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.
Overlooking the Mediterranean sea, nestled among 3 hills and their valleys, is the beautiful, old town of Safita, Syria. Only a few miles from the long island sound, nestled between Westport and Fairfield proper, is the beautiful, month old middle eastern restaurant, SAFITA. It is the "Tale" of two Safitas, both with their charm, beauty, and authenticity. And it is just this authenticity that Kheder Hassoun and his family bring to this brand new Middle Eastern restaurant, situated where the old Chat 'N Chew used to be. Tiny in size but big in hospitality, Safita, at 2217 Post Road in Fairfield is pulling in the crowds, night after night. This is middle eastern at its finest, with "Ummu" ("mother" in Arabic) Amal in the kitchen, cooking up all her own recipes from scratch. This ain't your roadside Shawarma.
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?”
