Middletown is an odd place. No no, I mean this in the good way this time. For a small city of 45,000 people, we are blessed with a downtown with an amazing variety of food choices. There’s the standard American pub food at Eli’s and First and Last Tavern, and there’s plenty of great Italian, but there are also two Thai restaurants, Vietnamese, Japanese, Caribbean, Mexican, and on and on. Not so bad for a Main Street that’s only about a mile long.
But there are times when you need to get out of Middletown, and you’re still going to need to eat somewhere when you’re somewhere else. And you’re a college student so you’re probably not too flush with cash, and more specifically you’re a Wesleyan student, so you’re probably vegan or vegetarian and need some place with a decent amount of meatless fare. Additionally, since you’re a Wesleyan student you’re probably also Jewish, which means you might possibly keep kosher. Wherever will you be able to eat? Claire’s Corner Copia, that’s where.
Well, if you find yourself in New Haven – going shopping, visiting a friend at a certain ivy-ensconced university, just getting away for the afternoon, etc. – you will most certainly be near Claire’s Corner Copia, and you should most certainly make the time to eat at it.
Claire’s has not only been something of a vegetarian mecca in downtown New Haven for over 25 years, which makes it one of America’s oldest vegetarian restaurants, but it is also one of a handful of restaurants in Connecticut that are certified kosher.
The inside of the restaurant is very hippie-dippie chic. You know what these restaurants look like inside. The walls are brightly painted and artwork for sale by local artists hangs on the walls. There are large, heavy wooden chairs and tables throughout, as well as a small bar counter to sit at. Because the restaurant is on the corner of two major streets in New Haven, two walls of the restaurant have large windows, perfect for judging the attire of passers-by.
Now on to the food, which is what you are probably most concerned about. Claire’s has a very eclectic menu, and for the most part the food is excellent. Portions are always generous, and the food is fresh. High points on the menu include the Caesar salad, served in a huge bowl piled high with romaine leaves and a dairy-free Caesar dressing that still tastes like the real thing, garlicky and strong. The large herbed croutons are made from the restaurant’s own homemade bread and are in my mind the best thing about the salad, which can come with or without Parmesan cheese.
Another good choice on the menu is one of the many varieties of pita sandwiches the restaurant serves. My favorite is the AMM pita, a large pita filled with salad greens, slices of avocado, melted mozzarella, and fresh mushrooms. Get it? Avocado, mozzarella, and mushrooms. AMM. Cute. Other good sandwiches include the falafel pita (salad greens and two falafel balls) and the grilled vegetable sandwich (a variety of grilled vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes and feta pesto on your choice of bread).
If you are really hungry and want a lot of food for your dollar, Claire’s also serves a variety of vegetarian Mexican fare served in huge portions. Worth trying are the quesadillas, which are filled with your choice of the usual stuff like cheese, guacamole, beans, and vegetables, as well as more unusual ingredients like chipotle-flavored soy chicken. Enchiladas are also excellent – the corn tortillas are crisp and filled with sour cream (soy sour cream if you must), onions, fresh corn, mushrooms, spinach and cheese, and baked with salsa.
The nachos at Claire’s however are one of the few misses on the menu. The ingredients are tasty and fresh, but the chips themselves are way too salty and have very little in the way of actual corn taste underneath all that salt. Better chips and you’ve got fabulous nachos.
Dessert on the other hand will never fail to disappoint you. There are always a large selection of cakes, pies and cookies on hand. The best by far is the Lithuanian coffee cake, which (like all the cakes and pies) is served in a gigantic portion with extra frosting on the side. I really mean gigantic. They give you probably an eighth of a piece of a three-layer cake. Don’t plan on getting dessert unless you’re going to share it with at least one other person.
The menu at Claire’s is truly impressive. In addition to what’s mentioned above, there are also a variety of veggie burgers, salads, pizzas, and hot and cold entrée specials available every day. The open kitchen is quite small and I really don’t know how they prepare that large of a variety each day. You can also get fancy hot and cold beverages such as yogurt shakes, smoothies, and chai in addition to coffee, tea and juice.
The clientele at Claire’s is so diverse that any red-blooded Wesleyan student will be proud. There are professors and blue-collar guys, college students and townspeople, parents with their kids, and older couples. There are men and women in suits, unwashed hippies in anything, and elderly couples dolled up to go to the Shubert Theater down the street. And once you finish your meal and you decide that you simply cannot live without Claire’s cooking in your life (yes, Virginia, there is a Claire, and she’s there a lot of the time) you can buy one of her three beautiful vegetarian cookbooks at the restaurant.
In short, if you’re in the area, and hunger calls, you will be glad if you decide to eat at Claire’s. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, the options are just about endless, and even if you aren’t, you’ll never feel like you’re depriving yourself by surrendering to the dietary needs of your lentil-loving friends.