The Norfolk area offers a wide array of choices

By Ruth Melville

Although I love the many advantages of living in such a beautiful place as Norfolk, one thing I miss about city life is the wide choice of foreign cuisines on offer. So I was delighted to discover that there are several new restaurants in the area that serve up unusual—even spicy—food.

STEAM Noodle Cafe, 284 Main Street, Great Barrington, Mass.,

One of my favorites is ramen soup, so I couldn’t wait to try STEAM, the tiny noodle cafe in Great Barrington that opened this summer. One step inside, and I knew I’d come to the right place—the lovely aroma of rich simmering broth was heavenly. The space in the alley at Barrington Place is tiny, only two tables and a few counter seats, with a couple of tables set up outside. My dining companion and I tried several dishes: curry puffs (like a samosa with a puffier crust), gyoza (steamed and fried dumplings stuffed with cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, scallion, ginger and garlic), Thai pho, spicy beef Szechuan noodle soup and ramen in a Japanese tonkotsu broth. Each came in a steaming (of course) bowl brimming with vegetables and seasoning. The pho was made of brisket, bean sprouts, radish, basil, cilantro, scallions, lime and garlic oil, all in a rich beef broth. The place is so small that most people choose to order take-out, and there’s usually a line of hungry customers. But that just means you get to breathe in the lovely smells while you wait. Open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Taste of Thailand, 19 McDermott Avenue, Torrington, 860-201-4684.

Torrington, which already has an excellent Thai restaurant, Vientiane Thai Cuisine, is now blessed with another, Taste of Thailand, which opened at the beginning of August on McDermott Avenue, conveniently close to the AMC movie theater. The food is some of the best Thai food I’ve had in a while. All the dishes, whether noodles dishes or curries, stir-fries or rice dishes, come with a wide choice of “main” ingredient (beef, tofu, salmon, vegetables, chicken, etc.). We sampled the beef drunken noodles, which are pan-fried flat rice noodles cooked with chili paste, egg, bell peppers, onions, carrots and basil; and a dish called larb, which is minced meat (we chose pork) dressed with lime juice, fish sauce, ground red chilies, cilantro, scallions and mint. Both were mouth-tinglingly delicious. Taste of Thailand is BYOB, and it’s open every day for lunch and dinner (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. daily, and until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday).

Mama Pho, 108 Main Street, Winsted, 860-909-1120.

Winsted, too, has a new Asian eatery, Mama Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant located on Main Street in the space that used to be Louis’s diner. The restaurant is charmingly bright and colorful on the outside and surprisingly long and narrow on the inside. Mama Pho has a large menu of Vietnamese soups (pho); rice and vermicelli dishes; sandwiches and Vietnamese crepes; and something they call “phorritos,” which are made with your choice of meat and served wrapped up with noodles, basil, bean sprouts, carrots and scallions. The soups and sandwiches we tried were all tasty and mildly seasoned, making this is an excellent place for someone who wants to try Vietnamese food for the first time. Mama Pho’s serves breakfast and lunch on Mondays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and breakfast, lunch and dinner every other day of the week (10 a.m. to 8 p.m., but till 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and till 7 p.m. on Sundays).

I should add that both Taste of Thailand and Mama Pho are family restaurants that have friendly servers who are happy to offer advice about what to dishes to try. You can always request a dish be made more or less spicy. Portions at both restaurants are a good size, and we had plenty of food to bring home for lunch the next day.

Blackberry River Bistro, 99 Main Street, Canaan, 860-453-4067.

Not all the new restaurants are Asian, of course. This summer Blackberry River Café opened the Blackberry River Bistro in the old Plantin’ Seeds spot in the center of Canaan. The Bistro serves Mexican food—tacos, burritos, salads and rice bowls with a choice of four main ingredients: chicken carnitas, roasted cauliflower, pork al pastor and fried fish. There is well-chosen selection of beer and wine. Although the food took a while to arrive the night we were there—the homemade chips and salsa made the wait easier to bear—the tacos and rice bowls we sampled were very good, light and flavorful. The dessert currently on offer is cinnamon sugar churros with caramel sauce. The space is small, only a couple of tables, but takeout is available. Open Thursday to Sunday nights, 5 to 9 p.m.

The atmosphere at Foxtail in Winsted is casual, but the cuisine is sophisticated.

Foxtail Fine Catering and Cafe, 242 Main Street, Winsted, 860-238-4555.

Just down the street from Mama Pho’s is Foxtail, which also has nary a chopstick in sight. Open for 16 months, this restaurant is on the higher end of the scale than the other places I’ve been recommending, but word of mouth has made it a new local favorite. Although the atmosphere is homey and casual, the food served is high-quality, sophisticated cuisine. Sample main courses at dinner include cedar plank salmon with maple mustard glaze, a grilled flat iron steak and shrimp sautéed with sausage and served on polenta. Dinner entrees cost an average about $20, which is more than reasonable for food this imaginative and well prepared. On one lunchtime visit, my companion had the Navaho flatbread, while I had sliders of either tuna or chicken salad served on mini, house-made Parker House rolls. There’s also a sandwich made with house-cured salmon, and a refreshing chopped salad of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, scallions, radish and mint in a chive yogurt dressing. Foxtail is open for breakfast and lunch on Wednesdays (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.); breakfast, lunch and dinner on Thursday and Friday (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.); breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday (8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.), and breakfast and lunch on Sunday (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

Not a restaurant, but well worth stopping at is Barden Farm Market, which is right next door to Foxtail. This small farm store, run by Anita Barden of Barden Farm in New Hartford, opened at the end of April. They sell a full range of homemade and homegrown foods: seasonal vegetables; breads, cakes and pies (including—manna to this native Pennsylvanian—a shoofly pie); jams, granola and more. A refrigerator case is stocked with cheese, eggs, pesto and homemade soup. The store is open every day: 9 to 5 on Sunday, 11-5 from Monday to Tuesday, and 9-7 Wednesday to Saturday.

Bon appétit!

Photos by Savage Frieze. Top: Fresh-picked corn was on offer at the Barden Farm Market on a recent day.