3 Newtown Eateries Garner State Recognition

Contemporary Italian Bistro, Wood-Fired Bistro and Pub 25 have received high recognition from the 2012 Connecticut Magazine readers’ poll made public Wednesday, reinforcing Newtown’s reputation as a dining destination.

“I’m ecstatic,” Angelo Marini, owner of Sal e Pepe, on South Main Street, said. “We won not only as an Italian restaurant but also in the value category.”

Sal e Pepe, which features homemade pasta, was recognized for 2011 as the best Italian restaurant in the state, with Carbone’s in Hartford as runner up. For 2012, Carbone’s finished tops in state, with Sal e Pepe the runner up. Even so, the readers chose Sal e Pepe as the best Italian restaurant in Fairfield County both years.

Marini said he was especially happy his restaurant was voted as the best value in dining in Fairfield County and second statewide to only Westbrook Lobster, in Wallingford, in that category.

“Our rewards club, in which dinners receive discount certificates, is one of the reasons we are thought of as value,” he said. “We have about 6,000 members in the club now, and it’s growing at a rate of about 1,000 per year.”

People signing up for the club receive a certificate for $21.95, about the price of one meal. They also receive $10 certificates for birthdays, anniversaries and for every $200 they spend, Marini said.

Aside from that, he said his restaurant offers meals made with strictly fresh ingredients, including seafood, and locally grown vegetables and meat whenever possible.

Joe Tartaglia, owner and head chef at Figs, on Church Hill Road, said he was “thrilled” with the “best hidden gem” award bestowed upon his restaurant by the magazine readers.

Figs won the best hidden gem award statewide and also in Fairfield County in the poll for 2012.

“It is a well-deserved award. We have a great staff here. We work hard and strive for perfection,” Tartaglia said.

In addition to brick oven pizza, Figs Wednesday offered roasted pork chops, cheese lasagna, pumpkin ravioli in sage cream and blackened sea bass.

It is the second year Figs has won a top award in the poll. For 2011, it was recognized as the best new restaurant in Fairfield County.

Wednesday evening had barely begun but Pub 25 in Plaza South, on South Main Street, was already nearly filled with bar and dining patrons.

Pub 25, which opened in June, won the 2012 “best pub grub” award for Fairfield County. In that category, White Horse Country Pub, in Marbledale, won the statewide award, while Archie Moore’s, in New Haven, was the runner up statewide.

Pub 25 offers a large bar, several dozen tables for dining, and a patio.

Its two chefs, Charlie Pfeiffer and Andrew Eriquez, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, said the menu they created obviously factored into the award.

“We only use fresh ingredients in our cooking. Our menu does not include any premade food,” Pfeiffer said.

Eriquez said, “We offer creative, thoughtful American-style pub food.”

Their menu features meat loaf, beef stew, chicken pot pie and fish with fries, as well as various burgers and sandwiches. Dinners may also order steaks, chops or fish.