1. Roger Sherman Inn
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (203) 966-4541
Address: 195 Oenoke Ridge
Description: Built by Rev. Justus Mitchell in the 1700s, this historic house was revamped in 1868 by financier William Bond, and turned into a rambling inn in 1925. Named for patriot and Connecticut politician Roger Sherman, the present inn has been renovated and remastered into one of the finest lodgings in the state, with 17 rooms at 3 different rates. The restaurant here offers fine, modern dining as well. Try the cognac-scented lobster bisque and the homemade ricotta gnocchi. Note the mural wallpaper hanging in the main dining room, done in the 1850s by Jean Zuber, whose wallpaper you’ll also find in the White House. There’s also a smaller dining room with Tiffany windows and a Dutch-tiled fireplace. This is a country inn as close to the hustle and bustle of New York as you can get.
2. The Pine Social Restaurant
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 966-5200
Address: 36 Pine St.
Description: The “New American” cuisine of the clean and crispy decorated Pine Social is bar food, but bar food that has been taken to new heights by innovative chef Adam Truelove. He has combined local produce with global cuisine, and thus created a place for both foodies and people who want to hang out and eat a lobster mac and cheese. Try the risotto fritters or roasted brussels sprouts, and the “social burger” on an English muffin is a bar food experience made new again. The Pine Social has frequent events, with live music on Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights. This is fine dining disguised as a comfortable and casual experience, or perhaps it’s the other way around. Either way, you’re bound to enjoy this “pine social” experience.
3. Plum Tree Japanese
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 966-8050
Address: 70 Main St.
Description: Standing out from the innumerable Japanese sushi restaurants in the state, the Plum Tree is fine Fairfield County dining at great prices. Kids love the brightly colored and airy dining room, and the hedged porch with its waterfall and bamboo is a great place for lunch on a summer day. Chef Hiroyuki Nagata spent time working in the famous Nagoya fish market in Japan, and has not lost his eye for great sushi fish. Use their tasting plates. The house specialties, wasabi dumplings and golden coconut lobster, are both worth trying as well, and the fried green-tea ice cream is the best of its kind you’re likely to get (though the kids might prefer the cookie-dough ice cream version).
4. Bistro Bonne Nuit
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 966-5303
Address: 12 Forest St.
Description: This cozy little French bistro in the village of New Canaan is both a neighborhood restaurant and a destination for foodies in southwest Connecticut. Bistro Bonne Nuit does not sport “new French” or “global” cuisine. This is mostly classic country French fare, like pâté, escargot, cassoulet, and tomato tarte tatin. The selection of dessert wines is exceptional, so try a nice port or Sauternes after a heavy meal of lamb, beef, or veal. If you don’t usually do that, you’ll be surprised at how it evens you out. Bistro Bonne Nuit is on the pricey side, but if you’re going out for fine French food in New Canaan, what do you expect? You’re also more likely to have a celebrity sighting than at the local McDonalds. I won’t even tell you who lives in and around New Canaan and frequents this place; it’s better to be surprised.
5. New Canaan Historical Society
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 966-1776
Address: 13 Oenoke Ridge
Description: Unlike many town historical societies, this one is housed in not just one building, but five, and boasts seven museums and a library. There is an old-time drugstore and ice-cream parlor, a costume museum, a 1799 schoolhouse, a 19th-century printing press office, and a tool museum. The 1764 Hanford-Silliman House has doll, toy, and quilt collections, and the 1868 John Rogers Studio and Museum includes a collection of Rogers’s work in the studio it was sculpted in. Close by is the Gores Pavilion, a museum of modern architecture that gives a great overview of the area’s many modernist houses. If it sounds like a lot to see, it is. If you are interested in history at all, the New Canaan museums make a great afternoon.
6. Philip Johnson Glass House
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 594-9884
Address: 199 Elm St.
Description: Part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Glass House is really a 47-acre park in New Canaan dedicated to 20th-century architecture. The glass house itself was the modernist architect’s residence, but the park contains more than just one house. Architectural “follies” and other buildings are scattered around the landscape, and the art collection on-site includes giants like Frank Stella and Andy Warhol. Open, like many historical homes, from May to Nov, the site offers a variety of guided tours. You can talk to the many architecture students who seem to come on the tours, and get their opinions on the unique buildings and landscape. This is one of the most fascinating sites in Connecticut, a stone-walled farmland that has been transformed by one of the most creative minds of his age.
7. Aetheria Relaxation Spa
City: New Canaan, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 966-6650
Address: 121 Cherry St.
Description: Aetheria means “heavenly” in Latin, and this spa set in a historic Victorian house in New Canaan may get you close. They pride themselves on their calm, soothing atmosphere, and the plush robes and acupressure sandals immediately begin the process of relaxation as you sit under a skylight before the treatment. Don’t worry about tips here—they are included in the price. Aetheria has packages for brides and expecting mothers, as well as seasonal specials, and they only use organic products. Their philosophy is that if it isn’t edible, it isn’t good enough for your skin. However, what sets this spa apart might be the health and wellness options like acupuncture, and their support for healthy community eating and local business. They feature “wellness packages” that are simply priced by time, and the guest, with the help of wellness experts, can decide how that is best used for specific problems. Aetheria really seems to care for the whole person they treat and not just the surface. That’s real heaven.