Dinners at the Farm Tickets on Sale TODAY= Great Gift Restaurant Farm to Table Local Farm Wine Dinners Farm Fresh CTbites Team December 07, 2012 The 7th season of Dinners at the Farm has just been announced...just in time for holiday shopping. Every summer Dinners at the Farm brings their celebrated benefit dinner series to local Connecticut farms by hosting amazing multi-course feasts of just from the earth food, cooked fresh that day. They'll be dicing, chopping, sautéing and plating delicious locally grown food in the fields of host farms including Barberry HIll Farm, Scott's Farm & Greenhouses and White Gate Farm for 12 glorious summer nights in 2013. And, as with every year, these dinners are benefits. Dinners at the Farm will be donating $20,000 towards the critical work of our beneficiaries CitySeed, CT Farm Land Trust, Working Lands Alliance,Region 4 Schools and NEW this year, The New Connecticut Farmer Alliance, a group of emerging farmers working to grow and sustain new farms in Connecticut ensuring a viable agricultural future. Visit their schedules and tickets page for more details and to purchase tickets. Farm dinners make great gifts, just in time for the holidays. View our PHOTO GALLERY here. Read More
Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for the Connecticut Foodie Cookbooks Cooking Classes Entertaining Gift Guide Holiday April Guilbault December 06, 2012 As is always the case, one holiday ends and another is launched into our consciousness almost instantly. Those crumbs from the pumpkin pies are just being swept away, but The Holiday Season is officially here and Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa shopping has begun. What to get? Where to get it? It’s the annual quest. We’d like to make things a wee bit easier for you, as we’ve found some great items for the food lovers on your list. Buy one, buy several! Either way, you will seen as one of those “good gift givers”! Read More
10 Questions w/ Chef Scott Quis of Barcelona Stamford Restaurant Chef Talk Stamford Stephanie Webster December 05, 2012 Chef Scott Quis has been the Executive Chef at Barcelona Restaurant in Stamford since 2010. His credentials go like this: Culinary Institute of America; Executive Sous Chef @ Café Boulud; Chef @ Picholine in New York City...not too shabby. He lives in Norwalk, has a wife, and a baby, and loves coming in to work every day. Here are some things you may not know about the guy in the kitchen who cooked up those delicious Black Truffle Croquetas and Chorizo w/ Sweet & Sour Figs you enjoyed last weekend. Don't miss his recipe of the moment; Snapper Ceviche, seen below. If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in 1 hour, what would you whip up?I have a fire pit in the backyard of my home so I'd probably roast a chicken or make a paella with a side of seafood risotto. Read More
Westport Farmers' Market Opens Dec. 8th @ Gilbertie's Lori Cochran December 04, 2012 This just in from The Westport Farmers' Market... "When One Farmers’ Market Door Closes Another One Opens! As the temperatures start to dip and winter approaches we must bid a fond farewell to what has been a phenomenally successful summer season. However, we are thrilled to announce the start of the Winter Westport Farmers’ Market which will officially begin on Saturday, December 8th at 10:00am. The market will return for our third season at Gilbertie’s Herb Garden on Sylvan Lane in Westport. Read More
Cotto Wine Bar and Pizzeria Opens in Stamford Restaurant Italian Pizza Stamford Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger December 04, 2012 There’s a new kid in town, Stamford that is, and its name is Cotto Wine Bar and Pizzeria. Husband and wife Claudio and Silvy Ridolfi have teamed with Chef Kevin Kraklio to create a traditional Italian menu (with a few exceptions) that includes a wide variety of Tapas, entrée-sized dishes and pizzas. Located in the space that formerly housed Tappo, the trio first transformed the interior into a sleeker space, with a front-to-back Italian marble topped bar along the right wall, black-and-white photos adorning the left wall, a curved wood-planked ceiling and an enormous gas fired pizza oven in full view in the rear. Raised in Rome, Cotto represents Claudio and Silvy’s first restaurant in the United States, while Chef Kraklio takes the helm of the kitchen after attending the French Culinary Institute and working at restaurants throughout Italy. Read More
Pink Sumo Opens in Westport w/ Former Nobu Chef Restaurant Asian Japanese Westport Sushi Sarah Green December 02, 2012 Why Pink? Why Sumo? I'm not sure that I understand the restaurant's name (as it conjures up images of a very large, pony-tailed wrestler in fuchsia bikini bottoms) but there is no mistaking the quality of the food at Westport's latest Sushi and Sake cafe, PINK SUMO! Located at 8 Church Street, across from the YMCA and the colossally popular Spotted Horse, PINK SUMO suits the cozy, subterranean space that formally housed Manolo and, before that, Zest. Those restaurants couldn't seem to make it work in this location but I am pretty sure that PINK SUMO is here to stay. Here's why... For starters, PINK SUMO'S owner, Skye Kwok, is doing it right by employing former NOBU Sushi Bar chef Eric Cheng to run the kitchen. With great expertise and aplomb, Cheng presents each dish as a work of art. And as the painter chooses the best oils for her art, Cheng uses the highest quality sushi-grade fish purchased by Kwok (also owner of SWEET BASIL in Fairfield) from YAMA, the renowned Japanese fish purveyor in New Jersey. Experienced chef, high quality fish and charming, newly popular location are certainly the ingredients for success. Read More
Friday Froth: Ripple Beer James Gribbon November 30, 2012 Imagine yourself as the stone. Years of erosion - wind, sand, and tumbling through the water over other rocks - have erased your crags. Once an infinitesimal part within the slowly creeping monolith whole of the sea floor, you've become a matte-smooth egg, now just a few grams in mass, warm and dry in the sun. You are lifted, hefted easily by a child whose other hand is held by an adult. You arc through the air with the throw - in sunlight and shadow as you tumble - to land with a small splash on a wavelet. Ripples spread outward and above you as you flutter down to join the sea floor once again. You are the ripple, moving outwards. Behind you nest concentric rings, flowing towards but never catching you as your diameter grows. They wane, but you travel without drag, somehow separate from everyday space, and unslowing. Still just a small ring, but you're growing, and sweep up a canal in Stamford, Connecticut. Your diameter grows, and sweeps over a writer, contemplating a Half Full Rye IPA. Read More
Olive Oil Tasting w/ Olivette: Things I Never Knew... Ingredients Education sherri daley November 29, 2012 Since I attended a 2-hour olive oil tasting at Olivette, co-sponsored by The Fairfield Green Food Guide, I am deeply ashamed of my olive oil buying habits and I promise to be a better person. I thank Alina Lawrence, co-owner and general manager of Olivette, an olive oil and vinegar tasting room and specialty foods store in Darien, for her inspired decision to invite professional olive oil taster Arden Kremer to host the tasting. I thank Ms. Kremer for her patience with my sweetly stupid questions, and I will change my ways before someone sees what I am pouring on my salad. Historically, I have bought olive oil that comes in a bottle that has lots of Italian writing on it in squirrely script, maybe some pictures of olive trees. Also, sometimes there is a sale on industrial-sized cans of olive oil which I know will last me years because I live alone and do not use olive oil for any purpose outside of the kitchen. Read More
Little Pub Opening Second Location in Wilton Restaurant Wilton Beer Comfort Food Burgers Jessica Ryan November 28, 2012
Wakeman Farm Winter CSA Sign Up is Now! Ingredients Local Farm Farm Fresh CTbites Team November 27, 2012 Winter is drawing near, and many of us will eat the last of our local, farm-fresh veggies alongside our Thanksgiving turkey. Luckily, with Winter Sun Farms & Wakeman Town Farm in Westport, you get to keep eating Hudson Valley vegetables and berries all winter. You don't want to miss your first pickup. If you haven't signed up yet, now is the time! (Here is more info on CSA's and how they work.) The season kicks off in December, when your share is projected to include: Sweet Corn, Butternut Squash Puree, Green Beans, Peppers, Tomato, Blueberries and Pea Shoots. New this year, our tomato puree comes in a shelf-stable jar. Sign up at www.wintersunfarms.com and check Westport, CT as your pickup point. WinterSunFarms Winter CSA Pickup at Wakeman Town Farm Read More
Downtown Westport Foodie Fest Recap ellen bowen November 27, 2012 With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the Northeast, the FIRST Downtown Westport Foodie Fest truly offered the “FUN before the Storm,” during the weekend of October 26th. Over 1000 attendees came out to enjoy the picture perfect Fall weekend and sample craft beers, attend wine and foodie events and stroll Westport’s scenic downtown along the shores of the Saugatuck River. Foodie Fest featured unique food, wine and beer events throughout downtown Westport and was presented by Westport Downtown Merchants Association, CTbites and The Sunrise Rotary, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting local non-profits, Connecticut Food Bank, and Homes With Hope thru a Food Drive sponsored by Westport Farmers Market. The featured event on Saturday was “Biergarten On The Green,” on Veterans Green, a tasting tent of over 30 local craft beers Read More
SoNo Market Place Opens December 1st in Norwalk Ingredients Restaurant Bakery Chocolate Coffee Norwalk Pizza Specialty Market Wine Dinners Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger November 26, 2012 A week prior to the official opening on Saturday December 1st, SoNo Market Place decided to sponsor a soft opening on November 23rd and I decided that tasting some good local food was a whole lot better than fighting the crowds at the mall. All of the food purveyors were in full test-mode and my first stop was Flat White Coffee to taste the coffee described to CTbites by owner, John Palino, back in September. This was a creamy blend of rich coffee and steamed milk, a brand brought over from New Zealand, and one that should meet with great success in CT. But it's not just about coffee at SoNo Market Place. With over 20 food vendors and eateries, this European style market is poised to be a foodie destination. Guests lined up at Wise Guys Pizza for New Haven style pies; Norm Bloom served up fresh oysters and clams straight from the Norwalk waters, and Fish & Chips were on the menu from Gotta Nibble. Caterering company, Festivities, has a permananet spot here with their take-out biz, "Party Express." Local specialty purveyors and well known brands such as Knipschildt Chocolatier, Wave Hill Breads, and Nothin' But Granola have also opened shop at the market. Read More
Six Main: Elegant Raw & Vegetarian in Chester CT Restaurant Gluten-Free Road Trip Special Dietary Needs Vegetarian Vegan Amy Kundrat November 25, 2012 Six Main will close their doors as of September 27, 2014. From their website announcement: "Thank you to all of our loyal customers for a wonderful 2 1/2 years, and most of all we would like to thank our farmer, Baylee Drown and her team at Upper Pond Farm for providing us with such inspiring food." Elegantly prepared, nuanced preparations of vegetarian, vegan and raw food dishes are the expert domain of Six Main Restaurant in Chester, CT. Housed in the former Chester Savings Bank, a stately 100-year old landmark situated at the center of this quaint central Connecticut town, Six Main helps to usher in the slow momentum of “contemporary plant-based gourmet cuisine” into the state. Open since summer 2012, Six Main is the result of a serendipitous collaboration between owner Bill de Jonge and award-winning raw chef Rachel Carr. Looking for a chef who would hold the same passion for healthy food, de Jonge hired Carr who happened to find herself in the Northeast after many years on the West coast at the helm of the well known Los Angeles raw vegan outpost, Cru. Their partnership also led to the cultivation of de Jonge's Old Lyme home, Upper Pond Farm, for produce specifically raised for the restaurant they were building. Read More
Congrats to The Winners of the Robert Irvine Giveaway CTbites Team November 25, 2012 Congratulations to Dorothy Mikolinski & Ally Beadle!! These lucky CTbites readers are the winners of the "Chef Robert Irvine LIVE" GIVEAWAY. Winners will each receive a set of 2 tickets to see Robert Irvine LIVE on Sunday, December 2nd @8PM. Get ready for some celebrity chef action at The Ridgefield Playhouse complete with interactive cooking demonstrations and more. Thanks to everyone who submitted comments and participated in this giveaway. We'll get ya next time! Read More
Invites: Hurricane Sandy Benefit Dinner @ Oaxaca Kitchen Restaurant CTbites Invites Mexican CTbites Team November 24, 2012 Join CTbites and Oaxaca Kitchen in Westport for a special evening on Thursday 11/29 7:30-9:30 to benefit Connecticut Food Bank for $55. A special 5 course menu presented personally by Chef Prasad Chirnomula includes signature OMG Margarita and Sangria & $20 of each ticket will be donated to Connecticut Food Bank's Hurricane Sandy Virtual Food Drive. Chef Prasad will be on hand to explain the inspiration for both of his top rated restaurant concepts, Thali and Oaxaca. He will discuss his methedology and use of authentic spices as well as the similarities between his Mexican and Indian influences. Read More
Dinosaur BBQ Preview: Opening Soon in Stamford Restaurant BBQ Stamford Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger November 20, 2012 “Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that when you cut a 55-gallon drum in half, filled one side with wood and grilled meats at a Harley Davidson Rally in 1983 that you would be standing in your sixth restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut almost thirty years later?” John Stage, the founder of Dinosaur BBQ, slowly shook his head and smiled ever so slightly as he scanned the interior of his new location and uttered a single word that so beautifully summed it up, “Never.” This soft spoken BBQ master was kind enough to give CTbites an exclusive tour of the almost completed Dinosaur BBQ (named after his partner Dino) in Stamford and we were overwhelmed by the space. Read More
Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup Features Chef Talk Thanksgiving Recipe CTbites Team November 20, 2012 Back by popular demand, here is our "Best of Thanksgiving" Recipe Roundup with great cooking tips for your holiday table. leFarm's Cider Braised Turkey Legs Roasted Pumpkin & Squash Soup via The Dressing Room MATCH'S Luscious Whipped Potatoes Napa & Co's Chestnut Corn Bread & Foie Gras Stuffing Butter & Herb Roasted Turkey with Madeira c/o Fine Cooking Bernard's Baby Pumpkins filled with Pumpkin Mousseline, Sautéed Shrimp & Wild Mushrooms Bread Pudding w. Bourbon Pecans & Butterscotch 3 Fave Thanksgiving Side Dishes from Chef Michael Batt of Food Design Catering Thanksgiving Shout Out: Best Dish? Worst Dish? The Boathouse's Autumn Harvest Apple Contorno The Day After Thanksgiving: Turkey Pot Pie Chestnut Stuffing w/ Leeks & Apples c/o The Parsley Thief Stuffed: The Benefits of Stale Bread Ask Chef Nicole: Thanksgiving Side Dishes Cranbellinis: The Holiday Breakfast of Champions Read More
Basso Cafe: Venezuela & Italy Meet in Norwalk Restaurant Italian Norwalk Venezuelan New Canaan Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger November 18, 2012 When you enter Basso Café you feel transported to a warmer climate with the vibrant colors and art of the Mediterranean. The green walls are adorned with large colorful paintings depicting various culinary delights and the dark wood tables are inviting and offer a calming respite from the hustle and bustle of the day. At the helm of the Basso Café is Owner / Chef Renato Donzelli, who is proud that his dream still thrives after opening at the worst possible time at the beginning of the financial crisis in September 2007. A loyal following and favorable word of mouth allowed him to weather the crisis, and his strong menu has given him continued success. Born in Venezuela and raised in Naples, Italy, Chef Renato’s cuisine focuses primarily on Mediterranean flavors with a Venezuelan influence. Read More
White Truffle Wine Dinner @ Bar Sugo in Norwalk Restaurant Italian Norwalk Wine Dinners CTbites Team November 16, 2012
CTbites TV:Chef Bernard Bouissou Demo's Baby Pumpkin Holiday Recipe Features Entertaining Holiday Recipe Video Thanksgiving Recipe CTbites Team November 16, 2012 Chef Bernard Bouissou of Bernard's in Ridgefield is somewhat of a Fairfield County legend amongst both chefs and diners alike. Talented chefs including Arik Bensimon and Bill Taibe have gained valuable skills in his contemporary French kitchen, and when it comes to entertaining, no one has a larger repertoire of beautiful holiday recipes. Recently, Chef Bouissou stepped into CTbites' test kitchen to demonstrate his recipe for Baby Pumpkins filled with Pumpkin Mousseline, Sautéed Shrimp & Wild Mushrooms. These are stunning on a Thanksgiving table and simple to make. Watch the video for great tips while you try out this recipe at home (Recipe Below). Read More
