It’s not easy to find Romanian cuisine in the Nutmeg state. Aline and Christian Caldarariu, owners of the recently opened, Cafe Transilvania, say their new takeout spot is the only Romanian restaurant in Connecticut. The couple, both with backgrounds in hospitality and the culinary world, had intended to open a sit down restaurant pre-Covid, but the world changed, and so did their plans. Their new spot, located at 246 Post Road, in Fairfield CT, has opened to an enthusiastic response from both the large Romanian community in Fairfield County (who knew?), as well as local diners, who are excited to sample a cuisine that has previously eluded food lovers the Connecticut area.
"My Signature Dish" is a new CTbites column featuring a rotating cast of chefs, and the dishes that define their cooking style, or simply make them happy to fire up the stove.
Jodi Bernhard hardly hesitated when choosing her signature dish at Fortina, Christian Petroni’s "casually hip" Italian restaurant in Armonk. Her eyes gleaming, she said, "It's our Pork Braciole." Braciole, hip?
If you grew up Italian, you probably hold memories of Braciole near and dear. This classic rolled, stuffed meat roast, usually serves as centerpiece for those sprawling homemade Italian dinners that lazily linger across Sunday afternoons into evening. Braciole invokes home. And family. Instant Nostalgia.
Ok, so how does a chef modernize a memory? Autograph a treasured family photo?
“That is the gist of our approach at Fortina,” Jodi explained. “ We try to not stray too far from ‘mom's’ version, but still make it a restaurant dish with our stamp on it. We are true to simplicity and flavor.”
The notion of putting “Mom’s dish” on Fortina’s playful, hip menu was Christian’s, one of the restaurant’s owners. (Patroni and and Jodi once cooked together at Barcelona in nearby Greenwich.) Though she and Christian work as collaborators, the task of “restaurantizing” this homey meal was largely up to Bernhard.
"My Signature Dish" is a new CTbites column featuring a rotating cast of chefs, and the dishes that define their cooking style, or simply make them happy to fire up the oven.
We looked forward to learning about what Scott Ostrander had chosen as his signature dish at Mama’s Boy in SoNo, a Connecticut restaurant featuring Southern cooking and cuisine. But he was reluctant to tell us much about it. “We’re dealing with some major issues,” he confided. “Trying to dodge disaster.”
Issues. Disasters. Great. The stuff of a good story. We urged him on. But Chef Ostrander demurred. “I just can’t get into it right now,” he apologized.
The next time we met, the chef was all smiles. Problems solved. Scott shared the back story, one that reveals how a gifted chef deals with and solves both business and culinary challenges.
His new signature dish at Mama’s Boy is Crisp Pork Shank, an osso bucca-like braised pork shank with a dramatic Southern twist. Traditionally, slowly simmered meat is tender, juicy, and deeply flavored. But its soft texture is monochromatic. For his shank, Scott wanted contrapuntal textures. Soft. And Crunchy.
