Good Eats in New Haven

I've been in New Haven since Monday, kicking off my dissertation research with painstaking archival work in Yale's Gilmore Music Library. I won't bore you with details, but it's equal parts fascinating, mind-numbing, incredibly useful and completely pointless. Apparently this is what I have to look forward to throughout my career - tenure, here I come!

On to the reason for this post: like my dad, I have acquired the habit of enjoying food a great deal more when I'm away from home. (No offense meant to Maggie's or my own cooking ability, since clearly we are awesome in this regard. It has more to do with a willingness to try new places, see old friends, and meet new ones. And it helps that this research trip is Harvard-funded, so I'm more inclined to actually spend money on food.) My jaunt to New Haven has proved no exception.

Soon after my arrival, James and I hit up an excellent Chinese establishment right across from his apartment (Royal Palace Restaurant - yelp reviews here). For $6.95 we had soup, General Tso's chicken (James very spicy, me not at all), and fried rice. Awesome deal. In the evening, we patronized a well-known New Haven establishment, The Educated Burgher. (This is Yale's version of Bartley's in Harvard Square.)

There, I enjoyed a 1/3 lb. bacon cheeseburger with curly fries and a chocolate banana milkshake. Sure, I'll regret it in 20-40 years, but until then, it's all good.

Yesterday I had a small breakfast of Frosted Flakes (I never get sweet cereals at home!) and a lunch of a ham-and-gruyere croissant and a sandwich composed of Boar's Head (TM) roast beef, horseradish, and cheddar on a kaiser roll with a Snapple lemon iced-tea. But the main event was dinner.

Apparently the place to get pizza in New Haven is Pepe's, located in the city's own miniature Little Italy. James and I met there Will, Judy, Lindsay, and Kristen Oakes, family friends from way back who live 30 minutes from New Haven. Sure, we had to wait almost an hour and a half to be seated, and sure, then we had to contend with the world's slowest/most negligent waiter, but then! The pizza was excellent. We got an original with mozzarella (the original original comes without cheese!) and a pepper, sausage, and mushroom with mozzarella. Amazingly, Pepe's only serves pizza. That's right - no pasta, no subs, nothing. Don't believe me? Check out the menu:

My junk-food culinary overload continues tonight with all-you-can-eat sushi at an event James and his colleagues have been planning for at least a week. I'll let you know how it goes!