My dining companion, Carrol, and I headed to Stamford to see if the recently opened Cask Republic could maintain the high standards set by its older New Haven sibling.
The Cask Republics are part of the Skål Restaurant Group that also includes The Ginger Man in Norwalk and its Greenwich sibling.
Situated in a back room,
I and my fellow members of the food press
found Cask Republic already going great guns. The main dining room was very busy,
the large bar area plainly packed.
But I think the best seats in the house were these arm chairs in front of the nearby fireplace.
Despite how crazy busy the restaurant was, everyone seemed to be well taken care of. The staff was definitely up to the challenge.
Even handsome owner Christian Burns could be seen pitching in.
The name Cask Republic should be a pretty good clue that the restaurant takes its drinks very seriously.
But the food also exhibits the quality and eclecticism of a gastropub.
There was a menu planned for our party,
but the restaurant ended up bringing more items out to us than we expected. Somehow we contained our disappointment at being spoiled.
I started out with this mint julep,
while some of us favored old fashioneds or other drinks.
I graduated to Sea Hag IPA from New England Brewing in Woodbridge
as we snacked on great smoked short rib meatballs with IPA BBQ glaze and crumbled Maytag blue cheese,
addictive bacon popcorn,
a bar fries tasting in truffle, adobo vinegar and spicy Asian flavors,
and finally, a wood-fired flatbread topped with beer cheese sauce, chicken, bacon, onion, Gorgonzola and mâche lettuce.
Our first proper food course was pan-seared foie gras set atop sourdough toasts with culatello (a refined type of prosciutto) and cranberry marmalade.
which was served with Gordon and Macphail Linkwood 15 Single Malt Scotch, Speyside, Scotland.
Spiced butternut squash soup with spicy pepitas came next.
After the soup was slow-roasted Canadian salmon topped with a red bean soffritto and resting upon a black bean cassoulet,
which was served with a Sierra Nevada beer called Ovila Abbey Saison.
After that came deli-spiced filet mignon in a peppercorn demi-glace with sweet potato hash and braised kale,
which was served with a stout beer from Maryland called Heavy Seas Siren Noire.
Our final dish was a Bûcheron cheese plate
served with a Troy & Sons Blonde whiskey from Asheville Distilling Company in North Carolina.
I sipped a cappuccino
and everyone listened raptly
as the chefs were introduced and talked a bit about the food.
Cask Republic, 191 Summer Street, Stamford, 203-348-2275, www.caskrepublic.com