First Look: Washington Prime and BJ Ryan’s Owners Open The Benjamin in Ridgefield

B.J. Lawless, Rob Moss, and Dave Studwell

Ridgefield’s West Lane is about to look a whole lot different after the transformation of Bernard’s Restaurant and Sarah’s Wine Bar to The Benjamin, brought to you by a trio of well-known Norwalk restaurateurs in Dave Studwell and Rob Moss of Washington Prime and B.J. Lawless of BJ Ryan’s Restaurant Group.

How the sale went down between Bernard’s owners Bernard and Sarah Bouissou, who opened this Ridgefield mainstay back in March of 2000, may have initially happened when Moss and Lawless had dinner at the Bouissou’s restaurant. The rest is pretty simple. The Bouissous, Moss, and Lawless met that night, chatted for a while, and when Bernard’s went on the market, Moss and Lawless checked it out and fell in love with the property.

One of The Benjamin’s signatures is this butter poached lobster atop a saffron risotto

Diplomatea - Kentucky bourbon, black tea, peach, lemon, thyme

Faroe Island salmon tartare (beluga lentils, grated cured egg yolk, ramp vinaigrette) is one of five larger appetizers

But the Bouissous, according to Moss, didn’t want to sell to just anyone.

“The Benjamin came to be by wanting to keep the French culture and heritage that has been in this building,” he says. “It has been three different French restaurants (it was The Inn at Ridgefield/Tode’s for over 20 years prior to Bernards), all very successful, all very high caliber. It was on the market, the pandemic hit, then it was off the market, then they put it back on the market. When they were ready to retire, they came to us and asked us if we wanted to ‘take care of it.’ That’s the way it was portrayed. They lived here, it’s where they raised their kids, and they wanted someone who would take care of it and love it. We have a great relationship with them.”

Indoors, the restaurant, both upstairs and downstairs, can seat 160 people

The courtyard with garden views can seat another 80 guests. There’s even a house on the property that will be used for private events and weddings.

Moss said of the design: “We designed it as a team. That’s what we do. I usually take the lead. I draw, select the materials. I’m kind of a nerd. I’m into all the graphics programs, InDesign, Adobe, and all that. And there’s history throughout the space, like some of the beams are from original 1870s house.”

After over five months of intense renovations that saw the 6,000 square foot space get completely gutted, The Benjamin is ALMOST ready to welcome guests.

And that “heritage” Moss mentioned? They’re keeping it French…ish.

Actually, the way The Benjamin is described is “a uniquely American – French inspired restaurant.”

What does that mean? Who is this Benjamin fellow?

What the guys are doing at The Benjamin is using a prominent historical figure and this country’s founding father, Benjamin Franklin, and his time as an ambassador to France from 1776 – 1778 as he tried to get French support for American Independence.

The No. 99 - bourbon, Capano Antica, lemon juice, maple syrup, lavender, cardamon

The Benjamin Burger - 8 ounce wagyu patty, raclette, bacon, whole grain mustard aioli, homemade potato bun

Fleur de Lis - Lunazul Blanco Tequila, fresh muddled blackberries, lemon, demerara simple syrup

“The Benjamin is the story of Ben Franklin,” Moss explains. “He went over there to help solidify our country back in the day. He learned a lot about French culture when he was over there, a lot about wine and food, and he brought some of that back with him. Let’s call him one of the first influencers of party culture, specifically, French culture. We’re using that as a bridge of the gap where we could have French cuisine, but American cuisine. People feel like French is white table cloths and pretentious. We feel that by bringing American into it that there’s some flexibility to have a little fun.”

Some of that “fun” as it pertains to food is a mashup of those cultures and complete 180s on French classics.

Seared foie gras on French toast (or pain perdu if you prefer), strawberries, crushed pistachios, honey-black pepper duck jus

Bread service to start? You’ll want to here. House baked whole wheat sourdough comes out piping hot and crusty and is served with three different butters; French cultured w/sea salt, smoked paprika - honey, and boursin chive.

Roasted half chicken, English peas, wild mushrooms, tasso ham, fines herb chicken jus

Rillettes? It’s not fat submerged slow cooked pork, rabbit, chicken, or otherwise. Instead it’s smoked trout.

Escargots de Bourgogne? Totally reinterpreted. No sizzling buttery, garlicky cast iron Staub pan included either. At The Benjamin, escargot gets lightened up as it’s served on homemade grilled whole wheat sourdough with a fresh herb salad, crunchy celery, and parsley aioli.

In fact, the most strictly French—or at least close to being flat out French—dishes you’ll encounter are the pan seared scallops (roasted cauliflower, leeks, pine nuts) with a brown butter – caper meunière sauce and both steak entrées in the NY strip (pomme lyonnaise, wild mushrooms, sauce marchand de vin, aka, red wine reduction) and the cote de boeuf for two (truffled fingerling potatoes, roasted breakfast radish and red onion, wild mushroom fricassee, bearnaise sauce).

The rest of the plates, though, all use some kind of French cooking technique or French sauce or inspiration of some sort. Melt some gooey, stretchy raclette on a wagyu burger, spread some dijonnaise on that bad boy, serve it with a little cup of cornichons, and it’s a little more Frenchified.

Choux a la creme filled with strawberry mouse, fresh strawberry slices, vanilla shortbread crumble, a little gold leaf. All desserts are made in-house by pastry chef Melissa Knauer who comes to The Benjamin by way of Arethusa a mano.

Tarte au citron - lemon curd, plenty of toasted meringue. And it’s gluten free!

Vanilla crème brûlée - whipped ganache, caramel tuile

“We’re taking those things that are classic French and giving them to you in a new way,” Moss says. Escargot is a crostini. Just a different approach. Saffron lobster risotto, the roasted half chicken, raw bar, foie gras, duck, lamb. Everything across the board. Even the cocktails are meant to be an array, not necessarily art deco, but nouveau cocktails. We’ll do some throwbacks and some new stuff for the younger generation, too.”

Hopefully that clears up any puzzlement you might have.

Aside from Moss, Studwell, and Lawless, who you’ll no doubt converse with at some point at The Benjamin, they’re quick to praise the back of house team that they’ve assembled. Heading up the kitchen is Benjamin Traver whose past stops have been at Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulud and Danny Meyer’s The Modern. Also in the kitchen—and the reason why you should not pass up the bread course and why her sweets play no second fiddle to the savory—is executive pastry chef Melissa Knauer who was previously at Arethusa a mano.

Once June 9 hits, you’re free to swing by The Benjamin to meet the faces behind it, marvel at the updated interior, and indulge in a uniquely American-French or French-American dinner.

20 West Lane; Ridgefield
475.275.6001; thebenjaminrestaurant.com