For those who live in the Plainville-Farmington Valley area, it’s a Route 10 landmark with dining roots going back to the pre-world War II era. Originally known as the Mo-No-Pole, a mix of French and Latin translating to “one of a kind,” it was purchased by Joan and Peter Lenotis in 1998.
The couple, who had owned the popular Johnny’s restaurant in New Britain, renamed it Confetti!, transforming it from a place best known for pot roast, fritters and an older clientele to an eclectic, contemporary dining destination featuring a menu mix of Mediterranean and American-inspired food.
But that was then and this is now, and once again Confetti! has undergone a makeover.
And although the dining area has been updated, the biggest change is in the kitchen. A new wood-fired brick oven has opened some hot doors to a new menu and jump-started a host of other changes.
“A lot of places have brick ovens, but they aren’t using them right,” says owner Peter Lemnotis, who is also part of the change at the restaurant on Farmington Avenue in Plainville. Lemnotis has once again taken over as head chef, and he is excited to be out from behind the desk and back at the stove.
“I missed cooking,” he says as he keeps a watchful eye on the temperature of his brick oven that is used for menu items ranging from artisan pizzas to braised short ribs. “I was ready to start doing something a little more creative and do what I like best. It feels good.”
Lemnotis knows his way around a brick oven. He has two portable units that he had been using for catering and special events for a couple of years. And while a brick oven has become de rigueur in many restaurants, Lemnotis is taking it beyond his own interesting pizza selection.
Neapolitan-style pizzas are made with his own fermented, two-step dough, pounded very thin and topped with choices ranging from fresh mozzarella and plum tomato, to the more unusual Brussels sprouts, garlic cream and bacon. He also has his own version of that New Haven-famed white clam pie, as well as such choices as the Forestiere with a mushroom medley, and The Joan, named after his wife, featuring prosciutto, truffle-oiled arugula and fresh mozzarella.
Now open for dinner only Wednesday through Saturday and brunch and early dinner on Sunday, Lemnotis has taken the oven and made it a kitchen stalwart. Pork chops, fish and beef are finished in the oven, an additional cooking step Lemnotis says makes for a juicier texture because of the high heat, and a nice grill on the finished product.
“We have made the menu smaller,” he says, noting that the restaurant now offers “oven-kissed” daily wood-fired specials such as coffee-braised short ribs, Grecian lamb shanks, roasted chicken and pastas with sausage and roasted vegetables.
About those vegetables. At night, Lemnotis banks the fire and first thing in the morning coaxes the smoldering oak and maple wood embers back into service to roast fresh vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, potatoes, peppers and anything else he can source locally.
The new menu, which also includes Hasting Farms hamburgers and toasted lobster rolls, is being served in the madeover dining rooms. New carpeting, dinnerware and linens, and walls that are now painted deep mustard, teal and aubergine, set a more sophisticated and intimate tone to the place.
The bar and lounge, with an updated selection of bourbons and ryes, has also been given a makeover and a new cocktail menu includes choices like the Rocky Mountain Sun-Ryes, with Tin Cup whiskey to the Boulevardier with Maker’s Mark and campari. The daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. offers $2 off drinks and a $6 appetizer menu.
Lemnotis has also brought in some new help. Jay Dollinger, who most recently worked as the catering manager at West Hartford’s Crown Market, is Confetti!’s new manager.
Lemnotis notes that he and his wife are dedicated to maintaining the family friendly, casually comfortable dining experience the place is best known for by generations who have dined at the location.
“It’s like this, he says, “You can come with the kids and have a great pizza, or you can have a night out and have great piece of meat or fish, or stop by on Sunday for our brunch. We are here to make sure you have a good time and a good meal.”
Pizzas range from $11 to $13. Entrees range from $11 to $29. Those who come in to dine after 8 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday also receive 20 percent off their bill. Confetti! is offering an Easter brunch with seatings from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
>>Confetti!, 393 Farmington Ave., Plainville, is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for brunch and 11 to 8 p.m. for lunch and dinner. Information: 860-793-8809 and idineconfetti.com.
