Chowdafest 2013: Restaurants Compete...YOU Judge! CTbites Team January 16, 2013 The rumors are true - Chowdafest has grown so popular that they're holding this year's competition at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. They expect upwards of 10,000 chowder and soup lov'n fans to come out and help set a record donation to Connecticut Food Bank! The uniquely football-themed chowder and soup competition will take place on "SOUP"er Bowl Sunday Feb. 3rd from 11:00-4:00.No one can sit at home and watch 8+ hours of pre-game so kick off your Super Sunday with us. Kick-off isn't until 6:30. Restaurants Competing for BEST Chowder, Soup and Bisque: Blue Lemon Bobby Q's Bodega Taco Bar The Brewhouse Close Harbor Seafood Crab Shell Donovan's Dunville's Ginger Man High Tide Gourmet Liquid Lunch Mansion Clam House Nicholas Roberts On the Rocks O'Neill's Old Post Tavern Restaurant at Rowayton Rory's Southport Brewing Co. Super Duper Weenie Tavern on Main Valencia's Circle your calendar and plan on being a judge once again, sampling decadent chowder, soup and bisque from award winning restaurants from all over CT. Get into your football gear and be part of this "soupah" time before the Super Bowl starts. Read More
"Play With Your Food" Launches 2013 Season! ellen bowen January 15, 2013 Performing arts producer JIB Productions has announced its Play With Your Food program at Toquet Hall in Westport , on Jan. 15, 16 and17, Fairfield Theatre Company on Jan. 22, and at Greenwich Arts Council January 23 and 24th Now in its 11th season, PWYF is a theater program that includes a seasonal buffet lunch and dessert, short-play readings by professional actors and a post-show discussion. Performances are held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on dates in January, February, March and April. January’s lunch in Westport and Greenwich will be catered by Norwalk’s Nicholas Roberts Gourmet Bistro, and will feature Chef Robert Triolo’s seasonal lunch roll ups: Butternut Squash & Honey, Ginger Truffle Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad w/ Sage, a Sweet Potato salad w/ Mixed Greens & dried fruit. Read More
Maple Syrup Tap-a-Tree Class @ Ambler Farm CTbites Team January 15, 2013 It's that time of year again. Sign up for Ambler Farms immensely popular, Maple Syrup Tap-a-Tree program. Sign up quickly...these classes fill up fast. Training sessions are either: Sat., Feb. 9th at either 10-11am or 1-2pm. Learn the science and history of maple syruping by being a hands-on part of the process. We will send regular updates on the running of the sap so you can come to the Farm to collect sap from your tree. We will boil down the sap in our sugar shack and send each family home with their very own bottle of Ambler Farm maple syrup.The season runs from early February to mid-March (a typical season is five weeks long). If you are traveling during February or March, we will collect sap for you. $65 per non-member family/$60 per member family. Register here. Read More
Rustico Trattoria: Traditional, Tasty Italian in Westport (sponsored post) Restaurant Gluten-Free Italian Special Dietary Needs Westport CTbites Team January 13, 2013 Wherever you are from, a meal at RUSTICO is like coming home. From the kitchen of Chef Miguel Angelo D'Onofrio, exquisite and thoroughly Italian dishes are only a heartbeat away. This family owned and operated establishment has been open for a year showcasing Chef Miguel's talents and passion for Italian cuisine. Chef Miguel was born in Brazil and his mother is from Spain, but he is all ITALIAN on his father's side and these roots run deep. From traditional recipes, handed down from generation to generation yet modernized by Chef Miguel's creativity, a meal at RUSTICO is a delicious culinary experience. Using only the highest quality meats and fish - no hormones or antibiotics of any kind - and sourcing only the freshest ingredients, Chef Miguel prepares each dish to perfection. For 25 years he worked as an executive chef in Connecticut and was most recently co-owner of Finalmente Trattoria, also in Westport. Now in his own space he prepares dishes that originate from the passion that is Italia, RUSTICO is an extension of Chef Miguel's history. Read More
The Chelsea Burger via "A Hamburger Today" CTbites Team January 11, 2013 The Chelsea Burger The Chelsea in Fairfield prepares one of the top burgers in Fairfield County and now receives its due recognition. Our own Jeff “Jfood” Schlesinger’s latest contribution to A Hamburger Today gets down and dirty with the Salt and Pepper Burger and the Chelsea Burger described as “one of the most flavorful combinations of meat, toppings, and bun in the area.” See what chef and co-owner Matt Storch and co-owners Scott Beck and Kevin McHugh have in store for you when you visit. See the full review on A Hamburger Today. Read More
Invites: Lunch @ JHouse's eleven14 Kitchen & Chocolate Lab CTbites Team January 11, 2013 Join CTbites on Wednesday January 23 from 12-2 at Greenwich, CT's newest spot for food and conversation! eleven14 Kitchen and Chocolate Lab hosts this afternoon of seasonal, vibrant cuisine and a peek into the art of chocolate making .3 Course lunch prepared by Executive Chef Francois Kwaku-Dongo with special dessert course to include a wonderful presentation from CHOCOLATE LAB. Purchase your tickets here. Lunch Menu to include:"Creamless" Yellow Squash Soup with pumpkin seed oil.Choice of main course of Roasted Wild Salmon with root vegetable salad or Grilled Free Range Chicken Paillard andwinter chopped salad. Decadent "Interactive" eleven14 "Chocolate Bar" Read More
Westport Farmers' Mkt Hosts Cabbage Recipe Contest Ingredients Farmers Market Local Farm Westport Recipe CTbites Team January 11, 2013 Cabbage -A cultivated plant (Brassica oleracea) eaten as a vegetable, having thick green or purple leaves surrounding a spherical heart or head... Do you have a cabbage recipe that you think can win a contest for the best cabbage recipe? On January 19, next Saturday, The Westport Farmers' Market will be accepting all entries. At 11:00 a.m. celebrity Judges/Chefs Nancy Roper (from Boxcar Cantina and Truck) and Bill Taibe (from Lefarm and Whelk) will taste their way through the entries declaring a winner at high noon. The winner will receive a Westport Farmers' Market tote filled with market goodies worth well over a $100 and have the option to share their recipe with the 3,000 people who receive the WFM newsletter each week. There is one stipulation to the contest - the cabbage that is used must be from a local farm and the name of the farm must be noted with the entry. Email Lori Cochran, Market Director, by Jan 17 to enter- director@westportfarmersmarket.com Read More
Bar Sugo & Chocopologie "Chef Swap" Event CTbites Team January 10, 2013 Want more great fun? After the CTbites announcement of the first Artisan Iron Chef, the event sold out in one day. So as any good marketer and restaurateur knows, success breeds success. So CTbites is pleased to announce that Bar Sugo’s Pat Pascarella will both team up with and compete against Chocopologie’s Fritz Knipschildt in “Chef Swap.” Mark your calendars with these dates… On February 25th Pat will don the sous chef role for Fritz at Chocopologie to create a four-course extravaganza. And then on the following night February 26th the two will perform role reversal at Bar Sugo. But as anyone who watches Iron Chef knows there is the twist of the secret ingredient. In this case, four days prior to the event Pat will choose the secret ingredient for Fritz and Fritz will likewise choose an ingredient for Pat. Read More
The Great Wall of Stouts Beer Event @ The Ginger Man Restaurant Beer Dinner Norwalk Beer Stephanie Webster January 10, 2013
Food 411: Name The Restaurant That Served This... Restaurant Food 411 Italian CTbites Team January 10, 2013
Kids Review: Vietnam Palace in Stratford via AsherZeats Restaurant Asian Delicious Dives Stratford Vietnamese Kid Friendly CTbites Team January 09, 2013 Asher is an 8th grader at Fairfield Country Day School. He has a true passion for food and started his blog, AsherZeats, in September of 2012. Asher reviews everything from Michelin starred restaurants to great dives. This review originally ran on AsherZeats. “Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make a good soup. “-- Ludwig Van Beethoven. This Saturday we traveled to Vietnam Palace (a new restaurant, opened this past June) located at- 955 Ferry Boulevard, Stratford, CT in a very busy shopping center. When we entered, we noticed two very cool statues of lions and a statue of a Buddha. The ceilings were filled with many upside down umbrellas and the restaurant was extremely clean. We also saw that it was a family run business (the best kind of business) with a very small number of people working there. When we were seated, we were greeted by an EXTREMELY friendly Husband/Wife pair who could not be any nicer. Read More
Kibberia in Danbury to Host Belly Dancing Dinner Amy Kundrat January 09, 2013 Kibberia Restaurant and Café in Danbury will be hosting their third belly dancing night on February 2, with performances by dancers from the Riskallah Riyad Dance Studio. A $45 prix fixe menu includes Middle Eastern specialities beginning with mezze, followed by a lamb entree and dessert. This event is BYOB, table service swill be provided, and advanced reservations are required. Read More
Giveaway!! Win Tix to Sun WineFest’s Grand Tasting @ Mohegan Sun Giveaway Emma Jane-Doody Stetson January 08, 2013 Imagine 1,000 wines available for tasting. Celebrity chef demonstrations. Gourmet food from signature restaurants. A grape stomp. It seems unbelievable that all of these events could unfold under one roof, but they do at the Mohegan Sun WineFest! Now you can be a part of it. CTBites.com is giving away a pair of passes to the Sun WineFest’s Grand Tasting to one lucky reader. Win access to the SOLD OUT Grand Tasting event Saturday January 26th from 12:00-5:00pm, where you can sample wines, watch events on the main stage, and enjoy delicious food. To enter: Post a comment ANYWHERE on CTbites.com before January 21st (and menton the Sun Winefest). The more you post, the more likely you are to win. We will randomly select a winner on January 22nd. Read More
Naked Greens Opens in Wilton Amy Kundrat January 07, 2013 If you've been driving up or down Route 7 in Wilton of late, chances are good you've seen the gleaming green sign at 239 Wilton Road (formely Soup Alley) announcing the impending arrival of Naked Greens, officially opening on January 12, 2013. A healthy and convenient take on fast food, Naked Greens (first opened in South Norwalk in 2012) stocks soups, wraps and salad greens with a selection of fresh and natural ingredients. First opened in South Norwalk, Naked Greens is health conscious brain child of Victor Melendez, a Wilton resident. This location will be a 3,000 sq. ft. space with seating for 35 and convenient hours for commuters (a breakfast menu is planned). Naked Greens Wilton is located at 239 Danbury Road (Route 7). For more information, visit http://naked-greens.com/, or http://www.facebook.com/nakedgreens. Read More
Lorca Churros, Coffee & More Opens in Stamford Sarah Green January 06, 2013 There is a place -a tiny, subway tiled place- where dreams really do come true. Layla Dam, owner of LORCA- Churros and Coffee bar- has created Mecca for those in NEED of sugar sprinkled, fried choux and a cup of wickedly awesome Joe. Located in the heart of Stamford at 125 Bedford Street, Lorca is the new jewel in town. The design is funky, complete with a wall mural created by Dam's brother Chris. But "Why LORCA?" I asked. As I dined on the divine, the answer was clear. Passion. Ms Dam was born in Granada, Spain - hometown, also, of the famous poet/author, Federico Garcia Lorca, - and her heart yearns for that place. She grew up in Darien and has longed for the romantic, ancient town of her infancy. You can take the girl out of Granada but why take Granada away from the girl? She moved back to Seville for a time to study the art of CHURRO creation and LORCA is the fruit of her research. Read More
Scratch Baking Debuts Classes for 2013 Features Bakery Cooking Classes Kid Friendly Dessert Amy Kundrat January 05, 2013 Kick-off 2013 with Scratch Baking in Milford. Due to popular customer demand, owner Leslie Flick and the Scratch team will be sharing their baking prowess in two new classes to be offered in January: Breakfast Pizza & Quiche 101 and Artisan Breads. These small, two-hour classes (limited to 8 per class) will be held at Scratch's Milford location, and participants will head home with a hefty to-go box of Scratch treats. For more information or to reserve your spot, call 203.301.4396 or visit ScratchBakingCT.com/classes. CLASS #1: Breakfast Pizza and Quiche 101OFFERED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 15 & JANUARY 29 from 7-9PM In this two-hour class we will start by making quiche dough... Learn the method for making the flakiest, most buttery crust quiche and tart crust that you will ever sink your teeth into. We will then go onto our Breakfast Pizza, quite possibly the most popular item at Scratch Baking. You can’t go wrong with a thin whole wheat crust topped with seasonal veggies and finished with organic local eggs. Don’t worry, we will give you a box of each items to go. Read More
Bartaco Gains Approval for Westport Location CTbites Team January 04, 2013 Bartaco wins approval from Westport's Planning & Zoning Commission to continue with plans to open in a 3,700 square foot space at 20 Wilton Road in Westport, with outdoor seating. Bartaco currently has locations in Port Chester, Stamford and West Hartford. No confirmation yet of an opening date, but we are hoping to take advantage of that outdoor seating at the height of summer. Read the full story on the Connecticut Post. Read More
Pasta Bolognese in Fairfield County Roundup: Part I Restaurant Fairfield Greenwich Italian Norwalk Pasta Stamford New Canaan Jeff Schlesinger & Lou Gorfain January 04, 2013 Mangia, Mangia Mangia…and Mangia again. Pasta Bolognese..a dish so embedded in the DNA of Italian culture that the Italian Academy of Cuisine registered a recipe for "classic Bolognese ragù" with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. The recorded recipe calls for beef from the plate section, unsmoked pancetta, carrot, celery, onions, tomato purée, meat broth, dry wine, milk, salt and pepper, plus a small amount of cream as an option to finish the sauce. There are numerous variations and nuances in the design, flavor, ingredients and most importantly the partner on the plate, the pasta, traditionally a taggliatelle. What started as a simple idea within CTbites to find and recommend a few good Pasta Bolognese dishes in Fairfield County took a life of its own as more suggestions led to more great sauces, which led to, well more great sauces. Over the last several weeks, the two of us have enjoyed some great Pasta Bolognese preparations (and several that were not so good) to give our readers a list of recommended restaurants that serve delicious versions of this traditional Italian fare. It is not all encompassing, is listed alphabetically and we look to our readers to offer other suggestions of restaurants that serve their favorite Pasta Bolognese to be included in next year's search. And this is only part 1…there were too many for just one list of recommendations, so stay tuned for part 2 in the near future. Buon Appetito!!! Read More
6 Great Cleanses to Start the New Year Right Ingredients Juice Cleanse healthy Sarah Green January 02, 2013 What could be more appropriate for a CTbites article than to paraphrase a Shakespearan play whose title contains a tasty pork product? HAMlet, at his existential and post holiday binge worst probably also asked "To cleanse or not to cleanse...that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the gut to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous feasting, Or to take action against a sea of troubles and, by cleansing, - end them. Don't worry. And don't bother with the nunnery. Instead, get thee to one of the establishments listed below and sample a cleanse to rid yourself of post-food-orgy regret. Start the new year by taking care of your body with one of these 6 great cleanses: Read More
