New Canaan is a town with a well-developed dining scene that I don’t find time to visit as often as I should. So I was thrilled to receive an invitation not too long ago to a press event at the The Pine Social,
a new restaurant concept developed by owner Joe Rocco in the space at 36 Pine Street that was previously Rocco’s Italian Kitchen.
The Pine Social might best be described as a sleek, upscale, contemporary American restaurant or gastropub. But its well-chosen name evokes a certain nostalgia for the kind of mingling usually limited to polite society—that world of exclusive sororities and garden parties and country club socials. During the press event and a subsequent meal I took, the gender ratio was very much in favor of women. The comfortable lounge area in the front of the restaurant seems to be particularly attractive to them.
Gals also like to continue their conversations in the attractive dining room.
And where the gals go, the guys will of course follow.
There’s an attractive and elongated bar area (publicist photos).
For our press dinner, though we were seated at a tall communal table located between the lounge and the dining room (publicist photos).
But first we sat down in that plush lounge area, received glasses of wine,
and trays of hors d’oeuvre,
including red and golden beet with goat cheese,
crab cakes with wasabi aïoli,
and a sausage and pancetta ragù.
Once everyone in our party had arrived, we transferred to the tall table (difficult for photography unless you’re eight feet tall), where our personable waitress poured us glasses of wine.
I enjoyed hanging out with my old friend Linda
and with my mother, who was visiting from California.
In between all of that socializing, the press contingent managed to gather a little information, too.
For our appetizer course, we each received a cutting board stocked with tasty treats,
including grilled chicken skewers with lemon-and-herb yogurt,
housemade sausage with mild sauerkraut and brown mustard,
a lobster and shrimp cocktail with avocado and chipotle cocktail sauce,
and spicy tuna “spring rolls.”
For our pasta course, we got to try rigatoni alla Norma (with sautéed eggplant, fresh Mozzarella and tomato sauce)
and butternut squash ravioli (with sage, brown butter and amaretti dust)
For our main course, we savored seared sea scallops in a black-olive-and-rosemary sauce presented with chickpea purée and Catalan-style spinach,
roasted Crescent Farm duck breast in a port cherry sauce served over autumn vegetables,
and Black Angus skirt steak with sautéed peppers and onion, sliced avocado, grilled tortilla
and chimichurri sauce.
We also were fortunate enough to sample four of the desserts. Those included baby banana doughnuts with cinnamon and warm chocolate sauce,
a polenta and orange cake with pistachio ice cream and fresh berry compote,
peach and apple crumble served in a cast-iron skillet with vanilla ice cream,
and a flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
Chef Adam Truelove, a French Culinary Institute graduate whose background includes stints at Esca in Manhattan, L’Escale in Greenwich, and Tarry Lodge in Portchester, came out of the kitchen long enough to take a well-deserved bow and answer questions.
I enjoyed the press dinner so much that I returned to The Pine Social a couple of weeks later for a private meal with a dear friend. We were lucky enough to have the same good-humored waitress.
We whetted our appetites with a crisp Albariño,
some tasty focaccia
and fruity olive oil.
We began in earnest with a rich Maine lobster bisque with grilled shrimp and chives,
a pretty beef carpaccio with black truffle vinaigrette, crispy celery leaves and shaved Parmesan,
a jumbo lump crab cake with mango relish and wasabi aïoli,
and a beautifully balanced spinach salad with grilled peach, bacon, Danish blue cheese and glazed pecan.
For our main course, we shared the same duck breast entrée I had enjoyed before and Creekstone Farms filet mignon with a balsamic-soy glaze, crispy potatoes and cipollini onions, which the kitchen cleverly divided for us so we didn’t have to.
And for dessert, we tried a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
and reprised those delicious, beignet-like baby banana doughnuts,
which we enjoyed with cappuccinos.
We found the restaurant a comfortable place to dine, the service friendly and professional, the menu intriguing and well-executed. So waste no time visiting The Pine Social. It’s where the girls are!
The Pine Social, 36 Pine Street, New Canaan, 203-966-5200
www.pinesocial.com