Probably the Best Pork Belly in New Haven

We spent our night at Barcelona Wine Bar to celebrate the 2023 graduation of a friend of mine from Yale School of Management. My favorite here is the pork belly, which reminds me of the best fried belly I had in Korea — yes, Korea has the best pork in my humble view!

We completed the dinner with the sweet, warm, and freshly baked oliver cake. I feel like I need to do some jogging tomorrow. I also learned about a new kind of drink tonight, Arnold Palmer.

What a memorable night in New Haven. I actually never saw so many people in New Haven in a restaurant. All the happy and smiling faces. Once again, congratulations to the Class of 2023!

Barcelona Wine Bar
155 Temple St, New Haven, CT 06510

The Best Bagel in New Haven

New York has its famous Ess-a-Bagel. New Haven has our very own Olmo bagels, voted by customers as the best in Connecticut.

I heard about the bagel shop for a while, which especially got its good reputation among Yale SOM students given its location very close to Yale School of Management — right around the corner of Trumbull and Whitney Ave.

Today I went to try on my own. Wow! I was immediately impressed by its diverse menu. I picked the Osaka-style Okonomiyaki bagel and it also allowed me to add an extra slice of ham — yes, I was hungry. It just tasted so good!

Olmo first opened for more formal and relatively high-end restaurant business in 2018 but the small dining room was not conducive to a global pandemic. The owners quickly pivoted the restaurant into a bagel shop knowing that New Haven, the Elm City, was a bagel desert. And the rest is just history, as people say.

Today the small bagel shop is often ranked by the press as the best bagel place in the Constitution State. And btw, in case unknown, Olmo means Elm Tree and New Haven is known as the Elm City of course.

Olmo Bagels
93 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510

A Museum Restaurant in New Haven

Have you thought about having a good meal inside a centuries-old museum full of art masterpieces? There’s one restaurant like that in New Haven, the college town for Yale.

Harvest Wine Bar of New Haven is a part of the British Art Centre and its architecture is in fact the last building designed by the internationally acclaimed American Architect Louis I. Kahn, of the 20th century design. The restaurant also has the large space that boasts a large open-air, stone outdoor dining room, surrounded by one of the museum’s greatest treasures.

Do you know the British Art Centre is also the first museum in America that agreed to have a restaurant as part of its facilities?

Food is delicious. I like New England-style mussels for starter or you can get the fresh-cooked broccoli sprouts in an artistic setting for plate. The bonus? Enjoy New Haven’s blue sky and don’t forget to pay a visit to another good museum, the Yale University Art Gallery after your good meal, and that is just right across the street.

Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant
1104 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510

The Chicken Wing Legend in New Haven

What is Archie Moore's famous for? The short answer is chicken wings!

Apart from foodstuff, the chain restaurant in Connecticut is also well known for its Coca-Cola-themed decor, making it an iconic American eatery and it is one of the favourites for the locals, especially in the East Rock neighbourhood.

History shows Archibald Moore — an Irish immigrant — settled in New Haven and established a watering hole on Willow Street in 1898. A succession of taverns remained in this location for nearly a century, but it wasn't until 1982 when Archie's served up its award-winning buffalo chicken wings to Connecticut for the first time.

Now the restaurant chain has four locations in Connecticut and it has sold over 10 million wings collectively. For chicken wing fans, this is a must-go place in New Haven.

My recommendation? The old bay flavour that is well known in New England, also known as Cajun dry rub wings. Crispy, a bit spicy, and you just can’t stop eating!

Archie Moore's New Haven
188 1/2 Willow St, New Haven, CT 06511

The Taste of Tibet in New Haven

I travel a lot but I haven’t been to Tibet yet, and I should. But before I get to the real Tibet, today I had good taste of some traditional Tibetan cuisine — in New Haven, Connecticut.

The locally well-known “Tibetan Kitchen” has been on Chapel Street since 2015 and it’s now one of the favourites for Yale students and professors and of course for many New Haven residents too.

My favorite dish is Tibet’s traditional bun, called Tingmo (or ཀྲིན་མོག in written Tibetan language), which some scholars say could mean the “momo” (meaning dumpling in Tibetan) from the “tinga” (meaning cloud in the heaven).

The shape of the steamed bun, with some turmeric (hence the natural yellow color), does look look a bunch of clouds holding Ip together. I love it, and it’s just two dollars.

The cold spicy noodle with beef is also quite good, especially for the summer time I believe. And we also tried the chicken and beef dumplings, which reminded me of those thick and big dumplings I had in Mongolia.

I’m so glad New Haven now can have the fortune to house such a small but important restaurant. As I always say, #WhatGeorgeEats is more than just food, I learn culture, religion, and the world, through all kinds of food.

Tibetan Kitchen
1217 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06511