Chef Matt Storch (of Match and Nom Eez) is opening Match Burger Lobster this summer, a new fast casual concept. It will be located in the space next to Fleishers Craft Butchery, in the Saugatuck neighborhood of Westport, CT, just off Exit 17 on I-95 near the Westport train station. Are we excited? Yes, because the new restaurant will leverage our proximity to high quality, local ingredients: fresh seafood from Norm Bloom and Sons, and Northeast pasture-raised and humanely-handled beef, ground daily at Fleishers. Storch's opening menu will include classic lobster rolls, whole lobsters, a variety of burgers, local Copps Island oysters, paper-thin onion rings, donut milk shakes, wine and beer. Oh...and foot-long hot dogs from Fleishers.
I first walked up to Newbrook Kitchen, on Riverside Avenue in Westport, with no idea what cuisine the two cartoon girls that are stuck on the front window of their restaurant would be serving. I did no prior research into their business because I wanted the element of surprise to truly hit once I uncovered who they are. What I found at Newbrook was a very pleasant surprise. Stationed in Saugatuck, Westport in a little strip mall, this mother daughter operation is here to make you a believer. As their name would definitely lead you to believe, they are a Paleo restaurant, catering service, and landmark pumping out some of the best health food you can find in the Fairfield County.
If you’re in the market for the market of markets, well - A & S Italian Fine Foods could be the market of your dreams. Owner and head chef, Albert Pizzirusso and his wife Patricia opened their latest, Italian, Fine Foods establishment late last summer and have been purveying first class fare ever since. Along with their business partner, Erik Cohen, the Pizzirussos are working their 3rd A & S market, located conveniently on the Westport/Norwalk border, very close to Whole Foods. (The other locations include a storefront in Stamford - run by Cohen and 2 out of 3 Carcomo brothers - and a previously owned A & S deli in Norwalk.) Why shop here? ‘Cuz the food is outstanding - ‘nuff said. But naturally, I’ll say more...
Fairfield HamletHub reported yesterday that Jinn's Fresh Noodle House at 923 Post Road, Fairfield, CT had closed, but there is always a silver lining in the restaurant biz. This one is particularly shiny, as the most beloved Chinese restaurant in the area is coming soon in its place. Lao Sze Chuan, which already has a popular location in Milford is hands down, the place to go when craving authentic Sichuan cuisine with high quality ingredients. Lao Sze Chuan is owned by the Tony Gourmet Group, with restaurants all over the world...and now in Fairfield.
Just when it seemed consumers had seen it all in our local food scene, an innovative, socially conscious, quality driven pizza truck drove into town in the form of Little Box Pizza. In addition to authentic pizza made with honest ingredients and crafted-to-order, each mobile pizza kitchen is operated by a deserving, hard working individual who is being given a chance to make their future brighter.
Founders / Restaurateurs Brad Nagy and Angelo Viscoso created Little Box Pizza based on their passion for great pizza and a big heart for people. As social entrepreneurs, the team has created a model for using the power of small business to solve social challenges and do good things for other people.
Great news for fans of the outrageous donut bakery, Donut Crazy, and Chef Matt Storch's Match & Nom Eez. Donut Crazy will be opening March 16th in the old Steam Coffee spot at the eastbound side of Metro-North’s Westport station in Saugatuck. Donut Crazy, founded by Jason Wojnarowski will offer coffee, tea, espresso, and an assortment of grab n go dishes provided by Match and Nom Eez restaurants. Here's the concept; give the people what they want, coffee in the morning, and quick delicious takeout for hungry commuters when they emerge bleary eyed at the end of the day.
If you’re in the mood for simple, kid-friendly, tasty Thai, then hop in your tuk tuk and head over to WHOOPI for authentic, Thai cuisine on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield. Owners Tom and Helen Chaimahavong opened their latest haunt (named for their son whose nickname is Whoopi) mid 2015 and are the former owners of THAISAB in New Haven. Natives of Bangkok, Tom and Helen have mastered the ins and outs of their native cuisine while keeping dishes simple and novice-friendly. WHOOPI is not fancy Thai, and it’s not for the super adventurous; it is simply yummy Thai fare that is great for lunch with the kids, a laid back dinner with friends or a great take-out/delivery option. The space is small but cozy and we enjoyed our meal! Here is how it went down…
The UberEATS app launched in Connecticut this past summer and it hasn’t taken us very long to get totally addicted to the on-demand food delivery platform. Ideal for next-level work lunches when it’s too hectic to leave the office, or dinner when the fridge is empty and you just can’t bring yourself to cook, UberEATS delivers from top restaurants across Fairfield, New Haven, and, as of last week, Hartford Counties. Here are some of our top picks across CT for great bites, delivered.
Gino and Cathy Riccio have been an integral part of the Fairfield County restaurant scene for the past three decades, but their newest venture – an organic plant-based eatery – is uncharted territory for the couple. While many alleged healthy eateries have been popping up all over the place, Organika Kitchen takes the idea of healthy eating to a new level. I recently sat down the Riccios to learn about the inspiration behind their latest endeavor.
Organika is more than a restaurant Gino explained, “It’s an experience that is as much about the food as it is the customers and the employees.” Organika opened its doors in August to praise from vegetarians, vegans and meat-eaters alike. Cathy expanded on her husband’s thoughts. “We felt that we needed to be eating healthier. We grew up eating healthy, but somewhere along the way processed foods started to enter our diets. Now we have all this modified food and heavy-duty pesticides so even when we try to eat healthy we aren’t always.”
Fairfield County offers some of the best food in the country, from trucks to fine dining, and when a restaurant serves food from the soul, it is special, it is uplifting, it makes you overjoyed. Every now and then I visit a new place that fits all these categories. Stephanie Webster, my CTbites partner, and I were looking for a new place for a lunch meeting and we chose Soul Tasty...we wanted to see what the buzz was about. It is located on Main Street in Stamford at the end of a dead end that doubles as the entrance to a pedestrian bridge and parking is incredibly difficult, have patience, it is worth it.
Soul Tasty is the brain-child and dream of Chef Jean Gabriel, Jr. When you walk in, you can feel the love. The walls are brightly painted, a little graffiti on the rear counter pronouncing FEED YOUR SOUL and a colorful menu above the hot trays holding the products of the chef’s homage to the Southern recipes of his grandmother.
During my first job out of college, I frequented a diner for what became a weekly Greek salad lunch ritual. That may have been over ten years ago, but it inspired a life-long love affair with the dish. So when a friend suggested trying out newly opened FRESKOS in Hamden, I jumped at the chance to try their greek salad and was happily met with a heaping bowl filled with romaine lettuce and topped with chopped cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, stuffed grape leaves, and a big block of feta. Served with warm pita, and greek dressing, I have finally found my local antidote to that Greek salad craving.
FRESKOS is a modern Greek fast casual restaurant, that leans towards light and fresh Greek dishes such as souvlaki and gyro sandwiches which are served with warm pita, red onion, tomato, tzaziki, and dill. In addition to sandwiches, FRESKOS focuses on seasonal salads and soups, such as the avgolemono soup, a traditional Greek soup with a chicken broth base filled with lemon, egg and rice. A FRESKOS original is a Greek Pita Pizza, which struck me as an apt Greek interpretation to its pizza-loving location just a stone's throw from New Haven.
It started well over 10 years ago in Boston. Two boyhood friends and a dream – a dream to open a restaurant featuring healthy, wholesome food. The company’s founders, Jon and Anthony grew up eating nutritious food from Anthony’s Uncle Faris’s kitchen. When the two friends went off to college they over indulged on fast food. While they loved this way of eating, they hated how it made them look and feel. And so the two decided to open a business together based on the simple premise that they would offer people “fast” food by making it “real” – Food “made by people, not factories.” As they embarked on this journey, they heeded Uncle Faris’ other pieces of advice: “Take it easy, Live life, and most of all ‘be good.’” And with this b.good was born.
With many successful restaurants already established in New England, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Toronto, Canada, the newest location has just opened in my town of Fairfield. (Greenwich will also open its door shortly.)
SmokeBox in Hamden first opened to support the smoked meat habit of its sister restaurant Ordinary in New Haven. Its owners, Jason Sobocinski of Ordinary and Caseus, and Mike Farber of Mikro in Hamden, opened their doors to the public for lunch about six months ago. The kitchen's founding mission was simple, support the partners' network of New Haven and Hamden restaurants as a commissary kitchen with barbecue, and open for lunch if there is demand.
And demand there is. Smokebox has become a sought after lunch destination thanks to its smoky slow cooked meat forward lunch box approach to barbecue. Also, there is the fact that this is real barbecue. Getting it right requires a constellation of well-sourced materials and ritual: types of woods, cuts of meat, spices or rubs, wet (sauce) or dry, and above all things, time—all things that Smokebox takes very seriously.
Equal parts businessman and chef, Gopi Nair is the man behind New Haven's 'fast casual' Tikkaway Grill. The former managing partner of South Norwalk's Coromandel, he is a familiar face to Indian food lovers in Fairfield County and has thankfully extended his reach east to New Haven. His passion for Indian cuisine and dedication to customer service has inspired Tikkaway’s central tenants: a fresh, healthy, and informal take on Indian food.
"I have been thinking that to me the world has two sets of people," said Nair. "Those who love Indian food but can't get enough and more frequently, and those who don't know Indian cuisine and have stayed away from it till now! Tikkaway grill is for both of them."
1. If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in one hour, what would you whip up?
