Though it has a good name for a dive bar, The Well is not a dive bar. It’s a wine (and beer) bar with dive bar prices, a circular pad burrowed into the lower level of Yale’s still-new Schwarzman Center. …
Natural Selection
Being natural is messy. B-Natural eats clean. The restaurant offers bowls, sandwiches, wraps, salads, smoothies, juices and all-day breakfast, with an open kitchen in back where, during a recent visit, made-to-order components sizzled and simmered.
As I placed my order, …
Items of Import
According to The Japan Times, “zakka” emerged in postwar Japan as a catch-all term for “everyday tools and objects such as kettles, brooms and buckets.” In 2001, the International Herald Tribune noted that latter-day Japan had elevated it to …
Like Fine Wine
I trust the proprietors of Hamden’s Mt. Carmel Wine & Spirits Co. more than I trust my doctor. In decades of frequenting the store, the suggestions I’ve gotten, no matter the price, have never disappointed. The staff—currently including Bob Feinn, …
Past Experience
It looked like a little home library, with parlor chairs, bookshelves and a Christmas tree. Then I found the slot where I was supposed to give the password…
Z Food
For New Year’s Eve, VivaZ Cantina planned quite the fiesta. The Mexican restaurant’s four-course prix fixe menu (at $65 per person) featured…
Bubblicious
There’s a phenomenon I call “the bubble,” where a restaurant’s food, drink, service and atmosphere are executed so seamlessly that you forget about everything beyond your table. This immersion is what hospitality professionals strive for when they subtly dim the …