Let's Eat Out!

No Ranting this time around—only Raves. Something great has happened to Madison. For twenty years we have closed the store at 8 pm in a desolate, deserted downtown. Now, every night, there is life, laughter, and sometimes music, coming from the Madison Bistro outside our backdoor.
The Bistro joins two other restaurants that have long been favorites of ours and these three eateries were the topic of a recent column in the Shoreline Times which I am, with permission, reprinting in toto.

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A Tale of Three Bistros

By Angela Lehman
Special to Out & About
It’s hard to believe but Chester’s Restaurant du Village is 25 years old. Consistently, for all these years, the first 10 of them under the founders Priscilla Martel and Charlie van Over and the subsequent 15 under the current owner/chefs Cynthia and Michel Keller, the food and ambiance has secured the intimate village bistro a ‘best restaurant’ appellation not just in Connecticut, not just in New England, but literally anywhere you might care to travel.
For their 25 th anniversary, the Kellers are offering a celebration $25 prix fixe menu on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The 3-course menu will change nightly and feature Parisian style bistro classics such as onion soup, salad Lyonnaise, steak au poivre, blanquette de veau and crème caramel. Each ‘plat du jour’ is made daily and could run out, so it’s best to call ahead to see what might be available, just in case it might be something you don’t fancy. This special will continue during the summer but is not available on Saturday or holidays. The Restaurant du Village, closed on Monday and Tuesday, is located at 59 Main Street in Chester, call 860-526-5301.
Café Routier, the Yankee Bistro in Westbrook, is running a Brazilian regional menu along with the popular seasonal and specialties menus. Chef Jeff Renkl changes the regional offerings every few months. The Brazilian offerings include three starters ­ Piri-Piri shrimp marinated and grilled in a mango dipping sauce; Bolinhas de Milho ­ corn fritters in a coconut-lime dipping sauce and a salad of mango, hearts of palm and tomatoes in a lemon-cilantro vinaigrette ($8/9). Three entrees are Galinha Assada com Farofa ­ roast chicken with farofa stuffing, sautéed kale and a black bean sauce; Moqueca de Peixe, a Bahia style fish stew with coconut Basmati rice and Churrasco-style grilled hangar steak with yucca fries, sautéed spinach and chili-lime chimichurri ($22/25). Café Routier is open daily from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at 1353 Boston Post Road, (860) 399-8700.
At the Madison Bistro, Chef Andrea Panno has teamed up with his neighbor Rick of Rick’s Picks fame to pair wines from the Madison Wine Shop with his dinner specials. Rick says “order your lunch or dinner and then stroll across the Courtyard and choose a Rick’s Pick wine to go with it.” As the Wine Shop closes at 8 p.m., if you are going to be late, a call to 800-899-rickpick or email to rick@rickspicks.com can secure a bottle by credit card to be left for you at the Bistro. Madison Bistro, which is a BYOB establishment, does not charge a corkage fee and provides glasses and cork pulling expertise. Current dinner specials include a starter of scallops over spinach in a wine lemon sauce ($11.95); entrees of fettucine Campagnola with asparagus, chicken, garlic and pesto ($12.95) and chicken rollatini with Prosciutto, smoked Mozzarella and served with fresh vegetables ($14.95). Chef Andrea advises that patrons should be prepared to wait an extra five minutes for their dishes as all meals are prepared from scratch. Sitting in the Courtyard on a warm summer evening with a glass of Rick’s favorite Cour-Cheverny ’00 ($14.99 per bottle) that can’t be too hard! Plus there is romantic live music outside on Friday and Saturday nights. Open daily from 9 a.m. for fresh coffee, cappuccino and latte plus breakfast wraps, until 9 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
In the NewAlliance Courtyard at 724 Boston Post Road (203) 245-4771 or 1597.
We welcome your restaurant news. Please send information by fax to 203-245-9437
or by email to outandabout@ctcentral.com.

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Reprinted from Shore Line Newspapers 8/24/05

Rick Lewis
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