Baldanza Market and Cafe Gets a 'Very Good' From New York Times Reviewer

Baldanza Market and Cafe, a small eatery on Elm Street that opened in July of 2013, impressed restaurant reviewer Patricia Brooks enough for her to give it a “Very Good” rating in the New York Times.

“Finding Baldanza Market and Cafe nested in downtown New Canaan is half the battle,” Brooks wrote (it’s at 17 Elm St., here). “Now that I have found it, I expect to return again and again.”

(It’s not very easy to find Baldanza unless you already know where to look: It’s down the alley where Reid’s Country Kitchen used to be located, on the north side of Elm Street, near Main Street and right next to The Linen Shop at 21 Elm.)

She wrote that the wild Alaskan salmon as well as the sea scallops from Stonington, ME were “just delightful,” and she liked the creme brulee, too. But the risotto primavera seemed “a bit mushy.”

Baldanza describes itself on its website as organic: “All of our meals are comprised of the finest organic produce, our beef is grass fed organic, our eggs are cage free organic. We work with farms that embrace the humane treatment of animals that are both hormone free and fed grains that are GMO free.”

Brooks, in Friday’s New York Times, noted in her review (”A Focus on Farms and Freshness”) that the names of eight farms were chalked on a board showing where most of that day’s food had come from. There are only 35 seats in the little restaurant.

See Brooks’ review in the Times here.

What They Think of Baldanza Elsewhere Online

• Yelp reviewer/readers give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 15 reviews

• Trip Advisor reviewer/readers give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 12 reviews

• Urban Spoon reviewer/readers give it an 83 percent “like it” rating, with 12 votes (reviews)

• CT Bites wrote when the restaurant first opened: “With an organic focus and local sourcing, owners Sandy and Angela Baldanza are offering clean, fresh dishes from local sources. The décor is reminiscent of an old fashioned country market [...]”

Baldanza Market and Cafe

(called “Baldanza Natural Market Cafe” on its website)

Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday Brunch, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

17 Elm St. (down the alley)

(914) 671-9902

They don’t use their Facebook pages.

On Twitter

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Photo: Cedar Plank Salmon (from the Baldanza Market and Cafe website