Famously wealthy Westport engenders the usual class resentments. But aside from the occasional shocking reminder of what I can’t afford—for example, admiring a cute little clutch in a shop on Main Street only to discover a $10,000 price tag—the place has always, for me, retained its basic character as a friendly small town with an endearingly eccentric streak.
That said, my recent visit there was the first in 10 years. I was a little nervous about returning, fearful I’d discover that “you can’t go home again.”
In this case, I could. My first stop was Compo Beach, a 29-acre town park where the Saugatuck River meets the Long Island Sound. Among neighborhoods of gorgeously maintained cottages and streets populated by morning runners, dog walkers and couples with kids in carriages, the go-to stop here is the Old Mill Grocery & Deli, an updated 1919 landmark offering breakfast, lunch and dinner on the run, featuring everything from Boiled Eggs ($3) to Avocado Toast ($9) and burgers ($14-$15) to Salmon Meuniere ($18).
Charmed by the dog-friendly Mason jar of wee Milk-Bones hanging at the entrance, I satisfied myself with a not-too-sweet mocha latte ($5) and a cream-filled bomboloni, or doughnut ($6), part of the deli’s clear Italian streak. In this area, finding a place to park can take some strategizing for out-of-towners, who should otherwise expect to pay $45 at the beach on weekdays or—brace yourself—$70 on weekends. Happily, a deli staffer gave me permission to park longer than I should in the Mill’s tiny free parking lot, which has a posted 15-minute limit. “We don’t really care about that,” she told me pleasantly.
So I strolled along the waterfront, but only briefly, given that it was a bright and blistering 92 degrees out. In search of air conditioning, I headed downtown and stumbled across Bobbles & Lace, which prides itself on not selling any item over $200. While the women’s clothes displayed on mannequins all appeared to be in sizes 0-2, I was particularly entertained by an assortment of playful evening bags, one a metallic silver concoction in the shape of a woman’s lower torso and upper thighs. The store’s young, friendly sales associate commented, “Imagine carrying that on a first date.” Indeed. Bobbles offers all comers a chance to host their own girls’ night out at the shop: Just call the management, arrange a date, and bring friends for some private browsing, complete with wine and snacks.
Next on my itinerary was brunch at The Blondinit, a family-run “Israeli soul food” restaurant that, according to its website, specializes in “authentic Israeli food as you would enjoy in a grill house in Tel Aviv.” Oddly enough, I had trouble finding it on the street—although I practically tripped over its roofed outdoor dining annex—until a congenial group of nearby protesters on a break, whose mission I missed, pointed me back in the right direction. “It’s the best restaurant in town,” one assured me. Alrighty, then.
My waiter had a “best” recommendation of his own: the Eggs Sophie ($22). This take on Eggs Benedict offers sunny side-up eggs and house-cured smoked salmon over crunchy potato latkes, topped with yogurt dill sauce and plated with ripe tomato and greens, a fabulous crazy quilt of tastes and textures. It made me wish I had several more people with me so I could try the Baklava French Toast with pistachio walnut syrup ($20), the Schnitzel & Waffles ($24) and the Shakshuka ($22)—eggs, pepper, feta cheese and cilantro stewed in tomato sauce. My meal started with complimentary warm pita and dips of tahini and schug, an electric mélange of olive oil, herbs and jalapeños.
In the afternoon, I considered visiting Sherwood Island State Park—the oldest in Connecticut, offering 235 acres of beach, wetlands and coastal forest, where popular activities include swimming, disc golfing and flying model airplanes—but I decided instead on a less obvious destination: Earthplace. Established in 1960, this nature center offers activities for all ages, including trail and butterfly walks, canoe paddles, summer camps, build-a-bouquet workshops with flowers from the facility’s gardens and nature craft classes.
But I really came to see celebrity pigeon Pecans (pronounced Peh-kahnz), a young artist on the rise—and that’s not just because he has wings. He’s only one of the many charming residents of Earthplace’s animal sanctuary, composed mostly of former family pets and those who received debilitating injuries in the wild. Pecans, who came to the sanctuary 10 years ago after following several Westport residents into their homes to scavenge for food (the theory is that he had been domesticated, then abandoned), has developed his own form of art therapy—painting with his feet. In the April 2024 issue of Forbes, writer Alexandra Bregman praised his work as “quite evocative, hailing from a post-modern heritage of movement in Gutai Japanese performance art and the gesture of American icon Jackson Pollock.” His paintings are currently available in the gift shop for $15, a steal for an artist with national media attention.
My next stop was MoCA\CT, where pricier artworks reign. Designated in 2019 as the new home of the Westport Arts Center—a cooperative focused on developing both local visual and performing arts—this castle-like structure had been a ball bearing factory in the late 1920s. From 1998 to 2004, Martha Stewart Omnimedia leased the space, reborn as Westport Digital Studios Inc., and converted it into an opulent base for filming Martha Stewart Living. Now stripped back to its warehouse-y basics, the space reminded me of a junior version of Mass MoCA.
Through September 13, MoCA\CT is exhibiting ColleCTomania, a colorful and dramatic exhibition of more than 140 Swiss graphic design posters. Dating from the 1930s to the present, they’ve been culled by curators Pamela Hovland and Karen Salsgiver from the collection of Tom Strong, co-founder of New Haven’s Strong Cohen Graphic Design. He was also a major influence on the development of Yale University’s graphic design program, the first in the US, which became steeped in the principles of “Swiss International Style.” I can’t imagine any better showcase for these works than MoCA’s stark setting, which really allows them to pop.
While at the museum I also visited the outdoor Artisan Marketplace, one in a series of small summer craft shows that will return on August 18. I was particularly charmed by the gemstone and enamel jewelry offered by Idle Gauds and the whimsical crocheted creations of Langslow Handmade, though some of those were better suited to cooler seasons.
Throughout the day, I scrambled to places that could help me stay hydrated. Among them was the cafe at The Westport Library, where I quaffed a juicy Ube lemonade ($5) made with the powder of a purple Filipino sweet potato that gives it a lavender hue.
Founded in 1886, the library underwent a major transformation in 2019, which turned it into an ambitious community hub with expanded collections and, in addition to the cafe, three galleries with rotating art exhibits, a gift shop, a recording studio, a makerspace, a seed library/exchange and a “library of things” including board games, musical instruments and a Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro metal detector that someone had checked out. Anyone looking for a simple outdoor hang can’t do much better than the library’s grounds, on the banks of the Saugatuck and dotted with memorial benches.
I ended the day with dinner at The Cottage, a rustic, shingled boîte nestled into downtown’s Playhouse Square. Though the look is country-chic, the menu is urbane (and urbanely priced). I started with a Brooklyn cocktail ($21), an exquisitely fruit-forward take on a Manhattan flavored with botanical Amaro Sibilla. My main fare included a starter-sized serving of Agnolotti ($22), tiny pasta purses filled with sheep’s milk ricotta cheese that were seasoned with Old Bay breadcrumbs, tarragon and Sorrento lemon, and a visually pleasing, hearty appetizer of Chermoula Grilled Octopus ($24) accented with burnt onions, fingerling potatoes and Marcona almonds. I rounded out the meal with a piquant Strawberry and Rhubarb Shortcake ($15) and a roaring hot Cappuccino ($7) that would have kept Rip Van Winkle awake on the drive home to New Haven.
Written by Patricia Grandjean. Images 1, 3, 4 and 6 photographed by Patricia Grandjean. Image 2 sourced from Discover Westport. Image 5 photographed by Jenna Bascom Photography and provided courtesy of MoCA\CT.
