Recap: First Ever CT Beer Summit w/ Live Recording via "Welcome to CT" Podcast Ingredients CT Beer Beer James Gribbon March 06, 2015 What happens when you get the owners and brewers of five Connecticut breweries in the same room at the same time and ask them pointed questions? There's a scene in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou where Bill Murray, as Zissou, explains documentary filmmaking by saying "Nobody knows what's going to happen. And then we film it. That's the whole concept." I kept on thinking about that line as guests filed into a room at the Two Roads brewery in Stratford and watched Tony Pellino of OEC Brewing, Clement Pellani of Two Roads Brewery, Tyler Jones of Black Hog Brewing, Rich Visco of Shebeen Brewing and Conor Horrigan of Half Full Brewery take their seats in front of live mics. Whatever went down, it would all happen on the record. On the record, in this case, means the proceedings would be recorded live for Ken Tuccio's Welcome To Connecticut podcast. The weekly podcast highlights businesses and personalities making an impact here in the Constitution State, and has previously broadcast with guests like Jerry Springer, Aaron Sanchez, Oh, Cassius!, the Nutmeg Curling Club, Miss Connecticut, and Anthony Bourdain's Russian sidekick, Zamir Gotta, among many others. The audio of the beer summit will go live on Thursday, March 19 on WelcomeCT.com, but CTBites was right there to bring you a first look. Read More
Bounty Food Truck & Lobstercraft Join To Feature Surf'n'Turf Catering Features Restaurant Seafood Burgers James Gribbon March 04, 2015 A snowy night found guests piled into the close confines of 284 Tokeneke Rd. in Darien to sample offerings from the combined menus of Lobstercraft and Bounty food truck. The two outfits have come together to expand their catering services for private parties, weddings and both special events, and we have your first look. "We thought the surf and turf idea between the best lobster and the best burger would make a great combo," Captain Mike Harden of Lobstercraft told CTBites. "We are working on bringing Bounty under the same roof so you can come to one place and get whatever you like." Read More
Da Legna: New Haven's Best Kept Pizza Secret Features Restaurant Pizza New Haven Amy Kundrat February 22, 2015 Da Legna is the best kept secret for New Haven pizza lovers. But it shouldn’t be. Ask a friend who lives or works in New Haven for their favorite pie, and steel yourself for a slew of anecdotes, a bit of Elm City history, and maybe even a neighborhood geography lesson – Wooster v. State Street. Then, after declaring their allegiance to one of the “big three,” lean in, because your friend may end their (a)pizza diatribe with an almost conspiratorial whisper of “Da Legna,” the two-year old State Street restaurant devoted to wood-fired pizzas, Italian tapas, and a refreshing lack of pretense. Read More
Friday Froth: Notes From Big Brew NY Beer Festival Ingredients Festival Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon February 13, 2015 Session beers are popular now, but a single drinking session rarely includes 250 different beers. The Big Brew NY Beer Festival returned to White Plains on Feb. 7 with hundreds of kegged and bottled beers, plus a VIP area with almost 30 casks of special ales. It's tough to write with a beer in one hand and camera in the other, but I managed to record a few notes and observations from what has become a very good midsize beer festival.First: it may look crowded in a few of these photos, but the crowd was never an issue. Beer fest attendees tend to be pretty easy going. Most seem happy just to be in a place where they can simply stick out their glass and have it filled, and it's exciting to try new brands and styles without running the risk of taking your first sip and realizing you're now stuck with a six pack of beer you wouldn't use to poison driveway weeds. Read More
The Rob Roy Cocktail: A Manhattan with a Kilt Features Cocktails Recipe Amy Kundrat February 09, 2015 When the winter doldrums set in, and the temperatures flirt with zero, I set my sights firmly on brown spirits. Whisky, not whiskey, to be exact. A dram will usually do the trick, but on occasion I like to sully that perfect spirit by making it the foundation of a Rob Roy cocktail. If you can reconcile the fact that you’re meddling with the perfection that is scotch, with sweet vermouth and bitters, then you’ve found your perfect century-old cocktail. It’s essentially a Manhattan with a kilt, which is a fitting description seeing as it was created in New York’s Waldorf Astoria in 1894 for an opera based on the Scottish folk hero and outlaw Robert Roy MacGregor. There is something about peated scotch and a roaring fire, but an unpeated or blended whisky for your Rob Roy will also do the trick. Read More
Friday Froth: Tröegs, Jack's and Zoë Ingredients CT Beer Beer James Gribbon February 06, 2015 Tröegs Brewing Company made its Connecticut debut this week at The Cask Republic, The Ginger Man, Coalhouse Pizza, Craft 260, Max Burger and other locations around the state. Troeg's, from Pennsylvania, has a large portfolio of highly rated beers which are welcome additions to the universe of options currently available in the Constitution State. This week's installment of Froth starts with Troeg's Nugget Nectar, one of the darlings of the current American beer scene, and a limited release for the late winter. Nugget Nectar is a 7.5% imperial amber made with traditional European malts and fancy American hops. It pours the color of bourbon with an enticing meringue of head. There are very sweet, peachy hops to the nose, probably due to the Nugget and Simcoe varieties which make part of the hop bill, and a good balance of flavors to the first sip. The color is a faithful predictor of the maltiness in this one, but the fruity hop character is fully apparent early on. Read More
Friday Froth: Snowed In With Barleywine Ingredients Brewery CT Beer Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon January 30, 2015 Deep snow requires strong booze. Our ancestors knew it, we know it, and every year around the winter solstice we can see a certain class of beer made specifically for snow days start to take up shelf space. Barleywine is beer better served at 55º than 35º, and best enjoyed when it's 25º outside. It's usually sold in large format bottles of the 22-26oz. variety, and will wrap you in an invisible sweater of at least 10% alcohol. Blizzards are a good thing when you're properly stocked. Barleywine has been deployed as a winter knock out drop by bored or insufficiently rowdy residents of the frostier climes for centuries. It is NyQuil by another name, and it is a blessed boon to those of us who seek to replace the lost hours of sunlight with - in order - hijinks and oblivion. Read More
Road Trip: Chamard Vineyards Farm, Winery, & Bistro in Clinton Ingredients Restaurant Clinton Road Trip Vineyard WIne Lunch Jessica Ryan January 25, 2015 How often does one get to visit a vineyard that’s blanketed by crisp white snow, or highlighted by a fiery autumnal backdrop, making it even more magical than it already is? Nestled in the shoreline town of Clinton, about a mile beyond the hustle and bustle of the outlet shops is a charming vineyard that boasts over 20 acres of grapes as well as their bountiful fruit, vegetable and herb gardens. One might not consider Connecticut to be wine country, but Chamard Vineyards Farm, Winery, & Bistro is worth noting. Established in 1983, Chamard’s winning Estate Reserve wines are exclusively made in their winery, and can be enjoyed in their Tasting Room or in their dining room. The bistro offers a creative farm-to-table menu featuring a French inspired American menu. Their Chardonnay and Merlot are very good. Read More
Wildly Different Beer Class: Wild Beer Co. & B. United @ Harry's in Fairfield Ingredients Beer CTbites Team January 21, 2015 Harry's Wine & Spirits is teaming up with B. United & Wild Beer Co for a very unique beer class and tasting on Thursday, February 19th 7-9pm. The Wild Beer Co was set up in September 2012 by Andrew Cooper and Brett Ellis to brew beers with a bit of a difference. Their goal is to focus on different ingredients, different yeasts and different barrel aging techniques. Which will be discussed throughout the tasting class. Their Evolver IPA that was featured in Draft Magazine as a one of the TOP 25 beers of2014. Wild Beer Co's beer is not brewed to style but are inspired by ingredients, occasions or experiences. Read More
Friday Froth: Down With Anchor! Ingredients CT Beer Beer James Gribbon January 16, 2015 A California brewer reached across the country to attack Hartford's City Steam and, distressingly, they've won. At issue? Anchor thinks they own the word "steam." Regular Friday Froth readers may remember when I first mentioned the lawsuit brought by Anchor Brewing against City Steam Brewery Cafe almost a year ago. This week a judge ruled Anchor Brewing in San Francisco can force City Steam in Hartford to chance its name. The lawsuit was upsetting then, and it's dead-fish-on-a-hot-sidewalk repellant now. I'm urging every craft beer drinker in Connecticut to boycott Anchor beer. Just don't buy it. It's that easy. Our voices and and dollars will be noticed. Just this week, Lagunitas dropped a similarly frivolous lawsuit against Sierra Nevada due to overwhelming consumer derision. Let's tell Anchor we in Connecticut are not going to take it laying down. Read More
Holiday Flip Cocktail Recipe via Sean Nye of Match in SoNo Features Cocktails Recipe Stephanie Webster December 23, 2014 Looking for the perfect Holiday Cocktail recipe for your festivities? Sean Nye has mixed up a little something special for CTbites, from his new post, behind the bar of Match in South Norwalk. Sean hails most recently from Walrus & Carpenter, as well as Bodega and South End in New Canaan. Jusy sayin...the man knows how to make a drink. Enjoy this truly delicious recipe for the "Holiday Flip" made with Applejack Brandy, cardamaro and nutmeg. And if you're simply too tired from opening presents, just go order one at Match. Holiday Flip Cocktail Recipe Read More
CTbites Readers Get Special Gift @ Sugar & Olives Winter Market Ingredients Farmers Market Norwalk CTbites Team December 18, 2014 CT Bites readers who shop the market get a free gift with a purchase of $25 or more, a seasonal seasoning; a tin of our coffee salt rub (great for roasts or steaks) featuring Gorilla Coffee Beans and Himalayan Pink Sea Salt. Keep it or gift it, either way it’s a delicious addition to your holiday meal. This indoor, rain-or-shine market/outing will run every Friday through February (except after Thanksgiving Christmas and New Year’s), offering locally produced edibles, including milk, eggs, cheese, honey flour, grains, produce and meats. More Info Here. Read More
What Makes A Beer A Connecticut Beer? Ingredients CT Beer Beer James Gribbon December 18, 2014 Recently there was some discussion on Twitter, that infinite forum for public opinion, as to what makes a beer Connecticut Beer. At issue was the newly released Sip Of Sunshine IPA from Lawson's Finest Liquids. SOS, as we'll call it, is brewed at Two Roads in Stratford, Conn., so Elm City Beer Lovers asked if it belonged on their "Best of CT Beers" list. The obvious catch? Lawson's Finest was established in Warren, Vermont circa 2009. So: does being brewed and sold in Connecticut make it a Connecticut beer you're drinking? It depends on what you think.First, we have to consider how hard a line we're going to draw. Some beers are obviously capital C-B Connecticut Beers: New England Brewing in Woodbridge, Beer'd Brewing in Stonington, Relic Brewing in Plainville, Southport Brewing Company... all established, licensed, brewed and sold in Connecticut. Verdict: Connecticut Beers. That's easy, but are beers like these the only ones worthy of the name? What's the orthodoxy here? Read More
Kids & Adult Cooking Classes @ Aux Delices Features Cooking Classes Education Kids kids activity kids cooking party CTbites Team December 17, 2014 Aux Delices' 2015 Winter/Spring Kids & Adult Cooking Class Schedule has just been announced. Aux Délices offers cooking classes for adults and children at their professional catering kitchen in Stamford. Classes are generally held on Wednesday evenings for adults and Sunday afternoons for children. Classes are hands-on for children and both participation and demonstration for adults. Their focus is to teach easy, interesting and seasonal food preparation, utilizing a variety of cooking techniques. The chef instructors are from Aux Délices, as well as from well-known restaurants in Fairfield County and New York City. Lynn Manheim, the Cooking School Director does an incredible job engaging and challenging both children and adults, while teaching students the basics of cooking along the way. View the complete schedule below...For more information, click here. Read More
The Year-Round Gin & Tonic Features Cocktails Amy Kundrat December 12, 2014 The gin and tonic has become one of my favorite year-round cocktails. Now before you shout INFIDEL or HERESY and run for the torches to scare me and my cocktail into hibernation until the summer equinox, hear me out. The first rule of a year-round G&T: the gin must be considered carefully. If you’re looking for guidance here, you can’t go wrong with the St. George Terroir Gin, which grounds this G&T with an earthy bite of “Douglas fir, California bay laurel, coastal sage, and other evocative botanicals.” One whiff and you’ll instinctively look over your shoulder for the bear that modeled for the label. Trust me, this is the gin you want for a cold weather G&T. Next, find yourself a clean and crisp tonic. I recommend and will rarely stray from Q Tonic. Don’t even think about desecrating the G&T with a tonic like Schweppes, or please don’t tell me about it because I WILL judge you harshly. Read More
Marcia Selden Catering’s Best Holiday Hors D’oeuvres Features Entertaining Recipe Marcia Selden Catering December 11, 2014 The holidays are right around the corner, and you know what that means…. parties, parties and more parties! Whether you’re hosting or bringing, we’ve got you covered with this season’s most delicious hors d’oeuvre recipes, including: Polenta Bites with Mushroom Duxelle; Chevre & Fig Jam Tartlettes; Gruyere & Red Pepper Jelly Tartlettes & Poached Shrimp with Assorted Dipping Sauces. Your guests will think you hired a caterer! Read More
Greenwich Cheese Company Opens in Cos Cob, via Owners of Fairfield Cheese Co Ingredients Features Cheese Cos Cob Greenwich Specialty Market CTbites Team December 10, 2014 Laura Downey and Chris Palumbo, co-owners of Fairfield Cheese Company, will open Greenwich Cheese Company at 154 East Putnam Avenue in the Cos Cob section of Greenwich, CT, December 11, 2014. Building on the success of Laura and Chris’ popular Fairfield Cheese Company, which opened in 2009, the new location will carry on the tradition of offering the area’s best selection of cut-to-order from larger wheels, artisanal and farmstead cheese from around the world and artisanal cheeses from here in the US, in addition to an array of small batch handmade charcuterie and specialty food accompaniments. Laura and Chris take their craft seriously and are both the only retail owners in Connecticut to be American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professionals (ACS CCP), a certification that only a few hundred people have nationwide. Adding to the talented team is Greenwich store manager Kevin DeFreitas who brings 15 years of cheesemongering experience to this new endeavor and has worked with such industry pros as Ken Skovron from the Darien Cheese Shop. Read More
How To Create The Classic Holiday Cocktail Bar via Sheila Barton Catering Features Catering Cocktails Entertaining Sheila Barton December 10, 2014 Sheila Barton is a local caterer with a flair for food styling. After watching her work her magic at several parties, we asked her for a few tips on creating your own "Classic Cocktail Bar." Here are her tips... I thought it would benefit many to talk about how to set up the perfect holiday cocktail bar. Not only are the essentials so very important, but so are Style, Texture and Taste. I am always about creating an experience..starting with your eyes and ending with taste. Even if you can only afford to serve one great wine and one great beer, you can still do it with style. If you can throw in a classic craft cocktail or two, more the merrier!So to first create Style, it is important to create a feeling of glamour and fun. You do this with visual appeal using different heights and Texture. Read More
Wine Making Class & Tasting @ Barcelona West Hartford Ingredients Restaurant Cooking Classes WIne Wine Tasting CTbites Team December 10, 2014
Winter Cooking Classes @ The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Features Chef Talk Cooking Classes CTbites Team December 07, 2014 If you're still looking for the unique gift for that special person. Give them a memorable experience that is both fun & useful. Sign them up for a cooking class at The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Restaurant in Wilton Ct. In fact, sign up with them. Chef Tim LaBant & his staff will be sharing their years of experience each Tuesday evening beginning in February. You'll also savor the finished culinary delights after the class. The schedule and focus for each evening is as follows: February 3...Winter Braising and knife skillsFebruary 10...Appetizers and ingredient pairing guidlinesFebruary 17...How to prepare our most favorite soups and stocksFebruary 24...Duck cookery and grain preparationMarch 3...Fish cookery; wet and dry cooking methods.When to use each method Read More
