Stephanie W.
Yelp
At Bridgeport's newest restaurant, 29 Markle Ct, executive chef and co-owner Damon Sawyer has rolled out a menu that's like throwing down smooth lyrics over a sick beat.
While there is plenty for vegetarians, 29 Markle keeps carnivores happy, too. Braised short ribs, creamy polenta, and crispy sage is a perfect appetizer on a chilly winter's night.
Sandwiches at 29 Markle include a smoked, then fried chicken sandwich that I'm 100% ordering next visit, plus a fried maitake mushroom sandwich, and the "Markle Burger" with demi glacé, onion, cheddar, and gem lettuce.
At Bridgeport's newest restaurant, 29 Markle Ct, executive chef and co-owner Damon Sawyer has rolled out a menu that's like throwing down smooth lyrics over a sick beat. But before we dive into Sawyer's style of smoked cooking that's intertwined with fine dining, soul food, handmade pastas, and seasonal, local vegetables at 29 Markle, it's important to tell his story of how he got to this point.
Sandwiches at 29 Markle include a smoked, then fried chicken sandwich that I'm 100% ordering next visit, plus a fried maitake mushroom sandwich, and the "Markle Burger" with demi glacé, onion, cheddar, and gem lettuce.
The Napa cabbage salad (shaved fennel, basil, mint, chilies, citrus, toasted pistachio dust) is one that should flex off the menu, but with all hope, it'll be back. The basil, the fennel, the mint, the touch of heat from the chilies, and the crunch of the pistachios will make you glad, for once, that you ordered a salad on a night out.
If there are menu mainstays, the first is Manmita's black rice and crab, essentially a soul food version of arancini. The balls are deep fried and crispy on the outside and filled with tender grains of rice and delicate blue crab on the inside. The Old Bay crème each sits on provides fat and salt, while the Haitian inspired pikliz brings vinegary heat.
The second signature is the spiced & smoked half bird that'll make you rethink the whole "chicken is boring" stereotype. Sawyer is keeping this signature dish a bit of a secret, only revealing that it's brined for 24-hours and "slow-smoked some hours." It's not only juicy, but you can taste the smoke and secret seasonings, and you probably won't even need your knife to cut it. When you get to the leg and the wing, just pick that bad boy up and get in there. Stop caring if you're being judged.