Photo Pauline RhoadsI’ve been going to Village Gourmet in Norwalk for years for what is hands down, the best Chinese food in the Westport/Norwalk area. Loyal customers have seen this local treasure tucked away in the Cranbury Shopping Center grow from a take-out place with a few small tables to a larger, full service restaurant that now serves wine and beer. I’ve tried it all, and it’s all exceptionally good. Here’s what to order:
Maria Marchetti, chef/owner of Columbus Park Trattoria in Stamford, who is known for her restaurant’s homemade pasta, had just prepared fresh tagliatelle for our lunch, which she had just made a few minutes earlier. Maria makes all of the pasta for Columbus Park Trattoria, along with the family’s two other restaurants, Osteria Applausi in Greenwich and Tarantino's in Westport. In addition to making all the pasta by hand for the family’s three restaurants, Maria does private parties in people’s homes and teaches cooking classes in the upstairs dining room of Columbus Park Trattoria, which has its own kitchen.
Years ago, a friend gave me an Imperia hand-cranked pasta machine as a housewarming gift. It sat in my kitchen cabinet gathering dust because, truth be told, I was afraid of it.
Flipping through food magazines one day while in line at the grocery store checkout, I came across a “how to make your own pasta” article in Cooking Light. Instead of skipping over the subject as usual, or telling myself dry pasta will do just fine thank you, I paid attention to the easy to follow photographs and simple ingredients and wondered, could it be this simple? I felt especially daring and decided to make fresh ravioli with ricotta and spinach.
Photo Pauline RhoadsI’ve been going to Village Gourmet in Norwalk for years for what is hands down, the best Chinese food in the Westport/Norwalk area. Loyal customers have seen this local treasure tucked away in the Cranbury Shopping Center grow from a take-out place with a few small tables to a larger, full service restaurant that now serves wine and beer. I’ve tried it all, and it’s all exceptionally good. Here’s what to order:
