Vinted Wine Bar and Kitchen in West Hartford

Vinted Wine Bar and Kitchen

Cuisine: American, Tapas, Wine Bar, West Hartford
Price: Small plates range $3.95 - $17.95
Our Highlights: wine, charcuterie, tapas
Hours: Kitchen open Mon – Wed 4-10pm, Thurs: 4-11pm, Fri-Sat: 4-12pm (Bar open late Mon-Sat) Sun: Kitchen & Bar 4-9pm
Online: Official Website | Facebook

 Small plates reach new heights at Vinted Wine Bar and Kitchen, where food is anything but secondary. Add 68 wines by the glass and you’re well on your way to finding that perfect pairing. Sister restaurant to The Federal in Agawam, Vinted burst onto the West Hartford dining scene in late 2012 when owners Ralph Santaniello and Michael Presnal launched their newest venture in Blueback Square. A classy vibe, inventive array of modern American tapas, and encyclopedic wine list leaves little, if anything, to be desired.  

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Harvest Wine Bar Opens in Downtown Greenwich

Harvest Wine Bar, located on the lower end of Greenwich Avenue, elevates the restaurant offerings in downtown Greenwich to a much higher level. The Sigueza brothers, Vicente and Kleber, can now add another fantastic restaurant to their portfolio, which includes Cave Wine Bar in New Canaan, Scena Wine Bar in Darien and 55 Wine Bar in Fairfield. A beautiful casual dining space in the front area is dominated by a large brick wall and accentuated with wood tables and chairs.  You can continue walking to the rear of the restaurant and enjoy the long bar or tables, all with views through the large west-facing windows lining the entire rear wall of the restaurant.

Overseeing the kitchen is Chef Eben Leonard who is migrating from Scena Wine Bar where CTbites enjoyed his creativity and culinary talent on numerous occasions. His opening menu combines aspects from southern Europe, with a modern twist, to American classics.

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Community Table in Washington CT

In the Litchfield County town of Washington, the two-year old Community Table and its team led by Executive Chef Joel Viehland, stands at the center of a tight network of farmers, foragers and discerning diners. Born from agrarian collaboration rather than co-opting it, Community Table was built around the notion that a restaurant serving its community must not only serves its diners, but act with respectful stewardship of the land. This translates to sourcing seasonally, locally and sustainably, as well as pickling, drying, fermenting and composting.

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Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant Opens This Week in Greenwich

Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant, the latest venture of the Sigueza brothers, Vicente and Kleber, owners of Scena Restaurant in Darien, Cava Wine Bar & Restaurant in New Canaan and 55 Degrees in Fairfield, opens this week in Greenwich at 372 Greenwich Avenue. With large windows beckoning the guests, the modern interior is dominated by wood, stone and leather. Wood-topped tables are all hand-made and surrounded by leather backed chairs. Individual lights descend from the ceiling to create a whimsical touch to the otherwise masculine décor. The rear wall is half glass and sunsets will create an inviting end to the day to enjoy one of the signature cocktails with many of the fruit and vegetable additions juiced on site.

The menu is best described as “food inspired by the American tradition,” a steak house that meets Little Italy and embraces the sea and the farm to table movement.

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The Spread in SONO: Beautiful Food...Hip Spot

Word of mouth, and great word at that, brought me to The Spread, a spanking new dining hot spot in Sono. Two months young, the restaurant is the result a partnership of four guys, all with two decades-worth of bar and restaurant experience combined, plus one young and very talented chef, Arik Bensimon. Formerly the Executive Chef of Napa & Co., Chef Arik brings the food in this rustic yet hip joint to a level of excellence and seriousness not seen in Fairfield County in some time. The Spread’s menu is global in scope. It represents a range of cultures--Arik’s Moroccan background and French training, the partners' of Costa Rica, Italy, and France with a dash of New York and California in the mix. Indeed, the menu is all over the place, locally sourced and international, but somehow this eclectic mishmash works. Though dishes are simply titled on the menu, they are, in fact, complex and beautifully executed.

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Morello Italian Bistro: Toning it Down in Tony Greenwich Town

With high-end restaurants like Thomas Henkelmann, Rebecca’s,  Jean Louis,  L’escale, and Polpo, the Greenwich food scene is hallmarked by special occasion dining.   Though lush and lux, the cuisines are rough on wallets and waistlines.     

At first blush, Morello’s on Greenwich Avenue seems to be part of that plush world.   The setting, a landmark Beaux Arts bank building woven with spectacular arches and ceilings tiled in golden amber by the Catalan architect Rafel Guastavino, Jr,  may be the most lavish, sexiest dining space in all of Connecticut.   Moreover, the bistro is part of the exclusive restaurant portfolio belonging to international jet setter and billionaire Marlon Abela, a collection that includes Michelin star eateries in London, as well as a Voce in Manhattan and Bistro du Midi in Boston.    

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The Whelk: Bill Taibe's Inspired Seafood in Westport

The last year has given Westport three high-profile (if completely divergent) openings. Danny Meyer's Shake Shack opened its first venture into Connecticut and shook-up the Westport fast food scene and Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich opened a second Tarry Lodge in Saugatuck, bringing a different twist to traditional Italian restaurants. Finally, Chef Bill Taibe, the James Beard nominee and Owner / Chef of LeFarm opened The Whelk, his second Westport restaurant, on the Saugatuck River, just a short stroll from Tarry Lodge.

The Whelk, named after a sea snail similar to a conch, is primarily focused on seafood and addresses an oddly unexploited niche, a high-end seafood restaurant on Connecticut’s Gold Coast.  For that reason alone, I was especially interested in The Whelk, and thus began my exploration, with multiple visits to this award winning kitchen.

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Le Roue Elayne at Cobb's Mill Inn in Weston

Elizabeth Fuller is the Playwright for the Off Broadway play "Me & Jezebel." She is also the author of ten published books and Op-Ed contributor to New York Times.

Good news!  Cobb’s Mill Inn is no longer just your Aunt Tilly’s favorite restaurant.  Opened on Mother’s Day, the fully renovated pre-revolutionary inn, with an eye level view of its magnificent waterfall through the massive dining room windows, smacks of excitement and the promise of romantic culinary adventure.  And now, for the first time in decades, so does the menu.  The visionary new owners, Drew Friedman and Elayne Cassara, know a restaurant’s ambiance, mallards shooting across 20 foot cascading falls, is not enough of a draw for the savvy Fairfield County patron who has a ridiculously wide array of great restaurants from which to choose.  We all know that food trumps view.  So what did the new owners do to counteract years of Cobb’s Mill’s famous mediocrity and bump them into the competitive Foodie scene?  They set out with the same gusto with which they renovated the 1740 inn to hunt down a chef who would bring their vision of the ultimate dining experience home to Weston, Connecticut’s only restaurant, other than for a local luncheonette. 

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South End: A Modern Tavern Opens in New Canaan

In early July CTbites previewed the opening of South End, the newest addition to the New Canaan restaurant scene.  Nearly two months of frenzied activity has confirmed the local appreciation that the creative cuisine of Chef Nicholas Martschenko is alive on Pine Street.

Overseeing the front of the house is Keith Siskind, his business partner, and the duo redesigned the interior at South End to create a relaxing atmosphere by intertwining rustic charm with modern comfort. The tables are carefully arranged to allow for pleasant conversation and the overall noise level creates a vibrant buzz without overwhelming intrusion. With upwards of 85 seats, 30 of which are contained around the energetic bar area, South End offers pleasant ambience to enjoy the wonderful cuisine that emerges from the kitchen.

The duo’s ambition to create the “Modern Tavern” is a rousing success. Siskind developed an excellent relationship with two local breweries, New Canaan’s Charter Oak and Stamford’s Half Full (Bright Ale) and both are prominently displayed on the taps overlooking the bar.

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Olio Restaurant Opens in Springdale, Stamford

Olio - [oh-lee-oh] (noun) - a dish of many different ingredients

Olio Restaurant, off the beaten path in the Springdale section of Stamford, represents the epitome of a “Hidden Gem.” Located in the space that formerly housed Bella Luna, Chef/Owner Steve Costanzo and his business partner Moira Hyland bring over 36 years of experience to this underserved neighborhood. After two months, the residents are viewing Olio as their local culinary answer to downtown Stamford.

Costanzo graduated from the New York Restaurant School and worked in many area restaurants including Baang, Long Ridge Tavern, and Quattro Pazzi (Executive Chef). Hyland is a graduate of the Chef's Training Program at The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, The duo brings their passion and energy to create an eclectic and inviting menu and environment to their dream restaurant.

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