Guide To Great Coffee in Connecticut: Celebrate National Coffee Day Sept 29 Features Restaurant Coffee Shop Coffee Tea And Coffee Guide Best of CT Highlight Breakfast Homepage April Guilbault September 24, 2023 “I could go for a coffee right now.” “Where’s the nearest coffee place?” If we had a nickel for every time we heard or uttered those words, right? Happily, there’s a coffee house or roastery just about around every corner these days, but some of them rise above with their drinks, their blends, their hospitality. Hence, we have filled our cups to the brim with delicious offerings for you and this list is broken down by County so that you can get to that cup quicker! Sip alone, brew, sip with a friend-life is good. Read More
Guide To Connecticut's Best Happy Hour Spots (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Happy Hour Happy Hour Deals Highlight Best of CT Bar Bartender Cocktails Cocktail Lounge Brewery Beer Homepage Carly Terzigni August 28, 2023 The concept of Happy Hour was first used in the U.S. as early as 1913 by Naval units engaging in social parties with movies, dancing, and boxing, referred to as “happy hours.” After the era of prohibition ended, Happy Hour evolved more into what we know it today, as a sort of cocktail hour at bars.These days, Happy Hour is a common practice among bars and restaurants, offering reduced prices on drinks and bar food, but also allowing eateries to create unique “happy hour” menus. Restaurants all over Connecticut have Happy Hour deals you can take advantage of throughout the week, giving you a chance to save on your next bar tab. Because the list of restaurants that offer Happy Hour is so extensive, we organized the list into counties so you can more easily search for businesses in your local area. Read More
It's a Woman's World: Executive Pastry Chef Melissa Knauer of The Benjamin Interview It's A Woman's World Interview Pastry Chef pastry Dessert Andrew Dominick August 23, 2023 Earlier this summer, I was in attendance for one of the friends & family previews of The Benjamin, a new French – American restaurant in Ridgefield that took over the historic property that was once home to Bernard’s and Sarah’s Wine Bar. Read More
Best Bowls in CT: Acai, Poke, Middle Eastern, Korean, BBQ & More! Restaurant Features Bowls Acai Bowl Korean BBQ Best of CT Highlight Healthy Eats Vegetarian Middle Eastern Build Your Own Bowl Greek Homepage April Guilbault August 18, 2023 Whether it’s the dog days of summer or life just has you too busy to be bothered with cooking, some of the simplest, and often the most delicious meals, come in bowls. Chock full of healthy and delicious ingredients like grains, veggies, meats and fish or brimming with fresh fruits and icy smoothy-ness, bowls in all shapes and sizes make eating fun. They are convenient, interesting and delicious-what a trifecta! Here are some of our favorite bowls in Connecticut. Go build one for yourself! Read More
Sweet Ashley’s Ice Cream in Norwalk Gets New Owners & Reboot Ice Cream Restaurant Norwalk Ice Cream Opening Dessert Kid Friendly Ella Alpert July 25, 2023 Sweet Ashley’s, the adored Norwalk ice cream spot, which has been around for 30 years has reopened this spring in time for a delicious summer! Frank Lanzo (Former owner of Nordic Fish in Fairfield) and his wife Judie, longtime Norwalk residents, decided to take over the business. As ice cream lovers with culinary experience, it seemed like a no brainer. “I’ve got a culinary background, I cooked my whole life, I went to culinary school in the eighties… now I heard this was for sale and what a great thing to keep going,” Frank Lanzo said. “I’ve been in Norwalk now for twenty two years, I live very close, who doesn’t love ice cream? Read More
Summer Guide to Ice Cream, Gelato & Frozen Desserts In CT (2023 Get Licking Edition) Ice Cream Restaurant Ice Cream Frozen Yogurt Dessert Dining Guide Best of CT Highlight Homepage April Guilbault June 21, 2023 Ice cream on a hot day. Ice cream on a rainy day. Ice cream for dinner or to delight a toddler. Ice cream just because. It’s summer and all of these reasons are 100% legit. Hell, any time of the year they are, right? Connecticut currently ranks #15 in the US for the most ice cream consumed (zippia.com) nationally. However, NY, NJ, VT, and RI eat more…guess this list is just what we need to show them what us Nutmeggers are made of. Or at least, what we enjoy on a hot summer afternoon. Grab a cone, enjoy the drips, and have a summer piled high with the creamy, dreamy stuff. One more thing: for your ease of finding these sweet establishments, we have broken the list down by counties in CT! Read More
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 June 14, 2023 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! Read More
Connecticut Food Trucks Guide: 150 + CT Mobile Caterers (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Guide Food Truck Best of CT Highlight Food Truck Guide Caterer Catering Guide Caterers Pizza BBQ Mexican Ice Cream Homepage April Guilbault June 08, 2023 We are all rolling, rolling, rolling into the summer months-Yay! Between parties, vacations, and just plain ol’ exploring, the warm and sunny months have us on the move. And what better info to have in your back pocket than plans for where to eat-trucks offering food of all kinds, whether you’re stopping mid-trip or renting for your next party! We have broken down this behemoth of a list by categories so you can high-tail it to the foods that interest you: Pizza, Tacos/Mexican, BBQ, Ethnic, Lobster & Seafood, All-American, Plant-Based/Alternative Diet, Ice Cream & Sweets, Cocktails & Beer and Coffee & Tea. Happy summer, everyone, roll on! Read More
CT Guide to Waterfront Dining: 75 + Restaurants With Water Views (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Water View Waterfront Outdoor Dining Best of CT Dining Guide Highlight Homepage Carly Terzigni May 22, 2023 Warmer weather has finally arrived, meaning it is time to head outside and enjoy the many waterfront restaurants and bars the state of Connecticut offers. Whether you are craving a tasty seafood dinner or a refreshing cocktail, the state is filled with excellent restaurants with top-notch views of the water. Simply put, nothing says “summer” like waterfront dining, which is why we are back this year with a comprehensive guide to read through and decide where to grab lunch or dinner.For your convenience, we have broken the guide up into counties so you can easily find exactly what you are looking for, whether you want to dine somewhere local or try someplace new! And keep in mind, we are not just talking about Long Island Sound – Connecticut has several riverfront restaurants as well with equally beautiful views and delicious food, so we have those included here as well. Read More
Guide To Connecticut's Most Crave-Worthy Cookies Features Ingredients Restaurant Cookies Dessert Kid Friendly Sweets Best of CT Highlight April Guilbault May 08, 2023 Who doesn’t enjoy a cookie? Decadently giant or sublimely bite-sized, spanning traditional flavors of sugar, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter or new-fangled recipes that include everything but the kitchen sink. Sweet, sweeter, sweetest. Then there’s the Great Debate: chewy or crispy? Where do you land? Are you a dunker, a nibbler, or a late-night snacker? Cookies are the universal dessert and knowing where to get good ones makes life all the sweeter. Dunk away…Enjoy our sweet GUIDE TO THE BEST COOKIES IN CONNECTICUT. Read More
25+ Spots for Great Ramen in Connecticut Restaurant Features Asian Noodle Soup Ramen Japanese Noodles Best of CT Homepage Highlight April Guilbault March 16, 2023 Sluuuuuurp. Siiiip! Sip! Just a few of the sounds you might hear when consuming a steaming hot bathtub-sized bowl of delicious, noodlicious ramen. Whether you’ve got a simpler bowl of noodles and broth on the brain or one brimming with a myriad of toppers, not much is more satisfying than slurping to your heart’s content. To take the chill off these end-of-winter days, we’ve got the consummate listing for your next craving. Dive on in, the slurping is good!Here are 25 Spots for great ramen in Connecticut.If we missed a Ramen spot you love, please contact us. Read More
2023 Directory: Meet the Women of Connecticut's Culinary Industry Features Best of CT It's A Woman's World Directory Resource Women Owned Business Homepage April Guilbault March 06, 2023 In conjunction with our “It’s A Woman’s World” column, we present to you, a Directory highlighting the many talented women in CT’s culinary industry. This Directory for CT’s Chefs, Female Owned Businesses, Restaurants, Products, Farmers, PR Agencies & Instagrammers + is a work in progress. We will continually update the directory, and we hope you will contact us if you are a female in the culinary industry who would like to be included.How often do you stop to think or inquire about *who* owns the restaurant you frequent, or who invented a product you love or who grew the food on your own table? It’s time to take a closer look, especially when, as you can see from this fabulously inspiring and lengthy list, woman are doing amazing things in Connecticut. We are inventing, writing, catering, managing, brainstorming, reviewing…and this is all just within the food industry in this state. We are getting it done, done well, and done in our own creative and vibrant way. New paths are being discovered, new ideas are being birthed. Inquire. Look. Support. Encourage. There’s no limit to what is coming next. Read More
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 February 21, 2023 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. Read More
Divine Treasures: Vegan & Gluten-Free European-Style Chocolates in Manchester CT Restaurant Features Dessert Chocolate Valentine's Day Ice Cream Vegan Gluten-Free Special Dietary Needs April Guilbault February 13, 2023 Happily, eating plant-based is becoming easier and more accessible by the day. However, finding decadent desserts and sweets that fit this category have historically been a bit more of a challenge, given that milk, butter, and gelatin is usually involved when making things of the sweeter persuasion. Another challenge: finding gift-worthy artisan treats that are visual treats to the palate as well the eyes. You know, the type of special giant heart box of chocolates that Linus toted around waiting to give to Miss Othmar. At the end of the day, no one wants to be left out, including sweet and chocolate-indulging plant-eaters.Well, these sweets do exist, Virginia, and they are located in Manchester so your plant-loving special someones can partake in all the sweet flavors and beautiful treats as the omnivores. Every sweet produced at Divine Treasures chocolate shop, which has been going strong since 2007, is vegan and gluten-free. In addition, Divine Treasures confections are made with health and enjoyment in mind. These European-style chocolates are crafted with high-quality ingredients but also, and here’s the amazing part, without refined sugar and corn syrup. Diane Wagemann, owner and chocolatier, studied the art of chocolate making in Belgium and Switzerland and then decided to adapt her grandmother’s family recipes to suit the goal of healthier eating. Instead of adding an abundance of sugars, Wagemann wants the inherent taste of the cacao to be the shining star. She sources the chocolate from small family-owned Fair-Trade certified businesses, so you can be sure that no fillers have been added to the chocolate, which sometimes can compromise the vegan integrity. Read More
Guide To Black Owned Restaurants In Connecticut Restaurant Features Best of CT Dining Guide Black Owned Hartford County New Haven Fairfield County Jamaican Soul Food Juice Bar African Cajun Comfort Food Homepage CTbites Team January 30, 2023 To celebrate Black History Month 2023, we have updated our guide to black owned restaurants across the state of Connecticut. If you see a place that is missing, please let us know. Big ups and thanks to Molly Alexander for compiling an excellent start to this list with her Google Map posted to Eat in CT. Get out there and support these restaurants.We did our best to compile a comprehensive list, but if you know of a spot we missed, please contact us here. Read More
Guide To Juice Bars in Connecticut (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Guide Best of CT Roundup Juice Cleanse Juicing Healthy Eats Health & Wellness Smoothies Acai Bowl Homepage Highlight April Guilbault January 30, 2023 Would the New Year transition be complete without some kind of purging and rearranging (um, no)? After the cookies and cocktails of the holiday season, vibrant fruit and vegetable juices and some super-duper, feel good cleanses might just be the reset that your bod is craving. Just think of it like a Home Edit for your, well, ultimate *home*. Feel free to label and color coordinate all you please. Enjoy our ultimate Guide to Juice Bars in Connecticut. Read More
CT Guide To Outdoor Dining Guide: Igloos, Fireplaces, Greenhouses + for 2023 Features Restaurant Guide Outdoor Dining Best of CT Winter Dining Igloo Homepage Carly Terzigni January 24, 2023 Dining outside in the middle of winter may seem like a wild idea to some, but many Connecticut restaurants and bars are fully embracing the weather with everything from firepits to private igloos to keep you warm and cozy this season. In fact, moving the dining experience outdoors in the winter has been growing in popularity in recent years, with every kind of environment from firepits to heated patios to full-on private igloo villages. Listed below are restaurants across the state that offer some kind of winterized dining experience, proving that you do not have to move everything indoors just because the temperatures have dropped. Who knows, winter may soon become your favorite time of year to eat outdoors! Read More
Pistachio Cafe Opens Second Location in New Haven with Syrian Specialties Features Restaurant New Haven Café Breakfast Lunch Brunch Openings Coffee Shop Middle Eastern Dessert Stephanie Webster January 18, 2023 Some of you may be lucky enough to live near the popular Middle Eastern Pistachio Cafe in the Westville neighborhood of New Haven, but diners in downtown New Haven can finally experience the immense pleasure of settling into one of Pistachio’s signature Turkish Coffees or Pistachio Lattes. Last week, Pistachio Cafe opened a 2nd location at 1245 Chapel Street. Syrian artist, architect and owner, Mohamad Hafez, opened the original Pistachio location in 2020 with the goal of “giving guests the experience of hosting them in my domicile without taking them back to Syria.” In fact, the beautifully ornate and sumptuous interior has layer upon layer of detailing and decor straight from his childhood. . Every inch of this cafe is designed with objects of interest, and the stunning surroundings match the character of this Middle Eastern fan favorite. Read More
CTbites Staff Picks For Top Eats of 2022 (Plus Special Guest Eaters) Features Restaurant Best of CT Top Eats Roundup Awards Homepage CTbites Team December 27, 2022 It’s that time of year, when the CTbites staff temporarily puts down our forks, and contemplates our most memorable annual eats. 2022 saw an explosion of restaurateurs and chefs entering the Connecticut culinary scene, and the CTBites team, alongside some special guest reviewers below, did our best to eat it all. There were some clear standouts, restaurants that you’ll find repeated in the “top eats” lists below, and some more hidden gems you should add to your dining dance card.In 2022 restaurants continued to struggle with both labor and supply shortages, and yet, chefs continued to innovate, creating memorable dishes, and sharing their love for cooking with Connecticut diners. It is critical that in 2023 we continue to support our favorite restaurants, chefs, bartenders, and front of house staff, who work so hard to bring you a unique and tasty experience. Be kind when you dine. And with that in mind, here are CTbites’ TOP EATS 2022. Read More
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 November 30, 2022 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. Read More