New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
A seafood sensation on the New Haven shore
FAIR HAVEN OYSTER CO. HITS THE SWEET SPOT OF REFINED YET RELAXED COASTAL FARE
In a marina parking lot, a little cottage painted a pleasing slate blue stands against a backdrop of the Quinnipiac River, and steepled trees beyond. Sunset trails rosy fingers across the towers of rain clouds now passed, distracting my attention from the menu at the new Fair Haven Oyster Co. The restaurant is the brainchild of reigning Connecticut Chef of the Year Emily Mingrone. It opened this summer, but the shoreline seafood concept has been on her mind since before accolades and success made it possible.
I look over the cocktail list prepared by house mixologist Shane McGowan, who also created the current menu at Mingrone’s first restaurant, Tavern on State. Maybe a Painkiller on a tropical night, or a Last Monk Standing, with white rum, green chartreuse, coconut, pineapple and lime? Sitting on a deck overlooking the docks, a River Maiden cocktail seems tailor-made. The color of seawater, and flecked with nori kelp brine, shochu funk blends with salty brine and gin to make the most interesting dirty martini you’ve had, with a pink pickled sweet cocktail onion as counterpoint. It makes a nice start to sip on, and figures to pair nicely with my first (what else?) oyster course.
Taking my time with the order, and in no rush from the staff, I watch as other orders come out: whole lobster with fully dressed baked potato and roasted ear of corn; lobster bisque and more oysters; baby butter lettuces with fried oysters, green goddess dressing, pickled shallots and bonito; a bag of steamers with clam broth and butter.
The smell of fire arrives with an entrée of grilled black sea bass, cross-hatched in black bars with
crescent traces of scales on the fish’s flank. Toasted farro clusters around the filet on a bed of soft summer squash ragout. Every element, every one, is outstanding. Initially trying just a forkful of the farro, broth and squash, the introductory taste makes my eyes roll. Delicious. What would all the other ingredients bring? The fish, flaky and perfectly grilled, is topped with a dollop of puréed salsa verde. Spicy and citrusy, it is the acidic shock the rounder notes of grain, vegetable ragout, and butter needed. The dish is harmonic in texture and flavor.
I sit on the deck with Mingrone a few days later and start by asking how she found the spot.
“The marina here was purchased by new owners who were regulars at Tavern on State, so they came to us and said, ‘This is a small place, you’re good at that, do you want to see a new spot?’ We didn’t have to look at all, and there’s no view like this anywhere in New Haven.
“This has been on my mind for a long time, maybe since before Tavern. It was a concept I knew was needed in New Haven County. Any seafood place you go to, it’s usually kind of a dive, which is OK, but I wondered why no one was doing something in between those places, with quality food, and somewhere super upscale. This space had a story to tell, and I kind of let the space determine the concept.”
I ask what it felt like to have the Connecticut restaurant industry and public vote her in as the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s 2021 chef of the year.
“Being a young chef, a woman, selffinanced, I’m really passionate about food, and it feels like all the struggle has been worth it,” she said. “Being able to stand up in front of the restaurant community, my mentors — Matt Storch, Bill Taibe — it was so special.”
What is it that makes her food, her cooking style, stand a bit apart from the crowd?
“I choose my ingredients carefully, without doing too much to them. I think a lot about texture and acid, the balancing aspects.”
Three new plates had appeared, emblematic, she thinks, of her ideas, and calls out a lobster roll, served cold in crème fraiche with smoked trout roe. Steak fries and malt vinegar aioli complete the classic summer dish. It’s practically jewelry to my eyes, but Mingrone is more blasé.
“I really didn’t do too much to it, it’s mostly ingredients that already exist.”
The second, a scallop crudo I had during my first visit, is beautiful. The scallops themselves shine through a simple preparation of olive oil, lemon zest, scallions, chervil and tarragon.
“It’s the epitome of what we do here: the seafood is the star. Scallops in particular, right now they’re so sweet, so how could I make that stand out? Fines herbes, dancing around in your mouth a little, then just acid, salt and oil. That’s all you need.”
Mingrone says she makes it a point to run a kitchen where staff are comfortable and cohesive, believing if there’s tension among the cooks and servers, it will be palpable to diners.
“You can have really good food in a comfortable, non-pretentious atmosphere,” she continues. “It’s hard to enjoy yourself if you feel stuffy somewhere, and that’s our idea with both restaurants. The other is it’s OK to try new things without them being scary. I have a hot dog and a burger on the menu, but maybe if your guest has the sardines you can have a bite, and maybe you find out you like it.”
The sardines are grilled whole, and appear three to a plate, dusted golden, against a backdrop of orange chili-oil.
“I like this preparation with just the Jimmy Nardello chilis puréed with oil, fennel pollen, roasted garlic, and tomato vinegar we make. It speaks to how I like to cook: minimally manipulated. The whole fish, head on. We’re trying to change the conversation about food, about where it comes from.”
Speaking with Mingrone, it rapidly becomes apparent this simplicity and honesty is a deep part of what drives her creative process in the kitchen.
“I’m not trying to hide anything, it’s part of the reason I opened the butcher shop [New Haven’s Provisions on State] — demystifying where your food comes from. At Provisions, when a guy walks in with half a steer across his back and people are like, ‘Wow!’ I love it.”
Hearing us speaking, photographer Winter Caplanson asks Mingrone: where do all these ideas come from? Mingrone exhales, and maybe gazes inward.
“I honestly don’t know where I get the ideas for the food. Life experience, work experience, I feel like it comes organically now after years of overthinking everything as a young chef. I’ve always ever cooked by tasting through things, educating my palate, developing a sense of what dishes need to achieve balance.”
To see what that means to her, you’ll have to try it yourself.