You can't judge a restaurant by its cover, and food site The Daily Meal knows that. To celebrate the country's many local haunts and dives, the site put together its list of the 75 best "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants in the United States.
Four Connecticut spots made the list.
First, what makes a restaurant a hole in the wall? By The Daily Meal's definition, it needs to be small and "fairly inconspicuous, not exactly looking like a legendary restaurant (until you account for the perpetual crowds, of course)."
"It has to have an air of authenticity, that feeling that this is the place and that there's nowhere else quite like it. A lived-in feel also helps, but that doesn't mean that it needs to be old. And in order to be called one of the best? Well, obviously, that's the most important part: The food needs to be absolutely spectacular, because that's the main reason why the crowds keep coming."
Connecticut's three standouts include: Danny's Drive-In in Stratford, Dottie's Diner in Woodbury, Louis' Lunch in New Haven and Ted's in Meriden.
Louis' Lunch is arguably one of the most famous restaurants in southern Connecticut as it claims to be the birthplace of the hamburger. But Ted's gives Louis' a run for its moeny in the burger category, specializing in steamed hamburgers. In 2009 it caught the attention of Man Vs. Food's Adam Richman.