After Hurricane Sandy hit Connecticut in 2012 and destroyed the Dock & Dine in Old Saybrook, restaurateur Jon Kodama has focused on rebuilding the iconic restaurant. The building, which overlooked the Connecticut River as it joins Long Island Sound, was razed, and Kodama set to work on designing the new building and securing permits and financing.
Kodama, whose Steak Loft, Go Fish and Ten Clams restaurants are fixtures in the Mystic restaurant scene, had hoped to be welcoming customers to the new Dock & Dine by now, but there are a few aspects of the plan that still require attention before any ground-breaking ceremony takes place.
Kodama can still offer customers a spectacular water view this summer, however. On May 21, he opened Breakwater, which he describes as a mini Dock & Dine, in Stonington Harbor. The restaurant occupies the space most recently doing business as Swooner, which closed last September, but better known as Skipper’s Dock. The building offers panoramic views of picturesque harbor and Long Island Sound.
“There’s nothing nicer,” Kodama says of the view, “and the sunsets are spectacular.” The building, whose interior was completely redone before Swooner opened, juts into the harbor and provides outdoor seating. The dining room, which was very dark, Kodama says, is now light and airy in a white, beige and steel gray color scheme with windows on three walls. Kodama extended the bar, which now seats about 20 and also has window views of the harbor.
In keeping with its shoreline address, the menu at the new Breakwater restaurant in Stonington puts the spotlight on fresh fish and seafood. Kodama collaborated with chef Patrick Knowles, who worked at the Dock & Dine before he attended the Culinary Institute of America, on the menu.
Kodama describes the menu as “deconstructed” and “casual.” “The ingredients are the freshest we can find and local as much as possible,” he says, pointing across the harbor to the buildings housing the seafood purveyors. “We doing simple but modern preparations.”
“By deconstructing the menu, we’re encouraging people to try different things,” Kodama says. “There are no starches or vegetables on the dishes so that [customers] can put [the day’s] fresh fish on a salad, with vegetables or with French fries.”
Starters include raw bar options of oysters, clams and shrimp; ceviche and tartare of the day; chowder, and salads. Classics such as hot or cold lobster rolls and fish and chips also are options. Entrees include roasted or grilled fish and seafood, lobster mac and cheese, and seafood pasta. Landlubbers can choose from a classic burger or a pork belly and Angus beef patty, Asian-style short ribs, chicken breast paillard or a shoulder tenderloin steak.
The same menu is served at lunch and dinner, although the daily specials change from noontime to evening.
“The specials are a little more elaborate to show what our kitchen can do,” Kodama says. Recent specials included a blackened sole sandwich with citrus aioli at lunch and dinner options of grilled swordfish with jasmine scallion rice, pineapple salsa and green beans or sesame-encrusted tuna with lobster asparagus risotto and balsamic glaze. Entrée prices range from $3.50 for a Rhode Island famous Saugy hot dog to $22.50 for the seafood pasta with fish and shellfish.
While the menu satisfies any craving for a shoreline seafood meal, Kodama knows that the setting draws guests as much as the food.]
“People know the old Skipper’s Dock,” he says, adding that the charming town of Stonington draws tourists and locals alike throughout the summer. “There’s nothing better than going for a walk before or after dinner, and the borough is ideal for that.”
>>Breakwater, 66 Water St. in Stonington, opens daily at 11:30 a.m. Closing times are still in flux, but the kitchen is open until 9:30 or 10 p.m., depending on demand, Kodama says. Information: 860-415-8123.
New Menu At The Wharf
The fruits of the sea figure prominently in another shoreline restaurant, The Wharf at the Madison Beach Hotel. Executive chef Leo Bushey, well known in the Hartford area from his work in the kitchens of Acqua Oyster Bar in Vernon, the Hartford Club and the Country Club of Farmington, took the helm of the hotel kitchen four months ago.
Bushey, who says he “loves” working at the hotel and is gearing up for the busy summer season, revamped all of the menus at The Wharf, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has both a bar and happy hour menus. Already popular with guests are the seafood stew, a medley of fish and shellfish, and the tuna tartare. The tartare “is our signature dish,” he says. “It’s sashimi grade tuna served with avocado, cucumber, sriracha aioli and housemade potato chips.”
Bushey’s take on the classic scallop and bacon combination pairs Stonington scallops and crisp-cooked bacon with a maple cream sauce. Rib-eye steak and organic free-range chicken are among the choices for meat-eaters.
The menu stresses fresh, locally grown ingredients, some plucked from the hotel’s own garden. “We trying to get the best possible ingredients we can from local artisans, farmers and purveyors,” the chef says. The hotel garden is planted with multiple heirloom tomato varieties, peppers, squash, eggplant and more. The garden’s bounty as well as the foods Bushey can procure locally inspire menu specials on Fridays and Saturdays.
Last week, the hotel officially joined Curio – A Collection by Hilton, a group of distinctive hotels. The boutique resort re-opened in 2012 after the original building was razed and rebuilt. Information: 203-245-1404.
