The Cutting Board in Ridgefield

Written by Fran Sikorski
Thursday, 04 December 2008 13:10

Homemade roasted butternut squash soup, honey almond chicken salad with cream cheese on black Russian bread with fruit kabob, generous raisin scones, Whoopie pies, organic coffee from Zumbach’s in New Canaan, these are some of my favorite things and I found them all at the new Cutting Board Café in Ridgefield.

Owned and operated by chef Brian Bender of Ridgefield, a 1994 Culinary Institute of America graduate, this new café, serving breakfast, lunch and Sunday brunch and also providing a full catering service, quickly developed a loyal following after an Oct. 11 grand opening celebration.

Before opening his own restaurant, Chef Bender worked at the Ritz Carlton in Hawaii, and restaurants in New York City and Westchester. He was also a personal chef for a family in Westchester for five years.

Full-time sous chef and pastry chef is Shelley Smedberg, who attended the New England Culinary Institute and creates a variety of  cookies, muffins, banana, cranberry, and pumpkin breads, cakes, and apple crumb and pumpkin pies, chocolate ganache torte, pear crisp and her own version of Kit Kat candy.  

All poultry and beef served at The Cutting Board Café is steroid-, hormone- and antibiotic-free.

Signature items on the breakfast menu are French toast made with  organic challah bread, served with bacon, turkey bacon or sausage and real maple syrup; buckwheat pancakes; omelets served with potato pancake; quiche and salad; and the Cutting Board Parfait, house-made organic granola layered with yogurt and fresh berries.

Four great salads are Anniversary, with mixed greens, baby tomatoes, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and candied pecans, with a fig balsamic vinaigrette; bleu spinach, with grilled chicken breast, marinated red onions, roasted red peppers, crumbled bleu cheese and bacon in a red wine vinaigrette; grilled chopped salad; and Asian chicken salad with mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, baby corn, and crispy noodles in a mildly spicy peanut-ginger dressing.

A children’s menu includes silver dollar pancakes; scrambled egg, with bacon or sausage and home fries; grilled cheese; and organic dinosaur chicken nuggets with fruit.

Special Cutting Board wraps and sandwiches are eggplant, goat cheese, roasted peppers, and olive tapenade; marinated portobella mushroom, tomato and mozzarella; low-fat tuna with cranberries, chopped apples and lettuce; warm roast beef with melted Swiss cheese, marinated red onions, horseradish sauce and lettuce on a sourdough roll; and Reuben melt, with house-baked turkey breast, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye bread.

Breads are available for sale. Wrap and sandwich platters are available for home, office or special occasions. Ready-to-go entrees, sides, soups, salads and desserts are available daily.

It’s healthy eating all the way at The Cutting Board Café.

Side dishes

Comfort foods and an express lunch, with 10 items under $10, have been added to the menu at Marlys of Wilton, 101 Old Ridgefield Road in the Wilton Town Green, 203-834-2000. Prices are reduced on drinks Monday to Friday from 5 to 7, there is a 10% discount on early bird dinners from 5 to 6, and all wine bottles are half off on Monday night...Dinner will be served on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve at Stonehenge Restaurant and Inn, Route 7 in Ridgefield, 203-438-6511.

< Prev		Next >