Celebrate National Pizza Month with New Haven Pizza (sponsored post) Features Pizza New Haven National Pizza Month Pizza Tour New Haven Pizza Sally's Apizza Pepe's CTbites Team September 29, 2023 New Haven is a foodie destination. We’ve got a scene for every foodie, but here, every “apizza” is personal. Pronounced “ah-beetz” by folks across the Greater New Haven Region, New Haven pizza always wins.In the Elm City, pizza is a way of life and a cornerstone of our foodie culture. On our plates and in the books of state lawmakers, pizza is on its way to becoming the official state food of Connecticut, thanks to the “Pizza Bill.” The bill, SB 390, was authored by New Haven’s pizza historian Colin Caplan, and passed through the state house in 2021, up for a vote in the senate again this year. Our pizzas taste good, and our pies are also truly historic, (Frank Pepe’s, Connecticut’s oldest pizzeria, turned 98 this year, and is the fourth-oldest pizzeria in the country). Read More
Zuppardi's Apizza in West Haven-A Clam Pie for the Ages Restaurant Pizza New Haven West Haven jeffrey schlesinger September 27, 2023 In the early 1920s, Dominic Zuppardi brought his master bread-making skills from southern Italy to New Haven and after several years of working for others creating artisanal breads and “abeetz,” he opened Salerno’s Bakery on Donnelly Place in New Haven in 1932. Two years later he moved to Union Street in West Haven and opened Zuppardi’s Bakery, and in the 1940s Dominick handed the reigns to his son Anthony. In the early years, Anthony produced a small variety of apizzas, primarily the traditional tomato pie, and as the menu grew (a customer favorite was Anthony’s Italian fennel sausage), he decided to focus on apizza and rebrand the family shop Zuppardi’s Apizza. After Anthony’s passing in 1988, his children and grandchildren assumed the familial leadership to ensure the continuation of Dominick and Anthony’s tradition and almost 90 years after Dominic opened on Union Street, Zuppardi’s Apizza is still considered one of the best in the New Haven area. Read More
Gioia Italian Restaurant, Market, & Gelateria Opens In New Haven October 19th Restaurant New Haven Opening Pizza Wood Fired Steak Cocktails Gelato Specialty Market Pasta Homepage James Gribbon September 26, 2023 Gioia, the new wood-fired Italian dining/cocktail/gelato/rooftop bar on Wooster Street from partners Tim Cabral (Ordinary) and Avi Szapiro (Roìa), is set to open in October, but we’ve already visited the spot to give you a first look.You’ll see the space, get a glimpse of the enticing menu, and read our exclusive interview with the partners about the concept’s creation in their own words. Read on!Avi describes how the two met one night in 2011 when he was eating at Caseus: the seed event which would lead to the creation of Gioia.“I thought nobody knew me or what I was doing, and Tim comes up to me and says ‘I heard you’re opening a restaurant, what’s the concept?’”That turned out to be Roìa, which opened within two weeks of Tim’s Ordinary (“We literally shared a back door between the restaurants, we’d steal stuff from each other all the time.”), and the two became great friends, to the point they started brainstorming ideas just so they could work together. Read More
Somos Handcrafted Arepas Opens in New Haven & Shelton Restaurant Latin American Arepa Venezuelan Opening New Haven Lunch To-Go Delivery Comfort Food Homepage Shelton James Gribbon September 22, 2023 So, maybe you’ve had an arepa. Eaten hot from the pan, or made into fat little sandwiches somewhat akin to a stuffed pita, the puffy, crispy, hunger-busting cornmeal cakes are the unofficial comfort food of Venezuela. Or maybe you haven’t. Somos Handcrafted Arepas wants to help with that.Brothers Alejandro and Andres Cordito grew up in Hamden as the sons of Venezuelan parents, and started taking notice of how the everyday food they had at home, on trips to visit family in Caracas, and during Andres’ time in college in South Florida, just wasn’t apparent in Connecticut. Now, with two locations in New Haven and Shelton, they’re increasing access to this gloriously variable sandwich. What does that mean? I’m glad you asked! First: Say “ah-RAY-pah." Read More
John & Morgan Nealon To Open New Restaurant, Crust Issues, in Norwalk CT Restaurant Opening Norwalk Pizza Comfort Food Cocktails Italian Lunch Kid Friendly Homepage Stephanie Webster September 11, 2023 Restaurateur husband and wife super-team, John & Morgan Nealon, are back at it again! Enquiring minds wondered what was next for this duo, and now the wait is over. John & Morgan have just signed the lease on the old Davinci’s Pizza in Norwalk at 60 Connecticut Avenue. Get ready for CRUST ISSUES, a casual neighborhood joint, opening in early Fall. As the name might suggest, there will be pizza, but as per usual with these two, it won’t fit into a classic pizza-style. More on that if you keep reading… and wait till you hear what else is on the menu. Crust Issues is housed in the bones of an old school pizza spot, with tiled floors and big pizza ovens in the open kitchen, and the Nealon will be leaning in to this relaxed vibe. Guests will order at the counter, grab one of the 40 seats, and enjoy a cocktail (John’s got some fun new tricks up his sleeve in the cocktails department…obvi), and you’ll likely get a Nealon bringing some tasty elevated comfort food to your table. Read More
Chef Emily Mingrone Launches The Pearl At Fair Haven Oyster Co. Food Truck September 1st Restaurant Food Truck Hot Dogs Lobster Roll Comfort Food To-Go Ice Cream Canned Cocktails CT Beer New Haven Fair Haven Opening Stephanie Webster August 29, 2023 This just in. Chef Emily Mingrone of Tavern On State, Provisions on State, and her most recent addition, Fair Haven Oyster Co, is off on another exciting culinary adventure. After winning “CT’s Restaurant Of The Year” in 2022, Mingrone is expanding her New Haven footprint and launching a NEW FOOD TRUCK, this weekend, Friday, September 1st. The truck’s name is “The Pearl At Fair Haven Oyster Co.” and you can find it just next to her restaurant, Fair Haven Oyster Co., in the marina picnic area. The Pearl will be open Fridays-Sundays, noon to 7pm in the season, and depending on demand, Mingrone may keep the party going all year long. Read More
Gabagool Wine Bar Opens in Fairfield: Turning Lemons into Limoncello Restaurant Italian Lunch Fairfield Openings Pasta Jessica Ryan August 19, 2023 Gabagool Wine Bar is the newest incarnation of the former Fairfield favorite, Toto Restaurant, which shut its doors suddenly and unexpectedly about a year and a half ago. I worried that, tragically, this too had succumbed to the pandemic, but alas – and thankfully, such was not the case. The restaurant that occupied the main level in the red building on Reef Road sat vacant and dark for over a year. This was all due to massive flood caused by a ruptured pipe. With water everywhere, the restaurant’s interior needed to be completely gutted and rebuilt. Thankfully for us restauranteur and owner Antonio Ninivaggi does as only Antonio does… He turned his lemons into limoncello, and thus Gabagool Wine Bar was born. Read More
Vespino Pizza + Restaurant Opens in Fairfield Restaurant Italian Opening Pasta Pizza Lunch Prix Fixe Kid Friendly Fairfield Homepage Jessica Ryan August 13, 2023 Nestled in a quiet corner of a shopping plaza located right off of the hustle and bustle of Fairfield’s Black Rock Turnpike is Vespino Pizza + Restaurant. Located in the space that was formerly Stefano’s, Vespino fills a void in the area’s restaurant scene. Best described as elevated casual in a stylishly modern setting, Vespino is an ideal choice for a quick neighborhood lunch, casual dinner with friends and family, or an after work cocktail. Vespino has already established a loyal clientele and has earned praises for their pizza, pasta, appetizers and main dishes. Sister restaurant to longtime local favorite Quattro Pazzi Café, Organika and the newer kid on the block, Pizza Lyfe in Westport, we came in with high expectations, eager to try a few dishes ourselves. Read More
Heirloom Food Co: Organic + Vegan, Gluten-Free Cafe & Serious Biz Desserts Restaurant Special Dietary Needs Vegan Gluten-Free Danielson cafe Lunch Breakfast Organic April Guilbault July 26, 2023 I could start with the usual hellos and some intros, but why beat around the bush-let’s dive right in and start with a sandwich you will want to get to know: The Heirloom Reuben. It’s a Reuben of a different color, though; two slices of fresh sourdough bread stuffed full of marinated cabbage, carrots, sautéed onions, sauerkraut, special “Heirloom” sauce, and raw Cheddar or vegan cheese. It’s a two-handed wonder that only the truly skilled can maneuver. It’s also a meat-LESS Reuben. This and many more vegan delights hold court on the most beloved list (aka menu) at the Heirloom Food Co., a healthy eatery in Danielson, one of the towns in the chock-full-of-surprises Quiet Corner of Connecticut. As I mentioned, you are going to want to get to know this place. And this sandwich. Read More
Ordinary Bar in New Haven Unveils its “Clue”-Themed Pop-Up Features Restaurant Events Bar Cocktails classic cocktails Pop-Up Pop-Up Bar New Haven Todd Lyon July 14, 2023 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. Read More
NYC Road Trip: Breakfast at Tiffany’s Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud Restaurant Road Trip Breakfast Sandwich TEA New York City Lunch Celebrity Chef ellen bowen July 11, 2023 May and June in New York City are a special time. The long winter and the soggy April showers give way to sunny days and warmer temps. New York City is a walking city, and on a perfect Spring day, I donned my pearls and a “little black dress” and headed into the city for a visit to the newly reopened Tiffany & Co on Fifth Ave. to check out the Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud for my version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Read More
Press Burger Opens in Wilton With Tasty "Feel Good" Burgers & Fried Chicken Sandwiches Restaurant Burgers Hot Dogs Fast Casual Wilton Fried Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwich Opening Comfort Food Kid Friendly Lunch Ella Alpert July 08, 2023 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.” Read More
The Porch at Christies: Neighborhood Eatery With A Mission Restaurant Westport Breakfast Lunch Bakery Philanphropy Ella Alpert June 21, 2023 Pride, potential, purpose, passion, and a love for all positive P words are the founding ideals of The Porch at Christies, and the core of their mission. Included in this list of P’s is of course Pecoriello, the founding family and owners of The Porch and partner organization, Sweet P Bakery. The Porch serves a delicious menu of items from baked goods, to breakfast bowls, sandwiches, salads, coffee, and more. There is truly something for everyone. However, visiting The Porch is not solely a culinary experience. The inviting atmosphere of inclusivity and community makes it hard to simply grab a meal and go. The Porch is the perfect spot for a nice meal with family, coffee with friends, and even a place to meet someone new. Read More
Hot Murga Indian Hot Chicken Opens in New Haven Restaurant Fried Chicken Sandwich Fried Chicken Hot Chicken Comfort Food New Haven Opening Fast Casual To-Go Indian James Gribbon June 08, 2023 "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. Read More
Three Girls Vegan Creamery in Guilford: All Vegan. All Delicious. Restaurant Vegan Vegetarian Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market Bakery Lunch Guilford April Guilbault June 07, 2023 Tender meatballs nestled in bubbling, vibrant San Marzano tomato sauce. Hearty breads that cradle cutlets generously smeared with homemade pesto. Crispy-on-the-outside Mac and Cheese balls and tender Crabcakes with a dollop of Horseradish Dill sauce. Lasagna that is layers deep, stuffed full of gooey cheese and smothered in more of that delightful tomato sauce. And it’s all vegan. Without getting too Hallmark-y, it is all based in love, as well. Tracy Alexander, with her two daughters Brittany and Taylor form the triumvirate of Three Girls Vegan Creamery in Guilford, Connecticut. Mama Tracy creates the recipes and menus, while daughters Brittany and Taylor run the locations and handle the marketing. Read More
Brasserie St. Germain Opens In Ridgefield From Sucre Sale Team Restaurant Opening Ridgefield French Lunch Raw Bar Homepage Jessica Ryan May 27, 2023 Brasserie St. Germain opened quietly though to much fanfare this past week. Named after St Germain des Pres, the quaint Parisian neighborhood, in the 6th arrondissement. Owners Frank Bonnaudet and Virginie Kharouby are no strangers to the Ridgefield restaurant scene. After nearly 10 years, the owners of the former Sucre Sale decided to shut down the smaller, casual eatery to make way for this newer, slightly more formal concept with its larger menu and more expansive dining areas.Brasserie St. Germain is an ode to Paris, from the décor – with hand-painted murals in the main dining and bar area that are bright and lively, to the more formal, high end dining area in the back. The restaurant seats between 75-80 people, and judging by what we saw, the space will fill very quickly. Former Sucre Sale diners have been eagerly anticipating this opening. The cozy ambiance suggests a relaxed dining experience, diners will not be rushed. Read More
7 Spots for Happy Hour in New Haven: The "NEW" Happy Hour...Now With More Happy Features Restaurant New Haven Happy Hour Cocktails Bar Menu Happy Hour Deals Todd Lyon May 23, 2023 Are you suffering from restaurant sticker shock? Did you, on your last outing to a decent eatery, think about having the steak, then found out it cost $74 and ordered the $46 roasted chicken instead, and washed it down with the cheapest wine on the list at $18 a glass, which is more than you usually pay for an entire bottle at the corner packy?Happy hour is here to help. While not as grand as a multi-course dinner-dinner, happy hour is a wonderful eating-out alternative, offering yummy fun in great locations for not much loot. You just have to get used to, you know, eating (and drinking) on, um, the early side. Read More
Encore By GoodFellas: The Curtain Rises on Goodfellas’ Third Act in New Haven Restaurant Features Openings New Haven Todd Lyon May 03, 2023 The new Goodfellas is a knockout. At a soft opening for family and friends on April 19, Chef Gerry Iannaccone and partner Andrea Coppola showed off the dramatically reimagined and rebranded restaurant, now known as Encore by Goodfellas. New Haveners have been watching as the building at State and Trumbull slowly shifted shape; what was once an open-air patio on the roof became capped and clad, creating a sudden second floor. New signage went up, casting a golden neon glow. But none of us could have fathomed what was going on inside the building. Read More
Hachiroku Owners Open Hachiroku Handroll Bar & Tapas in East Rock, New Haven Restaurant Openings New Haven Sushi Japanese Homepage Stephanie Webster April 23, 2023 Fans of Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake bar, which quietly opened in New Haven 2022, will be excited to hear that this team has expanded their portfolio of outstanding Japanese eateries with a NEW restaurant in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven. The new spot is called Hachiroku Handroll Bar & Tapas, and much like the original, you will not find a sign outside….ya just have to know. Hachiroku Handroll Bar features a few highlights from Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake bar, but while the OG delivers a traditional izakaya menu with a few uber-fresh cuts of sushi, the new spot leans in on expertly executed, positively mouthwatering handrolls. And make no mistake, while the flavor profiles you will find here are not strictly “traditional,” the dining room looks and feels like a traditional sushi bar. With roughly 16 seats highlighting the artists/ sushi chefs in the center, dining here exudes the austere reverence that these handrolls deserve. Read More
Destination: TWA Hotel and Paris Café by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at JFK airport Restaurant Features Travel Road Trip Hotel JFK Airport Breakfast Lunch ellen bowen April 19, 2023 Looking for a unique staycation or an overnight in NYC before an early morning or late night flight? Then the iconic Eero Saarinen designed TWA terminal and TWA Hotel at John F Kennedy Airport offers visitors a trip (before the trip) down memory lane back to the 1960’s, to when the TWA flight center first opened in 1962. TWA filed final bankruptcy and the TWA terminal closed in 2001. The building remained empty until Morse Developers along with MCR Hospitality purchased the building and added 500 rooms in two hotel towers and reopened as the TWA Hotel in 2019. An overnight stay includes access to the rooftop infinity heated pool and Après Ski styled Pool Bar and Café. Plush robes are in every room and the pool is open year round untill10:30 pm and is a fun experience overlooking the runways as you sit in the “poolcuzzi” sipping a cocktail and watching the planes take off or land. Read More
