COMMUNITY PLATES’ FOOD FOR ALL 2016 is May 4th! Get your tickets now for one of the best parties in Fairfield County.Food For All Showcases Fairfield County’s Newest Restaurants and Craft Cocktail Barsin a benefittoEnd Food Insecurity in Fairfield County. (View the complete list of participating restaurants below)
Community Plates is a technology-fueled, direct-transfer food rescue organization dedicated to ending food insecurity in America. Since launching in 2011 Community Plates Fairfield County has already picked up and delivered over 8 million meals at a value of over $13 million to local food insecure people. This means over 12 million pounds of food has been kept out of landfill and gone to where it’s needed most.
Fleishers Craft Kitchen in Westport has just announced an event for the ladies- an afternoon of burgers and local craft beers by Black Hog Brewing, on March 13 from 3pm-5pm.
The event is a ladies only burger and beer gathering presented by Girls Pint Out CT, a craft beer organization for women. Tickets are $40 (tax and tip included) and include a choice of burger with fries or dressed greens and four 10 oz pours of local craft beer from Black Hog. The burger menu can be found below.
The sweet flavors from the maple and the squash call for a wine that imparts sweetness of its own. At the same time, I would stay away from a true dessert wine. They tend to have syrupy, thicker bodies and the maple will already have that texture.
This just in! Matt Storch and his partners at The Noodle Group LLC have purchased the old Home on The Range location at 2992 Fairfield Avenue in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport. Storch says “I’ve been looking to launch this idea for five years now and this spot seemed like a perfect launching pad so we jumped on it!” The concept is Vietnamese done easy with all day service and a small menu of Vietnamese classics including pho, banh mi, spring rolls, banh bao and amazing rice & vegan dishes. “We are trying to introduce the mainstream to Vietnamese food,” says Matt, but Chef Storch will not be the guy in the kitchen this time. The concept is built entirely around his boys’ Vietnamese grandmother, Ty Phung. “No one cooks better Vietnamese than my mother in law.” (Readers: If you attended our CTbites' Vietnamese Pop Up dinner at Match back in 2014, you know Ty is the real deal.)
Joining Storch for this new project are his partners from Match, Jason Wojnarowski (owner of the epically delicious Donut Crazy), and Susan McConnell. With Wojnarowski in the mix, donuts were a must. In fact, a special selection of donuts, (some Vietnamese inspired) will be a part of a larger breakfast program featuring Vietnamese coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and of course pho and congee starting at 7AM.
MECHA in Sono is launching their Late Night Menu served Thu 10pm-12pm, Fri and Sat 10pm-1am.
The Late Night Menu will feature special snacks and Ramen as well as cocktails you can only get after hours. To celebrate, they will be introducing the menu and hosting a PARTY Thursday, February 11th at 10PM. Enjoy some special treats from the kitchen (even some complimentary chicken sandwiches) and some amazing cocktails from their late night market menu.
A few highlights from the Late Night Menu include: THIT BO KHO beef brisket jerky, SHOYU BREAKFAST RAMEN w/brown butter, bacon, egg, and cheese; WONTON MI RAMEN w/ fried shallots, sesame, greens, pork & shrimp wontons $10.
20 lucky CTbites readers joined forces with local CT bloggers and the Watson's Catering & Event Planning team last week to beat the winter blues the only we know how...by eating and drinking.
Hey Stamford!, Local Food Rocks, Food Dudes, Greenwich Girl, Adeline Crites-Moore, & 203Foodie helped cover the event which featured some spectacularly creative food and great company. We particularly enjoyed the foie + jam and French onion mini sandwiches grilled with an actual iron, the "Resolution" signature cocktail served via ice luge, and a far superior take on the classic McDonald's apple pie.
Check out the photo gallery above, contributed by our bloggers. Take a walk down memory lane or check out Watson's doing their thang. #beatthewinterblues
To combat the winter blues, the CTbites team decided to get together with our friends at Watson's Catering and Events and throw ourselves a party on January 21st. Jealous? Don't be, because YOU CAN JOIN US!
10 CTbites readers will WIN FREE TIX (a pair to be exact) to WATSON's WINTER HOLIDAY PARTY complete w/ cocktail luges and seriously good eats!
HOW TO WIN: Tell us about your favorite catered event below
We welcome any and all details regarding ambiance, food, drinks, location, and music.
Amp up the festivities this holiday season by visiting Miracle on Wall Street, a pop up holiday themed cocktail bar opening in Norwalk’s Wall Street neighborhood on December 9th. What to know before you go? This is NOT your average pop up bar. The concept began in New York City last year when Miracle on 9th Street transformed an East Village lounge into a brilliantly kitschy holiday hangout. Guest mixologists, custom holiday glassware, tons of tinsel, and cocktails with names like “ The Reindeer’s Revolt,” created a uniquely fun drinking experience. Guests went crazy for the concept and now there are four pop up locations in NYC, DC, and as of today, CT.
The first night of Hanukkah is December 6th. The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil for one day, and yet it lasted for 8 full days. And so, we celebrate the holiday by paying homage to an ingredient no cook can do without...oil.
Roia Restaraunt in New Haven has shared a wonderful recipe to enhance any true Hanukkah celebration Sufganiyot (Cream Filled Doughnuts). Pay tribute to the oil that lasted 8 days while enjoying one of America's favorite desserts. Happy Hanukkah!
The Granola Bar, the popular Westport-based restaurant known for their exceptional coffee program, creative smoothies, and their healthy approach to traditional comfort food, is set to open a second location in Greenwich in early 2016. Granola Bar owners, Julie Levitt and Dana Noorily, are excited to bring their creative and locally sourced breakfast and lunch options to Greenwich residents and businesses at 41 Greenwich Avenue. The new 2700-square-foot restaurant will offer extensive seating and a large take-out section for people on the go.
In conjunction with this expansion, The Granola Bar will debut a new seasonal menu on November 11 at the Westport location.
Rothbard Ale + Larder European Gastropub quietly opened its doors last week in downtown Westport. The menu focuses on central European fare with dishes drawing inspiration from the cuisines of Alsace, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. The beer and wine list mirror this sentiment, and a beautiful interior renovation transports diners to a cozy chalet in the depths of the Bavarian Alps. Chef Adam Roytman's commitment to both the cuisine and "larder" concept are tangible in every detail of this new speakeasy-esque venture with longtime partner Joseph Farrell (Walrus + Carpenter). From the crispy schnitzel and rich hearty bratwurst (house-made)to the authentic absinthe fountain and German beer steins, Rothbard Ale + Larder is the real deal.
Many CT diners were shocked when Bill Taibe announced that LeFarm in Westport was closing its doors after six years. LeFarm was without a doubt one of the most highly celebrated restaurants in Connecticut, a place where local chefs gathered on their nights off and regulars booked a table weekly. So, why did it close? We sat down with Chef Bill Taibe (owner ofKawa Niand The Whelk) to find out why...
LeFarm was a very successful restaurant right up until the day you closed the doors. Why did you decide to sell LeFarm?It was the right time. We had met our goals at LeFarm. It is now time to set our sites on a more focused plan. We want to offer more services. Create new experiences. Push ourselves a bit harder.
After 3 successful years in South Norwalk, the team fromThe Spreadhas just announced that they have signed a lease in the SoNo Ironworks complex. In early 2016 an exciting new restaurant concept will be coming to CT diners. The name is El Segundo and the idea is simple. Spread owners Christpher Hickey, Christopher Rasile, Andrey Cortes, and Shawn Longyear alongside Chef Carlos Baez have created a menu that features street food from around the globe that everyone loves to eat: tacos, arepas, ceviche, Asian bao, light salads and a little comfort food thrown in for good measure. The setting is casual and fun, with a price point that will make diners in South Norwalk smile. And the bar? Let’s just say these guys know a thing or two about bartending.
Directly across from Harlan Publick, El Segundo is poised to deliver a uniquely fun dining experience to Fairfield County. The restaurant features an open kitchen with bar seating, allowing diners to watch Chef Carlos as he re-creates dishes from his childhood, including his father’s recipe for Tacos Al Pastor. Large windows make this space light and airy and garage doors will open up to the Ironworks courtyard in the warmer months.
CTbites sat down with some of CT's top chefs and restaurant owners at The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival to talk about food trends in CT, their inspiration, favorite foods, the farm-to-table trend, and what their mamas taught them.
Chefs included Christian Petroni, Bill Taibe, Matt Storch (as moderator), Nick Martschenko, Pat Pascarella, Ryan Fibiger, & Rui Correia. (See if you can tell which one of these chefs had a rough night prior to our interview.)
This video originally aired via Periscope. Make sure you don't miss upcoming CTbites Periscope content, download Periscope here. https://appsto.re/us/TXw_5.i
Dust off your lederhosen and get ready for pork! On Sunday, October 25th, Fleishers Craft Butchery puts on the 4th Annual Porktoberfest, a day of whole-roasted pigs, flowing beer, housemade sausages, live music and more. This is a family friendly event, with plenty of non-alcoholic cider, s’mores and games for kids.
CTbites is GIVING AWAY 5 Pairs of FREE Tickets to Porktoberfest (all access). TO WIN, Tell us why you need to go in the comments section below. Winner will be selected on October 18th.
Admission, Beer & Food details:
The Big Piggie: $50 includes ADVANCED admission, all-you-can-eat pork, our Porktoberfest beer mug and 1 free beer ticket.
The Little Piggie: $25 includes advanced admission, our Porktoberfest beer mug and 1 free beer ticket.
Day-of only: $30 includes admission, our Porktoberfest beer mug and 1 free beer ticket.
These lucky readers have been given a pair of tickets to The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival for use on Saturday Septmerb 26th. Winners have been notified via email. Congrats and enjoy! See you there, and don't forget to visit the Celebrity Green Room where CTbites will be moderating a Chef Panel in the afternoon.
Wave Hill Breads turns 10 this year. We sat down with Mitch Rapoport and Margaret Sapir to talk about 10 years in the bread biz.
What made you decide to launch Wave Hill Breads? Having observed that there was so little outstanding bread between New York and Boston, we recognized an unmet need. After we tasted remarkable bread at a restaurant in Stowe, Vermont, we tracked down the French baker, apprenticed to him, and brought authentic French bread-making techniques Connecticut.
Has the business of baking changed in the past 10 year? How? Our business has changed since we moved to Norwalk from Wilton. We expanded our product line and now offer a wider variety of breads, croissants, and pastries. We opened a Café which won Best Bistro on the Gold Coast from Moffly Media but it distracted from our core wholesale business. We also participated in the short-lived Sono Marketplace. With so many restaurant and store clients, we automated our delivery and production tracking. But we still shape every loaf, croissant, and cookie by hand.
CTbites is giving away 3 pairs of general admission tickets for Saturday September 26th. This includes The Grand Tasting Tent, Chef Demos, Burger Battle with Adam Richman, Bartender Showdown + more.
TO WIN tell us why you deserve a pair of free tickets be emailing us your entry here. Winners will be announced September 21st.
Top Chefs from all around Fairfield County gathered at the CTbites Chef Demo Tent to delight guests at the Blues, Views & BBQ Festival this past weekend in Westport. They grilled, demoed recipes, and served up some great eats to thousands of eager fans. Was it fun? Heck yeah. The chefs you see above hail from: Match, Walrus + Carpenter, The Spread, Fleishers Craft Butchery, Bobby Q’s, Vespa, Can Tiin & NEAT, as well as Da Pietro's. They made brisket, pork buns, sliders, pork belly, and every other cut of every meat imaginable. Good times were had by all. Check out the pics!
