Salvatore’s Steakhouse recently opened with little fanfare in Hamden’s Spring Glen neighborhood, but the news ripped through town like wildfire. It was fortunate that the kitchen and staff practiced extensively on friends and family before opening, because within just a few days Salvatore’s was fairly humming, even on so-called “slow” nights.
Salvatore’s owner, Victoria Ferraro, must have realized the restaurant was likely be busy from the get-go and would need to hit the ground running. You see, Victoria has a secret—she’s a third-generation Ferraro. Arguably New Haven “royalty,” the Ferraro family has been in the grocery business for over 70 years, tracing back to Salvatore, Sr. and wife Joan’s humble beginnings at Mohawk Market on State Street in 1952. Then, for almost half a century, Ferraro Foods operated on Grand Avenue, with the couple’s sons—Salvatore, Jr., John, Peter and Mark—joining their parents in running the business. Oldest son Salvatore, Jr., Victoria’s father, eventually became the company president, but sadly passed on in 2010. In spring of 2021, Ferraro’s Market moved to its current convenient quarters on North Haven’s Universal Drive next to Target, bringing with it its huge fan base. Victoria, oldest child of Salvatore, Jr. and Nancy, had to know Salvatore’s would have a built-in audience even before it opened.
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.
New Haven’s Graduate by Hilton Hotel is about a mile’s walk from Wooster Street, and in fact has a “pizza pay phone” in its lobby, with a direct line to Sally’s Apizza. But downstairs at its bar, a Connecticut dad has turned his own passion for pizza into a weekend pop-up with a loyal following.
Joe Pangia’s Three Sons Pizza got its start at Old Heidelberg last May, offering fresh-baked 16-inch pies and slices out of its bar kitchen on weekends. Pangia, who lives in Middletown, is an insurance professional and avid home cook who began to perfect his pizza recipes during the pandemic, working on the dough, sauce and toppings and asking for feedback from friends and family.
The founders of Jam City Pizza, a new Detroit-style pizza concept in Hamden, knew they were up against thin-crust supremacy so close to New Haven.
But even as the Elm City was declared the “pizza capital of America” last year, Tyler Demora and James Woodward decided to add their version of the thick, square Michigan style to the area’s pizza offerings.
“We’re trying to get people to understand that there’s other really great pizza,” Demora said.
The business partners, who’ve been friends since childhood, opened Jam City within The Cellar at Treadwell in Hamden last November. They took over the performance venue’s kitchen, with a menu of red and white pan pizzas, salads and snacks like chicken wings and tenders, fried pickles and garlic pretzel knots.
Demora, a native of New Hartford, is a chef with more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry. His career has taken him to San Francisco and France, as well as closer to home in Providence and New Haven. He also owns and operates the Feelin’ Saucy food truck, which specializes in pasta dishes.
Gioia, Italian restaurant, market, gelateria and rooftop space located at 150 Wooster Street, New Haven, has just launched “The Red Sauce Joint by Gioia” in its rooftop dining and bar space. Running from January 31 – April 27, the fully-enclosed and heated space will be transformed into an inviting, nostalgic space inspired by classic and beloved Italian American eateries. The seasonal activation will blend this timeless culture and treasured environment – including red and white checkered tables, warm string lights, classic Italian greenery, Chianti bottles and cured Italian food products - with Gioia’s signature charm, warmth and fun, and a menu featuring classic and familiar Italian American cuisine and beverages.
The special pop-up food and beverage menu will include Eggplant Parm, Beef Carpaccio, Spaghetti sandwich, Fried Mutz with marinara, Clam Casino style Arancini and classic pastas preparations including Alfredo, a la Vodka and Lasagna Bolognese. Dessert options such as fun interpretations on a classic Cannoli featuring a Tiramisu filling and Olive Oil Cake with a Limoncello Zabaglione will be featured. The beverage program will include Italian wines by the jelly jar glass, a Winter Spritz, a coffee-steeped “Corsica Negroni” with Gin and a fun and playful twist on the “Godfather Cocktail.” Shared dish options will encourage communal dining, and classic and interactive dining elements will surprise guests.
Foxwoods Resort Casino will be hosting a pop up on February 1st with Iron Chef Morimoto ahead of his ramen restaurant, Momosan’s, official opening this spring.
This event is open to the public and guests will have the opportunity to meet Chef Morimoto and try some of his signature tonkotsu ramen between 12-2pm and 4-6pm at the Grand Pequot Tower Rotunda.
DETAILS
What: Meet and Greet & Food Sampling with Iron Chef Morimoto
When: Saturday, February 1, 2024, 12:00-2:00pm & 4:00-6:00pm at the Grand Pequot Tower Rotunda
Where:Foxwoods Grand Pequot Tower Rotunda, 350 TROLLEY LINE BOULEVARD, MASHANTUCKET
The word “ferocity” is used to describe the small, but mighty, wildcat. While the cat is native to Africa and Eurasia, the name “Wildcat” has been floating around Hamden and it has nothing to do with an animal, but rather, a cocktail bar that’s hoping to capture you with its ferocity.
Both from Pawling, NY, Kris ended up in Connecticut working for the Barteca Restaurant Group and Shane, though he was originally pursuing a possible career as a lawyer, found himself bartending in New York City instead. Wildcat is brought to you by twin brothers, Kris and Shane McGowan, whose names you’ve definitely heard before as they’ve been in the industry near and far for well over a decade after they graduated college.
“I opened the West Hartford bartaco and it was a great learning experience to be somewhere that was sort of becoming corporate at the time,” Kris says. “Then I got the hell away from there because I didn’t want anything to do with corporate. It was a good structure, system, and rule that I learned a lot about. I started as a bartender, then moved up to bar manager, assistant general manager, and helped open Westport (bartaco) to train new managers.”
Rowayton’s Arden’s is continuing their “After Hours” dinner series for the third summer in a row, and we were lucky enough to sit down with owner Jill Lukeman to get a first look at what’s to come.
For those who aren’t familiar, Arden’s is a neighborhood cafe located in the heart of Rowayton. Its coastal decor and delicious fare makes it the perfect spot to enjoy a delicious breakfast, lunch, or cup of joe. Since opening in 2022, the team has hosted monthly dinners to expand beyond their daytime offerings.
“We have always been passionate about entertaining our friends and hosting dinner parties at home. When we opened Arden's, we thought why not bring this same spirit to our cafe and offer something that feels like dinner at a friend's house (without the headache of planning and the clean-up!). We are also passionate about music so we incorporated a music element to make the evenings even more unique and intimate,” Lukeman shared with us.
CTbites is excited to be the Media Sponsor for an incredible dining event going down on June 22nd, DINNER ON MARKLE, “Cultivating Seeds of Community.”BUY TICKETS HERE
29 Markle Court, awarded “Best New Restaurant” at the 2023 “Crazies Awards” is taking the “Outstanding In The Field” concept and bringing that long communal table dining experience to the streets of downtown Bridgeport. This is going to be an unforgettable event you will not want to miss.
The community dinner, "Dinner on Markle," will be held Saturday June 22nd, 3-8PM and the experience will span the entirely of Markle Ct in front of the restaurant. Chef Damon Daye and Wesley Arbuthnot have created an evening filled with local artists, creative drinks, live music and a four-course dinner al fresco that will focus on the bounty the season has to offer from our local CT farms.
The evening will be set under the stars, surrounded by an exhibit of incredible community art brought to you by Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.
“Cultivating Seeds of Community” will elevate local creativity, community, and art. A portion of the proceeds will benefit “The Green Village Initiative” and “The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.”
The elusiveness of certain limited foods only makes me want THAT particular thing even more. That’s exactly how I felt trying to track down Anthony Kesselmark’s square pizzas, aka, the grandma pie.
Kevin and Carole Rizzo are cooking up something unique in Hamden CT. It’s pizza, but not like the pizza we Nutmeggers are famous for. It’s a “Pizza Tub” and CT residents are loving this new take on Connecticut Pizza.
“As a young boy, I would help my grandmother cook Sunday dinner every weekend. We'd start a day early, on Saturday and make everything from scratch. I learned the importance of fresh, quality ingredients,” says Rizzo
.Now, in his 400 square foot storefront, Kevin and Carole have taken this passion for Italian cooking, and a little inspiration from the “Pizza Cupcake” made famous on Shark Tank- to create the Original Pizza Tub.
“The whole venture was my wife’s idea…She loves pizza,” says Kevin.
In perfecting the pizza making process, he was also given mentorship from local restaurateur and friend, Albert Zuncja, of Alberto’s Restaurant in Seymour.
So, what is a “Pizza Tub?” It’s a handheld, 4 -bite seasoned pizza crust baked with sweet tomato sauce, Monterey Jack cheese & filled w/ tastiness including: bacon, sausage, pepperoni & onion. Guests can walk in to the Hamden storefront and Rizzo will bake them to order, or you can bring home a frozen four-pack. You can also save time and order them ahead online as they do take 11 minutes to bake.
On certain days on or in the vicinity of Greenwich Avenue, take a whiff of the air and the woods you smell are in fact oak and hickory. Get a little closer to Mason Street and you’ll spot blue smoke coming off a Lang and that smell won’t just be logs, it’ll be…meaty.
When I visited Fryborg in 2023 for a follow up article on its new Trumbull location and expanded menu, owner Johnathan Gibbons tossed me a tidbit that I teased at the end of that piece about a weekend morning pop up featuring something sweet.
In the latter part of July, I covered the opening of Taco Guy and owner Adrian Hurtado. If you read THAT article, towards the end of it, I alluded to the wood burning pizza oven being used at some point.
If you’re a regular to Taco Guy like I have been, I’m sure you’ve asked Hurtado if he was going to fire that oven up. Well, friends, that time is now.
Between courses at one of his collaboration special events, Prasad Chirnomula spoke to his full dining room about creating a bond with his fellow Connecticut chefs.
“We’ve been doing this for almost a year now, bringing chefs together,” he says. “The whole point of doing this, is we, as chefs, work our asses off. We’re always back in the kitchen on Saturday nights, Sunday nights, holidays, and everything else. I’ve done my share of work, so I said to myself that I’m gonna enjoy what I did for so many years of my life. I want to create a legacy and a bond with people I recognize and know of. Even if I don’t know someone, I’ll pick up the phone, call them, and say, ‘Hey, buddy! How are you doing? Do you wanna cook together?’ This is the hardest industry to work in and food brings people together.”
What are those funsters over at Ordinary up to now? I’ll give you a clue: It is a new fan-boy treatment, and it involves candlesticks, 1940s-style cocktails, Mrs. Peacock, ropes, a mysterious library, lead pipes, and a real-time crime-cracking challenge.
Ordinary, a modern cocktail bar and restaurant housed in antique oak-paneled splendor, has become known for periodically revamping its decor and its menu, based on a favorite theme. Over the years the place has been temporarily staged as a vintage circus, an homage to Twin Peaks, and, most recently, the films of Wes Anderson, complete with “Moonrise Kingdom”-tented tables and a “Life Aquatic”-decorated men’s room. The pop-ups stay put for months – sometimes a few, sometimes several.
Greeting someone in Connecticut with an enthusiastic “Aloha!” or flashing them with a very chill hang loose hand gesture isn’t really our deal in the Nutmeg State. But on Tuesday afternoons at Bar 140, it’s totally rad to let out your inner Hawaiian during Umebroshi Food’s weekly pop-up.
Orienta Restaurant recently launched a new series of luncheon events. The restaurant invites local entrepreneurs, artisans and business owners to share and inspire during the weekday lunch service. The new luncheon series began in December with artist Simone Kestelman of Scarsdale, New York. (For more information visit their website.)
Concurrently, the French and Asian-inspired menu introduced a couple of new items. New dishes include the Chin-Chin Paillard a fun play on the traditional Chicken Paillard and a knock-your-socks-off Vietnamese Savory Crepe. (More on these in a bit.)
Big news for doughnut ice cream sandwich lovers everywhere. On September 24th, starting at 11:30 AM (and I’d get there nice and early as these will sell out quickly), Karla Sorrentino of Karla’s Kreamery and Rob Vankeuren of Flour Water Salt Bread will come together for a few hours to create some cream sandwich magic. The uniquely delicious Flour Water Salt bomboloni (Italian style doughnut) will have a chance to get intimate with Chef Karla’s new micro batch ice cream. These are two “best in class” desserts so get excited.
This unique culinary opportunity will go down at Flour Water Salt located at 20 Grove Street in Darien. While the shop will hold normal hours that day, the ice cream sandwiches won’t get started until 11:30 AM. While both businesses generally take pre-orders, there will be no ordering in advance for this collaboration. Karla and Rob will be assembling sandwiches to order, and expect to simply wait in line for your sweet reward.
