A “wine bar” is a tricky concept. It sounds simple, but what is it exactly?
A haven for wine geeks, with charcuterie and cheese as an afterthought? A venue for high volumes of cheap wine and overpriced small plates? A regular restaurant with a passion for wine, disguised as a bar?
Luckily, there is nothing tricky about Crush Wine Bar in bustling West Hartford, which opened in November 2024.
While there’s a full menu (more on that below), Crush’s newest offering could not be simpler: Fried Chicken + Champagne. While this concept is not entirely new, it is certainly very on trend.
Crush is currently offering this special menu on Thursdays only. However, due to its overwhelming popularity, they plan to add more days soon (most likely starting with Wednesdays and then potentially Tuesdays, too).
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.
Somewhere between the main course and dessert round during a recent tasting at Ore Hill the palette cleansers arrive in the form of a sorbet. The secret ingredient in the dish is habanada peppers a selectively bred variant of the better-known habanero peppers that Executive Chef Ryan Carbone explains retain the flavors of a habanero without the spice. So you get all these green vegetal notes and it feels like it’s about to get spicy but the heat never comes, Carbone says.
The sensation, which Carbone describes perfectly, is one of a kind and exactly the kind of flavor that makes dining at Ore Hill such a treat. The ultra-select, ultra-high-end fine dining experience offers a multicourse immersion in local ingredients and chef-driven cuisine and the kind of big-city tasting menu rarely found in Connecticut. This is accompanied by high-end cocktails and a natural wine-driven wine list that doesn’t shy away from bringing some intriguing and intentional funk.
The former ON20 Restaurant, known for its soaring views of the Connecticut River and other area landmarks, has been fully renovated and reimagined, with even more stunning panoramic vistas of the capital city. The industrial-chic interior has an expansive bar, an open kitchen with gleaming stainless-steel appliances, private dining spaces and jaw-dropping glimpses of the sky from nearly every vantage point.
ON20, a celebrated white tablecloth establishment for many years, closed during the uncertainty of the pandemic in 2020, but two years ago, Hartford Steam Boiler’s leadership began reaching out to key people to start conversations about reopening the restaurant.
Walrus Alley owner Joe Farrell has made the move to exclude all seed oils from his menus and, he’s getting quite the education. Only a week into the experiment he’s learning on the run. The popular Southern food & burger go to in Westport is now cooking with grass fed beef tallow and avocado oil. Yep! And Joe’s committed to staying the course despite the learning curve. Sure, he’s always done that popular fried chicken in tallow, used duck fat too. But it’s the fries they’re fighting with. And he and the crew are fighting a worthy fight.
Walrus Alley uses a special potato for their fries and that’s just the beginning. “Cooking with Tallow & avocado oil is a new experience. We’re starting from scratch,” Joe revealed. “And we are doing this while we are open!”
“Yale asked me if I was interested in the space, and I took it as a challenge. A small space, few tables, no pizza – I was able to focus on fine dining.” I’m in New Haven, talking with chef Danilo Mongillo about Strega, his second restaurant of the same name, but with a very different concept.
“You have excellent food here – French, Spanish, American – and I took bringing this level of Italian to downtown, not in competition, but just to bring more good food here. That was the challenge.”
The first time I ate at Strega was the location in Milford (both restaurants are just off the corners of their respective city greens) and I’d returned many times for his creations which were just a little different – the way a sentence is altered when the pen is in a different hand – and made with exceptional ingredients. I ask if the new Strega is based on anything regionally Italian, and he shakes the question off, moving in another direction.
“Fine dining is about the technique. It’s about the balance of the flavors – something sweet, something sour – and the balance with the wine. The balance of the bite.”
Fried chicken sandwiches are hot right now. And with no signs of dwindling down anytime soon, places that serve crispy, juicy fried chicken on a bun are popping up all over. For Cwispy Chkn—which opened in November 2023 in the former Magee’s Curbside in Stamford’s Shippan neighborhood—maybe they’re guilty of riding the fried chicken sandwich wave, but the difference is, they’re doing things their way.
Demand for fried and hot chicken sandwiches has spread across the country – and the state – like wildfire. The perfect accompaniment to an icy beer or fatty-sweet milkshake, these spicy, juicy, crispy handheld bites are equally delicious and addictive. Whether you have a penchant for a Nashville hot, buffalo sauce smothered, Sriracha drenched, or buttermilk classic version, Connecticut has a chicken spot to get your fix.
Haven Hot Chicken, which brings Nashville Hot Chicken and “Not Chicken” to the area as one of the first fully dedicated Nashville Hot Chicken concepts in New England, today announced that it will be opening two NEW LOCATIONS in Fairfield, CT at 907 Post Road in Oxford, CT at Quarry Walk, later this year.
When I asked the Haven Hot Chicken team how long it took them to arrive at this just about perfect combination of crispy, juicy and flavorful chicken, they laughed and said they have been recipe testing for over a year. Their tagline is “CRISPY CRUNCHY JUICY SPICY DELICIOUS,” and I’m gonna say “nailed it.” You can truly taste the time and commitment to research in every item on this takeout/delivery menu.
Both locations will feature the brand’s signature menu of crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious chicken and vegetarian options ranging from Country (not spicy) to Haven (extremely spicy), including the epic and signature “THE Sandwich,” as well as other featured mains, classic sides and seasonal limited-time offerings.
This Hot Chicken Sandwich News just in from Darien Patch…
Bird is definitely the word in Darien these days.
Birdcode, a new Connecticut-based hot chicken restaurant that offers up scratch-made chicken sandwiches, tenders, small chicken bites, southern sides and tasty desserts, opened a new location in Darien this week at 151 Post Road.
This represents the brand's second CT location, with the other being in West Hartford, and the first for the company to feature a convenient drive-thru.
Birdcode uses farm-fresh, 100 percent air-chilled, never frozen, steroid and antibiotic-free chicken that must meet certain specifications.
Guests can choose their heat level for chicken sandwiches, tenders or "Code Bites." Heat level options range from country, mild and medium, to hot and code breaker (eat at your own risk).
Haven Hot Chicken, which brings Nashville Hot Chicken and “Not Chicken” to the area as one of the first fully dedicated Nashville Hot Chicken concepts in New England, today announced that it will be opening its sixth location - in Middletown, Connecticut on Saturday, January 27th. Located at 524 Main Street, the 1800 square foot location will feature the brand’s signature menu of crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious chicken and vegetarian options ranging from Country (not spicy) to Haven (extremely spicy), including the epic and signature “THE Sandwich,” as well as other featured mains, classic sides and seasonal limited-time offerings. The brand also operates locations in New Haven, Orange, Norwalk, North Haven and Storrs.
What if I told you that there’s a French restaurant in Connecticut that’s exceptional but you likely haven’t heard of it? You won’t find it in Litchfield, Hartford or Fairfield Counties. You will find it in a coastal town in New Haven County. It’s not the Union League Café in New Haven nor is it Bar Bouchée in Madison. The two restaurants have something in common though, and that is Chef Christophe Santos who opened ÔToulouse with his wife Rachelle in Branford last October.
Chef Christophe grew up in a family where food was the essence of life and many of his fondest memories came from family gatherings surrounded by food and love. By the tender age of 16 he had already started cooking at various local restaurants near his hometown of Villemur sur Tarn which is near Toulouse. Chef then headed off to work with celebrated Michelin-starred chefs including Jacques Chibois, Alain Ducasse and Johan Leclerre so that he could perfect his culinary skills.
The beloved New Canaan burger joint, Press Burger, has opened its second location in Wilton with even more delicious and creative eats. Co-owners Seth Leifer and John Gallagher set out to continue Press Burger’s mission as a delicious and fresh form of fast food, while expanding beyond its classic burgers and fries with new sauces, fried chicken sandwiches, the carrot dog (you’d be surprised how good it tastes), and more. As Leifer puts it, Press Burger is the Cava, Sweetgreen, or Chipotle of the burger world, a type of “cleaner, finer, fast casual.”
"Suffer for your art” is the operative phrase when reviewing a hot chicken joint. From the roar of takeoff, to the turbulence, and spine-compressing jolt of landing, you know what’s coming because you’ve bought the ticket and taken this ride before. You can predict the future: it’s the opposite of gambling. In a new study researchers found gorillas will spin themselves until they fall over because getting dizzy is kind of like getting high to them, and that’s fun. Same goes for humans scorching our faces off via chicken breast.
Occasionally on the rides we buy, something unexpected happens. It may be a “Yes, thank you for waiting: we currently have no idea where we sent your bags,” or it may be “So sorry, there’s a mechanical issue on your cross-Atlantic flight, and you’ll have to stay in a free room in Reykjavik for 24 hours and watch the Aurora Borealis.” Could go either way. Which is why it’s pretty cool to find an Indian/Nashville hot chicken smashup on Howe Street in New Haven.
Chick-fil-A, the popular national chain of chicken restaurants, is slated to open a new location in Fairfield, after its application before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission was denied in 2021. The popular chicken restaurant is slated to move into 750 Post Road, the site that previously housed Joe's American Bar & Grill.
First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick announced the news on Monday, confirming that the restaurant will move into the former Joe's American Bar & Grill site at 750 Post Road. The property, which has sat vacant for more than three years, had been declared a blight in 2022.
Haven Hot Chicken, which brings Nashville Hot Chicken and “Not Chicken” to the area as one of the first fully dedicated Nashville Hot Chicken concepts in New England, today announced that it its fourth location at 146 Washington Avenue, North Haven is now open. This 1100 square foot location will feature the brand’s signature menu of crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious chicken and vegetarian options ranging from Country (not spicy) to Haven (extremely spicy), along with their beloved fries, sides and seasonal limited-time offerings.
Haven Hot Chicken, which brings Nashville Hot Chicken and “Not Chicken” to the area as one of the first fully dedicated Nashville Hot Chicken concepts in New England, today announced that it will be opening its fourth location in North Haven, Connecticut. Located at 146 Washington Avenue, the 1200 square foot location will feature the brand’s signature menu of crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious chicken and vegetarian options ranging from Country (not spicy) to Haven (extremely spicy), along with their beloved fries, sides and seasonal limited-time offerings. Having recently celebrated the second anniversary of its first location in New Haven, Haven Hot Chicken opened its Orange location in June 2022, and will be opening soon in Norwalk, CT.
Cruise down the more residential part of Glenville Road in Greenwich and if it’s the right day, you’ll run into a cutoff where Neil Moore parks his food truck.
If you don’t blow right by it, park your car. Do it. Right now.
It’s where you’ll find Moore’s namesake truck, Neil’s On Wheels, griddling smash burgers and deep frying chicken thighs so big that they hang way off the Martin’s Potato Roll.
Last spring, Materia Ristorante, a most enchanting restaurant nestled in the bucolic town of Bantam in the Litchfield Hills, quietly opened its doors. Like descending upon a picturesque Tuscan villa, entering the scene at Materia is truly an experience from the moment you pull into the driveway. Do allow yourselves to take a moment or two to admire the magnificent setting. The expansive land behind the restaurant, the sights and sounds of the river flowing past all set the stage for what’s to come. You know something spectacular is about to happen.
Haven Hot Chicken, which brings Nashville Hot Chicken and “Not Chicken” to the area as one of the first fully dedicated Nashville Hot Chicken concepts in New England, today announced that it will be opening its third location in Norwalk, Connecticut. Located at 596 Westport Avenue, the 2500 square foot location will feature the brand’s signature menu of crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious chicken and vegetarian options ranging from Country (not spicy) to Haven (extremely spicy), along with their beloved fries, sides and seasonal limited-time offerings. The group recently opened its Orange location in June 2022, and its first, flagship location in the heart of New Haven in October 2020.
