SHOP LOCALLY at these 9 Connecticut dairy farms this holiday season. Here’s where you can find delicious eggnog, made in CT, and in some cases, delivered to your doorstep!
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.
Those who are newly familiar with Nick Di Bona’s namesake Bona Bona Ice Cream should know he’s not just an ice cream man.
It’s no surprise that Di Bona’s small batch Italian interpretation of American ice cream has taken off. Nutella S’mores, Italian Rainbow Cookie, and Key Lime Pie are a few, but throw in Bona Bona’s signature toasted meringue topping, and it’s not only delicious, it’s highly photographable.
At this time of year, when Connecticut’s leaves start to change colors, eventually rivaling those of a Turkish carpet, there are few pleasures keener than to drive along the back roads of our state to an apple orchard. To choose local fruit, often varieties that are otherwise hard to find, for oneself is a seasonal occasion worth seeking out, worth savoring, worth creating a special picnic for (think rustic breads, local cheeses, and local hard cider if the orchard allows it). If you’re lucky, all of this is set off by sweetly chilly temperatures and a sky of platinum blue---in which case, congratulations. You have officially reached peak autumn.
Our guide to some of Connecticut’s best pick-your-own-apple experiences is here. Readers are encouraged to add their own. Note that this past spring, in the short period during which apple trees are pollinated, weather conditions were very unfavorable; a lighter-than-usual crop has resulted, so bring your flexibility along. As with all such outings, a little thinking ahead goes a long way. Be sure to call ahead for availability, wear sturdy shoes, and choose a good time for your visit. Weekdays are better for a quiet group or one that can’t deal with crowds; weekends will thrill the extroverts.
Oui, oui! You did hear correctly. There is a new French bistro on the block in South Norwalk and it goes by the name of Appetit Bistro.
And while it may be new to Connecticut, it may not be new to some of its residents. For six years and counting, Appetit Bistro has been a staple in the village of Port Chester.
For Montoya—who co-owns the restaurant with executive chef Ismael Carias—opening a second location three towns and a city away from the original was a no-brainer because of the fanfare they’ve received from the state that’s a stone’s throw away.
So, with that, they’re bringing all the duck a l'orange, chicken paillard, steak frites, and buttery, garlicky escargot you can handle, right to the center of SoNo.
But the pair’s French theme didn’t simply happen just because.
“He (Ismael) ran the kitchen at Crew in Greenwich,” Montoya says. “And I fell in love with French food when I started working at L’escale back in 2002. It was my first job ever and I loved it. I was there for five years. I ended up managing BLT Steak in White Plains and we opened our desired concept because we knew we would be the only French bistro in Port Chester.”
Their love letter to French food is evident at Appetit. Dishes are sometimes classic. The steak frites certainly is. Hard seared hangar steak, crusty on the outside, cool red on the inside, and tender as all hell—whatever that means to you. It’s served as it should be with a pile of salty shoestring fries and some frizzled onions that await the residuals of what should be a generous pour of the black peppercorn sauce. It’s always my ideal French meal when paired with a bold merlot or a strong Sazerac depending on the night. Most often for me, it’s the Saz.
Need a CSA Share? Here's Connecticut Food and Farm Magazine's Field Guide to Connecticut Community Supported Agriculture: https://bit.ly/2VWuS7G
These farms have CSA shares still available (organized by county), click through for additional details on each. Sales are very brisk this year, please act quickly!
Connecticut dairy farmers selling directly to consumers are not caught up in the milk-dumping situation because they do bottling and distribution themselves. Here is Connecticut Food & Farm’s list of Connecticut dairies who sell milk and dairy like half & half, butter, and yogurt direct to you at their stands or via delivery NOW. This provides you reliable sourcing of the freshest product and the best profitability for the farm.
We have not included ice cream although some make it, we have focused on the basics here. You can click through to their websites to see the other products they have available at their locations.
Can’t find the groceries you need in a store near you? Would you rather shop outdoors vs indoors? Or would you like to just support our local farmers? We bring you this exhaustive list of Connecticut Farm Stands offering tons of local produce, generously compiled by Connecticut Food and Farm Magazine. Take a road trip to a farm stand near…or far.
CTBites and Terrain were recently invited to Arethusa Dairy Farm for a behind the scenes tour of their dairy farm and cheese making process. But before we get all cheesy, I want to share the wonderful story of a once little known dairy farm.
It all began in 1999 when the Webster family put their 150 year old family farm up for sale. Worried that their view would be obstructed, and to preserve the historic property, neighbors George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgatis stepped in to purchase the farm once named for a small pink orchid that grew in a swamp on the land. Malkemus and Yurgatis promised to restore its original name, and such were the humble beginnings of the Arethusa Dairy Farm.
Healthy PlanEat is a CT food startup that exists to help re-energize the connection between communities and local farms so people can have a healthy and sustainable diet. It's founder, Rosemary Ostfeld, is an environmental scientist who built the Healthy PlanEat website where people can order food from local organic farms to pick up at the farm, farmers market, or pop-up pick-up points. This fall, a pop-up was run at Kidcity Children's Museum in Middletown and was a great success - "I love the fact that I can get local, fresh, and organic food. I am supporting local farmers in my community and the prices are much more reasonable than the grocery store" said customer, Diana C.
Beer, as I've said so many times on this site, is food. Beer is a farm you can drink. It's an agricultural product that comes to us from fields of grain and leafy green hop yards, even down to the yeast brewers culture and grow from the skins of fruit in orchards. The massive proliferation of breweries in Connecticut - many of them less than five years old - means a huge uptick in the need for all these natural products. I wanted to take a look at how the rise of craft beer is affecting the state of agriculture in the Constitution State, and how breweries and farms are working hand in hand to create and restore the growth of Connecticut beer. This will be an ongoing series as summer days get shorter and we approach harvest time, but I thought the best way to start would be with a place that brings agriculture and beer together, and I started with at Fox Farm Brewery.
With the glorious warmth that summer brings to Connecticut comes a plethora of delicious fruits, vegetables, and other produce that are sure to highlight any and every meal of the season. If you’re looking to get a taste of the incredible produce CT offers when the temperature is at its hottest, you’ll surely want to make a trip to some local farm stands. As late July is upon us, however, the number of summer days left are ticking away at a startling speed. But fear not; your life just got a little bit easier. Some of the best summer farm stands in the state are listed below, ranging from the eastern most points of Connecticut to down in Fairfield County. All you have to do is find one that catches your eye and take the drive.
When was the last time you thought about where each element of your dinner came from? The plates, the table, the meat, the cups; each item seems to come from an arbitrary supermarket, creating a culture where the process of making and eating food is incredibly solidarity. That, in a nutshell, is why Dan Sabia left the restaurant industry. And now, he’s using his work with wood, fire, and food to change that norm in a world where very few are trying. Chef Dan Sabia is changing the way we think about private catering with his innovative new business, Wood Fire Food.
Max Chef to Farm, an award-winning group of events that celebrate the amazing food grown in our backyard, is heading into their 12th year. Guests are transported directly to the farm to experience seasonal and local food. Their dinners are multi-course feasts showcasing the delicious bounty of Connecticut-grown produce and other locally-sourced ingredients prepared on site by Chef Steve Michalewicz of Max Catering & Events, Chef Hunter Morton, Culinary Director of the Max Restaurant Group, and the entire Max Chef to Farm team.
Max Chef to Farm dinners are adventurous events that celebrate and support CT-grown products. Their host farm for most events this season is the 160-acre Rosedale Farms, located in Simsbury, CT. They have many things in common with the Max Restaurant Group including a commitment to using sustainable farming and business practices. Speaking of support...
Chef Billy Grant and his Chefs Corey Cannon of Bricco Trattoria, and Jon Gyles of Bricco West Hartford invite you to join them for their Summer 2019 Farm Dinner series at Rose’s Berry Farm, in South Glastonbury. Every Farm dinner features a creative menu with ingredients sourced from a multitude of CT farms, and includes passed and stationed hors d’ oeuvres, multi-course dinner, dessert, creative cocktails, craft beers, and vino!
Price per person is $89 plus 18% tax and gratuity (all alcohol is included). Reservations recommended and can be purchased online at www.billygrant.com or by emailing catering director Michelle McMahon at michelle@billygrant.com.
More than 40 years ago, John and Lynn Holbrook purchased 12 acres of land in Bethel, Connecticut to open their very own family farm. With a mere 2 acres available for farming, the Holbrooks were tasked with maximizing space while remaining environmentally friendly. The rest is history.
While the Holbrooks still own the spectacular farmland, as of this past March, four new faces have joined the farming family. Jeff Taibe, Stephanie Sweeney, and Sean and Erin Reilly decided to tackle the business side of things when the previous tenant opted not to renew her lease. With Taibe and Sweeney owning their restaurant, Taproot, and the Reilly’s owning the Redding Roadhouse, the four decided to merge the Bethel and Redding communities with Holbrook Farm as their link.
As city-bound commuters dash to and fro’ and the pulse of the city continues to thrive, the Port Chester railroad station, a landmark since 1890, stands as a symbol of where we’ve been and where we’re going. Today, this turn of the century building is home to Our House Restaurant Group’s newest venture, Station House. In keeping with this dynamic restaurant group’s approach to hospitality, as seen with their popular Rye House Port Chester and Manhattan taverns, and last year’s mega outdoor hit, Village Beer Garden, Station House offers that same neighborhood vibe, this time, it comes rooted in history and coal-fired pizza.ctb
I submit that raw milk might just be the most real of all foods.
Start with the fact that milk is the only food created specifically to feed something. (Honey doesn’t count, as the pollen honey is made from has its own agenda.) Synonymous with nourishment, raw milk is the first food most human beings—all mammals—ingest. And raw milk, for it to be free of any off flavors and to be safe to drink, requires painstaking care to produce. Every little step in the process matters.
The subtle and intricate flavors in raw milk, the very opposite of the one-note flavor of pasteurized milk or, worse, the waxy cardboard taste vacuum of skim, come from the undenatured biocomplexity in unpasteurized milk. When I read chemists-for-hire claiming, on behalf of big commercial dairy, that there isn't that much nutritional difference between pasteurized and raw, I choose to trust my palate. Well, my palate and the biochemists who say that the difference is real and considerable.
Fairfield County is full of trailblazing women, particularly in the culinary world. Which is why, with 2018 being proclaimed the Year of the Woman, we felt compelled to honor the pioneers among us.
Our new series, “It’s A Woman’s World’ is devoted to Fairfield County female influencers who’ve forged their own paths, often in food-related fields long dominated by men.
Whether farming the land, bringing healthy food to the masses, feeding an entrepreneurial spirit or injecting feminism with food, these groundbreaking ladies have set a new definition of women’s work, creating new paths and setting examples for those who follow.
How'd they do it? Read on. This week, we feature Annie Farrell, a pioneer in sustainable farming, and farmer at Millstone Farm in Wilton CT. Stay tuned to see who’s next. And feel free to send suggestions for your candidates to steph@ctbites.com.
