Bulldog, Bulldog, Bow Wow Wow!

While we were visiting My Beloved's 93 year old mother in a hospital in New Haven, CT (you'll be glad to hear she's out now!), we stayed nearby in a quaint and funny old hotel and took his sister's recommendation to eat at Claire's Corner Copia (no, not a misspelling on my part). Claire's is a New Haven institution that began serving hearty vegetarian food to Yale students and faculty back in 1975.

Not only do they make delicious vegetarian dishes from sustainable, organic ingredients, they have always supported artists, musicians and various progressive causes as well. We enjoyed the funky atmosphere and a gargantuan dinner of mushroom risotto, savory shepherd's pie (with soy crumbles instead of lamb, the only time in my life that I've actually enjoyed soy crumbles) and the richest, creamiest, gooiest mac and cheese I've ever tasted. Had we had any idea of the size of the portions, we'd have only ordered one dish to share - the mac and cheese alone would have fed an army of hungry Yalies.

I dated a Yale student once and visited New Haven before even Claire's Corner Copia was begun, learned the Yale fight song and got a kick out of their silly marching band at the Yale-Harvard game that year. The band members dressed in Navy blue blazers, shirts and ties, with gray flannel pants and loafers, and took pride in not keeping straight lines - the "Y" they formed at the end of their halftime routine had a rather squiggly tail. In the bleachers, an enthusiastic alumnus passed me his hip flask and, thinking it was water to wet our cheers, I took a big swig - my first vodka, neat. Coughing and choking, eyes streaming, while the alum and the Yalie patted me gingerly on the back. The Yalie was a nice guy, nicer than I deserved, really, but he didn't stand a chance when My Beloved showed up later that winter; I hadn't been back to New Haven since I dumped him.

If you go, don't miss Claire's Corner Copia nor the mac and cheese. Maybe you'll find your own Yale student there, studying over a big plate of shepherd's pie.