 
 
  
    |
|
A Customer Special Message(s) sent to us
!!!!
|
|
Sent:
June 2010 |
|
Dear Claire,
I'm a Yale student and I'd first like to say that Claire's is my
favorite restaurant in the whole world. As a vegetarian, I love
being able to walk in and have the entire menu at my bidding for
once! Today I had the nachos Del Alma, which was generously
sprinkled with cheese and a host of delicious veggies...and of
course a perfect slice of Lithuanian Coffee Cake with extra
EXTRA buttercream frosting (I think I'm addicted!). After a long
day at class and work, I thought that Claire's would be the
perfect end to my day and it was! But the satisfaction I get
from a bellyful of Claire's food almost pales in comparison to
the amazing service I got the minute I walked into the door. The
girl decorating cakes greeted me with a smile and immediately
told me to ask her if I had any questions. And my cashier, a
sweet girl with a short brown bob, called me by my first name
and made me feel right at home with her friendly smile. So while
anyone would return to Claire's for your delicious cake and
soul-satisfying food, I also return because of the amazing
service. You should really commend your workers for providing
such a warm atmosphere that put a smile on my face for the rest
of the day.
Thanks!
Angie .... |
|
Sent:
June 2010 |
|
From Deb C.
|
Re: thanks so much
for
letting us be a part
of your special day
We would have it no other
way than the Lithuanian Coffee Cake, such a fav of ours.
By the way, we also carried one of these home to Seattle
on Thanksgiving. And, once, ironically my mom called me
from Seattle,
while I
was sitting at a Claires table eating my fav Lith cake.
At that time the Lithuanians were in the lead in the
winter Olympics. So, I said to mom, "funny you should
call me b/c the Lithuanians are winning, and I am
sitting here eating a slice of Lithuanian coffee cake"!
I wont forget this as one of my memorable experiences at
Yale. I am just a sliver Lithuanian myself!! Okay,
blessings you're way, and we'll stop in next time we're
in town. We did recommend you to some Virginian friends,
who did stop by and had the wonderful experience of
eating your gourmets.
I really think you keep the students alive and well with
all that homemade food!! Blessings, Deb and thanks for
your personal note. |
|
|
Sent:
May 2010 |
 Hi
there,
I just wanted to say what a fan I am of Claire's cake (and other
foods!), and send in a photo of appreciation of the last slice
of Lith that I ate (the last of the semester, but not for
forever!) |
|
Sent:
October 2009 |
|
Dear Claire
My daughter and I attended a 3 day seminar in New Haven last
weekend. We had the tremendous good fortune to find your lovely
restuarant and savor the delicious foods! The experience was
absolutely devine!!! Ann and I shared the Cobb Salad and
Lasagna Rollups - heaven could not compete! The next evening
("Mom, could we please have dinner at Claire's) we shared the
Roasted Vegatable Salad and Eggplant Couscous - tempted to sell
my home and join the New Haven community based on that dish!
Thank you and your staff for a delightful and delicious
experience! Any chance that you will be posting the Eggplant
Couscous recipe online or is it in one of your cookbooks?
Thank you
C Herman
To whom it may
concern,
Attached below
is a snippet of an email I received from
someone very special to me. How could I not act?
Ok~how can you
not have tried carrot cake in your life? I mean, seriously? It
is like manna from heaven. The very best carrot cake I have
ever had was at a little coffee shop called Claires in New
Haven, CT. Right by Yale. It was absolutely amazing. In a
completely amazing kind of way. I was in New Haven for the big
St. Patty's Day parade, which is a very very big deal in CT.
There are a ton of Irish folk there. Green beer drinking,
shamrock wearing, singing and dancing Irish. Anyway, the carrot
cake, that is to say, my manna, was just heavenly that day.
Perhaps one of the banner moments of my life. The day that I
discovered20carrot cake at Claires. I have had others. Before
and since. But none quite as fine. And although the carrot
cake that I made (from scratch) this past fall Sunday was quite
wonderful, even I must admit that is does not compare to
Claire's.
No, I have not tried carrot cake, ever. Clearly that has been
my lose, but someone here in Pennsylvania is pretty darn found
of yours. I was wondering if a “take out” order was an option.
One that would, at this moment, involve shipping. Please
advise. It would be a wonderful surprise.
John K
Dear Claire,
I trust
you’ll understand what I mean and not take offense when I say
that “your carrot cake made someone cry”. Together, we made
someone pretty happy. Just wanted to thank you for your part in
that.
Sincerely,
John |
|
Sent:
September 2009 |
|
Friends,
Hi, I love Claire's and her vegetarian cuisine.
A quick question: can you post (or send me) the particular
ingredients or "recipe" for Claire's High-Protein Salad? I know
it has spinach and nuts and berries in it, but I can't recreate
it from memory or eating it!
Thanks.
Steve Fontana
Thank you so much for the kind words. We love the Hi-Protein
Salad, too and are so glad you do. It contains: Organic baby
spinach, tomato, red onion, and mushrooms, shredded mozzarella,
omega-3 rich walnuts, our homemade garlic croutons, and
sunflower seeds, served with our homemade dressing of your
choice. |
|
Sent:
July 2009 |
|
Traveler
| EVERYWHERE |
| |
Traveling Table: New Haven
This locavore-loving college town earns a degree in
world-class cuisine |
| |
Claire's Corner Copia
There are restaurateurs who dabble in
farm-to-table-causes, and there's Claire Criscuolo,
whose tried-and-true vegetarian café continues to
evolve. Criscuolo passionately supports the
Growing Connection, a United Nations project that
electronically links gardeners across the world. But her
food--much of it sourced from her own garden--is what
really matters: Stop in for breakfast and try the
organic huevos rancheros ($9) and the insanely popular
Lithuanian coffee cake ($4.40).
1000 Chapel St.; 203-562-3888 or
clairescornercopia.com
|
|
|
Sent:
Feburary 2009 |
|
I feel like the more uncertain the economic times get,
the more important places like Claire's are, to remind people
that
businesses really can be a true, caring, dependable part of the
community.
See you soon! Brenna
Hi Claire!!
I moved to the D.C. area on December 1. What I miss the most
about New Haven is your wonderful restaurant and the good food.
There is nothing like it around here. I miss the times I would
go into your place in the mornings; sit at the counter and get a
fresh muffin and have my green tea. I would listen to the music
you played and contemplate my day. I always felt so good when I
left to go back to work.
And of course there was lunch. It was always satisfying to eat
one of your hot entees. Again, I always felt good when I went
back to work knowing I had a healthy lunch.
Take care.
Margaret L. |
|
Sent:
December 2008 |
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.
|
|
Sent:
October 2008 |
Subject: I'm Coming!!
Hi Claire! I
was one of your most regular customers some 20 years
ago until I moved to Calif. in 1989. I used to dream
about your wonderful place and missed it much. The
last time I was there in 2001 to visit family I
couldn't wait to visit Claire's. The food, the
coffee, the atmosphere and most especially the
people who are so warm and friendly. When I walked
in after 12 years away I remember you dropped the
phone and came out of kitchen to greet me and I was
so flattered that you would remember me after so
long and so many thousands of customers. Now, nearly
20 years after leaving CT I will be back again this
fall and winter to visit family and can't wait to to
visit Claire's. Since coming to CA I went from
Vegetarian to Vegan and I see your menu has kept up
with me ;-) Claire's is the best and so far I've
nothing coast to coast that beats your fine
Cornercopia! See you soon.
Mary M....
Hello,
My son graduated from Yale in 2004 and whenever we
visited him (from Chicago), going to Claire's was a
highlight of our trip.
He is now in graduate school at the place in
Cambridge that shall remain nameless. Last weekend
we were in West Hartford, CT and I told my husband
we were going to drive to Claire's for lunch. We had
the most wonderful stuffed peppers. They were
unbelievable!
I would like to order a cookbook. Do any of the
cookbooks have the recipe for the stuffed peppers?
Which, if any, of your cookbooks would have the more
"simple" recipes?
Thanks and thanks for the wonderful memories we have
of Claire's.
My son is in New Haven this weekend for the "GAME"
and I'm sure he will stop by.
M. K....
Subject: We loved your place!
On our way up to Maine this summer, friends and I stopped at your
restaurant and we fell in love with it! The
friendly staff, the excellent and varied menu and
the superb food (especially those cakes!!) resulted
in our making our plans back down to NY around
scheduling dinner at Claire's CornerCopia! You can
be sure the next time we are in town we will be
stopping by. Thank you and best of luck! N. N.
|
|
Sent:
September 2008 |
Hi, My one year anniversary is coming up and my
girlfriend loves Claire's CornerCopia. She forced me
once to make the hour and a half drive there from
NYC, and I have gladly returned a couple times after
that. Anyway, I am writing because our anniversary
is on October 6th and I was wondering how long the
shipping would take to get to NYC, and when you
would suggest ordering it if I want it to arrive in
time for the anniversary. Also, I was wondering how
much the shipping would be. Thanks so much for all
of your help. Have a wonderful day and keep up the
amazing work. Ami
|
|
Sent:
August 2008 |
Claire, I can't begin to thank you -- or I don't
know where to begin. Truly, the food was
spectacular, every bite. It was so delicious, and
lush, and beautiful. Our guests were absolutely
thrilled and said that they had never had such
delicious fare (so I directed them all to your
restaurant!). Everyone had full plates, and went
back to seconds and sometimes thirds. Everything was
like a present to savor.
We had such a wonderful party and it was a perfect
day. It meant so much to me to celebrate Catherine
and Peter's marriage outdoors in a lovely garden and
sharing beautiful and joyous food with family and
friends from all over the country.
All about heart!
Hugs and thank you again for helping make August 9th
so memorable and so graced for us, Diane
|
|
Sent:
June 2008 |
I live in New Haven and I've been coming to Claire's
for years. When I have out of town guests with
dietary restrictions, I know exactly where to take
them. Yesterday, I brought my friends who are
internationally known Bhakti Yogis to Claire's for a
delightful lunch. The Yogic, devout Hindu diet is
lacto-vegetarian and devoid of garlic and onions.
Mushrooms and potatoes are generally avoided. As you
can imagine, it is quite a challenge when they go
out to eat.
Your kitchen manager patiently went through the menu
items until they could find something they could
eat. My guests were so happy with their soy buffalo
chicken dish and custom made salad.
Thank you so much for your wonderful cooking and
great staff.
Namaste,
Penny ....
|
|
Sent:
December
2007 |
Claire,
I just wanted to send a quick note to say "thanks so
much" for the opportunity to hand my artwork in your
restaurant during the month of November. It was an
especially positive experience that's even more
special because it happened at one of my favorite
places in New Haven.
I am proud to say that I was able to sell 3 pieces
of my artwork, and am donating $70.00 (10% of the
sales) to your rotating charities.
New Haven is very fortunate to have such a warm and
delightful establishment to brighten its' downtown
area. On behalf of myself and future new Connecticut
artists, thanks again for such a great opportunity
to display our work in such an accessible and
positive environment. Best Regards, Douglas Deveny
Response;
It is our pleasure to display the work of such
talented artists, and your show was one of the
finest ever. I hope you'll display with us again,
many times. Thank you for sharing your beautiful
work. Peace, Claire Criscuolo
|
|
Sent:
Monday, August 27, 2007 |
My husband and I were at your restaurant
yesterday. You gave us two great mugs for our
anniversary. We were extremely touched and
enjoyed our coffee in them this morning. As I
told you, we had one of your carrot cakes for
our wedding cake. Our 18th wedding anniversary
was yesterday. We came in for a cup of coffee
and ended up sharing a piece of that same cake.
As we sat there enjoying the familiar homey
atmosphere we were both thinking of all that has
happened over the years.
Though you never met us before, Claire's Corner
Copia is woven through our lives. It has often
offered us sustenance for body and soul. Like
the week our son was in Yale's newborn intensive
care unit for the first week of his life. I was
there from 8 in the morning to 10 at night with
him. My husband would walk over and get food
from your restaurant and bring it back to me. It
offered such comfort during that trying time.
(My son is now a 6 foot tall 15 year old!).
I just wanted you to know how much we appreciate
Claire's' and what you have done for us. As I
said yesterday, you will never know the
influence you have had on people's lives.
We will treasure our mugs and the memories you
have helped create.
With gratitude,
Cathy J.
Response: It is because of wonderful people like
you that we do the work we do:) Thank you.
|
|
Sent:
February
2007 |
Dear Claire's.... I've just had a month in New
Haven - I'm the Canadian who was giving out flag
pins - and your place saved my soul alive when I
first arrived, exhausted, traumatized, and hungry,
across the street at the Taft. If I hadn't had that
wonderful soup that first night, I think I might've
turned right around and gone home. Walker probably
has a better guess than I do about how many meals I
ate there, but it was certainly a fair number.
Thanks for having such a welcoming, relaxed, and
homey place - and of course, thanks for your
marvelous food.--Janet
|
|
Sent:
February
2007 |
Claire & Staff: LOVE your restaurant. LOVE your
food. LOVE your cookbooks. Would love to have a
recipe for your quiche. Had some a few weekends ago
(mushroom & swiss)... YUMMY. Would you share? Lisa
Fairfield, CT
|
|
Sent:
November
2006 |
Hi Claire, Tomorrow is a great day, as I bring
our daughter, Claire, to Yale College for her first
look. I attended YDS in the mid 80’s and my wife and
I ate at your establishment, along with our friends
on a regular basis. Yes, Claire is named after the
“good vibes” at Claire’s Corner Copia (back in the
day before you expanded!) and to this day we hunger
for your soups, sandwiches and Lithuanian Coffee
Cake! Claire, you are part of our family tradition!
Hope to see you again as our Claire checks out
Yale. With gusto, D....
|
|
Sent:
September
2006 |
Claire, About six months ago we ordered three
cookbooks from you. We were aware of your
Corner Copia because we stop in whenever we pass
through New Haven, usually on our way to Cape Cod.
I just want to thank you for the cookbooks. I
can honestly tell you that they have resulted in a
tremendous improvement in the quality of our
family’s meals, and much fun and happiness in
cooking together and enjoying our meals. All
of your recipes have been big hits here, even with
our 17 year old football player. We are so
happy with your recipes I felt compelled to thank
you. Take care. L...
|
|
Sent: August
2006 |
Dear Claire, I just had a Claire's Corner Copia night
at my house! I purchased your book on Friday and went
shopping yesterday to try some new recipes. I invited
my dearest friends ( who I have also taken to your
restaurant) over for dinner to sample the veggie burgers
and quacamole! Delicious! My husband and I were
craving a veggie burger and decided to take the train to
New Haven from Providence. Thanks for responding so
soon. Hope all is well. Next time, we are going to try
Basta Trattoria! Sincerely, Elaine
|
| Sent: Thursday, March
10, 2005 |
|
This week we were in New Haven and ate at Claires twice.
Being a vegetarian for almost 30 years it was wonderful to
find Claire's. My husband and daughter agree that Claires is
our favorite place to eat. A vegetarian haven. Unfortunately
we will be back in New Haven often for medical reasons but
we are so happy and look forward to eating at Claire's
again. I would also like to say how impressed we were with
your staff. The same person took our orders both nights and
he was a delight to talk to.
|
| Sent: Sunday, March 6,
2005 |
|
"What a find! While travelling through CT we decided to
pull off Rt 95 to stop and "smell the roses"! Busy café
located within quaint shopping and theatre district by Yale
University. Excellent Barbecued Tofu, Beef soy fajitas,
polenta, soups with your own mini loaf of sour dough bread,
huge salads, awesome homemade veggie burgers. Nice, cozy
atmosphere."
NE Ocean, NJ USA
|
| Sent: Sunday, February
6, 2005 |
Claire-
Jackie and I have been coming here,
alone and together and with kids and friends for almost 3
decades now. Sitting here today, we were thinking about how
grateful we are for such a place that provides warmth, joy,
great food and conversation, and is a true respite from the
great weight of the outside world. And wouldn't it be
wonderful if the larger world stemmed from this center, this
special place, and its warmth and love was able to transform
this larger world? We'll try and share the warmth and love
of Claire's with us as we leave today.
Patrick (last name withheld) (and
Jackie (last name withheld)
|
|
|
Claire's
Corner Copia