Yes, me too- just moved from LA to Old Lyme and am so bummed by the lack of decent places to eat. Here are a few I have found that are pretty good; Trapiche in chester, L&E in Chester, Johnny Ad's for a dive with great lobster rolls, Livs for their oysters in Wednesday nights ( half price) Mondo Pizza in Middletown and if anyone has others to recommend, yea!
Absolutely hated the Griswold Inn- the food is horrendous and way over-priced.

Also L&E in chester which by far ten times better than River Tavern, wonderful atmosphere as well.

Looking for a great place to eat in New Haven or Branford that is not trendy

Thanks for the replies - I am an hour from West Hartford so next time I am in the area I will check it out. For where I am Fromage turns out to be the best place although over-priced. Oh well.

Yes I know about the Thai ingredients in the markets and was looking for more authentic from Thailand stuff. I found most if it in New Haven at Hong Kong market and alas did not find Thai basil.
The Thai classes I teach rely on the best products and Thai kitchen is not really right as its Americanized. Anyway, the class is now over and we did well even with Italian basil and had to substitute lime zest for kaffir lime leaves.
Thank you for the input!

thank you both

We went about a month ago and found it ok not great but nothing to return to.
I agree about the stark and un-inviting dining room and uncomfortable chairs.
We also didn't get bread for a while and when we did got exactly one piece each! Silly.
The salads were quite good and I ordered scallops that were cooked perfectly and had a lovely sauce ( which I can't recall) but there was a lot of butter swimming on the plate which I really don't need.
The ricotta tart we had for desert was delicious.
Service not so great, a bit slow and there was only one other table seated in the dining room.
We may return and sit at the rather pleasant bar.

Just checked out this new Tapas restaurant in Chester the other night and it's a winner!
Really good small plates especially the croquettes and the tostadas with ropa vieja. We ordered about 6 dishes and all were wonderful except the scallops wrapped in Serrano ham. The ham was completely over-powering for the scallop and the scallops themselves were pale, under-cooked and tasted like mercury.
Other than that the place is worth a second trip. Packed on a Friday night and a bit slow in the service department but worth the wait.
We tried their Sangria which was ok, nothing special. I would chose another drink next time.

Hi Sue,
I am coming to town for one night next week and wonder if you would recommend one place that is a must try? We like all foods but especially ethnic hole in the wall type places.
Thanks!

You can find them at the Chocolate Shell in Old Lyme, Ct plus many other as they call it "nostalgia" candies

I need Thai basil, curry paste, fish sauce, lemongrass etc in the new haven or hartford area??

Thank you! This helps so much, looking forward to checking them out..

We are about to move to Guilford/ Madison area and when visiting were very disappointed with the food there. We didn't have one decent meal- anyone have any ideas on where to find good food in the area? We like hole in the wall ethnic places, which may mean we have to go to New Haven??

Burgers- go to Hole in the Wall Burger Joint best homemade burger or Father's Office in Santa Monica.
Samosa House for Indian food - hole in the wall place with very cheap, very good vegetarian Indian food; check it out!
Tacomiendo is excellent dive Mexican- very good, very cheap

Musha is off the beaten track Japanese- not sushi but cooked Japanese food and many appetizers. Very good, somewhat expensive.

I agree with PDC- very old-fashioned and well done restaurant with very good food, decent ( not inexpensive) prices, and there are mostly older people there. I would say it is a good family place. The waiters are all in the 60's and have been there forever. We have had a great steak dinner there as well as there brunch which is elegant and lovely.
There are also many restaurants in Culver City now worth looking into.

One Pico is fabulous but very expensive and not at all for anyone with kids, it is an elegant adult venue for a romantic dinner or a special occasion place.

I was there last night and enjoyed it- the service was friendly and efficient until the dessert which we waited for for long enough to wonder if they had forgotten about it- it was a chocolate apricot tart; worth waiting for and the crust was well done.
But let's back up; we had a burrata tomato salad and a crab avocado salad for appetizers- both were beautifully presented and very good. They serve not great French bread with the meal- which should be changed since it is a French place after all.
We had roasted chicken with spinach and potato gratin and a burger. I thought the chicken was bit chewy and dry; unremarkable. My dining companion liked the burger and said his potatoes were slightly over-cooked- so not a 10 on either entree. I was served a mixed green salad on the side that came in a not very appealing soup bowl and needed more dressing.
I enjoyed the experience and would go back for lunch or appetizers but most likely not for dinner.

Way over-priced and the market is now more of a scene with a bar, restaurant and full of wealthy retired couples- not a fish market anymore as it was, they ruined it!
Got to the Japanese markets on Sawtelle for great fresh fish that is more affordable or Mitsuwa on Venice Blvd.

After years of hearing about this landmark LA. spot I finally had a chance to visit last night with three friends and we had a fabulous meal.
The service was very smooth, lovely waiter from the old days, very Italian and knew his stuff inside and out. They rushed the food to us a bit which was my only issue.
The table was perfectly situated in the front and was cozy, warmly lit and although the place was crowded it wasn't noisy so you could hear each other talking which was welcome.
The food was superb- especially the raviolis - really nothing to say but perfection! Home-made pasta is supposed to be like this; light as a feather. We had a very nice salad of thinly sliced fennel and artichoke with parmesan- very, very delicious. I ordered Dover sole which was quite good although a tad over-cooked- not easy to do in large quantities- so I get that.
We had two desserts; a panna cotta- perfectly done and served with strawberry sauce and fresh berries and a chocolate crepe that was also amazing with nutella inside and sugared hazelnuts- which were addictive.
I would return to this place for a special occasion as it is expensive and everything had a ton of butter on it - so can only eat this way once in a blue moon.

On Sawtelle there are a number of great Japanese supermarkets- small ones that have excellent fish at good prices.
Also LA. Fish Company downtown is very fresh and cheap!

We went to Ado last night after reading the above review and were not impressed. The place itself is very charming and the service was great, handsome friendly knowledgeable Italian guys are at your beck and call- what could be bad about that?

But sadly the food was not impressive. We ordered an appetizer of fried whole sardines that was quite good but the portion was small and the price was high for two sardines ($15) We all ordered pasta which was homemade but quite thick and heavy, not as delicate as homemade pasta should be. I have made it a hundred times and it's usually light and tender, this was chewy and thick. The sauce that I had was the fried zucchini with tomatoes and walnut pesto- the flavor was nice but there were maybe two pieces of zucchini, two tomatoes and the sauce seemed more to me like a butter-cream sauce, nothing like pesto ( which I also make all the time and it has more texture and garlic flavor) Another too high priced dish for not much ($17 for carbohydrates!). My friends had pastas that were mentioned by other chow hounders that were good but nothing special.
My husband ordered a veal chop with a cherry sauce that the host described as being heavenly and was quite ordinary.
We had two delicious wines, which was a the highlight of the meal and a lovely chocolate souffle that was served with a basil sauce, nice combination and good souffle, although a tad over-cooked.

What can I say? I cook this type of food, I lived in Tuscany - have travelled the world and think this place is way over- hyped ( because of name dropping, typical of L.A.). I wouldn't recommend it as the menu was very rich, heavy and too many items on the menu were too heavy and rich. The main thing was the the cost didn't match up to the experience.

"We went last night after hearing about this place on Chowhound and I liked it but have some comments:
The people couldn't have been nicer or more friendly but the food wasn't what I expected and they way over-charged us!
I lived in Jamaica for four months and cook this food myself so I like it spicy, which it wasn't. We ordered jerk goat and chicken and we got very little goat and much more chicken and got charged double.
We had a lot of rice and almost no vegetables and about three plaintains per order.
I know they were closing (at 8 pm on a Saturday night, after being told on the phone that they were open until 11 pm) but if they didn't have enough food they should have told us.
By the time we left we were rushing to get out so they could close and didn't look at the bill - just paid and left. It was way over the cost on the menu so that doesn't sit well.
I enjoyed the flavor of the food but didn't think there was enough goat or vegetables and obviously would not pay this bill there again without checking it.
The best thing about it was when we were leaving they gave us a few vegetable patties- I think the mom realized her son had over-charged us and felt bad- and they were excellent- just like in Jamaica, so 4 stars for that!"
If anyone wants my Jerk Chicken recipe email me and you will love it- very spicy.
amandascooking@gmail.com

The BEST meal we have had so far on Main St. - great food, service and atmosphere on deserted part of Main St.
We are in the hood and appreciate it so much, really loved everything about the place. Plus we parked out front with no problem on a Friday night- just put in a bunch of quarters!

The most important seasoning for rice- which is what risotto is- is salt and pepper and plenty of it. When you first add the rice you should stir it for about 3 minutes in the oil or butter to add flavor to the rice as well and then liberally season with s and p- then as you are almost done - taste it and if it is bland add more salt and pepper.
it is that simple!

Pork loin is not to be confused with pork tenderloin- one is quite large and the other long and thin. The loin can be cooked medium rare to a temp. of 160 otherwise it will be tough.
Rub with salt and pepper and like the guy said below make slits and stuff with garlic and rosemary and thyme if you like. Cook- covered on indirect heat for about 45 to 50 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes or 15 before carving.
Should be delicious!

Rivera is great- one of my best meals in a while was had there. Also One Pico is a great date place- romantic, on the beach- great food and service was impeccable.