Opening Day @ The Westport Farmers' Market Stephanie Webster May 26, 2015 On May 21st, The Westport Farmers' Market opened its virtual doors for the 2015 summer season. Opening day brought a veritable Who's Who of the local restaurant community as chefs came out to show their support for the market as well as local farms and vendors. View the gallery above for highlights. Market Director, Lori Cochran is looking forward to a great season. “What a great day! We are humbled by the continued support and thrilled with the season we have in store for everyone. Join us for lunch and enjoy a wide variety of quality food while enjoying a river view.” 2015 will bring a full lineup of weekly guest chefs, a few new food trucks and kids programming. See you there on Thursdays from 10-2pm at 50 Imperial Avenue in Westport. Read More
Join Us For Happy Hour Cocktails & Hors D'oeuvres @ Artisan Southport ellen bowen May 22, 2015 Kick off the summer "al fresco" season at the gorgeous outdoor patio and restaurant at Artisan Southport on Wednesday 6/3 5:30-7:30 with a Happy Hour for $39 featuring creative hors d'oeuvres by innovative Chef Frederic Kieffer and specialty Artisan Margaritas. Buy Tickets Here. Chef Kieffer has prepared a special menu of passed hors d'oeuvres utilizing the brand new outdoor grill and include: *Grilled Baby lamb chops, minted yogurt dip *Shrimp & pineapple skewers, ginger glaze *Prosciutto, mint & grilled melon, barrel aged balsamic *Chicken & chorizo kebab, chimichurri *Sesame salmon skewers, kecap manis, spring onion *Mediterranean brochette, spicy tomato glazeEven the Artisan Margarita will include a grilled lime garnish! Read More
Friday Froth: Connecticut On Craft Beer Week Ingredients CT Beer Friday Froth Beer James Gribbon May 22, 2015 American Craft Beer Week was last week, and my pants hate me. You'd think massive doses of beer paired with little to no sleep for long periods of time would do a body good, but no. Anyone would tell you that if you'd just listen, but then you'd also have to hear about "healthy decisions" and "getting out of that bulldozer this instant," and anyway I can always buy new pants.So, I'm fat now and here are some of the beers which left me with a) no regrets in that regard, and b) this red line under my navel. Stony Creek Dock Time. For the past several years, the tasting room at Two Roads has reigned supreme in Connecticut. It is a massive, brightly lit space which fairly bubbles with history, it has an enormous central bar, and the stools have these bearings in them that let you spin around. Truly a top notch operation. Now, though, dare mention the Two Roads tasting room in any context and people will burst from out of nowhere shouting a chorus of "BUT HAVE YOU BEEN TO STONY CREEK" like it's the "fiiiiive gooold-en riiiiings" part in The Twelve Days of Christmas. You know what? That's fair. Read More
CT Hops for Hope Brewfest Supporting the SMS Research Foundation Restaurant Brewery Amy Kundrat May 22, 2015 CT Hops for Hope, an intimately-scaled craft beer festival in New Britain on August 30, 2015, is organizing a fundraising event with 100% of proceeds benefitting the Smith-Magenis Research Foundation. The event will feature a terrific lineup of 20+ craft breweries, craft beer enthusiasts, and food trucks. Tickets are $45 for general admission and $55 for early bird admission, and will be available for sale beginning Friday, May 22 at 11 am. General admissions includes all brewery samples, but does not include the price of any food trucks, which will be selling their food separately. The event will take place at The Quartette Club in New Britain, rain or shine. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit cthopsforhope.com. Read More
HAPA Food Truck - Tacos with a Philippine Twist Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 21, 2015 There’s a new food truck in Stamford and it is well worth the visit. HAPA Food Truck rolled onto Bell Street this week serving three types of tacos, Korean short rib, Philippine chicken adobo and Nonny’s sweet peppers, burgers, both beef and Ahi, plus bowls of poke and chicken adobo. CTbites stopped by to sample a few tacos and meet the owner. Read More
Let Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Co. Pack Your Summer Picnic! CTbites Team May 21, 2015 Summer calls for a lot outdoor dining and snacking—from family trips to the beach to romantic outings for two—but sometimes shopping for and packing up lunch is too much effort for a vacation day. This summer, Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company introducing a solution. Let us pack your picnic for you with a curated collection of fresh-cut cheeses and meats, delicious dried fruits and nuts, and even an eco-friendly cheese tray with biodegradable serving utensils. These picnic essentials come packed in our custom to-go boxes in two sizes that make a fun and easy addition to picnics, beach-trips, boat rides, and so much more. Trust us with the planning and the presentation so you can enjoy the most important part: the flavor! Call ahead to order a basket for pick up or stop in and browse while we pack your picnic for you! Read More
Weekly Nibble: Farmers' Markets, BYOB, Fleishers Delivers, CT Breweries + More Emma Jane-Doody Stetson May 21, 2015 On Tuesday nights, bring your own bottle of wine to accompany a Chef’s tasting menu at Morello Italian Bistro in Greenwich. There will be no corkage fee for guests enjoying the special menu (guests not ordering it will be charged a $25 corkage fee.) The Darien Farmers Market kicks off its 2015 season on Wednesday May 27 at the Goodwives Shopping Center located at 25 Old Kings Highway North in Darien, CT. It will be open every Wednesday through Christmas from 11:00am to 4:00pm, rain or shine. Fleisher's Craft Butchery is now delivering! If you can't make it for lunch at Craft Kitchen, just call... avorite burgers, steak frites and pulled pork tacos are now available for delivery. To order delivery Tuesday-Friday 11am-3pm. Call 203-318-9816 or order online via GrubHub or Seamless. On Wednesday, May 27, the Madison Beach Hotel invites you to a 5-course gourmet dinner featuring Madison's own Mad Hill Peppers. Each course will also be paired with pepper-infused cocktails. It lasts from 6:30-9:30pm and costs $89 per person. Also on Wednesday, Harry’s in Fairfield presents a Kermit Lynch Wine Class from 7-9pm. Attracted by the Old World wine cultures of Europe, Kermit became a retailer, distributor, and national importer for authentic wines that express their terroir. It costs $35 for one session. On Thursdays pm, from 10am-2 the Westport Farmers’ Market continues its 2015 summer season. Read More
Zuppardi's Pizza Truck Now Rolling in Connecticut Restaurant Food Truck Pizza New Haven Amy Kundrat May 20, 2015 It was four years ago this month when I first met a Zuppardi's sausage pie. They say you never forget your first, which I then ensured by writing about it for Serious Eats. So imagine my surprise when I learned they were rolling out a Zuppardi's pizza truck, and my elation when I ran into said truck, a bright red beacon on an otherwise gray and drizzly New Haven day, on the corner of Chapel and Church in New Haven. Put another way, if New Haven's signature pizzas were the rat pack, the Zuppardi's sausage pie would take center stage alongside New Haven's other apizza stars: Sally's tomato, Pepe's clam, Modern's Italian Bomb, and Bar's mashed potato. Yup, it's that good. Read More
Audubon Greenwich Hosts 2nd Annual Sustainable Food & Farm Expo w/ Local Chefs and Tastings Ingredients Going Green Local Artisan CTbites Team May 20, 2015 Community Is Invited to a Day of Learning with Local Experts Audubon Greenwich will host the second annual Sustainable Food & Farm Expo on Sunday, May 31, from 10 am until 5 pm. This year’s Expo will showcase high quality food producers, retailers, a celebrity chef, and farmers who will teach guests how to prepare and enjoy a wide variety of local and sustainably grown foods, plus grow some of their own. Register online for tix. The public is invited to enjoy twenty food exhibitors and vendors plus talks, demonstrations, and tastings with a wide range of experts every thirty minutes. Fleisher’s Craft Butchery and Grass Rxoots will cater lunch, snacks, and beverages suitable for vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, locavores, and those with food allergies or adhering to an organic diet. Chef Silvia Baldini of Strawberry and Sage will share her passion for cooking in three different culinary demonstrations and tastings where locally sourced ingredients take center stage. Read More
Two Roads’ Second Annual Road Jam Concert: Soul Rebels, Food Truck & Beer! Restaurant Brewery CT Beer Events Festival Beer CTbites Team May 20, 2015 Stratford, CT's Two Roads Brewing Company will be celebrating their 2nd annual Road Jam concert on the grounds of their 100 year-old brewery building and it promises to be just as fun as last year with four awesome bands, great food trucks and plenty of Two Roads beer. Building on the success of last year's event, this year's Road Jam will be a must-attend festival for music lovers. Two Roads has hired three local bands as well as a headliner all the way from New Orleans to keep you dancing until last call. Returning this year will be the Alpaca Gnomes who killed it at last year’s event and new to the line-up this year are two other Connecticut favorites, the psychedelic Snooty Garland and jam group The McLovins.Headlining the event is New Orleans' finest brass band: The Soul Rebels. They have shared the stage with everyone from Kanye West to Dave Matthews and have collaborated with some of this generation's best musical acts. They have been described by the Village Voice as “the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong.” Two Roads is thrilled to feature them as the main act. Read More
GIVEAWAY! Win 2 FREE TIX to Ninety9Bottles Craft Beer Festival Ingredients CT Beer Festival Beer CTbites Team May 19, 2015 Ninety9Bottles Craft Beer Festival is back for it's 2nd Annual Festival where Festival goers will enjoy a variety of brews while overlooking beautiful Norwalk Harbor up atop the hill at Oyster Shell Park. With an emphasis on New England based breweries, we will be pouring samples of 40+ CRAFT BEERS and some old favorites and some that you have yet to experience including new beers to the Connecticut market. YOU CAN WIN 2 FREE TIX TO NINETY9BOTTLES by telling us why YOU need to go, in the comments section below. Please include your email address so we can contact you. Winners announced May 31st. Ninety9Bottles Craft Beer Festival will feature great LIVE MUSIC along with some of the area’s most popular FOOD TRUCKS including LobsterCraft, Bounty, Melt Mobile, One Bro Pizza Co. and The Local Meatball each serving up some delicious local fare. Read More
5-Course Pasta Tasting at Bar Sugo: Decadent & Delicious Restaurant Dinner Events Pasta Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 19, 2015 Several years ago I sampled Chef Pat Pascarella’s Pasta Bolognese and it was one of the best Bolognese I had ever tasted. Since that time, Pascarella opened Bar Sugo on Wall Street in Norwalk and I have enjoyed many of Chef Pat’s creations. He recently introduced his full-table Pasta Tasting menu and invited CTbites to sample the five courses…from a straightforward tomato and basil to a complex lobster, morel and truffle. The incredible Bolognese that Chef Pat served me several years ago was a prelude to the fantastic five courses that I enjoyed with wine pairings from Sommelier Megan Pacarella. Read More
This Week @ Westport Farmers' Market: Chef Cecily Gans of Staples High School Culinary Arts Department Features Farmers Market healthy Recipe Lori Cochran May 18, 2015 Cecily Gans is a culinary teacher at Staples High School. What makes her stand out is her commitment to teaching the kids the value of using local ingredients. Cecily spearheads our Gillespie Center monthly meal program where we, WFM, purchase food from our market for to kids prepare and serve the meal to our neighbors in need. She will be the guest chef at The Westport Farmers' Market on May 21st. You can find her recipe for Grilled Scallion, Herb & Goat Cheese Vinaigrette. Read More
Camille's Wood Fired Pizza in Tolland Restaurant Pizza Tolland Lunch Kid Friendly Amy Kundrat May 17, 2015 A three hour drive to Boston is best broken up by lunch, preferably pizza, and always with a good friend. This is how I found myself at Camille’s Wood Fired Pizza in Tolland with someone as obsessed with pizza as I am. A strikingly thin and crispy yet solidly constructed crust forms the foundation for Camille’s 11 or so red and white pies. They range from the classic margherita to their signature Billy’s Bianco, a combination of pistachio, cream, goat cheese, ricotta, truffle honey, red onion (pictured). Their spicy sausage and kale was an excellent lunch partner alongside the Bianco, balanced well with savory sausage, spicy chile oil, and slight bitterness from the kale smoothed out by mozzarella. Read More
The New Fleisher's Westport (Formerly Craft Butchery) Celebrates New Chapter CTbites Team May 17, 2015 This past Saturday Fleisher's Westport (formerly Saugatuck Craft Butchery) hosted friends, family and customers old and new to celebrate the next chapter in craft butchery. With a delectable spread from the team at Fleisher's Craft Kitchen, guests enjoyed cheeseburger sliders, smoked pork ribs and chimmichurri chicken skewers along with craft beers from both Connecticut and Brooklyn. The topic of conversation was the recent announcement that Fleisher's Pasture-Raised Meats (since 2004) and Saugatuck Craft Butchery (since 2011) have joined forces to bring the best ethically raised meat to their communities across the Hudson Valley, Brooklyn and Connecticut. Each brings a shared vision, a loyal customer base, and a team of like-minded idealists who believe in the value of their work. With Fleisher's fourth location in Greenwich slated to open this summer, the atmosphere was buzzing with anticipation for a promising future. Read More
SoNo Eats! Dining Deals in Downtown SoNo May 31-June 5 CTbites Team May 15, 2015 SoNo is a dining destination with a variety of culinary flavors to satisfy any appetite. Whether you are seeking delicious ethnic food or new American flavors, SoNo has the taste for your palate. “SoNo Eats” (formerly SoNo Restaurant Week) is a six-day promotion that features the unique and fine dining options available in South Norwalk with Special Prix-Fixe Dining Deals May 31 – June 5 Participating restaurants include: Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant, Burger Bar, Estia’s, Ginger Man, Harlan Publick, Local Kitchen & Beer Bar, Mama’s Boy, Match, O’Neill’s Irish Pub, Oishi Sushi & Izakaya, Quartina Trattoria & Vineria, Strada18 and The Spread. Sponsors include Acqua Panna, Bulleit Bourbon, Casa Noble Tequila, Chopin, Perrier and Tanqueray. For a complete list of menus, visit connecticutrestaurantweek.com. PLUS...SoNo Eats is holding a social media contest encouraging diners to take photos of their experience and post them on Instagram using the #SONOEATS hashtag for a chance to win over $500 in gift cards to select SoNo restaurants, a five day pass to Saraswati Yoga Joint and the grand prize is a one-night stay at Hotel Zero Degrees in Norwalk. Read More
The Beer Garden @ Shippan Landing Re-Opens May 21 For The Summer Season in Stamford Restaurant Beer Garden CT Beer Happy Hour Stamford Beer Bar Stephanie Webster May 15, 2015 Imian Partners will open The Beer Garden at Shippan Landing for its second season on May 21st. Imian first introduced the pop-up beer garden concept two summers ago with The Beer Garden at Harbor Point and is credited for invigorating the social scene in Stamford’s South End. The Shippan spot has a significantly more relaxed vibe than that of Harbor Point, but has all the charm and beauty of the perfect summer hangout. With unobstructed waterfront views, (and the best seat in town to watch the sunset all summer long), The Beer Garden at Shippan Landing will showcase and rotate its carefully curated list of local craft beers on draft and in cans offering a variety of options. Look for favorites such as Half Full, Broad Brook, Captain Lawrence and more. We also hear that The Beer Garden will be partnering with Half Full to create a signature beer just for the garden. Pretty cool. An impressive rotating lineup of the area’s best food trucks will also be part of the nightly festivities at the Beer Garden. Stay tuned for details on some of your favorite mobile eats. The family-friendly environment will include outdoor games such as life-size jenga, corn hole, can jam and beer pong. Entertainment will include live music and special themed-events throughout the summer beginning on Sunday May 24th with a Memorial Day party. Read More
Millwright’s at the Farm with Guest Collaborators Bill Taibe & New England Brewing Co. on September 10 Restaurant Farm Dinner Beer Amy Kundrat May 13, 2015 What happens when you combine two of Connecticut's James Beard nominated chefs, a Connecticut Brewery, a community farm, and a good cause? Millwright's at the Farm, of course! This charity dinner series is held throughout the summer with guest chefs and themes. Chef Taibe will be the guest collaborator on September 10 at 6:30 pm at Community Farm of Simsbury, located at 73 Wolcott Road, Simsbury CT 06070. Price includes tax, food and beverage at $95 per person. June 11: Chef/Owner James Wayman, The Oyster Club & The Engine Room July 16: Chef Jamie McDonald, Bears Smokehouse [Theme: BBQ] August 27: Chef Jeff Lizotte, On20 September 10: Chef Bill Taibe, LeFarm, The Whelk, Kawa Ni, and New England Brewing Co. September 24: Chef/Owner Billy Grant, grants, Bricco October 8: Chef Scott Miller, Max Group Read More
Weekly Nibble: Lots of BBQ, Happy Hours, "Beers at the Beach," Farmer's Markets + More Emma Jane-Doody Stetson May 13, 2015 Strada 18 in conjunction with Nicholas Roberts and Northeast Wine Brokers invite you to a casual wine dinner featuring the wines of Halter Ranch. It takes place on Tuesday May 19 at 7pm and costs $50 plus tax and gratuity. Each course will be served with a duo of wines. Also on Tuesday, AMG Catering presents a “Gluten Free The Easy Way” cooking class that includes a 3 course gluten free meal. The class is sold out, but check back for cancellations. On Tuesday May 19, Toast to Success will benefit Dress For Success of Mid Fairfield County. The evening consists of a wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres, and a silent auction. 5:30-7:30 pm, $40 per person. Reserve tickets or call (203) 610-8570. City Stream Brewery in Hartford will host an Iron Bartender Competition on Tuesday May 19 from 7-10pm. Hartford area bars/restaurants compete to make the best beer cocktail in just 10 minutes. Prizes will be awarded for taste, presentation and creativity. The event is free and guests can enjoy drink specials throughout the night. Read More
Michel Nischan: Connecticut’s Humanitarian Chef Interview Westport CTbites Team May 12, 2015 As we go to print on this article, chef, CEO and humanitarian Michel Nischan is in Chicago receiving another James Beard Award, as Humanitarian of the Year. This honor has been bestowed on few, including Art Smith, Emeril Lagasse and the late Charlie Trotter. The award signifies Michel’s commitment to making a difference in how and where we buy food, food education, and Wholesome Wave programs that offer affordable access to all consumers, especially the food insecure. As a longtime Westport resident, I have fond memories of The Dressing Room next to the Westport Country Playhouse. The buzz surrounding the restaurant when it opened in 2006 was driven by the friendship and collaboration between the co-owners, Paul Newman and chef Michel Nischan and their shared beliefs about food. Together they contributed to Connecticut’s nascent farm-to-table movement, not only sourcing from local farms and purveyors, but also listing their products as part of the menu. Paul could be found there many evenings with his wife Joanne, and family and “sightings” were always a treat to patrons. Read More
