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Four CT eateries make national list of best 'hole-in-the-wall' restaurants

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"Located off of I-95 in Stratford, Connecticut, the squat brick Danny’s has been serving its deep-fried hot dogs for 83 years, starting its 9-inch Hummel Bros. franks on the griddle and then crisping them up with a trip to the hot oil. The buns are nicely toasted, and the house specialty is the Bull Dog, topped with fried onions and a locally renowned super-spicy sauce called Kuhn’s Chili. If you can’t get a seat inside the tiny restaurant, you can sit at one of the new picnic tables outside." - Daily Meal

"Located off of I-95 in Stratford, Connecticut, the squat brick Danny’s has been serving its deep-fried hot dogs for 83 years, starting its 9-inch Hummel Bros. franks on the griddle and then crisping them up with a trip to the hot oil. The buns are nicely toasted, and the house specialty is the Bull Dog, topped with fried onions and a locally renowned super-spicy sauce called Kuhn’s Chili. If you can’t get a seat inside the tiny restaurant, you can sit at one of the new picnic tables outside." - Daily Meal

Autumn Driscoll / ST

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.

Lidia Ryan is the Managing Editor of the Trending and Features teams at CT Insider. She leads coverage of topics ranging from pop culture and entertainment to housing and real estate, travel, current events and more. 

With a focus on digital content, her team creates visual and data-driven projects using interactive templates from interactive maps to visual essays and graphic design. These include a hiking guide for Connecticut, a video look inside the supposedly “haunted” Warrens Museum, a feature on lobster rolls and a look at where the wealthy moved during the pandemic, all of which received Society of Professional Journalists Awards in Connecticut. Lidia herself has won SPJ awards for her work on a New Haven pizza guide, a timeline detailing the arrest of a Connecticut man who was convicted and sentenced after the January 6 Capitol riot and a “best restaurants” guide by Connecticut Magazine.

With 12+ years of professional journalism experience, Lidia has worked as a reporter, web producer and digital content creator. She is a recent graduate of the Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Media. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Connecticut. 

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