It's that time of year when the weather turns cooler and you just want to go pick some apples, go for a walk or make a pot of soup. That's what we do on Sundays. So many people ask why we are not open on Sundays. Aren't Sundays good for a nice ride to Newtown for a meal with friends and family at figs? Yes, but we need Sundays to rest, recharge, recover and rediscover. And I mean, we need it! To us, Sundays are for family. Everyone needs that day where there are no work obligations. We try to not even think or talk about work on Sundays. I can't say we are successful with that, but we try... This past Sunday we went to get some pumpkins so we can decorate the outside of figs. Yes, work related, but fun for the family. I hope you get to enjoy Sundays like we do. Make a pot of soup, pick a pumpkin or just do nothing - those are the best plans for a Sunday.
We moved to Sandy Hook about 15 years ago - Joe spotted this house knowing that the location was perfect for a restaurant. As we lived our lives here for those years, we spent countless hours planning and dreaming of what we would do here. I remember adding the "white picket fence"and planting the bulbs, shubs and flowers. One day, while gardening out front, a person in a car driving by shouted out "Thanks for cleaning up the Hook!" I always felt it was important to give people something beautiful to look at while they drove by. We planted the 13 flowering Bradford Pear trees that line the parking lot about 12 years ago. They were sticks then, all piled up in the back of a trailer. Since then, we have heard so many comments about those trees - people wait for them to bloom - they are just beautiful. They are one of the first trees to have flowers and one of the last trees to lose their leaves in the fall. They were worth every penny. I actually cried when one of them split down the middle in the freak snowstorm we had that October! I don't know why - but seeing their beauty adds to the experience here at figs, I hope it does for you too.
Inspiration for new specials comes from many different things...a smell, a craving, a roadtrip, a holiday, picture, a trip to a farmer's market. This time it came from a memory. As a kid, around 10 or 11 years old, I remember eating the tomato pie at Jerry's on Pequonnock Street in Bridgeport. Under Zio's grapevine, I would eat that pizza with my cousins. Olive oil, San Marzano tomatoes, grated Pecorino and mozzarella...simple and delicious. That's how I got this week's pizza special "Pequonnock Street Pizza" and it has been selling like crazy. It's more than just food.
- Joe
