Martel Restaurant in Fairfield for Dinner

If this post has a subtitle it is I will gladly pay you Tuesday for dinner today. When my wife and I went to Martel, I left my wallet home. I only realized this after we ordered. As I began to run out the door to go home and get it, the waiter asked me what was wrong. I told him about the wallet and he kindly allowed us to eat dinner and call him when we got home with my credit card number. Unlike Wimpy, I didn't wait till Tuesday to settle the bill -- I phoned the restaurant the minute we walked in the door.

Martel Restaurant is a French bistro located on the border of Fairfield and Southport. The building that houses the restaurant is a quiant New England style building. When you enter the restaurant, the front half is occupied by the bar and a few bistro tables; the main dining room is in the back. The main dining room has wood paneling up half of the wall. The rest is painted antique yellow. It gives the impression that the restaurant has been there for a while. I am not sure that it has but it looks like it has.

For dinner, I started with the escargot, which was a special that night. Thankfully, Martel did not serve them in the fake snail shells. Instead, they were served with a little oil and garlic over a bed of greens. For dinner, I had the chicken riesling. The name is deceptive. I thought that it was more like a coq au vin made with chicken rather than rooster. It was excellent. It was served with potatoes, leeks, mushrooms and pearl onions. The vegetables complimented the taste of the chicken perfectly. My wife had the seared scallops, which were served with farro, mozzarella, roasted bell pepper and a beurre blanc sauce. It was excellent as well. We finished our meal with coffee and biscotti. Okay, I'll admit that biscotti is not very French and to be honest, we wanted the beignets, but we just didn't have room. (Many a dinner conversation has involved the beignet -- my wife is convinced that every culture has a fried dough-type substance. We are committed to finding and trying each and every one).

I could not embed a clip of Wimpy saying his classic line, however one can be seen here. Instead I leave you with a clip of Wimpy singing the Hamburger song. Enjoy.



Martel Restaurant
2316 Post Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
(203) 292-6916
www.martelrestaurant.com


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