Zinc and Tonic

Four years ago, getting a cocktail in New Haven was a perilous affair. There were around 2 acknowledged venues for a good mixed drink: Hot Tomatoes and Cafe Bottega. If you could get past the rancid carpet on your arrival and the lusty after-work crowd at the bar and the music that prevented your order from being heard, you then wondered why gin had been banned in martinis and how champagne could be put to such evil uses. Cafe Bottega was a spirited venue, I miss their mojitos, but one venue did not make a drink scene.

Fast forward to the time of Prime 16, 116 Crown and Firehouse 12, places where the staff has opinions about the type of vodka you drink, or the shape of a glass and where you realize that the combination of something simple like vodka, Galliano and orange juice can be divine if done well.

This seems to be the motto of Zinc. In my experience I have had: Nachos, roasted chicken, salad, berries with whipped cream, and a chocolate cake. This should be the sort of stuff you get at a pub, but the simple rules of each dish give life to subtlety. The nachos are sprinkled with duck meat. The salad was dressed with restraint: a little vinegar and a little oil and a little goat cheese. The berries were topped with champagne infused whipped cream, which gave the cream a little more gravity and brought forward the freshness of the berries. It's much mor edifficult to describe why the chicken was such a success without describing...well...really good chicken. But that was executed with crispy, juicy, large proportioned ease as well.

Nothing was too assertive about the meal, everything was perfect. Except for the wine list. Stick to the cocktails. As of this posting they have added a brand new drinks menu, making it one of the better places to drink as well.