Christie's Country Store- Pizza

Here's just a quick review of  the pizza at Christie's Country Store in Westport. Being the closest food place to my house, I figured it'd be important to know what they're pizza was like (they even deliver).  That's already points for convenience.

So I ordered a small cheese pie (they have all the usual toppings).  The pizza was a good size for $9. I mean I couldn't eat all of it so it wasn't a personal pizza or anything. Their dough is very thick for your traditional pizza- I'm a fan of thin crust- but the crust was crunchy and pretty good for its thickness. The pizza was very hot- I hope that means it was freshly made. 

Although I liked the thick, gooey mozzarella they used, there was simply too much of it. There was so much it outweighed the rest of the pizza and often fell off because there was so much of it. The cheese was also impossible to cut because it was so thick. 

My favorite part of the pizza was their sauce. The taste was decent but they put a lot of sauce on, which I love on my pizza. 

In the end, Christie's pizza is pretty decent, but if I had my choice of pizza in Westport I wouldn't go back to Christie's for their pizza. 

Sakura - A Japanese Restaurant

Sakura ~ 680 Post Road East Westport, CT 06880 ~ (203) 222-0802

If you live in Westport, you have definitely heard of Sakura and probably have been there at least once. It has become the classic "night before camp" and "last meal before college" restaurant, and is most popular for the amount of birthdays it hosts. As you can see in the picture, Sakura features several dining options. You can sit in a private tatami room (no shoes allowed), at the hibachi table where the skilled chefs cook before your eyes, at the sushi bar, at/near the bar, or simply at a traditional table in the back. Today, my friends and I had a hibachi lunch. There is a great hibachi lunch special - chicken, shrimp, or steak for $9.99 - but it does not come with the praised hibachi noodles. Also, the sushi lunch special consists of a filling portion of sushi for only $9.99 as well.

As for the meal, I was first served hibachi soup, which was very good and served as a good way to start the meal. I was then served fried rice in a bowl, which, as always, is excellent. Following the fried rice, the chef performed the classic "volcano" of flaming onions and continued his show as he grilled vegetables and noodles. The vegetables are fine, but the noodles are amazing. In fact, everything on the plate combined with the white mustard sauce makes the meal even better. Finally, a good 15-20 diced pieces of medium-cooked steak were tossed on my plate. The steak was juicy and tasted great. Around the table, Julie, Carly, Gabby, Sanders, and Hayley were seen feasting on their delicious meals as well - chicken, shrimp, sushi, and vegetarian dishes.

Including tip, my portion of the bill came out to be roughly $17, which is a pretty good price for the amount of food that I ate - I couldn't finish everything on the plate. So, if you want a fun place to go with your friends that serves great food, are having a birthday, leaving for camp tomorrow, or are simply hungry, make sure to stop by Sakura - especially because it is the only Japanese restaurant in Westport.

TIP - For the best cooked meal, definitely eat at a hibachi table. It will probably require a reservation or a wait, but the food is better than what is served to customers at other tables most likely because it is cooked fresh in front of you.

Overall: 4.2

Taste: 4

Atmosphere: 4

Experience: 4.5

Menu: 4

Service: 4.5

Would I return? Yes, probably for a birthday dinner

Border Grill

Border Grill 203-254-8322

1550 Post Rd. E Westport, CT 06880

The Border Grill in Westport serves up very good Tex-Mex food in a small stand on the Post Road. They've got takeout and delivery, or you can sit on one of the grill-side stools and watch your food cooked to order on their grill. 

While Border Grill doesn't have any really creative dishes, they do a great job of making filling dishes at cheap prices (all items are under $9). The quesadillas are crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, and their homemade hot salsa adds a great kick to any dish. My personal favorite though is the bean burrito (onions, peppers, beans, rice, cheese, guacamole). It's a tasty  and filling vegetarian dish and the guacamole is very good.

The Border Grill also serves up burgers, dogs, tacos, fajitas, enchiladas and some pretty good salads. I can always depend on the Border Grill for a quick, cheap Mexican lunch. With quick service and must-try burritos, Border Grill is definitely worth checking out. 

Westport House of Pancakes

Westport House of Pancakes 203-454-9709

520 Post Rd. E Westport, CT 06880

I've been wanting to try WHOP for a while now, mostly because of the mystery behind it. Has anyone in Westport ever been here? Is it related to IHOP? (I found out it's not) How do you even pronounce their name?? "Weehop" seems reasonable to me. But anyways I went in one Sunday morning for a pre-golf breakfast with a few friends. We were seated in a booth by a friendly waiter and promptly served water. 

Unbelievable as it may be, the water actually tasted bad. I'm not one to be picky about any food, but the water was luke warm and had a weird aftertaste. OK, so now on to the food. I ordered the breakfast sampler which let me try a little bit of the ham, sausage, bacon, eggs, hash browns, french toast and pancakes. The eggs were your average scrambled eggs- nothing special. The three meats and hash browns were clearly all packaged and warmed up. All tasted boring and sub-par. 

The pancakes weren't bad actually. And the best part of the meal was the french toast. Thick bread, golden crisp outside and powdered sugar. I was pleasantly surprised with their french toast, and was actually wanting some more. 

WHOP serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and their extensive menu is a basically your normal diner fare. But after trying their breakfast- which seems to be their specialty- I would not go back to WHOP. Their prices are slightly cheaper than local diners, but I'd probably just rather head to Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's for even cheaper breakfast. 

Oh, and I still think I'm one of the few Westporters to enter the WHOP. 

Westfair Pizza and Pasta

Westfair Pizza and Pasta ~ 1759 Post Road East Westport, CT ~ (203) 259-2299

A hidden secret about Westfair Pizza & Pasta (formally known as "Slice"), is their paninis.  One would not think to order one from here because the name of the restaurant is not Westfair Pizza, Pasta, and Paninis, but the grilled sandwiches are in fact very appetizing.

Tonight I had the hot "Cha-Cha" panini (all are $7.25), which consists of grilled chicken on a grilled roll with cheddar, avocado, bacon, sundried tomatoes, and pesto mayo - an original combo I had never seen before.  I brought it home, and upon opening the styrofoam box I literally said out loud "Whoa."  The variety of colors - green from avocado, yellow/orange from chedder, red from tomatoes....) this panini had made it look incredible, and almost like a painter's pallet. Anyway, the sandwich was very good.  Each component was tasty except for the pesto mayo.  There was not enough of it, and it was quite bland.  To compensate for it, I put Annie's Goddess dressing on the side to dip the panini into; this was a great call.

In the end, I very much enjoyed my panini and the "small" (it was actually very big) garden salad I got on the side.  Next time any of you go to Westfair, make sure you try a panini.  However, if you're in the mood for pizza, get the salad pizza.  It's delicious.

**I'm not giving Westfair Pizza & Pasta a numerical review because I did not eat at the restaurant

Westport Farmer's Market

Located in the Imperial Ave. parking lot in Westport, CT sits my newfound favorite place in my hometown. It's the Westport Farmer's Market- open every Thursday 10am-2pm and Sunday 11:30am-2:30pm from May until mid-November. (Sundays are behind the Saugatuck Congregational Church on 245 Post Rd. E)

Here in this ordinary parking lot is not only the best place to buy fresh vegetables, but also the best place to fill yourself up on a meal of food samples (sorry Stew Leonard's). 

They've got the best fruit pies from various bakeries including Michelle's and SoNo Bakery. There's fresh clams, oysters, and lobsters from Capt. Jeff Northrop. Then there's organic tomales from Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich, Wave Hill bread, and fresh fruit + vegetable smoothies. Add in Andrew's honey, fresh vegetables from several local farms and Arogyo tea. And lastly-one of my favorites- 6 different kinds of fresh goat's milk cheese. 

All of the food is organic, freshly made, and best of all- there's free samples galore. I make sure I hit every stand before I leave. And then eventually I'll buy something to take home. If you haven't yet, you MUST check out the Westport Farmer's Market. And there's several others in Fairfield County so be sure to look online for them all. 

Italian Festival of Westport

Stop by the Italian Festival in Westport at Luciano Park (by the train station) today (6-11pm), saturday (12-11pm) and sunday (12-10pm) for all kinds of different food.

They've got ribs and pulled pork from Bobby Q's and pasta from Calises. Then there's dogs, burgers, pizza, calamari from Italia Restaurant, fresh clams and lobster rolls from Szabo's, pizza fritta from St. Ann's volunteers. There's also Carvel ice cream, gyros from 4 Brothers, chinese food from Jasmine's, and sausage/pepper from some place in Norwalk.

And lastly, my favorite, deep fried candy/dough. You can get oreos, three musketeers, snickers, reeses and twinkies. It's all healthy and delicious so check it out. 

Asian Cafe of Westport

Asian Cafe of Westport 256-8882

1757 Post Road E. Westport, CT 06880

Asian Cafe is located in a small space in the Westfair plaza across the street from Stop & Shop. That whole plaza is uninviting, especially the Asian Cafe that occupies the left corner spot. But today I went in for some lunch and ordered the curry chicken and sambal beef. 

Both dishes were labeled as "hot and spicy", but when I tried both, neither had even the slightest kick. Both dishes were cooked with a variety of vegetables (peppers, onions, sugar snap peas)

I honestly could not even taste any curry flavoring in the curry chicken, and it lacked any good flavor. The sambal beef was barely better- only because it had some pineapple chunks in it that added a slightly different flavor. 

Both dishes were about $6 for the meat/vegetables, white rice and a large egg roll. A good deal for the amount of the food except for the fact that none of the food had any flavor (including the egg roll). Both dishes basically tasted the same even though they were completely different. 

Don't bother coming to Asian Cafe- the lunch portion was plenty of food, yet the prices double after 3pm (for dinner portions). The low prices cannot justify that the food was not good and that the service was mediocre at best.  

I'm surprised this place is still in business...

Best Pizza in Westport

So in my hometown of Westport, we've got way too many pizza places. Tell us what your favorite is!

This is just places that specialize in pizza:

Planet Pizza

Pizza Thyme

Angelina's 

Joe's Pizza

Arcudi's 

Martha's Pizza

4 Brothers

Westport Pizza

Bertucci's

John's Best

Julian's

Westfair Pasta & Pizza

Elvira's (sorta)

My personal favorite is Julian's Brick Oven Pizza (located on Riverside next to Mansion Clam House)- which I only recently tried. Reminds me a lot of Pepe's.

It's got a crispy thin crust, good amount of sauce,  fresh toppings and a great smoky flavor from the brick oven. 

Leave a comment and tell us who has the best pizza in Westport.

Jr's Hot Dog Stand

Jr's Hot Dog Stand 203-227-9803

265 Riverside Avenue Westport, CT 06880

Speaking of hot dogs, I recently went over to this little-known eatery that sits along the Saugatuck river in Westport. Jr's Hot Dog Stand is only open for breakfast and lunch, and it's only big enough for about 15 people to be inside it at one time. 

All the food is cooked on the small grill right in front of the counter. Even with only two employees, the service was fast and friendly. I tasted the fries, steak sandwich and just a regular hot dog with chili. 

The fries were just your average out of the bag fries, and the steak sandwich was just simple thinly sliced steak with american cheese. The steak sandwich was just mediocre and didn't have too much flavor. 

The hot dog, split in half and grilled, was quite delicious though. The dog itself had a good crisp on the outside and was very tasty. The chili was very good too, and I also added a sweet relish on top which was even better than the chili. Jr's doesn't have many toppings for their hot dogs but the hot dogs themselves are pretty good.

I recommend going to Jr's if you want a good hot dog or a quick, cheap bite to eat (only $2.60 per dog). I'd say stick with the dogs and skip the other items on the menu, but I myself would like to go back to try the sausages and breakfast items. 

Pho Mekong

Pho Mekong 203-255-2900  1849 Post Road E. Westport, CT 06881

Pho Mekong is a thai/vietnamese restaurant that serves up your traditional asian cuisine, as well as several specialties. The restaurant is overall pretty casual, with average service and an extensive menu. Probably too extensive. When I first sat down and opened the menu, it was just too long for me. There were really so many dishes that I couldn't decide what I wanted. 

But after a while, I tried the fried pork dumplings, a rice pancake filled with ground pork and a crab meat spring roll.  The dumplings were the best dish, nice and crisp on the outside with a good filling. The rice pancake was just too mushy, while the spring rolls did not really have the taste of crab.  

For an entree I tried the traditional Vietnamese dish "pho", which the restaurant is named after. It's rice noodles with thin slices of beef and a hot broth with bean sprouts, peppers and basil.  Overall the dish had tons of flavor- the saltiness of the broth, the spice of jalapenos, and the fresh taste of the basil.  It was the first time I'd had pho, but I would definitely order that dish again. 

Although it needs to shorten its menu and improve some of its dishes, Pho Mekong pulled through on its traditional Vietnamese dish. It was not my favorite asian restaurant around, but it definitely had a couple very good plates. 

The Dressing Room

The Dressing Room- A Homegrown Restaurant 203-226-1114

27 Powers Court Westport, CT 06880

Here's to our first review of a Westport restaurant! And a truly great one it is. 

Started back in 2006 by the late Paul Newman and famed chef Michel Nischan, The Dressing Room has quickly grown to be one of the most popular restaurants in Westport and Fairfield County. The vision behind The Dressing Room's owners was to create a restaurant that used fresh, local, sustainable ingredients to make delicious meals that make you think of home. And The Dressing Room has done just that. The Dressing Room also has a non-profit organization that helped to start the Westport Farmer's Market .

But let's get to the food already. They have recently changed their menu, which is composed of almost entirely small and medium sized plates, and they recommend that diners order any combination of three dishes to have a "full meal". Some of the dishes are simple side dishes while others have several components to the dish. The restaurant uses ingredients from several local farms, and you can really tell that they're using fresh ingredients in all their food. 

So I'll start off by saying that almost every dish I tried was at least good enough that I would finish the plate. But I'll give you all some of my favorite must-tries on the menu.

Yellow Grits- If you haven't had this southern classic before, try it now! The Dressing Room does some of the best cheesy grits I've ever had.

Diver Scallops w/ beets and citrus- One of my favorite scallops dishes that I can remember, this dish uses oranges which go great with the seared scallops. 

The Burger- probably their most popular dish, their cheddar, bacon burger with caramelized onions is exactly how I like my burgers. 

Braised Pork Shoulder- One of my favorites because the pork is soft and tender, and the spice of the pork works well with tangy cabbage- a great combo!

Duck and Dumplings- Perfectly cooked gnocchi, braised duck and a fantastic tomato based sauce.

Is The Dressing Room expensive? Yes for sure. But is it worth it? Definitely!

It has become one of my favorite restaurants because of its fresh, local ingredients and the restaurant has a homey feel like few others. Chef Nischan does simple preparations that bring out the best in the food. 

So when you're looking for a "fancy" dinner one of these days, one of my first suggestions would be The Dressing Room, located right behind the Westport Country Playhouse.