Filtering by Tag: Roundup,Bridgeport

Roadrunner Kitchen + Bar: Santa Fe Inspired Street Food in Black Rock

Features Interview Restaurant Black Rock Bridgeport Tacos Cocktails Family Friendly Homepage

Andrew Dominick

There’s only one way to begin an article about a restaurant that bears the name RoadRunner, and that’s with very Looney Tunes-like MEEP, MEEP!

Now that we’ve gotten the silliness out of the way—for now—it’s time to dish on this Bridgeport newcomer.

RoadRunner Kitchen + Bar comes to the Black Rock neighborhood from the New Canaan Restaurant Group whose restaurants include Gates in New Canaan and Bruxelles Brasserie in South Norwalk.

RoadRunner, though, is the polar opposite of its sister restaurants in terms of its high energy, casual vibe that suits families as well as adults who simply want to kick it at the bar and crush a few tacos.

But make no mistake, just because you read “tacos” doesn’t mean this is a Mexican joint. It’s New Mexican inspired. No, not like New American, but with Mexican food. We’re talking Santa Fe street eats and easy drinking cocktails with some fun shots thrown into the mix.


CT Guide To 35+ Spots for Healthy Eats & Wellness: Markets, Apothecaries, Nutritionists, Spice Shops, Juice, Teas and More

Features Restaurant Ingredients Healthy Eats Juice Bar Specialty Market Spices Tea Acai Bowl Smoothies Health & Wellness Roundup Homepage Highlight

April Guilbault

We are officially into winter and, in addition to the regular flus and colds, all that other “stuff” is still swirling around. Behold, a listing of establishments where you can grab healthy eats, products, and even some classes that will boost your immunity and overall health in an attempt to steel you against whatever might endeavor to chase you. From the humble elderberry and cup of tea to stores that stock all manner of healthy living goods and purveyors specializing in quality goods for your wellness, we want to help you stack the deck in your favor this season.

Here are 35+ Spots for Healthy Eats & Wellness: Markets, Apothecaries, Nutritionists, Spice Shops, Juice, Teas and More!


CTbites Staff Picks For Top Eats of 2021 (Plus Special Guest Eaters)

Features Restaurant Top Eats Best of CT Roundup Homepage

Stephanie Webster

It’s that time of year, when the CTbites staff temporarily puts down our forks, and contemplates our most memorable annual eats. In 2021, much like the year prior, food was critical to our collective covid endurance. Connecticut restaurants struggled with both labor and supply shortages, and yet, chefs continued to create memorable and beautiful dishes that gave diners something to look forward to and savor. Bravo to the CT culinary scene for making it through another challenging year, and to you, the diners, who supported this industry.

Here are the very best things we ate in 2021.


50+ CT Restaurants To Celebrate New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day (2021 Edition)

Features Holiday New Years Roundup Homepage Events

April Guilbault

Here we go again, roaring into the 20s, this time #22! To celebrate this flip of the calendar, whether you choose to dine out or partake in a delicious and fun takeout with friends or family, there are a myriad of delicious menus and restaurant events that await you as we kiss goodbye one year and welcome another. Raise that glass, belt out Auld Lang Syne, hope for the best, and support our favorite restaurants while we do! Happy 2022, everyone. May we all have a happy, healthy, and delicious New Year (fingers crossed).


Friday Froth: Berlinetta Brewing Opens in Bridgeport with A Focus On Classic European Beer

Features Restaurant Openings Brewery Beer Bridgeport Homepage

James Gribbon

The bright white space drips with psychedelic funk as I step into Berlinetta Brewing this summer. A few decades of listening to Georges Collinet's "Afropop Worldwide," I recognize Hugh Masekela and am beaming, not just at that, but at the racks of books (actual paper books!) in reach of tables lit by huge windows. This is a very, very promising start for the downtown Bridgeport brewery.

Step up through the back doorway the tasting room shares with lofts in the newly refurbished building and you'll enter a mini in-brewery record store. Racks of LPs beside a twin turntable setup are for sale or maybe trade if you're feeling barter-y. Co-owner (co-brother), and head brewer Rich Ruggiero has also crafted a tube amp powered reel-to-reel Hi-Fi stereo which can drive the sound system at the click of a toggle switch. Walk in the front door, and you'll see it (and likely him) behind the taproom bar.


2021 Connecticut Food Truck Guide: 100+ Local Food Trucks

Features Restaurant Food Truck Food Truck Park Catering Homepage Best of CT Roundup

April Guilbault

Ok folks, LET’S GET ROLLIN’! Summer is here and it’s looking like it might be a helluva lot better than the last one. Halle-freakin-lujah! Events? Parties? Going out to eat in public? Could it be? Let’s refresh our memories and gild them with bites of pure deliciousness. Saunter up to these ever-popular trucks when you are out and about or have one roll right into your own yard or venue! Let’s spin into a new, sunny summer with a drink in hand, tasty food on our plates, and friends by our side (after we’ve given them a big hug)!


Howling Hot Chicken Brings Nashville Hot Chicken To Bridgeport

Restaurant Openings Bridgeport Hot Chicken Chicken Sandwich Comfort Food Take Out Delivery

James Gribbon

They call it a "slider," but it is not a slider. They call it "Hot Chicken," and it is definitely, exactly, most assuredly, guaranteed and board certified to be both of those things. Good lord. I have never been to Nashville, because I have never been a member of a southern lady's bachelorette party, but I have both been to Bridgeport, and Enjoyed-to-Tolerated many a chicken sandwich. If this is what they're like in central Tennessee, I may take the trip.

Howling Hot Chicken is just past the Bridgeport/Trumbull line down from the mall, and will shortly share a wall with a Milkcraft creamery, whose owners identified a bit of vacuum in the Connecticut landscape which needed filling with Extremely Hot Chicken (or mild, or simply fried with no spice, your call) and created a new franchise. Recognizing a similar void in my lunchtime, I recently swung by.


45+ CT Caterers, Restaurants, & Sports Bars for Super Bowl 2021

Features Restaurant Super Bowl Catering Roundup Homepage

April Guilbault

Instead of the usual sports equipment, players, and fans, Super Bowl 55 will also be brimming with masks, wipes, sanitizers and safety cards this year. The stadium will be 1/3 full and sitting next to those real folks will be cardboard cutouts of more “fans”. Where is Flat Stanley when we need him? We can only hope a flat Bernie will be somewhere in that crowd. Pandemic aside, one bit of equipment for *any* Super Bowl remains the same: food. And lots of it. Crammed in a stadium or at home with just your pod, food reigns supreme on Super Bowl Sunday and Connecticut eateries and caterers are offering great packages for you (and Bernie. And Stanley). So eat up, cheer loud, and thank the heavens above that there are only cardboard cutouts of fans, not food!

Here are 45+ Restaurants, Sports Bars, and Caterers for Super Bowl 2021.


CTbites Staff Picks For Top Eats of 2020 (Plus Special Guest Eaters)

Features Restaurant Best of CT Roundup Top Eats Homepage

Stephanie Webster

Ok, let’s face it…2020 was no bueno, and the restaurant industry was one of the hardest hit. In an effort to normalize a year where nothing feels normal, we leaned heavily on America’s favorite past time…eating. Whether we comforted ourselves with homemade bagels or ordered takeout to support our local restaurants, food was critical to our collective covid endurance.

While we would all like 2020 to dissolve into the depths of history, and never look back, it is that time of year when the CTbites staff temporarily puts down our forks and contemplates our most memorable annual eats. In the spirit of 2020 and the restaurant community that came together to support one another, we have added something special for you this year. We invited a few friends from the Connecticut blogging and social media scene to join in our Top Eats roundup. Start drooling and take notes.

Here are the very best things we ate in 2020.


The Cannoli Pie Company & Luigi's Bakery in Bridgeport Go National

Features Dessert Bakery Cannoli Italian Bridgeport

Stephanie Webster

John Dimarco and his renown Luigi's Bakery, served up Italian sweets on Main street in Bridgeport for 50 years. Two years ago, Dimarco closed the bakery and joined in a partnership with three longtime friends to expand the wholesale side of his business. Luigi’s was famous for its Original Cannoli Pie and their killer tasty cannoli cream. Hence, for the new spot, they chose the name “The Cannoli Pie Company” and relaunched and refocused their wholesale distribution business around being "Cannoli Specialists" and "Masters of All Things Cannoli."

This little bakery that could has some big news for the holidays. In between making wedding cakes for most of Connecticut and running a full Italian Bakery, John managed to get his amazing cannoli pies into 85 local Stop & Shops along with scattered Price Rite, Shop Rites and specialty stores. And now, two years later, their cannoli pie is in EVERY SINGLE STOP & SHOP – over 400 stores in 5 states!


EGG-citing News: The Tasty Yolk Storefront Opens in Black Rock + Now Serving Lunch!

Restaurant Openings Black Rock Bridgeport Breakfast Lunch Homepage Comfort Food Brunch Catering Food Truck

Stephanie Webster

I pose this question to you…Is there anything better than a well executed egg sandwich in the wee hours of the morning (or really any time of day)? A nice runny yolk…smoky bacon…buttery Parker House roll….drooling yet? Well, for lovers of all things egg sandwich, we’ve got some egg-citing news. The crave-worthy egg sandwich food truck, The Tasty Yolk, has officially opened the doors to their NEW storefront location at 2992 Fairfield Ave, Bridgeport TODAY! No longer will hungry diners exclusively have to seek out one of their three Fairfield County mobile breakfast sandwich delivery vehicles. Chef Eric Felitto’s (Food Network Chopped Champion) award winning menu will be available 6 days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. P.S. MSN awarded The Tasty Yolk one of "America's 100 Best Food Trucks." Oh, and did I mention they have added a FULL LUNCH MENU to the lineup?? Yup…We’re pumped.


Hidden Mexican Gem: Azteca Restaurant in Bridgeport

Restaurant Bridgeport Mexican Tacos Lunch Brunch Kid Friendly Openings homepage Homepage

Andrew Dominick

Hidden gems are the heart and soul of this site. I think the other CTbites writers would wholeheartedly agree that those “off the beaten path” restaurants or those that haven’t quite reached a mainstream audience yet, those are the ones that we get excited about the most. 

Azteca Restaurant in Bridgeport is exactly the kind of place that gets my blood flowing. Its family owned, and still new as it opened during the summer. It also might’ve never come to my attention if chef Bill Taibe didn’t sing its praises to us after a random night out in Bridgeport and a cell phone search for “Mexican food near me.” 

If not for a chef’s need for late night munchies, Azteca would not have been on our radar. With this information, Stephanie Webster and I rolled out to Azteca for an unforgettable midday Monday feast. 


Birdman Juke joint Opens in Black Rock From Top Chef Chris Scott

Restaurant Openings Bridgeport Black Rock Southern Food Celebrity Chef Comfort Food Kid Friendly Homepage

Kristin L. Wolfe

Connecticut are you ready? I mean really ready. You may have fallen under the spell of what others have told you is Soul Food, but Chef Chris Scott, of  TV’s Top Chef Season 15 and beloved Brooklyn restaurants Butterfunk and Sumner’s Luncheonette, is not playing around. He is giving you the real deal, with seasoning to the nth power, and a history lesson to boot. In just 48 hours of opening, the reception has been tremendous. So much so, Chef says, “I might just have to sleep down stairs for awhile.” The lines have been long and the orders have been flying out the window. Birdman Juke Joint is on everyone’s list to try. But that is the thing. You can’t, or won’t just try it. You will be swept away. Or, as the fellers I sat with at the bar did, ….you might just use every curse word imaginable to convey your newfound love. 


The Blind Rhino Sports Bar Opens In Black Rock

Restaurant Openings Sports Bar Bar lunch Bridgeport Black Rock Comfort Food

James Gribbon

When the Blind Rhino opened in South Norwalk in 2015 it made waves both as the first dedicated sports bar in a nightlife-intensive district which was somehow devoid of one, and for making quality food and drink the focus, rather than an afterthought to bats and balls. Do they have beer and wings? Yep, but their beers are two dozen taps' worth of Connecticut focused craft, and their wings come with flavors like Togarashi dry rub and won multiple medals at the last year's National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY. Is there such a thing as a gastro sports bar? Yes, actually, there are two - and you can now find the second one just over the Fairfield town line in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport. 


Boca Oyster Bar Opens On Bridgeport's Steelpointe Harbor

Restaurant Bridgeport Black Rock Seafood Oysters Oyster Bar Openings Homepage

James Gribbon

Drivers casting their eyes randomly about, desperate for a diversionary glance at anything besides traffic and out of state plates between the concrete shoulders of I-95 may settle their gaze on a new brick building on the waterfront of Bridgeport harbor. Slightly reminiscent of a lighthouse, it sits at the other side of the new development in Steelpointe Harbor from Bass Pro Shops, and - as of this week - houses the new Boca Oyster Bar. CTBites hit the bar during their soft open at the end of May to give you this first look. 


Birdman Juke Joint Opening In Bridgeport with Real Soul Food from Top Chef, Chris Scott

Restaurant Openings Bridgeport Comfort Food Celebrity Chef Southern Homepage

Kristin L. Wolfe

“It’s about the chicken…” says Chef Chris Scott (Top Chef Season 15), telling his new Connecticut fan base a story at his sold out Pop Up last Thursday night. And he’s about to knock nutmeggers socks off left and right with what he calls Real Soul Food, not the “gentrified” sort we’ve heard about or tasted before. There’s a story attached to the chicken, to the greens and black-eyed peas; there’s a story about the people who originally brought us the food. Real Soul Food is not just the celebrated dishes we’ve come to know and love. Chef wants everyone to understand the heritage behind this cuisine, and really hear about the ones who toiled long and hard for the meals we know as southern soul food. It’s time we learned about the Birdman; and Chef Scott is just the one to deliver the tale. He is passionate, he is immensely knowledgeable, he is experienced, and he just so happens to be one freakin’ amazing Chef.


MATCH Taco Opens Today in Black Rock, Bridgeport from Chef Matt Storch

Restaurant Openings Mexican Tacos Delicious Dives Take Out To-Go Bridgeport Homepage

Stephanie Webster

Chef Matt Storch is at it again, this time with a concept that waxes nostalgic to his humble beginnings in the kitchen of the much loved Tex-Mex joint, "Tacos Or What?" in Westport. Tacos Or What was the local spot where Storch learned to love the business of food, and now, Match Taco is his latest venture going into the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport.

Storch plans to get back to his roots (yes, his grandma actually owned a restaurant in Mexico City) and get his hands into some serious tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas...all the Tex-Mex food you could want. Additionally Match Taco will be filling those weekend morning comfort food cravings with a full menu of breakfast sandwiches. Intrigued? Read on...


The Colombian Hot Dog Truck: Ultimate Comfort Food

Restaurant Food Truck Burgers Columbian Comfort Food Hot Dogs Bridgeport Delicious Dives Homepage

Andrew Dominick

I can admit when I have a problem. Connecticut has several great food trucks, and I social media stalk a bunch of them. The addiction is obviously the food, then there’s this game of being able to track down the truck or trucks in question. Will I be free? Where will the truck be? What time? And for how long will they be there? 

One that I played cat and mouse with recently was The Colombian Hot Dog, a mobile trailer that specializes in Colombian fast food. They were put on my radar by a local photographer friend who spent some time shooting The Colombian Hot Dog crew in action one summer night. He suggested I check them out, but it took a while since the truck is only parked in Norwalk one night per week. 


Eat Noodle Brings Ramen and Pho to Bridgeport’s Bijou Square

Restaurant Bridgeport ra Ramen Noodles Openings

CTbites Team

Noodle soup news from CTPost. 

As downtown Bridgeport continues to welcome restaurants, the latest addition to the Bijou Square is serving up hot ramen and noodle soups in minutes.

Easton resident Skye Kwok opened Eat Noodle in downtown Bridgeport on Jan. 8 at 269 Fairfield Ave. The eatery opened in the space that once housed Can Tiin, which closed last summer.

A former Bridgeport resident, Kwok said the area has changed since his days growing up in the Park City. As residential development and the office market has grown over the years, he said a community vibe has developed that he felt his restaurant could thrive in.

“Bridgeport is growing right now,” he said. “When I came to this area I was surprised (at how) it changed a lot, and I saw a lot of potential.”

Kwok began working in the restaurant industry 22 years ago, after attending Sacred Heart University, and has since opened restaurants in other parts of Fairfield County. He also owns Sweet Basil in Fairfield and Pink Sumo Sushi & Sake Cafe in Westport.

According to the business owner, he wanted to bring his own spin on the growing noodle soup market to the city, with options like pho, ramen and specialty items like curry soup.