Connecticut
Tiny Le Penguin In Greenwich, Connecticut, Is A Model FrenchBistro
Small and intimate but full of bonhomie, Le Penguin is a classic French bistro on the Gold Coast.
Greenwich, Connecticut, has in the current century earned a reputation for having a few very good restaurants, which draw people from beyond its Gold Coast. One of the best was for years a tiny, quite serious French restaurant named Jean-Louis on Lewis Street whose owner, Jean-Louis Gerin, retired in 2012 to teach and consult. The premises were replaced in 2013 by a bistro named Le Penguin (does anyone remember a(unrelated) long-gone restaurant in Bronxville named Le Gai Penguin?) run by Anshu Vidyarthi and Antoine Blech, who also run the excellent Asian restaurant Orientale next door, as well as Le Fat Poodle, Siren RestoBar and JuJu in Old Greenwich.
Le Penguin’s owners, Anshu Vidyarthi and Antoine Blech, run several restaurants around Greenwich.
Vidyarthi has a long career in hospitality, including at some of Los Angeles’s notable restautrants like The Ivy at the Shore, as well as the opener of Le Colonial in Manhattan and L’Escale in Greenwich. Blech, too, has his bonafides with stints at Spago and L’Orangerie in L.A. and Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, as well as Le Bilboquet, Le Comptoir and Le Colonial in New York. Clearly they know what they’re doing for all their restaurants have a faithful crowd who go from one establishment to the other.
Small but not cramped, le Penguin can be noisy until 9 PM.
Le Penguin is full of bonhomie (though from six till nine the crowd gets loud), with French blue accents and banquettes against a pumpkin-colored wall hung with sconces and mirrors, with well-set tables and good lighting. The women dress with a welcome casual chic. The waitstaff knows the menu and acts with dispatch (though after nine they tend to linger at the bar, ignoring the dining area).
The menu toes the line of traditional Parisian bistros’ offerings.
The menu, appended with specials, is solidly French bistro in style, listed in French with English subtitles. Careful seasoning and spicing is key to the success of dishes like escargots ($17) with plenty of garlic butter and buttery puff pastry and ravioli ($17) with wild mushrooms, pea shoots, a touch of sage and parmigiano. Tender calamari cooked on the plancha griddle ($18) take on welcome flavors from a salad of arugula and cherry tomatoes. A tomato tart ($17) with puff pastry, arugula sand spicy tomato sauce should have started off with better, sweeter tomatoes.
TUna tartare with chips is a popular starter.
Among the main courses, I thoroughly enjoyed the fat scallops ($40), pan seared and served with celery root puree and the smart idea of peppery, crumbled chorizo. I always order trout when I see it on a menu, and Le Penguin’s is a classic rendition à l’amandine ($ 35), roasted with plenty of brown butter that add crispness to the almonds, along with haricots verts and fingerling potatoes. The fish of the day ($46) was a nice slab of swordfish, somewhat overcooked that night. Lamb chops ($52) were a good choice, both generously proportioned, juicy and medium rare, and priced sensibly.
le Penguin uses filet mignon for its au poivre rendition.
The desserts are all those favorites no one can turn down, from a rich chocolate mousse ($15) to tangy-sweet lemon tart ($15). A tarte Tatin ($15.50) needed more caramelization, and the floating island ($15) looked more like a floating lily pad.
The wine list by the glass and bottle is printed on one page, and I’m perfectly happy with its brevity for a good bistro, its choices and its prices— plenty by the glass at $14—though not with its lack of vintage dates.
Good French bistros are not as numerous as they should be in the Connecticut/Westchester area, so Le Penguin is one to be treasured by locals proud of its existence as well as by those driving out of the city in search of a good meal far from the Manhattan crowd.
Le Penguin
61 Lewis Street
203-717-1200
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Connecticut
Canadian aerospace company Bombardier launching new ‘fast track’ training program in Connecticut
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (WTNH) — Bombardier, a Canadian company, is launching a new “fast track” training program in Connecticut.
The new program will expand Connecticut’s aerospace industry by creating an accelerated pathway for experienced aircraft maintenance technicians to receive new certifications and enter high-demand careers quickly.
“We know the demand for aviation technicians far exceeds the number of students we can currently prepare throughout our traditional programing alone,” Dr. Alice Pritchard, executive director of Connecticut technical education and career system, said. “Our goal is to create a sustainable workforce solution that can continue producing skilled aviation technicians for years to come.”
The program is set to start soon at the company’s service center at Bradley International Airport.
Injuries were reported in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 91 South in Hartford on Wednesday morning.
State police said the four-vehicle crash happened around 5:55 a.m.
The highway was briefly closed between exits 30 and 29A. It has since reopened.
According to state police, injuries were reported, but the extent is unknown.
The crash remains under investigation.
Connecticut
Avon daycare releases dates, times that former employee accused of sex assault worked at other Connecticut locations
AVON, Conn. (WTNH) — In light of recent information that a now-former Avon daycare employee accused of sexually assaulting children had filled in at multiple Connecticut locations, the company has released a timeline of when and where he had worked.
Jan Carlos Berrios Otero’s employment with BrightPath Early Learning began in January 2022, according to a letter sent out to families. Within the last four years, he had filled in at daycare locations in Simsbury, Windsor and West Hartford.
According to BrightPath, Berrios Otero had covered partial shifts at the following locations on the following days:
- Simsbury, Jan. 20, 2026: Berrios Otero covered a shift for about four hours and 20 minutes
- Windsor, Sept. 16, 2025: Berrios Otero covered a shift for about six hours at the 555 Day Hill Road location.
- West Hartford, Sept. 24, 2025: Berrios Otero covered a shift for about three hours at the Park Road location
BrightPath stated that to its knowledge, there are no known allegations, complaints or incidents that occurred during these time frames.
Berrios Otero, 29, is facing six counts of risk of injury to a minor, six counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor for allegedly sexually assaulting five boys ages 3 to 5 during the month of March.
BrightPath is working to identify all students who were in attendance in Berrios Otero’s classroom during the partial shifts that he had covered, and will communicate with the families directly as soon as possible, the letter stated.
“Please know, we also understand our review is taking a considerable amount of time; however, the time we take to ensure we are supplying the most accurate information is critical,” the letter said. “We are working diligently to get information to law enforcement and the appropriate governing agencies to support their investigations, and of course to all our families.”
According to BrightPath, Berrios Otero underwent a state and federal background check, which includes state and national criminal records searches and a review of the sex offender registry.
During the background check, which is renewed every five years, Berrios Otero had no prior convictions and was thoroughly vetted through the company’s hiring requirements. He additionally complied with staff qualifications and training.
The daycare says it is conducting a review of all of its records for the past four years across all of its Connecticut centers.
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