Derby Days Parties @ Mama's Boy in Sono

Restaurant Holiday Southern

CTbites Team

Mama's Boy in Sono is celebrating the Derby in fine style with "Derby Days" April 27-May 3. Greer and her team have a full week of great events planned for your dining and partying pleasure.  The week kicks off a Low Country Crab Boil on April 28th, followed by "Fillies & Lillies," (girls night on steroids), May 1 and culminates with their big Derby Day event on May 2nd. Read the full details below. Call Mama's Boy to make your reservations (203) 956-7171.

Ross' Bread in Ridgefield Changes Ownership

Restaurant Bakery Ridgefield

Amy Kundrat

Photo: Ross' BreadRoss' Bread in Ridgefield, the popular bakery and café announced on March 31 that the business was changing hands from one Ridgefield family, Ross and Val Schneiderman, to another, Amy Freidenrich after six years in business.

The bakery follows the tradition of neighborhood European bakeries, with daily homemade breads (the Sweet Earth is a personal favorite), to cakes, pastries and soups using predominantly organic flour and ingredients. The location, tucked in the busy Marketplace at Copps Hill, has supported its mission and established the café as a popular meeting spot.

In an excerpt from a letter from the Schneiderman's, the business underscored the community support and its vision:


Celebrate National Beer Day w/ Three Floyds Zombie Dust...If You Can Find It

Ingredients Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon

Apparently today is National Beer Day, so here are my notes from the first time I had Three Floyds Zombie Dust

*Yep - not a Friday at all, but Tuesdays could stand a bit of Fridayness, anyway.

I have a friend out in Indiana who floated the idea of doing a beer trade; he'd send me some of his state's beer, and I'd send him a few selections from Connecticut. I sent him Sea Hag from New England Brewing and Two Roads Lil Heaven, and made one request of him: "Whatever you send, please send me some Zombie Dust, too." He did not disappoint. What follows is the result, word for word:  

Grapefruit hop notes hit from two feet away as soon as it's poured. Barely cloudy amber, head forms and resolves into a thin ring. Big, juicy hops on nose, very fruity. It's hoppy on the tongue like a jungle is green - everywhere and all at once. Far cry from the punch of west coast IPAs. This is a smooth and flavorful pale ale. I want to turn back time and drink it again.


Big News at Craft Butchery: Dinner Service, Catering, A New Name & A Merger

Features Restaurant Butcher Specialty Market Lunch

Stephanie Webster

Craft Butchery has some very big news. This exclusively pastured, whole animal butchery is expanding their business, their product lines (including catering), and will soon open their doors for dinner service at the Westport location. Also, look out for a new Craft Butchery in Greenwich opening this summer.  

CTbites sat down with Ryan Fibiger, owner of Craft Butchery to get the full scoop. 

This rapid expansion, Ryan explained, “has actually been in the works for some time.” Craft knew they needed to grow to meet demand, but wanted to do so while maintaining their strict philosophy on sourcing and butchering. Fibiger said “We wanted to grow the business, but butchering is a labor intensive process that requires space and talent. It’s hard to replicate.” To speed things along, this old school, full-service, whole animal butchery made the wise decision to merge with Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic Meats in Brooklyn (Ryan’s stomping ground where he learned his trade). As part of this merger, Craft is now the proud owner of Fleisher’s 6,500 square foot processing facility and commissary in Red Hook, enabling Craft to grow all areas of their current business, including Catering, to-go retail offerings, and most importantly, their ability to break down animals on a larger scale. They also have a new name: Fleisher's Craft Butchery. 


Baldanza in New Canaan: Organic and Flavorful

Restaurant American Farm to Table Local Farm Organic New Canaan Lunch

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Tucked in the rear of a charming passageway on Elm Street in New Canaan is Baldanza Natural Market Cafe. With a large and diverse organic menu, and a blackboard filled with the names of local purveyors, this small restaurant is fast becoming a local favorite. Owners Sandy and Angela Baldanza opened the café last year serving lunches and an occasional ‘pop up dinner’. Baldanza recently expanded the hours to include regular dinner service and partnered with Chef Kender Urena, who many will remember as the Chef /Owner of Bistro Bonne Nuit. Urena was awarded a Grand Diploma in Culinary Art with outstanding honors from the French Culinary Institute in NYC and was one of Bon Appétit Magazine Top 100 Chefs in America in 2007.

Friday Froth: What's In A Name?

Ingredients Features CT Beer Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon

The waiter gave me a look that said "Dude - work with me here," because I was mumbling. It started like this: 

Him: "What'll you have?" A perfectly reasonable question, and not an unexpected one, given that I'd just sat down. So I replied:

"Nmm nmm."

"What?"

"Nmm nmm... ee."

And that's when I got the look. So I said it louder, biting off each word:

"Nummy Nummy, please." 

Dammit. 

Look, I get it - it's fun to name your beer something ridiculous like "Buttface" or "Even More Jesus," but please, I humbly beseech you, the brewers of the world: please don't make it something I'm embarrassed to order in public. That said...


Weekly Nibble: Cocktail Classroom, Pizza Class @ Bar Sugo, CIA Hosts Lunch, Autism Bites, Savor @ Mohegan Sun + More

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

The Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company will host Cheese 101.  Learn about and try an array of cheeses for $45 per person.  It takes place at the Fairfield Location on Tuesday April 7th, 7-9pm and at the Greenwich Location Thursday April 9, 7-9pm.  

“Cocktail Classroom: Rum Creations” comes to Barcelona New Haven on Tuesday April 7 at 7pm.  The night will feature delicious cocktails prepared by top bartenders as well as bites by Executive Chef Frank Proto. $35.

Bar Sugo will host a pizza making workshop on Saturday April 11.  Chef Pat will teach you basic techniques.  You’ll get the chance to bake classics like the Margherita and experiment with creations of your own. $30/person plus gratuity.  

Cookbook author Dina Cheney will launch her new cookbook, MUG MEALS, at the Cos Cob Library on Thursday April 9 at 7pm.  The book is all about mug microwave cooking and guests should bring their own mugs for free samples. Copies of the book will be available for signing and sale. Register here.

Saugatuck Grain + Grape kicks off its Wine Education Series on Wednesday April 8 with an “Introduction to Wine Tasting, Lexicon, and Labels.”


Garden of Ideas in Ridgefield: 2015 Cooking Classes

Restaurant CT Farms Cooking Classes Education Ridgefield

Amy Kundrat

Photo: Garden of Ideas

The Garden of Ideas, the outdoor community center and garden sanctuary in Ridgefield, is hosting a series of monthly cooking demonstrations and workshops from May through November with Chef Susie Buckley.

Each class will focus on how to make the most of the seasonal produce, using the bounty of their CSA as a way to highlight the intersection of food, nature, art and science within each workshop. Classes welcome all ages (kids from 8 years and up, and adults) and will feature fresh farm produce, focusing on basic cooking techniques, "nibbles, tastes, and recipes, included." View the complete class schedule below:


Saugatuck Grain + Grape Launches Wine Education Class Series

Ingredients Cooking Classes WIne Wine Tasting

Stephanie Webster

Saugatuck Grain + Grape is going to be holding a series of wine education classes. Classes will be held every other week this spring. The series will cover everything from "Introduction to Wine Tasting, Lexicon, and Labels" to "The World Through Rosé Covered Glasses" as they dive into specific varietals. For those who don't know Mimi and her team, there will most definitely be fun, food and some bad wine jokes in every session.

Classes will be led by Mimi McLaughlin and Jon Carr, the newest member of the SG+G team. There will be nibbles prepared by Mark Hepperman, their in-house chef, so your tummy and taste buds will be happy in a multitude of ways.

Below is a break down of the syllabus, cost and dates. Please call the store to reserve your spot. 


Local Chef Silvia Baldini Wins Chopped!

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Another local chef was successful in winning Chopped this week. Last night Chef Silvia Baldini successfully navigated the April Fool’s style secret ingredient baskets and eliminated three other chefs and was crowned Chopped Champ. Ingredients she was required to re-provision included caramel onions masquerading as a caramel apple and green fondant in the shape of candy. And don’t taste a slice of cake expecting sweet…it was actually meat loaf. 

It was a tight competition until the dessert round when she returned to her Italian roots when spent endless hours with her grandmother in the kitchen. She created Canederli, a bread dumpling that is a specialty of Northeast Italy. They are traditionally made with milk soaked bread, eggs and a touch of flour. Hers were good enough for Judge Chris Santos to proclaim, “This is the best dish of the day.”

So congratulations to Chef Baldini and her repurposing the strawberry soup a la tomato soup and winning Chopped. 

And for our readers who want to dry the Canederli here is the recipe from the chef.


Danny Meyer, Shake Shack Founder & CEO Union Square Hospitality Group to Speak in New Haven

Events

Amy Kundrat

Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group which founded Shake Shack and popular restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, Marta, and Union Square Café, will visit Yale on Tuesday, April 7 as the University's 2015 Gordon Grand Fellow.

Meyer will present two talks at Yale that are open to the public and will be streamed live on YouTube. For more information, or to watch live, visit Yale SOM or Yale News.

 


Brother Jimmy’s BBQ Opening in Stamford via HeyStamford!

Restaurant BBQ Stamford Lunch

CTbites Team

This just in from our friends @ HeyStamford!

A few weeks back we shared the exciting news about BBQ hot spot Brother Jimmy’s BBQ opening in Stamford downtown.

While the news wasn’t available at the time of that announcement; the team at Brother Jimmy’s have announced their grand opening party! The event is scheduled for April 11th at their new location in Stamford downtown. This special event will feature a special performance by country band Hazzard County starting at 10pm along with drink specials all night long.  to RSVP for the opening, click here.

You may recall that Brother Jimmy’s BBQ is filling the spot recently vacated by Butterfield 8. 

Read full article at HeyStamford!


The Legendary Mario's in Westport Sold to Harvest Wine Bar Owners via Dan Woog

Restaurant Westport Opening

CTbites Team

This just in from Dan Woog's 06880 blog:

The rumors careening around town are true: Mario’s is being sold.

The legendary restaurant/bar — a Saugatuck mainstay since 1967 — will change hands soon. A new name, cuisine and interior will follow. The deal could be finalized tomorrow morning.

New owners Kleber, Nube and Vicente Siguenza own 5 restaurants in Fairfield and New Haven Counties (including 55 Degrees in Fairfield).

Mario’s: A Westport legend.

Mario’s will remain as it is for the next year. It will then transform into Harvest Wine Bar — similar to the Siguenzas’ restaurant of the same name in Greenwich. Harvest offers modern American custom cuisine with Asian, Latin and Mediterranean influences, plus an extensive wine list. Harvest supports local, organic farms.

Read the full article here.


Tix on Sale for Community Plates "Food For All 2015" Fundraiser May 7th

CTbites Team

 Community Plates, the technology-fueled, direct-transfer food rescue organization dedicated to ending food insecurity in America, is thrilled to present their signature fundraiser, “Food for All.” 

Food for All, in keeping with Community Plates’ forward thinking and innovative methodology, is an event like none other in the area. The high octane evening features Fairfield County’s newest restaurants and artisans, in addition to Food for All’s popular craft cocktail bars spearheaded by creative mixologists. An added highlight this year is the Dessert Café, which will feature sweet treats and libations. Attendees will be treated to a special surprise upon their arrival by one of Community Plates’ legacy restaurants, setting the tone for a delicious and celebratory evening. Purchase Tickets Here.


Magee's Curbside: Must Try Breakfast & Lunch in Stamford!

Restaurant Delicious Dives Stamford Breakfast Lunch

Douglas P Clement

I get this tip that the new place to go for the best casual breakfast and lunch food in Stamford is a small spot at 72 Magee Ave., in the “no-man’s zone” south of I-95 and the Metro-North tracks. On the way to Greenwich one morning I decide to investigate Magee's Curbside.

Here’s the bottom line in an anecdote:

After I show up and rattle the staff by asking them to make a few dishes I can sample and photograph—and ask if the owners are around—I’m sitting at a table talking to co-owners Danny DeGruttola (owner of The Brickhouse Bar & Grill on Bedford Street) and Evan Philippopoulos. A woman comes in and declares that she’s back after Magee’s delighted her with the best turkey burger she’s ever had. (The house-recipe burger was a recent special.)

No, the woman wasn’t a ringer; no one knew I was coming and the owners of the small, bright and cheerful place weren’t even supposed to be there—the food just is that terrific.


Friday Froth: A Look At Beer'd Brewing

CT Beer Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon

I like to let my face grow its own sweater for the colder months. Having a glossy layer of man-fur dulls the teeth of the winter wind, people seem to like my more avuncular look, and growing a beard takes slightly less work than shaving every day, so technically I'm conserving the planet's resources. You're welcome

I've noticed the delicate liquid measurements, tweezing of botanicals, and arguing over the perfect shape for a single unit of ice has lead many adherents of cocktail culture to treat their faces like overly manicured topiary. There will always be respect and, above that, love in my heart for those who create finely constructed, strong and delicious cocktails, but an enthusiastic ransacking of my home will never turn up a single tin of mustache wax. 

When I met Aaren Simoncini of Beer'd Brewing in Stonington, he was wearing a shirt that said "beer is art"and his beard didn't look like an aluminum foil swan full of lo mein. We nodded at each other and I approached.  

Kawa Ni Bartender Competition #1: Photo Gallery & Recap

Ingredients Cocktails Westport Bar

Sarah Green

Move over "show case showdown," there's a new showdown in town. Jeff Maron, bar manager of Kawa Ni in Westport (and both of the other Bill Taibe's jaunts) hosted the first of six Bartender Competitions where some of the North East's finest BAR-istas concocted some fabulous potions for the judges and guests to imbibe and describe. The goal of this event series is to showcase the art of the craft cocktail and elevate mixology in CT. 

Each 'tender was required to create 5 identical cocktails using one ounce of the sponsored ingredient - in this case, Appleton Reserve Rum, and one ounce of the secret ingredient - in this case Ancho Reyes chili liquor. Other than that, each drink-master was given free reign to embellish, add, adjust and design their signature cocktail. There was even some blow torching of fruit. The end game was to impress the panel of 4 judges, including the lucky winner of the CTBites cocktail naming contest, and Adam Roytman of Walrus and Carpenter (from whence many of the evening's delicious nibbles were provided).