Filtering by Tag: Trumbull,Bagels

Bagel Bros & Co. Opens Second Location in Oxford

Features Restaurant Opening Breakfast Bagels Oxford Lunch

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Bagels, Bagels, Bagels!!!

This simple rendition of mix, rise, boil, bake has numerous interpretations and toppings and has captured the imagination of breakfast lovers for over 400 years. It has been ages since a bagel shop appeared in Oxford, CT, and, after seeing the “Coming Soon” sign for months, purchasing fresh bagels in Oxford is now a reality with the opening of Bagel Bros & Company second location in the David K mall at 144 Oxford Rd.

Bagel Bros has numerous options to satisfy both the traditionalists and those looking for more funky options, whether plain, sesame, salt, onion, poppy, blueberry, cinnamon raisin, cinnamon sugar, egg, jalapeno cheddar, whole wheat, everything, egg everything, whole wheat everything, garlic, and French toast. There are quite few combinations to choose from, and Bagel Bros. does not skimp on the toppings of either the sesame or poppy seeds, they were loaded.


Ridgefield Bagels and Bakes: NEW Destination for Sourdough Bagels in Ridgefield

Restaurant Breakfast Breakfast Sandwich Bagels Bakery Bread Shop Opening Ridgefield Homepage

Hannah Goodman

I love bagels. I love anything that has to do with bagels, whether it’s simply a toasted plain bagel with some butter or cream cheese (often I choose both – sue me), or a B.E.C. on a sesame bagel, or it’s an everything bagel stacked with the works, like scallion cream cheese, smoked salmon, onions, and capers, I am all in! If you are from the tri-state area, you know the importance of a solid bagel shop, as we take this stuff very seriously, because what the heck would we do without a hearty breakfast sandwich in the morning? As luck would have it, Ridgefield needed a new bagel shop to take the place of what had previously been Steve’s Bagels, and in November of 2023, the same location on Main Street became Ridgefield Bagels and Bakes. 


PopUp Bagels Opening Retail Walk In Locations in Fairfield & Newtown

Restaurant Opening Fairfield Newtown Bagels Breakfast

Stephanie Webster

Connecticut’s beloved bagel brand, PopUp Bagels, kicked off four years ago when Goldberg and his cousin Jeff Lewis started making bagels for family and friends in the midst of the pandemic. Rave reviews led Goldberg to launching a backyard preorder pickup bagel biz that sold out time and time again. PopUp would then take their bagels on the road, opening…well…everywhere.

if you don’t already know what PopUp Bagels is all about—are fresh bagels, served to the customer piping hot, NOT pre sliced, and artisan schmears. The original concept required pre-orders of a dozen bagels, but when they launched their NYC location (to VERY long lines I might add), they spearheaded their new retail model. This was then replicated in Greenwich, where guests can walk up and order 3 bagels and a schmear for $12.

Popup Bagel’s NEW Newtown opens this weekend, March 22nd with pre-ordering only Friday, Saturday Sundays, but starting next week, the Newtown spot will be open every Wednesday-Sunday for for both pre-sale and walk in.

UP NEXT is their Fairfield location opening June 1st in the old Lobster Craft spot.


30+ Spots for Great Bagels in Connecticut

Features Restaurant Bagels Breakfast Sandwich Breakfast Comfort Food carb Bread Shop Homepage

April Guilbault

Nicely sized and expertly formed, with a nice bit of pillowy fluff to its appearance. A firm golden crust that your teeth have to work a bit to pierce, which then leads you to the satisfying crunch and the doughy, chewiness inside. Choose a flavor, from the sweet to the savory to the quirky seasonal, finish with a generous schmeeeeeear (also in the above flavors) and enjoy one of the simple pleasures in life: a good bagel. 

Here are 30+ spots to score yourself some bagel-y goodness in Connecticut.


Fryborg Food Truck Opens Restaurant in Trumbull

Features Interview Restaurant Trumbull Homepage Openings French Fries Burgers Hot Dogs Sandwiches Interview

Andrew Dominick

“A lot of the food we serve is inspired by being a kid,” says Fryborg owner Jonathan Gibbons. “In Milford, an older guy in his 80s comes in regularly and he remarked that my food is like when he was a kid. That made me feel really good. The food, the video game table, the bubble hockey, it’s all about nostalgia.”

For many, me included, “nostalgia” is the right work to describe Fryborg.


PopUp Bagels Opens in Greenwich and More Expansion News

Features Interview Bagels PopUp Bagels Greenwich Homepage Interview

Andrew Dominick

What began as a pandemic bagel baking hobby for Adam Goldberg has increased tenfold, and that’s putting it very lightly.

PopUp Bagels kicked off three years ago when Goldberg and his cousin Jeff Lewis started making bagels for family and friends. Rave reviews led Goldberg to launching a backyard preorder pickup bagel biz that sold out time and time again.


Fryborg Bringing Hand-Cut Fries to Trumbull (via The Trumbull Times)

Features Openings Trumbull French Fries Comfort Food Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

This article appeared in the Trumbull Times on January 5th. Read the complete article here.

Jonathan Gibbons is being cautiously optimistic.

He hopes that the latest outpost of his restaurant Fryborg will open at 10 Broadway Road in Trumbull some time in May. But he’s well aware that might not be possible.

“Right now, with all of the delays and issues with the supply chain, it’s affecting everybody,” Gibbons said. “I know it will take a while.”

Despite the potential hiccups, he’s excited about bringing the restaurant — perhaps best known for its hand-cut fries with a choice of more than 15 dipping sauces and an array of toppings — to Trumbull this year.

The drive-thru window that had been used by the pharmacy will be used to pick up food. However, Gibbons said, it wouldn’t be a traditional drive-thru, where customers would order food from a kiosk, pay and pick it up. Customers would order and pay ahead of time and pick up the food at the window when ready.

The restaurant would also offer sit-down dining.

Fryborg began as a food truck in August of 2012. In 2018, Gibbons opened a restaurant in Milford. When he saw the space in Trumbull was available, he said it appeared to be a great opportunity to expand his brand.


Connecticut Cottage Bakers & Makers: Small Food Businesses You'll Wanna Know

Features Ingredients Bakery Bagels Cookies Custom Cakes Cakes Pastry Chef Dessert Cottage Bakers Made To Order Homepage

April Guilbault

You drive through your town and notice bakeries and specialty food shops here and there. One on this corner, another on that one. Now we’d like to introduce you to a plethora of cottage bakers and makers who are flying right below our radar, creating delicious delights, yet they aren’t in plain sight because they are baking out of their homes or commercial kitchens. Have you heard of many of them? How do you find out about them? Word of mouth, usually. Consider us your word-of-mouth and then please, spread the word about these delightful, delicious, de-groovy custom cottage bakers and makers. Everything starts small, after all…

If you know of a cottage food business that is not on this list, please contact us such that we can add them to the directory.


Marcia Selden Catering & Pop-Up Bagels Team Up For Epic Weekend Bagel Brunch

Features Ingredients Pop-Up Bagels Caterers Stamford Westport Breakfast Brunch Homepage

Stephanie Webster

We love it when two of our favorite food brands team up for a pop-up that involves delicious carb-loaded brunch fare. You may have heard me sing some praise for Adam Goldberg and his ridiculously tasty Pop-Up Bagels. Well, he has found a new regular Stamford pop-up location and dedicated cooking team with Marcia Selden Catering. Last weekend, CTbites got the chance to tag along for some bagel making fun. And, don’t worry…if you missed this past week’s pop-up event, mark your calendars for March 6th, and follow @popupbagels for notifications because these bagels sell out QUICKLY!

So, here’s how this bagel making and baking went down.


Badass Bagels: A Pandemic Pivot Yields Wild Yeast Bagels At Sugar & Olives in Norwalk

Features Restaurant Bagels Pop-Up Breakfast Carbs Take Out Norwalk Homepage

Amy Kundrat

If in times of crisis we tend to go back to our roots, then in times of pandemic I suppose it’s only fitting we reach back to our biblical roots. Sourdough may have been discovered by the ancient Egyptians but it has been perfected by Jennifer Balin of Sugar & Olives in the form of Badass Bagels.

These naturally leavened bagels have a light crunch on the outside, light as air and chewy with a slight tang on the inside. Badass Bagels come in six varieties, including sesame, poppy, smoked sea salt, everything, caraway, and plain, as well as an offering of unique cream cheese flavors including green goddess and pimento scallion—these sourdough bagels may become your new weekend obsession.


Our Search For The Best Bagels in Fairfield County CT

Features Restaurant Best of CT Bagels Breakfast Brunch Specialty Market Bread Bakery Homepage

Jessica Ryan

I felt compelled to write this after noticing the same Facebook posts over and over again from recent New York transplants. “Where can I find the best bagels?”

I’d add my two cents and then watch as rows and rows of comments filled my screen. I’d silently cheer or jeer along. Yes!! No! Oh god no, no, no – just no! And with this I decided that I was going to find the best bagels locally.

As a native New Yorker I know a thing or two about bagels. Even though New York City is the Bagel Capital of the World, not all New York bagels are good. I’m looking for those bearing a rich caramel color with a slight sheen that yields the slight crackling crunch when you bite into it, followed by a really good chew.


Bianco Rosso Opens Newest location in Trumbull w/ Chef David White

Restaurant Trumbull wilton Italian Homepage Lunch Pasta Dessert

CTbites Team

Earlier this summer, husband and wife team, Cristina Ramirez and Mario Lopez along with brother Jaime opened Bianco Rosso’s newest location, in Trumbull, to eager diners. Noted Chef David White (most recently of Vespa, Westport) was brought on to oversee all culinary matters and is joined by award-winning Pastry Chef Susanne Berne where the two have joined forces to create a delectable menu. Acclaimed Mixologist Jaime Johel oversees the creative specialty cocktail menu. The energetic restaurant opened to rave reviews. We had the opportunity to visit the new restaurant last week and sample some of Chef White’s culinary prowess. 


Bow Tie Cinemas Now Features Food, Drinks & A Stylish Renovation

Features Norwalk Food Movies Westport Trumbull Homepage

Andrew Dominick

If you’ve walked into either one of the Bow Tie Cinemas in Norwalk lately, you and I likely had the same reaction. I froze for multiple seconds. I’m certain my “wow” face was visible, mouth hitting the ground cartoon-style and all. I marveled at the renovations at the SoNo Ultimate Regent 8, the movie theater I grew up going to since it opened, and now it’s unrecognizable in the best way possible. 

Gone are the packed-in, partially broken seats, that have been replaced by padded, comfier electric recliners so you can put your feet up, kick back, and zone-out during a film. As a frequent moviegoer, that’s awesome, but this is a food site. I’m here to dish about the revamped concession stand that you’ll not only see in the South Norwalk Bow Tie, but also at the Ultimate Royal 6 on Westport Avenue, and soon at the Trumbull Marquis 6 with construction slated for early November. 

The upgraded concession area includes a full bar, with menus put in place by local restauranteur Greer Fredericks (Mama’s Boy, Peaches), who consulted on the project with assistance from Thomas Siano, who runs the bar program at her current restaurant.


Best Bar Burgers in Fairfield County: 2014 Edition

Danbury Darien Fairfield Norwalk Trumbull Westport New Canaan Best of CT Burgers

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

May is National Burger Month and it’s that time of year again for CTbites to unveil its “Best Bar Burgers of Fairfield County.” The last twelve months brought us several suggestions to try and I tried many of these additional locations. The 2014 list included some outstanding bars and haunts that served delicious burgers, so good in fact that only one newcomer was as delicious. (See complete list below)

Not only was this an outstanding burger, but it earned my top spot as the Best Bar Burger in Fairfield County. 

Bick’s Burgers & Fries – 2014 Best Bar Burger in Fairfield County


Shearwater Coffee Roasters: Bringing Organic Coffee to Fairfield County

Ingredients Coffee Specialty Market Trumbull

Kathleen Atkins

Americans have a loving obsession with coffee.  We crave our daily fix, whether it is black, iced, with extra cream and sugar, or a shot of espresso.  We crave the aroma, the taste and how coffee brings people together.  However, coffee is so much more than just a beverage; it is a huge global business. 

Ed Freedman of Shearwater Coffee Roasters is in the thick of this global business, but is marking his own stamp on it.  Shearwater Coffee Roasters, headquartered in Trumbull, Connecticut is the first and only USDA certified organic coffee roaster in Fairfield County.  Shearwater bases its business on the three core principles of organic, artisan and altruism.   They pride themselves on being committed to the integrity of organic roasting.   “Organic is not a product line,” says Freedman.  “It’s a way of life and what we do. “  

The coffee plant is often grown with harmful chemicals, pesticides and herbicides. 


Exceeding Expectations at Trumbull's Parallel Post

Restaurant Farm to Table Trumbull Lunch

Amy Kundrat

The Trumbull Marriott’s Parallel Post restaurant is the result of a prescient collaboration with a James Beard nominated chef and a well-known hotel chain just off the beaten path of Fairfield County's regular dining haunts. Leveraging its proximity to the region’s small and robust network of farms, and the fisheries of Long Island Sound, this three-month-old restaurant draws its inspiration from the bounty of land and sea. The effect is a modern and seasonal New England menu that skews upscale, but without any pretense.

Chef and restaurateur Dean James Max was tapped by Trumbull’s Marriott to reimagine its restaurant—an intensive project that included a two month renovation of its dining spaces. Opened at the end of November 2012, the restaurant has been gaining momentum, thanks in large part to this embrace of local farms, a superlative understanding of seafood, a talented team led by Executive Chef Christopher Molyneux, and a welcome, if seemingly inauspicious location inside the Trumbull Marriott.

Kids Talk: The Under 10 Set Reviews Sunny Daes

Kids Bites Restaurant Fairfield Stamford Trumbull Westport ice cream Kid Friendly Dessert

Multiple Eaters

When Ben & Jerry's closed in Westport this Fall, there were murmurs of discontent amongst the younger crowd. Where does one get homemade ice cream with solid mix-ins in this town? Fortunately help was just around the corner...literally. Sunny Daes opened just months later and now Westporters young and old don't have to drive to Fairfield to get their fix.

This full service ice cream shop has 68 flavors of frosty desserts says owner, Sergio Keskin. Plus, it isn't shipped in on trucks; it's made right behind the counter. If this isn't enough to get you in the door, they also serve gelato, frozen yogurt, soft-serve ice cream, and ice cream cakes

Sure, I could tell you how good the ice cream is, but I thought it made more sense to let the kids tell it like it is...