Major Knitter

Going to Bombay

It must be international food day at my house.  I'm certainly on a kick.  The day after Falafel Inn, I went to Bombay Bar and Grill - Westport's Indian restaurant.  To be honest, I've only been to an Indian restaurant once in my life and it wasn't a good experience, so I wasn't too excited to try it again.  But I'm an adventurer, and everyone raves about my town's amazing Indian jewel, so I decided to give it a try.  I'm so glad I did!  Bombay features a taste medley at lunchtime with a tantalizing buffet (or you can order off the menu if you prefer).  I opted for the sampler buffet.   Everything was scrumptious. And the decor and atmosphere of this restaurant was very hip and chic.  Go check it out if you want a little exotic excursion.

• Bombay Bar and Grill
• 616 Post Road East
  Westport, Connecticut 06880
• (203) 226-0211

Oh, did I mention that Bombay is conveniently located in the same strip mall as Knitting Central?  Extra bonus points for location, location, location!

P.S.  I forgot to rave about the wonderful staff.  I mentioned to the maitre d' that I wasn't really familiar with Indian food, and he personally walked me through the buffet line explaining what each item was.  I was quite touched with his hospitality.  And I fell in love with the Naan bread -- former Westport resident Martha Stewart's personal favorite - as it says on the menu.

Falafel Inn

After the gym on Monday, I decided to swing by the local Falafel Inn for lunch.  I ordered the vegetarian combo platter and sat and knit while I waited for lunch. 

I learned to like Middle Eastern food when I lived in Brazil.  It's very prevalent there.  My favorite food is the Esfiha, which is what the Brazilians call the Middle Eastern meat pie.  After a quick Google search, I discovered it's really called Safiha - which makes sense since words don't start with the letter S in Portuguese (thus Safiha becomes Esfiha). 

However you spell it, I got my fix.  My sock didn't progress very far, but I had a smile on my face.

Napoli Sul Fiume

BF and I are on a roll.  We seem to be hitting the few restaurants in Westport that are on the water.  We recently went to Napoli Sul Fiume located on Riverside Avenue.  The restaurant has outdoor dining available if you'd like to overlook the Saugatuck River.  It was a nice late afternoon dinner... but perhaps too early for dinner.  Our food was fine, but the service left us wondering if we were seated before the kitchen was even open.

The view was very nice, though.  Go give it a try and tell me what you think.  Just go at a respectable hour for dinner - and not something to be confused with a late lunch.

Positively Positano

I haven't visited any new restaurants in Westport lately, but BF and I managed to catch up on a new one this weekend.  We went to Positano right on the Long Island Sound with some dear friends.

BF and I arrived early for our dinner reservation.  Our friends were stuck in the rainy Friday evening rush hour traffic which offered the perfect opportunity for BF and I to catch up with each other since we've each been on the go so much these past few weeks.  While we waited, we enjoyed the bread basket.  Beware.  If you're on a no carb diet - Positano has great bread.  If you're weak of spirit, you might have to ask them to take away the temptation as it's a hard one to resist.   

Our meal continued with more delicious food from there.  We had scrumptious salads and appetizing entrees.  I had a monstrous veal chop (first time I've ordered veal since I was ten years old) but it was well worth it.  Everyone at the table had a meal that was sumptuous and savory.  The piece de resistance was the tiramisu.  Remember - I'm not eating dessert - so I had the fresh berries.  The berries were berry-licious - but the tiramisu got high praises from our friend who grades an Italian restaurant based on its tiramisu.

So go to Positano for the food.  Most people go because it's one of the rare Westport restaurants happily situated right on the water.  Friday night was a downpour if you remember - so we didn't get much of a view - but the fare was memorable.  Call now and make your reservation for a night on the town.

233 Hillspoint Road
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 454-4922

But wait, there's a funny ending to our night.  We were having such a wonderful time with our friends that we chatted and chatted until finally we were the last ones in the restaurant.  You know you're in the suburbs when you close a restaurant at 11:00 p.m.  The lights flickered, the clean-up began in earnest and we took the hint.  While we could have stayed with our friends for much longer, we decided to call it a night.  When we got outside, our cars had already been pulled up front by the valet.  At least we were ushered out in style with a smile.  So make your reservation... but don't plan to stay all night. 

Yet Another Italian Restaurant in Westport

BF and I went to another Italian restaurant in Westport.  It's been awhile since we've tried a new hometown eatery.  This was Seminara's Restaurant and we had a nice meal.   BF had the margarita pizza and I had the seafood pasta. 

Westport has an inordinate amount of Italian restaurants for its population. It's very hard to pick a favorite.  BF and I are already devout fans of our favorite a) family style, b) high end, c) low-end, and d) quick & easy local Italian restaurant.  It's really hard to put another one on our list.    I'm sure glad we went to try this one out, but we'll probably stick to our personal favorites.

John's Best Pizza & Grille

Recently BF and I went to the newly rebuilt John's Best Pizza & Grille in Westport.  It had my favorite thing for a family style Italian restauarant -- a pizzaiolo

We didn't order pizza for lunch, instead, I ordered the Fresh Mozzarella salad minus the roasted peppers:

BF ordered the meatball grinder.

The ambience is clean, fun and inviting.  We'll definitely be taking the boys back to this place, but next time we'll order a pizza.  If you're sensitive to garlic and onions, be sure to say so, our food was infused with it which is fine if you've got a stomach of steel.  Unfortunately, my 40-something stomach can't handle any garlic I can see or smell (I could do both).  I am excited to try it again.  Check out John's Best Pizza & Grille and tell me what you think.

361 Post Road West
Westport, Connecticut 06880
(203) 227-7247

   

Some Things Are Better Left Undone

BF and I went to our local gourmet grocery store  - Balducci's - for breakfast this morning.  We gave it mixed reviews.

On the plus side, they serve Illy Cafe - so what could be better, I ask you?!.  On the downside, everything at Balducci's is gourmet.  Unfortunately, there are some things in life that just shouldn't be made in a gourmet fashion.  An Egg McMuffin is one of them.  Sure we had delicious English muffins, finest quality eggs, cheese that was to-die-for and scrumptous smoked bacon... but somehow it was too much.  I must admit we probably would have been better off with an Egg McMuffin at McD's.  I'll stick to Balducci's for the coffee, though.  I also enjoy their soup and salad bar at lunch.  Of course, their gourmet prepared food for take-out or catering it out of this world.  So go there for gourmet... not fast food. 

Cocoa Michelle

This is my new favorite spot in Westport.  I love chocolate, so what's not to like.  Cocoa Michelle sells high-end handmade gourmet chocolates.  There is also an espresso bar with breakfast treats (scones and the like) and a lovely quiet seating area.  I met some friends there today.  BF and I went for the first time about a week ago.  It's also become my must-have hostess gift source.  When BF and I went, we had the dark chocolate covered homemade marshamallows with our espresso and latte.  H.E.A.V.E.N.  I swear.

The homemade marshmallows come in two varieties - the first is the dark chocolate covered white marshmallow.  The second is the white chocolate covered chocolate marshmallow.  I'm hooked on the first one.  Yummy.

I took the bag of scrumptious chocolates to my friend's house as a hostess gift.  I even added one of my handknit ornaments which complemented the Cocoa Michelle colors nicely. 

This is what is inside the gift bag. 

Convinced?  I thought so.  You can get your own delectable chocolates here.

Cocoa Michelle
190 Main Street
Westport, Connecticut 06880
T: 203.221.0002
F: 203.221.0003
info@cocoamichelle.com

Matsu Sushi is a Hit

Generally when the boys are at their father's house, BF and I have Date Night.  It's a great thing to have a built in date night.  We usually go out to one of our favorite restaurants in town - either Tarantino's or Zest.  But with our new culinary capers resolution, we decided to try another eatery in town last night.  This time it was our first visit ever to our local sushi bar. 

Matsu Sushi

33 Jesup Road
Westport, Connecticut 06880
(203) 341-9662

For those of you who know us, you're probably wondering what the heck BF and I could possibly eat at a sushi bar.  That's a very good question.

I ordered the yummy chicken teriyaki bento box.  BF ordered the sizzling beef teriyaki plain with rice.  I like California rolls, but that's about as exotic as I get.  I've tried sushi at many restaurants before - but the Iowa girl in me just can't get accustomed to the taste and texture.  So while I can't vouch for the sushi and sashimi at Matsu Sushi, I can definitely tell you that the teriyaki is excellent.  We also liked the ambience of this restaurant tucked just off the Saugatuck River near the Westport Public Library.  This is definitely going to become a regular stop on our routine restaurant rotation (once we finish our Year of the Culinary Caper Resolution).

My challenge to you - make a point to get out and discover new eateries in your very own neighborhood. 

We're so glad we did.  We've learned more about our town in the first week of this resolution that we ever could have imagined.  Plus we've already squeezed in a Date Night every single night this week.  I promise our culinary capers will slow down once the boys are home and we're back to our normal school routine.   

Making a List, Checking it Off

I made a list of all the eateries in Westport, Connecticut yesterday.  If I didn't miss any public eateries, I came up with 110 places to eat.  Granted that counts the 3 Starbucks, the 2 Dunkin' Donuts, etc.  BF and I have been to nearly 2/3 of them.  This list is interesting because it made us aware of eateries we didn't even know existed in our town.  In fact, we went to check one out last night.

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I ordered the shrimp satay appetizer.  It was yummy, spicy and had a lovely peanut dipping sauce.  BF ordered the Tiger Beef.  It was fine.  This restaurant was a tough one for us because we're not big on spices, bell peppers and many other ingredients in Thai and Vietnamese food.  In fact, we picked out the simplest food on the menu.  Not too spicy.  Not too many ingredients.  Not too many vegetables.  I'd like to know how others like it.

Pho Mekong

1849 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 255-2748

After dinner, we wandered around town checking our list and seeing if we had included every restaurant.  We found a few new eateries - a health food store, a seafood fast food restaurant, lots of pizzerias and more.  This one is a bit of a stretch, but we wandered into one of the local  chocolateries in town

Munson Chocolates

1460 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 259-6991

What can I say?  I'm a self-confessed chocoholic.  I don't like milk chocolate.  I like DARK yummy chocolate.  Dark chocolate covered caramels are one of my favorites.  Chocolate toffee, chocolate fudge and chocolate covered coconut are right behind.  This is definitely worth a visit for the chocolate lover on your list. 

New Year's Resolution

BF and I began wondering if we had been to every eating establishment in Westport.  We concluded that we had not and decided to make it our goal to go to every one of them.  Our soft goal is to complete this by the end of 2008 - but we're not going to eat out 4 times a week to meet that.  We consider an eating establishment any place that serves prepared food.  Gas stations don't count, but concession stands count --at the beach, the swimming pool, the ice skating rink, etc.  Tonight was our first foray in this fabulous food frenzy.

Splash Restaurant
The Inn At Longshore
260 Compo Road South
Westport, Connecticut 06880
203-454-7798

I had the fish with crispy spinach and noodles.  It was a delicious meal in a lovely setting.  BF and I had a wonderful evening and look forward to our year of culinary capers.