Come On Down to Westport’s Oktoberfest Biergarten on the Green Oct.19th Restaurant Beer Dinner Events Holiday Oktoberfest Beer CTbites Team October 11, 2013 A chill in the air…days getting shorter…colorful leaves swirling….Welcome to October and the Westport Downtown Merchants Association’s 2nd annual Biergarten on the Green on Saturday October 19th 1:00-5:00 pm. Meet under the big tent on historic Veteran's Green right in downtown Westport, CT and sample some of the finest, award-winning local, national and international craft and micro brews. A mini tasting mug will be provided for samples from breweries such as Blue Point on Long Island, Goose Island from Chicago, East Coast Brewing from New Jersey, and Beaver Beer from right here in Westport. The Shock Top beer car will be back with the tap in the trunk and the Mohawk of wheat on the roof. New breweries are added every day. Seasonal food such as knockwurst, bratwurst, pulled pork and chili will be available for purchase. The food experts from CTBites will present chefs from Tavern on Main, and The Spread, demonstrating ways to pair the beverage of the day with delicious food; and the Zany Oompah Band will be back performing all the classics: waltzes, polkas and drinking songs for sing-a-long and dancing! Read More
Picador 2.0 Opens in New Canaan Restaurant Italian New Canaan Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger October 10, 2013 More culinary changes are occurring in New Canaan as Picador Restaurant on Elm Street was recently purchased by Ray Rivera, former Food and Beverage Manager at The Hyatt, and Leo Gaspar the owner of New Canaan’s Club Sandwich. Rivera and former owner Alan Basaran (owner of New Canaan’s Carpe Diem Restaurant) have known each other for years and a conversation eventually led to the Rivera and Gaspar purchasing the site. The pair immediately hired Chef Corey Falcone, who was previously the chef/owner of Bella Luna, one of Stamford’s favorite Italian restaurants. This partnership culminates years of discussions between Rivera and Chef Corey who wanted to work together in a small restaurant. Rivera summed up his four year search for the perfect venue and cuisine, “I’m thrilled about our restaurant being on Elm Street in New Canaan and presenting international fare plus steaks and chops. Corey is excited to use his talents to fuse Spanish and Italian flavors and he is a master of the grill.” Read More
Wine, Whiskey and Craft Beer Tasting @ Stew Leonard's Restaurant Cocktails Wine Tasting CTbites Team October 10, 2013 Join the wine specialists from Stew Leonard's Wines of Norwalk as we celebrate harvest season with an October Wine, Whiskey and Craft Beer Tasting! More than 50 wines and beers will be featured, as well as a special Compass Box blended whisky tasting, and a menu of seasonal fare freshly prepared by Stew Leonard’s culinary team. The event takes place on Thursday, October 24, 2013 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Stew Leonard's food store, located at 100 Westport Avenue in Norwalk. Tickets are $40 per person and all proceeds will benefit The Norwalk Exchange Club, which will use the funds raised to benefit local community organizations in the City of Norwalk. Stew Leonard's Wine specialists have hand-picked a selection of more than 50 wines that complement the flavors of the fall harvest season. Read More
Blogger Lounge Video Highlights: 15 Chefs & Industry Pros Talk Shop @ The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival Interview Restaurant Celebrity Chef Chef Talk CTbites Team October 09, 2013 Hosting the CTbites Blogger Lounge at the Greenwich Wine+Food Festival has to be one of our fondest and possibly the most fun collaborations we've been a part of in our three years of eating, writing, photographing, interviewing, and convening chefs and restaurateurs for CTbites. There is so much to share, so much to cover, so as a bit of a teaser of that excellent day, here are some video snippets of the great action from Saturday's Blogger Lounge. We will be sharing full interviews, our own coverage, and our fellow blogger coverage over the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Read More
Pizza Luca: Neopolitana Pizza Truck Debuts at Beer Garden @ Harbor Point in Stamford Restaurant Catering Entertaining Food Truck Pizza Stamford Kid Friendly Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger October 06, 2013 How cool is it to walk up to a 1952 Chevy Pick-Up truck and order a perfectly prepared Napoletana pizza, with great ingredients imported from Italy, prepared by a classical trained Italian chef, and baked in under two minutes in a blazing hot, wood-fired oven. Pizza Luca, the brain child of Chef Dean Medico, creates pizza masterpieces that are steeped in the tradition of Italy, using only the best ingredients from Italy to create three distinctly southern Italian pizza delicacies, the Marinara, the Margherita, and the sauce-less Bianca. Read More
Yale's Foodtober Events Celebrate & Examine Our Food Culture Road Trip Restaurant Events NYC New Haven Amy Kundrat October 01, 2013 This October, the Yale Alumni Association of New York is co-sponsoring Foodtober, a month of food-related events and activities in NYC in association with numerous shared interest groups, alumni organizations, and community partners. These events are open to the public. Touching on food culture, creation, politics, business, media, history and science, Foodtober uses food as a common thread to explore and share the great diversity of our community. These events, from small restaurant dinners in the outer boroughs, to an International Food Fight at the Yale Club of New York hosted by Jacques Pépin, will raise funds to support the Yale Sustainable Food Project and Just Food. For more information or to register for an event, visit: http://yaany.org/foodtober/ and/or purchase tickets on EventBrite. Read More
Award Winning Bareburger "Organic" Burgers Opening in Ridgefield & Stamford Restaurant Ridgefield Stamford Burgers Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger September 29, 2013 Tremendous construction activity is happening at 38 Danbury Road in Ridgefield as the micro-chain Bareburger is slated to open in mid-November, bringing a wide variety of meats, toppings and, for those looking for a little less in the calorie-count, salads. In 2009 after receiving rave reviews preparing hamburgers in the kitchen of Sputnik, an underground music haunt in Brooklyn, Euripides Pelekanos founded Bareburger in an Astoria, Queens’ storefront. After bringing his winning formula to thirteen additional NYC locations, Bareburger is now expanding into Connecticut with its first Nutmeg State location in Ridgefield with a second slated for opening in Stamford in mid-2014. In an exclusive interview with CTbites, Pelekanos explained his philosophy and vision as Bareburger expands from its single Astoria location into a regional micro-chain. “I want all of my products to be organic or as close to organic as possible. From the meat to the toppings to the salads, I want natural or organic; that is my personal preference; that is what I eat.” With organic producers Albert’s Organic, Blackwing Quality Meats and Rick’s Picks already in the food chain, Pelekanos is now interested in developing relationships with local farms. The Bareburger brand represents products that are “free of hormones, pesticides and other unsavory elements.” Read More
Little Barn in Westport: Local Pub Gets Ready for Fall Opening Restaurant Westport Beer Bar Comfort Food Kid Friendly CTbites Team September 24, 2013 “Things are starting to move really quickly now” said Scott Beck the co-owner of the soon to open Little Barn in Westport. He and his partner Kevin McHugh are working to get the new Pub opened before the holiday season starts. “We’re building a barn, and putting a pub inside” ‘Since Kevin sold his shares in The Little Pub in Ridgefield we have been looking for a great spot to put a new pub concept. When we found out that the Swanky Frank’s space could be had we moved quickly. I loved the idea of redoing such an iconic building in Westport particularly since we both grew up in Westport and spent lots of time in the Dairy Queen back in the days before it was Swanky Franks.” While the shape of the building harkens back to its Swanky days, the interior has been completely reconceived. Beck says “I want people to be surprised when they walk in.” “The plan is to keep the original lines of the building intact but basically rebuild the entire place as a barn with a pub inside it. The gambrel shaped roof will be kept but the bright red roof will be replaced with a galvanized steel one. The building, inside and out, will feature lots of reclaimed red barn siding, the 2 spectacular reclaimed roof vents just went up, the 2 sided stone fireplace is being built now which will be perfect for the cooler nights. It will cozy up the inside and also warm up the outside when eating or drinking on the outside stone patio. In the summer the bar and dining room have sliding doors that open onto the patio as well which will give it a nice open air feel. The menu and ambiance will be casual and fun, with no dish priced over $20. Read More
Fork It Over Recap: Westport Farmers' Market Throws A Locally Inspired Clam Bake Restaurant Events Farm to Table Farmers Market Stephanie Webster September 23, 2013 CLICK ON IMAGE TO LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY Sunday night harkened the first of four highly anticipated “Fork it Over” fundraising dinners to benefit the Westport Farmers’ Market. Market Director, Lori Cochran, added a dash of mystery this year as guests submitted their RSVP’s (quickly I may add as the events sell out in a matter of minutes), without any knowledge of the location or the chefs participating in any of the four culinary evenings. Alas, diners waited for weeks, running through possible guest chef scenarios in their heads, and waiting for the morning of the event when news would arrive. The inaugural event was held at The Grange in Fairfield, and the first Chef in the Fork it Over lineup was none other than Matt Storch of Match Restaurant assisted by Jeff Spence of The Chelsea. On the lawn guests were greeted with the smell of grilled sausages in 3 varieties from Saugatuck Craft Butchery, a peek into Chef Storch’s La Caja China smoke box filled with Norm Bloom’s oysters, clams, and lobsters, and a bar with expertly crafted Cocktails and wine pairings from Saugatuck Grain and Grape. What we had here was an old fashioned end of the summer Clam Bake. The evening was looking good. If you missed it, no worries, we've got lots of photos. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY Read More
ON20 in Hartford: Lofty Views, Gorgeous Food, Top Chef, New Prix Fixe Lunch Menu Restaurant Hartford Douglas P Clement September 22, 2013 The season we’ve just entered, that glowing, golden transition from high summer to early autumn, with cooler temperatures and the first blush of fall foliage, is the year’s best backdrop for fine dining. This menu of gorgeously-presented, heavenly-tasting farm-to-table cuisine will continue indefinitely—just like the unparalleled views of the cityscape and the Connecticut River Valley that guests enjoy at the restaurant, named for its location on the 20th floor of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company - and here’s the season’s best invitation: ON20 in Hartford, a nonpareil Connecticut restaurant with a very talented young chef, is launching a new $30 prix fixe lunch menu that highlights locally-grown ingredients. Close your eyes and order anything on the menus created by Executive Chef Jeffrey Lizotte, who, barely into his 30s, has worked with David Bouley, at Le Bernardin and at the two-star Michelin Restaurant, La Bastide St. Antoine in France. He’ll send out plates that are works of art, and bites that will leave you trying to put words to the rhapsody of flavor epiphanies with each forkful. (ON20 is open Monday through Friday for lunch, Thursday and Friday for dinner, and hosts happy hours Wednesday through Friday.) Read the full story on Connecticut Magazine's Web site. Read More
Walrus & Carpenter Host Crispin Cider Tasting Restaurant CTbites Team September 21, 2013 Walrus & Carpenter, one of Fairfield County's most exciting new restaurants will be hosting a...no...not wine...not beer...CIDER tasting event, Crispin Cider Tasting Thursday September, 26th. How better to herald the beginning of fall than with the menu below? Pork, Bourbon, Squash...Take a look. For Walrus newbies, the kitchen is led by Executive Chef Paul DiMaria, formerly of the beautiful Community Table in Washington, CT. Walrus and Carpenter is located at 2895 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport. This is an evening you won't want to miss. 1st Course – Crispin Original + Cider Cocktails Fall spiced smoked pork + apple sausage, goat cheese crostini, tarragon aioli, cider-red wine reduction 2nd Course – Bourbon Barrel Aged Cider Butternut squash + sweet potato soup, smoked bacon, apples + thyme Read More
Westport-Weston Restaurant Week: 23 Restaurants, Dining Deals Restaurant Restaurant Week CTbites Team September 20, 2013 Mark your calendars; The Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce will once again sponsor the tastiest two weeks of the year during Westport’s Fall Restaurant Weeks -- Sunday, September 29th thru Saturday, October 12, 2013. This biannual event provides the perfect opportunity to take advantage of great savings at Westport’s best restaurants throughout town. Twenty-three local eateries will feature exclusive 2-course lunch, and 3-course dinner options (prix-fixe) during the two-week period. It’s an ideal time to discover Westport’s hidden dining delights at savings of up to 40%. Participating restaurants are: 323 Main Restaurant & Bar • Blue Lemon • Cru Restaurant and Lounge • DaPietro's • Matsu Sushi • Pink Sumo Café Sushi & Sake Café • Rizzuto's • Sakura Japanese Restaurant • Tabouli Grill • Tarantino’s • Tarry Lodge • Terrain Garden Café • The Mumbai Times • Rive Bistro • Positano's Ristorante • Artisan • Acqua Ristorante • Post 154 • Spotted Horse Tavern • Tavern on Main • Tengda Asian Bistro • The Red Hen at the Westport Inn • Arezzo Ristorante. Read More
Foodie Road Trip: Mystic, CT for Seafood & Sweets Restaurant Mystic Road Trip Emma Jane-Doody Stetson September 20, 2013 “Cute Connecticut Day Trips.” Search. Labor Day had left me with an unexpected day off from work, and I’d turned to Google to help decide what to do with the time. The results came in with a definitive winner: Mystic, Connecticut. Between an aquarium, a historical seaport, and seaside shops, the town seemed like the perfect destination. And perfect it was. In addition to its attractions, Mystic also holds an array of amazing restaurants overflowing with fresh seafood. After a morning at the aquarium, my friend and I chose a place called “Go Fish” for a late lunch. It is located in Old Mistick Village, an area of small shops and boutiques meant to feel like a colonial New England town. We walked into a space adorned with large sea inspired murals painted in vibrant colors- almost Warhol-esque. There was a beautiful large bar accentuated with rows of shiny glassware. Even though it was three in the afternoon, several people were enjoying a meal or a drink at the bar. Go Fish specializes in fresh seafood; ideal for the person wanting to appreciate the coastal milieu. Specials included an assortment of local raw oysters and jumbo crab legs. Guests can choose from an array of appetizers, sandwiches, soups, and entrees. My favorite feature was that full entrees could be ordered as small plates as well. I decided on a small plate version of their Steamed Littleneck Clams with grilled chorizo Read More
Upcoming Beer Dinners: Relic Brewing, Stone Brewing, Cask Republic Restaurant Beer Dinner CT Beer Beer James Gribbon September 19, 2013 Relic Brewing has been producing small batches of beer from their location in Plainville for well over a year, and they’ve been at the top of my mental checklist of Connecticut brews to try for some time. They’ve recently given all of us two more reasons/excuses/opportunities to satiate both our curiosity and thirst, starting with their Autumnal Celebration on September 20th. This will be a free event on Relic’s grounds at 95 B Whiting St. in Plainville, and feature local purveyors of wood fired pizza, paella, bratwurst, fries, porchetta and, of course, locally brewed beer. The second, possibly more noteworthy, event involves Relic pairing with restaurant 50 West, also of Plainville, for a Belgian beer dinner on October 2. Relic produces several Belgian-style ales, one of which will be paired with five of the six courses at the meal, including some highlights like: Read More
Kids Review: Wilson's BBQ via AsherZeats Kids Bites Restaurant BBQ Fairfield Southern Lunch Kid Friendly CTbites Team September 18, 2013 “It’s no sin to get sauce on your chin.” - Bishop Tutu Last weekend I got a chance to make the short trek to Wilson’s Barbecue (1851 Post Rd Fairfield, CT ), to enjoy some incredible Pit BBQ. Wilson’s is owned by Ed Wilson, who has competed in and judged numerous BBQ competitions throughout his life. Ed is an extremely kind man, who goes out of his way to talk to everyone who enters his restaurant. He even happily agreed to sit down and talk to me after my fantastic meal, about what makes his food so good. He couldn’t be nicer. When we arrived at Wilson’s we were greeted by Mr. Wilson who said hello and wished us an excellent meal. As I entered the restaurant I noticed the comfy, road-house-esque atmosphere that was filled with memorabilia of his experiences as a chef and owner. When it was time to order, we got a lot! Read More
Saugatuck Craft Butchery Moves in Westport w/ New Take-Out Menu & Kitchen Features Restaurant Butcher Prepared Food Westport Take Out Lunch Sarah Green September 17, 2013 Just a quick hop, skip and a purely sustainable, pasture-fed jump across Riverside Ave is the spankin' new Saugatuck Craft Butchery, now re-opened for business in Westport! Owner Ryan Fibiger and crew are ready and waiting with a crisp, clean, larger locale complete with a larger retail space as well as a complete, working kitchen where fresh, prepared foods are being made for purchase. Head Chef Mark Heppermann and his sous chefs have begun with sandwiches and salads, all made with the freshest ingredients. Meat from well...that's obvious, veggies pulled straight from the earth of the edible gardens - courtesy of Homefront Farmers - that surround the shop, and breads delivered daily from ELI's and Balthazar in NYC. The day we visited, we were pleased to find a Lamb Meatball Sandwich with pickled red onions and house made hummus as well as a gorgeous "Beets Me" salad with Quinoa, watercress and goat cheese. Read More
Your Vote Counts! Connecticut Magazine Readers' Choice 2014 Restaurant CTbites Team September 16, 2013 CTbites readers have great taste. So let's help Connecticut Magazine choose the best in Connecticut dining in their annual Readers’ Choice: Best Restaurants 2014. Voting is done online—on the form below—from now through the first week of October and winners will be tallied by early December. VOTE: Connecticut Magazine Readers' Choice Read More
GIVEAWAY!!! Win Tix to Sun BrewFest @ Mohegan Sun Oct. 4-6 Restaurant Beer Dinner Events Beer CTbites Team September 16, 2013 CTbites is GIVING AWAY 2 PASSES TO SUN BREWFEST FOR EITHER DAY...WINNERS CHOICE!!! TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Post a Comment anywhere on CTbites and Mention "Sun BrewFest @ Mohegan Sun." We will announce the winner on September 30th. Sun BrewFest returns to Mohegan Sun this October for a celebration of one of the oldest, most finely crafted beverages of them all: Beer. Sun BrewFest offers evening tasting sessions on Friday, October 4th and Saturday, October 5th in the Uncas Ballroom. New this year will be a Sunday morning BrewBrunch on October 6th in the Sunburst Buffet. The second annual Sun BrewFest kicks off with two separate tasting sessions featuring more than 100 varieties of Craft and Microbrews to Imports & Domestics and limited editions. Some of the beers on tap will include Goose Island, Newcastle, Dogfish Head, Long Trail, Tenth & Blake’s Batch 19 and more. Samples will be available for all guests during each tasting session, where they will receive a souvenir mini-pilsner glass to be used as their tasting glass for 2 ounce pours from the various breweries. Food tickets will also be sold for $1.00 each, allowing guests to purchase food items from a variety of their favorite Mohegan Sun restaurants. Read More
Art of the Sandwich: Meat & Co. Opens in New Haven Restaurant New Haven Lunch Amy Kundrat September 15, 2013 Chef Will Talamelli Leave it to the New Haven craftsman of cocktails, John Ginnetti of 116 Crown, to make us demand more from a sandwich. His newest venture is Meat & Co., a sandwich shop located next door to his 9th Square bar and restaurant known for serving Connecticut’s most inventive cocktails. With Meat & Co., Ginnetti has turned this same discerning gaze onto the art of the sandwich. The mission of Meat & Co. is to treat the sandwich, that familiar and humble lunchtime meal housed between two slabs of bread, with the same “contemplation and calculation” that goes into the carefully constructed 116 Crown cocktails. According to owner John Ginnetti and Chef Will Talamelli (also of 116 Crown), this means “a great deal of prepping, cooking, technique and spice” goes into each sandwich. Toss out the words "Boars Head" or $5-foot-long and they WILL be met with a grimace. In other words, leave your notion of the sad lunchtime deli sandwich at the door. The implicit part of Meat & Co.'s mission is a sense of style, perception, and culinary cool written all over its carefully constructed menu and the rehabbed red brick walls. Read More
Stanziato's Craft Beer Dinner on September 29 Restaurant Events Amy Kundrat September 08, 2013 Stanziato's Pizza in Danbury is hosting a craft beer and food pairing dinner on September 29 from 6 to 9 pm. Tickets are first come, first served and seats are $65 per person. Give them a call for more information or stop in to be among the first lucky 50 to get in on this dinner: http://stanziatos.com. Read More
