Friday Froth: Winter Update Ingredients Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon January 18, 2013 "You shouldn't be scared of spiders," I remember my mother telling me. "You're much bigger than they are." At the time this line of reasoning seemed like neither a straight line, nor particularly reasonable, but I had no adequate retort at eight years old. Spiders were little, misshapen beasts from hell's own imagination then, and they remain so now. Doubly so, since now I know about things like the Brown Recluse, but that's not important. A spider I can hit with a magazine before turning on my heel and shrieking away. I am millions of times larger than a cold virus, and that hasn't stopped it from kicking my ass. So take that, 1987 Mom. All this is to say I haven't been drinking a lot of beer lately, but here are a few tidbits from the scattershot days in which I've been both awake and able to breathe over the past month.Sixpoint in Brooklyn literally turns out (at least one) new beer every month. See their single-hopped Spice of Life series for just one example. In that vein, I finally had the Pacifica version which came out in November, and can still be found on tap here and there. Read More
Westport Farmers' Mkt Hosts Cabbage Recipe Contest Ingredients Farmers Market Local Farm Westport Recipe CTbites Team January 11, 2013 Cabbage -A cultivated plant (Brassica oleracea) eaten as a vegetable, having thick green or purple leaves surrounding a spherical heart or head... Do you have a cabbage recipe that you think can win a contest for the best cabbage recipe? On January 19, next Saturday, The Westport Farmers' Market will be accepting all entries. At 11:00 a.m. celebrity Judges/Chefs Nancy Roper (from Boxcar Cantina and Truck) and Bill Taibe (from Lefarm and Whelk) will taste their way through the entries declaring a winner at high noon. The winner will receive a Westport Farmers' Market tote filled with market goodies worth well over a $100 and have the option to share their recipe with the 3,000 people who receive the WFM newsletter each week. There is one stipulation to the contest - the cabbage that is used must be from a local farm and the name of the farm must be noted with the entry. Email Lori Cochran, Market Director, by Jan 17 to enter- director@westportfarmersmarket.com Read More
6 Great Cleanses to Start the New Year Right Ingredients Juice Cleanse healthy Sarah Green January 02, 2013 What could be more appropriate for a CTbites article than to paraphrase a Shakespearan play whose title contains a tasty pork product? HAMlet, at his existential and post holiday binge worst probably also asked "To cleanse or not to cleanse...that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the gut to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous feasting, Or to take action against a sea of troubles and, by cleansing, - end them. Don't worry. And don't bother with the nunnery. Instead, get thee to one of the establishments listed below and sample a cleanse to rid yourself of post-food-orgy regret. Start the new year by taking care of your body with one of these 6 great cleanses: Read More
DAVIDsTEA Opens in Westport Ingredients Specialty Market Westport Tea And Coffee Breakfast Nancy Kleeger December 26, 2012 On the twelfth night of Christmas, my true love brewed for me,” 1 buddha’s blend, 2 matcha matsu, 3 long life oolong, 4 la la lemon, 5 chocolate orange...and so the song goes. New to Main Street in downtown Westport, just in time for the holidays, is DAVIDsTEA, a Canadian company started by two cousins who wanted to introduce the masses to the ancient world of loose leaf tea in a fun, modern environment. Initially successful in Canada with over 80 stores, the cousins decided to set up shop in the U.S. with Westport following the likes of NYC, Chicago and San Francisco. Read More
Friday Froth: Winter Update Ingredients Beer James Gribbon December 14, 2012 OK, first off: big news yesterday, as Westvleteren 12 hit retail in the United States for the only time ever. This is absolutely one of the world's finest beers (it scores a perfect 100 with over 1,300 reviews on BeerAdvocate), and the only way to get it, apart from this super limited release, is to travel to the St. Sixtus Abbey in Belgium. The sole reason Westvleteren 12 is available at retail (for an eye-popping $85/six pack with two glasses) is because the abbey needed a new roof. You can read all about it here, but Fairfield County residents will have to skip over the border into New York to places like DeCicco’s if they want to experience this ultra-rare elixir. A complete list of retail locations can be found here, so good hunting. Read More
Pagano's Seafood in Norwalk: Restaurant & Insiders Shop Here Ingredients Norwalk Seafood Specialty Market Emma Jane-Doody Stetson December 11, 2012 When a recipe called for whole uncleaned squid, I knew that the ingredient would be difficult to find. However, I did not expect it to be impossible. After 4 grocery stores, 4 markets, 6 restaurants, multiple phone calls and exactly 0 success, I began to think otherwise. Fortunately, a friend with ties to the food industry gave me a little tip as I was about to surrender: Pagano’s Seafood in Norwalk. Sure enough, they had plenty of whole squid for purchase. I started on my recipe within the hour. It turns out that Pagano’s is greatly respected in both the restaurant community. They provide fish to some of the area’s most popular dining destinations including The Homestead Inn, Quattro Pazi, Napa and Company, Barcelona, Match, The Spotted Horse, and Bartaco. They even serve restaurants and markets in Massachusetts and New York. When I asked Allen Pagano, a founder and owner, why Pagano’s was so sought after, he chuckled and responded simply, “Because we’re the best.” Read More
Olive Oil Tasting w/ Olivette: Things I Never Knew... Ingredients Education sherri daley November 29, 2012 Since I attended a 2-hour olive oil tasting at Olivette, co-sponsored by The Fairfield Green Food Guide, I am deeply ashamed of my olive oil buying habits and I promise to be a better person. I thank Alina Lawrence, co-owner and general manager of Olivette, an olive oil and vinegar tasting room and specialty foods store in Darien, for her inspired decision to invite professional olive oil taster Arden Kremer to host the tasting. I thank Ms. Kremer for her patience with my sweetly stupid questions, and I will change my ways before someone sees what I am pouring on my salad. Historically, I have bought olive oil that comes in a bottle that has lots of Italian writing on it in squirrely script, maybe some pictures of olive trees. Also, sometimes there is a sale on industrial-sized cans of olive oil which I know will last me years because I live alone and do not use olive oil for any purpose outside of the kitchen. Read More
Wakeman Farm Winter CSA Sign Up is Now! Ingredients Local Farm Farm Fresh CTbites Team November 27, 2012 Winter is drawing near, and many of us will eat the last of our local, farm-fresh veggies alongside our Thanksgiving turkey. Luckily, with Winter Sun Farms & Wakeman Town Farm in Westport, you get to keep eating Hudson Valley vegetables and berries all winter. You don't want to miss your first pickup. If you haven't signed up yet, now is the time! (Here is more info on CSA's and how they work.) The season kicks off in December, when your share is projected to include: Sweet Corn, Butternut Squash Puree, Green Beans, Peppers, Tomato, Blueberries and Pea Shoots. New this year, our tomato puree comes in a shelf-stable jar. Sign up at www.wintersunfarms.com and check Westport, CT as your pickup point. WinterSunFarms Winter CSA Pickup at Wakeman Town Farm Read More
SoNo Market Place Opens December 1st in Norwalk Ingredients Restaurant Bakery Chocolate Coffee Norwalk Pizza Specialty Market Wine Dinners Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger November 26, 2012 A week prior to the official opening on Saturday December 1st, SoNo Market Place decided to sponsor a soft opening on November 23rd and I decided that tasting some good local food was a whole lot better than fighting the crowds at the mall. All of the food purveyors were in full test-mode and my first stop was Flat White Coffee to taste the coffee described to CTbites by owner, John Palino, back in September. This was a creamy blend of rich coffee and steamed milk, a brand brought over from New Zealand, and one that should meet with great success in CT. But it's not just about coffee at SoNo Market Place. With over 20 food vendors and eateries, this European style market is poised to be a foodie destination. Guests lined up at Wise Guys Pizza for New Haven style pies; Norm Bloom served up fresh oysters and clams straight from the Norwalk waters, and Fish & Chips were on the menu from Gotta Nibble. Caterering company, Festivities, has a permananet spot here with their take-out biz, "Party Express." Local specialty purveyors and well known brands such as Knipschildt Chocolatier, Wave Hill Breads, and Nothin' But Granola have also opened shop at the market. Read More
The Story Behind Fat Cat Pie Co. in Norwalk CT Ingredients Restaurant Pizza Wine Bar Wine Chat Emma Jane-Doody Stetson November 15, 2012 As an English enthusiast, I am always looking for meaningful ways to explain the concept of “irony.” It is perhaps the most misunderstood word in the English language. Although Alanis Morisette’s single “Ironic” proved catchy, it helped propagate the phony notion that irony must be linked to coincidence or misfortune. Irony is actually a simple “incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.” Examples include a traffic officer avoiding parking tickets or the demise of “unsinkable” Titanic. But the best embodiment of the term is certainly the Fat Cat Pie Company. This venture, led by Mark Ancona, Anthony Ancona, Suzanne Ancona, and Mike Pelletier, is a dazzling display of all things unexpected. Read More
Calling All Pepperheads: Salemme Peppers Ingredients Local Artisan sherri daley November 13, 2012 If you are the type who scoffs at the red pepper flakes provided at the local pizza parlor, screwing off the top to be able to pour the maximum number of flakes on your slice while saying loudly enough for tables nearby to hear, “Ha! You call this hot?”, then you really need Tom Salemme. Along with his extended Italian family residing in and around Cheshire CT – and to be fair, Brooklyn - Tom keeps the Salemme tradition going. It started a couple of generations ago, great-great-grandparents growing peppers for their own use, but friends and neighbors had to have some, too. The tradition lived on long after the first and second generations passed away and the family farm was sold. Salemme peppers stayed, sowed and harvested on local farmland owned by T&D Growers, dried in nearby greenhouses, and, finally, the tiny peppers are plucked by hand from the dry plants at long tables in Tom Salemme’s backyard on an autumn afternoon. Read More
Friday Froth: What's New? Ingredients Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon November 09, 2012 Every day is like waking up in a new place when you're a beer fan. The craft beer scene continues to hit higher plateaus. Brewers and beer artisans no longer seem content to simply produce a great beer in a recognizable style, they're reaching out into the realms of winemaking, distillation and cooking just to see what they can offer, what they can contribute to zymurgy. I've mentioned the experimental barrel-aging going on with B. United's Zymatore Project, but every stumbling step seems to put me mouth to mouth with a pint of inspired brewing. It's like the Seattle music scene in 1990, or Parisian cafes in 1870: artists are communicating with artists, experiencing each others' product, and reconsidering what they can produce. Yesterday I had a Rogue Chipotle ale. Yes, yes, I know: chipotle has been done, done to death, buried, reanimated in a unholy ceremony using two parts voodoo and one part Guy Fieri's wrist band, and been put down and buried again, but there I was, having to recalibrate what I thought about beer. Read More
The Pantry in Fairfield: Market & Catering for Food-Lovers (sponsored post) Ingredients Features Bakery Butcher Catering Entertaining Fairfield Specialty Market pantry Advertisement Lunch Sarah Green November 07, 2012 You won't believe what's in our PANTRY! Located at 1580 Post Road in Fairfield, Ct, The Pantry is much more than a food shop - it is Mecca for foodies as well as a one-stop-shop for busy consumers. Established in 2003 through the collaborative effort of chefs & food lovers, The Pantry has blossomed into a bustling marketplace stocked with an array of products and services for today's savvy clientele. What have they got? Top quality butchered meats & seafood (delivered daily from various New York markets), award winning desserts and pastries (the bakery has received "Best Desserts in Fairfield County" from Fairfield Weekly for 9 consecutive years), restaurant quality prepared foods & catering services, a full deli and salad bar, groceries, produce and floral & customized gift baskets. Whether you are looking for a freshly tossed salad, pan seared salmon with citrus, basil & olive oil or a chocolate chip cookie - The Pantry is the place to shop. This Pantry is stocked!! Read More
Olive Oil Tasting Event w/ Olivette & Fairfield Green Food Guide, Nov 13th Ingredients Events CTbites Team November 05, 2012 Please join Olivette and the Fairfield Green Food Guide on Tuesday, November 13th frm 6-8PM, for an evening of sensory exploration with one of the foremost olive oil tasting experts in the US, Arden Kremer. During this two-hour workshop you will learn to taste and analyze extra virgin olive oils from around the world just as the experts on professional olive oil taste panels do. Bonus! This tasting will be held at the new Sono Marketplace...you can be one of the first to check out this beautiful new multi vendor market. Here are the details: Read More
Nothin' But Granola Bars Make it Big @ Le Pain Quotidien Ingredients Local Artisan Breakfast Kid Friendly Dessert CTbites Team October 23, 2012 Big news for a local baker whose career CTbites has followed from the very beginning. Westport based NOTHIN’ BUT Premium Snack Bars have just announced that they have created a specialty blend granola bar for Le Pain Quotidien, an international chain of bakery cafes. Several months ago Nothin' But CEO, Steven Laitmon, and Jerri Graham, the founder and creator of the company, approached Le Pain with the idea of making a proprietary blended granola bar. Receptive about a Premium Snack Bar that could capture their commitment to excellence, the team at Le Pain readily agreed. Back home in Westport, Jerri and Steven set to work and started the process of crafting various combinations until they achieved what they felt was perfection. Read More
Food News: Openings, Parties, Election Day & Wine Ingredients Restaurant Brunch News Specialty Market Beer CTbites Team October 23, 2012 Half Full brewery in Stamford will host a Halloween party this Saturday, starting at 7p.m. For $50, you'll get open taps of Half Full Bright Ale, InaugerALE, IPA and Pumpkin Ale, Oktoberfest inspired food and Pumpkin Ale floats, via Station Eats, and a costume contest. Half Full recommends taking a cab to this one. Feeling stressed about Election Day? Fairway Market in Stamford has a solution. Eat cupcakes.. Go Donkey or Elephant - for $1.49 each - celebrate or sob into your sweets. The Spread opens TODAY in SoNo with Executive Chef Arik Bensimon. Don't miss out on this hipster scene and spectacular menu. More here. Looking for a good brunch spot? Bar Sugo, Chef Pat Pascarella's new killer Italian venue in Norwalk, is serving a regional Italian brunch Saturday and Sunday with rotating menu items including: Crispy Pork Belly w/ Sunny Side Up Eggs, Sausage & Broccoli Rabe omelettes, pancakes, and all the usual suspects. View menu here. Read More
Walter Stewart's Market Fall Shopping Guide (sponsored post) Ingredients Local Artisan Local Farm Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market New Canaan CTbites Team October 22, 2012 Fall is here and Walter Stewart's Market, a fixture in downtown New Canaan since 1907, is celebrating the season with great products for your whole family. For those who haven’t shopped this local gem, take a a trip down the aisles of Walter Stewart’s Market, where you’ll find an amazing array of local, seasonal and specialty items...not to mention the Stewart’s wine shop. Finally one stop shopping. How better to enjoy in these crisp Fall months, than with local apple and apple cider from Lyman Orchards in Middlefield CT or the exceptionally delicious Cider donuts from Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel. Read More
LUXE Modern Wine & Cocktails in Westport Ingredients Restaurant Cocktails Westport Wine Bar Amy Kundrat October 19, 2012 LUXE Modern Wine & Cocktails in Westport is focusing on mixology education this fall and winter just in time to get your bar fully stocked and your skills sharpened for the holiday entertaining to come. Cocktail Classes will be held on 10/29, 11/19, 12/17, and focus on the following subjects: Setting up a home bar, basic bar tools, basic cocktails with mixers; basic cocktails Spirits, punch and cocktails for a crowd, how to create your own signature cocktail, and prepping your home bar for a cocktail party. To RSVP, leave a message for LUXE @ 203 349 5039 or message on facebook. Read More
Friday Froth: Hopstacle Course Ingredients Beer Dinner Beer James Gribbon October 12, 2012 "Brain Blaster," huh? I crinkle the plastic bag in my fingers and stick my nose in once more to inhale the pungent aroma of the dried green buds it contains. "Its only sounds like 'Brain Blaster'," says Brendan Kingston. "There's no way anything with a name like that gets past the FDA." I drop the bag and pick up a small glass of brown beer. The beer's real name is An Braon, meaning "The Tasty Drop," which is appropriate. We're not here to discuss the forest here, though: we're looking at the trees. Well, vines, to be precise. I'm sitting at the first in a series of educational tasting classes conducted by B. United International, and hosted by Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford.Every day, CTBites chronicles the myriad ways in which we're lucky to be living in Fairfield County during the current food (and beer) renaissance in America Read More
