Chef Talk: Barcelona's Blood Orange Margarita Ingredients Features Chef Talk Cocktails Spanish Recipe Amy Kundrat August 02, 2010 Everybody loves a good adult beverage. This fairly safe assumption has inspired this recent Chef Talk mini-series focusing exclusively on uncovering and sharing some of Fairfield County's best cocktails. You're going to need to break out the shaker with this first cocktail, the Barcelona Blood Orange Margarita. The margarita is one of the most popular picks at the restaurant known for a bustling happy hour and hearty Spanish tapas menu in its four locations in Fairfield County and now an outpost in your house. Cheers! Read More
Omanel: Authentic Home-Style Portuguese Restaurant Bridgeport Portuguese Lunch Leticia Schwartz August 01, 2010 Leticia Schwartz is the author of The Brazilian Kitchen. She knows a thing or two about Portuguese cooking. This is her first review for CTbites. If I could transport a restaurant to different country, I would. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, a city that lives and breaths Portuguese culture, I savored the Iberian fare. There, I could literally dine on a different salt cod dish every day of the year. These days, however, for reasons that bear no explanation, Portuguese food in Brazil has become synonymous with "expensive food." Fortunately, I have found a way to satisfy my Iberian cravings locally. Located in Bridgeport CT, just off route 8, Omanel offers all the dishes I grew up with – traditional Portuguese cooking -- with zero fuss. The menu here is identical to the "expensive" menus in Rio, but the prices couldn't be more different. Rio deserves a restaurant such as this. In fact, the venerable Mark Bittman once said "The food can blow you away." Read More
Dining & Music @ Old Lyme's Midsummer Festival Restaurant Author Old Lyme Road Trip Shoreline East Amy Kundrat July 29, 2010 This weekend the town of Old Lyme will host the Midsummer Festival, a two-day celebration featuring concerts, exhibitions, and a heavy dose of Connecticut food, farms and food writers this Friday, July 30 and Saturday July 31 in the town’s historic district. In addition to concerts, exhibitions and workshops for kids, the Midsummer Festival boasts a great-line up for gourmands, which is where we gladly come in, beginning with an en plein air market featuring Connecticut grown produce and products. On Friday evening, Dinners at the Farm will be serving picnic dinners out of their “Chuckwagon” for $25 a person and will be back at it on Saturday serving breakfast and lunch in an outdoor cafe on Saturday for Festival-goers. Read More
Litchfield Saltwater Grille’s Farm to Table Wine Dinner Restaurant Litchfield Farm Fresh Stephanie Webster July 29, 2010 Tis the season for farm-to-table dining as the CT farms are reaching peak harvesting. We've promised to keep you in the loop on these exciting events, so here is one dinner you might want to check out. On Sunday, August 8. starting @ 3:00PM, The Litchfield Saltwater Grille’s Farm to Table Inspired Wine Dinner Series will host “A Neighborhood Affair” at March Farms in Bethlehem Featuring Certified Biodynamic Benziger Wines. This dinner will feature local produce from March Farms, Windswept Farm, Beltane Farm Artisan Cheese, Urban Oaks, Gazy Brothers Farm, Mountaintop Mushrooms, Bantam Bread, local grass fed beef and more. Check out the menu: Read More
Road Trip: Flander's Lobster Roll Restaurant Delicious Dives Road Trip Seafood Comfort Food Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat July 27, 2010
The FEZ: Moroccan & Music in Stamford! Restaurant Middle Eastern Moroccan Stamford Lunch Sarah Green July 25, 2010 To paraphrase Bogey, I’ll just say that - Of all the joints in all the towns in Fairfield county, we walked into “The Fez.” It was a rainy evening and I could have sworn I saw Rick and Ilsa running for cover from the deluge. They should have come in! This new Moroccan-style restaurant at 227 Summer Street in Stamford, co-owned by Bharat Patel and Eric Monte, is an alluring respite from whatever storm you are escaping. It’s cozy and warm. And it’s very cool. “Cool? In Fairfield County?” you ask. Indeed - Here’s looking at The Fez, kids. The physical space is deliciously inviting with sexy red walls and dim lighting. Read More
Your Favorite Breakfast Spots Revealed Restaurant CTbites Shout Out Breakfast Amy Kundrat July 24, 2010
Corinne Trang: Asian Pulled Pork Sandwich 3 Ways Features Asian BBQ Chef Talk Recipe CTbites Team July 23, 2010 L to R: Raw, Rubbed, Smoked Corinne Trang, author of The Asian Grill, and local Fairfield County resident, is back with some sensational summer smoking. These week she is serving up recipes for ASIAN PULLED PORK SANDWICH including her famous ASIAN FIVE-SPICE DRY RUB, ASIAN BBQ SAUCE, and ASIAN COLESLAW. Get smoking tips for your next cookout, or just enjoy her tasty take on this American classic My Asian-inspired pulled pork sandwich...yes, I dared! Read More
Road Trip: "Taste of Hartford" Eating Event Restaurant Events Hartford Stephanie Webster July 22, 2010 Taste of Hartford 2010 will take place from Mon., July 26 through Sun., August 8. Hartford's top restaurants will participate in Taste of Hartford's summertime promotion, offering 3-course gourmet dinners for only $20.10. Patrons can visit the individual restaurants to take advantage of this special price. No tickets are necessary, though reservations are strongly recommended. Taste of Hartford Participating Restaurants Read More
Chef Nicole: Grilled Salmon w/ White Bean & Fig Salad Features Ask Chef Nicole Chef Talk Seafood Recipe Nicole Straight July 21, 2010 It's summer, and most of like to cook outdoors in these hot months. If fish is what you crave, but you don't feel like cleaning up a messy grill, we've got a great solution. Why not pouch it? As the spokesperson for Norwegian Salmon, Chef Nicole is constantly inventing new preparations for this healthy and delicious seafood favorite. Today she has paired an aromatic pouch technique with a wonderful White Bean & Fig Salad. It couldn't be easier to prepare, and is amazingly nutritious. You can find more salmon solutions on her blog at http://blog.salmoninseconds.com. Greek Grilled Salmon With White Bean & Fig Salad Read More
Advertisement: Pinkberry Fro-Yo Is Coming to Fairfield! Restaurant Fairfield Advertisement Dessert Advertisement July 19, 2010
Better "Breakfasting" at Valencia Luncheria Restaurant Delicious Dives Norwalk Breakfast Comfort Food Lunch Take Out Kid Friendly Latin American Margie Treisman July 18, 2010 For starters, let’s call it Valencia Breakfast-eria. With food this good, breakfast deserves star billing. And it’s served at Valencia Luncheria seven days a week. Personally, breakfast is my favorite restaurant meal. For me, the pleasure of a breakfast out -- aside from not having to cook it -- is the feeling of being on vacation. Stepping out into a new, exotic locale, sampling local favorites, getting the feel of a place and its people. So it was this morning at Valencia, stepping out of the blazing Venezuelan-like sun, through the blue and while striped tent flaps, into the tiny mango-hued storefront. We know from CTBites’ earlier review of Valencia Luncheria much about this tiny 16-seat restaurant and it’s excellent arepas, plantains, and lunch and dinner specialties. Breakfast is similar in quality, quantity, value (and frequent long waits for a table), but with its long and interesting menu of breakfast/brunch specials, the AM meal deserves its own review. Read More
A Truly Excellent Apple Pie @ Stew Leonard's Ingredients Features Specialty Market Farm Fresh Dessert Stephanie Webster July 15, 2010 It's a few hours before your guests arrive for that big family BBQ. You're scrambling to get the prep done before the doorbell rings….and oh no…you realize you forgot the dessert!! Fear not my brave Fairfield County residents. Stew Leonard's has the perfect solution for you…and you'd never guess it wasn't homemade. Named "best pie in America" by Gourmet Magazine as well as the Wall Street Journal (a dubious food critic, but we'll go with it), Stew's is now carrying The Elegant Farmer's "Apple Pie Baked In A Paper Bag." I know what you're thinking. 1. Stew's? Really? and 2. Doesn't the bag go up in flames? Yes and no. We were introduced to this gem by a CTbites reader, and had to check it out for ourselves. This Wisconsin based pie shop uses apples fresh from their farm, and they make their pies just how I like them. Read More
Bastille Day in Connecticut, Célébrons! Restaurant French Holiday Amy Kundrat July 13, 2010 Each year on July 14 citizens of France, francophones and francophiles across the globe celebrate La Fête Nationale or Bastille Day, France's independence day that commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789. So what better way for CTbites to celebrate this holiday than to look back at a few of our French-inspired fare we've featured over the past year such as Lucs Cafe, 1020 Post, Meli Melo and Isabelle & Vincent. We know there are many more in our neighborhood here in Fairfield County and we look forward to exploring them in the months to come. I hope our list inspires you to célébrer la fête nationale française. I know I am already thinking about where I'm going to order a Croque Monsieur and scare up a game of pétanque. How will you celebrate Bastille Day? Read More
Stanziato's Wood Fired Pizza Restaurant Danbury Pizza Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat July 11, 2010 Danbury has finally scored a serious pizzeria and thy name is Stanziato’s Wood Fired Pizza. Influenced by the simple artisanal approach to pizza-making combined with a belief that “fine-dining is basically dead,” Chef Matt Stanczak decided model his own restaurant on Neapolitan-style pizzerias rooted in Italy and beloved in New York. What they each share is simple. It’s a devotion to quality ingredients and a passion for pizza-making. “It’s a pizzeria. It’s all about the pizza and making fresh local salads. I want to do those things, and do them really well,” said Chef Stanczak. This approach is pitch perfect for a city in desperate need of a good pizzeria Read More
CTbites Shout Out: What's Your Favorite Breakfast Spot? Restaurant CTbites Shout Out Breakfast Stephanie Webster July 11, 2010
Chef Talk: Seared Stonington Scallops w/ Corn "Risotto" Features Chef Talk Recipe Farm Fresh Stephanie Webster July 09, 2010 Photo: Michelle Parr PaulsonEven if you don't make it to Dinners At The Farm this season, you can still capture some of the culinary magic that Chef Jonathan Rapp brings to each and every meal. Jonathan is the chef and owner of River Tavern in Chester, CT and the creator of Dinners at the Farm. This recipe for Seared Stonington Scallops with Fresh Corn "Risotto" is a dish you may find on the menu at one of his unique local dinners. Sure, you may not have the candlelit white tent glowing brilliantly against the farm backdrop, or the truck outfitted with a kitchen in which to cook your dinner, but set up a communal table and enjoy this delicious seasonal dish. Seared Stonington Scallops with Fresh Corn "Risotto" Read More
Don't Miss Dinners At The Farm 2010...Seriously! Restaurant Events Local Farm Farm Fresh Stephanie Webster July 09, 2010
Top Summer Cocktails: A Connecticut Blogger Round-up Ingredients Features Amy Kundrat July 08, 2010 The summer cocktail season is in full-swing and rather than mindlessly reach for the shaker and ice we decided we needed a lesson or two (or ten). We asked ourselves, what are all the cool people drinking? To answer this we went to the source and rounded up a few of our favorite food and drink bloggers in Connecticut to share their favorite summer cocktails with CTbites. I guarantee these cool summer drinks will have you planning meals AROUND your drinks. And if you feel inspired, please share your favorite summer cocktail as a comment below. Cheers! Read More
Meatopia BBQ NYC...It's Only 1 Hour Away!! Restaurant Events Road Trip Stephanie Webster July 06, 2010 While we pride ourselves in seeking out great eats in Fairfield County, sometimes good food requires a road trip. If you're looking for a little meat-oriented culinary adventure this weekend, we've got just the thing for you. Jump a train to NYC and savor the BBQ smorgasbord that is "Meatopia." What is Meatopia? On Sunday, July 11th from 11:30am – 4:30pm, 30+ Chefs and BBQ teams will be kicking up the heat & barbecuing every dish under the sun. Restaurants like La Esquina, Boqueria, Wilson's BBQ and even "The Food Lab" from Seriouseats.com will be contributing to the Meatopia Menu. Here's the best part...These top chefs will be only be barbecuing local and sustainable meats. Many chefs are pairing with a local farm to use products from regional farms. Truly, how can you not go? Now let's get some drooling going here...Contemplate for a moment a few of their featured menu items including: Smoked Duck Tacos, Mexican BBQ Lamb, Mini Short Rib Pies, and a Grilled Bacon Sandwich. (Who needs the lettuce and tomato, really?) Read More
