Claire’s Corner Copia, New Haven, CT (dairy)
Conveniently located between Boston and New York, Claire’s Corner Copia is a vegetarian gem that Yalies, I’m certain, are content in keeping to themselves. On the corner of Chapel and College Streets in New Haven, Claire’s has been dishing out vegetarian cuisine since 1975. It’s easily accessible for a brief stop off of Interstates 91 and 95, but the nearby environs — a mix of boutiques and Yale facilities — certainly warrant a slightly more extended visit, should you have the time. We’ve visited twice in the past several months, most recently during a wintry visit to the New Haven IKEA.
Claire’s completely milchig menu, which spans a giant chalkboard behind the counter, features Italian, Tex-Mex, Middle Eastern, and American dishes. Such a variety of choices makes ordering a daunting task, and newcomers are easily spotted as they gawk in uncertainty (as we did). Hopefully our experiences will make your visit more effective. The Tex-Mex selections are simple reconfigurations of the genre’s basic ingredients (vegetables, cheese, beans, guacamole, rice, and tortillas), plus soy-based “meats” are available for inclusion in your nachos, burritos, quesadillas, etc. Something to note: though we did enjoy our enchiladas and burritos, Claire’s takes its “vegetarian” moniker to an unnecessary level by putting ill-suited vegetables (zucchini, carrot) into their Mexican selections. Pita Sandwiches offer hefty portions of whatever you choose; our falafel was handily shared between two people. The mushroom veggie burger was tasty, if a little dry; adding some mayonaisse helped. Claire’s pizzas are a little different, each made with a large, whole-wheat flatbread, which wasn’t the best at handling sloppy toppings. The BBQ Chicken pizza (with soy chicken chunks, barbecue sauce, red onions, and a blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheese) was delicious, but a heftier crust would have made it excellent. Another note: Claire’s uses raw vegetables on their pizza, so avoid the pizza if that’s not to your taste.
Whatever you choose as an entree, be sure to save plenty of room for dessert. Claire’s cakes are phenominal. During our last visit, we treated ourselves to two slices of cake. Their decadent Lithuanian coffee cake is strewn with struesel and covered with delicious butter frosting. The apple cake is very moist with great chunks of apple throughout.
It’s not fancy (counter service), but Claire’s quality food, warm and comfortable atmosphere, and commitment to community (not to mention outstanding desserts) make for a restaurant we’ll return to again and again. It’s certainly the type of place that’s missing in Boston, and a facsimile would doubtlessly do well in a vegetarian-laden college town like ours.
This isn’t just the type of place that’s missing in Boston!!! The only other restaurant that’s anything like it in the world is The Village Green in Jerusalem.
I”m just glad that we New Englanders have something on the New York crowd.
I second the praises of Claire’s Corner Copia. It is high quality, inexpensive, and worth a special trip. Whenever I visit there are always frum people there. New Yorkers — it is about a 15 minute walk from the New Haven train station, the last stop on the Metro North New Haven line.
I live in New Haven and find the review to be very accurate about both the great things and the things that are a little strange about some of the selections. Even with the curious choices of ingredients for some of the dishes, Claire’s has been a critical cornerstone of kosher dining in this area for many years. The owners are opening a non-kosher “sister” place and have gone out of their way to satisfy the requirements of the local rabbinate regarding the separation of the two businesses - no shared anything, including employees. I really respect that level of commitment to the kosher crowd.
Do they have any gluten-free dishes?