Fine Dining in Disguise at Oceanview Café in Norwalk

Oceanview Café is your typical diner. They serve breakfast and lunch with the common bacon, eggs, home fries and toast, and burgers, you get the idea. It is not a big place, with 8-10 tables, tops. Decorations of marine life and fish nets echo the area of its location but postcards from France that peer at you through the glass on the tables offer a subtle hint to what Chef Jean Paul Pauillac is all about. French cuisine.

Every Friday and Saturday night, from 5:30-9:00 p.m.,Pauillac, who once worked at Maxim’s in France (as did Wolfgang Puck) and La Grenouille, turns his modest diner into a French culinary experience. After his friends pleaded with him to cook up some French classics, the idea caught on and the semi-secret menu began. And what’s even better than this "underground restaurant", are the prices, the ability to BYOB, and more importantly, the food.

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Tim’s Philly Steaks Opens in Norwalk

Tim’s Philly Steaks opened on Westport Avenue in Norwalk several weeks ago and I am not one to resist the calling of bread, meat, cheese and grilled onions. So I braved the weather to try one of my favorite sandwiches, and I was not disappointed. 

Many years ago I was taught that eating a cheesesteak is always performed while in “the position.” This entails standing with your legs positioned directly beneath your shoulders, a slight bend forward at the waist, a second bend at the neck with your jaw protruding and always use two hands on the sandwich. The goal is to avoid any of the delicious ingredients landing on your chest or stomach. So when I sampled Tim’s cheesesteak while seated at a table (there are three booths and four tables inside) it was an unusual feeling, but I still assumed “the position” of leaning forward and I successfully consumed the sandwich sans accident 

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Norwalk's Valencia Luncheria is Moving!

“Valencia Luncheria customers will never have to wait in line again” says Michael Young, owner of the Norwalk eatery that has achieved cult-like status in the minds and stomachs of Fairfield County diners. After 6 years of arepa driven success, Valencia is growing up and getting bigger...much bigger in fact. Michael Young tells CTbites that Norwalk's Valencia Luncheria will be moving to a new location, possibly as soon on April 1st (no joke) just 600 feet down the street. While the menu and look and feel will not change, the address will.  Put it in your nav systems; 164 Main Street will be the new home to Chef Young’s authentic Venezuelan beach food. 

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Food Porn: White Truffles Class w/ Chef Matt Storch

CLICK ON ABOVE PHOTO TO LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

The white truffle. Available for only a few months a year, this buried treasure is sold for $2500 a pound and is one of the most sought after ingredients on the planet. They are elusive, hidden underground. No longer sniffed out by pigs who had the audacity to occasionally eat them, the white truffle hunters have been replaced by the more trust-worthy canine. Their complex delicate taste is revered be chefs and diners everywhere, but you can only find white truffles in one place...the Piedmont area of Italy...and Fairfield County.

October-early December is white truffle season, and in celebration of these sublime fungi, Chef Matt Storch of Match Restaurant hosted a 12 course White Truffles Cooking Class at Clarke Culinary Center in Norwalk. Each course featured raw shaved white truffles (added at the last possible moment to preserve the taste of their ethereally earthy flesh). The smell alone could have kept the foodie in me satiated for days. Food porn warning: Browsing this photo gallery will make you hungry. 

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A Good Crêpe is Hard to Find...A Guide to FC Crêpes

I’m tough on crêperies.  I can’t help it.  I’m constantly comparing their crêpes to the ones of my French childhood summers spent in Brittany, the northwest peninsula of France and the crêpe’s birthplace.  My great-grandmother made them in her two room farmhouse –– she poured the mixture of buckwheat flour, salt and water onto a billig, a hot, round, buttered, grill surface, then with her rozell, a small toothless rake, she spread this batter into a fifteen-inch-round sphere the thinness of butterfly wings.  As the batter bubbled there and the edges browned, she coaxed the half cooked, wobbly, crepe onto her long, wooden spatula and flipped it over, intact.  The crêpe continued cooking this way until completely golden, signaling to her to scrape this fragile delicacy gently off the billig with her spatula.  From here she held the hot crêpe between her fingertips and the spatula.  She then placed it onto a waiting plate, setting the crêpe down with the same carefulness as though she was putting a drowsy baby onto a pillow. 

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3 New Picks For Top Burgers: Greenwich to Westport

Shake Shack

Earlier this summer CTBites published my list of Ten Recommended Hamburgers from Greenwich to Westport. Subsequent to the article I received numerous suggestions, both here and through my e-mail.  I want to thank all of the passionate hamburger lovers for some great options for me to try and I made every attempt to visit as many as I could. 

With summer now officially behind us, I wanted to report back and add three destinations to my list of Recommended Hamburgers from Greenwich to Westport. 

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Brunch @ Sugar & Olives in Norwalk

The weekend morning meal. This sacred cow for many, consists of copious amounts of coffee, newsprint (for you digital hold-outs), and a healthy combination of carbs and protein. In addition to providing fuel for the errand-filled, kid-chaffeuring day ahead, brunch can also be one of the most frequently debated destinations of your weekend.

Since they began serving brunch just a month ago, Sugar & Olives in Norwalk has easily moved to the top of my brunch list. House-made ingredients, a green certification and a happy space make Sugar & Olives the type of place you can drop-in with your friends, a gaggle of kids or simply fly solo and enjoy this most important of weekend meals.

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Sono Fall Restaurant Week Starts September 25th

  

Beer Dinners @ The Ginger Man in SoNo

Here's a little something for the beer drinkers amongst us (the ones tired of hearing about all those darn wine dinners). The Ginger Man is offering monthly beer dinners, each featuring 5 beers from a brewery or importer, paired with and used in a 5 course meal. On Monday August 29th at 7:00 The Ginger Man will be featuring Cisco Brewers from Nantucket Massachusetts!

Here's how it works: The evening kicks off promptly at 7pm with the first round of beers, a light appetizer or salad, accompanied by an introduction to the brewery representative and a little history on the brewery.  4 more courses will follow, including a cheese course and dessert.  During each course the guest brewer will share some information about the beer, as well as how it pairs with the food. 

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Past & Present Pizza Memories at Sonny’s

We have all had fond memories as a child. One of mine starts with my dad not being around much. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “That doesn’t sound so fond.” Still, once a week, my father would come pick me up and take me out for pizza at Sonny’s in Norwalk.

Every Friday I would know that dinner meant pizza with my dad. He would pull up in his car and I would run out and hop in the passenger seat. The ride was a quick one over to West Avenue. I remember always being excited to pull up anticipating thin-crust goodness.

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Back to School with Clarke Culinary Showroom

Summer is winding down and school is nearly back in session. With that sobering news I decided to take it upon myself to reprogram the negative connotation with this time of year and embrace the classroom.

Clarke Culinary Showroom has a terrific line-up beginning late summer and into fall with new classes and a couple of new yet familiar faces such as Prasad Chirnomula of Thali and Michel Nischan.

Clarke's classes are known for their small class size which encourages an intimate atmosphere and the ability for guests to get up close and personal with the chefs. For a chance to win two tickets to a class of your choosing vote in Clarke's contest called "Vote for your Favorite Chef." The full list continues to change daily, so check-back soon as Clarke add classes, chefs and details:

Ice cream and Lollipops with Fritz Knipschildt on August 25; Tuna: Head to Tail with Matt Storch on September 1; Scandanavian Cooking with Fritz Knipschildt on September 15; Hors d'oeuvres with Chef Rui Correia on September 14; A Lesson in Spice with Prasad Chirnomula on September 29; A Special Night with Michel Nischan on October 6; Fritz's Favorite Pies With a Twist with Fritz Knipschildt on October 20; A Night with Chef Rui Correia and Portugese Cooking on October 27; The Freshest Ingredients with Michel Nischan on November 3; The Bounties of the Fall Market with Matt Storch on November 10; and A Winner's Class: The Art of Cooking with Root Vegetables with Fritz Knipschildt on November 17.

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BBQ an’ Crab at B.an.C House in Norwalk

Barbecue and Crab.  That may not be a combo found in nature, but the two do live together, albeit on separate sides of the menu, at the new B.an.C  House of Norwalk, a restaurant packed with flavors and patrons, (The name is an acronym for BBQ an' Crab.) 

B.J. Lawless and Buckley Ryan -- founders of the popular Norwalk pub BJ/Ryans -- believed Southern Connecticut needed a great crab and seafood house. However Northern seafooders have trouble surviving the winter, so BBQ not only winterproofs the menu, it conveniently taps into America's hottest food trend.  The ribs also serve as a sentimental salute to the late Norwalk Rib House, Cogburns, which once occupied the same space and where B.J.and Buckley first met and began hatching their restaurant concepts.   

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Kids Review: Bond Grill Hibachi and Asian Bistro in Norwalk

Carly Monson is our roving 10 yrs old food critic. She hopes to get Fairfield County kids excited about eating in new venues like this one...

Do you love to have fun while eating delicious food? Well, then Bond Grill Hibachi and Asian Bistro in Norwalk, C.T. is the perfect restaurant for you!

I felt very welcomed when I first walked in. Bond looks very modern and most Asian restaurants look very ancient. Bond offers Hibachi and traditional Asia food, we chose Hibachi.  The Hibachi dining room has a totally different vibe (from the main dining area), you feel like you’re in Asia. The walls are painted a dirty green and the texture looks created by hand.

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The Making of the MATCH Restaurant Burger

Start with a patty of locally raised (Roxbury, CT) grass-fed beef. Throw in some bacon-cheddar sauce and sweet and sour onion jam. House it all on a caramelized onion brioche bun. And don't forget those fries.

No, this is not a new burger joint, this is Match's new Thursday Night Burger offer and CTbites was there for its beefy birth.

CTbites sent burger guru, "jfood," into the kitchen with Match Restaurant's Chef Matt Storch to develop this recent menu addition. From concept to reality, we bring you the new Match (SONO) Hamburger. Here's how it went down. 

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Hidden Gem: The Blue Cactus Grill in Norwalk

The Blue Cactus Grill is a hamburger and sandwich shop off the beaten path in Norwalk, up the street from the Norwalk Hospital. Vic Amereno, the owner, brings 20+ years of experience overseeing kitchens in Connecticut and Arizona to this location where he prepares southwestern influenced fare. Hamburgers, cheesesteaks (beef or chicken), wraps, salads, and other assorted sandwiches complement his house made potato chips, lemonade, iced tea and a delightful “cactus slaw.”

Vic’s hamburger is the star of the menu. Blue Cactus begins with a daily delivery of a 70/30 blend of beef sourced from Omaha Beef Company in Danbury, based on a 50-year old recipe that has changed little in the interim.

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