One sunny day in Bethel, I was interviewing Sara Oberhammer at her spot, Soulber Kitchen & Market, over lunch, smoothies, and at least one caffeinated beverage. That’s when a smiling face burst through the door with a cookie delivery. Dani LeBlanc and I met ever so briefly, but right after she left, Sara said, “Have you had her cookies?”
It’s been a year since Max Hospitality officially took over the bar at Hartford’s Goodwin Hotel, but after a two-month renovation period in the fall, Bar Max now boasts a fresh look with a brand-new menu.
The Hartford-based restaurant group, with multiple eateries throughout Hartford County and western Massachusetts, expanded its territory in the capital city by partnering with the Goodwin Hotel in early 2024. Restaurateur Tyler Anderson, who had previously operated Terreno Restaurant and Bar Piña in the space, closed his concepts there as he moved on to new projects, including a culinary director role at Ore Hill & Swyft in Kent.
It was a natural fit, as the boutique hotel is right next door to its flagship Max Downtown, said Steven Abrams, Max Hospitality’s vice president, who is a partner in Max Downtown and the group’s other city restaurant, Max’s Trumbull Kitchen. But the owners decided not to launch another restaurant out of the Terreno space.
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.
Fire by Forge is a Pan-American inspired restaurant that opened in spring of 2023 and has been receiving accolades ever since. Flavors, ingredients, cooking techniques, and even the wines and spirits are drawn from across the Americas, with a strong lean toward what is local, sustainable, and fresh.
Forge City Works serves the community but also provides hands-on job training in customer service, hospitality, and culinary arts for people who have barriers to employment.
Parkville Market, a hub of international cuisine, has graced Hartford with four new vendors. Taiwan Night Market, the Taste of Portugal and KOJI2GO have opened, and we hear that Flor do Mar has launched since we visited with a completely gluten free menu, each adding new, exciting, flavorful dishes to an already highly tasty market.
Parkville opened during the height of the pandemic in May of 2020, starting with only five vendors, all take-out. Now, three years later, the market is vibrant.
“Now being at 21 vendors we’ve really rounded out the different, uniqueness to the food that we offer,” Matt Sousa, Vice President of Operations at Parkville said. “If we’re lacking something then we go out and try to find whatever it is.”
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!
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.
The Hartford Yard Goats baseball season begins Thursday, April 6, 2023, with the first pitch against the Bowie Baysox scheduled for 7:10 p.m., but all who partake in the experience at Dunkin’ Park – as the stadium has been recently renamed – know that watching the game is just one element of the overall experience.
For West Hartford residents and others from throughout the area who enjoy the Yard Goats, a night at the Dunk includes a chance to sample some unique and perhaps not-all-that-healthy food items. And while this year’s menu of offerings is a bit less “extreme” than it has been in other years, there are many delicious must-try items.
“It’s definitely one of the more exciting years for food here at Dunkin’ Park,”
said Yard Goats President Tim Restall, who has a food and beverage background and looks forward to the annual reveal of the menu created by chef Joe Bartlett and his team.
“We’ve kind of drawn away from the crazy, crazy foods,” Bartlett said a sneak peek showcase event for reporters Monday. “We wanted to draw back to the ‘classic ballpark.'”
In full disclosure I don’t think I’ve met a cookie I didn’t like but as we all know there’s a difference between like and love. I have a sweet tooth that’s very discerning with exceptionally high standards. My tooth can easily separate the good from the very good, great, outstanding and the OMIGOD.
So when I received a box of warm Leven(thal) Cookies I knew my sweet tooth had its work cut out. Leven(thal) is a fun, punny play on the name Leventhal, as in Jess Leventhal, baker of these oversized mini-baseball mound shaped treats. The young mother of three – all aged 3 and under! – moved to Westport two and a half years ago. She started baking during her maternity leave and started posting some of her creations on Instagram. The reaction was almost immediate and soon she was filling orders.
Chef Tyler Anderson and Hands On Hartford have launched a remarkable new restaurant concept just in time to dine out and give back this holiday season. Gather55 restaurant opened this Fall in Hartford with a monthly rotation of guest chefs who will serve up a “by-reservation-only” $42 prix fixe menu. Chef Tyler Anderson, who is handling the Chef programming kicked things off, followed by Chef Billy Grant of Restaurant Bricco in December, and then Emily Mingrone of Tavern on State in January. Each evening, approximately 20% of the tables are reserved for diners who can’t pay the full price. The goal is to create a place where everyone can celebrate and enjoy a delicious meal in a comfortable and caring environment.
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.
Bridgeport, Connecticut is teeming with hidden culinary gems. The city is an exciting kaleidoscope of culture and is among the top cities in the state to immerse yourself in Brazilian traditions. And when it comes to Brazilian cuisine, some of the more highly sought-after destinations are the bakeries. After all, who doesn’t love a perfectly baked dessert after dinner (or before dinner – or as a whole meal itself – we won’t judge)?
Next time you are in Bridgeport, make it a point to stop by one of their many bakeries to experience some of the best in locally-owned sweetness. Whether you are craving a freshly baked concha or a savory breakfast item, you should be able to find them in ample supply in The Park City.
NOTE: If you have a favorite Bridgeport Brazilian, Mexican or Italian bakery and it’s not on this list, please contact us and we will add it to the list.
Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, Cora Cora Peruvian Restaurant and the Ludena family that own it, are finally getting the recognition they deserve. All of their hard work and dedication to serving traditional, authentic Peruvian food handed down through family recipes has helped not only them, but Connecticut also, gain recognition on the national food scene with not one, but two nominations by the James Beard Foundation. First for Outstanding Restaurant, and second for Best Chef: Northeast.
Do you follow Tina Ziccardi Bakes, aka @theItalianCookie? Her media pages are loaded with baked deliciousness that is not only drool worthy, but is downright eye-candy perfection! Following her grand win on “The Great American Baking Show” Season 4 (Hulu), Augustina Zaccardi (Tina) became a bit of a local celebrity right here in Westchester. Her huge fan base from her hometown of Eastchester rooted her on with each baking challenge, becoming more difficult as each week passed. We all watch in amazement as contestants fly through the challenges on each food competition, but meeting with Zaccardi and listening to her describe what it is really like to be on a cooking show was enlightening. She described the experience, which filmed in England, to be competitive yet jovial and the contenders to have more comradery than might be expected in a contest pitting bakers against each other in difficult timed elimination assignments. Although they were in a heated competition, they became somewhat of a family and are still in close contact with each other today.
I’m not sure when I first heard about Sea Salt Baking Company but as Connecticut’s cottage baking industry has been exploding recently and my interest in fresh, local, treats has shown no signs of waning, I was eager to learn more. Plus, If the word on the street matched the actual product from this baker (with cookie baking in her DNA), I knew I’d be in for a treat.
Sea Salt Baking Company is the “baby” of Jaeca Sweeney, a Fairfield mom of two who found herself with a little extra time on her hands during the pandemic and knew cookies were calling.
You might hear the name The Rockin Chicken (TRC) and think it’s yet another really good chicken-themed joint, like West Hartford’s Chicken Citizen & Donuts, Wethersfield’s El Pollo Guapo, Newington’s Rooster Co. or the Elm City’s Hot Haven Chicken. But you’ll see it’s actually so much more. Since TRC opened in June, 2016 on Franklin Avenue in Hartford, it has been my go-to for Peruvian food, long one of my favorite cuisines.
TRC is owned by Dr. Miguel A. Colán and his wife, Kate. The genial couple doesn’t just own the business but the building as well. For Miguel, a Hartford chiropractor, it was an almost-weekly family tradition growing up in Lima to visit pollerias a la brasa, popular local restaurants specializing in charcoal rotisserie chicken. TRC grew out of his desire to recreate that dining experience for Hartford-area restaurant-goers.
Although it took co-owners Louis Apicella and George Spirou 14 months to open their doors due to the pandemic, Milk N Cookies has finally opened in Stamford. Adding to their first location in Mamaroneck, Westchester, the duo signed their lease in Stamford last December when they realized that the city was “hungry for a nice dessert hangout spot.”
The cookie café and cereal bar features twelve unique 4.5-5 oz cookies, some of which are stuffed, and a variety of cereal infused milkshakes and ice creams. The menu has an abundance of options to satisfy your sweet tooth, whether you’re craving a chocolate chip cookie, an out-of-this-world galaxy cookie, or a fruit loops infused milkshake, you’ll find it here.
Bunnies and chicks and eggs, oh my. So much chocolate, so many jelly beans. Our baskets will runneth over. We’ve got the classics and have also found some new and unusual Easter treats for you to enjoy. If anyone you love is not on this list, feel free to add them in the comments. We all need to know great places to go for holiday treats-I think we can all agree on that. Happy Easter, everyone!
(In case you need dinner recommendations too…head to our CTbites Easter Dining Guide!)
You drive through your town and notice bakeries and specialty food shops here and there. One on this corner, another on that one. Nowwe’d like to introduce you to a plethora of cottage bakers and makers who are flying right below our radar, creating delicious delights, yet they aren’t in plain sight because they are baking out of their homes or commercial kitchens. Have you heard of many of them? How do you find out about them? Word of mouth, usually. Consider us your word-of-mouth and then please, spread the word about these delightful, delicious, de-groovy custom cottage bakers and makers. Everything starts small, after all…
If you know of a cottage food business that is not on this list, please contact us such that we can add them to the directory.
2020 has at least made carbs, especially of the bready sort, sexy again. So, for this, I am thankful. Many have proven that by turning their kitchens into mini-bakeries this year. My cousin in PA, a lawyer by day, has posted about 100 pics of golden crusted sourdough; my neighbor, a sound engineer for Broadway--sadly all too quiet-- has added to my...eh hem...curves, with his newfound bagel prowess. I keep thinking I should buy stock in King Arthur Flour, then I forget amidst my food coma. Anyway, yay us for taking such a horrible time and at least turning a piece of it into something productive and tasty.
BUT, none of us have anything on Chef Kim Huang Wood and the real masterpieces coming out of Le Banh Patisserie kitchen. Just one afternoon with her, watching as she orchestrates her kitchen and the magic that comes out of it, I understand the difference between our hobbies and those who emit greatness. But that greatness, those masterpieces, have come from devotion, and true hard work.
