Rooster Co., Newington, CT

Rooster Co.

It's Friday afternoon and the sun is shining through the fiery autumn trees. Cozy downtown Newington is quiet but for the chirping of a massive flock of birds, the rustling of leaves on the cobblestone sidewalk and the rumble of a few cars that roll by. Most people are still at work; it's barely 4 p.m. after all. The sun is warm on my face and I sit alone at the table outside, perusing the Rooster Co. menu, waiting for Chris to join me for an early dinner.

Gold Rush

I hear the potato-potato-potato sound of the Harley before I turn my head to see Chris approach. I know which drink he'd choose and point it out to him: the "Gold Rush," made with bourbon, fresh lemon juice and housemade honey syrup. I stick with a glass of Pinot Noir (Unconditional, Willamette Valley, OR), expecting that the medium body, light tannins and juiciness will pair nicely with the chicken dish I plan to order. (I'm right.)

Clams Casino

Chris had Halloween Buffet at his school today, so he's not starving like I am. I eat a teacher's lunch at 10:30 a.m., so by 4 I can start to feel "hangry." And since I've been here longer, I know exactly what I want. I order the clams casino appetizer while Chris gets the cheese plate. My six littlenecks are plated beautifully, resting on bright green rock salt, and the color has my curiosity piqued. While the clams themselves are slightly overcooked, I love the flavors - smoky bacon and crunchy garlicky breadcrumbs, with a pinch of lemon zest adding a citrusy zing that reminds me of summer steamers. The cheese plate, made with three local(ish) cheeses (VT cheddar, NY camembert, MA bleu), comes with thin, crispy breadsticks, and pistachio honey. Each cheese is packed with such pungency, each so different from the others, it's an intriguing selection. 

Cheese Plate

Chris orders some local oysters that are served with a brightly acidic pink peppercorn mignonette. Then my "Chef's Plate" of chicken arrives and I can't wait to dig in. It looks and smells like Sunday dinner, only a bit fancier - 1/2 rotisserie chicken, chicken leg confit (served on bruschetta), chicken pate (that's for Chris), and cracklin' (that's all mine). These are accompanied by a dollop of something akin to ginger-apple marmalade and a warm, crusty roll. The rotisserie is served with a choice of sauces, and the server suggests the walnut herb. Like nearly everyone on the planet, I love herbs with chicken, and this olive-oil based dipping sauce is definitely something I will attempt at home. The chicken itself is moist and juicy and the cracklin' shatters in my mouth. God, I love crispy chicken skin!

Chef's Plate

I'm so focused on my plate that it takes me some time to notice that the sun is barely peeking through the tree branches now, and without it, I'm getting chilly. The traffic will be bad if we wait much longer before we leave, so I ask for a box (they are biodegradable!) to take home what little is left of my platter. I'll heat it up for lunch tomorrow, I think, since Chris won't be home. I hope that the skin on the drumstick and that last cracklin' will crisp up in the broiler. (They do.) We pay the check, thank the server, and promise to return. For comfort food this interesting that's also happens to be made with local ingredients, who wouldn't?

Oysters

Rooster Co. is located at 1076 Main Street, Newington, CT. They serve lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, along with daily specials and a kids' menu. News, events, menus, and recipes can be found on their website: http://www.roostercompany.net/. 

Cozy Downtown Newington

(View from Rooster Co.)

The Hidden Vine Wine Bar and Lounge, Newington, CT

Before you read, sorry about the photos. We forgot the camera and only had a phone.

Dining out is a gamble, a risk, a roll of the dice. There is a cost involved, and these days it's getting harder and harder to find that extra money to do extra things with. That's why we love to take advantage of Groupon, Living Social, and other discount offers, because we love to go out to eat. Usually these don't cover the entire check, however, so the remaining balance is where we place our bet: will the meal be an excellent one or not?

Those truly amazing, and therefore memorable, dining experiences are like winning the jackpot. But that doesn't happen as often as we'd like. Typically, the answer is something in between: not amazing, not awful, but just good enough. That's what we got at The Hidden Vine Wine Bar and Lounge in Newington. The Groupon offer was $20 for $40 worth of food and drink. We had been at a late afternoon meeting in nearby Wethersfield, so figured we'd go ahead and make a night of it.

"Hidden" is a fitting name for this cute restaurant; although the address is on Main Street, it is located in the back of the building facing the back parking lot. There is a patio that must be great in the summer, and the interior space is warm and cozy, with decorations inspired by the wine theme. We were led to a small table and our smiling server brought us a basket filled with bread knots. There was olive oil for dipping already on the table; it was very light and not particularly flavorful but a little salt and pepper helped.

Bread knots

The menu consists of five basic categories (appetizers, bruschetta, paninis, salads and entrees). In each section, one can find typical Italian fare such as fried calamari, Caesar salad, and chicken marsala. However, there are also some surprising offerings as well, like gorgonzola stuffed dates, roasted beet salad, and homemade gnocchi a la cognac. And then there were the night's specials which were the most intriguing.

Since we were having an Italian meal, we had hoped to share a bottle of Montepulciano, but they were out, so we let the server suggest a Malbec that was comparable in price and while it wasn't great, it was good enough. We then ordered the night's special appetizer, arancini. Six small lightly-breaded-then-fried balls of risotto were delivered on a plate coated in a gorgonzola sauce that was drizzled with balsamic glaze. The sauce was creamy and velvety, with the balsamic offering a much needed acidic balance. Overall, it was a decent start to the meal.

Arancini

More risotto may seem redundant, but the chicken francaise, served with risotto and a sundried-tomato caper butter sauce sounded good to Amy. The batter was eggy and light but the chicken breast itself was slightly overcooked and therefore was rubbery. The medium-sized scoop of risotto was the star of the plate, cooked al dente and with plenty of tangy, salty parmesan cheese. The sundried tomatoes were cut too large and overpowered most bites, so most of them ended up left on the plate. And we could have done with either the squash or the asparagus - both was overkill.

Chicken Francaise

Since Amy doesn't eat much fish other than shellfish, the night's special fish dish immediately attracted Chris; it was wild striped bass served with mussels and bay scallops in a tangy tomato brodo. The bass was cooked just right, and was light and flaky. Bay scallops, however, being so small, are easy to overcook, which many of them unfortunately were. The broth was deliciously flavorful, though, and there was plenty left to be sopped up with those buttery bread knots.

Striped Bass in tomato brodo

There were ups and downs, and overall, the meal, like the wine, while not excellent, was good enough. Nonetheless, in this economy, we're reminded of that typical teacher adage: good enough never is.