CTbites has some exciting breaking food news regarding the ever expanding Greenwich restaurant scene. The Spread in Sono has just told CTbites that they have signed the lease for the old Barcelona spot in Greenwich CT at 18 W Putnam Ave. They hope to be open in fall of 2017.
The Spread has been awarded many accolades for Chef Carlos Baez' inventive American menu with strong global influences. The Greenwich food lineup will look and feel much like that of The Spread in South Norwalk, and will adhere toThe Spread’s philosophy of offering high quality, locally sourced ingredients. Expect to see classics such as Seared Foie Gras, Hamachi Crudo, Braised Octopus, Veal & Ricotta Meatballs and Beef Tongue Bruschetta alongside seasonally inspired specials.
There are those who say pigs don’t fly…. They’ve never had Killer B’s Bacon Flight where thick cut strips of bacon arrive attached to a clothing wire, juices dripping, only to come flying immediately off. I really intended to have just one bite…
Killer B recently opened in South Norwalk, and stands for Beer, Bourbon, Bacon and Burgers – and with that I will tell you that this bacon, offered in such flavors as bourbon, butterscotch, fire, honey and orange, was indeed “killer.” Take a bite and you soon realize this ain’t no grocery store bacon.
"When I was first looking for a location, I didn't even want a place with a kitchen." It's not what you expect to hear from the owner of a bar which has become more famous for food than its drinks. When Bronx-native Jay Carlucci bought the Dew Drop Inn in 2006, "I just wanted a neighborhood bar, I wasn't even looking north of White Plains." One major reinvention and many smaller renovations later, the Dew Drop is a linchpin of both the restaurant and social scenes in Derby, and a regular top three finisher in every list of the best wing spots in Connecticut.
"It was rough then, but it was definitely a local hangout, a neighborhood bar." His vision was to take the concept and make it better. Within the first few months every light beer was taken off the menu, and Carlucci heard about it: 'You're crazy, you didn't make money in the valley selling new beers.'
What is “electric Italian?” It is defined by well executed small plates, wood fired pizzas, and perfectly rendered cocktails, all to be found at Olives and Oil in New Haven. The menu is overseen and curated daily by Executive Chef and recent ’40 under 40’ winner John Brennan, who cooks traditional Italian cuisine in a funky retro location. Superb visuals, food, and of course cocktails await you. Olives and Oil was gracious enough to invite me in to sample a few of their cocktails recently.
We enjoyed a perfect Aperol Flip (recipe and tutorial below) as well as a classic Negroni Sbagliato - with a house pressed ice cube for JUST that finishing touch. Bartenders don’t ALWAYS give up their cocktails secrets, so enjoy making this at home or try it the next time you’re in New Haven.
Taking a page from history, from what is now referred to as the “British Raj”, the British rule over the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947, Viceroy Publik House pays homage to this now proud British and Indian cultural connect, offering a high energy English pub setting featuring London curry, pakoras and pints, and an edgy live music venue which is just as diverse as its menu. Located in Downtown Stamford, CT, Viceroy Publik House brings together these two cultures, rich in history and with a strong food and drink identity found in pubs throughout London. Viceroy will be opening in April of 2017.
One of Connecticut's most highly anticipated restaurant openings is nearing go time in downtown Westport. Bill Taibe and the team from Kawa Ni and The Whelk will open the doors to a new concept next week, Jesup Hall, located in Westport's old Town Hall. In Jesup, Taibe and Chef Daniel Sabia have created a community hangout, a restaurant that serves honest food, "the food we want to eat," says Sabia. In fact, there is nostalgia in both the menu and the concept. The Jesup family played a huge role in Westport's early years and our goal was to create something that felt like it had patina and age, says Taibe" The kitchen reveals a similar sentiment in its large cuts of meat, big salads, extensive burger menu, and popovers you'll wanna stash in your purse. With elegant vintage wallpaper, antique fixtures, warm tones and high ceilings, Jesup Hall is Westport's new local hangout.
On Sunday February 5, The Patriots take on The Falcons in Super Bowl LI! Whether you watch the showdown at home or at your favorite restaurant, delicious game-day snacks are a must. These Connecticut restaurants and bars will offer Super Bowl specials and take-out options so you can have the ultimate football party!
Craft 14 Kitchen + Bar is the sort of place you want to wander into on a winter’s day with its warm, welcoming reclaimed wood interior accompanied by the nostalgic aroma of decades-old wood burning ovens and fireplaces. The restaurant, which opened at the end of last summer, greets a steady stream of diners throughout the day and well into the night, as I was witness to when I went to meet owners Cristina Ramirez and Mario Lopez.
CTbites has been following Greer Fredericks since she opened Mama’s Boy in Norwalk in 2013. She believed that low country southern cuisine could tantalize Fairfield County diners, from shrimp & grits, chicken and waffles to mile high desserts. Mama’s Boy’s food started the trend where down home, stick to your ribs cooking with bold flavors, deep fried, with cheese and calories were an accepted cuisine. Greer’s newest venture is Peaches’ Juke Joint, a fun-loving, take off your shoes, leave your inhibitions at the door and have some fun with a side of food. She hired Paul Failla to oversee the kitchen; many will remember Failla from his days at neighboring Bar Sugo. Ctbites was recently invited to sample Chef Paul’s newest creations and feel the vibes at Peaches.
Chef Brian Lewis' The Cottage is spreading its wings just in time for the new year...or rather its footprint, with a beautiful new expanded bar area. Lewis has taken over the adjacent space, once housing a barber shop, and has spent the last few months building out the perfect drink haven. The new bar area will have full service dining at the 10 seat bar alongside creative cocktails, local draft beer and an expanded wine program. Another addition is bartender, Ralph Leon who has been in the business for over 18 years, and has some very exciting new drinks planned for 2017.
After 20 years as a Sono institution, Barcelona Wine Bar has moved up the street and officially opened its doors in Norwalk’s new Waypointe complex. Their new home looks and feels much like the creative dining spaces guests have come to expect from Barcelona’s five CT locations, but as SVP Adam Halberg says “ Waypointe will feel familiar, but there are some key areas that make this new location quite unique.” The open kitchen, massive 40 seat bar, and a new menu approach will take their authentic and distinctive Spanish tapas menu even closer to the markets and restaurants of Spain.
Christmas was in the air in Greenwich this past weekend as the town’s Annual Holiday Stroll offered something for everyone: a chance to meet Santa, a ride in a horse drawn carriage, and for me, the opportunity to try out The National’s Holiday Brunch.
I had not yet been to Chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s newest and his first restaurant in Greenwich. The celebrity chef has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and CBS Morning Show and has starred in many Food Network programs including Chopped, The Next Iron Chef and Cooks vs. Cons, the network’s newest show.
It’s been a warm autumn, and while we’ll all hope the same for the upcoming winter season, we know it just won’t last. Chilly temperatures are inevitable and let’s face it, your puffy coat, skully, and gloves may not cut it. You need something else to warm up your soul, something that will always be there for you at various bars in lower Fairfield County…Cocktails.
I recently visited my favorite bars around the county to seek out the best seasonal cocktails. While this is MY list, I did try my best to switch up the flavor profiles and the spirits used, otherwise they’d be all bourbon and whiskey based, or it would be a list of Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs. There are some clear liquors involved, as well as warm beverages and seasonal flavors such as apple, cinnamon, clove, and even carrot.
I tried my best to include every city or town up 95 from Greenwich to Westport, but that wasn’t the end result. I wanted to go further north but this “research” would’ve stretched into another season. I found that Norwalk and Westport had the most seasonal stuff going on when it comes to booze, so don’t be offended if your favorite bar in your neighborhood didn’t make it. It doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I just simply met my quota for this list, and my liver told me to “just stop already.”
Hopefully this helps with your drinking adventures, and hopefully you have some cold weather cocktail suggestions at your most frequented haunts, because we’re all always looking to warm our souls with good libations.
Room 112 is shaking up the pulse of the lively SoNo restaurant scene. A modern-day speakeasy with a rock’n’roll edge, and eclectic, modish décor recently opened its doors at 112 Washington Street. Owner Isaac Patrick Camoro’s vision was clear the minute he walked into the then empty space.
Room 112 conjures up images of an urban garage meets underground lounge. Eclectic and unconventional this new bar is a truly unique experience; the antidote to the typical Fairfield County bar scene. The main level, framed in exposed brick, offers the perfect canvas for local artists to showcase their talent, thus lending themselves perfectly to the bar’s eclectic furnishings and lighting. Downstairs, a “man-cave” style game room includes a pool table, dartboards, shuffleboard, a jukebox, several HD TVs and a sleek bar.
World-class BBQ returns to CT with the homecoming of renowned pitmaster Nestor Laracuente, who is overseeing the kitchen at Mason Dixon Smokehouse in Stamford. When I heard that Nestor was teaming up with Mason Dixon, I was ecstatic, the mounds of his perfectly prepared meats that I raved about at Hoodoo Brown were indelible etched in my memory. Would Mason Dixon fill the void that I have felt for months? Bottom line…yes, the food is spectacular.
Laracuente is a soft-spoken lover of meats and Southern rock who spent years perfecting his craft. After leaving CT last year, he returned to Brooklyn where he spent time with his buddy at Beast of Bourbon in Bed-Stuy. His time was spent experimenting with new rubs, new dishes, waiting for the right opportunity for his return to Connecticut. His newest venture, of which he is part-owner, opened a few weeks ago and it is slowly expanding the menu.
Ever since its debut in 2010, The Fez in Stamford made a name for itself as an eclectic hotspot. Around the corner from Napa and Company and across the street from Barcelona Wine Bar, the Fez offered an alternative experience: nightclub vibes, live music, crimson walls, esoteric wines by the glass, and Spice Route cuisine. When it closed its doors in the summer of 2015 for renovations, its followers (including me!) didn’t know what to expect. I recently had the opportunity to visit The Fez 2.0 for myself. They invited me to participate in a five-course Chilean Wine Dinner, and I eagerly accepted.
It turns out that The Fez 2.0 is largely the same- and I mean that in the best possible way. New owners Fred and Nancy Laist embraced the original features that defined The Fez in its previous era. The menu includes many of the same items. Live music remains at the forefront. (They are already booked up Thursday-Sunday through March of next year!) Kristen tends the bar. The interior, though expanded to include more seating, continues to feels small and intimate. The stage remains at one end of the restaurant, with a handful of tables and booths in front of it. Red walls still complement dark wood and varied upholstery.
Located in the heart of historic South Norwalk,Zapata Mexican Restaurant crafts authentic Mexican cuisine in an area rich in history and vibrant in color, Zapata Mexican Restaurant proudly contributes to this energetic environment. This is our second location, the original is located in Palisades, NY where our family-owned and operated restaurant has thrived for over 20 years. Many of our customers come in and ask why SONO? The answer is simple, SONO lacked an authentic Mexican restaurant with fresh ingredients, amazing margaritas, and smiling faces. Freshness is what we believe in and what we thrive on. We personally choose all our produce, and all of our ingredients. We are in a society where fresh and healthy is key! To ensure the highest quality, we also cook all of our products with olive oil to keep it healthy and always tasting delicious.
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.
Does anyone remember the epically successful and brilliantly over the top kitschyMiracle Bar pop-up from last holiday season? If you do, you'll be excited to hear that Miracle Bar is coming to Fortina, Thanksgiving eve through New Years 2016. "Miracle Bar will literally vomit Christmas and Hanukah," says Fortina's John Nealon. This holiday pop-up will take over the mezzanine in Fortina Stamford as well as a patio tent in Armonk.
Guest mixologists, custom holiday glassware, tons of tinsel, menorahs and cocktails with names like “ The Reindeer’s Revolt,” will created a uniquely fun drinking experience. Pair this with Fortina pizza and you've got yourself a party.
Artist, Raffa Dowling, who created last year's aesthetic is back for 2016, and will be in charge of crafting the pop-ups's rather unique design. Also John McNulty, who brought Miracle to CT (originally a NYC concept) is now playing for team Fortina and will be in on the fun.
We will bring you more as Fortina gets closer to opening their holiday "Miracles."
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."
