With very little fanfare, Nola Oyster Bar will open its doors this weekend in SONO in the space formerly occupied by Wasabi Chi on the corner of Main and Washington. As CTbites announced a few weeks ago the menu will primarily focus on seafood from Maine to New Orleans.
The previous open interior has been completely redesigned into three dining areas. The bar area features both a long bar with numerous stools for cocktails and dinner, while the two dining areas occupy the remaining space. The rear dining area is convertible for use as a private dining area.
Chef Dan Kardos is overseeing the kitchen and a sneak peak at his opening menu confirms the seafood focus with variety of options. Included are traditional raw bar selections of oysters and clams plus several crudos. “Small Plates” offer several varieties of cooked seafood including braised mussels, an oyster pan roast and several renditions of oysters. The entrées maintain the seafood focus with poached lobster, shrimp and grits, and other grilled and roasted seafood, but expands into a few non-seafood selections that include hanger steak, fried chicken, a combination bacon-cheeseburger. CTbites was told that the menu will expand rapidly over the first few weeks.
Stay tuned as CTbites revisits Nola Oyster Bar in a few weeks for an in depth review.
Word of mouth, and great word at that, brought me to The Spread, a spanking new dining hot spot in Sono. Two months young, the restaurant is the result a partnership of four guys, all with two decades-worth of bar and restaurant experience combined, plus one young and very talented chef, Arik Bensimon. Formerly the Executive Chef of Napa & Co., Chef Arik brings the food in this rustic yet hip joint to a level of excellence and seriousness not seen in Fairfield County in some time. The Spread’s menu is global in scope. It represents a range of cultures--Arik’s Moroccan background and French training, the partners' of Costa Rica, Italy, and France with a dash of New York and California in the mix. Indeed, the menu is all over the place, locally sourced and international, but somehow this eclectic mishmash works. Though dishes are simply titled on the menu, they are, in fact, complex and beautifully executed.
What is all that activity on the corner of Washington and Main Streets in SONO? CTbites has discovered that SBC Restaurant and Brewery will open its fifth location in the space formerly occupied by Wasabi Chi. Currently name NOLA, SBC's Bill Dasilva told CTbites that the new restaurant will be an Oyster bar with “twists on traditional seafood from New Orleans to Maine” in “a very casual, comfortable and cool” atmosphere. The opening is targeted for February 2013.
Overseeing the kitchen will be long time favorite to many in Fairfield County, Executive Chef Dan Kardos. Chef Kardos began his culinary career with SBC while a teenager and worked in several Fairfield County restaurants over the last few years including Napa & Co., Harvest Supper, @Bar Rosso, and most recently with Chef Bill Taibe at The Whelk.
“The SoNo scene has lost a bit of luster and we'd like to help bring some flavor back downtown,” says Chris Hickey, Co-Owner of The Spread opening October 2012.
Mr. Hickey, and his partners, Christopher Rasile, Andrey Cortes, and Shawn Longyear may be just the men for the job. With strong backgrounds in hospitality and almost legendary careers managing Bar at Barcelona’s SoNo and Greenwich locations, these four partners are poised to create some dining buzz in Michael Young's former Habana location.
But, despite boasting one of the largest bars in Fairfield County, The Spread is not just about creative cocktails. Enter the talented Chef Arik Bensimon, most recently the Executive Chef at Napa & Co., and now you’ve got yourself some serious culinary street cred to compliment the talent behind the bar.
Gavrielides Restaurant Group, the family behind Harbor Lights, Eastside Café, and Overtons, all located in Norwalk, have added yet another egg to their already full basket of food establishments.
Recently opened “Estia”, which shows off the Gavrielides family’s Greek roots, is a welcome addition to SONO’sWashington Street. It’s official: This tiny block now proudly boasts a veritable potpourri of cuisine, and with Greek cuisine now on offer, it is fast becoming a diners paradise. Let’s hope Estia, along with its’ neighboring partners in crime can live up to the increasing demand for quality, sophisticated food, so SONO can continue to thrive.
How does Plan B in Milford celebrate its 1-year birthday? With a cake? NO! This meat-loving restaurant celebrates with BACON!Bacon Week runs from September 10th - 16th at Plan B Burger Bar in Milford. John Brennan, the executive chef was nice enough to invite me to come opening night. I alerted my cardiologist. Armed with a big appetite and an open mind, I brought my bacon LOVING husband Marc along to help me taste everything on the menu. The meal began with the 3 signature drinks- all made with bacon infused bourbon. Plan B prides itself on its bourbon selection, and I’m a fan. I tried the bourbon straight and it was really nice, with just a hint of the bacon- nothing overpowering.
Plan B Burger knows that everything is better with bacon. Hence, in celebration of their one Year Anniversary, Plan B Milford presents “Bacon Week,” Monday September 10-Sunday September 16th. This bacon bounty includes a full menu of bacon inspired savory and sweet treats including everything from “The Divine Swine” aka “Drop Dead Burger,” (100% ground bacon burger topped w/ thick sliced bacon, bacon aioli, bourbon bacon red onion jam, and a fried egg all sandwiched in between a grilled cheese) to Bacon Candy Bars and Bacon infused Bourbon cocktails. Did I mention the Bacon Cotton Candy? There's one for the ages. The full menu is below, but if you love pork like I love pork, I'd say make your way over to Milford.
Many have described me as a Plan B Burger Bar addict! As a professional chef, most people assume I am a food snob, only interested in 5 Star dining venues. This is not the case. When I eat out, I am looking for quality and ambiance. Ambiance can mean elegance but it can also mean, as in this case, just plain fun! While Plan B’s special Prohibition event was all about the past, it is important to note that the Plan B Burger Bar's everyday menu shines with top notch natural beef burgers (veggie, portabella, salmon, and chicken versions are available too), salads, fun starters, a great assortment of fries, and weekly specials.
If you have never been to Plan B Burger Bar before, last week’s Pre Prohibition Dinner would not have been an accurate introduction. Their Pre Prohibition Dinner was a forage into a new land. It was more of a Five Star dining experience, with expertly plated food and service, and even more unique top-notch drinks.
Is Taste and See Gourmet Cupcakes in Milford worth a 30-minute drive from Westport? The answer is a resounding “yes”! Recently, I’ve diagnosed myself as cupcake obsessed. There are worse obsessions, right? Through mail order, vacation excursions, and day trips, I estimate I’ve tried more than 50 cupcake purveyors. With complete honesty, Taste and See is my winner.
Biagio’s Barone’s is reinventing the wheel. Literally. His GotChef gourmet food truck, which is parked on the Eastbound side of the Milford, CT Metro North Station, is turning the mobile canteen concept on its head. From Monday through Friday, 11:00am-8:00 pm, and Saturday 3-7pm, Chef Biagio and his crew offer up-all natural, creative, delectable cuisine out of his neon yellow restaurant-on-wheels.
You won’t find the typical taco, BBQ-grilled cheese-Belgian waffles-cupcake food truck fare on the GotChef menu. His selections, which vary with the season and change daily, are comparable to anything you can find in an upscale Italian bistro. Some of the recent chalkboard specials include: Capesante Farcito (Stuffed Scallop with Lobster, Shrimp, Sweet Bread Lemon Stuffing in a Scallop Shell, drizzled with Lemon Gremolata), Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi, Slow Roasted Short Ribs--served over a mushroom truffle risotto, Wild-Grilled Salmone Agrodolce-- topped with a pineapple Sweet and Sour sauce and served over balsamic glazed green beans, and an Osso Bucco
Chances are pretty good that if you’ve ever lusted after a baked good in Fairfield County, Lesli Flick of Milford's newest bakery Scratch Baking may have literally had her hands on it. Scratch is a beacon of baked goods, opening in a cozy space adjacent to the Milford train station just this past weekend with seasoned pastry chef Lesli Flick at its helm.
Flick has been moving steadily north since attending culinary school in Manhattan, beginning her baking trajectory on the upper east side and then (thankfully for us) moving to Connecticut.
With very little fanfare, Nola Oyster Bar will open its doors this weekend in SONO in the space formerly occupied by Wasabi Chi on the corner of Main and Washington. As CTbites announced a few weeks ago the menu will primarily focus on seafood from Maine to New Orleans.
