Filtering by Tag: kids activity,Peruvian

Hana Tokyo Opens in Fairfield CT @ The Brick Walk

Restaurant Asian Fairfield Japanese kids activity Sushi Kid Friendly

Jessica Ryan

Hana Tokyo opened in Fairfield’s Brick Walk Plaza just a few weeks ago, and locals seem to be embracing the new restaurant with open arms. Owner Alan Wu recently relocated from Alexandria, Virginia to be closer to his family. Born and raised in China, he came to the US in his mid-20s and landed in New York City where he immersed himself in the world of gourmet sushi, learning everything possible about the trade. In 2002 he opened the original Hana Tokyo and after 13 successful years as the busiest Japanese restaurant in town, Wu and his restaurant now come to us. Wu prides himself on using only the freshest available ingredients, making everything in-house, and offering unparalleled service.

The new restaurant (which many will recognize as the former Tomba) has a contemporary, earthy feel. As one enters the restaurant, a large mural of a Japanese woman in a kimono, painted by renowned local artist, Suzanne Bellehumeur, greets you as you enter the facility and a small sushi bar constructed from reclaimed wood is to the right. Contemporary and traditional Japanese décor are combined to give the space a look that is modern yet traditional. The main dining area has 8 hibachi tables, a sushi bar, a lounge, plus 20 outside seats.


11 Places for Apple Picking in CT

Ingredients Local Farm Pick Your Own kids activity

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

As autumn approaches, farmers journey out to their fields to begin the harvest.  Apples lie at the heart of the season: apple cider, apple pie, or even a simple Gala or Braeburn apple are beautiful bounties on a crisp afternoon.  CT's farms and orchards are inviting you to pick-your-own apples as the leaves start to change their color.  Here are 10 places where you can enjoy a fall afternoon.

If you love apples, be sure to check out these recipes for a Hot Cinnamon Apple Toddy and a Prosecco Apple Fizz from Sugar & Olives.

  1. Bishop's Orchards, Guilford
  2. Rogers Orchards, Southington
  3. Lyman Orchards, Middlefield
  4. Rose's Berry Farm, Glastonbury
  5. Silverman's, Easton
  6. Blue Jay Orchards, Bethel
  7. Rose Orchards, Branford
  8. Drazen Orchards, Cheshire
  9. Johnny Appleseed's, Ellington
  10. March Farms, Bethlehem
  11. Scotts Orchard and Nursery, Glastonbury

Explore Local CT Farms on the 6th Annual Easton Farm Tour

CT Farms Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

Citizens For Easton (CFE) is pleased to announce the 6th annual Easton Farm Tour.  This celebration of Easton, a local farming community within Fairfield County CT, is a self-guided tour of Easton farms couple with an old fashioned community fun day.   

Easton Farm Tour 2014 will be held August 16 from 10am to 3pm.  This event begins at the Easton Firehouse Green, One Center Road, Easton, CT 06612. At this location, visitors will receive a copy of the road map, passes to events and incentives offered by farmers and community organizations at the different locations throughout day.  

During the homegrown event enjoy the many farming delights that Easton has to offer while you and your family learn where your food comes from. Enjoy food tastings, educational 18th and 19th century farm house living and cooking demonstrations, old-time fun and games, pony rides, hay ride, a petting zoo, greenhouse tours, fruits and vegetables from the farm and pick your own.


Blueberry Season in CT: Here's Where To Pick Your Own

Ingredients Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

Strawberries are wrapping up their season in CT, but those beautiful blues should be ready to pick in a matter of days. If you're looking for a fun family friendly activity, here's a great guide to CT farms that offer "Pick Your Own" blueberries. Make sure you call the farm before you head over as picking schedules vary daily. 


Guide to Kids Summer Cooking Camps & Classes in Connecticut

Kids Bites Features Restaurant Cooking Classes Education Kids kids activity kids cooking party

April Guilbault

Is May about the newly arriving crocuses (crocii?)? Or about the greening of our lawns after the longest winter ever? Nah. Let’s get down to business-it’s about finding camps for your kiddos before the summer hits and all of those spots are filled! The emails have begun flying and the scramble is beginning. What’s new? What’s fun? How about forgoing the traditional Camp Gitchigoomee canoes and bonfires and, instead, fan the flames of summer creativity in some area kitchens with cooking camps for kids! 

Here is a list of 8 Kids Cooking Classes & Summer Camps for 2014:


Elm Restaurant's Lil' Foodies Event w/ Chef Brian Lewis

Kids Bites Education Farm to Table kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

Asher is an 9th grader at Fairfield Country Day School. He has a true passion for food and started his blog, AsherZeats, in September of 2012. 

“A little chocolate a day keeps the doctor at bay”

I recently had the absolute pleasure of being a part of a unique experience called Lil’ Foodies. During this special event,  Brian Lewis, the chef/owner of well regarded restaurant, Elm, and his wife Dana, guided a group of children from the age of 8 to the age of 16 through a culinary extravaganza. All for the fantastic price of… nothing!

Our first stop on the journey was the New Canaan Farmers Market. During this time, Chef Lewis generously bought for us the freshest ingredients the market had to offer. We obtained fresh, crisp, juicy apples (of all varieties), a heap of straight from the ground fingerling potatoes, brightly vivid purple cauliflower, and much more.

Chef Lewis taught the group about the importance of supporting local organizations and also about picking the freshest foods from the stands.


Strawberry Picking is On @ Bishop's Orchards

Ingredients Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

This just in from Bishop's Orchards...

"The 2012 Pick Your Own Season is OFFICIALLY here.  Picking is at its peak right now so come PYO Strawberries this weekend, from 8:30 am - 5 pm.  The Strawberry crop looks great this year and they are absolutely delicious and so sweet.  Remember, our Strawberry season is only a few weeks long, so don't miss your chance to pick and enjoy the freshest local strawberries! 

We hope to be open most mornings thru mid July, but weather conditions and the plentiful availability of ripe berries determines our daily schedule, so call in daily for our schedule. 203.458.PICK  We hope to see you in the fields!"

For more information on Bishop's Orchards see their web site


Tips for Great Grilled Cheese from Chef Jason Sobocinski of Caseus

Features Chef Talk kids activity Lunch Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

King of the Grilled Cheese, Jason Sobocinski is the owner and founder of New Haven's innovative cheese-centric gastropub and cheese shop  Caseus Fromagerie Bistro. Here are his tips for the perfect Grilled Cheese sandwich. 

The crispy and the melty are no more typified than in America's greatest culinary accomplishment, the Grilled Cheese! Who thought up such a wonderful combination, to put bread to butter then heat with cheese till melted? Pure culinary Genius. 

The first signs of what we know as the Grilled Cheese sandwich surfaced around the 1940's. Sliced white bread was used often with cheese melted open faced called cheese toasties in England and was a popular dish to make in U.S. Naval galleys. These toasted melted precursors of what we now know where easy to make and super satisfying...did they come from the English Welsh Rarebit or the French Croque Madame? I'm not sure, but I do know that now more than ever this nostalgic sandwich has become increasingly popular and more and more refined. Is it because it's simplicity and comfort evoking qualities? Again, not sure but I know how to make a seriously great GC and here are some of my tips and stellar condiment suggestion to bolster your next crispy melty endeavor! 


5 Ways Kids Can Help Fight Hunger in CT

Kids Bites Volunteer kids activity Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster

People often write in to CTbites asking how their kids can get involved in helping the hungry in our local community. We decided to go to the source, Connecticut Food Bank, to see how best to assist in their efforts. It turns out there are quite a few ways kids can get involved.  Here are some places to begin:

Organize a Team to Walk Against Hunger.  We just opened Registration for the 2013 Walk Against Hunger, www.ctfoodbank.org/walk.  There are now four dates to choose from.  There also may be opportunities for young people and families to volunteer at the walk.  It’s truly a fun family event.

Organize a food drive at school, with a sports team/club or the neighborhood, here’s a link to the info. on our site, http://www.ctfoodbank.org/how-to-help/donate-food

Volunteer.  Contact Kim Damien, our Volunteer Coordinator to learn about volunteer opportunities for young people and families. There’s volunteer information the CT Food Bank's volunteer page, or you can contact Kim at kdamien@ctfoodbank.org, or call 203-469-5000.


February Baking Classes at Scratch Baking in Milford

Features Bakery Cooking Classes kids activity Kid Friendly Dessert

Amy Kundrat

On the heels of a sold-out January class schedule, Scratch Baking in Milford has expanded their class offerings for February to include Croissant 101, Artisan Breads I & II, Treats for your Sweet, Valentine's Day, Breakfast Pizza & Quiche Basics. To reserve your spot, call 203.301.4396 or email Scratch.

Croissant 101
OFFERED:  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH &
REOFFERRED FEBRUARY 26TH from 6-9PM

Croissants are one of the most awarding pastries to make. Learn the in’s and out’s of croissant making in this three-hour class. We will demonstrate how to mix croissant dough and laminate croissant dough and then for the best part, hands-on croissant making. You will learn how to make croissants, pain au chocolat and the very popular monkey bread. Don’t worry, you will be getting a goody bag with these pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast.. that is if you can wait that long!


Little House Molasses Snow Candy via "Fix Me A Snack"

Kids Bites Features kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly Dessert

Fix Me A Snack

The other day, we finally made Molasses-On-Snow Candy from The Little House Cookbook. And let me tell ya that nothing enlivens a snowy New England day like playing with molten sugar! 

Last winter, books from the Little House series dominated our bedtime reading. I don’t recall reading them as a child so I was enjoying them as much as the kids were. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s retelling of her childhood transported us back in time. 

Given our heartfelt connection to the Ingalls family, it’s unclear who likes the whole idea of making foods out of the Little House Cookbook more, me or the girls. Either way, they did a spectacular job making molasses candy. Nobody had to go to the hospital with third degree burns. Another successful day of parenting!


Visions of Gingerbread @ The Stamford Museum Opens Nov 17

Kids Bites Education Holiday kids activity Kid Friendly

Sarah Green

CTbites is proud to be the media sponsor for Stamford Museum and Nature Center's “Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects” exhibition. 

Every year, I buy one of those boxed gingerbread house kits and my kids and I go at it. We glop it together with that glue-like petroleum by-product substance that they call icing, we decorate with the stale jelly beans and mini gum balls they provide, and we call it a day. It’s fun and the kids enjoy it. Do yours? If so, head to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center (SM and NC) this month and next to see how the pros do it. “Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects” is the name of the exhibition that the museum is presenting as both a showcase for local bakers and as a fundraiser for the SM and NC.


5TH Annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival + CTbites Chef Tent

Restaurant BBQ Events Westport kids activity Beer Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

Come on down to the 5th annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival this weekend, September 1st and 2nd.

This event celebrates food, music and family with an exciting line-up of bands, craft beer, barbecue and cooking events, ribs and pie eating contests as well as fun for the whole family. And let's not forget the CTbites Chef Demo Tent on Sept 1st, where 6 top Fairfield County chefs will demo recipes and serve up tasty vittles all day long. 

Food vendors include: Bobby Q's Bodacious BBQ, Winnie's Jerk Chicken & Fish-Caribean Cuisine, Blue Lemon Restaurant, Dave & Jerry's Hot Dog Trolley-Beef Hot Dogs, French Fries & Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Bar Q BBQ -Beef Brisket, Smoked Chicken Wings, Melt Mobile -Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Wild Bill's Olde Fashioned Soda, Rolling Cones Ice Cream, Rita's Italian Ice. Aurora's Gypsy Cafe-Desserts, Kettle Corn


Fiesta Atlantic: Authentic Peruvian Fare in Stamfor

Restaurant Delicious Dives Peruvian Stamford Lunch Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

I’ve enjoyed food from many different countries over the years but funny enough, never from Peru. So with three friends in tow, I decided to try Fiesta Atlantic, a Peruvian restaurant in Stamford. Having eaten Venezuelan and Mexican, I expected a fusion of both. It turns out Peruvian food is indeed a melting pot of different cultures but surprisingly, the food is notable for its Italian and Chinese influences. In the 18th century, Lima was the financial center of a vast Spanish Viceroyalty. Chinese laborers and Italian settlers washed up on its South Pacific shores bringing their own spices and cooking techniques.


Ad: Tasti D-Lite, Healthy & Delicious for 20 Years

Restaurant kids activity Advertisement Kid Friendly Dessert

CTbites Team

Tasti D-Lite opened in NYC 20 years ago as a low-calorie alternative to ice cream and quickly snowballed into a frozen dessert mecca with a cult-like following. At their Fairfield location, Tasti D-Lite is bringing their 100+ flavors and all natural ingredients to our community offering health-conscious individuals a dessert that is indescribably delicious. Made with the finest ingredients including real dairy and no artificial sweeteners, Tasti D-Lite is lower in calories, sodium, carbs and sugar than ice cream and leading frozen yogurt brands. 

What makes Tast D-Lite such a guilt-free indulgence? Here's the scoop:


Rizzuto’s: A Day of Italian Food, Wine & Cars, June 10th

Kids Bites Restaurant Events Italian kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

On Sunday, June 10, 2012, NOON – 4 PM, Rizzuto’s, located in the Saugatuck community of Westport, has teamed up with The Ferrari Club of America and FIAT of Larchmont for a day-long event filled with Italian food, wine, and cars. 

The event takes place during the Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada race, which will be shown on 2 large screen HD TVs. Race car fans can take a virtual lap around the track in a GoSimRacer Race Car Simulator. Kids feeling the need for speed can race through an on-lot GoGo-Kart track presented byGrand Prix New York Racing. Rizzuto’s is pulling out all the stops with classic Italian dishes and an Italian wine tasting. San Pellegrino will be keeping things cool and Rizzuto’s will be grilling outdoors this year, preparing sausage and pepper wedges and meatball sliders.


Ambler Farm Maple Syrup Tap-a-Tree Family Events

Ingredients Local Artisan Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster

Maple Syrup Tap-a-Tree

Training dates: Saturday, February 11th from 11am - noon and Sunday, February 12th from 12:30 - 1:30pm.

In this extremely popular program, your family will learn the science and history of maple syruping by being a hands-on part of the process. You will choose a tree at the Farm and hang your bucket that will collect sap. We will boil down the sap in our sugar shack and send each family home with their very own bottle of Ambler Farm maple syrup. Enrollment Limited: This program sold out quickly in previous years so please do not wait to sign up. The number of trees at the Farm is limited, so we are unable to accommodate late requests or wait lists. Classes are $60 per family if members, $65 for non member family. Register here + more information. 

Middlebrook Maple Syrup Program

This 6 week program runs from early February through mid-March. Students in grades 6-8 will meet after school on Thursdays until 4:10. They will tap over 50 trees


Visions of Gingerbread Opens Saturday, Nov 12

Kids Bites Events kids activity Kid Friendly Dessert

Stephanie Webster

A holiday tradition returns to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on November 12th with Visions of Gingerbread III: The Sweetest Architects exhibition.  Visions of Gingerbread is a tribute to architectural confections that truly make your jaw drop.  Created by some of the area’s finest bakers, these edible wonders will display the chefs’ extraordinary creativity and gingerbread skills.  It is the Museum’s desire to elevate these creative structures to the art form they so truly are, and put them on proper display.  Last year, CTbites jumped on board and created an entry (much sleep was lost). This year, CTbites will help judge the winner. 


Chilifest 2011: Everyone's a Judge

Restaurant Events kids activity Comfort Food Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

Local area restaurants from Norwalk to Fairfield will engage in a culinary battle for the area's best chili on Saturday Oct. 29th from 11:30am - 3:30pm at the Unitarian Church in Westport.  Admission is $6 for adults, $5 seniors (60+) and $2 kids (5-17).  Unlike most competitions, everyone is a judge and can sample and vote for their favorites.

The competition is expected to be 'hot' as the list of restaurants include chili cook-off veterans as well as restaurants you might not expect to see in this type of contest.  Chef Pietro Scotti of DaPietro's in Westport is always up for a culinary challenge and will be entering a traditional as well as a "creative" entry.  Chef Chris North of Rowayton Seafood will be cooking up a seafood chili, and Chef Troilo of Nicholas Robert's Restaurant in Norwalk will throw down with his special recipe. 


Tokeneke's Pumpkin Carnival in Darien October 15th

Kids Bites Events Holiday kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team

Tokeneke’s annual Pumpkin Carnival will take place Saturday, October 15th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.  The rain date is October 16th.  For over forty years, Tokeneke’s Pumpkin Carnival, held at the Tokeneke Elementary School on Old Farm Road, has been an annual tradition for families in and around Darien. The Carnival features attractions for all ages, including a haunted house, rides, games and crafts, rock climbing, bouncy castles, a bake sale and raffle prizes.  In addition, food will be provided by Burgers, Shakes & Fries, Upper Crust Bakery & Café, and Heights Pizza.