Match in South Norwalk.......This place lights up

Last weekend found us in South Norwalk CT (SONO) dining with our good friends the LeBeau's at Match.  Executive Chef Matt Storch has put together an excellent menu that has had him at his current location for almost 10 years.  We have been there a few times before and enjoyed the meal each time and this visit was no different.

It was a nice night out so they had the large doors open in the front which had some small tables that spilled out onto the side walk for a little alfresco dining.

I wasn't able to take photos that evening so my words will have to do for this review.

The LeBeau's (who own the wonderful Marly's in Wilton) are good eaters like us so we enjoyed perusing the menu.  It was pretty obvious that the menu was strong with the appetizers so we quickly decided to have a completely shared meal.

We started off with some drinks. I don't remember what the others got but I got the Cucumber lemonade Vodka martini.  It was ridiculously smooth.  Served in a chilled glass I looked like the complete idiot drinking it. There is no masculine way to drink out of those glasses.  No matter what is inside the rim, men look like schmuck's drinking out of them.  But after two drinks, who the hell cares what you look like, right?

So our first round of plates came out. Short rib nuggets were served first.  The menu describes them as glazed with pomegranate, orange and 50 cloves of garlic.  Now you put 50 cloves of garlic into anything, it's going to be a strong tasting dish.  It was strong tasting but not from garlic.  The glaze was delicious and the meat was tender.

The second dish was the spicy sausage pizza.  In the back of the dining room is another bar area that houses a large wood burning oven specifically designed for pizzas.  They have Five pizzas to choose from and we made a good choice with the Spicy Sausage.  Jalapeños and chili oil give the pizza the heat.  It would be good as a lunch portion of to share as an appetizer as we did.

The third dish was Tuna Tartar Cracker.   Three large crackers had two generous scoops of raw tuna.  Onions and capers added some excellent flavor to the dish.  Again, the portions were very generous here so sharing was very easy.

The last of our first round was the Scallop Special.  Three large Sea Scallops were seared to perfection and served over a salad of Frissee lettuce that had a lemon vinaigrette.  If this ever comes up again, please get it.  it should be put on the regular menu it was so good.

Next came two salads that we ordered to split up the meal.  Both salads were also very generous so it gave each of us an ample amount of roughage to share.  The first salad was the Arugala salad.  The best part of this was the large pieces of shaved Parmesan cheese.  The second salad was the Steakhouse salad.  huge pieces of bacon and feta cheese covered a nice hunk of crisp and crunchy iceberg lettuce.  The balsamic dressing was drizzled all over the salad and mixed nicely when you dove in to get a big bite of everything.  Again, portions very generous.

Trying to figure where to go from here, we went with two orders of the sliders so that each of us had a little burger.  The menu calls the Banh Mi Sliders which is Vietnamese for a pulled pork sandwich that was topped with Hoisin sauce, spicy mayo and cucumbers.  The buns were soft and the sweet potato chips that accompanied the dish were excellent.  I have a soft spot for sliders.  Something so cute about a little burger.  it's like going to a seafood restaurant and getting that little fork.  I could eat a whole meal with that thing.

The last dish as the Forest Pizza.  Sautéed mushrooms with spinach and garlic topped with Mozzarella and goat cheese. It was a perfect way to end the meal.

Well almost the perfect way.  We got a dessert sampler that was pretty good too.  

Match can be found in South Norwalk CT and can be found here: http://www.matchsono.com/index.html

Papaya Thai.........Taste of Thai done locally good.

Last weekend (yes I need to catch up) my youngest sister Emily had surprised us by saying she had nothing to do Saturday night so she ordered us out on the town while she watched the boys.

So Anita and I took off to Norwalk to Papaya Thai where we haven't been to in a long time.  We were quickly seated but moved due to the chill near the door.  We settled in and looked at the extensive drink list.  I don't remember what Anita got but my drink was called the Mind Bender.  Tequila with Lime Juice, and another juice that I can't remember.  Guess it bent my mind.

They have a great menu but we always seem to get a bunch of small plates to share.  So we stuck to our plan and each ordered Tom Yum Goong which has shrimp and mushrooms in this amazing broth.  It had some heat to it but not too much.  It would be awesome to make this soup one day.   It would be great with on a really cold day.  We both really enjoyed the soup.

The first of the small plates came which was Larb Gai Lettuce Cups.  A spin off of the lettuce cups from P.F. Chang's but less mass produced tasting.  Flavor was good and served in red leaf lettuce instead of Iceberg.

Our next dish was one of my favorites, Beef Short Rib Satay.  But without the Satay.  It is a piece of short rib, off the bone that must be marinated and grilled.  The meat is so tender as a short rib should be cooked.  But the taste is really what gets you.  I could have had two of these.

The last dish we got was the Curry Sampler, which is a small portion of three different curry dishes.  This I would personally pass on next time.  The sauces were each too watery for me.  I picture a curry dish to have a thicker sauce that these had. They weren't bad.  Don't get me wrong.  But I would get another Satay or starter to nibble on.

Its a fun place to go to and in the summer they have outdoor seating.

Papaya Thai can be found in Norwalk across from the Maritime Aquarium.  You can learn more about them by going here: www.papayathai.com