Zaragoza, a new tapas and craft cocktail bar, is scheduled to open at 31 Bank Street in New Milford in the spring of 2016. Zaragoza represents the next adventure by Newtown resident Artie Praino, who previously owned the Newtown Deli, Sandy Hook Deli, Sideline Café, Woodbury Deli, and Bayside (NY) Salumeria.
Praino is following his passion for Spanish cuisine combined with small bites to be shared with friends and family. “Tapas are simple, but hearty and unpretentious food. Our ingredients and recipes will be fresh and robust, beautiful to look at, and mouthwatering to eat. Tapas to me means friends and family enjoying food and flavors on shared small plates -- a warm and familial dining experience.”
Going out for a meal can be an incredibly rewarding experience. There is a reason restaurants are a popular spot for a night out and a number of people proudly refer to themselves as “foodies.” However, it can also be a downright chore. Do I brave the downtown traffic? Where do I park my car? How do I get there? Will there be a table for me?
Lugano Wine Bar and Salumeria, newly opened in Greenwich, alleviates all of those hassles. The Italian inspired restaurant sits just off of exit 6 from I-95 on East Putnam Avenue in Riverside, far removed from the droves of people downtown. It has its own lot next to the restaurant for easy parking as well as a valet service.
Indoors, the space is approachable, yet impressive. When you walk through the front doors, you enter a spacious bar with plenty of seating and room to stand and mingle. Wine glasses elegantly line the bar’s counter, as if inviting patrons in for a drink.
Just off of the bar to the right is a large dining room with high ceilings and a dome that serves as a skylight. It is light and open, lined with large windows. Lugano even boasts a private dining room for special functions, or for guests who prefer a quiet dining experience.
The lovely space was the impetus for the restaurant.
Olea's condomiz / Photo: Jen Kaufman, Connecticut Magazine
Many in the New Haven area mourned the closing of Ibiza last spring.The restaurant has been reimagined by former Ibiza chef Manual Romero who is now the owner and chef, reviving this modern Spanish tapas mecca for the city once again.
Our friends at Connecticut Magazine recently visited, giving it an excellent rating, and here's why:
When Ibiza in New Haven closed last spring, Connecticut lost a culinary treasure. Located on High Street, steps away from two famous art museums, it was itself a work of art, showcasing the best of modern Spanish cuisine in the state and on the East Coast. Busy, buzzy, frequently bustling, with a mile-long list of intriguing tapas and a devoutly loyal customer base, it vanished suddenly, as if it had never been. Rumors flew. Diners mourned. But within six months, the spirit of Ibiza rose like a phoenix in the same location but in a glamorous new guise, re-imagined and rechristened, Olea.
A top secret doughnut recipe, a father and son business, and a dozen or so different types of doughnuts and New York-style bagels mean that mornings in Georgetown just got that much better, thanks to the arrival of Uncle Leo’s “Not Just” Coffee and Doughnuts.
Norwalk residents Leo Spinelli III (age 22) and his father Leo Spinelli, Jr., recently opened Uncle Leo's in the heart of Georgetown, at 19 Main Street, in the former Swirl Ice Cream location. The shop is a second coming for the father and son and the familiar Spinelli surname, who previously owned Spinelli’s Not Just Bagels in Norwalk that closed in 2009.
Wirt Cook isn’t interested in stardom. Sure, he was Alex Guarnaschelli’s sous-chef on this season’s Iron Chef America, but he did that just to help his former boss. What Cook loves to do is cook in the kitchen at the Redding Roadhouse.
He and his wife Karen, sister Colleen and her husband Ted Stonebly had just bought the Roadhouse last July when Guarnaschelli reached the last round of the Next Iron Chef competition. She chose two sous chefs for the final battle. Cook was joined by Ashley Merriman, who also had cheffed at Guarnaschelli’s restaurants Butter and The Darby in New York City.
Cook says the team was shocked when they won. In the stress of creating more than five courses, each using the secret ingredient, within the one-hour limit, they’d made mistakes. They thought they hadn’t had such a great day. But Guarnaschelli won. She was the Next Iron Chef. And Cook suddenly had an extra job he didn’t have time for.
Cuisine: American, Tapas, Wine Bar, West Hartford Price: Small plates range $3.95 - $17.95 Our Highlights: wine, charcuterie, tapas Hours: Kitchen open Mon – Wed 4-10pm, Thurs: 4-11pm, Fri-Sat: 4-12pm (Bar open late Mon-Sat) Sun: Kitchen & Bar 4-9pm Online: Official Website | Facebook
Small plates reach new heights at Vinted Wine Bar and Kitchen, where food is anything but secondary. Add 68 wines by the glass and you’re well on your way to finding that perfect pairing. Sister restaurant to The Federal in Agawam, Vinted burst onto the West Hartford dining scene in late 2012 when owners Ralph Santaniello and Michael Presnal launched their newest venture in Blueback Square. A classy vibe, inventive array of modern American tapas, and encyclopedic wine list leaves little, if anything, to be desired.
The culinary landscape of New Canaan now includes the vibrant cuisine of the Iberian Peninsula with the opening of Picador, the second restaurant of owner Alan Basaran. Located on Elm Street in the space formerly occupied by Harvest Supper, the interior’s décor offers a warm and inviting environment as backdrop to the region’s vibrant cuisine. Copper-topped tables and a wrap-around leather-covered banquette fill the entire back and side walls with additional copper-topped tables with dark leather chairs occupying the remainder of the space. The walls are adorned with plates, mirrors and sconces; reminiscent of the region.
Redding Roadhouse is hardly a trendy gastro pub. It’s literally Ye Olde School.
For over three hundred years, there has been a Watering Hole serving up grub and grog to weary travelers at the junctures of Redding and Georgetown Roads in Northwest Fairfield County. Mark Twain was a regular. As were MidCentury Mad Men (Is that Dan Draper romancing a client by the fireplace?).
Indeed, the Roadhouse still offers respite to travelers, though most aren’t just passing by. Since co-owners Michael and Donna Roberts and Lou Macol gave the place a 21st Century culinary makeover, it’s become destination dining for thousands, from CEO’s to carpenters (Is that Mick Jagger chatting with a fireman at the bar?). In fact 70 percent of RRH patrons hail from Fairfield’s Gold Coast, not to mention Boston and New York.
Carly is a 10 year old from Redding, CT with a passion for eating & writing. She has joined the team as our youngest reviewer and she hopes she will inspire kids to be a little more adventurous in their FC restaurant choices. She has developed a restaurant rating scale of 1-5 pickles, 5 being the best. This is her first review.
The Lumberyard
Are you craving some juicy meat and some fun? Drive down to The Lumberyard in Georgetown, CT. The huge menu sounded delicious. I had to look it over twice. The kid’s menu was the usual cheeseburger, grilled cheese, hot dogs and chicken tenders, so I decided to choose something off their regular menu.
Upon entering The Olive Market in Redding, you can’t help but be surprised by the unique setting. Envision Pottery Barn mixed in with a little Williams Sonoma, add a dash of Murray’s Cheese Shop…well, you get the picture. The Olive Market's menu, under Chef Fernando, displays a similarly intriguing fusion of foods with influences from Uruguay, Portugal, Italy, and Spain. Here you will find everything from empanadas, tapas and fondue, to paninis and pizzas. They also sell cheeses and olives by the pound and have a very browse-worthy home goods store attached to the café. The store stays open until the restaurant closes so there’s plenty of time to check out the goods while waiting for your food to arrive.
Dining tables are nestled amongst shelves lined with a beautiful array of gourmet food items like olive oils, flavored salts, fondue pots, and cooking tools. I even found O & Co. White Truffle Oil which I thought I could only purchase in Grand Central. Terrazzo tiles, dark blue ceilings and vibrantly colored paintings add to the eclectic, warm atmosphere.
