Maryellen Fillo

Jul. 29, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Joshua Wilcox likes meat and his wife likes seafood. So when the discussions began about opening a restaurant, the compromise was that it be a place where everyone can find something they like on the menu.

And that turned into Fish and Chops, a new family restaurant at 264 Queen St. in Southington.

"I just missed the restaurant business," explained Wilcox, who had managed restaurants in Branford and Waterbury, and was a supervisor for the University of New Haven food services. "It really is a good time to start a restaurant business right now," said Wilcox. "There are a ton of great people looking for work, leases are reasonable and people are still eating out."

The 5,300-square-foot building where his eatery is located had been the site for years for the national Ponderosa franchise.

"We gutted it to the studs," said Wilcox, explaining the work that went into transforming the tired interior into something more contemporary and comfortable. Now the restaurant features a main dining room, bar and lounge area and a private dining room. A nautical decor in grays and blues sets the scene for a variety of sea-inspired artwork on the walls.

Wilcox considers it a plus to be located on busy Route 10, home to about every fast-food franchise imaginable.

"There aren't any restaurants with our kind of seafood menu," he said. "And there aren't too many regular restaurants along this stretch of Route 10. We give people a chance to sit down and enjoy a nice meal."

Wilcox knows the economy is an issue and is sensitive to getting people in the door.

"We are trying to keep prices very reasonable," he said. The menu includes a raw bar selection, fried calamari and crab-cake sliders for people who like seafood, and items like beer-battered portabella fries and cheese dipper sticks for those who don't. Executive chef Sean Walker's menu specials include paella, braised short ribs, lobster mac and cheese, vegetarian risotto, pastas and steaks, including beef tenderloin and grilled New York strip. Lunch menu items range from $6 to $12, and dinner entrees range from about $15 to $26.

"We get our fish, especially our cod, sometimes twice a day," said Wilcox. "Anything we can make in-house, we do."

Desserts include a cookie sampler that comes complete with a bowl of milk for dipping.

Serving lunch and dinner, Fish and Chops is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. Telephone is 860-863-5800.

Small Bites

Coyote Blue in Middletown is featuring its Trails West Barbecue through the end of July. Items include Bronc Rider pork ribs as an appetizer ($10.95) or an entree ($21.95 with baked beans and cole slaw), smoked beef brisket ($15.95), shredded beef enchiladas ($12.95), pulled-pork burrito ($13.95) and smoked chicken wings with a jalapeno Kahlua barbecue sauce ($8.95). The barbecue is done by Gary Wassail of "Big Dog Barbecue" in his mobile kitchen in front of the restaurant. These specials as well as the regular Coyote Blue menu are served Tuesday through Friday starting at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. For more information, visit call 860-345-2403.

For those planning ahead, the CT Northeast Organic Farming Association will hold its "Taste!" organic Connecticut Harvest Festival on Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Manchester Community College.

Celebrity chefs John Turenne, who appeared on "The Naked Chef," Seen Lippert, who worked with Alice Waters at Chez Pannise, and New Haven environmental chef Bun Lai, who owns Miya Sushi, will be featured.

Severine von Tscharner Fleming, founder of the Greenhorns, also will attend and screen her new documentary, "The Greenhorns," about the clean food mission of young farmers in America.

Music, entertainment, a farmer's market, crafts, storytellers, games, farm animals, hay rides and hoop dancing also will be featured. Tickets are $7 for the general public, $5 for NOFA members and MCC students and faculty, free for children younger than 12. For more information, go towww.ctnofa.org or call 203-888-5146.

It may not be a gourmet's dream, but lunch is on at Lake Compounce on Aug. 31 when the annual Crocodile Club event returns. Sponsored as a fundraiser by the New England Carousel Museum, the Crocodile Club event features lamb, fried corn, watermelon, sweet potatoes and sliced tomatoes.

The luncheon was considered a trademark summer event that was started by the Norton family, who owned the park for decades. It has attracted hundreds of politicians, media people and community leaders. It ended in 2002.

Tickets are $50 each. Call 860-585-5411 or go to http://www.thecarouselmuseum.org.

A Taste of Litchfield Hills will be back on track this year. After a year hiatus, the festival will return and celebrate its 25th anniversary Sept. 4 to 6 at Lime Rock Park.

Considered Connecticut's oldest food and wine festival, the event will include food and wine from a variety of area restaurants and wineries, craft show, outdoor bazaar and gourmet food products.

The festival will be held along with the park's traditional Labor Day Weekend historical festival, which offers vintage racing, a Sunday concourse and car show and a swap meet.

There's something new at the Firebox at 563 Broad St., Hartford: The Tavern Grill. The new covered outdoor area at the restaurant will feature a changing selection of small plates for light, outdoor summer dining. The nightly menu will be based on what is available from the Billings Forge Garden and Farmer's Market.

The grill will be open Wednesdays, Thursday and Fridays through the end of summer.

Wine Events

The Litchfield Saltwater Grille Farm to Table Inspired Wine Dinner Series will host a March Farms Dinner featuring Benziger wines on Aug. 8 beginning at 3 p.m. at the farm in Bethlehem. Chef Albert Clugston will prepare the five-course dinner featuring farm-fresh produce, eggs, dairy products and breads. Call 860-567-4900 for information and reservations.

The New Britain Museum of American Art will hold its "The Art of Wine and Food" gala Sept. 14 beginning at 5:30 p.m. Celebrity chef Jacques Pepin will return as honorary chair. The event includes a dine-around and wine pairings. For more information, go to http://www.nbmaa.org.

Send restaurant news at least 10 days before publication to MaryEllen Fillo at , 860-241-3717 (phone), 860- 520-6927 (fax) or in care of The Courant, 285 Broad St., Hartford, CT 06115.

On the Web

For more local dining news and reviews, visit ctnow.com/alacarte.

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