Dining at The Whelk in Westport, CT
I’ve been enjoying Chef Bill Taibe’s cooking for many years. He started his culinary career working in Manhattan under the celebrated Chef Larry Forgione at The American Place. I later visited his Relish: Food and Wine, a highly rated restaurant serving refined comfort food in Norwalk, CT. He then became executive chef at the acclaimed Napa & Co. in Stamford, CT, which serves new American cuisine using the freshest seasonal products, supporting Connecticut’s local purveyors and farmers. After three years at Napa & Co., Bill was inspired to open leFarm in Westport, CT, where he continues his passion for locally sourced ingredients and found even more local farms to add to his list of suppliers. I have enjoyed many fine meals at leFarm and Bill has made several appearances on my television show, including one coming up on March 15th, where he shares a couple of fantastic creations from his latest restaurant venture, The Whelk, serving sustainable seafood. Last August, my sister, Laura and her husband, Randy, invited me out for a birthday dinner. For various reasons, that dinner never happened. Then, Laura heard that Bill was opening a second restaurant and we decided to put the dinner off until March, after the opening, when we could celebrate our birthdays together. We were joined by Laura and Randy’s daughter Sophie, son Charlie, and Sophie’s boyfriend Dan. The dinner was so much fun and the food was sensational! Great job, Bill Taibe and team!
1 The chalkboard sign at the entrance to The Whelk, located at 575 Riverside Avenue, near the Westport Train Station.
2 By day, sunlight floods this sparsely decorated handsome space. The long benches beneath the windows are reminiscent of old park benches. Everything in the restaurant was made in the USA.
3 The long bar is topped with white marble and the walls are lined with white subway tile. The room has a nice clean look that's sort of like a cross between the South of France and Maine.
4 The ever-changing menu features many savory choices and a few sweet ones for meal's end.
5 Owner and Chef Bill Taibe was found busy at work in his sun-lit kitchen, filleting that day's sustainable catch to prepare for that night's dinner menu.
6 Dinner seating is Tuesday - Saturday 5-9:30PM. The restaurant was packed.
7 The Whelk seats fifty-four and, unless you get there early, reservations are advisable.
8 The dinner menu features sustainable seafood from local and regional sources. Bill enjoys getting to know and understand each and every one of his purveyors.
9 The extensive and interesting wine list comes from all parts of the world, but are all sourced from sustainable wineries that are farmer grown and produced.
10 The napkins are nice soft bar cloths.
11 Dan, Sophie, and Charlie
12 Laura and Randy
13 We started off by sharing some Jonah Crab Cocktail Claws with Maryland Mayo and Slaw.
14 The crab claws were very meaty and the Maryland Mayo had just the right amount of zest.
15 Also, Smoked Trout Dip, Roe, Fried Crispy Skin, served with Crackers and Parker House Rolls
16 And the Warm Crab Fondue, Grits, Sea Urchin, Tobiko, and Fried Onions
17 The Crab Fondue is also served with crackers.
18 Of course, Shucked Oysters - Big Rock, Island Creek, Wellfleet, Peter's Point
19 These boat-to-table oysters were excellent and tasted of the sweet, briny sea.
20 It was Charlie's first time eating oysters and he loved them!
21 Smile Sophie!
22 Smile Dan!
23 Sisters!
24 Massimo Tulio is the co-owner and General Manager of The Whelk.
25 Massimo Tulio, a wine expert, designed an extensive list of hand-crafted wines for The Whelk.
26 He made excellent suggestions for our enjoyment, like this Austrian Grüner Veltliner Nikolaihof Wachau Hefeabzug. This crisp white wine had very pleasant citrus aromas and was slightly briny on the tongue - perfect for seafood.
27 Owner Taibe says that Tullio 'has a fun, young approach to wine that’s not at all stuffy.'
28 I sampled the Brown Butter Shad Roe, Beets, Capers, Bacon and Onion Pickles.
29 This is the Local Whelk and Shiitake Middlins, Risotto Style.
30 Bill came out of his very busy kitchen to say hello.
31 Dan enjoyed the Fried Chicken Sandwich, Pimento Cheese, B & B Pickles, and Fries
32 Randy ordered the Lamb Burger - Ryan Fibiger, at Saugatuck Craft Butchery, just across the plaza and featured recently on my blog, provides Bill with the lamb for these very succulent burgers. http://craftbutchery.com/
33 Sophie ordered the Oyster Loaf Sandwich on Allie's Brioche, Served with Tartar Sauce and Slaw.
34 Charlie enjoyed Roasted Cobia, Potato Puree, Brussels, Porky-Chicken Jus.
35 This is the Blackened Sea Bass, Quinoa, Black Olive, Blood Orange Butter.
36 Laura loved this plate of Roasted Sea Scallops from Maine, Seaweed Potato Puree, Caviar and Buttermilk.
37 Another great wine - Tanatis from the South of France - Served with dessert, this is a dark fruit bouquet with blackcurrant and plum notes - A very elegant wine.
38 We tried the Magic Bars, with Butterscotch and Sea Salt.
39 And the Whoopie Pies
40 And the Vanilla Panna Cotta with Blood Orange - So delicious and pretty!
41 Artisan Cheeses with Joe Froggers (a spiced molasses cookie), and Cherries
42 Meyer Lemon Posset with Cornmeal Cookies
43 After our excellent meal, I popped into Bill's gleaming and sizable new kitchen to wish him well.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Happy Birthday Laura,the best picture ever sisters number 23.
Posted by: ann | March 8th, 2012 at 3:03 am
Lovely photos of Laura and her family with you Martha! Amazing and delicious food!
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | March 8th, 2012 at 7:11 am
What a menu.. What a man! Great imagination , great presentation. Thank you for sharing, Martha. You keep us informed and inspired.
Posted by: Chas Jos Taylor | March 8th, 2012 at 9:19 am
Okay, not fair making me so hungry this early in the morning! I'm always impressed with eateries that use locally sourced ingredients and even better, sustainable seafood. Congrats to Chef Bill Taibe's on your newest venture, The Whelk. It looks lovely! Happy B'day Laura, you have such a good-looking family! Thanks for sharing this special occasion with us Martha!
Posted by: Cindy F | March 8th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Dinner was absolutely wonderful, as are you, my mother!
Posted by: Sophie | March 8th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Martha,
What a lovely dinner! Loved the photo of you and Laura! Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | March 8th, 2012 at 10:08 am
Hi Martha, Before I comment about this wonderful blog post, I want to wish your delightful sister Laura Happy Birthday from Sunday, March 4th! Also, Happy 1st Birthday to your delightful granddaughter Jude today, March 8th! Sure hope you get to spend more time with sweet little Jude and give her lots of hugs! Today is my niece's 22nd birthday, also! This sure was a terrific blog post about you having a great dinner with sweet Laura and most of her family at The Whelk in Westport, CT! All of these photos were so delightful to see and the one with just you and sweet Laura was fantastic! Sure wish you could have handsome, young Charlie on your TV Show like you did when he was little! The Whelk sure is a great restaurant and can't wait to see chef Bill Taibe on your TV Show on March 15th! All of the foods and desserts sure were delicious looking! My favorite thing today would be to see one year old Jude and her Mom Alexis on your TV Show! Best wishes to all! Hope you have a wonderful day today! Off to see The Daily Wag with more great information from Dr. Pia! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 8th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Hi Martha & Laura and happy belated birthday Laura (March 4th). What a great place to celebrate too – I could get used to those very appetizing dishes. I was already hungry for Martha’s egg and avocado salad with a Granny Smith apple, light mayo, lemon, celery, parsley and cayenne but now I want oysters or scallops and onion pickles! I marinated some yesterday, well English cucumbers with onion and vinegar and dill – close enough. Thanks for a mouth watering blog and for a peek at the elusive Charlie. He has that same serious look as when he helped you make cookies on your Living show. I won’t embarrass him by calling him cute but… Thanks again. Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 8th, 2012 at 10:49 am
This food looks so decadent but relaxed and casual at the same time!! Oh, how I miss east coast food...
Posted by: Naomi Anselmo | March 8th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Now that looked like a great relaxing time for you and your family! Loved to see you and your sister! Great looking food too!
Posted by: Frances | March 8th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Laura and Martha,
Happy Birthday and thank you for sharing the meal with us. I wonder with the bright windows in the day what do you see at night and if blinds are drawn. Sun is always nice until it gets in your eye. The meal and crowd made me so wishful--for the food and the company.
And I really would like to see you getting all the words and spelling down on the bottles of wine and the menu offerings. What a good job you guys do!
Posted by: Margie | March 8th, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Beautiful pictures and place...I think I'm in love...with every dish on their menu!
Posted by: Nina | March 8th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Happy 1st Birthday to precious little Jude. I am so very happy for Alexis on the birth of her son Truman!! Now you have two wonderful grandbabies to spoil .....Congratulations to all of you !!
Posted by: Kathy Cox | March 8th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Hi, Martha. I just loved seeing you with your sister and her family. You are so often with celebrities, and that is nice, but seeing you with your family is most special. I love Sophie. There is something about her that reminds me of big Martha. She seems so comfortable with herself. I loved pix 23 too. Sisters. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into this family celebration.
Posted by: Lee | March 8th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
What a fun birthday celebration for you and Laura...some interesting food offerings!
Posted by: Sherey | March 9th, 2012 at 12:11 am
March 15th! That's this week. Need to catch Martha and Bill together. LeFarm and The Whelk are two of CTs best restaurants and they have real heart, too. Seeing all those pics again makes me want to go back there so bad.
Posted by: Daniel Del Ferraro | March 10th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Food + Family = Fun!
And a great picture of sisters celebrating!
Cathybytheriver
Posted by: Catherine Kurczynski | March 13th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Hi Martha!
Looks fantastic, so glad to see you sharing a great and delicious looking evening with your family. The shot of you with Laura is so sweet. Always inspired by and certainly miss working with you!
Brian Andriola
Posted by: Brian Andriola | March 29th, 2012 at 11:27 pm