Since April of 2024, a new restaurant by the name of Rye Bird, located in the longtime former home of Isla in Fairfield, teased a tasty, affordable, neighborhood restaurant concept. Operated by Post Road Hospitality, Rye Bird officially cracked open its doors on October 19 after hosting some patio preview parties prior to its grand opening. Rye Bird’s founder and president Frank Klein hopes it’ll catch on as the “next neighborhood joint” for a bunch of reasons.
Planning the perfect event in Connecticut starts with finding the right venue. Whether you're hosting an intimate gathering or a grand celebration, Connecticut offers a diverse array of venues to suit every style and budget. Imagine effortlessly discovering hidden gems like historic landmarks steeped in charm or modern spaces boasting breathtaking views. With the help of platforms like RestauRent, akin to Airbnb for events, finding and booking your ideal venue becomes a seamless experience. Here’s how you can unlock the best event venues in CT, tailored to fit any budget and party size.
Welcome to New Haven, CT, where hidden gems await to host your next company get-together. Nestled amidst the vibrant cityscape are venues that promise to elevate your corporate events with charm, delectable cuisine, and unique atmospheres. Whether you're seeking the cozy ambiance of a café, the fresh flavors of a seafood restaurant, the warmth of an Italian eatery, the sophistication of a bar and steakhouse, or the soulful tunes of a jazz cabaret, New Haven offers a variety of settings to suit every occasion. Join us as we unveil six of the city's best-kept secrets for company gatherings, each offering its own distinctive appeal and the promise of a memorable event.
As the holiday season approaches, finding the perfect venue for your corporate holiday party in Norwalk, CT is key to setting the right tone for celebration. From classic restaurants to modern event spaces, Norwalk offers a range of venues designed to accommodate every style of corporate gathering. Join us as we discover seven standout locations known for their charm, amenities, and ability to create memorable experiences for your team.
Planning a celebration of life or an after-funeral service dinner can be an emotional and daunting task. It’s a time to gather loved ones, share memories, and celebrate the life of the departed in a way that truly honors their legacy. If you find yourself needing to arrange such an event in Connecticut, there are numerous beautiful and accommodating venues to consider. However, in the midst of grief, the logistics can feel overwhelming. That’s where RestauRent comes in—a platform similar to Airbnb but for event venues with private dining rooms. Founded by Connecticut native Nick Cianfaglione, who personally faced these challenges while planning his grandparents' celebration of life events, RestauRent offers a quick and efficient solution to finding the perfect venue.
Planning a memorable event hinges on finding the perfect venue—a task that can feel like navigating a maze of options and availability. Whether you're organizing a milestone birthday celebration, coordinating a crucial corporate gathering, or arranging a casual get-together with friends, the venue sets the stage for your event's success. Enter RestauRent, a groundbreaking platform designed to simplify and elevate the venue reservation process across Connecticut.
Back in January did you proclaim 2023 the year when you make things a little easier for yourself? Do you aim to make holidays and events memorable without stretching yourself to your breaking point? Read on and make it happen. Connecticut is overflowing with culinary talent and experts who know how to throw a party to remember, trust us! From setting the tone and creating swoon-worthy atmosphere to creating delicious, unique food and drink that your guests will be thinking about long after the event, these caterers will have you enjoying your event as well as making life just that extra bit more fabulous. Here are 15 of our favorite caterers in CT.
“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.”
At the tail end of December, I woke up to a text message from Greer Fredericks saying she’s coming back to Norwalk to open a southern themed restaurant. That style of cuisine in a sit-down restaurant setting is something I’ve thought this area has had a need for ever since Fredericks closed Peaches Southern Pub & Juke Joint some years ago when she moved to New York City and opened an offshoot of Peaches in Manhattan.
weHartford, in partnership with Chef Tyler Anderson and the Goodwin Hotel, is pleased to announce a unique and COVID-safe dining experience beginning January 8th, 2021, running Thursday through Sunday dinner seatings through the winter.
Room Service at the Goodwin: Yes-or-No Morgan, is the first event of its kind. Select hotel rooms at The Goodwin have been transformed into private dining spaces for up to four people. Each party will enjoy a theatrical, interactive three-course dinner experience, curated by Chef Tyler Anderson, with clues, hints, and performances that unveil details and secrets about the life of the historic American businessman JP Morgan, a Hartford local and frequent visitor to The Goodwin Hotel.
At Townhouse, contemporary meets traditional not only in décor, but in cuisine as well, where color and layers are just as prevalent in each carefully prepared dish. The menu takes simple fare and elevates it to the next level, layering flavors, colors and textures from around the world, delivering dishes that are nothing short of superb.
This should really come as no surprise and one would expect nothing less with the trifecta of excellence at the restaurant’s helm. Chef Stephen Lewandowski (formerly of the Harlan restaurants, Tribeca Grill and Gotham Bar & Grill) has teamed up with longtime friend Drew (Nierport of Tribeca, Nobu & Batard), and Director of Operations Dana Cifone (formerly of Duoro, Starr and One Group) to create an experience of distinction that is multifaceted.
What is it about fire? For most of human history, cooking over an open fire was the only way to cook a meal. Now, fire is just one technique in a chef’s culinary toolbox, but is one whose process and taste feel nostalgic, beautiful, and pure.
Enter the master of all things FIRE, Chef Dan Sabia, whoestablished Wood Fire Food catering and events in 2018 with a desire to cultivate deeper connections between food producers and eaters by blending his passion for design, Argentinian open fire cooking, community, and localized food, to transform the dining experience. His mission has always been to create an immersive and interactive experience where diners cultivate connections to their food, the chef, and each other. And now Chef Sabia is taking it one step further.
In the Covid era, where events and live cooking classes have been all but eliminated, and indoor dining remains at reduced capacity, Sabia is bringing a new dining experience to CT, with all the comforts of HOME.
As the temperatures drop and November gives way to December, it’s time to get ready to celebrate the holidays! Call up your friends and family, pick out a festive outfit, and find the perfect place to throw your seasonal bash. These 100+ restaurants and venues across CT have private and semi-private spaces for intimate affairs, company parties, enormous shindigs, sit-down meals, cocktail hours, and more. After all, they don’t call it “the most wonderful time of the year” for nothing!
“It’s about the chicken…” says Chef Chris Scott (Top Chef Season 15), telling his new Connecticut fan base a story at his sold out Pop Up last Thursday night. And he’s about to knock nutmeggers socks off left and right with what he calls Real Soul Food, not the “gentrified” sort we’ve heard about or tasted before. There’s a story attached to the chicken, to the greens and black-eyed peas; there’s a story about the people who originally brought us the food. Real Soul Food is not just the celebrated dishes we’ve come to know and love. Chef wants everyone to understand the heritage behind this cuisine, and really hear about the ones who toiled long and hard for the meals we know as southern soul food. It’s time we learned about the Birdman; and Chef Scott is just the one to deliver the tale. He is passionate, he is immensely knowledgeable, he is experienced, and he just so happens to be one freakin’ amazing Chef.
CTbites has been following Greer Fredericks since she opened Mama’s Boy in Norwalk in 2013. She believed that low country southern cuisine could tantalize Fairfield County diners, from shrimp & grits, chicken and waffles to mile high desserts. Mama’s Boy’s food started the trend where down home, stick to your ribs cooking with bold flavors, deep fried, with cheese and calories were an accepted cuisine. Greer’s newest venture is Peaches’ Juke Joint, a fun-loving, take off your shoes, leave your inhibitions at the door and have some fun with a side of food. She hired Paul Failla to oversee the kitchen; many will remember Failla from his days at neighboring Bar Sugo. Ctbites was recently invited to sample Chef Paul’s newest creations and feel the vibes at Peaches.
World-class BBQ returns to CT with the homecoming of renowned pitmaster Nestor Laracuente, who is overseeing the kitchen at Mason Dixon Smokehouse in Stamford. When I heard that Nestor was teaming up with Mason Dixon, I was ecstatic, the mounds of his perfectly prepared meats that I raved about at Hoodoo Brown were indelible etched in my memory. Would Mason Dixon fill the void that I have felt for months? Bottom line…yes, the food is spectacular.
Laracuente is a soft-spoken lover of meats and Southern rock who spent years perfecting his craft. After leaving CT last year, he returned to Brooklyn where he spent time with his buddy at Beast of Bourbon in Bed-Stuy. His time was spent experimenting with new rubs, new dishes, waiting for the right opportunity for his return to Connecticut. His newest venture, of which he is part-owner, opened a few weeks ago and it is slowly expanding the menu.
Fairfield County offers some of the best food in the country, from trucks to fine dining, and when a restaurant serves food from the soul, it is special, it is uplifting, it makes you overjoyed. Every now and then I visit a new place that fits all these categories. Stephanie Webster, my CTbites partner, and I were looking for a new place for a lunch meeting and we chose Soul Tasty...we wanted to see what the buzz was about. It is located on Main Street in Stamford at the end of a dead end that doubles as the entrance to a pedestrian bridge and parking is incredibly difficult, have patience, it is worth it.
Soul Tasty is the brain-child and dream of Chef Jean Gabriel, Jr. When you walk in, you can feel the love. The walls are brightly painted, a little graffiti on the rear counter pronouncing FEED YOUR SOUL and a colorful menu above the hot trays holding the products of the chef’s homage to the Southern recipes of his grandmother.
Mama's Boy in Sono is celebrating the Derby in fine style with "Derby Days" April 27-May 3. Greer and her teamhave a full week of great events planned for your dining and partying pleasure. The week kicks off a Low Country Crab Boil on April 28th, followed by "Fillies & Lillies," (girls night on steroids), May 1 and culminates with their big Derby Day event on May 2nd. Read the full details below. Call Mama's Boy to make your reservations (203) 956-7171.
Whenever the owner of a restaurant that serves great food announces a second location, I am excited to see where this second venture will lead. After hearing that Greer Fredericks, the co-owner of Mama’s Boy in SONO, was opening JAX around the corner on North Main, I couldn’t wait for my first visit. JAX opened a few weeks ago and currently serves a wide range of breakfast options, plus a tremendous selection of creative sandwiches at lunch. It is also placing the final touches to its soon to be released take-away dinners, and awaiting the delivery of its ice cream machine.
Located just south of the SONO theatre, the interior is completely redesigned, accented with a red painted art nouveau ceiling and lots of wood throughout…it is definitely the sister restaurant to Mama’s Boy.
