Filtering by Tag: German,Cakes

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.


NYC's Iconic Asian Bakery, Lady Wong, Now Delivering to CT

Features Delivery Dessert Cakes Asian Asian Desserts

CTbites Team

 Lady Wong, one of New York City’s hottest bakeries, is now delivering to Connecticut and Westchester. With its innovative desserts rooted in Southeast Asian tradition, the bakery has evolved from a pandemic era delivery service to one of New York City’s hottest bakeries. Founded by the dynamic Greenwich, CT-based husband and wife duo, Mogan Anthony and Seleste Tan– Lady Wong will give Fairfield County and Westchester foodies something they've been missing — a special occasion cake or pastry that’s at the center of their table and conversation.  


Bonkers Cupcakes Offers Build Your Own Cupcakes in Fairfield CT

Restaurant Features Cupcakes Bakery Baked Goods Dessert Build Your Own Kid Friendly Fairfield Cakes

Oliver Clachko

Build your own cupcakes? Yes please.

We really feel like we hit the jackpot,” says Kris Stevens, owner and operator of Bonkers Cupcakes in Downtown Fairfield. “We absolutely love making these things, and being able to sell them is truly amazing.”

Bonkers offers a variety of cake flavor options, and gives customers the ability to select a cake flavor and then top it with their favorite frosting. Sure they have all the cake classics like chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet, as well as more creative choices like banana. To complement these flavors, Bonkers has a large selection of both Italian and American buttercream frostings. Stevens points out that Italian buttercream, which is much softer and not as overly sweet as American buttercream, is preferred both by himself and many customers. The notable frosting flavors include coconut, raspberry, salted caramel, and even coffee.


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.


Bridgeport's Brazilian, Mexican & Italian Bakeries Worth a Sweet Visit

Features Restaurant Bakery Dessert Custom Cakes Cakes Cookies Homepage

Carly Terzigni

Bridgeport, Connecticut is teeming with hidden culinary gems. The city is an exciting kaleidoscope of culture and is among the top cities in the state to immerse yourself in Brazilian traditions. And when it comes to Brazilian cuisine, some of the more highly sought-after destinations are the bakeries. After all, who doesn’t love a perfectly baked dessert after dinner (or before dinner – or as a whole meal itself – we won’t judge)?

Next time you are in Bridgeport, make it a point to stop by one of their many bakeries to experience some of the best in locally-owned sweetness. Whether you are craving a freshly baked concha or a savory breakfast item, you should be able to find them in ample supply in The Park City.

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


Tina Zaccardi: The Woman Behind The Italian Cookie

Features Baker Cottage Bakers Custom Cakes Cakes Cookies Caterers Westchester

Donna Monaco Olsen

Do you follow Tina Ziccardi Bakes, aka @theItalianCookie? Her media pages are loaded with baked deliciousness that is not only drool worthy, but is downright eye-candy perfection! Following her grand win on “The Great American Baking Show” Season 4 (Hulu), Augustina Zaccardi (Tina) became a bit of a local celebrity right here in Westchester. Her huge fan base from her hometown of Eastchester rooted her on with each baking challenge, becoming more difficult as each week passed. We all watch in amazement as contestants fly through the challenges on each food competition, but meeting with Zaccardi and listening to her describe what it is really like to be on a cooking show was enlightening. She described the experience, which filmed in England, to be competitive yet jovial and the contenders to have more comradery than might be expected in a contest pitting bakers against each other in difficult timed elimination assignments. Although they were in a heated competition, they became somewhat of a family and are still in close contact with each other today.


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.


The Hopkins Inn: Contemporary Austrian Cuisine in an Idyllic Setting

Restaurant Outdoor Dining Warren Road Trip Openings German Austrian

Frank Cohen

Do you fancy a pleasant drive through some of Connecticut’s prettiest countryside to visit a classic, 19th-century, New England country inn on whose terrace or porch you can revel in an idyllic lake view and delicious European cuisine? Then the Hopkins Inn overlooking Lake Waramaug in the Litchfield Hills is definitely for you.

The Hopkins Inn has been in operation since 1847. Franz and Beth Schober have owned and operated the inn for over 40 years, while their son, Toby Fossland, who grew up at the inn, has worked alongside them since 1991. The inn is normally open year-round, its restaurant from late March through January 1. The Hopkins Inn is not affiliated, but appears to enjoy neighborly relations, with Hopkins Vineyard located across the road, the two attractions undoubtedly complementing each other.


Baker of Black Rock: Outrageous Custom Cookies and Confections

Features Bakery Dessert Cookies Cakes Custom Cakes Black Rock Homepage

Stephanie Webster

Julia Preis is the Baker of Black Rock. Sure, there may be other bakers in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport, but none like Julia. I knew this to be true long before I invited her to my home to demo the technique behind her stunning cookies and cakes. Full disclosure…I had quietly stalked her Instagram account for roughly six months, and you can do the same at @bakerofblackrock. The cookies were tiny edible works of art, seemingly too beautiful to eat, and each displayed a unique personality through accomplished craftsmanship. Her wall of cakes, fruit pies and cupcakes created eye candy that could only make you want to pull up a chair and dig in.

But what did they taste like? I had to find out.


Harlan Haus Beer Hall Opens in Bridgeport January 10 

Restaurant Beer Garden Beer CT Beer Bridgeport German Comfort Food Bar Homepage

Jessica Ryan

Five years ago Chef Stephen Lewandowski launched Harlan Social in the heart of the new and emerging South End area in Stamford. Named after his son Harlan, the modern American gastropub quickly rose into a mainstay for locals. Harlan Publick would open next, in the heart of SoNo. The local favorite offers creative comfort food and a wide offering of beverages. On January 10th, Harlan Haus, the German-inspired Bier and Wurst hall, will open to the public, in the historic People’s Bank Building built in 1917.    

A century later the well preserved, 7,000-square-foot space perfectly marries the historic Neoclassical elements with today’s modern influences. Most of the building’s architectural details remain well preserved from the elegant light fixtures above, to the curved teller bank wall that separates the bar area from the rest of the restaurant. Harlan Haus is poised for success with its promise to offer superb, innovative, family-friendly fare in a social setting. 


Rothbard Ale + Larder: Westport's European Gastropub

Restaurant Beer Gastropub German Westport Comfort Food

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Rothbard Ale + Larder opened in Westport last November, the second restaurant by Chef Adam Roytman and his business partner, Joseph Farrell. The pair also own Walrus + Carpenter in Bridgeport. Roytman and Farrell’s original idea was to recreate a German beer hall, but as the concept of the restaurant progressed, the vision was slightly modified to design a restaurant that would offer comfort food based on the regional cuisines of central Europe including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Alsace, Switzerland, with an occasional side trip to Italy.

Access to Rothbard is a throwback to a 1920's speakeasy, with its unassuming side entrance leading to the lower level. Once inside, you are surrounded by a central European ambience, with its reclaimed wood and brick walls and cement and metal beams protruding from the ceiling. To the left of the entrance is a bar with several high-tables plus nine stools in front of antler-topped beer taps, plus a refrigerator that houses up to 45 traditional and unique European beers including Einbecker, Tripel Karmeliet, Del Ducato, Christian Drouin and Abbaye. Wine, aperitifs, an array of Schnapps and Absinthe are also available. With low-lighting illuminating the entire space, the atmosphere is very European gastro-pubbish.

 


First Look: Rothbard Ale + Larder European Gastropub Opens in Westport

Restaurant Beer Gastropub German Westport Comfort Food

Stephanie Webster

Rothbard Ale + Larder European Gastropub quietly opened its doors last week in downtown Westport. The menu focuses on central European fare with dishes drawing inspiration from the cuisines of Alsace, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. The beer and wine list mirror this sentiment, and a beautiful interior renovation transports diners to a cozy chalet in the depths of the Bavarian Alps. Chef Adam Roytman's commitment to both the cuisine and "larder" concept are tangible in every detail of this new speakeasy-esque venture with longtime partner Joseph Farrell (Walrus + Carpenter).  From the crispy schnitzel and rich hearty bratwurst (house-made) to the authentic absinthe fountain and German beer steins, Rothbard Ale + Larder is the real deal. 

Rothbard Ale + Larder, European Beer Bar, To Open In Westport (By Walrus + Carpenter Team)

Restaurant Beer Garden German Openings Westport Beer

Stephanie Webster

Walrus + Carpenter owners, Adam Roytman and Joseph Farrell, are teaming up again with a new restaurant concept in downtown Westport. This new venture, housed in the cozy subterranean dining space that was once Tierrra, will maintain the casual neighborhood vibe diners have grown accustomed to at Walrus, but this duo will leave the BBQ in Black Rock and head to Europe for a completely different approach to comfort food. Westport has its first European Beer Bar (right by Old Town Hall). 

Rothbard Ale + Larder will open this fall with a menu focused on Central European fare. Rothbard will draw inspiration from the cuisines of Alsace, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, with a little Northern Italy thrown in for good measure. A preview of the menu in progress reveals specialties including Spatzle, Mussels, Rabbit Goulash, Steak Frites (Fleisher’s), housemade Jagershnitzel and Raclette, (a Swiss cheese, melted table side and draped over potatoes, bacon and onions). Hearty fare will be complimented by more delicate salads and fish entrees. “There will be something for everyone” says Roytman. Farrell and Roytman are particularly enthusiastic about the “For The Table,” section of the menu where diners can order entrees for 4, in the communal spirit of a true beer hall.