Sagi's Patio Offers Family Feel

Tuesday night dinner on Sagi's new back patio felt like eating dinner with extended family, if you happen to have a relative that hand-rolls ricotta gnocchi.

The almost two-year-old Catoonah Street mainstay debuted the seven-table nook a couple weeks back with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting. The space features a decorative fountain and trees encircled with white Christmas lights, and owner Bianca DeMasi said she has grander gardening plans for next year.

The familial vibe came when Patch Associate Regional Editor Liz Mitchell and I found ourselves involved in the dinners unfolding at the tables around us.

We listened as a little girl one table over excitedly told DeMasi's daughter, restaurant manager Sabrina Rullo, about her new pierced ears.

We witnessed a Ridgefield woman arrive for her 47th anniversary dinner to find a table garnished with 47 roses, and then watched her face glow as her husband arrived to spontaneous applause. "I think I'll keep him," she told Rullo.

And we watched—and laughed and conspired—as Republican Town Committee Treasurer Bob Hebert stopped by to greet us and ended up staying for a plate of penne, a glass of wine and a theoretical wedding planning session that involved setting his son up with Liz's best friend in D.C. If Hebert's son ends up with a wedding reception catered by DeMasi at Keeler Tavern with his new bride, Katie, you heard it here first.

All this happened even as we managed to challenge Miss Piggy's dictum to "never eat more than you can lift." Rullo continually appeared with generous portions of fresh, flavorful food. (She offered Hebert dinner by asking, "Do you want Mom to cook up something?")

Liz and I started with two appetizers: cockled clams with pancetta and marinara sauce and fried artichoke hearts with curry mayonnaise. I'm not a big shellfish eater, but expert Liz reported that the clams were scrumptious—not too fishy or oily and nicely complemented by the salty pancetta. The artichoke hearts had a hearty taste and gentle batter crunch.

The starter dishes were followed with a fresh Caprese salad and then a plate full of delicious handmade gnocchi. They were filled with ricotta instead of potato, which made the bites lighter but still textured.

The main course was a sizable filet of sole crusted with almonds and drizzled with garlic white wine sauce, which we were unable to finish even before we learned that we needed to save room for tiramisu. I shouldn't have worried; adults forget, but every child knows her stomach has a separate dessert compartment with a unique size-to-volume physics. We found room for the melt-in-your mouth cake and the cappuccinos that chased them, just in case the tiramisu espresso didn't flush enough caffeine into our blood.  

By the time we left, three hours after arriving, Hebert's matchmaking made him a half hour late to his post-Sagi's meeting, DeMasi had been presented with two of the anniversary roses, Rullo was high-fiving the young girl and Liz and I were in giggly food stupors.

Just another night out in Ridgefield, really.