Fayyaz Bhinde and his wife, Rida Niazi, used to travel from their home in Meriden to New York City whenever they wanted a halal smash burger. When they first got married, they’d head to the city two hours each way, for dinner and dessert. After they became parents, they realized traveling with a toddler would be much more difficult.
When their daughter was a year old, they tried to make the trip to New York for dinner and got stuck in a snowstorm on the way back, enduring bumper-to-bumper traffic from Greenwich to New Haven while their child was “crying her lungs out,” Bhinde said. At that point, they decided “never again” to the lengthy travel, and began thinking about opening their own restaurant closer to home.
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.”
One of the greatest advantages of living in New England is our access to autumn. Our home in Connecticut means even if we live in urban convenience, the rural hills and river valleys of our state are a nearby drive away. This proximity gives us one of our best traditions: the fall weekend road trip. We can get out, see what nature has in store for us, and find ourselves in places which fall outside the rhythm and routine of our daily lives. Up towards the center of the state, past the historic colonial homes on Worthington Ridge in Berlin and into New Britain - a city many on the coast may not consider a destination - is 5 Churches Brewing, a place you should.
Tucked down a side street in downtown Hard Hittin’ (New Britain), Riley’s Hot Dog and Burger Gourmet is turning out some of the most creative dogs and burgers around. From the Nacho Poppa Dog to wild creations brimming with mac ‘n cheese, you’ll find combinations you never dreamed of. But this little “mom and pop” shop isn’t run by a husband and wife team. Rick Charamut and Deb Dalena are two friends, now business partners, who once worked together in a sign shop. “We both kind of needed a change of pace,” Rick says.