Filtering by Tag: Home Delivery,Happy Hour

The Spread in SoNo Moves IronWorks Complex, Re-Opening This Week!

Restaurant Openings South Norwalk SONO American Global Cuisine Cuban Asian Happy Hour Bar Cocktails Norwalk Homepage

Stephanie Webster

The Spread you know and love from Main Street in South Norwalk has some new digs and a whole new summer look. Spread owners Andrey Cortes, Chris Hickey, Chris Rasile, Shawn Longyear and Chef Carlos Baez have taken their much heralded menu and rustic industrial vibe, and moved down the street, next door to their sister spot, El Segundo. The new spot resides in the old Harlan Public location within the IronWorks complex, and it comes with one of the most beautiful outdoor dining spaces in Fairfield County. Loyal diners and regulars….don’t worry. The menu will feature all of the usual favorites such as their Brick Chicken and Ricotta Gnocchi but Chef Baez has a few surprises up his chef’s coat.


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.


Local Spotlight: Mike Geller of Mike's Organic in Stamford

Features Ingredients Delivery Service Home Delivery Organic Specialty Market Stamford Westchester Interview Homepage

Andrew Dominick

Hello, CTbites readers! 

Most of the time we bring you pieces on chefs but we’re trying something new that puts the focus on interesting food and beverage industry folks that ARE NOT chefs but have a tale to tell; think bartenders, independent bakers, farmers, maybe some brewers, or even that waiter everyone seems to know. 

It’s only fitting to kick it off with Mike Geller, the owner of Mike’s Organic Delivery in Stamford. He’s not a chef, he has a story, and he’s really easy to have a conversation with. He’s one of the reasons why I thought of this series in the first place, so making him number one was a no-brainer. 

If you’re unfamiliar with Mike’s Organic, it opened in 2009, strictly as a grocery delivery service. Now, celebrating its decade-old birthday, Geller expanded his business and opened his doors to the public with a mini market filled with carefully selected organic goods, fresh produce, and lots of local products. To boot, they host lots of special events and cooking classes with the likes of Geoff Lazlo, Ross Bread, and Nit Noi Provisions

How it all started, though, is quite something. Cue the Q&A! 


Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events, Game Dinners, And Festivals for November 17-24

Events Features EVENT News Pop-Up Dinner Pop-Up Bar Happy Hour

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Kombucha is delicious and nutritious!  Cross Culture Kombucha Taproom & Brewery will teach you how to make your own at home in their Kombucha Homebrewing Workshop on November 21.

On Tuesday November 19, Fairfield Cheese Company hosts an evening all about Cheese and Wine of The French Alps.  Join them from 7-9pm for $50 per person. 

The Taps & Trees Craft Beer Festival returns to the Danbury Sports Dome on Saturday November 23.


FreshDirect Online Grocer Expanding Throughout Fairfield County!

Features Delivery Service Home Delivery

Stephanie Webster

FreshDirect, the Northeast’s leading online fresh food grocer, announced that it will be extending its service further into Connecticut, and will now be delivering to Fairfield, Norwalk, Southport, and Westport, in addition to Greenwich and Stamford, starting Tuesday March 26th. Why is this exciting? For those not familiar with FreshDirect, they pioneered the short supply chain, so you can experience fresh food at its finest. Place an order online before 9pm, and you can have ALL of your groceries delivered to your house the following day. From responsibly sourced seafood to organic produce, their food comes to their campus straight from the source and is delivered to your door at peak freshness in just a few days. That's less handling by middlemen—and it puts more money in the bank for local farmers, skilled artisans, and responsible fishermen.


Tarry Lodge Debuts "Aperitivo" Happy Hour

Features Restaurant Happy Hour Pizza Westport Italian Wine Bar

Andrew Dominick

Happy hours are one of life’s greatest pleasures. Bad day? Have a reduced-price wine, beer, or cocktail to take the edge off. Even worse day? Have more than one. Hungry? Happy hours usually offer a handful of delectable bites to be had on the cheap as an accompaniment to your glass of booze. I’m obviously a fan of the whole idea of happy hours—and I’m betting you are too—so I’m always on the lookout for new ones in the area. That’s when I came across Tarry Lodge Westport’s brand new Aperetivo Hour.

Introduced in May, Aperitivo Hour goes down Monday – Friday from 4 – 6 p.m. It features wine and cocktails for $10 each, and five snackable small plates for $5 per. 


Cheesemonger Subscription Box Launches From Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Co.

Ingredients Features Cheese Delivery Service Home Delivery Gift Guide

Stephanie Webster

Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company have introduced a subscription cheese box service that curates small batch, artisan and traditional cheeses and delivers them, freshly cut, to the doorsteps of food lovers across the nation.

Cheesemonger Box will curate a selection of small batch and traditional American and European cheeses for monthly home delivery, launched this winter as the first cheese subscription service of its kind.

Founders Laura Downey and Chris Palumbo, co-founders and owners of Connecticut cheese shops Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company, are launching the service with the goal of “spreading the cheese love across the country” and empowering customers to “become the expert” on artisan cheese. 


Stew Leonard’s Delivered To Your Door with Instacart

Features Ingredients Home Delivery Delivery Service

Stephanie Webster

Family owned and operated Stew Leonard’s today announced Stew’s Fresh Delivery Powered by Instacart, the technology-driven, nationwide on-demand grocery delivery service.  Starting Wednesday, November 1, 2017, same-day grocery delivery service will be available to 365,000 households within a 20-30 minute drive of Stew Leonard’s farm fresh food stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, Conn. as well as in Yonkers, Farmingdale, and East Meadow, N.Y.

Customers who sign up for Stew’s Fresh Delivery by February 1, 2018 using code stewsexpress will have free delivery on orders over $35 for up to a year.    


Little Box Pizza: New Pizza Truck in Stamford w/ a Mission

Restaurant Food Truck Stamford Pizza Lunch Home Delivery To-Go Take Out

Stephanie Webster

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.


Takumi Sushi, Ramen & Lounge in Branford

Restaurant Japanese Branford Lunch Home Delivery Take Out Noodles Sushi

Hope Simmons

I heard it through the grapevine their ramen was simply divine, so off I went to check it out. Then, I sampled their sushi, and an ongoing dilemma emerged—what to eat today? Must I choose? Ideally, you’ll want to go with someone who loves both, so you can share and have the best of everything, all in one artfully presented meal. You’ll find it all under one roof at Takumi Sushi, Ramen & Lounge on Route 1 in Branford.

Shoreline locals talked up Hanami for years, so if you remember that spot, it’s now Takumi. And it’s fabulous. I’ve been making the trip to the shore just about every week to get my fix since December. A simple, contemporary space where you can take a break from the hustle and bustle and focus on dining deliciously.


Thai Kit: Top Notch Thai Cuisine Found in Fairfield

Restaurant Thai Fairfield Lunch Home Delivery Take Out Asian Homepage

RealGuy

The passage of time is strange.  The distant past and the very recent can bend back on each other and almost touch, and what was once long ago can feel as real now as the blossoming of first love, as the comforting aroma of mom’s home cooking… Lately when I’m in the mood to go back up the river of time to that place in Southeast Asia that destiny would see us go just once, I visit Thai Kit on the Post Road in Fairfield.  It's a brand new Thai restaurant with a couple of advantages over some other places I have tried.  If you find yourself in the neighborhood, or if you live in the neighborhood, just past the McDonalds at the circle in Fairfield heading toward Black Rock on the left-hand side, Thai Kit is a delicious destination well worth exploring.


Top Picks For Eating In With UberEATS

Restaurant Features Homepage To-Go Home Delivery Delivery Service New Haven Stamford

CTbites Team

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.


Stuart Family Farm: Grass Fed Organic Meat + Home Delivery in CT! sponsored post

Home Delivery Local Farm

CTbites Team

With the holiday season fast approaching, Stuart Family Farm can supply your family and friends with some of the highest quality, best tasting, most humanely raised meat products found anywhere.  Located on the Litchfield/Fairfield County border in picturesque Bridgewater, CT, the Stuart Family raises 100% grass fed/finished beef, pastured pork, and pastured poultry.

Stuart Family Farm is an environmentally friendly farm, utilizing organic fertilizer on all pastures and hay fields and is free of all herbicides and pesticides.  The cow herd is pasture rotated throughout the grazing season and is fed hay that is grown exclusively on the farm during the winter months.  The farm became certified Animal Welfare Approved in 2008 and is audited annually to maintain active certification.  AWA is a food label for meat products that come from farm animals raised according to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards. 


Happy Hour at Elm City Social in New Haven

Features Restaurant Happy Hour Editor's Pick Bar New Haven

Amy Kundrat

Elm City Social has entered New Haven’s burgeoning craft cocktail scene with an exhaustive and inventive array of cocktails and a variety dining options from mid-day to late night. Venturing into the Elm City Social bar during Happy Hour, I had but a simple mission – to quickly refuel with a cocktail and a few snacks before an evening event. I knew I had come to the right place when I noticed the cocktail menu was equal to, if not greater than, the dining options.

So first, those cocktails. The Rubber Ducky is a shaken cocktail made from a combination of a citra hop-infused New Amsterdam Gin, basil, grapefruit, lemon, with sparkling water. First sip, my eyes quickly narrowing, I found myself put off (turned on?) by the hoppy notes. Second sip, a bit of offense but also wonderment, “how did an IPA get in my cocktail?” From that point until my last sip, I was impressed by the equal parts confusion and compulsion on my palate. Well done. Also, there is an actual rubber ducky floating in your drink. Bonus points for cheekiness.


Kawa Ni Announces New Happy Hour And Cocktail Menu

Restaurant Cocktails Happy Hour Japanese Westport Bar

James Gribbon

Kawa Ni, Westport's izakaya by the river, has been both a haven of Japanese-inspired food and a boisterous drinking scene since its opening just over a year ago. The party is about to start earlier, as Bill Taibe and co. have announced the debut of their new happy hour menu of food and drink at the Bridge Square, starting now.

Izakayas are small taverns which cater to the occasionally raucous after work set in Japan, so the new menu, with its focus on a limited number of small bar bites backed up by almost twice as many drinks, is right on theme. The prices of food and drink alike are sharply reduced for the happy hour, which runs Tuesday -Friday 4-6PM. 


Meet The New Culinary Team @ Vespa Restaurant in Westport

Restaurant American Brunch Happy Hour Italian Westport Lunch

Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger

Vespa Restaurant recently introduced its new culinary team, Executive Chef David White and Pastry Chef Susanne Berne to create a vibrant menu to complement the relaxing décor and wonderful water view. The duo will collaborate in creating a menu for the full dining experience, from the first bite of Antipasti to the last bite of Dolci. In addition, the restaurant recently unveiled its lunch service, a new dessert menu and the commencement of “Apertivo Hour” from 4-6PM, offering half price beer, wine, $8 select cocktails and a small plates menu.

Chef David joins Vespa from The Inn at Pound Ridge, where he was the Chef de Cuisine. Prior to working with Chef Jean-Georges, he sharpened his skills in Europe before returning to the US to further refine his talents with award-winning Andrew Masciangelo at Savona. Chef Berne’s passion for the culinary arts was sparked by a pastry course in college before receiving her Grande Diploma in Pastry Arts in 1999. She subsequently won back-to-back ACF Florida Pastry Challenges in 2003 & 2005.

CTbites recently visited Vespa to sample a variety of the new culinary team’s Italian-inspired creations.


Good2Gourmet - New Meal Delivery Service in New Canaan & Darien

Features Darien Delivery Service Home Delivery New Canaan

CTbites Team

Tired of cooking? Looking for something less expensive than take-out from a restaurant? Then a new venture on Vitti Street in New Canaan, GOOD2GOURMET, may be an alternative. The brainchild of local resident and mother of four, Lisa Strupp, GOOD2GOURMET offers a variety of soups, salads, and entrées for families to enjoy. Teaming with business partner Kevin Schmudde, the two enlisted the culinary skills of Executive Chef Eric Ulbrich to create a menu that includes soups, salads, pastas, and entrées. Customers go to the website (they do not take telephone orders), place their order, choose a 1-hour delivery window (curbside pick-up at the store is also available) and the food will be on the front stoop as requested. Alternatively, customers can visit and purchase a selection of items at the store.

The Beer Garden @ Shippan Landing Re-Opens May 21 For The Summer Season in Stamford

Restaurant Beer Garden CT Beer Happy Hour Stamford Beer Bar

Stephanie Webster

Imian Partners will open The Beer Garden at Shippan Landing for its second season on May 21st.  Imian first introduced the pop-up beer garden concept two summers ago with The Beer Garden at Harbor Point and is credited for invigorating the social scene in Stamford’s South End.  The Shippan spot has a significantly more relaxed vibe than that of Harbor Point, but has all the charm and beauty of the perfect summer hangout. 

With unobstructed waterfront views, (and the best seat in town to watch the sunset all summer long), The Beer Garden at Shippan Landing will showcase and rotate its carefully curated list of local craft beers on draft and in cans offering a variety of options. Look for favorites such as Half Full, Broad Brook, Captain Lawrence and more. We also hear that The Beer Garden will be partnering with Half Full to create a signature beer just for the garden. Pretty cool.  

An impressive rotating lineup of the area’s best food trucks will also be part of the nightly festivities at the Beer Garden. Stay tuned for details on some of your favorite mobile eats. 

The family-friendly environment will include outdoor games such as life-size jenga, corn hole, can jam and beer pong. Entertainment will include live music and special themed-events throughout the summer beginning on Sunday May 24th with a Memorial Day party. 


Fresh Nation Enables Home Delivery for Westport Farmers' Market

Ingredients Features CT Farms Farmers Market Home Delivery Local Farm Farm Fresh

CTbites Team

Fresh Nation, the online marketplace for farmers markets, and Westport Farmers’ Market announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide online shopping and home delivery.  Fresh Nation will operate an online storefront for the Market, providing local consumers with the ability to place an online order from many of their favorite Market vendors and receive same day home delivery from a Fresh Nation personal shopper. 

Fresh Nation delivers fresh food direct from farmers markets to consumers, by bringing local farmers markets together into a convenient online shopping destination, enabling farmers and food makers at the markets to reach new customers who do not normally make it to the market.  The company employs trained food shoppers to go the markets and personally fill customers’ online orders.  After receiving orders from Fairfield County residents for Thursday delivery, Fresh Nation fills these orders at the Westport Farmers’ Market and drives them directly to customers’ homes. 

“We are committed to bringing the freshest and best foods from the Westport Farmers’ Market to all members of our community,” said Lori Cochran


Plated.com: Mise en Place Delivered to Your Doorstep!

Features Catering Delivery Service Home Delivery

Natalie Levitt

There is nothing better than being able to select a gourmet recipe and have all the needed fresh ingredients arrive and ready to cook with just a few clicks. 

Plated.com makes meal making fun, easy, and a delicious experience. It is a mash-up of an online grocery store and a private cooking lesson. Easy to follow recipes, with pictures are provided. This is a great activity for two or the entire family, helping to reconnect people while sharing great food. The average time to prepare one of the meals is 30-40 minutes.

“Each week, 7 chef-designed recipes are featured on the menu. The dishes include 4 healthy meat & fish options and 3 unique vegetarian dishes.” The produce is fresher than what is typically found at the grocery store and can be enjoyed all week long.

Costs are simple to understand, they are per plate. Trial offers are currently running so check it out and go cook something extraordinary!

Go check out www.plated.com for more information.