Quotes of the Day

Paul Newman knows what he wants. so when the legendary actor decided to create a top-notch restaurant adjoining the Westport Country Playhouse?the renowned Connecticut theater run by his wife, actress Joanne Woodward?he had ideas for what one should see, smell and taste. One architect sketched plans for a stark space, all stainless steel and alabaster white. "Paul flipped out!" says chef Michel Nischan. "He wanted very country and very warm."

And so a homey waft of vanilla greets you as you walk into the barn-like Dressing Room. There are exposed beams overhead and flickering candlelight everywhere. The walls are paneled in warm woods "that came from a friend of Paul's in South Carolina named Bucky," Nischan says. "We call it Bucky-board." And the place may be new, but it's made to feel lived-in: the Bucky-board is adorned with posters advertising long-past productions?"Olivia de Havilland (in person) in Sir James M. Barrie's Classic Comedy What Every Woman Knows"?like family mementos in the home of a very thespian clan. In the bathroom, you'll find copies of LIFE magazine from the 1950s.

The menu reflects Newman and Nischan's shared passion for organic and sustainable farming. That means many of the vegetables in, say, the "Use a Spoon" Salad (so named because Newman wanted a salad you didn't have to cut or stab at) come from Connecticut growers. The fish are all sustainably harvested types like trout (pan seared, dished up with a bracing, intense Pippin apple puree). Much of the produce is bought at the weekly farmers' market that takes place in the playhouse parking lot from spring to fall. And the offerings are consciously seasonal?chestnuts, squash and hardy greens like kale have settled in for the winter, and you won't see another heirloom tomato until next spring.

The only off-putting thing is the menu's achingly earnest foreword-cum-manifesto: "We strive to raise awareness of a more sustainable food future ..." But that's quickly forgiven once the consistently fine food is on the table. And all the preachiness is totally forgotten by dessert. The heavenly sweets?hot chocolate soup, a "conversation" of apple tarts and sorbet?are listed on the menu under the utterly appropriate heading "Encore." That's exactly what you'll be cheering after a couple of hours in the Dressing Room.

• Jeff Chu
• Paul Newman's latest venture, the Dressing Room, serves up fine food in a homey atmosphere