Everything you’ve heard about Adrian Hurtado and his Taco Guy brand opening a new taqueria in Norwalk are true, even if some of the details weren’t originally clear or correct.
Numero tres for Hurtado, if we’re counting the taco truck first, then his Wall Street spot second, is Tacos 203, not Carnitas Michoacán, regardless of what you may have heard. Tacos 203 will be inside of Metro-North’s South Norwalk Station and the concept won’t resemble the fare that Hurtado’s fans have experienced from the truck or his restaurant.
You’re visiting your favorite Neapolitan pizzeria. Almost always, the person “manning” the wood-fired oven is, well, a man. Shattering that mold is Alexandra Castro, whose love story with pizza began when she was a kid in her home country of Colombia. Making pizza in her youth, must have sparked something, because Castro went to culinary school, worked her way through the industry, and ultimately landed her locally at The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges, and after that, as head chef at Pizzeria Magpie in Montreal, known for its Neapolitan pizza.
Fast casual fried chicken is a hot craze that’s seemingly not cooling off anytime soon. Haven Hot Chicken, Birdcode Hot Chicken, the new to Connecticut Dave’s Hot Chicken, and smaller spots like Stamford’s Cwispy Chicken are proof of that. But even newer to the coop is Dippin Chicken in East Norwalk where Korean fried chicken is their menu’s centerpiece.
Spring is just about here and summer is not far behind, which means warmer weather is finally upon us. Yay! It also means that new and exciting cooking classes and camps for young kids, teens, and in-betweens are just around the corner. This list offers one-day classes, private chef-lead cooking parties, and week-long (or summer-long) camp sessions for all types of cuisines and skill levels. Whether your high schoolers are looking to hone their knife sharpening and other kitchen techniques, or your elementary school-aged kids just want to bake cupcakes from scratch and decorate them (whilst licking the bowl), Connecticut has many opportunities for a wide range of culinary interests. Some classes are coming up this month and summer programs fill up quickly, so don’t delay! Keep your kids’ creative juices flowing and register them today!
Wednesday marked the grand opening of Himalaya SoNo an altogether unique experience that brings diners the authentic flavors and culture of the Himalayan region – Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Northern India. On Monday, before the restaurant formally opened its doors to the public, we were invited in to meet Nwang Sherpa. Sherpa, as his friends call him, a first generation immigrant from Nepal, came to the States 20 years ago to attend college in Pennsylvania. From there his career path would take him to the financial and real estate sectors before moving over to the food and beverage industry. Fast forward many years to today, and the young visionary’s brand, now highly esteemed, has earned a stellar reputation and numerous awards, including Zagat’s Best and Restaurant Guru achievements for its Westchester County locations which include Scarsdale and Yorktown. Sherpa is proud to employ people from the Himalayan region, allowing them to live and work in the US and pursue their own dreams. He is also on the leadership team for NSSP, The Network of Sherpa Students and Professionals, an organization based in Westchester County, which provides support for Sherpa students, graduates, and professionals through social, professional, educational, and cultural activities.
The next time you’re enjoying a pint in Spacecat Brewing Company’s taproom, that tray of burgers that just went by IS NOT courtesy of Shake Shack’s Shack Truck. Right out back by Spacecat’s appropriately named patio, “The Litterbox,” is their own brand-new food trailer where the brewery smashes burgers, grills up Connecticut’s own Hummel Bros. hot dogs, and fries to perfection a crispy chicken sandwich.
Westport, get excited. The highly-anticipated opening of Fatto a Mano is happening this Wednesday, February 12. If you’re not familiar with Fatto a Mano already, we’re guessing the name rings a bell. The Italian bakery moved to Westport about two years ago and sells at the weekly Westport Farmers Market and directly out of their kitchen space located at 971 Post Road East (next to Pop Up Bagels).
The new storefront has been a long time coming for founder Pierluigi Mazzella, who originally started Fatto a Mano out of his home kitchen under the Connecticut cottage food operation license back in 2022. Since then, Mazzella has quickly made a name for himself and his artisanal bakery; Mazzella was named the 2022 Baker of the Year by the Connecticut Restaurant Association, his Panettone was featured on Martha Stewart’s Roku channel series, and Forbes even dubbed him the “Prince of Panettone.”
In the middle of 2024 at my dear friend, Anne Grossman’s Rebel Daughter Day, I just about stopped in my tracks when I saw what was on one of the vendor’s tables. Boxes of beautiful, chocolatey brigedeiros, alfajores, and an array of different hand rolled truffles and baked goods that weren’t just from Latin American countries, but a mixture of confections we’re familiar with in the states, too. Silvia’s Kitchen, created by Silvia MacLean, is the face behind the brand, and she bakes out of Rebel Daughter Cookies’ commercial space where you can preorder for pickup or delivery, plus you can find her sweets at various stores and farmers markets in the general area.
Last week I had the opportunity to check out Josie & Tony's newly launched lunch menu. The restaurant which opened just over a year ago for dinner, offered a lunchtime deli service featuring hot and cold Arthur Avenue-style sandwiches made on local Wave Hill bread, homemade mozzarella, fresh pastas, cured meats, assorted desserts and beverages. The lunch menu features all of the previously available sandwiches and most of the dinner menu dishes at an approachable price point.
There’s a special je ne sais quoi about Josie & Tony’s, named after owner Joshua Mesnik’s grandparents, with its old school vibe that offers a touch of formality without any pretention. The white table clothes, the framed Hershfield artwork, the black and white photos and whimsical Hershfield-like cartoons of friends, family and patrons grace the elegant walls that perfectly fit the “dinner club” aesthetic. This isn’t just a restaurant, but a beautifully executed dining experience.
After months of not-so-patiently waiting, the day is almost here. Tomorrow, Jeff Taibe and Steph Sweeney, co-owners of Taproot, are officially opening the doors to their new restaurant Bar Bushido, a traditional Japanese izakaya. While the restaurant is new, the idea isn’t; Taibe actually has been working on the concept for Bar Bushido for over five years. The name originates from Taproot’s former pop-up series, called “Bushido,” that took place prior to COVID. Taibe introduced the one-Sunday-per-month experience as a way to fuel his passion for Japanese cooking, something he missed dearly from his days at Kawa Ni in Westport. Bar Bushido has been years in the making, but it wasn’t until the 51 Wall Street space opened up, that it became a reality.
Most Connecticut residents who were unfamiliar with Hugh Mangum before he and his family started making donuts in Wilton four years ago, may be oblivious to a few tidbits. Mangum, you see, isn’t only a French Culinary Institute graduate who worked under Jean-Georges Vongerichten, but he’s the founder of the popular Mighty Quinn’s BBQ. Now that his family’s donut shop, Rise Doughnuts, has gone from a pop up to its own physical location, paired with the fact that the Mangums reside in Wilton, the time to open another Mighty Quinn’s in nearby Norwalk in the former Bobby Q’s and the short lived Lechon Smokehouse space at The Waypointe.
Veteran restaurateur Jody Pennette is no stranger to opening restaurants and bars all over the world, but his latest, Music & Industry in South Norwalk is different from the rest. This one, you see, is his, and his alone. “This is the 505th one I’ve opened, and it’s the only one I own,” he says. “I’m like a songwriter versus being a singer—I’m creating things for other people to perform. I size them up to see what I can do for them and try to deliver something that’s going to be a market worthy story.”
Breaking BBQ news from Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque. We’ll bring you more on this exciting opening very soon!
Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque (Mighty Quinn’s), the acclaimed NYC-born restaurant known for its all-natural slow-cooked meats, announced today the grand opening of its new location at The Waypointe in Norwalk (11 Merwin Street). The opening will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Greater Norwalk Chamber and Mayor Harry Rilling on December 18 at 3 p.m., ahead of the grand opening on December 20. As part of the opening celebration, Mighty Quinn’s will donate 10% of all grand opening sales to Norwalk based charity Filling in the Blanks, which works to fight childhood hunger.
For those unfamiliar with Mighty Quinn’s, it was the first authentic barbeque experience in a fast-casual setting after co-founder, Pitmaster, and CT resident, Hugh Mangum smoked brisket and pulled pork out of a mobile smoker hitched to his pickup truck in Williamsburg (Brooklyn). The brand’s process begins with the best, all-natural meats and poultry, seasoned with perfect spice blends and then smoked with wood for many hours until the perfect harmony of smoke, flavor and time emerges.
Lazy Sister opens in SoNo. The newest restaurant owned by New Yorker Maxwell Weiss (by way of Greenwich, CT) opened quietly a couple of weeks ago in the space that was formerly Enchanted Szechuan. It was kismet - Weiss had learned that the owners were looking to sell, retire and move back to China and he was looking to open a Chinese restaurant in the area. “I’m totally obsessed with Chinese food and have been for about three years now,” he told me. Lazy Sister has its own take on the cuisine, offering a mix of Shanghainese, Cantonese, Szechuan and traditional American Chinese. But let’s backtrack a bit.
Almost a year ago, I covered Crust Issues, brought to you by longtime restaurant guy, John Nealon. I’ve since gotten addicted to several of his pizzeria’s signature grub, namely the outside the box, but creative rectangular, crispy, cheesy, garlic buttery pizzas and the pounded out crunchy coated cutlets—especially the spicy chicken scarp.
It doesn’t help (or maybe it does) that it’s a flat one-mile drive away to get my fix.
Nealon has some cool ideas for the evolution of Crust Issues, one that I’ve consistently bothered and pressured him about (I’ll keep it a secret unless it actually happens), and he’s recently mentioned installing a bar for future cocktail program.
But there’s a weekly tasting he’s been doing every Saturday from 7:30 – 9 p.m. that’s a super casual, fun, tasty, incredibly reasonably priced (it’s $40 per person including beer, wine, soda, or water), and you’ll leave happy, fat, and ready for bed.
Now almost three years old, Magic 5 Pie Co. has had no problem with repeat diners. But the people have to first find it before they can return.
Tucked away in the parking lot of the East Norwalk Metro-North Station, even longtime Norwalkers won’t even see it from the usual slow crawl of East Avenue traffic. You’ll have to go all the way in the back. Or you can plug in “Magic 5 Pie Co.” in Google Maps for an assist.
“Lots of people still don’t know we’re in Norwalk,” says Shawn Longyear, who along with Chris Hickey, Andrey Cortes, and Christopher Rasile, are also all co-owners of The Spread and El Segundo just across the bridge in South Norwalk. “But once they find us, they come back.”
Let’s admit it, summer is over. But instead of being sad about the end of hot days and warm nights, why not get excited about what autumn and winter have in store for us? Put away those bathing suits, flip-flops, and floppy beach hats we bought on a whim because we thought they were cute but never actually wore. Now get out those deliciously cozy leaf-colored sweaters, oversized flannels, and UGG(ly) slippers because it’s time for the best cooking, baking, and cocktail classes CT has in store this season.
Oh me, oh my, are there some amazingly inspired courses out there! Whether you’re looking for a date night culinary adventure, a girls’ night out pizza making and wine tasting experience, classes for your little ones, or advice on eating clean, mean, and in-between, this list has you 100% covered. So don’t be sad that those long summer days are behind us, be glad they happened. Then get over it, because the best of 2024 has yet to come!
When I sat down with Tim Topi to talk about his bakery’s expansion, and second location, this time in the form of a sit-down café, I jokingly told him that Wave Hill Breads could very well be the most mentioned place in the history of this website. It may not actually be a joke, though. Countless restaurants swear by Wave Hill and prominently feature their sourdough or burger buns on their menu and others have a deal with Topi’s bakery for custom loaves or buns. Off the top of my head? Damon Sawyer’s 29 Markle Ct uses their brioche buns, Jeff Taibe of Taproot serves Wave Hill sourdough with either butter or pimento cheese and bacon jam, Josie & Tony’s has them custom bake semolina for their terrific sandwiches, and they bake milk buns for Cwispy Chkn’s tasty fried chicken sliders. I’m sure I’m leaving out dozens more, but you get the idea.
Sushi lovers and locals know, if you want rolls and sashimi, Oishi Sushi & Izakaya is always at the top of their list of recommendations in Norwalk.
Oishi, which opened in 2014 under owner Chris Chen, is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary as a top sushi spot and as a SoNo mainstay, this coming October under the new ownership of partners Vicky Gao, Hui Lin, and Peter Hu.
