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A Virtual Culinary Tour Around the World

Your Dining Passport to Westport Restaurants

I am often intrigued by various ethnic food backgrounds and their relationship to other cuisines from around the world.  Just when I think I have a handle on my beloved Italian food, and the misinterpreted cuisine of the French, others, such as Indian, Asian, Latin, and even Middle Eastern foods have increasingly made their way into our restaurants, grocery stores, and our lives. Westport has been the lucky recipient of such global cuisines throughout the years, and we like what's on the menu.

A little over twenty years ago, Sakura Japanese Restaurant began the sushi craze in Fairfield County. The combination of traditional hibachi table shows for the kids, and fresh sushi creations for the then more adventurous diner, was a hit with Westport's well-traveled customer base. The food was fun, considered healthful, and slightly sophisticated.  

While Sakura stuck with what they did so well, other Asian inspired restaurants popped up throughout the years and began raising the bar of this multi-dimensional cuisine. Splash Restaurant & Bar opened in 1995. Its focus as a waterfront restaurant teamed a mostly seafood inspired menu with "Asian Fusion" preparations. The style of food is bold and flavorful, using ingredients such as miso, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and chiles. Mouthwatering examples include: crispy calamari salad with miso-lime dressing; macadamia crusted swordfish with ginger butter sauce; and even a New York strip steak with sweet soy, cilantro, ginger, and red chilies.

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Tengda Asian Bistro, which opened in December of 2001, also tags itself as "Asian Fusion". In this case, "fusion" is more of a term used to explain the menu that features dishes from various Asiatic regions and cuisines, which include Indian, Moroccan, Malaysian, and Thai, plus traditional Japanese and Chinese offerings. The menu runs the gamut from Pad Thai noodles and wok basil shrimp, to a seafood curry pot and sweet tamarind glazed duck breast. It's a virtual tour of the Asiatic countries – on a plate.

The newest Asian restaurant to grace the community is Matsu Sushi, a sleek contemporary restaurant specializing in fresh, quality sushi and traditional Japanese dishes such as a variety of dumplings, crispy shrimp and vegetables tempura, tangy teriyaki meat and fish, and creative sushi rolls such as the Twister Roll with spicy toro, smoked eel, and shrimp tempura rolled up with a soy bean wrap. The look is modern but the cuisine is traditional.

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The tour continues with The Little Kitchen, which describes its cuisine as "Indonesian-Chinese." Here, Vietnamese spring rolls and Malaysian chicken potstickers share the stage with Indonesian coconut curried beef and Singapore shrimp curried lo mein. Their sister restaurant Taipan recently closed, but was a fabulous eatery for Asian tapas such as dim sum and satay.  Don't fret. If you enjoy tapas style dining you will be pleased with its successor, Thali, Regional Cuisine of India.

Thali is a revelation – a unique approach to Indian cuisine.  "I had fun with this menu," beams Owner Prasad Chirnomula. "We took the Spanish tapas style of dining and combined it with an eclectic flavor palette of international influences."   

Just as the Japanese and Chinese restaurants that now include Thai, Malaysian, and even Indian dishes on their menus don't seem so unusual anymore, the concept of balancing flavor – bitter, salt, sour, hot, and sweet, with spice blends (aka "curry") and various cooking techniques (tandoor in lieu of wood-fired oven) is especially apparent in the essence of Indian food.  

Thali's small plate menu includes: Tibetan style steamed chicken dumplings; sesame crusted chicken skewers; jumbo lump crab samosa; Indian style shrimp tempura with soy chili sauce; spiced pan-seared scallops with fennel and fenugreek crust and chili cilantro oil; pepper and ginger skirt steak with mint raita; and little buttons of steamed lentil and rice cakes.

More traditional Indian dishes have been enjoyed at Bombay for over 20 years now.  Masala, Korma, Vindaloo, Saag, and Gassi preparations with shrimp, chicken, and lamb, as well as nan bread, biryani rice, and dosa stuffed with spiced potato. Bombay's popular lunch buffet is a Westport top pick for a quick Indian food fix.

Need a Mexican food fix?  Viva Zapata, named after Mexican freedom fighter Emiliano Zapata, originally opened in 1969 as a local watering hole before being taken over by Harry Brady and Bob O'Mahony in the mid 1980s.Known for their intoxicating margaritas, fruit infused sangria, and decadent Mexican favorites such as overstuffed burritos, carne asada, chicken mole, and seafood enchiladas, their popular outdoor patio seating is a huge draw in the balmy months, and the small bar is dark and cozy with rickety wooden floors, subway handles hanging down from the ceiling, and peanut shells on the floor.  

Villa del Sol opened in 1998 and has been the restaurant to find (tucked away on the cross street of Elm), and more importantly, the place to go for authentic Mexican fare. From the vibrant décor to the potent margaritas, Villa del Sol provides lovers of cheesy nachos, spicy enchiladas, sizzling fajitas, and arroz con pollo with a haven for the flavors of Mexico.

We've crossed a few culinary borders over the years, as seen with the many Italian restaurants that each continue to offer something that sets them apart from the others, and from restaurants and chefs that use their vast culinary influences to bring us an array of tantalizing dishes with a range of flavors. You can see and taste where Chef  Pedro Garzon of Manolo has traveled to throughout his menu. The influences of Spain, Portugal, France and Italy make up the menu of this multi-cultural food destination. 

 The dining scene in Westport continues to thrive. As long as diners continue to enjoy the diversity of Westport's restaurants, more are sure to open.

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