I first wrote about SBC Restaurant & Brewery when its Southport location opened in the late 1990s. Now that the operation has touched upon three different decades (as has my food writing career), SBC outlets can be found in Stamford, Milford, Branford and Hamden as well.
I remember enjoying the cooking of executive chef David Rutigliano then, and his expertise continues to guide the food side of the operation. I have dined at all five SBCs, and all can be relied upon to supply a pleasurable dining experience. But given that I live less than a mile from the Hamden branch,
which is located just a stone’s throw from exit 60 of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, there’s really not much reason for me to go further afield.
Arriving early in the evening, I hiked to the far end of the Hamden outlet’s parking lot just to make a point—there’s enough parking for SBC and then some.
A fall chill had discouraged outdoor dining.
Since my good friend Amy and I were meeting early for dinner, there was no one waiting outside
or inside, but by the height of the dinner rush, I observed a number of people waiting in this space.
Pretty in purple, the hostess
selected a table for us, at which point our friendly waitress took over.
Of course, we weren’t her only charges.
Responsible for the entire restaurant was affable manager Steve Rossi.
A phone call alerted us to the fact that my mother (in transit between her Maine and California residences) and my friend Bob were well inside Connecticut, so Amy
and I waited for them to join us. In the meantime, the bar
and dining rooms
got pretty busy. These attractive young ladies certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.
SBC definitely got into the spirit of Restaurant Week, offering a glass of beer or wine with its three-course, prix-fixe menu. Since the restaurant doesn’t make its own wine, that was an easy choice. I had SBC’s English Pale Ale.
It was a fine brew, and momentarily I could understand the unbridled enthusiasm Ben Franklin once evidenced for beer.
After all, I used to brew my own in the 1980s.
But while lots of people drink beer, everyone eats. SBC’s prix-fixe menu offered a choice of soup or salad for the first course. Some of us opted for Caesar salad,
others for a hearty beef and egg drop soup.
There was even greater choice among the entrées. We got to try fire-grilled pork sirloin basted with a citrus-mustard glaze, topped with grilled pineapple and served with sweet potato fries;
penne pasta with pan-roasted chicken, sweet Italian sausage, jumbo shrimp, sweet peppers and scallions in a roasted garlic cream sauce;
pan-roasted chicken with roasted plum tomatoes, portobello mushroom, prosciutto and handmade ricotta dumplings;
and finally, beef short ribs braised with Big Head Red Ale and aromatic vegetables and then served over a Parmesan-and-rosemary polenta with sautéed vegetables.
There was just one dessert, but it was similar to a Chipwich and absolutely delicious.
I want to take this occasion to pay a small tribute to Richard LaMotta, the inventor of the Chipwich and an expert guerrilla marketer who died in May of this year. I learned a great deal from this kind individual in 2008 and 2009, when he and I were part of the team that launched the Empanada Joe’s chain in Manhattan. Here was our first location at Broadway and 111th,
here our second location a block from Times Square,
and here our third location in the heart of Chelsea.
For Hamden Restaurant Week, SBC did itself proud. After a satisfying meal, Mom, Amy, Bob and I headed outside to the bench to take a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.
SBC Restaurant & Brewery, 1950 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden, 203-288-HOPS
southportbrewing.com