Filtering by Tag: Byram,Chef

CTbites' Chef Demo Tent @ The 9th Annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival

Restaurant Chef Events

ellen bowen

The 9th annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival will be held in Westport CT on September 3 & 4 at the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts and the grounds of the Westport Library.  

CTbites will once again play host to the area's top chefs as they grill up some of their favorite dishes and offer up samples for attendees of the festival.  

CTbites Chef Line-up for 2016 includes:

Saturday 9/3 12-4 pm 

12:00- Rothbard's- Chef Jon Vaast

1:00- Match/Nom Eez- Chef Match Storch

2:00-  Da Pietro's- Chef Pietro Scotti

3:00- The Spread / El Segundo- Chef Carlos Baez

4:00- Pearl at Longshore- Chef Michael Hazen


Foraging with Chef Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi in New Haven

Restaurant Chef Chef Talk Seafood New Haven Sushi

ellen bowen

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”. 


Burger Report: Chef Geoff Lazlo's Burger at Mill Street Bar + Table

Restaurant Byram Greenwich Comfort Food Burgers

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

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.


CT Chef & Chopped Champion Silvia Baldini Competes Again On Food Network’s ‘Chopped Champion

Celebrity Chef Chef Chef Talk

CTbites Team

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.


Interview w/ Chef Zac Young, Executive Pastry Chef @ David Burke Restaurants

Interview Celebrity Chef Chef Chef Talk

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

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.


10 Questions w/ The Whelk's Chef Anthony Kostelis

Interview Chef Chef Talk

CTbites Team

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.  


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.  


Land, Farm, and Sea: A First Impression of Mill Street Bar & Table Now Open in Greenwich

Restaurant American Byram Greenwich Seafood

CTbites Team

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.


Meet The Whelk's New Chef de Cuisine, Anthony Kostelis

Interview Restaurant Chef Chef Talk Westport

Stephanie Webster

How does it feel to be hired as the new Chef de Cuisine for one of Fairfield County’s most successful restaurants?  Chef Anthony Kostelis, of The Whelk in Westport, would say it is like a dream come true. In fact, ever since Kostelis started working with Bill Taibe in 2010, he knew he didn't want to be anywhere else. 

Kostelis’ love of food began at the ripe age of 15 when he started work in a Manchester pizza restaurant. Half Greek, half Italian, and the son of a food purveyor for high end ingredients, Anthony seemed fated to head down a culinary path. By age 20, he was working in New Haven as a server and bartender at Ibiza, when he decided to leave college and pursue his real passion, cooking. Working his way through the CIA, he was mentored by Executive Chef Jeff Caputo of Scoozzi, also in New Haven, who took him under his wing and “set me up for success,” says Anthony. 


2014 Guest Chef Lineup @ The Westport Farmers' Market

Ingredients Chef Farmers Market Local Farm

Stephanie Webster

Already love the Westport Farmers' Market? Here's another reason to feel good about shopping local. Market Director, Lori Cochran has announced an outstanding "Guest Chef" Lineup for 2014. Mark your calendars people as the guest chefs will conduct classes and demos from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m. every Thursday. I don't know about you, but some of my favorite chefs in Fairfield County are on this list. Don't miss your chance to meet and greet the people who make your mouth water. 

The Westport Farmers Market will be held every Thursday from 10-2 at the Imperial Avenue Parking Lot.

Read on for the complete Guest Chef Program Schedule:


2014 Westport Farmers' Market Opening Day is Thursday May 22nd

Restaurant CT Farms Chef Farmers Market

CTbites Team

The Westport Farmers’ Market kicks off its ninth summer season on Thursday, May 22 and continues Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m through November 6 at 50 Imperial Avenue. They will kick-off the season with a green juice toast, by The Stand @12:00. Come early and enjoy the tasty treats Chef Cecily Ganz and the Staples High School Culinary team will be demonstrating from 10:15 - 11:00. 

WFM will offer locally produced products from over 40 vendors including meats, dairy, breads, seafood and produce each week, as well as host cooking and educational demonstrations from chefs and artisans.


CHAR Opens in Byram, Greenwich: A Menu Built to Please

Restaurant Byram Greenwich Lunch

ellen bowen

Westchesterites and Nutmeggers...CHAR in Byram is open! 

In the crazy scene that was this year’s Culinary Village at The Greenwich Wine+Food Festival there were a few major culinary stand outs…and one was a Grilled Octopus with Garlic Confit prepared by CHAR. From that single bite I knew that a visit to this Greenwich newcomer was required.

Situated along the river in Byram on the NY border, CHAR is owned by experienced GM, Jimmy Rucova, and his two brothers who also run Dolphin and Cafe Hudson, both in Yonkers. CHAR has a warm, but "cool" interior, with multiple dining spaces all outfitted with beautiful reclaimed wood. The wall coverings are former floor joists from old buildings in Brooklyn and the flooring is water-logged white oak from Alabama. A stone fireplace provides the focal point in the main dining room and antique brass fixtures dot the faux-tin ceiling to provide a casually hip environment. 

But the food is the real news at CHAR.


Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar: Hip Mexican Hangout

Restaurant Byram Cocktails Greenwich Mexican Lunch

Amy Kundrat

Lolita Cocina is not just a restaurant, it's a scene. From the endless rows of tequila lining the bar to its hopelessly sexy digs, it's hard not to feel as if you've stumbled upon a modern Mexican speakeasy complete with a mouth-watering menu. One doesn't dine at Lolita as much as escape and feel as if they've discovered a slightly hipper version of oneself. 

Located on Mill Street in Byram, Lolita Cocina's personality reflects its zip code, an up-and-coming neighborhood sandwiched between Port Chester, known for an abundance of south of the border restaurants, and the posh town of Greenwich located literally at the southern tip of Fairfield County. 

The hipster Mexican vibe begins as soon as you cross the threshold into a roughly elegant space punctuated with striking red glass Murano chandeliers and swaths of brick and black leather banquettes.  Dim lighting, fun music and the din of the near-nightly crowds that flock to Lolita fill the space to complete its inimitable scene. But don't let the carefully cultivated cool throw you, this place can throw down some serious food. 


BFF with BSF (Burgers, Shakes, & Fries) in Greenwich

Restaurant Byram Greenwich Comfort Food Lunch Kid Friendly

kerry barlas

Just off I-95 in one of Greenwich’s grittier, but up-and-coming ‘hoods," Burgers, Shakes & Fries (BSF) is just so cool.  It’s fast, funky, fresh and affordable dining done right, with a focus on – you guessed it – the all-American meal.  

Having taken the lighter route on my last few visits there, eating only a grilled chicken sandwich (a delicious option for non-burger lovers), on my most recent trip, I went to town.  From the simple and straightforward menu, I ordered a single, 1/3 lb. burger with American cheese, tomatoes, pickles and raw onions with a side of “special sauce,” fries and a chocolate shake.  Instead of the typical bun, burgers come on butter-griddled bread and unless specified, are cooked medium rare, to perfection.  First bite of that burger and I knew I’d found a superstar…tasty, moist and worth every calorie.