Ani's Kitchen — Restaurant in Southington

Where do I begin? For those of you who like to get to the point of things, my dining experience and food, in every way, was outstanding. For those of you who like details, let me wax eloquent and tell you more. The warmth and friendliness of the atmosphere when I first walked in made me feel right at home. I came to not only meet friends and have a new dining experience but to also do an interview for radio and YouTube for my program, Ravings and Cravings. So it was a dual purpose visit. Service was also outstanding with attention to details and a friendliness that is often uncommon in the restaurant world. The water glasses and coffee cups were always full and requests were cheerfully filled with grace. I talked at length with Chef Ani and his manager, Greg. They were a delight and told me all about the restaurant, their hopes, the food, the back story and much more. After that, I was privvy to the kitchen where Chef Ani prepared all the meals we sampled. The Croissant Waffle was a creative and delightful offering. The croissant is sandwiched between the layers of waffle batter, topped with vanilla ice cream, a caramel drizzle, a generous spurt of whipped cream, and graham cracker crumbs around the outer part of the plate to crown the creation. It was tender, and melted in my mouth. Flavors blended together really well. The Shakshuka was an exciting item to see on the menu! Made with baked eggs, Chef Ani's own sauce with cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, Spanish onions (for a little more kick), fresh baby spinach (everything is fresh, btw), kalamata olives, feta and the top has two wedges of artisanal sour dough to top it all off...perfect for dipping in to that divine tomatoey sauce! There was a sprinkling of herbs on top and presentation was gorgeous. Such attention to detail in every dish. I'll be dreaming about this dish for days to come. Too bad there were no leftovers! The Pretty French Toast is made with a brioche type of bread- more eggy and thicker. It was topped with a vanilla mascarpone cheese, housemade berry compote (thank you for not opening a can!), carmelized bananas with a drizzle of caramel and pecans crumbled on top. Three slices, a generous portion, made this a perfect part of our meal especially with kids! Not only is it pretty but it's yummy! We were lucky to try the Crab Cake Benedict that included two poached eggs, arugula, a housemade hollandaise all sitting atop a couple of crab cakes. The home fries were a generous portion but I had to fight the children at the table because they wanted them all. :) Well, not really. But they loved the home fries. The hollandaise sauce was creamy and lemony and a perfect consistency to drag my fork through to pick up all the sauce while holding everything else on my fork. The Chorizo Crepe...what can I say? Chorizo, scrambled eggs, tomato, onions, avocado and a drizzle of chipotle sauce made this a protein-packed menu item. The chef is not skimpy on the chorizo, either. With large chunks of the sausage and the mixture of the other items, this savory crepe was brimming full of goodness. It wasn't too spicy, in case you were wondering. Honestly, when my friends arrived, we feasted and talked and laughed. It felt like I was in my own dining room at home. And when I checked, I realized that my seat at the table was the exact same one that I would be sitting at if I were home serving my friends a meal. It really was like home. Being the coffee snob that I am, I can't rave about the coffee at Ani's Kitchen enough. It has a robust but not bitter flavor. Served with real cream (the way it's supposed to be), it was a perfect accompaniment to a perfect meal that hit all the high notes. My interview with Chef Ani will air in the near future on the WILI Radio YouTube channel. He is a delightful young man as is his manager. They tell me they have brough decades of experience in the restaurant world to this new venture, only three months old when I visited today. I wish them only the best in the...

I have always been perplexed on how to quantify the statement “Elevated Food”. To be clear, I am no one of any importance, although, my career put me in some of the best kitchens in the country, from Spago, to Le Cirque, from Delmonico’s NYC, to Cache Cache, I was blessed to speak in crews and chefs whose names we all know. This bit of self engrandizement is only to say, that one gets a sense of when something special is happening in a kitchen, and in a career. Clearly, Ani’s is not any of the above mentioned places, but it is special, it is elevated, and is staffed with like minded people. I loved my time in the food business, and those who seek excellence.

…. To the idea of “Elevated” dishes. I believe it is not adding this or that, but using the ingredients properly, adjusting slightly for the palette and relentlessly owning the process. Today, I watched a chef that touched every single plate that came through the pass, and a crew that complimented a commitment. To excellence. Stop by while you can, because this chef and this crew is destined to be Elevated in the...

Our first time trying Ani's my brother and sister-inlaw took me for my Birthday omg we were very impressed with the interesting choices on the menu, I chose a special Cubano Benny sooo delicious and I could only eat half as it came with a side of delicious potatoes, they totally enjoyed their choices so we were getting ready to leave and our very nice waitress tells us to wait as we were getting a 3 portion dessert for my Birthday Omg flourless chocolate cake that was to die for 3 pieces 3 dollops of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream chocolate sauce and crumbled oreos, it was heaven !! We will be back and bring friends as we are telling everyone about this place and the amazing folks that work here creating...