Tea for two and two for tea, a scone for you, petit fours for me. What a charming way to spend an afternoon, isn’t it? Simply slow down and sip; a flavorful cup of tea asks only this of us, to take time and relish all it has to offer. Around our state, there are tea rooms of every shape and size-with gardens and sunrooms, quirky themes, historic leanings-yet all encourage you to stop, steep, and slow down. Make sure to scroll the entire listing, as we first list those establishments that regularly offer afternoon teas, then follow it with a listing of interesting places around the state that hold special event and holiday teas. This is a great year to explore the world in a cup…
Hartford Baking Company announces a new location in South Windsor! It's expansion time! Again! Hartford Baking Company is delighted to announce that they will be adding a fourth retail location in the Spring of 2024. The new cafe will be located at 150 Sullivan Ave in South Windsor CT, and will have the same vibe, menu, and bread selection of the two current West Hartford locations, plus an expanded menu and some other exciting new offerings.
“I could go for a coffee right now.” “Where’s the nearest coffee place?” If we had a nickel for every time we heard or uttered those words, right? Happily, there’s a coffee house or roastery just about around every corner these days, but some of them rise above with their drinks, their blends, their hospitality. Hence, we have filled our cups to the brim with delicious offerings for you and this list is broken down by County so that you can get to that cup quicker! Sip alone, brew, sip with a friend-life is good.
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!
Feels like we were all just stuck home together and dreaming of getting OUT and low and behold, now we can! Let’s start with getting those kiddos some cool stuff to do once school lets out. Let’s hear it for cooking camps! To learn (in a fun way) about food, where it comes from, what the heck we can do with it, and yummm, how it tastes-what could be better? Follow it with some parent-kid trips to your local farms or farmers’ markets, and lookie there, you’ve just filled the calendar a bit for the summer months. Here’s to brilliant and tasty new discoveries!
When was the last time you visited Grace Farms? The stunning 80-acre space in New Canaan, Connecticut that supports initiatives in the areas of nature, arts, justice, community, and faith, and encourages participation locally and globally is a treasure to visit. Pritzker Prize-winning River building, is the focal point, having become an integral part of the landscape. Designed to resemble a rambling river, five transparent glass-enclosed buildings that each live beneath one flowing roof. Here you will find The Sanctuary, a 700-seat amphitheater; the library, a staffed library with resources related Grace Farms Foundation's initiatives; the Commons, a community gathering space with 18-foot-long tables; the Pavilion; a welcome reception and conversation space with tea service; and the Court, an incredible underground recreational space used by local children and schools. Wander around the 80 acres of open meadows, woods, wetlands, and ponds and soak up all the breathtaking scenery.
In 2021 Grace Farms Foods was launched by Grace Farm’s Founder Sharon Prince along with Adam Thatcher to share with the world and invite everyone to be part of their mission by offering our signature cookies, coffee, and tea.
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!
Coffee for Good is now open in downtown Greenwich, and it’s not your ordinary high-end coffee shop. Sure, you can grab yourself a perfectly pulled shot of espresso or a latte c/o their well trained baristas and the fine roasters at PATH Coffee in PortChester. But Coffee For Good provides much more than a daily caffeine fix for our community.
Coffee For Good was spearheaded by Greenwich resident, Deb Rogan, in partnership with Abilis, as a self-sustaining, nonprofit organization, to serve as a training platform and employer for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The coffee shop, which provides espresso based beverages, smoothies, local baked goods, as well as sandwiches and salads, gives their trainees the opportunity to succeed and be a part of the local workforce.
Craving something sweet but not in the mood for the full indulgence of ice cream? Do you want something that tastes just as good without as much guilt? Have no fear, Dave’s Gourmet Paletas has just opened in downtown Fairfield serving up 20 flavors of homemade paletas…made fresh daily. These pops are far cry fro from the average popsicle as paletas are made entirely from whole ingredients, delicious things…like fresh fruit and nut butters. Dave’s Paletas also feature gluten free, dairy free and vegan options with a menu ranging from classic flavors like strawberry and banana to more unique ones like matcha and mango chamoy. Paletas are a traditional Mexican frozen treat and owner and CEO Dave Rock says,
“We wanted to offer standard flavors, traditional ones that everybody likes, but we also wanted to sprinkle in some of the more uniquely Mexican options like a mango chamoy.”
Restaurateurs all over the CT are pivoting in response to the new pandemic reality facing both restaurant owners and diners, and while we all wish we could go back to 2019, smart entrepreneurs continue to reinvent themselves in unique and interesting ways. The team behind Taco Daddy and The Lila Rose, John Nealon and Morgan Machette are doing just that. With diminished dine in capacity, this duo, with the help of partner, Juan J Henao have expanded the reach of their new dinner spot, The Lila Rose, into an all day breakfast and lunch affair with their new, ‘Es Ok Cafe’.
Located in Stamford’s Harbor Point area, The Lila Rose was already closed during the day, except for brunch on Saturday and Sundays, so it was the perfect spot to house the cafe that this group had dreamed of creating pre-Covid. “Machette, Henao (JJ), and his brother, Juan Camillo Henao, have always been passionate about coffee and tea, so putting the concept together has been really fun. I also just like saying Sexy Lattes and Slutty Paninis,” says co-owner Nealon.
It is the most popular drink in the world-are you surprised? Beyond coffee, beer, and even sodas, tea reigns supreme with over 159 millions Americans consuming it each day and 2 billion people drink it every morning around the globe. White, green, black, oolong, pu’erh, herbal; the variety of flavors within these types is almost endless and there is so much to be explored. There are teas for different times of day, flavor palates, health benefits and even ailments (rumbly tummy? Ginger!). If you haven’t started exploring the wide world of tea, it might be time. Tea-time, that is.
P.S.-The prize for the country that consumes the most? Turkey, followed by Ireland. The UK comes in third. Who knew?
Here are 11 spots for great tea in Connecticut. Happy shopping!
Those who know me, know I’m an equal opportunity caffeinator; I start my day low-key and sort of lady-like with a cup of Twinings Earl Grey. BUT, if I haven’t been punched in the face by mid-morning with a good strong cappuccino, then watch out. By the sheer number of places in our great state to get a jolt, I know I’m not alone. The list is long, but please, let us know if we’ve missed one of your favorite spot for java and we’ll add it to the caffeinated compilation. Go forth and get buzzed.
Episode #4 of our Chefs At Home series is here…and it’s a heathy, simple and delicious recipe you can make all summer long. Chef Anthony Rinaldi, formerly Exec Chef at Kawa Ni in Westport, currently the Chef for Greenwich Country Day School, has been having some fun in his kitchen with this recipe for the Chia Seed Pudding. This recipe has 15 grams of protein and is easy enough for any kid to make themselves! Get your kids cooking and enjoy!
Chef Dan Kardos has made his mark on the Connecticut restaurant industry over the past two decades. He’s been the operator, the owner, and, of course, the chef of local favorites like Stratford’s Oar & Oak. This summer, he’s turning to something even sweeter.
Kardos recently opened Oar & Oak Creamery, a 10x6 soft serve ice cream truck currently stationed at Knapp’s Landing in Stratford. The truck, Kardos emphasized, isn’t some extravagant ice cream parlor with dozens of flavors and toppings galore. It’s straightforward yet refreshingly original.
Dan Giusti was not used to failing in the kitchen.
At 29 years old he had been named the head chef at Noma in Copenhagen, making him a de facto high priest of fine dining. As the leader of the kitchen of one of the world’s most critically acclaimed restaurants, he was tasked with executing owner and executive chef René Redzepi’s vision and making sure the culinary dreams of those who had spent years and months planning their visit to Copenhagen to dine at Noma came true. Giusti was good at this.
But three years into the job, Giusti walked away to tackle the seemingly never-ending enigma that is school lunch. With Redzepi’s blessing and investment, Giusti founded a new company called Brigaid that sought to put skilled chefs at the helm of cafeteria kitchens in schools across America. The idea was “getting chefs who would never choose to do this work to do this work,” Giusti says.
Leo Kelly, a 6 year old first grader in Fairfield CT has dreams of becoming “King,” well, the Shirley Temple King that is. Leo aspires to be the childhood arbiter of all things Shirley Temple (yes, the popular childhood beverage) , and he is making his way around Fairfield County doing just that. You can find him on Instagram at @theshirleytempleking, so heads up local restaurants owners. Time to get your Shirley Temple game on fleek.
Bulk shopping isn’t exactly a new concept but bulk shopping that’s zero waste is something we get excited about. BD Provisions, with locations in Newtown, and now at the Brick Walk in Fairfield CT, takes this familiar concept and gives it a breath of fresh air with a new, environmentally friendly spin.
Less is more, especially here. Less waste means more product which means greater savings and more fun, but you really need to head over to experience it yourself.
Have you heard the “buzz”? Sunday, September 29 is National Coffee Day, and CT is home to some great local coffee spots where you can celebrate. There's a lot of coffee in this state so we've divided our list into Fairfield County & Beyond Fairfield County. Did we miss one of your favorite spots? Please add it to the list in the comments sections or email us.
Here are 32 places that serve some of CT’s best java. One might even say they’re more than just your average “joe….”
Karen Hubrich will openly state that she’s not a classically trained chef. Despite that, she has certainly lived the life of a bonafide foodie.
She grew up in London, in a household where her parents were avid cooks that often threw dinner parties and they believed in eating “good food.” Her love of cuisine only grew after time spent in Italy, but she credits a restaurant owner on the Greek island of Corfu with her first true kitchen lesson in which they made moussaka.
There’s a lot more to Hubrich’s culinary origin story by our friend Dan Woog, but her past eventually led to chef gigs at the MetroTech Center in Brooklyn and Williams Club in Midtown. After that she was hired as Michael Bolton’s personal chef and had stints at the Fairfield County Hunt Club, as the executive chef for the New York Times dining room, and back to Connecticut to work at the Pequot Yacht Club. To boot, she even ran a private catering business through most of her chef life.
These days, you’ll find Hubrich doing her own thing in Southport. Chances are you’ve driven past Gruel Britannia on the Post Road and likely eased off the gas pedal as you wondered, “What is this?”
At Gruel Britannia, Hubrich is going back to her London roots by cooking British food, a cuisine she once described as “diabolical.” Hubrich’s food is more refined. It’s brighter than the bland browns and beiges we picture when we think of old-world English grub.
