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Filtering by Author: Douglas P Clement

West Street Grill: A New American Gem in Litchfield For 30 Years

Restaurant Litchfield Lunch American

Douglas P Clement

From the moment in May 1990 when West Street introduced urbane fine dining to well-heeled locals in Connecticut’s hilly rural paradise found—delighting sophisticated New Yorkers with country retreats—the Grill has been a haven for the affluent, famous, successful and talented. 

So it remains—but burnished by maturity and a culinary egalitarianism that has evolved naturally over the years. These days, West Street Grill draws from near and far its broadest and most diverse clientele ever.

Guests come for the stylish but comfortable setting, and for a democratized menu in which reasonably-priced upscale comfort food mingles with dishes sporting more haute flourishes—and as high summer ripens into glorious autumn in a town filled with nature preserves, antiques, shopping and other attractions, they come because word is out that the Grill is having one of those moments when everything is aligned.

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The White Hart Inn in Salisbury Led by Chef Annie Wayte

Restaurant Litchfield Road Trip

Douglas P Clement

Scallop Crudo. Photo: Julie Bidwell

With British chef Annie Wayte at the helm, fellow Englishman Paul Pearson cooking alongside her, and pastry chef Gabby Rios sculpting gorgeous desserts, The Dining Room at The White Hart in Salisbury is as brilliant as it is new, and instantly one of the best restaurants in Connecticut. Wayte, who opened fashion designer Nicole Farhi’s namesake restaurant and 202 Café in London and New York City, also worked with Sally Clarke — the Alice Waters of England — and she’s passionate about cooking with the best local and seasonal ingredients produced sustainably. Pearson “has a very high style of cooking,” Wayte says, and the results of their collaboration are dishes with lush, painterly artistry that embody purity and integrity and taste amazing.

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Magee's Curbside: Must Try Breakfast & Lunch in Stamford!

Restaurant Delicious Dives Stamford Breakfast Lunch

Douglas P Clement

I get this tip that the new place to go for the best casual breakfast and lunch food in Stamford is a small spot at 72 Magee Ave., in the “no-man’s zone” south of I-95 and the Metro-North tracks. On the way to Greenwich one morning I decide to investigate Magee's Curbside.

Here’s the bottom line in an anecdote:

After I show up and rattle the staff by asking them to make a few dishes I can sample and photograph—and ask if the owners are around—I’m sitting at a table talking to co-owners Danny DeGruttola (owner of The Brickhouse Bar & Grill on Bedford Street) and Evan Philippopoulos. A woman comes in and declares that she’s back after Magee’s delighted her with the best turkey burger she’s ever had. (The house-recipe burger was a recent special.)

No, the woman wasn’t a ringer; no one knew I was coming and the owners of the small, bright and cheerful place weren’t even supposed to be there—the food just is that terrific.

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Muse by Jonathan Cartwright' Debuts at Connecticut's Luxe Mayflower Grace

Restaurant Litchfield

Douglas P Clement

“At the Mayflower Inn, reality does not intrude,” our restaurant critic, Elise Maclay, once wrote in Connecticut Magazine.“The doors are firmly shut against it and the staff is skilled at maintaining the illusion that the elegant dining room, the spacious entry hall, the cozy library, comprise your ancestral domain, a country estate that has been in your family for generations."

That was many years ago, but memories of how sybaritically satisfying the Mayflower was in its early days, when chef Thomas Moran oversaw the kitchen, pushed to the forefront last Wednesday evening when fortunate members of the media were invited to join some of Litchfield County’s notable residents in celebrating the debut of The Mayflower Grace, the country retreat as restyled by new owner Grace Hotels.

The Mayflower Grace a 30-room hotel on 58 acres of gardens and woodlands nestled on a rise in lovely Washington, Conn., retains its “Downton Abbey” appeal as the type of luxury hideaway that has drawn the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton. 

Where the recent extensive refurbishment of the Mayflower is most obvious—and the reason folks such as authors Dani Shapiro and Candace Bushnell braved the wintry weather Wednesday—is the creation of Muse by Jonathan Cartwright, the new restaurant that brings with it a much different, sleeker and modern feel, complemented by the cuisine of Cartwright, the native of Sheffield, England, and world-class chef with a Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux distinction who offers refined modern European cuisine that incorporates the best of local and seasonal produce.

On Wednesday, those qualities, along with Cartwright’s versatility and flair for subtle drama, were evident in the wide range of small-bites offered to guests, most notably in a smoked lobster dish served in a plastic egg-shaped vessel. When you unscrewed the top and lifted it off, a wonderful smoky aroma wafted upwards. The lobster itself was rich, smoky, perfectly cooked and delicious.

In addition to new flavors, Muse by Jonathan Cartwright brings a distinctive new look and feel to dining at The Mayflower Grace.

Read the full article on ConnecticutMag.com 

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Reader's Choice Awards from Connecticut Magazine

Restaurant Best of CT

Douglas P Clement

Connecticut Magazine reached out and you responded—now here are the results of their annual restaurant survey, featuring readers’ favorites in 35 dining categories. Bon appétit!

best in overall excellence

Bernard’s/Sarah’s Wine Bar, Ridgefield

The Spread, Norwalk

The Cellar Door, Ridgefield


best new restaurant

The Spread, Norwalk

Walrus + Carpenter, Bridgeport

Heirloom Food Co.,Danielson

 

 

Read The Complete Reader's Choice Awards List on Connecticut Magazine

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"Small, Sweet, and Italian" from Sweet Maria's (Waterbury Bakery)

Features Bakery Cookbooks Recipe Dessert

Douglas P Clement

The arrival of the holiday season gives rise to lots of thoughts. Plans for Christmas, and wish lists for gift-giving and receiving rank high at the moment, and interwoven with those is another shared, defining theme—food, as in feasts, finer and heartier fare than in fairer weather and a seasonal amnesty from sweet-treat restrictions.

That’s where Maria Bruscino Sanchez—aka Sweet Maria—comes in.

The owner and baker for nearly 24 years at Sweet Maria’s in Waterbury, a Connecticut destination bakery for cakes, cookies, biscotti and more, Bruscino Sanchez recently released her latest cookbook, and it’s a perfect one both for this time of year and for how we like to live, and eat, now. 

In Small, Sweet and Italian, with 75 recipes and simple, straightforward instructions, “The mini sweet trend takes an Italian holiday with recipes like Cappuccino Hazelnut Cupcakes, tiny Torta Caprese, mini Italian cream horns, cannoli, Bellini and Limoncello cupcakes.”

The word “mini” is the key here; these are small bites that are far more delicious and satisfying than they are filling—meaning you can sample a variety without guilt.

“Mini everything has taken hold of the entire bakery industry,” Bruscino Sanchez writes at the beginning of the book, which, before digging into the recipes, offers an ingredients/pantry section, notes on the necessary equipment, helpful mini primers on baking techniques and even a section on pairing desserts with dessert wines. 

“I grew up in a family where small portions meant a meal to serve twelve!” she writes in an opening section of the new book entitled La Dolce Vita means “The Sweet Life.” “Many of us love keeping up traditions, yet our lifestyles have changed to eat smaller and lighter. By baking minis, you can have it all: flavor, tradition, and variety.”

Read the full article on ConnecticutMagazine.com. 

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ON20 in Hartford: Lofty Views, Gorgeous Food, Top Chef, New Prix Fixe Lunch Menu

Restaurant Hartford

Douglas P Clement

The season we’ve just entered, that glowing, golden transition from high summer to early autumn, with cooler temperatures and the first blush of fall foliage, is the year’s best backdrop for fine dining. This menu of gorgeously-presented, heavenly-tasting farm-to-table cuisine will continue indefinitely—just like the unparalleled views of the cityscape and the Connecticut River Valley that guests enjoy at the restaurant, named for its location on the 20th floor of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company - and here’s the season’s best invitation: ON20 in Hartford, a nonpareil Connecticut restaurant with a very talented young chef, is launching a new $30 prix fixe lunch menu that highlights locally-grown ingredients.

Close your eyes and order anything on the menus created by Executive Chef Jeffrey Lizotte, who, barely into his 30s, has worked with David Bouley, at Le Bernardin and at the two-star Michelin Restaurant, La Bastide St. Antoine in France. He’ll send out plates that are works of art, and bites that will leave you trying to put words to the rhapsody of flavor epiphanies with each forkful.

(ON20 is open Monday through Friday for lunch, Thursday and Friday for dinner, and hosts happy hours Wednesday through Friday.)

Read the full story on
Connecticut Magazine's Web site. 

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