Date: Fri 08-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Quiche-Me-Kate-Pieragostini

Full Text:

w/photo : A New Destination In Sandy Hook For Food Lovers

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

A delicate flourless chocolate layer cake filled with truffle mousse, rum,

kirschwasser and creme de cocoa, iced with two layers of chocolate glaze... a

pumpkin mousse torte with a gingersnap cookie crust and a currant-ginger

topping...a fragrant, lattice-topped berry-berry tart.

Quiche Me Kate opened on November 1 at 115 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook

Center.

The shop is operated by Tammi Trull and Joe Pieragostini, whose Elizabeth's

Tea Room on South Main Street has been such a resounding success.

Opening weekend was supposed to be a quiet opening - there will be a grand

opening in a few weeks - but the place was mobbed and the old-fashioned pastry

case quickly emptied of its decadent fare.

The offering ran the gamut from sweets like brownies and scones to savories,

such as chicken pot pies, and, of course, quiche: broccoli-cheddar, spinach

and tomato, asparagus, and cheddar and ham.

"We have something for everyone - corn muffins to napoleons," Joe Pieragostini

said. "Everything is top quality - all natural ingredients - absolutely the

best you can buy."

The idea for a second location had been cooking for several years as Joe

wanted to provide a retail outlet for many of the desserts that he serves at

Elizabeth's Tea Room and for other pastries that "you just can't get in town,"

he said.

He and Tammi also believed that a place which offered gourmet take-out food

(such as a quiche/salad lunch or croissant sandwiches) as well as muffins,

bagels, buttered hard rolls and other standard fare would do well. When they

were offered a location with a great view of the rushing Pootatuck River, they

jumped at the opportunity.

There are three small tables with a river view where customers soon will be

able to sip flavored coffees (85 cents with free refills) or enjoy gourmet ice

cream all year around. The store is a cheerful white and blue with a fruit

basket wallpaper border.

Baking isn't done on the premises although there are plans to eventually put

in a kitchen downstairs. New coffee making equipment is on order and other

work still has to be done before the shop is complete although it has opened

for business.

Hours haven't been finalized either, although the store presently is open

daily from 6 am to about 6 pm. By Thanksgiving the owners intend to have

published a catalogue for customers to use to order their holiday fare.

Even before they found the location, Joe and Tammi had come up with a name and

a concept for the store.

"Tammi suggested `quiche and cake' which logically evolved into Quiche Me Kate

- from Shakespeare's Kiss Me Kate," Joe said. "There isn't a real Kate, just

like there's no Elizabeth."

Once the concept was finalized, all that was left was to find the right

location. The building, directly across the street from K's Corner Liquor

Store, had been renovated by DGR Contracting, which occupied the premises, but

was now empty.

With all the sewer construction going on in Sandy Hook Center, parking is a

challenge - just like New York City, Joe says, laughing.

There is parking on the street right in front of the building, however, and

parking across the street. When the sewer work is done, a small parking lot

behind the building also will be redone.

Despite the inconveniences and the work that is still to be finished, Joe and

Tammi are confident that Quiche Me Kate will succeed.

"We're taking a chance but we believe in Sandy Hook," he said.