Sarah & Monica's Excellent Birthday Dinner Restaurant Ridgefield Amy Kundrat January 24, 2014 Sarah Bouisseau of Bernard's & Sarah's Wine Bar in Ridgefield, and Monica Brown of 109 Cheese & Wine have been the closest of friends for over a decade, beginning when they discovered they shared the same birthday. Over the years, the oenophiles and food lovers have hosted an evening including some of their favorite foods and wines for their customers, and it has evolved into a beloved annual event. This special dinner and wine tasting happens only once a year, on Friday, January 24 (tonight!) at 7 pm at Bernard's in Ridgefield. The price is $90 per person plus tax and gratuity, call 203 438 8282 for reservations. Sarah & Monica's Birthday Menu Read More
Start-up Bid Mob Connects Diners with New Haven Dining Deals Restaurant New Haven CTbites Team January 23, 2014 The brainchild of Daniel Underkofler, who had been working at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Manhattan, and his “team of socially-inspired Gladsters,” BidMob is a mobile app that—quite simply but brilliantly—connects anyone interested in dining and nightlife in New Haven with the best deals of the day. "BidMob is an amazing new way to save BIG $$ for your group when you go out. Stop paying for discounts, printing coupons or wondering where the best deals are when you need them," says the description in the Apple app store. Read More
Le Farm's Signature Dish: Chef Arik Bensimon & Bill Taibe Talk Poutine Restaurant Chef Talk Westport Lou Gorfain January 22, 2014 Would Bensimom consider an encore of LePoutine for our readers? You bet! He’s putting the dish back on the LeFarm menu for a limited run, January 23 -25. Not to be missed. (If bacon ate, it would eat Poutine.) Foie gras and Poutine are two foods not usually found in the same sentence, much less married in a restaurant dish. But if you were dining at LeFarm a couple of years ago, “LePoutine” was the crazy delicious rock star in the room – a decadent, playful, steamy mashup of foie gras, fried potatoes, wine, beef cheeks, kale, gravy and imagination. A Montreal favorite, Poutine is unadulterated cardiac-on-a-plate, usually devoured with great gusto, its grease supposedly the perfect insulation before or and after a hard night of drinking. (It should be duly noted that Le Farm’s version, unlike the French Canadian, didn’t include the traditional cheese curds. But buttery Foie Gras more than made up for the missing fat calories.) “It was big, it was indulgent, and people just loved it. So did we,” Bill Taibe, the founder of LeFarm told us, grinning with the memory of his exciting crowd pleaser. Read More
Ny Haven: A Nordic Inspired Pop-up with Chefs Marcell Davidsen & Tommy Juliano at 116 Crown Restaurant Chef Talk Underground Dinner Amy Kundrat January 17, 2014 Photos: Signe Birck TICKETS HAVE GONE ON SALE! Tickets A 13 course Nordic-inspired menu is the inspiration for Ny Haven, a one-time pop-up dining collaboration between chefs Marcell Davidsen and Tommy Juliano, that will take place at 116 Crown on March 3, 2014. Ny Haven is a play on words. In Danish, Ny means New, and Haven means garden. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn is a main gathering point for people to meet at cafés to eat and drink. The chefs, best known for their culinary risk-taking and locavore approach at Community Table in Washington, CT, will descend upon the kitchen of 116 Crown in New Haven for a single night for 25 lucky gourmands. "We are very excited to showcase our style of new New England cuisine, and Nordic influenced cooking, to New Haven," said Davidsen. "With my Danish background and Tommy's New England approach on desserts." Read More
Friday Froth: CT Pour Tour At Two Roads, Plus Reviews And Assorted Nonsense Ingredients Restaurant CT Beer Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon January 17, 2014 Mark Twain once said the best thing about writing was having written. I tend to enjoy drinking more than having drunken (which is to say, I like drankin'), but it's especially nice to have a built-in justification. Todd Ruggere has given all of us in the Constitution State just such an excuse with the CT Pour Tour, in which he will drink at least one beer this year in all 169 towns in Connecticut, and raise money at every stop for Yale Children's Hospital. Todd has published a list of when and where he'll be over the course of 2014, and I caught up with him at the CT Pour Tour launch party at Two Roads in Stratford this past Saturday. Todd spent 2013 completing his first pour tour, traveling through all 351 towns in his home state of Massachusetts. Read More
Stew Leonard's Introduces Croissant - Bagel Hybrid...The Crogel Features Restaurant Bakery Norwalk Kid Friendly CTbites Team January 15, 2014
Celebrity Mixologist Adrian Alvarado Kicks off "Prohibition Wednesdays" @ Prime 16 Restaurant CTbites Team January 14, 2014 On January 29th, at 5 P.M., Celebrity Mixologist Adrian Alvarado will be kicking off the "Prohibition Wednesdays" at Prime 16 in Orange.As an Actor/Mixologist, Adrian is best known for his role on ABC's General Hospital where he played Detective Cruz Rodriguez. Originally from Jersey City N.J., Adrian moved to L.A. where he started booking commercials and TV appearances in "Without a Trace," "Big Love," "Law & Order: LA" and "Body of Proof" before landing his longest running role on General Hospital.Since moving back to the East Coast with his wife and two children, Adrian has expanded a passion for the hospitality industry. Bartending didn't just become a side income, it became a passion. As a Mixologist he worked for the famous Soho House Group in Los Angeles and New York "The Cocktail culture is vastly growing, It's not just about going out and getting a drink. It's about going out and enjoying a new experience in flavors and it's history in a responsible way." Read More
Pantanal Restaurant & Churrascaria: Brazilian in Bridgeport Restaurant Brazilian Bridgeport Delicious Dives Comfort Food Elizabeth Keyser January 12, 2014 The smell of grilling meat perfumes the air on Frank Street in Bridgeport. What’s going on here? This drab residential neighborhood is crowded with cars. And what’s that funky-looking vividly green-and-yellow building? The sidewalk’s striped green and yellow too, the colors of the Brazilian flag. This is Pantanal, a Brazilian buffet and churrascaria. We’re going in. It’s Thursday at lunchtime and the place is crowded. We grab plates and try to take in all that’s offered at the cold and hot buffet. We’re overwhelmed, and we’re in the way. Everyone else knows what they want. We’re gawking, and we know we could easily overload our plates with the choice of salads, fruits, hearts of palm, collards, white rice, Spanish rice, mac ‘n cheese, black beans, pinto beans, fried sweet plantain, fried chicken, fried fish and stews. Customers are digging in to those stews. The chicken and okra stew looks intriguing, but I need to exert restraint. I need to focus. I chose an orange-colored stew of smoked pork ribs and white beans. Excellent choice, smoky and deeply flavorful. Read More
The Weekly Nibble: Upcoming Food News & Events Restaurant Cooking Classes Wine Tasting Beer Lunch Emma Jane-Doody Stetson January 09, 2014 The Whelk in Westport will start serving LUNCH on January 15th! Lunch will be served Wednesday, Thursdays, and Fridays 12pm-2:30. Saturday January 11 is Step Out at Stepping Stones Museum. The wine and food tasting supports the museum’s educational initiatives. It includes the Melting Pot, Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines, The Brewhouse, and more. 7-9:30pm. $40 and up per person. More info here. Mohegan Sun’s Restaurant Week begins Sunday January 12th and goes through the 17th. Visit the website to see what the casino’s renowned eateries are offering. Sundays are ½ off bottles of select wines at many local restaurants, including The Spread, Bar Sugo, and Bistro Latino. On Tuesday January 14, learn how to braise at Barcelona Fairfield. Join Chef Helton and learn the art of braising and complementing it with a few vegetable side dishes. 4-7pm. $35pp plus tax and gratuity. http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/calendar.htm Also on Tuesday, Caseus Fromagerie in New Haven is offering a class called “Relishing the Rind.” The class will explore categorizing cheese by types of rind. You will get to taste bloomy, ash, wash-rind cheeses ...and more! 6-7:30pm. Approx $37pp. Buy Tix Here. Read More
Valbella: Old School Italian Elegance in Greenwich Restaurant Bakery French Greenwich Italian Dessert Sarah Green January 05, 2014 I never go to Italian restaurants in Connecticut because I was lucky and spoiled enough to have eaten in Italy - a lot - and I always feel disappointed in the American version of Italian cuisine. So when a friend begged me to review VALBELLA in Greenwich, I was reluctant to say the least. The pastry chef, she claimed, was world renowned and his food art simply had to be reviewed. I did some research and decided to acquiesce. For more than 20 years, the stately, Victorian Valbella has been the archetype for excellent but old school Italian cuisine in the Greenwich/Riverside area, and has successful sister locations in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District and Midtown. And I can understand why. It is in no way funky or hip or cool but is extremely elegant and the food, though I am hesitant to admit it, was outstanding. Read More
Loaf of the Week at Scratch Baking Restaurant Bakery Milford Amy Kundrat January 04, 2014 Beginning on January 31, 2014 for 8 weeks, Scratch Baking in Milford will be kicking-off their second annual "Loaf of the Week" club. Participants, known as "the loafers," receive a surprise bread and spread each week, paired with a recipe. Think of it as a winter CSA for your bread box. "It really is alot of fun and honestly it is perfect for winter time when you just want to curl up and fire up that crockpot," said Lesli Flick, Scratch owner and baker. Last year, Scratch's Loaf of the Week baked fresh loaves of brioche paired with a cinnamon raisin butter, ciabatta with pesto, and rosemary focaccia with a lemon curd. The cost to become a Loafer is $65 for 8 weeks of breads and spreads. Read More
Get A Healthy Start to 2014: CT Resources for Juicing, Healthy Eats & More Features Restaurant Juice Bar Juice Cleanse healthy Organic Take Out April Guilbault January 02, 2014 You just did it all this holiday season. And by that, I mean...cookies became a food group. Mixing, stirring and shopping had you working your “muscles” (how to polish something, right?). Real exercise resided in the back seat, crammed in between boxes and bags and wrapping paper. Your sanity was also wedged in there, too, now that you think about it. Thank goodness that a new year is upon us because you weren’t quite sure you could take another week, chaotic and fun as it may have been. And yes, there was much good in the holiday season...but it’s all....tiring. So now, after the decadence and gluttony, let’s reset. Recharge. And for the love of Pete, put down that cookie. Here we offer, as your first gift of the New Year, some great resources, including juice cleanses, yoga joints and healthy eats, to get your body and mind back on track and ready for action in 2014! Read More
Reader's Choice Awards from Connecticut Magazine Restaurant Best of CT Douglas P Clement January 01, 2014 Connecticut Magazine reached out and you responded—now here are the results of their annual restaurant survey, featuring readers’ favorites in 35 dining categories. Bon appétit! best in overall excellence Bernard’s/Sarah’s Wine Bar, Ridgefield The Spread, Norwalk The Cellar Door, Ridgefield best new restaurant The Spread, Norwalk Walrus + Carpenter, Bridgeport Heirloom Food Co.,Danielson Read The Complete Reader's Choice Awards List on Connecticut Magazine Read More
CTbites Staff & Chef Picks for TOP EATS OF 2013 Restaurant Armonk Bridgeport Danbury Fairfield Norwalk Washington Westport New Canaan Best of CT CTbites Team December 25, 2013 As food writers, photographers, and chefs, we have the pleasure of eating a lot of really great food. Fairfield County has experienced something of a restaurant explosion over the past year, as new chefs move in and move on, and menus expand. We've endeavored to expand our coverage beyond those borders, seeking to cover more of the state and sharing those experiences that are worth seeking out. Instead of coming up with a top ten list ourselves, we asked the CTbites extended family to share some of their most memorable meals and dining experiences this past year. Read More
TravelBites: Heading to Miami, Florida? Don't Miss MC Kitchen Restaurant Miami Road Trip TRAVELBites ellen bowen December 22, 2013 By request….CTBites is trying out a new column, TravelBites, for our readers heading out of the great state of CT. These articles will feature popular vacation/business travel destinations for local CT residents, but if you have a suggestion for a TRAVELbites, contact us. Our first article features Chef Dena Marino and MC Kitchen in sunny Miami….one of the fastest growing “foodie” hubs in the US. Hot culinary spots are opening in hotel restaurants like SLS South Beach with Katsuya or The Bazaar by Jose Andres as well as Soho transplant, Lure Fishbar in the Loews. Funky hipster dining options are popping up practically daily in the emerging fashion and art neighborhoods like in the Design District , Midtown and Wynwood…Miami and Miami Beach has something for everyone. MC Kitchen, opened a little over a year ago, is the passionate creation of Chef Dena Marino and her friend, Brandy Coletta Hence, the M and C ). Chef Dena, who actually hails originally from northern New Jersey, moved to Miami a little over three years from her executive chef position at Ajax Tavern in Aspen to head up the kitchen at the now defunct Danny Devito’s restaurant, Devitos. Read More
First Look: The Cask Republic Opens In Stamford Restaurant CT Beer Cocktails Pub Stamford Beer Bar James Gribbon December 20, 2013 Fans of craft beer and elevated pub grub have a home in Stamford at the new Cask Republic on Summer Street. Lines of draft beer stretch down the bar in the dozens, awaiting pairing with menu items created and overseen by executive chef Carl Carrion. The Cask Republic's first, and only other, location is in New Haven, so there shouldn't be too much competition for customers with its second pied-à-terre next to The Fez and across from Buffalo Wild Wings in Stamford. Walk into the new Cask and you'll see a large front room in which a good many tables and chairs are ringed by cushioned booths and myriad framed photographs, with a long black bar dominating the right hand wall. The bar, one of two in The Cask Republic, is clearly meant to be the center of both attention and action in this future hub of Stamford nightlife, and features 51 taps poking their way through sheets of copper. Illuminated liquor bottles flank the taps, with gas lamps and Edison bulbs lighting the entire expanse. Read More
Bareburger Opens In Ridgefield CT w/ Organic, Grass-Fed Burgers Restaurant Ridgefield Comfort Food Kid Friendly Burgers Amy Kundrat December 18, 2013 Connecticut's first Bareburger, the micro chain restaurant known for organic ingredients, grass-fed humanely-raised protein, and sustainable practices, opened this week in Ridgefield. CTbites tagged along on a Friends and Family earlier this week with fellow Ridgefielders and had the chance to meet its trio of partners, Bareburger’s chef, and taste a couple of their burgers (elk and wild boar, to be exact). Read More
"My Signature Dish," Chef Jodi Bernhard of Fortina in Armonk Restaurant Armonk Chef Talk Italian My Signature Dish Lou Gorfain December 17, 2013 "My Signature Dish" is a new CTbites column featuring a rotating cast of chefs, and the dishes that define their cooking style, or simply make them happy to fire up the stove. Jodi Bernhard hardly hesitated when choosing her signature dish at Fortina, Christian Petroni’s "casually hip" Italian restaurant in Armonk. Her eyes gleaming, she said, "It's our Pork Braciole." Braciole, hip? If you grew up Italian, you probably hold memories of Braciole near and dear. This classic rolled, stuffed meat roast, usually serves as centerpiece for those sprawling homemade Italian dinners that lazily linger across Sunday afternoons into evening. Braciole invokes home. And family. Instant Nostalgia. Ok, so how does a chef modernize a memory? Autograph a treasured family photo? “That is the gist of our approach at Fortina,” Jodi explained. “ We try to not stray too far from ‘mom's’ version, but still make it a restaurant dish with our stamp on it. We are true to simplicity and flavor.” The notion of putting “Mom’s dish” on Fortina’s playful, hip menu was Christian’s, one of the restaurant’s owners. (Patroni and and Jodi once cooked together at Barcelona in nearby Greenwich.) Though she and Christian work as collaborators, the task of “restaurantizing” this homey meal was largely up to Bernhard. Read More
The Weekly Nibble: Upcoming Food News & Events Ingredients Features Restaurant CT Beer Wine Dinners Wine Tasting Beer Emma Jane-Doody Stetson December 13, 2013 Thursday December 12 at 7:30, Ancona’s in Ridgefield will host a high end wine tasting. Cost is $30/person. To RSVP please call (203)544-8958 or e-mail monica@anconaswines.com. On Friday December 13 from 7:30-10pm, try out a class at Muse Paintbar, a combination between a painting studio and beer & wine bar in downtown Manchester, CT. 10 beers & 12 wines will help bring out the artist in you… and you’ll go home with a painting. $39pp. View more info here. Every other Friday, Half Full Brewery holds an “Open House.” From 5:30-8:30pm, the taps are open and guests can try their hand at bags, life-size jenga, draw on the chalkboard wall, and hang out. $15pp. Details here. Lidia Bastianich will be spending some time in Stamford on Saturday, 12/14 at Fairway Market. From 1-3 pm you can meet her at the store and she’ll sign your copies of her brand new book, Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking: 150 Delicious and Simple Recipes Anyone Can Master. While there, you’ll be able to try out and buy some of Lidia’s pastas and sauces, too, with demos and tastings. Read More
Locali Pizza Bar + Kitchen Opens in New Canaan Restaurant Italian Pizza New Canaan Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger December 08, 2013 Clean…Balanced…Flavorful… Three words to describe the outstanding cuisine that Locali Pizza Bar + Kitchen, the latest addition to New Canaan’s Restaurant Row. This twenty-eight seat restaurant / pizza bar is already making its mark on the culinary landscape of New Canaan. Executive Chef Mogan Anthony and his team are creating vibrant flavors and textural contrasts in many of their dishes, intermingled among other selections that are pleasantly soft and mild. The interior design, with a strong focus on organic materials, creates a cozy and inviting environment with guests choosing between table or bar seating. In full view of the dining and bar area is the beautiful, hand-crafted ceramic encased Stefano Ferrara wood-fired brick oven. Joining Chef Mogan in the kitchen is Chef de Cuisine Ruben Liriano and Chef Antonio Legato oversees the wood burning pizza oven. Chef Mogan gained his training at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore and subsequently under Chef Jean Georges Vongericthen in three different locations, plus the Bedford Post and Village Social in Mt. Kisco. Read More
