About six years ago, I began teaching cooking classes out of my home in Westport. Long after culinary school, a couple of years catering at Abigail Kirsch and many years catering on my own, the classes became a perfect way for me to share my love of food and cooking. Initially it was mostly friends and acquaintances but word quickly spread and before I knew it I was booking 2-3 classes a week from people all over the tri-state area. Here is a behind the scenes look at Chop Shop Cooking.
A cooking class usually starts with an email: “I’m interested in a cooking class in December… “
Sometimes they have already done some homework and looked at my demonstration class schedule and it’s very straightforward: “I have 2 people and want to sign up for the Holiday Bites class on Thursday the 8th.” Easy! Great! Done!
But more often, people like to create their own, tailored experience.
As more and more souls climb aboard the health(ier) train, the opportunities to eat well while eating out are becoming more frequent and less far between. Thankfully, the days of eating out with kids only to have them relegated to greasy, questionable servings of chicken nuggets, trans-fat laden fries, and white bread-grilled cheese or wondering how to stomach another blah serving of pasta primavera if you are vegetarian are fast departing. Enter, The Granola Bar, aka TGB.
Having established a loyal and vibrant following in Westport over the past 3 years, the duo of Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily decided to branch out to Greenwich just four short months ago. Judging from the speed at which the dining area filled up on the day I visited, the enthusiasm is running at full-speed boogie. From making their own granola a few years ago to now running two thriving restaurants, its been a wild ride but not so wild that they have forgotten where the brakes are located; TGB only serves breakfast and lunch, along with copious amounts of snacks. No dinner. That is precisely so that these two women can make it home to their own families for dinner. Hello, balance. It’s nice to see you again.
With its new, 3 course prix fixe lunch, The National offers a commodity not always found along “The Ave” in Greenwich: a real bargain.
CTBites was recently invited to sample the new lunch menu, and we’ll fill you in on that delicious deal in a moment. But first, we wondered how the restaurant has evolved since it opened a year ago. So we asked owner and celebrity chef, Geoffrey Zakarian.
"We are never on auto pilot," the restaurateur told us. "And we always listen to the needs and wants of the customers. One change that people are loving is that we put French Fries on the menu. We started with homemade chips, but the fries are a huge hit. Sometimes, it is just those small things that people embrace."
Many of us felt a sense of loss when Le Farm closed and Chef Arik Bensimon decided to pursue his other passion and create beautiful wood bowls. His brilliance in the kitchen, combining ingredients and textures as only great chefs can do, would be missed. Quietly and with no fanfare, Chef Arik has re-entered the Fairfield County food scene, at a small café in The Perfect Provenance in Greenwich, where his latest venture again proves his culinary talents in an environment dedicated to luxury and charity. When we spoke to him after the meal we asked him about this intimate space versus some of the larger restaurants he has worked in. He stated that he wanted this size, a place to serve the foods from his past.
The Perfect Provenance is the brainchild of Greenwich resident Lisa Lori, whose personal mission is to ensure every child can smile. All three of her sons were born with a rare condition, one of the prevented them from smiling. Numerous surgeries eventually corrected each and now Lori’s Three Little Bears project donates a percentage of the proceeds from T-shirts and bags to Operation Smile. These products are featured throughout the Perfect Provenance and have raised over $1 million to Operation Smile. The store is a perfect place for luxurious products and cuisine.
With cooler weather around the corner and Rosh Hashanah just past, it’s time to reach for your honey pot. If your summer was full of honey-themed cocktails and BBQ’s, it’s quite possibly still on the kitchen counter but if you enjoy honey “only in my tea when I’m not feeling well” it might be in the darkest corner of your cupboard most likely crystallized. No, it is not spoiled and you don’t have to throw it out. Right now, honey is having a moment as the next artisanal food superstar. Partly because bees are disappearing – you’ve heard about colony collapse sparking a beekeeping craze and partly because honey is believed by many to relieve symptoms of colds and seasonally allergies.
Honey is the only food made by an insect that humans consume and although it was found in the tombs of the Pharaohs, honey can last forever if stored properly – in a cool, dry place, yet it will loose its delicate flavors and health benefits over time. Most people think that honey is honey is honey but it’s not. I’m going to help demystify the flavorful world of honey so that you can be an informed honey connoisseur and navigate your way around the delicious and diverse world of natures oldest and only raw sweetener.
Chef Ian Vest of Greenwich's Back 40 Kitchenbegan his career as a busboy at thirteen years old. Since his teens, he has worked in top kitchens including Daniel Boulud's Manhattan hotspot, DBGB, where he served as Executive Chef. Ian's culinary ethos always begins by considering source—a fitting parallel for the refined farmhouse feel of Back 40 Kitchen in Greenwich, which gets much of its produce from its own farm in Washington, Connecticut.
Get to know Connecticut's newest culinary transplant, his recent late night cravings, his chef mentor, and why making it rain truffles is not always a good thing.
This email, which I received from Joe Gurrera, the owner of Citarella, required setting the alarm for 3:30am, grabbing two cups of coffee and driving the hour to the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx. Visiting the new Fulton Fish Market was something I have always wanted to do, mingle with the best purveyors of the freshest and best selection of fish, just hours before it arrives at stores and restaurants in preparation for the day’s fare.
The history of Citarella dates to 1912, when a small fish shop opened in Manhattan. Over seventy years later, in 1983, Joe Gurrera purchased the shop and Citarella was born. Joe’s passion for fish started when he was a small boy venturing, in the dead of the night, to the original Fulton Fish Market. It was during these nightly excursions that he educated himself on the various fish and, more importantly, how to choose the best of the best.
On Thursday June 2, 2016, Mill Street Bar & Table and the Back 40 Farm Group, will launch a luncheon series entitled “Mill Street Speakers” with monthly guests speaking at the Greenwich farm-to-table restaurant. Our first speaker, Jeff Cordulack, Executive Director of CTNOFA (Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association), will address the issue of carbon and its effects on our food system.
Geoff Lazlo, Executive Chef and Managing Partner of Mill Street Bar & Table, wants his guests to know where their food really comes from and how it was grown. “I am dedicated to sourcing locally and I change my menu almost daily – we walk the walk here,” he told the New York Times recently. Geoff wants people to dig deeper to understand not only the importance of their food sources, but the equally important growing practices on the farms where these foods are from. “Good, sustainable farming practices dramatically affect the taste, nutritional value as well as the sustainability of the foods people eat,” says Geoff , “ so we are thrilled to have CTNOFA’s Jeff Cordulack come dine and talk with our guests about this important topic with a focus on carbon.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
The Garden of Ideas, the outdoor community center and garden sanctuary in Ridgefield, is hosting a series ofmonthly cooking demonstrations and workshops from May through November with Chef Susie Buckley.
Each class will focus on how to make the most of the seasonal produce, using the bounty of their CSA as a way to highlight the intersection of food, nature, art and science within each workshop. Classes welcome all ages (kids from 8 years and up, and adults) and will feature fresh farm produce, focusing on basic cooking techniques, "nibbles, tastes, and recipes, included." View the complete class schedule below:
We all know Westport’s funky back alley BBQ stop, Bobby Q’s, as a casual place for authentic Kansas City BBQ ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and burnt ends. But did you know that a little over 2 years ago, owner Bob LeRose along with his cousin and Pitmaster/Chef, Joey Boucher, felt the burning desire to open a “grab and go” outpost in Old Greenwich on Putnam Ave (aka Route 1/Boston Post Road) called Bobby Q’s Pit Stop?
It was 14 degrees when I pulled into the narrow storefront parking lot, and the unmistakable smell of BBQ hit me the minute I walked through the door. The open kitchen, high top tables and counter felt welcoming and comfortable. Sort of like a diner in the south.
But Pit Stop is really not about BBQ, although one whole page on the menu features Bobby Q’s signature BBQ rib and meat combos, baby back ribs, and BBQ Plates and BBQ sandwiches.
About six years ago, I began teaching cooking classes out of my home in Westport. Long after culinary school, a couple of years catering at Abigail Kirsch and many years catering on my own, the classes became a perfect way for me to share my love of food and cooking. Initially it was mostly friends and acquaintances but word quickly spread and before I knew it I was booking 2-3 classes a week from people all over the tri-state area. Here is a behind the scenes look at Chop Shop Cooking.
