Bagels, pizza, diner food, acai bowls… My oh my, how I have missed you! While I may have longed for my favorite Jersey fare while I was away, I definitely did enjoy the foodie finds I came across in Connecticut while I was staying there working on a show last month! Guided by my college roomie Anna, a Connecticut native and foodie friend, I found some wonderful spots to eat in this state! Though everyone from CT likes to do the thing that angers me more than anything– calling Jerz the “armpit of America”– I’ll admit that this state has some good eats here and there. 😉

Dom’s

I mean, talk about ~aesthetic~. Just look at those beautiful lattés! Dom’s is an oh so classy coffee shop where I had a fantastic cup of coffee– a Honey Latté! Sweet and strong and very very pretty.

 

Coffee Trade

I certainly got my coffee fix while hanging out with Anna this summer, which if you know us, is not shocking. Directly across the street from Dom’s is another fabulous coffee place called the Coffee Trade! When I smelled the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans wafting through this seemingly simple yet adorable coffee shop and saw the huge menu of flavored coffees doodled onto paper coffee cups, I was already perfectly content. But then I found out that the back of this café where patrons can sit and sip their coffee is an antique store! 

This quaint nook was a delightful place to drink my “Totally Nuts” coffee, flavored with hazelnut, almond, and coconut! Yummm…

 

Little City

I’ve always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to Connecticut pizza. Really, I’m a skeptic when it comes to any pizza that’s not from New York or New Jersey, which are obviously superior in the realm of pizza excellency. Nearly anywhere you go back home, you can get a good piece of pizza. But Anna convinced me that there is such a thing as an incredible Connecticut pizza! Half our pizza was topped with pesto, tomatoes, asparagus, red onion, and mozzarella– I loved all the fresh veggies, especially the asparagus which was an inventive pizza topping idea, but I did wish there was a bit more pesto. The other half was the one that I had been really looking forward to… Smashed Potato pizza! I was surprised by how delicious this pizza was. It had a more delicate flavor than I was expecting– I almost wouldn’t have guessed there were smashed potatoes on the pizza if you hadn’t told me because they were so melt-in-your-mouth buttery that they blended into the cheese. It was also sprinkled with scallions and corn! Unexpected winner.

Anna insisted that next time we have to venture to New Haven so I can come to a verdict on the Pepe’s vs. Sally’s pizza debate which is apparently a topic of heated controversy! Though I’ll always be partial to the pizza back home, I guess Connecticut’s got some good ones here and there…

 

Bartaco

Bartaco has a fresh, beachy atmosphere and really yummy tacos! I got a short rib taco with spicy kimchi, a portabella taco with salty queso fresco, and a crispy fish taco with cabbage slaw! And on the side was grilled corn dressed in cotija cheese, cayenne, and lime!  

Lucky for many, Bartaco is not an exclusively Connecticut-based eatery — they have several locations in seven different states!

 

Café Sofia

After Anna showed me Bartaco, we were hungry for dessert, so I decided to show her a find of my own! Café Sofia, a cute place across the street that my cousin, Danielle, recommended to me, provided the perfect sweet treat! I ordered an Iced Mocha and a crepe filled with fresh raspberries and dulce de leche!

 

Harvest

To my friends back home in Jersey, I’d say Harvest is Simsbury, Connecticut’s Turning Point, but homier. There are freshly baked pastries by the register, friendly faces, and some really delicious brunch! I ordered the Portabella Benedict– a split croissant topped with sliced portabella mushrooms, fresh spinach, grilled tomato and two poached eggs topped with a luscious hollandaise sauce. This dish was truly wonderful!

 

Tulmeadow Farm

Overlooking a big red barn and a pasture filled with adorable grazing cows, Tulmeadow Farm’s ice cream shop brought a big smile to my face! Upon arrival, Anna informed me that the real locals order Red Raspberry Chocolate Chip ice cream here, so that’s what I did, and I definitely did not regret it! My sweet tooth was satisfied with this creamier than creamy ice cream flavored with sweet fresh raspberries and flecked with rich dark chocolate chunks. It felt like summer!

 

Do you have any favorite CT foodie finds? Let me know in the comments so I can check them out next time I go!

 

Enjoy! 🙂 Love, The Perky Foodie

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