Filtering by Tag: Dining Guide,Food Network

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

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!


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

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. 


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

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.


40+ Places in Connecticut for Lobster, Clambakes, + Seafood Shacks (2022 Guide)

Features Seasonal Restaurant Seafood seafood boil Lobster Lobster Roll Clambake Homepage Guide Dining Guide Highlight

April Guilbault

One fish, two fish, red fish…lobster. And seafood in all its forms. Oh yeah, baby! Get the bibs, the frosty beers and get crackin’, shuckin’ and lovin’. Nothing signals the start of summer quite like eating by the water while the sunshine sparkles on the waves. Picture, if you will, your teeth sinking into a lobster roll dripping with drawn butter, or wistfully dragging fresh steamers through (more) butter or popping hot-out-the-fryer clam strips and fritters into your mouth. Whether dining on land or by sea, seafood rules the roost this season. These simple summer pleasures make time stand still for a few blissful moments. Summer is here, and food is easy.

Enjoy our guide to over 40 summertime—or anytime—spots to get buttery lobster, chow down at a clambake, and sit and eat at a seafood shack!


Pastry Chef Kim Wood of Le Banh Patisserie On Food Network's Spring Baking Championship February 28th

Features Cooking Contest Food Network Cooking Competition TV Series Pastry Chef

Stephanie Webster

Pastry Chef Kim Wood of French Bakery, Le Banh Patisserie in Simsbury is competing on the upcoming season of Spring Baking Championship, premiering Monday February 28th at 8PM on Food Network and streaming on Discovery+.

Molly Yeh is bringing the farm straight to Spring Baking Championship putting her own colorful spin on every challenge this season, inspiring the bakers to create eye-popping, delicious, and Spring-forward treats to impress judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller. Only one lucky baker will be crowned this year's Spring Baking Champion and walk away with $25,000!

Twelve bakers enter the Spring Baking barn and are challenged to create delicious desserts featuring the freshest fruit and flowers the farm has to offer. You know who we’re rooting for!


50+ Restaurants & Caterers for Christmas Eve & Christmas in CT: 2021 Edition

Features Restaurant Christmas Eve Christmas Holiday Catering Dining Guide Homepage

April Guilbault

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and with it comes plenty of wonderful eats! For your Christmas celebrating on the day or the eve, restaurants and caterers in all corners of the state have lovingly assembled delicious menus, kits and take out packages for you and your family. What a gift-spending time together, enjoying a beautiful meal and not being holed up in the kitchen. Wishing you all a very merry and delicious holiday!

Here are 50+ restaurants and caterers for your Christmas festivities.


Miami Road Trip: MIABites.com's Guide To Dining Out In Miami

Features Restaurant Miami Dining Guide Travel

ellen bowen

With Winter upon us, and CT residents itching for some warmth and sun, we asked our sister site MIABites.com for a little dining advice for all those heading to Florida this season. Here are some of MIAbites Contributors Best Bites for "am to pm" dining in and around Miami, Miami Beach, Wynwood and the Design District.

Obviously, all of the Miami Beach hotels have top restaurants and prices to match. Jose Andres The Bazaar and Katsuya at the SLS South Beach, Scarpetta, StripSteak and Pizza Burger by Michael Mina and Hakkasan at The Fontainebleau , Mr. Chow at The W South Beach, Pao by Paul Qui and Los Fuegos at Faena and Jean Georges, The Matador Room at the EDITION, the relocated NOBU in the Nobu Hotel Eden Roc, are all popular and top picks where chances are you will have a delicious albeit expensive meal. But if you’d like to dig deeper into the Mimi food scene, check out our guide by category…


65+ Restaurants, Caterers & Farms for Thanksgiving 2021

Features Restaurant Thanksgiving Holiday Catering Guide Dining Guide Homepage

April Guilbault

Bring on the good food, the gratitude, and the tablecloth you use once a year-Thanksgiving is here! This holiday, thankfully, will be more about in-person celebrating than seeing how many Zoom family chats we can schedule between the appetizer course and the dessert course. Man, doesn’t it feel good to greet a holiday with thoughts of “looking forward to this!” rather than “how the heck are we going to do this?”. To that end, one of your biggest challenges this month will be which of these wonderful establishments to order your food from and you will win no matter who you choose. From turkeys and pies you can bake yourself so they are bubbly warm when you serve them, to vegan and gluten-free options and dine-in options across the state, bellies will be full and happy. You can even send a meal to a loved one or donate one to spread the love. Oh, and make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, where you will find places to order fresh turkeys. Eat up, celebrate well. Psst-We’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you that we are grateful for our fabulous readers. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


2021 Guide To Great Coffee In Connecticut

Features Restaurant Best of CT Dining Guide Coffee Tea And Coffee Breakfast Homepage

April Guilbault

September 29th is National Coffee Day. Coffee addicts unite. Or those who just love a good cup o’ joe, stand up. Love learning about coffee and trying new varieties? Raise your hand (or mugs). Coffee is here! Connecticut is happily strewn North to South, East to West with roasters, cafes and lots of folks who know a whole lot about these little beans that captivate our attention. There are roasters who have subscription services, cafes with drink lists a mile long and honestly, many happy and caffeinated faces to go with each. You could spend all of next year jumping around the state and trying each one of these…hey, why not start now? And psst-if we have missed any places you love, please let us know in the comments section!


2021 Guide To Waterfront Dining in Connecticut

Features Restaurant Dining Guide Waterfront Outdoor Dining Best of CT Summer Dining Homepage

April Guilbault

If there is one thing that makes us long for summer all year long it is the ability to eat, play, explore, even sleep and just “be” outside. That carefree feeling of stepping outdoors without the boots and the hats and the puffy coats. Grab your flip-flops, maybe a bit of sunscreen and off we go! Ah, the carefreeness of it! And eating outside? How can it be that a bit of sun and air will elevate even the simplest food? A hot dog never tastes better around a campfire or at a ballgame. A bag of chips at the beach with a sandwich? Perfection. So, to that end, we have compiled a list of GREAT WATERFRONT DINING spots-some of which have indoor dining with fabulous views and many perch you outside on beautiful, expansive decks or docks to enjoy their dishes. If a simple hot dog tastes great outside, these venues will have you giddy.


Guide to Connecticut Lobster, Clambakes and Seafood Shacks: 2021 Edition

Restaurant Features Best of CT Seafood seafood boil Lobster Lobster Roll Lobster Bake Clambake Dining Guide homepage Homepage

April Guilbault

It is doubtful that, when mentioning summer eats, lobster anything wouldn’t be in the Top 3 list of foods that folks love, drive miles for, yearn for during the winter months and spiritedly debate (hot? cold? with mayo? just butter?). Well, summer is here, time to strap on that bib, lick those buttery fingers and well, get crackin’. From piled-high lobster rolls and creamy bisques, to hot fried clams and fluffy fritters, seafood rules the roost when temps rise and those ocean breezes soothe the soul. Whether you are searching for a lunch by the water or hosting a party for friends (weee! finally!), these venues will add some buttery fun to your summer days. Bon appetit! Here, let me tie that bib for you….


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.


Chef Emily Mingrone of Tavern on State Competes on Chopped May 26th!

Features Food Network Chopped Celebrity Chef Competition TV

Stephanie Webster

Chef Emily Mingrone of Tavern on State in New Haven will get involved in some competitive “Pork-y fun” on Food Network’s CHOPPED, May 26th, 9PM. The battle: High On The Hog.

Tune in to watch the competition. Chefs are elated to get a “nose to tail” pork theme for their battle, and the gorgeous cuts of premium meat in the first basket don't disappoint. A Bloody Mary with a special surprise adds to the porky fun in the second round. Then something fizzy and something "offal-ly" difficult to incorporate in a dessert are part of the final challenge.


Chef Eric Felitto of Tasty Yolk Competes on Food Network's Chopped Champion May 5th

Features Celebrity Chef Chef Food Network Homepage

Stephanie Webster

Chef Eric Felitto of Tasty Yolk has some big news to share. May 5th is his 35th birthday, (also Cinco de Mayo), Tasty Yolk’s 4 year anniversary, AND….wait for it…he will be competing for the world to see on Food Network’s Chopped Champion. Big day eh?

His episode of Chopped Champion will air at 9pm on May 5th. When asked about the experience Felitto said “it was definitely intense. The whole episode was based off of the showmanship a fight night, so there was a lot of filming and trash talking before we even cooked anything.” “They didn’t come to the restaurant to shoot like they did when I competed in 2018. Instead they had us shoot selfies on our phones…and then filmed it as if we were literally showing up to a fight.” “It was a great experience, and I was pumped when they called me back for the Champion round.”

Felitto couldn’t share any details, for obvious reasons, but he did share one of the “secret” ingredients…ESCARGOT!! Oh boy…Have fun with that.

Chef Felitto says he will probably run a special at the store front location on May 5th to coordinate with the airing. Stay tuned for more details and tune in on The Food Network.


Chef Brian Lewis To Appear on Beat Bobby Flay May 30th

Features News TV Food Network Celebrity Chef

Stephanie Webster

Cheer on CT’s own Chef Brian Lewis, of The Cottage and OKO, as he competes on Beat Bobby Flay, airing Thursday, May 30th @10PM.

“We taped this episode months ago and I’m excited for everyone to see this episode of ‘Beat Bobby Flay.’  Just as I cook my heart out in the kitchens at OKO and The Cottage, I gave it my all for the competition. Tune in to see if I had the chance to go head to head with Bobby!” says Chef Lewis.

The episode is intriguingly titled “Bye Bye Birdie,” and features Food Network's Michael Symon and Jet Tila working hard to outsmart their good friend Bobby Flay. They bring in one of his proteges, Chef Rebecca Weitzman, and fine dining's finest, Chef Brian Lewis, to muscle Bobby out of his kitchen.


Chef Christian Petroni Live on CTbites Hot Dish Podcast

Features Podcast Celebrity Chef Food Network

Stephanie Webster

Beb! It’s the CTbites’ Hot Dish Podcast Episode you’ve all been waiting for. This week we sit down with Next Food Network Star, Chef Christian Petroni…oh yeah…he also owns Fortina Pizza (all 5 locations). Petroni gabs about his summers in Italy, growing up in the Bronx, how he “learned” to cook, and the epic importance of cheesy garlic bread. Join us chez Webster, and have a listen here.


Chef Ryan Durant of Branford's Assaggio Competes For Food Network's "Sexiest Chef Alive"

Features Interview Celebrity Chef Chef Talk Food Network

James Gribbon

Ryan Durant, owner and executive chef of Assaggio in Branford, has been picked to compete for the title of "Sexiest Chef Alive" on the People Magazine/Food Network joint venture show by the same name, airing November 1st. CTBites spoke with chef Durant about the experience.

How did you get involved with the show?

People magazine randomly called me, one of the servers picked up the phone and they said it was something with the magazine's sexiest man issue. It had to do with a cooking segment I did on "Better Connecticut" with Scot Haney three years ago.