Scafata Recipe from BONDA Restaurant

Features Chef Talk Recipe

CTbites Team June 19, 2014

BONDA prides itself on always using the finest and freshest ingredients – and local, when available. On June 19th, Chef Jamie will be demo'ing & serving his beautiful recipe for Scafata (recipe can be found below), highlighting a medly of seasonal vegetables.

Last season Jamie procured many vegetables at Westport Farmers’ Market - primarily from Sport Hill Farm and Fort Hill Farm. He often drives directly to Sport Hill Farm throughout the week as it is about just as far from his restaurant as the Westport Market - and open every day! Jamie also frequents the weekly Greenfield Hill Farmers’ Market outside BONDA's doorstep (every Saturday during the Summer).

Every spring Jamie picks his own ramps at his secret spots and this year was a banner ramp season! To extend the season Jamie is pickling his own ramps and pureeing and freezing the greens for future use. Most recently a friend has opened up his organic garden to Jamie and lucky diners have been enjoying a variety of beautiful lettuces.

2014 Food Truck Festival in Hamden

Restaurant Food Truck Hamden

CTbites Team June 18, 2014

The second annual Hamden Food Truck Festival is taking place this Friday, June 20, from 4:30 to 9 p.m.at Hamden Town Center Park.

Over 30 vendors will fill the park, including:

SAVORY

Caseus, Spuds Your Way, Firedog, Turkey HUT LLC, Fryborg, World Famous Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers, The Whey Station, Szabo's Seafood Take Out, Prepared Foods and Catering, Mamoun's Falafel Cart, Aurora's Gypsy Cafe, The Soup Girl, Smoke Box BBQ, Uncle D's Blazin BBQ, and Ricky D's Rib shack.

SWEET

Four Flours Baking Company, LLC, Sugar Bakery & Sweet Shop, NoRA Cupcake Company, Addeo's Italian Ice, Nana's Ice Cream truck, Ben & Jerry's of Canton, CT, Six Pence Pies, Elm City Kettle Corn, DiSorbo's Bakery, Fruit Whirled.

Spud Stud Food Truck: Enormous Potatoes and Toppings

Food Truck

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger June 17, 2014

As the food truck craze expands throughout Fairfield County, new menus are continually being presented offering the customer even more choices. Over the last ten years we have witnessed the options expand to include Mexican, burgers, pizza, lobster rolls, crepes, grilled cheese and porchetta sandwiches. Another inventive variation is offered by Spud Stud, the brightly colored truck adorned with a smirking potato with its arm around the shoulder of a bikini-clad vixen.

The Spud Stud truck is one of three that are parked outside my office building each Wednesday, and it draws its loyal weekly devotees, plus many new and curious customers. Presented by husband and wife team Craig and Krista McCarthy, Spud Stud offers a variety of options, but their marquee product is the “Loaded Baked Potato” and enormous, split baked potato stuffed with one on fourteen toppings ranging from traditional toppings to eclectic combinations.

The New Downtown Milford Farmers' Market

Seasonal Restaurant Farmers Market Milford

Amy Kundrat June 17, 2014

The new Downtown Milford Farmers' Market, led by Market Master and Scratch Baking Manager Alex Malaspinas, will be open every Saturday, now through October 11, 2014 from 9 am to 1 pm. The market is located at 58 River Street in Milford, CT and is easily accessible by train as the lot sits adjacent to the Milford train station. Featured vendors include Scratch Baking, Vaiuso Farms, Rose's Berry Farm, Lisa's Soaps, Dash N' Drizzle, Calandrelli Kettle Corn, Tasty Good Eats, Chiropractic & Wellness Center of Milford, Autumn Rose Flower & Gift Shop, Maple View Farm, and more as the season gets underway.

If you can't make it into Scratch Baking in Milford, Alex also shared the bakery's special events schedule this summer:

The Best Tacos in Connecticut: Ultimate Guide

Restaurant Darien Fairfield Food Truck Hartford Norwalk Stamford Tacos Mexican New Haven Best of CT Kid Friendly

April Guilbault June 15, 2014

There is truly a Mexican restaurant for everyone. There are the quiet ones that scream “authentic! authentic! authentic!” and then there are the more modern ones with the guac that is “hand-slapped” or “slapped to order.” Excuse me? Was it naww-ghty? Mex goes 50 Shades, I see. And if the recent lime shortage (I can’t think of lime-hijackings without giggling, sorry) has you in a tizzy and wondering just how the heck you and your margaritas are going to make it through the summer, just head to these places. Let them figure out the limes, you can figure out how many drinks and how much lime-infused guacamole to have.

Here's our list of the 16 Best Taco Restaurants & Trucks in Connecticut. Feel free to add your favorites to the list below.

Road Trip to Philly: Food, Bars & Culture

Philadelphia Philly Road Trip

Elizabeth Keyser June 13, 2014

When I told a friend I was going to Philadelphia for a couple days, he said, “second prize, two weeks in Philadelphia.” That old W.C. Fields joke is funny, but two days in this art-filled, foodie city made me wish for two weeks. There’s lots to explore. Chef-followers will recognize Iron Chef Jose Garces, Top Chef Kevin Sbraga, and empire-building chef Stephen Starr. Locals will tell you about their favorite mixologist Katie Loeb.

CT Bites readers will discover the American food revolution took root early in Philadelphia, and it’s flourished. Philly’s vibrant city streets are filled with interesting architecture, art, museums, restaurants, cafes, clubs and bars. Yet, it’s a polite city. People murmur, “Excuse me.” And if they see you with a map in your hand and a befuddled expression on your face, they offer directions. Showing the Brotherly Love is what they do.

Brauhaus Schmitz

The Philadelphia food story begins with the Germans, who first arrived in 1683. Today, lines form out the door Fridays and Saturday’s at Brauhaus Schmitz, which specializes in New German cooking.

Friday Froth: Sweet, Sour and Stout

Ingredients Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon June 13, 2014

You're hungry, but you sit there, getting hungrier, because you don't know what you want to eat. Spoiled for choice, you end up ravenous and choosing the closest, quickest option for an ultimately unsatisfying resolution. An Italian combo sub is good, but Thai would have been better. Barbeque usually hits the spot, but enchiladas suizas are what you were really craving. Sometimes having fewer options can lead to happier conclusions. This week I'm going to give you a few options in three categories, and hopefully it will make your decisions a little easier the next time you're faced with a giant wall of six packs, or a tap list with fifty options.

How about something fruitier to start? A drink almost like a punch, or a cocktail you'd get at a tiki bar? One answer to sate this need is Birrificio del Ducato Frambozschella. This is an Italian beer made with fresh raspberries and lactic acid, then aged in wooden barrels. It pours a deep, dark ruby red, and had almost no head at all as it was poured for me. You'll be able to smell the pH from four inches away and it's sour, but it never threatened to turn my face inside out.

The Drawing Room in Cos Cob Presents: Artist’s Table Dinner, June 22nd

Restaurant Cos Cob Events

CTbites Team June 12, 2014

The Drawing Room in Cos Cob has announced a June 22nd date for the next Artist’s Table Dinner Series event. For those unfamiliar with The Drawing Room, it is an intimate gem, with a small dining room and garden patio that extends the tiny restaurant in the warm seasons and a newly remodeled art gallery in the space adjacent to the cafe.

“The Artist’s Table”, is a seated, plated dinner, with limited seating, situated right in their beautiful gallery, featuring local farms, artisanal cheeses and fresh, local ingredients, which highlight particular artworks and artists in their current exhibit. This Dinner Series is an exciting combination, bringing together art and food lovers and alike.

Their executive chef, Paul Lockely will be teaming up with Bjorn Eicke of Thomas Henkelmann to artfully create a five course dinner inspired by artworks from the current exhibition, "Ebb and Flow."

Each course is well thought-out and inspired by the current collection of artwork in the gallery. (See menu below) In other words, each dish is based on a piece of artwork.

The Weekly Nibble: Upcoming Food News & Events

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson June 12, 2014

Morello of Greenwich launches a new two-course prix fixe lunch menu, which will be offered seven days a week, beginning Sunday, June 15. It will be available throughout the summer in addition to Morello’s traditional Italian and Mediterranean menu items.

On Tuesday June 17, learn “How to Brew Your Own Beer at Home” at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library in Newtown. This FREE class will teach you how to brew a beer at home as well as explore its history and different styles. You will sample four different styles of home brew and learn about different ingredients. You can sign up by calling the library 203-426-4533 or register here. Participants must be over 21.

Also on Tuesday, Plan B of Milford presents a Game of Thrones Dinner. Watch the finale while dining on 6 courses and drinks from the Ommegang Brewery. $60pp, 6-9pm.

Enjoy “Taco Tuesdays” at Lola’s Mexican Kitchen in Stamford. Tacos and Coronitas are just $2 each from 5pm to 10pm.

City Limits Diner of Stamford and White Plains City just debuted its “Burger and Beer Blast” which will take place on Tuesdays. From 5 p.m. to close, enjoy half priced draft pours of Stamford’s Half Full Brewery with the purchase of any City Limits burger.

Fresh Nation Enables Home Delivery for Westport Farmers' Market

Ingredients Features CT Farms Farmers Market Home Delivery Local Farm Farm Fresh

CTbites Team June 11, 2014

Fresh Nation, the online marketplace for farmers markets, and Westport Farmers’ Market announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide online shopping and home delivery. Fresh Nation will operate an online storefront for the Market, providing local consumers with the ability to place an online order from many of their favorite Market vendors and receive same day home delivery from a Fresh Nation personal shopper.

Fresh Nation delivers fresh food direct from farmers markets to consumers, by bringing local farmers markets together into a convenient online shopping destination, enabling farmers and food makers at the markets to reach new customers who do not normally make it to the market. The company employs trained food shoppers to go the markets and personally fill customers’ online orders. After receiving orders from Fairfield County residents for Thursday delivery, Fresh Nation fills these orders at the Westport Farmers’ Market and drives them directly to customers’ homes.

“We are committed to bringing the freshest and best foods from the Westport Farmers’ Market to all members of our community,” said Lori Cochran

Dad’s & Grad’s Ultimate Grilled Pizza Party w/ Recipes from Marcia Selden

Ingredients Features Grilling Holiday Recipe Kid Friendly

Marcia Selden Catering June 10, 2014

Time to celebrate your special Dad (June 15^th ~ Father’s Day) or your fabulous Grad! There’s no better time to fire up the grill and throw a party. We've got a great salad to start… our grilled romaine with a blue cheese and bacon vinaigrette.

Another one of our favorites things to make, at Marcia Selden Catering, are grilled pizzas. The varieties are endless. It’s a little different and who doesn’t love pizza! This is a rare treat.

As for the pizza, if you don’t want to make your own dough, most stores sell great pre-made dough to make it real simple. Buy (from a good salad bar) or make lots of the toppings.

The best way to set yourself up for success is to arrange all of the toppings in bowls on a table by the grill. Guests can simply choose their toppings and grill up the pizzas on the spot.

BBQ, Music & Fun @ Sun BBQFest June 20-22nd at Mohegan Sun

CTbites Team June 10, 2014

Warm up with a weekend of tasty BBQ, live entertainment and fun for the whole family at the SUN BBQFEST June 20-22nd @ Mohegan Sun. Sink your teeth into some of the nation's best barbecue with festivities including a team BBQ competition, beer trailer, live music plus an extraordinary fireworks display! Kick off your summer with a guaranteed chillin' & grillin' good time!

Click here for a complete list of vendors.

Don't miss the Wing Competition on Saturday June 21st!

Vote on the best wings from 1:00pm - 3:00pm at the judges tent. Purchase a set of tickets at the tent for only $5 and try 5 delicious wing samples. Vote on your favorite and help us crown the winning Wing Team!

This event will benefit The Operation BBQ Relief. Find out more about their efforts here.

Community Table in Washington: A New Bar and Expanded Dining Room

Restaurant Farm to Table Washington Organic Bar

Amy Kundrat June 09, 2014

Community Table, the Washington, CT restaurant that should be on every serious gourmand’s bucket list, debuted a stunning new dining room and bar this week, kicking off its high summer season with its signature rustic modern style.

The four-year old restaurant continues to set itself apart by a seasonally-driven New Nordic-inspired menu. Its talented team, led by James Beard-nominated Executive Chef Joel Viehland, has helped to establish Community Table as one of the region’s best restaurants.

The new dining room and bar, designed by architect Peter Talblot working closely with owner Peggy Anderson on the design vision,

Farm to Table @ Bailey's Backyard in Ridgefield

Restaurant American Farm to Table Ridgefield

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger June 08, 2014

Bailey’s Backyard opened in 1999, the brainchild of Chef Sal Bagliavio, who oversaw the kitchen for fourteen years. Wanting to spend more time with his family he hired Executive Chef Forrest Pasternack in early 2013 to develop a farm-to-table menu, focused on locally produced ingredients.

Born and raised in Western Connecticut, Chef Pasternack’s love of fresh ingredients developed at an early age. His childhood included picking vegetables, fishing the waters of Nantucket Sound, and digging clams in Chatham, Mass.: all to enjoy at family dinner. This passion was both enhanced and refined when he graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America. Post-graduation he sharpened his culinary skills at some of New York’s finest restaurants, including Zoe with Chef David Honeysett, the BLT Restaurant Group with Chef Laurent Tourendel, Eats on Lexington with Chef Jeremy Spector, Employee’s Only and The Brindle Room. His passion for the farm-to-table movement inspired his menus at The SOHO Grand Hotel in lower Manhattan and Terra Restaurant in Greenwich. Since joining Baily’s Backyard, he has dazzled guests with creative combinations and bold flavors.

Recap: Bar Sugo Wins The 2014 Meatball Challenge

CTbites Team June 07, 2014

It was a great evening for a great cause. Over 100 people converged on the Factory Underground to settle a contest among eleven local chefs, who makes the best meatball. Each chef created their version of the Italian classic and creativity was evident in many.

There was a a meatball perched on BBQ pork and beans, an fantastic arancini with a meat sauce, an interpretation of a gyro and a Mexican version.

In the end the guests voted and the winner was...

Bar Sugo - Winner 2014 Meatball Challenge

Weekly Nibble: Upcoming Food News & Events

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson June 06, 2014

Monday June 9, June 9, the Wilton Chamber of Commerce present its 7th Annual ‘Taste of Wilton’ on the Wilton Town Green. The event will feature food and beverage purveyors from throughout the area who showcase samples of their specialties. From 5:30-8:30, swirl and savor the best that local chefs, culinary personalities, mixologists and restaurateurs have to offer.

Get schooled with Fairfield Cheese Company Tuesday, June 10th. 7-9pm with a "Perfect Pairings: Cheese & Wine" class. With the help of their friends at Harry’s Wine & Liquor, they will pair the perfect cheese with its perfect wine match and discuss the basics of pairing cheese & wine $45.00

Barcelona New Haven will teach you to make “Classic Spanish Tapas” on Tuesday June 10. To make reservations, please call the restaurant at 203.848.3000. $25pp.

“Wine, Cheese, and Art” will come to New Canaan on Wednesday June 11. The Rotary Club of New Canaan and the Carriage Barn Arts Center are jointly sponsoring a wine and cheese tasting event set in the Carriage Barn's exhibition hall. The funds raised will support Rotary's End Polio campaign and the Arts Center's programs. 6-9pm.

Chef Brian Lewis Welcomes Chef Didier Elena in First "Guest Chefs Series"

CTbites Team June 06, 2014

Join Chef Brian Lewis on Thursday, June 12th as he welcomes internationally renowned chef Didier Elena of Chef's Club by Food & Wine to the first of the “Guest Chef Series” hosted by elm restaurant. Chef Lewis told CTbites, “I am excited to begin this series of regularly scheduled events where I will partner with chefs who share my passion for dishes that are inspired by the seasons.” The first in his series is entitled "June Flavors from the French Riviera to the Connecticut River.”

Both chefs will prepare dishes based on the seasonal flavors found in their local region. Chef Elena, a native of Monaco and a two-decade veteran chef under Chef Alain Ducasse, will prepare dishes reflecting the hallmarks of pure, minimal ingredients of southern French-Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Lewis will focus on the abundant ingredients found locally in southern Connecticut, mostly from neighboring Millstone Farm.

VanChetta Rolling Rotisserie Food Truck: Outstanding Porchetta Sandwich

Restaurant Food Truck

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger June 05, 2014

The food truck craze has officially invaded Fairfield County.

Until last year there were less than a handful of colorful food trucks gracing the streets and parking lots of Fairfield County. Last year, the circular driveway outside the Beer Garden at Harbor Point became their go-to location, the choices expanded and lines confirmed that people finally accepted the fact that great food can be both prepared and served from a rolling kitchen. Traditionally limited to a griddle or grill in food preparation, I was intrigued to learn that one housed a rotisserie and excited when I discovered that they served porchetta, one of my favorites.

Enter VanChetta Rolling Rotisserie...

I checked their Facebook page for their location. Was there fire behind all of this rotisserie smoke? As I approached the brightly colored truck with its bold “VanChetta” adorning the sides and “?YRGNUH” emblazoned on the front, I had a good feeling. The line was several deep and others were already enjoying a variety of Chef/Owner Andy Dolan’s creations at surrounding picnic tables.

An Exclusive Look @ The New OEC Brewing in Oxford (Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores)

Ingredients Brewery CT Beer Oxford Beer

James Gribbon June 05, 2014

You read it here first back in April, and now CTbites is bringing you an absolutely exclusive first look at OEC Brewing, days before the grand opening party this Saturday. The party, by the way, is open to everyone, and will take place at 7 Fox Hollow Rd., Oxford, CT, from noon to 5p.m. We have the tap and bottle list for the event below.

As a reminder, OEC stands for Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores, a bit of muddled Latin roughly translating to the "Order of Eccentric Boilers," and is the work of Ben Neidhart and Jie Yu. Ben designed the name, logo, and all associated labels and artwork as a bit of a spoof on medieval guilds and secret societies, and framed examples of this art can be found decorating the walls of OEC's combined brewery and tasting room.

The Grounds

Join Chef Elizabeth Falkner @ Napa & Co.'s Pizza Party

CTbites Team June 05, 2014

Come to Napa & Co. and join Chef Adam Truelove and Owner Mary Schaffer as they welcome celebrity Chef Elizabeth Falkner on Friday June 27^th for "THE FRIDAY NIGHT PIZZA PARTY" from 6 to 9pm.

Chef Falkner is a multiple award winning chef, a James Beard Foundation Award nominee and a lover of culinary competition. Many will remember her incredible skills on Food Network's "Next Iron Chef, Redemption," "Food Network's Challenge," "Iron Chef America" and her outstanding performance in the finals of "Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs," as well as a contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters." A lover of pastas and pizzas, she recently entered and won an international Pizza Competition in Naples, Italy.