SONO Restaurant "Weeks" Start June 3rd Restaurant Restaurant Week Events Stephanie Webster May 23, 2013 It's that time of year again. Sono Restaurant Week is back from June 2-16 running for two delicious weeks this year. Why 2 weeks? Scott Beck of Match Restaurant responded "Every year we have gotten feedback from people that wished that we could extend Restaurant Week for an additional week so that they might get to go to more than one place so we decided to give it a try." "There are 15 restaurants participating this year which is largest number of restaurants we have ever had so everyone is pretty excited" says Beck. SoNo also has some great new restaurants such as Nola Oyster Bar, Mama's Boy Southern Table, Estia's, and The Spread, for people to try. And, of course all the staples in SoNo are participating again. People can check out the list of all the participating restaurants and their Restaurant Week menus online at www.connecticutrestaurant. You can view the complete list of participating restaurants below. Happy eating... Read More
Raus Coffee to Debut New Drink at Westport Farmers Market Ingredients Features Restaurant Coffee Farmers Market Amy Kundrat May 21, 2013 Raus Coffee will debut its newest iced espresso drink, the Roman Navel, at the opening of the Westport Farmers’ Market on May 23. The new drink was inspired by a trip to Seattle’s Café Vita, where Raus Coffee founder Donny Raus became smitten with the Medici, an espresso-based chocolate and orange drink. The success of the flavor combination compelled him to recreate it using his own approach. The Roman Navel is the third product in Raus’s award-winning espresso product line. Donny and I met recently at the soon-to-open Steam Coffee Bar in Westport, so he could give me a sample of this newest obsession. So I had a baseline, I also grabbed his other two iced espresso-based drinks, the Roman Kiss and (my old personal stand-by) the Cold Roman. Read More
PastaPresta Opens at the SoNo Marketplace Restaurant Farmers Market Italian Norwalk Pasta Comfort Food Amy Kundrat May 20, 2013 The SoNo Marketplace—with its hive of local food purveyors, artisans, weekly farmers’ market, and plans for a summer beer garden—may be best argument to never set foot inside a supermarket again. I was recently lured back to the Marketplace by the opening of PastaPresta, a new fresh pasta vendor anchoring the entrance of the market’s vast 50,000 square-feet. One evening of fresh pasta and market nibbles, and a closer look at the people behind the market later, I was reminded why this culinary hub deserves a regular visit and why, despite its recent vilification, gluten is good (maybe great). Read More
Ten Best Restaurant Burgers: Greenwich to New Haven 2013 Restaurant Fairfield Norwalk SONO Stamford Westport Comfort Food Best of CT Burgers Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 19, 2013 One year, hundreds of miles, close to thirty pounds of various cuts and blends of meat, thousands of fries…searching for the ten best hamburgers. Nestled between Shad Roe, Bahn Mi, Shrimp & Grits, Nonni's Meatballs and Montauk Black Bass was “The Burger.” It was the equalizing dish amongst the best chefs in the area. As I tasted the creativity that each of the chefs placed into their version of this 100+ year old tradition, I was in awe. The combinations were brilliant, how the flavors balanced and complemented each other, the choices that they made to place their individual mark on this dish, each was unique. Most of the meat was sourced locally, many from the same vendor with slight variations in blend and grind...some used a medium-grind while others requested a third, finer grind. Cheese and bacon played a major supporting roll, and the choices varied amongst the chefs. Read More
"Art About Town" Features Restaurant "ArtCrawl" Food Tour Restaurant Events ellen bowen May 18, 2013 The Westport Downtown Merchants Association presents Art About Town and “ArtCrawl 2013.” Now in its third year, Art About Town kicks off its three-week art installation event in downtown Westport restaurants and retailers with an Opening Night Street Party on Main Street on Thursday May 23 from 5:30-8:30 pm. Featuring local and not so local art displayed in the windows and throughout downtown businesses, Art About Town runs from May 23-June 16. This year’s Opening Night Street Party will include art demos, live music and dance performances, a fire pit, kids’ activities, and pop-up cafes set up right on Main Street featuring specials from Blue Lemon, Bobby Q’s, Villa del Sol and Moja. To continue the buzz of Art About Town, this year in collaboration with CTbites, the WDMA will host “ArtCrawl 2013,” a specially curated food and art tour on Tuesday June 4 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Read More
Lesser Evil Snacks: Empty Calorie Free Chips & Popcorn Ingredients Features Kid Friendly Nancy Kleeger May 17, 2013 The fabric of our snacking society has changed dramatically over the last decade, due in part to the hoards of information about making smarter food choices infiltrating our nutritional radar: in the home, in the stores and even in the cinema, with movies like "Supersize Me", getting the message across to Americans that we all should take note of what we are feeding ourselves, and especially our children. This revolution of smarter eating has no doubt been the catalyst to an all out healthy snack war between battling companies, each one trying to outdo the other. Just stroll through any snack isle and you will see lots of clever marketing and claims to the "new, new" trendy food item that promises you and your kids extra brain power AND shiny, healthy, hair for life . The proclamations that adorn these boxes and bags are now so familiar to us all I can ask you to close your eyes and recite them with me: No trans-Fats, Gluten Free, No Cholesterol, Whole Grain....you know them all! This is what Malcolm Gladwell means by " TheTipping Point."-- everyone is now jumping on the bandwagon to be on trend. There are a bevy of beauties in this category, so many, that the choices can become overwhelming. How do you choose? Read More
Classes at Ridgefield's 109 Cheese & Wine Restaurant Cooking Classes Education Ridgefield Wine Tasting Amy Kundrat May 16, 2013 Ridgefield's best source for artisinal cheese and wine, 109 Cheese & Wine has recently expanded its footprint and education offerings. The shop, located at Ridgefield's Marketplace, has posted an impressive and fun line-up of events throughout the summer. Advance reservations are recommended as class size is limited, call 203-438-5757. Exploration into Italy: Cheese and Wine Friday, May 17 @ 7pm, $55 Explore a great evening of Italian Cheese and Wine, their relationship and how to pair them. Class will start with some wonderful small bites and a glass of Prosecco, then continue with a tasting and comparison of 5 cheeses and wines. Something sweet will end this evening. Sarah Wine Bar & 109 Cheese and Wine Dinner Sunday May 19 2013 at 5:30 pm Special Guest Henryk Teraszkiewicz, Director of the Woodcock Nature CenterMenu Read More
The Westport Farmers' Market Opens May 23 Ingredients Restaurant Farmers Market Local Farm Westport Farm Fresh CTbites Team May 15, 2013 The Westport Farmers' Market will be opening for the season in just one week, beginning on Thursday, May 23rd. This weekly summer market runs every Thursday, from 10 am to 2 pm at Imperial Avenue Commuter Lot in Westport. If you haven't yet made it to this Market, you'll want to mark your calendar. This all-organic market will be announcing the final vendors next week and will be selecting a rotating group of featured artists, vendors, guest chefs and non-profits to join the Market each week. So who's at The Westport Farmers' Market this year??... (this is the fun part) See below for a complete list of vendors: Read More
Pizzapalooza to Benefit Working Lands Alliance Restaurant Fundraiser Amy Kundrat May 15, 2013 The Working Lands Alliance will host their spring event, “Dough for Dough: A Pizzapalooza to Benefit the Working Lands Alliance” on May 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This kid-friendly event will feature the Big Green Truck Pizza and bluegrass music by Five in the Chamber, with event proceeds supporting the Working Lands Alliance’s efforts to protect CT’s productive farmland. Tickets are $25 per adult, $10 per child (ages 5 to 12) and children under 5 are free. Purchase tickets online. Read More
Coffee Cupping at Ross Bread in Ridgefield May 23 Restaurant Coffee Events Amy Kundrat May 15, 2013 Erin Meister, champion barista and Counter Culture Coffee representative, will host a cupping at Ross Bread on May 23 at 6 pm. This event is free, but space is limited. Email info@rossbread.com or stop by the bakery to sign up. From Ross Bread: "To challenge and expand our coffee-tasting palates, we'll explore the diversity of flavors from coffees within Central and South America by comparing two coffees from each region, from neighboring countries: Honduras and Guatemala, and Colombia and Ecuador. Read More
Bar Ordinary Opens in New Haven Restaurant Cocktails Bar New Haven Amy Kundrat May 12, 2013 Rarely is 400 years of history and presidential name-dropping relevant to a CTbites review, but allow me to digress. Bar Ordinary, New Haven's newest incarnation of its oldest bar, sits on a storied site on the corner of Chapel and College Street. Nearly 400 years of New Haven history converge on this location, beginning with its role as the town’s first ordinary, or tavern, in 1659 where it hosted a few early visitors you may recognize, including the infamous Benedict Arnold as well as General George Washington as he made his way to command the Continental Army in 1775 (other presidential visitors may have included Lincoln in 1860 and Taft in 1914). In subsequent centuries it was known as The Beers Tavern (18th), the New Haven Hotel (mid-19th) and the Taft Hotel (beginning in 1910), serving as the locus for the city's social stratum for the greater part of the twentieth century.* By the 1980’s, The Taft Hotel's bar room became Richter’s, a popular spot owned by Yale grad and crew instructor Richter Elser who embraced its layers of historic patina, keeping much of the wood paneling and its original plaster ceiling until it closed in 2011. Read More
Mama's Boy Southern Table & Refuge Opens in SONO Restaurant Norwalk SONO Southern Comfort Food Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 10, 2013 With little fanfare, Mama’s Boy Southern Table and Refuge, the newest addition to the SONO food scene is slowly opening its doors. Based on traditional Southern hospitality and cuisine, the restaurant will deliver the comfort food of the south combined with a relaxed atmosphere. As the website states, “Mama’s Boy is putting the “South” in South Norwalk.” The interior has been completely redesigned. Using woods and material from an old water tower from Florence, South Carolina, owners Greer Fredericks and Ami Dorel created a warm environment from top to bottom. The lighting is soft and inviting, the music gives a perfect background through various genres and the service is straight from Charleston, friendly and incredibly helpful. Upon entering you can choose a seat at the long bar or one of the tables along the wall with a long comfortable banquette. In the rear is a second dining area that is guarded by two windows that were reclaimed from Al Capone’s summer residence. This dining area features a traditional “mirror wall,” you have to see it to completely understand and appreciate. Read More
Coffee Classes at Espresso NEAT in Darien Restaurant Coffee Cooking Classes Darien Amy Kundrat and Stephanie Webster May 07, 2013 Everyone has their favorites, and Espresso NEAT is definitely one of our favorite coffee places here at CTbites. Now with two locations (Darien, and a small shop in Greenwich), their devotion to the craft of caffeine delivery is bar none. In addition to fueling their customers, they are also offering a series of educational classes for the month of May. Read More
Tips for Great Grilled Cheese from Chef Jason Sobocinski of Caseus Features Chef Talk kids activity Lunch Kid Friendly CTbites Team May 07, 2013 King of the Grilled Cheese, Jason Sobocinski is the owner and founder of New Haven's innovative cheese-centric gastropub and cheese shop Caseus Fromagerie Bistro. Here are his tips for the perfect Grilled Cheese sandwich. The crispy and the melty are no more typified than in America's greatest culinary accomplishment, the Grilled Cheese! Who thought up such a wonderful combination, to put bread to butter then heat with cheese till melted? Pure culinary Genius. The first signs of what we know as the Grilled Cheese sandwich surfaced around the 1940's. Sliced white bread was used often with cheese melted open faced called cheese toasties in England and was a popular dish to make in U.S. Naval galleys. These toasted melted precursors of what we now know where easy to make and super satisfying...did they come from the English Welsh Rarebit or the French Croque Madame? I'm not sure, but I do know that now more than ever this nostalgic sandwich has become increasingly popular and more and more refined. Is it because it's simplicity and comfort evoking qualities? Again, not sure but I know how to make a seriously great GC and here are some of my tips and stellar condiment suggestion to bolster your next crispy melty endeavor! Read More
Top 10 Bar Burgers from Greenwich to New Haven 2013 Restaurant Burgers Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 05, 2013 Over a year ago CTbites decided to create as comprehensive a guide as possible for this year’s Best Burger review. During that time, I visited over sixty local chains, bars, fast food joints, and restaurants, grabbed a seat, looked at the menu and placed my order. Over sixty patties of ground meat were prepared on a griddle, grill, or flat-top, and thousands of French fries were plunged into oil. The meat was seasoned, the rolls were sliced, the toppings were placed on the patty and the fries seasoned. When each arrived at the table, it was sliced to check for doneness, a piece of meat pulled and tasted and the competition officially added another competitor. Each of the toppings was individually tested and finally the burger, toppings and bun were viewed as a single entrant. Many did not make the grade on seasoning, some failed on doneness, others on taste and others due to toppings. A very simple process for a very simple product, but the sheer variability of my reaction to the end result ranged from a huge smile to a grimace. Some I craved for more, while others earned a few tentative tastes and I asked for the check. This year we decided to present the burgers in two categories, “Bar Burgers” and “Restaurant Burgers,” believing it unfair to compare a $7-12 burger with a $20+ burger. With only three repeat locations from the 2012 list, here are the… Top-10 “Bar Burgers” from Greenwich to New Haven. Happy National Burger month! Read More
Dinner Underground in Newtown CT with Chef Plum Restaurant Events Newtown Underground Dinner Nicole Straight May 03, 2013 I wasn’t sure what to expect as we entered the butcher, but were warmly greeted with a glass of champagne by Chef (Chris) Plum himself and were shown to our table. Butcher’s Best deli and butcher in Newtown, CT has been transformed twice in 2013 to offer 30 lucky diners one of Plum’s "Dinner Undergound" culinary evenings. I was lucky enough to enjoy night #2. Chef Plum is a graduate from The Culinary Institute of America with over 18 years of experience. He has worked all over the east coast in five-star hotels and resorts, as well as small neighborhood restaurants. Plum-Luv-Foods was born in 2006 and since then has brought whole farm foods to families, small parties, Broadway actors, executives, Food Network and network TV. Plum’s happy demeanor shines through his food. His inventive style and clever riffs show both his appreciation for food and simple enjoyment of offering his guests thoughtfully created dishes. As each course is served, Plum tells us about where the food is from, his inspiration and why he chose to marry the components. Read More
Taste of the Nation in New Haven 2013 Restaurant Events New Haven Amy Kundrat May 02, 2013 Join famed Chef Jacques Pepin as the Taste of the Nation New Haven continues to set the bar on the culinary event scene by bringing over 40 of Greater New Haven's most notable chefs and bartenders together under one roof; providing an exclusive opportunity for attendees to mix and mingle with the area's top chefs while savoring their creative food and drink. The event raises important funds in the fight against childhood hunger. Taste of the Nation will be held at The Omni Hotel at Yale on May 22nd, 2013, in the heart of downtown New Haven. Tickets are $85 general admission and $150 VIP admission. VIP guests will enjoy private access to our VIP lounge with specialty cocktails and opulent bites provided by Winvian and sparkling wine by Mionetto. Read More
American Craft Beer Week in CT Starts May 11th Ingredients Restaurant Beer Dinner Events Beer James Gribbon May 01, 2013 American Craft Beer Week was created in 2006 by the Brewers Association to promote American craft beers and protect the independent brewers who make them. The first Craft Beer Week had only 124 participating breweries, but by last year there were over 1,300 official events in all 50 states, with who knows how many local promotions on top of that. May is for drinkers, people.Connecticut is home to some of the best beers in the country - a fact regularly ignored or glossed over in even regional beer reporting - but this year marks the first ever Connecticut Craft Beer Week, which runs May 11-18 to coincide with American Craft Beer Week, May 13-19. We have some highlights from around the state below, and we'll update this post as new info comes in over the transom. Feel free to tell us about events you've heard about or will be attending in the comments.The first event of CT Beer Week opens the taps at the Rising Pint Brewfest, where over 230 craft beers from 70+ brewers will be on offer at Rentschler Field in West Hartford. Read More
Oak + Almond Opens in Norwalk Under Chef Jeff Taibe Restaurant Farm to Table Norwalk Sarah Green April 28, 2013 There's no doubt in my mind, they should really change the name of Fairfield County to Taibe Town! We all know the reputation of big brother Bill's excellent work at LeFarm and The Whelk, but now there's a new Taibe in town. He goes by the name of Jeff, and is Executive Chef of the newly opened Oak + Almond in Norwalk. This is Chef Jeff's debut as exec but there is nothing green about him - aside from all the sustainable, farm-to-table and biodynamic offerings on the menu. Experienced as sous chef at LeFarm and also at Southwest Cafe in Ridgefield (as well as plenty of mileage cooking and designing menus at various resorts in Turks and Caicos), Jeff brings panache and style to his ever-changing menu. Along with co-owner Jon Paul Pirraglia, General Manager Seth Levin and an incredibly knowledgeable and courteous staff, Jeff and co. are onto something excellent... Oak + Almond finds itself in a rather unlikely location, right next to the DMV in Norwalk. But once inside, you could be in Sonoma, San Francisco or Manhattan. With clean, white walls, a tin roof and dark wood tables, chairs and floors, the atmosphere is hip and inviting. The open kitchen, massive rotisserie and large, wood burning oven greet you at the top of the stairs and almost anywhere you sit, you can watch Taibe and crew hard at work creating their magic. Read More
