Filtering by Tag: Ingredients,Vietnamese

14 Spots For Vietnamese Banh Mi In CT & A Little Banh Mi History

Restaurant Features Banh Mi Sandwich Guide Sandwiches Vietnamese Asian Food Lunch Homepage

James Gribbon

One morning this summer I woke up to see a note I’d scrawled, apparently in my sleep: “The banh mi is the entire world in one sandwich.” As far as dream-thoughts go, this was in the top 1% of my most coherent, although it’s not, strictly speaking, true. The “entire world” encompasses places like Paraguay and Iceland, and I’ve thankfully yet to see anyone dare put the fermented shark Icelanders call harkarl on any sandwich. The bánh mì is a global sandwich, then, with the flavors and history of Europe, Asia, and America in every bite.

Below you’ll find 14 of our favorite spots for BANH MI in Connecticut.

(If we missed your favorite spot for Banh Mi, please let us know.)

The story of the bánh mì has roots in the longstanding colony of French Indochina, including present day Vietnam. Wherever any culture goes, their food follows, blending with local flavors and traditions to become part of the overall human mosaic. Pot-au-feu (steaming pot), a soup or stew made from meats and vegetables in a bone marrow broth, is a staple in every corner of France. Locals adapted this bone broth pot using available ingredients – lemongrass, Thai basil, beef tendons, and more – and feu became phở.

Read More

My Favorite Dish: Wagyu Brisket Bao Buns at The Cottage in Westport + Greenwich

Ingredients Interview Restaurant My Favorite Dish The Cottage Westport The Cottage Greenwich Westport Greenwich Bao Brisket Ingredients

Andrew Dominick

No trip to The Cottage is complete without…IT. At least one, but probably two. Fans of Brian Lewis’ flagship restaurant in Westport (and in Greenwich in recent years) know that I’m talking specifically about the wagyu brisket bao buns, a day one appetizer (though I could eat these as my main course) when Lewis opened in 2015. The buns have had their share of the spotlight, too, as they’ve been gushed about in TheNew York Times, Forbes, and countless local news sites and blogs.

Read More

The Cottage Westport Launches Farmers Market Prix Fixe Menu

Ingredients Interview Restaurant Seasonal Ingredients Farmers Market The Cottage Westport Westport Interview Homepage

Andrew Dominick

Just over two months from this very publication date, The Cottage Westport welcomed back chef de cuisine, Christian Wilki, after his stints at Villa Mulino in Avon and Swyft and Ore Hill in Kent. Having worked with chef and owner Brian Lewis for five years previously, Wilki is happy to return to further cultivate and create culinary magic at The Cottage. ingredients from the Westport Farmers Market.

“We did this a while back, but one day, me, Brian, and Ralph ( León)were sitting down after service sharing a bottle of water—I know, so exciting—and we sat here talking and I said that I wanted to do a farmers market menu again like we did years ago,” Wilki says. “Brian was like, ‘absolutely, let’s do it.’”

Read More

Scoop This: OGGI Gelato Opens First Shop in the U.S. in Norwalk

Features Ice Cream Ingredients Interview Gelato ice cream Ingredients Norwalk Interview Italian

Andrew Dominick

Udine, Trieste, Pordenone, Rome, Barcelona, Santiago, Athens, and…Norwalk, Connecticut? So, you usually don’t see six European cities and one South American city mentioned in the same breath as Norwalk, but when it comes to gelato and master gelato maker, Carmelo Chiaramida, this is perhaps the one time it applies. What Chiaramida is doing in Norwalk, opening his first OGGI Gelato shop in America, is simply every local ice cream lover’s good fortune.

Call it a coincidence through connection, actually. And it’s best spelled out by Maurizio Ricci, who along with his brother, Graziano, are the founders of Romanacci and Norwalk’s Osteria Romana.

Read More

Ji Bei Chuan Asian Noodle Shop Opens in Orange CT

Restaurant Asian Asian Food Chinese Japanese Vietnamese Orange Openings Homepage

Carly Terzigni

If you don’t know about Chef Jin yet, you owe it to your taste buds to step into one of his now numerous restaurants across Connecticut. Perhaps you are familiar with Tomo 68 in Naugatuck or Natural Kitchen in Milford – and most recently, Ramen & Bao in Oxford. Those are all thanks to Chef Jin, and now you can check out Ji Bei Chuan in Orange, which has its official grand opening on May 9th.

Ji Bei Chuan is a widely popular dining establishment in China, with over 400 locations overseas. Here in the United States, there are only 40, with this Orange location the first in the state. As you step inside, your eyes are immediately drawn to its noodle bar: a beautiful dark-stained natural wood countertop where guests can dive head-first into one of the many noodle or soup dishes on the menu. 

Read More

Beastie Burger: CT Entrepreneur Creates Delicious Plant Based Burgers

Ingredients Features Vegan Vegetarian Plant Based Ingredients Burgers Healthy Eats Health & Wellness

April Guilbault

This is the story of a plant-based burger patty that began with a wedding invitation. 

Our heroine, Lisa, receives her son’s wedding invitation in the mail one day. Joy! But, oh, on that day, she is feeling that she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, walking down that aisle as the Mother-of-the-Groom, with everyone staring at her. So, to help counter her depression and anxiety, she soon finds a local fitness trainer. In walks trainer Joseph and Lisa’s life begins to change. Even more changes are to come down the road, including, oddly, a little incident with a meat grinder on Rt.8 on dark and stormy night.

As Lisa Nicholas begins her transformation and changes the way she thinks about nutrition and exercise, Joseph suggests upping her daily intake of protein to build those lean muscles. Problem is, Lisa had tried the vegan lifestyle years before and was hitting a wall with food being interesting and, also, getting enough protein.

Read More

Vergelegen, South Africa’s 2nd Oldest Winery Comes To CT

Features Ingredients Wine Ingredients Wine Chat

James Gribbon

Vergelegen, South Africa’s second oldest winery, was introduced in the U.S. for the first time this year. We had an opportunity to try these outstanding wines, and speak with the group responsible for bringing Vergelegen to America.

Vergelegen's existence in the U.S. is one of the better success stories we’ve heard from the last two years, but its history dates back to the year 1700, when the Dutch East India co-founded the vineyard in order to have drinkable liquid on Cape Horn when traveling back and forth from India, Indonesia, and all points East.

Vergelegen (closest pronunciation we can manage is VAHK-heh-lehn) means "situated far away," and the original estate totaled an absolutely whopping 74,000 acres. A bit smaller now, the current production is still 100% estate wine, and their V and GVB wines are still produced on specific blocks of the old vineyard, located around the corner from Stellenbosch. Cold currents of air coming from Antarctica at night, with hot weather from Indian Ocean in the day, plus variable soils at the base of the Helderberg Mountains have proven perfect for wine growing.

Read More

Saugatuck Provisions Opens From A Local CT Chef (Matt Storch), A Butcher & A Fisherman (Copps Island Oysters)

Ingredients Features Openings Westport Grocery Store Ingredients Seafood Butcher Specialty Market Homepage

Stephanie Webster

What happens when a chef, a butcher and a fisherman walk into a bar? Stay tuned and I’ll tell you…

If you’ve noticed some activity behind the brown paper covering the windows of what was once Westport’s Saugatuck Craft Butchery, it’s not just wishful thinking. Big things are happening behind that masked facade …big things that involve a culinary power team including Chef Matt Storch and Susan McConnell (Match Burger Lobster, Match) in partnership with Jimmy Bloom of Copps Island Oysters, and butcher, Paul Nessal, whom you will recognize if you spent any time at the nose to tail butchery, Saugatuck Craft, back in the day. After 5 years of discussion, this group is finally getting ready to open the doors to Saugatuck Provisions, a new concept offering customers a curated selection of the very best ingredients from the land, sea and grocery, enabling guests to create beautiful restaurant quality meals at home.

Saugatuck Provisions is conveniently located next to Match Burger Lobster in Westport, and will be ready for customers in early November, with Thanksgiving pre-ordering already live here.

Read More

Vietnamese Night Market: A Celebration of Culture and Food In West Hartford (via Hartford Courant)

Features Pop-Up Vietnamese Hartford County West Hartford Asian

CTbites Team

It was a chilly night Saturday but groups of friends gathered around food booths at St. Mark the Evangelist in West Hartford as a combination of delicious scents wafted through the air: grilled meats, baked goods and of course, pho. A live band played pop music from Vietnam and other parts of the world — like “Jamaica Farewell” — translated into Vietnamese.

It was the opening of the Vietnamese Night Market, held bimonthly during the warmer months at the church. The open-air event is a celebration of cooking and community, offering a variety of food options, all of them homemade by parishioners and with proceeds benefiting the church.

“The market is so fun and exciting. Everyone loves it,” Ánh Đôn Lê, a member of the parish council, said. “It brings Vietnamese people together and lets us introduce our culture to others.”

Read More

Pho Fans Opens In Darien with Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

Restaurant Vietnamese Darien Take Out Lunch Kid Friendly Asian Noodle Soup Pho Sandwich Homepage

Jessica Ryan

Pho Fans, Darien’s newest eatery is a family-run Vietnamese restaurant which opened just a couple of months ago and has already created quite the reputation for itself. The name suits this restaurant well – as those who enter will all quickly become fans! The Connecticut location is the second of the same name; the first is located in Huntington, NY. Vietnamese food is known to be one of the healthiest cuisines with minimal use of oils and dairy. As a result, flavors are light, fresh and balanced. Pho Fan relies on generations-old family recipes that translate well to the modern, health-inspired American palate. Their focus is on health and nutrition while delivering delicious food. You won’t find anything artificial or any additives whatsoever in their food.

Read More

The Westport Farmers' Market Is Back for the 2021 Summer Season with 50+ Vendors

Features Ingredients Farmers Market Westport Healthy Eats Farm To Table Farm Fresh Ingredients Farm Stand Local Artisan Bread Bakery Food Truck

CTbites Team

The need to eat strikes in many different forms. Craving something healthy? At The Westport Farmers’ Market, you can grab some freshly grown produce to satisfy that yearning. Want something refreshing? Stop by the handmade popsicle stand to cool down. How about something sweet? Head to the various artisan bakers selling freshly baked pastries and bread.

After a brief intermission from the end of their winter season back in March, the Westport Farmers Market has reopened to serve the community fresh produce, baked goods and everything in between. Open Thursdays from 10-2 on Imperial Avenue in Westport, the market is something you will not want to miss.

With over 50 vendors determined to provide market-goers with healthy and fresh products, Westport residents can look forward to grabbing organic, local ingredients to prepare a healthy meal, or even a pre-made breakfast or lunch… after visiting all the other vendors…of course.

Visit the Westport Farmers Market to enjoy goods from any of their over 50 vendors or check out a few of our favorites below!

Read More

House Of Pho in Stratford Serves Up Much More Than Delicious Pho

Restaurant Asian Vietnamese Pho Soups Noodles Noodle Soup Stratford Openings Lunch Comfort Food

James Gribbon

At a hillside shopping center overlooking nothing more fashionable than the far ridge line of the Housatonic River and Sikorsky’s helicopter factory steams a great bowl of pho. It’s a standard bo vien with beef meatballs, ordered lightly rich with small convex globules of transparent oil magnifying both light and flavor in the broth. I’ve recently dosed a bite with a slice of positively infernal green pepper. A less varied quarantine diet has apparently softened my usually spice-calloused tongue. My eyes are watering, and my nose is running. I’m in heaven.

Read More

Wise Guys Marinara Sauce: Locally Made and Distinctively Delicious

Features Ingredients Local Artisan Ingredients Tomato Sauce Specialty Products

Stephanie Webster

Ah, red sauce…most Italian families have their own recipe, and they generally keep that recipe close to their hearts, fiercely guarded. It’s part of the ancestral family lineage, and while there are shared characteristics based on region, each recipe is unique.

We first met the folks from Wise Guys Sauce close to 7 years ago during their stint at The Sono Marketplace. They debuted the Wise Guys Sauce product line for use in their retail pizza shop, called, not surprisingly, Wise Guys Pizza. Sadly the Sono Marketplace/food court was slightly ahead if its time, and they closed the complex, but Co-Owner, Chris Polidoro, decided to keep the sauce alive. Guests were such fans of the tomato sauce, they made the decision to keep on making it. They grabbed some mason jars, slapped a label on, and started selling…and boy did they. Manufactured out of New Haven, Wise Guys Sauce can now be found in local grocery shops both large (Shop Rite) and small (see list below) as well as specialty food stores throughout the state of CT. They even made it onto the TODAY Show with Kathy Lee.

P.S. CTbites readers get $10 OFF with Code: ctbites through January 30th.

Read More

J’s Homemade Elderberry Syrup: Boost Your Immune System with this Locally Made Product

Features Ingredients Ingredients Gourmet Ingredients Kid Friendly Specialty Market Local Artisan Shop Local Vendor Highlight

Amy Kundrat

Julie Messina had a problem to solve. What could she do to proactively combat the cold and flu season when it inevitably hit her own home? As a Kindergarten teacher and a new mom, she knew she would be a vector for viruses for her family and wanted to get ahead of the inevitable sniffles, or worse, influenza. When she discussed her concerns with her pediatrician, she learned about elderberry syrup, which some studies have shown can shorten the severity and duration of flu in adults. Drawn to its properties as a natural food, she wanted to give it a try but she hit her first roadblock when trying store brands. She didn’t like the taste or price of the elderberry syrups readily available, so she decided to try making her own. Although Julie wouldn’t officially sell her first bottle of elderberry syrup for several months, J’s Homemade was born on that fateful day at the pediatrician’s office. Like many entrepreneurs solving a problem, what followed wasn’t a straight path, but a lot of trial and error, perseverance and support from her wife Alicia and her (now) two children.

Each bottle of J’s Homemade elderberry syrup reflects its natural products and represents her own ongoing research and development.

Read More

Tips to Maximize Your CSA From Mike's Organic Delivery

Features Ingredients CSA Local Farm Ingredients How To Shop Local

Mike Geller

Having connected farmers to consumers for 10 years in Fairfield & Westchester Counties, Mike's Organic owner Mike Geller knows a thing or two about CSAs. And if there was ever a time to give a CSA a chance, it's now! First and foremost, our farmers need us. As many farms rely significantly on business from restaurants and other sources, a great way to support our farms right now is through signing up for a CSA.

This crisis has highlighted the importance of small, local farms. If planes stop flying or processing plants close, it is they that will feed us...let us never forget that. Second, it is a way to guarantee that fresh, healthy, local food will be on your table for a period of several months. There is so much uncertainty in the world and this is one way to regain some control over your food. Also, so many of us are home cooking and a CSA allows you to be creative and introduce new things to your family!

If you take care of your produce, it will take care of you. It's so fresh when you get it, and if you just give it a little love it will give a whole lot back.

Read More

Ben To Table: Food Subscription Launches To Promote Small-Batch Producers of Gourmet Pantry Items

Features Ingredients Delivery Service Home Delivery Ingredients Gourmet Ingredients

CTbites Team

So, we all like to support our local vendors, especially at times like these, but occasionally you need something a little “extra” or specialized, that you may not find at your local shop. Enter food-lover, cook, and long-time advocate Ben Simon, a New Haven native who is bringing high-quality, small-producer pantry staples and non-perishables to front doors across the United States with his new subscription box company, Ben to Table.

Ben to Table is a New Haven-based monthly subscription box inspired by Simon’s years of working on environmental and human rights campaigns across the globe, with a focus on preserving and promoting sustainable agriculture.

Read More

10 + CT Restaurants & Wholesalers Now Selling Groceries To The Public

Features Grocery Store Specialty Market Ingredients Shopping

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Trips to the grocery store are becoming increasingly difficult. In addition to the risks associated with heading out into the crowd, shelves are picked over and ingredients are low. In order to make premium foods more accessible, some Connecticut restaurants and food wholesalers are making their meats, produce, and other staples available to the public as groceries. We have compiled this guide to let you know which restaurants have grocery programs and which wholesalers are now offering their goods to the public.

Read More

Turning Sap Into Syrup At Ambler Farm's Tap-A-Tree Program

Ingredients Features Farm to Table Local Farm Ingredients kids activity Kid Friendly

Natalie Levitt

It was a warm February morning and my son and I joined a group of families as we gathered at Ambler Farm in Wilton, CT to kick off the maple sugaring season. We were greeted by Program Director Kevin Meehan and received an introductory lesson on how to tap a maple tree. Most of us stood in awe as the sap started to drip out of the tree upon tapping it. Many cheered with excitement for what was about to begin was a fantastic winter farming adventure and a great lesson in farm-to-table. We then received our buckets from Assistant Program Manager Jennifer Grass and proceeded to carefully select our “Giving Trees” on the farm. We hung our buckets on the trees and captured photos to commemorate the day. (Our tree was number 42 and pretty far from the sugar shack! It was an adventure after all!) Then we waited. We waited a week. During that week, many of us wondered just how much sap we would find in our buckets when we returned to the farm.

Read More

Mecha Noodle Bar Opens In Stamford!

Restaurant Noodles Asian Vietnamese Japanese Ramen Pho Stamford Openings Lunch Homepage

Andrew Dominick

Stamford, you’re about to be on the receiving end of a whole lot of noods. Get your mind out of the gutter, we’re talking about the piping hot, comforting bowls of ramen and pho by Mecha Noodle Bar, opening at the start of September on Bedford Street.

There’s no exact date as of yet, according to the team at Mecha, but they’re advising eager broth sippers to stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram for soft opening and grand opening announcements. 

Much like their other locations in Fairfield, South Norwalk, and New Haven, Stamford’s version of Tony Pham’s popular noodle shop will feature all the Mecha staples; KFC bao, a half dozen pho options, red oil dumplings, kim chi fried rice, and all the porky tonkatsu and spicy miso ramen you can handle. 

But wait! There’s more! Mecha Stamford will have a few differences from its other locations, starting with the bar. The massive U-shaped bar was made to be a focal point of the dining room because of Stamford’s bar culture, so you can pull up, have a drink (or three) from beverage director Jonathan Rodriguez’s craft cocktail program, a few bites, and call it a night if that’s what you desire. Additionally, there’s some outdoor street level seating for when the weather obeys. 

Aside from all that, there’s a little something “EXTRA” at this Mecha…

“There’s a section on the menu we’re referring to as the ‘Baller Menu,’” says Kaylyn Crawford, Mecha’s COO. “We’ll have stuff like a large pho for two with a steak, and large format cocktails like a punch bowl. We want to take it over the top for the demographic in Stamford.”

Read More
  Archive of All Reviews

Search by Tags