I took my last New Haven Restaurant Week dinner at Bespoke.
It was my only visit to an establishment that I had already covered during a prior Restaurant Week. But there was actually no duplication, because Bespoke had changed drastically. Despite sporting the same name and décor, chef-owner Arturo “Franco” Camacho and his wife Suzette were gone. Bespoke now had a new owner, chef and menu.
Not only was the business sold but even the handsome building had a new owner.
It was very windy outside, and the small porch space wasn’t set up for dining.
Nor was the roof yet open.
My companion and I were warmly received by the comely hostess,
and then led to a table in the ground floor dining room, where we quickly settled in.
Had we been led upstairs,
we might have dined in this attractive space
with this translucent stone fireplace.
Had we been led downstairs,
we might have dined in this equally attractive space.
And had we dined at the ground floor bar,
as many did during Restaurant Week, we could have wound up here.
My companion was Amy, an art museum curator and equestrian who sadly will soon be moving out of state to pursue even more education.
We touched base with charismatic new owner Lauren Kendzierski.
As a pastry chef and M.B.A. with a restaurant consulting business called Aristology, Lauren would seem to bring the ideal background to make Bespoke a glowing success. Lauren updated me on the restaurant’s progress since I last talked to her and answered a few questions.
I only wish I had quicker reflexes and had snapped a shot of effervescent Lauren swinging gaily down the stairs to the kitchen. Alert New Haveners may spy Lauren, who has taken to the Elm City like a native, walking her Rhodesian Ridgeback and “slightly retarded” Border Collie downtown.
Of course, a restaurant is only as good as its staff, and in Giovanni Garrido,
Bespoke has one of the better waiters I’ve encountered. I know Giovanni from the former Côte d’Azur in Norwalk, from the former Roomba in New Haven, from Bespoke’s prior management, and probably from other restaurants as well. Few servers are more knowledgeable, attentive and gracious than he.
Bespoke’s wine list is sophisticated but accessibly priced. Amy and I began with glasses of an Albet I. Noya “Petit Albet” Blanc, Penedès, Spain, a crisp Xarel-lo and Chardonnay blend from a renowned organic producer.
Later, with our entrées, we made the switch to red with a heady Karma Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, California.
While Bespoke’s menu is probably best characterized as new or eclectic American, there’s a lovely Middle Eastern undercurrent to the food, as readers shall see. The chef is now Yousef Ghalaini, a Lebanese native who immigrated to western Massachusetts at age twelve and has worked in notable restaurants on both coasts.
Three appetizers were offered on the Restaurant Week menu, all sparklingly fresh and focused in flavor. The first was a romaine salad in a lemon garlic vinaigrette with radish, grape tomato and lavash chips;
the second a vegan tomato soup flavored with zatar spice and made creamy with virgin olive oil (the soup theatrically poured from a pitcher into a large white bowl in concentric circles);
and the third merguez sausage with chickpeas, tomato, onion, garlic and grilled bread.
From the regular menu, we also got to try a scintillating tuna and salmon tartare laced with Lebanese yogurt, sumac and chive blossoms.
There were also three entrées offered on the Restaurant Week menu, each from a decidedly different segment of the menu (which, of course, is as it should be). Vegetarians and carnivores alike would be thrilled with the Moroccan couscous with harissa-kissed vegetables, spinach and dried fruits. It’s the kind of perfectly balanced dish where one never notices that it’s meatless.
Seafood lovers and pasta lovers alike would swoon over local littleneck clams and whitewater mussels with smoked ham and truffle gnocchi in a glorious broth.
And beef lovers and caffeine seekers alike would exclaim over slices of coffee-cured hanger steak, their interior a beautiful glowing pink, served over spinach with a stylistic potato gratin, melted mushrooms and cocoa nibs.
With food that exhibited such a respect for high-quality ingredients and such a spirit of fun, it was a cinch we’d enjoy dessert, too. All of the desserts were light and lovely—we experienced no buyer’s remorse afterward. A chocolate malt icebox pie with Santa Barbara organic milk chocolate and butterscotch sauce was a refreshing change of pace.
But we liked even better orange-perfumed ricotta with kataifi, roasted pistachio and Andrew’s honey.
And although it wasn’t part of the Restaurant Week menu, we were also wowed by a tropical parfait balancing highly compatible passion fruit, orange and coconut flavors.
Now all we needed was a little liquid refreshment.
It was a wonderful meal, and a fitting way to end the April 2010 edition of New Haven Restaurant Week. I had finished my twelfth multi-course meal in just six days. Photo editing, writing and selecting award winners would dominate my next couple of weeks, backing up my other work.
I close with a photo of my adorable friend, Amy, posing with Bespoke’s delightful hostess. They found they had something in common—they’re “curly girls!”
Bespoke, 266 College Street, New Haven, 203-562-4644