The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
FINE FOOD TO BE FOUND
Foxtails Catering and Cafe is up and running
WINSTED » Armand Lattizori and Jay Plourde recently opened Foxtail Fine Catering and Cafe in downtown Winsted and have spent the first few weeks of the new eatery’s existence getting settled in the old Cackleberries location on Main Street.
“Things are going great. The food’s coming out really good, and every day’s a new day,” said Lattizori. “And we learn and we grow.”
It’s been a soft launch for the restaurant, they said — there aren’t many signs, and they haven’t begun to advertise — as they bring on staff and grow accustomed to operating the cafe.
When the owners started, Plourde was the only chef. He was coming in early in the morning to bake and cooked through lunch time, with Lattizori serving customers.
Lattizori’s worn many hats, he said — server, line cook, information technology professional — and has walked away with a new appreciation for the demands of helping customers.
“I have a whole new respect for servers — I really do,” said Lattizori. “The whole universe has to come together to create a person that can multitask times 50, and they’re also a mind-reader. They’re incredible people.”
This is Lattizori’s first venture into the restaurant busi-
ness, as he discussed in January, after 23 years as a truck driver and cook at The Log House. He’s a native of Barkhamsted, and has been welcomed with a neighborly feel, he said, and by faces he recognizes as the cafe has gotten going.
“It’s that kind of community, where people know you, and you know them,” said Lattizori. “That’s what’s nice about a small town like this.”
Plourde is a veteran of the industry. He previously worked in the Mandarin Oriental hotel restaurants in San Francisco and Manhattan and in Cleveland, with chef Dante Boccuzzi.
His talents, Lattizori said, are a particular attraction for the restaurant, and cited Plourde’s housecured salmon and biscuits as particularly good on Friday.
Plourde said he’s looking forward to the chance to be more creative in the kitchen and experiment, as they bring on more staff.
In the future, they’re planning to start serving dinner a few nights a week and begin to utilize a woodfire oven more heavily in the cuisine.
“I have so many ideas I want to do, but we have to wait until we’re ready. We’ll get there,” said Plourde.
The hope is to keep the menu simple. They purchase local produce and eggs, Lattizori said, focusing on Plourde’s talents, and expand the catering side of the business.
“Our vision, really, is to have a simple, streamlined menu of really nice food — do a lot with specials,” said Lattizori. “Use the special board a lot to highlight some of Jay’s (abilities) — the sky is the limit with Jay, he can do anything.”
Town residents have thanked them for coming to town, Lattizori said, as they get their feet under them running the business. There’s been positive response from the community, Plourde said.
“We’ve got a lot of feedback — good feedback, positive. People like the food,” said Plourde. “I think that we’ve been lucky to be in a town where they’re very forgiving.”
In the interim, as they turn their vision to reality on Main Street, day in and day out, they’re starting to settle into a rhythm, building towards a full-scale launch — a grand opening is planned for the fall, Plourde said.
“It’s starting to be smooth,” said Lattizori. “I’m starting to be able to actually enjoy it, and see it work without as many snags.”
To contact Foxtails, visit its Facebook page at https:// www.facebook.com/foxtailfinecateringandcafe, or call 860-238-4555.