Bites Nearby: Brasserie Pip

The last place you want to be tonight is the kitchen. Let’s eat out!

Restaurant name: Brasserie Pip      

Address: Copper Beech Inn, 46 Main St., Ivoryton

Phone number:  860-767-0330; www.copperbeechinn.com

Cuisine: French and Modern American with an emphasis on locally grown ingredients

Price range: $5-$31   

Take out: The kitchen can handle take-out orders, but this food is meant to be savored and enjoyed in the cozy atmosphere of Pip’s dining room.

Kid-friendly:  We dined here recently with a five-year-old boy in our group. He was on his best behavior and lapped up pasta and a great roasted chicken, while the staff and kitchen couldn’t have been more accommodating to him, including special requests due to food allergies.

Why you should go right now: Because the attentive service, ambiance and four-star food add up to a wonderful dining experience. The menu begins with some “Pour La Table” choices such as house-made pickled vegetables, oysters and charcuterie for guests to share. Executive chef Tyler Anderson has divided the main menu into two categories – traditional and seasonal. On the traditional side, starters include duck confit and shellfish risotto followed by entrees of steak frites, fluke amandine and a perfectly cooked striped bass on a bed of artichoke puree with roasted beets and baby cabbage.  Among the winners in the seasonal starters are a naturally sweet shrimp and corn soup and a beautiful summer fruit and vegetable mix of watermelon, musk melon, tomatoes and radishes with a rosy melon-nasturtium broth poured into the bowl at the table. A seasonal entrée of succulent lobster tail was garnished with corn, leeks and a stuffed squash blossom. Brasserie Pip offers a seven-course tasting menu ($69) with wine pairings ($45). The menu explains that 90 percent of the ingredients used at the inn were grown or produced within a 150-mile radius of Ivoryton.