Fairfield has worked its way up the food chain, offering all sorts of great dining opportunities for those with even the most discerning palates. With all the new restaurant openings, there was one thing that was lacking in the town’s culinary offerings; a really good health-food based option. Until now - enter Freshii.
Sandwiched in between The Fairfield University Bookstore and Chef’s Table is Freshii, recently opened by owner Jonathan Blob who also owns the Westport location. Although word had not yet really gotten out, the restaurant was bustling the two times I went in, first to check it out, then when I returned to chat with Blob.
The store, long and narrow, airy and bright, evokes a fresh, healthy attitude. Bright green, leaf-colored chairs are neatly lined up against the long counter space on one wall just below a large mirror reflecting the words...EAT. ENERGIZE. from the opposing wall. The light woods and grass-like covered wall lend themselves perfectly to an eatery of this type. A large menu board lists many and varied options. There are choices for breakfast, smoothies, juices, salads, wraps, bowls, soups and burritos.
After six weeks of overdoing the bubbly and those cheesy hors d’oeuvres (sooo good), ‘tis time to turn that calendar page and welcome all things cleaner and leaner. 2015 is here, with new delights to entice us and healthy flavors and dishes to keep our immune systems fueled, our skin glowing, and our bellies from bulging. This year, as you treat your body well, will cauliflower be the new kale? Will that little green nut, the pistachio, reign supreme with its antioxidants, vitamins and protein? There are so many ways to treat our bodies well and, luckily, we have found a great offering of area resources that will satisfy our tastebuds and help keep our bodies healthy. Happy New Year!
Here are 18 Places to Eat Healthy in Connecticut for 2015: Juice Bars, Restaurants, Organic Markets, Food Trucks & More!
Aux Delices' 2015 Winter/Spring Kids & Adult Cooking Class Schedule has just been announced. Aux Délices offers cooking classes for adults and children at their professional catering kitchen in Stamford. Classes are generally held on Wednesday evenings for adults and Sunday afternoons for children. Classes are hands-on for children and both participation and demonstration for adults.
Their focus is to teach easy, interesting and seasonal food preparation, utilizing a variety of cooking techniques. The chef instructors are from Aux Délices, as well as from well-known restaurants in Fairfield County and New York City. Lynn Manheim, the Cooking School Director does an incredible job engaging and challenging both children and adults, while teaching students the basics of cooking along the way.
View the complete schedule below...For more information, click here.
CTbites is pleased to introduce you to our summer intern, Hannah Bukzin. Hannah is a 14 yr old Staples high school student with a passion for cooking. Hannah has her own blog "Small Chef in a Big World," and is a contestant in the 2014 Chopped Teen Tournament on The Food Network. Please welcome Hannah to CTbites and watch her episode on July 29th!
Sixteen talented teenagers bring their extreme energy and ambition to the Chopped kitchen, with Chopped Teen Tournament premiering Tuesday, July 15th at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network. In this special, five-part stunt, sixteen culinary whiz kids are aiming for perfect appetizers, entrées, and desserts, as they navigate through three rounds. The teen cooks are given ingredients that could stump even top professionals, with a rotating panel of the Chopped judges, including Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Chris Santos, Geoffrey Zakarian and special guest judge Alex Stupak determining who gets chopped each round.
Watch Hannah's episode: Premiering Tuesday, July 29th at 10pm ET/PT
Friday June 6 is National Donut Day! Yes, it's an actual holiday... it started in 1938 and has been celebrated on the first Friday in June ever since. Back then, making doughnuts proved a complicated ordeal, with people resorting to wine bottles as rolling pins and metal tins as cutting edges. Today, however, several CT restaurants have made doughnuts an art form.
As a Stamford resident, I constantly heard people talk about the legendary donuts at the Lakeside Diner. Their rounds are neither ornate nor revolutionary. Instead, the old-fashioned donuts taste just like something Grandma would have pulled out of the oven. The classic cake recipe has a dusting of granulated sugar that pleases children and adults alike.
On the other side of the spectrum, Orangeside of New Haven eschews tradition and bakes up SQUARE donuts. It started out as an exercise in frugality; traditional round cutters proved expensive and the square shaped reduced the amount of scrap dough. However, the original design became an instant hit, even recognized by Saveur Magazine as one of the top 50 donuts in the United States.
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:
Designed to educate children about healthy eating while getting them to try something new,a Pop Up Park will be created (off Elm Street) on Saturday May 17th between 9:30 – 11:30am. Kids can register for a fun food trail, and be entered into a drawing to win a special prize.
New Canaan residents Silvia Baldini, Founder / Chef Strawberry & Sage and Rachel Lampen RLPR Ltd, have volunteered their time to be the 2014 Food Revolution Ambassadors as one of four towns participating across Connecticut, as New Canaan joins Branford, Meriden, and Middletown.
You just did it all this holiday season. And by that, I mean...cookies became a food group. Mixing, stirring and shopping had you working your “muscles” (how to polish something, right?). Real exercise resided in the back seat, crammed in between boxes and bags and wrapping paper. Your sanity was also wedged in there, too, now that you think about it. Thank goodness that a new year is upon us because you weren’t quite sure you could take another week, chaotic and fun as it may have been. And yes, there was much good in the holiday season...but it’s all....tiring. So now, after the decadence and gluttony, let’s reset. Recharge. And for the love of Pete, put down that cookie.
Here we offer, as your first gift of the New Year, some great resources, including juice cleanses, yoga joints and healthy eats, to get your body and mind back on track and ready for action in 2014!
Liz Rueven is a CTbites contributor and the founder of a new blog, Kosher Like Me.
The Stand Juice Company opened a second location in Fairfield , CT five weeks ago and they are rockin’ already. Carissa Dellicicchi and Mike Hrizdo, the dynamic husband and wife duo behind the Stand in Norwalk (opened in 2006), complement each other perfectly.
Carissa is the cook and creative force and Mike is the organizer and funny man. They first met in Miami at a raw foods market and bonded over their love for organic vegetarian eats and their passion for exploring the connection between better eating and healing the body.
Yoga devotees and newcomers alike celebrated when KaiaYoga, a complete wellness center, opened in Westport in June of this year. An offer to explore the new center with a deal called “30 days for $30”, enticed 2500 new students of all ages to take classes and explore this new studio. With 10,000 square feet and two thoughtfully designed levels, this location offers a large selection of yoga classes and wellness services for all members of the community. Now members and non-members alike can rejoice again. Husband and wife duo Stan Woodman and Gina Norman have finally opened KaiaCafe, an organic juice bar that offers a carefully edited selection of salads and wraps, in addition to freshly squeezed juices, boosts, smoothies and remedies. Over 20 organic teas are offered by the cup or pot, as are coffee, espresso and capuccino with any kind of milk you can imagine.
Fairfield has worked its way up the food chain, offering all sorts of great dining opportunities for those with even the most discerning palates. With all the new restaurant openings, there was one thing that was lacking in the town’s culinary offerings; a really good health-food based option. Until now - enter Freshii. 
