Ah, Versailles. So distant. So unreachable. So . . . French.
Well, that’s how our group felt after canceling /rescheduling our planned trip to this well-established Greenwich eatery THREE separate times. As it turns out, each date was snowier, icier and slushier than the one before. It took three snow storms, three snow days and nearly a month, but we finally made it.
The new location (a few doors down from the original on Greenwich Ave.) is lovely and trimly elegant. We arrived early for lunch … and it’s a good thing we did. The dining room was full to capacity -- with a line out the door -- by 12:20.
Looking for that perfect restaurant to woo your significant other this Valentine's Day? Try one of these great romantic spots in Fairfield County, CT.
Schoolhouse - WiltonThis quaint renovated schoolhouse is the quintessential special occasion spot (if you can get a reservation). Local ingredients and nuanced flavors highlight this menu.
Paci - Southport Nestled in the Southport train station, Paci's unique interior combines a renovated freight depot with urban modern chic. This Southport favorite has been serving some of the best Italian fare in FC since 1996.
And not to be left out,Casa Villa, that other beacon of tacos and Mexican fare has opened a second location at 886 East Main Street in Stamford.
As reported last week, bartaco is open in Port Chester, and soon to open in Stamford with tacos and fare inspired by Mexican street food.
Going, going ... The Sun Winefest 2011 is being held on January 29. A great day trip for sampling wine & food from the region. Info via MohegunSun.com.
All you can eat pancakes at participating IHOP's until February 27 (Stamford location may be the closest). What New Year's Resolutions? Via A La Carte Dining Blog.
A perfect tower of tuna tartare at Bernard's in Ridgefield. Via The Feast/Connecticut.
Silverstar Diner in Norwalk is celebrating 30 years with a $30 for a family of 4, family meal during the month of November.
Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival is this weekend featuring a walk-around food & wine tasting with over 40 culinary presenters, over 600 wine, beer & spirits and demonstrations. Info CTbites.com.
Colman Andrews, Greenwich resident, acclaimed cookbook author speaks tonight, Nov. 2 at 7 pm at Greenwich Library. Info: GreenwichLibrary.org.
Fairway's grand opening is November 3 on Canal Street in Stamford. CTbites.com.
Mark your calendars! CTbites is participating in "Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects" exhibit at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, opening November 6th. Info: StamfordMuseum.org.
The Avon Theatre will present the film Kings of Pastry on Nov. 30th with a post-film Q&A with the directors, presented with Alliance Française of Greenwich & Versailles Pâtisserie. Via LunchBreakChronicles.org
Did your mother ever scold you as you reached into the fridge in the wee hours to grab a slice of leftover pizza? Bread, cheese, tomatoes…breakfast of champions, right? Fat Cat Pie Co. which is well known for their wafer thin crusted pizzas laden with decadent toppings (see our pizza shout out), has validated this college craving by mastering the fine art of pizza for breakfast. Yes, it is a little known fact. Fat Cat opens its doors in the am serving a casual breakfast and lunch daily from 8am to 2pm. You may not find a hash brown to speak of on this diminutive menu, but you will find more interesting fare including breakfast "pies" with local organic eggs, sandwiches boasting the culinarily renown Bloodroot bread, as well as a selection of home made baked goods and granola. It is a laid back affair with top notch coffee and a barista who cares (note the latte art). For a diner seeking something beyond the "diner," Fat Cat is a breath of fresh air...and fresh ingredients.
I was greeted by Donny Raus of RAUS Coffee at his home in Stamford, CT with a freshly brewed (French Press) cup of coffee waiting for me. This coffee, roasted in his own roaster, was so good it needed neither milk nor sugar. (I usually take both.) As I sipped my hot, smooth and bold cup of coffee I learned about the young man, his passion, and I scored some great tips for getting the best possible cup of coffee in your house (Check out Coffee 101 Tips below).
Lolita Cocina is not just a restaurant, it's a scene. From the endless rows of tequila lining the bar to its hopelessly sexy digs, it's hard not to feel as if you've stumbled upon a modern Mexican speakeasy complete with a mouth-watering menu. One doesn't dine at Lolita as much as escape and feel as if they've discovered a slightly hipper version of oneself.
Located on Mill Street in Byram, Lolita Cocina's personality reflects its zip code, an up-and-coming neighborhood sandwiched between Port Chester, known for an abundance of south of the border restaurants, and the posh town of Greenwich located literally at the southern tip of Fairfield County.
The hipster Mexican vibe begins as soon as you cross the threshold into a roughly elegant space punctuated with striking red glass Murano chandeliers and swaths of brick and black leather banquettes. Dim lighting, fun music and the din of the near-nightly crowds that flock to Lolita fill the space to complete its inimitable scene. But don't let the carefully cultivated cool throw you, this place can throw down some serious food.
Executive Chef, Juan Manuel Reyes, of Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar in Greenwich, came to Byram by way of Mexico City and several prestigious restaurants in Manhattan. His passion for the bold bright flavors of Mexican cuisine is felt throughout Lolita’s menu, and he has a unique ability to create comfort food with a kick.
When we recently dined at Lolita Cocina (review coming soon) we couldn't help but audibly kvell over his delicious cornbread. The version on the menu is bathed in garlic butter, but I think it's fair to say that if you drizzle a little melted butter or honey over this side dish, you'll have some happy guests. Enjoy.
Photo Credit: Thomas McGovernThe beautiful dish comes from the Marches region of Italy and is typically prepared with salt cod. Executive Chef Townsend Wentz of Morello Bistro in Greenwich uses tuna, which has a richness and fattyness that is cut by the spicy tomato. The tuna itself is marinated in rosemary and orange zest, which is mirrored in the rest of the dish.
If you are wondering where to purchase your sushi grade tuna, check out our Sushi Party Primer. If you have a favorite local seafood resource, share it with the group and post a comment below.
It was a Saturday night and I was tired of the standard nouveau American fare. I was in the mood for the spicy sweet flavors of Thai cooking, but where to go in Fairfield County? A friend whose taste buds I trust told me her go-to spot was Little Thai Kitchen or LTK, with Greenwich, Darien, and NYC locations. We opted for Darien, (right across from the train station) and our party of four headed out in the pouring rain to seek out dinner.
Walking into LTK is sort of like walking into a West Elm catalogue. It is modern and sleek with splashes of bright color giving it a nice clean design. The two dining spaces to either side of the front door are small, as a good chunk of their business is take-out, but we found that with the lights dimmed it was surprisingly cozy and well appointed. We took a seat next to the large corner window and discreetly checked out the food on the other guests' tables. It looked good. It smelled good. We quietly prayed to whatever God worked for each of us that we had found some decent Thai food in this town.
I am convinced that one of the best kept and most unfortunate secrets in the wine world is how good wines from Beaujolais actually are. Yes, that’s right–Beaujolais. The word itself creates a certain conundrum. It has been misappropriated and used as a gigantic ruse to convince the American wine drinking public that Beaujolais is actually that thin, fruit juicy froth that Georges Duboeuf has celebrated for years. Quel disastre!
Let me break it down: red wines of all stripes are crushed during harvest (the vendange), racked and barreled to age. Some wines – like great Spanish Riojas don’t get released for 7-8 years after they are harvested. The wait is worth it and the wines benefit from age. Not Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is crushed and rushed into the bottle mere weeks after being picked. And it tastes like it. What the heck was Dubouef thinking? Obviously he wasn’t.
The downtown Stamford fun quotient rose dramatically with the early-summer addition of a Fairfield County stalwart -- Barcelona Wine Bar and Restaurant. Having enjoyed many festive, delicious meals (and pitchers of sangria) over the years at Barcelona in both SONO and Greenwich, I wondered if the new Stamford location would compare favorably, or if the restaurant’s sixth outlet would start to feel too much like a chain.
I needn’t have worried. Barcelona in Stamford has a bustling urban bistro vibe all its own, and its energy and warmth spill out onto lower Summer Street thanks to a large, open sidewalk dining area. Handwritten chalkboard menus, warm wood floors and well-trained staff will make this the perfect setting for comfortable eating all year round.
Just off I-95 in one of Greenwich’s grittier, but up-and-coming ‘hoods," Burgers, Shakes & Fries (BSF) is just so cool. It’s fast, funky, fresh and affordable dining done right, with a focus on – you guessed it – the all-American meal.
Having taken the lighter route on my last few visits there, eating only a grilled chicken sandwich (a delicious option for non-burger lovers), on my most recent trip, I went to town. From the simple and straightforward menu, I ordered a single, 1/3 lb. burger with American cheese, tomatoes, pickles and raw onions with a side of “special sauce,” fries and a chocolate shake. Instead of the typical bun, burgers come on butter-griddled bread and unless specified, are cooked medium rare, to perfection. First bite of that burger and I knew I’d found a superstar…tasty, moist and worth every calorie.
Tucked behind Cozy’s Cuts for Kids in Cos Cob, is a gem called The Drawing Room. It is a combined 12-seat tea room and home décor boutique, with a garden patio that extends the tiny restaurant in the warm seasons. After many years of living and dining in Fairfield County, I thought I had exhausted all lunch possibilities, until a friend took me to The Drawing Room and I had one of those ‘aha’ moments where I couldn’t believe I didn’t know about it earlier.
Opened in 2005 by husband and wife, Michael and Kenleigh Larock, The Drawing Room is a perfect spot to meet a friend for a quiet lunch. And if the weather cooperates, you can’t beat dining al fresco on their cozy patio, amidst a small herb garden, where you might even observe your server picking a few mint leaves to garnish the daily selection of infused tea. On a recent balmy September afternoon, I sat on the patio and enjoyed just such a lunch and solid catch-up session with a friend.
Tracy Holleran is a local blogger and founder of The Secret Ingredient Cooking School. She has taken tea to a whole new level with these innovative cocktails. Read on...
Some like it hot. Others prefer it iced. But tea as a mixer for cocktails?
When I teamed up with Fairfield-based Bigelow Tea to develop recipes using their many brews, that is exactly what we had in mind. Sure, I developed a wide variety of dishes, both sweet and savory, but these cocktails with a twist seemed to garner most of the attention.
There are two important steps to making your tea infused cocktail:
1. For maximum flavor, prepare a super-concentrated brew using several tea bags.
2. Once the tea is lightly sweetened with some sugar, put it into the freezer to chill for about 30-45 minutes.
In no time, you’re ready to start shaking, stirring, and sipping! Mix up a batch of these cocktails andthis will be one tea party no adult will want to miss!
After moving back to CT after 7 years in Seattle, there were a number of adjustments I had to accept in making Fairfield County my home (again). Some were trivial, like relearning how to drive in the snow, while others were more signficant: Income taxes and humidity for example. But no other trade-off was as frustrating as my fruitless search for a great cup of coffee.
I'm happy to report that while humidity and taxes may be here to stay, my espresso quest is finally over.
You may be wondering what I'm making such a fuss about. You might be thinking "Aren't there Starbucks all over the place? Doesn't America Run on Dunkin? What's the difference?" If so, I'd say we have much to discuss. You see, coffee is actually a lot like wine. Both require an obsession with quality sourcing, solid application of repeatable scientific methods, and an attention to detail that borders on compulsion. Think I'm crazy? Here's a primer on the subject. And for better coffee at home, here's some further reading.
Overwhelmed? Intrigued? Good. Because I'm going to make this very simple for you.
If you want a great cup of coffee, of any variety, get your next caffeine fix at Espresso NEAT.
On a little street in Norwalk, stands a little house, with a little pink dining room, and 6 little tables covered in lace and mismatched china. No, this is not the lore of fairy tales, it is The Enchanted Teapot…Tea House, Treasures and Art Gallery, or so the sign says. As you step into its surreally quaint surroundings, you are reminded of stepping into a less dusty version of grandma's attic. Covering every surface are teapots in every shape and size, nick knacks, antiques and a whole lot of charm. The owners of The Enchanted Teapot, Wilma Barbour and Christina Williams, opened up shop after collecting teapots, cups and saucers for 30 years. And you would believe it. But, it is not all about the treasures. People come to this little teahouse to relax, sip some of their small but well chosen tea selection and sample Williams' tea sandwiches and baked goods. I decided to fulfill my three girls' yearly quota for playing tea party and sample the real food at this oh-so-sweet Norwalk tearoom.
