This article was originally published in The Hour. We wanted to share the good news...
For the second consecutive summer, the Norwalk Seaport Association has rolled out its popular Maritime Cruise and Cuisine Fridays. With the components of a relaxing summer vacation, the mini-getaway is designed to showcase the beauty of the scenery in Norwalk's backyard.
The Maritime Cruise and Cuisine Friday, which runs from June 28 through August 30, includes a Norwalk Harbor sunset cruise with the Norwalk Seaport Association leaving from Sheffield Island Dock. Guests then walk one block to Mama's Boy Restaurant, for a three-course meal.
"The cruise was very popular last year. It's very relaxing," said Norwalk Seaport Association president Irene Dixon. "What could be better than sitting on a boat, enjoying the scenery, and inhaling the beautiful ocean air after a long work week?"
Visit Mama’s Boy Southern Table and Refuge in SONO and experience some good old-fashioned southern hospitality and cuisine. The newest addition to SONO offers a Georgian-Carolina cuisine with the flavors and ingredients not seen on other Fairfield County menus; not spicy Cajun or Creole but grits, okra, shrimp, catfish, with a little fried chicken thrown in.
Fairfield County native and owner Greer Fredericks, and her business partner Ami Dorel, bring a southern feel to the décor, and flavors to the menu, from Greer’s years in the South. Overseeing the kitchen is Chef Scott Ostrander who recently relocated from Jacksonville, Florida. His previous restaurant, ‘Town, won the Robert W. Tolf Award for Best New Restaurant from Florida Trend magazine and voted one of Jacksonville Magazine’s Northeast Florida’s Top 25 restaurants. After graduating from the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, Ostrander worked in restaurants from DC to Florida and brings authentic southern cuisine to the Mama’s Boy menu. Ostrander is currently sourcing many of his ingredients from South Carolina while simultaneously building a stable of local farms, vendors and merchants.
Ramen noodles are having "their moment," and restaurateur Tony Pham, owner of Pho Vietnam in Danbury has just opened a new venture in Fairfield that will have fans of Asian food slurping without pause. Welcome to MECHA.
Pham, a Vietnamese American who opened Pho Vietnam at the tender age of 21, again uses his raw talent drawing from his years of experience traveling around the world and working in numerous kitchens. His newest baby, Mecha, located on Post Road in Fairfield is a hip, cozy joint that serves up Ramenas well as Asian street food. Consulting with a master Ramen chef,Tony Pham is placing all bets on this age old Japanese noodle..and we hear Pho is on the way. For a new restaurant aiming directly at the college crowd around Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, it's a perfect match.
Read our interview with Tony Pham below to find out more about Tony's family, the history of Ramen, the meaning of "MECHA," and what inspires Tony Pham.
It's that time of year again. Sono Restaurant Week is back from June 2-16 running for two delicious weeks this year. Why 2 weeks? Scott Beck of Match Restaurant responded "Every year we have gotten feedback from people that wished that we could extend Restaurant Week for an additional week so that they might get to go to more than one place so we decided to give it a try."
"There are 15 restaurants participating this year which is largest number of restaurants we have ever had so everyone is pretty excited" says Beck. SoNo also has some great new restaurants such as Nola Oyster Bar, Mama's Boy Southern Table, Estia's, and The Spread, for people to try. And, of course all the staples in SoNo are participating again. People can check out the list of all the participating restaurants and their Restaurant Week menus online at www.connecticutrestaurant.
You can view the complete list of participating restaurants below. Happy eating...
One year, hundreds of miles, close to thirty pounds of various cuts and blends of meat, thousands of fries…searching for the ten best hamburgers.
Nestled between Shad Roe, Bahn Mi, Shrimp & Grits, Nonni's Meatballs and Montauk Black Bass was “The Burger.” It was the equalizing dish amongst the best chefs in the area. As I tasted the creativity that each of the chefs placed into their version of this 100+ year old tradition, I was in awe. The combinations were brilliant, how the flavors balanced and complemented each other, the choices that they made to place their individual mark on this dish, each was unique.
Most of the meat was sourced locally, many from the same vendor with slight variations in blend and grind...some used a medium-grind while others requested a third, finer grind. Cheese and bacon played a major supporting roll, and the choices varied amongst the chefs.
With little fanfare, Mama’s Boy Southern Table and Refuge, the newest addition to the SONO food scene is slowly opening its doors. Based on traditional Southern hospitality and cuisine, the restaurant will deliver the comfort food of the south combined with a relaxed atmosphere. As the website states, “Mama’s Boy is putting the “South” in South Norwalk.”
The interior has been completely redesigned. Using woods and material from an old water tower from Florence, South Carolina, owners Greer Fredericks and Ami Dorel created a warm environment from top to bottom. The lighting is soft and inviting, the music gives a perfect background through various genres and the service is straight from Charleston, friendly and incredibly helpful. Upon entering you can choose a seat at the long bar or one of the tables along the wall with a long comfortable banquette. In the rear is a second dining area that is guarded by two windows that were reclaimed from Al Capone’s summer residence. This dining area features a traditional “mirror wall,” you have to see it to completely understand and appreciate.
32 of downtown New Haven’s award-winning and internationally diverse restaurants are featuring prix fixe lunch and dinner menus from April 21 - 26, 2013. Participating restaurants offer a three-course, prix fixe menu consisting of an appetizer, entrée and dessert. Prix fixe menus are priced at $18 for lunch and $32 for dinner.
$1=1 person Join New Haven Restaurant Week and the Connecticut Food Bank to help those in need. Dine and Donate $1 to feed one person for one day.
Several weeks ago CTbites first announced the opening ofNola Oyster Bar in South Norwalk,described as a seafood restaurant with dishes from Maine to New Orleans. After my initial visit, it is apparent that much of the food is influenced by the great flavors and traditions of New Orleans, but the creative interpretations are singularly of Chef Dan Kardos.
Exposed brick walls, wood and tin columns, and wrought iron rails dominate the interior with white “antique” chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to create a very New Orleans visual. The front area includes a large, arced granite-topped bar that seats 10, plus a large reclaimed “Bankers’ Table” that seats an additional eight guests overlooking the floor to ceiling windows. The center section of the restaurant overlooks the kitchen, plus the rear room is available for regular dining or a private event.
Nola Oyster Bar is a place for fun, drinks and great food.
Westport & Weston Restaurant Week returns March 10th through March 16th. This year the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce will be offering a new Patron Reward Program that should entice you to dine more frequently during Restaurant Week. A minimum of three dinners and/or lunches out will make you eligible to be entered into The Chamber raffle to win gift certificates to your favorite restaurants or tickets to the Westport Country Playhouse’s season premiere, The Dining Room.
Visit Bethel from February 24 - March 2, 2013 for the town's second annual Restaurant Week. Several Bethel restaurants will be offering special discounts and prix-fixe specials for lunch and dinner.
Participating Restaurants:
Stella Restaurant and Bar - 213 Greenwood Ave: Lunch Special - $10 or $15 prixe fix menu (includes appetizer, entree, tiramisu and coffee) and Dinner Special - $30 prix fixe menu (includes appetizer, salad, entree, tiramisu, coffee and glass of house wine)
Daily Fare - 13 Durant Ave (Free Coffee or Scone with any lunch purchase)
Sycamore Drive In Restaurant - 282 Greenwood Ave (10% off total bill)
Sal'z Pizza - 211 Greenwood Ave. Greenwoods Grille and Ale House - 186 Greenwood Ave
O'Neills Sandwich and Coffee Bar - 114 Greenwood Ave
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.
Recognized for its remarkable restaurants and culinary scene, New Haven will host the 9th NEW HAVEN RESTAURANT WEEK presented by Citizens Bank from November 11 – 16, 2012. This year, 33 of the city’s most sought-after restaurants will open their doors, and their hearts, with prix fixe menus costing $18 for lunch and $32 for dinner. Set menus and prices will include an appetizer, entrée and dessert (tax and gratuity are not included.)
Restaurants participating in November’s NEW HAVEN RESTAURANT WEEK include: 116 Crown (Bar, Kitchen & Cellar), Adriana's Restaurant & Wine Bar (Northern Italian), Anna Liffey’s (Authentic Irish), Barcelona Restaurant & Wine Bar (Spanish Wine Bar), Basta Trattoria (Southern Italian), Bentara (Spicy Malaysian), Carmen Anthony Steakhouse (American Steakhouse), Caseus (Fromagerie & Bistro), Christopher Martins (Modern American & Italian), Geronimo (Southwestern), Goodfellas Restaurant (Regional Italian), Heirloom (Coastal Farm), Ibiza (Creative Spanish), Istanbul Café (Authentic Turkish), John Davenport’s (Contemporary American), Kudeta (Asian Fusion), L’Orcio (Contemporary Italian), Miya’s Sushi (Creative Sushi), Oaxaca Kitchen (Contemporary Mexican), Old School Saloon and Bistro (Continental Cuisine), Pacifico (Nuevo Latino), Press (Artisan Pizza), Sage American Grill & Oyster Bar (Contemporary American), Soul de Cuba Café (Cuban), Temple Grill (American Casual), Thali (Regional Indian), The Cask Republic (American Tavern), The Kitchen Table (Sustainable American), Tre Scalini Ristorante (Regional Italian), Union League Café (Parisian Brasserie), Zafra Cuban Restaurant & Rum Bar (Cuban), Zaroka Bar & Restaurant (Fine Indian) and Zinc (Modern American).
On October 14th-20th, Fairfield will launch its first ever town organized Fairfield Restaurant Week.
The Fairfield restaurant community is coming together to create during the week of October 14 with a new twist on restaurant week – not only do they have fantastic restaurants with excellent specials for this week, but local venues are also participating with activities and things to do all in Fairfield.
Over thirty restaurants from around Fairfield CT will participate in this week-long special event that will feature prix fixe lunch and dinner menu prices. Restaurants will feature $10 and $15 lunches and $20 and $30 dinners or other discounts on their already existing menus.
Passport Promotion:
As a special promotion, the Town has created a passport book that will be available at participating restaurants during Restaurant Week while supplies last.
“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.
Mark your calendar. Stamford Summer Restaurant Weeks start Monday August 22nd and continues through Monday September 5, 2011. This year, 28 of Downtown Stamford’s restaurants are offering special prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner. View the complete list of participating restaurants below:
Darien Restaurant Week will take place from Sunday, November 28th thru Friday, December 3rd.
Come experience a new venue or visit old favorites. Prix Fixe lunches will range from $10-$15, and multi course dinners from $15-$30. This ia great time to enjoy a great meal for a great deal.
Participating restaurants include: The Melting Pot,Little Thai Kitchen, Chuck's Steakhouse, Matsuri, Backstreets Restaurant, Fuji of Japan, The Waters Edge at Giovanni's, Bertucci's Italian Restaurant, Ole Mole, Rory's, Harper's, Scena, Coromandel, The Goose, and many more!
Restaurants will offer a special prix fixe lunch and dinner menu during the entire week.
