Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

CONNECTICUT — French fries ... from Ireland to Connecticut. With the opening of the fourth Jefferson Fry Co. in Vernon this week, it makes sense this to point them out as Hidden Gems.

The premise of Jefferson Fry Company is the put the fries front-and-center on the menu and that's very apparent. There are several different combinations available. Let's take Thursday, for example. Around one table were bacon and cheese fries, pulled pork fries, curry chicken fries and parmesan and garlic fries ... and a hot dog. All received rave reviews by the patrons.

There are plain old "naked fries" too.

The restaurant is the creation of 36-year-old Emmet Moore, who has teamed up with wife, Lizzy, and partners Jamin DeProto and Travis Pillon to run what is now four Jeffersons in the state. In addition to the Vernon location in the Tri-City Plaza, they have the original restaurant at 43 Berlin Road in Cromwell that opened in 2018, along with one at 118 Albany Turnpike in Canton and at 1400 Park St. in Hartford.

Moore honed the potato thing in his native Ireland, Leighlinbridge in County Carlow, to be exact. It was there that his dad ran a food truck and his family a fish and chips shop. At 12, he once processed 550 pounds of fries — peeled and cut — in 56 minutes.

"The chips, er fries, are the thing," he quipped.

Moore said he figured why not bring the concept of "dirty" fries to America — served with a variety if fixings. Moore said the name Jefferson came from the legend that Thomas Jefferson was a fan of "dirty" fries during his heyday as a an ambassador in Europe and brought the idea home "back in the day."

In addition to the fries and dogs Jefferson has burgers and chicken sandwiches and a portobello sandwich. It also serves up custom shakes and its own line of sodas.

See the complete menu here.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Connecticut.
Columns in this series in 2022 include:

• Hartford History Center Suffragist Sculpture
• Windsor Locks Canal Irish Workers Monument
• Utsav Indian Cuisine
• The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
• The Rein's Reuben
• Frontier Airlines at Bradley
• Munson's Chocolates
• Connecticut River Valley Wildlife Museum
• LobsterCraft
• Center Springs Park
• MLK Monuments
• The Connecticut Historical Society

Columns in this series from 2021 include:

• The First Decorated Christmas Tree
• Bolton Notch Trail Bridge
• Civil War Drum
• Civil War Powder Keg
• Mile 4, Manchester Road Race
• The West Hartford Armory
• The Capitol's Nooks and Crannies
• Wickham Park Aviary
• 55 West Main, New Britain
• Fox Hopyard Golf Course
• The Dodd Center For Human Rights at UConn
• Manchester Ropes Challenge Course
• 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm
• Fuego Picante Food Truck
• The Amistad
• 9/11 memorials
• Club Champion Golf Fitters
• New England Civil War Museum and Research Center
• Avery's Soda
• Salt 2.0 Restaurant
• The Grave of Jonathan, The Original Husky
• Golden Gavel Auction House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• The Cogswell Temperance Fountain
• The Old State House
• BouNom Bakery
• Union Pond Park/Jay Howroyd Fitness Trail
• The Submarine Force Museum/USS Nautilus
• The UConn Dairy Bar
• Grove Hill Cemetery, Vernon
• Backwoods Smokin' BBQ
• The Ranch House
• Connecticut State Police Museum
• Berlin Historic District
• Connecticut Parachutists Skydiving Club
• Tail Winds Ice Cream Shop
• The MLK Mural
• The Hilltop Restaurant and Bar
• Fork & Fire
• Lena's Italian Kitchen
• The Benedict Arnold Trail
• Swank Pearce
• Vernon Depot Historic Park
• Farr's Sporting Goods
• Robs Drivin Diner