Filtering by Tag: Gift Guide,Washington

CTbites Holiday Gift Guide For Food Lovers (2024 Edition)

Features Gift Guide Holiday Shopping Shopping Guide Cookbooks Homepage

April Guilbault

And here we are again, on the threshold of the holiday season! The weather might be a little warmer than usual (but then again, it snowed this morning. Anyone else keeping up with all of this?) but the holiday spirit is in full swing! With that comes the quest for the perfect gifts for all those lovelies on your list. We have scoured and explored and found some delicious and interesting gift ideas for you…fresh delivered milk anyone? We have divided this curated list into four sections: Gifts, Cookbooks, Subscriptions, and a few “Beyond Connecticut” items not to be missed.

Happy Shopping and Happy Holidays to you, our fellow foodies!


CTbites Holiday Gift Guide For Food Lovers (2023 Edition)

Features Gift Gift Guide Highlight Vendor Highlight Local Farm Specialty Market Entertaining Homepage

April Guilbault

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! 


CTbites Holiday Gift Guide For CT Food Lovers (2022 Edition)

Features Gift Gift Guide Holiday Christmas Shopping Homepage

April Guilbault

Ah, the hunt for the perfect gift. Or least a really, really, good one. Where to start? Don’t we go through this every single year (we do) and swear each year our shopping will being in July! Well, if you haven’t begun to purchase or ponder, we’ve got a good-make that great-list right here that will have you on your way to pulling out the almighty Sharpie and cross, cross, crossing things off your list. Is there any more divine feeling? Well, maybe finding that perfect gift! Happy shopping everyone!


CTbites Holiday Gift Guide For CT Food Lovers (2021 Edition)

Features Gift Guide Holiday Best of CT Specialty Products Homepage

April Guilbault

While this year somehow crept slowly and at warp-speed at the same time, holiday season has finally arrived at our feet. And shipping issues be damned-we’ve got a great list here of local-to-Connecticut vendors whipping up all sorts of unique goods that will make for a fun gift-giving season. Isn’t that a good feeling? Giving a gift you know someone will love and knowing that it’s locally made? Sure is. Just to be clear, since we all have a bit of wanderlust after these long 18 months, we have included a few vendors beyond the confines of our state for good measure (just order as soon as you finish reading this). Have a wonderful holiday season, everyone!


Grace Farms New Canaan Launches 100% Fair Trade Organic Tea, Coffee & Cookie Line

Features Tea And Coffee New Canaan Lunch Gift Guide

Jessica Ryan

When was the last time you visited Grace Farms? The stunning 80-acre space in New Canaan, Connecticut that supports initiatives in the areas of nature, arts, justice, community, and faith, and encourages participation locally and globally is a treasure to visit. Pritzker Prize-winning River building, is the focal point, having become an integral part of the landscape. Designed to resemble a rambling river, five transparent glass-enclosed buildings that each live beneath one flowing roof. Here you will find The Sanctuary, a 700-seat amphitheater; the library, a staffed library with resources related Grace Farms Foundation's initiatives; the Commons, a community gathering space with 18-foot-long tables; the Pavilion; a welcome reception and conversation space with tea service; and the Court, an incredible underground recreational space used by local children and schools. Wander around the 80 acres of open meadows, woods, wetlands, and ponds and soak up all the breathtaking scenery.

In 2021 Grace Farms Foods was launched by Grace Farm’s Founder Sharon Prince along with Adam Thatcher to share with the world and invite everyone to be part of their mission by offering our signature cookies, coffee, and tea.


Welcome to The Po Cafe: New England Charm + Damn Good Food In Washington CT

Restaurant Breakfast Sandwich Breakfast Lunch To-Go Comfort Food Washington Coffee Bakery Baked Goods sandwiches Homepage

Jessica Ryan

The iconic Po Café is located in the heart of Washington CT and lives in a charming historic white clapboard house right next to the town’s post office – hence the nickname. The building, once home to a pharmacy and grocery store, sits across from the idyllic town’s church. The area served as the inspiration behind fictional town Stars Hollow made famous by Rory and Lorelei Gilmore. As soon as you walk through the front door you can almost imagine Luke standing behind the counter of the old fashioned soda fountain pouring a cup of coffee.


CTbites 2020 Gift Guide: Great Gifts For Your Favorite CT Food Lover

Features Ingredients Gift Guide Best of CT Specialty Market Shopping Specialty Products Local Artisan Cookbooks Cooking Classes Holiday Homepage

April Guilbault

How to find the perfect gift for this crazy ass year-well ain’t that the question of the day! As many of us are staying a little further away from stores and not partaking in the usual activities we have in past years, we got creative and found the creative for your gift-giving! Artisans, chefs, and vendors are all rising to the occasion with fabulous out-of-the-box thinking and we discovered a treasure trove of unusual, beautiful, tasty items and experiences that will infuse a blast of goodness into this particularly memorable holiday season. Give, get, live, love, and celebrate the moments of sparkle. To quote the infamous Clark Griswold, “we’re all in this together”.


Chef April Bloomfield is Cooking at the Mayflower Inn

Features Restaurant April Bloomfield Fine Dining Washington Litchfield Mayflower Inn Lunch Celebrity Chef Homepage

Andrew Dominick

A posh five-star inn located in “the country” of Connecticut may be the last place you’d expect to stumble upon a former two-time Michelin star chef doing her thing in the kitchen.

Expect it. And expect to run into April Bloomfield.

Yeah, THAT April Bloomfield. The April Bloomfield who won a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: New York City in 2014. The April Bloomfield who owns the British gastropub The Breslin. And the same April Bloomfield of the now shuttered, but acclaimed West Village haunt, The Spotted Pig.

And since mid-September she’s been spending her time away from the concrete jungle as the chef-in-residence at the Mayflower Inn & Spa where she’s firing up the refined pub fare that she is so lauded for and marrying that style with the bounty from local farms.

If you visit—and you absolutely should—there are a few dining experiences to be aware of.

There’s a seasonal, constantly changing four-course dinner tasting in the brightly lit, plant enshrined Garden Room. The $150 tasting’s polar opposite has been the occasionally offered bonfire experience where Bloomfield comes out to chat over cocktails, savory snacks, and gooey s’mores.

Then there’s the meal I elected to have, a lunch in The Tap Room. If the weather obeys, it’s a great idea to dine out on the back deck that overlooks the Shakespeare Garden, equal parts beautiful and haunting on an overcast autumn day.


CTbites 2019 Holiday Gift Guide For CT Food Lovers

Features Gift Guide Holiday Local Artisan Homepage

April Guilbault

We’re back with some soon-to-be-loved holiday gifts! From hostess gifts to a Big Kahuna gift (get your passport ready!), we’ve uncovered an array of goodies that you will be excited to give and others will be thrilled to receive. With your beloved foodies in mind, bestow these gems in the spirit of love and good eats-made even better knowing that they all originate in our fair Nutmeg State. See, even the name of our state is food-centric. We love to support local and small businesses and hopefully, this list will encourage you to check out these favorite new finds. Happy Holidays everyone, eat well, gift well! …and if shopping stresses you out too much, go get some Oops, I Ate My…..you’ll see (wink!).


Valentine's Day CT Gift Guide: Cocktails Kits, Chocolates, Classes, Boozy Treats & More!

Features Gift Guide Holiday Homepage

April Guilbault

Pitter pat, pitter pat. Oh, be still my heart! Although, some might argue that the sound they hear around this time of the year is the sound of pure dread. Embrace this holiday of love and get your cupid on! Back to that pitter pat you are hearing. What to do to surprise your Valentine? There is so much out there beyond the usual bunch of overpriced red roses and glittery greeting card-not that we have anything against glitter, mind you. Behold! We have found cocktail kits, chocolate-making classes, specialty brews and wines. Oh, what fun this day of love shall be! Best part is that so many of these great (lovely?) ideas can be done throughout the year…so that you declare your love again and again and again….


CTbites 2018 Holiday Gift Guide for CT Food Lovers

Features Best of CT Gift Guide Holiday Homepage

April Guilbault

’Tis the season of holidays, sparkly and bright, there’s baking and partying well into the night 

The children are excited and the adults somewhat stressed, with planning and wrapping and finding the perfect Christmas vest 

What shall we get for Aunt Mo or Uncle Buck, it’s hard to decide, we aren’t having much luck 

But wait, it’s the Guide, the almighty Gift Guide! CTbites to the rescue, we exclaimed, we cried! 

There’s something for everyone, your foodies and friends, we’ve found several classics, along with a few trends

So wrap them up lovingly with great care and great pride, and present these gifts with a gleam in your eye 

How merry, how happy, the recipients will be, and you, the giver, will be brimming with glee!


Community Table Restaurant & Bar To Re Open Spring 2018

Restaurant Openings Washington Farm to Table

CTbites Team

This just in from Community Table Restaurant & Bar in Washington CT...

Friends,

We are excited to announce that Community Table Restaurant and Bar will be reopening this spring.  We don’t have an exact date yet but, we are hoping to open our doors before Memorial Day and work out any ‘kinks’ before the busy season kicks in.

We have spent the past months contemplating what direction Ct should go in next. We turned to Adam Riess, a Washington native and restaurant consultant, to help us define our goals and offer us options. Though many interesting ideas were discussed, hearing from so many of you who simply wanted Ct to come back the way it was, eventually swayed us to move in that direction. 


Cheesemonger Subscription Box Launches From Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Co.

Ingredients Features Cheese Delivery Service Home Delivery Gift Guide

Stephanie Webster

Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company have introduced a subscription cheese box service that curates small batch, artisan and traditional cheeses and delivers them, freshly cut, to the doorsteps of food lovers across the nation.

Cheesemonger Box will curate a selection of small batch and traditional American and European cheeses for monthly home delivery, launched this winter as the first cheese subscription service of its kind.

Founders Laura Downey and Chris Palumbo, co-founders and owners of Connecticut cheese shops Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company, are launching the service with the goal of “spreading the cheese love across the country” and empowering customers to “become the expert” on artisan cheese. 


Local Chocolatier, Truffle Shots of Essex CT Named Country’s Best Chocolate Gift By Forbes Magazine

Restaurant Essex Chocolate Dessert Specialty Market Gift Guide

CTbites Team

Forbes magazine recently named local chocolatier, Truffle Shots of Essex, Connecticut among the country’s best chocolates for gift giving this holiday season. Forbes "loved the Fig and Balsamic shot—with aged balsamic and fig ganache as well as the Chipotle Cinnamon—dark chocolate ganache with a whiff of cinnamon and a slight kick from the chipotle."

Truffle Shots® brand chocolate truffles are the Chocolate Award-winning creation of mother-daughter chocolate lovers in Essex, Connecticut. The duo has replaced the chocolate shell of a traditional chocolate truffle with a sealed shot glass to create new levels of truffle indulgence.

The decadent, silky ganache of Truffle Shots® brand chocolate truffles melts on the tongue in sensory bliss in 30+ amazing flavors like Fig Balsamico, Tellicherry Cardamom, Caramel Beurre Noisette, Bumbleberry, Miel Habanero, Castelvetrano Olive, and Ginger, to name a few.


CTbites Holiday Gift Guide For Your Favorite CT Food Lover (2017 Edition)

Features Gift Guide Best of CT Holiday Homepage

April Guilbault

Holiday time and food just plain go hand-in-hand! Whether it is making a time-honored and well-loved recipe, sharing a meal with a group of special someones, or giving a gift of specialty food goods, the holidays…involve…food. Henceforth and ergo, we at CTBites would like to add a few items to your list. No need to check these twice, we can tell you right off that they are worth sharing! From pottery and chocolates to classes and luxury trips, there is something for every person you will be shopping for this season. Our great Nutmeg State is simply brimming with artisans and people who are making delicious, beautiful and fun products or offering experiences that enrich our lives. Enjoy these, enjoy *giving* these, and enjoy the smiles that will result. Have a wonderful holiday season, everyone! May it be delicious!


Dress Up Your Party with Garelick & Herbs Holiday Platters sponsored post

Ingredients Recipe Gift Guide Holiday

CTbites Team

This holiday gift alert just in from Garelick & Herbs.

Looking for a delicious present that will be joyously received? Check out one of Garelick & Herbs gift platters...or design your own. Take the guess work out of your next hostess gift. These beautifully curated custom gifts are perfect for any occasion.

Stopping by your friend's for brunch? We have fabulous holiday housewarming gifts. Corporate Clients need a holiday gift? Send over one of our sweet-tastic dessert boxes or a signature Office Munchie Snack Basket. We can even send over a surprise lunch to your favorite client. Also, don’t forget your manicurist and hair stylist! Nothing warms the heart and soul more than something delicious from Garelick & Herbs. Having an impromptu celebration? Going away for the weekend? Your hosts will love our snacktastic gifts–customize salty, sweet, crunchy and colorful.

We have everything you need served up on a platter.


2016 Holiday Gift Guide For The CT Food Lover

Restaurant Recipe Gift Guide Holiday Best of CT

April Guilbault

Festive Foodalicious Finds ...and FAAABulous ones, we might add! For friends, family (this alliteration is getting fun isn’t it?), and frenemies alike. We have scouted and compiled a list of great gadgets, unique tableware, fun and memorable experiences, sugary sweets, and superb savories for all of the gift recipients in your life this season. So have fun while shopping! Buy one, buy two, buy with that perfect person in mind and think of the smiles and happiness you are sharing with them. How perfectly fabulous, right?

Here are 20 local CT gift ideas for your favorite food lover.


Community Table & Kent Falls Brewing Co. Host Beer Dinner July 26

Restaurant Beer Dinner Brewery Washington

Amy Kundrat

Community Table & Kent Falls Brewing Co.
 are teaming up for a special evening of food and beer on July 26. Executive Chef Marcell Davidsen has collaborated with Barry and Derek at Kent Falls Brewing Co. on a summer-inspired menu fit for Connecticut locavore beer lovers. 

"We are very excited to host this event, and share some great beers and great food. And there might be a few surprises too," said Marcell Davidsen.

We have a sneak peek of the menu, which at last count is 7 courses and 6 beers, and as many reasons to get excited for this evening at Community Table. Tickets are $75 per person. Reservations are available on OpenTable.com.

July 26 Menu

Sourdough Bread
Toasted hay butter

Smoked Trout & Squash Blossom

Hazelnut crème 

Beer: Lade Øl 4.8 % Abv. 
A farmhouse ale brewed with smoked hay. This beer takes on delicate notes of sweet grass, vanilla and spice notes from the hay complementing our house yeast culture.  

Edible Nutmeg to Launch Spring Issue with Event at Back 40 Kitchen in Greenwich

Restaurant Events Litchfield Washington

CTbites Team

Back 40 Kitchen will celebrate the release of Edible Nutmeg’s spring issue by hosting an afternoon launch event on March 24 from 11 am to 1 pm, a day before the issue’s official release date for a 'meet & greet' with Dana Jackson, Editor and Publisher, Edible Nutmeg and Bill and Lesley King, Owners, Back 40 Farm Group. Guests are invited to pick up a free copy of the new issue and enjoy organic light bites provided Back 40 Kitchen. Back 40 and Edible Nutmeg share a mission of appreciation of regional food, farming, and sustainability.

The Back 40 Farm Group is closely aligned with Edible Nutmeg’s vision, which is helping their readers engage the Connecticut food community. We have long appreciated this publication and are happy to provide the venue to launch the issue that officially ‘kicks-off’ the 2016 agricultural season. – Bill King

Back 40 Kitchen is a farm-to-table restaurant dedicated to using the highest quality organic ingredients in all of its dishes. Back 40 Kitchen is also committed to sourcing local by partnering with CT farmers and vendors including sourcing from its own organic Back 40 Farm in Litchfield County.