Restaurant Review: Caseus

It seems like a very long time since I have gone out to a restaurant which has been blog-worthy.  Let's face it.  It is never cool to whip out your camera to snap pictures of your dinner on a work trip.  Plus it has been cold and snowy - those days takeout places rule.   But this past week brought temperatures into the high 50s.  I loved it.  Snow melted.  We need some more of those days.  The warmth brought me out of hibernation mode and into celebration mode.  I don't know what we were celebrating but off we went into New Haven.

This is the second time I have been to Caseus.  When we first moved here, before New York, I was told about Caseus from a co-work who frequents the cheese shop.  As soon as I heard I was off to visit for lunch and a cheese purchase.  Sadly, shortly after that visit we moved and I have yet to be back until now.  It is in New Haven and sometimes it is hard for me to muster up the courage to venture into the big city.  I am a country girl at heart.  But time has come though and thank goodness it did.

They have a pretty impressive beer list according to Jordan. I had the house red.  True to the French culture they set out a shot glass size water glass.  Thank goodness they also give you the bottle.  We easily went through two bottles but our lovely waiter was quick to replenish. 

Mr. J's favorite part is the mini pickles they leave on the table.  He has some funny name for them but I refer to them as cornichons.

Since this was a celebration he was adamant about getting an appetizer.  I didn't need much convincing.  We ended up with a serving of poutine.  You see this in Maine all of the time and I kind of think it is disgusting.  The basic recipe is a pile of fries topped with heavy gravy, cheese optional.  A perfect dish to fatten you up to survive the long cold winters of Maine and Canada.  I am not a huge fan of gravy to begin with but the gravy at Caseus was so flavorful but light.  They also had a layer of Delicious cheese curd at the bottom.  The fries were very lightly salted and then gravy and cheese added texture and flavor that was a bit different with each bit depending on the combination and ratio of gravy, cheese, and fries.

POUTINE

CHEESE CURDS, POMMES FRITES,

VELOUTE

Can you guess which meal Mr. J ordered?  When he ordered the waiter pointed out that both the poutine and steak frites came with quite large portions of fries.  I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  He ended up taking the fries of his entree home.

STEAK FRITES
¾ lb PAINTED HILLS GRASS FED SKIRT,

HOUSE MAYO, POM MES FRITES

SAUCE ROBERT

I had the Mac and Cheese, no extra meat added.  It came with a very simple green salad. It was so rich and so good.  The pasta was the little ear pasta, Orecchiette. It is perfect for leaving lots of nooks for the cheese to hide in.   I could only eat half of it.  

MAC & CHEESE

RACLETTE, GOUDA, BECHAMEL,

COMTE, MORE CHEESE, BRIOCHE

CRUMBS, MIXED GREENS

There were about 5 other dishes we love to have.  These are our favorites.  Most of there meals, especially for lunch are pretty simple and basic.  Don't let this fool you though, they are extraordinarily well prepared and delicious.  Each night at dinner they have specials which make you drool.  

Location:
93 Whitney Avenue
New Haven, CT 06510
Website: http://caseusnewhaven.com/