Bernard's Inn

I promise, after this post, reporting on my birthday week extravaganza will finally be over. I'm sure you will be relieved to stop hearing about it.

Tuesday, my actual birthday was saved for Swimster and I to enjoy a special dinner at Bellavitae. And Wednesday was saved for dinner in Connecticut with Mom and Dad.

I have been to some excellent restaurants in CT over the years. Some of our favorites include:

*Dunvilles of Westport for its chicken strips and salads
*Figaro of Greenwich for its onion soup
*The Clam Shack of Westport for its swordfish and fish and chips
*Portofino of Wilton for its penne a la vodka and yummy bread
*Cafe Luc of Ridgefield for its excellent pate sandwiches and other French bistro fare
and I can't forget my hometown New Canaan favorites: Sole, Bistro Bonne Nuit, Cherry Street East, Gates, and Ching's Table to name a few.

For Wednesday I wanted to try a restaurant we'd never been to before. And after consulting the Zagat's guide to Connecticut and New York State, I came across Bernard's Inn in Ridgefield. When I read its kitchen is run by Bernard and Sarah Bouissou, two former chefs of New York's famous Le Cirque restaurant, it was not hard to convince my parents Bernard's promised to be a delicious new find.
Reservations were easily made for "night of" dining. We walked into the main dining room and were immediately impressed with the grand piano and the enormous pot of beautiful fresh flowers sitting on top of it. When we sat at our table we noticed each table had its own unique centerpiece of freshly picked flowers. We made sure to enjoy the floral aroma as soon as we sat down.

The dining room is formal (a la grandparents' sitting room) with lush carpeting, elaborate paintings, and thick curtains. The brightly painted golden walls give it a sunny feel and worked to lighten up the space.

The waiter came to us immediately and asked whether we preferred table or bottled water. On this special occasion my Dad picked bottled. The maitre d' then brought us the large leather-bound wine list. My parents decided it was "my pick" so I went for a bottle of '02 Lazali, a Chilean cab from the Maipo Valley. For some reason I'm into trying wines from Chile.

The maitre d' came to our table to take our order. It's always a treat winning the attentions of the men/women in charge. I enjoy when managers, and in even rarer cases the chefs, come out to tables and personally talk with all the patrons. It's a nice trick that makes you feel like your an important and valued customer.

Menu memorables: Dad's lobster bisque was silky smooth and not too heavy on the cream. He had trouble finishing it but I made sure to snag a few dips with the bread that was constantly being brought fresh and warm to the table. The most exciting thing about my Mom's asparagus soup with corn and tarragon parfait. There was a dollop of parfait in the middle of the soup that once stirred into the soup chilled the entire bowl. This added a sweet kick to an ordinarily simple soup. We were impressed when my dad correctly identified the tarragon spice in the parfait. The pumpkin puree I chose was served in a mini pumpkin, with its top resting neatly on the side. It scored a perfect 10 for presentation. Inside the pumpkin I found the warm puree the perfect consistency. Thick but smooth. The sweetness of the pumpkin matched the salty chanterelle mushrooms. Were this not a seasonal special I would order this again. My entree pan-seared portobello crusted filet of halibut with asparagus and wild mushroom risotto in a balsamic reduction was the best dinner on the table. The portobello was thinly sliced and layered neatly on top of the halibut. The halibut was soft and buttery and resting in the not overly cooked risotto. Risotto when it's all mush is very unappetizing. Mom chose the grilled swordfish steak with roasted corn and onions on a creamy polenta cake, with yellow and red beefsteak tomato confit in basil oil. The swordfish was delicate and lightly marinated and a bit overcooked (to my mom's liking-she loves everything on the well-done side). I loved the polenta/fish combo. Swordfish on its own is too plain for me. The polenta was a little bit on the gooey on its own but worked well with a fork of the swordfish. Dad chose the seabass, served over a bed of minced potatoes and peppers. Dad is a meat and chips guy and my mom and I tried encouraging him to eat his veggies. Instead I got to enjoy them. The seabass was a little bit drier than my halibut but soaked up the juices from the vegetables quite nicely.

Mom informed me we would not be doing dessert at the restaurant because there was a surprise for me at home. But somehow, someone at the restaurant got word it was my birthday, and despite having told them we weren't ordering dessert, they still brought out a small plate of assorted cookies and nougats with one very tall candle in it! This was a special treat and I made sure I thoroughly thanked our waiters and the maitre d' for this generous gesture.

For any special occasion, or a trip to the "country" from NY, Bernard's Inn is definitely worth the stop.

20 West Lane/Route 35, Ridgefield, CT
(203) 438-8282

( I apologize for no pix of dinner, it was too intimate a dining room I would have felt awkward snapping pix. But I had to throw in this slice of carrot cake heaven...this was the surprise for me at home. Delicious moist juicy carrot cake with cream cheese frosting...Mmm Mmm good! Thanks to Mom and Dad for a great evening. )

Bernard's Inn gets Mona's first golden apple.