On the road home

How many times have you been traveling; eyes getting heavy, legs cramping. It's just time to pull over and take a rest...  anywhere.  Traveling back from Providence, RI I was hitting just that point.  I needed a break and it was dinner time.  With no plans and no idea where I was, I took the next exit.  It looked like we were near water so my hope was a seafood restaurant.  Thanks to this technological world we live in, my wife and I both took to our mobile devices and started looking up nearby places to eat.  Deciding upon one that sounded good, we set off for the address only to find out that our choice no existed or had at least changed names.  No problem, we had plenty more choices.  We were in Norwalk, CT. and it appeared that there were several places on Wall Street to eat.  We again headed to our destination and found a place to park.  With several choices in sight, we started walking and looking at menus.  We walked into a curious looking establishment called Fat Cat Pie Co and again looked at the menu.  My wife and I were not very excited looking at the limited choices on the menu.  They had pizza, 2 salads, bloodroot bread, a cheese plate or a charcuterie plate.  That's it, and my wife and I have a gluten intolerance   

Fate must have been smiling on me.  For some reason, I was meant to walk into this store at this time.  While we examined the menu; a kindly, bearded, grey haired gentleman stepped from behind the bar seeing our dilemma. This gentleman let us know what other restaurants were in town and where.  He also let us know that if we decided to stay that they had a gluten free pizza and a great beer and wine selection.  Now he had my attention.  My daughter finally decide that this was where she wanted to eat; luckily for me.  I later found out that the man who helped us out was the owner.  What intrigued me was that he also was a wine importer.
That explained the wine list.  To say that this was not your average pizza shop is an understatement.

The menu was limited but eclectic.  The wine list...  AWSOME!  Let's start with 25 choices by the glass or a 260 bottle list.  As an unexpected stop, the experience was amazing.  The gluten free pizza was the best I've had.  I cheated and tried some of my daughter's pizza as well.  The combination of thin crisp crust and toppings were something to be savored.  The house kale salad was a delicious combination of chopped kale, red currants, roasted pumpkin seeds and quinoa with olive oil and parmesan.  I wish I had had the time and appetite to try the artisanal cheeses and charcuterie selection.

What wine did I drink with pizza and kale salad?  I left this choice for the sommelier.  I asked him to please choose 3 half pours of something that he thought was exceptional from the list that would go with my meal.  I enjoyed the following wines.

Wine #1 - Le Vignoble d'elian, Elian da Ros 2010 from Cotes du Marmondais, France.   The wine was bold with soft dry tannins.  While the wine gave off scents of black currant it drank with hints of pepper, currant and blackberry, olives and a touch of earthiness.  I would rate this wine an 85, drink now or hold 2-3 years.

Wine #2 - Anjou Villages "Brissac", Richou 2010 from Loire Valley, France.  This wine had a sweet nose of violets and red fruits. It was reminiscent of boiled sugar hard candies and cran-raspberry.  It had a lively acidity and medium dry tannins with nuances of violet, cinnamon, a touch of cedar, cran-rasberry and dried mushrooms.  I rate this wine an 89, drink now or hold 3-5 years.

Wine #3 - Les Terrasses, Domaine des Schistes 2011 from Cotes du Roussillion, France.  This wine had a good balance with medium/full tannins and a rich mouthfeel.  The nose was sweet vanilla, plum and raspberry.  The wine reflected sweet plum and raspberry, black pepper and a touch of oak,earth and coffee.  I would rate this wine an 88, drink now or hold 3-5 years

If our experienced had ended here, it would have been enough, but it didn't.  One of the waiters has an amazing operatic voice.  I only know this because 2 lucky patrons were treated to an an incredible version of happy birthday.  Both were met by rounds of applause from the entire restaurant.  Fat Cat Pie Co. at 9-11 Wall Street; Norwalk, CT 06850; 203-523-0389, is well worth a detour from the beaten path.  Thank you for a wonderful time!


Tom Cook

#FatCatPieCo, #NorwalkCT