Eastford is a bit of a haul from Hamden, but I make a point of visiting Still River Café every so often. Open just Friday through Sunday, Still River Café is a required pilgrimage for any true Connecticut foodie. I’m going to show readers photographs of a snowy January 2011 visit as well as a sunny April 2009 visit.
Lawyers earlier in life, the Brooks are living the dream. Kara is undoubtedly one of Connecticut’s top chefs. Her son, Peter, manages the front of the house. Her husband, Robert, raises much of the produce that finds its way into the kitchen. And what the Brooks don’t raise they try to source from local farms.
So here’s what Still River Café looked like in late January.
For the brave souls who made the icy trip, it was considerably cheerier
inside the restored barn.
Still River Café utilizes ingredients of the highest quality, as illustrated by this stunning North Ashford Farm salad.
A starter of slow-roasted beets with a Bush Meadow Farm goat cheese parfait was also lovely.
House-smoked Kobe beef carpaccio “dumplings” were filled with Parmesan custard.
Pickled Wagyu beef tongue came with crispy crème fraîche and dehydrated olives.
Entrées were just as intriguing. The scallop trio included scallop ceviche, pan-seared scallops, and a hazelnut-encrusted scallop. The photo actually shows a half portion, as the dish was kindly split by the kitchen to facilitate sharing between two people.
Similarly, this beef trio, with braised short rib, hanger steak and a kofta meatball, was split in advance. It’s most obvious looking at the kofta meatball that the portion has been halved.
A lobster trio included lobster bisque, poached lobster and lobster croquettes.
A pork trio included cured pork belly, seared pork tenderloin and a pork cassoulet topped with lamb sausage.
And finally, the duck trio included confit duck leg, pan-seared duck breast and a duck liver mousse.
A cheese course was our bridge to the desserts.
A North Ashford Farm poached pear was accompanied by Cato Corner Farm’s Black Ledge Blue cheese and a housemade biscotto.
I took bites out of two crème brûlées (one maple, one brown sugar) to show the subtle difference between them.
In this dessert, poppy seed cake, shortbread crumble, lime curd, blood orange and grapefruit meringue came together nicely.
I couldn’t even tell you what everything was in this nut-themed dessert.
And finally, a tiny brownie, miniature flourless chocolate cake and spiced marshmallows were meant to be enjoyed with hot chocolate.
Now let me take readers back to the 2009 visit to Still River Café that was the basis for our five-star review of the restaurant. Some of the dishes are the same ones that we enjoyed above, but it’s interesting to note subtle differences in presentation.
As you can see, the weather was drastically different in April, spring just bursting forth.
There were signs of agricultural activity.
Our companions included my dear friends Howard and Irene.
We followed this group inside.
I photographed the interior before the restaurant filled,
and after.
We enjoyed the view to the gardens.
Soon, we were greeted by an elaborate amuse bouche.
The Kobe beef carpaccio “dumplings” were topped with lotus root back then.
The farm salad had regular radish in addition to watermelon radish.
The avocado inside the slow-roasted red beet was more obvious.
These mussels came in a bright yellow Sauvignon-blanc-and-saffron-Dijon sauce.
There was a duck and chicken liver mousse with candied kumquats
and even a ramp vichyssoise.
Now let’s peek at the entrées. Here’s what the beef trio looked like (and it wasn’t split for sharing).
Here’s the lobster trio.
And here’s the Georges Bank cod trio.
Desserts were just as tempting. The twin crème brûlées were rosemary flavored and cinnamon-and-spice flavored.
The chocolate tasting was absolutely wonderful.
Perhaps most interesting of all was the miniature spiced carrot cake with a “carrotsicle.” Kara dabbles in molecular gastronomy. Here are two views of this dessert.
There are few dining establishments that bring this level of happiness to their patrons,
which explains how such a remote restaurant has been able to thrive.
Still River Café, 134 Union Road, Eastford, 860-974-9988, www.stillrivercafe.com