In a world all about “grab and go,” I was happy to stumble upon “Nothin' But” snack bars after a spinning class at Joy Ride in Westport recently. That same week, we spotted them at the Westport Farmers’ market and the Village Market in Wilton. Seems that the chewy little bars, packed with ‘nothin’ but’ organic oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruits and hand-mixed with organic cane sugar, olive oil and honey have found a cult following in Fairfield County. Not only are these the tastiest and most nutritionally dense snack bars we’ve tried (not too dry, not too sweet, loaded with fruits, nuts and all-natural ingredients), they’re also packaged in re-sealable Ziploc bags so that you can eat half in the morning and save the other half for a midday pick-me-up (if you have the willpower).
Spring Street, all of a block long, was once anchored by Bennet's Steak House and Andy Robustelli’s World Travel services. Both were venerable downtown institutions, but dowdy matrons against the vibrant young rialto of restaurants and bars around the corner on Bedford Street. In their place Spring Street this year welcomed Mary Schaffer's luxe Italian Bar Russoand Giovanni Gentile's sleek euro-style café, Volta.
Designed by Giovanni himself, Volta’s pop interior complements the hip crowd, who one recent night were dining on such kewl stuff as brie and bacon crepes, grilled vegetable tartines, duck confit salads, and creamy sweet potato vichyssoise. With an Amy Whitehouse track in the background, “My life a wreck you’re making,” a beguiling model delicately sampled a gelato stracciatella while her debonair date sipped Remy XO.
Upon our return to the United States this summer from living abroad for 13 years, with our most recent move from Hong Kong, my family and I were faced with a serious food challenge. We hadn’t had access to good pizza, bagels and deli for years, so the first few weeks after we moved back, we became “born again” NY carb fanatics, showing our faces at every bagel and pizza joint north of NYC. After a month or so, this eating frenzy thankfully began to wear off. One of the things we miss most about Hong Kong is going out for Dim Sum, or yum cha, as it’s also called in Cantonese. After a friend mentioned Aberdeen Seafood & Dim Dum in White Plains, I knew we had to go to bridge East meets West food chain.
The following is our first mother & daughter review. Jessica Ryan is in the 7th grade.
Rebecca: The other day my mother, brothers and I went to try Chip’s, a new restaurant on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield (where Blockbuster’s was) for lunch. The restaurant was busy, sunny and clean. As soon as we walked in a waiter brought us to a booth by the window. The restaurant is spacious with lots of tables in the middle and booths all along the sides. There were a couple of large TVs hanging from the ceiling and we could see the kitchen from where we were sitting.
Thanks to Bartaco, your brunch options just got a whole lot more interesting. Lazy weekends, newsprint-stained hands, Bloody Marys and now tacos are firmly in the domain of this weekend morning ritual.
The popular Port Chester taco joint owned by the Barcelona Group, has recently unleashed a brunch menu for Saturdays and Sundays that is a fitting extension of the brand’s signature breezy Mexican beach food. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this scene, think Mexican street food influenced by the tides (and an enviable location on the Byram River) with a backdrop fit for a Hampton's weekend of beach-going and people watching minus the traffic on the LIE.
Before I met my husband, I gave nary a thought to the most important meal of the day. I’d rather sleep. But since becoming enlightened to the art of eating this meal, weekend breakfasts have become sacrosanct to my family. One of our houses of worship is Nicholas Roberts Gourmet Bistro, located in an indistinct shopping center in Norwalk. The food snob in me has learned that you cannot judge a restaurant by its geography. Such is life in suburbia – some restaurants are in strip malls. They are not all as transporting as this one. Robert Troilo, owner and chef, was schooled at the French Culinary Institute in New York and it shows, both in his inspired cooking and its artful presentation. Equally impressive is that he seems to always be there, greeting customers warmly, cooking in the open kitchen, serving and waiting on tables.
Last summer, at a friend’s suggestion, I ventured to the strip mall at 75 Main Street for a Saturday night dinner (read our review). The food was so outstanding, we asked the requisite question of each distinctive restaurant in Fairfield County: “Are you opened for breakfast?”
