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Takeout Chronicles: Joe’s Pizza, bartaco, Cafe Silvium, & Twelve Percent Beer Project

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Andrew Dominick

As some Connecticut restaurants begin the slow process of reopening with outdoor dining, you’ll either rush right out, ease back into it, or wait a bit longer when it comes to reintroducing yourself to your favorite eateries based on your level of comfort. Regardless of where you stand, it’s a safe bet that your dining repertoire will still include takeout.

With that said, and on the heels of James Gribbon’s takeout picks, I’ve got a bunch worth checking out.

At the very beginning of quarantine, one of my first orders came from an oldie. Joe’s Pizza has been open since 1967, almost two decades before I was born. I’ve actually had my entire life to try it, but here I am in 2020, a Joe’s newbie.


Connecticut Restaurants Reopening on 5/20 with Outdoor Dining

Features Restaurant Outdoor Dining Patio Best of CT COVID-19 Homepage

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

“Opening a restaurant demands a fervent love of the business… and because of that love restaurants have historically proven far more resilient than many other small businesses,” writes John Mariani in a recent article for Forbes. We are overjoyed that on Wednesday May 20, Connecticut restaurants can begin opening their doors per the governor and the state’s reopening plan. Things may look a little different at first- outdoor dining only, reduced capacity, spread out tables, and in some cases limited hours- but we are thrilled to return to our favorite local eateries. Here is a guide to restaurants reopening on May 20. Please let us know if you know of anyone not on the list. Please note that we are trying to keep up with updates, but these details are subject to change. Please call your favorite restaurants ahead of time to confirm.


SoNo Seaport Seafood Reopens: Iconic Waterside Seafood is BACK!

Restaurant South Norwalk SONO Norwalk Seafood Comfort Food Kid Friendly Waterfront Patio Outdoor Dining Openings Homepage

Andrew Dominick

After a two-and-a-half-month hiatus, SoNo Seaport Seafood is open once again, serving up the ocean’s bounty with a few exciting changes. 

In mid-April, the 35-year-old South Norwalk mainstay announced they would shut down shop while the restaurant, outdoor bar, and patio all underwent renovations. To oversee it all, SoNo Seaport’s owners, the Bloom Family, brought in a legit Fairfield County chef to consult on the project. 

That’s where Matt Storch enters the fray. But make no mistake, the chef/owner of Match and Match Burger Lobster wasn’t merely brought in to make decisions on what furniture to buy and what color paint should go on the walls. One of Storch’s focal points at SoNo Seaport was to give an outdated menu a much-needed refresh. 


High George Rooftop Bar Opens At The Blake Hotel in New Haven from Chef Tyler Anderson

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James Gribbon

"I've just always wanted to be a part of it," Chef Tyler Anderson tells me as we talk about New Haven and he hands me an everything bagel spiced cracker topped with a mound of bluefish tartare. "The culinary scene is so impressive here, and you have the city culture, the music. I had to do it some day." The "it" is where we're standing, six or so stories above a corner in the southwest of downtown, on the roof of the new Blake Hotel. High George (named for the intersecting streets) is Anderson's kitchen pied-à-terre in the Elm City - open air views open now.

Chef Anderson is a familiar face at his restaurants: Millwright's, The Cook & The Bear, and Porron&Piña, and to a national audience thanks to appearances on Top Chef and Beat Bobby Flay. He is also well known to the James Beard Foundation, who have nominated him as Best Chef Northeast every year since 2013. His idea for the menu at High George is to present small plate versions of New England summer food - clams, fish, coal-fired skewers - inexpensively, adding culinary interest through twists on flavors and presentation. Fried whole belly clams? Absolutely, and served wrapped in soft bao, the easier to knock back in a few bites while holding a cocktail in the other hand. Anderson and A.J. Aurrichio have brought on Tim Cabral as the third partner, using his experience at Ordinary to create cocktails in keeping with the light menu because this is, after all, a rooftop bar.


CT Guide to Outdoor Dining (2019): 100 + Restaurants for Summer

Features Restaurant Best of CT Outdoor Dining Summer Patio RoofTop

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

Summer lasts for about six weeks, and I want to soak up every glorious morsel of sunshine that I can while it is here!  I also want to partake in the delicious food the season has to offer.  Connecticut restaurants are making sure that we don’t have to choose between those two options.  Places across the state are opening up their patios, decks, and rooftop bars.  Here is a lift of over 130 restaurants where you can fine al fresco this summer.

Tavern on State, New Haven: Tavern on State, owned by Chef Emily Mingrone, is one of the latest to join the dozens of exceptional restaurants in the New Haven area.  There are 45 seats outdoors.

Birdman Juke Joint, Bridgeport: The much-anticipated restaurant from Chef Chris Scott will have some outdoor seating in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood.

High George, New Haven: High George, located at The Blake Hotel in New Haven, is a new three-season rooftop restaurant that features a full food and beverage menu inspired by Summers in New England.  James Beard-nominated Chef Tyler Anderson, along with partners A.J. Aurrichio and Tim Cabral, is overseeing its operations. 

Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill, Fairfield & New Haven: The Fairfield location of Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill has a large patio for al fresco dining with firepits for cold evenings.  In New Haven, enjoy their heated patio that is enclosed for year-round dining. 

Shell and Bones Oyster Bar, New Haven: Shell & Bones Oyster Bar in New Haven has a fabulous view of the water with floor to ceiling doors that are open in summer and a deck directly on the water complete with fire pits and patio heaters for chilly nights.  Dive into their Harbor Sampler or the Tower of Shells, with lobsters, clams, oysters, and shrimp. 


CT Guide to Outdoor Dining: 40+ Restaurants for Summer

Restaurant Armonk Bethel Darien Fairfield Norwalk Outdoor Dining Patio Stamford Stratford Westport New Canaan Best of CT

April Guilbault

There are some ingredients in this world that, when you add them to anything, they pretty much make it spectacular. Bacon, for example. It would probably make a sneaker taste good. “Air” is another ingredient. Air-a bizarre ingredient on an episode of Chopped? No. Air, as in fresh air. Eating outside. Have you noticed that when you eat a lobster roll outside on a deck overlooking the ocean, it makes you happy? Or eat a grilled burger at a picnic table on a warm summer evening?  Or sip a frothy cappuccino at a sidewalk cafe? What is the common ingredient here? Fresh air. Good food combined with a hefty dose of the outdoors.

And lucky for you, we’ve put together a long list of our favorite eateries (40+) that have lovely outdoor dining spaces. 

If we missed an outdoor venue you frequent, please share your find below. 

For more Summer Eats see our Guide to The Best Warm Lobster Rolls on the CT Coast.