Eat in All 50 States Without Leaving the Valley of the Sun: October 2016

Connecticut is a small state, though most rigorously independent and productive since Dutch explorer Adriaen Block discovery of the Connecticut River in 1614. It is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west and Long Island to the South. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport. The state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U.S river that approximately bisects the state.

Connecticut was designated the Constitution State by the General Assembly in 1959. As early as the 19th century, John Fiske, a popular historian from Connecticut made the claim that the fundamental orders of 1638/1639 were the first written constitution in history.
Connecticut is home to the oldest U.S newspaper still being published: The Hartfort Courant, established in 1764. Connecticut is also know to be the pioneer of few eatable items in US, such as lollipops and hamburgers. The state claims the world first lollipop was made in New Haven in 1908. Hamburger was probably made and sold in the state for the first time as well. Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut advertises itself as the first restaurant to serve hamburgers and as the oldest hamburger restaurant still operating in U.S. According to Louis' Lunch, the hamburger was created in 1900 in response to a customer's hurried request for lunch to go, simply by asking to put the steak in between two pieces of bread.
Either there aren't a lot of Connecticut expats in Phoenix, or those who do reside in Phoenix are suffering since New Haven clam pizza and Connecticut style steamed cheeseburgers, the two Connecticut-inspired dishes are seemingly no where to be found in Phoenix. Therefore, Italian Grinder is an alternative option chosen in line for having a taste of Connecticut's cuisine while living in Arizona, though the natives of Connecticut is still debating on how to serve a grinder, hot or cold. Italian Grinders also known as Submarine, wedge, sub, hoagine or hero sandwiches is the type of a sandwich that consists of length of bread or roll split lengthwise and filled with a variety of meals, cheese, vegetables and condiments. One theory has the name coming from Italian-American slang for a dock worker, among whom the sandwich was popular. Others say it was called a grinder because it took a lot of chewing to eat the hard crust of the bread used. Niccoli's Deli located in Phoenix, AZ makes a great sandwich that, if not precisely a Connecticut-style grinder, boasts a crusty roll, a pile of Italian cold cuts, and enough shredded iceberg lettuce and olive oil to make any Nutmegger happy. Nutmegger is a nick name for native residents in state of Connecticut.