Your Favorite Breakfast Spots Revealed Restaurant CTbites Shout Out Breakfast Amy Kundrat July 24, 2010
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
Ancona’s Market is 90 Years Young Ingredients Events Ridgefield Specialty Market Amy Kundrat July 20, 2010 A familiar fixture in Ridgefield for the past ninety (!) years, Ancona’s Market will celebrate their anniversary this Saturday, July 24 with an open house and evening benefit. The day-long open house will be “in full-swing by noon” and feature activities for children, live music and tasting stations from many vendors including Ola Granola, Simmons Family Farm Yogurt, Arethusa Farms Milk, and Wave Hill Bread. You can also stop next door at Ancona’s Wines and Liquors to sample their usual Saturday tastings from 12 noon to 3 pm and 3 to 6 pm or stroll through what has to be one of the most diverse and well-stocked walk-in coolers around (and also where you’ll find me). Read More
Advertisement: Pinkberry Fro-Yo Is Coming to Fairfield! Restaurant Fairfield Advertisement Dessert Advertisement July 19, 2010
CT Berry Picking is On!! Ingredients Kids Bites Local Farm kids activity Farm Fresh Kid Friendly Dessert Stephanie Webster 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
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
Gin Tasting @ NRG Wines Ingredients Cocktails Events Amy Kundrat July 06, 2010 If your preferred cocktail is a gin martini or the summer staple, a gin and tonic, there is an event happening this week you will not want to miss. Peter Troilo at Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines will be hosting a gin tasting this Friday July 9 beginning at 5 pm at their shop located at 1053 Boston Post Road in Darien. Usually known for a great selection of wines, NRG is mixing it up and will be presenting four gins with equally different styles and approaches to taste. If you’re on the fence about the juniper substance, you may want to read my love note to the stuff as inspiration, Bringing Back the Martini. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, let’s meet our contestants. 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
CT Bloggers Roundup @ Miya's Sushi Restaurant Events Amy Kundrat July 06, 2010 Photo: Nick Caito, www.nickcaito.com Great food, an energetic chef and like minds. These were the makings of a perfect evening out for about fifteen local food bloggers and friends on a recent Wednesday night at Miya's Sushi in New Haven. I consider one of the best parts of my "job" as a contributor to CTbites to be getting acquainted with fellow food writers, many of whom I know virtually by their online epicurean diatribes. Over the past year I have even met several over comfortable meals where I don't have to be self-conscious about photographing my food and I know I won't get a fork in my hand if I eat off his/her plate without asking. With help and inspiration from fellow blogger Leeanne Griffin, I looked forward to a planned gathering of foodies and writers that would promise the flurry of cameras, endless plate positioning, many drinks and yes, the joy of community plates that I have come to know and love. Our setting? Miya's Sushi in New Haven, one of a few sustainable sushi restaurants in the country, with its endless and creative menu led by the personable and socially progressive Bun Lai. Our guests? An esteemed assortment of food bloggers, photographers and chefs including... Read More
Year-Round Inspired Italian @ Aloi Restaurant Restaurant Italian New Canaan Lunch Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger July 04, 2010 Photo: Kate SchlesingerMargherita Aloi, the Owner/Chef of Aloi in New Canaan, brought her culinary talent and vision to New Canaan several years ago. Raised in a small town in Piedmont, Italy, she entered the Culinary Institute of Barolo at the age of fourteen. After working for several years in Italy she was recruited by the renowned Pino Luongo, the chef and owner of New York’s La Madri Restaurant (and author of one of my favorite cookbooks “A Tuscan in the Kitchen”). She arrived in the US at the tender age of 18 and assumed the position of Pasta Chef at Le Madri, and subsequently advanced to its Executive Chef in 1998. Fortunately for New Canaan, in 2004 she visited and fell in love with our small town. Margherita accepted the position of Executive Chef at Bel Mare, the predecessor restaurant at the Aloi location, reinvented the restaurant and subsequently purchased the building. Aloi offers both inside and al fresco dining. The interior space is intimate and the décor is subtle and relaxing. The al fresco dining on Aloi’s terrace is one of my favorite places to dine on a warm evening with my wife and friends. Read More
This Week @ The Westport Farmers Market Ingredients Farmers Market Liz Rueven July 04, 2010 On July 8, from 10-2, Bill Taibe, executive chef and owner of LeFarm in Westport, will be offering some special dishes at the market. Taibe’s commitment to local growers and artisans is the concept upon which LeFarm is built. This 30 seat, cleaned up barn-like dining room in Colonial Green offers its diners meticulously sourced, deceptively simple, always exceptionally excellent fare. Taibe will be wow’ing visitors to the market with Nasturtium Honey Blunts. You got it! Taibe cleverly refers to rolled cigars here. For this preparation, Taibe sources the largest leaves of the Nasturtium flower (no more than 2-3 inches across), rolls them around a filling of chopped black olives, La Quercia prosciutto, Red Bee honey and Beltane Farms goat cheese. The variegated, bright green leaf has a peppery, arugula -like flavor which contrasts unexpectedly against the creamy cheese and the sweet honey. How’s that for finger food? Taibe will also offer pickled veal tongue served with bright, local tomatoes. Read More
Honey Tasting @ Sport Hill Farm Ingredients Easton Events Local Artisan Local Farm Farm Fresh Dessert Stephanie Webster July 01, 2010
Great Wine Buys for An All American 4th of July Ingredients Features Holiday Wine Chat JoAnn LoGiurato June 30, 2010 Our nation’s birthday brings out the patriotism in me. I like to make a toast to American winemakers by celebrating with all American wines on the 4th of July. Whether you are at the beach, the pool, picnicking in the park or on your boat, here are some wine recommendations and things to consider before the fireworks get started: 1~The wine needs to quench my thirst—for that I prefer wines with good acidity and crispness. I’m thinking-- a crisp, juicy Sauvignon Blanc. I like these California producers Girard ($16), Merry Edwards ($35), and LEED certified, organically grown Hall Napa Valley ($20). I also really enjoy the smokiness of Ferrari Carano Fume´Blanc ($17). Sauvignon Blanc is great with green salads, vegetarian dishes and anything with goat cheese or fresh tomatoes. Read More
100% Gluten-Free @ Cafe Cogolulu Ingredients Restaurant Bakery Special Dietary Needs Lunch Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat June 29, 2010 Most of us don't think twice about trying a new restaurant, taking a night off from cooking with takeout or browsing the aisles of a grocery store. But for a small percentage of Americans, these simple and daily rituals can be excruciating. Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that affects, by some estimates, 1 in 133 children and adults by compromising the ability to process certain proteins found in gluten. An oasis for sufferers has emerged in Fairfield County in the form Cafe Cogolulu, a reopened and 100% gluten free cafe in Wilton offering families suffering from this inherited autoimmune disease some much-needed respite. Read More
