Baldanza Moves to Wilton & Takes Over The Schoolhouse — CT Bites
School is officially back in session in the Cannondale neighborhood of
Wilton. We’re not talking education but rather The Schoolhouse’s new
“teachers,” Angela and Sandy Baldanza and their son, Alex.
Before the family’s move to the historic Cannondale School, they were
restaurantless. No, you aren’t crazy to imagine that they had a few
restaurants at one point. They owned and operated Baldanza Cafe for 8 ½
years in New Canaan with six of those spent where SE The Back End is now.
They even ran Baldanza Bistro in Darien behind Ten Twenty Post.
“When COVID hit, we closed that space (Darien) because it was too small for
outdoor seating,” Angela says. “We took a lease at 21 Forest (in New
Canaan). A few months in, we received complaints from the condo board
there. We cut our losses there and our Darien lease ended. And we only left
17 Elm because of the place in Darien, so we were left with no restaurants
at all.”
Cue the 1872 building we’ve all known as The Schoolhouse at Cannondale
under Tim LaBant and most recently the home of Hugh Mangum’s popular Rise
Doughnut pop-up who subleased from LaBant for a year. LaBant, who had a
14-year run at The Schoolhouse decided not to renew for a few reasons. “I
left to focus on Parlor Wilton and the new Parlor Darien,” he says. “My
lease was up and in these crazy times, I decided not to renew.”
All of the moving, and the closings, led to a coincidence.
“Ironically, Tim has our old spot in Darien where he opened Parlor and we
took over The Schoolhouse on July 1,” Angela says. “Here we are, and we
love being here. Sandy and I used to come here for dinner when we had a
break from our restaurant. We love Tim.”
At this iteration of Baldanza, diners can anticipate a local, organic, and
homemade approach. Brioche and Tuscan bread are sourced from Balthazar
Bakery, while the naturally leavened, freshly milled sourdough comes from
123Dough Bakery in Pound Ridge. They also get seasonal produce from
Connecticut farms, citing Wilton’s own Ambler Farm as a primary supplier
and seafood is by way of New Wave Seafood in Stamford.
The approach to “local and fresh” applies in the kitchen where Baldanza’s
longtime chef, Rodrigo Pacheco executes a menu mostly curated by Angela and
Sandy. Pasta, as you’ll see in a hearty pappardelle Bolognese, is made
in-house, as is the fluffy ricotta gnocchi tossed in roasted tomato vodka
sauce, the cheese ravioli, and the tagliatelle caprese with buffala
mozzarella and cherry tomato sauce.