Saltaire Oyster Bar and Fish House Opens in Port Chester
Restaurant Fish Port Chester Seafood

Amy Kundrat and Stephanie Webster
Chefs Bernard Bouissou (Bernard’s), Silvia Bianco (formerly of Biscotti) and Prasad Chirnomula ( Thali)
Battle of the Chefs returns to Founders Hall on Sunday, May 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. and CTbites has a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky reader. The culinary showdown event will feature Chefs Silvia Bianco, formerly of Biscotti, Bernard Bouissou of Bernard’s, and Prasad Chirnomula of Thali, with emcees and hosts Amy Kundrat and Stephanie Webster (yours truly).
We are GIVING AWAY 2 seats to the May 17 Battle Of The Chefs event (a $200 value). We will randomly select 1 lucky winner with a pair of tickets. To enter for a chance to win, please post a comment on this story (you must include your email and name when commenting) telling us what you think the secret ingredient should be. [All comments will be considered made before the end of the day, May 1. Winner announced on May 4].
Registration is open for Connecticut Food Bank’s 2015 Walk Against Hunger! Four of the state’s largest cities are hosting the Walk Against Hunger, a community gathering that increases hunger awareness and generates much needed funds to combat hunger in Connecticut. The Walk Against Hunger will increase Connecticut Food Bank’s capacity to fight hunger and most importantly celebrates our New England Spirit of neighbor helping neighbor. Locations this year are: Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Haven & Norwich.
All four Walks are 2.5 to 3 miles long with festiviites beginning at 1 p.m. Click on any of the Walk locations below to sign up and access “Walker Tools” to help you reach your fundraising goals.
Amy Kundrat and Stephanie Webster
Chefs Bernard Bouissou (Bernard’s), Silvia Bianco (formerly of Biscotti) and Prasad Chirnomula ( Thali)
Battle of the Chefs returns to Founders Hall on Sunday, May 17, 4 – 7pm. In a culinary showdown similar to Top Chef and Chopped, three chefs will compete for the benefit of Founders Hall. Chefs Silvia Bianco, formerly of Biscotti, Bernard Bouissou of Bernard’s, and Prasad Chirnomula of Thali will compete to create an entree from a basket of surprise ingredients in front of a live audience. A panel of judges, including food critic and writer Jane Stern and wine/cheese connoisseur and business owner Monica Brown of No. 109 Cheese and Wine, will judge the chefs on their creativity, craftsmanship and culinary results. Hosts Amy Kundrat and Stephanie Webster (yours truly) of CTbites, will emcee.
Some of the best chefs from Hartford County are going to be hosting a dinner to benefit Share our Strength, the nationwide effort to end childhood hunger, on August 12, 2014. The event will be held at Millwright's Restaurant and Tavern and will feature Billy Grant (Grant's and Bricco), Ryan Jones (Mill @2t), Adam Greenberg (Barcelona), Jeff Lizotte (ON20), Scott Miller (Max Oyster), Steve Cavagnaro (Cavey's), Hunter Morton (Max Downtown) and Tyler Anderson (Millwright's). All proceeds benefit Share our Strength. Visit the Share Our Strength Benefit Dinner for more information and ticket sales or email info@millwrightsrestaurant.com.
Cookies for Kids' Cancer will hold a bake sale on Sunday, June 8 at 10 am in Danbury Square in Danbury, CT.
“We are determined to raise as much as we can for childhood cancer research,” says the sale’s organizer (and Fine Cooking senior editor), Denise Mickelsen. “We invite everyone interested in volunteering, baking, or stopping by for some delicious treats to do so. Every dollar counts and we need your help!”
A national 501(c)3 non-profit, Cookies for Kids' Cancer is committed to raising funds for research to develop new, improved treatments for pediatric cancer, the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. They provide inspiration and support for individuals, businesses and organizations to raise funds by hosting grassroots bake sales and other fundraising events.
The Danbury bake sale will have cookies and other baked goods, raffle prizes, balloons, and much more for the entire family.
For more information on the organization, visit the Cookies for Kids' Cancer website, and stay in touch locally at Danbury Cookies for Kids with Cancer on Facebook.
This just in from the folks at PORT CHESTER HALL:
After undergoing a full renovation and transformation into the first ever food hall, beer pavilion and garden in one venue, Port Chester Railroad Station is proud to announce the opening of PORT CHESTER HALL & BEER GARDEN.
The Hall will be pouring 12 unique craft beer selections, created by Kelly Taylor, Director of Brewing for Port Chester Hall (in addition to Houston Hall and Flatiron Hall in Manhattan). These specialty beer styles include English, Belgian, German, and American, however all use mostly American ingredients. In addition to the proprietary beer selection, the Hall is serving imaginative cocktails by the in-house mixologist, as well as top shelf spirits and a variety of wines.
The station's historic architecture, originally designed in 1890, was preserved and retooled with vintage lighting, seating, and century-old murals. The Pavilion combines the original railroad steel design with communal wood tables and a towering stone fireplace.
Latin Cause. Latin Food. Latin Drink.
Mezon Tapas Bar & Restaurant in Danbury is teaming up with Danbury Hospital to host a benefit dinner, "Latin Cause. Latin Food. Latin Drink" at Mezon on Tuesday, May 13. All proceeds will support the Western Connecticut Health Network Global Health Education Program. The WCHN's GHEP charity supports healthcare services and overall community health in Paraiso, Dominican Republic.
CTbites wants to offer a major shout out and note of appreciation to Bruno DiFabio, co-owner of 10 widely lauded pizzerias around the country including Wilton’s Pinocchio, ReNapoli in Old Greenwich and San Francisco’s esteemed Tony’s Napoletana, for launching “A Slice for the Cure” at Pinocchio Pizza in Wilton.
On Tuesday, June 25th, DiFabio and Pinocchio Pizza sponsored the event from noon to 10PM, in which 100% of sales was donated to the American Cancer Society to benefit cancer research. The six-time World Pizza Champion debuted his award-winning Pulled Pork Pizza created with roasted pork, mozzarella, onion, bacon and barbecue sauce.
CTbites attended the event and discussed DiFabio’s passion for pizza, the various types of crusts and toppings and his general vision for his continuing commitment to Fairfield County. Of course, this conversation occurred as we enjoyed a few slices of the Pulled Pork Pizza.
The Working Lands Alliance will host their spring event, “Dough for Dough: A Pizzapalooza to Benefit the Working Lands Alliance” on May 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This kid-friendly event will feature the Big Green Truck Pizza and bluegrass music by Five in the Chamber, with event proceeds supporting the Working Lands Alliance’s efforts to protect CT’s productive farmland.
Tickets are $25 per adult, $10 per child (ages 5 to 12) and children under 5 are free. Purchase tickets online.
Good news for people with Celiacs Disease or those going gluten free. Turns out...bartaco Restaurant is almost completely gluten free! We sent our roving reporter, 9 year old Maizy Boosin, who suffers from Celiac, to test out the menu. See what she found out below...
When bartaco opened its first location in Pt. Chester, NY last year, the goal was to serve simple, tasty food in a stylish yet relaxed environment. After having expanded to locations in Stamford, CT and West Hartford, CT, bartaco continues to fulfill its original goal with a considerable bonus: the vast majority of its menu happens to be gluten free.
Last night, 35 or so lucky CTbites readers participated in the Inaugural "CTBites Invites" event at bartaco in Port Chester, NY. The "Invites," offer CTBites customers unique culinary experiences in the form of special restaurant "happenings" and special product purchasing opportunities. You sign up while the offer lasts, you pay on line and you're in. Simple as that. At last night's event, those who signed up were treated to a TACOS and TEQUILA and a whole lot more.