For those yet to discover it, Backstage in Torrington isn’t just a tremendously convenient place to grab a bite while attending an event at the Warner Theatre or Backstage Live. In my opinion, casually charming Backstage has the best food in Torrington, has some of the better food in Litchfield County, and is one of the top beer destinations in all of Connecticut.
Backstage is owned by Keith Mahler of Premier Concerts, Connecticut’s largest independent concert promoter.
Recently, Backstage hosted a Harpoon beer dinner which I was unable to attend. The event went over so well that the enlightened management decided to make the special menu and beer pairings
available to the public throughout the weekend. Say no more—my buddy and I were there!
We found Director of Operations Bob DeZinno presiding over a busy house.
The raised booths were full,
the bar was busy,
and everyone seemed to be having a great time.
Later in the evening, there was even live music.
Our waitress, Bryttnee, welcomed us warmly and extolled the special menu.
Then Bryttnee started us off with our first drink, a Harpoon 100 Barrel Spruce Tip,
described as follows: Spruce tips harvested at their tender, ripe, bright green peak in Downer State Forest, Vermont, impart citrus, pine, spice, herbal and earthy notes to this hearty ale. You can see that it’s not nearly as red-colored as it appears in the first photograph.
Pairing with this beer brilliantly was pine-cured salmon served over an herb latke with citrus crème fraîche, caperberries and pine cone syrup.
Our second drink was a 10% abv (alcohol by volume) Harpoon Leviathan Barley Wine. Paying homage to the classic, English-style barleywines, the massive amount of pale malt and long boil yield a deep garnet color and a strong malt backbone. Complex aromas and flavors of dark fruit, pepper, vanilla and caramel derived from caramelized sugars complement the unique combination of Chinook and Tetnang hops.
Presented with this heady brew was a wonderful spiced duck confit served atop a white bean cassoulet with housemade sausage.
Our third drink was a Harpoon Winter Warmer. Dark copper ale, aroma of cinnamon. The medium body is formed from caramel and pale malts, thus creating enough body to support the spices without making the beer excessively rich.
With it was served an amazing garam masala grilled hanger steak with a black pepper-dried black cherry demi-glace, Chèvre mashed potatoes and coriander roasted carrots.
Our final beer was a Harpoon Chocolate Stout. Noticeable dark chocolate flavor, created from the use of darker, more aromatic malt, kilned until it acquires a chocolate color. Brewed with an abundance of chocolate malt and a touch of chocolate.
The beer was used in every part of the scrumptious dessert, a molten Valrhona chocolate stout cake with chocolate stout ice cream and chocolate stout caramel sauce.
As incredible as the beer dinner was, I never miss an excuse to sample broadly, so we ordered some regular menu items as well. Worlds better than its pub grub counterpart was pan-seared fresh Mozzarella in house marinara sauce.
A prosciutto and melon appetizer was also delightful.
Cedar plank-roasted fresh salmon served with a local honey-grain mustard sauce with a spring asparagus risotto was absolutely splendid.
And who could resist a slice of chocolate banana cream pie?
After our meal was over, my buddy and I took a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities with beer master Christopher Verrilli, which made for some interesting visuals.
And finally, I conclude with some photographs taken at the beer dinner that my buddy and I missed,
ending with this shot of talented chef Keith Richard Bisciotti.
If food, beer or entertainment motivate you, it’s high time you make a trip Backstage in Torrington.
Backstage, 84 Main Street, Torrington, 860-489-8900
www.backstageeatdrinklive.com