New Haven: A long-weekend destination with lots to see, do and eat

For years, I ignored New Haven, Connecticut, except for a quick stop to eat a slice of the city's acclaimed pizza while driving on Interstate 95. If I looked away from the highway that cuts through the city, it was to take in a view of Long Island Sound — not the drab buildings of the tired city on the other side of the road.

In the mid 20th century — after centuries as an important center of American politics, industrialization and innovation — New Haven was in decline. Loss of industries and population, and failed urban redevelopment of the 1950s and 1960s, had taken much of the life out of the city, except at Yale University and those stop-worthy pizza joints.

Then, in the mid-1990s, New Haven citizens, city government, business owners and Yale came together in a multiyear effort to create a different story in the 21st century.

Churches and cemeteries

Today, the city is known as Connecticut's "Culture Capital," with abundant theaters, music and museums, well-preserved history and world-class culinary options. The city is a perfect long-weekend destination with so much to see, do and eat concentrated in the downtown area.

The New Haven Green, a National Historic Landmark, is a good first stop. Walking around the Green, you begin to absorb historic New England. The old town hall and three churches — Trinity, Center and United — still line the Green. 

A free tour of Center Church includes the crypt; for the first 160 years, the city buried its dead in a common burying ground beneath the church and in the open space of the adjacent Upper Green. By the 1790s, the unsightly clutter of graves in the center of town led to establishment of the New Haven City Burying Ground, known as Grove Street Cemetery.

Signers of the Declaration of Independence, the first African-American diplomat of the United States, famous and infamous politicians, war heroes and six men of the slave ship Amistad who died in New Haven rest here. Enter through the main gate on Grove Street and stop at the visitor center for brochures, maps and stories from jovial cemetery superintendent Seeley Jennings.

Nearby is Yale's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, one of the world's largest libraries of its kind. Inside, you can't help but feel awed by the huge glass stack tower of old and very old books rising six stories in the heart of the museum. Time here is well spent on collection items such as an original Gutenberg Bible and James Audubon's drawings from "The Birds of America."

Access to the Beinecke and most of New Haven's cultural sites is free, thanks to Yale, and that includes outstanding art museums on both sides of Chapel Street. The Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art were both designed by Louis I. Kahn, and both offer a year-round schedule of exhibitions and programs for the public.

Not just pizza

There's so much good food in New Haven these days that it's challenging to narrow down the dining choices. A few longtime favorites are not to be missed. Breakfast or lunch at Claire's Corner Copia opposite the Green has been happening since 1975. Chef Claire Criscuolo — called "the Alice Waters of New Haven" and author of four cookbooks — can still be found in the kitchen turning out hearty portions of tasty organic and sustainable vegetarian and vegan foods.

The Library of Congress has recognized tiny Louis' Lunch as the birthplace of what the restaurant calls the "hamburger sandwich." Founded in 1895, it's run by the fourth generation, making round hamburgers ground from five cuts of meat served on square white bread with your choice of cheese, onion or tomato. No ketchup, mustard, lettuce or credit cards. 

At Miya's Sushi, the coloring-book menu cover announces the restaurant was "established by Mama in 1982" and is "the first sustainable sushi restaurant on earth." Mama still helps out while her children, award-winning chef Bun Lai and his sister Mie-Sara, are serious and creative about being sustainable. 

New Haven being a college town, you know there have to be a lot cafes and coffee. Since 1975, Atticus Bookstore Cafe has served up books, beverages and food. Blue State Coffee features fair-trade coffee roasted in small batches from eco-friendly, fair-labor growers. Baked goods are made fresh in-house. Midpoint Coffee is a newcomer that opened in 2018 in a remodeled former garage, a cozy place for tea and organic coffee sourced around the world and brewed Italian-style.

On stage

Broadway shows and innovative new theater, music and comedy acts, dance from around the world — all to be found in New Haven. The Yale Repertory brings together Yale drama students and professionals to present outstanding onstage collaborations. Shows straight from or on their way to Broadway stop at the Shubert Theater, along with concerts, dance and film programs.

Across the street, the College Street Music Hall lives up to its name with musical acts in nearly every genre, plus comedy shows and live simulcasts. It's worth a short ride out of downtown for the renowned Long Wharf Theatre. You'll find innovative performances in two spaces there as well as a gaggle of food trucks in the park that sits between the theater and Long Island Sound.

It has been said that New Haven is large enough to be interesting and small enough to be friendly. That makes it perfect for a few days of easy exploring, eating and enjoying.