LeFarm in Westport CT.......I'm finding new favorites and enjoying older ones

I know many of you know I write more about leFarm than I do any other restaurant.  Yes, I'm friends with Bill and Rachel who own the restaurant.  I like to support my friends. But it's such good food!!!!  It's Creative, Fresh, and rather satisfying.  And I'm not alone with my thoughts.  The night I was there was a Tuesday night.  leFarm is closed Sunday and Monday.  Tuesday was jammin!!!!!!

So this Tuesday was the one night that we were able to put together with two other couples.  One were friends of ours who had moved to London last year for what we are hoping is only three years.   The others were the owner's of Marly's in Wilton (which is another great local place).  This one Tuesday night in July, yes I'm running behind in my writing, was the only night that we were able to get together.

The first thing I noticed when I came into the restaurant is that the bar in the back that separates the dining room from the kitchen is covered in Tomatoes.  I mean covered.  All sizes and colors.  Cherry, grape, beefsteak, cherokee you name it, it was there.  It was a fireworks display of color.   yellows, reds, purples, oranges and everything in between.

When we sat down and looked at the menu, I noticed that the appetizer section was a lot larger than what it used to be.  Since the 6 of us all really love to eat, we decided to share 5 different appetizers.

Here is what we got:

The first one was a new dish to Anita and I.  Battered Fish Bait.  We had to ask because we had no idea what it was.  I still don't remember what the name of the fish was, but it was a small thin fish that was battered and cooked whole.  it was so small that you literally ate the whole thing.  Bones and all.  The fish was light and mild and the batter had a lot of the crunchy flavor you like in a fried fish.  It was served pickles and nice roasted peppers.

Artisan Burrata was placed in front of us next.  A large generous portion of creamy firm cheese was served with a pesto and fresh cherry tomatoes and a slice of the olive bread.  we had to ask for more bread to accompany the dish.

The Kale and Beet salad is a dish we can't get away from.  I have become a huge fan of beets and it still remains to be one vegetable that I have never made.   I have heard that they can be boiled or more popularly roasted.  But for some reason I have steered clear of them.  I don't know why.  Besides the Portobella mushroom, the beet has to be the "meatiest" of the vegetables around.  But they are crisp and fresh tasting and oh so earthy.  I really have to get some of these in my kitchen.

As it was tomato season, the plate of tomatoes with onions and Pearl Cous-cous was a nice addition to our selection.  All I can say is that there is nothing better in the summer than fresh picked tomatoes.

The last appetizer is one that has become my personal favorite at the restaurant.  When we first tried the Octopus, we were told it was a special and Frank our server brought us out a dish to try.  Since then, I have always ordered it.  I know I have written about it before, but h the way Bill cooks it, make it so soft and uncommon than most other chewy octopus dishes I have had.  But the key to the dish is the Harissa dressing he makes.  Bill posted a picture recently on facebook showing a kitchen accident while making the dressing.  it was everywhere.  I told him I would have volunteered to clean it up.  I just needed some loaves and bread and it would be gone very quickly.

 
Our main dishes as usual didn't disappoint us.  We had some similar orders but had some nice new dishes to try.

The Bronzoni was a piece of fish that we had gotten in the past.  Bill serves this fish with an assortment of fresh summer beans and his tomato marmalade.  If you can look back on Martha Stewart shows, you'll find he makes this on one of the shows he was on.  Really bright flavors here.

Sweet breads were also ordered and they were as good as the last time I had tried them there.  Made with fresh peas, carrots and onions, the dish sits in a light mushroom broth and dotted with bacon.  Oh, I so love bacon.

We had two pasta dishes a the table.  Both of them were 1/2 orders and it was a good thing because the desserts were plentiful.  The first pasta dish was the Cavatelli.  It was served with squash and a bean pesto, then topped with thinly sliced Prosciutto.

The last dish was the one that Mike and myself had gotten.  It was a good think he ordered first and asked for the 1/2 order.  otherwise I would have made a real pig of myself.  The Buccatini Carbonara was served with onion, peas, bacon (oh joy), and topped with fresh shaved Parmesan.  Fabulous dish.

The table was a group of Dessert fanatics.  Not that many people are not but this group really loves their sweets.  We got two orders of the fresh raspberries with melted chocolate on them.  I'm not a huge fan of chocolate on fruit but this just looked so beautiful.

I can't resist Bills Corn Bread and candied Bacon.  (OK, I can see I have a problem here)

Last and newest dessert was one that had to be preordered because it takes 15 minutes to make.  Fresh fruit compote was on the bottom of a ramekin and topped with a pastry that can only be described as a cake of pancake.  I know they described it differently when I was there a month ago and I have to admit, I just don't remember.  But this dish was served with Basil ice cream.   The combination was terrific and the cake in the first ramekin was soft and moist.  It's worth the wait.

Another great meal and another great entry for me in the blog.  This place is always easy to write about.  Please go and say hello to Bill.  Tell him I sent you.

leFarm can be found in Westport and on the web at www.lefarmwestport.com

PRET in NYC..............Impressive small sandwich shop

I know I usually don't write about convenience places or fast food places but this is a place worth mentioning.  My good friend Wendy had mentioned this place to me once and I had never heard of it.  As I now know, it's a fairly large worldwide chain.   They are also located at airports for a quick bite on the run.

There were a number of things that I really liked about this place.  The first one was the selection.  They stay away from the traditional sandwiches and kick it up a notch.  All the items are done in a healthier manner.  All the ingredients are delivered fresh everyday and nothing is from the previous day.  They literally open each shop everyday with no ingredients on the shelves or in the refrigerators.  At the end of the day, anything left over is given to shelters that are associated with that store.

The second reason I really liked this place is the philosophy behind everything they seem to be doing.  Besides the fresh ingredients and the charity they subscribe to, the packaging is multi useful.  They have a vast menu of sandwiches and if each sandwich had its own wrapper, there would be a large amount of packaging material made that is only made for that one item.  They package each wrap, baguette, and salad in the same packaging but placed in it's on selective area.  So a ham and Brie baguette is wrapped in he same wrapper as the king prawn and avocado baguette.  There is less packaging to store on hand which not only keeps the cost down for the store but it also allows the items to be multi useful.

The selection is vast and like I said before, the ingredients are not only fresh but healthier than your average store.  They have salads and lots of little nibble sides that I really liked.  when I was there, I got a small container of grapes.  Right by the counter they also sold little brownie squares for a little bit of sweet to end the meal.

If you see one do yourself a favor and stop in, you'll find you'll look for them when you want a quick bite of something good.

PRET has multiple locations all over the world.  Go to www.pret.com for locations, menu's and nutritional facts.

Omanel in Bridgeport........Brazilian cuisine lives large in Bridgeport

In both Bridgeport and New Haven, lies home to many Brazilian families. And where you have a large gathering of a specific ethnicity, you will have local eateries that cater to those people to give them the comforts of home.  In Bridgeport, Omanel's is such a place.  This Brazilian restaurant has been around for many years and while I had been there when I first moved in 1992, I haven't returned since.

We had gone there for lunch from work one day because we just needed a day out for lunch. The four of us are all eaters so we were excited for something different.  Omanel's has a menu that is strong is seafood dishes and they had a nice lunch menu.  We looked around and saw many dishes served in large Pewter crock pots.  When I glanced at the lunch menu, there were 4 dishes of Bakala (salted cod fish) and a few other heavy rice dishes.

We decided to get some appetizers to share first.  We got one order of Chorizo Sausage and two orders of Garlic Shrimp.  The Chorizo came out to us in a dish that had the sausage on fire.  Not like your Saganaki cheese you hear "OPA" yelled at when it is burst into flames, but literally on fire.  It created a crispy outside to go with the smoky inside.

We decided to get two orders of the shrimp because we knew it would be extra garlicy and there would be a good amount of mopping to be done on the dish.   Make sure you ask for extra bread for this dish.  you'll send it back with just the shells and the lemon ring.

Our main dishes came out and I couldn't believe the portion sizes.  these Pewter pots were massive. Salted Cod was swimming in the pot of rice.  The cod was on the bone which add some deep rich flavor to the broth that the rice had absorbed.  But make sure you're prepared for bones because there is some work involved.  also because of the heavy salt, I was able to only eat a little bit of it.  I have found since I've cut back on salt, I've become sensitive to it.  The portion was so big, that I was easily able to bring home 1/2 of it.

Omanel's can be found in Bridgeport at 1909 Main Street.  Their phone number is 203-335-1676.

Alliger's House of Wings.........25 different flavors of wings. what could be better?

Some of the best comforting meals have been in dives.  You know its true.  Sitting at the bar in a Honky Tonk town eating a juicy burger that was served with melted cheese, bacon and onions that was all cooked on the same griddle.  Not there for the ambiance but usually the company and the brew.  But there are times that the food shines better than the rest.

For years I have been traveling to Sayre Pennsylvania which is where Anita grew up.  For almost 20 years since I made that first trip there, we make a right turn past a small bar by the name of Alliger's House of Wings.  Every time we pass it I make the comment, we have to go there one day.  Anita says she had never been there and she enjoys wings.   There was one time that I had purchased their sauce that I had seen in the local market there.  I don't remember the flavors but I remember they were good.

Well the time had finally come that my job of a salesman had crossed over and allowed me to sell the idea of having lunch there this past weekend.  And it was worth the wait.  I couldn't decided which wings I wanted to try.  They sold them by the dozen or the 1/2 dozen.  From Fruity sauce to Nuclear.  sauce 1 was Hawaiian with sweet with pineapple and 25 was Nuclear.  As I rarely utter the words "that's too spicy for me" and I usually stay near the top of the Scoville scale when it comes to heat.  For those of you who don't know what the "Scoville" scale is, the Scoville scale is an index of the level of capsaisan that is found in each pepper.   Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes. The number of Scoville heat units  indicates the amount of capsaicin present.  (The previous italicized comment is from Wikipedia)   For example, a bell pepper has 0 on the scale, a jalapeño is rated between 2,500 and 8,000, a cayenne pepper is rated at between 30,000 and 50,000 and closer to the top is the Habanero which is rated between 100,000 and 350,000.   


So we went to the bar and ordered our food.  I got the kids their dishes.  They both like wings but there were other kids there so their attention was taken away from the food and was preoccupied by playing around.  


So for Anita I got her the hot and spicy garlic.  It had a really nice heavy garlic flavor.  At times that could be taken as spicy but it was really rich in flavor.  


I ordered 1 1/2 dozen.  I wanted to try two different ones.  The 1/2 dozen was the Singapore flavor. It was an asian flavor but not like a teriyaki.  it was less sweet than that and did have some heat as it was probably number 19 on the list.  The dozen that I got was the Kamikaze flavor.  It was 23 on the list.   So I was expecting heat.  the flavor was nice but the heat was not as high as I thought it would be.  Yes I got the burn on the lips after you eat 6 of them.  The heat came at the end and lingered which was nice.  But I didn't get the sweat.  I love the sweat you get from a real dose of spice.  

All in all it's a great place to go for some wings and a beer.  I know Sayre PA, isn't the place that many would find themselves but if you find yourself on route 17 in New York and see Sayre, consider stopping by there for lunch. 


Alligers can be found at 201 Spring St., Sayre PA 18440.  phone 517-888-9805.

Chicken Feta Burgers............Nice Alternative Burger

Who doesn't love a good burger?  Nothing like a drippy juicy burger to satisfy a good food craving.  I love bacon on mine. but then again, I love bacon on everything.

Last Saturday Anita said our friend Wendy's Sister Lori sent her a recipe for Feta and Herb Grilled Chicken Burgers.  After looking at the recipe I said, this looks like a damn good burger.  Then after eating it I can concur that it was.  So here for you is the recipe.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Feta & Herb Grilled Chicken Burgers

1 lb ground chicken

1 egg lightly beaten

1-½ teaspoons bottled minced garlic

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup chopped mixed herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme) I used fresh herbs here but you can use dried.  I think it actually might have called for dried.

¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes not packed in oil. I got these from the olive bar at Stop and Shop

1 Tablespoon Lemon juice

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

salt & pepper

olive oil

4 slices of block feta cheese

4 hamburger buns

½ cup diced or sliced jarred roasted red pepper

1-cup arugula 

Combine first 9 ingredients (ground chicken to salt & pepper) and shape into 4 patties. 

Lightly brush olive oil on both sides of each patty.

Grill for 5-7 minutes per side.  In the last minute of cooking, place one slice of feta on each burger and lightly toast the buns.

To assemble burgers, place patty on bottom bun and top with hummus or tzaziki sauce (sour cream, grated cucumber, lemon juice & oregano), add roasted red pepper and arugula .

Some notes.  you might look at this recipe and say "Oooh Chicken, it's got to be lower calories".  Well I'm thinking with all that Feta Cheese your almost equal to a beef burger.  So if your calorie conscious, you might want to cut down on the feta considerably.  It will be just as tasty.  I know next time will put about a 1/4 of it in the burger and a very small sliver on top.  

I also never made Tsaziki sauce before.  I just winged it and of course added too much dried oregano.  but it was a cool combination with the hot burger.

Again, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

  

Marly's of Wilton......Another Great Meal and a movie.

Had a great meal last night at Marly's in Wilton CT last night.

One thing that I want to make sure that people know is about Sunday nights.  At Marly's, Every Sunday Night is movie night.  They have a small room off the main dining room where they put in a projection TV and at 6:00 they show a movie for kids older than 4.  They have tables in there where kids can order a meal off the kids menu then move to the "Theater" where they have comfy chairs and get to eat popcorn and watch a movie.  All this is happening while you are in the main dining room eating a great meal.

Speaking of which, we had a great meal in that dining room.  We were with another couple who we started off by sharing appetizers with.  We had started with Chicken Spring Rolls with a tangy sauce that I think was Mango.  I should looked again right?  Next was their Chicken Wings.  They were very tasty and meaty.  I prefer my wings to be more saucy but the flavor was on.  Last was a Tuna Tartar that was done really well.  it was served in a round shape that sat on top of mashed Avocado. The Avocado was chunky so it kept with size consistency of the Tuna.  it was served with sliced cucumbers or potato chips.  It was a real refreshing appetizer.

Next were the Main Dishes.  The other couple had gotten a Cobb Salad which was big enough for two people.  Their daughter came out in time to take on of the hard boiled eggs that were on the salad and there was still a whole other egg there for the salad.

  They also got the codfish which I was going to get.  The fish was seared beautifully and served on top of a be of garlic risotto.  I'm a big fan of garlic so this was not a show stopper for me, but for someone who isn't a garlic fan or on a first date might want to stay away. but it was really tasty.

Anita got the Scallop Spinach salad that had a lot of plump and juicy Scallops.  Soft bacon flavored the balsamic dressing nicely covering the generous portion.

I had the Stick to your ribs Rigatoni Bolognese.  Sauce was meaty and creamy with out a heavy cream feel.  But it was stick to your ribs.  Again a very generous portion had to be taken home.  I especially enjoyed the dollop of ricotta cheese on top that I could scoop up a little with each bite.

For dessert we shared what they call the peppermint patty.  A warm cakey brownie served with peppermint ice cream and whip cream on top.  I'm not a major dessert fan but this was really tasty.

Again I want to point out that Sunday nights are movie nights and are really a great opportunity for you to come out with your kids but have a date night as well.  They have outdoor seating that is obviously weather permitting.

Marly's Bar and Bistro is located at 205 Town Green in Wilton Ct. Phone is 203-834-2000
They have a facebook page that i will get on their ass to update more regularly than they do now.  go there and friend them at: Marly's facebook page

Chili Cook-off results

Well as predicted, a good time was had by all.  This year there were only 16 chefs.  I have become friendly with two of the other chefs of the competition as we have all competed for the past 6 years together.  We all said that this year, the promotion and organization left much to be desired. I actually had to hunt down the person who ran it last year so they could give me the info for who was running it this year.  Everyone said it was really poorly run this year.

As I said, it was a fun time.  They actually had burners set up this time so that we can keep the chili warm instead of the double boilers from the past few years.

Since the weather was a tad overcast the crowd was smaller as well.  But the usual faces showed up and everyone was in Chili Heaven.

The first year I participated, there were three judges who would give a first, second and third place finish.  There was also a peoples Choice award.  That year, my friend Chris who you see two photos up, took second place and I took Third.  I also took Peoples choice that year.  After that year, they switched it over to a people's choice only with a first, second and third place based on votes from the patrons.  Last year I took second place.  It was also coincidentally the year that most of my family and friends came around.  Coincidence that I took second place?  I don't think so.

When I was standing there serving, I saw many people make a b line to this years winner.  I would say, hey your passing right by me.  They would say, they will be back as they want to say hello to someone.

Personally I thought I had the best chili I have ever made.  I changed up the cut of meat as well as added bacon fat to sauté the onions in.  It was really great.  But in the end, I didn't have many friends there and it showed in the awards.  I don't know what place I came in but it wasn't first second or third.  I spoke to Chris and he agreed that we need some sort of unbaised judge to come to do the judgeing rather than it being a popularity contest.

I don't want to come off as being bitter here. The winner's chili was very tasty and real unique.  But everyone that tried mine said I stood out from the others because my chili had chunks of meat rather than ground beef.  That was a comment that was said by most.  Most people would go for a piece of meat rather than ground beef.   I know many times you just want a burger, but given an opportunity to have a steak or a burger, most people would go for the steak.

It was again a fun day and I really love talking to people and see the great reaction they get when they eat what I have made.  it's one of the things that keeps me cooking.

Plus I had my boys help me.