cool/divey bars
c) cool quirky things to see
d) maybe nice places to buy things

A. Yale British Art Museum and Yale University Art Gallery are across the street from one another. Don't expect the MoMA, but that should fill a few hours pleasantly. Have lunch at Atticus bookstore and cafe. Get the black bean soup and a bread sampler, an Aztec chocolate brownie if you have room

The Beinecke Rare Book Room and Sterling Library will scratch any bibliophile's itch. Some incredible items on display at both.

The Peabody Museum of Natural History is just a walk from the Green, down Church and Whitney. Small, but worth visiting for the Great Hall of Dinosaurs and for the Native American exhibits. Nice local flora/fauna dioramas and a fun Gift Shop, too.

If the Yale Museum of Rare Instruments is open, that's also fun.

check out the uh...manuscripts room at sml? only open during odd hours

stevie for real though there's been a lot of great posts itt already

B. Not a barfly, but Richter's (Chapel & College), Anna Liffey's (Whitney), Café Nine (250 State), and Yale's own after-hours GPSY (Park?) are some of the more popular local watering holes. i think the infamous Rudy's is still in transition, unfortunately. For something classier (and some incredible mixology), look for the swank 166 Crown and Firehouse 12. Pick up an Advocate, and scan the music listings. There's usually something worth seeing.

Hula Hanks or any of the other Crown St. Clubs if yr rilly looking to slum it. BAR brews some dece beer, but 16 Prime is the best tap room in town. Great burgers, too.

C. hmm. Sterling Library plaza has a Calder and a Noguchi to ogle. But your best bet is just to walk around the adjacent Greens, wander over to the Ninth Square area (just between the City Hall and big bank buildings). see if you can find Artspace and nearby Bentara, our best (and only) Malaysian restaurant.

If you're up for more of a walk, c'mon down Whitney, past Yale, to East Rock. pretty and peaceful. with some great gourmet shops and a rather nice park. But that's my nabe, so i may be biased. The New Haven Historical Society is on the way, as is the arty Audubon St. area. More galleries - and a killer music (sheet, not recorded) store, Foundry Music.

D. What are you looking for? http://i54.tinypic.com/1j14s2.jpg's, overpriced and understocked, is sadly the only record shop here. They have been ramping up their used vinyl section, so that could kill a few hours. Around the corner is the cool, quirky Labyrinth Books. A few more hours to be whiled away there, though they're not cheap. Most of the nice-things shopping is done on Chapel (Wave Gallery, that Lotsa Villages chain place), Broadway (Yale-fortified B&N, UO, etc), but there are some sweet shops along Whitney. It's not much of a shopping town, i'm afraid. There is a fun vintage clothing store at the corner of Whitney and Trumbull. and the cheese-and-charcuterie boutique, Caeseus.

Odd, that embedded link should just say "http://i54.tinypic.com/1j14s2.jpg's" which you know already, prolly.

ok srsly wtf, ipod?

Oh, two more recommended stops along Chapel: Group W Bench, a head shop crammed with curious goods, and our lone used book shop, the Book Trader. Some amazing stuff often turns up at the latter.

Oooh! The several Asian markets on Whitney and Orange are totally worth yr time. The expected assortment of crazy candies and off-the-wall drinks to browse. You won't leave empty handed.

lolz @ hatcat showing up, thank you I Love NFL

plz 2 xplain hatcat thing? Was trying to type C-u-t-l-e-r-'-s...

ILNFL (the subboard) automatically replaces references to QB jay http://i54.tinypic.com/1j14s2.jpg with that lil guy why becuase it's funny

Heh. tnx!

Update: yday we strolled around. I am so amazed at the architecture!! We saw the Praise Song for the Day inauguration poem lady do a reading at Labyrinth, and then we did trivia at lolBlack Bear. Today were doing art museums; we did Peabody yday as well and I got Bengali burritos! So good.

Hooooly shit at the rare book library too

Love those Bengali Burritos!

Today was North Haven, omg biggest shopping center sprawl I have ever seen in my life. Ate at the vegan Jamaican place today and then ogled at the cute beardo(s) at Edge of the Woods. Tomorrow is art museums, GPSY, and maybe Bar!

I probably take the shopping Mecca of Universal Drive for granted, but i'm not sure what makes it different from any other commercial strip-mall hellsprawl. i would never put it on a visitor's agenda. Haha. If i may ask, where are you coming from? Sounds like you're enjoying the sites and the sights during your stay. And, yay! You made it to Elaine's! :-D

hey hal do you know what the name of that cool liquor shop is, that's on the route to east rock?

always thought i should have at least applied to yale, i think i might've liked it

sorry gbx yale's for cool kids only

j/k nobody's actually cool at yale ;_;

Gimme more, dayo. The Wine Thief? coolest wine and spirits shop we've got, by far. unless you're referring to the Bottle Shop (?) on Orange St.

google street view reminds me that it's the wine thief. yuh!

That's a good one, yep. Won't buy my Oloroso sherry anywhere else.

Coming from Philly/NJ area. We didn't go there to see the stores. We just had to run a few errands but daaayyyummm it is fucking enormous.

That's cool. I can't judge. I'd be lost w/o the Rave megaplex out there, and my partner practically lives at BJ's.

Dear Bulldog Burrito, my hangover was made for you; I feel like a greater person now.

Truth.

always thought bulldog burrito was a bit rubbish, but yeah I bet it's great hangover food

I mean, it's the local Chipotle and I fucking love Chipotle

I always liked that they have like 10 different tabasco flavors

there are so, so many law offices in victorian houses in this city

how can a small town even have so many lawyers? is it just yale students suing each other

where does one get a bagel in this town

probably near that famous pizza joint? dunno tho

Bruegger's, on Whitney.

i should have specified "other than breuggers" lol

i found out that the health market right on the same block as the bookstore has a pretty sweet deli, got one from there

you doing Yale bizness, kev?

k3vin my wife is from new haven let me know if you have questions! i like new haven tbh

I just moved out of New Haven yesterday! Though only to a town next door.