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.
With high-end restaurants like Thomas Henkelmann, Rebecca’s, Jean Louis, L’escale, and Polpo, the Greenwich food scene is hallmarked by special occasion dining. Though lush and lux, the cuisines are rough on wallets and waistlines.
At first blush, Morello’s on Greenwich Avenue seems to be part of that plush world. The setting, a landmark Beaux Arts bank building woven with spectacular arches and ceilings tiled in golden amber by the Catalan architect Rafel Guastavino, Jr, may be the most lavish, sexiest dining space in all of Connecticut. Moreover, the bistro is part of the exclusive restaurant portfolio belonging to international jet setter and billionaire Marlon Abela, a collection that includes Michelin star eateries in London, as well as a Voce in Manhattan and Bistro du Midi in Boston.
In celebration of Kathleen King's new cookbook, BAKING FOR FRIENDS: Over 120 scrumptious recipes from Southampton's favorite baker, Kings Food Markets will host a book signing and Q&A with Kathleen at its Old Greenwich, Connecticut store location on Saturday, October 13th at 12p.m. Guests attending will have the opportunity to meet the author and taste some of Tate's delicious sweets.
Greenwich has a new kid in town. The J House, a boutique hotel in Riverside, has opened eleven14 Kitchen and The Chocolate Lab. The hotel's modern and playful layers of lounges and indoor/outdoor dining areas, paired with a culinary program led by Chef François Kwaku-Dongo most notably of Spago, make it a place you’ll want to explore this summer.
The Mexican-inspired food trend is at a fever pitch with the opening of the third Chipotle in Fairfield County today on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, CT. The tenth location in Connecticut and third in Fairfield County, their soft opening is tonight, April 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. They will be offering patrons the entire menu and fountain drinks at no charge for today only. A liquor license is pending.
Chipotle is now open at 49 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, CT. Hours are Monday through Sunday, 11 am to 10 pm, tel: 203.625.5394.
Add this to the CTBites’ mantra - Sharing seven different and unique pizzas is a great way to spend an evening.
Several of us performed the enviable task of judging six of the great pizza combinations that readers submitted to determine which would be included on the menu of Pizzeria Rosso’s new location in Greenwich and the combination that will earn the title of “CTBites 2012 Pie Combo.” And true to the mission of CTBites of guiding our readers to delicious food, all of them were so fantastic that Owner / Chef Pat Pascarella agreed that ALL OF THEM will be included on the Greenwich menu.
So congratulations to each of these winning combinations:
Pizzeria Rosso is opening up not one, but two new locations in Connecticut in addition to their original Norwalk take-out outpost which has been open just under a year. [Read: Pizzeria Rosso Opens in Norwalk, June 2012]
Pasquale (Pat) Pascarella is the chef and founder of the successful yet still young pizzeria. His second Pizzeria Rosso is set to open at 960 Main Street in Bridgeport in just about three weeks. The new Bridgeport location will be open seven days a week and boasts forty seats with two four-pie Baker's pride ovens. The menu will be largely the same, but more of a focus on pizza and less pasta and will be BYOB with the possibility of a future liquor license. With Webster Arena just up the street and the Barnum Publick House opening across the street, Pizzeria Rosso will be open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday night.
A third location will open in Greenwich, giving Pizzeria Rosso the run of Fairfield County.
The Wine Mapp, a unique wine and spirits boutique, recently opened its doors in Greenwich. The store is nicely sized, cozy and intimate. There’s a feeling of warmth at The Wine Mapp that eludes the larger competitors.
The store is owned by Allyson and Charlie Do of Norwalk. It was Charlie who first had the idea of opening up such a shop after visiting a restaurant in New York City where a waiter came out with a list of wines that were stored on an electric tablet of some sort. He knew, at that moment, that he was going to open a wine shop that would incorporate technology - more specifically, he knew he was going to incorporate the iPad to give customers the best possible shopping experience.
What can pizza be? ReNapoli in Old Greenwich answers with one kitchen, two ovens, and three distinct pizza styles. Dining at ReNapoli isn’t just a meal, it's the equivalent of a three-credit course in pizza.
Owner and pizzaoilo Bruno DiFabio has been making pizza for thirty years. A fact made more interesting when you consider he is only 42. A first generation Italian American, DiFabio was already working the lead sauté station at age 16 in his grandfather's restaurant kitchen. Fast forward a few decades, several restaurants, five World Pizza Championship titles and stints at the famed ovens of Spacca Napoli, Da Michele and Trianon in Naples, and you have the genesis of ReNapoli.
The first annualGreenwich 2011 FOOD+WINE FESTIVAL will take place on October 22nd and 23rd to benefit Breast Cancer Alliance. This grand event is presented by Serendipity magazine, and if you like food and celebrity chefs, you'll want to keep reading...
The weekend-long event at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich will include a Culinary Village tent with more than 60 exclusive food, wine and spirit experts, BBQ Grill Masters, Sunday brunch specialties, a Market Place, celebrity book signings, private event tents and live performances by Rusted Root, Entrain and Sister Hazel among others.
It may draw inspiration from the cantinas of New Mexico and the mid-century Americana of Rt. 66, but Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich is most deeply rooted in the soil of Connecticut.
Locally sourced and organic ingredients have been a signature of Boxcar’s New Mexican-inspired menu for the past seventeen years well before Farm-to-Table was a claim to fame. With a weekly presence at the Westport Farmer’s Market and a green restaurant certification, the first thing you may notice upon arriving at this Greenwich restaurant are several small raised herb and vegetable garden beds filled with a variety of lettuces, herbs, tomatoes and peppers (depending on the season) that will invariably make it onto your plate. If you're as curious as I was, when I stopped by earlier in the growing season, an impressive lineup of lettuces included: Emerald Oak Lettuce, Mascara Lettuce, Lollo Bionda Lettuce, Lollo Rossa Lettuce, Gourmet Lettuce Mix, and Claytonia.
Attn. Fairfield County fro-yo lovers. Pinkberry has some big news and great new services coming to their Fairfield location! And if you reside further South, they've got something for you too. Downtown Greenwich store is opening soon.
Curbside Pick Up
For those times when you need your Pinkberry fix but you don't feel like braving the parking challenges of downtown Fairfield, let the fro-yo come to you. Yes…I kid you not. Just call in your order 15 minutes prior to desired pick up time and sidle (or idle) up to the curb. One of Pinkberry's friendly servers will happily walk your frozen dessert to your car.
One of the ultimate comfort foods, the Hamburger, has obtained main stream culinary acceptance during the past few years as evidenced by the inclusion of gourmet hamburgers on many restaurant menus and recently established restaurants dedicated to these gastronomic delights. On the forefront of this trend, Kory Wollins followed his dream and opened his first Burgers, Shakes & Fries on Delavan Avenue in the Byram section of Greenwich in 2007. The first time I entered the Greenwich location and spoke with Kory, we had an in-depth conversation about his product, his ambitions and our mutual love for great hamburgers. Years later I still thoroughly enjoy the BSF hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and shakes at the Greenwich and Darien locations, and I have watched the passion that Kory brings to each of his restaurants.
Greenwich: just say that word and you can see fancy convertibles cars slowly driving through the Avenue, white gloved policeman directing traffic, and people carrying shopping bags awaiting for a whistle command to cross the streets. On and surrounding this fashionable Avenue, you will also see lots of eateries, among them Douro, a Portuguese inspired restaurant that opened doors in September of 2009.
With its typical blue tile sign outside the entrance, terracotta floors, and dark wooden tables, Douro might appear to be just another trendy Greenwich restaurant. Good looking people and a good looking staff fill this charming place. Douro sets its standards and fits its West Putman Avenue location like a glove, but this Portuguese/Mediterranean venue is more than it seems.
An American Italian restaurant dressed in elegant steakhouse clothes, Gabriele's in Greenwich is the bespoke incarnation of Luca's, the Italian restaurant and caterer that's inhabited Church Street for the past fifteen years.
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.
Mangia, Mangia Mangia…and Mangia again.
