My wife and I had heard great things about the new Bar Rosso in Stamford, so we were thrilled to receive an invitation to a press dinner there. I grabbed a parking space on Summer Street, so of course there turned out to be an empty parking space on Spring Street right by the restaurant. If, on the other hand, I had passed that first space up, hoping to find something near the restaurant, I am certain there would have been nothing available. We all know how that works.
So arms swinging gaily, my wife strode into the restaurant, ready to try out the reconceived Bar Rosso, which is no longer associated with Napa & Co.
We received a warm welcome in the entry,
and then took a quick tour around the restaurant before it could get busy. There were nice tall tables in the bar area that (figuratively speaking) had our names on them.
The main dining room had just gotten its first customer of the evening.
We enjoyed blackboards with interesting factoids about wine.
And there was a private “news room” to the right of the entry.
Upstairs, there was mezzanine dining available for private affairs or overflow on a hugely busy night,
where one could look down upon the main body of the restaurant.
But the coolest feature upstairs was this incredible, glass-faced hanging room
with lots of dining space,
sophisticated video equipment,
and a compelling view.
By the time we returned downstairs, the restaurant was kicking into another gear. We joined our press friends at one of the tall tables
in the bar area.
I could see that interesting wines had been chosen for the evening ahead,
and that as many as sixteen dishes and seven wines awaited us.
I was delighted to find good friend and leading beer expert Gregg Glaser (right) among the guests.
While Gregg went straight for the beer and Ann for the wine, I started conservatively with cranberry juice, realizing that we had a long affair ahead of us and I had better pace myself. In no time, we were the recipients of some wonderful bar snacks.
Fried smoked Mozzarella balls
were served with a delightful tomato jam.
These were quickly followed by addictive crispy calamari
and tender grilled octopus served over crushed fingerling potatoes.
But most amazing of all of our starters were a sausage and smoked Mozzarella pizza with tomato and broccoli rabe
and a burrata pizza with tomato, cherry pepper and pancetta.
I’m from the New Haven area, and honestly, these pies were right up there with some of Connecticut’s best.
We transferred to a pair of tables set aside for us in the main dining room.
The kitchen was in clear view.
We got to meet the new management team, including sommelier Eileen Kardos (far left) and executive chef Sergio Reyes (far right).
Kardos talked about the wine program,
while Reyes told us about the foods to come.
Everyone settled in for a grand old time together.
We learned that congratulations were in order, because one of our number was now expecting.
Throughout the dinner, we enjoyed numerous courses paired with stunning Italian wines, including a NV Montenisa Brut, Francicorta, Lombardia,
a 2009 Tiefenbrunner, Muller Thurgau, Alto Adige,
a 2010 Mandrarossa, Fiano, Sicily,
a 2007 Passopisciaro, Nerello, Sicily,
a 2009 Le Ragnaie, Rosso di Montalcino,
a 2009 Ca’ Rossa, Nebbiolo di Langhe,
and finally, with our desserts, a 2008 Bertani “Recioto”, Corvina, Valpolicella,
all of which meant a lot of silverware
and stemware
to keep track of.
But let’s talk about the food! Great housemade focaccia
was served with good fruity olive oil.
Two dishes were presented to us family-style. One was a roasted beet salad with watercress in a truffle-honey vinaigrette and goat cheese croutons,
the other short rib ravioli in a red wine demi-glace with arugula, tomato jam and red pepper pesto.
Throughout the evening, the main dining room grew increasingly busy.
My wife was developing the kind of contented smile that would gladden any husband’s heart.
Having already eaten enough food to solve world hunger by this time, our tasting menu began! The first course was a sumptuous black truffle risotto with mushrooms, aged Piave cheese and winter black truffles.
The second course featured seared scallops with apple-parsnip purée, arugula and hedgehog mushrooms.
The third course showcased lovely, roasted, skin-on black sea bass with Sicilian pesto, fennel mostardo and bottarga.
The fourth course served up beautiful center-cut pork loin over stewed Napa cabbage and golden raisins. And here, an additional word needs to be said because the pork was cooked “sous vide,” meaning it was vacuum packed and cooked in liquid at low temperature for incredible evenness, after which it was seared to create a little crust. Reyes is one of a relatively small number of Connecticut chefs employing this important cooking method (Noel Jones at PolytechnicON20 in Hartford being one of the most renowned).
The fifth course presented us with incredibly flavorful porcini-crusted bisteca with baby carrots, escarole and fingerling potatoes.
Which brought us, finally, to dessert,
which included a Nutella pot de crème,
white chocolate cherry, chocolate covered strawberry and tiramisù gelatos,
and finally, a blood orange panna cotta.
At the end of the meal, the management team came out to answer questions and receive richly deserved praise.
Bar Rosso, 30 Spring Street, Stamford, 203-388-8640
www.barrossoct.com