Bar

Bar

New Haven, CT

254 Crown street : Crown & College

Category: Pizza

Anyone who knows New Haven knows that it isn't hard to find great pizza there. There are a ton of pizza places on wooster street alone, but if you look hard enough you can find some exceptional places that outdo even the likes of Pepe's. Enter Bar. The worn wooden door you pass on your way down crown street opens up to a mix between a gin mill, a pizza joint, and an avant-garde dance club. Bar's atmosphere is unlike any other. In 1915 the building which houses Bar was an automobile showroom, and when the designers of Bar came in to build a nightclub, the old prohibition-era underground warehouse feel never quite left. The old brick and crumbling plaster is still around, fused with modern polished wood and galvanized metal trimmings to give the place a very cutting edge look. The walls are bathed in ambient light which fills the rooms with energy, and indeed is appropriate as Bar is a high energy place. The brick and mortar look combined with the modern art pieces and giant beer hoppers is very effective, and gives the place the feel of a modern day speakeasy.

If you're not in Bar's back dance hall, you're probably in one of the front seating rooms by the bar or the pool table, and chances are, you're there for pizza. Bar's pizza may very well be what sparked my passion for food, and since then it has never failed to be the best pizza I've had during any of my travels. My grandfather once described it as "pizza on a potato chip", aptly summing up the composition of their thin crust pizza. Imagine the thinnest crust that the laws of physics will allow, sauce that doesn't overpower, but rather is sweet and complementing, and an array of toppings that outdoes any other pizza place in the city. That's probably why Bar's pizza has become locally famous, and why they are always packed considering that pizza and salad are all they serve. At bar you can order anything from a classic red or white cheese to a mashed potato pizza, and all of them are thin crust pizza at its best, cooked to a perfect consistency using fresh seasonings that make other pizzas seem stale. Bite into one of their margarita pizzas and you'll see what I mean. You'll never think that fresh tomatoes went into a pizza before this. Over all, dinner at Bar is the american pizza experience at it's best. From the new age underground club atmosphere to the pure brilliance of their pizza, Bar is my highest recommended spot for anyone seeking a good time and good food.

Rating: 11/12

Pizza

Miso

Miso Japanese Restaurant

New Haven, CT

15 Orange street

Category: fine dining : Japanese

As you'll soon notice, sushi is a favorite of Jesse and I, so the bar is high for the Japanese fare at this restaurant. Judging simply from the atmosphere, Miso is a top notch place. Miso doesn't cut corners, everything from the decor to their food is polished, clean cut and outstanding.

Sushi is without doubt their specialty, offering an extensive menu with a mix of classic rolls, new creations and straight up sashimi. My colleagues and I have been regulars at Miso, and each time their sushi selection has never failed to occupy us as there's always something new to try, which we'll order with the utmost confidence in Miso's sushi chefs. This isn't generic rice and stale fish rolled together and packaged for the next customer; Miso makes sushi into the art form its meant to be, paying close attention to preparation and composition. Their fish is brought in fresh each day from the market, and is audited for quality by Miso's owner. You'll notice it instantly like a breath of fresh air. Everything down to the artisan trimmings and the well rounded taste in each of their many selections is exquisite. Stretch out beyond the regular california roll, and I can guarantee you Miso's sushi will be a treat. My personal recommendation is the tiger roll.

While I could manage an entire post on Miso's sushi alone, the rest of their cuisine deserves mention. Miso's dinner selection consists of traditional Japanese noodle dishes, some of the chef's creations, and classic tempura and teriyaki dishes; very good ones I might add. I recall fights over rights to the salmon teriyaki last time I ordered it with a group of friends. Frequent patrons of Japanese restaurants may label teriyaki and tempura dishes as droll or uninteresting due to the over marketing of said dishes, and in most cases this is fact. Miso however, like in all their cuisine, goes back to the roots of good food and reverts to the quality over convenience policy, a winning factor of any restaurant and indeed anything else I will review. Miso takes time in its preparation, and that is not to say the service is slow but you will appreciate the labor put into both the preparation of food and the formation of the recipes behind it. One thing that's always struck me about Miso is that whatever tastes the chefs have concocted, a ton of thought and review must have gone into finalizing the recipes as tastes and textures are extremely well balanced. Food is simply a pleasure to the palate, whether it's a particular nuance of a seasoning or the whole experience of one of their creations. 

Needless to say, Miso's fare as a whole is exemplary. You might pay through the nose for your meal but at Miso, it's well worth it. Miso is not exorbitantly expensive however, and is actually very well priced considering the quality of the whole experience; entrees average about nineteen dollars. If you're willing to spend some money, you can safely spend it at Miso and what you'll get in return is fine dining as it should be. 

Rating: 9/12

Fine Dining : Japanese

Teh Dominoz

Today was the day I felt 100% capable of violently slaughtering my 4 co-workers and mauling on their fresh soft flesh. In other words, I was godamn hungry. Jesse, Alex, and I decided that instead of the feeling of my canines becoming embedded in their left thighs that it was appropriate to order anything that delivers. In this case we discovered Domino’s.

Before I get started I would like you to try a little something for me. Below is an image taken shortly after the arrival of this wretched Satan dough.

Can you find the hidden piece of pizza? No? Look again? C’mon….keep staring…...yes, that is not a deuce, that is my lunch which was hand made and delivered to me in a cardboard cocoon.

It was gross. The cheese refused to stay on the pizza the whole time, and it tasted like a placenta following the birth of a deformed sloth. It was vile to look at and murky to the tongue.

Recommendation: If in a rabid hunger craze, consuming the flesh of your fellow co-workers is 100% healthier, and more delicious then ordering from Domino's Pizza.

Rating: 1/12

Pizza