Via Emilia: An Italian Love Letter Written in Mystic Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Italian Interview Espresso Martini Fresh Pasta Mystic Homepage Andrew Dominick March 03, 2026 Love letters aren’t always inked on parchment, sometimes they’re cooked in a kitchen and served to hungry customers. That’s the case at Mystic’s Via Emilia where co-owners Shaun Golan and Jakub Andros are dishing out Italian comfort food that’s uncomplicated and pays respect to Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region since it opened in 2020. On the brink of celebrating six years at the very end of Coastal Connecticut, how Via Emilia came to be, what they’re cooking and why they’re cooking it, and the tale behind their popular espresso martini is a story that should be told. Read More
Vyne Restaurant & Bar: Fine Dining Meets Comfort Classics in Middlebury Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Middlebury Mediterranean Italian Interview Cocktails Fine Dining Homepage Andrew Dominick February 24, 2026 Unless you live near or in Middlebury, there’s a very real chance you’ve never dined there. Ask a few guys who now work in Middlebury at Vyne Restaurant & Bar and they’ll tell you that before they got there, they hadn’t either. “I had never even heard of Middlebury and I spent a lot of my life in Hartford,” says Vyne’s general manager Justin Morales. What Morales, an industry veteran both behind the bar and as a GM (and most recently of Fire by Forge), and executive chef James Piccolo are doing in this part of Connecticut is putting their stamp on a restaurant idea that began many years ago as a small cafe inside of a furniture store, Middlebury Consignment. Read More
First Look: Norwalk's Valencia Luncheria Reopens as Valencia Cocina Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Valencia Norwalk Valencia Luncheria Venezuelan Latin American Reopening Interview Homepage Andrew Dominick February 18, 2026 After a little over three weeks closed for menu changes and renovations, Valencia Luncheria is back in action! Only now you have to call it by its changed name, Valencia Cocina, representing it’s new chapter that we teased you about at the beginning of the year. Now reopened with a sexier, but still chill vibe, a brand-new bar, and a reimagined menu, founder Michael Young, co-owner Luis Chavez, and executive chef Marv Bryce are ready to welcome you back in. Read More
Buzzed: Connecticut Distillery SoNo 1420 + Local Breweries Get in the THC Seltzer Game Brewery Features Ingredients Interview THC Seltzer THC Seltzer Cannabis Beverage Cannabis SoNo 1420 Two Roads Brewing Company Thomas Hooker Brewery Interview Non Alcoholic Andrew Dominick February 12, 2026 If you ask Ted Dumbauld, the owner of the Norwalk-based distillery SoNo 1420, about pivots he’s had to make as a result of alcohol consumption being in a major decline, he has a lot to say. “They used to tell you, if you have a beer or a wine, that it’s healthy for you, but studies have shifted showing that alcohol use is linked to causing cancer,” he says. “If you’re prediabetic or you’re older, you’re probably told to stop drinking, and younger generations aren’t consuming as much alcohol.” And he’s not just saying that. A Gallup Poll from August 2025, a survey that has tracked our drinking behavior since 1939, says that only 54% of Americans reported drinking alcohol, a record-low. Read More
The Haven Opens in Norwalk Featuring a Speakeasy, Rooftop, Cafe, and Event Space Features Interview Restaurant Speakeasy Cocktails Pizza Late Night Norwalk Interview Rooftop Opening Andrew Dominick February 06, 2026 The restaurant space on the corner of Washington and N Main has seen its share of flips. Evarito’s had an over five-year run, then it was The Pompano for a blink. Drive or walk by it now and you’ll notice the dining room is empty-ish, but more like a clearing, and that the lights are on. And the lettering on the glass door reads, “The Haven.” Behind all of those previous concepts, and behind The Haven, is Christian Burns, who you’re familiar with as the brains behind The Ginger Man and The Cask Republic locations. With The Haven, Burns and his landlords, Joe and Aldo Criscuolo, are teaming up on all four aspects of what this is and what it’s going to be when it’s whole. Read More
Cowboy Butter in New Milford: Hindsight BBQ's Sister Restaurant, a "Boujee" BBQ Joint + Steakhouse Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant BBQ New Milford Opening Interview Steak Homepage Andrew Dominick January 27, 2026 When CTbites last covered Hindsight BBQ in 2021, its founder, Jeff Schmidt was quoted as saying, “When you get obsessed with something, and when you get bit by the BBQ bug, once you go down that rabbit hole, you can only go further.” In 2025, his “further” ended up being Cowboy Butter, best described as “a New England live fire cookery and boujee BBQ bistro,” in New Milford’s quaint downtown area. Read More
Breaking News: Valencia Luncheria in Norwalk Announces New Concept + Renovations Features Interview Restaurant Valencia Luncheria Venezuelan Latin American Norwalk Interview Homepage Andrew Dominick January 08, 2026 Valencia Luncheria as you know it is closing. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it made you sit straight up, didn’t it? In a social media post on January 7, 2026, Valencia announced that after service on January 18, they’ll be closing for renovations. But those first four words in the caption on their Instagram reel is what you should be focused on… Read More
Craft Beer + Music: Twelvenote Brew Co. Opens in Black Rock Brewery Interview Features Brewery Twelvenote Brew Co Black Rock Bridgeport Music Craft Beer Beer Opening Interview Brewer Homepage Andrew Dominick January 08, 2026 Brian Pietrzak has had some “pinch me” moments lately. As the brewer and co-owner of Twelvenote Brew Co. in the former Aspetuck Brew Lab space in Black Rock, he’ll tell you candidly that it’s all a bit surreal. “I wake up sometimes at 3 a.m. and I can’t believe I own a fuckin’ brewery, like, I can’t believe this is my job now,” he says. Originally from Erie, PA, Pietrzak’s brewing story started as you might expect it to, with a home brewing kit he received as a gift from his brother-in-law, who’s his now partner at Twelvenote. Read More
Bangkok Republic in Wilton: Top Notch Thai Food Hidden in Plain Sight on Route 7 Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Thai Wilton Asian Interview Andrew Dominick January 07, 2026 Raise your hand if you’ve driven past a strip mall, plaza, a couple of storefronts clustered together, or whatever you call it, countless times without giving it any thought. We’re all guilty of this. In this case, we’re talking about a Thai restaurant that’s located on Route 7 that so many of us drive up and down so many times per week. And unless you’re a Wilton local who has obviously been gatekeeping this hidden-in-plain-sight gem, you may not even know it’s there, despite the fact that Bangkok Republic has been open for almost a decade. Read More
Wire Mill Saloon & Barbecue in Georgetown: On CT's Best BBQ List for 12 Years Features Interview Restaurant BBQ Wire Mill BBQ Redding Georgetown Interview Pitmaster Homepage Andrew Dominick January 04, 2026 In January 2014, when Gino Marsili opened the doors to Wire Mill Saloon & Barbecue, his recollection is, “There were maybe only a few of us doing BBQ; me, Bobby (Bobby Q’s), and Wilson’s in Fairfield.” Approaching his twelfth year running the pits in Redding’s Georgetown section, Marsili still has a smile on his face doing what he loves, serving the community his brand of BBQ that locals love—including a few of my personal friends who say it’s their favorite ‘cue in Connecticut. Read More
tacobarn Opens in Newtown From Restaurateur David Boyajian Features Interview Restaurant Tacos Newtown Sandy Hook Cocktails Tequila Interview Opening Homepage Andrew Dominick December 17, 2025 “I don’t know what got me looking, but I saw this building roughly 27 months ago for the first time, and I just fell in love with it.” Once filled with random storage, a barn on Glen Road in Sandy Hook has new life as a taqueria thanks to Newtown local and restaurateur David Boyajian. At the appropriately named tacobarn, Boyajian isn’t calling it traditional Mexican and he’s not even remotely pretending it’s that. And this particular nontraditional taco space is something he’s quite familiar with from his past as bartaco’s director of operations and part of that microchain’s expansion. Read More
La Cave in Darien: Restaurant L'Ostal's Sexy Wine Bar Features Ingredients Interview Events Wine Wine Bar Darien Restaurant L'Ostal L'Ostal Darien La Cave Darien Interview Bar Menu Bar Homepage Andrew Dominick December 09, 2025 Last April, Restaurant L’Ostal and chef-owner Jared Sippel, quietly added what he calls “a layer” to his four-plus-year-old Darien hotspot. La Cave—the French word for cellar—is Sippel’s homage to European wine bars. It’s small, cozy, intimate. No, they won’t mix you a cocktail. You certainly can’t order a cheeseburger. “Can you bring me the escargot from the L’Ostal menu?” Also…no. Read More
Belden House & Mews Receives Michelin Key, but Here's What Chef Tyler Heckman is Doing in the Kitchen Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Interview Ingredients Litchfield Homepage Belden House Tyler Heckman Andrew Dominick December 03, 2025 Belden House & Mews, Winvian, Lost Fox Inn, The Litchfield Inn, Mayflower Inn. All in Litchfield County. All boutique hotels. And they all have something in common…if you aren’t staying there (or even if you are), don’t overlook them for dinner—or for breakfast or lunch for that matter. Getting a lot of attention since it opened in the first half of 2025 is the first one listed in the bunch, Belden House. And if you pay attention to happenings in Litchfield, Belden’s charming and restored Queen Anne style Victorian and its 10 rooms, plus, its 21 additional modernist rooms, called The Mews, was recently awarded a Michelin Key, a high honor that recognizes outstanding hospitality. But this is a food publication. And I’m here to tell you what’s happening inside of the mansion’s dining room, what’s going down in their kitchen, and introduce you to executive chef Tyler Heckman. Read More
Chef Ian Vest Opens Modern Italian Restaurant, Talia, in Port Chester Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Modern Italian Ian Vest Port Chester Opening Homepage Interview Pasta Pizza Greenwich Andrew Dominick November 19, 2025 One could argue, that before Greenwich Avenue’s current restaurant boom, one of the hottest spots on the block from 2015 until it closed in 2020 was Back 40 Kitchen. Now, just a touch over the Byram neighborhood’s border in Port Chester, frequenters of Back 40 will see a familiar face in Ian Vest at his newly opened Talia. Vest, originally a St. Louis native, who got his start in the industry at 13 years old and never left it, has seen his fair share of stints working at delis, burrito places, and “everywhere you can imagine.” But hard work pays off, as it landed him an executive chef position at The Crossing, a French-Italian fine dining restaurant in Clayton, Missouri, then, to The Culinary Institute of America. Read More
Smash Bay Burgers: A CT "Must Eat" Burger Features Ingredients Interview Smash Burgers Burgers Homepage Interview Food Truck Andrew Dominick November 14, 2025 Bussing tables, washing dishes, prep work, and something like flipping burgers are most people’s foot-in-the-door in the hospitality industry. Austen Bass isn’t most people. In fact, he did it backwards. After a long career in the technology field, and with no restaurant experience, you’ll now find him smashing, flipping, and assembling burgers inside of his Smash Bay food trailer, typically parked at a Connecticut brewery near you. Read More
Pat's Apizza Opens in a Gas Station in North Haven Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Pizza North Haven Pat's Apizza Homepage Interview Ingredients Andrew Dominick November 05, 2025 You’re driving on Washington Avenue in North Haven, your car is thirsty, and you pull into Forbes Premium Fuel. Wait a second. What’s that sign say at the gas station? Pat’s Apizza? That’s your sign to swing open the gas station’s convenience store’s door. Look to the left and there’s a full-on pizzeria in there. Be honest…you thought this was gas station pizza, didn’t you? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s a (desperate) time and a place for Stewart’s Shops, Love’s, Speedway, and Wawa. Let’s scrap that whole deal. Pat’s is a pizzeria that just so happens to be inside of a gas station and they’ve been getting a lot of love on social media since they opened on September 4 of this year. Read More
Bake Zone CT: Handcrafted Small Batch Brioche Donuts in Stamford Events Features Ingredients Interview Donuts Woman Owned Pop-Up Bakery Baker Stamford Interview Andrew Dominick October 29, 2025 Covering the hospitality industry for as long as I have, it’s a given you’ll come across people who left a completely different career to pursue their passion in cooking or baking. Sandeep Gupta is one of those people. She left her job doing app design and once she moved from San Francisco to Stamford, she started her own donut business. “I told my husband (Mayank), who’s also a developer and does IT, that I love designing apps and logos and everything, but that I want to follow my passion as a baker,” Gupta says. “I actually liked my job! It was creative and I wasn’t just coding. I made buttons, themes, making apps look pretty. That was me.” Read More
Dos Hermanos Guatemalan Bakery & Cafe Opens in Bridgeport Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Guatemalan Bakery Latin American Black Rock Bridgeport Opening Homepage Interview Andrew Dominick October 24, 2025 If you notice a bunch of people in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood entering a tiny storefront on Brewster Street, follow them, and the smell of fresh baked bread, inside. Welcome to Dos Hermanos Bakery & Cafe, owned by two brothers (hence the name), Giovanni and Nelson Castellon, who had a goal of opening a place of their own for a while to show the community an accurate representation of Guatemalan food. Read More
Connecticut Chefs Open Up About Wellness, Bad Habits, Mental Health, Addiction, and the 86 Challenge Features Interview Homepage Interview Health & Wellness Mental Health Addiction Chefs Beto Ortiz Damon Sawyer Carlos Perez Dante Cistulli Andrew Dominick October 16, 2025 To “86” or to “eighty-six” something is a term commonly used in the hospitality industry. It’s defined, maybe best so, in the Urban Dictionary, where it’s summarized as “getting rid of something, removing it, or refusing service.” If a dish is popular for the evening, and thus, sold out, you might hear a chef say something like, “86 pasta special.” But to “reject, discard, or cancel” or to 86, has a different meaning to Beto Ortiz in the present day. Ortiz, the founder of Humans of the Kitchen (think Humans of New York for the service industry), a chef in his own right, and someone who’s open about his own struggles with mental health, substance abuse, and an overall rebellious nature, started the 86 Challenge, a wellness program for chefs and restaurant professionals. Read More
Delamar Hotels Opens American-Mediterranean Restaurant, Dandelion, in Westport Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Mediterranean Opening Interview Westport Dandelion Westport Delamar Hotels Homepage Andrew Dominick October 03, 2025 Just a mere mile and change from the Delamar Southport and Artisan, founder Charles Mallory’s Greenwich Hospitality Group has opened a new luxury hotel with a restaurant, Dandelion, that’s been booked solid for weeks right out of the gate. “We took ownership of it 2-3 years ago,” says Delamar’s corporate director of restaurants, Hicham Amaaou. “I’ve been working with Frederic Keifer (Delamar’s corporate chef/partner) since Artisan Southport in 2012, then West Hartford, and we created La Plage together from scratch. But this is two separate entities and the food is very opposite.” Read More
