Where to Eat near The Ridgefield Playhouse

admin Posted OnFebruary 13, 2020

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Where to Eat near The Ridgefield Playhouse: We like to call The Ridgefield Playhouse the hardest working venue around. In fact, they book every day of the year except Christmas. That includes 200-225 live shows a year. And they fill in with on-screen events (National Theatre Live) on the other days.

What’s more, their live shows range from matinee family events to grownup stuff like performances from Broadway divas and intimate chats with screen legends. And, of course, a wide range of popular music for everyone from millennials to (OK) baby boomers. So, recommending a place to eat before a show is more than a “what are you in the mood for” situation. We submit it is a lot like pairing wine and food. For instance…

Where to eat with the kids

If you’re loaded up with half the soccer team in a seven-seater on your way to a 4pm curtain for the Acrobats of China or Mike Super Magic & Illusion – then Planet Pizza may be your perfect pairing (411 Main St., Ridgefield (.7 miles). If it’s just you and your kids you can upgrade to Bare Burger. Where you can have the Guadalupe, black bean, roasted corn and poblano patty, with alfalfa, guacamole, tomatoes and pickled red onions (560 calories). And the kids can have the Buckaroo, organic grass-fed beef, organic cheddar, and uncured, all natural smoked bacon. (38 Danbury Rd. Ridgefield (.7 miles) For a quick grab ‘n’ go (to or fro) stop in at Deborah Ann’s Sweet Shop for homemade chocolates and ice cream. They offer soft serve and 29 hard-pack flavors from Salted Caramel to Moose Tracks and Gummi Bear. Dairy free options too. (381 Main St., Ridgefield (.4 miles) The sommelier continues…

Where to Eat for pop, rock & doo-wop

Pizza pairs with almost any show, but if you have tickets for, say, Squeeze, Supertramp’s Roger Hodgson or The Machine Performs Pink Floyd, you will want to go with the best. 850° Wood Fired Restaurant, voted Ridgefield’s Best Pizza, serves traditional New York style and ultra thin bar style “za”. Plus 14 “well-paired” beers on tap. They also have a a reputation for quick service and a nice cobble stone courtyard for al fresco dining. (424R Main St., Ridgefield, (.5 miles) 203.894.5395)

The Hideaway is a perennial name on CT Magazine’s Best Restaurants list (Best Pub). Its menu makes for mouth-watering reading: Fried Oysters, Truffle Parm Fries, Food Truck Fish Taco, Beef Brisket Nachos and check out the Mac N Cheese Crock. (30 Grove St., Ridgefield, CT (2 miles) 203.438.7676) Locals say The Ancient Mariner, a laid back, pubby kind of place, has the best burgers in town. They also have a $17 Lobster Roll. (just saying…) (451 Main St., Ridgefield, (.6 miles) 203.438.4771)

Where the Grown-ups Eat

What if you have tickets for Branford Marsalis or Chazz Palminteri: A Bronx Tale? Then you will want to eat where the grown-ups eat. In Ridgefield, that means Bernard’s, the romantic, white table cloth French restaurant in a former Inn built circa 1875. Bernard’s has won just about every award CT Magazine has including Best CT Restaurant. Their signature dish is Cassoulet (bien entendu). Or you can try the French Kiss Oysters from Canada, Venison medallions, Long Island Duck or Cote de Boeuf. And they do crazy things with black truffles. (West Lane, Rt. 35, Ridgefield, Ct, (1 mile) 203.438.8282)

You will find plenty of grown-ups at Luc’s Cafe, as well. Here you will get a less formal French Bistro experience in the lower level of one of Ridgefield’s oldest buildings. And some locals, in a not so subtle jab at Bernard’s, call Luc’s the best French restaurant in Ridgefield. (Vive la différence!) Luc’s is all about Le Steak Frites, Le Poulet Frites, Les Moules Frites and Le Confit de Canard. (3 Big Shop Lane, Ridgefield, (.5 miles) 203. 894.8522)

Ladies Who Lunch

Bailey’s Backyard made CT Magazine’s Best Restaurants list for Best Cocktails but we’re picking this “polished, casual” farm to table for brunch before Giselle, The Bolshoi Ballet in HD. Or Handel’s Agrippina The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD. Here you can get Roasted Tomato and Chickpea Soup, a Grains and Greens Bowl with a soft egg, Biscuits and Gravy, or a Salmon BLT Club. All of which pairs well with a 2018 Sancerre or a Ridgefield Mule… and a good aria or pas de deus. (23 Bailey Ave., Ridgefield, (5 miles) 203.431.0796)

Tablao can do double duty in the “Where the Grown-ups Eat” category but we chose this for “Ladies Who Lunch” because bottles of wine are half-price on Sundays. (You’re welcome.) This Tapas restaurant, with a sister in Norwalk, has a great Charcuterie menu and serves both Classic Paella and an all seafood version. They offer a Prix Fixe Lunch menu: soup, tapas of your choice, and an entree. And don’t forget that bottle of wine. (426 Main St., Ridgefield (.6 miles) 203.244.5320)

Where To Eat When You’re Trashed

There’s really only one place to go under these circumstance and that’s Dimitri’s Diner. They’re open until midnight and they have a Breakfast Combo for $11.95. You get three pancakes, two eggs, sausage or bacon. You can get extra bacon for $3.25 and real Maple Syrup for $2.20. There’s other stuff on the menu. But, remember, you’re trashed so this is what you order. And when we say trashed we mean you may have danced too much to South Side Johnny’s “I Don’t Want To Go Home” and you’re getting that little low blood sugar kind of thing. (Or, you’re just used to being in bed at nine o’clock.) We’re not referring to alcohol consumption or whatever else is associated with rock n roll. (16 Prospect St., Ridgefield (.3) miles, you can order online here: www.dimitrisdiner.com)