Open House @ Thomas Hooker with NoRA Cupcake Truck Road Trip Restaurant Bloomfield Hartford County Beer Amy Kundrat July 06, 2012 The Thomas Hooker Brewery (home to that refreshing summer seasonal, Watermelon Ale) has invited NoRA Cupcake Truck to their twice-monthly Friday Open House, July 6, 2012. The Brewery hosts these events on the 1st and 3rd Friday each month from 5 to 8pm. $10 for pint glass, tasting, and tour (Portion of proceeds go to The Village For Families and Children). Thomas Hooker Brewey is located at Tobey Road in Bloomfield, CT. For more information, visit hookerbeer.com. Read More
Sun BBQ Fest 2012: June 1 - 3 @ Mohegan Sun Road Trip Restaurant BBQ Amy Kundrat May 04, 2012 Mohegan Sun’s first annual BBQ Fest will be held June 1 - 3, 2012 in the Winter Parking Lot in Uncasville, CT. Headlining this event will be plenty of BBQ, cooking demonstrations, live music and host Mike Petit of NESN’s Grillseekers, as emcee for the three day event. Tickets are $30 per day including 8 food tickets and go on-sale Monday, April 16th at 10am through Ticketmaster.com or at Mohegan Sun’s Box Office. Kids 10 and under get in free (does not include food tickets). The weekend will include loads of BBQ including ribs, pulled pork and classic BBQ chicken from the nation’s best barbeque experts and vendors. Guests will be able to visit the Farmer’s Market featuring Sardilli Produce & Dairy. Competitive Eating Champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut (famous for his hot dog championship titles) will appear in a rib eating contest on Saturday, June 2 at 4 p.m. Read More
FOODSTOCK: CT Food Writing Conference Road Trip Events Hartford Amy Kundrat March 22, 2012 Celebrated author Amy Bloom will host FOODSTOCK, Wesleyan’s first food writing conference, on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. This event is FREE and open to the public. Online registration is required at www.wesleyan.edu/FOODSTOCK and registration will begin on Thursday, March 22nd. FOODSTOCK will feature talks, Seminars, Book Signings, a Farmers Market, Food Trucks, a Cocktail Party, and more! Speakers and Guests include: Ruth Reichl, Eric Asimov, Faith Middleton, Dorie Greenspan, Molly O'Neill, Jane Stern, Alan Sytsma, Christopher Prosperi, Paolo Villoresi, Serena Palumbo, Natalie Bovis, Cara Eisenpress, Pippa Lord, Fern Berman, Kim Chi-Hoon, Priscilla Martel, Najwa Kronfel, Ashley Rodriguez, Chef Bobo, John Finn , Chichi Wang, Hope Wright-Martell, Donald Siegel, Gaye Tuchman and CTbites! Read More
Behind the Scenes with Fine Cooking Magazine Ingredients Road Trip Education Newtown Amy Kundrat March 01, 2012 Similar to my omnivorous approach to food, I’ve been known to devour almost anything when it comes to food in print. And although I love any and all food magazines, my allegiances bend toward the recipe-driven and away from the trendy and overly-styled. It’s nice to know that some serious time has been logged in someone else’s kitchen before amateur hour and its inevitable chaos, commences in my own. Firmly in the category of “not afraid to get their hands dirty,” Fine Cooking magazine is one of those few who are dedicated to the act of cooking. Their meticulous seasonally-driven recipes reflect a dedication to process and a glimpse into their tireless recipe testing. So when I learned their headquarters and test kitchen also happened to be firmly inside our Fairfield County borders at Taunton Press in Newtown, CT, it only became a matter of time before I invited my CTbites-self for a tour and taste. Read More
Road Trip: Ballo Italian Restaurant & Club @ Mohegan Sun Road Trip Restaurant Italian Road Trip Andrew Dominick November 01, 2011 A month ago I contributed an article about John Tunney’s latest creation, Ballo Italian Restaurant & Social Club. Now, I am pleased to bring you a sneak peek at not just the décor, not just a menu preview, but of the reason we are all here, for the food. But first, let me take you on a brief tour of this restaurant/bar/dance club/lounge. Remember that preview article? All that construction and the pictures of what it will look like? Seeing those photos is one thing, seeing this place in person is another. The wraparound marble bar, the sphere-like hanging lamps, the giant lanterns, and the fireplaces, give Ballo a glow unlike any other restaurant in Mohegan Sun Casino. Read More
Road Trip: Ballo Italian Restaurant & Social Club @ Mohegan Sun Road Trip Restaurant Italian Andrew Dominick August 26, 2011 Restauranteur John Tunney, owner of the popular Mexican restaurant Besito in Hartford, expects to wow you with his 12th and newest restaurant, Ballo. The word “Ballo” is Italian for “dance.” Diners can expect the usual eating and drinking, but you can do what the name says and dance as well. Ballo Italian Restaurant and Social Club will join Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, Todd English’s Tuscany, and Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino this September. Even though Ballo is still under construction, Tunney’s idea is unique, and when he speaks, you can imagine how original this new restaurant will be from the usual. Read More
Tour India with Thali's Chef Prasad Chirnomula Road Trip Chef Talk Road Trip Indian Amy Kundrat July 20, 2011
Zee Burger in Woodbury: A First Beefy Bite Road Trip Restaurant Woodbury Lunch Burgers Amy Kundrat June 05, 2011 When news first broke that Carole Peck, our east coast answer to Alice Waters, would be opening a burger joint adjacent to her popular farm-to-table Good News Café in Woodbury, the first thing I did was clear my calendar. The second thing I did was ask the obvious question. Was this the same Carole Peck who has been running the Café in Woodbury since 1993, hosting culinary trips to France and espousing local farms? Burgers? Carole, really? Actually it makes perfect sense that Peck, who has been committed to sourcing locally and seasonally for Good News Café for almost twenty years, would want to widen her spectrum and open a more accessible establishment using the same approach that has won her accolades and a loyal following. Fueled by an extended financial recession, the inexpensive luxuries of the gourmet burger joint formula has been trending in Connecticut. Peck has joined the fray staying true to her signature style – by creating the farm stand version of the burger joint. Read More
A Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival Wrap-Up Road Trip Restaurant Chef Talk Wine Chat Amy Kundrat November 10, 2010 Restaurants from New York City to Boston descended on the 4th annual Foxwoods Food and Wine Festival at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. A weekend-long event, the Festival featured celebrity chef dinners, cooking demonstrations, and dozens of restaurants and wine vendors showcased at two “Grand Tasting” events on Saturday and Sunday. Read More
Foxwoods 4th Annual Food & Wine Festival Road Trip Restaurant Events Wine Chat Amy Kundrat October 14, 2010
Reheated: This Week's Top Food News in CT & Beyond Ingredients Road Trip Restaurant News Amy Kundrat September 21, 2010 Reheated is a twice-weekly round-up of bite-sized food news in Connecticut and beyond. In Connecticut... Don't miss this week's Westport Farmers Market will feature chefs Bill Taibe (leFarm), Nancy Roper (Boxcar Cantina) and Jeff Northrop (Westport Aquaculture) in a market fundraiser. Info CTbites.com. Free scoop at participating Carvel stores this Thursday. Via Dining A La Carte. Tasti D-lite tops the list of several restaurant openings in Stamford. Via Stamford Notes. Save the date to drink for charity with Cans & Cocktails on Sept.29, a fundraiser in Stamford we'll be supporting. Info CTbites.com. Wednesday night wine tastings at Sarah's Wine Bar in Ridgefield. Via SarahsWineBar.com. Read More
Reheated: This Week's Top Food News [weekend edition] Road Trip Cookbooks Events News Amy Kundrat September 17, 2010 Reheated is a twice-weekly round-up of bite-sized food news in Connecticut and beyond. In Connecticut... Taste! Organic CT is this weekend in Manchester. Info www.CTbites.com/TasteOrganic Celebrate the local garlic harvest this weekend in Mystic. Info OldeMistickVillage.com. In nearby Stonington, you can also check out the Harvest Food & Wine Festival at Stonington Vineyards. Info StoningtonVineyards.com. A Family Garden Tour at Ambler Farm this Saturday. Info AmblerFarm.org. Bier, lederhosen and mountains of brats (the meat, not the kids). Celebrate Oktoberfest at The Old Heidelberg this weekend. Info RestaurantHeidelberg.com. The first annual Hamden Restaurant Week starts on the 20th. Info HamdenRestaurantWeek.com Read More
Road Trip: Spa Sampler @ The Mayflower Inn Road Trip Restaurant Holiday Manchester Road Trip Travel Margie Treisman September 15, 2010 Photos: Courtesy of The Mayflower InnMy husband and I recently had the chance to spend a day at the Mayflower Inn and Spa in Washington, CT. It was, in a word, sublime. It’s nestled in the Litchfield County countryside, with rolling hills, lush foliage and perfectly manicured gardens -- a New England picture-postcard paradise. The Inn itself is an elegant, magnificently maintained, five-star luxury spa resort. I could go on for hours about the place. But this is CTBites -- let’s talk about the food. Read More
Road Trip: Old Lyme & Chester for Great Food and Fun Road Trip Restaurant Old Lyme Road Trip Shoreline East Elizabeth Keyser February 18, 2010 In these cold cabin-fever days of winter, a road trip to a country inn casts an alluring spell. Dreaming of a cozy dinner in front of a flickering fireplace, we hit the road to check out The Bee & Thistle Inn and Spa in Old Lyme. (100 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT) The Bee & Thistle has been an inn since 1930, but Linnea and David Rufo have breathed new life into the historic building since buying it 4 years ago. Linnea is a multi-talented, energetic and attractive woman with 20 years of experience in the hospitality business as a chef (she worked at Jean Georges Vongerichten’s Mercer Kitchen), innkeeper (The Inn at Stockbridge in Massachusetts) and award-winning events planner (too numerous to list). She’s the Bee & Thistle’s executive chef and hostess, and has created a cozy ambience filled with good food, art and music. Read More
