This week started with a birthday dinner at Martel and ended with spaghetti and meatballs on a rainy Sunday at home. In between came hot honey pizza at Seppe, a September special sandwich at All’Antico Vinaio, and a last-minute salmon dinner at The Chelsea. Then I flew to Florida to drive my daughter home, by way of tacos in Fort Mill, a Harry Potter festival in Staunton, and the biggest antique mall I’ve ever seen. It was a week of good meals, long miles, and getting family home.
Monday: A Birthday Dinner at Martel
Monday was my daughter’s birthday. She’d come home for the weekend, so before taking her back to the train we celebrated with dinner at Martel in Fairfield.
Martel has that cozy bistro feel, American food with French touches, and it was the right setting for a birthday dinner. I ordered the salmon with pea risotto, and wow. The salmon was beautifully cooked, and the risotto was creamy, bright, and fresh from the peas. It’s the kind of dish that sounds simple but only works when the kitchen gets every detail right. This one did.
Then came the bittersweet part, the drive to the train after dinner. Birthdays are better when they end with a full table, even if it means a goodbye at the station.
📍 Martel | 2316 Post Road, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tuesday: Aunt Honey Pizza at Seppe, Then Wonder at Home
Tuesday was a city day, and lunch was at Seppe Pizza Bar. Seppe started on Staten Island and now has a spot downtown in Battery Park City, which is very good news for anyone working in Lower Manhattan.
I ordered the “Aunt Honey” pizza, and it was excellent. Hot honey on Calabrese salami is one of the best combinations in pizza: the salty, spicy cured meat gets a drizzle of sweet heat, and every bite balances out. If you’ve never tried it, this is the pie to start with.
After a long day, dinner was waiting for me at home from my friends at Wonder. The chicken bowl hit the spot. Sometimes the best thing after a full day in the city is walking in the door and finding dinner already handled.
📍 Seppe Pizza Bar | 225 Murray St, New York, NY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wednesday: All’Antico Vinaio, Then a Salmon Pivot at The Chelsea
Wednesday was another NYC day, and lunch was at All’Antico Vinaio at Brookfield Place. The Florentine sandwich shop has a serious following, and the schiacciata bread alone is worth the trip.
I went with La Festa, the September special. Turkey, scamorza, fresh tomatoes, arugula, and lemon oil, plus a whole lot of yum. It was lighter and brighter than some of their richer sandwiches. The smoky scamorza against the fresh tomato and peppery arugula, finished with that lemon oil, made it feel like late summer between two slices of bread.
Dinner was a last-minute pivot with friends at The Chelsea in Fairfield, one of our regular spots. Most of us ordered the salmon special, and for good reason. It was an apple-glazed, pecan-crusted salmon on a bed of risotto with sweet potatoes, spinach, and pomegranate seeds. Wow.
The dish tasted like fall arriving on a plate. Sweet apple glaze and crunchy pecans on the salmon, creamy risotto underneath, sweet potato for warmth, and pomegranate seeds bursting with tartness. Two salmon-and-risotto dinners in three days, and both of them were winners.
📍 All’Antico Vinaio | Brookfield Place, 225 Liberty St, New York, NY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📍 The Chelsea | 12 Unquowa Pl, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thursday: Getaway Day
Thursday was getaway day. I flew to Florida to help my daughter make a big move: driving back north with her so she can start work in NYC in October.
There’s something meaningful about a trip like this. It isn’t a vacation, and it isn’t quite a business trip. It’s one of those parent moments where you show up, load the car, and share the road for a few days as one chapter closes and another begins.
Friday: Tampa to Fort Mill, and Tacos at Kingsley
Friday we woke up and drove from Tampa to Fort Mill, South Carolina. Food was random pit stops, the gas-station-and-drive-thru rhythm of a long-haul road day.
When we finally rolled into Fort Mill, we ate at Paco’s Tacos & Tequila in Kingsley Town Center. The town center was really cool, with a ton of restaurants, the kind of walkable spot that makes you want to stay longer than one night.
After a full day in the car, margs and tacos were needed. Paco’s is known for its big tequila list, and a cold marg at the end of a road day might be one of life’s most underrated pleasures. Tacos, drinks, and a chance to stretch our legs were exactly what the night called for.
📍 Paco’s Tacos & Tequila | 1328 Broadcloth St, Suite 102, Fort Mill, SC ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Saturday: Staunton Surprises and the Factory Antique Mall
Saturday was up and running for the final push back to Easton, with one planned detour: Staunton, Virginia, for a little antique hunting.
What we didn’t know was that Queen City Mischief & Magic was happening that weekend. It’s a homegrown, Harry Potter-inspired festival that takes over Staunton’s historic downtown, and the streets were jam-packed. Wizards, costumes, crowds everywhere. We hung out for a bit and took in the scene, but antique hunting in that crowd wasn’t happening.
So we pivoted to the Factory Antique Mall in Verona, just up the road. Wow. This place is huge, billed as the largest antique mall in America, set in an old clothing factory in the Shenandoah Valley. Aisle after aisle of furniture, glassware, tools, and treasures. You could lose an entire day there and still not see it all.
Food today was just fuel. Some days the meals are the story, and some days they just keep the engine running. Saturday was the second kind.
Sunday: Rain, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Chicken Cutlets
Sunday was a rainy day, and after a thousand miles on the road there was only one thing to do: get back in my own kitchen.
I cooked spaghetti and meatballs and chicken cutlets, the ultimate comfort meal. Meatballs simmering in sauce, the smell filling the house, cutlets crisping in the pan, rain tapping outside. After days of drive-thrus and pit stops, nothing could have tasted more like home.
That’s the thing about a big trip. The best meal is often the first one back in your own kitchen.
Closing Reflection
This week covered a lot of ground. A birthday dinner at Martel with salmon and pea risotto. Hot honey pizza at Seppe. A September special sandwich at All’Antico Vinaio. A fall-flavored salmon special with friends at The Chelsea. Then a flight south and a long drive north, with margs in Fort Mill, wizards in Staunton, and a seemingly endless antique mall in Verona.
And at the end of it all, spaghetti and meatballs on a rainy Sunday, with a daughter home and a new chapter about to start.
That’s what this series keeps teaching me. The food matters, but the reasons we gather around it matter even more.