As soon as I came home from dinner the other night, I could not resist messaging Chef Arik Bensimon on Facebook with these words: “You have blown me away! This was the best and most exciting meal I have had in a long long time”. True words, in my humble opinion.

Every night at Le Farm in Westport, Chef Arik is creating pure magic - and it is quite evident that this magician has no trouble filling the house with his box of tricks … even on a Tuesday night !

I hadn’t been to Le Farm in a long while. I was due to meet two of my very dear friends whom I don’t get to see often enough. But whenever we meet, the task of choosing the right restaurant takes highest precedence. We debated about a lot of places near and far …. after all there have been lots of new restaurant openings in Fairfield county recently. But that night, we just felt like dining at a place where good food is a sure-thing! It had to be Le Farm! Of course! The little secret that I did not share with my friends was that I was CRAVING the yummy Grass Fed Marrow at Le Farm. It’s a dish I cannot resist each time I am at Le Farm (chef Arik: you are never EVER allowed to take it off the menu - you got that?!!!)

How many restaurants have I been to where I can safely say that each dish surprised and excited me? Not many. Le Farm is one of the few. With so many unexpected twists and unusual flavor profiles - I found myself sitting at the edge of my seat the entire night.

The pan roasted Foie Gras was divine! The scallops with yummy yogurt that tasted just like Indian Raita (because I could taste nuttiness of cumin….except chef Arik told me it wasn’t cumin! It was roasted eggplant flavoring that dish). Amazing. What a genius idea to bring out so much flavor from a vegetable instead of taking the easy way out and using spices. This knowledge made me realize that Arik has a sincere and deep rooted joy for what he does. He is not taking the easy way out in that teeny-tiny kitchen at Le Farm. He is doing what he truly believes in…. even if it means lot more work and is a lot more challenging to execute. He thrives in bringing out the best flavors from every ingredient. Clearly he has what it takes to get the job done.

The Shrimp & Grits were out of this world with a delectable kick of spice from the jalapenos and spicy sausage. Balancing all the bold flavors of dishes we ordered, I was delighted to bite into a recent addition to the menu: a fennel salad. So light, so delicate in its texture and flavors….. it made my mouth sing a beautiful love song.

Everything, I mean EVERYTHING on this menu is irresistible - one needs to visit over and over again to explore and discover their favorites… that is, until the menu changes based on the seasonal bounty. And then one gets to do it all over again. Such a pleasurable task!

My only negative comment for this place: At dinnertime, the interior is too dark to even read the menu (hmm… or am I just getting too old). I blame the low lighting for my poor quality images as well. Sorry peeps, these pics do not do justice to the high calibre of food!

Le Farm, Westport | http://lefarmwestport.com