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.
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.”
The campus at Two Roads in Stratford has expanded to encompass not just one, but a dozen plus golf courses. At this point the brewery’s “campus” may better termed an estate. The new Tee Box at Two Roads is a private, reservable golf simulator fitting up to six players, but with room for about ten, fully stocked with food and beverages. The available food menu has been fully revamped, with tacos, flatbreads, burgers taking the place of most of the German options at the Food Hall. Scroll your options, tap a button, and presto. I had several of both. What were they? How was it? And is it possible to lose a digital golf ball? THE RESULTS MAY SHOCK YOU.
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.
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.
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.
If you’ve been by Brown’s Marina lately to cast your line in the water or to take a sunset stroll, you may have noticed a super-sized food truck parked just to the left and construction on what’s soon to be a retail store.
These upgrades are courtesy of the Bloom Family, a name synonymous with oysters, specifically Copps Island Oysters. According to food consultant Matt Storch—who you should know from his acclaimed Match Restaurant in South Norwalk—the Blooms purchased Brown’s Marina a few years ago from its original owners. “They spruced it up and made it a working oyster and clam dock and are in the process of turning the building into a Copps Island retail store (similar to the one in Norwalk),” he says. “They wanted to activate the beautiful space on the water because there could be more waterside dining here with exceptional, but simple food.”
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.”
If you live in Fairfield County, you most likely already have a favorite Tasty Yolk menu item. Their breakfast sandwiches are the stuff of legends, and if you don’t know about The Tasty Yolk, well now ya know. The Tasty Yolk started as a single food truck in 2016, quickly added two more trucks to the lineup, and then opened their first storefront location in Bridgeport in 2019. And now…drumroll please…they are opening a NEW location in STRATFORD at 3530 Main Street, on Wednesday, October 20th.
There's a spot in Stratford most people can't see. An eighth of an acre, give or take, on Rt. 110 between I-95 and the River Road, where nothing seems to exist unless you're looking right at it. Focus your eyes on the spot, and your mind might register the word "Deli" on the storefront, which itself might be different each time you did, because they've been opening and closing in the location for years, flashing in and out of existence with the frequency of the scroll on an electronic billboard. There was nothing wrong with any of them, they just didn't send a signal from enough people's eyes to their brake pedals. A new spot has them taking notice.
¡Ay Güey! Cafe & Cocina Mexicana is a wholly different concept, and has transformed the space as much as the food served within. Everything from every deli before it went out the window. The interior is bright white, with inset drink coolers and a few tables for inside dining, while the sidewalk patio has been joined by a fenced and landscaped outdoor dining area to the side. Snag a Mexican Coca Cola, Mundet, Jarritos, etc. and whatever from the case and take a good luck the menu. Horchata, Topo Chico, and cafe de Olla (coffee dosed up with cinnamon and Piloncillo raw sugar) are also available for the soda-averse.
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.
At a hillside shopping center overlooking nothing more fashionable than the far ridge line of the Housatonic River and Sikorsky’s helicopter factory steams a great bowl of pho. It’s a standard bo vien with beef meatballs, ordered lightly rich with small convex globules of transparent oil magnifying both light and flavor in the broth. I’ve recently dosed a bite with a slice of positively infernal green pepper. A less varied quarantine diet has apparently softened my usually spice-calloused tongue. My eyes are watering, and my nose is running. I’m in heaven.
Dan Kardos has been busy. At a time when the restaurant industry is trying its best to survive, pivoting and adapting to the current situation are key. Kardos is doing just that.
While running Oar & Oak as a takeout model, then to its dine-in reopening with restrictions, he spent most of his summer slinging fried chicken sandwiches, lobster rolls, and burgers on a food truck extension of his restaurant.
Kardos didn’t stop there. In late May, he purchased a trailer to sell homemade soft serve cones, creative sundaes, and adults-only dairy desserts complete with nips of booze.
And now, Kardos has expanded his footprint in town with Oar & Oak Birdhouse, a grab and go Oar & Oak offshoot where fried chicken rules the roost.
Global pandemic aside, Kardos said he’s had the idea for this for a while to fill a need in Stratford for quality fast casual food.
“We wanted this place for a year because it’s more centralized (on Main Street),” he says. “Even though Oar & Oak is in town, people see it as being far away, and this gives them a chance to try us out. And it allows me to focus on creating more refined food there, more craveable takeout stuff here.”
"Piri piri" just means "pepper" in the related languages of sub-Saharan Africa, and you may have had piri piri sauce from a bottle, or used the specific variety under its English name, Bird's Eye Peppers, but the Portuguese found it in Mozambique. The flavor-cultural export found its way into the culinary world of Portugal and took hold the way curries have permeated the U.K. The Vilarinho family of restaurateurs from Porto Cancais outside Lisbon saw an opportunity here, and opened their first Chicken Piri Piri in America about ten years ago. Their newest location is a little storefront by Paradise Green in Stratford. CTBites recently stopped by for lunch, and here's what we found at Chicken Piri Piri Portuguese BBQ.
Taco Co Tequila Cantina opened last week in Shelton, bringing a little bit of Mexico City to our fair state of CT. Owner, Kurt A. Popick (also owns Prime One Eleven), inspired by a trip to Cabo, rounded up a culinary team to bring that Mexican street food vibe to life in Taco Co. With the help of Chef Matt Storch, who consulted on Taco Co.’s menu development, the vibe is playful, tasty and well…boozy. With over 90 types of Tequila, hand crafted cocktails, and their signature Frozé Cuervo, Taco Co. is definitely a party. What are we especially excited about? Taco Co. is making their corn tortillas fresh in house daily, and Storch’s taco list, which includes all the classics, is rounded out with some truly creative takes on the ultimate Mexican wrap. We’re talking about Chicken & Waffle tacos, Lobster, The Greek (with ground lamb & feta), NY Strip with chimichurri, and crispy Peking Duck, to name a few. Mhmm. Pair your tacos with a platter of sizzling Fajitas, Cheesy Road Corn or Cabo-Style Ceviche, and you’re in for a good night.
