Filtering by Tag: Festival,Farm to Table

WIN FREE Tickets to Greenwich Wine and Food Festival 2019

Features Festival Greenwich Wine + Food Festival

CTbites Team

Hey guys. It’s that time of year again…Greenwich Wine + Food Festival is almost here, and YOU CAN WIN 2 FREE SATURDAY ALL DAY PASSES (WORTH $400). Comment below and include your email. Tell us why YOU NEED those tickets!

At the festival, guests will experience sommelier, mixologist and brew master presentations, celebrity book signings, cooking demos with Special Guest Chefs, a celebrity green room with live interviews, an exclusive Meet the Masters panel discussion, The Tailgate Party with The Ultimate Taco, Burgers & Beers, and Grill Masters & BBQ.  The 8th Annual Burger Battle and 6th Annual Top Bartender Showdown will also return, providing friendly competition between area restaurants and bars. 


Guide To Our Favorite CT Summer Farm Stands

Ingredients Features Best of CT Farmers Market Farm Stand CT Farms Local Farm Farm to Table

Maddie Phelps

With the glorious warmth that summer brings to Connecticut comes a plethora of delicious fruits, vegetables, and other produce that are sure to highlight any and every meal of the season. If you’re looking to get a taste of the incredible produce CT offers when the temperature is at its hottest, you’ll surely want to make a trip to some local farm stands. As late July is upon us, however, the number of summer days left are ticking away at a startling speed. But fear not; your life just got a little bit easier. Some of the best summer farm stands in the state are listed below, ranging from the eastern most points of Connecticut to down in Fairfield County. All you have to do is find one that catches your eye and take the drive.


And the Dirtiest Napkin Goes To...Winners For The Hartford Rib Off

Features BBQ Festival

Kristin L. Wolfe

We are a little late in reporting the results of the Hartford Rib Off, but better late than never. It’s no secret that barbecue was really “invented” as permission to get dirty whilst eating. And the moistest, messiest, smokiest bbq around is usually what keeps us enthusiasts dreaming at night. Well, it’s time to find out what happened at the 10th Annual Hartford Rib Off last month and therefore, add to our list of bbq-tastic visits for the rest of the summer.

It was Father’s Day weekend and over 2,000 folks came out for serious sun and chow. And, if a gorgeous summer day, great food, the spirit of competition isn’t enough, support for local charities was the cherry on top of a successful weekend event.

Barbecue, unlimited drinks, raising money oh my. Hall’s Market of West Hartford supplied 4,000 pounds of meat for the two-day event. Attendees enjoyed samples from 20 different breweries, craft cocktails from Tito’s, barbeque from over 30 Pit teams, food trucks and live music from Hartford’s own Professors of Sweet Sweet Music. 


Wood Fire Food Custom Catering Events with Chef Dan Sabia

Features Farm Dinner Catering Entertaining Farm to Table CT Farms

Maddie Phelps

When was the last time you thought about where each element of your dinner came from? The plates, the table, the meat, the cups; each item seems to come from an arbitrary supermarket, creating a culture where the process of making and eating food is incredibly solidarity. That, in a nutshell, is why Dan Sabia left the restaurant industry. And now, he’s using his work with wood, fire, and food to change that norm in a world where very few are trying. Chef Dan Sabia is changing the way we think about private catering with his innovative new business, Wood Fire Food.


"Max Chef to Farm" Pop-Up Dinners At The Farm June-August 2019 Schedule

Features Farm Dinner Pop-Up Dinner CT Farms Farm to Table

CTbites Team

Max Chef to Farm, an award-winning group of events that celebrate the amazing food grown in our backyard, is heading into their 12th year. Guests are transported directly to the farm to experience seasonal and local food.  Their dinners are multi-course feasts showcasing the delicious bounty of Connecticut-grown produce and other locally-sourced ingredients prepared on site by Chef Steve Michalewicz of Max Catering & Events, Chef Hunter Morton, Culinary Director of the Max Restaurant Group, and the entire Max Chef to Farm team.

Max Chef to Farm dinners are adventurous events that celebrate and support CT-grown products. Their host farm for most events this season is the 160-acre Rosedale Farms, located in Simsbury, CT. They have many things in common with the Max Restaurant Group including a commitment to using sustainable farming and business practices. Speaking of support...


Connecticut’s Brewery Legitimus & Barden Farm Partner Again for 2nd CSABC (Community Supported Agriculture, Beer & Cheese) Share

Features CSA Local Artisan Local Farm CT Beer Cheese Farm to Table

CTbites Team

Brewery Legitimus, the 7 barrel craft brewery co-founded by husband and wife team Chris and Christina Sayer, is partnering once again with Barden Farm (New Hartford, CT), to bring a Community Supported Agriculture, Beer & Cheese (CSABC) Share to the community.  Back for a second year in a row, the 10-week “Farm, Beer and Cheese Share” begins July 11th and will run until September 12th. 

The first in the area, the CSABC share brings together locally grown produce from Barden Farm, locally crafted beer by Brewery Legitimus, and locally made cheese from several different farms in CT.

A CSABC share membership is $485 for the 10 Weeks and includes Craft Beer from Brewery Legitimus, Cheese and of course a Farm Share from Barden Farm. It works just like a CSA. Here’s what’s included:


8 Connecticut Brewfests for Spring/Summer 2019

Features Beer CT Beer Festival Events

James Gribbon

Flowers aren't the only things to start popping up this spring, as brewfest season follows the sun into outdoor spaces all over Connecticut. Below is a short list of several notable events from around the state, from the eastern shore, all the way down into lower Fairfield County. Take a look, and start planning early. 

Black Hog Suds & Curds 

On Saturday, April 27th, the owners of Black Hog Brewing and Caseus bring 10 of the finest cheese makers in New England, plus 18 breweries, to their location at 115 Hurley Rd. in Oxford. Tickets include a glass and sample pours throughout the day, plus cheese samples and beer and cheese to-go.

Brewfest At The Beach

Ocean Beach Park in New London is the setting for the 2019 Brewfest At The Beach, featuring over 150 beers on tap, live music, "brew friendly food," and a wine tasting all included with the price of admission. The brews and views are available to you after work from 6-9pm on Friday, May 10th, and proceeds benefit Camp Rotary. 


Smokin' Hops Brewfest by Bears Restaurant Group April 20th

Features Festival CT Beer

Stephanie Webster

On April 20, visit Hartford for the Smokin' Hops Brewfest 2019, presented by Bear’s Restaurant Group .  A ticket includes a Smokin’ Hops Brewfest Commemorative Tasting glass, tasting of 40+ beers from 12 local breweries, tasting of an exclusive small batch beer brewed for the festival by Alvarium Beer Co., and live music by Hartford’s own, Boo-Yah. Buy tickets here. The event benefits Knox, Inc, a community-building organization that plants 500- 1,000 trees each year, maintains 20 community gardens, supports 6 urban farmers, trains young adults in landscaping, provides environmental education, and beautifies Hartford’s parks and green spaces.


Bailey’s Backyard Offers NEW Market Table Tasting Menu (Wednesdays Only!)

Restaurant Ridgefield Farm to Table American Lunch Homepage

Jessica Ryan

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this charming eatery in the heart of Ridgefield, Bailey’s Backyard first opened its doors nearly 20 years ago as a neighborhood coffee shop before transforming itself into a charming American restaurant with a simple concept; offer exceptional seasonal cuisine in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. It would soon become a neighborhood hot spot, offering locals a new dining experience.  Several years ago Bailey’s evolved once again and the restaurant is now a farm-to-table establishment with a mission to create a menu based on the freshest local sources. Today meat and produce are still gathered from nearby farms, both in New York and Connecticut, and Seafood is garnered from Connecticut, Massachusetts and the Chesapeake Bay. 

I was recently invited to sample Bailey’s new Market Table Tasting Menu offered every Wednesday night. A new menu is introduced each week, giving diners the opportunity to try something new each time. The menu is Prix Fixe, $40 for four courses or $65 for the four courses and a wine pairing. 


Nibble: CT Food Events For Week of August 26- September 2

Features Events Festival News Homepage

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

El Segundo is celebrating its 2nd Anniversary with a party on Thursday August 30.  It begins at 4pm with Complimentary Bites until 7pm.  Live Music in the courtyard by PANA starts at 8pm.  There will also be Drink Specials, A Dunk Tank, and more carnival activities.

The 2018 New England Food Truck Festival takes place September 1 & 2 at Mohegan Sun Casino.  There will be food, live music/bands, face painting for the kids, field games, and fireworks on Saturday starting at 9:30 P.M.   

The 2018 Caribbean Cultural Jerk Festival arrives in Danbury on Sunday September 2.   

On Monday, August 27, Chef Billy Grant of Grants Restaurant & Bar, Restaurant Bricco, and Bricco Trattoria will host a gourmet dinner featuring award-winning, local celebrity chefs in an unforgettable evening to benefit Foodshare.


CTbites Chef Demo Tent @ 11th Annual Blues Views and BBQ September 1-2

Features Events Chef Talk Festival

ellen bowen

This year Blues Views and BBQ will feature 20 bands, hours of family fun at the famous Imperial Jam with the bounce park, Touch a Truck, airbrush tattoos, pie and rib eating contests and our second stage showcasing local and family friendly musical entertainment all day long.  The festival will be held in the Imperial Ave commuter lot in addition to the Levitt Pavilion. 

Don’t miss the KCBS BBQ competition, and CTBites returns on Saturday 9/1 with cooking demos providing culinary inspiration. 

CTbites Chef Demo Tent Lineup

12 Noon-Chef Jonas Daniela from Amis Trattoria

1 pm- Chef Pietro Scotti from Da Pietros Restaurant 

2 pm- Chef Carlos Baez from The Spread and El Segundo

3 pm- Chef Jess Bengston from Terrain Garden Café  

4 pm- Chef Adam Roytman from Bar Sugo


Nibble: CT Food News & Events For Week of August 19-26

Features Festival Events News

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Hartford Baking Company is turning eight and has decided to break out the bubbly to celebrate!  On September 1st, the West Hartford Center location (965 Farmington Ave, West Hartford) will be launching beer and wine sales and expanding their operating hours until 10 pm nightly.  A roster of small plates will be added to the menu to pair with the beer and wine selections.

The first annual New Haven Cocktail Week kicks off on August 20!  There are 25 participating venues all offering special cocktail lists you can try throughout the week along with 2 tastings and seminars per day.  

Stamford Restaurant Week returns August 20-September 2.  20 Downtown Stamford restaurants are serving up special lunch & dinner prix fixe menus.  Lunch ranges from $14.18 to $22.18 and dinner ranges from $28.18 to $38.18. Stamford Restaurant Weeks are presented by Stamford Tables.   

New at El Segundo, join them for Trivia Night on Industry Night every Monday 7:30pm.  Best Trivia Ever hosts an Epic Trivia Battle alongside global street eats.


Hey Stamford Food Festival is Back With Amazing Food Truck Lineup

Features Festival Food Truck Stamford

Stephanie Webster

The Hey Stamford! Food Festival is back! The two-day, family oriented food festival will feature a full concert experience on the Minchin Buick GMC mainstage.  Joining us is legendary rapper Tone Loc, “The Worlds Best Party Band” Party Rock, Country star, Dylan Scott and regional country favorites, Jump the Gunn to name just a few.  The Blind Rhino Beer Garden will highlight the finest in regional and national breweries, the Fairfield County Bank Kids Zone will include a host of games and activities for the family.  And it’s not a food festival without some amazing cuisine! Check out the amazing line-ups of food trucks and vendors...


Chef Geoff Lazlo Cooks a "CT Farm Feast" Dinner at The James Beard House June 14

Features Farm to Table Farm Dinner Celebrity Chef

Stephanie Webster

On Thursday, June 14th, Chef Geoff Lazlo of Geoff Lazlo Food, in Greenwich, CT will be cooking at the prestigious James Beard House in NYC. The evening's menu will feature Connecticut farms, and is aptly titled "Connecticut Farm Feast." Check out the menu below. and reserve your seat here. 

Connecticut Magazine’s Best Chef of 2018 Geoff Lazlo earned his fine dining chops with stints at Gramercy Tavern, Chez Panisse, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and the Mill Street Restaurant Group before venturing out to create his own company. Sample the cream of Connecticut’s farm-to-table crop with a sumptuous, organic spring harvest, fresh picked from his lovingly tended plots at Greenwich Community Gardens.


New Haven’s ROÌA Restaurant: A Tale Of Two Countries

Restaurant New Haven French Italian Brunch Lunch Farm to Table Homepage

CTbites Team

What do you get when you mix cooking traditions of both the Italian and French? The best of both worlds at ROÌA Restaurant in New Haven. It’s a culinary combo that doesn’t require you to renew your passport.

Located in the former Taft Hotel that dates back to 1912, ROÌA Restaurant and Cafe has historical charm. Step inside and you’ll see what we mean with its two-floor open design with ornate ceilings and impressive columns. The building is truly an architect’s dream. But you don’t have to be a designer to appreciate all that ROÌA has to offer. You just have to be hungry. 


Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant Offers Guests Garden-to-Table Dining

Features Fairfield farm fresh Farm to Table Ingredients

CTbites Team

Robert Atkinson is impatient with Mother Nature. The 12 vegetable beds beneath the patio of the Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant in Fairfield are awaiting the seeds for their sixth year of providing homegrown ingredients to the Fairfield restaurant’s kitchen, but the New England weather has not been cooperating.

This will be the sixth year of Barcelona’s vegetable garden, which offers patrons the opportunity to select ingredients for preparation by the restaurant’s kitchen staff. “I always like to tell people it’s better than farm-to-table,” continued Atkinson. “It is garden-to-table, and there is no transportation because the farmers aren’t even driving it over.”


CT Guide To Raw Milk: Why Raw and Where To Buy in CT?

Features Ingredients Ingredients Farm to Table CT Farms Local Farm

Luke Shanahan

I submit that raw milk might just be the most real of all foods. 

Start with the fact that milk is the only food created specifically to feed something. (Honey doesn’t count, as the pollen honey is made from has its own agenda.) Synonymous with nourishment, raw milk is the first food most human beings—all mammals—ingest. And raw milk, for it to be free of any off flavors and to be safe to drink, requires painstaking care to produce. Every little step in the process matters.

The subtle and intricate flavors in raw milk, the very opposite of the one-note flavor of pasteurized milk or, worse, the waxy cardboard taste vacuum of skim, come from the undenatured biocomplexity in unpasteurized milk. When I read chemists-for-hire claiming, on behalf of big commercial dairy, that there isn't that much nutritional difference between pasteurized and raw, I choose to trust my palate. Well, my palate and the biochemists who say that the difference is real and considerable. 


Tix On Sale May 1st for Chef Tim LaBant's 2018's Farm to Fork Dinners at Millstone Farm

Features Farm to Table Farm Dinner CT Farms

Stephanie Webster

Chef Tim LaBant and The Schoolhouse At Cannondale have released the schedule for the 2018 season’s Farm to Fork dinners.  Tickets go on sale May 1st...and they go fast! Check out the schedule below.

Four locally sourced courses served family style under the stars (weather permitting). Beginning at 6 pm, Cocktail hour (drinks included), Farm Tour and Dinner (BYOB) by Wilton's own, Chef Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse at Cannondale. Location: Millstone Farm, Wilton, CT.

Dinner is BYOB starting at around 7 pm and is four courses, family style.  


Community Table Restaurant & Bar To Re Open Spring 2018

Restaurant Openings Washington Farm to Table

CTbites Team

This just in from Community Table Restaurant & Bar in Washington CT...

Friends,

We are excited to announce that Community Table Restaurant and Bar will be reopening this spring.  We don’t have an exact date yet but, we are hoping to open our doors before Memorial Day and work out any ‘kinks’ before the busy season kicks in.

We have spent the past months contemplating what direction Ct should go in next. We turned to Adam Riess, a Washington native and restaurant consultant, to help us define our goals and offer us options. Though many interesting ideas were discussed, hearing from so many of you who simply wanted Ct to come back the way it was, eventually swayed us to move in that direction.