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Marcia Selden Catering & Pop-Up Bagels Team Up For Epic Weekend Bagel Brunch

Features Ingredients Pop-Up Bagels Caterers Stamford Westport Breakfast Brunch Homepage

Stephanie Webster February 11, 2021

We love it when two of our favorite food brands team up for a pop-up that involves delicious carb-loaded brunch fare. You may have heard me sing some praise for Adam Goldberg and his ridiculously tasty Pop-Up Bagels. Well, he has found a new regular Stamford pop-up location and dedicated cooking team with Marcia Selden Catering. Last weekend, CTbites got the chance to tag along for some bagel making fun. And, don’t worry…if you missed this past week’s pop-up event, mark your calendars for March 6th, and follow @popupbagels for notifications because these bagels sell out QUICKLY!

So, here’s how this bagel making and baking went down.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events for February 10-30th

Features News Events Promotions Openings

Stephanie Webster February 09, 2021

The SoNo Collection will be enticing diners and local residents alike with their exciting Dine and Delight promotion through the end of February. A $20 Reward Card will be given to guests when they spend a total $50 or more, Simply take a photo of your receipt including restaurant info and date of purchase, upload, and complete a few easy steps—that’s it! This promotion is applied to all takeout, delivery, and dine-in options from sought-after restaurants including Nordstrom’s Bazille, Pinstripes, Pokélicious, Romanacci Express, SoNo Ramen, Uncle Seven and more – each serving up some seriously insta-worthy meals.

Join Union Kitchen & Wurst Haus for their UK Hunter's Dinner. A little bit of Student Prince Cafe and Fort Restaurant is coming to WeHA with the help of Wurst Haus West Hartford - We'll be celebrating Game Month ALL FEBRUARY LONG with our Hunter's Dinner on February 18th! See the menu & purchase your tickets at unionkitchenct.com

The newly opened sweetgreen in Greenwich has made it a bit easier for those of us further north to grab a salad. Beginning February 10, Monday - Friday, Mike's Organic will serve as a sweetgreen outpost. It's as simple as downloading the sweetgreen app and selecting "sg Mike's Organic" as a pickup location. Order by 11 a.m. for bowl pickup between 12:15 and 12:30.

Join Dom’s Cheese Shop for a Valentine Cheese and Wine Tasting virtual event! Fri, Feb. 12, featuring French cheeses and carefully selected wines to accompany. Register, pick up your cheese and wine, cozy up at home and get on the zoom! Single tickets includes a cheese plate and 2 bottles of wine, couple’s ticket includes cheese plate for 2 and 2 bottles of wine. Head to “events” on their website.

Sport Hill Farm’s CSA is open for registration. Sign up ASAP to support your local farmer and receive a full season of fresh gorgeous produce, meat, bread, + gluten free and vegan options.

Nala’s Kitchen: Healthy Food Delivered & Now Available Throughout CT

Features Restaurant Take Out Home Delivery Healthy Eats healthy Meals To Go West Hartford

Kristin L. Wolfe February 05, 2021

As of February 1, fans of Nala’s Kitchen will be able to get some of their delicious, wholesome meals at various Noble Convenience Stores across Connecticut. Sure, You can order their meals online whenever you’d like, but what a radical shift for your gas and go stops! Imagine going to a convenience store, after pumping gas, and, instead of coming out with candy, soda, and some unidentifiable colorful snack you’d likely feel guilty and sick over twenty minutes later, you could leave your local Noble’s munching on something that will be both healthy and gaa’damn delicious.

2021 Valentine's Day Guide to Restaurants, Caterers, Gifts, Sweets & Events in CT

Features Valentine's Day Holiday Dessert Chocolate Homepage

April Guilbault February 04, 2021

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! In a time when giving a hug has become an event, any reason to celebrate love has to be embraced! Whether you are planning a cozy-delish dinner at home, venturing out (safely) to a restaurant, wanting to give a sweet gift or even try a new class with your sweetie, we’ve got you covered.

Take a lookie! We’ve arranged this listing in a different way this year, with the hopes that you can find exactly what you are looking for easily. About Valentine’s Day, ya got nice dinners, ya got chocolate and ya got time with your honey. So, those are our categories: Restaurants/Caterers, Sweets/Gifts, and Events/Classes. Scroll the list to find what you want and need and enjoy the holiday. There are some great ideas here, proving that nothing stands in the way of love. Pssst: This is also quite possibly the first time the word “thong” has appeared in CTbites copy. Find it.

It's A Woman's World: Chef Fran Medina of Rio Salado in Mystic

Features It's A Woman's World Interview Chef Talk

Stephanie Webster February 02, 2021

Connecticut is full of trailblazing women, particularly in the culinary world. Our ongoing column, “It’s A Woman’s World’ is devoted to CT female influencers who’ve forged their own paths, often in food-related fields long dominated by men.

Whether farming the land, bringing healthy food to the masses, feeding an entrepreneurial spirit or injecting feminism with food, these groundbreaking ladies have set a new definition of women’s work, creating new paths and setting examples for those who follow.

How'd they do it? Read on. This week, we speak with Chef Fran Medina of Rio Salado Mexican Restaurant in Mystic. Stay tuned to see who’s next. And feel free to send suggestions for your candidates to steph@ctbites.com.

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

Features Restaurant Super Bowl Catering Roundup Homepage

April Guilbault January 30, 2021

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.

Badass Bagels: A Pandemic Pivot Yields Wild Yeast Bagels At Sugar & Olives in Norwalk

Features Restaurant Bagels Pop-Up Breakfast Carbs Take Out Norwalk Homepage

Amy Kundrat January 28, 2021

If in times of crisis we tend to go back to our roots, then in times of pandemic I suppose it’s only fitting we reach back to our biblical roots. Sourdough may have been discovered by the ancient Egyptians but it has been perfected by Jennifer Balin of Sugar & Olives in the form of Badass Bagels.

These naturally leavened bagels have a light crunch on the outside, light as air and chewy with a slight tang on the inside. Badass Bagels come in six varieties, including sesame, poppy, smoked sea salt, everything, caraway, and plain, as well as an offering of unique cream cheese flavors including green goddess and pimento scallion—these sourdough bagels may become your new weekend obsession.

Fourth & Pride Vodka: Founded in CT, In Support of the LGBTQ+ Community

Features Liquor Spirits Vodka Specialty Products Cocktails Local Artisan

Stephanie Webster January 27, 2021

There’s a new vodka in town, and before you say, “they all taste the same,” get ready for something a little different. The brand is Fourth & Pride, and it was founded by John Edelman (former CEO of Design Within Reach), and his partners, Douglas Slayton and Jesse Weinberg, in recognition of the spirit, vitality, and camaraderie of the famous East Village pride bars and their patrons. What does this tasty new vodka brand have to do with Connecticut? The CEO lives right here in Westport, and with Edelman’s background in high design, this brand has some serious swagger. Plus, if you need another great reason to go forth and score yourself a bottle, Fourth & Pride donates 5% of all sales to charities in support of the LGBTQ+ community and may just be the smoothest vodka you’ve ever tasted.

Tony Pizza Napolitano: A Pop-Up Worth Popping By

Restaurant Features Pop-Up Pizza Weston Easton Homepage

Andrew Dominick January 23, 2021

How’s this for a hidden gem pizza pop-up?

You follow Tony Pizza Napolitano on Facebook. You wait for a post with a schedule and menu—it usually posts by midday on Monday. Days and times typically read something like, “Silverman’s Farm on Wednesdays, the Norfield Grange in Weston on Thursdays and Fridays, 4 – 7 p.m. for all three days.”

But that’s not written in stone. It’s wise to check the weekly posts to make sure. If pizza strikes your fancy on Silverman’s days, just show up. If you’re a Thursday or Friday pizza person, you have to direct message the Facebook account to work out and confirm a time slot. No advance orders necessary, you can do that when you arrive. Cash is preferred but Venmo is OK, too.

There it is. All laid out for you. Easy-peasy, right?

Good.

But who is this “Tony,” anyway?

The “Tony” in question is Anthony Kesselmark. He has been a Weston resident for a decade and counting, and he previously owned a few restaurants in Dutchess County, a burger joint in Poughkeepsie and a few pizzerias in that area, one of which was Pizza & Stuff in Beacon.

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events & News For January 24-February 7

Events Features News Events

Stephanie Webster January 22, 2021

CTBeer has just released a new 4 way CT collab beer with big dipper ice cream and labonne's markets to produce an ice cream flavored milk stout. Learn more at ctbeer.com.

Washington Prime Sono is offering Game Dinner Specials all week long from Monday, February 1st through Sunday February 7th. Book your reservation! Think…Bison Ribeye Tartare, Wild Boar Meatballs, Rabbit Agnolotti, Saddleloin of Venison.

Join Stamford Downtown’s Flinders Lane Kitchen & Bar for a week of Australian dishes to celebrate Australia Day with a delicious menu created by chef Brad Stewart. Grab your Classic Aussie Meat Pies, Mini Sausage Rolls, Passionfruit Pavlova & Lamington with jam & freshly whipped cream. Yum.

Enjoy a virtual evening on Friday January 29th, 8pm with Craft Beer & Comedy from the Couch - Presented by Comedy Craft Beer & CTBeer.com. Reservations can be made here.

Celebrate le Bánh Patisserie’s FIRST birthday with a Bánh Decorating Piñata Party on January 31st at 7pm. Cake decorating, games, prizes and more! Reserve your spot at lebanh.com.

Junzi Kitchen is celebrating Chinese New Year. Celebrate the Year of the Ox with delicious Chinese catering from Junzi. They will be doing individual Chinese New Year specials as well as catering for large groups. Email orders@junzi.us.

Wise Guys Marinara Sauce: Locally Made and Distinctively Delicious

Features Ingredients Local Artisan Ingredients Tomato Sauce Specialty Products

Stephanie Webster January 22, 2021

Ah, red sauce…most Italian families have their own recipe, and they generally keep that recipe close to their hearts, fiercely guarded. It’s part of the ancestral family lineage, and while there are shared characteristics based on region, each recipe is unique.

We first met the folks from Wise Guys Sauce close to 7 years ago during their stint at The Sono Marketplace. They debuted the Wise Guys Sauce product line for use in their retail pizza shop, called, not surprisingly, Wise Guys Pizza. Sadly the Sono Marketplace/food court was slightly ahead if its time, and they closed the complex, but Co-Owner, Chris Polidoro, decided to keep the sauce alive. Guests were such fans of the tomato sauce, they made the decision to keep on making it. They grabbed some mason jars, slapped a label on, and started selling…and boy did they. Manufactured out of New Haven, Wise Guys Sauce can now be found in local grocery shops both large (Shop Rite) and small (see list below) as well as specialty food stores throughout the state of CT. They even made it onto the TODAY Show with Kathy Lee.

P.S. CTbites readers get $10 OFF with Code: ctbites through January 30th.

Guide To CT Virtual (& In Person) Cooking, Cocktail, & Beer Classes

Features Education Cooking Classes Cooking Virtual Cooking Classes Best of CT Homepage

Kristin L. Wolfe January 19, 2021

How would you rank your cooking skills? Have you become a master baker or a serious mixologist at the bar? From baking or creating homemade pasta to perfecting classic cocktails, we have a list of VIRTUAL (& IN PERSON) COOKING & COCKTAILS CLASSES for you to get the creative juices flowing. Step up your kitchen and home bar chops now:

Note to Readers: Many below who offer classes in person must adhere to strIct Covid guidelines, please heed protocols. That said, there are plenty of online options as well.

Do you know of a cooking class spot we missed? Contact us.

El Segundo Debuts New Brunch Menu in South Norwalk and New Haven

Features Restaurant brunch Norwalk New Haven Global Cuisine Mexican Latin American Asian Breakfast Homepage

Andrew Dominick January 16, 2021

The owners of The Spread and El Segundo have had an extremely busy 2020.

Chris Hickey, Andrey Cortes, Christopher Rasile, Shawn Longyear, and Carlos Baez decided to close their Spread sequel in Greenwich at the end of July, an announcement that came on the heels that they relocated their South Norwalk flagship to the former Harlan Publick space in the Ironworks development, adjacent to their global street food concept, El Segundo.

Oh, and that’s not all. Their follow up to a closure and a relocation, was to open a Downtown New Haven double of El Segundo at the tail end of August.

That’s a lot of action.

But with all that comes even more change in the form of El Segundo’s brunch menu.

Brunch was always a thing at El Segundo Norwalk but it’s the New Haven opening that sparked the change according to Hickey.

“The new menu is totally in line with the New Haven opening,” he says. “Brunch was instantly popular in New Haven, so we wanted to bring it to SoNo, too.”

HELP Feed Children in Need & Support CT Restaurants: Here's How!

Features Philanphropy Non For Profit

Stephanie Webster January 15, 2021

If there was a way that YOU could instantly and directly help to feed a child in need while supporting our local CT restaurants, would you sign up? We certainly would and that is why we have partnered with Filling In The Blanks on an important new initiative. Please join us and read on…

Filling in the Blanks fights childhood hunger by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. They partner with 63 local schools delivering their Weekend Meal bags to food-insecure children in Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Fairfield, Westport, and Bedford Hills, NY. Founded by mothers and community activists, Shawnee Knight and Tina Kramer, they responded to an urgent need to feed local school aged children who were struggling to get the nutrition they needed. In the wake of the pandemic, with hunger up 50% in Connecticut, they expanded their mission to include supporting our local CT restaurants as part of the solution to hunger in our community.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Bomb Recipe via Connecticut Food & Farm Magazine

Features Recipe Recipe Dessert Hot Cocoa Chocolate Kid Friendly

CTbites Team January 13, 2021

This recipe for Mexican Hot Cocoa Bombs is from the winter issue of Connecticut Food and Farm Magazine, written by Juli Mancini, Recipe Developer and Food Stylist, who is obsessed with the visual organizational of all things edible, botanical, and chocolate.

Hand made with solid chocolate, these decadent Mexican hot chocolate bombs produce an unrivaled cup of rich cocoa. Hot chocolate bombs are hollow hand crafted chocolate spheres, placed in a mug with a pour-over of hot milk or coffee. Bombs are packed with surprise confections, slowly exposed as the chocolate melts from the heat of the liquid. Mexican hot chocolate bombs are a fine place to start, especially if you love a spicy twist, but personalize your own creations to taste. It’s simple to marble the chocolate for a really beautiful look. Simply package in cello-bags or stack in Mason jars and you have the perfect Valentine gift - unexpected, entertaining, and delectable.

10 Years of Friday Froth: CTbites Beer Editor James Gribbon Reflects on the CT Beer Scene

Features Beer CT Beer Interview

James Gribbon January 12, 2021

In early December of 2010, a friend invited me to the soft opening of a restaurant and would have been exactly on time, if she had planned to be 90 minutes late. I stood, alone on the fringes the entire time, with no real reason to be there, pathetically grateful every time the staff brought a passed hors d'oeuvre or drink my way, when a woman took pity on me and introduced me to her group. The standard "what do you do" included the writing I'd been doing on motorsports, and one of the group turned out to be our own Stephanie Webster.

"Write up a review for me," she said. "If I like it, maybe we'll post it."

Ten years ago, it became my first post for CTBites in an ongoing column titled Friday Froth. Back then, the state had about 6 breweries. By 2020, I was this site's Beer/Editor-At-Large, and the 2020 Connecticut brewery count had reached 100. We were, for a time, in the world or craft beer we'd hoped to see.

BE Chocolat Shop Opens in Fairfield from Belgian Master Chocolatier Benoit Racquet

Features Restaurant Chocolate Openings Fairfield Dessert Confections Homepage

Stephanie Webster January 10, 2021

Allow me to preface this article with a warning. Once you’ve experienced master chocolatier Benoit Racquet’s Belgian chocolates, there really is no turning back. These confections, made with Callebaut Fairtrade’s finest chocolate and a whole lot of food-science based love, are highly craveworthy and bordering on sensual. Benoit and his wife Sylvie, have been in the business of chocolate for over five years, but last week marked a special milestone for this team…the grand opening of their first retail shop, BE Chocolat, located at 75 Hillside Rd in Fairfield CT.

Zul Cafe and Grill Brings Authentic Filipino Fare to Norwalk

Features Restaurant Filipino Norwalk Lunch Openings Homepage

Andrew Dominick January 08, 2021

Quick! Name a Filipino restaurant that’s close by!

Time’s up!

Stumped? Don’t worry, all of us in lower Fairfield County had no clue until now.

But before Zul Cafe and Grill opened its kitchen in Norwalk in early June, you likely had to venture to Yonkers, Nyack, or Queens to get your fill of Filipino fare.

The “why” behind Zul is simple. Owners and Norwalk residents Rob and Gladys Luz not only saw a void in Filipino cuisine in the area, but they also wanted it more readily available for themselves. Opening a restaurant of their own became all the more real when Rob had one of his cravings for the food of his culture.

“We would always just go to Queens because they have a lot of Filipino food in one small area, but we got tired of traffic and casually discussed opening a Filipino restaurant ourselves,” Gladys says. “We saw this house for sale and Rob said, ‘This is a nice spot for a Filipino restaurant,’ to which I replied, ‘Where?!’ I didn’t notice it because it’s residential. The roof was falling apart, the grass was high, there was a big tree out front. You couldn’t even see the building! It was a fixer upper. Rob had the vision. He saw it. I didn’t!”

Nibble: Tasty CT Food Events & Openings For January 10-25

Events Features Events News

Stephanie Webster January 06, 2021

ROIA & Ordinary Bar in New Haven are hitting the “virtual” road again with a two class zoom combo Virtual Wine & Cocktail Pairing Classes. On January 15th, they will take guests to India, and then on January 29th, they will head to Spain. Sign up here.

Citizen Fried Chicken & Donuts is opening in West Hartford this month. Are we pumped? Hell yeah! More coming soon via CTbites.

Did you know…Marcia Selden Catering has packaged meals to go and many Gluten Free options. Check out the manu here.

Kids Winter Cake Decorating Class on January 17th, 10AM-12 PM w/ Shauna O'Reilly of SO Good Baked Goods. Each child, 8-13 yrs, will be provided with their own double-layer cake, supplies and utensils. They will then take home their finished cake to share with their family. $79 per child for any 2-hour session

New restaurant alert! The flaming llama “Japanese-Peruvian” food has opened in Hartford, and its tasty!

Oyster Club In Mystic Turns Ten And Wins "Best of Connecticut"

Features Restaurant Mystic Seafood Raw Bar Best of CT American Lunch Brunch

Kristin L. Wolfe January 01, 2021

Am I dreaming? Is it really 2021? We got to flip the calendar?

To see a beloved restaurant hit a real landmark, especially amidst challenging times, you better believe we are going to hoot and holler and make some noise. So, that’s why we’ll spend 2021 celebrating alongside Oyster Club as they move into their next decade.

On the heels of being included in Connecticut Magazine’s “Best of” list, and as my top choice for Best Bites of 2020 here at ctbites, in addition to countless national accolades, there’s a reason for the celebration. Not only is Oyster Club in the picturesque town of Mystic, or in a building whose bold colors give nod to the elements, but the service, and what’s delivered on each plate is experiential, it is sensual; it is just extraordinary.