We don't get much more than four or five months of great outdoor weather here along the Connecticut Gold Coast, so when we find ourselves in the midst of that weather, people really like to take part in outdoor drinking and dining. Fair enough. I myself like to do the same, but as time seems to pass, I notice that the choices for what is available in the area seem a little lackluster. It's one thing to have a restaurant that has a small outdoor dining area, but what good is it when you're overlooking the parking lot of a strip mall? Seaside (or around here, Soundside) drinking spots are what become all the rage May through September.
Stamford's Crabshell has long been a favorite for folks down county, and it's certainly not a bad choice. It's not a great choice either. Crabshell's waterfront location, slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown Stamford is top-notch. And sitting outside and enjoying a few cold ones on a nice summer afternoon/evening seems picturesque. The problem with the Crabshell is the problem with it's clientele, and much of Stamford in general: it's just trying too damn hard. Stamford is a great city in Southwestern Fairfield County. It's not, however, Westchester County or Manhattan. The more advanced and developed Stamford becomes, the more cluttered its watering-holes and restaurants become with ten-cent millionaires and wannabes.
A little further up the road in Westport is Splash, a bar and restaurant located at the pristine Inn at Longshore. This is a spot that truly epitomizes Gold Coast elegance and attitude, which isn't necessarily a good thing. And if Stamford finds itself cluttered with ten-cent millionaires, than Westport has quarter-millionaires. They're out in full-force at Splash, along with desperate cougars and older men tying to throw some of their money around to pick up twenty-something females plagued with low self-esteem and daddy issues. Like that twenty-something female, Splash is fun to look at for a day or two, but sooner or later it will start to really annoy you. I'm leery these days of restaurants and bars that boast they are part of a group of restaurants. Such is the case with Splash, which is apparently part of the DeCaro Restaurant Group, who also own Baang, a forty-something meat-market pick-up joint in Greenwich. What happened to the good ol' days when people owned one restaurant and put everything they could into it? Nowadays, it's all about bragging about one's portfolio of places.
And then there's the venerable Captain's Cove in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. While it's great for the sheer entertainment of people watching (I'm convinced that the DJ still plays the "Electric Slide" on Sunday nights and it packs the dancefloor), Captain's Cove is pretty much local seaside drinking at it's grittiest, and dirtiest. I've blogged before about the collection of spare-parts that are easily found in Black Rock, and they are out in full force at Captain's Cove on Sundays in the summer. Fortunately, so are the cops.
I won't even write about Stonebridge in Milford as it's not quite Gold Coast, and it's success is due largely to the fact that it's the safe bet for residents of The Valley to go drink when they want something waterfront and upscale (and Stonebridge isn't quite either of those).
There are countless other options I neglected to mention, from the upscale Delamar in Greenwich, to the mediocre Outrigger's in Stratford; but unfortunately, with all of the aforementioned choices, there isn't one that stands out as being original and thoroughly enjoyable.
Personally, when I feel the urge for a little seaside libation, I do enjoy The Boatyard, located around the back of Smokey Joe's Ribs on the Stamford/Darien line. It's not quite seaside (there's a creek running along the back, with an outdoor patio), but the atmosphere is more laid back, and even a little Cape Cod-esque. It's a far cry from the craziness of any of the other places I've listed, but if what you want is something a little more low-key, then Boatyard may be worth trying.
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