Dressing Room Creates Comfort, Lacks Service

Walk into Dressing Room and you might think you somehow ended up in Aspen. It feels like a winter ski cabin: all exposed beams and rough wood with a big fire burning in the stone fireplace in the corner.  Cozy and quiet, it's the sort of place where you'd like to plop down on an overstuffed couch with a book and stay a while.

The restaurant, which was opened by Paul Newman and Michel Nichan in 2006 is designed around the principle of using local, fresh, sustainable ingredients. Much of it comes from Millstone Farms in Wilton. As such, the menu is filled with seasonal foods and has a comforting, home-style slant.

The Roasted Vegetable Sandwich ($14) is a testament to that with its mouth-watering balance of peppers, portobello, pickled onions and mozzarella. I most appreciated that it was not overstuffed like so many vegetable sandwiches are, which can make them rather tough to eat. It would've been even better if they hadn't been so heavy-handed with the mayo and olive oil brushed on the delicious country bread. (The same heavy-handed problem happens with the salads.) In general, Dressing Room over-does it on the dressing.

The Mixed Heirloom Grains ($13) was a risotto style dish with faro, black barley and grano – generations-old grains that have never been modified. Simmered with mushrooms, squash, pears and topped with toasted walnuts, the Heirloom Grains sounded appealing on a cold, rainy day. But the risotto was a bit too sweet and light on flavor, as if they'd forgotten to put something in. Oddly, it was served in the center of a bowl the size of a Thanksgiving serving dish.

In contrast, the Chicken Chopped Salad ($17) arrived overflowing on a plate that was much too small which led to minor tablecloth disasters left and right. The Amish chicken breast sliced and served on top was fantastically moist and delicate under the crispy skin. I could have eaten just chicken, as the salad underneath was a bit lackluster: cabbage, cauliflower, beans and unfortunately, none of the goat cheese the menu promised. (The "Use a Spoon" Chop Salad ($9) is essentially the same dish without the chicken – but served in the gigantic bowl instead of the undersized plate. Their dish-selection strategy remains a mystery.)

While Dressing Room uses only the high quality grass-fed beef, the meatloaf didn't wow us. The Mini Meatloaf ($17) was served with a vegetable sauté, mashed potatoes and an addictive carmelized onion gravy, which was the best part of the plate. It was falling-apart tender, but I'm pretty sure I've made better meatloaf at home. (Then again, I could be biased.)

I was delighted that the Grilled Cheese ($9) I ordered for my daughter was notserved with fries, but with sliced apples instead. It was a simple sandwich with farm cheese, optional bacon, and top quality bread from Wave Hill Bread (with spelt and rye berries -- which tastes much better than it sounds.) The five and under set gave the Grilled Cheese  a big thumbs up, along with the Cookie Plate. Served warm, the assortment includes a shortbread cookie, chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar and a cranberry, the best of the lot.

The biggest weakness of the restaurant is the service, which is slightly cold and apathetic at best. Our waitress one afternoon disappeared for a good 20 minutes, through most of our meal.

When I left Dressing Room, I couldn't claim I'd return. Considering what you're served, it often feels overpriced (like the infamous mini burgers – two for $24.) My companions and I appreciated the effort to use locally-grown foods – which seems to be a real and commendable trend here in Westport and beyond. We just wish the locally-grown food had been a bit more flavorful.

(I reviewed only the lunch menu for this article.)

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Dressing Room

27 Powers Court

203/226-1114 

Hours of Operation:

Lunch:  Weds. – Sun.:  11:30 am – 2 pm

Dinner                       

Show season

Tues. – Sat.:  6:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Sun.:   5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Non-show season

Tues. – Thurs.:  6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Fri.- Sun.:  5:00 pm – 10:30 pm                       

Major credit cards accepted.