Take a Seat at the Bar
By Todd Lyon
From the New Haven Register
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| Restaurant General Manager Cindy Robinson, left, stands beside owner Katie Scinto in the dining area of Il Palio. Mara Lavitt/Register photos. |
A sculpture of galloping horses -- quite an extraordinary piece of work -- greets visitors to Il Palio. The building behind it is lovely in its bones, with ceilings made from chestnut reclaimed from an antique barn, and wood-burning stone fireplaces. There’s a handpainted room upstairs that looks for all the world like its been transported from an Italian villa; there are twin dining rooms separated by a shiny marble bar; and, downstairs, a lounge and patio.
The story is much too happy for HBO, however, and may even be too sweet for prime time.
We’ll start with the main character: energetic, twinkly-eyed John Brescio, who started in the biz when he was 15 at a Steak Loft restaurant in Bayside. "I was a dishwasher, busboy, bartender, then, in my early 20s, became a manager," he explains.
Wanting a responsible, grown-up future as a good husband and father, however, he left the restaurant world and studied architecture. Briefly. Then he became a stockbroker.
That’s when his future wife, Krissie — who he’d known and loved since she was 21 — talked some sense into him, and encouraged him to enroll in the French Culinary Institute in New York.
"Two weeks later, I was back in whites," John recalls. It felt so right that he also got a job at a country club as a waiter, then worked his way into the kitchen, "mostly shucking oysters for the buffet," he laughs.
By 1999, the 30-year-old student-chef had landed a gig at Tavern on the Green, and graduated from culinary school while spending his evenings and weekends "blanching French fries and getting yelled at."
Life got much better when he worked his way into plum kitchens like Judson Grill, the Sony Club and Aux Delice in Greenwich. "I got a taste of Connecticut," says John, "and I liked it."
When the couple’s first child was born — Olivia, for whom Liv’s Oyster Bar is named — John slowed down the pace by taking a job as a private chef for a family in Manhattan. "For four years, I cooked different multi-course meals every day," says John. "That’s how I knew I could create and cook my own menu at my own place."
He also knew it was time to leave Manhattan.
And so it was that John and Krissie and baby Olivia started cruising the Connecticut shoreline, visiting towns, doing research, looking at real estate. "One day we were walking down Main Street in Old Saybrook and saw this antique movie theater that had been refurbished, and by the fall of 2005 it was ours.
"I knew right away what I wanted," he continues. "I’d said to Krissie, ‘We’re in a shoreline town, and no oyster bars? You kidding me?’ Luckily, the town liked the idea too, and we were approved."
The Brescios got to work, and transformed the bare walls and floors into an attractive, modern and very welcoming restaurant, with two dining rooms, a bar, a semi-open kitchen and, you guessed it, an oyster bar, or, more accurately, an appealing oyster bed with ice, seaweed and labels identifying the six varieties of raw oysters that are presented each day.
Opening day was Oct. 29, 2006, and the locals came running. Soon the word spread, and Liv’s Oyster Bar became an immediate favorite of diners and critics alike.
The menu is lovely, filled with classic and modern dishes, prepared with skill and imagination. On a recent visit, my seafood-loving pal and I walloped an oyster sampler, featuring two each of six offerings (our favorite was the Quonset Point from Rhode Island); plates of exquisite raw littlenecks; swoon-inducing clam chowder, creamy and wonderfully seasoned; and a particularly comely dish of Roasted Haddock with braised escarole, creamy white beans and mushroom ragout.
The entrees are varied. Besides seafood, there are offerings of Organic Chicken, and Hanger Steak from Cedar River Farms. Sandwiches are available, too (even though Liv’s is not yet open for lunch), and John tells me that people love sitting at the bar for casual meals like Lobster Rolls, Bacon Cheddar Burgers, Maine Smoked Trout and Crispy Fried Oysters, which are quickly becoming legendary among the locals.
"There’s such a comfortable feeling here," says the smiling Krissie, bouncing 4-year-old Olivia on her knee (images of Liv also adorn the walls, and they’re fetching). "I come from a big Italian family, and it was hard to leave them, but we’re making so many friends, and our staff is fabulous. They’re like family, too. They even offer to babysit."
A happy family, a happy story and a restaurant that I’m happy to recommend.
Todd Lyon of New Haven is a freelance writer. She can be reached at toddlyon@earthlink.net. |
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