Curds & Brew Class @ 109 Cheese & Wine in Ridgefield Ingredients Restaurant Cheese Specialty Market Amy Kundrat November 08, 2011 To mark the conclusion of American Cheese Month, 109 Cheese & Wine in Ridgefield is pairing great American brews with great American artisan and farmstead cheeses. Curds & Brew class will be held on Sunday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m. and will be $45 per person. The class and tasting will kick-off with a beer fondue, followed by a pairing of six beers and six cheeses (see list below Read More
Shiki Hana Japanese Bistro in Fairfield Restaurant Delicious Dives Fairfield Japanese Sushi Kid Friendly Melissa Roberts November 06, 2011 As a recent Westport transplant from New York City, one thing I find myself pining for from my former life is good sushi. A recent visit to Shiki Hana in Fairfield has changed all that. Located in a strip mall in Fairfield, Shiki Hana has the nondescript atmosphere of countless Japanese restaurants, but the surprise is in the food: some of the freshest, well prepared sushi I’ve had in a while. Read More
Saugatuck Craft Butchery Opens in Westport Ingredients Butcher Home Delivery Specialty Market Westport Lou Gorfain November 05, 2011 “Americans eat way too much meat," Ryan Fibiger says, and then grins, "I guess that sounds funny coming from a butcher." No kidding. But then Fibiger is a butcher truly on the “cutting edge” -- one of the very few whole animal cutters in America, sourcing his organic meat from local sustainable farms and utilizing every part of the animal, from nose to tail. Once a Wall Street investment banker, he’s turned from issuing stock to butchering them. For the past two years Fibiger trained with the “moo-rus”” at Fleisher's Meats, a whole animal butcher shop in Kingston, NY. With his knives honed as keen as his business skills, Ryan decided to open Saugatuck Craft Butchery and join in Westport’s red hot culinary renaissance. Read More
bartaco Launches "CTBites Invites" w/ Tequila & Tacos Restaurant CTbites Invites Cocktails Port Chester Mexican Sarah Green November 04, 2011 Last night, 35 or so lucky CTbites readers participated in the Inaugural "CTBites Invites" event at bartaco in Port Chester, NY. The "Invites," offer CTBites customers unique culinary experiences in the form of special restaurant "happenings" and special product purchasing opportunities. You sign up while the offer lasts, you pay on line and you're in. Simple as that. At last night's event, those who signed up were treated to a TACOS and TEQUILA and a whole lot more. Read More
Rubbing Elbows At Rory's in Darien Restaurant Darien Comfort Food Kid Friendly Burgers James Gribbon November 03, 2011 Rory's is a neighborhood bar in search of a neighborhood. Surrounded by the Orvis/Trader Joe's plaza, a nail salon, and an unfinished furniture/firearms emporium on the more commercial end of the Post Road in Darien close to the Norwalk border, Rory's somehow manages to have a "walk up and join the locals" feel. The tiny pub sits on a bit of raised land above Rt. 1 traffic like a little beach cottage above the tide line. Not too many people live within walking distance though, which is why you may find yourself parked next to a Rolls Royce or Ferrari. Maybe it's not your average local pub, after all. Read More
Road Trip: Ballo Italian Restaurant & Club @ Mohegan Sun Road Trip Restaurant Italian Road Trip Andrew Dominick November 01, 2011 A month ago I contributed an article about John Tunney’s latest creation, Ballo Italian Restaurant & Social Club. Now, I am pleased to bring you a sneak peek at not just the décor, not just a menu preview, but of the reason we are all here, for the food. But first, let me take you on a brief tour of this restaurant/bar/dance club/lounge. Remember that preview article? All that construction and the pictures of what it will look like? Seeing those photos is one thing, seeing this place in person is another. The wraparound marble bar, the sphere-like hanging lamps, the giant lanterns, and the fireplaces, give Ballo a glow unlike any other restaurant in Mohegan Sun Casino. Read More
Caroline's Crêperie Opens in New Canaan Restaurant French New Canaan Breakfast Lunch Kid Friendly Dessert CTbites Team October 30, 2011 Walk under the blue awning and into the open doors of Caroline’s Crêperie and you’ll feel as if you’re walking into Caroline’s very own French home. With the warm, helpful service and Caroline herself standing at the helm making crêpes and welcoming clients into her buzzing restaurant, you can’t help but be charmed by this new restaurant on New Canaan's Elm Street. Read More
Update on Elm: Opening Soon in New Canaan Restaurant Farm to Table New Canaan Farm Fresh Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger October 25, 2011 A flurry of activity surrounds New Canaan’s Elm Street as Chef/Owner Brian Lewis’ much anticipated elm restaurant is set to open in New Canaan in January 2012. Elm will be a Modern American restaurant, “rooted in tradition and inspired by the seasons” featuring a 60 seat elegant dining room and 25 seats in the warm, casual bar area. A highlight of elm will be The Chef’s Kitchen Table, with seating for twelve as well as a separate Chef’s Tasting Bar with four seats, which will be etched into a semi-private nook overlooking the heart of Brian’s kitchen. Together, the food, wine, hand-crafted cocktails and exceptional service will embody both luxury and comfort; a destination perfect for everyday or your favorite occasion, filled with high energy, world class food and small town charm. Read More
Epicurean Artisanal Honey Tasting, Saturday, Nov 12 Restaurant Events Wiine Tasting Dessert Stephanie Webster October 24, 2011 Join RED BEE Honey and Peace Tree Desserts for an afternoon of artisanal honey tasting and adventurous epicurean delights, presented by Sustainable Pastry Chef Robyn Eads, founder of Peace Tree Desserts in Westport. The locally sourced tasting event will be held at Sport Hill Farm in Easton, Connecticut on Saturday, November 12, 2011. This sweet event will include an exquisite three course tasting menu crafted by acclaimed Sustainable Pastry Chef Robyn Eads. The tasting menu will feature Red Bee’s artisanal single-source nectar luxury honeys, and ingredients from local artisans and organic Connecticut farms. Each course will be paired with wines from Connecticut wineries. The afternoon will begin with a prosecco and cheese reception, sourced from Connecticut’s own Cato Corner Farm and Beltane Farm, and paired with Red Bee’s honeys. Read More
ReNapoli: An Education in Pizza in Old Greenwich Restaurant Greenwich Pizza Lunch Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat October 23, 2011 What can pizza be? ReNapoli in Old Greenwich answers with one kitchen, two ovens, and three distinct pizza styles. Dining at ReNapoli isn’t just a meal, it's the equivalent of a three-credit course in pizza. Owner and pizzaoilo Bruno DiFabio has been making pizza for thirty years. A fact made more interesting when you consider he is only 42. A first generation Italian American, DiFabio was already working the lead sauté station at age 16 in his grandfather's restaurant kitchen. Fast forward a few decades, several restaurants, five World Pizza Championship titles and stints at the famed ovens of Spacca Napoli, Da Michele and Trianon in Naples, and you have the genesis of ReNapoli. Read More
Friday Froth: Buck The Trend...Drink Good Beer Ingredients Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon October 21, 2011 Modern hipsterism is a weird and annoying thing. Here's how it goes: people had settled into a fairly stable fashion landscape by the time the millennium rolled around so they naturally started looking around for the next big thing. Lacking any creativity or new ideas of their own, they decided to take the most hideous and outdated clothing they could find and wear it as publicly as possible because "Haha, aren't I funny and clever and please oh god look at me." Since wearing ugly clothes is easier than actually being interesting, and neon hats from 1992 were cheaper than water, it caught on. Then everybody found out about The Cobrasnake and now the landscape is littered with "Aren't I cool for not looking cool but really that's what's cool about it but I'm too cool to acknowledge I actually really think this is cool." It's the Inception of pop culture trends, and somehow beer got caught up in it. I'm sure PBR doesn't mind that every idiot with an ironic mustache and Ladyhawke on their iPod has to have a Blue Ribbon tallboy in their hand, but this is the acid reflux disease of trends. It was ugly the first time, let's not have it again. Let's try something new, and let the revolution start with beer. Read More
Chilifest 2011: Everyone's a Judge Restaurant Events kids activity Comfort Food Kid Friendly CTbites Team October 21, 2011 Local area restaurants from Norwalk to Fairfield will engage in a culinary battle for the area's best chili on Saturday Oct. 29th from 11:30am - 3:30pm at the Unitarian Church in Westport. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 seniors (60+) and $2 kids (5-17). Unlike most competitions, everyone is a judge and can sample and vote for their favorites. The competition is expected to be 'hot' as the list of restaurants include chili cook-off veterans as well as restaurants you might not expect to see in this type of contest. Chef Pietro Scotti of DaPietro's in Westport is always up for a culinary challenge and will be entering a traditional as well as a "creative" entry. Chef Chris North of Rowayton Seafood will be cooking up a seafood chili, and Chef Troilo of Nicholas Robert's Restaurant in Norwalk will throw down with his special recipe. Read More
For the Love of Cheese Part 2: Cato Corner Farm Ingredients Local Artisan Local Farm Specialty Market CTbites Team October 20, 2011 Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, Connecticut produces a dozen styles of hand-made farmhouse cheeses from milk produced by their pasture-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free Jersey cows. Elizabeth MacAlister, owner of the farm since 1979, began making cheeses in 1997. Her son Mark Gilman joined the operation in 1999 and is the head cheese maker. They make cheeses four days a week at Cato Corner; Dianna Sadowski works as a cheese maker one of those days. She wears a white hair bonnet, long white lab jacket and knee-high shiny white rubber boots when she works, an outfit that underscores her role as scientist in the cheese making process. While touring the operation’s underground cheese cave–which was pungently acrid from thousands of wheels of cheese ripening–she described that cheese makers must understand microbiology, pH values, bacteria and ammoniating. “But, you have to use your senses, too,” she said. “You can smell when a culture changes. That’s an art.” Read More
Station Eats (formerly Filling Station) Thanksgiving Burger Restaurant Holiday New Canaan Kid Friendly Burgers Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger October 19, 2011 Back by popular demand, the Thanksgiving inspired 2011 Station Eats Special Burger and Shake is a throwback to the 2010 offerings with its Turkey Burger plus the well-received Pumpkin shake. Station Eats will offer both of these treats in both October and November. The 2011 Thanksgiving Turkey Burger contains a free range turkey patty, plus thick sliced bacon, cranberry aioli, a slice of sage, lettuce and tomato. The 2010 Thanksgiving turkey burger was not to my liking but Station Eats changed its purveyors and the current turkey burger itself is juicy with loads of flavor. I think it is a welcome change and I like this year’s edition. I continue to be a big fan of the Station Eats bacon and its addition to the turkey burger is delicious, plus I appreciate the crispy Romaine lettuce and plum tomatoes. Read More
Rizzuto’s To Open in Stamford Early November Restaurant Pizza Stamford Lunch Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat October 18, 2011 Stamford seems to be getting all the attention lately. The latest outpost to open in the "City That Works" is the fourth installment of Rizzuto's, a popular casual Italian spot with outposts already humming in Bethel, West Hartford and Westport. Rizzuto's Stamford will be located at 1980 West Main Street on the Greenwich/Stamford border, and is slated to open in early November. The new restaurant will feature three-level dining with room for 160 and features such as a California pre-fab pizza oven, custom stone and tile work, and a signature granite antipasto bar and counter seating. Read More
Going "Grüner"... Wine Notes from Barcelona Restaurant Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Chat Gretchen Thomas October 18, 2011 Nearing the end of the summer, I always crave what’s ahead in the coming Autumn. I’m dying for some butternut squash, I’m researching fall fashion trends, and I’m assembling my line-up of brooding red wines to pour by the glass. Every now and then something shows up on my desk that brings me back to the present, and most recently it is this amazing white wine that can combat every humid day we have left in this season. Truly, it was a tough summer; I found it hard to reach for a glass of anything other than water on some days, but I have found the solution in the 2010 Grüner Veltliner (pronounced GREW-ner VELT-lee-ner) made by Gustav Winery in Austria. If you are new to this varietal, here’s the scoop: Grüner Veltliner has been the darling white wine of nerdy sommeliers (like myself) for about 5 years now. Read More
The Stand Juice Company Opens in Fairfield Restaurant Fairfield Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market Vegetarian healthy Juice Bar Juice Cleanse Liz Rueven October 16, 2011 Liz Rueven is a CTbites contributor and the founder of a new blog, Kosher Like Me. The Stand Juice Company opened a second location in Fairfield , CT five weeks ago and they are rockin’ already. Carissa Dellicicchi and Mike Hrizdo, the dynamic husband and wife duo behind the Stand in Norwalk (opened in 2006), complement each other perfectly. Carissa is the cook and creative force and Mike is the organizer and funny man. They first met in Miami at a raw foods market and bonded over their love for organic vegetarian eats and their passion for exploring the connection between better eating and healing the body. Read More
Friday Froth: Nelson's Red Oktober Ingredients Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon October 14, 2011 On October 21, 1805, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson lead a British fleet against the combined power of the French and Spanish fleets miles off the coast of Trafalgar, Spain. Napoleon wanted a French hegemony in Europe, the British, not so much. Nelson had twenty seven ships at his command against thirty three in the Franco-Spanish fleet. By the end of the battle twenty two ships would be destroyed and Nelson would be dead. Twenty eight ships would eventually sail on to England - every single British ship, plus the French flag vessel Bucentaure, and its Admiral, Villeneuve. The British hadn't lost a single one. As for Admiral Nelson, his body was placed in a barrel of "spirits," likely rum, and Nelson became one of the biggest heroes in British history. The story goes that when the barrel was opened back home it was found to be empty of liquid - the sailors had drilled a hole and drank it all. Thereafter rum was given the nickname "Nelson's Blood" on ships of the Royal Navy. Honestly though: this column has almost nothing to do with any of that. I just like the story. Shall we? Read More
