Filtering by Tag: Hawaiian,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.


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.


Pokéworks Opens In Westport: Hawaiian Poké Bowls & Burritos for All!

Restaurant Openings Westport Seafood Sushi Lunch Asian Hawaiian

Maddie Phelps

Those who loved a bowl or burrito packed with fresh meat, rice, and veggies were nothing short of devastated when Chipotle closed its Westport location this past winter. Thankfully, I can be the bearer of some good news for those who are still heartbroken. There’s a new place in town with plenty of fresh meat, rice, and veggies galore for any burrito or bowl you desire. And this time, there’s a Hawaiian twist to it.

Pokéworks, a Hawaiian restaurant whose business took the country by storm upon opening in 2015, recently made its debut in Westport’s Compo Acres Shopping Center. The original founders sought to bring a taste of Hawaii to the public through poké, which is the diced raw fish that is considered one of the main dishes of native Hawaiian cuisine. Committed to offering the freshest of seafood, Pokéworks also emphasizes their sustainable practices and efforts to preserve the world’s oceans in a time when many are not.


Hapa Food Truck Opens Restaurant at Decadent Ales Microbrewery

Restaurant Brewery Burgers Tacos Filipino Openings Hawaiian Homepage

Andrew Dominick

Over the past few years, Hapa Food Truck and chef/owner Chris Gonzalez have gained quite the following. I’m guilty of following up a few weightlifting sessions at Crunch Gym with a Hapa Burger or tacos when Gonzalez parked his trucked at the Priceline building. So, yes, I’m a fan just as much as all of you are. But every winter, Hapa goes into hibernation, leaving many of us yearning for warmer weather and his Filipino-Hawaiian inspired food. 

Well, friends, you don’t have to wait for spring and tracking Hapa down just got a whole lot easier. Gonzalez now has a physical Hapa location in Mamaroneck’s new microbrewery, Decadent Ales inside of the popular craft beer store, Half Time


Pacific Rim Cooking At Miro Kitchen in Fairfield: Menu & Chef Update

Restaurant Chinese Fairfield Hawaiian Japanese Lunch

James Gribbon

Change is at hand at Fairfield's Miro Kitchen after the end of their collaboration with HAPA, but the new menu for this autumn and winter retains Miro's signature flavors. CTbites was recently invited to take a tour of the food style restaurateur Eugene Kabilnitsky and executive chef Howard McCall have dubbed "Pacific Rim," with ingredients influenced by Hawaii, China, Japan, and the Philippines.  

The eating area is a bright space, with white walls and darker seating on the right, and a full length bar running down the left. The bar has a respectable selection of craft beer on tap, in addition to wines selected specifically to match the flavors of the food. Cocktails likewise blend with the food, using ingredients like nigori in the Saketini, and Thai chili in the Thaigarita and the Tom Yum, which tasted like boozy lemon grass tea shot through with spiky kaffir lime.


Miro Kitchen Opens in Fairfield With Chef From Hapa Food Truck

Restaurant Asian Fairfield Hawaiian Tacos Comfort Food Lunch

Jessica Ryan

With much anticipation and excitement Miro Kitchen recently opened its doors on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield. The new eatery is the collective brainchild of Eugene Kabilnitsky, former owner of Tomato and Basil, and Hapa Food Truck’s Chris Gonzales. I recently sat down with the two to talk about the inspiration behind this creative collaboration.

“My wife and I were both working from home and we found ourselves going to the Hapa Food Truck at least twice a week,” Kabilnitsky told me. “We couldn’t get enough! At the time I was set to open another Italian restaurant at this location and was in the process of hammering out details.” But then he started to wonder whether the Hapa concept might work in the restaurant space. He joked that after visiting the truck 100 or so times he shared his idea with Chris, and subsequent conversations led to the current partnership, and Miro, an expansion of the wildly popular Hapa Food Truck, was born.

The best way to describe the cuisine is to say it is a play on Pacific, Asian and Hawaiian street food with an American twist, mixing the exotic with the familiar.