BRANFORD — The sign says Little Riggs. With a period. If it had a comma, it might be a law firm. But Indian Neck’s newest restaurant at 3 Linden Ave. has a sweet backstory to its name that makes it unique from such previous occupants as The Friki Tiki, Pasta Cosi, Cranberry’s and more, in the “if walls could talk” location.
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Opening his own brick-and-mortar restaurant was a dream for chef John Kronfeld, who first brought his imaginative gastronomy to the area three years ago via The Chef Truck, taking portable his singular palate.
The Culinary Institute of America grad has not turned his back on his old friend. It’s been reinvented under the Little Riggs Pizza Co. moniker, hanging out these days at local breweries on weekends or at the restaurant to offer what Kronfeld calls his “pillowy-crusted Kronfeld’s special pizza.”
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The Chef Truck was no run-of-the-mill food truck. Little Riggs — subtitled “A gastropub for the early riser” — continues that singularity as its own place of invention with a nod to the food truck’s inspirations and much more.
“The menu is drawn by a thoughtful interpretation of what people enjoy and what they want,” says Kronfeld one afternoon at the end of the breakfast/lunch service. It’s a seasonal menu that reflects Kronfeld’s penchant for creative food with a homey vibe: “that comfort zone that’s evoked when you’re having friends at your house,” he says.
His present home with his wife Missy and toddler son may be just down the road in Indian Neck now, but the backstory for the restaurant’s name comes from another home on the other side of town in Short Beach.
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Nearly a decade ago, Kronfeld and Missy lived in a beloved little rental in Short Beach. When tossing out possible names for the restaurant, they did a little research with the Branford Historical Society, which pretty much sealed the search.
Turns out “Little Riggs was the nickname given to it by the original owners who vacationed there from the city, and they had a daughter Eleanor Rigby,” Kronfeld says, smiling with the recognition of a parent. Hence, Little Riggs.
Kronfeld has taken the creativity evident in The Chef Truck breakfast menus, some of them born as much out of space limitations as palate pleasers and expanded them exponentially. With an actual kitchen, albeit small, and “a talented young guy who responded to an ad who is going to be a great chef,” plus four part-time servers, he has added lunch entrees. With the liquor license coming through Friday, dinner and bar hours are imminent (check website for updates).The restaurant is now open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays.
Kronfeld speaks about food as if it’s a fond old friend who just keeps giving and inspiring.
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“All the food I’ve ever done has been representing something in my life … food memories or reflections of my life, things I’ve enjoyed with my friends … Every dish has a story,” he says.
He recalls a trip to France with his father, where, after disembarking as a hungry 14-year-old at Charles de Gaulle Airport, his eyes lit up to see ham and cheese sandwiches, “but in Paris, ham and cheese was a gourmet dish … a small dish that just seems to work well together,” he says.
His remembrance dish is Le Petit Dejeuner: toasted baguette, brie, prosciutto and arugula.
“When I got out of the Culinary Institute, I found out my dad really liked grits. It was a food word I really didn’t know in my youth.”
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But when he found out polenta and grits were basically the same except for the color of the corn used, and after experiencing all its iterations in his world travels, he created a dish as an homage to his Louisiana-born father: Sunny Side Grits: organic corn white cheddar grits with beef bacon lardons, redeye hot sauce, scallions, cracked pepper, fried egg.
“I bring something more nuanced than going to Dunkin’ Donuts,” he says of the breakfast entrée, nestled beside B-B-B-Bennie!, Undecided But Hungry, Belly Bombs on the menu.
Finding food “togetherness” is kind of what sparks Kronfeld’s creative process. “Mushroom toast is not a new invention, but when I saw [Groton’s] Seacoast Mushrooms at the Farmer’s Market in Guilford, I grabbed them, some artisan bread, went home and said let’s make mushroom toast. This is stuff I want to serve,” says the admitted breakfast lover. “It’s not about creating the perfect breakfast dish. It’s about creating an inspiring food to enjoy. There’s this variety that I crave.”
You see eggs. He sees Egg Bites: feta and herb-baked egg bites, greens and berry salad, fig reduction, everything croutons, pain au levain toast. A Buttered Muffin is a honey macadamia nut, griddled. His take on sandwiches or “Sammi’s” as he calls them: Bahn MI-L-T: crispy Thai bacon, shredded romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, pickled cherry peppers, chipotle aioli, feta cheese, spinach herb tortilla. Not your neighborhood diner menu, but that’s the point. Most of the items are also offered on the to-go menu.
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The 40-person occupancy space, for which Kronfeld and a business partner have a 5-year lease, has a clean black-and-white color scheme with crisp white shiplapped walls, two levels of seating and the original adobe floor tiles. There’s a bar on the upper level. The outdoor screened-in area is still a work in progress.
The soft rollout in July brought many neighbors curious to see what was going into this familiar space, and promising to come back. Each time, they’ll find something new or a finessed version of something on the menu because a better vegetable or cheese or idea came out of the cornucopia of a new season of the year.
“When something goes on the menu, it’s not the first time; it’s more like the 40th time I’ve tried it,” says Kronfeld. “I want to find the dish that’s hiding in the chef’s soul.”
And give tastebuds a new treat.
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Little Riggs, 3 Linden Ave., Branford is open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays for breakfast and lunch. Reservations and info are available at 203-499-7930; thecheftruck.com/little-riggs-pizza-com; Instagram: @little_riggs_ct.
Donna Doherty is the former arts editor of the New Haven Register.
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