Celebrate Shelton, a private city-wide initiative in its 11th year is thrilled to announce Food Trucks on the River, and several exciting community collaborations.
Food Trucks on the River, an exciting two-day festival will take place on Friday, May 30th, from 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM, and Saturday, May 31st, from 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM at Veterans Memorial Park in Downtown Shelton. In case of inclement weather, a rain date is set for Sunday, June 1st.
Mrs. London's Cafe & Bakery has announced the sale of its Westport location to Maman, (@_mamannyc) the popular NYC based Provençal-inspired café, created by co-founders Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte. Maman will bring its fan-favorite salads, sandwiches, made-famous-by-Oprah Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies to the Westport community.
Maman, known for its cafés, bakeries, and event spaces, features a menu that celebrates childhood favorites from the South of France and North America. This will be their second CT location, after their launch in Greenwich.
Less than a year ago, we covered Amanda Eng in our Q&A series, “It’s a Woman’s World,” with a focus on her coffee pop up, Kash & Liv Coffee Creations. Along with popping up all over the Newtown, Sandy Hook, and Danbury areas, Eng found a home as a coffee vendor inside of Uncle Matt’s Bakery and Cafe in the fall of 2023. Just over a year later, right before the holiday season, Eng teamed up with her customer-turned-friend, Meghan Jefts, to open a spot of their own. At AM Coffee & Co. in Southbury, Eng, a self-professed coffee nerd since she was 14, is continuing her coffee journey that saved her from corporate America.
After much anticipation Lyfe Café finally opened its doors and to much fanfare. Offering both grab and go as well as sit down breakfast and lunch options, the newest café to grace Westport’s bustling restaurant scene is the latest collaboration of Gino Riccio and Dimitri Pantzos. The dynamic duo (who also happen to be uncle and nephew) have already seen smashing success with Pizza Lyfe (just up the street), a favorite among locals and non-locals alike. Riccio, a longtime veteran of the restaurant scene, is also the owner of Quattro Pazzi and Organika.
Dimitri and Gino have spent nearly a year perfecting recipes. Everything at the café is made from scratch, and when you get the opportunity to eat there yourself, you’ll notice the quality immediately. I daresay they have perfected the croissant, with its crisp and flaky exterior, and layers of soft buttery goodness beneath. You’ll have to decide if you’re a traditionalist or wanting to try one of their viral offerings like the Tiramisu or White Chocolate Pistachio which sell out quickly, and after sampling one, I can see why. The sandwich rolls are also made in-house as are the bagels, and as a born and bred New Yorker, they pass my test – and I am very particular.
Chances are you’ve seen Japanese souffle pancakes on Instagram or TikTok – tall, thick and fluffy confections that jiggle at the slightest movement, topped with maple syrup, powdered sugar and berries. These have been hard to find in Connecticut, but they’re on the menu at a Simsbury Asian-fusion cafe that opened earlier this year.
Blossom Cafe owners Amanda Liu and Albert Zhang traveled through Asia last summer and fell in love with the cafe cultures in the countries they visited, coming back home to Connecticut inspired by what they’d seen.
Beyond the basic and hydrating beverage of water, tea and coffee seem to be duking it out for the number two spot as the most consumed drink on the planet. About 80% of them regularly partake in a cuppa at home, with drip coffee coming in first, and cappuccinos and ice coffees picking up the rear. Overall, Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee a day, roughly 1,095 per person, per year and overall- hold onto your stirrers-as a nation, we swill 146 billion cups a year. Our beans overfloweth. Knowing that you will be soon looking for your next cup, read on…
That’s exactly what Amanda Eng did. And now she’s making waves with her craft coffee concoctions that have included creative, original flavored lattes, cold brews with fruity sweet cream cold foams, and decadent cups of hot cocoa.
Amanda, and her coffee biz that’s named after her twins, Kash and Liv, is seemingly everywhere in the Newtown with pop ups at PTA meetings, to Newsylum Brewery, and others. Now with a home base inside of Uncle Matt’s Bakery and Café in nearby Sandy Hook, you’ll at least always know where to find her for your caffeine fix.
I recently caught up with Amanda to get Kash & Liv Coffee Creations’ origin story, to talk coffee and coffee inspiration, and what’s in her very near future.
Grab a cup (of her coffee if you have access) and check out our Q&A!
Driving along Center Street in Wallingford, you can find the Bees Knees Bistro across the street from the post office between North Main Street and Wallace Avenue. With a classic red brick exterior, glowy lanterns, and a string of bistro lights, the Bees Knees Bistro charms you before you even set foot inside. Run by Wallingford-nativeJena Schlosser and her two aunts, Patti Schlosser and Catherine (Cathie) Muzio, the neighborhood bistro opened in December of last year. The trio is there every day of the week, working hard and wearing many hats. The 45-seat family-run bistro serves breakfast and lunch, with a comprehensive coffee and beverage list. With such a large variety of offerings, the bistro is family-friendly (there’s a ‘Honey Bees Menu’ for kiddos under 12 years of age), but also great for casual dining for couples and get-togethers among friends. The Bees Knees team also crafted the menu with dietary restrictions in mind with ample offerings for those following a gluten-free or vegan diet.
It started with an email and ended with wedges of cake so creamy and fluffy we swore they were slices of Cloud Nine. Or perhaps Nuvola Nove.
The note was from Daniela Petrucelli, offering a brief history of her family’s restaurant, La Scogliera in Shelton. She explained that her parents, Carmelo and Carmelina Maione, opened the original restaurant in Bridgeport 46 years ago. In the early days, Daniela and her family, including sisters Francesca, Maria, and Diana, lived above the 150-seat eatery. “We would go downstairs to go to work, upstairs to go to bed,” she recalls. The restaurant became something of a hot spot, with a menu of hearty Italian-American dishes, fresh fish, and eventually, live music. Even the famously picky New York Times critic Mark Bittman liked it, rating it “Very Good” in 2003.
“I could go for a coffee right now.” “Where’s the nearest coffee place?” If we had a nickel for every time we heard or uttered those words, right? Happily, there’s a coffee house or roastery just about around every corner these days, but some of them rise above with their drinks, their blends, their hospitality. Hence, we have filled our cups to the brim with delicious offerings for you and this list is broken down by County so that you can get to that cup quicker! Sip alone, brew, sip with a friend-life is good.
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.
Greeting someone in Connecticut with an enthusiastic “Aloha!” or flashing them with a very chill hang loose hand gesture isn’t really our deal in the Nutmeg State. But on Tuesday afternoons at Bar 140, it’s totally rad to let out your inner Hawaiian during Umebroshi Food’s weekly pop-up.
Some of you may be lucky enough to live near the popular Middle Eastern Pistachio Cafe in the Westville neighborhood of New Haven, but diners in downtown New Haven can finally experience the immense pleasure of settling into one of Pistachio’s signature Turkish Coffees or Pistachio Lattes. Last week, Pistachio Cafe opened a 2nd location at 1245 Chapel Street. Syrian artist, architect and owner, Mohamad Hafez, opened the original Pistachio location in 2020 with the goal of “giving guests the experience of hosting them in my domicile without taking them back to Syria.” In fact, the beautifully ornate and sumptuous interior has layer upon layer of detailing and decor straight from his childhood. . Every inch of this cafe is designed with objects of interest, and the stunning surroundings match the character of this Middle Eastern fan favorite.
September 29th is National Coffee Day. If this listing was a coffee cup it would be a mega-super-duper-de-booper-trente. To make the (brewing) process easier for you to discover fabulous-and sometimes hidden- java joints to caffeinate or simply enjoy the velvety and multi-faced notes of a fine cup of’ Joe, we have divided this list by county. Enjoy the thrill of a new favorite spot or re-visit an old favorite.The slow pour has already begun as you read this…
Enjoy our guide to the best places to get coffee in the state of Connecticut.
In a bleak midwinter, in the midst of a great Pandemic, Sophia Diakoloukas left a successful marketing career to open her restaurant, Urban Greek Kitchen. This fast-casual eatery serves up modern Greek food with a flair. “It’s Greek with a twist” she describes. “I use traditional family recipes and adapt them to satisfy the way we eat today.” Inspired by the fresh flavors of the Mediterranean, Urban Greek focuses on healthy, fresh vibrant ingredients that are satisfying and delicious. Having grown up in the restaurant business, here in Connecticut, Sophia is no stranger to the inner workings of this complicated, fast-paced industry. It’s immediately apparent that she runs a pristinely organized and tight ship. Most of her staff has been with her since the doors opened…and so have her loyal customers.
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.
Pier 131 Restaurant and Bar is poised to be one of CT’s “it” destinations this summer. Nestled along the newly renovated Shelton Riverfront with stunning views of the Housatonic River and the historic Old Shelton Railroad Bridge, Pier131 is located in one of the most stunning spots in Fairfield County.
Although very much a neighborhood restaurant, this high-energy gathering place and urban retreat opened its doors late last summer and quickly became a popular destination drawing diners and photographers from all over Fairfield and New Haven Counties – even on the coldest winter days.
The setting immediately draws you in and the tasty something for everyone menu will keep you coming back. Pier 131 has also done a great job giving diners an entertaining experience with live music several nights a week, a DJ every Sunday afternoon, as well as Trivia Night, a daily Happy Hour, $5 Margarita Tuesday, Pasta Sunday (with half off select bottles of wine). More events will be added to the line-up as the weather starts to warm.
Some years ago, at a local food festival or a brewery, you may have come across a red truck by the name of “Pierogies On Wheels.” If I have to tell you what their signature dish is, you may want to reread that first sentence. Pierogies On Wheels in its truck form, though, is no more. But in 2020, it was resurrected under a new name and in a new storefront form in Downtown Shelton.
In case you’re wondering, it’s now known as The Rogi Shoppe.
At The Rogi Shoppe, it’s not only a continuation of the food truck, but also where the mother and son team of Mateusz and Ela Nogas are continuing their Polish heritage.
“My mom, sister (Magda), and I came to the U.S. in 2002 from Poland,” Nogas says. “My mom didn’t know much English. She worked part-time jobs but started making pierogi for family and friends. She eventually had so many orders that people told her that she should open a business.”
Guess what! The uber family-friendly, American pub, Little Barn, is opening a second location in Shelton CT.
The first Little Barn opened in Westport 8 years ago serving us casual pub fare, with their new American menu. Given the success of the Westport location, the owners decided to expand. They chose Shelton for the second location as it is a town with dynamic growth and development and they wanted Little Barn to be a part of Shelton’s future.
Little Barn’s comfort food menu varies from burgers and tacos to healthy salads and Buddha bowls. They also feature many craft beers and signature cocktails, and bar is ALWAYS hopping. We have enjoyed Little Barn’s commitment to supporting local bands and have spent many a fun night listening to live music at the “barn.”
The Shelton location, which will have a large outdoor patio, will be open mid-summer 2021 and will have live music on the weekends.
