Fairfield is home to so many terrific restaurants and talented chefs. TownVibe and Fairfield Magazine have announced plans to celebrate Fairfield’s dynamic food scene by organizing Taste of Fairfield on Sunday, October 9, 2016, from 1pm to 5pm, held in the outdoor tented patio area of Southport’s Delamar Hotel.
Guests will enjoy tastes and sips from more than two dozen restaurants and specialty markets from the Fairfield area, all in the courtyard of the Delamar and Artisan Restaurant. In addition to fine cuisine, craft cocktails, artisanal wine, craft beer, and sweets, there will be live music and roving entertainment.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is a new King of the Hill of hamburgers in Greenwich.
Since celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian opened The National several months ago at the lower end of Greenwich Avenue, I have received numerous emails telling me about its burger. On a sunny day I ventured to Greenwich, grabbed a table and ordered “THE NATIONAL UGLY BURGER” which includes Cabot Cheddar cheese, crispy Shallots, Ntl Sauce, and served with malt vinegar chips. I ordered it medium-rare.
The burger arrived and it was served on a wooden cutting board, with a pickle speared through the top of the bun. The melted cheese was oozing around the edges, dripping towards the serving board. The sautéed shallots were peeking from under the cheese, partnered with the edges of a single lettuce leaf. If the taste was as good as the presentation, this would be a great burger. The burger was accompanied by the chips that were vertically arranged in a separate metal vase.
Occupying the old Riverside post office, Ada’s Variety Store was a local favorite. For many generations Ada was lovingly referred to as the old lady who sold penny candy to neighborhood kids; she was a pillar of the community. She has since passed away, but her legacy lives on. Her family remains involved with the little store’s brand new future, keeping her memory alive for many more generations to come.
The shop, now called Ada’s Kitchen + Coffee, is located near the Riverside train station and has been newly renovated by Ada’s nieces and nephews. With the help of friend and local interior designer, Katie Watson, the new Ada’s Kitchen + Coffee has been transformed into a bright, inviting space, melding the old with the new.
Eastend is the latest addition to Z Hospitality’s expanding portfolio of quality restaurants in Fairfield and Westchester Counties, joining Sole, Mediterraneo, Terra, Aqua and Aurora. Located at the bottom of Greenwich Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Primary Restaurant, it recently opened, 25 years to the week after Mediterraneo up the avenue.
Overseeing the menu is Executive Chef Albert DeAngelis. Chef Albert joined Z Hospitality Group as Executive Chef in 1989 and has been the creative vision behind the group’s Mediterranean-style bistros. Joining him in the kitchen is Chef Matt McNerny, a graduate of the CIA and formerly the chef du cuisine at Aurora in Rye and Sole in New Canaan.
The National, the newest restaurant from celebrated chef, restaurateur, TV host, author, and philanthropist Geoffrey Zakarian, is now open in the heart of downtown Greenwich, at 376 Greenwich Avenue.
We were invited to sit down with the chef just 24 hours after he opened the doors to the public. Sitting in a corner banquette, our candid conversation spanned his 30-year career, including his love for Greenwich, formative culinary influences, and his advice for aspiring chefs.
The National feels like an extension of Zakarian himself. They both exude a studied yet casual New York elegance, are utterly charming, and yet quite approachable. A former Greenwich resident, it is no surprise he chose to open the restaurant within this community he knows so well. The modern american bistro feels at home on the Avenue and inside, boasts the welcoming charm of a neighborhood café with a seasonal menu positioned to please.
Not another grocery store… Not something else to create more congestion to our already congested Post Road… These were my thoughts when I heard that yet another grocery store was coming to town.
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.
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.
It started well over 10 years ago in Boston. Two boyhood friends and a dream – a dream to open a restaurant featuring healthy, wholesome food. The company’s founders, Jon and Anthony grew up eating nutritious food from Anthony’s Uncle Faris’s kitchen. When the two friends went off to college they over indulged on fast food. While they loved this way of eating, they hated how it made them look and feel. And so the two decided to open a business together based on the simple premise that they would offer people “fast” food by making it “real” – Food “made by people, not factories.” As they embarked on this journey, they heeded Uncle Faris’ other pieces of advice: “Take it easy, Live life, and most of all ‘be good.’” And with this b.good was born.
With many successful restaurants already established in New England, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Toronto, Canada, the newest location has just opened in my town of Fairfield. (Greenwich will also open its door shortly.)
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.
The Back 40 Farm Group will open Back 40 Kitchen this July on Greenwich Avenue, amodern take on organic farmhouse cuisine. Back 40 Kitchen will be a haven for those seeking healthy, organic food without sacrificing sophistication. The restaurant will source the majority of its produce from Back 40 Farm, an 85-acre family-owned organically managed farm in Washington, CT, as well as other regional organic and sustainable farms and purveyors.
Early in 2015, Brick + Wood in Fairfield, launched a Guest Chef Series inviting local Chefs to collaborate with Chef/Owner Paolo Cavalli on a special pizza to be offered once a month.
Each Chef in the previous lineup enjoyed bringing their culinary spin to the traditional Neapolitan pie including Poutine Pizza by Chef Howard McCall of Washington Prime, a Charred Octopus Pizza by Chef Matt Storch of Match, and a Pork Belly and Short Rib Chorizo Pizza by Chef Tim Scott of Geronimo Tequilla Bar and Southwest Grill. Each Guest Chef evening often sells out of the special pie with nearly 45+ served each night.
Who's Next?? Here is the lineup from June through December. Plan your pizza nights now!
Our go-to gal in lower Fairfield County, Greenwich Girl Laura McKittrick, shared a recipe from her recent Food & Brews Issue with the Homestead Inn's award-winning chef, Thomas Henkelmann. If you don't know about Chef Henkelmann or the Homestead Inn, picture a cozy yet charming setting with a French-inspired menu and dishes that double as works of art. This Sam Adams veal dish is a delicious way you can recreate a bit of the Homestead in your own home.
Samuel Adams Glazed Veal Shank with Red Cabbage, Carrots & Pearl Onions
Who doesn’t love brunch? Sleepy weekend diners can conveniently avoid their own kitchens while enjoying an often decadent and relaxed morning meal. Plus, as a bonus, brunch is often accompanied by a well crafted cocktail. For this reason, we were pleased to hear that Barcelona Wine Bar has launched brunch service every Saturday and Sunday at several of their locations, including West Hartford, Stamford, and now Fairfield. As each Barcelona menu highlights the vision of their executive chef, brunch menus will vary slightly based on style, but bear a similar theme. To investigate this new kid on the brunch block, we decided to visit Chef Darren Carbone, who recently took over the Barcelona Fairfield kitchen, and who brings to the table, a little Latin flair.
In looking at the new Brunch menu, it’s difficult not to get just a little bit excited. Entrées such as Duck Confit Hash, Chocolate and Dulce de Leche French Toast, and a Breakfast “Coca,” (grilled bread, mushrooms, egg and Sriracha), sound like solid reasons to get out of bed.
