Chef Forrest Pasternack Returns to Bailey’s Backyard in Ridgefield CT Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Bailey's Backyard Farm To Table Interview Chef Talk Ridgefield Andrew Dominick August 27, 2023 Ask Forrest Pasternack about being back in Ridgefield and he’ll tell you that “there’s nothing quite like home.”Already well traveled in this area and in New York as a renowned chef at several acclaimed restaurant, Pasternack may be best known to locals from his five-years when he headed up the kitchen at the O.G. farm-to-table restaurant Bailey’s Backyard from 2013 – 2018.After a handful of years away, Pasternack is back!But where’s he been all this time?Well, a bunch of places and one big one at the same time. Read More
Cylinder Vodka: A Spirited Journey of Passion and Tenacity Features Ingredients Cocktails Local Artisan Distillery Khalid Williams August 09, 2023 Crafted by a bartender with the industry in mind, Cylinder is what the Vodka Renaissance is all about- honestly produced spirits making thoughtfully crafted cocktails.NEWS FLASH-We are in the midst of a vodka renaissance. Ironically, the most popular and highly consumed spirit in America has been ignored and sometimes dissed by bartenders. Ask a bartender what they're favorite vodka flavor is, and in past years you would get a wry smile and a one word response: "Gin."A New DayOur cocktail revolution has now shined its creative light on vodka. Straight, non flavored spirit that's defined as "odorless, colorless and tasteless" has always been anything but, and skilled mixologists are using it as a canvas to allow complex flavor combinations shine. This is huge-it provides an entry point for all drinkers to get into thoughtfully produced cocktails and gives bartenders more freedom to get wonderfully weird. Read More
Cheese Tasting Tips & Facts from Arethusa Dairy Farm Features Ingredients Litchfield Cheese Cheese Shop Cheesemaker Local Farm Local Artisan Cheese Tasting Jessica Ryan August 04, 2023 A few months ago I had the privilege of visiting Arethusa Dairy Farm to attend a special cheese tasting event which coincided with Connecticut’s Agriculture Week. The event was a celebration for their Europa cheese, an aged Gouda, that had just been awarded “Best in Show” in the US Championship Cheese Contest. Read More
Taco Guy Food Truck Opens Restaurant in Norwalk Features Interview Ingredients Restaurant tacos Norwalk Interview Homepage Mexican Opening Andrew Dominick July 20, 2023 Soul.That’s the word Adrian Hurtado uses when he describes the food he serves at his newly opened restaurant in Norwalk that’s an extension of his food truck, Taco Guy.“I have chicken tinga on the menu because it runs in my family, going back to my great-great grandparents,” he says. “When you’re eating here, you’re getting my culture, my family tradition, and a piece of what’s in my soul.”But for Hurtado, who grew up in the hospitality industry learning the ropes at the popular Super Taqueria Las Salsas in Bridgeport that’s owned by his father, he chose to not be a taquero as an adult.Instead, he started making pizzas at Bar Sugo in Norwalk before hopping behind the bar as a bar back. Read More
Mocktails That Matter: Nutmegger’s Noontime Fancy with "The Barrel Age" Bartender Features Ingredients Cocktails Non Alcoholic Cocktails Mocktails Bartender Recipe Zero Proof Khalid Williams July 19, 2023 Khalid Williams is a Bloomfield CT native who has established himself as a leading authority on bartending and beverage education. His focus is on demystifying the adult beverage world, empowering everyone to make classic cocktails and enjoy world class wine, craft beer, and other beverages that matter made by people who care. In 2021, Khalid received the CRAZIES Award for Bartender of the Year.This will be the first installment of an ongoing series featuring Mocktails The Matter, or zero-proof cocktails exclusively featuring locally made CT based ingredients, from Khalid Wiliams, a.k.a., The Barrel Age.Keep scrolling for some great tips on some “cocktail” making basics including the great straining & muddling debate, and enjoy Khalid’s zero-proof recipe for the Nutmegger’s Noontime Fancy. Read More
Friday Froth: Mexican Lager, Made In Connecticut Features Brewery CT Beer Brewery Beer Beer Garden Friday Froth James Gribbon June 22, 2023 Despite expert credibility having recently taken several cannonballs below the waterline, and 60-degree sweater weather remaining in abundance, summer - they tell us - has officially arrived. The days are near their longest, and the months start with “J”, so we must grudgingly accede they have a point. This time each year, in a migration as timeless and majestic as the great herds of the Serengeti - Nutmeggers can be seen dragging our coolers to beaches and backyards. What are we drinking? Hard seltzer! NO! I mean, yes, but also: shut up. We are drinking:Very cold.Easy drinking.Usually Mexican lager. Corona, Pacifico, Modelo, ET C.Why do we drink these? Because 1&2, but also... it’s what we’ve always done. Why are you thinking about this?BECAUSE I’ve been noticing Connecticut brewers have been trying out the style in increasing numbers, they are delicious, and more people should know, which has always been the entire point of this column. Read More
Guide To Connecticut's Most Crave-Worthy Cookies Features Ingredients Restaurant Cookies Dessert Kid Friendly Sweets Best of CT Highlight April Guilbault May 08, 2023 Who doesn’t enjoy a cookie? Decadently giant or sublimely bite-sized, spanning traditional flavors of sugar, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter or new-fangled recipes that include everything but the kitchen sink. Sweet, sweeter, sweetest. Then there’s the Great Debate: chewy or crispy? Where do you land? Are you a dunker, a nibbler, or a late-night snacker? Cookies are the universal dessert and knowing where to get good ones makes life all the sweeter. Dunk away…Enjoy our sweet GUIDE TO THE BEST COOKIES IN CONNECTICUT. Read More
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Happy Monkey in Greenwich + Now Serving Lunch Features Interview Ingredients Restaurant Jean-Georges Vongerichten Happy Monkey Greenwich Greenwich Latin Fusion Latin American Homepage Andrew Dominick April 02, 2023 A bowl arrives at my table, and I’ve never seen arroz con pollo like this before. Pan seared chunks of chicken just barely peek out of the rice. And the rice? It looks a perfect midpoint between fluffy and al dente. It’s clearly well-seasoned, sucking up all that stock and sofrito.But something about it strikes me. Read More
Friday Froth: Caius Farm Brewery Opens in Branford Brewery Features Beer CT Beer Brewery Branford Homepage Opening James Gribbon March 31, 2023 On March 15, 44B.C., the “Ides of March” made famous by Cato and Shakespeare, Julius Caesar was assassinated after declaring himself dictator for life – essentially a new king - by senators who wanted to preserve the Roman republic. It was during this shakily-auspicious lunar period when I found myself transfixed by a circa-2nd century A.D. Roman mosaic of the god Mercury at the brand-new Caius Farm Brewery in Branford, and sipping a beer called “Brutus.” Cosmic.“Caius” isn’t just the name of the place, it’s the name of its owner, one Caius Mergy: a Middlebury College Classics major with a Masters in Classical Archaeology from the Oxford University in England, who then decided to graduate at the top of his brewing classes at the Siebel Institute in Chicago, and the Doemens Academy in Munich. You know, for fun. Long time readers of this column will know about my history dork-dom (it’s my undergrad degree, too), and I mention with a name like that, Caius’ parents must have also been into classics. Read More
Beastie Burger: CT Entrepreneur Creates Delicious Plant Based Burgers Ingredients Features Vegan Vegetarian Plant Based Ingredients Burgers Healthy Eats Health & Wellness April Guilbault February 07, 2023 This is the story of a plant-based burger patty that began with a wedding invitation. Our heroine, Lisa, receives her son’s wedding invitation in the mail one day. Joy! But, oh, on that day, she is feeling that she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, walking down that aisle as the Mother-of-the-Groom, with everyone staring at her. So, to help counter her depression and anxiety, she soon finds a local fitness trainer. In walks trainer Joseph and Lisa’s life begins to change. Even more changes are to come down the road, including, oddly, a little incident with a meat grinder on Rt.8 on dark and stormy night.As Lisa Nicholas begins her transformation and changes the way she thinks about nutrition and exercise, Joseph suggests upping her daily intake of protein to build those lean muscles. Problem is, Lisa had tried the vegan lifestyle years before and was hitting a wall with food being interesting and, also, getting enough protein. Read More
Run & Hide Brewing Co. Opens Taproom in Port Chester Brewery Features Interview Craft Beer Run & Hide Brewing Co. Run & Hide Brewery Brewery Port Chester Beer Andrew Dominick January 30, 2023 Tim Shanley admittedly had butterflies right before he opened his small taproom in Port Chester.“I was talking to a childhood friend that I’ve known for 50 years and told him ‘I’m nervous,’” Shanley says. “He said to me, ‘What are you nervous for? When you were in eighth grade, you bought a blitz beer ball (a plastic jug that holds around five gallons) and you charged $2 a person for people to come into your mom’s backyard to drink.’”Ahead of Run & Hide Brewing Co.’s public opening, that recollection put Shanley’s mind at ease. He then recalled throwing keggers for upwards of a few thousand students and going through a couple hundred kegs when he attended SUNY New Paltz and bands like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones rocked the campus. Read More
DOM's Coffee, Cheese, and Now...Creamery: All The Good Stuff in Avon Restaurant Ingredients Specialty Market Cheese Cheese Shop Coffee Ice Cream Avon April Guilbault January 13, 2023 Nestled in the Connecticuty-quaint town of Avon, an area known for its New England beauty, historic homes, and the well-known Avon Old Farms School, sits the quietly chic and welcoming Dom's Coffee. But wait, there's also Dom's Cheese. And now, Dom's Creamery right next door. Avon may be steeped in history, but it keeps evolving, as does Dom's. Dom's Coffee opened its doors in 2015, the brainchild of Lithuanian couple Asta and Andrius Plankis and sweetly named for their son Dominic. What began as a place for the community to take time to sit and enjoy a great cup of coffee, not just grab-and-go-and-swill-it-in-your-car, has now become a beloved spot in town. With their European flair and attention to detail, Dom's Coffee seamlessly blends the CT aesthetic with the European, feeling all at once new but also comfortable and homey. Light and bright walls, with intentional and un-cluttered decor make his space both interesting and calming. Dom's serves a full range of coffee drinks made with beans from J. Rene Coffee Roasters (West Hartford), with inventive specials to get you in seasonal moods. Read More
Former Nosh Hound Food Truck Owner Maycie Ralbovsky Joins Broken Symmetry as Executive Chef Brewery Features Interview Restaurant Brewery Chef Talk Tasting Tasting Menu Tacos Mexican Craft Beer Homepage Bethel Beer Andrew Dominick November 18, 2022 Ask any Fairfield County food truck fanatic what their favorite one was over the past handful of years and they’re likely to mention Nosh Hound if they know what they’re talking about.The stacked sandwiches, the tacos, the burgers, and the bowls, and yes, even the “F” word…FUSION. It all really worked for Nosh Hound. I, for one, sought out Sam and Maycie Ralbovsky’s truck at every Mill River Park event. My final Nosh Hound memory was at Half Full’s Oktoberfest in Downtown Stamford when I obliterated a pork schnitzel sandwich. Read More
40+ Places For Great Holiday Pies in Connecticut (2022 Edition) Ingredients Features Holiday Thanksgiving Catering Pies Asian Desserts Guide Pie Guide Homepage Carly Terzigni November 10, 2022 It might be hard to believe with such an unseasonably warm start to November, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner! And that can only mean one thing: it’s pie time. Once again this year, there are dozens of restaurants, markets, farms, and other businesses across the state offering a variety of pies to preorder and have ready to add to your holiday table. Whether you are keeping things simple with a traditional pumpkin or apple pie to compliment your turkey dinner, or you want to mix things up with unique flavors and ingredients, there are desserts on this list for just about every palate. Happy Thanksgiving! Read More
Vergelegen, South Africa’s 2nd Oldest Winery Comes To CT Features Ingredients Wine Ingredients Wine Chat James Gribbon November 10, 2022 Vergelegen, South Africa’s second oldest winery, was introduced in the U.S. for the first time this year. We had an opportunity to try these outstanding wines, and speak with the group responsible for bringing Vergelegen to America.Vergelegen's existence in the U.S. is one of the better success stories we’ve heard from the last two years, but its history dates back to the year 1700, when the Dutch East India co-founded the vineyard in order to have drinkable liquid on Cape Horn when traveling back and forth from India, Indonesia, and all points East.Vergelegen (closest pronunciation we can manage is VAHK-heh-lehn) means "situated far away," and the original estate totaled an absolutely whopping 74,000 acres. A bit smaller now, the current production is still 100% estate wine, and their V and GVB wines are still produced on specific blocks of the old vineyard, located around the corner from Stellenbosch. Cold currents of air coming from Antarctica at night, with hot weather from Indian Ocean in the day, plus variable soils at the base of the Helderberg Mountains have proven perfect for wine growing. Read More
Il Pastaficio Opens in Westport: ‘No Alfredo,’ Authentic Italian Foods (via Westport Journal) Features Ingredients Restaurant Westport Pasta Italian Opening Stephanie Webster October 28, 2022 This just in from Gretchen Webster of Westport Journal, on a new spot for fresh pasta and authentic Italian goods in Westport.Two years after his quest began to bring authentic Italian pasta and sauces to Westport, Frederico Perandin, a native of Venice, Italy, has opened Il Pastaficio, a downtown shop and restaurant.The business, at 135 Post Road East, features a display case filled with samples of more than 15 kinds of freshly made pasta.If linguini and rigatoni sound familiar, some of the other fresh pastas at Il Pastaficio — bucatini, cavatelli, ravioli ricotta e spinaci or raviola Emilla — may not. Another case is filled with freshly made sauces, including pesto Genovese, puttanesca and cacio pepe sauce.Read the complete article here. Read More
Saugatuck Provisions Opens From A Local CT Chef (Matt Storch), A Butcher & A Fisherman (Copps Island Oysters) Ingredients Features Westport Grocery Store Ingredients Seafood Butcher Specialty Market Homepage Opening Stephanie Webster October 26, 2022 What happens when a chef, a butcher and a fisherman walk into a bar? Stay tuned and I’ll tell you…If you’ve noticed some activity behind the brown paper covering the windows of what was once Westport’s Saugatuck Craft Butchery, it’s not just wishful thinking. Big things are happening behind that masked facade …big things that involve a culinary power team including Chef Matt Storch and Susan McConnell (Match Burger Lobster, Match) in partnership with Jimmy Bloom of Copps Island Oysters, and butcher, Paul Nessal, whom you will recognize if you spent any time at the nose to tail butchery, Saugatuck Craft, back in the day. After 5 years of discussion, this group is finally getting ready to open the doors to Saugatuck Provisions, a new concept offering customers a curated selection of the very best ingredients from the land, sea and grocery, enabling guests to create beautiful restaurant quality meals at home.Saugatuck Provisions is conveniently located next to Match Burger Lobster in Westport, and will be ready for customers in early November, with Thanksgiving pre-ordering already live here. Read More
Strega Restaurant Owners Open Strega Market In Milford Features Ingredients Specialty Market Grocery Store Italian Opening James Gribbon October 13, 2022 Chef Danilo Mongillo continues to bring his vision of Italy to Milford with the newly opened Strega Market. On the same block as the Strega restaurant he opened after the pandemic had closed his original location in Branford, the Market showcases the same sauces and ingredients used just two doors down, as well as sought-after tastes of home for Italian expats, like Mongillo himself.The market layout is simple, but its contents are rich with multitudes of flavors. First, though, Mongillo takes me to the side, past rows of gleaming jars, and selects a small package.“Cards,” he says, “From Naples. You go into a little market like this in Italy, they always have the cards for people.” It’s indicative of the outlook he has, wanting the market to feel instantly familiar to anyone who grew up in Italy, and to bring that experience, that food, to Connecticut. Read More
Bank & Bridge Brew Pub in Mystic: You Can Bank on Quenching Thirst and Hunger Brewery Restaurant Brewery CT Beer Beer Mystic bar food Comfort Food Homepage Opening Kristin L. Wolfe September 29, 2022 Labor Day might be over, but grilling is still very much in the daily DNA over at Bank & Bridge. Their signature “Get’Cha Face Dirty” burgers created by Chef Josh Ulmer who has trained in places like Madison Square Garden and Nolo in New Haven, are worth the mess they make. Seriously, you need a napkin for every bite, but it’s a noble mess if ever there was one! These beefy mounds are no joke.Bank & Bridge celebrated one year on the map in June and (in my book) have added to the magical scene that has recently made Mystic a culinary darling. Maybe it is something in the water, but this small but mighty seaport just knows food. And, although many may land in the pub for their tremendous line up of brews, nurtured by Head Brewer Jason Riggs, there is hardly a better match (even coming from a self-professed “beer sipper”) than a good juicy burger and brew. Read More
30+ Spots to Celebrate Oktoberfest 2022 in Connecticut Brewery Features Events Oktoberfest Festival Beer CT Beer Beer Garden Holiday Homepage April Guilbault September 10, 2022 Hops is on the brain and Oktoberfest is on the calendar. It’s that delightful time of year to gather with friends, German-style! Chomp into a giant pretzel, grill a brat, raise a stein (or 20, if you are partaking in a competition), and then toast, toast, and toast some more. Across our state, Oktoberfest celebrations are happening and you’ve simply got to get in on one of them. A better time will not be had! Prost! Read More
