Filtering by Tag: Non For Profit,brunch

Green Village Initiative: A Garden Grows in Bridgeport...Get Involved!

Features Bridgeport Non For Profit Farms Food Justice Homepage

Jessica Ryan November 06, 2024

Bridgeport’s not-for-profit Green Village Initiative was founded in Westport in 2011. Several years later the decision was made to move GVI’s base of operations and programs to focus on the residents of Bridgeport, CT and has since incorporated values of racial equity, antiracism and food justice into its goals. The GVI runs three programs which consist of community gardens, youth leadership programs and The Reservoir Community Farm, a 1.7 acre educational farm in the heart of Bridgeport with over 47 plots for community gardeners to grow food for their families.

We had the opportunity to meet Eileen O’Reilly, who serves as a volunteer Board of Director as Chair of the Board. The former New Yorker and Vogue Magazine editor, told us all about the Green Village Initiative as we toured the farm on a warm day in late September. We wandered through rows of fruit, vegetables and flowers all being tended to by community members, as well as rows of wilder plants and greens with butterflies fluttering over the brightly colored flora and bees busily pollinating, their legs covered in brightly colored yellow dust.

Don Memo in Westport Launches Brunch!

Interview Features Restaurant Westport brunch Mexican Homepage

Andrew Dominick January 22, 2023

Just under three years ago, our esteemed founder, Stephanie Webster, introduced CTbites readers to Bill Taibe’s Don Memo. Since the summer of 2020 when Don Memo opened, it has not only been a hit with locals and out-of-towners, but Taibe’s interpretation of authentic Mexican cuisine with ingredients that are seasonal and locally sourced has gotten its share of acclaim as a 2021 CRAzies nominee for Best Restaurant (West Region) and a Restauranteur of the Year win for Taibe.

This year, there are big plans for two of Taibe’s restaurants, Kawa Ni and Don Memo, as they’re set to expand in Denver. While Kawa Ni will be the first to open in the Mile High City, Taibe hinted that Don Memo will hopefully follow in the latter half of 2023.

But the Denver expansion isn’t stopping Taibe’s restaurants from growing in Westport. Kawa Ni—if you haven’t heard—has both a bigger bar and twice the dining room space.

As for Don Memo? It’s open an extra day with another day, Tuesday (because yay for Taco Tuesday!), coming soon thereafter when the weather calls for tacos, tostadas, and palomas on the patio.

What’s going down on Sundays at Don Memo is…BRUNCH. And it’s not only offered on Sundays, but Fridays and Saturdays as well.

Eat Justice: Mecha Noodle Bar Creates Program To Help the CT Community & Promote Caring

Features Philanphropy Non For Profit News Fundraiser

CTbites Team December 15, 2022

“Profit matters, but people matter more.”

That’s the motto of Tony Pham, owner of Mecha Noodle Bar. It also happens to be the guiding principle of Eat Justice, an initiative created by Pham alongside co-founder Richard Reyes. The project involves a network of Connecticut businesses who turn portions of revenue into monthly donations to local and international nonprofit organizations. “But it’s more than just a check,” Pham tells me. “We’re trying to create a movement.”

The Eat Justice model is fairly simple: businesses designate a selection of goods to serve as their Eat Justice ‘fundraisers.’ They then raise the price of these goods by just fifty cents, and, for each one purchased, they reserve that extra fifty cents for a monthly donation. For example, at Mecha Noodle Bar, each purchase of a ramen dish increases the restaurant’s Eat Justice funds by fifty cents. While customers barely notice the fifty cent price difference, by the end of the month, Mecha regularly raises nearly $20,000 for charity. Pham points out that, by baking the donation into the price of a menu item, Eat Justice avoids the awkwardness and ineffectiveness of directly asking consumers to donate towards a cause.

Chef Tyler Anderson & Hands On Hartford Open Gather55, a Pay-What-You-Can Fine Dining Restaurant

Features Hartford County Hartford Unique Dining Experiences Prix Fixe Celebrity Chef Non For Profit Homepage

Stephanie Webster December 03, 2022

Chef Tyler Anderson and Hands On Hartford have launched a remarkable new restaurant concept just in time to dine out and give back this holiday season. Gather55 restaurant opened this Fall in Hartford with a monthly rotation of guest chefs who will serve up a “by-reservation-only” $42 prix fixe menu. Chef Tyler Anderson, who is handling the Chef programming kicked things off, followed by Chef Billy Grant of Restaurant Bricco in December, and then Emily Mingrone of Tavern on State in January. Each evening, approximately 20% of the tables are reserved for diners who can’t pay the full price. The goal is to create a place where everyone can celebrate and enjoy a delicious meal in a comfortable and caring environment.

Fortina Stamford Launches New Brunch Menu...And It's Damn Tasty

Features Interview Restaurant Italian brunch Homepage Stamford Westchester Fortina

Andrew Dominick February 10, 2022

Paul Failla uses the word “afterthought” when describing the brunch that was previously offered at all four Fortina locations in Stamford, Armonk, Rye Brook, and Yonkers.

“The old menu was like five items,” he says. “People didn’t come here for brunch. They’d always get pizza. Brunch was always an afterthought here.”

One of Failla’s first orders of business as the restaurant’s sole culinary director was to all but scrap the former “barely a brunch” format and make Fortina a place you’d seek out for daytime drinks, yolky goodness, breakfast sandwiches, sweets, and more.

Failla joked that the only thing that would stay on the brunch menu are the bottomless mimosas, and while that’s true, the only other holdover will be a tweaked version of eggs in purgatory, but with a spicier marinara sauce.

The rest of the menu is a switch-up entirely.

The Wheel Debuts Sunday Jazz Brunch at The Village in Stamford

Features Restaurant The Village Stamford Stamford brunch Homepage Breakfast Lunch

Andrew Dominick October 29, 2021

When we introduced our reader s to The Village in the summer of 2021, we knew we’d be back relatively soon thereafter. No, it’s not to talk about beer and smash burgers at Cisco Brewers. It has nothing to do with the special pop-up dinners you may have peeped on Instagram.

This brief sequel takes us back to The Wheel where they’ve just begun wheeling out Sunday brunch service. Brunch here is short, only from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., with a small, breakfasty menu. Some of it is salty, some is sweet, and there’s lots of yolky goodness to be had.

But who hits up brunch without booze? And in the case of The Wheel…tunes. Drink beer, or wine, and they’ll allow you to order a cocktail from their afternoon menu (I had a Sazerac after my White Russian), but the focus here is light and bubbly or bloody. Refreshing mimosas and bellinis are available by the glass but where’s the fun in that? The Wheel has an option where brunchers can choose their sparkling wine, then fresh squeezed fruit juice mixers, and even ginger, crème de menthe, or Aperol. It arrives at your table in a wooden serving tray, DIY style. Mix and drink.

Bloodies—in Mary form (with vodka) or the tequila-based Maria—are also a brunch staple at The Wheel, as are Cisco beers, other local craft selections, and a boozy milkshake-like White Russian, blended in part with Stamford-based Rise Oat Milk Vanilla Coffee.

While you sip, enjoy the tunes. This is a jazz brunch after all. Most often you’ll catch local musicians or bands that are brought in by Greenwich resident Pete Francis of Dispatch fame. On the off chance that Pete is hanging out, expect him to join in on a few sets.

By now you should have figured out what you’re brunching on besides alcohol.

Like I mentioned earlier, The Wheel’s Sunday Funday menu is succinct. If you’ve been before, you’ll notice a trio of the restaurant’s dinnertime staples offered at brunch, namely the locally sourced Lioni burrata with strawberries and basil, tuna tartare, their big, beefy burger, and a lobster roll.

More morning appropriate fare appears like a shareable buttermilk banana bread—seriously, try it. I don’t even get down with banana bread like that. This one isn’t dry, the banana isn’t too…banana-y. It’s made with love, and whipped butter to spread all over it doesn’t hurt either. Other starters are fire bread with hot honey and whipped ricotta, a lox plate with bagel chips and proper accompaniments, and a not so shareable yogurt parfait.

Baldanza Moves to Wilton & Takes Over The Schoolhouse

Features Interview Restaurant Wilton Farm Fresh Italian brunch lunch Homepage

Andrew Dominick September 20, 2021

School is officially back in session in the Cannondale neighborhood of Wilton. We’re not talking education but rather The Schoolhouse’s new “teachers,” Angela and Sandy Baldanza and their son, Alex.

Before the family’s move to the historic Cannondale School, they were restaurantless. No, you aren’t crazy to imagine that they had a few restaurants at one point. They owned and operated Baldanza Cafe for 8 ½ years in New Canaan with six of those spent where SE The Back End is now. They even ran Baldanza Bistro in Darien behind Ten Twenty Post.

“When COVID hit, we closed that space (Darien) because it was too small for outdoor seating,” Angela says. “We took a lease at 21 Forest (in New Canaan). A few months in, we received complaints from the condo board there. We cut our losses there and our Darien lease ended. And we only left 17 Elm because of the place in Darien, so we were left with no restaurants at all.”

Cue the 1872 building we’ve all known as The Schoolhouse at Cannondale under Tim LaBant and most recently the home of Hugh Mangum’s popular Rise Doughnut pop-up who subleased from LaBant for a year. LaBant, who had a 14-year run at The Schoolhouse decided not to renew for a few reasons. “I left to focus on Parlor Wilton and the new Parlor Darien,” he says. “My lease was up and in these crazy times, I decided not to renew.”

All of the moving, and the closings, led to a coincidence.

“Ironically, Tim has our old spot in Darien where he opened Parlor and we took over The Schoolhouse on July 1,” Angela says. “Here we are, and we love being here. Sandy and I used to come here for dinner when we had a break from our restaurant. We love Tim.”

At this iteration of Baldanza, diners can anticipate a local, organic, and homemade approach. Brioche and Tuscan bread are sourced from Balthazar Bakery, while the naturally leavened, freshly milled sourdough comes from 123Dough Bakery in Pound Ridge. They also get seasonal produce from Connecticut farms, citing Wilton’s own Ambler Farm as a primary supplier and seafood is by way of New Wave Seafood in Stamford.

The approach to “local and fresh” applies in the kitchen where Baldanza’s longtime chef, Rodrigo Pacheco executes a menu mostly curated by Angela and Sandy. Pasta, as you’ll see in a hearty pappardelle Bolognese, is made in-house, as is the fluffy ricotta gnocchi tossed in roasted tomato vodka sauce, the cheese ravioli, and the tagliatelle caprese with buffala mozzarella and cherry tomato sauce.

Goodwill “Give Back” to Benefit Connecticut Restaurant Relief Fund

Features Non For Profit Fundraiser

CTbites Team April 06, 2021

Local nonprofit with employment-driven mission supports job recovery for industry hit hard by COVID

Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut today announced “The Goodwill Give Back,” an initiative to support employment recovery in the restaurant industry. For every 5,000 donation instances to Goodwill this April the nonprofit will donate $1,000 to the Connecticut Restaurant Relief Fund. The mission of the CT Restaurant Relief Fund is to provide immediate financial relief to Connecticut’s restaurant industry with funds designed to save these businesses and protect its workforce.

El Segundo Debuts New Brunch Menu in South Norwalk and New Haven

Features Restaurant brunch Norwalk New Haven Global Cuisine Mexican Latin American Asian Breakfast Homepage

Andrew Dominick January 16, 2021

The owners of The Spread and El Segundo have had an extremely busy 2020.

Chris Hickey, Andrey Cortes, Christopher Rasile, Shawn Longyear, and Carlos Baez decided to close their Spread sequel in Greenwich at the end of July, an announcement that came on the heels that they relocated their South Norwalk flagship to the former Harlan Publick space in the Ironworks development, adjacent to their global street food concept, El Segundo.

Oh, and that’s not all. Their follow up to a closure and a relocation, was to open a Downtown New Haven double of El Segundo at the tail end of August.

That’s a lot of action.

But with all that comes even more change in the form of El Segundo’s brunch menu.

Brunch was always a thing at El Segundo Norwalk but it’s the New Haven opening that sparked the change according to Hickey.

“The new menu is totally in line with the New Haven opening,” he says. “Brunch was instantly popular in New Haven, so we wanted to bring it to SoNo, too.”

HELP Feed Children in Need & Support CT Restaurants: Here's How!

Features Philanphropy Non For Profit

Stephanie Webster January 15, 2021

If there was a way that YOU could instantly and directly help to feed a child in need while supporting our local CT restaurants, would you sign up? We certainly would and that is why we have partnered with Filling In The Blanks on an important new initiative. Please join us and read on…

Filling in the Blanks fights childhood hunger by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. They partner with 63 local schools delivering their Weekend Meal bags to food-insecure children in Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Fairfield, Westport, and Bedford Hills, NY. Founded by mothers and community activists, Shawnee Knight and Tina Kramer, they responded to an urgent need to feed local school aged children who were struggling to get the nutrition they needed. In the wake of the pandemic, with hunger up 50% in Connecticut, they expanded their mission to include supporting our local CT restaurants as part of the solution to hunger in our community.

L'Escale Restaurant in Greenwich: Under The Radar and Better Than Ever

Restaurant Greenwich Seafood brunch Lunch American French Homepage

Lou Gorfain September 23, 2018

Connecticut claims its share of Celebrity Chefs. These culinary artists routinely win Food Network Competitions, earn James Beard commendations, and enjoy (or endure) their roles as restaurant Rock Stars.

Though less lionized, Chef Frederic Kieffer is every bit their equal. He created the exquisite l’Escale in Greenwich, followed by Artisan in Southport, then again in West Hartford. All are considered gems … and like Kieffer himself, understated.