Olivette Opens in Westport: Ultra Premium Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Ingredients Features CTbites Team July 09, 2014 The olive oil craze continue with the announcement that Olivette is opening a second tasting room at 24 Railroad Place in Westport. Akin to its sister in Darien, the second location will also offer the freshest, ultra-premium, extra virgin olive oils from around the world and authentic balsamic vinegars from Modena. The grand opening is scheduled for Thursday July 17th from 4-7PM and guests can sample a wide variety of full line of olive oils and vinegars while enjoying light refreshments. “We are very proud to offer our customers exclusive products of superb quality. One of the many outstanding olive oils we carry was recently named one of the top 10 extra virgin olive oils in the world. It is a thrill to be able to offer such delicious, high quality products to our customers” said Alina Lawrence, owner of Olivette. The philosophy of Lawrence is to provide only the finest artisanal products that are never mass produced, and a “culinary experience that delivers unsurpassed sensory and health benefits to its customers.” Guests are always encouraged to taste before they buy and discuss food pairings and recipes with the staff. Read More
Vegan/Vegetarian-Friendly Food Evolution Now Open in Ridgefield's Marketplace Restaurant Ridgefield Vegetarian Vegan Amy Kundrat July 09, 2014 Food Evolution, a gourmet plant-based café, has recently opened in Ridgefield's Marketplace located at Copps Hill Plaza, 109 Danbury Road, taking over the space formerly occupied by a vegan cafe. The new owner of Food Evolution is Ridgefield resident Elizabeth Berney, a passionate vegan and elementary school teacher for the past 18 years. Berney and her omnivore husband purchased the restaurant from its original owner, a local real estate developer eager to sell the restaurant to owners dedicated to maintaining a plant-based menu. Read More
Uncle Leo's Not Just Coffee & Donuts in Redding Restaurant Doughnuts Redding Breakfast Kid Friendly Dessert Amy Kundrat July 08, 2014 A top secret doughnut recipe, a father and son business, and a dozen or so different types of doughnuts and New York-style bagels mean that mornings in Georgetown just got that much better, thanks to the arrival of Uncle Leo’s “Not Just” Coffee and Doughnuts. Norwalk residents Leo Spinelli III (age 22) and his father Leo Spinelli, Jr., recently opened Uncle Leo's in the heart of Georgetown, at 19 Main Street, in the former Swirl Ice Cream location. The shop is a second coming for the father and son and the familiar Spinelli surname, who previously owned Spinelli’s Not Just Bagels in Norwalk that closed in 2009. Read More
Friday Froth: New Beers From Jack's Abbey And OEC Brewing Ingredients Brewery Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon July 04, 2014 Few sensations enliven the mind like eye-catching novelty. Our minds have evolved such a predilection to find the next new thing, it's a compulsion. This is why slot machines are addictive even though they're so repetitive: there's something new every time. The new glass house is made of screens. Status, tweet, pin... tap, tap, tap.It's easy to read about how this river of information which flows to us has made Americans indistinguishable from the couches which we permanently inhabit, but I think this is losing sight of the fact that rivers are also a means of transport. Ideas are hardly stationary. This week, let's take a look at a few novelties which have arrived on the Connecticut beer scene, and see if we can get some wheels turning. Jack's Abbey launched just three years ago up in Massachusetts and has seemingly been winning awards ever since. The company is run by Jack, Eric and Sam Hendler, scions of an ice manufacturing family, whose Hendler Farms supplies man of the ingredients found in their beers. The brand name comes from Jack (who earned a degree in brewing in '07) and his wife, Abbey - whose name worked out pretty well as a reference to monkish beer brewing traditions. I started off with their Mass Rising Imperial Pils. Read More
Summer Grilling Tips from Saugatuck Craft Butchery Ingredients Features Butcher Chef Talk Education Grilling Ryan Fibiger July 03, 2014 Craft Butchery is an old-fashioned shop with modern-day ideals (not to mention beautiful new digs). It carries only pasture-raised, organic meat from small farms located within a 150-mile radius of Westport. They sell premium beef, pork, lamb and poultry from animals that have never been given antibiotics, hormones, steroids or animal by-products. These guys know a thing or two...or three...(well, actually Ryan has 5 tips here), about grilling. Owner and head butcher Ryan Fibiger helps us make the most of his offerings with tips on grilling perfectly. 1. Keep it simple. When it comes to grilling high-quality, pasture-raised meats, less is more. Stick with just a salt rub on our steaks and burgers. Pepper, garlic, spice rubs and oils can burn, so use only if you’re cooking at a lower temperature. Read More
My Signature Dish: Chef Tony Pham of Mecha Noodle Bar, Fairfield Talks Ramen Restaurant Asian Fairfield Japanese Kid Friendly Lou Gorfain July 01, 2014 MY SLURPY SIGNATURE DISH Ramen Shops in Japan are as plentiful as hamburger joints over here. Every street boasts a shop. Yet none are exactly alike, mainly because each is distinguished by the owner’s unique signature dish, his personal autograph. In that tradition, Tony Pham has created his own signature dish for Mecha Noodle Bar: a unique interpretation of traditional Miso Ramen. Here’s the story behind it. Tony likes to play with contrasts. And not just the culinary kind. Case in point. Before trying his signature dish, Miso Ramen, take a look overhead at his futuristic Mecha Noodle Bar. Dangling from the ceiling, an arsenal of over three hundred vertical 2x4’s seem to be aimed directly at every table in the room. Alien, threatening. By design. Now try Pham’s dramatic interpretation of a classical Ramen. No, don’t taste it, slurp it. Breath in its steamy aromatic bouquet. Savor the deep, contrasting flavors: mushrooms and miso redolent of the earth, noodles that invoke wheat fields, a succulent pork belly that also warms and welcomes, counterpointed by the lively spice and heat of scallion and chili oil. It’s Japanese comfort food,a perfect contrast after a playful scare. Read More
Romanacci Cafe in Norwalk: A Slice of Roma with a Casual Flair Restaurant Italian Norwalk Pizza Lunch Kid Friendly Dessert ellen bowen June 29, 2014 It is a unique place that can transform itself from a casual, family friendly lunch and dinner spot to a young and hip late night stop after a dinner of popcorn at the movies. Romanacci Cafe (which translates as “From Rome”) on the Norwalk-Westport border is such a place, offering Artisan pizzas, salads, Focaccia paninis, crepes and freshly made Italian pastries. Tucked into a strip center on the Post Road, Romanacci is the handiwork of two brothers, Graziano and Maurizio Ricci. Both hail from Rome, where they attended culinary school and worked alongside their parents as well as in other family-run restaurants. Graziano migrated to the US almost 18 years ago and eventually oversaw the kitchen in New Haven’s Hot Tomatoes. He subsequently convinced his younger brother, Maurizio, to join him as its maître d’, and they finally chased their dream of owning a restaurant. When the owner of Norwalk’s Osteria Romana decided to sell his business, the brothers decided to purchase the restaurant with the intention of bringing a younger attitude and clientele to complement Graziano’s fresh pastas, breads, and sauces. Osteria Romana continues to thrive with a loyal and regular crowd, outdoor seating and a cozy bar area. Read More
Espresso Neat to Open 2nd Location in Westport: Coffee by Day, Craft Cocktails by Night Restaurant Cocktails Coffee Westport Bar Breakfast CTbites Team June 25, 2014 Coffee and cocktail drinkers unite at the latest hotspot in Westport, C.T. From the owner of Espresso NEAT in Darien comes NEAT, the collaborative concept experience where coffee enthusiasts can enjoy Connecticut’s finest during the day and cocktail drinkers can wind down at night. NEAT will be located at 6 Wilton Road in Westport as part of the National Hall re-development. The bar is expected to be open in early August from 7:00 a.m. -12:00 a.m. Customers will receive the exceptional, distinctive coffees and popular offerings that they have come to expect from Espresso NEAT by day, as well as innovative breakfast and lunch offerings prepared in-house. By night, patrons will be able to enjoy well-tailored cocktails. Both coffee and cocktails will be crafted in the constant pursuit of excellence with regard to ingredients and skillful preparation. The NEAT bar will have an innovative spirits program including artisanal beer featuring seasonal craft beers and carefully selected wines that allow patrons to “take a trip around the world” in order to expand their palate. A selection of simple and locally cultivated house crafted bar snacks will also be available with new takes on traditional bar food. There will be live music from local artists with a strong focus on Jazz, Bluegrass and Folk. Read More
Azuca and Gastro Bar Open Tonight in Stamford Restaurant Stamford Bar CTbites Team June 25, 2014 The Grand Opening and celebration of the two newest additions to downtown Stamford occurs tonight as Azuca and Gastro Bar open their doors to the public at 5:30 pm with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony Mayor David Martin. The brainchildren of Mario Lopez, a co-owner of Wilton's Bianco Rosso, his wife Cristina Ramirez and several brothers, the side-by-side restaurants, Azuca and Gastro Bar are located at 78 West Park Place. The celebration begins at 5:30 pm; reservations for the Grand Opening are not necessary and admission is free. The four Lopez brothers relocated to Connecticut from Ecuador two decades ago and worked their way up the ranks in the restaurant trade, most recently managing the sleek, Italian-style Bianco Rosso, which opened in 2012 and received a "Very Good" rating from the New York Times. Read More
Chef Brian Lewis Brings elm restaurant to Millstone Farm Restaurant Farm Dinner Farm to Table Local Farm CTbites Team June 25, 2014 This summer, Chef Brian Lewis brings the tables of elm restaurant to Millstone Farm to share the flavors of the season with a new series of farm dinners under the stars. Millstone’s beautiful landscape will set the stage for a 4-course feast of seasonally-driven cuisine. Each event will begin at 6 p.m. with small bites, lawn games, live music and farm tours for the entire family. See dates below: Tickets are $35 per child and $135 per adult, BYOB, tax and gratuity included. Limited family-style seating. Reserve at info@elmrestaurant.com or call 203.920.4994. Reservations will be accepted one month prior to each event. For more information, please visit the event page at www.elmrestaurant.com. Read More
Old School Pizzeria in Fairfield c/o The Lunch Break Chronicles Restaurant Fairfield Pizza CTbites Team June 25, 2014 Photo: Keith Whamond Hearst Newspaper's Lunch Break Chronicles is where we often go to find hidden gems in Fairfield County. Brett Mickelson recently visited the latest pizza parlor with a familiar chef—Derek Furino, formerly of Behind the Net in Darien and John Dough's Pizza Bar in Norwalk has moved on to become a partner in Old School Pizzeria in Fairfield. Here's the report from Brett: Read More
Ridgefield High School Student Christopher DiFabio Spins Pizza Pies for a Cause Kids Bites Restaurant CTbites Team June 24, 2014 Ridgefield High School Junior Christopher DiFabio will take over the pizza kitchen at ReNapoli in Old Greenwich on June 28 at 3 pm for an hour-long pizza-making competition to raise money for the charity Full Courts Peace. DiFabio will will race the clock, making as many pizzas as possible within the hour. He is asking for sponsors to pledge a dollar for each pizza produced. If the name sounds familiar, it should. Christopher is the son of six-time world pizza champion Bruno DiFabio, owner of 10 pizzerias around the country including ReNapoli and Pinocchio pizzerias in Wilton and New Canaan. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support the building of a basketball court in Havana, which he plans to visit in the fall. He is asking for sponsors to pledge a dollar for each pizza produced. Connecticut residents interested in supporting the cause can contact christopherdifabio@aol.com or Bruno@pizzascience.com, or drop by ReNapoli to submit a pledge. All pledgers are invited to attend a pizza party reception at 7pm, where Christopher and Bruno DiFabio’s award-winning pizzas will be served. Read More
Connecticut's Best Dairy Farm Ice Cream: 2014 Edition Ingredients Restaurant Road Trip ice cream Best of CT Kid Friendly Dessert Lou Gorfain June 22, 2014 With summer finally here, we have updated and expanded our annual roundup of the best dairy farm ice cream in Connecticut. You can’t get closer to farm fresh ice cream than tasting it at farm. Not only do you see the cows, you whiff them, and that aroma is part of the authenticity of the experience, if not the charm. Sure, these farms aren’t close by. But WTD. They’re “Worth The Drive” And worth the lick: usually the freshest, creamiest, and most flavorful retail ice cream available in Connecticut. While Chocolate and Vanilla remain cash cows, dairy farms also offer a greater array of flavors than you’ll find at parlors or in the supermarket freezer case. In fact, farmers have begun to rival restaurant chefs for sheer inventiveness and culinary dairying-doo. So, for your and your family’s guilty or innocent pleasures, we submit our favorite cow-to-cone ice creams … Read More
Secrets of a Supermarket: The Science of Selling Ingredients Features Specialty Market Lou Gorfain June 20, 2014 There exists an arcane branch of psychology dubbed “Supermarket Science." To uncover the secrets of how and why we buy our groceries, researchers treat a supermarket floor as a behavioral lab. They track such factors as our route through the store, our eyeball movement in the aisles, even our conversation at the checkout counter. As a result, nothing in a supermarket is there by happenstance. So how much does a supermarket play the customer? Encourage you to buy more? To find out, we asked Robert Reinisch the manger of Stamford's Fairway market to candidly talk about his store’s selling strategies. We chose Fairway not only to take advantage of Reinisch's openness and passion to do well by his customers, but also because it’s a food-centric supermarket. No banks, no pharmacy, no kitchenware, not even a loyalty card (another window on your personal buying habits.) We asked Robert about the first axiom of Supermarket Science: “The more time spent in the store, the more money spent in a store.” "Absolutely we want the customer to spend as much time as possible here," Reinisch allowed. "Our average shopping trip lasts about an hour." Wow, that's 50% longer than the national average of 40 minutes. What’s Fairway’s secret? Appealing to a customer’s basic emotions. Read More
2014 Food Truck Festival in Hamden Restaurant Food Truck Hamden CTbites Team June 18, 2014 The second annual Hamden Food Truck Festival is taking place this Friday, June 20, from 4:30 to 9 p.m.at Hamden Town Center Park. Over 30 vendors will fill the park, including: SAVORY Caseus, Spuds Your Way, Firedog, Turkey HUT LLC, Fryborg, World Famous Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers, The Whey Station, Szabo's Seafood Take Out, Prepared Foods and Catering, Mamoun's Falafel Cart, Aurora's Gypsy Cafe, The Soup Girl, Smoke Box BBQ, Uncle D's Blazin BBQ, and Ricky D's Rib shack. SWEET Four Flours Baking Company, LLC, Sugar Bakery & Sweet Shop, NoRA Cupcake Company, Addeo's Italian Ice, Nana's Ice Cream truck, Ben & Jerry's of Canton, CT, Six Pence Pies, Elm City Kettle Corn, DiSorbo's Bakery, Fruit Whirled. Read More
The New Downtown Milford Farmers' Market Seasonal Restaurant Farmers Market Milford Amy Kundrat June 17, 2014 The new Downtown Milford Farmers' Market, led by Market Master and Scratch Baking Manager Alex Malaspinas, will be open every Saturday, now through October 11, 2014 from 9 am to 1 pm. The market is located at 58 River Street in Milford, CT and is easily accessible by train as the lot sits adjacent to the Milford train station. Featured vendors include Scratch Baking, Vaiuso Farms, Rose's Berry Farm, Lisa's Soaps, Dash N' Drizzle, Calandrelli Kettle Corn, Tasty Good Eats, Chiropractic & Wellness Center of Milford, Autumn Rose Flower & Gift Shop, Maple View Farm, and more as the season gets underway. If you can't make it into Scratch Baking in Milford, Alex also shared the bakery's special events schedule this summer: Read More
The Best Tacos in Connecticut: Ultimate Guide Restaurant Darien Fairfield Food Truck Hartford Norwalk Stamford Tacos Mexican New Haven Best of CT Kid Friendly April Guilbault June 15, 2014 There is truly a Mexican restaurant for everyone. There are the quiet ones that scream “authentic! authentic! authentic!” and then there are the more modern ones with the guac that is “hand-slapped” or “slapped to order.” Excuse me? Was it naww-ghty? Mex goes 50 Shades, I see. And if the recent lime shortage (I can’t think of lime-hijackings without giggling, sorry) has you in a tizzy and wondering just how the heck you and your margaritas are going to make it through the summer, just head to these places. Let them figure out the limes, you can figure out how many drinks and how much lime-infused guacamole to have. Here's our list of the 16 Best Taco Restaurants & Trucks in Connecticut. Feel free to add your favorites to the list below. Read More
Friday Froth: Sweet, Sour and Stout Ingredients Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon June 13, 2014 You're hungry, but you sit there, getting hungrier, because you don't know what you want to eat. Spoiled for choice, you end up ravenous and choosing the closest, quickest option for an ultimately unsatisfying resolution. An Italian combo sub is good, but Thai would have been better. Barbeque usually hits the spot, but enchiladas suizas are what you were really craving. Sometimes having fewer options can lead to happier conclusions. This week I'm going to give you a few options in three categories, and hopefully it will make your decisions a little easier the next time you're faced with a giant wall of six packs, or a tap list with fifty options.How about something fruitier to start? A drink almost like a punch, or a cocktail you'd get at a tiki bar? One answer to sate this need is Birrificio del Ducato Frambozschella. This is an Italian beer made with fresh raspberries and lactic acid, then aged in wooden barrels. It pours a deep, dark ruby red, and had almost no head at all as it was poured for me. You'll be able to smell the pH from four inches away and it's sour, but it never threatened to turn my face inside out. Read More
The Drawing Room in Cos Cob Presents: Artist’s Table Dinner, June 22nd Restaurant Cos Cob Events CTbites Team June 12, 2014 The Drawing Room in Cos Cob has announced a June 22nd date for the next Artist’s Table Dinner Series event. For those unfamiliar with The Drawing Room, it is an intimate gem, with a small dining room and garden patio that extends the tiny restaurant in the warm seasons and a newly remodeled art gallery in the space adjacent to the cafe. “The Artist’s Table”, is a seated, plated dinner, with limited seating, situated right in their beautiful gallery, featuring local farms, artisanal cheeses and fresh, local ingredients, which highlight particular artworks and artists in their current exhibit. This Dinner Series is an exciting combination, bringing together art and food lovers and alike. Their executive chef, Paul Lockely will be teaming up with Bjorn Eicke of Thomas Henkelmann to artfully create a five course dinner inspired by artworks from the current exhibition, "Ebb and Flow." Each course is well thought-out and inspired by the current collection of artwork in the gallery. (See menu below) In other words, each dish is based on a piece of artwork. Read More
Fresh Nation Enables Home Delivery for Westport Farmers' Market Ingredients Features CT Farms Farmers Market Home Delivery Local Farm Farm Fresh CTbites Team June 11, 2014 Fresh Nation, the online marketplace for farmers markets, and Westport Farmers’ Market announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide online shopping and home delivery. Fresh Nation will operate an online storefront for the Market, providing local consumers with the ability to place an online order from many of their favorite Market vendors and receive same day home delivery from a Fresh Nation personal shopper. Fresh Nation delivers fresh food direct from farmers markets to consumers, by bringing local farmers markets together into a convenient online shopping destination, enabling farmers and food makers at the markets to reach new customers who do not normally make it to the market. The company employs trained food shoppers to go the markets and personally fill customers’ online orders. After receiving orders from Fairfield County residents for Thursday delivery, Fresh Nation fills these orders at the Westport Farmers’ Market and drives them directly to customers’ homes. “We are committed to bringing the freshest and best foods from the Westport Farmers’ Market to all members of our community,” said Lori Cochran Read More
