This was a week that moved between simplicity and celebration, sometimes on the same day. There were leftovers that held their own, a pizza night with a good friend, and a new restaurant in Westport that announced itself with a smoked Negroni and never let up. And then Saturday arrived — a birthday party, a three-meat lasagna, gelato cake from Oggi, and Barolo opened for guests while I quietly retreated upstairs with a cocktail and my XBOX. Some weeks build toward something. This one just kept delivering.
Monday: The Reliable Gift of Leftovers
Monday started where a good weekend always leaves you — staring into a fridge full of evidence that the cooking was worth it.
There’s something quietly satisfying about that. Leftovers after a weekend in the kitchen aren’t just convenience. They’re a small reward, proof that you put in the work when it mattered. Monday didn’t need to do anything fancy. It just needed to feed you, and it did.
Tuesday: Colony Pizza and a Night in Southport
Tuesday turned into one of those evenings that starts as dinner and becomes something more.
I met a good friend at Colony in Fairfield, and the pizza hit exactly the spot it needed to. Colony has that comfortable confidence about it — the kind of place where the food doesn’t have to try too hard because it already knows what it’s doing. We settled in, caught up properly, and let the evening stretch.
From there, we moved on to The Horseshoe in Southport for drinks and ended up meeting up with a few others. It’s the kind of night that unfolds naturally — one place leads to the next, the group grows a little, and by the end you’ve had a proper Tuesday. Those are worth appreciating.
📍 Colony Grill | 1520 Post Rd, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📍 The Horseshoe Cafe | 355 Pequot Ave, Southport, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wednesday: Eataly Provisions, Then the Hanger Steak Again
Wednesday had that familiar duality — New York during the day, Fairfield by evening, with Eataly acting as the bridge.
I stopped into Eataly downtown knowing the weekend was coming and I had cooking on my mind. Fresh olive oil, bread, Calabrian peppers, some cookies. The kind of provisions that don’t feel like groceries — they feel like ingredients for something. But before leaving, I sat down for the carbonara, and it was exceptional. The kind of dish that makes you stop mid-bite and just appreciate the craft of it. Perfectly executed, rich without being heavy, and a reminder of why Italian simplicity done well beats complexity almost every time.
By evening, I met my wife off the train and we headed to The Chelsea in Fairfield — two weeks running now. I ordered the same thing I had the week before and I have no regrets about that whatsoever. The hanger steak again: ten ounces, grilled ciabatta brushed with Calabrian chili honey butter, parm bistro fries on the side. That Calabrian chili honey butter is something special. I’ve been thinking about making my own version of it. The heat, the sweetness, the way it soaks into the bread — it’s the kind of detail that elevates an already great dish into something you think about on the drive home.
📍 The Chelsea | 12 Unquowa Pl, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thursday: Salmon Night at Home
Thursday was a home cooking night, and it earned its place in the week.
I made salmon with broccoli and garlic rosemary potatoes, and it was exactly the kind of dinner that reminds you how much a well-seasoned home meal can do. The potatoes roasted down with garlic and rosemary until they were golden and fragrant. The salmon cooked simply, the broccoli doing what broccoli does best when you don’t overthink it. Clean, satisfying, and restorative in the way that home cooking always is when you actually give it some attention.
Friday: Felice Westport and a Smoked Negroni That Set the Tone
Friday night was the highlight of the week, and it knew it from the first sip.
We met my daughter in Westport at Felice, which had only opened a few weeks earlier. They have several locations across New York City, and the Westport opening brought that same energy to Fairfield County — and this dinner made it clear they belong here.
I started with a Smoked Negroni. Wow. There’s a version of that cocktail that gets the balance right — the smokiness settling into the bittersweet depth of the Negroni without overwhelming it — and this was that version. It set the tone for everything that followed.
Apps were a cheese and meat board alongside arancini, and the arancini were outstanding. Crispy, golden, properly seasoned, with that perfect interior that makes you realize how many mediocre versions you’ve had elsewhere. For dinner, I ordered the oven-roasted Faroe Islands pepper-crusted salmon with black beluga lentils, braised Swiss chard, piccata sauce, and parsley. It was a dish with real layers — the pepper crust, the earthiness of the lentils, the bright acidity of the piccata. My wife ordered the special, a spicy pasta with shrimp that disappeared quickly. My daughter got the carbonara, and I’m fairly certain she ordered it because I wouldn’t stop talking about the one I’d had at Eataly earlier in the week. I consider that a compliment to both.
Felice is the kind of restaurant that earns a spot in the regular rotation on the first visit. We’ll be back.
📍 Felice Westport | 55 Church Ln, Westport, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Saturday: Breakfast First, Then the Full Production — Lasagna, Gelato Cake, and Barolo
Saturday started the right way.
Before any of the cooking, before the guests, before the Barolo — we went to Studio Café in Westport for breakfast. It was exactly the kind of morning that earns what comes later. We ordered the Lyrebird: scrambled eggs, avocado, bacon, and pure goodness is the only honest way to describe it. Cappuccinos alongside, the kind that slow you down just enough to appreciate the morning before the day gets going.
From there we headed to Fresh Market to stock up for the evening ahead. Walking through with a list in your head and a meal taking shape — that’s its own kind of pleasure.
Then we came home, and Saturday became mine.
My wife was hosting a birthday party for a friend, and I decided to cook for it. When I cook for guests, I don’t do things halfway.
It started with a charcuterie spread — cheeses, salami, the kind of easy apps that give everyone something to do while the main event comes together. Then the lasagna. Three meats: bison, chuck, and sweet Italian sausage, layered with ricotta and mozzarella, then finished with freshly shaved Parmigiano on top. It’s the kind of lasagna that takes time and earns it. Every layer has a purpose, and when it comes out of the oven with the cheese bubbling and the edges slightly crisp, there’s a moment of quiet satisfaction before it gets destroyed.
Alongside that, I roasted whole garlic heads in olive oil and used the resulting golden, spreadable cloves to make garlic bread with mozzarella. And then chicken cutlets — I flattened them out properly and cooked them in my cast iron pan, which handled the job exactly the way a cast iron always does. That pan doesn’t miss.
Dessert was a Chocolate Hazelnut and Cheesecake Gelato Cake from Oggi Gelato in Fairfield. There’s no other word for it but wow.
When guests arrived, I poured Limoncello Spritzes — bright, festive, and exactly right for the occasion. Then I opened a bottle of Barolo for the table and let the evening carry itself. At some point I quietly slipped upstairs with a cocktail of my own, settled in with my XBOX, and called it a perfect Saturday.
📍 Oggi Gelato | 1499 Post Rd, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📍 Studio Café | 15 Myrtle Ave, Westport, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sunday: Leftovers, Family, and Garlic Butter Everything
Sunday had a simple, generous rhythm to it.
The lasagna and chicken cutlets from Saturday were still excellent, and I built the meal out a bit further — garlic butter sautéed green beans and garlic butter roasted potatoes to round things out. There’s a quiet pleasure in extending a big cooking day into the next one, feeding people again with something that keeps getting better.
The in-laws came over, and my son joined too. The kind of Sunday that feels full without requiring any effort. The table was busy, the food was good, and a week that had started with Monday leftovers ended with Sunday ones. There’s a poetry in that.
Closing Reflection
This week had range.
A casual Tuesday pizza night that stretched into something social. A Wednesday that swung between Eataly carbonara and a hanger steak I’m already planning to order a third time. A Friday dinner at a brand-new restaurant that felt like it had been there for years. And a Saturday built entirely around feeding people well — three meats in a lasagna, gelato cake, Barolo, and a well-earned XBOX session to close it all out.
That’s what this series keeps showing me. Every week has a shape to it, even when you’re not trying to give it one. The food just marks the moments, and the moments turn out to be the whole thing.
This week had a very good shape.