Farm-to-table goodness at La Belle Aurore

August 19, 2015 12:00 am • Last Updated: August 19, 2015 12:54 pm

By Alex Nunes

There was a time when I entertained the bucolic fantasy of being a gentleman farmer: me, dressed in a straw hat, flannel shirt and overalls, broadcasting feed to my chickens, planting soybean sprouts one by one, row by row, carrying in my bounty at the end of a hard day's labor, wiping sweat from my brow.

What a life!

But the reality of rousing from bed at dawn, doing back-breaking labor and maintaining the living space of a 500-pound pig always kept that dream in check. However, this past weekend, I did find the next best thing — eating at La Belle Aurore, the Niantic bistro that was ahead of the farm-to-table trend, opening in 2006.

While La Belle Aurore's location doesn't exactly scream farm life — it's next to the Dairy Queen on Pennsylvania Avenue, a few blocks from the Main Street drag — the restaurant's inside decor is true pastoral chic.

Its charming mix of rustic furnishings includes an antique, wooden farmhouse dresser, where seasoned salts, jams and homemade sodas are sold, a bucket sink, an antique scale, a wall of farm life photos and wildflower bouquets.

Everything about the feel inside is mellow. Lighting is low-key, and the seating is ample but intimate (13 set tables on my visit). The kitchen is in back, not far from the dining area, and so you smell and hear the cured meats sizzling. The musical ambience is eclectic and soulful, ranging from old rhythm and blues to alternative rock.

All in all, eating at La Belle Aurore gives one the sense of dining at an old grange, albeit one where the farmers listen to the Righteous Brothers and the Pixies.

The menu is updated regularly based on what's available at local farms and comes printed out, and handed to you on a clipboard that provides a touch both delightful and sturdy.

At the front entrance you can also see what farms have provided the ingredients for your meal. Among the local fare on my visit: fresh vegetables, such as kale, zucchini and squash, from Hunts Brook Farm in Quaker Hill; eggs, sausage and bacon from Terra Firma Farm in Stonington; and scallops and shrimp provided by Stonington Seafood Harvesters.

La Belle Aurore is open every day but Tuesday and Sunday for dinner; brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays.

I think of breakfast as the quintessential farmhouse meal: fresh eggs, earthy hash and veggies, and meaty sustenance. And so I went the brunch route.

At La Belle Aurore, you have the option of building your own omelet (starting from a $5.25 base and going up with each add on: 25 cents for spices and aromatics, $1 for vegetables, $1 to $2 for meats and smoked salmon) or choosing from a panoply of inventive sweet and savory dishes — from the S'mores French toast stuffed with marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker ($9.50) to the shrimp, scallion and Sriracha omelet ($10).

I mixed it up with a variety of dishes, all of which I'd recommend.

The farm stand vegetable hash ($9.50) came with a hearty, though by no means overwhelming, mix of zucchini, summer squash, kale, red bell pepper, cabbage and beets incorporated into moist, sizably cut and well seasoned potatoes.

In my opinion, the liberal offering of shredded kale, sautéed to a texture neither tough nor soggy, made this meal. The bonding provided by the runniness of two eggs over easy (eggs come any way you like them) certainly did not hurt.

The eggs Chesapeake ($14) came with two, mostly crab meat cakes, two eggs any style, home fries and toast. The substantiality of the crab meat was the winning element here. However, I did think the patties could have used more bold and textural seasonings, perhaps scallions or leeks.

The August omelet ($8.50) was a tasty and safe bet for vegetarians: mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto wrapped in farm fresh eggs, served with home fries and toast. The mozzarella was soft, the tomatoes fresh and the pesto enjoyably gritty and flavorful; the eggs were wholesome and by no means greasy.

Like I said, vegetarians will find a familiar dish here, but you might be best served to go with one of the less typical meals.

A more unusual option would be the challah French toast filled with cream cheese, strawberries and blueberries ($9). This meal, I'd say, is the most novel and delicious of the menu items I tried. Typically, I'm more of an eggs, meat and veggies breakfast kind of guy. But this creation was compulsively delicious. In fact, I found myself stealing bite after bite from my son, who ordered the dish.

When sandwiched between two thick cut slices of challah bread dusted with cinnamon and sugar, the cream cheese melts into a smooth base that pulls together each and every flavor. That said, the most piquant ingredients might be the berries, ideally ripe and served in liberal amounts.　All this, of course, was only heightened by a side cup of real maple syrup.

Overall, my one complaint about La Belle Aurore is that there were no scone or muffin offerings when I inquired about a baked treat to go. It seems this would be an obvious farmhouse offering, but oh well. The rest of the meal, including the prompt and bonhomous service, certainly made up for it.

For a term I heard sparingly, if ever, 10 years ago, farm to table has undeniably gone mainstream, and with that there's bound to be an epigone or two. However, La Belle Aurore is the real deal.

And they make a heck of a French toast to boot!