Raise High The Roof Beams
An Old Eastford Barn is Transformed into the State's New Dining DestinationStill River Café, Eastford, 860-974-9988
November 16, 2006By GREG MORAGO, Courant Staff Writer
It has the makings of a good screenplay. Two former corporate lawyers toss aside legal briefs for a career as restaurateurs.They risk their life's savings to transform a 150-year-old barn into an upscale dining destination in a small, dry town where they have to charm locals into ending a 130-year-old ban on alcohol sales so the fabulous new restaurant can serve New Zealand sauvignon blanc with its Jonah Crab salad.
I can see the movie now, with elements of "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" and "Big Night," and starring Diane Lane and Sam Shepard.
The story of Robert and Kara Brooks' efforts to realize the Still River Café - their sophisticated restaurant dedicated to locally produced, sustainable, organic food - also has a good measure of "Field of Dreams." If you build a restaurant in the middle of nowhere (that would be Eastford), will they come?
Absolutely. They must. Anyone who appreciates deliciously intelligent cooking and the loving care associated with artisanal foodstuffs will make the over-the-river-and-through-the-woods trek to Still River Cafe. I can easily see food lovers from Hartford, Boston and Providence making pilgrimages to this Eastern Connecticut hamlet, which has put itself on New England's culinary map. The Brookses (chef Kara in the kitchen with a staff of two, and Robert working the floor with a small crew of young, amiable servers) have created Connecticut's newest "important" restaurant - a place so provocatively special and hands-on that it's only open for dinner Friday and Saturday and for brunch on Sunday.
What makes dining here extraordinary? Nothing about the operation seems an afterthought. The attention to detail and good taste is everywhere, from the oyster-colored fabric on the chairs to the sans-serif typeface of the menu to the Lilliputian brussels sprouts and newborn baby carrots that decorate a plate. These are the things that separate an ordinary mom-and-pop shop from a jewel-box operation.
The owners are passionate about their food and where it comes from. Their pasture-raised chicken is from Ledyard, the short ribs from a farm in Bridgewater, their eggs from Union. Fussy? Yes. But dining at Still River Café - however handsome the dining room, with its soaring, chestnut-beamed ceiling - isn't a stuffy affair. There is a relaxed, almost casual air about the place.
The Brookses, however, have conspired to make diners acutely aware of what they're eating. There's no art on the wall. No loud music. No salty shivers on the plate. The food here is the star.
Several of the dishes are presented as triptychs on a single plate, such as Maine lobster served as a paté, in the form of mini lobster rolls and a sinful, butter-poached tail undulating on a truffled potato purée. The trio of duck features a pan-seared breast, a measure of lusciously fatty duck rillette and a burnished duck leg confit. The latter might be the best duck confit I've tasted. Other brilliant variations on a theme include a gorgeous fist of poached day boat cod with cod fritters and a cod and corn chowder; a lusty lobster bisque served with side spoon of lobster ceviche; and calamari tempura paired with braised stuffed calamari. A study of roasted beets - crimson, fireball orange and candy-striped colors - let the essential nature of the vegetable work its magic.
This is fabulous stuff. I got the sense we were in for something special when we were served a pre-dinner snack of beet "sliders" (wee burgers filled with chopped beats, goat cheese and mâche). But I knew I was in a restaurant altogether different when I tasted the Manchester Farms Quail - two perfectly grilled, butterflied baby birds served with a classic French salad frisée with rendered pork nuggets and a poached quail egg on top. My father hunted quail, and I grew up eating them. None ever tasted this good. The accompanying salad transported me to a bistro in the Sixth arrondissement.
When I asked the chef, who I'm known to, about her cooking philosophy, she said it was simple: Let the ingredients shine through, and "try not to screw it up." Understatement is another of her virtues.
Still River Café has only been open since the summer but is already ridiculously accomplished. This is a screenplay with a happy ending"
Still River Café
134 Union Road (Route 171), Eastford, 860-974-9988Open for dinner Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Visa, MasterCard and American Express accepted. Reservations recommended. Wine and beer served; no cocktails. For menu, information and directions, see www.stillrivercafe.com
