Hylin
Hylin is a small, bright and airy cafe that specialises in fresh, simple food with flair. Their particularly well known for their great coffee, decadent cronuts and gooey eggs atop of dishes like chorizo, asparagus and creamed corn. There's always a line present, but the wait is definitely worth it.

Ted's Restaurant
The counter cook at Ted’s might well be the Jean Georges of hamburgers. He takes making this quintessential Connecticut anomaly, the steamed cheeseburger, very seriously. Why bother with steaming meat? It was a health fad in the '20s (although judging by the folks lined up at the counter, it’s not dietetic), and Ted’s, open since 1959, purportedly makes the ONE. Squarish burgers emerge from the steaming machine every few minutes, then get a shmear of steam-melted cheese (a proprietary cheddar blend). They’re served on a rather large Vienna roll (it matters, the high protein content holds the ingredients together). Add pickles for crunch and you’ve got one juicy and interesting sandwich. More riveting, though, are the hash browns (no french fries here!). Crisp chunks of potato are sprinkled with bacon bits and jalapeno, then smothered in chili and topped with the “secret” cheese. A wonder!

Oyster Club
A genius collaboration between chef James Wayman and manager Dan Meiser, this farm-and-sea-to-table restaurant gets everything right. We arrived for Sunday dinner and feasted on a dozen local oysters, briny, bacon-studded clam chowder, a tasty pile of tuna crudo perched on guacamole, and, typical of James’ multi-flavored cooking, Vietnamese caramel braised chicken with star anise lime. (An unusual stew: chicken falling off the bone in a spicy, cilantro-scented broth with sweet potato chunks and jasmine rice. Yum.) There’s plenty to please the adventurous diner (Southern fried quail, garbanzo bean–pumpkin curry) and elevated classics for the rest: hot lobster rolls and that perfect chowder are always on the ever-changing menu. Nothing is overdone or contrived, from the spare barn-board dining room to the waiter’s uniforms of plaid shirts and jeans. Find Oyster Club's famous chowder recipe on www.the-e-list.com.

O'Rourke's Diner
O’Rourke’s is a classic '30s-style diner, but that is where the old-fashioned ends. Owner Brian O’Rourke has a creative, Irish-accented way with breakfast. Don’t resist the homemade banana bread French toast topped with Irish whiskey-infused bananas Foster and clotted cream. An omelette stuffed with housemade corned beef hash was a fantastic first for us. On the side? Fingerling home fries and toasted Irish soda bread. The adventurous can go all out with Brian’s Breakfast. A feast of whatever catches Brian’s fancy, no two are the same. Placed before us was a laughably enormous plate with a fluffy potato waffle topped with corned beef and cheddar, poached egg on an oat cake and a baked potato stuffed with pulled pork. There's nothing better than letting an adventurous cook go crazy, and why not? It’s just breakfast.

The Sixpence Pie Company
While every region in America wants to take credit for pie (really, is there anyone who doesn’t like PIE?), I, of course, consider it a New England invention. And Sixpence Pie Company has taken it upon themselves to make Connecticut the pie epicenter. I discovered Sixpence at Coventry Farmer’s Market, selling warm, miniature versions of their famous fruit pies. I started with a tiny strawberry rhubarb, the perfect blend of sweet and tart flavors with a buttery, flaky crust. I circled back for a savory one: a Shepherd’s hand-pie, stuffed with seasoned beef, silky potato and bits of carrot. The potato varieties are no-brainer yum, a Yankee take on a Brooklyn knish, but it’s the meat hand-pies (oh, the Little Piggy: cider-braised pulled pork and caramelized onion!) and fruit varieties that stand out here.

Miya's Sushi
If Connecticut had a Top Chef, Bun Lai would be a serious contender. Obsessed with sustainability and local sourcing the freshest seasonal ingredients, he pairs fish and seafood you might not expect to see in a sushi bar (he relies heavily on invasive species) with unusual ingredients to create some weird, but delicious morsels. We chose the “Future of Sushi,” a multicourse feast, including various sake cocktails and a surprising starter of pumpkin based miso with acorn squash and sweet potato. Slim slices of semi-frozen tilapia infused with beets was a wonder, and we loved the jellyfish (crunchy, not slimy) so much we ordered another. “The Greatest Sushi South of the Mason-Dixon Line” (Alaskan wild shrimp, asparagus, foraged burdock root and wild maitake mushroom-seasoned heirloom grits) was a standout. Miya’s is a New Haven experience not to be missed.

GoldBurgers
GoldBurgers is famous for its freshly ground hamburgers stacked with everything from potato chips and housemade pickles to blue cheese and skinny fried onion strings. I couldn’t resist a “Pig in a Quilt,” an all-beef dog wrapped in a layer of homemade sourdough with a Yuengling-caraway mustard dip. It was hot dog heaven for the girl who never turns down a Pig-in-a-Blanket! These guys are super serious about fast food done well, with local ingredients and a variety of homemade condiments and secret sauces. Not an order goes out without a stack of fried macaroni and cheese squares (what’s not to like?), but don’t pass up the fries: Fresh cut daily, soaked, blanched and fried to order.

Sabrosura 2
The dwindling ranks of New York restaurants that offer "comidas China y Criolla" generally serve one roster of food from the Orient and another from the Occident; the two combine only in name. At Sabrosura, however, the culinary traditions intermarry in a heaping plate of chofan de ropa vieja. Briskly fried Chinese-style rice, or chow fan (chofan, in Dominican shorthand) is laced with Latin-style shredded beef — a classic preparation called ropa vieja (literally, "old clothes," thanks to its raggedy looks) — then decorated with avocado and fried plantain. Ask for it in Spanish, then hear your waiter call out the order to the kitchen in Cantonese.

Super Pollo
Open since 1984 in Costa Mesa, fans head for Super Pollo and its moist, tender chicken. Sprinkled with a chile seasoning, "flame-broiled to perfection" and served with lemon garlic butter sauce, the Half Chicken Combo includes tortillas, beans and rice, pico de gallo and salsa roja. Perfect any time of day for under $10.

Bagel Boy
A dense and chewy bagel made on site, this is no ordinary bagel! Filled with a juicy and spicy lamb patty, salty grilled halloumi cheese, tomato and lettuce, turn it into a meal deal with fries, a side and a beer for just £10.