This was a week that blurred the lines between weekday routine and something more meaningful. There was a beautifully spiced salmon dinner with the in-laws, gelato in the city, Shaggy Coos burgers at home, and a long stretch of Trumbull errands that somehow managed to include great food at every stop. But the week’s real story unfolded over Thursday through Saturday — a chaotic, loving, bittersweet couple of days helping the kids move back home from Norwalk. All under one roof again for the first time in a year. It won’t last forever, but right now, it feels exactly right. And Sunday brought a surprise visit from a cousin, baseball cards, inherited tools, and bar burgers at Archie Moore’s with the Yankees on the big screen.
Monday: Smoked Salmon and Sweet Potatoes with the In-Laws
Some dinners are just for the family. Monday was one of those nights — the in-laws came over, and I cooked.
I made a smoked salmon and broccoli dinner with roasted sweet potatoes, and it came together in a way that felt a lot more impressive than the effort involved. The salmon got a rub of smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper, and then a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey at the end. That combination — the smokiness from the paprika, the slow heat from the cayenne, and that sweet, sticky honey finish — is one of those things that sounds like a lot but lands perfectly on a piece of fish. Especially salmon, which can take those bold flavors without flinching.
The broccoli was simple: garlic, salt and pepper, and a balsamic glaze to finish. Roasted just enough to get crispy at the edges. And the sweet potatoes had cinnamon and smoked paprika — which, if you’ve never done it, just try it. The warmth of the cinnamon against the savory smoke of the paprika is a combination that makes a sweet potato taste like it belongs on a proper dinner table, not just a Thanksgiving side dish.
Nobody left the table unhappy. Monday done right.
Tuesday: Eataly Gelato and Colony Pizza in Fairfield
Tuesday had that familiar commuter rhythm — city during the day, Fairfield by evening.
I snuck away from the office in the afternoon for gelato at Eataly in downtown Manhattan. I went with the Capriccio — and yum is about the best word for it. There’s something about an afternoon gelato stop that resets the second half of any workday. Eataly has always understood how to make even a quick, casual stop feel like a small act of indulgence. You walk in for five minutes and walk out feeling like you’ve treated yourself without overdoing it. That’s a skill.
By evening, I was back in Fairfield and met the family at Colony Grill for pizza. Colony is a Fairfield County institution for good reason — that thin, crispy bar-style crust, the hot oil, the no-frills setup that somehow never gets old. It’s the kind of place you return to not because you’re looking for something new, but because what it does, it does better than almost anyone else. Reviewers consistently call it one of the best thin-crust pies in Connecticut, and I’m not going to argue.
📍 Colony Grill | 1520 Post Rd, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wednesday: Coos Burgers at Lunch, Pasta and Chicken for Dinner
Wednesday was a two-act food day, and both acts delivered.
For lunch, I made Shaggy Coos Farm burgers at home, and as always, they’re the kind of burger that makes you remember what beef is actually supposed to taste like. When you start with quality meat from a farm you trust — and Shaggy Coos is right here in Easton, so it doesn’t get more local than that — you don’t have to do much else. Salt, pepper, high heat, and let the beef do the work.
Dinner that night was pasta and chicken with a buttery white wine sauce. Simple weeknight cooking that hits the way weeknight cooking should — not precious, just good. The butter builds richness, the wine cuts through it, and the whole thing comes together in the time it takes to boil a pot of water. It was the right dinner for a Wednesday. Satisfying without being heavy.
Thursday–Saturday: Trumbull Runs, Great Bites, and Coming Home
The middle stretch of the week was a blur of errands, great stops, and something that mattered a lot more than food — getting the kids moved back home.
Trumbull Cafe & Grill made the lunch rotation on one of those days, and it’s one of those places that earns its following honestly. Bright, fresh menu — heavy on breakfast and brunch done right, with a menu that’s got enough range to please whoever walks through the door. Reviewers rave about it consistently, and the food backs up the reputation.
📍 Trumbull Cafe & Grill | 2 Daniels Farm Rd, Trumbull, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We also hit Sapore Italian Deli in Trumbull for sandwiches — a spot that’s been quietly excellent since 1985. It’s the kind of Italian deli that takes its ingredients seriously, where the meats and cheeses are the real deal and the bread doesn’t fall apart halfway through. Family-owned, no pretense, just good Italian deli food the way it should be made.
📍 Sapore Italian Deli | 2 Daniels Farm Rd, Trumbull, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And yes — more Colony pizza made an appearance. Some weeks, Colony just fits more than once.
But the real story of Thursday through Saturday was the move. The kids had been in Norwalk for the past year — their apartment, their independence, their chapter. And now, one at a time, they came back to Easton. All three of them, back under our roof for the first time in twelve months. Two daughters will be heading to New York City at the end of the summer. My son will return to Norwalk in the fall. This is a window, not a permanent arrangement, and I know that. But right now, the house feels full in a way it hasn’t in a while. That’s not nothing. That’s actually a lot.
Sunday: A Cousin, Some Baseball Cards, and a Bar Burger at Archie Moore’s
Sunday came with a surprise.
My cousin called from Florida — he was passing through Connecticut to pick up some of his dad’s old baseball cards from his parents’ house, which they’re in the process of selling. He offered me some of his father’s tools in the process. Score. There’s something about inherited tools that just feels right — like getting a little piece of someone’s life passed along with the ratchet sets.
We ended up at Archie Moore’s in Fairfield for the afternoon — Yankees game on the TV, Germany’s World Cup qualifier on another screen, cold drinks, and good company. I went with the bar burger. Messy, as a bar burger should be, but solid. The kind of food that matches the setting perfectly — no tablecloth, no pretense, just a great neighborhood bar doing what it does well.
Archie Moore’s has been part of the Fairfield County scene for decades for a reason. It’s reliably good, comfortably familiar, and exactly the right spot when what you want is a burger and a cold drink in a place that feels like home.
📍 Archie Moore’s | 48 Sanford St, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Closing Reflection
This week wasn’t about any one meal. It was about the spaces around the food — the in-laws gathered around a salmon dinner on a Monday, the easy rhythm of Colony pizza twice in a week, the familiar satisfaction of Shaggy Coos beef done simply, the quiet pride in a week’s worth of good cooking and good stops.
And then there was that middle stretch. The hauling boxes, the trips back and forth between Norwalk and Easton, the slow realization that the house was filling up again in a way it hadn’t been for a year. Two daughters with New York City in their near future. A son who’ll be back in Norwalk by fall. This is a temporary arrangement that somehow doesn’t feel temporary at all.
Sunday’s surprise visit from my cousin was the right kind of ending — impromptu and warm, with a bar burger and back-to-back sports on the screen. Some weeks wrap themselves up neatly. This one didn’t need to. It was already full.