Spotted Horse Tavern Opens Today in Westport Restaurant Westport Beer Comfort Food Lunch Kid Friendly Burgers Sarah Green March 30, 2012 Last night, the CTBITES crew along with 100 (or so) other Westporters attended the "opening" of THE SPOTTED HORSE TAVERN, the latest and GREATEST by restaurateurs Kevin McHugh, Pete Mennona and Tommy Febbraio. (The Gray Goose in Southport is also one of theirs!) And I am placing all my bets on this HORSE! With former Manolo chef Pedro Garzon as head jockey, this SPOTTED filly is bound to cross the finish line in first place. Read More
3rd Annual Hops & Grapes, Toasts & Tastes April 14th CTbites Team March 29, 2012 On Saturday, April 14th, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Connecticut Chapter will host Hops & Grapes, Toasts & Tastes for the third year at Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT. Local restaurants, vineyards, and distributors will come together to showcase a selection of appetizers, wines, and beers to over 250 people throughout the Fairfield County area. Tasting sponsors to date include: American Harvest Vodka, Back East Brewing Company, Barcelona Restaurant, Bartaco, BJ Ryan's BANC House, Butterfield8, Cabot Cheese, Café D'Azur, Cake Suite, Chocolations, Cupcakes & Milkshakes, Dichello Distributors, Dina! A Restaurant & Bar, Ducky Life Teas, Karen Harvey Catering, Little Pub, New England Wine & Spirits, Nolet's Gin, O'Neills Irish Pub & Restaurant, Opici Wine Company of CT, Pink Cupcake Shack, Pizzeria Rosso, Regatta Ginger Beer, S. Pellegrino & Aqua Panna, Savor, Star Distributors, Starbucks, Sweets By Stella, Wave Hill Breads Bakery & Cafe. Read More
Double L Market in Westport: Fresh As Fresh Can Be… Ingredients Local Farm Specialty Market Westport CTbites Team March 29, 2012 Although I love the idea of cooking healthy, organic food, some days I only make it as far as whatever fits in the microwave, leaving me and my family eating far too much frozen mac and cheese. When I see a farmer’s market, I worry how much time and money it will take to prepare all the food that ends up sitting in the refrigerator. But other times, like today, when I visit Double L market, I realize it’s not so hard to cook healthy, real food. In fact, it can be fun. And you might be even learn something. Read More
WFM Weekly Trivia : Win Swag @ Westport Farmers' Mkt Farmers Market Giveaway Lori Cochran March 28, 2012
Beloved Hamptons Sustainable Chef brings Estia’s to Darien Restaurant Darien Farm to Table Local Farm Breakfast Lunch CTbites Team March 28, 2012 For two decades, former Darien restaurateur Colin Ambrose has been at the forefront of the sustainable food movement, originally in Amaganset, and now in Sag Harbor, Long Island with his popular café, Estia’s Little Kitchen. Here, the practice of growing his own fruits and vegetables on the restaurant’s property, and obtaining the rest of the ingredients from local farmers whenever possible, was never a gimmick. It was simply how he chose to source his food in order to maintain the high standards he set for the restaurant. The second incarnation of Ambrose’s beloved restaurant concept is coming to Darien in the form of Estia’s American, a charming café that will offer breakfast, lunch and a juice bar, then transform itself into an urbane restaurant and bar for dinner service. Located in the newly developed brick walk section of a busy downtown, Estia’s American intends on filling a niche in the culinary landscape with its simple, clean, vibrant foods Read More
Coalhouse & OmNomCT: Pizza, Beer and Bacon Dinner Beer Dinner James Gribbon March 28, 2012 Every night in America college kids somewhere are getting together, reaching their hands into cardboard boxes and pairing pizza with beer. In terms of originality, this combination carries about as much novelty as the Sun rising, or the L.A. Sheriff's Office failing to hold a guilty celebrity. The beers at these gatherings range from "cheap" to "possibly poisonous," and stay toasty warm under someone's bedclothes lest the weaselly R.A. sniff around and find the canned contraband in the mini-fridge whose box was most recently used to sneak a keg up the elevator. "Pizza and beer night" need not cause cataleptic flashbacks of Gumby's, Domnio's and Milwaukee's Best*, however, because as we put away childish things, so too can we put away lame food. This was the thunderbolt which struck Dan and Kristien of OmNomCT when they decided to pair with Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford and Victory Brewing on Monday, March 19. Read More
Rodizio Grill in Stamford: Healthy Eats @ a Brazilian Steak House? Restaurant Brazilian Stamford Lunch Kid Friendly Lou Gorfain March 27, 2012 As the gauchos paraded by our table brandishing huge spears of juicy, caramelized proteins in a non-stop moveable feast, I had a question: "Can you eat healthy in an all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steak House?" It was a concern I imagined many a health or diet conscious CTBites reader might harbor, especially if a friend or significant other was suffering a severe steak jones and insisted on a visit to Stamford's new Rodizio Grill, an authentic Brazilian Churrascaria in the space formerly occupied by Houlihans. Read More
Chef, Author, Farmer: Didi Emmons @ Barcelona Restaurant Restaurant Chef Talk Cookbooks Stephanie Webster March 26, 2012 Join Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant on March 31st for a special evening of food and celebration with Didi Emmons. Emmons, a chef, author, educator and former restaurateur will make a special appearance at Barcelona Fairfield to promote her IACP nominated cookbook Wild Flavors, One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking from Eva’s Farm. The cookbook features unusual food that is grown on a farm run by Eva Sommaripa, a renegade 70-year old farmer from southeast Massachusetts, who grows for a variety of notable chefs in New England. The evening wil begin with a cocktail hour where guests will have to opportunity to meet with Emmons and peruse signed copies of her latest cookbook. In addition to Barcelona Wine Bar and Restaurant’s regular menu, we will be offering a special a la carte menu featuring specialties from Eva’s farm such as juniper berries, sunchokes, lovage, claytonia and other foraged and cultivated flavors prepared by Barcelona Wine Bar’s Culinary Director, Adam Halberg. Read More
Vote for CTbites to Win CT's Top Food Blog of 2012 CTbites Team March 26, 2012 The Hartford Courant is rounding up the TOP BLOGS of 2012, and we think CTbites deserves to win. Please help us by voting for CTbites.com for TOP FOOD BLOG. It just takes a second. VOTE NOW at The Websters, Connecticut's Top Blogs of 2012. The voting period will run from Monday, March 26 at 9 a.m. through March 30, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. You may vote ten (10) times per day, per valid email address for a total of fifty (50) votes. For official rules visit www.courant.com/contestrules. Read More
EDO: Korean Fare in Norwalk Restaurant Asian Norwalk korean Lunch Kid Friendly Korean Melissa Roberts March 25, 2012 In the window of Edo there’s a New York Times review from 2004 that touts the virtues of Edo’s sushi, but that’s not the reason why we came. Sushi or Japanese food is not the reason to go to Edo. Sure, its name is Japanese, but we were there for the Korean fare. Like so many Asian restaurants in Fairfield County, Edo tries to squeeze multiple cultures into a single venue which isn’t always for the best, but go to Edo for the Korean dishes. You'll be happy you did. Read More
Match & Grey Goose Co-owners to Open New Restaurant in Fairfield Restaurant Fairfield News CTbites Team March 24, 2012 Fairfield will be the destination for one of the liveliest new restaurants to open in Fairfield County this year. The original trio behind Match in SoNo, Scott Beck, Matt Storch and Kevin McHugh, are the brains, culinary brawn and co-owners who just inked a deal to build-out and run a soon-to-be-named restaurant slated to open early summer 2012. The new venue will reside in the heart of Fairfield in the former location of Greenhouse Grill on Unquowa Place. The restaurant will feature a “global-classics" menu with several small plates to encourage sharing, a lively bar, sidewalk dining, an opening façade and ample free parking...not to mention one of Connecticut’s most talented chefs. Read More
In the News: Don't be Fooled by GMOs Talk on April 1st Ingredients News Christy Colasurdo March 24, 2012 The Westport Farmers’ Market, The Wakeman Town Farm, and Right to Know CT invite you to join them for a discussion on the dangers of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in our foods. Don't be Fooled by GMOs taking place on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at Westport Inn on 1595 Post Road East Westport, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm This is a hot-button issue, as there is a bill circulating to require CT to label foods with GMOs, which would make CONNECTICUT the FIRST state to pass a mandatory GMO labeling bill. Last week, the bill passed with a 23-6 vote in the Environmental Committee. This is historic and unprecedented. Read More
Jake’s Wayback Burgers Opens in Stamford Restaurant Stamford Comfort Food Lunch Kid Friendly Burgers Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger March 23, 2012 Whenever a new place that is dedicated to hamburgers opens in my ‘hood I just cannot resist the magnetic field that pulls me to give it a try; and I could not resist when Jake’s Wayback Burgers opened in Stamford. I arrived early enough to avoid the lunch-rush and ensure that the staff could focus on my order. True to my first-visit tradition, I ordered a cheeseburger (a little over 3 ounces of meat) with bacon and grilled onions ($3.19), a small order of French fries ($1.99) and a small (listed on the menu as 12 ounces) chocolate shake ($2.89). Each item is made to order so I watched as the hamburger hit the grill, the fries plunged into the fryer and the shake whipped in the mixer. Read More
5 Course Winemaker's Dinner @ Darien Social Restaurant Wine Dinners CTbites Team March 23, 2012 If you got sold out of our PHO-nomenal Vietnamese Dinner at Match for April 4th, here's something else you can do that night. The new Darien Social is hosting an exclusive five-course winemaker's dinner at 10 Center Street, Darien on Wednesday, April 4th 2012 at 7pm. Jeremy Kreck, winemaker at Mill Creek Winery in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, will showcase and discuss his estate-grown wines. Mill Creek is a true family-owned boutique winery whose wines have won some of the most prestigious awards in California Read More
AMG Cooking School in Wilton: Learn While You Eat Features Cooking Classes Education Wilton kids cooking party Recipe ellen bowen March 23, 2012 It must have been good karma to take over the former Wave Hill bread kitchen in Wilton, because the AMG Cooking School, which opened it’s doors in July, has truly found the right ingredients for success. Alison Milwe-Grace and her partner, Olivia Savarese, are not new to cooking having run a catering and event planning business for years. When the professional kitchen space at the old Wave Hill Breads came on the market, they saw an opportunity and jumped at the chance to open a cooking school. They have been hosting both adult and kids classes ever since. The good friends added their own personal touch to the space. Gone are the wooden bread racks and flour dusted floors. A cozy candlelit living room and dining area serves as the entrance, while the kitchen features a huge work area complete with famous chef quotes on chalkboards to serve as inspiration. Read More
FOODSTOCK: CT Food Writing Conference Road Trip Events Hartford Amy Kundrat March 22, 2012 Celebrated author Amy Bloom will host FOODSTOCK, Wesleyan’s first food writing conference, on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. This event is FREE and open to the public. Online registration is required at www.wesleyan.edu/FOODSTOCK and registration will begin on Thursday, March 22nd. FOODSTOCK will feature talks, Seminars, Book Signings, a Farmers Market, Food Trucks, a Cocktail Party, and more! Speakers and Guests include: Ruth Reichl, Eric Asimov, Faith Middleton, Dorie Greenspan, Molly O'Neill, Jane Stern, Alan Sytsma, Christopher Prosperi, Paolo Villoresi, Serena Palumbo, Natalie Bovis, Cara Eisenpress, Pippa Lord, Fern Berman, Kim Chi-Hoon, Priscilla Martel, Najwa Kronfel, Ashley Rodriguez, Chef Bobo, John Finn , Chichi Wang, Hope Wright-Martell, Donald Siegel, Gaye Tuchman and CTbites! Read More
Video: Chef Matt Storch Demos Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs w Pea Puree Features Chef Talk Entertaining Recipe Video Recipe Stephanie Webster March 22, 2012 Live from CTbites global headquarters, Chef Matt Storch of Match Restaurant launches the CTbites Chef Demo Video series. Watch and learn people. Matt Storch's recipe for Pomegranate-Orange Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs With Pea Puree takes a classic winter dish and re-imagines it for spring with vibrant fresh peas. Get great tips as you watch Chef Storch review the basics of braising in this beautiful dish. If you have a chef or recipe you would like to see on CTbites, let us know. Read More
Ad: Great Finds at Walter Stewart's Market in New Canaan Advertisement CTbites Team March 22, 2012 Local Strawberry Season is here! One of our favorite signs of summer is the arrival of fresh-picked local strawberries from Pell Farms in Somers, CT. Some featured new products: Laura Chenel's Chevre, Whole G Artisan Breads (New Haven), Dave's Gourmet All Natural and Organic Pasta Sauces, Fresh Pastabilities Local Artisan Pastas and Sauces, Cornelia's Confections Nut Brittles (made locally), and we have some wonderful recent arrival Rosés, craft brews and hard ciders in Stewart's Spirits. Walter Stewart's Market has been a fixture in downtown New Canaan since 1907. With its reputation for impeccable customer service, a personal greeting is not uncommon as your walk through their front doors, but this family run grocer is much more than just your friendly neighborhood market. With a devotion to stocking local as well as unusual or hard to find produce, a beer selection that would impress any serious aficionado, and some very special artisan products, it's time to take a second look at Walter Stewart's Market. Join us as we walk down the aisles. Whether you're looking for fresh figs, Whole G bread (New Haven), Jeni's Splendid small batch ice cream, or Millstone Farm's fresh eggs, Walter Stewart's Market is full of culinary surprises…and it's right around the corner. Read More
Westport Votes YES to Pop-up Cafes via Daily Westport Restaurant News Westport Stephanie Webster March 21, 2012 This just in from The Daily Westport... WESTPORT, Conn. – More outdoor seating areas may be popping-up in downtown Westport this spring. On Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a policy that allows the creation of pop-up cafes and pop-up seating along certain one-way streets. This new policy will permit merchants along Main Street and other one-way roads to install on-street cafes or seating areas in converted curbside parking spaces outside their businesses. The policy was created by Planning and Zoning Commissioner Howard Lathrop and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jennifer Johnson, with help from Assistant Town Attorney Gail Kelly. “If you look at the policy, we wanted to make it broad enough not to exclude retail businesses from doing this,” said Johnson after the meeting. “This will actually allow both pop-up cafes and pop-up seating.” --Vanessa Inzitari Read the full article here. Read More
Food for Thought Event in Danbury Restaurant Danbury Amy Kundrat March 21, 2012 Danbury's Food For Thought 2012 will be held on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at the showroom of Connecticut Kitchen & Bath, 87 Mill Plain Road, Danbury, CT. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased by contacting Joann Cueva at 203-743-5565 or Joann@danburychamber.com. In addition to highlighting the Danbury area's food scene, the event will host a lively discussion about the latest food, restaurant & cooking trends with a special guest food critic & News Times Managing Editor Jackie Smith as well as (yours truly) Amy Kundrat, Executive Editor of CTbites. This networking and food-centric event hosted by the Women’s Business Council will showcase a variety of the Danbury area's food scene, including: Basilico, Brasilis BBQ, Brio Tuscan Grill, Hanna’s Middle Eastern Restaurant, Jay’s at the new Crowne Plaza, Koo Neo-Japanese Cuisine, Matrix Banquet & Conference Center, Mezon Tapas Bar & Restaurant, Molly Darcy’s Irish Pub & Grill, Pito’s Q - Shortcut to Puerto Rico, Stew Leonard’s, Victoria’s Wood Fired Pizza, VIVO! Bar & Grill & others. Food for Thought is a great way to support local business as well as get to know the Danbury area's food scene. Hope to see you there. Read More
