Friday Froth: Kent Pils, Two Roads Spills on Area 2, And A Hazy IPA That Kills Features Ingredients CT Beer Beer Garden Beer Brewery James Gribbon August 24, 2018 This week in Friday Froth we're going to toss back a beer in the middle of a trend, a new creation in an old style, and some brewery news which leads us to an aged beer.And now, as another James May say, the nyeewws:I recently was among the first few dozen civilians to ever see the inside of Two Roads' new mixed fermentation secondary brewery, Area 2. First announced in 2016, this new on-site facility in Stratford will focus on sour, barrel aged, and wild ales - all the little organisms bursting with possibility, and voted most likely to make your wine or Bud Light drinking friends say "This is beer?!?" Read More
Chef Tyler Anderson Hosts Taste The Nation To Support No Kid Hungry Sept 30th (+Tons of Talented Local CT Chefs) Features Events CTbites Team August 23, 2018 Hartford’s Taste of The Nation fundraiser to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign returns to the state’s capital on September 30, 2018. One-hundred-percent of proceeds from the event will benefit No Kids Hungry's work to end childhood hunger in America. Hosted at the historic Goodwin Hotel, the annual culinary event will again be led by Chef Chair Tyler Anderson. CT chefs include: Jessica Bengston, Prasad Chirnomula, Kevin Cottle, Kristin Eddy, Joel Gargano, Billy Grant, Frederic Kieffer, Jamie McDonald, Scott Miller; Jesse Powers, Dorjan Puka, Xavier Santiago, Chris Sheehan, Luke Venner, and Matt Wick. Read More
Podcast: An Interview with Tribus Beer Co. Features Podcast Beer CT Beer Brewery Interview Ken Tuccio August 23, 2018 It was a long road for Tribus Beer Co. to become a reality. One of the founders of Tribus, Sean O'Neill, sits down with Ken Tuccio to tell the story about how he and his partners got together, took their idea and turned it into one of the most anticipated brewery openings in the state. Listen here. Read our pre-opening article on Tribus Beer Co here. Read More
Nibble: CT Food Events For Week of August 26- September 2 Features Events Festival News Homepage Emma Jane-Doody Stetson August 22, 2018 El Segundo is celebrating its 2nd Anniversary with a party on Thursday August 30. It begins at 4pm with Complimentary Bites until 7pm. Live Music in the courtyard by PANA starts at 8pm. There will also be Drink Specials, A Dunk Tank, and more carnival activities.The 2018 New England Food Truck Festival takes place September 1 & 2 at Mohegan Sun Casino. There will be food, live music/bands, face painting for the kids, field games, and fireworks on Saturday starting at 9:30 P.M. The 2018 Caribbean Cultural Jerk Festival arrives in Danbury on Sunday September 2. On Monday, August 27, Chef Billy Grant of Grants Restaurant & Bar, Restaurant Bricco, and Bricco Trattoria will host a gourmet dinner featuring award-winning, local celebrity chefs in an unforgettable evening to benefit Foodshare. Read More
CTbites' James Gribbon Talks Beer on CT Style: Best CT Breweries For An Outdoor Drink Features Beer CT Beer Interview CTbites Team August 21, 2018 You never know where you're going to see CTBites. This past week our own food writer and "Friday Froth" beer columnist James Gribbon was invited to make a guest appearance on Channel 8 afternoon talk show CT Style to talk about great spots to have a beer outside. Summer may be winding down, but there's still plenty of time to enjoy a drink in the fresh air.Some of his favorite spots included the beer garden and hop yard at Two Roads in Stratford, The Hops Company beer garden, the yard at BAD SONS in Derby (with a nod to take out wings from nearby Dew Drop Inn), and road trips to OEC brewing in Oxford, and Kent Falls farm brewery. Watch the whole video below, and keep an eye out for James appearing on CT Style in the future. Read More
Winner of The MECHA Cocktail Naming Contest Is... Features Cocktails Stephanie Webster August 21, 2018 Congrats to Stefanie, who came up with the winning name for the MECHA Cocktail Naming Contest: Pok Pok Shakur.Kudos to all of our readers on creating some truly inspired names. We will be back soon with another chance to win. Read More
CTbites Chef Demo Tent @ 11th Annual Blues Views and BBQ September 1-2 Features Events Chef Talk Festival ellen bowen August 20, 2018 This year Blues Views and BBQ will feature 20 bands, hours of family fun at the famous Imperial Jam with the bounce park, Touch a Truck, airbrush tattoos, pie and rib eating contests and our second stage showcasing local and family friendly musical entertainment all day long. The festival will be held in the Imperial Ave commuter lot in addition to the Levitt Pavilion. Don’t miss the KCBS BBQ competition, and CTBites returns on Saturday 9/1 with cooking demos providing culinary inspiration. CTbites Chef Demo Tent Lineup12 Noon-Chef Jonas Daniela from Amis Trattoria1 pm- Chef Pietro Scotti from Da Pietros Restaurant 2 pm- Chef Carlos Baez from The Spread and El Segundo 3 pm- Chef Jess Bengston from Terrain Garden Café 4 pm- Chef Adam Roytman from Bar Sugo Read More
Tix on Sale! Kitchen Crawl 2018 Culinary Fundraiser: 4 Fabulous Chefs/ Mixologists + 4 Designer Kitchens Features Events Fundraiser Homepage Stephanie Webster August 16, 2018 Experience 4 of CT's hottest chefs in 4 of Westport's most beautiful designer homes, while helping to feed the hungry in our community. SAVE THE DATE: September 29th. Tickets are now on sale for the 2nd annual Westport Kitchen Crawl.Here's how the Kitchen Crawl works. Guests purchase a $85 ticket and proceed to 4 different Westport houses, where chefs from The Spread, Mecha Noodle Bar, Match Burger Lobster, and Jesup Hall will be cooking just for you. Cooking demos and specially prepared bites will be enjoyed alongside wine and beer provided and paired by Stew's Wines... all in spectacular designer kitchens. This year, the chefs are bringing their mixologists so get ready for some killer cocktails. All proceeds benefit Food Rescue US. Using technology, Food Rescue US empowers communities to reduce hunger and food waste through direct-transfer food rescue. Our vision is a hunger free and food waste free America. Read More
Nibble: CT Food News & Events For Week of August 19-26 Features Festival Events News Emma Jane-Doody Stetson August 16, 2018 Hartford Baking Company is turning eight and has decided to break out the bubbly to celebrate! On September 1st, the West Hartford Center location (965 Farmington Ave, West Hartford) will be launching beer and wine sales and expanding their operating hours until 10 pm nightly. A roster of small plates will be added to the menu to pair with the beer and wine selections.The first annual New Haven Cocktail Week kicks off on August 20! There are 25 participating venues all offering special cocktail lists you can try throughout the week along with 2 tastings and seminars per day. Stamford Restaurant Week returns August 20-September 2. 20 Downtown Stamford restaurants are serving up special lunch & dinner prix fixe menus. Lunch ranges from $14.18 to $22.18 and dinner ranges from $28.18 to $38.18. Stamford Restaurant Weeks are presented by Stamford Tables. New at El Segundo, join them for Trivia Night on Industry Night every Monday 7:30pm. Best Trivia Ever hosts an Epic Trivia Battle alongside global street eats. Read More
The Podcast: An Interview w/ Chef Jes Bengston, of Terrain Garden Café Features Podcast Chef Talk Interview Ken Tuccio August 15, 2018 Jes Bengston, from Terrain Garden Café in Westport, started her career dropping baskets of french fries into a fryer and now she's an award winning Chef who has cooked at the James Beard House. Jes sits down with Ken Tuccio to tell her fascinating story and why she feels she found a home at Terrain. Listen to the interview here. Read More
It's A Woman's World: Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily, Owners, The Granola Bar Features Interview Chef Talk CTbites Team August 15, 2018 Fairfield County is full of trailblazing women, particularly in the culinary world. Which is why, with 2018 being proclaimed the Year of the Woman, we felt compelled to honor the pioneers among us. Our series, “It’s A Woman’s World’ is devoted to Fairfield County female influencers who’ve forged their own paths, often in food-related fields long dominated by men.How'd they do it? Read on. This week, we feature Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily, Owners of the uber popular, Granola Bar. Stay tuned to see who’s next. And feel free to send suggestions for your candidates to steph@ctbites.com. Read More
Sneak Peek at Tribus Beer Co. Opening In Milford Features Friday Froth Beer CT Beer Brewery James Gribbon August 10, 2018 Like oncoming headlights appearing out of a foggy night, genetics are indicators which don't tell the whole story. Heredity may lay out a path, but time and observation tell where it leads. Phil Markowski helped launch New England Brewing Company in 1989, and decades later did the same as the master brewer at Two Roads. In the last Froth I talked about how NEBCo's dandelion head was spreading seeds all over Connecticut - from new beers under their current brewer, to Counter Weight Brewing in Hamden from his predecessor, and a tip about the inaugural tapping of beers from Tribus in Milford, the newest offspring of the ancestor brewery. This week, for the first time anywhere, we'll take a look at Tribus and its beers to see where this is all headed. Read More
Podcast: An Interview with Stony Creek Brewery Opening At Foxwoods! Features Podcast Brewery Openings Ken Tuccio August 09, 2018 Stony Creek is opening up a brewery in Foxwoods. Yes, the casino. It's a big deal … not just for Stony Creek but for the Connecticut beer scene as a whole. Ken Tuccio traveled to Foxwoods to chat with Andy Schwartz from Stony Creek about how this Foxwoods brewery came to be, what it's been like working with Foxwoods and how this could be a great boom for Connecticut beer. Listen here. Read More
Nibble: CT Food Events For Week of August 12-19 Features Events News Homepage Emma Jane-Doody Stetson August 09, 2018 Brasitas in Stamford is turning 20!! Join them on Wednesday, August 15th for a very special night filled with live music, dancing, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres.Thimble Island Brewing Company in Branford presents the Thimble Music Festival on Saturday August 18. There will be draft specials, Local Vendors, food, Live Music, and Free Giveaways. Washington Prime SoNo will celebrate their 4th Anniversary on Friday August 17...Yacht week style! Sponsored by Gooseneck Wines, Cruzan Rum, and Avion Tequila, Hapa Food Truck will be offering their delicious eats late night, all night. Read More
Catering Design: Marcia Selden Recreates A French Kitchen for 200 (sponsored post) Features Catering Marcia Selden Catering August 08, 2018 Robin Selden of Marcia Selden Catering shares the story...Our Catering Chefs are creatives at heart! They design menus, create recipes and customize events all year long. They have to constantly stay on top of food + design trends, to ensure that we give our clients a knockout party, every single time. Recently, a client asked us to recreate the feeling of a sparkling French restaurants’ open kitchen. In a luxurious tent in Bridgehampton for over 200 guests, we did just that. Read More
Gaetano's Moves Arthur Avenue To Connecticut Restaurant Features Deli Westport Italian Sandwich Lunch Catering Specialty Market Cheese James Gribbon August 07, 2018 Some time several decades ago Milanno Ukehaxhaj left Kosovo at an opportune time on his way to America and making me a sandwich. That is skipping over a lot, but we'll get to the details in later paragraphs, and anyway it was a very good sandwich. This sandwich was not made when I visited the deli earlier this month with his wife and business partner Diana feeding me information as well as chicken parmigiana, it was made during my lunch break at a summer job I held in 2000, which is when I fell in love with Gaetano's. Read More
Nibble: CT Food Events For Week Of August 5-12 Features Events Emma Jane-Doody Stetson August 02, 2018 Join Chefs Brian Lewis and Christian Wilki at The Cottage as they prepare a special prix fixe weekday four-course menu celebrating their favorite farms and summer ingredients for $45. The special offering will be available Tuesday - Thursday all Summer long.Summer Soiree Dinners with Chef Geoff Lazlo continue on August 9 at Millstone Farm. Dinners will start at 6pm with a cocktail hour featuring a signature cocktail infused with herbs from the farm and passed hors d’oeuvres. Then, a three course dinner will be served family style while guests dine al fresco. Rosedale Farms & Vineyards presents “BBQ, Bluegrass & Brews” on August 9 from 6:30 - 9:30pm. The evening begins with a reception. Next, head out for a tour of the farm. The evening concludes with an al fresco dinner cooked from scratch with ingredients sourced daily from local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen. The theme is BBQ, prepared on the farm by Max’s Oyster Bar’s Executive Chef Hunter Morton. Tickets are $99. Read More
An Interview w/ CT's Thomas Hooker Brewing Co Features CT Beer Beer Brewery Interview Podcast Ken Tuccio August 02, 2018 You can't understate the importance of Thomas Hooker Brewing Co. in the history of Connecticut beer. However for a while they got lost in the shuffle. Then, with a beer called #NoFilter, they had a bit of resurgence within the Connecticut craft beer community. Ken Tuccio sits down with Jonas Griggs, the head brewer of Thomas Hooker Brewing, to talk about Hooker's spot in the CT beer scene, the importance of #NoFilter to the growth of the company and his plans for the brewery moving forward. Listen here. Read More
Jes Bengston Cooks The James Beard House August 6 Featuring CT's Land & Sea Features Chef Dinner Events Stephanie Webster August 02, 2018 One of our favorite chefs and a passionate supporter of the local CT food community, Jes Bengston, of Terrain Garden Café, will be cooking The James Beard House on August 6th. Nestled in the beachside town of Westport, Terrain is a luxury garden center that celebrates nature and all its bounty—including on the menu of its charming cafe. Join Jes Bengston, as she returns to the Beard House with her plant-based, homegrown harvest for a summer exploration of the best from southern Connecticut’s land and sea, paired with superb Napa-style wines from local Jonathan Edwards Winery. Ticket info here. Read More
Beers & Bites August 15th Tickets On Sale Featuring Skinny Pines & Chef Geoff Lazlo Features CT Beer Beer Dinner Food Truck Stamford Events Stephanie Webster August 01, 2018 Half Full Brewery and CTBites are beyond excited to bring you this year's most creative and collaborative food and beer-pairing event series. Not to be missed, "Beers & Bites" 2018 pairs limited release beers from Half Full Brewery with totally off-menu food items from some of Fairfield County's best chefs and food truck operators. Tickets for our August 15th event with Skinny Pines pizza truck & Chef Geoff Lazlo are going fast, so get your tickets now! Read More
