A Culinary Walking Tour

We had gorgeous weather this last weekend. It was time to be outdoors, soak in the sun and inhale the cool summer breeze. Some people chose to relax at the beach, some decided to go for a walk, hike or a drive, some just hung out by their pools. This foodie went on a culinary walking tour of New Haven!

What an unusual experience this was! The tours are offered by a company called Taste of New Haven and they have quite a few tour options. All designed to revel in all the culture, history and great food that New Haven has to offer. This city is quite a melting pot and I was amazed to see how much of it was accessible by foot.

The total tour takes about 4 hours. We walked no more than a mile or so. But we felt like we had just completed an international journey - without the jet lag. There was something for everyone. From cheese samplings, to wine tasting, to coffee tasting, to Japanese and Cuban food tastings to yummy cupcakes to healthy and fresh squeezed juices of fruits and vegetables. Throw in some interesting historical facts and what you have is an afternoon well spent!

Our first stop was at Koffee On Audobon, a really neat coffee house where we tried some delicious cold coffee and some pastries and desserts. I love it when we start an eating adventure with dessert first! Its my kind of tour!

The next stop was just across the street at Pure Health Lounge, where we tried a delicious detox - a freshly squeezed juice mixture of kale, celery, apples, carrots and parsley. We also sampled some of their really creamy green tea flavored yogurt. Pretty good stuff and hard to tell that it was yogurt!

Making this foodie really, really happy was our third stop: at Katalina’s Cupcakes. These cupcakes were Wow! Forget Crumbs …. THIS is where you want your cupcakes from. Moist, lightly sweet with yummy buttercream – folks at Katalina’s really know what they are doing.

Next up was the stop I had been waiting for … Caseus Fromagerie. Ever since I had tasted their grilled cheese sandwiches when their food truck came to Westport – I had been dying to visit Caseus. What a funky little place with lots of character. The owner, Jason, really knows his cheese and he goes far and wide to get the best of the best cheeses for us to enjoy. We tried some Irish Coolea from London, and Montgomery’s cheddar cheese. I wish the tour allowed us to stop here for lunch – I would have loved to try some things on their menu! But we settled for second best and purchased some cheese samplings to take back home with us.

We then stopped at Kumo, a Japanese restaurant. They served us some sushi rolls and miso soup along with warm sake. I had never had warm sake before and I discovered that I really like it like that.

Zafra a Cuban Restaurant and Rum Bar was our next stop. We were served delicious Cuban sandwiches and mojitos. If you like Cuban sandwiches, you must try these. Very crunchy crisp bread filled with cheesy, porky goodness.

We made a quick stop at Odd Bins wine shop where we sampled some white and red wines. And then we made it to our last stop, just next door: Anna Liffey’s. Anna Liffey’s is an Irish restaurant and pub. They served up lots of great Irish fare. We had portabella mushroom and goat cheese sandwiches, bangers and mash, as well as fish and chips. Most importantly, we had Irish beer! :-)

Let me tell you that, by this time we felt totally satiated and felt like we had gotten more than our money’s worth. Each of these restaurants had so much of their own unique character and you could tell that they must be the favorite hangouts of the locals. The tours cost just $55 per person and they are a unique way to explore the culinary landscape of New Haven, CT.

Taste Of New Haven, Food & Drink Tour | www.tasteofnewhaven.com | 203-710-3710