The New Haven Open is in progress at Yale. It is a great way for Connecticut residents to see some really good tennis right in our own backyard. And if that is not reason enough, this foodie was delighted to find out that a grand tasting event was planned for last evening at the Food and Wine Festival at Yale Tennis Center. All the big names of New Haven’s culinary landscape gathered under one tent to bring to us the flavorful world of New Haven.
My favorite fellow foodie and I could not resist this wonderful opportunity to sample some of New Haven’s best. We enjoyed delicious offerings from our all time favorites like Barcelona, Thali, Oaxaca Kitchen and Caseus. We also savored our first taste teasers from restaurants we had not visited before. Names like Heirloom and Zinc are making it on my permanent list.
Each restaurant brought one sweet and one savory dish for diners to sample. Some brought extra goodies to showcase their wide range of talent. How perfect!
I loved Heirloom restaurant’s Sea Scallops with Caramelized Spaghetti Squash. I was told that it has been a permanent fixture on their menu due to its popular demand. Miso brought delicious sushi samplers. Barcelona offered yummy Coconut Panna Cotta with Spiced Pineapple. OMG ….so divine. The panna cotta was amazingly light with subtle hints of coconut. I just can’t decide my favorite at the Barcelona table, because I also loved their savory Chorizo Bocadillo with Spicy Cabbage. The chorizo was to die for with amazing depths of flavor. Yum! Yum! YUM!
The one restaurant that made a seriously lasting impression on me was Zinc and Kitchen Zinc. They created this amazing pop of flavor in a small cup. It was a dish with baby mozzarella, olives, tomato, and basil pesto with Chianti reduction. I could not believe how many layers of flavors were going on in each spoonful of this stuff made from delightfully fresh ingredients. The slightly bitter saltiness from the olives, the creaminess of mozzarella, the mysteriously intense sweetness of the Chianti reduction and the earthiness of the pesto all joined in to create a flavorful symphony. I think I need a moment now to stamp this dish in my memory until I can get my hands on it again. On the sweet side they offered this creamy, unusual but delicious, basil gelato. Good stuff!
We leisurely strolled around the big tent, sampling each restaurant’s creations, debating the merits of each, chatting with fellow foodies, saying “Hi” to familiar faces, sipping on wines offered by many area vendors. At the end of it all, we walked over to the stadium next door and watched some great tennis under the stars on a perfect and cool summer evening. Can life get any better? 
