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Bucatini with seacoast mushrooms at the Shipwright’s Daughter in Mysic.
Winter Caplanson
More national media outlets are recognizing the burgeoning food scene in Mystic, with Bloomberg recently naming the seaside village as “Summer’s Top Dining Destination.”
Author Kat Odell wrote that Mystic boasts “some of the country’s best seafood, along with heirloom produce, exquisitely crafted breads, superb coffee flavored with miso, and yes, pizza.”
Odell’s writeup features Mystic standouts like Shipwright’s Daughter at the Whalers Inn, which highlights seafood from the New England coast, and 85th Day Food Community’s Oyster Club and its new nautical-themed cocktail bar, Port of Call.
A sampling of small plates at Port of Call in Mystic, all inspired by global port cities.
Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media, Lisa Nichols / Special to Hearst Connecticut MediaChef David Standridge of Shipwright’s Daughter said he’s seen an increase of out-of-town people coming to Mystic to eat, specifically former Hamptons and Newport, R.I. regulars. “They feel that there’s an authenticity here in Mystic that’s very attractive,” he told Bloomberg.
“We believe that this little corner of the world is one of the most exciting and diverse food communities in America,” Oyster Club and Port of Call’s executive chef Renée Touponce told Bloomberg.
Odell also spotlighted Nana’s Bakery & Pizza, which has “earned national acclaim for its phenomenal thin-crust pizzas, tangy sourdough loaves with rich, dark flavor from fresh grains milled in house, and featherweight doughnuts.” She noted chef James Wayman’s “brilliant way with koji” — a mold used to make sake, miso and soy sauce — which is used in “everything from brown-butter chocolate-chip cookies to a rye porridge loaf.”
Nana’s Bakery & Pizza in Mystic.
Winter Caplanson / For Connecticut MagazineAdam and Ebbie Young also earned a mention for their Sift Bake Shop — “a French bakery and café with a perpetual line snaking outside its door” — and Young Buns Doughnuts, “a classic doughnut shop whose best seller is vanilla cake coated in salty-sweet brown sugar buttercrunch.”
Other national publications have taken notice of Mystic recently, with Esquire Magazine naming Port of Call one of the “Best Bars in America” in June and the New York Post calling Mystic a “world-class dining destination” in March.
In November, Esquire also named Nana’s Bakery & Pizza as one of its “Best New Restaurants in America,” and Conde Nast Traveler named the village as one of “seven small towns in America that are secret food destinations.”
