Filtering by Tag: News,beer

The Port of Call in Mystic Launches Seaqueens Drag & Disco Evenings

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Stephanie Webster May 23, 2022

For centuries, the seafaring industry was dominated by men, and the presence of women on board was considered bad luck. In Mystic, CT, a town with a storied maritime history, The Port of Call, a new nautical-themed cocktail lounge, is giving a nod to the area’s seafaring traditions while also looking to the future. That future includes three Queer women who are “steering the ship” at The Port of Call: executive chef Renée Touponce, beverage director Jade Ayala, and general manager Nancy Hankins.

To celebrate a new era of inclusivity and gender diversity in a fun and welcoming environment, the trio has announced Sea Queens, a summer-long bi-weekly dinner and drag show that will run from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Starting Sunday, May 29th, and kicking off Pride Month, guests can book a seating at 6:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m., where they’ll enjoy a choice of two dishes from the inventive menu along with a cocktail, as well as an incredible drag show by some of the best Queens in the region. Then, at 10:30 p.m., the fun will continue with a disco after-party at Dive, the lower-level casual bar.

Bar 140: Belgian Frites, Burgers, Bibimbap Wings + Booze in Shelton

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Andrew Dominick May 08, 2022

It wasn’t that long ago that I found myself in Shelton covering all things pierogi at The Rogi Shoppe when I randomly received a few DMs on two different Instagram accounts saying I should stop by Bar 140.

The finder’s fee goes to Gina, who sang the praises of Bar 140’s bar food, particularly their Belgian style frites. That got my attention fast! But then that continued with a few other messages trickled in that it’d be my type of bar; casual, kinda hipster, solid cocktails, and a fine beer list.

I asked around and got much of the same. Even Mateus from The Rogi Shoppe said their fries were stellar.

After I set up an interview with Joe Ballaro, who owns Bar 140 with his wife, Tiffany, I told a few friends I was going up there. It got pumped up even more by my friend Katy, who said, “This is my spot! I used to be a regular when I worked a few block away. It’s a good little spot. Good beer list and food. The owners are really cool.”

Sold! Plus, I’ll never pass up the chance at eating carefully made, hand cut fries by the bucket full, with different dipping sauces to plunge them into.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events for April 24- May 12

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Stephanie Webster April 19, 2022

The Hempening is going down at SONO 1420 on Sunday, April 24 from 1-6pm at 19 Day Street, South Norwalk. Delicious craft cocktails + tacos Live music, art and pottery!—Also starting 4/24 Two Roads Brewery is now hosting a weekly mouthwatering pop-up brunch in the Area Two Tasting Room and Rooftop Patio Featuring Daybreaker Craft Cocktail favorites.—Gastro Park in West Hartford is celebrating Spring on Sunday (4/24) with their friends from Kent Falls Brewing Co. with a SPRING BOTTLE RELEASE + FOOD PAIRING EVENT.—Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill is hosting a Paint and Sip Night on Tuesday, April 26—Barcelona Wine Bar, Stamford (222 Summer Street, Stamford) hosts The Pig & The Paella on Thursday, April 28, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.++

Streusel Doughnut Cream Ale Release from Outer Light Brewing Company & Young Buns Doughnuts

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CTbites Team March 05, 2022

Outer Light Brewing Company (OLBC) and Young Buns Doughnuts of Mystic, Connecticut have teamed up to release Young Buns Streusel Doughnut Cream Ale, a one-off release inspired by the gourmet doughnuts produced at the Mystic bakery. The beer, which will be available on draft and in 16oz 4-packs will be released at the brewery on March 10th, with limited distribution across Southeastern Connecticut to follow.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events & News For March 3-15

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Stephanie Webster March 02, 2022

Parlor Pizza is hosting FAMILY NIGHT again on MARCH 8TH. Every month, they will be hosting a night at Parlor Wilton where adults can relax with a meal while children get to make their own pies!—-Celebrate the maple sugaring season at Stamford Museum & Nature Center March 6 & 13.—-Join Gabriel’s Italian Steakhouse in Westport for a 4-course Whiskey Dinner——On FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022 AT 5 PM – 8 PM, Franny’s Farmacy in Westport hosts FREE WINE + CBD fundraiser with wine tasting from the experts at ONEHOPE Winery.—-Area TWO at Two Roads Brewery , turns THREE! Come on down March 12th for our BIG THREE Anniversary Luau! ++

Spacecat Brewing Company: Now Pouring in Norwalk

Features Interview Craft Beer beer South Norwalk Norwalk Homepage Openings

Andrew Dominick February 23, 2022

With Spacecat Brewing Company opening its taproom, South Norwalk finally has a brewery…

Again.

Not counting the two short-lived macrobreweries Guvnor’s and Iron which were located in the same space on Washington Street, the city hasn’t had a larger, buzzed about brewery since New England Brewing debuted on Commerce Street 1989 with then head brewer Phil Markowski, and they eventually moved to Marshall Street with another head brewer, Rob Leonard at the helm.

NEBCO left SoNo in 2001 for Woodbridge and Norwalk has been without a watering hole like it ever since.

A little less than 20 years later, James Bloom—no relation to the famous Bloom Family oyster operation—had an idea to open a brewery along with his friend and co-worker Jeff Dunn.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events For February 21-March 8th

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Stephanie Webster February 17, 2022

The inaugural “Mansfield-Willi Restaurant Week ” is going down February 21 through March 6 celebrating the great and varied dining in the Mansfield Willimantic community with special prix-fixe menus and packages from participating restaurants—On February 23 & 24, don’t miss Chef Adam Greenberg on Food Network Guy’s Grocery Games “Food Network Champs” edition!—National Margarita Day is coming up on February 22nd, and to celebrate, the margarita experts at bartaco aren’t just limiting the fun to one day - they’re kicking off a whole month with Margarita March!—Stamford Winter Restaurant Weeks return February 21 – March 6, 2022.—Go shake it up at Wakeman Town Farm on March 3 @7 p.m., with their popular mixology class that is equal parts cocktail inspiration and fun.++

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events, Valentine's Day, Beer Dinners & Cooking Classes for February 2022

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Stephanie Webster January 26, 2022

bartaco has brought back its crispy avocado taco as the newest #bartacosecret taco.—Sally’s Apizza is doing a Super Bowl package this year with pizza and wings!—Fig Cooking School has some great cooking classes coming up.—Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta is excited to announce a partnership with celebrity chef, Christian Petroni—Hartford Baking Company is delighted to announce the return of their popular hot chocolate month for February—Sloshed just got a new definition. Join SONO1420 and Harbor Harvest in Norwalk on Friday, February 11th—Two Roads Brewing is getting ready for THE ULTIMATE TWOSDAY @ LITTLE PUB STRATFORD ++

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events For January 21-February 2nd

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Stephanie Webster January 20, 2022

Join Grass & Bones in Mystic on January 28th for a Dry Aged & Natural Wine Dinner. A six course dinner cooked by Chef James Wayman and his team—Oyster Club in Mystic is having a Happy Hour glow up! Every day, 4-5pm—Artisan is adding an extra incentive to start out 2022 on the right foot, with their NEW "5-6-7 Happy Hour" 3:30-6pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Tavern—Clean Juice Simsbury opens Jan 22nd with USDA-certified organic juices—Join Wakeman Town Farm for a workshop about how to make your own Fire Cider, an old-school elixir that is having a moment—Ambler Farm is offering a fun Valentine's Tea for Two + Cookie Decorating Kit. Grab your Valentine's Party For Two Kit here.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events, Classes & Holiday Fun for December 9-21

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Stephanie Webster December 08, 2021

Hindsight BBQ will be popping up at New England Brewing Co. this Saturday 12/11 from 12pm to 9pm. Join them for some great drinks and some of the best BBQ in CT.—Pastry chef Zac Young (creator of The PieCaken) opened Foxwoods own Sprinkletown Bakeshop pop-up open all holiday season long into President’s Day weekend.—Join Redding Roadhouse on Dec 15th for their second annual Winter Harvest dinner to celebrate their third growing season at Holbrook Farm with Farmers Ian Johnson and Katie Gallagher.—Spread some holiday cheer, sip, shop, and sample at SONO 1420 Distillery on Wednesday, Dec 15 from 4-7pm in their Tasting Room.

It’s a Woman’s World: Stephanie Geiling of Relic Brewing

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Andrew Dominick November 18, 2021

One of the promises I made to myself when I started dabbling in this particular column was that I’d do the opposite of only covering female chefs. I wanted to dive deeper into the hospitality industry to highlight those doing meal prep, perhaps a barista at a popular coffee shop, bakers, and in this case, a woman who works in brewing.

When I began my introductory search via Instagram stories, Stephanie Geiling came up as a suggestion more than a few times. Steph, as it turns out, is the operations manager at Relic Brewing Co. in Plainville.

The former psychological researcher at UCONN sort of stumbled into the beer world after she chose to leave the research field. She ended up at Relic after stopping into the tasting room one day and Mark Sigman, Relic’s owner, offered her a job.

“It was my first time ever going to a brewery and I said to myself, I have no idea what I’m doing, this is going to be a joke, but I’m going to do it anyway,” she says. “I helped in the tasting room, and I was still working in research and at a liquor store. I left research for personal reasons, and I started to enjoy the liquor industry. I also felt like this was a more supportive and inclusive environment.”

In addition to her career at Relic, Steph plays guitar and belts it out in a doom metal band based in Plainville called Lightkeeper, and she just started training in martial arts.

There’s more in the Q&A about what she does as Relic’s operations manager and we got into the widely publicized topic of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexism, and the like as it pertains to breweries.

For context, brewer Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet on IG) helped expose the black eye by sharing thousands of anonymous responses she received on Instagram’s “Questions” feature.

Read on and be sure to give Steph a follow @relic_brewing_steph.

What do you do at Relic Brewing?

When I first started, I worked the tasting room. Then I started helping Mark dry hop beer and clean kegs, and I still do that. It’s super fun here and I like the creative aspect. When I made the pineapple gose, that was fun to put together. I came up with the recipe for that one, usually we come up with them together but this particular one is all mine because he doesn’t like those type of beers A lot of times, I drive the truck or load the truck, unload pallets of beer, I run the tasting room, on Saturdays I run the kitchen, cooking, I order from distributors, contact customers. I’m a Jack of all trades.

The Cult Of Joe Bruno: Bruculino Goes Back To Its Roots, Pasta Nostra, in South Norwalk

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Lloyd Allen October 27, 2021

Bruno. Joe Bruno. AKA Joe. Bold. Intense. Irreverent. Stubbornly set in his ways, yet with the naive audacity of a young teenager. Joe Bruno cares about one thing only: perfecting his art. A perfectionist in an imperfect world.

Everything else is just show, point of view, shock and awe. “I’m not a chef,” he once said to me, “but I know that I have to recreate a dish exactly as I made for you the first time.” Right? Exacting execution— that’s what we grew to expect and that’s what we were given, night after night after night.

He was 35 when he opened Pasta Nostra. It was never meant to be a restaurant. “I wanted to sell pasta. I made a few dishes to showcase my pasta and the next thing you know it’s a restaurant.”

Nibble: Oct 18-31 Tasty CT Food Events, Festivals, Wine Dinners, Cooking Classes +

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Stephanie Webster October 15, 2021

Two Roads Brewing Company invites you to join us for our Annual Roadsmary’s Baby Pumpkin Fest on October 24, 2021 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm including an outdoor screening of Friday the 13th starting @ 7:30pm!—-Small State Great Beer Festival is October 30th. Sip on unlimited tastings from Connecticut’s top breweries. Vibe out to live music.—-New England Brewing Company hosts a Halloween Bash on October 29—-A fun adult cooking class in Wakeman Town Farm Sustainability Center's Tim's Kitchen with @Chef Diana Andrews of @Fine Cooking Magazine, teaching three basic sauces that can be used again + again—-Fairfield Restaurant Week is going down on October 25 - November 8.++

25+ Spots To Celebrate Oktoberfest in Connecticut

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April Guilbault September 30, 2021

Who doesn’t love a wedding? Wait…what? Did you know that Oktoberfest got its start in 1810 as a celebration of the wedding of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen? (please try saying that last name after a stein of brew.) We can get onboard with any wedding celebration that involves giant pretzels, bratwurst for miles, and beer flowing like a Bavarian river. Another little factoid for you to thrill your beer-buddies with: the current Oktoberfest in Germany only serves beer from the original six breweries in Munich. Our list, lucky for you, is a tad longer. You can call that a win and not even have to fly anywhere. Oktoberfest, weddings, whatever you are celebrating-Raise those steins! Prost!

Enjoy these 25+ spots to celebrate OKTOBERFEST in Connecticut!

314 Beer Garden Opens at Former SoNo Marketplace

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Andrew Dominick September 30, 2021

Some of you may remember the multi-vendor and artist space known as SoNo Marketplace at 314 Wilson Avenue. Don’t worry if you think it passed you by, it was sadly only open for a blink. But if you do recall, the courtyard area of the “market” was always set up for events and an outdoor bar with draft lines. Some years ago, SoNo Marketplace did host a chili cookoff and a pig roast with Half Full Brewery.

In 2021, that patio space has been resurrected as 314 Be er Gar den, complete with 13 taps and all the essential biergarten décor with Adirondack chairs, picnic tables, string lights, and a massive fire pit smack dab in the center of it all.

314’s intro beer list on draft and in cans included a strong Connecticut brewery presence. New England Brewing Co.’s signature, hoppy Sea Hag and Supernaut were both available, as was Evenflow, a crushable lager from Hamden’s own No Worries.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events, Oktoberfests, Wine Dinners and More for Oct 3-15

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Stephanie Webster September 23, 2021

Chef Jeff Lizotte of Present Company will be cooking a five course menu on Thursday, October 7th at the Farmington Polo Grounds—-Parkville Market in West Hartford will be offering much more than just beer and bratwurst during their Oktoberfest celebration ——-The Hops Company invites you to their 6th Annual Oktoberfest on Sunday October 10th!—-Char & Lemon, an upscale pizza restaurant has just opened in Oxford, CT.—-Don’t miss the Beer Garden at the Farm, Sunday, Oct. 17, noon-4. Wakeman Town Farm, 134 Cross Hwy, Westport.—Join The Redding Roadhouse for their 3rd Annual Oktoberfest Friday October 8th at 8pm featuring Nod Hill Brewery and music by Hitch and the Giddyup.+++

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events & Openings For Sept. 25- October 15

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Stephanie Webster September 17, 2021

314 Beer Garden is opening September 25th from 12p-6p. Drink specials all day long. This rustic outdoor beer garden is nestled on Village Creek in South Norwalk, and we hear it’s gonna be fun!—-Niantic Bay Oyster Festival is September 25.—-October 7th & 28th hop aboard the Naugatuck Railroad for a Litchfield Hills BBQ & Tequila Special train ride.—-The Brass City Brew and Que, September 25th, is one of the largest brew fests in New England, now in its 16th year includes an Amateur Pit Master BBQ competition along with barbeque-inspired food options available for purchase.—-On October 7th at 6pm, the remarkable documentary, A Fine Line, will be screened at The Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield. This feature-length documentary explores the role of women chefs in a changing industry, with a look into a single mom's 25-year journey as a restaurateur.++

Avellino Family BBQ Launches Food Truck at Third Place by Half Full Brewery

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Andrew Dominick September 12, 2021

Leland and Sarah Avellino now have their BBQ spin-off.

If you recall, I covered their preorder smoked meat pickup concept earlier in 2021 and asked a question about whether Avellino Family BBQ would grow into a storefront. The answer was sort of a “not yet.”

Forget the brick-and-mortar. Think food truck. And it has a residence at the brand-new and stunningly beautiful Third Place by Half Full Brewery in the South End of Stamford.

Unlike Avellino’s BBQ pickup that includes pounds of smoked brisket, racks of ribs, and half chickens, the truck’s focus is sandwiches, some of them with smoked meat, some of them “smashed,” and others are occasionally grilled and sauced.

Let’s start with one of their signature smoked sammies. It’s a wagyu tri tip—served cold and shaved to the thickness of deli sandwich meat—with crispy shallots, a tangy dollop of BBQ sauce, and horseradish aioli.

Their other truck staple, you ask? A prime brisket blend double smash burger, melted American cheese, and Zap sauce (think Big Mac sauce with some heat) on a Martin’s Potato Roll.

Nibble: CT Food News & Events for September 2021

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Stephanie Webster September 03, 2021

Hundred Acre, one of the world's most sought after and highly regarded wine portfolios in Napa Valley to Washington Prime for a private wine pairing dinner on September 15th, 2021 @ 7:00PM——-

Seaside Rides and Good Time Vibes! The 43rd Annual Norwalk Oyster Festival is ON for 2021: September 10, 11 & 12. Sea Y'all There! Presented by First County Bank.——-

Celebrate the end of summer at Stamford Museum & Nature Center’s annual Knobloch Family Farmhouse Lobster & Clam Bake on September 30th! Enjoy a delightful feast with friends and family on the Fedele Family Farmhouse Plaza. This special supper supports the bedrock educational programming and operations of the SM&NC. $135 per person

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events For August 2021

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Stephanie Webster August 05, 2021

GET READY! It’s almost time for two huge weekends of food and music at the Hey Stamford Food Festival with 100 hand-picked food vendors, ✅ Live music with NELLY, ✅ Ice Cream Sunday, ✅ The Blind Rhino Happy, Parma-palooza with Chef Christian Petroni and so much more. August 12-15th and Aug 19-22. Get your tickets here!

Looking for a unique venue to reconnect with friends and family this summer? Foxwoods has you covered with a first-of-its-kind outdoor experience of indulgent food, craft cocktails and live music in a garden fantasy setting.

Chef Chrissy Tracey hosts a Food Pop-Up SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 AT 5:30 PM. Chrissy Tracey, a featured vegan chef on Bon Appetit Magazine, will be offering delicious vegan entrées which pair beautifully with our craft beer.