Elm City Beat

By Jan Ellen Spiegel , CT Food Blog

The man who set the New Haven restaurant scene on its ear when he introduced Nuevo Latino food in 1999 at his (now defunct) restaurant Roomba, and upped the ante three years ago with the upscale Bespoke/Sabor is about to establish a beachhead in that cute little downtown strip of Branford.

And we mean beachhead.
Come the new year, look for not one, but two new restaurants from Arturo Franco-Camacho. No specific menus – not that he and his wife Suzette are divulging yet. But we can say this:

The first of the two will be called The Suburban and will be in the space now occupied by Brunello’s Ristorante (Tenderloin before that; Pesce before that; I don’t remember before that). Goal is February and the concept is gastropub – that new-fangled British export that is part bar, but with food that ratchets up the refinement level a few (or more, or many more) notches.

The Franco-Camacho’s are going after a modern European take with fresh and local foods and a simpler presentation than, say, Bespoke. “You can go any night of the week and be comfortable,” explains Suzette.

The space is much smaller than the Bespoke space and that is part of the goal, she says: “We really miss the intimate small space we had with Roomba.” (And I’m betting/HOPING this will be cozy without Roomba’s noise levels. Great food, but you couldn’t hear yourself eat.)

The other new restaurant will be pretty much across the street. No name yet, but the concept is modern Mexican (remember Arturo is a native of Tijuana) and it’s to be less formal than either Bespoke or Roomba. Think April or so for this one.

And for all of you worried about the burrito carts – still known as the Roomba carts to many, but now actually called the Tijuana Taco Company for the name of Franco-Camacho’s original 1996 carts that predate his restaurants – all four of them will stay right where they are in downtown New Haven.