New restaurant Agape opens in Fairfield

Set back a bit from the Post Road is Fairfield's latest restaurant, Agape, which is Greek for "love."

Walls of adjacent businesses almost shield it from view until you're directly in front of it. It forces itself to be discovered.

The definition of the restaurant's name is carried out within Agape's walls, as the co-owners are mother and son duo Diane Zello and Mike Jackson.

Agape may be a Greek word, but the restaurant's fine-dining menu, according to Jackson, is "Italian-Mediterranean-Latin-infusion."

Agape is the culmination of a dream for Zello and Jackson, who previously ran a catering company called Homemade Gourmet.

"Everybody that liked our food, they wanted to come to the restaurant and eat, but we didn't have one. We were strictly an outsource catering company."

Every meal on the menu was created by Jackson and all of the breads and desserts are made in-house by Chef Dan Zemper.

"A lot of restaurants outsource," Jackson said. "A lot of desserts that we come up with you can't get from outsourcing, such as the chocolate rasberry souflet or the creme brulee."

When it comes to the meals, you can be sure Jackson, unlike some restaurant owners, didn't buy the sauce at a restaurant wholesaler. A homemade Cabernet Mediterranean Marinara sauce is used for the chicken parmesan, gourmet lasagna and gourmet eggplant parmesan. Customers, said Jackson, can taste the difference from the run-of-the-mill versions of these dishes offered elsewhere.

"They definitely taste it because I also layer the eggplant and the lasagna with ricotta cheese, parmigiano reggiano and goat cheese," he said. "And the last two layers are layered with smoked mozzarells. Usually, traditional restaurants just use sauce and top it with mozzarella, or some restaurants use ricotta, but you rarely find that."

Agape is a relatively small restaurant. There is a narrow hallway with tables to the right. A horizon line of mirrors just behind the booths against the wall make the place feel a little roomier. There are two stand-alone tables as the space juts around a corner ever so slightly. The interior probably seats no more than 20. There is also an outdoor patio that is heated year-round. It seems Agape is counting on appeasing people with quality rather than making a profit by serving the masses every night.

Agape opened just last month, yet Jackson and Zello are seeing repeat customers.

He said there was one customer who noted he travels everywhere, including Greece and Italy, and no matter where he goes, he always orders chicken parmesan. The man told Jackson Agape's chicken parmesan was the best he'd ever had.

"To me, it's very humbling and very satisfying to give somebody an experience like that," Jackson said. "It's nice to know by putting a little twist on it, that it can elicit a response like that."

Zello said one satisfied customer said to her, "I wish it was legal to lick my plate because I would."

The menu includes, to name a few things, Pepper-Bacon Crusted Scallops; Caribbean Spiced Salmon (with potato crisps, mushroom, shallots spinach, quinoa and smoked coconut sauce), Goat Cheese & Herb-Encrusted Chicken (with almonds, spinach and carrot-ginger sauce; Lobster Ravioli (with lime zest, cilantro and a jalapeno cream sauce) and Filet Mignon that includes a house-made rub, roasted asparagus, roasted garlic mashed potato and a black truffle-red wine glaze (black gold sauce).

"I think our menu is unique," Zello said.

"These are my personal recipes," Jackson added. "It's something out of the ordinary, something you're not going to get anywhere else. We create every single sauce. We never use anyone's recipes. We never look online for inspiration. From a black truffle infused red wine balsamic reduction (Filet Mignon) to an orange-cured ginger sauce (Goat Cheese & Herb Crusted Chicken), I just wanted to create a unique experience for people's palettes."

Agape is located at 937 Post Road and can be found online at www.agapefairfield.com