This was one of those weeks where the city and the suburbs traded energy back and forth in the best possible way. Neapolitan pizza at Kesté in New York, World Cup matches at a Midtown pub with my daughter, an Eataly lunch at Hudson Yards between sessions at the AWS Summit — and then the commute home each night back to Fairfield, where tacos, pasta, and grilled steak were waiting. Paci in Southport for a proper Saturday dinner. And then Sunday — Father’s Day — with a new Patriots jersey, a Martha Stewart stand mixer I’ve been wanting for years, and skirt steak on the grill with the whole family around the table. A week that moved fast and tasted good the whole way through.
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Monday: Shaggy Coos Sirloin on the Grill
The week started exactly right.
Shaggy Coos Farm sirloin steaks on the grill, with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli on the side. It’s a combination that always works, and when the beef is coming from a farm right here in Easton, it works even better. There’s a confidence that comes with quality meat — you don’t have to over-season it, you don’t have to overthink it. Get the grill hot, season well, let the beef do what it does.
The sweet potatoes had cinnamon and smoked paprika, which has become something of a signature move at this point. The broccoli got the garlic and balsamic treatment. Simple, satisfying, and the kind of Monday dinner that sets a week up properly.
Tuesday: Kesté for Lunch, World Cup at Gibney’s, and Bodega Tacos To-Go
Tuesday was a full day in the best possible sense.
Lunch was at Kesté Pizza e Vino in downtown Manhattan, and if you haven’t been, put it on your list immediately. Authentic Neapolitan-style pizza — proper wood-fired, San Marzano tomatoes, the kind of crust that’s puffy at the edges and blistered in exactly the right places. It might be my overall favorite pizza in New York City, which is saying something. The city had an electric current running through it all week — the World Cup was generating energy everywhere you looked, the Knicks had just won the championship, and the streets felt alive in a way that doesn’t happen all the time. Kesté fit the mood perfectly.
📍 Kesté Pizza e Vino | 77 Fulton St, New York, NY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The office was quiet so I left early and headed to Gibney’s NYC on 39th Street to watch France play. Gibney’s is a proper Irish pub with serious roots — the Gibney family has been in the pub business since 1937, starting at the original in Malahide, Dublin, and they’ve brought that same warmth and community spirit to Manhattan. I picked the spot for a couple of reasons beyond the obvious: great Guinness poured right, and it’s directly across from where my daughter works, so she could easily pop over before we caught the train home together. The pub was buzzing, the match had the whole room going, and there’s something genuinely fun about watching World Cup football in New York City when the city is already this wound up. My daughter came over after work, we had a drink, and then caught the train back to Fairfield together. I have a feeling Gibney’s is going to be a regular stop for the rest of these World Cup fixtures.
📍 Gibney’s NYC | 228 W 39th St, New York, NY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Back in Fairfield, we picked up to-go from Bodega Taco Bar and it was a great call. I got the brisket street taco — excellent, with that slow-cooked richness that makes brisket the right choice for a taco. My daughter had the Americano taco salad and loved it. My wife got the chicken tinga and it hit the spot. Bodega is one of those places that just delivers every time — casual and creative and always fresh.
📍 Bodega Taco Bar | 1700 Post Rd, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wednesday: AWS Summit, Eataly at Hudson Yards, and Back to Gibney’s
Wednesday was the AWS Summit at the Javits Center, which meant a full day of sessions — and lunch options that left something to be desired. So I did the obvious thing: walked over to Eataly at Hudson Yards.
I got the Pomodoro Panino — exactly the kind of simple, confident Italian food that Eataly does better than almost anyone. Fresh tomato, good bread, clean flavors. And then dessert: the Delizia al Limone, a classic Amalfi Coast lemon cream pastry. Look, it’s not Sal Di Riso in Minori, where the original lives and where I’ve had it the way it was meant to be experienced. But in the middle of a work conference in Manhattan? It absolutely hit the spot.
When the summit wrapped up, I made my way back to Gibney’s — a former colleague joined me for a pint of Guinness and England’s World Cup match. The place was packed. Standing room energy. My daughter came over from work again after her shift, we had a drink together, and caught the train home. Two nights in a row at Gibney’s, and I’d do it again. When a spot has good Guinness, great match atmosphere, and your daughter’s office is right across the street — it becomes a habit.
Thursday: Firehouse Deli at Lunch, Pasta and Sausage Ragu for Dinner
After two days in the city — plus the Knicks Championship Parade happening literally outside my building — working from home on Thursday felt like a genuine gift.
My youngest daughter finished work at noon and gladly — very gladly, she tells me, laughing — ran to Firehouse Deli in Fairfield to grab us lunch. My order is always the same: chicken cutlet with lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a hard roll. It’s a staple for a reason. Firehouse has been doing this for decades in Fairfield, and that sandwich never lets me down.
📍 Firehouse Deli | 22 Reef Rd, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dinner that night was pasta — both gluten free and a new organic brand I’ve been wanting to try called Seggiano. Really good. Seriously, if you haven’t come across Seggiano pasta, keep an eye out for it. The quality is there. I made a homemade sauce built around hot Italian sausage: browned the sausage first, built the soffritto, added wine, added tomatoes, then everything back into the Dutch oven to finish together low and slow. The whole house smelled incredible. We opened a bottle of Volpaia — a Chianti Classico from a great Tuscan producer — and it was a perfect Thursday night dinner.
Friday: A Day Off, a Disappointing Cheesesteak, and Neighbor Nights
Friday was a day off, mostly spent working around the house.
I grabbed a Philly Cheesesteak from Massimo’s Corner Deli in Trumbull for lunch. Honestly? I keep trying to like this place, and this sandwich was not good. I’ll leave it there. Sometimes a spot just doesn’t come together, and this was one of those times.
Friday night, though, was easy and fun — hanging out with neighbors, a few laughs, some light apps. No big production, no reservation needed. Just the kind of evening that makes a neighborhood feel like a neighborhood.
Saturday: Paci in Southport
Dinner at Paci in Southport on Saturday, and it delivered exactly what Paci always delivers: elegant, unpretentious Italian dining in one of the most charming settings in Fairfield County. Tucked into a historic former train depot on Station Street, the place has character before you’ve even looked at a menu.
We started with arancini — golden, crispy, perfectly seasoned, and the right way to begin any Italian dinner. For my main, I went with the filet. My son had the sirloin. My wife ordered the Mista Salad with salmon, and my daughter went with linguine and shrimp. Every plate landed beautifully — this is the kind of restaurant where the kitchen earns its reputation night after night, not just on special occasions. And then dessert: a cheesecake that pushed the whole meal over the top. Light, perfectly balanced, exactly as a cheesecake should be but rarely is.
Reviewers consistently call Paci one of the finest dining experiences in Fairfield County, with a combination of food, service, and atmosphere that makes it feel genuinely special. They’re right.
📍 Paci | 96 Station St, Southport, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sunday: Father’s Day, a New Stand Mixer, and Skirt Steak on the Grill
Sunday was Father’s Day, and it was a good one.
The kids came through: a new Drake Maye Patriots jersey, which is exactly as cool as it sounds, and a Martha Stewart Stand Mixer. I’ve wanted one for years — and now, with the bigger kitchen in Easton, I finally have the space to store it properly and actually use it. Now I just need to figure out what to make first. Suggestions welcome.
And then there was one more gift I almost forgot to mention — Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison. If you’re not familiar with Pasta Grannies, it started as a YouTube channel documenting Italian grandmothers — nonnas — cooking the traditional recipes they’ve made their whole lives, region by region, kitchen by kitchen. It became a phenomenon. The first cookbook won a James Beard Award. This follow-up brings 60 more authentic Italian recipes from these remarkable women, everything from chestnut gnocchi with walnut pesto to handmade tagliatelle shaped by a 99-year-old who learned from her grandmother. Each recipe comes with a QR code that links directly to the YouTube video of that nonna making it herself. For someone who believes cooking is as much about story and tradition as it is about technique, this book is exactly right. Between the new stand mixer and this, Father’s Day set me up for a very good few months in the kitchen.
Dinner was with the kids and the in-laws, and I cooked. I marinated skirt steak in cilantro, olive oil, cumin, paprika, and garlic — a bright, assertive marinade that gets into every fold of the skirt steak and makes the whole thing sing on the grill. I grilled that up alongside sautéed vegetables and made a tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad to go alongside. For anyone who wanted to wrap things, I put out gluten-free wraps, flour tortillas, and naan — so everyone had options.
It was one of those meals that works because the ingredients are good and the people around the table make it better. Good food, full table, great day.
Closing Reflection
The best weeks have a kind of layered quality to them — city energy stacked against home comfort, restaurant meals balanced by the satisfaction of cooking. This week had all of it.
Kesté pizza and World Cup matches at a Midtown pub. Eataly at lunch and pasta from scratch at dinner. A Saturday night at Paci that reminded me why certain restaurants become part of your life. And then Father’s Day with a new jersey, a stand mixer I’ve been wanting for years, and skirt steak on the grill with everyone around the table.
The Knicks won the championship. The World Cup is humming through the city. And somehow, between all of it, there was still time for a chicken cutlet on a hard roll from Firehouse Deli on a quiet Thursday afternoon.
Some weeks just fill up in all the right ways.