Silvermine landmark in ‘ Gray’ scale
CHEF RELISHES SMALLEST DETAILS AT A THOROUGHLY MODERNIZED TAVERN
Inormally don’t eat pasta in a restaurant. Either the penne is overcooked or the spaghetti swims in a too thin sauce or one that is sweetly thick. I won’t go near lasagna, having encountered many that were an abomination of the Italian canon.
And yet, I recently ordered paccheri in Tavern at GrayBarns in Norwalk. So much of the place spoke to creative minds intent on providing an extraordinary dining experience to its patrons that I thought, OK, let’s give this pasta a try. The paccheri ( an oversize rigatoni) was perfect. Al dente in amarinara sauce of demi- sec confit tomatoes enriched with grape tomatoes, a splash of white wine and hints of garlic and pecorino made me a believer in a restaurant’s pasta course.
That ubiquitous icon of American cuisine, the hamburger, also climbed the ladder onto a culinary pedestal. Formed by a melding of different meats, then crowned with dill pickled onions, bread and butter pickles, tomato confit, bacon and a smear of melted smoked cheddar, it was already over the top before it was anointed with an aioli made with Champagne. It was also Dagwood- sandwich- size huge. The bottom half of its sesame bun was drenched in meat juices. True, it was cholesterol overdrive, but we’ll worry about that tomorrow.
The kitchen is under the domain of Ben Freemole, a chef whose boyhood memories of eating outdoors at an open fire with family and friends are some of his happiest. He grew up in rural Montana on a Native American reservation and he remembers foragers selling wild mushrooms and other edibles. As an adult in the culinary arena, he “began to look around,” he wrote in an email, “at what surrounded me and research what was used by generations of the past before everything became homogenized and immediately accessible.”
So it was not a surprise when we learned that Freemole would plumb the gastronomic gifts of a spruce tree. He uses its early- to mid- spring tender new shoots raw as an ingredient in a salad for duck. Other tips are cured with sugar and vinegar to produce a thick potent lacquer to glaze roasted duck after it is cooked. He also pickles any remaining shoots to preserve for future use.
The roasted duck came one day with a risotto whose sunflower seeds were emulsified with lemon juice and pecorino, while the branzino sported a spring relish composed of garlic, garlic scapes, fennel and ramps, then finished with Dijon mustard, honey, sherry vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Eek, what a list of ingredients for a relish!
Dishes change with what’s in season, but the very popular crab toast is here to stay. Presented on a slab of the Tavern’s sour dough bread, the marriage of sweet- fleshed Jonah crabmeat and hot melted butter was a standout in its simplicity.
On our first visit, we spied the display of antique hay forks, rakes and scythe leaning against the outside walls and thought that the interior would be Norman Rockwell- like folksy. Far from it. The sleek interior of au courant decorating trends neatly bridge the worlds of long- ago rural life and sophisticated suburbia. Wide washed- gray boards line the floors while equally wide boards, these painted white, form a ceiling bisected with natural wood beams. Grays, creams and whites create a soothing ambience, especially if you are seated in the main dining room on a cushiony white slipcovered banquette backed by an assortment of pillows.
This newly minted tavern anchors the fabled Silvermine campus in Norwalk. On a small promontory overlooking a mini geyser in a pond that shines like glass, the restaurant abuts the inn that has also experienced a much- needed rebirth. There’s also a small garden that was flush with tomatoes and herbs the days we visited.
Along platform, which divides the dining room into two areas, is crammed with bottles of wine and water, some in the kind of tin tubs you would drag out for a backyard BBQ. The wine menu is strong, with an Amarone, three different Sangioveses and even a Nebbiolo. There are plenty of other wines to beguile you at the Tavern, such as Albarinos and rosés, which were perfect on a hot summer night.
There is so much more to commend the tavern, such as the scallop crudo with its healthy scoop of paddlefish caviar, or the beets dish which we made a mental note to order on our next visit after noting with what relish the couple alongside of us were digging into their shared plate. If polenta asserts itself on the menu, order it, because you don’t normally get such smoothness with this grain. It was dressed with spicy prawns.
The only disappointment, incredibly, was the thick cut of Wagyu beef. Ordered medium- rare, it came so undercooked as to be inedible. At $ 49, it was a huge blunder on the part of the kitchen, particularly since we were not offered any alternative.
Before the season ends, be sure to order the rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream. It doesn’t get any better than that.
DISHES CHANGE WITH WHAT’S IN SEASON, BUT THE VERY POPULAR CRAB TOAST IS HERE TO STAY.