À bientôt, L’escale

With the recent news that L”™escale in Greenwich would remain open through the holidays before closing for a winter refresh, we thought we”™d sneak in for a farewell-for-now lunch. And so we had the kind of leisurely afternoon we like to savor ”“ a little writing over a classic French country meal ”“ a hardy lentil soup garnished with a dollup of crème fraiche and wilted spinach; and a take on the  

Croque Madame that layered crêpes instead of buttered bread with ham and melted gruyère and topped them with dressed greens and two sunny-side-up eggs. (We must confess that it was too much for one meal so we took the crêpes home and enjoyed them the next day.) 

It was the usual lunchtime crowd ”“ business people discussing $100-million deals; families celebrating birthdays crowned with ice cream sundaes and sparklers. 

It reminded us of our many gatherings there with friends and family ”“ some of whom are no longer with us ”“ and our own birthday parties, the latest of which took place there on a day this past summer when the temperature topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  

We felt a bit of that warmth on an unseasonable day as we strolled by Greenwich Harbor to the end of Steamboat Road and the Indian Harbor Yacht Club. Before you reach the club, there”™s an historic shingle-style house designed by civil engineer Nora Stanton Barney, granddaughter of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. So we snapped some photographs of that, the Long Island Sound and L”™escale”™s welcoming red pickup truck, all gussied up for the holidays, before saying “à bientôt” or “see you soon.”