CTbites Invites: Happy Hour on The Patio at Artisan for $39 Restaurant CTbites Invites Invites CTbites Team May 19, 2016 For the third year in a row, CTbites has partnered with Chef Frederic Kieffer and Artisan at the Delamar Hotel Southport for an outdoor Happy Hour on their gorgeous patio and bar. Mark your calendars for Wednesday June 1st 5:30-7:30, as we kick off “al fresco” dining with assorted appetizers and cocktails. Priced at $39, the Happy Hour includes a specialty cocktail and a second cocktail or wine or beer. Buy your tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2553071 Chef Frederic is preparing a number of signature appetizers both passed and buffet style to accompany a special summer cocktail created by the talented Artisan bartender team. Menu Includes... Read More
Burger Report: Chef Geoff Lazlo's Burger at Mill Street Bar + Table Restaurant Byram Greenwich Comfort Food Burgers Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 19, 2016 Mill Street Bar and Table opened in the Byram neighborhood in Greenwich last October, the brainchild of Executive Chef Geoff Lazlo in partnership with Bill and Leslie King, who head up the organic-centric Back 40 Group. Many in Connecticut know of his work with Bill Taibe at The Whelk in Westport, but his roots with organic gardening and cooking with the finest bounty of the season goes back to his love of gardening and his introduction to the use of these ingredients with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, Michael Anthony at Gramercy Tavern, and Dan Barber at Stone Barns. While the Executive Chef at The Whelk, his burger received my “Best of…” in 2013 and with his newest adventure firmly established in the Fairfield County culinary landscape it was time to see if his newest creation was as great…IT WAS! Chef Lazlo’s latest rendition is the “8OZ PASTURED BEEF BURGER,” described on the menu to include house-made mustard, aioli, Cheddar cheese, served on a potato-brioche, and served with hand-cut fries. Read More
Judy's Bar + Kitchen Opens in Stamford with Low Country BBQ Restaurant BBQ Stamford Breakfast Lunch Kid Friendly Lou Gorfain May 18, 2016 Judith Roll, creator of the popular Tabouli Mediterranean Grill in Stamford, felt that the dining neighborhood north of Bullshead was underserved. “The area needed something a little hip,” she told CTBites recently. “So I thought, take a chance, and try Barbecue.” As if by wizardry, wisps of sweet hickory smoke were soon wafting over High Ridge Road, not far from the Merritt, as Judy’s Bar + Kitchen opened its doors to a diverse (and hungry) local crowd. Even though she bills her dinner dishes as “Low Country,” Judith made no pilgrimage to Memphis and Carolina to study the nuances of time, temperature, cuts and woods. Rather she stayed in the neighborhood and developed her menu out of a culinary sensibility honed at CIA and the kitchens of gifted chefs like Wolfgang Puck. “Simple and fresh are my style,” she says. “Good meat, cooked low and slow, what more do you need to know?” Read More
The Pine Leaf Opens in New Milford with Chef Joel Viehland Restaurant Milford Organic Outdoor Dining Breakfast Lunch Amy Kundrat May 18, 2016 The Pine Leaf opened this week in New Milford under the leadership of chef/owner and three-time James Beard nominee, Joel Viehland. Located along the Aspetuck River, The Pine Leaf will be serving what they describe as "simple, light breakfasts and fresh, seasonal lunch fare" with a focus on organic and local ingredients. For those of us who know and love Viehland's cooking from his time at nearby Community Table, (check out our 2013 restaurant review of CT), this is definitely an opening we have been eagerly anticipating. We look forward to exploring New Milford's newest breakfast and lunch hot spot. In the meantime, check it out and let us know what you ate and what you think! Read More
Battle of the Chefs Culinary Showdown At Founders Hall June 5 Restaurant Ridgefield Amy Kundrat and Stephanie Webster May 17, 2016 On Sunday, June 5, from 4-7 pm, three chefs will match sharp knives and quick wits in an exciting culinary showdown to benefit Founders Hall in Ridgefield, CT. Chefs Beck Bolender (One Twenty One, North Salem), Frank Bonnaudet (Sucré Salé, Ridgefield), and Jehan S.de Noüe (formerly Chez Noüe, Ridgefield, now JSN Catering and Albano Appliance, Pound Ridge) will open a basket of surprise ingredients in front of an audience of over 200 and, in just 60 short minutes, compete to create the winning entrée. A panel of food experts, including John Barricelli of SoNo Baking Company, master chef Ron DeSantis, director of culinary excellence at Yale University, and Brendan Walsh, dean of culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America, will judge the chefs on their creativity, craftsmanship and culinary results. Amy Kundrat, executive editor of the award-winning regional food blog CTbites will once again referee this showdown. Read More
CTbites Joins Lidia Bastianich Shooting Her TV Series Lidia's Kitchen Interview Emma Jane-Doody Stetson May 17, 2016 It feels like an ordinary morning in South Norwalk. Restaurants are opening their doors and a few pedestrians have started to meander down Main Street. People are easing into their daily routines. There is no fanfare or paparazzi… no indication that culinary legend Lidia Bastianich and her team have quietly taken over Clarke Kitchens to film the latest season of Lidia’s Kitchen! Lidia Bastianich’s extensive career is filled with an array of accomplishments. Her four New York City restaurants, Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto, as well as Lidia’s Pittsburgh and Lidia’s Kansas City, have received widespread acclaim. She also joined forces with her son Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali, and Oscar Farinetti to open Eataly, an Italian food and wine marketplace. In addition to her achievements as a restaurateur, she is an Emmy award-winning public television host, cookbook author, broadcast production company founder, and businesswoman. Bastianich has chosen Norwalk to film 26 episodes for the fourth season of Lidia’s Kitchen. The television series, which is sponsored by Cento and Grana Padano, will air on PBS Public Television Network starting October 8, 2016. Each 30 minute episode revolves around a certain theme or ingredient and presents recipes based on it. Read More
Wright's Steakhouse Opens May 16 in Centerbrook, CT Restaurant Centerbook Shoreline East Steakhouse CTbites Team May 16, 2016 Brought to you by the folks behind River Tavern, Otto Pizza and Dinners At The Farm, Wright's Steakhouse will will open on May 16 in an old Victorian in Centerbrook, CT. A peek at the menus hint at a vibrant take on the traditional steakhouse, here is an early peek at the dinner menu and the smaller bar menu. For more information, visit: www.wrightssteak.com Read More
Miro Kitchen Opens in Fairfield With Chef From Hapa Food Truck Restaurant Asian Fairfield Hawaiian Tacos Comfort Food Lunch Jessica Ryan May 15, 2016 With much anticipation and excitement Miro Kitchen recently opened its doors on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield. The new eatery is the collective brainchild of Eugene Kabilnitsky, former owner of Tomato and Basil, and Hapa Food Truck’s Chris Gonzales. I recently sat down with the two to talk about the inspiration behind this creative collaboration. “My wife and I were both working from home and we found ourselves going to the Hapa Food Truck at least twice a week,” Kabilnitsky told me. “We couldn’t get enough! At the time I was set to open another Italian restaurant at this location and was in the process of hammering out details.” But then he started to wonder whether the Hapa concept might work in the restaurant space. He joked that after visiting the truck 100 or so times he shared his idea with Chris, and subsequent conversations led to the current partnership, and Miro, an expansion of the wildly popular Hapa Food Truck, was born. The best way to describe the cuisine is to say it is a play on Pacific, Asian and Hawaiian street food with an American twist, mixing the exotic with the familiar. Read More
Weekly Nibble: CT Food Event & Happenings For May 16-22 Emma Jane-Doody Stetson May 13, 2016 Mill Street Bar & Table now serves LUNCH from 11am-2pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Also, $1 Stella Mar Oysters (raw or grilled) will be featured on weekdays from 11am-6pm and weekends 2-6pm. American Craft Beer Week kicks off on May 16 and lasts through the 22. Cask Republic South Norwalk is starting the week with a New England Brewing Company Tap Takeover on May 16 at 6pm. There will be a number of NEBCO beers… including the G-Bot! Barcelona Fairfield invites you to a night of “Grilling Outside, Family-style” on May 16 from 7-9pm. They’ll be bringing out the grill for a family-style meal on the patio, featuring suckling pig and fresh spring vegetables from the garden. Have you ever wanted to make your own yogurt? The Kitchen at CitySeed presents “Get Fermented! Yogurt & Kefir in New Haven” on Thursday May 19 at 5:30pm. Read More
Friday Froth: Big Fuzzy Double And The Harpooned Whale, New England Brewing Ingredients Beer CT Beer Friday Froth James Gribbon May 13, 2016 Feel free to argue with me in the comments, but New England Brewing Company is currently the biggest whale in Connecticut. Unlike the white whale which drove Ahab mad and dragged him to his doom, no number of obsessive trackers will soon be bringing it down. NEBCO finished doubling the capacity of its brewery over the winter and in short order released a huge batch of its more sought after beers to multiple bars just in time to coincide with St. Patrick's day. My base of operations that night was Walrus+Carpenter in Black Rock because they were having a Van Morrison tribute band, and the list of things I will fight you over is not long, but it includes "Astral Weeks." I was several Supernauts and a long awaited Gandhi-Bot deep when I sensed a disturbance in the force, as if thousands of apps had fired up at once, and looked up to watch a steady trickle of bros and bro-ettes flow in, order no drinks, and peruse not a single menu. They just waited. These, then, were the Untappd zombies. Cannibalistic brain-eating being so 20th century, the horde was utterly uninterested in music, roast pig, fried chicken, or a tap list filled with excellent beer - they wanted cheeeeeck-iiiiinnnnsss. It was five minutes before the hour, and the tap was about to open on Fuzzy Baby Ducks. Thumbs hovered - twitching, aching - over phones. Read More
Opening Day of the Westport Farmers’ Market is May 19: Raise a Glass to Food & Community Ingredients Events Farmers Market Lynn Felici-Gallant May 13, 2016 Michael Pollan once said, “The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community.” Nowhere is that sense of family and community more alive than at the Westport Farmers’ Market. Join your friends and meet new ones on opening day this Thursday, May 19th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 50 Imperial Avenue. Gather in the center of the market at noon to raise a glass of green juice compliments of The Stand, Fairfield County’s premier vegan-inspired food and juice bar. This yearly ritual kicks off a celebration of local, healthful, delicious food, farming, and community, and is where market organizers unveil the year’s Friend of the Market bags. For a yearly contribution of $40, Friends of the Market are the backbone of the WFM, supporting educational and other activities for clean eaters of all ages. In turn, Friends are rewarded with weekly discounts from over 45 vendors. Read More
Fire Up Some Fun at Sun BBQFest at Mohegan Sun Restaurant BBQ Events Festival CTbites Team May 12, 2016 Photo courtesy of CTNOWBrace yourself for a grillin’ and chillin’ good time at Sun BBQFest. On June 11th & 12th, sink your teeth into the best barbeque around with festivities featuring celebrity BBQ Chef — Myron Mixon, live music, beer trailers, barbeque showdowns, local vendors, food trucks and so much more! Tickets are $5.00 per day and go on sale Friday, April 1st through the Mohegan Sun Box Office. Kids 6 and under get in free. The weekend of the event, tickets for entry are available at the gate along with food and drink tickets. Eat, Drink, Compete Get in on all the BBQ action and decide who reigns supreme during the People’s Choice Contest all weekend long. Purchase $2.00 samples from 20 participating Kansas City BBQ Society teams and cast your vote for the ultimate best at Sun BBQFest. Competition remains fierce on Saturday with a Rib Contest fromNoon to 2:30pm followed by a Wing Challenge from 6:00pm to 8:30pm. For $5.00, each contest offers a sampling of 5 wings or 5 ribs for you to judge! A portion of the proceeds benefits the Sun BBQFest official charity, Operation BBQ Relief. Read More
WIN FREE TIX! Bar Sugo Hosts "Sugo Social," Pig Roast & Stand Up Comedy Event CTbites Team May 12, 2016 WIN 2 FREE TIX to "SUGO SOCIAL," a family style pig roast/stand-up comedy event, hosted by Ken Tuccio and Pat Pascarella of Bar Sugo on June 26th. To Win: Tell us why YOU NEED to attend this event in the Comments section below. (make sure you leave your email address) This event will feature a full roasted pig and all the fixins, a stand-up comedy performance featuring 3 of Connecticut’s most well known stand-up comedians, as well as exclusive beer on tap from Hamden CT’s No Worries Brewing Company. This event will also feature 2 culinary demonstrations from Chef Pat Pascarella, where you can participate and work with Pat while he prepares the roasted pig and side dishes he will be serving that day. Read More
Ultimate Guide To Berry Picking in CT (2016 Edition) Ingredients CT Farms Local Farm Pick Your Own kids activity Anna Bendiksen May 11, 2016 “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, dear,” my maternal grandmother told me over and over again when I was growing up in the Midwest. Grandma, may she rest in peace, always had berry patches in her backyard for pies to please the most hard-hearted male guest, but if she could have seen the scale and abundance of Connecticut berry farms, she would probably, as we used to say, have fainted dead away. Prairies are not made for berries; woodlands are. Since it’s true that the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach, too, I’ve developed a passion for the annual ritual of visiting local pick-your-own farms for strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. The argument for going to pick-your-own farms, when one has the time, is unassailable. It does not get more local than this, unless, like my Grandma, you want to grow your own (another unassailable idea but beyond the scope of this article). Berries in season are at their peak of freshness and nadir of price, and one also has the satisfaction of knowing that one is supporting farmers in one’s community. Read More
A New Era for Bethel’s Holbrook Farm Ingredients CT Farms Farmers Market Local Farm Specialty Market farm fresh Jessica Ryan May 11, 2016 Founded by John and Lynn Holbrook, Holbrook Farm in Bethel has been family run and operated for the past 40 years. The farm is small by most people’s standards. Although it is situated on 12 acres only two are used for production. From these two acres yield an abundance of produce. While not certified organic, the land is clean of pesticides and herbicides, using plants that attract beneficial insects. Weeds have a special place in the ecological mix as well. Last week I took a trip up to the farm to meet with Jess Wong, the new manager who gave me a tour of the property. Wong was brought on to manage the property and grow the farm to a new level of productivity. A Skidmore graduate, she dabbled in marketing for a while before realizing that she missed being outdoors and working with her hands. Wong started volunteering at the farm assisting the former manager, handling minor projects and social media Last December John told her that he wanted to retire and asked if she would run the farm and the market. Wong was elated. She had big plans for the farm which included a new greenhouse and renovating the store. But greenhouses are expensive. Enter Tony Pham and Richard Reyes of Mecha Noodle Bar, and Mezon, and their new program, Eat Justice, a movement of restaurants on a mission to transform taste and tradition to pride and progress. Read More
The Tasty Yolk Food Truck Rolls Into Fairfield w/ Gourmet Breakfast Sandwicheses Restaurant Fairfield Food Truck Breakfast Lunch Emma Jane-Doody Stetson May 10, 2016 Two chefs and a banker walk into a bar… It sounds like the start of a joke, but it’s actually the start of a “yolk!” Chefs Eric Felitto and Jason Cade of The Chelsea teamed up with their friend and banker, Michael Bertanza to create The Tasty Yolk food truck located at 4700 Park Avenue in Bridgeport. Despite the rain, the truck made its debut on Thursday May 5 to lots of customers eager to try their gourmet twists on breakfast sandwiches. “Every year, we try to figure out how we’re going to make our fortune,” jokes Felitto. “We finally decided to use our skills and make a food truck.” The trio makes for the perfect team. Felitto, Chef at The Chelsea, can coordinate with Sous Chef Cade so that someone can attend to the truck while continuing to work at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Bertanza works just across the street at Fairfield Bank. It’s easy for them to come together. Read More
Entertaining Al Fresco at Your Beach House via The Local Vault (sponsored) CTbites Team May 10, 2016 There are few things better than dining al fresco on a warm summer night, surrounded by friends, family, and good food. Except, of course, when you’re doing it at your beach house. There’s something about being at your home away from home that elevates just about any experience into an event. Get set for a season of memory making in style with our tips and picks for creating an outdoor entertaining oasis at your vacation home. Treat it like the special place it is. Beach houses are dream homes, places designed for enjoying the finer things in life. So, while we’re all in favor of plastic cups and melamine plates for a lunchtime barbecue, keep a fancier set of china (or at least porcelain!) and crystal on hand for nights when the good company is in town, the good wine is out, and the good times are rolling. If something breaks, you know the evening was a success! Read More
Dinner & Craft Cocktails At Sugar & Olives in Norwalk: New Spring Menu Restaurant Brunch Cocktails Farm to Table Norwalk Organic Lunch Dessert Jessica Ryan May 08, 2016 Recently some members of The CTBites team and I had the opportunity to revisit and sit together at Sugar and Olives in Norwalk to try out the new springtime menu. For those of you who have not yet visited (what are you waiting for?!) Sugar and Olives was established by Westport resident, Jennifer Balin, in 2008. Her goal was, and remains, to educate diners and cultivate the relationship between farms and families. She is committed to serving local food, and nearly all the items on the generous menu come from within the state, including milk, cheese, eggs, fruit, vegetables, beef, pork, poultry and fish, as well as wine, beer and spirits. This three star Certified Green Restaurant serves brunch five days a week and dinner three nights a week. Read More
MilkCraft Nitrogen-Churned Ice Cream Opens May 9th in Fairfield Restaurant Fairfield ice cream Kid Friendly Dessert Stephanie Webster May 07, 2016 It's official. Fairfield just became the luckiest town in all of CT. On May 9th, MilkCraft will be opening at 1215 Post Road in the Brick Walk area of Fairfield, selling the creamiest ice cream in the universe. Why you ask? Milkcraft serves Nitrogen-churned ice cream, a process that freezes the cream so quickly that those pesky ice crystals that can form when the ice cream freezes slowly, never materialize. The end result is simply the smoothest creamiest ice cream you've ever tasted, with a mouthfeel like no other frozen confection. But wait...it gets better. Milkcraft will be serving their nitrogen- churned dessert in Instagram ready "Creameebun" donut sandwiches, and Hong Kong-inspired "Bubblecones." More details on Milkcraft coming soon. Get excited CT. Read More
