All posts filed under: Food

Harlan Publick

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Mention SoNo and the first thing is people complain about parking. Complain no more. Harlan Publick is steps away from a public lot, and they validate parking. I dined there recently at the invitation of Max Ex, the restaurant marketing firm.  Harlan Publick is one of three Harlan restaurants in Fairfield County, CT, started by chef Stephen Lewandowski. Each is an expression of the new American theme, with seasonal menus. I wrote about Harlan Social in Harbor Point recently for Stamford Magazine. Harlan Haus, a beer hall in downtown Bridgeport, is calling my name, and I hope to get there soon. Harlan Publick has a courtyard with an outdoor fireplace and bar, which draws a buzzing crowd of young people who look like they just left the office. As the evening cooled, they moved inside, creating a lively bar scene. The dining room was quiet and emptier. Which presents an opportunity; chef Kamal Rose has introduced his fall menu and he’s not afraid of flavor. The meal began with one of the best salads I’ve …

Peach Pancakes

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I’m not a big texter, so I surprised my husband Sunday morning when I sent him a text. “Pancakes prepped.” He appeared in the kitchen within minutes. “And they’re going to be peach pancakes,” I said. We’d never had peach pancakes before, but it’s an excellent idea. The pancake recipe came from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. It’s a basic batter with lots of melted butter. I cooked them in a big cast iron pan. First, I followed the instructions to make four small pancakes at one time, but it was too hectic. Pouring one decent size pancake gives enough time to place pieces of peach as the bubbles form on the surface. And flip. Serve them up with maple syrup and bacon. Have seconds.

Plum Upside Down Cake

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Plums call out for being cooked into something sweet. Last night it was an upside down cake for the yellow plums I bought at Sport Hill Farm Market in Easton, CT. First, cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Then let brown sugar and butter bubble in a 9-inch cast iron pan, until it becomes syrupy, and place halved plums in pan in one layer, round side down. Next, the light, buttery batter. Pour over plums. Put the skillet in the 350 F oven. Bake 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit for 5 minutes, loosen edges of pan. Look for a large round flat cake platter and realize you don’t have one. No worries. Rectangular platter to the rescue.  Flip the cake onto the platter. The cake is light, rich, and the sweet layer of caramelized plums has a tart note. Even though I’m not a “dessert person,” I had two slices because how often do you have something this good?  This cake is dangerous.

Bailey’s Backyard in Ridgefield

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Never forget what’s in your own backyard. In Ridgefield, that’s Bailey’s Backyard, a cozy restaurant that’s been preparing farm to table for 20 years.  Bailey’s is the kind of place where you can get a sandwich (pickled peach and ham grilled cheese, pressed Caprese, or a classic New England tuna melt) or contemporary, sophisticated starters and main. Max Ex, the restaurant marketing group, recently invited me to join a group of food enthusiasts, instagrammers, bloggers, and magazine editors for lunch at Bailey’s Backyard. Farm Greens, with peas and favas, dressed in fermented grape vinaigrette, and topped with paper-thin, crisp apple rounds. I really liked the apple crisps, sweet, tart and appley. Starter of scallops in rich lemon cream and caper sauce with shitakes, topped with a ruffled crisp of prosciutto. I loved the thinly sliced, yet meaty mushrooms, and the rich sauce, with just the right amount of lemon.  Apparently there were sea beans in this dish too; executive chef Zachariah Campion was appropriately judicious. Spanish octopus served over a brush stroke of squid ink, with pickled onions, chorizo marmalade, daikon, and salsa verde. This …

Growing and Cooking Asparagus

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There’s nothing like asparagus that has been picked within hours of cooking. They are so sweet and juicy. Asparagus is at its best right after picking, because the sugars start converting into starches, and the longer it sits around, it loses flavor and toughens. Which is why we started an asparagus patch years ago. Growing asparagus is a bit of an investment, in time (the plants start producing two years after planting) and space (the patch will be fallow from July to April). But so worth it.   I never know how many I’ll find. On a good day, a dozen, on an average day a few. The spears range from thick to thin, and I’ve observed no rhyme or reason why. I like the thicker ones because they are juicier and meatier. But the thin ones have their own concentrated flavor. The way I cook them is like this:  First, peel the bottom third of the stems.  I don’t snap or cut the ends off because the asparagus are so fresh and the stems …

Prime: American Kitchen and Bar

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The location is prime. Right on the water in Stamford, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a harbor filled with pleasure boats. Comfortable, contemporary, and sophisticated, Prime serves an updated American surf and turf menu. Start with sushi, and end with steak. That’s what we did. Prime, which opened 2 years ago, wasn’t on my radar, until I was invited to dinner there by Carolyn Izzo of CIIS.  It’s one of the 8 restaurants in the Bohlsen Restaurant Group, which runs another Prime across Long Island Sound in Huntington, N.Y. The intriguing avocado-wrapped Green Lotus revealed an interior of spicy tuna, lump crab, and Asian pear. The Stamford Landing roll wrapped tuna over shrimp tempura and avocado. For those who avoid sushi, a starter of prosciutto and caramelized figs, with almonds and goat cheese, drizzled with balsamic glaze, was sweet and salty. Prime lived up to its name with this 21-day aged USA Prime porterhouse steak for two. It had a good char on the outside, and was pink, well-marbled, tender and full of beefy flavor.  It …

Lucas Local Oyster Bar and Woodfire Cookery

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Oyster lovers, head inland. The best oysters to be found in Fairfield County are not on the coast but in Newtown, CT, at Lucas Local Oyster Bar and Woodfire Cookery. The other day I sampled some of the freshest and most expertly opened oysters, pristine, glistening, and briny. This contemporary American Sea and Land restaurant is housed in an antique house, renovated with rough hewn repurposed boards, and calming gray walls. Lucas is relaxed and fun, a place to enjoy life by eating well. Owner Vince Capelletti is a seasoned restaurateur, and the kitchen is kicking out some excellent dishes. We were recently invited to a tasting by Max Ex, the restaurant marketing firm. The dish that stayed in my mind afterwards? Shrimp and grits. Coarse stone-ground grits, lightly grilled red shrimp, sprightly fresh scallions, basil oil, and a poached egg. At brunch it’s like the best adult porridge you could imagine. At dinner, pure comfort food, where you’re saying, “ummm,” after every bite. Seared Stonington scallops were simply paired with grilled frisée. Octopus was finished over the wood fire, and paired with hummus …

Bests and Favorites: Food of 2017

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In no particular order other than jogging the old noggin, here are the dishes, drinks and food experiences I enjoyed the most in Fairfield County, CT, and beyond, in 2017.  Critera for inclusion: eaten in the last year. Samosas. Royal Guard in Norwalk makes crisp deep-fried samosas filled with spiced potatoes.  But that’s not all. The fish and chips are the best in Fairfield County. And the Pakistani chicken curry with warm, glistening naan makes up for the lack of atmosphere in this little hole in the wall. I reviewed Royal Guard for the Hartford Courant. Cochinita at Los Poblanos in Norwalk. I’ve written about Los Poblanos for the Hartford Courant and CT Bites. It’s a big favorite of  my friends, one of whom lived in Mexico. We refer to the restaurant as “Juan’s.” Juan is the chef-owner. He, his wife and children are lovely people. I love Mexican food. Could eat it every day. Here are a couple of my favorite dishes at Mexican places in Bridgeport. I wrote about my favorite ethnic restaurants in Bridgeport here. Carnitas with grilled jalapeno at La Mexicana, Bridgeport Carnitas tacos …

Village Tavern

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It’s the first restaurant you’ll see driving into Ridgefield, the sort of place you hope to find in this gracefully affluent town. Inside, there’s a long copper bar and a relaxed, clean, comfortable vibe. A friend and I went to Village Tavern the other day to catch up with Bruno DiFabio, the restaurateur. I’ve written about Bruno a number of times over the years. He’s a master pizza maker who also owns Amore in Stamford. Bruno always has got something new going on. Beneath Village Tavern is his Romolo Gastro Pizza. My friend raves about the lasagna Bolognese at Romolo. Village Tavern menu has burgers, lobster rolls, Caesar’s salad, all the things people want, and it also has what we wanted: homemade pasta. This is corn flour penne with Parmesan cream and porcini. My friend loved the silky texture of the pasta. I didn’t try it because it had truffle oil, and as those who know me know, I can’t stand the stuff. But I loved the tagliatelle Bolognese. The homemade pasta curled around the ragu of ground pork, veal and beef. It was warm and …

Roasted Pepper Salad

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One of the first dishes I ever learned to make is still one of my favorites. Giuliano Bugialli’s insalata di  peperoni e capperi, pepper salad with capers. The recipe comes from Bugialli’s Foods of Italy, which was published in 1984, yet remains contemporary, filled with classic regional recipes and gorgeous photographs by John Dominis. It’s a book I’ve enjoyed sitting with, reading and looking, and standing over, checking instructions. My copy opens to the pepper salad dish, and as I flip through the pages, I see how much I learned from Foods of Italy, how many  techniques I use years later.     The colorful salad of silky, sweet bell peppers, tangy capers and fresh mint and basil, can be an hors d’oeuvre, a side-dish, an addition to a sandwich. It goes well with anything. The first step is grilling the peppers. My most recent version of this dish expanded beyond bell peppers, and included some spicy long peppers from Sport Hill Farm. If you’re roasting the peppers inside, under the broiler, here’s an excellent technique I learned from Bugialli’s recipe: place a …