Date: Fri 11-Sep-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Sweetbriar-restaurant

Full Text:

Sweetbriar: Steaks, Spirits & Good Times

(with photos)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Make no mistake -- steak is back.

Steakhouses throughout Fairfield County are thriving, a fact that wasn't lost

on the owners of Sweetbriar, the new restaurant located at 130 Mt Pleasant

Road (near the intersection of Routes 6 and 25) in the building that formerly

housed the Taunton Tavern. When they decided to open a restaurant in Newtown,

they quickly realized the potential for a steakhouse here.

Sweetbriar opened quietly two months ago in order to get the staff acclimated

before the grand opening/open house was set for Sunday, September 20. Wine,

beer and hors d'oeuvres will be served from noon to 3 pm.

Sweetbriar is owned by Louis R. Segneri, Michael Zeerip, and Stephen J.

Barberino, partners in Excelsior, Inc., a local home construction company, and

James S. Naphen, the chef.

Like James Naphen, Mr Segneri is no stranger to the restaurant business. He

formerly owned the Mapleside Inn catering hall in Bristol and Luigi's on Route

7 in Ridgefield.

So when the developers purchased a large piece of property that included the

former Taunton Tavern building in September 1997, they decided immediately to

do some major renovations.

"We wanted to make it lighter and brighter inside because it was so dark --

there were only two windows in the whole place," Mr Segneri said. "We enlarged

the lounge and moved the restrooms. Before we were done, we had additions on

three sides and just about doubled the size."

Deciding on a name wasn't difficult either. They named it after a street in

the last subdivision they built in Newtown, the street where Mr Segneri lives.

After Jim Naphen came in as a partner to run the kitchen, the menu gradually

evolved.

"We're predominately a steakhouse but we also have seafood, chicken and pasta

-- something for everyone," Mr Naphen said. "We wanted to be a place where

parents enjoy coming and the kids are welcome, not a place that kids want to

come and parents can find something on the menu."

Mr Naphen has been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years. Like

many professional chefs, he started out washing dishes when he was a teenager

and worked his way up through the kitchen.

"I started out at the Plank House in Darien, and worked under an excellent

Italian chef at Fat Tuesdays in New Canaan," he said. "I went to college but

kept coming back to the restaurant business because I liked it -- it had a

family-like atmosphere and I particularly enjoyed the creative end."

He was head chef at Morgen in Greenwich, opened Henkels in Darien (which is

now the Black Goose Grill), opened the kitchen at Jimmy's Seaside in Stamford,

and the Five-Mile River Grill in Rowayton. For five years he operated his own

restaurant, the 35-seat Blue Water Cafe in New Canaan, before selling his

interest to his partner three years ago.

"I was looking for something closer to home and bigger," he explained. "That

led to the partnership here."

Sweetbriar offers aged prime beef, the type of beef not typically available at

a supermarket. There are seven beef choices, with the filet mignon, New York

strip steak and sirloin available in two sizes. All can be served with a

mushroom chianti demi-glace or red wine onion marmalade steak sauce.

There are a half dozen seafood entrees ranging from grilled salmon with a

tomato and dill vinaigrette to a grilled shrimp and artichoke combination with

caramelized onion, served over linguine. Three or four specials -- salads,

pasta, beef and fish -- are offered nightly.

"I like the flexibility of being able to offer whatever we can get fresh, in

season," Mr Naphen said. "Nothing is better. We try to be flexible, too. We're

here to please a broad spectrum of the community."

Dinner entrees are priced at $11.95 to $25.95; all are served with a mixed

green salad and a choice of baked potato, French fries or pasta. There are

also main dish salads, $6.95-$10.95, and side orders of sweet potato fries,

sauteed mushrooms and sauteed spinach. Appetizers, $3.95-$9.95, include an

intriguing Baked Clams Point o' Woods, a marriage of baked stuffed clams and

clams casino in a white wine and butter sauce.

Most of the dinner entrees are available at lunch in slightly smaller

portions, priced at $7.95-$18.95, along with sandwiches, running $5.95-$8.95.

The children's menu includes a half-dozen favorites priced at $3.95-$4.95.

Sweetbriar also has an after-hours menu of sandwiches and appetizers that is

available between lunch and dinner and after dinner until closing.

Lunch is served Monday through Friday from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm; dinner

Sunday-Thursday 5 to 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday until 10:30 pm. The lounge

opens at 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant accommodates about 110 in

the main dining room, 40 in the lounge, and 50 in the upstairs meeting/party

room.

For reservations or information call 426-8133.