Pizzeria Rosso Expands to Bridgeport & Greenwich Restaurant Bridgeport Greenwich Pizza Amy Kundrat March 15, 2012 Pizzeria Rosso is opening up not one, but two new locations in Connecticut in addition to their original Norwalk take-out outpost which has been open just under a year. [Read: Pizzeria Rosso Opens in Norwalk, June 2012] Pasquale (Pat) Pascarella is the chef and founder of the successful yet still young pizzeria. His second Pizzeria Rosso is set to open at 960 Main Street in Bridgeport in just about three weeks. The new Bridgeport location will be open seven days a week and boasts forty seats with two four-pie Baker's pride ovens. The menu will be largely the same, but more of a focus on pizza and less pasta and will be BYOB with the possibility of a future liquor license. With Webster Arena just up the street and the Barnum Publick House opening across the street, Pizzeria Rosso will be open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday night. A third location will open in Greenwich, giving Pizzeria Rosso the run of Fairfield County. Read More
Italian Wine Dinner at Blue Lemon in Westport Restaurant Events Italian CTbites Team March 13, 2012 Join Chef Bryan Mulcarney for "A Taste of Italy" Wine Tasting Dinner Presented by CDI and Blue Lemon on Wednesday, March 21st 2012, 7pm The Menu Causa of Maine Lobster with Avocado and Mango Vinaigrette Donnachiara Fiano di Avellino Pear and Endive Salad with Baby Arugula, Caramelized Walnuts, Gorgonzola Cheese, and Champagne Vinaigrette Donnachiara Sante Falanghina Homemade Ravioli Stuffed with Braised Veal, Root Vegetables, Grana Padano and White Truffle Oil Donnachiara Aglianico Irpinia Seared Filet Mignon with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic Mashed Potatoes And Cognac, Green Peppercorn Sauce Read More
MELT Market & Cafe in Bridgeport: Go ahead and MELT Ingredients Restaurant Bridgeport Catering Cheese Entertaining Specialty Market Lunch Sarah Green March 11, 2012 Do you feel the need, the need for cheese? Introducing MELT Market and Cafe, the spectacularly gooey love child of former Westport-based Mirabelle Cheese Shop owners Andrea and Damon Itin. MELT, located in the up and coming section of Bridgeport at the corner of Lafayette Circle and Fairfield Ave is sleek and spacious with high tops as well as regular tables for seating and warm inviting color tones. The 2,200 square foot space seats plenty but if tables were pushed aside, this could be a fantastic place for a private function. But enough about things spatial, on to the celestial - this is a cheese lovers' nirvana - What's for sale ? MELT is the purveyor of European as well as local cheeses Read More
Westport Weston Restaurant Week 2012: March 25 Restaurant Events Weston Westport CTbites Team March 09, 2012 Westport & Weston Restaurant Week returns for 2012, offering consumers great deals and the opportunity to experience some new restaurants, as well as re-visit some of their favorites. Sunday, March 25 thru Friday March 30, 2012, participating restaurants will offer a special prix fixe lunch and dinner menu throughout the entire week. Participating restaurants include: Acqua Restaurant, Blue Lemon, Bobby Q’s, Coromandel, DaPietro’s, Matsu Sushi, Oaxaca Kitchen, Rizzuto’s, Splash, Tabouli Grill, Tarantino’s, Tarry Lodge, Tavern on Main, River House Tavern, and “V” Restaurant & Wine Bar. Read More
Elm Restaurant Opens March 20th in New Canaan Restaurant Farm to Table Local Farm New Canaan Lunch Kid Friendly Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger March 08, 2012 CTBites readers and residents of New Canaan who are eagerly awaiting Chef Brian Lewis’ cuisine at elm Restaurant will soon enjoy this new addiition to the New Canaan culinary scene. Elm's much anticipated opening is scheduled for March 20 to coincide with the first day of Spring. The facade of the building and the interior space has been beautifully updated to reflect a sleek and minimalistic architectural style. The feel of the restaurant is airy and open and offers ambiance that is warm, relaxing, and stylish. The layout includes a large, handsome pewter-covered bar separating the main dining area from the less formal bar seating. A Chef’s Table with a view into the immaculate kitchen can be quickly enclosed behind sliding glass panels for a private dining experience for up to twelve guests. And if you like to watch, grab a chair at the four-seat tasting table where Chef Lewis will prepare and present special menus to lucky guests. Read More
Pizzeria Rosso's CTbites Pie Contest Winners Restaurant Norwalk Pizza Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger March 06, 2012 Many thanks to everyone who submitted recommendations for the new “CTbites 2012 Pie Combo” to be included on Pizzeria Rosso's menu. Over forty unique combinations were submitted in both the savory and sweet categories. CTbites reviewed each of the entries with Pat Pascarella, owner of Pizzeria Rosso, and after careful consideration we are pleased to announce that one sweet creation received so much enthusiasm that we unanimously decided to name this delicious combination a winner. Congratulations to... Read More
Recap: Cooking Demo & Lunch w/ Barcelona's Chef Helton Restaurant CTbites Invites Meaghan Morelli March 05, 2012 Helton DaSilva knows how to work a room. The 26 year-old native of Brazil is currently the Executive Chef at Barcelona in Fairfield, but his talents expand beyond the kitchen. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of watching him in action, courtesy of CTBites Invites. It was a chef demo and lunch, and the ladies who were lunching met Chef Helton’s enthusiasm and raised a flirt or two. “Are you married?” one woman ventured after the chef had introduced himself, much to the tittering pleasure of the crowd. And this was before sangria was served. The demo lunch was a mix of insider tips and delicious dishes with more than a dash of Chef Helton’s charm thrown in. Read More
An Oasis of Naked Greens Arrives in SoNo Restaurant Norwalk healthy Lunch Amy Kundrat March 04, 2012 A healthy and convenient take on fast food, Naked Greens is a welcome respite from South Norwalk’s palate-busting dining scene. Chilled shelves stocked with salad greens and a salad bar filled with an array of natural ingredients, stands as the core of a signature made-to-order salad and wrap-filled menu. Soups complete the healthy trifecta, as steaming cauldron-like containers, a harbinger of its Soup Alley not-so-recent-past, stand along the counter offering a selection of hot soups made fresh daily. Read More
Coromandel Dinner, Wine Pairing & Culinary Education Restaurant CTbites Invites Wine Dinners Indian CTbites Team March 04, 2012 Join Coromandel SoNo's Gopi Nair for an exclusive dinner and wine pairing, hand crafted for CTbites Invites. Gopi will be our "gastronomic host" for a unique 3 course dinner on Thursday March 22 from 7-9:30 pm. The evening will begin at the bar with appetizers and wine, followed by a sit down dinner with innovative and authentic Indian cuisine. Gopi will explain the preparation and history behind each dish and will select wines to enhance the meal's flavors and spices.This CTbites Invites event is $65 per person and promises to leave you knowledgeable and appreciative of fine Indian cuisine and wine. Find out more here. Read More
Westport's Town Hall Gets Casual Eatery...Thank God Restaurant Westport Stephanie Webster March 03, 2012 This just in via WestportNow... The ranks of new restaurants in Westport’s center are about to get bigger. Developer Robert Haroun said The Town Hall Restaurant will open in the basement space of his Old Town Hall at 90 Post Road East. The space years ago housed Westport police headquarters. He said the eatery, owned by Westporter Chad Whited, is scheduled to open in three or four months and will serve hamburgers, sandwiches, and casual food with a bar. Meanwhile, Haroun has applied for permits to erect a two-story building at 100 Post Road East, site of the former drive-up banking building, that will have 4,600-square feet on the first floor with basement storage of similar dimension. Story courtesy of Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com Read More
Mycophilia: Talk, Tasting & Book Signing @ The Aldrich Restaurant Ridgefield Amy Kundrat February 28, 2012 In the new book Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms, Eugenia Bone, food writer and frequent contributor to Saveur and Food & Wine tells the story of how her mother went into labor with Eugenia in a restaurant in Florence while eating tagliatelle with truffles. Tables were hastily cleared for Eugenia’s birth and thus began her lifelong affinity for mushrooms. Bone, who is also the co-president of the New York Mycological Society, will be reading from her new book at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum this Sunday, March 4 from 3 to 5 pm in Ridgefield, CT. A book signing, wine reception, and wild mushroom tasting will follow, including a tasting of truffle fontina risotto balls, wild mushroom crostini, and cheese and charcuterie platters featuring black truffles, generously provided by No.109 Cheese & Wine. To RSVP for this event or request more information, please contact Lise Sharfin, lsharfin@aldrichart.org, 203.438.4519, extension 26, during regular Museum hours. The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located at 258 Main Street in Ridgefield, CT. More information at aldrichart.org/events. Read More
The Ginger Man Cocktail Contest Winner Is... Restaurant Cocktails Stephanie Webster February 28, 2012 Thanks to everyone who submitted creative and amusing names for The Ginger Man's Cocktail Naming Contest, There were so many great names from which to choose but we are pleased to say we've got ourselves a winner. Congratulations to Kate of StamfordNotes.com for her winning name..."Tipsy Tiger Lily." Kate will receive FREE BRUNCH FOR TWO @ The Ginger Man (complete with the newly branded cocktails). Watch out for our upcoming CTBites Invite event at The Ginger Man featuring the Tipsy Tiger Lily...coming soon. Happy and safe Cocktailing from CTbites. Read More
Dinners at the Farm 2012 Season is Up Restaurant Farm Dinner Farm to Table Local Farm Stephanie Webster February 27, 2012 Dinners at the Farm is back! For those of you who have yet to attend this wonderful culinary event, check out our write-up from 2009 or view our photo gallery from 2011. Order yourself some tickets for the upcoming season now! This is truly one of CT's most unique dining experiences. For those of you new to the "farm dinner" concept, Dinners at the Farm is a series of benefit dinners that recreate a sense of connection to farming, cooking and eating. Plus you get to reconnect under the stars in a beautiful candlelit tent while eating a spectacular multi course meal. Special Offer: Diners at the Farm is again offering $100 Thursdays and Sundays beginning now through mid-night March 30, 2012. Hurry the clock is ticking. Support your local farming community and join us. Read More
Darien Social: A First Taste of Restaurant Darien Beer Kid Friendly Burgers James Gribbon February 26, 2012 Several years ago, my friend and I looked into buying a bar. The space had been a sort of crusty old dive for years, stopping just short of "biker bar," but had since closed and remained so for a few trips around the Sun. Someone else picked it up by the time we got our act together, and it was just as well, because that left us able to spend many hours and ducats there - meeting neighbors, sinking pints, and possibly singing "Werewolves of London" from the loft until the other patrons consented to do the "Awoooo" part - instead of worrying about if the night's special was selling and how many soda logs we'd ordered. Friends were made in this place. News, gossip, and phone numbers were exchanged, and local business and political deals were done. Another place or two were probably the town bars, but this was the local pub. Read More
Zinsanity Wine Dinner: Fountainhead & Fat Cat Pie Co Restaurant Wine Dinners Wine Tasting Stephanie Webster February 24, 2012 Join Fountainhead Wines and Fat Cat Pie Co. on March 3rd for an evening of Peterson wines with special guest Jamie Peterson, winemaker and next generational fixture at Peterson Winery in Dry Creek, Sonoma. Peterson Winery has an old world winemaking philosophy and a reverence for sustainable farming. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—with low tech, yet high touch, to produce wines of a place, wines with soul. Fountainhead will be pouring an array of Zinfandel from the much heralded 2009 vintage along with a few other treats, including the superb Gravity Flow Syrah from vines high atop Bradford Mountain. Fred, Jamie's father, has pronounced the Zins from this vintage as some of the best in the last twenty years and guests will sample their way through these offerings accompanied by lovingly prepared cuisine from Fat Cat's chef de chez, Robert Herlihy. Read More
Boulevard 18 French Bistro Opens in New Canaan Restaurant French New Canaan Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger February 19, 2012 Un autre grand restaurant Français ouvre dans New Canaan. Oops, I got ahead of myself. What I meant to say was another noteworthy restaurant, Boulevard 18, a French Bistro and Wine Bar, officially opened last Friday in New Canaan and the food is well worth a night out. The 62 Main Street address has been transformed into a little bit of Paris by owners Steven Semaya, Luciano Ramirez, Henry Rosenbaum and Chef/Owner David Raymer (Strada 18 in Sono). Read More
Station Eats Opens in Stamford: Organic Burgers & Dogs Restaurant Stamford Comfort Food Kid Friendly Burgers CTbites Team February 18, 2012 An open space with high ceilings gives a contemporary feel to the new Station Eats at 3 Landmark Square in Stamford. It's not the easiest place to find, but once you climb the stairs to the second story entrance, you're in for a treat. The look here is more urban than the original, smaller restaurant in New Canaan, but the bright orange and blue signature colors let you know they are one in the same: a modern burger bar where you can load your organic hot dog or grass fed burger with dozens of toppings, grab a shake, or drizzle the signature chipotle station dressing over your veggie salad Read More
Wave Hill Breads Serving Breakfast & Lunch in Norwalk Restaurant Bakery Norwalk Breakfast Lunch Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster February 16, 2012 Wave Hill Breads recently moved their renown bread baking mecca and opened a new cafe in Norwalk, heralding a new “must eat” venue to add to your Fairfield County foodie dance card. At their new location on 30 High Street, Wave Hill Breads is baking way beyond their notorious three-grain pain de campagne which graces the tables of some of the finest CT restaurants and markets. The cafe features 20 seats for eat in dining with sandwiches (on Wave Hill Bread of course), soups, muffins, pastries, tea and coffee, as well as wi-fi. And if you just want to stop in for a loaf of that pain de campagne, just knock on speakeasy-esque “Back Door Bakery” around back (no password necessary). Read More
Discover Bethel Restaurant Week Restaurant Bethel Events Amy Kundrat February 15, 2012 Bethel is where in Connecticut? Fairfield County? Yes and yes. The Bethel Chamber of Commerce is hosting their first-ever Discover Bethel Restaurant week from February 27 through March 4 with participating restaurants offering prix-fixe specials for breakfast, lunch, dinner and take-out. Menus and participating eateries can be found on the Bethel Chamber of Commerce website. This tiny town sandwiched between Redding, Newtown and Danbury boasts a few great places we've written about such as The Sycamore and Pizzeria Lauretano, as well as a few others firmly on our to-do list. So if you find your passport and make your way up to Bethel (for the record, I'm allowed to make this joke because this is my 'hood) my recommendations are: pizzas at Pizzeria Lauretano; La Zingara for one of the best Northern Italian meals in Fairfield County; soups at Wah Lah Soups, especially the Chicken pot pie; and my go-to train snack is always a scone and a cup of Redding Roasters coffee at Daily Fare. And although it's not officially on the list of participating restaurants, you'd be remiss if you didn't stop by The Sycamore on your way home for their thin French-style burgers and a root beer float. You'll need to sustenance to return home after your long journey, after all. Read More
Top Fairfield County Chefs @ The James Beard House Restaurant Events Road Trip Stephanie Webster February 14, 2012 Get ready to grab the phone. On May 23rd, six of CT's top chefs have come together to create a meal highlighting some of the best cooking Fairfield County has to offer. The prestigious James Beard House in New York City will play host to this ensemble featuring a 6 course dinner with paired wines and a cocktail reception to start. You wont want to miss this. Let's take a moment to run through the roster: Matt Storch (Match), Bill Taibe (Le Farm & The Whelk), Arik Bensimon (Napa & Co), Tim Labant (Schoolhouse at Cannondale), Lisa Storch (Catch a Healthy Habit), and Fritz Knipschildt (Knipschildt Chocolate and Chocopolgie), with wine and cocktails provided by Saugatuck Grain and Grape. The price is $130 for James Beard members and $170 per person for non-beard members. Please contact the James Beard House for reservations. 212-627-2308. Read More
