Fairfield County and Slightly Beyond

[fchrisgrimm]

About four months worth of restaurant comments here. Unfortunately, most of my mental notes have faded. Most places I've previously commented on...

Meigas - two meals including tonight. Tonight I had the marinated tuna with olive oil ice cream ap and the grilled sea bass over rice with ox tail. Both fabulous and both possibly ranked up with the dishes on the tasting menu at Ibiza, where I ate for the first time a couple of months ago. Meigas has long been a special occasion place for us (we were there for my b'day, too) and they continue to best one of the best restaurants in the area - putting Norwalk at the forefront of Spanish food in the US. The Ibiza tasting menu was really great - but (dopey complaint) the dishes were a bit too large. I had the wine option - odd and interesting choices - three PX's, as I recall.

Have also had a couple of fairly recent meals at La Paella (nee Mecca). Still a cozier, less expensive, less haute Spanish option to Meigas. The lamb stew was a special when I was last there - one of my favorite dishes at the place, in the winter. The bar also makes for a good place for solo dining.

Have eaten at Thali in both the News Haven and Canaan this quarter. Superb - not quite Vikram Vij superb, but excellent Indian. I tend toward a chat, the Manchurian shrimp, and chicken Kori Gasi. We also were here for New Year's Eve. Both settings are beautiful, the drinks are mammoth, and the wine list is quite good for matching the food.

Went to Chocopologie for their Valentine's Dinner (nearly snowed out). Love the chocolate at this place and they have a limited menu but do have some 'special' dinners. Three courses, about $40 each, I recall having salmon and Leslie having the lamb chops (I think that is what she had). A fab goat cheese truffle started things off. The food was very, very good, but the service was erratic in a "we don't usually serve people" sort of way. But it wouldn't stop me from coming back, because it's the best local BYOB I can think of. When I can bring a 90 Dom and a 02 SQN Pinot and get out at about $100 on the check, I'm a happy camper.

Have had some great food at Paci in Southport a few times. As it is barely more than walking distance, I tend to sneak over and eat at the bar when Leslie isn't around. Had my favorite main on the menu, the veal Milanese, last night. Started with a really good shimp and white beans ap. The veal dish tastes like Spring, even if the weather is more like Christmas than Easter. Couple of months ago, after ten-plus years of eating there, I finally ordered the dry-aged sirloin (after I found out that Bob Patchen came from a Norwalk family of butchers). The steak had always seemed slightly out of place on the menu. This was nothing short of the best steak I have ever been served in a restaurant.

Boring notes I suppose - but after thirteen years of living here, when I/we go out, we go where we like - and I think that Paci, Thali, and Meigas are the best three restaurants in the county.

Tried the new Ole Mole in Westport (near the Fairfield line). One can do a whole heck of a lot worse.

Coppia in Fairfield is also serving some terrific Italian food though emphasizing fresh, local (when the season allows) ingredients. I'd urge anyone looking for something different to try out this still fairly new place. Not to mention that Brian and Kiki who own, cook, and run are about the nicest people you'd ever want to meet (at least next to Jaime at La Paella).

Had a very good (though slightly odd) dinner at Zinc in New Haven. Met a bunch of strangers (to me) there for a wine tasting dinner. Food was very good - a really nice cheese plate, nifty duck nachos, and the hanger steak with red curry creamed spinach, and sweet potato gratin. I thought the service was terrif - much patience shown for our group - though others in our group disagreed - so I handed off my money, gave the server an extra $40 in case anyone tried to take it out on her tip, and split.

I think that covers most recent local food. Cheers!

[ekaim]

fchris, Thanks for an interesting and helpful report. I live in Fairfield County too, and am always interested in others' views of dining options here and hereabouts. I can second your nomination of Meigas as one of the best restaurants in the county. I've been a great fan of the place since not long after it opened, as Meson Galicia, on the Post Road between Norwalk and Westport -- over 20 years ago. I also loved the first incarnation of Meigas, which opened in downtown NYC in the late 1990s -- and sadly closed, like so many other restaurants in that part of the city, soon after 9/11. The chef recruited for the NYC restaurant was Luis Bollo, under whom the restaurant earned rave reviews from many New York and national publications. When the NYC place had to close, Ignacio Blanco -- owner or co-owner of Meson Galicia and Ibiza (as well as the NYC Meigas) -- managed to get Bollo to CT, where he's now the fantastic exec chef for both Ibiza and the former Meson Galicia, which was renamed Meigas more or less in honor of the lamented NYC restaurant.

I also love Ibiza, and strongly recommend the tasting menu with wine pairings, as you suggested. It's tough choosing between Ibiza and Meigas in terms of food quality, which makes sense since they share the talents of Chef Bollo. But, although I'm no authority on Spanish wines, my impression is that the selection at Ibiza is rather more interesting and upscale -- perhaps because of the somewhat more cosmopolitan clientele in New Haven; and the staff are very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the wines, so (probably with the help of the chef and/or owner) make smart and imaginative choices.

I tried La Paella when it was Mecca. Friends who've tried it as La Paella have confirmed my feeling: It's often almost as good as Meigas (where I believe the proprietor originated); but, with Meigas about a block away, why bother?

I haven't tried either the New Haven or the New Canaan installation of Thali, but I have eaten a few times at the Ridgefield restaurant. I think the food is very good (maybe short of "superb"), which is what induced me to return in the hopes of liking the ambiance a little more and the service a lot more. But I've finally faced it: the ambiance is drab, which wouldn't be so important, but the service is aggressive, unfriendly, and utterly incompetent. I have no idea who's managing the place, if anyone, but regardless of the quality of the food I simply can't bring myself to return again to a restaurant where the waiters are either frantic or comatose, one almost invariably has to wait indefinite periods of time after ordering anything -- whether a drink, a glass of water, a meal, or the check, and at least some of the waiters really push to sell the highest-priced dishes on the menu (which is overpriced to start with). Next time I'm in the mood for Indian I'll try the New Canaan branch, which friends have praised.

Your report encourages me to try Paci in Southport, which friends have also given good reviews; and Coppia in Fairfield, of which I've read good reviews. Thanks for those tips.

On the subject of best restaurants in the county, I wonder if you've tried Jean Louis or Thomas Henkelmann, both in Greenwich? Bit of a schlep from the Westport area, but not the end of the earth and worth the extra time and effort (and perhaps expense), IMHO, at least for special occasions.

[fchrisgrimm]

It has been a while since I have been to either JL or TH - I probably owe both revisits.

Why bother with La Paella with Meigas so close? It's half the money, that's why! I obviously love Meigas, but La Paella is the better PQR, and one of my favorite restaurants.

I've eaten at the Ridgefield Thali once for lunch. While the food was good, it is just not the same as either of the others. And the location is no fun. (I believe it has an abreviated menu, too.) NC & NH are simply better experiences - they are both beautiful places while the Ridgefield branch is, literally, a motel restaurant.

While not in the County (and while I have admittedly not been back to either since the beginning of the year), I'm quite fond of Carole Peck's Good News Cafe and, in Westchester, the amazing Blue Hill at Stone Barns - both reasonable trips for Fairfield County residents.

Edited April 13, 2007 by fchrisgrimm (log)

[fchrisgrimm]

Coppia Fairfield update. Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Coppia are now BYO, with a $5 corkage charge. There isn't a better BYO opportunity that I can think of in Lower Fairfield County.

Edited May 11, 2007 by fchrisgrimm (log)

[jeffperez62]

Chris......where is Coppia?? Do they have a website??

[fchrisgrimm]

No website that I know of. Coppia is east of Downtown Fairfield. If you are headed east on Post Road out of Fairfield, they are on the right, just past Mo's Wine & Spirits in a tiny brick plaza/office building that also houses a sports bar and a USTA office. Between Downtown Fairfield and Black Rock.

Coppia, 937 Post Rd., Fairfield, CT, 203.254.7519

[johannafin]

Bumping up this topic seeking some restaurant advice. I'll be in Wilton this weekend for a family event on Saturday. Grew up in Norwalk but haven't lived there since I went away to college in the fall of 1980. I'm going with my mother and will probably be eating most of my meals with her. Because she is often on a diet, we tend to eat places where she can portion out her protien, veggies and starches. Steak houses, seafood, Italian and American places are generally fine, but Asian and Mexican are generally out.

We'll be eating a couple of dinners and lunches out. We likely won't want to eat anywhere super expensive, but we are both willing to spend money on a quality meal. Can anyone help with some recommendations?

Johanna