Introducing The Charles Underground: Darien Butcher Shop's After Hours French Alter Ego

Peter Crawford, owner of Darien Butcher Shop and head chef when his space becomes The Charles Underground

It’s past 6 p.m. Darien Butcher Shop is closed. You cruise by and you see people inside. Some are standing, others are sitting at community tables, and they’re all probably enjoying a glass of vino while they chat, laugh, and catch up.

You can’t walk in for a slab of bacon or a thick, bone-in ribeye, so what’s actually happening?

Round tables, long rectangular tables, a bunch of smaller ones? Whatever the evening calls for, they can make it happen. There’s even a chef’s counter with stools in which to watch the action from.

Four days per week, Peter Crawford transforms his business into The Charles Underground, a French-inspired eatery, and the shop’s after-hours alter ego.

The Charles is where Crawford, a former New England Culinary Institute graduate who has worked with Charlie Palmer, Jean-Georges, Neil Gallagher, and Terrence Brennen, gets to step back into his passion as a classically trained French chef.

Foie gras and dry-aged steak? Sure. Homemade boudin blanc sausage with Robuchon potatoes, and morel mushroom sauce? They have done that, too.

Lending a helping hand in the front of the house is someone you might recognize from his time at Kawa Ni. Anthony Rinaldi acts as a restaurant jack-of-all-trades at The Charles, whether he’s waiting and bussing tables or assisting in the kitchen with cooking and occasionally washing dishes.

“We started pre pandemic, then shut it down, and opened back up as numbers went down,” Rinaldi says. “I came on after meeting Peter through a mutual friend and because I wanted some front of house experience.”

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The menu, according to Rinaldi, changes week to week, but diners can expect some staples. One of which is a prime tenderloin tartare topped with a sunny side up quail egg in a griddle toasted “basket” of Flour Water Salt Bread’s sourdough, and a creamy swirl of horseradish sauce to swipe your tender steak through.

What The Charles offers, aside from the continually repeating tartare, is five courses of to be determined decadence. A recent experience there included a delicate dover sole, deboned in front of us at the chef’s counter, with a fragrant, buttery lemon beurre blanc sauce, and white asparagus.

Crawford said The Charles gives him an opportunity to get back to his culinary roots.

The fancy French delights only picked up as the meal progressed. Poached chicken was ordinary no more when topped with a few meaty morels and alongside it was a slice of dark meat thigh roulade, crispy chicken skin and all.

And while it’s possible you might see (and devour) a fresh pasta dish, we were privy to tournedos Rossini, a classic French steak dish in which the beef is pan fried in butter, placed on a crostini, and is finished off with a slice of pan seared foie gras on the mid rare filet. It is as good as you think it would be.

“That’s what we’re doing here,” says Rinaldi. “It’s casual, BYOB, foie gras, truffles, the best cuts of meat, dry-aged beef, sometimes house-made sausage. We want you to bring your friends, your family, bring wine, or some people do beer or batched cocktails.”

A seasonal dessert for course five. This time it was vanilla panna cotta, strawberries, rhubarb compote, and fromage blanc sorbet.

As far as logistics are concerned, an evening at The Charles is $135 per person. It goes down Wednesday – Saturday with seating beginning between 6:45 and 7 p.m., and since there’s only one seating, you’re more than welcome to stay until 10 to drink and socialize. Reservations are recommended, especially for special occasion buyouts if that’s something you’re interested in. They can seat around 30 guests.

Rinaldi also clued us in on a future idea where he may guest chef an Italian themed night, red and white checkered tablecloths vibe and all.

The Charles “Underground” might give it an illegal dining club feel, but you’re not breaking any laws. Not unless having too much fun over a delicious meal is considered criminal.

13 Grove Street; Darien
203.202.9664; https://darienbutchershop.com/