Not all American cities are overrun with fast-food joints, cookie-cutter chains, and hipster bars serving Pabst and overpriced "artisanal" mac-and-cheese to young men in hats and interesting moustaches.
Those special destinations where foodies flock, where chefs prepare dishes you'll never encounter anywhere else, and where even the smallest local shop goes all-out to serve something new and different, are always a delight when you're able to find them. There's nothing quite like vacationing someplace where the food is incredible, and the best attractions are the restaurants themselves. Greenwich, Connecticut and Fairfield County – and neighboring Westchester County, New York – is such a place. There is a lot to see there, but it's worth the trip just to visit some of the most spectacular restaurants in New England.
If you're visiting in September, you'll be able to experience foodie heaven even before you get to the restaurant – the Greenwich Wine + Food Festival hosts a Master Chef Wine Dinner on September 21, and a full day of food, drinks, music and fun on September 22 this year, celebrating the growing foodie scene in Fairfield and Westchester counties.
This spectacular event is the center of the 7th Annual Burger Battle, the 4th Annual Top Bartender Showdown, and outstanding live music. The latest news is that Adam Richman, television personality who hosted the popular "Man Versus Food" show on the Travel Channel; and French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud will be attending. Outside of the festival though, here are some of the area's most delicious destinations:
Something Natural
If you've been to Nantucket, you already know about the iconic sandwich shop called Something Natural, which has built up a ferociously loyal following since opening up on the island in 1970. Recently, Seth and Molly Hirschel were able to bring this destination sandwich shop off-island to Greenwich. Seth and Molly have a passion for the restaurant, Nantucket Island, and Greenwich. Known for its trademark oversized sandwiches on house-baked Portuguese bread, the top-selling sandwiches are turkey, ham and cheese, and "Shiela's favorite," a wonderful combination of mayo, Swiss, pickles, carrots, and tomatoes on oatmeal bread – all made in-house. And don't forget to get a few of those big, mouth-watering cookies they make! Something Natural is located at 189 Greenwich Avenue in scenic downtown Greenwich, right behind Saks Fifth Avenue.
Mt. Kisco Smokehouse
A well-known destination for the best smoked fish, the Mt. Kisco Smokehouse, in Mt. Kisco New York, has also had a retail shop in Greenwich on Mason Street for three years. A family business, Mt. Kisco's Hernan Hurtado tells me the story of his family, which after emigrating from Colombia, learned the craft of smoking, and eventually purchased the small Mt. Kisco smokehouse where they worked in 1999. Hernan, who runs the Greenwich location, grew up around the smokehouse, and he brings that passion to work with him very day.
The salmon is all hand-sliced, which may not seem like a big deal – until you taste it. The proprietary smoking techniques, which Hernan keeps a secret, along with the hand-slicing is what makes this the absolute best smoked fish in New England. It's sliced paper-thin and delicate. "It takes a lot of time to learn how to hand slice salmon," said Hurtado. "My dad, my uncles, they all know how to hand-slice salmon perfectly. And they taught me. It's how we slice our salmon at Mt. Kisco that sets us apart."
Good salmon – the kind that you can't find at the grocery store – is the salmon that you don't even have to eat with anything else. You don't need a bagel, you don't need cream cheese, you don't need tomatoes – it's salmon you can eat just by itself. That's what they have at Mt. Kisco.
Bistro Versailles
Located right on Greenwich Avenue, Bistro Versailles is about as close to a quaint bistro on the Champs-Elysees as you can get and still be on this side of the Atlantic. The restaurant and bakery has floor-to-ceiling doors that open onto sidewalk dining, giving it that special French feel that seems right at home in Greenwich. There is a daily happy hour with food and beverage specials, and plenty of traditional French entrees, and of course, some of the best croissants you'll ever taste. True to its French roots, the bistro has an excellent selection of wine and cocktails, including my favorite, the "French Girl" – gin, grapefruit juice, and rosemary simple syrup. Owners Marc and Evelyne Penvenne also own the Méli-Mélo Crêperie across the street, so be sure to try out both!
Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill
It's not that often that a fast-casual Mexican restaurant makes it into a "best of" list, but just over the Greenwich border down I95 in Mamaroneck is Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill, which has taken the concept way beyond what anyone would expect of a fast-casual concept. Co-founder Marc Miles tells me that all the food at every location is always fresh-made, and never frozen – and in fact, there are not even any freezer on-site. "We're making salsa from scratch. We're taking chicken breast and marinating it and grilling it multiple times a day, and we're making guacamole from real avocados in batches three or four times a day, as customers come in."
The food is outstanding, and you can really tell the difference. What's even more interesting about Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill is that they have an "open kitchen," so you can actually see the food being prepared. How many fast casuals are willing to let you see the man behind the curtain?
My favorite there is the "buffalo soldier," a burrito with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing, with Mexican rice, beans, chicken and cheese, with guacamole.
OKO
Opening last month in Westport, OKO is the brainchild of Chef Brian Lewis, a semi-finalist for the James Beard Awards' Best Chef Northeast in 2018. The Japanese-inspired OKO showcases Lewis' innovative take on Japanese cuisine and sushi in a historically-restored firehouse, expanding Lewis' footprint in Westport – he also owns the widely-acclaimed restaurant, The Cottage.
OKO's menu boasts several types of Japanese-influenced cuisine including sushi nigiri, sashimi and temaki, along with seasonal salads, ramen specialties and meat dishes from the tepinyaki grill. The desserts are playful, with house-made ice cream served in a fish-shaped cone, and build-your-own sundaes filled with matcha crème with toppings ranging from traditional chocolate or butterscotch, to more exotic offerings like blueberry-ginger jam, black sesame-togarashi brittle, and candied ginger.
Outstanding in the Field
The most interesting restaurant in Connecticut isn't really a restaurant at all, at least what we traditionally think of as a restaurant. Outstanding in the Field is a "traveling restaurant without walls," a pioneer of table-to-farm dinners set between the earth and sky, right where the food on the plate was grown and harvested.
The concept was created in 1999 by artist and chef Jim Denevan, who imagined creating a restaurant right at the source, where diners would enjoy a communal meal and celebrate the farmer's story. A single long table is set right in the field for just a single day.
Outstanding in the Field has visited all 50 states in the US and 15 countries around the world. For the past several years, the long table has been set at The Hickories Farm in Ridgefield, Connecticut. This year, Outstanding in the Field will return for two more dinners with two local chefs, on September 12 with guest chef Brian Lewis (see OKO above), and September 13 with guest chef Jeff Taibe from Taproot.
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