Marly's of Wilton......Fun for Family, Great for Dates

Just finished a great meal at Marly's in Wilton CT tonight.

Now I want to preface that I'm going to change the way I write about restaurants here.  I've seen in a bunch of cooking shows that talk to the chefs or the owners and most of them have said that they really dislike that people take pictures of the food.  They said it takes away from the experience.  I tend to disagree but I have seen enough of the shows to make me think that unless it absolutely requires a photo, I will try to refrain from taking photos at restaurants.  But I will torture you with stuff I cook.

So onto Marly's.  The location is tucked away in the center of Wilton Center CT.  The space is handsomely decorated and in the warmer months, outdoor seating is available.

The  menu is a terrific blend of everything.  Appetizers include two types of chicken wings, fried calamari which you would find in many places that are safe bets.  But Marly's kicks it up a bit by adding P.E.I Mussels and a Pan seared Scallop dish. They also offer two different kinds of sliders.  Kobe beef and Pulled Pork.

On the same side of the Menu were 7 different kinds of salads.  Some of which I'm sure would be big enough for a whole meal.  I was in the mood for Caesar Salad and order theirs as my appetizer.  The romaine was crispy and fresh and the dressing was not too heavy.  It had great salty flavor to it but the best part about it was the long pieces of shaved Parmesan.

On the right side of the menu were the main dishes.  Your choices go from Burgers to Steak and everything in between.  The burgers are not just simple burgers though.  You have your choice of 8. I have had the pleasure of trying three of them in a previous posting and let me tell you, it is difficult to choose just one.  You can also choose to go lighter and select one of five different sandwiches.  Other main dishes included steaks, a few fish dishes including Salmon, Tilapia and Cod.  They also have a number of pasta dishes that you can order 1/2 order of if you want it as an appetizer or just a lighter dinner.  I chose the Buccatini pasta and clams.  The sauce that it came with was a red sauce that was rich and bold.  It was also quite spicy.  Just how I like my meals.  The clams circled the pasta when it arrived so there were plenty.  I enjoyed the sauce so much I had to get more bread for mopping.
Anita ordered off the specials menu tonight which was seared Scallops over an Arugala Salad.  The Scallops were very big and the dish was very pretty and colorful.

We had our kids with us tonight and a friend of theirs.  The kids menu comes on the kids activity book to keep them busy.  All the kids dishes were either $5 or $6 which is perfect.  And the fries were perfect.  One of the greatest things they do is on Sundays.  For families, they have movie night.  in a smaller section of the restaurant, they set up a TV and show a movie.  Kids also get served a meal while watching the movie.  So while they are enjoying a movie and dinner, you can have a little alone time with your loved one.

Oh, and I know I started by saying I wouldn't take photos at restaurants again unless they are real special.  Well I couldn't resist.

Marly's can be found on the web at www.marlysofwilton.com

Marly's in Wilton CT.

I was treated to a real special meal earlier this week at Marly's in Wilton CT.  Some of the dishes are on the menu, or soon to be on the menu and some are just for fun.  It didn't hurt that I was dining with the owner Mike LeBeau that night that allowed us the extra attention.

We decided after getting the menu's that we would just close them and let the Chef make us what he wanted to make that night.  So as we were sitting there just for kicks, he brought out some Shrimp that were sautéed in chili peppers and lots of garlic and topped with green onion.  Very garlicky and not too spicy.

The second dish was still light and bigger than a bite.  Tuna Tartar mixed with Yuzu and cucumbers in a vinaigrette with a sliver of avocado and tomato to cream it up.  On the side was a light splash of raspberry sauce which added nice color and a good small accent of sweetness.  Won ton Crisps accompanied the dish as well.  Very light and fresh tasting.  Both of these dishes were not on the Main menu but will be soon one day i'm sure.

Next dish was a fun one that was right up my alley.  A little Tex/Mex if you will.  First was a pulled pork Quesadilla that had delicious flavored pork inside.  It was soft as pulled pork should be.  Under that was a BBQ spring roll.  The beef in the spring roll had a good tasting BBQ sauce mixed into it and the crunch of the roll complimented the soft beef inside.  This dish also isn't available yet but we hope to see it on the menu.

And if that wasn't enough, the chef brought out an item that was on the specials for the night.  Black tagatelle in a light cream sauce with seared scallops and medallions of lobster.  No, not a rich dish at all.  Well from the description, it could be.  But the cream sauce was used sparingly as to not overwhelm the entire dish.  The seafood was done perfectly and it was real tasty.

After that we got into talking about burgers.  Mike mentioned that they were playing around with having a "Burger Menu" and they have been experimenting with different burgers to figure out which ones they wanted on this addition.  Mike said they will be starting to offer these burgers Friday October 30th.  So when you read this, they will probably already be on it.  Chef brought out two of his favorites.  The Genoa Burger which was a delicious burger topped with Pesto sauce and Mozzarella.  Pesto can be strong on it's own but they put the right amount that it doesn't over power the burger at all.  The other burger was a French onion burger that had caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese.  Both were terrific.  Now before you start calling me a pig, it should be known that we each ate a 1/4 of the burgers.

Marly's has a great menu that can be seen online.  Everything that I have had there in past has been terrific and when you see the menu, you'll notice it has something for everyone.  Even the kids.
When you see it on the menu, get a side for the table of the truffle mac and cheese.  you'll be glad you did.

Marly's can be found at 205 Town Green Rd., in Wilton CT.  or you can see more about them here: http://marlysofwilton.com/index.html