Filtering by Tag: Deli,Ridgefield

Ridgefield Bagels and Bakes: NEW Destination for Sourdough Bagels in Ridgefield

Restaurant Breakfast Breakfast Sandwich Bagels Bakery Bread Shop Opening Ridgefield Homepage

Hannah Goodman

I love bagels. I love anything that has to do with bagels, whether it’s simply a toasted plain bagel with some butter or cream cheese (often I choose both – sue me), or a B.E.C. on a sesame bagel, or it’s an everything bagel stacked with the works, like scallion cream cheese, smoked salmon, onions, and capers, I am all in! If you are from the tri-state area, you know the importance of a solid bagel shop, as we take this stuff very seriously, because what the heck would we do without a hearty breakfast sandwich in the morning? As luck would have it, Ridgefield needed a new bagel shop to take the place of what had previously been Steve’s Bagels, and in November of 2023, the same location on Main Street became Ridgefield Bagels and Bakes. 

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Guide to Catering The Jewish Holidays in CT (2024 Edition)

Features Caterer Catering Guide Catering Jewish Holidays Deli

Hannah Goodman

Fall is on the horizon and with that comes the celebration of two major Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These events are incredibly significant to many in our community, as both are packed with thousands of years of history and generational traditions. While every religion has its own beliefs and customs, I think each culture can agree on one single truth: food is good and good food is even better. This list we’ve compiled includes restaurants, caterers, synagogues offering communal dinners, and markets, all of which are offering traditional, mouth-watering High Holiday favorites (plus a little extra). From our CTbites community to yours, we hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday season. Shanah Tovah! 

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The Benjamin in Ridgefield Changes Philosophy To Be "More Approachable"

Features Interview Restaurant The Benjamin Ridgefield Ridgefield Homepage Interview

Andrew Dominick

From “a uniquely American, French inspired restaurant and bar” to “a uniquely American, globally inspired restaurant and bar.”

For The Benjamin—which opened just before last summer in the former Bernard’s Restaurant and Sarah’s Wine Bar space—and owners Rob Moss and Dave Studwell of Washington Prime and B.J. Lawless of B.J. Ryan’s, B.J. Ryan’s East, and BanC House, they knew that a year later they’d have to switch up the restaurant’s philosophy. Call it a pivot if you want, but according to Studwell, it wasn’t just one thing that needed changing.

“I’d like to say it was one thing,” he says. “Honestly, we were high on French, but not everyone wants caviar, foie gras, and smoked trout all the time. Ridgefield is a family driven town and we didn’t realize that.”

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Josie & Tony’s in Norwalk Opens Arthur Avenue Inspired Deli Counter: No Membership Required

Features Ingredients Restaurant Deli Sandwich Sandwiches Norwalk South Norwalk Homepage Interview

Andrew Dominick

Joshua Mesnick is well aware that his restaurant, Josie & Tony’s Italian Deli & Supper Club, is polarizing.

He dared to be different and opened a fine dining membership-based restaurant in South Norwalk, catering to paid club members first, and the general public second. Scoff it you want, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get in. It’s not impossible, and if it’s not for you, Mesnick will be the first to tell you, that that’s totally fine. “I’ve always done through this project what I’m passionate about,” he says. “Membership has been sold out. We have plenty of great regulars that aren’t members. There have been doubters all along and that’s OK!”

Supper club aside, let’s talk about that other part of the name…Italian Deli.

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Josie & Tony’s Opens Arthur Avenue Style Deli in South Norwalk

Restaurant Ingredients Deli Italian Deli South Norwalk Norwalk Lunch To-Go Sandwiches Pasta

CTbites Team

Josie & Tony’s located at 20 North Main Street in South Norwalk, Connecticut, opened its gourmet Italian deli last month. The deli offers hot and cold sandwiches made on local breads from Wave Hill, alongside homemade mozzarella, fresh pasta, cured meats, rainbow cookie desserts, specialty sodas, coffee, and other Arthur Ave-inspired delicacies and products.

Owner and sommelier, Joshua Mesnik, opened the restaurant at Josie & Tony's in December with 50 founding members – being the first membership hospitality concept of its kind in Fairfield County. Read more here.

“The deli will be something the whole community can enjoy and we look forward to expanding our services to include catering and boat provisioning this summer,” Mesnik explained. It will also be the face of the Josie & Tony’s Pasta Club, a subscription-based service offering fresh pasta and sauce to cook at home. At the moment, hot sandwiches include chicken parmigiana, Italian dip, meatball parmigiana, sausage & peppers, and roasted vegetables; cold sandwiches include Italian combo, spicy soppressata, Caprese, and Italian tuna salad. Deli hours are 12:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. 

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Greenwich & Delancey: The Best New York Jewish Deli is in Greenwich, CT

Restaurant Jewish Holidays Jewish Deli Deli Sandwich Lunch Greenwich Opening Delivery Homepage

Chloe Zale

hef David Teyf is poised for his closeup. Two years after unveiling his elevated kosher delicatessen, Greenwich & Delancey in Cos Cob, Teyf is confident that he has perfected his vision. "I want to be the first place to take this type of food to a Michelin level," he declares with determination. Drawing on his classical culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, he seamlessly applies haute cuisine techniques to Eastern European Jewish classics with standout results, like his meticulously crafted pastrami (carved tableside with the reverence normally accorded to prime rib), pillowy pelmeni (chicken dumplings), and the perfect bowl of matzo ball soup. 

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Josie and Tony’s Italian Deli & Supper Club Opens in South Norwalk

Restaurant Italian South Norwalk SONO Opening Homepage Supper Club Deli Italian Deli Pasta

Lloyd Allen

Actors take classes. Actors wait tables. Actors go to casting calls. Actors land roles.

Joshua Anthony Mesnik studied musical theatre at NYU, did all of the above, landing roles off-Broadway, but while he pursued his acting career it became apparent his main stage was not on Broadway. His shows were wowing New York audiences, but the scripts he memorized were on menus and wine lists. There were scenes to define, refine and flesh out.

He opened at ABC Carpet, had successful runs at Sushi Samba and Cafe Luxembourg, discovered the sexy, seductive storytelling aspects inside a bottle of wine from his role at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill.

A one Virginia Philip, Master Sommelier at The Breakers mentored him, he then upped the ante directing the wine scene at The Standard High Line Hotel. There’s a lot more, but long story short, he’s going it alone.

Well, not completely. A few of his big fans are involved and invested, not to mention the other 50 devotees of fine food who ponied up a few G’s to cover the yearly membership fee for his soon to be opened dinner club. But no matter all of this, Josie & Tony’s, yes, named after his grandparents, strives to be a show stopping, luxurious dining experience for all.

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Hoodoo Brown BBQ Serves a Smoked Cheeseburger On Sundays and It’s Awesome

Features Interview Restaurant Hoodoo Brown BBQ BBQ Burger Burgers Ridgefield

Andrew Dominick

I can count on one finger how many times I’ve had a smoked cheeseburger in our general area.

The smoked burger is seemingly elusive. My first came in 2019, in Irvington, at a BBQ joint that’s no longer there. I’m not saying it’s impossible to find one, I’m just saying it’s rare—that’s an on-purpose meat pun.

In Connecticut, two spots where you absolutely can find a smoky, beefy, beast of a burger, are Hoodoo Brown BBQ and Hindsight Barbecue that were both recently named in terrific piece on Texas Monthly (link HERE) that you absolutely should read.

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Josie & Tony’s Italian Deli and Supper Club Opening in Pasta Nostra Spot In South Norwalk

Features Restaurant Opening South Norwalk Norwalk ita Deli Sandwiche pasta

CTbites Team

Have you been wondering what will be going into the old Pasta Nostra space in South Norwalk? Josie & Tony’s Italian Deli and Supper Club have just announced that they will be opening in this iconic spot this December as a private members club, fine dining restaurant, and gourmet Italian deli. This “supper club” concept is the first-of-its-kind for Fairfield County, and will cater primarily to its members with a limited number of reservations available to the public seven days in advance. Walk-in patrons will be accommodated at the 14-seat full-service bar. 

The deli, however, will be open to the public and will feature premium Italian sandwiches, prepared foods and other to-go items. It will also be the face of the Josie & Tony’s Pasta Club, a subscription-based service offering fresh pasta and sauce to cook at home. The deli is slated to open in early 2024. 

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Massimo Italian Corner Opens in Norwalk With Gourmet Italian Specialties

Features Interview Restaurant Deli Italian Norwalk Homepage Interview Openings

Andrew Dominick

Like Batman running to help the Gotham City Police Department when he sees the Bat-Signal in the night sky, CTbites was summoned in a similar fashion. Only we spotted our Bat-Signal across the street from Aitoro Appliance in Norwalk, in the form of a neon sign that read: “Massimo.” I hadn’t been that far up Westport Avenue in a while, so I turned to Steph and said, “Hey, hey. What’s this place? Heard of it?”

“Ohhh! Yeah! Fritz Knipschildt told me about it! He loves it!” was her reply.

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Chef Forrest Pasternack Returns to Bailey’s Backyard in Ridgefield CT

Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Bailey's Backyard Farm To Table Interview Chef Talk Ridgefield

Andrew Dominick

Ask Forrest Pasternack about being back in Ridgefield and he’ll tell you that “there’s nothing quite like home.”

Already well traveled in this area and in New York as a renowned chef at several acclaimed restaurant, Pasternack may be best known to locals from his five-years when he headed up the kitchen at the O.G. farm-to-table restaurant Bailey’s Backyard from 2013 – 2018.

After a handful of years away, Pasternack is back!

But where’s he been all this time?

Well, a bunch of places and one big one at the same time.

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First Look: Washington Prime and BJ Ryan’s Owners Open The Benjamin in Ridgefield

Features Interview Restaurant French American Ridgefield Homepage Openings Interview

Andrew Dominick

Ridgefield’s West Lane is about to look a whole lot different after the transformation of Bernard’s Restaurant and Sarah’s Wine Bar to The Benjamin, brought to you by a trio of well-known Norwalk restaurateurs in Dave Studwell and Rob Moss of Washington Prime and B.J. Lawless of BJ Ryan’s Restaurant Group.

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Brasserie St. Germain Opens In Ridgefield From Sucre Sale Team

Restaurant Opening Ridgefield French Lunch Raw Bar Homepage

Jessica Ryan

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.

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Old Mill Grocery & Deli: Rescued and Reopened in Westport

Features Interview Restaurant Westport Deli Sandwich Sandwiches Pizza Beach Eats Openings Old Mill Grocery The Granola Bar Homepage

Andrew Dominick

On the heels of a slick renovation at their Rye, NY location, The Granola Bar founders, Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily are at it again. This time, however, their focus is in Westport. No, not at their flagship of TGB, but in the Compo Beach area at Old Mill Grocery & Deli.

Old Mill, though, is a very different venture for this dynamic duo. But before Mountain and Noorily could put their magic touch on this neighborhood gem, a lot had to happen.

First, the building that was built in 1919—which had been many iterations of Old Mill and a few Elvira’s in an over 100 year span—needed to be saved after the owners up to last year, Betsy and Hal Kravitz, moved out of Westport, putting a longtime neighborhood favorite at risk of being purchased and demolished for what likely would have been another beach area home.

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The Prospector Theater: Ridgefield's Mission Driven Movie Theater & Gourmet Popcorn!

Features Ridgefield Movie Food kids activity Snacks

Oliver Clachko

“80% of adults with disabilities are unemployed,” cites Sam Burkhardt, manager of The Prospector Theater. “It’s really difficult for many of them to find work.” “And COVID only exacerbated that,” adds manager James Mase, “with 1 in 5 workers with disabilities being laid off, compared to 1 in 7 in the general public.” Thankfully, the Ridgefield movie theater offers a haven for developmentally and intellectually disabled adults seeking work, with a mission to provide “competitive and integrative employment” for adults with special needs.

But that’s not all….wait till you try their homemade gourmet popcorn!

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Avon Prime Meats Butchery Heats Up With New Smoked Meats Program

Restaurant Features Avon Butcher Butchery BBQ Deli Catering Caterer Lunch To-Go

Stephanie Webster

Avon Prime Meats, located in Avon, CT, was voted “Best Local Food Market,” an honor awarded for excellence as a butcher, but also due to their loyal following and footprint in the local community. In addition to having a reputation for top notch meats, they also serve as a specialty grocer, deli and caterer, but as of this week, things are heating up at Avon Prime Meats. Two smokers have been added to the kitchen, and their chefs have been honing the craft of smoking their prime cuts to get ready for the big launch of Avon Prime Smoked Meats. Why are we excited? Here’s what’s coming off those smokers hot and ready Sun-Wed: brisket, pastrami, baby back ribs, pulled pork, heritage slab bacon, and Old Spot pork are on the menu - and their deli customers are going wild. Not only can guests score these smoked meats by the pound (with some tasty BBQ sides), but the deli situation has done some leveling up with the addition of these house smoked sandwich meats.

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Dave & Charlie's Hometown Deli Opening in Norwalk From The Folks at Dave's Planet Pizza

Restaurant open Deli Sandwich Breakfast Lunch Norwalk Take Out

Stephanie Webster

If you don’t know Dave Kuban from Dave’s Planet Pizza, you really should go introduce yourself. Sure, he runs Planet Pizza’s highly successful Norwalk location, but this restaurateur offers so much more to the Norwalk community beyond pizza and oversized grinders. Dave is the guy who will unfailingly step up to help his neighbors or support a local fundraising effort. Whether he rolls in with his pizza truck to raise money for a family whose house has burned down overnight, or is feeding the homeless in the midst of Covid, he has been there for Norwalk for 30 years, and continues to be an anchor with his mobile pizza truck and storefront.

Now, Kuban has a new project underway, and again, he has stepping up to support Norwalk. Kuban and his brother in law have taken over Marinelli’s deli in the town’s Strawberry Hill neighborhood. Marinelli’s was an institution, serving Norwalk for over 70 years, and locals were devastated to see it shut its doors in the midst of the pandemic. Kuban is taking the reins to preserve the heritage and community spirit that Marinelli’s had embodied.

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The Bronx Deli - A Little Bit of Arthur Avenue in Oxford CT

Restaurant Oxford Naugatuck Deli Italian Grinders Sandwich Lunch

jeffrey schlesinger

10458…that’s the zip code for Arthur Avenue in The Bronx. Considered by many to be the Mecca of Italian food in the NYC area, people travel for miles to enjoy bakeries, delis and traditional red sauce restaurants. When you are 75 miles away, and looking for an Italian grinder, that drive is formidable.

Fortunately, if you are in the Seymour / Oxford area in The Valley, there is an incredibly delicious alternative, The Bronx Deli – A Taste of Little Italy, on Main Street (also known as route 67). Located in a nondescript strip mall with Dunkin’ and Oxford Pizza Palace (which serves some pretty good cracker-crust pizza), this unassuming deli serves some of the best cold and hot grinders without fighting the traffic on 95 and the Hutch to The Bronx.

According to the website, The Bronx Deli is a family-owned restaurant, with locations in Naugatuck and Oxford.

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Bobo's Cafe, of Westchester Fame, Opens in Ridgefield TODAY: Acai Bowls, Coffee Drinks, Killer Sandwiches, Vegan and More!

Restaurant Openings Ridgefield Breakfast Coffee Acai Bowl Lunch Sandwich Smoothies

CTbites Team

Want some great espresso, specialty iced tea, frozen drinks? How about acai, pitaya, matcha or spirulina bowls alongside killer bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, basmati rice bowls, gluten free, vegan dishes, and mouthwatering desserts? The Westchester favorite, Bobo’s Cafe has crossed the border, and is opening in Connecticut…Ridgefield to be exact. According to their Facebook page, doors open today at 32 Danbury Road.

After completing their domination of Northern Westchester, owner Craig Bernardi said, “We look for communities that allow us the opportunity to really get to know people in town.”

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