West Street and Vine

Connecticut is home to lots of celebrities, and some restaurants do a good job of attracting them. Take West Street Grill in Litchfield, where the other night Bill Murray, George Clooney and Wes Anderson shared a table--and a good time. Murray was in especially high spirits, serenading his server once he learned her name and singing "Happy Birthday" and planting a kiss on the cheek of a celebrant at a neighboring table. A Friday or Saturday night in Litchfield? You never know who's going to show up.

An Apple-Eating Eden

During this October that's been so spectacular for sunny, warm weekends and incredibly juicy apples, we find ourselves going back again and again to Connecticut's apple orchards. Last weekend, we visited places at opposite ends of the spectrum--first was Gustafson's Farm and Orchard on Linkfield Road in Watertown. The farm itself is beautiful, with big open fields in all directions (they encourage you to walk around) and the shop is little more than a roadside stand, with bags of freshly picked apples, jars of honey and preserves and a cooler for soft drinks. We took in the quiet country scene, listened to the late-season crickets in the grass, bought a bag of Macouns and began eating them as soon as we got back into the car. The next day, we went to Lyman Orchards on Rte. 147 in Middletown, where it seemed a small city had converged to park cars, wander around, pick apples, go through a cornfield maze, feed the ducks and generally partake in the Indian summer scene. The excellent shop at the orchard was doing boomtown business, but the staff was keeping up with the crowds. We moved through quickly, grabbing four each of four kinds of apples, some pumpkin raisin muffins, a half-dozen pears, a jug of cider and some kettle corn. It all should just about last us till next weekend.

New Haven Seafood

While driving down State Street in New Haven last night, my husband and I came upon Castaways Seafood Restaurant (just passed the I-91 overpass at Bradley Street). He said, “Looks like a nice scene. Let's stop and have a beer out on the patio.”Seems we stepped into the newest seafood restaurant in the city.“We'll take a table outside," we told our server Lisa. “Thank you. Finally I'll be able to enjoy this beautiful weather! And don't worry, I'll take good care of you, too,” she quipped. We got settled outside at a table next to some tropical-looking trees, and Lisa brought two large frosty drafts. One slug of beer later, the busy corner became our island oasis.

Indoor dining here is more formal, with small linen-covered tables set amid a soft amber glow. The menu reads like a seafood primer, offering everything from chowders and pastas to lobster cioppino and fried scallops, shrimp, clams, calamari, and more.

As other happy patrons feasted on huge platters of Neptune's delights,we dove into an order of Angel's Artichokes Française—artichoke hearts dipped in a delicate batter then lightly sautéed and topped with a lick-the-plate delicious herb-lemon sauce. Next we moved on to fresh, succulent Mahi-Mahi served over spinach with a citrus-lime butter sauce.

Franco Bernardo, with brother Chris and sisters Lisa and Rose on staff, opened this seafood haven just eight weeks ago. By the looks (and tastes) of things, it's here to stay. For more info, call (203) 789-0089 or visit castawaysseafoodrestaurant.com.