Filtering by Tag: Summer,CSA

Dock & Dine! Boat On Up to 30 Waterfront Restaurants, Seafood Shacks, and More

Features Restaurant Seasonal Waterfront Water View Restaurants Seafood Summer Dining Summer Homepage Guide Highlight

April Guilbault

Waterfront. Dockside. Don’t those words just bring a smile to your face? Whether you are traveling by boat to go for a summer Sunday lunch or just wanting to enjoy your dinner with a beautiful view of the water, these restaurants will fit the bill for your summer enjoyment. And how is it exactly that everything tastes better when you are near the water?


75+ Spots For Ice Cream, Gelato & Frozen Desserts In CT (2021 Get Licking Edition)

Features Restaurant ice cream Italian Ices Gelato Kid Friendly Best of CT Dining Guide Summer Dessert Frozen Yogurt Homepage Highlight

April Guilbault

Sitting on a bench, licking a drippy ice cream cone on a warm summer day or a balmy evening can be, well…sublime. The skies are clear, the sun or moon is hanging in the sky-all is right with the world and these are a few moments to enjoy life’s simple pleasures. And creamy rich ice cream or scoop of blissful gelato is one of those pleasures, indeed. Honestly, unless you have dropped that cone (bloop, splat! *tears*), when have you ever gone for ice cream and left unhappy? Cream, fruits, swirls of caramel, bits of chocolate chips, a nut here and there-nothing can beat it. Take a few moments this summer to enjoy those simple things, like a cone with a friend or even by yourself. Here’s a list to point the way…

Enjoy these 75+ Spots for Ice Cream, Gelato and Frozen Desserts in CT.


Tips to Maximize Your CSA From Mike's Organic Delivery

Features Ingredients CSA Local Farm Ingredients How To Shop Local

Mike Geller

Having connected farmers to consumers for 10 years in Fairfield & Westchester Counties, Mike's Organic owner Mike Geller knows a thing or two about CSAs. And if there was ever a time to give a CSA a chance, it's now! First and foremost, our farmers need us. As many farms rely significantly on business from restaurants and other sources, a great way to support our farms right now is through signing up for a CSA.

This crisis has highlighted the importance of small, local farms. If planes stop flying or processing plants close, it is they that will feed us...let us never forget that. Second, it is a way to guarantee that fresh, healthy, local food will be on your table for a period of several months. There is so much uncertainty in the world and this is one way to regain some control over your food. Also, so many of us are home cooking and a CSA allows you to be creative and introduce new things to your family!

If you take care of your produce, it will take care of you. It's so fresh when you get it, and if you just give it a little love it will give a whole lot back.


CT Guide to Outdoor Dining (2019): 100 + Restaurants for Summer

Features Restaurant Best of CT Outdoor Dining Summer Patio RoofTop

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Summer lasts for about six weeks, and I want to soak up every glorious morsel of sunshine that I can while it is here!  I also want to partake in the delicious food the season has to offer.  Connecticut restaurants are making sure that we don’t have to choose between those two options.  Places across the state are opening up their patios, decks, and rooftop bars.  Here is a lift of over 130 restaurants where you can fine al fresco this summer.

Tavern on State, New Haven: Tavern on State, owned by Chef Emily Mingrone, is one of the latest to join the dozens of exceptional restaurants in the New Haven area.  There are 45 seats outdoors.

Birdman Juke Joint, Bridgeport: The much-anticipated restaurant from Chef Chris Scott will have some outdoor seating in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood.

High George, New Haven: High George, located at The Blake Hotel in New Haven, is a new three-season rooftop restaurant that features a full food and beverage menu inspired by Summers in New England.  James Beard-nominated Chef Tyler Anderson, along with partners A.J. Aurrichio and Tim Cabral, is overseeing its operations. 

Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill, Fairfield & New Haven: The Fairfield location of Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill has a large patio for al fresco dining with firepits for cold evenings.  In New Haven, enjoy their heated patio that is enclosed for year-round dining. 

Shell and Bones Oyster Bar, New Haven: Shell & Bones Oyster Bar in New Haven has a fabulous view of the water with floor to ceiling doors that are open in summer and a deck directly on the water complete with fire pits and patio heaters for chilly nights.  Dive into their Harbor Sampler or the Tower of Shells, with lobsters, clams, oysters, and shrimp. 


Connecticut’s Brewery Legitimus & Barden Farm Partner Again for 2nd CSABC (Community Supported Agriculture, Beer & Cheese) Share

Features CSA Local Artisan Local Farm CT Beer Cheese Farm to Table

CTbites Team

Brewery Legitimus, the 7 barrel craft brewery co-founded by husband and wife team Chris and Christina Sayer, is partnering once again with Barden Farm (New Hartford, CT), to bring a Community Supported Agriculture, Beer & Cheese (CSABC) Share to the community.  Back for a second year in a row, the 10-week “Farm, Beer and Cheese Share” begins July 11th and will run until September 12th. 

The first in the area, the CSABC share brings together locally grown produce from Barden Farm, locally crafted beer by Brewery Legitimus, and locally made cheese from several different farms in CT.

A CSABC share membership is $485 for the 10 Weeks and includes Craft Beer from Brewery Legitimus, Cheese and of course a Farm Share from Barden Farm. It works just like a CSA. Here’s what’s included:


Taproot & Redding Roadhouse Owners Take Over The Holbrook Farm Business

Features CT Farms Farm Fresh Local Farm CSA Bethel Farm Stand

Maddie Phelps

More than 40 years ago, John and Lynn Holbrook purchased 12 acres of land in Bethel, Connecticut to open their very own family farm. With a mere 2 acres available for farming, the Holbrooks were tasked with maximizing space while remaining environmentally friendly. The rest is history.

While the Holbrooks still own the spectacular farmland, as of this past March, four new faces have joined the farming family. Jeff Taibe, Stephanie Sweeney, and Sean and Erin Reilly decided to tackle the business side of things when the previous tenant opted not to renew her lease. With Taibe and Sweeney owning their restaurant, Taproot, and the Reilly’s owning the Redding Roadhouse, the four decided to merge the Bethel and Redding communities with Holbrook Farm as their link.


34+ Places for Lobster Rolls in CT: 2018 Edition

Restaurant Best of CT Seafood Lobster Summer Delicious Dives Homepage

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Summer is here and nothing embodies summer in New England like the lobster roll!  Whether you prefer yours hot or cold, with or without butter, classic or with a twist, Connecticut restaurants and seafood shacks are featuring them on their menus.  Here is a list of 34+ places where you can get some lobstahhhh!!

  1. Lobstercraft, Fairfield: LobsterCraft opened its retail doors a few months ago in Fairfield. Parked next to the shop is their truck, and a tented, casual seating area, reminiscent of those great roadside eateries along the coast of Maine.

  2. Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale, Westbrook: Lenny and Joe's serves buttered lobster in a grilled split top hotdog bun and with one side of your choosing, like onion rings.

  3. Knot Norms, Norwalk: n addition to the classic lobster roll, Knot Norms in Norwalk has rolls of all varieties! Join them for a Fried Chicken Roll, Roasted Oysters and a Crab Salad Roll, and more.

  4. Liv’s Shack, Old Saybrook: Liv’s Shack, located directly on the waterfront at the mouth of the Connecticut River, celebrates Summer in New England with hot buttered lobster rolls, fish tacos, hand-ground hamburgers and more.


Miya's Sushi Announces CSA/Fishery Limited to 12 Memberships

Ingredients Features CSA Fish New Haven

Amy Kundrat

Photos: Andrew Sullivan

Miya's Sushi in New Haven, led by Chef Bun Lai, is launching a first-of-it's-kind CSA/Fishery set to launch this August. Membership includes a monthly delivery of 6-8 servings of seafood for 5 months at a cost of $800, with delivery included (free to New Haven area, additional costs may apply to regions beyond). Here is the announcement and details from Bun Lai:

Miya’s Sushi is thrilled to announce the first installment of the member-driven Allies in Sustainable Food. This first season will be limited to a dozen memberships, beginning in August and ending in December of 2015.

By being a member of Allies in Sustainable Food, you are supporting the experimentation and research of a small, local, innovative restaurant. Due to high food and labor costs, Miya’s operates on a thin margin, so your financial support will go directly into the development of our most groundbreaking off-the-menu approaches to sustainable eating.


Summer Watermelon Recipes via Marcia Selden Catering

Recipe Eating In Seasonal Summer

Marcia Selden Catering

Three cheers for watermelon!   This sweet, crunchy fruit reaches its peak in the summer—making it perfect for a picnic or BBQ—it’s colorful, refreshing & packed with vitamin C!  It can be used in a variety of dishes (or simply sliced on a platter)!  The gang at Marcia Selden Catering shares three watermelon recipes that will dazzle and can easily be made ahead.  Pro tip: Tap on the shell of a seedless watermelon when shopping-if you hear a hollow sound it’s ripe and ready to eat! Enjoy these delicious recipes for: Watermelon Panzanella Salad, Tomato, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Watermelon Salad & Thai Watermelon Ceviche.