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Entries in Italian (10)

Sunday

Jul042010

Year-Round Inspired Italian @ Aloi Restaurant

July 4, 2010 |

Photo: Kate SchlesingerMargherita Aloi, the Owner/Chef of Aloi in New Canaan, brought her culinary talent and vision to New Canaan several years ago. Raised in a small town in Piedmont, Italy, she entered the Culinary Institute of Barolo at the age of fourteen. After working for several years in Italy she was recruited by the renowned Pino Luongo, the chef and owner of New York’s La Madri Restaurant (and author of one of my favorite cookbooks “A Tuscan in the Kitchen”). She arrived in the US at the tender age of 18 and assumed the position of Pasta Chef at Le Madri, and subsequently advanced to its Executive Chef in 1998. Fortunately for New Canaan, in 2004 she visited and fell in love with our small town. Margherita accepted the position of Executive Chef at Bel Mare, the predecessor restaurant at the Aloi location, reinvented the restaurant and subsequently purchased the building. Aloi offers both inside and al fresco dining. The interior space is intimate and the décor is subtle and relaxing. The al fresco dining on Aloi’s terrace is one of my favorite places to dine on a warm evening with my wife and friends.

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Italian,

New Canaan

Sunday

May092010

The Olive Market: Georgetown's Eclectic Treasure

Karen Demeter |

May 9, 2010 |

Upon entering The Olive Market in Redding, you can’t help but be surprised by the unique setting. Envision Pottery Barn mixed in with a little Williams Sonoma, add a dash of Murray’s Cheese Shop…well, you get the picture. The Olive Market's menu, under Chef Fernando, displays a similarly intriguing fusion of foods with influences from Uruguay, Portugal, Italy, and Spain. Here you will find everything from empanadas, tapas and fondue, to paninis and pizzas. They also sell cheeses and olives by the pound and have a very browse-worthy home goods store attached to the café. The store stays open until the restaurant closes so there’s plenty of time to check out the goods while waiting for your food to arrive.

Dining tables are nestled amongst shelves lined with a beautiful array of gourmet food items like olive oils, flavored salts, fondue pots, and cooking tools. I even found O & Co. White Truffle Oil which I thought I could only purchase in Grand Central. Terrazzo tiles, dark blue ceilings and vibrantly colored paintings add to the eclectic, warm atmosphere.

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Italian,

Latin American,

Lunch,

Pizza,

Sunday

May022010

Taberna Food & Wine Bar: A Bridgeport Surprise

Marcy Shinbaum |

May 2, 2010 |

A pleasant surprise is always welcome – especially on the third rainy day in a row at the end of April.

That is why Taberna Food & Wine Bar, tucked away in a residential neighborhood on the Fairfield Bridgeport line, was such a good find. For a recent lunch date we entered through the upscale bar area into a bright, tasteful white-tablecloth dining room and immediately noticed we were the only diners. Never a good sign, my companion and I wondered out loud how they could possibly serve a decent lunch when only two diners make up the lunch rush. As the meal progressed two more tables filled, both business lunch types, but by then our initial reservations had abated, as we were deep into a delightful and delicious meal.

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Sunday

Feb072010

Osianna Taverna: A Lunch Oasis with Great Value

Deanna Foster |

February 7, 2010 |

Going out for lunch carries specific expectations. If you’ve gone beyond the decision to just get a bite to eat, other desires come into play: In addition to good food, you want a certain atmosphere, efficient service, and ideally, a reasonable price. A recent mid-day visit to Osianna Mediterranean Taverna in Fairfield satisfied all our requirements for a delightfully laid back lunch with excellent food that nourished, but didn’t stuff us, and proved to be an exceptional value.

An energetic buzz greeted us when we entered the restaurant

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Lunch,

Seafood

Tuesday

Jan262010

CTbites Votes: Best Italian in Fairfield County

Stephanie Webster |

January 26, 2010 |

Who needs Zagat's? Our 5000 CTbites readers have spoken, and they have rated Fairfield County's Italian offerings. Let's check out the numbers:

Quattro Pazzi 21%

Strada 18 17%

Pasta Nostra 16%

Paci 11%

Columbus Park Trattoria 9%

Tutti's Ristorante 11%

Molto 6%

Liana's 9%

Watch for our next CTbites Votes poll coming soon.

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CTbites Votes,

Italian

Thursday

Jan072010

All in the Family Bargain @ Tutti’s Ristorante

Christy Colasurdo |

January 7, 2010 |

Since I’ve lived up in Connecticut, I’ve been less than impressed with many of the area’s “finest” Italian restaurants. I just can’t wrap my head around a precious $25 dish of angel hair pasta studded with a few shrimps or lobster morsels—a portion that wouldn’t satisfy a seven-year-old

Growing up, my family frequented some of the best Italian restaurants in New York and Long Island. We knew most of the proprietors by name—and they knew ours. I’m not talking about the pretentious, upscale Italian eateries pandering to the facelift and Fendi crowd, but the tiny, authentic holes-in-the-wall catering to folks who know great Italian food doesn’t mean a hose down.

Give me a real family-run Italian joint any day—a laid-back trattoria presided over by the owners, where the entrees, pastas and sauces are homemade, plentiful and most likely prepared and served with a smile by a bonafide member of the family tree. That’s just what you’ll find at Tutti’s Ristorante.

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Wednesday

Nov042009

Pizzeria Molto in Fairfield is Molto Bene

Deanna Foster |

November 4, 2009 |

Deciding where to go for lunch has always been a highly situational dilemma for me. The right place can depend on my mood, the purpose – are we going just for fun or is there work to be done, the number of people involved and the occasion, if any. Too often, my stable of choices has seemed just one horse short of a winner. Recently, however, I had two excellent lunches at Pizzeria Molto in Fairfield, one for work and one for pleasure; the food and the atmosphere were just right on both occasions.

Molto occupies a large, corner space in the Brick Walk Promenade and despite its size it is immediately warm and inviting. The front of the room holds an assortment of tables with café chairs; then leads to an expansive space lined by a row of booths on one side and a lengthy bar with red leather studded bar stools on the other. The vibe is reminiscent of a French Brasserie, where you’d be greeted with a hearty “Bonjour”, but the menu and the food definitely shout “Mangia”.

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Fairfield,

Italian,

Pizza

Sunday

Oct112009

Food for the Whole Family @ Rizzuto's in Westport

Stephanie Webster |

October 11, 2009 |

You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from local residents when Rizzuto's opened last week in Westport. Situated in the old Conte's location by the train station, this new kid on the block has boasted a packed dining room since opening day. This is remarkable given both the economy (it's reasonable but not cheap), and the cavernous size of the actual dining space. Those who had sampled the fare in the first few days seemed almost surprised by the quality of the food coming from their "Wood Fired" Kitchen and Bar, as if they had given up hope for our town, but now felt renewed. I speak from experience when I say Westport has been waiting a long time for a casual kid-friendly dining space with a little atmosphere and solid food. After the fourth person stopped me in the street to inquire as to whether I had visited this new hot spot, I decided I had best get over there and see for myself what all the buzz was about.

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Saturday

Jul252009

Local Gelateria Brings Milan to Your Market

Stephanie Webster |

July 25, 2009 |

I always enjoy walking into Whole Foods, but last week the trip was extra sweet. A representative from Gelato Giuliana, a local authentic Italian gelateria, was handing out samples of their handmade frozen dessert. Never one to turn down anything sweet, I raced over for their signature LaGiuliana (made with expresso, marscapone, and chocolate) and a personal favorite, coconut. Both were creamy, intensely flavorful, and had that "made that morning" freshness. Here comes the best part...This local Gelateria (with a storefront in Glastonbury), has been for years selling primarily to restaurants like Aqua (Westport), and Mediterraneo (Greenwich), but is now making their artisan gelato available in pints at many local markets including Whole Foods, Garelick & Herbs, A & P Fresh in Greenwich, and Stiles Farmer's Market in Westport. I walked out with containers of Tiramisu and Poma Di Currant, excited to share my find with our dinner guests that evening.

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Italian,

dessert

Sunday

Jul122009

Grated Greatness: Julian's Brick Oven Pizzeria

Alexandra Wells |

July 12, 2009 |

It would be easy to dismiss Julian’s Brick Oven as yet another one of Westport’s new crop of pizzerias-- with its temporary sign, small unassuming storefront, lack of marketing (heck, for a while you couldn’t even get their number from 411!). But when the pizza is this good, word spreads quickly and your detective powers kick in. Their standard pie is “New Haven Style” (think Pepe’s without the lines). It is chewy, perfectly salted, and sports a thin crust (but not wafer thin like Fat Cat Pie Co.), simple tomato sauce, and wonderfully fresh mozzarella. Their signature wood-burning brick oven, the centerpiece of this small restaurant, adds the finishing touch on this flavorful, highly satisfying pizza.

But what REALLY has me going back to Julian’s and crafting new excuses for mid-week pizza night (last soccer practice? American Idol finale? It stopped raining?) is their grated cheese pizza – 100% Pecorino Romano grated over homemade tasty red sauce

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Pizza,