CT Can't Lose These 2 Restaurants Amid Coronavirus, Esquire Says

CONNECTICUT — Restaurants have been among the hardest-hit businesses in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many have closed, and more closings may be on the horizon before the pandemic comes to an end.

Esquire identified 100 restaurants America can't afford to lose, and two of them are in Connecticut.

Restaurant capacity in Connecticut was ratcheted back to 50 percent capacity in November, when Gov. Ned Lamont instituted phase 2.1 of the state's reopening. There's a maximum of eight people per table, and last service for indoor dining was moved to 9:30 p.m. There are fewer restrictions for outdoor dining ... but it's January.

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More than 600 Connecticut restaurants, caterers and private event venues have already closed due to pandemic restrictions, according to the Connecticut Restaurant Association. Gov. Ned Lamont said that "help is on the way" in the form of state and federal aid for small businesses, but many fear the latest round of financial aid will be too little, too late.

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Here are the Connecticut restaurants that were featured, with a brief description from Esquire:

• Abbott's Lobster in the Rough, 117 Pearl Street, Noank: Founded in 1947, the restaurant sits atop its own dock that borders the channel along the Mystic River. Esquire described is as: "Picnic tables on the grass by the water. Steamed lobsters, caught that day, with drawn butter in paper cups. A beer."
• Shady Glen Dairy, 840 Middle Turnpike East, Manchester. The Food Network's Ryan D'Agostino described their burgers as "bizarrely amazing and amazingly bizarre." In Esquire he wrote, "They do this thing where the cheese on the cheeseburgers curls up into crispy corners. And homemade ice cream sundaes."

Clearly, Esquire's list is more hipster than haute, and you're not going to find any of the restaurants in the next edition of the Michelin Guide. These are the all-night diners, burger joints and indispensable dim sum destinations that are often the souls of their neighborhoods.

California had the most restaurants on the list at 16, followed by New York with 14. Louisiana had six, followed by New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts with five each. A total of 29 states were represented on the list.

The site also encourages readers to donate to Southern Smoke, the Lee Initiative and other organizations that are helping restaurant workers who are struggling through the coronavirus pandemic.

To view the full list, visit esquire.com.