Filtering by Tag: Entertaining,Farm to Table

25 CT Restaurants & Venues for Holiday Parties

Restaurant Catering Entertaining Holiday

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Halloween has come and gone and November is officially here!  As you admire your bounties of candy, indulge in all things pumpkin, and embrace fall’s chilly temperatures, don’t forget to consider your holiday parties!  Connecticut has a number of restaurants and venues that are sure to make your special occasions memorable.  From private dining rooms to ballrooms to event planning teams, these 25 places will help you get your party on!

  1. South End, New Canaan: South End in New Canaan has a private dining room that can seat up to 20 guests.
  2. La Zingara, Bethel: La Zingara and its upstairs ECCO Rooftop both accommodate private parties. They have done everything from pig roasts to wine dinners.
  3. Union League Cafe, New Haven: Union League Cafe in New Haven has a number of event spaces. Whether its corporate of personal, their team is ready to assist you.
  4. The Loading Dock, Stamford: Industrial meets chic at The Loading Dock in Stamford. With a number of spaces, it's a great place to plan your next event.

Brick + Wood’s Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza Oven

Restaurant Recipe Catering Entertaining Fairfield Pizza

CTbites Team

There's a new pizza "truck" in town, one with built-in street creds. Brick + Wood Pizza in Fairfield has set its pizza making in motion with a mobile wood-fired pizza oven, custom designed by acclaimed fourth generation pizza artisans, Acunto Forni, and imported from Naples, Italy.
 
The mobile Acunto pizza oven mirrors the wood-burning one in-house, ensuring the same tasty pizza is available no matter where it is prepared. The oven reaches over 1,000 degrees in temperature in a short period of time with an overhead flame cooking the pizzas in 90 seconds or less. The surface is made of volcanic brick, which is more porous and prevents the crust from burning.

Veg-Centric Dinner Series at ROÌA in New Haven: Heirloom Tomatoes

Restaurant Farm to Table Vegetarian New Haven

Hope Simmons

Up the steps off the city streets of New Haven, you may feel transported to another time and place. A space that somehow manages to feel elegant, yet contemporary and welcoming at the same time. This could only be ROÌA, where its elaborate high ceilings and attention to a bygone era’s architectural detail make a striking first impression. But they only set the stage for you to be further impressed with the sights and flavors about to arrive at the table.

CTbites first visited ROÌA for its grand opening back in 2013—grand being a most fitting descriptor. We were thrilled to return and experience a dinner featuring summer’s bounty of the local heirloom tomato, in one interesting configuration after another. And just one in the “veg-centric dinner series” Chef Avi Szapiro has offered since last year, when they first showcased asparagus, followed by summer squash, then tomato.


Double L Market: Westport's First Farm Stand Turns 30

Ingredients Farm to Table Local Farm Specialty Market Westport

Jessica Ryan

Lloyd Allen’s Double L Market in Westport is celebrating its 20th year. The market, now in its third location near Hillspoint Road, is the “original” farmstand. Described as “eclectic” it has weathered every storm and outlasted the competition thanks to a very dedicated group of followers. “When you’ve done this for as long as I have you get to know a lot of people and what they want. We want to be able to offer the best!” Allen told me.

“We were a farmstand and farmers market long before anyone else - before it became a thing. We were wild, and on the side of the road, in the open air and having lots of fun doing it.” Although Allen and his staff are no longer on the side of the road, and are now in an enclosed air-conditioned corner store, a little bit of that wildness still remains. “We are still having a great time,” he added. “You meet people who are passionate on both sides of the market - the growers are passionate about producing the best and our consumers are passionate to find and eat the best.”


INDIA, Farm-to-Table Indian Cuisine, Opens in New Canaan: A First Look

Restaurant Farm to Table Local Farm New Canaan Indian

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Bold…intense…complex…flavors, these are the words that best describe the menu that Master Chef Prasad Chirnomula is serving at his latest restaurant, INDIA, in New Canaan. Chef Prasad is no stranger to New Canaan, or Connecticut. As the owner/chef of the highly successfully Thali restaurants, he announced several months ago that he was closing his flagship restaurant in New Canaan, desirous of opening a smaller, more intimate, restaurant in town. The interior of INDIA does just that, with a relaxed, sensual feel accentuated with flowing silk curtains engulfing many of the tables.

Chef Prasad invited CTbites to enjoy traditional cuisine from various regions of India, as well as sample many of his creative and inventive renditions from across southeast Asia and Africa. During the visit, this gregarious Master Chef joined us to explain the history, the composition, his vision for the dish as well as the numerous ingredients that were required to meet his high standards. His exuberance was evident in every description, and it translated into each of his creations. After close to twenty different dishes, my appreciation for his talent and the Indian heritage was significantly elevated, this was a culinary adventure. I was also pleasantly surprised when he told us that most are gluten-free, Indian recipes do not thicken sauces with gluten.


Dinner & Craft Cocktails At Sugar & Olives in Norwalk: New Spring Menu

Restaurant Brunch Cocktails Farm to Table Norwalk Organic Lunch Dessert

Jessica Ryan

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. 

Top 20 Food Trucks in Fairfield County CT : 2016 Edition

Restaurant Recipe Catering Entertaining Food Truck

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Fairfield County residents know that the area rocks… and it also “rolls”!  Fairfield County hosts a number of outstanding food trucks that serve an array of cuisines.  Meatballs, crepes, tacos, potatoes, Carribean… It’s all available right on the city streets or even in your backyard!  

Here are 20 delicious food trucks you can visit or hire for your next event. 

Hapa: Based in Stamford, Hapa serves three types of tacos: Korean short rib, Philippine chicken adobo and Nonny’s sweet peppers, burgers, both beef and Ahi, plus bowls of poke and chicken adobo.

The Poutine King: The Poutine King prides itself on being "the first food truck in the north east United States" to offer Poutine, a Canadian dish. Those wanting a classic version can order the traditional poutine. More adventurous eaters can enjoy the Sweet Potato Poutine or the Poutine Burger.

Skinny Pines: The Skinny Pines pizza truck sells wood fired pizzas. It makes use of local ingredients by sourcing its toppings from area farms. The menu changes with the season, but past pizzas have been topped with fresh sun gold tomatoes, zucchini, scapes, garlic, and eggplant, to name a few.

Taco Loco Party Truck: Taco Loco is recognized as the first Mexican food truck in CT! The restaurant is based in Bridgeport.


Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant Opens in Westport

Restaurant American Farm to Table Westport

Jessica Ryan

When one restaurant door closes a new one opens. The institution that was Mario's closed last year, but this week I had the privilege of attending an intimate event celebrating the opening of Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant, at their newest location on Railroad Avenue in Westport. This farm to fork eatery joins the popular Greenwich and New Haven locations as well as Cava, Scena and 55, and is the result of the collaborative endeavor of the Kluber, Nube and Vincente Siguenza sibling team, who have over the past 10 years combined their passion for wine, food and customer service to create some of the area’s finest dining establishments.

Dinners at the Farm Announces 2016 Season Tickets On Sale

Restaurant Farm Dinner Farm to Table Local Farm

CTbites Team

Tickets have gone on sale for the Dinners At The Farm 2016 season!

At Dinners At The Farm, each evening begins at 6:00pm, dinner served at 7:00pm. Tickets are per person and are $125 (Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays), $150 (Fridays and Saturdays). Upon arrival, guests are greeted with an orchard fruit cocktail and passed hors d’oeuvre and then proceed onto a lively tour of the farm with our warm and engaging farm hosts. Following the tour, guests are seated beneath a tent at long candle-lit tables with white porcelain settings where they will savor course after course of freshly cooked food with ingredients just picked from the fields outside the tent. Guests will break bread and raise a glass with the farmers, fishermen, and others who make up Connecticut’s vibrant agricultural community.

Our 2016 season marks 10 years of hosting our celebrated open-air dinners in the fields of Connecticut farms for delightful and delicious evenings of locally grown food, wine, and conviviality. Dates and additional information here.  


Brian Lewis' The Cottage Opens in Westport - A First Delicious Look

Restaurant American Farm to Table Westport

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Chef Brian Lewis, one of Connecticut’s most influential chefs and celebrated for being on the cutting edge of the state’s dining scene, opened his new restaurant, The Cottage, this past weekend. It is Chef Lewis’ second Fairfield County restaurant, redesigning the space that formerly housed Le Farm into a charming 44-seat establishment in the heart of town. Known for his thoughtful and innovative dishes that garnered him accolades from The New York Times, Esquire and Connecticut Magazine, The Cottage features his highly revered seasonal American cuisine in a warm and relaxing environment.

The Cottage reflects Chef Lewis’ vision and represents his desire to produce a premier neighborhood destination serving the finest, locally sourced cuisine. The menu will be updated weekly paying homage to local farmers and artisans in the region that share Lewis’s commitment to exceptionally sourced and quality seasonal ingredients. “My wife, Dana, and I have fallen in love with Westport over the years, spending so much of our free time here with our boys, Jude and Jax. The food scene here, the community of chefs, and farmer’s market have always been a big part of my day to day life.”


14 Places For Great Holiday Pies in CT

Features Bakery Entertaining Holiday Dessert

April Guilbault

Holiday season is heeeere, with its feasts and parties, and let’s be honest, you can’t really have too much pie, now can you? Note: with the brief exception of a kooky aunt who, after a post-Thanksgiving bout on the tread mill, did wearily proclaim “Too....Much....Pie!” but that’s another story for another time. So where to go for the best pies with the flakiest crusts, sweetest streusel toppings and the most flavorful fillings? We’ll be happy to tell you. Get those dessert plates ready and, um...you might want to loosen that belt.

Here are 14 places to buy great holiday pies in CT.


New Chef @ elm Restaurant in New Canaan: Enter Chef Luke Venner

Restaurant American Farm to Table New Canaan Lunch

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Chef Luke Venner has been at the helm of elm Restaurant for several months and was invited to participate at the Greenwich Wine and Food Festival as one of the Innovative Chefs. The two small bites that he prepared at the festival were delicious. In hopes that these were reflective of his newly revised menu, CTbites returned to the restaurant to sample other dishes on his recently introduced Autumn menu. The appetizers and entrées that we enjoyed highlighted the inherent flavors of the ingredients utilizing Chef Luke’s balanced vision and delicate touch.

We shared three dishes from the “smaller” section of the menu. 


Holiday Catering Guide: 14 Fairfield County Caterers Who Do It All

Features Catering Entertaining Holiday Best of CT

April Guilbault

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!


Mill Street Bar & Table Opens in Greenwich: Celebrating The American Bounty

Restaurant Byram Farm to Table Greenwich Local Farm

Lou Gorfain

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 at Arethusa 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.  


Harvest Dinner on the Farm at The Hickories w/ Chef Tim LaBant, September 13th

Restaurant CT Farms Farm Dinner Farm to Table

CTbites Team

With August in full swing, farmers across Connecticut are preparing for one of the most important times of year; harvest season. On September 13th, 2015 Connecticut Farmland Trust will be celebrating the bounty of the harvest at The Hickories farm in Ridgefield, Connecticut.  

Please join other local food enthusiasts from 3:00 to 7:00 PM for a locally grown dinner prepared by Chef Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse at Cannondale. Chef LaBant will be preparing hors d’oeuvres, a family style dinner, and dessert from farms across the state featuring produce from The Hickories farm and Sport Hill Farm, meat from Stuart Family Farm, ice cream from the Farmer’s Cow, and cheese from Beltane Farm and Cato Corner Farm.  (Ticket info here)

Wine and local beer will also be served at the event, however, attendees are also encouraged to bring their favorite beverages. Bluegrass music will be provided by Dick Neal and Friends. 


Bailey's Backyard in Ridgefield: 2 CTbites Writers Explore Their New Summer Menu

Restaurant Farm to Table Ridgefield

CTbites Team

When Sal and Forrest invite you to a summer tasting menu, you say yes first and ask questions later. That would be Sal Bagliavio, owner of Bailey’s Backyard in Ridgefield, and Forrest Pasternack, the restaurant’s executive chef. The two have been the creative force behind the restaurant’s New American menu since its reinvention just two years ago.

The story of Bailey’s actually goes back to 1999 when Sal, a chef himself, renovated the then coffee shop into a beloved Ridgefield restaurant that he ran for over a decade. Eager for a new chapter but happy to remain in Ridgefield, he reimagined it as a New American restaurant driven by seasonal ingredients and local purveyors in 2013. Over the past two years, Bailey’s has solidified its place in the Fairfield County dining scene thanks to the adventurous culinary spirit of Chef Pasternack and the dedication of Bagliavio.


Back 40 Kitchen: Modern Farmhouse with Organic Mission to Open in Greenwich this July

Restaurant Farm to Table Greenwich

CTbites Team

The Back 40 Farm Group will open Back 40 Kitchen this July on Greenwich Avenue, a modern 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.


Marcell Davidsen Succeeds Joel Viehland as Executive Chef of Community Table in Washington, CT

Restaurant Farm to Table Washington

Amy Kundrat

Photo c/o Community Table

Marcell Davidsen will succeed Joel Viehland as Executive Chef of Community Table in Washington, CT beginning May 15. The restaurant shared the news of Davidsen's appointment in an announcement released this evening. A native of Denmark whose style is infused with Nordic infuences and exquisite plating, Davidsen was the restaurant's fomer sous chef under Viehland. Community Table's mission – celebrating modern cuisine informed by local farms and purveyors – will remain the overarching framework under Chef's Davidsen's leadership:

From Community Table:

Marcell Davidsen succeeds Joel Viehland as Executive Chef of Community Table After five remarkable years, and much national recognition including a nomination for best new restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation and best chef nominations by Food and Wine Magazine and James Beard, Joel Viehland passes the reins to his former Sous Chef Marcell Davidsen.


Baldanza in New Canaan: Organic and Flavorful

Restaurant American Farm to Table Local Farm Organic New Canaan Lunch

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Tucked in the rear of a charming passageway on Elm Street in New Canaan is Baldanza Natural Market Cafe. With a large and diverse organic menu, and a blackboard filled with the names of local purveyors, this small restaurant is fast becoming a local favorite. Owners Sandy and Angela Baldanza opened the café last year serving lunches and an occasional ‘pop up dinner’. Baldanza recently expanded the hours to include regular dinner service and partnered with Chef Kender Urena, who many will remember as the Chef /Owner of Bistro Bonne Nuit. Urena was awarded a Grand Diploma in Culinary Art with outstanding honors from the French Culinary Institute in NYC and was one of Bon Appétit Magazine Top 100 Chefs in America in 2007.