Oh so many fish in da sea! And that’s only the beginning....what kind of fish do you want to prepare? Do you know how to prepare it? Oh, yeah, and where should you go to get this fish, short of heading out into open waters yourself? And wait, and here’s the $100,000 question: is the fish you are buying everything it says it is? Good grief. It’s almost easier dating and looking for *those* fish in the sea. Well, fear not, CTBites sat down recently with one of the Big Fish out there, Jim Thistle of Fjord Fish Market, and he helped guide us through seemingly murky waters...
Fairfield County has some great bars with good old fashioned bar food…wings, burgers, fries, onion rings, cheesesteaks, with a wide variety of beers. Recently, many have expanded the menu to include tacos, chili, ribs, chicken and other down and dirty delicacies. When I received an invitation to join a media event at Johnny Utah’s in SoNo I was curious, since this bar also features a mechanical bull (spoiler…not happenin’).
Recently the CTbites team previewed the menu at El Segundo in South Norwalk, the newest restaurant from the talented partners who created The Spread just up the block. The concept: Eat the Street. Intersect some of the world’s tastiest street food at the corner of Washington and North Water in SONO.
What began as a tasting quickly turned into a party ... a coming out party for Carlos Baez, Executive Chef of The Spread, one of the region’s most versatile, yet unheralded, chefs.
The menu flaunts Baez’ extraordinary range -- a gastronomic tour de force featuring over 3 dozen dishes curated from the boulevards and back allies of 27 countries on all seven continents, including barren Antarctica. (More about that selection later)
The Spread was the first: hip, smart, happening. Contemporary Sono.
El Segundo, by definition, will be The Second. This time: Street. Urban. Old World Global.
“We’ll have street food from each of the 7 Continents,” said Chris Hickey as he recently gave CTBites a preview of The Spread team’s new joint set to open in early August. Hickey and co-owners Andrey Cortes, Chris Rasile, Shawn Longyear and Executive Chef Carlos Baez envision an international playground for the palate.
“We’re going to have some fun,” Chris promised, grinning.
Open the corrugated metal garage door, and the vista is a courtyard boasting a fountain, storefronts, and looming apartments. A piazza in Naples? A market in Buenos Aries. A food fair in Bangkok.
Inside the restaurant, you’re on a side street. The vibe is almost Third World. The predominant motif is that corrugated sheeting – the humble material that shelters much of the earth’s population. A wall is painted in the brilliant graffiti of Duster, New York’s notorious tagger. On the wall, a subway door and a Number 6 Train to Duster’s Bronx. Its boogie. Its street food.
To Forage: The word forage means to use wander or search for food or provisions.
So when I was invited to James Beard nominated and passionate foraging chef, Bun Lai’s farm in upstate Connecticut for lunch, I half expected we would forage for much of our meal.
When I saw on Instagram that Bun and his friend, Greg Grinberg from Actual Food had been diving the prior day for clams for lunch, I knew I was in for a treat.
Chef Bun Lai is a passionate advocate for sustainable farming and eating and sources much of the food he serves at his New Haven sushi restaurant, Miya’s, from his own gardens, from the wooded forest around his 10 acre farm in Woodbridge, CT and from Long Island Sound. His popular restaurant has been a New Haven destination for over 35 years, originally opened by his mother, who is still involved today.
To visit with Bun is a lesson in locally sourced produce, with no pesticides or flavor or color enhancements. He and Greg described foraging as, “the most natural way of eating… the “gathering” part of the hunter/gatherer”.
Are you looking for an inexpensive burger for lunch? Maybe some fries and a soda to join the burger? If they are all offered as a lunch special, even better. With my obsession with burgers, and my annual Best “10” burgers in southwest Connecticut behind me, I decided to try the moderately priced, newly opened Prime Burger in SoNo. Located next to The Spread, one of my Best “10” burgers, the SoNo location is the second in the area, after the original opened in Ridgefield several years ago.
Prime Burger offers beef, salmon, turkey, chicken and veggie burgers from $6.50-$8.00 with free (sauces, onion, lettuce, tomato, etc.) and $1.00 toppings (cheese, chili bacon, etc.), a la 5-Guys. The menu also includes hot dogs, grilled cheese, chicken tenders and salads (you can add a patty or grilled chicken). If you enter from the street your journey begins near the rear, where you place your order. I ordered the $10 lunch special, which included a cheeseburger, fries and a beverage.
Chef Silvia Baldini, Founder of New Canaan, CT based culinary group Strawberry and Sage, will compete again on Chopped Champion, the Food Network’s hit series. On April 19st at 10 pm, Baldini will be one of the 16 returning champions chosen to battle it out for a chance to earn the Chopped Champion title and $50,000 in prize money. Four preliminary rounds will determine who gets a spot in the finale. But only one chef from among the four finalists will be named the winner.
We recently gave you a sneak peek at Savor: A Celebration of Wine, Food, & Spirits, that will unfold in Hartford from April 7-9. The event’s Grand Tasting will give guests the chance to try hundreds of wine, spirits, and beers, indulge in dishes from area restaurants, and watch celebrity chef demonstrations.
Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine will headline the event while proceeds go toward the Robert Irvine foundation. A few weeks ago, he spoke with CTBites and told us about the foundation, upcoming Food Network shows, his varied food projects, and what to expect this year.
Savor just announced another addition to its celebrity chef line-up: Chef Zac Young. Fun, gregarious, and whimsical, Young currently works as the Executive Pastry Chef for the David Burke Restaurants. I became a fan of his when I watched him compete on Top Chef: Just Desserts. This past holiday season, his Thanksgiving “PieCaken” became a bona fide sensation.
You eat at their restaurants, you love their food, but what do you know about the chefs who work to bring you culinary pleasure? Here are 10 Questions with The Whelk's Chef Anthony Kostelis. Find out what inspires him, his favorite chef, most memorable meal and more...Get to know your chef.
What made you decide to be a chef?
I had always been involved in restaurants in some form. My father had his own food distribution company. My first jobs were working a few shifts in the kitchens at one of his customer's restaurants. I moved on to the front of house when I was 18 or so. That landed me at Scoozzi in New Haven for a few years. It was there, that I decided to pursue cooking. I remember looking at my class schedule when I was enrolled at Southern Connecticut State University; I was totally uninspired by my class list. I just happened to have dinner later that day at my favorite restaurant at the time when I realized that food is what I am passionate about.
MECHA in Sono is launching their Late Night Menu served Thu 10pm-12pm, Fri and Sat 10pm-1am.
The Late Night Menu will feature special snacks and Ramen as well as cocktails you can only get after hours. To celebrate, they will be introducing the menu and hosting a PARTY Thursday, February 11th at 10PM. Enjoy some special treats from the kitchen (even some complimentary chicken sandwiches) and some amazing cocktails from their late night market menu.
A few highlights from the Late Night Menu include: THIT BO KHO beef brisket jerky, SHOYU BREAKFAST RAMEN w/brown butter, bacon, egg, and cheese; WONTON MI RAMEN w/ fried shallots, sesame, greens, pork & shrimp wontons $10.
Michael Hazen has been named Executive Chef at the highly anticipated new restaurant,Pearl at Longshore in Westport, Connecticut. Hazen, an innovative chef with over 20 years experience, most recently launched the concept for the successful Bartaco restaurants and prior to that spent years building the Barcelonarestaurant brand. Chef Hazen has designed a menu influenced by fresh seasonal and sustainable cuisine, while honoring the stunning Westport waterfront and the community’s focus on a healthy lifestyle. “The menu at Pearl is centered around the food people love to eat, but also has that element of surprise, something a guest didn’t know they wanted but are glad they had it,” said Hazen. “I wanted to create a restaurant that was simple and delicious, yet adds excitement to Westport’s restaurant scene.”
Chef, author, and food activist Alice Waters will visit Yale University on February 2, 2016 at 4 p.m. to give a talk at the Yale Art Gallery titled "Slow Food Values in a Fast Food Culture." The talk is free and open to the public.
Waters is the owner of the ingredient-driven Chez Panisse restaurant that opened in 1971 in Berkeley, a founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project and a recipience of the National Humanities Medal in 2015.
For more information about the event, visit Yale News.
Washington Street, the epicenter of South Norwalk and a resurging dining scene, welcomes another new dining experience worth exploring. Cask Republic is a modern take on the communal tavern, now open at 99 Washington Street, formerly occupied by The Gingerman. The new restaurant delivers on its tavern promises with chef-driven comfort food and drink – American at its culinary core with an abundance of global influences.
Let's be real people. When the cold weather rolls in, it's time to dig into some serious comfort food. For us, this generally means braised meat and carbs, preferably pasta. Chef Renato Donzelli of Basso Cafe in Norwalk makes beautiful housemade pasta for his guests, and now you can make it in your own house. Enjoy his recipe for Stuffed Ricotta and Spinach Agnolotti.
When I hear “sports bar,” I think lots of big screen TVs, beers, burgers, wings, nachos, anything to go with my Jets or Giants jersey. The Blind Rhino, recently opened in South Norwalk on Main Street just north of Washington, is undoubtedly a sports bar, with 27 big screen TVs, shuffleboard, darts, and jerseys adorning the walls. At the same time, it has elevated the cuisine with impressive menu items, an array of craft beers and a variety of whiskeys. Many sports bar staples are still on the menu, but with a twist!
Owner /Chef Jamie Pantanella oversees the cuisine. He has worked in restaurants and catering all over New England for the past 22 years. His most recent restaurant experience includes The Brewhouse and Gingerman SoNo. At The Blind Rhino, Pantanella hones his years of experience to offer his “highlight reel.”
The menu is not large, but each item is thoughtful and flavorful. “While having sections like wings, appetizers, soups, and sandwiches seem to be par for the course, having items like Togareshi Dry Rub Wings, Cider Braised Pork Belly Sliders, and a Sliced Ribeye Cheese Steak is exactly how we want to take the dining experience to the next level,” says manager Casey Dohme.
Meet Minh Tsai, the investment banker turned tofu master, and learn about his company Hodo Soy, an artisanal tofu supplier from Oakland. Minh has been a pioneer in getting chefs and large institutions to use tofu including Chipotle (heard of sofritas?) and Costco. This talk is sure to entertain and inspire and provide an enlightening discussion on how traditional recipes (along with Masters students) can be used to change our future impact on the earth.
Many CT diners were shocked when Bill Taibe announced that LeFarm in Westport was closing its doors after six years. LeFarm was without a doubt one of the most highly celebrated restaurants in Connecticut, a place where local chefs gathered on their nights off and regulars booked a table weekly. So, why did it close? We sat down with Chef Bill Taibe (owner ofKawa Niand The Whelk) to find out why...
LeFarm was a very successful restaurant right up until the day you closed the doors. Why did you decide to sell LeFarm?It was the right time. We had met our goals at LeFarm. It is now time to set our sites on a more focused plan. We want to offer more services. Create new experiences. Push ourselves a bit harder.
Harlan Publick opened last year in the SoNo Ironworks and immediately became a destination for great food, a vast line-up of beers and an outdoor terrace like none other in Fairfield County. The relaxed interior features a large bar, a dining area with both dining tables and high tops and a room for a private event that features several personalized beer taps, and represents the second for Managing Partner Steve Lewandowski, who is also the Managing Partner at Stamford’s Harlan Social, which has won accolades as one of the best restaurants in CT.
Executive Chef Kamal Rose recently joined Harlan Publick, and his road to this position was less than traditional. Raised on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, he developed his passion for cooking from his grandmother. He moved to New York at the age of 15 and subsequently received an internship at TriBeca Grill. In 2009 he won a $20,000 scholarship in a national cooking competition and earned his diploma from the Institute of Culinary Education. He returned to TriBeca Grill under the tutelage of Drew Nieporent and Steve Lewandowski and last year, Lewandowski asked Rose to join him at Harlan Publick where his newly introduced cuisine exemplifies his Caribbean roots tempered by classical training.
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.
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
Oh so many fish in da sea! And that’s only the beginning....what kind of fish do you want to prepare? Do you know how to prepare it? Oh, yeah, and where should you go to get this fish, short of heading out into open waters yourself? And wait, and here’s the $100,000 question: is the fish you are buying everything it says it is? Good grief. It’s almost easier dating and looking for *those* fish in the sea. Well, fear not, CTBites sat down recently with one of the Big Fish out there, Jim Thistle of Fjord Fish Market, and he helped guide us through seemingly murky waters...
