Thirty years ago, in the mid-90s, 1996, to be precise, South Norwalk’s restaurant scene started to see some buzz. Many would argue that the spot that sparked it all was Barcelona Wine Bar and all it brought with it. The tapas, the vino, and certainly when people danced on the bar top. In the present, Barcelona has grown significantly, so much so that they’ve ALMOST got one location for every year they’ve been a restaurant and a company. To date, there are 24 of ‘em across 12 different states, including four in Connecticut, where their growth first began.

Before the first bite, Between Friends was built on one simple belief: the best conversations happen over great food. Today, that idea has become one of Connecticut’s newest sandwich destinations, serving handcrafted sandwiches that are anything but ordinary.

At Between Friends, every sandwich is inspired by real people and their go-to order. The menu features premium ingredients, bold flavors, and crave-worthy combinations that strike the perfect balance between comfort and creativity—designed to leave a lasting impression.

Fan favorites showcase the bold flavors that define Between Friends. The Late Night Romeo layers crispy chicken cutlet with smoky bacon, cheddar, crisp lettuce, onion, and the signature house Russian dressing for the perfect balance of crunch and richness. Cyn City takes indulgence to another level with crispy chicken cutlet smothered in creamy vodka sauce, burrata, Parmesan, and house pesto. For a fresh, vegetarian option, That’s-a-Maury combines crispy eggplant, creamy burrata, sun-dried red peppers, peppery arugula and house pesto for a sandwich that’s as vibrant as it is satisfying. 

Located in Brookfield, CT, the Celtic Cottage Bakery & Farmstand offers quality Irish baked goods and accommodates a wide range of food allergies. Following her father’s passing, self-taught baker Wendy Mitchell began to explore her Irish heritage. This led her to volunteer at the Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center where she fell in love with traditional Irish recipes whilst baking for fundraisers. 

In 2002 after 20 years of restaurant experience, Wendy began a catering service for individuals with restricted diets and food allergies. Her company, The Homestyle Gourmet, was inspired by her loved ones and culinary experience growing up. 

Last year, the CT Pizza Trail map was created, recommending the top one hundred locations to enjoy pizza in our beloved state. I’ve been fortunate to have lots of notches on my waistline from a good portion of the places, but a few close-to-home spots have remained on my "gotta-try" list. With an opening appearing in my schedule, I decided to try Julio's Wood Fired Pizza & Grill, in Southbury.

Julio's is the brainchild of Julio and Mari Duque, and initially opened its doors in 1997. The Duques were already well known locally as the owners of Rose's, the heavily trafficked Italian restaurant just down the road in Oxford. Their vision for Julio's was different, a restaurant centered around high-temperature, wood-fired cooking.

On Saturday, September 19, from Noon to 2:00 p.m., residents from across Stamford are invited to gather at Mill River Park for The Longest Table Stamford, a free community-wide event designed to bring neighbors together over a shared meal and meaningful conversation.

Hosted by Marty Shapiro, The Longest Table, Stamford's inaugural event, aims to transform a simple meal into an opportunity to build stronger community connections. Inspired by the global Longest Table movement, the event features one continuous table where people of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life are encouraged to sit together, share stories, and make new friends. 

Very quietly, in the sleepy town of Pound Ridge, there’s a tiny sourdough bakery that started a pizza program that’s grown into something that locals, and even Martha Stewart, is abuzz about. At 123Dough—where the small team bakes sourdough bread, pastries, and even makes sourdough pasta and ramen noodles—baker Paul Park started messing around with pizza dough, first at home, then at the bakery, and has seen the program really take off.

The familiar taste of a soda now comes with a new twist in Connecticut. Instead of alcohol or caffeine, Fizz Social Soda offers low-dose THC-infused beverages designed to introduce consumers to cannabis in a more approachable way. What began as years of experience in the medical cannabis industry has grown into Connecticut's first locally produced THC soda brand, offering infused drinks in nostalgic flavors while helping reshape how people think about cannabis.

Founder Julien Debelle Duplan was inspired to create Fizz Social Soda after seeing the positive impact cannabis had on people’s lives.

Launched in November 2025, Fizz Social Soda is Connecticut's first locally produced THC soda. Each can contains 3 milligrams of THC, a lower dose than the standard 5-milligram serving found in many cannabis edibles. Currently, flavors include Lemon Lime, Orange, Black Cherry and Diet Cola. The original flavors are made with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, while the Diet Cola contains zero calories and zero sugar. 

It’s midday on a Thursday. I’m at Ginkgo Sichuan Cuisine and I’m set to interview co-owner Yingying Yan over a handful of her restaurant’s dishes. And out they all come. I can see and I can certainly smell the dry red chilies before they hit the table. I go straight for the handmade dumplings and give it a stir do the spicy reddish orange oil and freshly diced garlic coats each little pork filled pocket. I pop one in my mouth, then immediately take a forkful of crispy edged cumin beef. I cough a few times and probably turned a few shades of red as I felt my temperature rise. This, by the way, isn’t a bad thing. Yan’s husband, and co-owner, Roger Yen, tells me to skip the water. He brings over an ice-cold bottle of Tsingtao, a light, refreshing rice lager that calmed the heat, the numbness in my tongue, and my slight cough that was a result of simply underestimating the heat level.

Summertime in Europe means walking along the Seine, swimming in the Cinque Terre, and enjoying all the pastries and chocolate Europe has to offer. But, if you're like me and staying stateside this season, lucky for you, we've got Europe at home.

At DoChéri in Darien, you'll find a Parisian-inspired interior and French-style chocolates infused with Ukrainian artistry. Founded by Maryna Steadman, DoChéri opened just a few months ago and is quickly becoming everyone's summer bucket-list stop.

Chocolate wasn't always Maryna's dream. Eight years ago, she was living in Ukraine and working in finance, spending more than a decade building a career in banking. But after moving to the United States, a new country ignited a new question: What can I do that I really love?

The origins of the Lobster Roll are shrouded in mystery, though many believe the summer staple was invented right here in Connecticut. No matter which story you believe, or whether you prefer your lobster roll hot with butter or cold with mayonnaise, there are multiple restaurants across the state ready to serve you. Lobster rolls have not only grown in popularity, but they’ve also grown in size, with many restaurants serving lobster rolls that stretch to over one foot! Definitely bring friends before attempting (or a pair of stretchy pants).

To help you navigate this guide, we’ve organized restaurants and businesses by county. Scroll to your local county or the one you’re visiting this summer for a lineup of where you can find your next lobster roll!

At the end of March, the Reyes Family announced that Mariposa Taqueria would be closing after six years on Mill Plain Road. Technically, though, they weren’t going anywhere. Instead, they decided to change it over to one of their other long-standing concepts in the city of Danbury. Not Amigo’s Deli. Not Mezon Tapas Bar, which was previously in the Mariposa space. But rather, a second, slightly different iteration of Minas Carne Brazilian Barbecue called Minas Carne Brazilian BBQ & Bar.

Brunch has just launched from 11am-3pm every Saturday and Sunday ONLY AT SALLY’S APIZZA’S STAMFORD location!

The Brunch menu menu is filled with fun takes on the classics like the Potato Rosemary Frittata, modeled after Sally's Potato & Rosemary pie, and the Tiramisu French Toast which is composed of house-made focaccia, soaked in an espresso custard, topped with a scoop of tiramisu and finished with cocoa powder.

In February, we brought you a piece highlighting The Haven and all its different components; the event space, the speakeasy, and two others that were on the way in a wellness forward cafe and the rooftop. Well, folks, the latter is here, and if you missed the rooftop that was formerly part of Evarito’s, it’s back, and it’s totally reimagined. Co-owner Christian Burns, who, as you know was behind Evarito’s and The Pompano in the same space as The Haven, and his partners, Joe and Aldo Criscuolo, saw a new vision for the roof that got launched just in time the summer season and beyond.

There are a lot of team ups that would likely never happen in the restaurant community, but, like all things in life, timing is everything. Chef Christian Wilki, formerly the chef de cuisine at The Cottage in Westport, is joining forces with John Nealon, owner of Crust Issues in Norwalk. No, it’s not April, and we’re not fooling.

The Hilliard Mills still carry the memory of industry, with brick walls and tall windows that loom over Bigelow Brook in Manchester. The complex is credited as being the oldest woolen mill in the nation, a nationally listed historic site. Where loud machinery once clattered for centuries, today there is something much quieter, the main building now filled mostly with office and business space. 

But in October 2025, something else began to take shape in what had been the rather bleak atrium of this historic treasure. The almost 300-year-old space has been transformed, adorned with an eclectic mix of classic album covers, where tunes from these albums like Synchronicity by The Police now echo through the rafters. Two fine dining chefs, long accustomed to pressed tablecloths and tasting menus, have traded china and linen for counter service and take-out containers with their new venture, The Hidden Kitchen at Hilliard Mills. Chefs Tom Kaldy and Joe Keane opened this “Chef-Owned Takeout Café” as part of a larger operation offering full-service catering and themed cooking classes, and it’s as much a reimagining of a typical lunch joint as it is a love letter to the community at large. 

Nothing beats your favorite flavor of ice cream hand-scooped in a cup or cone at the end of a long summer’s day. Fortunately, we are surrounded by an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great ice cream shops around the state. From ice cream to gelato to Italian ice, there are tons of frozen treats to enjoy around Connecticut this summer. Many offer dairy-free options, sorbet, and unique flavors for everyone in the family.

To help you easily navigate this guide, we’ve organized the ice cream shops by county. Simply find your local county to see which options are nearby!