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by Melinda Tuhus | Jun 24, 2010 1:26 pm

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Posted to: Food, Fair Haven

Melinda Tuhus Photo Two fish stories emerged from a neighborhood dinner at a Fair Haven restaurant. One was on a cell phone, the other on a plate.

The gathering was the fifth in a monthly series sponsored by the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association so residents can support local businesses, get to know each other, and eat great food. The first four—at Grand Apizza, Salsa and Molienda on Grand Avenue, and Janelle’s on Front Street—were all within a few blocks of the Square. Tuesday night’s spot was El Toral, at Ferry and Lombard streets.

Almost a dozen people made it, including organizer Steve Brown and his son, Calvin (pictured). Little Cal dined on Goldfish crackers his dad brought and the delicious mango batidos (milk shakes) that were on the house. As head of the association’s Economic Development Group, Brown’s job is to work with local businesses and encourage residents to shop local.

The minute Christel Manning walked into Toral’s, she proclaimed, “I like this place. I like the decor, and it smells good.” She’s pictured with her partner Stewart Hutchings and their daughter, Sheila, chowing down on plate after plate of chicken, rice, salad, and french fries delivered to their end of the table. Manning’s been to every monthly restaurant night out. “It’s really fun to go out,” she said. “It’s nice to try different new food, in a restaurant I might not have gone to otherwise, and it’s fun to be social with people.” After this reporter could eat only half of her ensalada de nopal (a salad featuring sauteed cactus, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a cheesy sauce served on a toasted taco shell), Manning’s crew happily finished it off.

The restaurant, owned by Luis Toral (pictured), specializes in Ecuadorean, Mexican and Colombian dishes. The nopal salad was Mexican; the truche (freshwater trout) was imported from Ecuador. He drives to New York City to pick it up. The fried fish was served with a huge plate of white rice and decorated with tostones (refried plantains). Everything was pronounced delicious by the diners, long-time Chatham Square resident Anne Williams and a friend from across town, Joan Gillette.

Neighbors chatted about the local farmers’ markets, the latest events they’d attended at this year’s Arts & Ideas Festival (Williams and Gillette left a little early to attend the concert of a choral group from Ireland), and those with older children advised a young mother on the best child care options in town.

And Hutchings, whose home on Front Street backs right up to the Quinnipiac River, whipped out his cell phone to show a photo of himself holding the one that didn’t get away—a striper that looked to be three feet long that he caught behind his house. Hutchings also works at growing oysters.

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