50 Dishes to Try Before You Die - #2

The Seafood Feast at Abbott's Lobster in the Rough, Noank. This is one very good version of the New England shore dinner. The meal begins with clam chowder and shrimp in the rough followed by a heaping bowl of steamers and mussels, topped off with an Abbott's steamed lobster - accompanied by potato chips, coleslaw and drawn butter. All with a water view, too!

50 Dishes to Try Before You Die - #1

The white clam pie at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven. This is a delicious Connecticut invention served at a genuine world-class dining destination (Pepe's now has branches in Fairfield, Manchester and at Mohegan Sun, but New Haven remains the mothership. The white clam pie is fresh littlenecks, olive oil, oregano, grated Parmesan cheese and chopped garlic - all sitting atop one of Pepe's crunchy, chewy, blistery thin crusts.

Connecticut Specialties to Try Before You Die

In conjunction with an upcoming article in our May issue, we're running a survey to find Connecticut specialties you should try before you die. We're looking for dishes from Connecticut restaurants that you feel everyone should try at least once -- from the white clam pizza at Pepe's in New Haven to the steamed cheeseburgers at Ted's to the clam hash at Pat's Kountry Kitchen.

Have any suggestions? Please click here and share what local dish you think everyone should try.

Annual Readers' Survey

One of our most popular reader features is back: Our annual readers' restaurant survey, where our readers tell us who they think are the best eateries in 27 different categories, from American to vegetarian and every cuisine in between. This year, we've added a few new categories, such as best sushi and hidden gem. And of course, there's best new restaurant and best overall.

And as in years past, you can profit from giving us your opinion -- vote for your favorites and you will be entered in a drawing to win $750 or dinner on us! Not bad for taking a few minutes to complete a survey.

To cast your votes, simply click here.

We're looking forward to hearing from you!

End of An Era

As someone who grew up in Milford, I was saddened to see this story this morning in the Connecticut Post about the closing of Paul's Famous Hamburgers after 62 years. Like many in town, I ate there on occasion, and although it was never really a hangout of mine, I do have good memories of their delicious burgers.

I don't know the particular reasons for its closure, and the story in the Post doesn't shed any substantial clues, but I would hate to think it was forced out of business because of too many competing burger chains. As I've railed here before, although I understand the convenience and attraction of chains, they really are poor substitutes for places with genuine atmosphere (not just old tennis rackets and eclectic photos hung up on cookie-cutter walls to create "ambiance") and more importantly, better food and service.

Paul's won our Best of Connecticut award for "best hamburger," an award won this year by Plan B Tavern -- who, despite having three locations (West Hartford, Glastonbury and Simsbury), is still a local business and not a national chain.

For now.

Fresh from the Farm

This is the time of year to enjoy the produce coming from Connecticut farms, and it's also the time when a lot of Connecticut restaurants are allowing us to do the same thing. One example we enjoyed the other night was the "Connecticut Farm To Chef Seasonal Tasting Menu" offered by Max Downtown in Hartford. The limited menu includes three courses for $32, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Connecticut Farmland Trust. More to the point, the dinner was perfectly fresh, creative and delicious. The first course was a creamy Rosedale Farms Sweet Corn Soup that included bacon and, delightfully, popcorn; the second was a Grilled Ox Hollow Farms All Natural Pork Chop accompanied by a chorizo-stuffed sunburst squash, tomato marmalade and red wine jus; the third course was a lemon blueberry cake featuring perfect, plump berries from Rose's Berry Farm in Glastonbury. The "Taste of Connecticut" is all around right now--and restaurants are among the best places to enjoy it.

Fair Weather Friends

What could be more summery than a dining spot that's open only in summer? There aren't as many as there used to be in Connecticut, but for the July issue of Connecticut Magazine we visited a few and like what we found--in fact we put one of them on the cover! In the issue, we write about Harry's Place in Colchester, The Place in Guilford, Sea Swirl in Mystic and Abbott's Lobster in the Rough in Noank, but I think my favorite was Clamp's on Route 202 in New Milford, right near the Washington line. Clamp's is a real throwback, right by the side of the road, open only six hours a day. I liked the hamburger with grilled onions and ordered a second one right after I finished the first. But what I liked even more was the feeling of thoroughly enjoying the season--and summer hadn't even officially begun yet! If you know of any seasonal operations with good food and a good vibe, please post it here. I'd love to visit as many as I can this summer.