Paul Newman and Chef Michel Nischan Open Restaurant
Dressing Room, Paul Newman’s new restaurant in Westport, Connecticut, officially opened for dinner business in October, adding lunch service last month. Situated adjacent to the Westport Country Playhouse, it opened to help endow the theater that Paul and his wife, Joanne Woodward, are so much a part of.
Newman and co-owner chef Michel Nischan see their new restaurant as a community gathering place that will bring together both theater and food cultures, using sustainable food as the backdrop. Chef Nischan says, “the restaurant’s goal is to rediscover the food that once defined American life before the era of convenience foods took hold.”
True to his MO, Newman will donate a portion of the profits from Dressing Room to local causes. It currently supports the weekly Farmer’s Market held in the nearby theater’s parking lot, but they’re also working on starting a Colonial/Native American edible schoolyard at a nearby high school. How cool is that?
Given Paul’s continued mission on protecting and preserving our environment, the new restaurant is very eco-friendly; the soap and towels in the restrooms are biodegradable and the food is eco-gastronomic: organic, healthy and locally grown when possible.
The Dressing Room restaurant is all about comfort food … Beef Kettle Pot Roast, Berkshire Pig, Mashed Potatoes, Chicken and Dumplings and Spit-Roasted Chicken and burgers made from Niman Ranch beef from cattle raised without hormones or antibiotics on small farms. Heirloom ingredients are used throughout the menu, and items are based on what is available locally from responsible farmers that protect their land and staff.
In their own words:
We believe that the food we grow and cook in the place that we call home defines who we are. In this spirit, we will celebrate and update regional American heirloom recipes and offer them with genuine neighborly hospitality.
We are committed to supporting local and regional farmers, fishers and producers by cooking food that recaptures the simple and pure tastes found in locally grown, natural and organic ingredients. We strive to raise awareness of a more sustainable food future, while helping to restore a sense of community that brings us back to a more homegrown time. Food, theater, and farming have always been important parts of American culture.
The Westport Country Playhouse has been and continues to be an important part of American theater culture, and we wish to do the same for our food heritage through the restaurant. Our weekly Thursday farmers market brings the finest farmers and producers from Connecticut to our Westport back yard, and our menu brings their wonderful ingredients to life. Our goal is to build a community gathering place that brings theater and food culture together to offer a complete cultural experience.
We also want to be a great neighborhood restaurant where folks can enjoy some good neighborhood “chow” (in the words of PLN himself). We feel we’re offering a special piece of Connecticut for everyone to enjoy, and are proud to join the greater neighborhood of Westport and Fairfield County. Come join us at Dressing Room, a Homegrown Restaurant.
“The Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant” is on Route 1 in downtown Westport. Dining is casual. Reservations are recommended for weekends. Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5-10 pm, and until 11 on weekends.
