A Culinary Adventure With A Riverboat Captain Awaits At Gary’s Rib House

By John Voket

As the youngest river boat captain on the entire Mississippi River in his day, Iowa native Gary Frey’s life took as many turns as one of the graceful paddle-wheelers he piloted, winding its way to his eventual settling in Sandy Hook.

After a stint “working for Uncle Sam as one of the only people I ever knew who got drafted into the Military Police,” Mr Frey says he drifted from the Quad Cities area on the Mighty Miss working and managing various restaurants, while honing his own creations for grateful friends and relations.

Longtime Fairfield County residents may remember his influences in both the kitchen and the hospitality end of the business if they patronized the four-star Aus Boi Je Don Restaurant at the former La Pavione Deluxe when it was just one of several classy downtown hotels in Stamford — before a building boom in the early 1980s brought thousands of new hotel rooms to the city center.

Luckily, Mr Frey saw the flood of hotel competition coming, and had the wherewithal to promote a condominium conversion at the property, giving him the necessary capital to launch a business computing enterprise.

“I guess I was lucky to recognize the need for systems and networking for small businesses and began introducing Novel networks before anybody else was really doing it,” Mr Frey said. Now almost two decades later, just when he and his wife Barbara, a Newtown realtor, and adult daughter Tara were ready to embrace his retirement, someone tipped off Gary that the former Marathon Pizza was closing.

Located on busy Route 7 in New Milford, adjacent to the new high school and a long-established Ford dealership, Mr Frey saw the available property as an opportunity to open the kind of classy and intimate restaurant he always wanted, serving some of the now-famous dishes his friends and family had been enjoying at family gatherings for years.

Lo and behold — Gary’s Rib House was born.

After extensive renovations — which included installing classy woodwork and accents, a welcoming bar area with a built-in karaoke machine where daughter Tara shows off her singing talents, bringing in a popular selection of wines and libations, laying out creamy understated linens and shiny tableware — Gary’s Rib House opened late last year.

“A lot of places have been closing here on the strip, in Brookfield and New Milford center, so I think the time was right to open,” he said. “And we were right; business has been steady and keeps picking up every day.”

Serving 1 To 50

Catering to singles, couples, local business professionals, entire families, and private parties up to 50, Mr Frey reminds potential guests this is no “grab and go” rib shack. The family business, which also employs his sister-in-law, Newtowner Audrey Baudisch, daughter Tracey and son Gary Jr, specializes in “food you want to cuddle up with and enjoy for awhile.”

“We want you to feel at home, so don’t think you’re going to be in and out of here in 20 minutes,” Mr Frey said with a twinkle in his eye. “Come in when you’ve got 45 minutes to an hour or more, enjoy a cocktail and sample some appetizers before your meal.”

Those appetizers include: buffalo mozzarella — freshly sliced mozzarella; fresh tomato and basil leaf garnish; fruit martini — chilled fresh fruit served in a sugar-rimmed martini glass; or the taste-tempting overstuffed mushroom caps — fresh mushrooms baked with crabmeat stuffing.

While you may get lucky and arrive in time to sample Gary’s occasional offering of beef stew or split pea soup with chunky ham, his creamy New England chowder and rib-sticking red bean chili is always on the warmer.

Folks passing through for lunch can enjoy his beef tenderloin, boneless pork rib, or Junior’s grilled chicken breast sandwich — a favorite of his son’s. If burgers are your bag, go with either the half-pound chopped sirloin Quad City #12 with mushrooms and brown gravy, the #14, with fried onions and green peppers, or Barb’s burger, dressed with smoky bacon and cheddar.

For dinner, the Freys all recommend starting with dad’s “Famous Bar-B-Q Baby Back Ribs.” Slathered with Gary’s own secret sauce, he guarantees the “sweetest ribs this side of the Mississippi,” and Gary should know!

Go Fish!

If ribs don’t suit your fancy, the catch of the day is so fresh, it was swimming just a day ago.

“Almost every day I’ll get a call from one of my guys, from the boat down in Hawaii. He’ll let me know what they just caught, and I’ll have him carve me a nice piece, ice it down and ship it overnight to serve the next day,” Mr Frey explained.

This system has worked swimmingly so far, yielding Gary’s sizzling swordfish steaks and pan seared wasabi tuna — two favorites from the left coast. His scallop kabobs are also bursting with flavor because they are always fresh, never frozen.

And if you like a great steak, Mr Frey boasts the “best New York strip you can get anywhere in this area.”

Garnish any dish with a side of sherry mushrooms, Gorgonzola cheese, or his freshly steamed or sautéed vegetable of the day and you have built yourself a feast worthy of the recyclable take home containers that keep dinner fresh until tomorrow’s lunchtime.

Appetizers range from $6 to $8, soups are priced at $7 for a cup and $9 for a huge bowl — ask for the chili or chowder in Gary’s hearty bread bowl if you are so inclined. Entrees are priced from $16 for the half rack of ribs to $28 for a New Zealand rack of lamb so gorgeous, you’ll want to sit and stare for just a few moments before you tear into it.

All Gary’s Rib Shack items are available to eat in or to go; no deliveries. The restaurant is closed Mondays, the dining room is open 11 am to 10 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and from noon to 8 pm Sunday. The bar is open late.

Call 860-354-1234 for suggested reservations, and go on line to get a feel for the place and the family that will be serving you at www.garysribs.com.