|
|
"One Chef, One Restaurant Stand Apart..."
The following review appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of “Passport Magazine,” a quarterly publication of the Litchfield County Times. The article is reproduced on this website by permission of the Litchfield County Times.
Best Good News Ever
By Douglas P. Clement, Editor, The Litchfield County Times
Litchfield County has long been a fine dining destination, and while bon vivants are able to debate the merits of a dozen fine establishments, those who place a premium on truly innovative cuisine, served as part of a lifestyle immersion experience that the French would love, know that one chef and her restaurant stand apart from all others.
It’s Carole Peck and her Good News Cafe in Woodbury.
Ms. Peck trained at the Culinary Institute of America, assembled impressive restaurant experience and moved to Connecticut in 1988, where she debuted her eponymous approach to cuisine and dining in what was once a little white farmhouse in New Milford.
In 1993, she moved to a larger location in Woodbury and chose a name for her new restaurant that seems increasingly apt as the years go by. Though the operation has grown in scope to include a publishing arm, Ici La Press, a culinary travel business, a line of gift items and an ongoing roster of fine art exhibits in the restaurant, there’s no confusing the centerpiece of it all. It’s Ms. Peck’s fidelity to ingredients, which demands the best in fresh, local and artisanal items; her vision, which combines elements in ways that are always pleasantly surprising; and her execution, which is flawless and visually stunning.
The chef’s husband and business partner, Bernard Jarrier, has helped to create a vibrant, happy restaurant that features three distinct spaces: the sunny yellow main dining room, a cozy bar area, and the “radio room,” with its sharp green walls and a collection of vintage radios. They provide the perfect backdrop for food that is exuberant without ever being pretentious.
On a Saturday evening not long ago, Ms. Peck had already shown why she’s a preferred chef for food lovers – extolling the virtues of particular dishes, rather than her own success, while naming favorites on the menu – when Mr. Jarrier stopped by and articulated what has guests declaring that Good News Cafe is the best it’s ever been.
A debonair Frenchman who, with Ms. Peck, escorts groups to their 12th-century home in Provence for a week of culinary heaven, he reached around a bit mentally for the English expression he was seeking. After nearly 20 years of running her own restaurant, including the last 13 in the same location, Ms. Peck, he judged, has gotten what we call a second wind.
And how fair a wind it is. Not only does the chef look fabulous – trimmer, healthy and happy – but her restaurant seems to have a renewed magnetism, and the food is out of this world.
After all, when was the last time your wife (or husband) reached across the table with a fork and said, “You have to try this,” about a spinach salad? Think of baby spinach intermingled with warm ginger-marinated tofu, grapes, shiitake mushrooms and tamari sunflower seeds – so good and so good for you. And that’s just one of seven salads in the menu that include an authentic Caesar salad, the classic mélange of endive, beets, watercress and Roquefort cheese and a salad featuring grilled marinated squid with fennel, orange, parsley and pomegranate.
Choosing a first course is made more difficult by the presence of three soups, including a lobster soup with lobster chunks, an onion soup with Comte cheese croutons, and the “First Edition” soup which changes, but is always vegetarian.
The number of appetizers runs to nine, not including a special, and includes a number of Carole Peck classics: a crispy onion bundle with homemade “ketsup”; Jack’s pecan-crusted fresh oysters with cherry, jicama, tomatillo salsa and chili aioli; and, for the 13th year celebration, wild rice pancakes, organic smoked salmon and “my Grandma’s dilled cucumbers.” In between are such show-stoppers as a warm crab taco on a corn tortilla with cheddar cheese and a smoked tomatillo relish, and baked skewered escargots with garlic, pine nuts, parsley, bread crumbs and a sundried tomato compote. Even something as simple as two house-made pates gets regal treatment, with perfectly toasted brioche, sweet apricots and cornichons arranged like a modern sculpture.
While Good News Café offers an excellent list of well-chosen wines – primarily from California and France – it’s difficult to pass up the house cuvees. Befitting the raison d’etre behind an establishment overseen by Ms. Peck and Mr. Jarrier, these are not mass-produced wines dressed up by a misleading label. Instead, the private label Cuvee Carole Peck merlot is made in Provence, near the couple’s property, exclusively for the restaurant. It is joined by Cuvee Bernard Jarrier, Prieure Notre Dame, which is produced exclusively for Good News Café by Cave Cooperative Les Vignerons Beaucairois in Beaucaire, France.
“This 2003 vintage Provencal chardonnay has been hand-picked by Carole’s husband Bernard to celebrate completion of the restoration of the Prieure, Carole and Bernard’s 12th century manor house in Montfrin, Provence, and home to the Carole Peck Provence Culinary Tours,” says the restaurant’s website, www.good-news-cafe.com, which offers a wealth of information.
Both wines are available for $6.50 a glass or $25 for a bottle.
The merlot is also a 2003 vintage, and it’s a ripe, approachable red with good structure and an earthiness that bespeaks its region of origin. It pairs nicely with many dishes, especially the entrees – of which there are 18 to choose from besides the special. Too difficult, right? Just close your eyes and point – in Ms. Peck’s hands, you’re that safe, even if a dish contains something that you don’t typically prefer.
Or, stick with what you like, because at Good News Cafe you’ll experience it on a whole new level. The Stone Church Farms duckling is the best duck you may ever have, and Ms. Peck sends it out accompanied by orzo, green olives, artichokes and medjool dates nestled inside a hollowed-out dumpling squash. Recent innovative dishes included a buffalo ragout as an alternative to the beef stew of winter and a venison filet mignon. Longtime favorites include the gemelli pasta with asparagus, spiced pecans, gorgonzola cheese, capers, sage leaves and a six-year-old balsamic drizzle, and Henry’s free-range rotisserie half chicken with buttermilk mashed potatoes and wok-seared seasonal veggies.
Ms. Peck’s fish is always outstanding, and that adjective fits a recent special: wild striped sea bass filet with chorizo sausage, saffron rice, baby artichokes, pequillo peppers and slow-roasted tomatoes. It was like being in Barcelona or Madrid without the jet lag.
With food and wine as good as this, you’ll be tempted at this point to call it a night. Don’t. All of the creations by the restaurant’s pastry chef, Becky Vermilyea, are terrific. Desserts range from a classic creme brulee to a plate of local Bridgewater chocolates or a warm pumpkin-and-cornbread pudding, with coconut, sweet corn gelato and rum vanilla Anglaise. A recent special, a warm nectarine amaretti crumb tart with vanilla ice cream, was simple and delicious.
Good News Café offers coffee, tea and espresso-based drinks, along with dessert wines and so much more. Prices range from $5.50 for a bowl of soup, $8.50 to $14 for salads, and $9.50 to $14 for starters. Entrees are priced from $17 for the gemelli pasta to $30 for rack of lamb, and desserts range from $4.50 for fresh fruit to $8.50 for the more elaborate concoctions.
For more information or reservations, the phone number is 203-266-4663. The website is www.good-news-cafe.com.
|
|
