Barbi Brunello | Talk-A-Vino

Oak Hills Restaurant: Great Food, Great Wine

August 25, 2013 10 comments

I recently shared with you my take on the Madonia restaurant in Stamford. Few weeks after visiting Madonia, we went to another restaurant with the similar type of cuisine – Mediterranean with Italian flair. This restaurant is called Oak Hills Restaurant on the Green and it is located in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the Oak Hills Park (it is actually a municipal golf course).

When the restaurant is located on the golf course, what do you think it can come with? Of course, the view! We were sitting outside on the terrace, overlooking beautiful greens. Yes, you can watch the crowd French style, sitting right in a middle of the street with cup of coffee or glass of wine. Or you can just relax and admire the serenity around you – this is where the golf course is simply a good place to be.

First, let me say a few words about the wine. The wine list was short, but had a few good values. My eye stopped at Barbi Rosso di Montalcino – at $40/bottle, this was quite reasonable wine to get, considering that it retails at around $20.

Barbi Rosso di Montalcino

This 2010 Fattoria dei Barbi Rosso di Montalcino DOC was very nice, ready to drink from the get go. Light ruby color in the glass, rustic nose of light cherries with hint of leather, more cherries on the palate, perfect acidity, soft and round – this wine was perfectly fitting our appetizers. For the appetizers, we had a few dishes, here are two of the memorable ones:

Fried Calamari

Calamari were perfectly done, with just the right amount of breading, crispy with perfect texture, and delicious sauce with just enough bite.

Meatball Sliders

Generous meatballs paired perfectly with our Rosso di Montalcino wine.

Then it was time to get another bottle of wine. We decided to continue with the same wine – but Omar, Maître D and co-owner of the restaurant, insisted that we would get the big brother of the Rosso di Montalcino, the Brunello. It was listed on the wine list for $80 (still a good price), but he offered us the wine at the same price as the first one, so we couldn’t resist. The wine also came with the story – Omar told us that in the very old times (1300s), Barbi family were the assassins in the village of Montalcino, and they were offered the land in exchange of promise to stop killing people (which they did). I tried to find some confirmation of this story on the internet ( including Fattoria Barbi’s web site), but was unsuccessful. If you heard anything about it, I would be very curious to learn more.

Barbi Brunello di Montalcino

This 2006 Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino DOCG was decanted for a short period of time. Dark garnet color in the glass, invigorating nose of the dark fruit and spices, full bodied, slightly chewy, dense wine on the palate, with lots of dark fruit, cherries and blackberries, touch of tobacco, powerful, but well balanced tannins – this was definitely a great wine.

Here are couple of examples of our entrees:

Potato Chip Crusted Mahi Mahi

My wife got this potato-chips encrusted Mahi Mahi. I can tell you – my wife is very picky about her fish – and she said this was probably the best fish she ever had. I have to agree with her – it was absolutely delicious.

Thai style Kabob

I’m generally skeptical about beef kabob (you need lamb or pork for the best tasting kabob – both chicken and beef have a tendency to come out too dry) – but this execution was just perfect! Meat was perfectly tender, with wonderfully refreshing Thai-style spicy sauce. Definitely an excellent dish.

And then of course was dessert:

French Cannoli

Imagine Italian Cannoli, only with the French crepe instead of the typical Cannoli crust – with banana cream filling, covered with chocolate sauce and scoop of ice cream on top. I rest my case.

All in all, this was a great experience – all is left to do it so thank Chef Vinny La Forte for the delicious meal.

Until the next time – cheers!