Filtering by Tag: This Week In Wine,Bread Shop

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. 


Wave Hill Breads To Open New Retail Space In Norwalk

Features Opening Norwalk Bakery Bread Shop

RJ Scofield

Wave Hill Breads, an artisan micro-bakery located on High Street in Norwalk, plans to open a new 3,000-square-foot retail space on Westport Avenue.

Co-Owner Angela Topi confirmed to Patch plans to open a the new retail space, which will also include kitchen space and two back rooms for educational workshops and team building events, at 239 Westport Avenue.

Though an official opening date has not been set yet, Topi teased the new Wave Hill space will soon be ready to open.
"We feel that there is a need for fresh, local, high-quality artisan food on the best bread around," Topi said to Patch. "Also, our wonderful and loyal customers kept asking us to open up a retail space."

Wave Hill currently sells breads, pastries and other items from its High Street bakery, which Topi said will still be the main production facility for their wholesale accounts and farmer's markets while the new Westport Avenue facility will mainly be used for retail.

Read the full article on The Patch.


Alina’s Cakes: New Bakery Opens In Westport with Gluten Free Treats!

Restaurant Opening Bakery Westport Custom Cakes Cakes Bread Shop Homepage

Dan Woog

This just in from Dan Woog’s 06880.

In her native Romania, Alina Dancho often waited 2 hours in line, for half a loaf of bread. Now customers stand in line for her croissants, cookies, cakes, cupcakes and pastries.

And bread.

Alina’s Cakes & Cookies opened recently in the shopping plaza next to Fortuna’s, Greens Farms Spirit Shop, Gofer Ice Cream and Westport Cigar & Vape. It’s a tasty addition to those treats. It’s also the healthiest option.

95% of her bread is sourdough — an excellent, all-natural source of antioxidants and prebiotics.

Nearly all of her offerings are gluten-free. Her sugar and flour is non-GMO. She uses organic milk, and cage-free organic eggs. Some even come from the chickens she keeps.

“It’s not how much you eat. It’s what you eat,” Alina says, comparing the prevalence of food allergies in the US to Europe. She is adamant about the importance of avoiding pre-processed products like fillings and frostings.

“I want people to eat healthy breakfast foods and desserts, without allergic reactions and diabetes.”

Read the complete article here.


Guide To Connecticut Bread Bakers & Bakeries

Features Restaurant Bakery Bread Shop Bread Breakfast Homepage Highlight

Hannah Goodman

Bread. It’s the culinary foundation for so many cultures, each with its own unique varieties and history. Bread plays a pivotal role, whether it’s mopping up a beautiful sauce after a meal, or given to a child slathered in butter, after school. Bread baking is an art, a science, and a labor of love, especially for those bakers nurturing their sourdough starters, passed down for generations or created many years ago. “Often, our choices of bread are all about feelings. Flavour too, yes, of course. But the emotional resonance of bread is like little else.” -The Borough Market Guide to Baking

The explosion of Bread Bakers in Connecticut is a gift. So please, let us “break bread” together and enjoy this list of exceptional local bread bakeries. 

If we missed a local bread baker you know and love, please contact us.


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.


maman, NYC’s Beloved French Bakery & Café Opening in Greenwich June 18th

Restaurant Opening Greenwich Bakery Celebrity Chef Dessert Baked Goods Cookies Bread Shop Tea And Coffee

CTbites Team

maman, NYC’s beloved French Bakery & Café, is expanding to Connecticut with its first location in Greenwich (98 Greenwich Ave). Opening June 18th, the Provençal-inspired café, created by co-founders Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte, will bring its fan-favorite salads, sandwiches, made-famous-by-Oprah Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies to the Greenwich community. 

In true maman fashion, the decor will feature florals, signature toile print, and vintage and antique furniture, all drawing inspiration from the South of France. Brokered by Brand Urban, Greenwich’s full-service real estate advisory and brokerage company, maman Greenwich is the perfect spot to savor a morning coffee or pastry or grab brunch or lunch with friends. With 2,300 sqft of space, maman Greenwich is also the perfect spot to host events with your closest friends and family. 

Maman Greenwich will be open Monday - Friday from 7:30am - 6pm and Saturday-Sunday from 8am - 6pm. On opening day, Maman will have a cookbook signing with Elisa from 10am-12pm, and a Father’s Day Special, serving a complimentary S’mores A La Minute Cookie for dads with any purchase! 


Guide to New Haven Bakeries: Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican & Asian Must-Try Bake Shops

Features Restaurant New Haven Bakery Baked Goods Dessert Cakes Cookies Pastries Bread Bread Shop

Carly Terzigni

New Haven is a foodie hotspot in Connecticut, with no shortage of top-notch restaurants featuring cuisines from all around the globe. That level of quality, sheer abundance of choices, and beautiful blends of cultures extend to the city’s bakeries and cafes, which offer some of the best sweets and baked goods you can imagine. Whether you are looking for a quick dessert or a catered order for your next big event, you definitely do not need to look beyond New Haven’s city limits to find what you are looking for.

The next time you find yourself in New Haven, be sure to carve out some time during your visit to check out one (or several) of these great bakeries listed below. Pro tip: don’t stop at just one dessert; stock up on these tasty sweets like we did and enjoy them all week long.

NOTE: If you have a favorite New Haven Mexican, Italian, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, or Middle Eastern bakery and it’s not on this list, please contact us and we will add it to the list.


Uncle Matt's Bakery & Café: Breakfast, Lunch, Artisan Bread & Pastries in Sandy Hook

Restaurant Bakery American French Café Breakfast Breakfast Sandwich Lunch Bread Shop Baker BEC Openings

Stephanie Webster

If you live in Connecticut, you may recognize Matthew Kirshner. He is the pastry chef, bread baker, and owner of the popular Sandy Hook newcomer, Uncle Matt’s Bakery and Café, but he has spent time baking in our fair state for over 20 years. Kirshner has graced the kitchens of The Roger Sherman Inn, Wave Hill Breads, Bantam Bread Company, and even the Russian Tea Room in NYC. (Side note: Wave Hill and Bantam were just awarded “Best Bread in CT” by Food & Wine). But in June of 2021, after years of being covered in flour in other people’s kitchens, Matt decided it was time to get dirty in his own. Thus, one of Sandy Hook’s most beloved spots, Uncle Matt’s Bakery, was born, serving breakfast, lunch, as well as a wide array of outrageously good pastries, and artisan bread.


Meet Pierluigi Mazzella of Fatto a Mano Bakery: Panettone & Artisan Bread

Features Local Artisan Bakery Bread Bread Shop Baked Goods Dessert Breakfast Homepage

Brian Lance

Mazzella strove for this constant improvement throughout his baking journey, always moving up, always seeking to work in places where he could learn more high-level skills. He worked around Italy as a pizzaiolo, then as a panettone apprentice for the 2019 world champion of panettone, and most recently as the lead bread baker for Atticus Bakery in New Haven.

Now, at his bakery, Fatto a Mano, which translates from Italian as “made by hand,” Mazzella applies his father’s work ethic to his baking. He makes Italian-inspired artisan bread and pastry, including sourdoughs loaves and biscotti. Then there's the panettone.


Atticus Cafe & Market Opens 2nd Location in New Haven: It's All About The Grains

Restaurant Features Bakery Bread Shop Local Artisan Breakfast Lunch New Haven Bread Openings Baker Homepage

Erik Ofgang

Bite into a sourdough loaf from Atticus and you’ll taste the difference immediately.

It's heartier and nuttier with an addictive chew and bolder character than most other breads, even from other artisan sourdough bakeries. The bakery’s pastries also have a wonderful and unique flavor.

The bakery’s not-so-secret ingredient is simple: whole grains.

The new market is Atticus’ second location. It joins the Atticus Bookstore Cafe in downtown New Haven, which has been a bookstore since 1976 and a cafe since 1981. The location has been dabbling in artisan bread and pastries since 2016.


Small State Provisions IS OPEN: Let Them Eat Bread!

Restaurant West Hartford Local Artisan Bread Openings Baker Bakery Bread Shop

Kristin L. Wolfe

Are you ready to carb out on THE MOST tremendous bites of bready goodness your lips have savored? Small State Provisions in West Hartford’s GastroPark has finally opened.

Owner, and head baker Kevin Masse has been incredibly patient this last year waiting to open his storefront bakery. Despite it being a difficult time for any industry, Masse’s fan base has multiplied; and, to see him finally open the doors to his beautiful brick and mortar was a pretty emotional moment. As he opened the doors for the first time on Saturday, July 3, he grabbed his camera to capture the smiles and cheers in the line as it wrapped around the door in the parking lot of the GastroPark, now THE place to “Gather and Graze” in WeHa. Small State Provisions’ goodies were sold out in 45 minutes!


Barcelona Wine Bar Launches Wine Education Series in Partnership with Wine.com

Features WIne Wine Chat Wine Tasting This Week In Wine Education

CTbites Team

Barcelona Wine Bar is launching a new, complimentary wine education series in partnership with Wine.com to bring a taste of Spain home. The best news…after the class, you can buy the wines on Wine.com.

The first class, Iconic Red Wines of Spain will be released on April 28th, and will focus on Rioja, Bierzo, Ribera Del Duero, and Priorat wines. While there are specific wines that are available in a bundle on Wine.com for $89.99, Barcelona restaurants have an expansive range of wines from these regions and participants can call BWB to pick-up wine from one or all of these regions to taste along with the experts. The series was created for any Bierzo, Priorat, Rioja, or Ribera del Duero red wine to pair perfectly for the course.


Top 10 Wines of 2014 from Barcelona Wine & Spirits Director, Gretchen Thomas

This Week In Wine Wine Chat

Gretchen Thomas

It’s been an intense year of traveling (I visited Spain five times!), tasting, and learning. And with our various locations in other Eastern US cities, I’ve been given the chance to taste limited wines that are exclusively available in their respective states, which, if anything, has reminded me that understanding wine is a giant task for those who don’t work in this field. After spending so many years devoted to tasting and learning about wines, I can still be surprised, impressed, and sometimes completely blown away. There are always new (to me) grapes varieties, regions, farming and vinifying techniques, and I’m sure next year won’t disappoint me with a chance to discover something else unknown and worth it. Since I am closing up my 2014 tasting journals and looking forward to a new year of “explore-a-tasting,” I am sharing the 10 most striking wines I tasted for the first time in 2014.

Spring Wine Picks: Austria's Hopler Vineyards, Gruner Veltliner +

Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Chat Wine Tasting

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

It seems as though everyone loves a good Riesling for springtime and summer sipping.  Last year, New York City was just one of the regions to participate in a “Summer of Rieslings” with a number of selections on the High Line and in restaurants. Germany is revered for its remarkable versions of the varietal.

However, a lesser-celebrated varietal promises to satisfy all of your desires as the warmer weather approaches.  Gruner Veltliner, a national grape of Austria, shares Riesling characteristics, but has lighter, crisper, and fresher tones than its counterpart.  On Friday March 28, Fairfield County hosted Christof Hopler, a respected winemaker and owner of Hopler vineyards in Austria.  He presented a selection of his delicious wines to an eager room of wine enthusiasts at South End Restaurant in New Canaan.


Sun Winefest's Wine Review: What To Buy & Try

Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Shop Wine Tasting

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

The annual Mohegan SunWineFest caters to a variety of interests. Restaurants, artisans, winemakers, and distributors unite in the sprawling Convention Center to deliver an epic weekend.  However, wine lies at its heart; it is a “wine” fest after all!  I enjoyed all of event’s facets, but as CTbites' wine correspondent, I paid careful attention to the hundreds of bottles presented.  I researched the offerings ahead of time, questioned the representatives, and- of course- tasted the bounties to bring you a full report on which wines reign supreme.

Check out my full report on: The Rise of Sauvignon Blancs, Is Oak a Joke?, Hail a Cab, Pleasing Pinots, Behold the Blend as well as a few other wine and spirit highlights. 


Reasons to Love Winesday: Wine Wednesdays at Mohegan Sun

Restaurant This Week In Wine Wine Chat Wine Tasting

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

It seems that Wednesdays are officially becoming synonymous with wine!  In addition to our “Winesday” column, you can now enjoy an array of vino-based festivities at Mohegan Sun’s latest weekly event, “Wine Wednesdays.”  The evenings embrace the acclaimed restaurants and lounges already present within the casino, but present them with an emphasis on wine.  Four course pairing dinners unfold every Wednesday at both Bobby Flay’s Bar American and Todd English’s Tuscany.  Casino guests can also relax with a glass of champagne and smooth jazz rifts at the Vista Lounge starting at 8pm.  The first Wednesday of every month, though, has a special offering: “Tasting and Tapas” at Todd English’s Tuscany.  I had the pleasure of experiencing the affair (which has an impressively alliterate title, I might add) earlier this month.

Tasting and Tapas unfolded on the beautiful “patio” in the front of Tuscany.  Tuscany has an indoor restaurant with the kitchen, bar, and tables, as well as a front portion looking out on the casino.  Mohegan adopted the motif of a night sky, so guests sitting in that area feel the illusion of eating dinner under twinkling stars on a summer’s evening. 


Winesday: When It Rains, It “Pours”... Wine & the Weather

Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Tasting Winesday

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

“What’s going to come next- a sandstorm?” asked my friend as we stared out at the never-ending expanse of snow in front of us.

This season certainly has seen its share of weather anomalies from Hurricane Sandy to the recent blizzard that hit some parts of Connecticut with more than 30 inches of snow.  As I assessed the damage and tried to get my daily routine back in order, I couldn’t help but consider how these extreme storms have affected the wine industry.  A wine’s quality depends on a host of climate factors including the length of the growing season, temperature, and composition of the soil.  Even a small deviation can alter an entire bottle.  What happens to production in the wake of such monumental weather upheavals?

In order to find the answer to my question, I turned to Andie Martin, Tasting Room Manager, and Chris Moore, Vineyard Manager, at the Jonathan Edwards Winery. 


Going "Grüner"... Wine Notes from Barcelona Restaurant

Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Chat

Gretchen Thomas

Nearing the end of the summer, I always crave what’s ahead in the coming Autumn. I’m dying for some butternut squash, I’m researching fall fashion trends, and I’m assembling my line-up of brooding red wines to pour by the glass. Every now and then something shows up on my desk that brings me back to the present, and most recently it is this amazing white wine that can combat every humid day we have left in this season. Truly, it was a tough summer; I found it hard to reach for a glass of anything other than water on some days, but I have found the solution in the 2010 Grüner Veltliner (pronounced GREW-ner VELT-lee-ner) made by Gustav Winery in Austria.

If you are new to this varietal, here’s the scoop: Grüner Veltliner has been the darling white wine of nerdy sommeliers (like myself) for about 5 years now.


“Hot” Wine Picks for the Summer

Ingredients Features This Week In Wine

JoAnn LoGiurato

 JoAnn LoGiurato is a Certified Wine Specialist and the owner of Dancing on Grapes

Deck parties, outdoor picnics, grillin’ and chillin’…. summer is definitely upon us, and so is the summer wine dilemma. What to drink now? Hmm, many people believe that summer is all about white—au contraire! Here are 11 of my favorite wine sips for summer, including a couple of delicious reds and a rosé for those not afraid to “drink pink.” All of them are available at one of your favorite Fairfield County wine shops. If you can’t find the exact wine you’re looking for, ask the merchant to show you something similar—heck, it’s just fermented grape juice.  Taste, experiment, and have fun with it! 


A History of Connecticut Wine: Vineyard in Your Backyard

Ingredients This Week In Wine

CTbites Team

It wasn’t until 1978 that the state of Connecticut passed the Winery Act that allowed owners and winemakers to be able to have their own places to make the wine. Nowadays, there are over 30 wineries throughout the state alone, which made University of Bridgeport English professors Amy Nawrocki and Eric D. Lehman interested in pursuing the idea of writing a book on this subject matter.

Their new book; “A History of Connecticut Wine: Vineyard in Your Backyard” was released on March 18 and published by The History Press out of Charleston, SC. The volume, which is the first in depth publication on this topic, talks about history of CT wine before and after the Winery Act was announced, while also answering the question why people should go to these local wineries and taste wine.