When Rebeccas opened on a curve in the road outside of downtown Greenwich, Connecticut, there were no restaurants of its style and cast in the NYC suburbs and few in Manhattan itself. That was twenty years ago and the minimalist design of the dining room not only looks as fresh as it did then but has acquired the status of a classic design, from its clean, cool white and gray colors and Canadian yellow pine blinds and polished floor to its stainless steel accents, with counter seating for eight at the open kitchen.
The well-lighted bar as you enter fills up by six o’clock and, in all those years, few of the 65 seats in the dining room have gone empty by eight. Sustaining that kind of faithful crowd—and it’s largely a tony Westchester-Connecticut clientele who dress wholly appropriate in a non-stuffy way—is largely due to the unchanging stewardship of Rebecca Kirhoffer and her chef-partner husband, Reza Korshidi, not to mention a dedicated kitchen staff that has barely changed in two decades. The dining room staff seems to know most of the guests, who depend on the captains for advice and Kirhoffer for wine suggestions. Kirhoffer studied design at New York’s School of Visual Arts but moved into the restaurant world as a private chef for corporate dining at Smith Barney, where she met the Swiss-born Korshidi, then at the NYC bistro La Goulue. After marrying, they opened Rebeccas in 1997. Back then I wrote of the restaurant’s menu having “a mix of sharp flavors and brittle textures exemplary of modern American cuisine.” Amazingly, that style has not changed much over the years, while evolving through the use of better and better ingredients than ever before. It’s rather like the way their guests’ clothes have changed from Brooks Bros. to Ralph Lauren.
Certain dishes have never left the extensive à la carte menu, like the corn blini with sour cream and imported farm-raised osetra caviar ($26 or $52), the Dover sole (very decently priced at $56), and baked Alaska ($14). Others are brought back seasonally, with specials galore, from soft shell crabs on wild arugula and salsa verde ($26) to Dutch jumbo white asparagus with a morel mushroom ragôut ($32). This being New England, there are always lobster dishes, right now atop lemon risotto, asparagus and green peas ($56).
The duck foie gras, from the Hudson Valley, is made into a finely textured and delicious terrine ($36), served with a salad of artichoke hearts, green beans and mâche with a mustard vinaigrette. All these ingredients make all the difference in the taste of the food, which is never manipulated or overpowered.
The day-boat scallops are from Maine, served in a ragout of Provencal vegetables with saffron couscous ($48), so it seems out of character to haul in truffles from Australia and put them on housemade fettuccine ($100) because they simply don’t compare with European species. Better to wait for fall, when the black truffles come in from Périgord and white ones from Piedmont.
I am very happy to see that the rack of lamb is from Colorado (above), beautifully sliced and plated, with a decadently rich bowl of butter-lavished potatoes ($54). It’s a superb dish, as was a roasted saddle of rabbit (below), as meaty and flavorful as any I’ve ever eaten ($50), in a finely reduced mushroom sauce with grilled asparagus and tender spaetzle—a great summer evening’s dish with a glass of Riesling.
In a restaurant of this serious intent you expect and receive an excellent sampling of cheeses, which on any given night may include a Tomme de chèvre Aydius from the Pyrenées, a raw milk goat’s cheese from Consider Bardwell Farms on the New York/Connecticut border, and a Chantal-like Five Spoke Creamery Tumbleweed from New York. All are served with walnuts and a tangy-sweet apple compote ($22).
Go with friends so you can all taste a sampling of desserts (each $14) that include that delightfully old-fashioned signature baked Alaska; a classic tarte Tatin with pistachio ice cream (below); a crème brûlée that has been perfected over years; and a rum-soaked baba.
The wine list at Rebeccas has always been one of the best in the region—it has to be to compete with the first-rate cellars at nearby Thomas Henkelmann at the Homestead Inn in Greenwich, La Panetière in Rye and La Crémaillière in Banksville. Kirhoffer selects her wines with real discernment, not least the house wine of the moment, a very good Burgundy poured by the glass—Nuits Saint-Georges 2013 ($20). The list has its trophy bottlings, but Kirhoffer much prefers to keep a rolling stock of wines appropriate to the season, so let her be your guide and she will steer you to the perfect bottle. Prices range from reasonable to high mark-ups.
The spirits collection is also of note, including 18 bourbons, five Calvados, and a dozen single malt Scotches.
It’s no wonder that Rebeccas’ banquet business thrives, not just on the quality of the food served but on Kirhoffer’s handling everything from the flowers to the lighting, so that it all reflects that sense of decorous style she was trained to provide.
Connecticut’s Gold Coast residents took a while to break out of their country clubs to attain the culinary sophistication level that their affluence could readily sustain, and Rebeccas has been there to enlighten them with the singular refinement Kirhoffer and Khorshidi brought to the area more than two decades ago.
Rebeccas is open for lunch Tues.-Fri.; for dinner Tues.-Sat.
REBECCAS
265 Glenville Road
Greenwich, CT
203-532- 9270