Chefs that have a bustling restaurant never take a full month off. For Luke Venner, “vacation” wasn’t pina coladas in the Caribbean, nor was it one of his fishing or hunting excursions. Instead, he was mostly in New Canaan, at Elm, remixing popular dishes, creating new ones, and reimagining and renovating the entire dining room. Don’t freak out. Your beloved Double-Double was unharmed in the process. But the dining room? Transformed. And it’s something that Venner—who’s in his 10th season as Elm’s executive chef and co-owner—has been meaning to tackle for quite a while. Talk to him about it and you can tell he’s feeling refreshed about all of it.
If you’ve followed the evolution of Two Roads Brewing Company, it’s quite something. Since the main brewery opened in 2012, one thing they kept doing is continuing to evolve. Not including a laundry list of beer releases, Two Roads went onto open a second facility next to their Hop Yard six years ago that you now know as Area Two Experimental Brewing. Following Area Two and all their fun, funky small batch drops, and in no particular order, Two Roads got into making canned cocktails, non-alcoholic beer, distilling (we’ll have a few teasers on that), and they even purchased the former PizzaCo across the street and turned it into Two Roads Food Hall & Bar and next door, Two Roads Tee Box, a golf simulator, making it a full-blown “campus.”
When a homebrewing hobby runs in the family, it’s only proper to open a brewery, isn’t it? That’s at least what happened in the Guda Family, whose brewery, Sly Bandit, may have caught your eye while on Route 7 in Wilton near the Norwalk line. Owned by Dave, who’s retired from the information technology world, Wendy, a former New Cannan High School math teacher who still teaches at CT State Community College Norwalk, and their son, Mike, who left his job as a market research executive to brew beer full time.
Sakarin Seedasome recalls a memory from 2017 when he was in San Diego. He walks in after work, wanting a beer, when he wondered, “Wait. What is this place?” “I love craft beer,” he says. “I think they had 20 or so taps, wine as well. I was confused at first, wondering if I had to buy a full 16 ounces of each one, but no, you pay per ounce. I was like, ‘Oh my god. I can try all of these.’ I stayed there all night.” Now one of the owners of Hop & Vine Taproom, which opened in Downtown Stamford in early January 2024, Seedasome and his partners Matthew Ventura and Connor Rasmussen, wanted to get it open much, much sooner. The problem? They couldn’t because it wasn’t legally possible.
Twizzlers, Peanut M&Ms, butter drenched popcorn, a bucket sized Coke. Come on! We’re all guilty of indulgences when we go to see the latest blockbuster movie. I’m a Reese’s guy (or addict rather) myself. But moviegoers in and around New Canaan have an upgrade when it comes to theater fare. And no, we’re not talking about a certain chain that likely just heats up something from a package. The Playhouse in New Canaan, along with movie houses in South Orange, New Jersey and Cañon City, Colorado, with another in Bradley Beach, NJ on the way, are part of a renovation project by movie producer Luke Parker Bowles, the CEO of Cinema Lab Theaters.
Ahh! Remember the good old days when standing in long lines at breweries was something people actually did?
Me too. And thinking back on it now, and despite making snobby craft beer small talk, that legitimately sucked. What were we thinking? I’ve even heard tales about people sleeping on the street overnight just to get stouts at Other Half. Perhaps the undisputed king of waiting in a beer line took place in the first half of the 2010s when Tree House Brewing Company moved to Monson, Massachusetts in 2013 and you hoped with all you had in your soul that you could get a growler fill or even a couple cans of Julius, Haze, or Green. IYKYK.
Hell, let’s take it even further to the days of making your non-beer drinking friend, mother, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, and possibly someone you didn’t even really like that much to go up with you, stand in line behind you, and you could potentially double your allotted Tree House haul.
It’s been a while since a new restaurant opened in New Canaan, so I was very excited when I heard that the much-anticipated Blackbird opened a few doors down from its sister restaurant Solé. After the first visit, the food was so spectacular, that I was quick to visit a second time a week late. Spoiler alert - It is already serving some of the best and most creative dishes in Fairfield County.
Blackbird is the newly opened addition of the Z Hospitality Group, which operates numerous, well-established restaurants in the area including Solé, Mediterraneo, Terra and East End. The narrow and long space is akin to the Solé layout, with tables in the front and a long bar and tables once you reach the mid-point. Unlike Solé, the kitchen is not open to full view, but is located behind doors in the rear. The front area serves guests on traditional tables while high-tops are stationed along the left wall in the rear half, which it shares with the long bar on the right. I was initially concerned about the potential for difficulty in hearing (a la Solé) but I was pleasantly surprised that the ambient noise in the front was friendly and the high-tops across from the bar were even better.
Elicit Brewing Company’s second location will open to the public on Monday, February 12, and CTbites has the inside scoop. More accurately a brewpub, the brand-new location will encompass a microbrewery, 100-tap taproom and social space, an in-house cocktail-focused speakeasy, and a large, covered back patio with direct access from the Fairfield Metro train station.
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.”
A handful or more years ago, I attended an exclusive media event at Two Roads Brewing Co. in Stratford led by brewmaster and owner Phil Markowski. Invited on this lavish tour, tasting, and beer dinner experience were about 10 of the who’s who of beer writers. At this point in my food and drink writing career, I certainly wasn’t classified as beer media, so my invite was as a plus-one.
“I remember we had just unlocked the doors at Walrus + Carpenter, and the first two customers that came in ordered a Bud Lights and a Coors Light. I heard Adam (Patrick) go, ‘Oh, we don’t have that.’ And one of the guys goes, ‘Fuck you! You won’t last’ That was our first reaction.”
Tim Shanley admittedly had butterflies right before he opened his small taproom in Port Chester.
“I was talking to a childhood friend that I’ve known for 50 years and told him ‘I’m nervous,’” Shanley says. “He said to me, ‘What are you nervous for? When you were in eighth grade, you bought a blitz beer ball (a plastic jug that holds around five gallons) and you charged $2 a person for people to come into your mom’s backyard to drink.’”
Ahead of Run & Hide Brewing Co.’s public opening, that recollection put Shanley’s mind at ease. He then recalled throwing keggers for upwards of a few thousand students and going through a couple hundred kegs when he attended SUNY New Paltz and bands like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones rocked the campus.
On several occasions, chef Tim LaBant has suggested we check out Dante’s Pizza in New Canaan.
“Have you been to Dante’s?”
“Have you been to Dante’s yet?”
“You gotta try Dante’s. I’d be curious to see what you think.”
Before he mentioned it to me a year ago, I hadn’t even heard of Dante’s. I live pretty close to New Canaan, and what’s worse is I frequently visit my favorites there, namely the South Ends, Elm, Locali, and I’ve eaten an obscene amount of Joe’s Pizza.
Ask any Fairfield County food truck fanatic what their favorite one was over the past handful of years and they’re likely to mention Nosh Hound if they know what they’re talking about.
The stacked sandwiches, the tacos, the burgers, and the bowls, and yes, even the “F” word…FUSION. It all really worked for Nosh Hound. I, for one, sought out Sam and Maycie Ralbovsky’s truck at every Mill River Park event. My final Nosh Hound memory was at Half Full’s Oktoberfest in Downtown Stamford when I obliterated a pork schnitzel sandwich.
Two Roads Brewing Company barely needs an introduction. Chances are, if you live in Connecticut you’ve been at least once, or if you’re an out-of-stater hitting up a bunch of breweries, Two Roads is likely on your list of places to pound a pint.
Since 2012, though, Two Roads has really come a long way from being known as one of Connecticut’s O.G. craft breweries. Not only is it the largest in terms of square footage and production, Two Roads has a bunch of accolades to boot, including local accolades in Connecticut Magazine for 2020’s Best Brewery and Best Beer that same year with its unfiltered, tropical bomb of a double IPA that you know as Two Juicy.
It wasn’t that long ago that I found myself in Shelton covering all things pierogi at The Rogi Shoppe when I randomly received a few DMs on two different Instagram accounts saying I should stop by Bar 140.
The finder’s fee goes to Gina, who sang the praises of Bar 140’s bar food, particularly their Belgian style frites. That got my attention fast! But then that continued with a few other messages trickled in that it’d be my type of bar; casual, kinda hipster, solid cocktails, and a fine beer list.
I asked around and got much of the same. Even Mateus from The Rogi Shoppe said their fries were stellar.
After I set up an interview with Joe Ballaro, who owns Bar 140 with his wife, Tiffany, I told a few friends I was going up there. It got pumped up even more by my friend Katy, who said, “This is my spot! I used to be a regular when I worked a few block away. It’s a good little spot. Good beer list and food. The owners are really cool.”
Sold! Plus, I’ll never pass up the chance at eating carefully made, hand cut fries by the bucket full, with different dipping sauces to plunge them into.
As Elm Restaurant successfully slides into their 10th year in New Canaan, we sat down with Chef Luke Venner to discuss this impressive milestone in a challenging industry. Elm is known for its friendly, local atmosphere, globally-inspired menu, and focus on fresh ingredients. Venner always has something new up his sleeve to keep diners engaged. Aside from seasonal menu updates, he introduced afternoon tea service in 2021, and navigated the pandemic with innovative to-go boxes. Side note: If you haven’t had his “Animal Style Burger,” you’re really missing out. Here are a few things you may not know about one of CT’s top chefs.
What made you want to be a chef?
It was somewhat accidental. I started working in a Steakhouse kitchen my freshman year in high school to earn extra cash for gas, the cool shoes, music, etc.. I began washing dishes and before long decided to quit sports to work full time after class. I quickly became one of the top cooks and by my senior year in high school I graduated as the sous chef at only 18 years old.
Prior to that, I had always thought I wanted to do something in the biology field and drew most of my inspiration from the outdoors. Back then, food still didn't have much presence on television and I had never picked up a cookbook, but I was drawn to the restaurant energy and I was sure much better ones than I had experienced existed. Ultimately, competitive drive got the best of me and I decided I would push myself as far as I could go in the business I was already in. I applied to a small European style apprenticeship program in Colorado 600 miles from my hometown and, much to my surprise, was accepted. I immediately began training for the next four years under an old world French chef and my life would change forever.
With Spacecat Brewing Company opening its taproom, South Norwalk finally has a brewery…
Again.
Not counting the two short-lived macrobreweries Guvnor’s and Iron which were located in the same space on Washington Street, the city hasn’t had a larger, buzzed about brewery since New England Brewing debuted on Commerce Street 1989 with then head brewer Phil Markowski, and they eventually moved to Marshall Street with another head brewer, Rob Leonard at the helm.
NEBCO left SoNo in 2001 for Woodbridge and Norwalk has been without a watering hole like it ever since.
A little less than 20 years later, James Bloom—no relation to the famous Bloom Family oyster operation—had an idea to open a brewery along with his friend and co-worker Jeff Dunn.
