"Nepenthes pharmakon," its says in the Odyssey. Literally: "anti-sorrow drug," or "... a drug which eased men's pains and irritations, making them forget their troubles." 

Smiles abounded on a hill in the woods of Oxford, Connecticut, as B. United International opened both its doors and taps on a brilliantly sunny day this May for Nepethe, a one-day event. The beverage importer's stated mission is to bring the most spectacular examples of low volume, hand crafted beer, mead, cider, and sake from around the world to the U.S. The collected industry representatives (and I) weren't there to forget, though. There was too much to learn. 

I've mentioned B.United, and the beers they import, more than a few times here on CTBites, and they've been an impressive lot. Home base in Oxford is hardly less impressive: I crested the facility's driveway to see what appeared to be a series of interlinked red barns, some with flagstone facades, in land cleared of the surrounding hardwoods and, in places, very recently planted with grapes, figs, kumquats...

It's that time of year again. Sono Restaurant Week is back from June 2-16 running for two delicious weeks this year. Why 2 weeks? Scott Beck of Match Restaurant responded "Every year we have gotten feedback from people that wished that we could extend Restaurant Week for an additional week so that they might get to go to more than one place so we decided to give it a try."

"There are 15 restaurants participating this year which is largest number of restaurants we have ever had so everyone is pretty excited" says Beck.  SoNo also has some great new restaurants such as Nola Oyster Bar, Mama's Boy Southern Table, Estia's, and The Spread, for people to try. And, of course all the staples in SoNo are participating again. People can check out the list of all the participating restaurants and their Restaurant Week menus online at www.connecticutrestaurant.

You can view the complete list of participating restaurants below. Happy eating...

All of the wines for the evening will be provided by BevMax.  Participating caterers and restaurants include: Marcia Selden Catering, A·S Fine Foods of Stamford, California Pizza Kitchen, Catering by Christine, Chiappetta Olive Oil, David's Soundview Catering, Festivities, Harlan Social, Valencia Luncheria, Napa & Co, plum plums, Olio, Station Eats, Susan Kane Catering, The Fez, Wave Hill Breads Bakery & Café, and Wise Guys. Desserts will be provided by: EOS, DiMare Pastry Shop, illy caffé, Le Pain Quotidien, Sweet Lisa's Exquisite Cakes, and Tabouli Grill.

In celebration of 

Rare and coveted for its distinctive flavor profile – floral notes with warm hints of baking spices and anise – sourwood honey is a national treasure cataloged on Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste. Marina Marchese will be celebrating this regional honey plant’s contribution to biodiversity, while honoring Slow Food USA’s work to promote and preserve it, with a special tasting of an award-winning harvest of sourwood honey.

Raus Coffee will debut its newest iced espresso drink, the Roman Navel, at the opening of the Westport Farmers’ Market on May 23. The new drink was inspired by a trip to Seattle’s Café Vita, where Raus Coffee founder Donny Raus became smitten with the Medici, an espresso-based chocolate and orange drink. The success of the flavor combination compelled him to recreate it using his own approach. The Roman Navel is the third product in Raus’s award-winning espresso product line.  

Donny and I met recently at the soon-to-open Steam Coffee Bar in Westport, so he could give me a sample of this newest obsession. So I had a baseline, I also grabbed his other two iced espresso-based drinks, the Roman Kiss and (my old personal stand-by) the Cold Roman. 

Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit and Maggie Converse of Pop Up Yoga are teaming up to bring fun and flavor to Westport this summer. Converse will lead a one-hour open level yoga class at Bottlerocket every Saturday in June 4:30 to 5:30. Participants will then enjoy a casual tasting of summer wines and craft beer. Individual classes are $25, and a 4-class package for $85.

Participants should wear comfortable clothes in which they can move and bring their own yoga mat. The open level, alignment-based class is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced yoga practitioners. You can even feel free to bring your dog! Tickets are available at http://yogasummersaturdays-estw.eventbrite.com/

The SoNo Marketplace—with its hive of local food purveyors, artisans,  weekly farmers’ market, and plans for a summer beer garden—may be best argument to never set foot inside a supermarket again. I was recently lured back to the Marketplace by the opening of PastaPresta, a new fresh pasta vendor anchoring the entrance of the market’s vast 50,000 square-feet.

One evening of fresh pasta and market nibbles, and a closer look at the people behind the market later, I was reminded why this culinary hub deserves a regular visit and why, despite its recent vilification, gluten is good (maybe great).

One year, hundreds of miles, close to thirty pounds of various cuts and blends of meat, thousands of fries…searching for the ten best hamburgers.

Nestled between Shad Roe, Bahn Mi, Shrimp & Grits, Nonni's Meatballs and Montauk Black Bass was “The Burger.” It was the equalizing dish amongst the best chefs in the area.  As I tasted the creativity that each of the chefs placed into their version of this 100+ year old tradition, I was in awe. The combinations were brilliant, how the flavors balanced and complemented each other, the choices that they made to place their individual mark on this dish, each was unique. 

Most of the meat was sourced locally, many from the same vendor with slight variations in blend and grind...some used a medium-grind while others requested a third, finer grind. Cheese and bacon played a major supporting roll, and the choices varied amongst the chefs.

Have you always wanted to be on the set of Iron Chef, experiencing first hand that thrilling moment when the chefs are presented with the "secret ingredient?" Well, on June 2nd, you will get the opportunity to watch three talented chefs battle it out in an outdoor tented cooking stadium with the formidable Jane Stern of Roadfood.com as the host. 200 attendees will help to judge a winner alongside guest judges Denise Mickselson of Fine Cooking Magazine, Stephen Fries, columnist for the New Haven Register, WTNH Anchor Jocelyn Maminta, as well as our own Managing Editor Amy Kundrat as referee. 

WIN TICKETS!! We are GIVING AWAY 2 seats to this June 2nd Battle Of The Chefs event (a $250 value). We will randomly select 1 lucky winner who posts a comment below and tells us why they would like to see this event. 

The Westport Downtown Merchants Association presents Art About Town and “ArtCrawl 2013.” 

Featuring local and not so local art displayed in the windows and throughout downtown businesses, Art About Town runs from May 23-June 16.

This year’s Opening Night Street Party will include art demos, live music and dance performances, a fire pit, kids’ activities,  and pop-up cafes set up right on Main Street featuring specials from Blue Lemon, Bobby Q’s, Villa del Sol and Moja. 

To continue the buzz of Art About Town, this year in collaboration with CTbites, the WDMA will host “ArtCrawl 2013,” a specially curated food and art tour on Tuesday June 4 from 6:30-8:30 pm.

The fabric of our snacking society has changed dramatically over the last decade, due in part to the hoards of  information about making smarter food choices infiltrating our nutritional radar: in the home, in the stores and even in the cinema, with movies like "Supersize Me", getting the message across to Americans that we all should take note of what we are feeding ourselves, and especially our children. 

This revolution of smarter eating has no doubt been the catalyst to an all out healthy snack war between battling companies, each one trying to outdo the other.  Just stroll through any snack isle and you will see lots of clever marketing and  claims to the "new, new" trendy food item that promises you and your kids extra brain power AND shiny, healthy, hair for life . The proclamations that adorn these boxes and bags are now so familiar to us all I can ask you to close your eyes and recite them with me: No trans-Fats, Gluten Free, No Cholesterol, Whole Grain....you know them all! This is what Malcolm Gladwell means by " TheTipping Point."-- everyone is now jumping on the bandwagon to be on trend.

There are a bevy of beauties in this category, so many, that the choices can become overwhelming. How do you choose?

WIN a FREE Dinner for two @ HARLAN SOCIAL in Stamford.

Here's How...

This is your chance to name Harlan Social’s incredibly delicious new Fried Chicken Sandwich. All you need to do is come up with a catchy name for the sandwich that combines the following ingredients:

Twice fried chicken cutlet topped with a Fontina and Gruyere cheese sauce, spicy bacon mayo, lettuce, tomato and slices of bread and butter pickle, all served on a Portuguese muffin.

If your entry is selected, you will receive a FREE Dinner for 2 complete @ Harlan Social in Stamford.

All entries must be submitted by midnight on Sunday May 26th, 2013.

Post your submission below (include email).

Rizzuto’s Restaurant and Bar of Westport, CT, has teamed up with The New England Ferrari Club and FIAT of Larchmont for a day-long event filled with Italian food, wine, and cars on Sunday, June 9, 2013 from noon to 4 pm

The event takes place during the Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada race, which will be shown on 2 large screen HD TVs. Race car fans can take a virtual lap around the track in a GoSimRacer Race Car Simulator. Kids feeling the need for speed can race through an on-lot GoGo-Kart track presented by Grand Prix New York Racing. S.Pellegrino will be keeping things cool and Rizzuto’s will be grilling outdoors preparing sausage and pepper wedges and meatball sliders. 

Ridgefield's best source for artisinal cheese and wine, 109 Cheese & Wine has recently expanded its footprint and education offerings. The shop, located at Ridgefield's Marketplace, has posted an impressive and fun line-up of events throughout the summer. Advance reservations are recommended as class size is limited, call 203-438-5757.

Friday, May 17 @ 7pm, $55
Explore a great evening of Italian Cheese and Wine, their relationship and how to pair them. Class will start with some wonderful small bites and a glass of Prosecco, then continue with a tasting and comparison of 5 cheeses and wines. Something sweet will end this evening.

May 19 2013 at 5:30 pm
Special Guest Henryk Teraszkiewicz, Director of the Woodcock Nature Center
Menu

The Westport Farmers' Market will be opening for the season in just one week, beginning on Thursday, May 23rd. This weekly summer market runs every Thursday, from 10 am to 2 pm at Imperial Avenue Commuter Lot in Westport.

If you haven't yet made it to this Market, you'll want to mark your calendar. This all-organic market will be announcing the final vendors next week and will be selecting a rotating group of featured artists, vendors, guest chefs and non-profits to join the Market each week.

So who's at The Westport Farmers' Market this year??... (this is the fun part) See below for a complete list of vendors: