• Classifieds
• Archives
• About Us
• Contact Us

Frans Lists

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Westport’s Best Trick-or-Treat Streets

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

(Editor’s note: This column first ran two years ago and was one of Fran’s most popular. It is reprinted here for those who may have missed it the first time around.)

Isn’t it ironic and somewhat poignant that when it comes to trick-or-treating neighborhoods, what kids really want is Westport in its pre-teardown state: small houses in cozy neighborhoods, densely packed, short front walks, with porches sporting cheery (or scary) jack-o-lanterns?
Gault Avenue: one of Westport’s best trick-or-treat streets. WestportNow.com photo

Fortunately, Westport has a few of those neighborhoods left, and on Halloween night these treasured places become wildly popular.

(Surprisingly, one of our town֒s newest and least New England-style developments is also highly sought by trick-or-treaters.)

The good-hearted residents of these neighborhoods return the compliment by going all out for the towns ghosts, goblins, grim reapers, and Little Mermaids.

For the new to town or uninitiated, here are some of the best spots to score the biggest cache of Halloween loot.

More "Westport’s Best Trick-or-Treat Streets"

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Where to Make Your Valentine Swoon

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

OK, say what you want about silly, commercial holidays. I’ll admit to being a sucker for Valentine’s Day. It must be because I’ve got a new heartthrob of my own this year who, I expect, has already made a reservation for a romantic dinner at one of Westport’s quiet little corner tables.
Blue Lemon: Enticing ValentineҒs Day selections. WestportNow.com photo

In case you havent booked something, it’s now or never. I’ve deliberately omitted from this list restaurants that are either not conducive to romance (for example, mega-decibel Conte’s) or already fully booked (Da Pietro.)

Here are a few of my favorites. You supply the gift to make your sweetie blush.

Acqua Ristorante, 43 Main St., 222-8899 will have its regular menu with specials including caviar, lobster, and roast duck. Appetizers include warm oysters osetra caviar. As for fish selections, nothing is set in stone yet, according to the chef, who plans to choose only the best fresh fish on Monday for example, Chilian sea bass. Entrees range between $20 and $28.

More "Where to Make Your Valentine Swoon"

Saturday, January 29, 2005

For All the Tea in Westport

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

On a very cold day this week a friend and business associate suggested we meet for lunch at the Saugatuck Rowing Club. Their salads are a bargain, about the same as carry-out at Abbondanza,Ӕ he assured me. Which is why we were both surprised when the bill came to over $35.
Where the tea is steep: Dunvilles. WN photo

Has this ever happened to you?

HereҒs the culprit we had asked to warm up with a cup of hot tea while looking over the menu. Only after lunch did the check reveal that we were charged $3 each for tea, which if you include tax and gratuity, comes to well over $7.

This got me wondering what Westport֒s other eateries charge for that innocuous cup of tea. Heres what I found. (Note: no information was available for restaurants missing from the list.)

Hot and on the house Җ heres where the tea is free:

Jasmine Restaurant, 60 Charles Street, 221-7777
Matsu Sushi, 33 Jesup Road, 341-9662
Sakura, 680 Post Road East, 222-0802
Ships Corner, 23 Jesup Road, 226-6233
Tengda Asian Bistro, 1330 Post Road East, 255-6115

More "For All the Tea in Westport"

Friday, January 14, 2005

Oh, Those Ruby Reds

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

Im a sucker for a really good grapefruit. But not just any grapefruit. ItҒs got to be the Texas Ruby Red kind—seedless, sweet, and HUGE. Why bother getting out the grapefruit knife for a few miserly sections?
The next best thing to a flu shot: Balduccis Texas Ruby Reds. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Last week, I noticed some absolute prize-winners Җ rosy and practically glowing at Balducci֒s, but the price took my breath away. (What happened to the new low price since weӒre no longer Hay Day policy, guys?)

So I was particularly thrilled to see that the price has come down this week from sub-stratospheric to just-plain-expensive. As good deals go, at $1.99 each theyԒre about the next best thing to the Westport Health Departments $20 flu shot. (I got one of those, too.)

If those puny, astringent, seedy white diner grapefruits have turned you off that particular fruit, hereҒs your chance to change your mind.

More "Oh, Those Ruby Reds"

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Let’s Get Personal

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

In this great commercial buying frenzy known as holiday shopping, it doesnt take long to become disillusioned by the array of look-alike gifts from national chain stores. Fortunately, Westport has stores that offer gifts that show special care and forethought.
Christmas stockings at Everything Personalized become instant family heirlooms. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

ThereҒs something about a personalized gift, inscribed with the recipients initials or bearing a special inscription, that makes it particularly special.

I think longingly of family traditions such as that of Westport Rotarian Stephanie Rasmussan, whose Danish and German parents enforced old world rules about gift giving.

ғWe were only allowed to give each other gifts that we had made by hand, she says, recalling the decoupage’d towel basket made by her sister decades ago that she still treasures. Or the drawings and fingerpaint palm prints crafted by even the littlest gift-givers.

More "Let’s Get Personal"

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Coffee Prices Updated

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

Today we celebrate an anniversary.

Hard to believe that Frans List has been providing WestportNow readers with the lowdown on prices around town for a year now. Thank you, readers, for your comments and suggested Lists. (And thank you, Miggs Җ I think for the awful but artful suggestion of a title for this column ֖ Franz Liszt uh, I mean, FranŒs List.)
Doc’s Caf in Saugatuck: one of nine places surveyed that did not raise prices in the past year. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

My first List in October 2003 compared the prices of a 16 oz. cup of coffee around town, tax included. We thought it was time for an update.

But first, some statistical data. (Yes, as any good consumer reporter, I am a statistics nerd.) The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national Consumer Price Index is up 2.5 percent overall from a year ago and the non-alcoholic beverages and beverage materials铔 category the increase is a mere 0.8 percent.

But the International Coffee Organization said the average price per pound of Colombian coffee beans jumped between 23 and 27 percent from October 2003 to October 2004.

More "Coffee Prices Updated"

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Westport’s Best Trick-or-Treat Streets

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

Isnt it ironic and somewhat poignant that when it comes to trick-or-treating neighborhoods, what kids really want is Westport in its pre-teardown state: small houses in cozy neighborhoods, densely packed, short front walks, with porches sporting cheery (or scary) jack-o-lanterns?
Gault Avenue: one of Westport’s best trick-or-treat streets. WestportNow.com photo

Fortunately, Westport has a few of those neighborhoods left, and on Halloween night these treasured places become wildly popular.

(Surprisingly, one of our town֒s newest and least New England-style developments is also highly sought by trick-or-treaters.)

The good-hearted residents of these neighborhoods return the compliment by going all out for the towns ghosts, goblins, grim reapers, and Little Mermaids.

For the new to town or uninitiated, here are some of the best spots to score the biggest cache of Halloween loot.

More "Westport’s Best Trick-or-Treat Streets"

Friday, October 22, 2004

For the Littlest Westporters

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

I love hearing from WestportNow readers with comments and especially suggestions for new Frans Lists.  However, earlier this year a reader sent me a very tall order.
The Westport/Weston YMCA preschool often welcomes celebrity guests. WN photo

She wrote, ғWhen we moved here two years ago we were hard pressed to sort out preschools and childcare options.  Our daughter went to three programs: Westport/Weston Co-op, Saugatuck Nursery School and A Child’s Place (the last two had the daycare option we needed).  Would I do a FranԒs List surveying Westports preschools and childcare facilities?

It was a formidable challenge, but here goes. It is not too early to contact these preschools for fall 2005 placement. YouҒll need to call each one for details about pricing, programs, accreditation, and schedules.

Preschools and Childcare Services

Beginnings, an Infant Toddler, 71 Hillandale Road, 227-5160 for children 2 months to 3 years old, 8 a m. to 5:30 p.m.

More "For the Littlest Westporters"

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Happy Howl-o-ween!

By Abby
WestportNow Official Mascot
(substituting for the vacationing Fran)

As the official WestportNow.com mascot, Ive been asked to fill in for the vacationing Fran for this weekҒs Frans List.  And just in time, I would say.  Enough already about the price of gas and rotisserie chickens.  LetҒs get our priorities straight.
Count-Bark-ula by Catwalk Pet Couture. Contributed photo

Where does Westports au courant pet go for this yearҒs Halloween costume?

This being Westport arguably Fairfield County֒s most pet-loving town it should surprise no one that choices abound. 

Starting at the top, my personal favorite Halloween costumes for pets are made to order by a highly enlightened human being named Lee Prieto.

More "Happy Howl-o-ween!"

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Pumpkin Time

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

The pumpkins are coming, the pumpkins are coming!

Enough said.  Heres where to find them.
Pumpkins for everyone at GeigerҒs Garden Center, 1135 Post Road East. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Priced by the pound:
Geigers Garden Center 1135 Post Road East, 227-3811, $0.45 per pound
Wild Oats, 399 Post Road West, 227-6858, $0.69 per pound

Price for a jack-o-lantern-size pumpkin:
Stop and Shop, 1790 Post Road East, 254-8484, $3.99
ShawҒs, 605 Post Road East, 222-9594, $5.99
Stew Leonards, 100 Westport Ave., Norwalk, 847-7213, $5.99 or 3 for $15
A & JҒs Old Fashion Farm Stand, 1680 Post Road East, 259-3439, $5 and up, depending on size.

Looking for the Great Pumpkin?
If youre in the market for a really big one Җ say, tipping the scales at 100-plus pounds stop by A & J֒s Old Fashion Farm Stand where youll find a few for $100.  Compo Farm at 392 Post Road East, 226-1293 also has a 100-pounder for $90.  Smaller ones are on the way.

Saturday, September 18, 2004

Just Say No to a Fading Tan

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

If your spirits havent faded from all this rain, then your suntan surely has.
Prima Spa’s owner Dana Montemurno opened her business in June, 2003. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

I am a rabid non-believer in tanning salons Җ could there be a more blatant invitation to skin cancer?  But Ive also been afraid to try my hand at self-tanning creams since being permanently traumatized by the sight of my seventh grade social studies teacher Mr. BurkhardtҒs orange-streaked palms.

But now theres hope, even for me. Several Westport salons offer professionally applied cosmetic suntanning, either machine sprayed or by hand-applied by an expert.  Here is where to go to keep that year-round Compo Beach-kissed look. 

Beautiful Faces, 719 Post Road East, 226-1818, www.facesbeautiful.com, offers full body and face tanning, hand-applied by an expert, for $55.

More "Just Say No to a Fading Tan"

Saturday, September 11, 2004

Who’s Got the Time?

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

It really gets me when all those little things we depend on go on the blink, stopping us dead in our tracks.
Silver Ribbon: free watch battery changes Fridays noon to 2 p.m.. WestportNow.com photo

Staplers run out of staples. Light bulbs burn out. And once in a while even the most reliable wristwatch comes to a dead halt, meaning its time to change the battery.

Chalk it up to that pesky Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Fortunately, even in our high-priced town, there are friendly jewelers who will cheerfully replace a watch battery. Not great money-makers, but very effective for garnering customer good will.

One of the best deals in town and not widely known can be found at Silver Ribbon Jewelers in Playhouse Square. Every Friday afternoon between noon and 2 p.m. an on-site technician will replace your watch battery for free. Limit one watch per person.

More "Who’s Got the Time?"

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Updates: Saturday Night Fever and Chickens

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

Saturday Night Fever Part II

Viva Zapata: Another place for good food and music. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Caramba!! It turns out I overlooked (WestportNow, Aug. 28, 2004) one more Westport haunt where you can go to hear great live music after dinner: Viva Zapata Mexican, 530 Riverside Ave., 227-8226.

It has live music Thursdays at 9:45 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:45 p.m. Acoustic guitarist Ryan ONeil headlines. The music is hot, the margueritas are big and frosty, and thereҒs no cover charge.

That definitely makes the corner of Riverside Avenue and Bridge Street where Viva Zapata, Contes and Mansion Clam House come together the hottest and rockinҒest spot in town.

And heres another update:

More "Updates: Saturday Night Fever and Chickens"

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Saturday Night Fever

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

When a cheery e-mail arrived in my WestportNow inbox this week from the manager of the Mansion Clam House one of my longtime favorite local restaurants ֖ I instantly had the suggestion for this weeks FranҒs List.
Mansion Clam House: Good food and music. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

We now have live music every Saturday night all summer on our patio,Ӕ she wrote. Thank you, Fran, for recognizing our place and for enjoying our steamers! 

“We have a great venue and awesome music form players like Charlie Karp, Mark Riggs, the former drummer from Blue Oyster Cult Mr. A. Bouchard, and Roger Guimond from the reggae band God’s Green Earth Ӆ I hope more people will see us as ‘the fun place’ and join us for our Saturday nights!

This immediately got me wondering where else in Westport can one go for live music after a great dinner?  Here’s what I found:

Mansion Clam House, 541 Riverside Ave., 454-7979; Saturdays starting at 10 p.m. No charge with dinner, $5 cover you if you come for music only. This week, four-man rock band with Charlie Karp.

More "Saturday Night Fever"

Friday, August 20, 2004

Let’s Do Brunch!

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent

These lazy, dazy final days of summer are drawing to a close much too quickly don֒t you think?  If you havent gotten around to taking a little relaxation time, itҒs now or never.
The Red Barn: brunch buffet in two seatings. Contributed photo

Which makes this a perfectly good time to indulge in a long, relaxing Sunday brunch, particularly if youve got out-of-town guests here for some Westport sand and sunshine.

With that in mind, I did a survey of Westport restaurants to find out who serves Sunday brunch.  Happily, many do.  While some offer a special brunch menu only, prices are shown whenever possible for establishments offering a fixed price brunch.

Note also that some fixed price brunches include a complimentary alcoholic or non-alcoholic cocktail such as a Mimosa, glass of champagne, Bloody Mary (for a price comparison of Bloody MaryҒs, see below), Virgin Mary, or soft drink.

More "Let’s Do Brunch!"

Register / Log in

Registration is required to post comments.
Register  •  Login

SPONSORS

We all need help facing difficult
life issues.

Ann Abram, PhD
Certified Psychoanalyst

Individuals, Couples,
Groups Psychotherapy

203-299-0478
www.drannabram.com

Top Driver,
the nation's premier driving school, is now in Westport at
830 Post Road East

To enroll, call
1-800-374-8373
or go to
topdriver.com