Raise $$ for The Shelter for the Homeless by consuming large quantities of dessert & wine at the Chocolate, Dessert & Wine Lover's 'Tasting' Event Feb 9th.
Check out the new CTbites store: Shirts, hats, aprons, bags & more.
CTbites Wins BEST BLOG!
CTbites wins 2011 BEST BLOG, BEST WEB SITE & BEST ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY from The CT Press Club.
Name this drink to WIN Brunch for 2 @ The Ginger Man.
$35 Cooking Demo & Lunch w/ Chef Helton of Barcelona Fairfield. Feb 28th & March 6th. More info.
Killer Croques, Mussels and other French classics @ Cafe Luc's in Ridgefield.
Osianna in Fairfield serves up truly tasty Greek-Mediterranean in style.
Barrel aged cocktails have arrived in Connecticut. And for a song, Saugatuck Grain & Grape in Westport will bring you one step closer to making your very own sixty day-old Manhattan, Negroni or any spirit-driven cocktail that your heart may desire.
In a culture that typically prizes the fresh and made-to-order, aging cocktails may sound sacrilege. So what exactly is a barrel aged cocktail and why mess with a good thing?
The expert butchers at Craft Butchery will be kicking off 2012 with a comprehensive butchering curriculum. Owners, Ryan Fibiger (seen above) and Paul Nessel will be providing both hands-on butchery experience as well as lecture and demonstration segments. For cooks and eaters who are serious about their meat, these butchering classes are designed to give attendees an up close look at the techniques that are use to break down pork, lamb or beef into their individual cuts.
"Butchery 101: Swine" will be held on January 10th and 24th (more information below), but Craft Butchery is happy to customize these classes and demonstrations to create a more consumer or professional chef-focused discussion based on your level of interest. Classes can be done on a half or whole pig, lamb or side of beef. It provides the chance to really experience all aspects of how an animal is butchered and the audience will take home a lot of Craft Butchery's excellent meat. Boys night out anyone?
The Wine Mapp, a unique wine and spirits boutique, recently opened its doors in Greenwich. The store is nicely sized, cozy and intimate. There’s a feeling of warmth at The Wine Mapp that eludes the larger competitors.
The store is owned by Allyson and Charlie Do of Norwalk. It was Charlie who first had the idea of opening up such a shop after visiting a restaurant in New York City where a waiter came out with a list of wines that were stored on an electric tablet of some sort. He knew, at that moment, that he was going to open a wine shop that would incorporate technology - more specifically, he knew he was going to incorporate the iPad to give customers the best possible shopping experience.
Via Analiese Paik of The Fairfield Green Food Guide.
Thanksgiving is just weeks away and plans for creating delicious and memorable family feasts are in full swing. Apples, pumpkins, winter squash, quince, chestnuts, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, turkeys and just about anything else you’d need for this harvest celebration are available locally. While buying pasture-raised turkeys from local farms as well as Heritage breed turkeys has gotten easier, some advance planning is still required. Since these turkeys are highly coveted and in short supply, my best advice is to consult this guide and place your order immediately.
The following guide lists all know sources for locally grown and Heritage breed turkeys in Fairfield County that we were able to reach at publication time. I compile the guide each year to make it easier for you to find and order the bird of your choice. While Heritage birds are considerably more expensive than broad-breasted whites, the once-yearly splurge is worth it when guests tell you it’s the most flavorful turkey they’ve ever tasted.
Events, Holiday, Local Farm, Specialty Market 
To mark the conclusion of American Cheese Month, 109 Cheese & Wine in Ridgefield is pairing great American brews with great American artisan and farmstead cheeses. Curds & Brew class will be held on Sunday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m. and will be $45 per person. The class and tasting will kick-off with a beer fondue, followed by a pairing of six beers and six cheeses (see list below
Cheese, Specialty Market 
“Americans eat way too much meat," Ryan Fibiger says, and then grins, "I guess that sounds funny coming from a butcher."
No kidding. But then Fibiger is a butcher truly on the “cutting edge” -- one of the very few whole animal cutters in America, sourcing his organic meat from local sustainable farms and utilizing every part of the animal, from nose to tail.
Once a Wall Street investment banker, he’s turned from issuing stock to butchering them. For the past two years Fibiger trained with the “moo-rus”” at Fleisher's Meats, a whole animal butcher shop in Kingston, NY. With his knives honed as keen as his business skills, Ryan decided to open Saugatuck Craft Butchery and join in Westport’s red hot culinary renaissance.
Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, Connecticut produces a dozen styles of hand-made farmhouse cheeses from milk produced by their pasture-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free Jersey cows. Elizabeth MacAlister, owner of the farm since 1979, began making cheeses in 1997. Her son Mark Gilman joined the operation in 1999 and is the head cheese maker.
They make cheeses four days a week at Cato Corner; Dianna Sadowski works as a cheese maker one of those days. She wears a white hair bonnet, long white lab jacket and knee-high shiny white rubber boots when she works, an outfit that underscores her role as scientist in the cheese making process. While touring the operation’s underground cheese cave–which was pungently acrid from thousands of wheels of cheese ripening–she described that cheese makers must understand microbiology, pH values, bacteria and ammoniating. “But, you have to use your senses, too,” she said. “You can smell when a culture changes. That’s an art.”
Liz Rueven is a CTbites contributor and the founder of a new blog, Kosher Like Me.
The Stand Juice Company opened a second location in Fairfield , CT five weeks ago and they are rockin’ already. Carissa Dellicicchi and Mike Hrizdo, the dynamic husband and wife duo behind the Stand in Norwalk (opened in 2006), complement each other perfectly.
Carissa is the cook and creative force and Mike is the organizer and funny man. They first met in Miami at a raw foods market and bonded over their love for organic vegetarian eats and their passion for exploring the connection between better eating and healing the body.
Ryan Fibiger, owner of Craft Butchery (opening soon in Saugatuck, Westport) will be making a unique appearance at The Westport Farmer's Market on Thursday October 13th. He will be walking guests through two butchering demonstrations at 11am and 1pm.
Ryan feels passionately that for anyone who loves food, understanding where food really comes from is an integral part of the culinary experience. The demos will be on a side (half) of a heritage breed, pasture-raised pig sourced from the Hudson Valley.
Throughout the demos Ryan will be hosting a discussion and Q&A on the following topics:
-Basic butchering techniques and tools
-Overview of the animal (farm, breed, age, feed, slaughter, primal cuts, etc.)
-Demonstrate break down of basic primal cuts
-Demonstrate break down into the case-ready cuts that everyone recognizes
Butcher, Specialty Market, Westport 
School is back in session, and I don't mean the kind that requires boarding a yellow school bus. I'm talking about an education involving terms like bloomy, soft-ripened, blue-vein, washed-rind, and brined. Fairfield Cheese Company's Fall/Winter cheese class schedule is out with a full offering for any level of cheese appreciation. Check out the full line up below:
Cheese, Fairfield, Specialty Market 
Lovers of Bánh mì, the Vietnamese sandwich, were crestfallen when Pacific Foods (1561 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield (203) 220-9450) closed just a few months after opening. I’m thrilled to report it’s back, under the same management. Good news is that this hole-in-the-wall storefront now has three tables for eating in.
As CT Bites previously reported, the menu offers summer rolls, pho and bubble tea, and there’s a small grocery section. But here’s what you have to order: the bánh mì. It could be described as a Vietnamese sub. Like a sub, the classic version combines cold cuts and crisp vegetables. But this light, well-proportioned sandwich is not an over-stuffed meat- feast, and each component reveals the way that the French colonization of Vietnam melded the flavors and cooking techniques of the two cultures.
Asian, Fairfield, Lunch, Specialty Market, Vietnamese 
Pacific Food is a unique Asian market open almost three months in a small shopping center just as Blackrock Turnpike splits into Tunxis Hill. The small footprint of the grocer packs a punch – offering counter-style favorites such as Vietnamese sandwiches, Japanese-style smoothies in a rainbow of flavors and a decided-upon favorite, traditional Chinese Bubble Tea.
Asian, Fairfield, Specialty Market, Vietnamese 
Bernard's Restaurant in Ridgefield will be hosting a "Will Drive 4 Food" dinner on August 21 at 6 p.m., inspired by the recent trip of 109 Cheese & Wine owners Monica & Todd Brown. This family style seven-course meal will take place at a single long table in the garden of Bernard's Restaurant, the first event of its kind at the restaurant. (See menu below).
The inspiration was a recent cross-country trip the Browns took in their vintage 1963 Porsche 356, traveling through California, Oregon and Washington and the midwest. In addition to enjoying the scenery and enjoying some amazing meals, they were
Vintage gated tables lined with tequilas and rums, while bourbons and whiskeys are abundantly shelved nearby. I am especially drawn to Jeff Marrons’ corner display of tequila bottles—both of the consumed and collected variety—gathered on a custom riddling rack table. The presentation makes the space feel personal and homey, as if this could be someone’s personal collection. So, I am not surprised to learn that fiancée and owner Mimi McLaughlin has a background in interior design and fashion retail, evidenced in her attention to the smallest details, down to the charming tags, framed signs and chalk drawings at the entrance.
Beer, Cocktails, Entertaining, Specialty Market, Westport 
Ryan Fibiger, a recent graduate of Fleisher’s Grass Fed and Organic Meats’ whole animal butchery program, is bringing his skills to Westport...Saugatuck to be exact. Coming this September, Saugatuck Craft Butchery featuring pasture raised & organic meats will be open for business. Analiese Paik of the Fairfield Green Food Guide recently spoke with Ryan about the shop as well as his meat CSA which will launch before his retail doors officially open.
Here is the concept in Ryan's own words...
"Our mission is to bring back the neighborhood butcher with an emphasis on whole animal butchery, education, and the creation of community. We will provide locally raised meats, prepared foods, restaurant wholesale, catering, instructional programs, and an exceptional shopping experience to customers in Fairfield County."
Specialty Market 