Flinders Lane - Stamford CT - Brunch

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Brunch at Flinders Lane in Stamford CT

In the fall of 2017,  restaurateurs Chris Rendell and Chris McPherson introduced Flinders Lane to the city of Stamford! Flinders Lane is an Aussie themed restaurant and gathering place that pays homage to the multi-cultural Flinders Lane eclectic food scene found in the owners’ Melbourne Australia homeland.  

Menu- Spring 2018
Note: Prices and offering are subject to change

Located on Stamford’s flourishing “Restaurant Row” on Summer Street, Flinders Lane takes up ground floor residence in the newly erected Summer House Luxury Apartments. The restaurant is certainly making its mark on the city with its boldly flavored and ingredient-driven land and sea menu, innovative beverage program, and whimsical and fun décor.  

This is a place to enjoy great food - and have a lot of FUN!

Taking its cues from the original Flinders Lane, which Chef Rendell and McPherson opened in New York’s East Village in 2014, the menu incorporates more than just Aussie fare, and embraces today’s international food culture. Whether incorporating Southeast Asian influences or French-inspired techniques, the dishes feature a fresh, honest approach when highlighting the ingredients.

The kitchen is under the direction of Chef Brad Stewart, who hails from New South Wales, Australia’s beautiful wine country. Brad’s culinary journey is deeply rooted in high-end hotels and resorts throughout New York, DC, Australia, and Thailand. 

And quite frankly, I could listen to Chef Brad speak with that great Aussie accent, 

ALL.   DAY.   LONG.

The 80-seat restaurant includes a convivial bar and adjacent high-top and banquette seating. The beverage program stays true to the menu’s international slant and fresh attitude, which includes a wide array of uniquely named cocktails, like the Lillet Rose, the Melbourne CBD, and the Limoncello Collins.

The also have a great draft beer selection!

Here are some of the BRUNCH items we sampled this spring 2018. 

We started with some traditional breakfast items. 

Berry Wheat Cakes

Poached Egg and Greens
on Avocado Toast

Mushroom Toast

 And then we moved on to the appetizer, entree, and sandwich items.

Oysters

Meat Pie of the Day

The Summer Salad Sandwich

The 'Roo Burger

We ended our visit with some amazing desserts. Many are from Chef Brad's family's favorite 'secret recipes'! Uh, hello! Can I be related to the Stewart family so I can have these recipes????

"Mum's" Carrot Cake

Grandma Stewart's
Sticky Bread Pudding

Pavlova

And I couldn't resist a little Aussie Espresso to end the most amazing brunch!  

Be sure you visit Connecticut's own "land down under" at Flinders Lane soon! You'll be glad you did!

Flinders Lane Stamford

184 Summer Street
Stamford CT 06901
(203) 323-3137
 https://www.flinderslane-nyc.com/location/stamford/ 

Disclaimer: We were invited to experience brunch by members of Flinders Lane's management and marketing team, however, the opinions expressed are entirely our own. 

©  Home Place 2018

The Beach House Cafe in South Norwalk CT

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Brunch at the Beach House Café in South Norwalk CT

There's a new restaurant serving up a delightful brunch in South Norwalk CT - the Beach House Café of SoNo! Located right across the street from The Maritime Aquarium and Museum and the Norwalk Seaport Dock, the Beach House Café features some delicious offerings for brunch on Sundays that are sure to please. We received an invite last week to sample restaurateur Kane Xu's new brunch menu. Fairfield county foodies may remember Xu from the popular French-Asian Fusion eatery in Cos Cob, Nuage). Xu re-opened the Beach House Café in Old Greenwich in the fall of 2016, and also took over South Norwalk’s low-country cuisine locale, Mama’s Boy. Xu made the bold move to convert SoNo's well know Mama's Boy Restaurant and Southern Refuge into another seafood themed Beach House Café, the Beach House Café of South Norwalk!
  

“As bold as it may have seemed to some, for me it made perfect sense to create a seafood restaurant being located in a coastal community, just steps away from the Maritime Aquarium and the Seaport Dock,” explains Xu, “And the seafood concept is really where we shine.”

The Beach House SoNo is nautical in theme, taking a page from an ocean-side hotel bar and restaurant. Dockline roping drapes above the reclaimed wood-paneled bar. Massive boating prints, hanging canoes, mounted oars, and dock master lanterns complete this waterside retreat. 

Sunday brunch, also featuring live music by local artists, and private party capabilities round out the Beach House Café experience. On his brunch menu, Xu also kept some of the 'southern favorites' that the location was well known for, like Fried Green Tomatoes, Chicken and Waffles, and my personal favorite, Shrimp and Grits. 

Here are some of the items we sampled - starting from their creative cocktail menu!

Although I'm typically a Bloody Mary Brunch person, and the Beach House serves a killer one called "Ring of Fire" (uh, YUM!) on this particular day I thought I'd go with something a bit more fruity, selecting the Blood Orange Margarita! Definitely a great choice - smooth and frothy and the perfect tang to clear the palate and start the day!

Blood Orange Margarita
Jose Cuervo Tequila, Thatcher's Blood Orange
Tripe Sec, Fresh Lime 

Here are some of the offerings that my tablemates selected - starting with the aforementioned staple at brunches, the Ring of Fire Bloody Mary.

Ring of Fire Bloody Mary
House Bloody Mary Mix - Jalapeno Peppers
(also available by the pitcher)

If that Bloody Mary causes too much 'heat' - how about a cool Coconut Mojito to simmer down the fire?

Coconut Mojito
Cream of Coconut, Captain Morgan White Rum
Malibu Rum, Muddled Fresh Mint with Lime, Club Soda

If you prefer something a bit lighter, how about the crisp and clean "Dutch Boy"?

The Dutch Boy
Ketel One Vodka, Fresh Lemon
Simple Syrup, Champagne

Prefer bourbon and whiskey? They have the Nutty Bulleit and the Best Dang Manhattan. Both made with Bulleit bourbon.

Best Dang Manhattan
Bulleit Bourbon, Cocchi,
luxardo brandied cherry

Another traditional brunch drink is the Mimosa, and at The Beach House, they're almost bottomless. Pay $9.50 for your first glass, and refills are only $2.00 (prices are from March 2018). 

Almost Bottomless Mimosa

Another table favorite was the Pear Necessity - another great way to start a brunch day!

Pear Necessity
Absolut Pear Vodka, Elderflower Liquer
Pear Nectar, Champagne

After sipping and getting caught up with one another over cocktails we moved on to our tasting portion of the day, starting with a delicious 'charcuterie' or Meat and Cheese Plate. This fun platter would be great any time of day to sip some cocktails and nibble on some fun flavors!

Meat & Cheese Plate
prosicutta sopressata and capocolla, marinated olives
house select gourmet cheeses

On our visit this meat and cheese plate included a blueberry and vanilla goat cheese that was out of this world good! I couldn't get enough of it - and I'm on the search to find some or recreate it myself!

Then it was time for some starters and small plates like brunch wontons, deviled eggs, and tuna tartare. 

Delicious Brunch Wontons
with cream cheese, lightly fried with pepper jelly

Deviled Eggs

Tuna Tartare
avocado, scallion, masago, spicy sesame soy

After whetting our appetite with these delicious teasers we moved on to the plate portions of the brunch menu, sampling an Organic Salmon BLT, Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs with Sausage Gravy, Chicken and Waffles, Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict (!!!), and a southern favorite, Shrimp and Grits!

Organic Salmon BLT
Grilled salmon, lettuce and tomatoes, bacon,
dressed with cilantro jalapeno aioli,
served with french fried

I love that the Beach House had so many classic southern dishes on the menu, while adding their fresh new spin on the flavor profiles.

Chicken Fried Steak
Tender pounded 'chicken fried' steak (breaded and country fried)
Smoked paprika pork sausage gravy, breakfast potatoes
sunny side egg

Chicken and Waffles
marinated country fried chicken,
fresh made waffle, habanero jelly,
Brookside Farms Maple Syrup

Oh - the Crab Cakes Benedict was a DREAM! This crab cake nestled under the Eggs Benny was a surefire way to win my heart over! As much as I love a classic eggs benedict - this version was equally delicious with a sweet little crab cake accompanying the poached eggs. There was also a "Lobster Benedict" version available that substituted a grits cake with the lobster. 

Crab Cakes Benedict
Poached Eggs, hollandaise, baby greens
Crab Cakes

And how about this creamy delicious bowl of Shrimp and Grits! 

Shrimp and Grits
Slow Cooked Grits, Smoked Tasso (pork) Spring onions
Pimento Gravy

Moving on to our finale tastes of the day were two incredibly good desserts, a Pistachio Cake with the perfect balance of pistachio flavors, and a decadent Gorilla Bread (which is actually on the starter menu - but would make for the perfect "happy ending")

Pistachio Cake

Gorilla Bread
Cinnamon Roll filled with cream cheese,
dulce de leche sauce, praline pecans

I cannot begin to describe how wonderful everything we sampled was, and I'm so glad I'm ending with the Gorilla Bread because it was truly one of the highlights of our sampling. Light and fluffy and so decadently delicious, I could have it as a starter, as a dessert, or anything in between. It was definitely soooo good - and the 'exclamation point' to a fun brunch at the Beach House!

Be sure that you visit the Beach House Café in South Norwalk soon! 

Beach House - SoNo

19 N Water Street
South Norwalk CT 06854
203.956.7171

http://www.beachhousecafe.com/
http://bhsono.com/


Disclaimer: We were invited to Beach House So No by members of their management and marketing team, however, the opinions expressed are entirely our own.

©  Home Place 2018

LUCAS LOCAL in Newtown CT

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Sunday Brunch at LUCAS LOCAL

If you haven't noticed by now, a good weekend brunch is one of my favorite ways to gather with friends or family. There's just something about a late morning / early afternoon get together that simply demands casual food and fun! When I received an invite to a sample tasting of some of the items featured on LUCAL LOCAL Oyster Bar and WoodFire Cookery's Brunch Menu I knew I would be in for a treat!

And I sure was! At first I was a little surprised by the name pairing of "oyster bar" and "wood fired" - as one name implies 'seafood'  and the other 'meat or chops' - but after talking with owner Vince Capelletti, it all began to make sense. I mean, really, who doesn't love seafood on a wood fired grill? That delicious wood fired smokiness enhances any protein it meets! And who doesn't want to visit a restaurant with a great land and sea combo?!!

Capelletti's love for great food and a relaxed atmosphere 'bistro' all comes together at LUCAS LOCAL! The ambiance is an elevated seaside tavern style - and all re-purposed! The floors are comprised of beautiful wide wooden planks from the barns of nearby tobacco farms from over 100 years ago. Walls have been knocked down, opened up, re-arranged, and re-positioned to expose the original wood stove from the building's former home, and some cute little dining nooks.

Exposed Fireplace Hearth
LUCAS LOCAL Oyster Bar and WoodFire Cookery

In addition, there are the most incredible slated wooden and steel chairs, that were made to be super comfortable (they were!!), and a church pew salvaged from an New Haven church.

Wood and Forged Steel Chairs - So Comfy - Honest!!
Lucas Local

Re-purposed Church Pew
Lucas Local

Now that you've seen a bit of the decor, let's highlight some of the delicious food and drink we sampled. 

Of course, for brunch, you must start with a Bloody Mary, and I took bartender Sarah's suggestions, and ordered her  "Bacon Me Crazy" prepared with bacon, shrimp, mushrooms, celery, and kalamata olives, and had some super-spicy spices on the rim. 

So. Dang. Good.

Others at the table sampled signature cocktails like their Mermaid's Garden, Tito's Moscow Mule, the Sappy Old Fashioned, and the French 48.

Sappy Old Fashioned
Taconic Distillery, Maple Bourbon, Maple Foam

The Mermaid's Garden Cocktail
Sombra Mezcal, St. Germain, lavendar bitters, lime foam

Yup, some pretty good cocktails and a really fun cocktail menu!

Moving on to our food sampling, we stayed with mostly the seafoods that were featured on their brunch menu, like...

'Clear broth' Rhode Island Clam Chowder. 

Rhode Island Clam Chowder
Point Judith Little Necks, Potatoes,
Fresh Herbs, Clear Broth

and Oysters Oregano - a hopefully soon to be brunch staple.

Oysters Oregano

How about this take on Eggs Benedict? Made with some delicious lobster!

Lobster Eggs Benedict
Fresh House Cured Bacon, Poached Eggs,
Hollandaise, Potato Hast and Lobster

Some savory Linguine and Clam Sauce!

Linguine and Clams
Rhode Island Little Necks, Fresh Oregano, and Garlic Infused Oil

This beautifully  plated octopus was as amazing as it looks!

Fire Kissed Octopus
Roasted Eggplant and red pepper hummus,
crisp garbanzos, lemon infused oil

And my favorite brunch staple - Shrimp and Grits!

Down South Shrimp and Grits
Grilled Shrimp
Stone Ground Course Grits, Poached Eggs

Some dreamy good waffles!

Waffle Love
Bourbon Maple Syrup, Vanilla Ice Cream,
House Cured Bacon
Fresh Fruit

Everything we tried was so good! We can't wait to return and try some more items from their brunch menu -- and to return for a nice relaxing weekday lunch or dinner. Be on the lookout for their soon to be opened front patio for some summer dining pleasure!

Note that many of the items we were served were sample size portions so your portion sizes may differ.

Be sure you visit LUCAS LOCAL Oyster Bar and Woodfire Cookery soon!

LUCAS LOCAL Oyster Bar Woodfire Cookery

48 S Main Street

Newtown, CT 06470

203-491-2992

https://www.lucaslocalct.com

Disclaimer:

We were invited to LUCAS LOCAL Oyster Bar and WoodFire Cookery by members of their management and marketing team, however, the opinions expressed are entirely our own.

©  Home Place 2018