Restaurant Spotlight
Posted by estiator at 10 October, at 07 : 38 AM Print
The Spinning Wheel
109 Blackrock Turnpike, Redding Ridge, Connecticut | spinningwheelct.com
Nothing says “New England” like a drive through rural Connecticut on a sunny October afternoon, when the leaves on the sugar maples are turning glorious shades of red, orange, and yellow; the sweet gums a burnt rust; and the birch and hickory various hues of yellow and gold. The Spinning Wheel, a centuries-old landmark situated along the Black Rock Turnpike connecting the quaint hamlet of Bethel with the tony town of Fairfield, then, is a Sunday driver’s delight, offering award-winning rustic American fare to travelers, be they nature-loving leaf peekers, city dwellers out on weekend, or extended families gathered to celebrate an intimate wedding or a life milestone in its private banquet room. The Spinning Wheel’s original saltbox-style house was first built in 1742, constructed around a great stone hearth. Once a stagecoach depot along the Danbury-Norwalk route, the building was first imagined as an inn by the Tottle family in 1925, serving hot meals and lively conversation to roadweary passengers.
Allowed to slip into disrepair and closed for the better part of a decade, The Spinning Wheel was purchased by brothers Anthony, Christopher, and Steven Rountos in 2012, and reopened in 2014 after an extensive restoration process that took more than 18 months to complete. Christopher, who began his professional life as an architect, oversaw the construction, careful to respect colonial aesthetics from the local area as he designed the space’s 160-seat banquet room, 120-seat dining room, and expansive patio. Today, Christopher runs the front-of-the-house at the restaurant while Anthony oversees the kitchen as The Spinning Wheel’s chef.
The combination of Anthony’s food (which he refers to as “Connecticut comfort cuisine”), Christopher’s hospitality, and the building’s 18th-century colonial setting has landed the restaurant consistently on “Best of” lists, most conspicuously earning the “Best American Restaurant” title from Connecticut Magazine every year for the past four years. On the menu is an eclectic assortment of appetizers, salads, and entrées, many of which belie their New England pedigree, including mapleglazed Brussels sprouts with applewood-smoked bacon; beer-battered wild-caught haddock with crispy fries; shepherd’s pie (the restaurant’s signature dish) made with slowcooked short ribs, garden vegetables in seasoned sauce and topped with cheese-spiked mashed potatoes; and a delightful free-range chicken, lightly floured and pan-fried before finishing in the oven and topped with tarragon gravy. Among the more internationally inspired dishes is a locally made burrata appetizer served with roast-tomato chutney, basil gremolata, and a hot oil drizzle.
The Rountos brothers began their restaurant careers as toddlers at the Windmill Diner in Danbury, owned and operated by their parents, John and Valerie, along with four sets of aunts and uncles. As teenagers, they both logged countless hours at The Amber Room Colonnade, one of Western Connecticut’s premier catering halls, which was owned by the family for the better part of two decades, beginning in the 1990s. The brothers continue the family tradition of hard work, great food, and meticulous attention to detail, reviving one of Connecticut’s most picturesque, characteristic colonial restaurants.
