December 12-
Go to a new restaurant you’ve been dying to try. Enjoy your meal. Go home and write a review as an
undercover food critic.
This
was another serendipitous prompt in that, it just so happened to be on the day
that I was traveling up to CT with mom to visit Grammie Anne, and we went to a
nice restaurant for dinner!
Grammie choose ‘Bailey’s’ in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and it turned out
to be a fantastic evening.
Bailey’s
located a block off of Main Street, on a quiet 1-way street. After dropping off Mom and Grammie Anne
by the front door, I was able to quickly find parking in a lot nearby. When I entered the restaurant’s front
doors, I immediately needed to part a pair of heavy curtains to actually step
inside the space. The curtains
were there as a second doorway’s added insulation, but also served as a type of
back-of-the-wardrobe-portal into a different world. Immediately I was excited about the evening. Although Bailey’s is very small with
maybe 12 tables, it has high enough ceilings and well-planned interior design
which makes the layout comfortable and interesting. We were seated right away and I immediately noticed how
attentive the staff was. A host, 2
servers, a busser, and another floater always seemed to be at the right place
at the right time.
The
beer and wine list was extensive, and I was happy to see the 30ish beers they
offered broken out by characteristics, making it easier for the less-informed
beer drinker to make decisions. I
didn’t even look at the cocktail menu unfortunately, but my guess was that it
was well crafted. We ended up all
getting wine by the glass- chardonnay for Grammie, a ‘petit Syrah’ for Mom, and
pinot noir for moi. I was served a
big pour of a delicious, juicy wine in a large wine glass and smiled with that
first sip- I love red wine. We
drank to the memory of Grampa Bob and Merry Christmas as well.
One
of the servers came to the table with sliced, warm cornbread, and drizzled a
molasses butter on top of it in front of us. Fantastic. The
menu was 2-sided, with a large pre-fix menu on the back. However, our server told us that if
anything from the pre-fix menu stood out to us, that they could make that an
individual entrée for us if we wanted.
Yes please, I’ll have that seafood risotto paella! First though, we ordered an appetizer
of some roasted brussel sprouts with a bacon and light red pepper sauce to
share. Both Mom and Grammie
ordered the almond-crusted cod from the main menu. The brussel sprouts were roasted very well, flaky on the outside
and tender on the inside. The cod
was fluffy and mild, highlighting a very nice roasted almond crust and spinach
puree on the garnish. My seafood
risotto paella was fantastic, with great saffron flavor, sweat peas, and large
chunks of shrimp, lobster, and cod.
Afterwards,
we all looked at each other, stuffed, with smiles on our faces. Desert was offered, but we declined, opting
instead for coffee and espresso.
Mom picked up the bill (THANK YOU!!), so I didn’t get to see the price,
but my guess is that was about $50 per head, plus tip. A very nice experience and meal, with
good company and conversation!
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