Grazie a Dio. The long wait (and drive to Westchester) is over. Fortina is ready to rock in Stamford’s Harbor Point. Luigi Bianco Pizza, welcome to Connecticut!
Expecting to begin serving any day (as soon as they get their Certificate of Occupancy), partners John Nealon, Christian Petroni, and Rob Krauss invited CTBites to stop by for a sneak peek before the official opening.
Actually that debut won’t be so formal. Nothing soft. No Friends and Family. Not even a ribbon cutting. Just a sigh of relief. “When we open the doors, we’re open,” Nealon told us.
That’s because everything is set, the menu (almost identical to Armonk), the staff (many from Rye Brook and Armonk), the kitchen (the same wood fired ovens from Naples and charcoal grill from Spain) the playlist (specialized for Stamford’s millennials and empty nesters), and yes, hundreds of those familiar San Marzano cans just waiting to boost their pizza trays with a luscious Luigi Bianco. The whimsy is waiting.
Dust off your lederhosen and get ready for pork! On Sunday, October 25th, Fleishers Craft Butchery puts on the 4th Annual Porktoberfest, a day of whole-roasted pigs, flowing beer, housemade sausages, live music and more. This is a family friendly event, with plenty of non-alcoholic cider, s’mores and games for kids.
Admission, Beer & Food details:
The Big Piggie: $50 includes ADVANCED admission, all-you-can-eat pork, our Porktoberfest beer mug and 1 free beer ticket.
The Little Piggie: $25 includes advanced admission, our Porktoberfest beer mug and 1 free beer ticket.
Day-of only: $30 includes admission, our Porktoberfest beer mug and 1 free beer ticket.
Holiday party for 4…10…50…100? It all takes effort to entertain well and create a memorable and delicious event for your guests. So, as we embark on another lively holiday season, get a little help. Ok, a lot of help (you’ll be sooo much happier for it!). Have that party catered! Lucky for you, we have assembled a delightful list of area caterers and restaurants that will, literally, bring something amazing to the table. So make the call, invite the guests, and enjoy your holiday season’s get-togethers right along with everyone else. It is our gift to you.
We bring you our Holiday Catering Guide: 14 Fairfield County Caterers Who Do It All!
We can't always get what we want in Connecticut. Somewhere in the stone paved and torch-lit corners of our state's liquor legislation sit musty arcana which chased my beloved Avery brewing out of state, banned Festbier for two inexplicable years, and didn't allow Yeungling into town until at least fifteen years too late. It was the second decade of the 21st century before Connecticut blue laws - enacted circa 1655, and the scourge of mid-90s Jon Favreau - allowed Sunday sales, and package stores were allowed to stay open later than 8pm, in fear of a man who got the electric chair in 1960. "Steady habits," indeed.
When we couldn't get what we wanted, we took part in the grand American tradition of law-skirting, and just drove to New York. After all it's, like, right there. I was on no such quest when I found myself in midtown Manhattan a few weeks back with two hours to spare, and two blocks from The Ginger Man in the lower 30s. You want Hill Farmstead? They have Hill Farmstead.
Starting on Monday October 19, Bacon Week returns to Plan B Burger Bar!
On Wednesday October 21, Brasitas in Norwalk will host a 5 course wine tasting dinner featuring Nieto Senetiner Wines from Argentina. Try a Torrontes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and more at their first wine dinner of the season. It begins at 6:30 and costs $65 per person. RSVP required.
Fleisher’s Craft Butchery is now offering cooking classes. On October 24, take “Beef Butchery 101,” where one of their expert butcher’s will guide you through a whole steer. Learn about basic anatomy, knife skills, sustainability, and of course partake in samples. It lasts from 7-9pm and costs $100 per person.
The Connecticut and Farm Table Cookbookand William Sonoma Westport invite you to a cocktail-style event on Thursday October 22. Guests can speak to author, Christy Colasurdo, purchase signed copies of the book, and try food from the book. 7-9pm, $55 per person. RSVPs required (203) 221-8667.
If you’re hoping to enjoy some great food and live music, visit Walrus + Carpenter on Thursday October 22 for music by the Wagon Riders.
After 3 successful years in South Norwalk, the team fromThe Spreadhas just announced that they have signed a lease in the SoNo Ironworks complex. In early 2016 an exciting new restaurant concept will be coming to CT diners. The name is El Segundo and the idea is simple. Spread owners Christpher Hickey, Christopher Rasile, Andrey Cortes, and Shawn Longyear alongside Chef Carlos Baez have created a menu that features street food from around the globe that everyone loves to eat: tacos, arepas, ceviche, Asian bao, light salads and a little comfort food thrown in for good measure. The setting is casual and fun, with a price point that will make diners in South Norwalk smile. And the bar? Let’s just say these guys know a thing or two about bartending.
Directly across from Harlan Publick, El Segundo is poised to deliver a uniquely fun dining experience to Fairfield County. The restaurant features an open kitchen with bar seating, allowing diners to watch Chef Carlos as he re-creates dishes from his childhood, including his father’s recipe for Tacos Al Pastor. Large windows make this space light and airy and garage doors will open up to the Ironworks courtyard in the warmer months.
Wednesday September 23 marked the official start of autumn, but one never would have known at this year’s Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival. Summer seemed unwilling to leave. The day was clear and sunshine beamed down on guests. Crisp white tents stood out against the shimmering blue water. As the day wore on, people congregated along the water’s edge to dance to oldies, bask in the sun, and nurse glasses of white wine. It was a picture perfect day.
I had the chance to attend Sunday’s Grand Tasting, which had the impressive Marble House as its backdrop. About two dozen restaurants and 75 wineries gathered on the sprawling grounds to serve samples of their signature products. The event also included celebrity chef demonstrations, book signings, and a silent auction.
Celebrity chef and TV personality Martha Stewart kicked off the book signings where excited fans clutched copies of her newest book, Martha Stewart's Appetizers: 200 Recipes for Dips, Spreads, Snacks, Small Plates, and Other Delicious Hors d'Oeuvres, Plus 30 Cocktails.
Culinary legend Chef Jacques Pepin united with his daughter Claudine for the day’s headlining cooking demonstration.
Photography c/o Mike LauterbornIn America, the days of Oktoberfest are coming to a middle. The actual dates don't really matter to most of us, or anyway less than the communal enjoyment of Bavarian-inspired food and drink. The communal point may actually be the best part, I think, which is how I ended up sitting at The Spread in SoNo for their sechs gängeOktoberfest dinner on October 1st.
Those two be-umlauted words just mean "six course," as Chef Carlos Baez turned his attention to the blue checkerboard of Bavarian tradition for the open, ticketed event. Oktoberfest menus often include beer by the liter and schnitzel sandwiches the size of the plate they're served on, but the reasonable portion sizes of the tasting menu meant I didn't have to rent a surrogate stomach.
An Oktoberfest event without bratwurst is like a night without stars
Pike Place Chowder came from Seattle and won best New England clam chowder (got an extra seat for the trophy for their flight home)
Dunville's won the Traditional category (just for Manhattan and Rhode Island chowders), for the 2nd time, beating Manhattan's Soup Spot at their own game
CTbites sat down with some of CT's top chefs and restaurant owners at The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival to talk about food trends in CT, their inspiration, favorite foods, the farm-to-table trend, and what their mamas taught them.
Chefs included Christian Petroni, Bill Taibe, Matt Storch (as moderator), Nick Martschenko, Pat Pascarella, Ryan Fibiger, & Rui Correia. (See if you can tell which one of these chefs had a rough night prior to our interview.)
This video originally aired via Periscope. Make sure you don't miss upcoming CTbites Periscope content, download Periscope here. https://appsto.re/us/TXw_5.i
The dream began in a sandbox…..where five year old Geoff Lazlo planted his first garden.
Since then, he has tended, harvested, and cooked with the likes of Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, Michael Anthony at Gramercy Tavern, Dan Barber at Stone Barns, and Bill Taibe at The Whelk.
“What a pedigree!” we said to Lazlo, now the Managing Partner and Executive Chef of the newly opened Mill Street Table and Bar in Greenwich. “Your takeaway?”
"That a seasonal cook has to react like a top athlete," he told us. “Fresh ingredients are in constant motion. Early asparagus is very different than late asparagus, so you're always adjusting to a fast, ever changing game."
Geoff's garden isn't Madison Square, but his own herb and vegetable plots at Greenwich Community Gardens, and, of course, Back 40 Farm. That’s the family acreage in Washington Depot run by his partners at Mill Street, Bill and Leslie King, who head up the organic-centric Back 40 Group.
What Lazlo doesn't pick from there, he sources locally: whether it be oysters farmed off the Greenwich shore, milk, cream and butter churned atArethusa Dairy Farm in Litchfield, even Byram River Rum, distilled down the road in Post Chester. Mill Street represents the fulfilment of Geoff’s dream to establish his own place, an “American Restaurant,” celebrating family, community and local bounty.
Black Rock Farmers Market (BRFM) presents a hoot of a party to celebrate the closing of our 2nd season. Join them for an afternoon of corn hole games, barn dancing, beer tastings, a pig roast by Walrus + Carpenter, local eats, and live music, from 1-5pm. Proceeds will directly benefit our 2016 season.
The event will be family-friendly and include a haunted house. Come in costume to trick or treat through the market.
Halloween Hootenanny Lineup
Beer tasting with Two Roads Brewing Companyand other local breweries
Fairfield Restaurant Week starts on Sunday October 11 and goes through the 18. Over 30 restaurants are featuring special prix fixe menus.
Westport Restaurant Week continues through Sunday October 18. 29 restaurants are offering special prix fixe menus.
New Haven Craft Beer Week starts Monday October 12 and continues through the 17. Cask Republic, Ordinary, Prime 16, Pacific Standard, and Three Sheets team up to offer beer specials and events all week long. Visit their facebook page for announcements on the schedule.
On Saturday October 17, Harlan Publick in South Norwalk invites you to their first ever Oktoberfest partyon the patio (rain day October 18). A $50 entrance fee is all inclusive. Enjoy access to all German beers on top, a suckling pig, and German inspired fare. It goes from 12-4pm.
The 4th annual Harbor Brew Fest will take place at the ballpark at Harbor Yard on Saturday October 17.
Kawa Ni, Westport's izakaya by the river, has been both a haven of Japanese-inspired food and a boisterous drinking scene since its opening just over a year ago. The party is about to start earlier, as Bill Taibe and co. have announced the debut of their new happy hour menu of food and drink at the Bridge Square, starting now.
Izakayas are small taverns which cater to the occasionally raucous after work set in Japan, so the new menu, with its focus on a limited number of small bar bites backed up by almost twice as many drinks, is right on theme. The prices of food and drink alike are sharply reduced for the happy hour, which runs Tuesday -Friday 4-6PM.
Ken Tuccio’s Welcome To Connecticut Podcast is excited to announce Connecticut’s very first live podcast panel discussion focusing on the art of homebrewing. This unique event, titled HOMEBREW HUSTLE, will take place at 7:00pm on Wednesday October 28th at Black Hog Brewery in Oxford CT.
Artspace in New Haven is launching City-Wide Open Studios (CWOS) Kitchens this November to celebrate the intersection of the visual and culinary arts. The CWOS theme this year is "Dwelling," and with kitchens is the core of this theme, Artspace is organizing three special evenings of culinary experiences in their gallery surrounded by 360 small works of art during the CWOS October and November festivities.
What says fall comfort food better than Mac N' Cheese? Kids and adults will both love this classic recipe. Really...what's not to love? Cheddar...Gruyere...Ummmm. Try this simpe recipe at home from Watson's Catering and let us know what you think.
On Saturday October 17 take a drive to Litchfield County to enjoy the fall foliage and enjoy the richness of the local, handcrafted fare offered by the Farmstead Festival at Percy Thomson Meadows Farm, 78 Thomson Road in Bethlehem. The festival, organized by Artisan Made Northeast and Percy Thomson Meadows Farm, begins at 11 a.m. and runs through 5 p.m. and features handcrafted cheeses, wine, meats, condiments, chocolates, baked goods, produce, an educational pig roast and entertainment.
As an added incentive, Sister Noella Marcellino, “The Cheese Nun,” will make an appearance at the festival and participate in a question and answer session in the education tent. She is internationally recognized as one of the foremost experts in the art of natural-milk cheese making. She received her PhD in microbiology from the University of Connecticut, and was awarded a Fullbright grant to study cheese making in France. Her focus was the Auvergne, in central France, and the study of fungal populations in the many cheese caves of the region. For her work, she received the prestigious French Spirit Food Award.
Now open in the Byram neighborhood of Greenwich, Mill Street Bar & Table celebrates American seasonal fine dining in one of Connecticut’s most elegant tavern-inspired settings. Executive Chef and Managing Partner of Mill Street is Greenwich native Geoff Lazlo (whom we know and love from The Whelk and leFarm) along with partner Bill &Lesley King.
Under Geoff's leadership, the Mill Street menu is comprised of rustic yet sophisticated dishes (whole roasted proteins such as chicken and trout, a beautifully appointed oyster bar, homey pasta dishes, inventive flatbreads...) that embrace the bounty of land, farm, and sea, featuring among other purveyors, Mill Street’s own Back 40 Farm in Washington, CT.
"Farm to Table," suggests Chef Dan Barber, “is a much abused descriptor."
You bet. Some restaurants invoke the phrase as more a loose slogan than a strict practice.
Not so with Back 40 Kitchen in Greenwich. Its passionate owners, Lesley and Bill King, grow sustainable food for the restaurant (and a burgeoning food empire) on their own family farm near Washington Depot, Connecticut.
Dan Barber would have no beef with their F2T claim. In fact, the organically managed restaurant and farm enjoy strong ties with Stone Barns Food and Educational center in the Hudson Valley, home to Barber’s acclaimed Blue Hills restaurant. Bill sits on the Center’s board and many of the Kings’ farmworkers interned there.
“The collaboration between Stone Barns and Blue Hill,” King told us, “represents a best in class partnership between farmers and restaurants.”
To understand the deeper meaning of Farm to Table, we decided to follow the story of how a seed at the Back 40 Farm became a serving at the Back 40 Kitchen.
Grazie a Dio. The long wait (and drive to Westchester) is over. Fortina is ready to rock in Stamford’s Harbor Point. Luigi Bianco Pizza, welcome to Connecticut!
