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Neighborhoods to Know and Go: New Haven's Wooster Square

The scene outside of Frank Pepe's...

If you find yourself in New Haven, Connecticut for work, school, or just an Amtrak layover it’s worth taking a spin through the city. Sure you can check out the architecture and history of the Elm City, and you certainly can’t miss the influence that Yale University has on the city; however, crossing the tracks—literally—brings you to an area that has its own history. We’re talking about Wooster Square, and we guess you could consider it New Haven’s very own version of a Little Italy neighborhood.

Anytime is a good time to visit, but with the warmer weather right around the corner you might as well plan your visit to coincide with the area’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival. This year they’re hoping that the trees will be doing their thing during the middle of the April, as they’re holding this year’s events on April 14. Expect the usual festival stuff like live music, arts, crafts, and of course plenty of food. Take a spin through the Wooster Square Historic District, as you cross another spot on the National Register of Historic Places—it was New Haven’s first.

Once you work up an appetite and take a photo of the Wooster Street archway it’s time to get down to business. The top two picks on the streets are both some of the finest places to grab a pizza—or "apizza"—but we’ve got to admit that we might be a little biased in that department.

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Pizza / Pepe's Pizza / Food / Food Fights / Food Travel / Restaurants / Jaunted Field Trips / → All Tags

New Haven's Pepe Pizzeria: Giving NY Pizza Some Serious Competition Since 1925

After we left the Peabody Museum last Sunday, we headed over to Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana to pick up a couple of pizza pies.

I knew nothing of New Haven's famous pizzerias until the previous evening, when a friend took me aside to explain the age-old rivalry between Frank Pepe and Sally's Apizza, the two Wooster Street restaurants that have defined New Haven-style pizza for generations. Our friends were partial to Pepe's, so we ordered one pie with "mootz," (mozzarella, which counts as a topping), marinara sauce, sausage, and onions, and another with mootz, marinara, pepperoni, and mushrooms. If it wasn't the best pizza I'd ever had in my life, it was at least in the top five, and I'm left pondering the unthinkable: could New Haven-style pizza be better than New York-style pizza?

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Dinosaurs, Darwin, and Bighorn Rams: An Afternoon at New Haven's Peabody Museum

We hadn't been out of the city in a while, so last Sunday we bundled up and headed to Grand Central, where we caught a Metro North train to New Haven, Connecticut. Arriving at around noon, we met our friends and proceeded directly to Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History, a mid-sized, hassle-free alternative to New York's gargantuan American Museum of Natural History.

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Gossip Girl Travel: You've Slept With More Maxim Covers Than John Mayer

"New Haven Can Wait"--take New York in our Gossip Girl Map.

Previously: Serena became the toast of New York after appearing in Blair's mom's fashion show and Jenny decided to drop out of school to work at the atelier.

College trip! The richest kids in town are all off to Yale University to hopefully peek into their futures--of ruling the school (Blair), becoming a great writer (Dan) and sleeping with horny women's studies majors (Chuck).

Serena wasn't even going to hit Yale--she's more of a Brown girl--but she decides to go just to screw Blair out of the spot she thinks she deserves. And it's not going to go as well as the time they were 9 and tackled Chuck Schumer's daughter at the Harvard-Yale game.

This episode forced us to suspend our disbelief more than any other, not least because the Yale sections were clearly filmed at Columbia. And yet... it's comforting to know that when it comes to college, even Manhattan socialites don't have it easy.

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Eero Saarinen Travel: The Yale Whale

Although Eero Saarinen seemed to have a passion for flight, he must have also had a passion for education--he at very least was able to take advantage of schools with deep pockets. As a prime example, Yale University commissioned Saarinen to design a distinctive hockey rink, and the David S. Ingalls Rink, built between 1953 and 1958, is still going strong today as it continues to hold just shy of 3,500 fans for men's and women's hockey.

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Commencement Travel: That's Doctor Silver Hammer to You

Former Beatle and recent divorcé Paul McCartney just got an honorary degree from Yale University. Those robes just make everyone look better!

And there's no rest for the other weary stars working the commencement circuit. Harvard has invited Harry Potter author JK Rowling. After last year's backlash about "Lost" actor and alum Matthew Fox, Columbia University went the straight-and-narrow and picked New York City school superintendent Joel Klein--only to see sister school Barnard College nab Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

President Bush is doing double duty this weekend at the US Air Force Academy and Furman University in Georgia, and tiny Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois continued its tradition of getting high-wattage speakers by snagging Madeline Albright. (Both Bill Clinton and Stephen Colbert have spoken there in recent years.)

If you want to chase down your favorite star, USA Today has a great list. Stay tuned for our report from Planet Oprah in June!

Related Stories:
· Students Are Getting a Say in Commencement Speakers [USA Today]
· Putting the Hard Day's Night Hotel into Context [HC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Celebitchy]

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Missed Connections: The Paul Giamatti Edition

This weekend, every sugared up child--and many an adult--anxious for Christmas to arrive will probably be lining up to buy tickets for Fred Claus, this holiday season's first big-budget movie. Since we've been seeing trailers for this since last Christmas, we're probably not going to be one of the anxious ticket holders to see Vince Vaughn get kicked in his man-parts.

But there's one thing we love: Paul Giamatti as a disgruntled, messy Santa, the kind who deserves scotch instead of milk with his cookies. In honor of the constantly underrated Mr. Giamatti, we're pointing you to the city of his birth, New Haven, Connecticut, where perhaps you could meet an adorably rumpled comic book lover or a suspicious superintendent. Or how about:

A man with a nifty bag? Koffee Too is not only open till midnight serving fair trade to Yale students, but it also stocks authentic New York bagels from H&H. 276 York St.

A gourmand with lots of friends? Have a "lively" tapas dinner at Pacifico, and augment with mojitos as desired. 220 College St.

A taken woman? Viva Zapata may not have won the distinction of best margaritas in town according to the Yale Daily News, but lingering at the carved-up bar enjoying the house guacamole or an unbeatably fresh lunch combination, you may not be so bothered. 161 Park St.

Related Stories:
· Pacifico [Official Site]
· Missed Connections coverage [Jaunted]
· Connecticut Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Connecticut Hotels [HotelChatter]

[Photo: mrpaul]

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Movie Set Travel: That's Professor Indiana Jones To You

Legendary adventurer Indiana Jones is basically the only fearless man left. (John McClane, eat your heart out.) So it makes sense that on his triumphant return to the big screen, he's going to a place that makes even the youngest and healthiest of us quake in fear...Yale. According to an extra who spoke to the New York Observer, "Indy 4" will open with Jones in a classroom in New Haven, Connecticut (at the fictional Marshall University) before some of his old enemies force him to take up the bullwhip again. His getaway car of choice? This motorcycle, driven by Young Jones (played by a post-pubescent Shia LaBeouf).

We are sure the powers that be at the Greater New Haven tourism bureau are furiously working on a way to make all this sing--"Come to New Haven".

Related Stories:
· Movie Set Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]