The way things are going, every town in Connecticut with more than a dozen restaurants of note will soon be having its own Restaurant Week. The towns I am aware of that have Restaurant Weeks include Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Norwalk and Guilford. Not to mention lightly publicized Connecticut Restaurant Week. Can Greenwich, Fairfield, New Canaan, Branford, Milford, West Hartford, Glastonbury and Mystic be far behind?
When do all of these Restaurant Weeks become too much of a good thing? Well, not yet! Make way for Westport-Weston Restaurant Week (hereinafter “Westport Restaurant Week” because, despite the shared Chamber of Commerce, there are no Weston restaurants in the mix), which runs from Sunday, February 28th to Saturday, March 6th.
Why is there room in my eyes for yet another Restaurant Week? Because Westport is a town rich (pun intended) in good dining venues. The lineup of participating eateries includes Acqua, Balducci’s, Bertucci’s, Black Duck Café, Blue Lemon, Bobby Q, Bombay, Da Pietro’s, Dressing Room, Dunville’s, La Villa Trattoria, Manolo, Mansion Clam House, Matsu Sushi, River House, Rizzuto’s, Splash, Tarantino and Tavern On Main. Obviously, there are a lot of “A list” restaurants in there and some fun casual dining venues as well.
While some Restaurant Week events haven’t been adequately promoted, Westport’s has been getting all kinds of publicity over the air waves, in the print media and on the internet. On Thursday, February 18th, a kick-off party was held at the Westport Playhouse.
Visitors checked in at the reception table.
The event was well-attended by Playhouse members, the press and of course staff members of the participating restaurants,
thanks to publicist Linda Kavanagh, who organized the event.
Live guitar music set the stage.
I began by taking the high ground for photographic purposes. Upstairs, I found this portrait of Paul Newman.
I don’t live in Fairfield County, where sightings of the actor-racer-philanthropist were probably numerous, so both occasions I ran into Newman left strong impressions. One encounter was in the early 1970s on the Yale campus, the second at Meigas Restaurant in Norwalk about a year before his passing. Seated at the next table, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but couldn’t help noticing that automobile racing remained Newman’s chief outside interest.
The view from the staircase revealed people clustered around a number of food stations staffed by participating restaurants.
The Tavern On Main table
featured the following treats.
The owners of Matsu Sushi were busy tending to the public.
Their sushi looked quite tempting.
The Rizzuto’s table seemed mobbed from start to finish.
The cold cuts were a popular choice.
Balducci’s
also had some appealing offerings.
Here I picked Mansion Clam House chef Rigo Lino out of the crowd.
For a person who has been on the food beat for sixteen years, it’s fun to run into old friends. Here you see Janine and Pietro Scotti of Da Pietro’s.
Rizzuto’s owner Bill Rizzuto is another one of the good guys.
Here you see renowned beer expert Gregg Glaser
and here magazine publisher Eric Meadow.
For those planning to attend Westport’s Restaurant Week, it may require a small leap of faith. The Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce website will not be posting the prix-fixe menus of the participating restaurants. A two-tier system has been set up, with about one-third of the eateries choosing a lower price point (usually $15 for lunch/$25 for dinner) and about two-thirds choosing the higher price point (usually $20 for lunch/$35 for dinner).
Said Westport-newcomer Rizzuto, who elected the lower price point, “I’m not doing this to make money. I’m doing this to make friends.”
Some restaurants already offer three-course prix-fixe menus that are less expensive than their Restaurant Week deals. After talking to Kavanagh, it’s my understanding that these restaurants will likely be beefing up their Restaurant Week menu by offering extra courses, better dishes or complimentary wine. Some will be offering a family menu as well. The participating restaurants want to make a good impression.
“As with anything new,” explained organizer Kavanagh, “this time was a feeling out process. We wanted to draw some attention to the restaurants. We let restaurants have a lot of choice and we’ll see what happens. Next time around, which will be at the end of the summer, there’ll likely be some adjustments. We’ll probably tighten it up a bit.”
So as one who has become a connoisseur of these events, here is my advice. Pick out a couple of restaurants you have always wanted to visit (or have wanted to return to), and make some reservations. If you have a question about what a particular restaurant will offer, don’t be afraid to call and ask. And if you decide not to visit a restaurant after all, be kind to the restaurant and to the rest of the dining public and be sure to cancel your reservation.
So enjoy!