Downtown Westport’s newest restaurant, Sushi Jin, has quickly become a hotspot. Located by the parking lot on Elm Street (across from Serena & Lily), Sushi Jin offers an expansive menu with authentic Japanese fare. The food is delicious and the decor is upscale, but the overall atmosphere is inviting. The space is long and narrow with options to sit at a standard table, an intimate booth, the bar, or sushi counter. Regardless of where you dine, you’ll immediately notice all of the decor details; the walls are lined with intricate wooden patterns, a Japanese technique called Kumiko, and the wood details are carried all the way to the ceilings.
The restaurant is run by a husband and wife duo, whom you’ll most likely spot while dining there —though they’re both very shy, so there’s a good chance they won’t introduce themselves as the owners. Their love story started around 20 years ago while they were both working at a restaurant in Flushing; he was in the kitchen and she was a server. As they were building out Sushi Jin, owner He Chen, kept a big surprise from his wife for several months: he named the restaurant “Jin” after her. Currently, the pair lives in Queens with plans to relocate closer soon.
After months of not-so-patiently waiting, the day is almost here. Tomorrow, Jeff Taibe and Steph Sweeney, co-owners of Taproot, are officially opening the doors to their new restaurant Bar Bushido, a traditional Japanese izakaya. While the restaurant is new, the idea isn’t; Taibe actually has been working on the concept for Bar Bushido for over five years. The name originates from Taproot’s former pop-up series, called “Bushido,” that took place prior to COVID. Taibe introduced the one-Sunday-per-month experience as a way to fuel his passion for Japanese cooking, something he missed dearly from his days at Kawa Ni in Westport. Bar Bushido has been years in the making, but it wasn’t until the 51 Wall Street space opened up, that it became a reality.
What are you doing on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.? If you’re tuned into the Japanese cuisine scene in New Haven, we know where we’ll find you: Standing in line to be one of the first to experience The Loop, a brand-new marketplace, food court, and kitchen by the enlightened crew that brought us Hashiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar, and Hachiroku Handroll Bar & Tapas. CT Bites was lucky enough to get a private preview, and we’re here to tell you: The Loop is about to revolutionize the way we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
To catch you up: Yuta Kamori was a stranger to New Haven when he opened the first Hachiroku on Orange Street in 2022. But soon, very soon – in spite of not even a sign out front -- he had a passionate fan base and, much to his surprise, an outpouring of support from local chefs and restaurateurs. “I walked in cold,” he recalls, but found “good people here – people who spread the word.” By 2023 he had premiered the second Hachiroku, a spare, elegant sushi bar on State Street, which opened to great acclaim and which, like his first place, quickly became a statewide favorite.
Summer is officially a month away, which means it’s time to start curating a great Spotify playlist to jam out to while you're by the pool or on the beach. Thoughts of summer and sunbathing also beg the question: what the heck are you drinking and how can you get the best daytime buzz while putting in the lowest amount of effort? Enter canned cocktails! Connecticut offers many local CT brands as well as some of our favorite national brands, both of which can be found in your neighborhood breweries, liquor stores, and even online. You cannot go wrong with any of these exciting spiked drinks, so whatever your plans are this summer, make sure you are fully stocked up, because nothing turns a good time into great time like a delicious and refreshing canned cocktail. Move over kids, it’s adult beverage time.
Nestled among the charming mom-and-pop shops on Sound Beach Avenue in sleepy Old Greenwich, Sushi Bar is turning out some of the highest quality sushi we’ve tried in Connecticut. Two years ago, Chef Rio Yonathan quietly opened his restaurant and changed the Fairfield County sushi scene for the better. Using ultra-premium ingredients from near and far, such as Montauk whitefish and fresh wasabi from Shizuoka prefecture in Japan, Yonathan puts immense effort into fabricating almost everything from scratch. Luckily for us, the fruits of his labor have created an epicurean destination with the accessibility and family-friendliness of a neighborhood haunt.
Yonathan’s story is nothing short of inspiring: 20 years ago, after immigrating from Indonesia, he worked as a busser to fund English classes in New York City with his sights set on a law degree. Observing sushi chefs in their element, he fell in love with the cuisine and changed course, shadowing them on his own time for two years before he was allowed to touch a piece of fish “the old school way.” After attending culinary school, he cooked at Aquavit and Morimoto and then landed a job as head sushi chef at foodservice giant Compass Group. During Covid, he found himself working at a Japanese restaurant in Greenwich and was inspired to open Sushi Bar down the road.
You’ll have to drive a little ways to find some of the best sushi in Connecticut. This one isn’t in any of the tony coastal towns. Incredibly you will find it in a small strip of storefronts in Brookfield. There might not be much to do in this sleepy little town, but there is some damned good sushi to be had.
You’ve likely never heard of Amai Sushi, we hadn’t. We were tipped off by CTBites friend Chef Jeff Taibe (Taproot Restaurant) who’s quite familiar with the area. When a chef tells us they’ve eaten somewhere really good, we’re all ears, especially when it’s someplace no one seems to have heard of. So last week we took a little road trip.
In Japan, the best sushi is often found in unexpected places: on the 7th floor of an office building, for example, or, famously, in an underground hallway leading to a subway station. Who would think the same could be said for Connecticut, where one of the state’s most outstanding omakases is located beneath an overpass connecting to New Haven’s Temple Street Garage?
Otaru Sushi Bar, which Chef Sunny Cheng and his wife Kathy opened in 2018, is serving up some of the most sophisticated yet playful bites of sushi on the Eastern Seaboard, without a hint of the austere service that marks many sushi restaurants of a similar caliber across the Pacific. Rather, Sunny employs a diner-first attitude in his joyful omakase, featuring a diverse symphony of flavors, textures, and, of course, top-quality fish. When we requested no squid or abalone in our omakase, he immediately understood: “no chewy, no problem.” And when neighboring diners inquired about the fish that created the glistening bites in front of them, Sunny whipped out a dog-eared sushi guidebook to provide an informative visual reference while narrating his take.
Ding, dong, ring, ring, ca-ching, ca-ching…time for holiday shopping! From the small to the large, from tours to classes, we have a wonderfully tasty listing assembled for you that could quite possibly take care of all the people on your list (naughty folks not included). We are all about making the holidays easier and well, just more delicious in every way possible for you. So, from us to you, our scrumptious readers and followers, we wish you a truly Happy Holidays!
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 recently had the pleasure of dining at Yuki’s Kitchen, a charming Korean, Japanese and Chinese culinary haven that left me utterly impressed and thoroughly satisfied. From the moment I stepped in to this primarily take-out spot, the quaint friendly ambiance and attentive service set the stage for a memorable gastronomic experience. Ken and Yuki Piao, a husband and wife team, have been in the Fairfield/Westport area for more than +10 years and decided in November of 2022 to open a lovely tiny haven of authentically excellent Asian food. We also had the pleasure of enjoying some special dishes prepared by Yuki’s mother visiting from Korea for 2 months.
Your search for the perfect party has finally arrived. Connecticut now has a mobile Hibachi caterer who is ready to roll into your house and create the ultimate custom Hibachi party…just for you.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of “Hibachi “it’s a type of cuisine that was first introduced to Japan, a meal typically including meat, vegetables and seafood, cooked over very hot metal plates. The word “hibachi” comes from Japanese meaning "fire bowl."
Just like your favorite local Hibachi spot, Mr Hibachi pulls out all the stops for a hands on, interactive culinary experience. Guests (including kids) can take over the grill, score a cooking lesson, and learn some serious spatula skills. And then, of course, there is the time honored game of chefs throwing food into guest's mouths, and a REALLY fun twist, the Mr Hibachi SAKE GUN!! (a crowd favorite) Diners can “shoot” Sake at each other….or just enjoy some for themselves. Good times all around.
Fans ofHachiroku Shokudo & Sake bar, which quietly opened in New Haven 2022, will be excited to hear that this team has expanded their portfolio of outstanding Japanese eateries with a NEW restaurant in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven. The new spot is called Hachiroku Handroll Bar & Tapas, and much like the original, you will not find a sign outside….ya just have to know. Hachiroku Handroll Bar features a few highlights from Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake bar, but while the OG delivers a traditional izakaya menu with a few uber-fresh cuts of sushi, the new spot leans in on expertly executed, positively mouthwatering handrolls. And make no mistake, while the flavor profiles you will find here are not strictly “traditional,” the dining room looks and feels like a traditional sushi bar. With roughly 16 seats highlighting the artists/ sushi chefs in the center, dining here exudes the austere reverence that these handrolls deserve.
Raclette is a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland. The raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates. We went to the cheese experts tat Fairfield/Greenwich Cheese Company to learn more about making Raclette at home, and the different varieties of cheese used to make this ultimate comfort food dish, just right for winter.
Raclette comes from the French word racler, which means "to scrape." It's a cheese traditionally eaten in the Swiss and French Alps. Cow herders used to take the cheese with them when they moved cows from the valley pastures up into the mountains. In the evenings around the fire, they would place the cheese next to the fire and, when it had melted, scrape it on top of the bread. Today we have easy to use machines to do the melting, but the results are just as delicious.
You’re probably still recovering from the seasonal avalanche of candy corn, but the “other” holidays are now peeking around the corner-and it’s always better to be ready for them when they jump out at you. Whether for cozy and familial Thanksgiving gatherings, spirited and sparkly holiday parties, a Let’s-Get-2023-Right New Year’s celebration or any of your special events and holidays next year, these caterers will help you feast and fete with panache. Best part about this listing is that many of these caterers work throughout the entire state of Connecticut and even the tri-state area. Go forth and celebrate! Here are 18 Connecticut Caterers who will make your next event a stress-free delicious success!
Sometimes where you live is just where you sleep. Maybe the area has a bit of feel, or maybe some real estate conglomerate slapped it together like processed-cheese-food, named it The Crossing At The Shops At The Superfund Site, and well, at least the commute is short and everyone can understand the urge to show I-95 your personal taillights.
In Connecticut’s old – let's be kind and call them historic – cities, there are still to be found that most nostalgic living situation: The Actual Neighborhood. New Haven’s East Rock is one of the latter, and lately, what’s old is new again.
East Rock Market opened this November in a space which rubs shoulders with East Rock Brewing Company, and close enough to the in-building gym to borrow a neighborly cup of protein powder. By Thanksgiving of 2021, the Market’s large, bright space housed five concepts: RAW Bowls & Juice, Panciale pasta and pizza, Nicoll Street Gelato, Rick’s Bar, and Rockfish sushi. Developer Rishi Narang has named the former WWI-era Marlin Arms factory East Rock Center, and market, brewery, and gym are all contained within the massive footprint in a sort of indulgence/repentance love triangle.
The team that brought you the uber popular Grammies Donuts + Biscuits is back with another crave-worthy ghost kitchen concept, Little Dumpling House. For those unfamiliar with the notion of a “ghost kitchen,” it simply means there is no dining space. Guests can order online and either get their meals delivered or picked up. In this case, it’s Asian to-go.
Little Dumpling House is the brainchild of owners, Charlie Gilhuly and Molly Healey, but their Asian inspired playlist is all Healey’s handiwork. The menu at Little Dumpling is small but very well executed, and also quite nicely priced. Healey wanted to create healthy clean flavorful Asian cuisine with something for everyone (including the kids), and they have delivered on that promise.
Hinoki, a relaxed tapas-style Asian cuisine in a casual, fine dining atmosphere opens in Greenwich.
Some things are worth waiting for, and Hinoki was one of them. Slated to launch prior to the pandemic, the restaurant’s doors are finally open. Brought to you from the successful team behind Miku Sushi in Greenwich and Kumo Sushi Lounge in Scarsdale, K. Dong and Chef Steven Chen, Hinoki introduces a new concept in Asian cuisine, bringing together a relaxed tapas-style Asian cuisine known as Izakaya along with the exclusive chef’s table experience known as Omakase, in a stunning setting at 363 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich. The two concepts are separated into three separate sleek and elegant dining areas including a private omakase event space, as well as an outdoor space on Fawcett Place.
Kissaki has finally come to CT…Greenwich to be exact. The high end boutique sushi chainhas earned accolades from Eater, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Crains, to name a few. Most recently the upscale and wildly popular sushi eatery shot into the spotlight on Page Six when comedian Jimmy Fallon left a $400 tip at the Watermill NY location. CTBites is thrilled to announce the restaurant’s Connecticut debut.
Kissaki is the latest in a slew of sushi and omakase joints now calling Greenwich home, but none, so far, has what this has - it’s got chutzpah. The Greenwich venue marks the restaurant’s 5th location after The Hamptons, Long Island City, The Bowery and Columbus Circle. There are plans for further expansion in the near future.
Moon is the newest restaurant to grace Greenwich’s illustrious restaurant scene offering a mixed culinary concept featuring an immersive cocktail experience, and an authentic Japanese Omakase experience. The upscale eatery boasts an interior with influences from both Asia and Europe. Sleek lines, natural elements of woods, stone and glass grace the interior offering an atmosphere that is sophisticated, elegant and welcoming.
The tumult of 2020 is all the more reason to celebrate hard this holiday season. Gather your loved ones, (in a socially distanced manner), anddo yourself a favor this year…hire one of these outstanding Fairfield County caterers. Consider it a little gift to yourself, and enjoy the season even more by taking the work off of your plate. This bunch of professionals will set up, decorate, coordinate and serve a wonderful variety of delicious morsels for you and your guests. You can rest easy as your beautiful event unfolds before your very eyes. Sometimes, we get by with a little help from our friends, and in this case, our friends who cater…
This year, caterers are more full service than ever before, offering a range of catering options, both large and small. Whether you’re looking to bring in Friday night dinner with your family, or planning a small wedding, this talented crew can do it all.
