Wine or beer dinners in Fairfield County are common, but cocktail dinners? You don’t see very many (if any) offered on a regular basis. About a year ago, Chris Geideman, the owner of Crew Restaurant in Greenwich, along with Andrew Hellman, CEO of the Norwalk-based barware company Teroforma, started to discuss a cocktail dinner event of their very own.
The idea would feature Teroforma’s 1pt Blends, a line of flavor kits that enable anyone from experienced bartenders to at-home amateurs to infuse spirits minus all the guesswork. Teroforma is a local CT company that creates all-natural, gourmet infusions for cocktails. After a bunch of casual conversations, they figured out a way not only to make it happen, but to make it something more than simply drinking and eating.
We’re back with some soon-to-be-loved holiday gifts! From hostess gifts to a Big Kahuna gift (get your passport ready!), we’ve uncovered an array of goodies that you will be excited to give and others will be thrilled to receive. With your beloved foodies in mind, bestow these gems in the spirit of love and good eats-made even better knowing that they all originate in our fair Nutmeg State. See, even the name of our state is food-centric. We love to support local and small businesses and hopefully, this list will encourage you to check out these favorite new finds. Happy Holidays everyone, eat well, gift well! …and if shopping stresses you out too much, go get some Oops, I Ate My…..you’ll see (wink!).
Let’s be real. Dining out is always a treat. You don’t have to clean up afterwards, and if you’re like me, the menu at almost ANY restaurant is going to surpass what’s going on in my own kitchen. However, if you’re a diner who appreciates experiencing the mind of chef who is executing dishes that are inspired by the season, an “aha” moment, or a desire to experiment, a Chef’s Tasting is the way to take dining to the next level.
It was with this in mind, that I attended Chef Carlos Baez’ monthly Chef’s Table Tasting Dinner, held on the last Thursday of every month at The Spread’s Greenwich location.
Executive Chef of the Terrain Cafe brand, Jes Bengston, has just been appointed as the regional head chef for Westport’s Amis Trattoria, in addition to continuing her role at Terrain Café. She will oversee both restaurants (under the Urban Outfitters umbrella) in the CT region. To celebrate, she rolling out an exciting new Guest Chef Dinner Series: Friends + Neighbors.
Every Wednesday from Sept 25 through November 13 a new chef will bring their culinary POV by creating a menu of specials that fuses their style with the Italian flair of Amis. Diners can expect some creative dishes that push the boundaries of what can typically be found at Amis + an opportunity to rub elbows with both Jes and her chef friends. Check out the schedule below. This is gonna be fun people…
Hartford Baking Company announces a new location in Glastonbury! It's expansion time! Hartford Baking Company is delighted to announce that they will be adding a third retail location in January of 2020. The new cafe will be located at 400 Hebron Ave. in Glastonbury, CT, and will have the same vibe, menu, and bread selection of the two current West Hartford locations.
Beer, as I've said so many times on this site, is food. Beer is a farm you can drink. It's an agricultural product that comes to us from fields of grain and leafy green hop yards, even down to the yeast brewers culture and grow from the skins of fruit in orchards. The massive proliferation of breweries in Connecticut - many of them less than five years old - means a huge uptick in the need for all these natural products. I wanted to take a look at how the rise of craft beer is affecting the state of agriculture in the Constitution State, and how breweries and farms are working hand in hand to create and restore the growth of Connecticut beer. This will be an ongoing series as summer days get shorter and we approach harvest time, but I thought the best way to start would be with a place that brings agriculture and beer together, and I started with at Fox Farm Brewery.
Watching the chefs of the hit TV show “Chopped” scramble to cook up their finest creations while the clock ticks away is truly entertaining. But watching such a competition in real life takes the cake. While the Westport Farmers’ Market didn’t bring the cast, crew, and chefs of “Chopped” to downtown Westport, they did emulate the cook-off with their very own version: “The Chef at the Market Competition.” Here’s a recap of the first “Chef At The Market” throw down, but there are many more to come. Check out the schedule below.
The hot sauce market is stacked with thousands of brands trying to win over your taste buds and into your pantry, but few have roots right here in Fairfield County. Cue Hot Lady Hot Sauce, created by Adam Colberg, a Connecticut resident who grew up in Westport.
For Colberg, hot sauce wasn’t always in his overall plan.
“Before I graduated from Staples High School, I always embarked on different projects, I always did things differently,” he said. “I wasn’t ready for college, but I wanted to do something adventurous, so I joined the Marines.” His time in the corps, where he was a jet mechanic, granted him the opportunity to travel the world, including a tour in Spain.
Brewery Legitimus, the 7 barrel craft brewery co-founded by husband and wife team Chris and Christina Sayer, is partnering once again withBarden 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:
Ed Freedman, Fairfield County’s passionate organic coffee roaster, and owner of the successful Shearwater Coffee Bar in the Brick Walk area of Fairfield, has announced the opening of a new location in Westport, on The Post Road. Named One of the 15 Best New Coffee Roasters in America by the popular digital lifestyle magazine Thrillist.com, and bestowed a 92 rating from CoffeeReview.com for their Organic Homacho Waeno Ethiopian roast, Shearwater introduced its small batch coffee roasts to Fairfield County in September of 2013 and was soon touted by java junkies, major gourmet food markets, and reputable area chefs as one of the leading coffee brands in the state.
Mark your calendars for the start of the Westport Farmers’ Market on Thursday, May 23rd, from 10 to 2 at 50 Imperial Avenue. Whether you are on a break from work, have a day off with kids, or are meeting a friend to shop, this season’s market has something for everyone. “We work hard to make the Westport Farmers’ Market a weekly destination for the community,” said Lori Cochran-Dougall, Executive Director. “We’re really excited with the result this year! We’ll have all of the vendors and activities that people love plus some new vendors and programs to add to the mix.”
Last week I had the privilege of attending a truly wonderful and informative dinner at Wakeman Town Farm on the importance of sustainable seafood. We first heard from Norm Bloom of Copp’s Island Oysters, followed by Kevin Conroy, owner of The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood and the Rowayton Seafood Fish Market. He was joined by Chef Charles Hoffman the restaurant’s executive chef who prepared a most memorable meal.
The Blooms have been in the oyster business since the 1940s and currently operate one of the last standing traditional oyster farms in the United States. Norm Bloom and Son is a fourth generation family-owned farm that prides itself on high quality, consistent and sustainable products. They have a fleet of 15 boats and their dedicated crew harvests oysters and clams year round from the deep, cold, and nutrient-rich waters along the coast of Connecticut.
When Jeff Taibe opened Taproot in the second half of 2017, our Amy Kundrat summed up this Fairfield County gem beautifully. “Creative, seasonal, down-to-Earth, and hyper-local” (because damn near every ingredient comes from Connecticut farms) are all words she used. That summation is dead-on accurate.
And yeah, you should run there. I wish I listened to her closing sentence and didn’t wait so long for a stellar culinary experience. Bethel isn’t THAT far, and Taproot is worth the drive. When I did go, I deserved the ribbing. “Hey, man! It only took you a f*cking year to get here!” Taibe joked.
From the shareable, addictive apps, to carefully crafted cocktails, and braised pork cheeks that flaked apart with a slight twist of my fork, it was my favorite meal in Connecticut in 2018.
All of the above is a well-deserved shout-out, but I’m not giving you a Taproot update. I’m dishing on the restaurant’s one-Sunday-per-month mood swing called “Bushido.”
Bushido, as you can probably surmise, is a Japanese pop-up concept. The birth of Bushido is a story in itself.
Connecticut Magazine features a great local vendor who skillfully combines maple syrup and local distilleries.
When people try Maple Craft Foods’ bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup for the first time and taste the all-natural sweetness of the Vermont syrup layered with subtle smoke and caramel flavors imparted by aging in bourbon barrels, their reactions are often visceral, Dave Ackert says.
Watching new fans “ooh” and “ah” their way through this tasting is the best part of the job for Ackert, who owns the Newtown-based company along with his wife Eve, father Paul, and friend Bill Begany, of Begany Design.
Bourbon barrel maple is the company’s flagship product, and though it does not contain alcohol, it is the offspring of the burgeoning craft beer and distilling industries in Connecticut.
There is a lot of buzz going around regarding CBD, and also quite a few misconceptions. CBD, is one of the chemicals in cannabis, but unlike THC (also found in Marajuana), CBD is a non-psychoactive compound that is emerging as a very popular wellness ingredient. The plant extract, often consumed as an oil under the tongue, is now the featured ingredient in high-end products including body lotion, olive oil, cold-brew coffee, infused water, and even dog treats. Local start up, “Oops I Ate My CBD” is leveraging this emerging trend to create gourmet hemp infused chocolate bars, which come complete with 50mg of CBD per serving. The bars are made with 99.6% pure hemp derived CBD Isolate, and contains zero THC. Hence it is legal in all 50 states…and the chocolate is delicious. (Plus, I was VERY relaxed after my tasting)
When I first covered Rob VanKeuren more than a year ago, I found him in the early morning hours baking countless loaves of bread and hundreds of croissants at Lombardi’s Trattoria in the Georgetown section of Wilton.
A lot has changed since then.
customers—over to a larger space at GrayBarns, where he sold loaves and pastries out of a barn.
Unfortunately for VanKeuren’s sourdough-obsessed following, his stint at GrayBarns was short-lived. As a result, his sought-after bread for public sale disappeared for a bit.
Some months after, VanKeuren announced something more exciting, plans to open a bakery of his own, right next door to NEAT in Downtown Darien.
Welcome to the neighborhood SoNo Baking Company. We’re awfully glad you’re here! (Though my waistline may beg to differ.)
SoNo Baking Company & Café officially opened its doors on Pequot Avenue in Southport today. Behind the glass display cases a beautiful array of cookies, tarts, pastries, cakes, and croissants all neatly arranged all ready to be purchased. Trays filled with delectable treats, fresh out of oven, were stacked and cooling. Brand new coffee and espresso machines glistened along the back wall.
Fairfield County is full of trailblazing women, particularly in the culinary world. Which is why, with 2018 being proclaimed the Year of the Woman, we felt compelled to honor the pioneers among us.
Our series, “It’s A Woman’s World’ is devoted to Fairfield County female influencers who’ve forged their own paths, often in food-related fields long dominated by men.
How'd they do it? Read on. This week, we feature Kaline Capps, Executive Chef, Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant in Norwalk. Stay tuned to see who’s next. And feel free to send suggestions for your candidates to steph@ctbites.com.
Fairfield County is full of trailblazing women, particularly in the culinary world. Which is why, with 2018 being proclaimed the Year of the Woman, we felt compelled to honor the pioneers among us.
Our series, “It’s A Woman’s World’ is devoted to Fairfield County female influencers who’ve forged their own paths, often in food-related fields long dominated by men.
How'd they do it? Read on. This week, we feature Jes Bengsten, Chef at Terrain Garden Café. Stay tuned to see who’s next. And feel free to send suggestions for your candidates to steph@ctbites.com.
One of our favorite chefs and a passionate supporter of the local CT food community, Jes Bengston, of Terrain Garden Café, will be cooking The James Beard House on August 6th. Nestled in the beachside town of Westport, Terrain is a luxury garden center that celebrates nature and all its bounty—including on the menu of its charming cafe. Join Jes Bengston, as she returns to the Beard House with her plant-based, homegrown harvest for a summer exploration of the best from southern Connecticut’s land and sea, paired with superb Napa-style wines from local Jonathan Edwards Winery. Ticket info here.
