Litchfield Saltwater Grille’s Farm to Table Wine Dinner Restaurant Litchfield Farm Fresh Stephanie Webster July 29, 2010 Tis the season for farm-to-table dining as the CT farms are reaching peak harvesting. We've promised to keep you in the loop on these exciting events, so here is one dinner you might want to check out. On Sunday, August 8. starting @ 3:00PM, The Litchfield Saltwater Grille’s Farm to Table Inspired Wine Dinner Series will host “A Neighborhood Affair” at March Farms in Bethlehem Featuring Certified Biodynamic Benziger Wines. This dinner will feature local produce from March Farms, Windswept Farm, Beltane Farm Artisan Cheese, Urban Oaks, Gazy Brothers Farm, Mountaintop Mushrooms, Bantam Bread, local grass fed beef and more. Check out the menu: Read More
Road Trip: Flander's Lobster Roll Restaurant Delicious Dives Road Trip Seafood Comfort Food Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat July 27, 2010
The Cakebox: Let Them Eat Cake! Ingredients Bakery Catering Ridgefield Special Dietary Needs Dessert Sarah Green July 26, 2010 Eat, Pray, Love - you’ve heard of it, right? Well in the words of Willy Wonka, “Strike that, reverse it” - The CAKEBOX in Ridgefield has it all in the correct order - Pray (if you must), Eat (as many cupcakes as you can), and Love (absolutely!) This ESSENTIAL new dessert-stop in the Copps Hill Commons shopping center in Ridgefield is a cake and cupcake lover’s Shangri-La. Ridgefield native Jordan Gregory and her partner, Robert Byrnes, opened The Cake Box in April and have been whipping up extraordinary cakes for all occasions (including, eventually, custom wedding cakes), cupcakes by the dozen, and individual cupcakes, cookies, and macaroons at the store for your perusal and MASS consumption! Ms. Gregory received her pastry training at the Institute for Culinary Education in NYC and Mr. Byrnes, who has a degree in hotel and restaurant management, designs the custom cakes. Trust me, they know their stuff! Read More
The FEZ: Moroccan & Music in Stamford! Restaurant Middle Eastern Moroccan Stamford Lunch Sarah Green July 25, 2010 To paraphrase Bogey, I’ll just say that - Of all the joints in all the towns in Fairfield county, we walked into “The Fez.” It was a rainy evening and I could have sworn I saw Rick and Ilsa running for cover from the deluge. They should have come in! This new Moroccan-style restaurant at 227 Summer Street in Stamford, co-owned by Bharat Patel and Eric Monte, is an alluring respite from whatever storm you are escaping. It’s cozy and warm. And it’s very cool. “Cool? In Fairfield County?” you ask. Indeed - Here’s looking at The Fez, kids. The physical space is deliciously inviting with sexy red walls and dim lighting. Read More
This Week @ The Westport Farmer's Market Farmers Market Liz Rueven July 24, 2010 Chef Pietro Scotti of DaPietro’s, Westport, will be the guest chef at the Westport Farmers’ Market on July 29. In advance of his appearance, Pietro will be making fresh mozzarella for shoppers, as he regularly does for his restaurant patrons. He sources his dairy from Calabro Cheese, a 43 year old family owned and operated company in East Haven. He will slice, season and plate luscious, ripe, heirloom tomatoes with herbs and his homemade mozzarella that morning. Using just a few, super fresh, high quality ingredients is a great way to highlight these outstanding ingredients. Read More
Your Favorite Breakfast Spots Revealed Restaurant CTbites Shout Out Breakfast Amy Kundrat July 24, 2010
Corinne Trang: Asian Pulled Pork Sandwich 3 Ways Features Asian BBQ Chef Talk Recipe CTbites Team July 23, 2010 L to R: Raw, Rubbed, Smoked Corinne Trang, author of The Asian Grill, and local Fairfield County resident, is back with some sensational summer smoking. These week she is serving up recipes for ASIAN PULLED PORK SANDWICH including her famous ASIAN FIVE-SPICE DRY RUB, ASIAN BBQ SAUCE, and ASIAN COLESLAW. Get smoking tips for your next cookout, or just enjoy her tasty take on this American classic My Asian-inspired pulled pork sandwich...yes, I dared! Read More
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
Chef Nicole: Grilled Salmon w/ White Bean & Fig Salad Features Ask Chef Nicole Chef Talk Seafood Recipe Nicole Straight July 21, 2010 It's summer, and most of like to cook outdoors in these hot months. If fish is what you crave, but you don't feel like cleaning up a messy grill, we've got a great solution. Why not pouch it? As the spokesperson for Norwegian Salmon, Chef Nicole is constantly inventing new preparations for this healthy and delicious seafood favorite. Today she has paired an aromatic pouch technique with a wonderful White Bean & Fig Salad. It couldn't be easier to prepare, and is amazingly nutritious. You can find more salmon solutions on her blog at http://blog.salmoninseconds.com. Greek Grilled Salmon With White Bean & Fig Salad 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
This Week @ The Westport Farmers Market Catering Farmers Market Liz Rueven July 11, 2010 Mark Sharon, Head Chef of Collyer Catering in Westport, will be offering 2 summer dishes at the Westport Market on July 15 between 10-2. Moorefield Herb Farm in Trumbull was the inspiration for Mark Sharon’s Vietnamese Summer Rolls, which he will be preparing fresh at the market. These veggie packed rolls are the perfect summer dish as the only cooking required is the hot water needed to soften the rice wrappers. The fragile wrappers will be demystified for shoppers on Thursday, as Mark will lay out his ingredients and demonstrate how to work with the delicate rolls. Hot water softens the wrappers and allows them to be rolled with a wide variety of fillings. Inside you will find Vietnamese coriander providing a bright citrus flavor combined with the raw veggies from Riverbank Farm. Bean sprouts, sweet peppers, carrots and snow peas are finely chopped and simply flavored with the bright coriander. Chef Sharon will also be presenting his own version of “HUMMOOSE”, 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
