Help with the Stamford CT area

[rickster]

IMHO, hands-down winner in this category is Penang, which is right next to Jean-Louis in Greenwich. Everything here is excellent, the setting is great, and the pricing is easy on the wallet. Don't forget to bring your own wine, they don't have a license.

You forgot to mention that they only have 4-6 tables. I always thought of it as primarily a takeout place. The food is good though. I also like Asiana on Route 1 (Putnam Avenue near the Whole Foods), owned by the same people.

[menton1]

IMHO, hands-down winner in this category is Penang, which is right next to Jean-Louis in Greenwich. Everything here is excellent, the setting is great, and the pricing is easy on the wallet. Don't forget to bring your own wine, they don't have a license.

You forgot to mention that they only have 4-6 tables. I always thought of it as primarily a takeout place. The food is good though. I also like Asiana on Route 1 (Putnam Avenue near the Whole Foods), owned by the same people.

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I think they have 14 tables/seating for 30. In this space, it makes for a lot of room and comfort, and the space is quite attractive, brick walls. I've spoken to the folks at Penang and they say the the city of Greenwich has strict rules about restaurant capacity because of parking space allotted to the restaurant on the street! It's not a fire law, or anything like that. So it's a really pleasant dining experience. No reservations, but there never seems to be more than a 10 minute wait, if any, and the food is awesome. Bring your own wine.

[rickster]

I haven't been in a year and a half since I moved to Chicago, but unless they did a major renovation, there is no way they have 14 tables. The front half of the restaurant was a bar and seating area for people waiting for tables or take out orders. The back had a handful of tables. Of course things may have changed.

[jeffperez62]

Does anyone know what happened to Relish in Sono?  I'm told that it closed.  After eating in just about all of NYC's upper eschelon restaurants, I still loved to come up and eat Bill Taibe's food.  Any word?

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The owners got into a fist fight...in the dining room ....in the middle of service!!!!!

Talk about dinner and a show! The place then shut down. I thought the food was inconsistent, but interesting.

[menton1]

I haven't been in a year and a half since I moved to Chicago, but unless they did a major renovation, there is no way they have 14 tables. The front half of the restaurant was a bar and seating area for people waiting for tables or take out orders. The back had a handful of tables. Of course things may have changed.

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Yes, you are correct, sorry. I just called, and they have 12 tables, seating for 26. Been going for years, was just an "eyeball" count.

[aunteejoy]

We left Stamford about 6 years ago but find ourselves stopping in occasionally. We used to enjoy Kam Pei for Asian food. Haven't been recently. It's on High Ridge near where it meets Long Ridge.

Our new discovery for quick, good eats as we pass through town is Layla on High Ridge near Turn of River hardware. Really good, fresh Middle Eastern.

What happened to Acropolis? I noticed it had closed on my last trip through downtown.

Finally, GoFer, an ice cream place on High Ridge (also near Turn of River hardware) has very good ice cream - much better than Cold Stone which is further north on High Ridge.

[ekaim]

Dans, Sorry if I'm chiming in late, but I just noticed this thread and -- having lived and eaten as best I could in Fairfield County for about 30 years -- wanted to add my thoughts on some of the places mentioned, as well as a couple that weren't. (I won't comment on places I don't know, which means only that I don't know them.)

Taking the previous posts more or less in order of posting --

Megan Blocker (4/27) mentioned Stew Leonard's and its relatively new wine shop, in Norwalk. Stew's is a local tradition, and a unique experience. You'll have to see it once, which might convince you never to return, at least in terms of the crowds, the unabashed over-the-top marketing push, the very vivid feel of being herded from section to section with little latitude for straying. W/r strictly to the food, the intense turnover guarantees freshness in just about everything they sell, as well as prices that are usually extremely competitive for this posh area. Forget about the baked goods, but the meats, fish, and produce are usually at least good and sometimes better -- and of course the dairy products are deservedly featured. Packaged goods don't offer great selection, but those that happen to be in the store at any given moment also offer good value, if you care. I agree with MB that the wine shop, across the street, also deserves a visit: Pretty good and unusual selection, strong on lesser-known Italian (and some Spanish) bottles, and good prices with frequent specials.

sammy (4/28) mentioned Fountainhead, another wine store in Norwalk, which is a small shop but with an unusual and interesting selection, with some always available for tasting. The owners, BTW, also own or partly own the Fat Cat Pie Company in Norwalk; I haven't been, but many friends recommend it for pizza (of course), salads, wines (many available by the glass), and pleasant atmosphere for a light meal.

Fat Cat was also recommended by jeffperez62 on 5/1. He also mentioned Kazu, a sushi place in SoNo (South Norwalk, whereas the previous places are all in East Norwalk, I believe); I too like Kazu, which offers very fresh and well-prepared sushi, is low-key, a bit funky (like most places in SoNo), but not as crowded and ear-splittingly loud as many SoNo restaurants -- which usually keeps me away from that area, despite the fact that a couple do offer good food. jeffperez62 also mentioned Mike's Ristorante, which is a pleasant, family-run place away from the SoNo hubbub; the food is fairly standard "Italian-American" fare, of the red-sauce variety, but not bad if that's your idea of comfort food.

jeffperez62 also said he's a "big fan" of Meigas, a Spanish (Galician, to be more specific) restaurant that's across the street from Fat Cat and around the corner from Mike's. I've been a regular at Meigas since it opened, about 20 years ago, as Meson Galicia in a shopping strip on the Post Road. This is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, and I'm not alone: National food critics (e.g. John Mariani) have written that Meigas, and its "younger sister" restaurant, Ibiza, in New Haven are the best Spanish restaurants in the country. I haven't tried that many Spanish restaurants, but I believe it.

Meigas was also recommended by fchrisgrimm (5/10), who also recommended Thali in New Canaan. I haven't been to that Thali, but its incarnation in Ridgefield is very good, and some friends have told me the one in New Canaan is better. fchrisgrimm also mentioned the Sat. farmers' market in New Canaan; again, I haven't been, but have also heard from friends that it's very good.

There's a new "farm market" that recently opened in Westport, in the parking lot of the Westport Country Playhouse -- to be open on Thursday mornings. I haven't been to this either, but I understand it's part of the efforts of the Playhouse patrons (esp Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward) to attach a culinary attraction to the establishment. The plan includes a new restaurant, "The Dressing Room: Newman's Own" (or something like that) that is set to open before the end of the summer season; chef will be Michel Nischan, who used to be chef (and maybe owner?) of a Westport place called Miche-Mache, which I thought quite good -- but now rather long gone. Anyway, the new farm market at the Playhouse is supposed to be quite big, focused on local and organic goods, hoping to draw local restaurateurs as well as the citizenry, offering various arts/crafts I think as well as edibles -- and admittedly expensive.

In your post of 5/22 you mention that you'd tried Jean-Louis and Thomas Henckelmann in Greenwich; liked the former, were "unimpressed" with the latter. I agree entirely about Jean-Louis: first-class, and surely one of the best restaurants in the state. Re Thomas Henckelmann, I can only suggest you give them another chance. As you say, it has a "great atmosphere and wine list" (to me like stepping from Fairfield County into a French country restaurant for a wonderfully refreshing few hours); but your experience of "horribly overcooked" food doesn't sound anything like my experiences there. In my experience the cuisine there is superb. Of course, a really great restaurant shouldn't have "off" nights, so I don't know what to think of your experience. But I hope you'll give it another try, perhaps especially on one of these summer evenings when you can sit on the porch or not and still feel a pampered guest in a lovely chateau surrounded by greenery.

On 6/10 you mentioned a hankering for a casual bistro or "maybe a nice non-red sauce Italian place." I haven't kept up with the many new restaurants in Stamford, but used to like Il Falco on Broad Street. This was (and I hope still is) a low-key, family-run restaurant, very pleasant decor and atmosphere, and the food was really very good -- including the paste, which I usually find a poor imitation of the "real thing," as well as some excellent main dishes (also unusual in too many "Italian" restaurants in this country). This is by no means a "red-sauce" place, but surprisingly faithful to old-country traditions.

Phil Torre on 6/6 recommended Liana's Trattoria in Fairfield -- something of a schlep from Stamford, but also a nice, family-run, low-key and relatively "authentic" Italian. Again, surprisingly good pasta -- but maybe not so surprising, given that Liana is a Napoletana.

On 7/7 you asked about good places for Chinese food, and many people recommended Penang in Greenwich. I haven't been there, so shouldn't really comment, but I will anyway. Let me start by saying I will now try Penang, based on these recommendations, because I would love to find a Chinese restaurant anywhere in CT that deserves recommendation. I am a longtime devotee of Chinese cuisine, since the years when I lived in NYC (when chow-mein places were finally giving way to Szechuan and Hunan and other restaurants featuring relatively authentic, regional Chinese cooking). Believe me, I've tried to find decent Chinese food in CT. But even the "best" of these places out here just don't compare with any of the average-or-above Chinese restaurants in the city. I'm sure many members will take issue with that view, and I hope in doing so they'll identify other CT Chinese restaurants that I can try. But there it is, for what it's worth. My advice is not to get your hopes up.

One last recommendation, for now: Your original post in this thread asked about places to shop for good provisions, as well as restaurants. One place you should know about, if you haven't already discovered it, is the seafood retailer Pagano's. This place sells very fresh fish, to restaurants as well as retail; you may see its delivery trucks trundling along the roads of the county. It has a fairly good selection and prices. It's only about 15 minutes from Stamford, just off I-95 about 1.5 miles east ("north") of Exit 13: 86 Scribner Ave., Norwalk, 06854.

By now you've no doubt made many of your own discoveries of the culinary attractions of the area. I look forward to following this thread and to hearing more about what you're finding.

Good luck and bon appetit!

[iheartoffal]

Does anyone know what happened to Relish in Sono?  I'm told that it closed.  After eating in just about all of NYC's upper eschelon restaurants, I still loved to come up and eat Bill Taibe's food.  Any word?

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The owners got into a fist fight...in the dining room ....in the middle of service!!!!!

Talk about dinner and a show! The place then shut down. I thought the food was inconsistent, but interesting.

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That's insane! Quite a bizarre ending for what I thought was one of the best restaurants in CT. I hope Bill sets up shop again before too long.

[sammy]

Im not sure if you know yet but Wish in Stamford went out of business last week.

[iheartoffal]

Im not sure if you know yet but Wish in Stamford went out of business last week.

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Yup. They had floundered for quite awhile, and I'm actually surprised they stayed afloat as long as they did. Last time I was there, they had done away with a lot of the creative, exciting food that they earned their following from in favor of overdone italian favorites, with the hopes of appealing to a broader base of diners. Not the best idea in an area where there are already several italian eateries, all of which do it better. The feeling of confusion and desperation was palpable even from the street, and it was reflected in the increasingly empty dining room.

It's sad, really. Now that Zanghi on Summer St and Wish Cafe are gone, there really isn't anything interesting going on in Stamford, with the possible exception of Patrick's food over at Ocean 211.

Edited August 29, 2006 by iheartoffal (log)

[sammy]

I've become a big fan of Siena. In the last year to year and a half they have really stepped up the food. Their specials typically have a few unique items that usually deliver. Just a few weeks ago they had perfectly prepared fried smelts. Sure, fried smelts aren't a big deal but when was the last time you saw them on a menu in Fairfield County.

[iheartoffal]

You know, I never tried Sienna while I was living up there. Everytime someone mentioned it, we would always say, "Oh, that place...we should really go there sometime.", but we would always forget it was there. Perhaps I'll try it next time I'm in the area.

I'm interested to see what Napa and Co. (in the Marriott Courtyard) is going to be like. It's being run by the same people that used to own Telluride. Looks pretty promising. Also, I'm told that owners of Match in Sono are opening opening up a restaurant somewhere in downtown Stamford. Perhaps the scene will go through revitalization of some sort. It really needs it.

Edited August 29, 2006 by iheartoffal (log)

[sammy]

The new restaurant run by the Match folks will be located a few doors down from Bobby Valentine's on Main Street.

[johannafin]

OMG. Is that cheese shop still there? I used to go there with my mother when I was a kid in the '70's. I used to love the free samples.

I left Norwalk in 1980, and other than Stew Leonards (which of course, used to be Clover Farms and just sold milk) I haven't heard of any of the places you guys are talking about.

Cheeses  -  The Darien Cheese shop in Goodwives Plaza in Darien

Cakes/Pastries - St Moritz Bakery at the bottom of Greenwich Ave. in Greenwich

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[iheartoffal]

Here's a small article about the closing of Wish Cafe for anyone who's interested:

http://nwkpublish.bits.baseview.com/stamfo...66458210640.php

[agnolottigirl]

I was visiting Stamford last week and had checked this thread prior to my trip to see what the local eG crew had to say.

I know this is an old thread, so maybe this place wasn't open yet, but I could go on and on about the wonderful dinner we had at Duo on Bank Street. (http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=12151; their own website seems not to be up yet...but here is the NYT review: [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/21dinect.html])

Their "shtick" is to take a main ingredient and prepare it two ways--a la Thomas Keller and many of his disciples. In contrast to lots of those places, though, the serving portions at Duo are substantial, and the prices are very reasonable for what you get.

The Japanese-Euro approach works better than it might sound like. We split a bottle of sake and had the goat-cheese appetizer, which was fantastic. My husband ordered the beef two ways: one was a fantastic tenderloin and the other was a wonderful, falling-apart tender Bourguignon-like preparation. I ordered two sushi dishes, River and Ocean (4 pieces with smoked saltwater eel and 4 with river eel) and Two for Tuna--one spicy, one not. Desserts were great too, especially the molten chocolate cake and the hazelnut ice cream (gelato?).

Severs were attentive and knowledgeable. There's a sushi bar/kitchen, and the hot kitchen is also open-ish, though it's in the back of the restaurant.

Highly recommended!

Edited February 13, 2008 by agnolottigirl (log)