I first became familiar Chef Judith Roll at Tabouli Grill when it was in Southport, and was saddened by its closing. I recently learned that she had launched a second and altogether different food concept, Judy’s Bar + Kitchen that can best be described as down-home, comfort with a twist of Southernese.
Located on High Ridge Road in a neighborhood that is both retail and residential, Judy is perfectly poised to keep locals (and non-locals) well-fed with her wide array of creative from-scratch cooking. When I arrived, I was thrilled to find plenty of parking, a big bonus for me.
Gates Restaurant has been an institution on Forest Street in New Canaan since 1979. It was sold in 2015, completely redesigned and re-opened last February. The new Gates maintained the relaxed environment with a rustic, Americana décor, with the original gates repurposed around the entrance to the revamped bar, exposed brick-and-wood walls, bistro seating, and an open kitchen. On weekends kids’ teams continued to flock to this town fixture for post-soccer game celebrations, families scheduled weekly Sunday brunches, locals met for a casual lunch, guys sat at the bar indulging in a burger, beer and ballgame, and young adults enjoyed a few late-night drinks and live music. It was still the town watering hole...Gates 2.0.
Craft 14 Kitchen + Bar is the sort of place you want to wander into on a winter’s day with its warm, welcoming reclaimed wood interior accompanied by the nostalgic aroma of decades-old wood burning ovens and fireplaces. The restaurant, which opened at the end of last summer, greets a steady stream of diners throughout the day and well into the night, as I was witness to when I went to meet owners Cristina Ramirez and Mario Lopez.
The folks from Rye House wanted to share some recent updates. This is not a CTbites review but a head's up to restaurants in the area.
Located in a historical building, circa 1890, whose antique brick façade and grand door arches frame the corner of Willett Avenue and North Main Street in the New York City suburb of Port Chester, Rye House (opened in 2015) is named after the American distilled spirit and the spirit of an American neighborhood tavern. Spearheaded by Our House Hospitality, whose eating and drinking establishments include the original Rye House and Sala One Nine, Tapas Bar & Restaurant, both located in the Flatiron district of New York. Rye House Port Chester pulls no punches – instead, it offers a break from the norm, with good food and drink at the forefront.
Christmas was in the air in Greenwich this past weekend as the town’s Annual Holiday Stroll offered something for everyone: a chance to meet Santa, a ride in a horse drawn carriage, and for me, the opportunity to try out The National’s Holiday Brunch.
I had not yet been to Chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s newest and his first restaurant in Greenwich. The celebrity chef has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and CBS Morning Show and has starred in many Food Network programs including Chopped, The Next Iron Chef and Cooks vs. Cons, the network’s newest show.
Foxwoods® Resort Casino, Big Night Entertainment Group (BNEG) and Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri are excited to announce the opening of Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen + Bar at Foxwoods Resort Casino on Friday, November 25 at 11:00 a.m.
This fall, chef, restaurateur, author and host of Food Network’s top-rated show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, is bringing his love affair with food to BNEG’s impressive roster of award-winning dining and entertainment venues which include GEM Italian Kitchen, Nightclub & Lounge, Red Lantern Boston, Red Lantern Foxwoods, Scorpion Bar Patriot Place, Scorpion Bar Foxwoods, High Rollers Luxury Lanes & Lounge, Shrine, and Empire Asian Restaurant & Lounge. The new restaurant is located on the casino level of the Grand Pequot Tower.
With its new, 3 course prix fixe lunch, The National offers a commodity not always found along “The Ave” in Greenwich: a real bargain.
CTBites was recently invited to sample the new lunch menu, and we’ll fill you in on that delicious deal in a moment. But first, we wondered how the restaurant has evolved since it opened a year ago. So we asked owner and celebrity chef, Geoffrey Zakarian.
"We are never on auto pilot," the restaurateur told us. "And we always listen to the needs and wants of the customers. One change that people are loving is that we put French Fries on the menu. We started with homemade chips, but the fries are a huge hit. Sometimes, it is just those small things that people embrace."
While Crave Restaurant in Fairfield may seem off the beaten path, it is conveniently located adjacent to the Fairfield Theatre Company and combines a hip vibe with a menu offering a wide array of options from a simple Mac & Cheese to a robust Chicken Scarpariello. The brainchild of owners Peter Prizio and Alfonso Cammarota, the owners’ concept was simple; create a restaurant and bar where everyone would feel at home and serve a global menu with bold flavors. The restaurant consists of two rooms. To the left is a traditional dining area with tables and high-tops and to the right is a bar, with large HDTVs and a U-shaped bar. Overseeing the kitchen is Executive Chef Rigo Lino; many will remember Chef Lino from the Mansion Clam House in Westport. His menu combines his Salvadoran heritage with the owners’ Italian roots.
CTbites was invited to a media event where, over the course of the evening, I enjoyed many of the chef’s creations.
Photo courtesy of CTWeekender.comAs the name implies, The Corner began as a small mom and pop breakfast place -- just around the corner in Milford. Back then, nineteen years ago to be exact, Michelle and Amer Lebel mostly catered to the neighborhood, rarely filling their homey 50 seat café.
The eggs, potatoes and toast were damn good. But the star of the show arrived with the Stuffed French Toast: split French bread, filled with fresh, sugared fruit and berries, bathed in an egg batter laced with orange zest, nutmeg and cinnamon, then deep fried to a golden brown and served under a puddle of nutty maple syrup. The luscious confection scored an immediate hit, eventually inspiring a morning menu as adventuresome, imaginative, and playful as any in Connecticut, if not the country.
Today, Michelle and Amer’s creative breakfasts have been featured on network television and celebrated in all manner of social media.
Many of us felt a sense of loss when Le Farm closed and Chef Arik Bensimon decided to pursue his other passion and create beautiful wood bowls. His brilliance in the kitchen, combining ingredients and textures as only great chefs can do, would be missed. Quietly and with no fanfare, Chef Arik has re-entered the Fairfield County food scene, at a small café in The Perfect Provenance in Greenwich, where his latest venture again proves his culinary talents in an environment dedicated to luxury and charity. When we spoke to him after the meal we asked him about this intimate space versus some of the larger restaurants he has worked in. He stated that he wanted this size, a place to serve the foods from his past.
The Perfect Provenance is the brainchild of Greenwich resident Lisa Lori, whose personal mission is to ensure every child can smile. All three of her sons were born with a rare condition, one of the prevented them from smiling. Numerous surgeries eventually corrected each and now Lori’s Three Little Bears project donates a percentage of the proceeds from T-shirts and bags to Operation Smile. These products are featured throughout the Perfect Provenance and have raised over $1 million to Operation Smile. The store is a perfect place for luxurious products and cuisine.
Recently the CTbites team previewed the menu at El Segundo in South Norwalk, the newest restaurant from the talented partners who created The Spread just up the block. The concept: Eat the Street. Intersect some of the world’s tastiest street food at the corner of Washington and North Water in SONO.
What began as a tasting quickly turned into a party ... a coming out party for Carlos Baez, Executive Chef of The Spread, one of the region’s most versatile, yet unheralded, chefs.
The menu flaunts Baez’ extraordinary range -- a gastronomic tour de force featuring over 3 dozen dishes curated from the boulevards and back allies of 27 countries on all seven continents, including barren Antarctica. (More about that selection later)
After a great deal of anticipation, the newest restaurant to grace The Inn at Longshore, Pearl, opened its doors last Monday. The restaurant’s cosmopolitan appearance isn’t what one might expect in a seaside community. There are coastal elements of course, repurposed bleached wood lines the wall behind the bar which also houses a recycled glass countertop that’s very much reminiscent of sea glass. But Pearl will never be mistaken for a casual seasonal, seaside eatery; it’s much too stylish for such. The atmosphere perfectly reflects the personality of the town, sophisticated without being overly formal. Beyond the clean lines of the interior lies the magnificent view of the Long Island Sound. If you’re lucky enough to be there at sunset be prepared to have your breath taken away.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Chef Michael Hazen on a quiet Thursday afternoon. If his name rings a bell, the innovative chef launched the concept for the Bartaco restaurants. At Pearl he sets out to create a menu that is inspirational and reflective of today’s lifestyle, clean and simple with a modern approach. He offers food that is familiar while pushing the envelope just slightly to offer an element of surprise. Chef stressed the importance offering items that are local and seasonal.
When one restaurant door closes a new one opens. The institution that was Mario's closed last year, but this week I had the privilege of attending an intimate event celebrating the opening of Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant, at their newest location on Railroad Avenue in Westport. This farm to fork eatery joins the popular Greenwich and New Haven locations as well as Cava, Scena and 55, and is the result of the collaborative endeavor of the Kluber, Nube and Vincente Siguenza sibling team, who have over the past 10 years combined their passion for wine, food and customer service to create some of the area’s finest dining establishments.
Eastend is the latest addition to Z Hospitality’s expanding portfolio of quality restaurants in Fairfield and Westchester Counties, joining Sole, Mediterraneo, Terra, Aqua and Aurora. Located at the bottom of Greenwich Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Primary Restaurant, it recently opened, 25 years to the week after Mediterraneo up the avenue.
Overseeing the menu is Executive Chef Albert DeAngelis. Chef Albert joined Z Hospitality Group as Executive Chef in 1989 and has been the creative vision behind the group’s Mediterranean-style bistros. Joining him in the kitchen is Chef Matt McNerny, a graduate of the CIA and formerly the chef du cuisine at Aurora in Rye and Sole in New Canaan.
Chef Brian Lewis, one of Connecticut’s most influential chefs and celebrated for being on the cutting edge of the state’s dining scene, opened his new restaurant, The Cottage, this past weekend. It is Chef Lewis’ second Fairfield County restaurant, redesigning the space that formerly housed Le Farm into a charming 44-seat establishment in the heart of town. Known for his thoughtful and innovative dishes that garnered him accolades from The New York Times, Esquire and Connecticut Magazine, The Cottage features his highly revered seasonal American cuisine in a warm and relaxing environment.
The Cottage reflects Chef Lewis’ vision and represents his desire to produce a premier neighborhood destination serving the finest, locally sourced cuisine. The menu will be updated weekly paying homage to local farmers and artisans in the region that share Lewis’s commitment to exceptionally sourced and quality seasonal ingredients. “My wife, Dana, and I have fallen in love with Westport over the years, spending so much of our free time here with our boys, Jude and Jax. The food scene here, the community of chefs, and farmer’s market have always been a big part of my day to day life.”
Chef Luke Venner has been at the helm of elm Restaurant for several months and was invited to participate at the Greenwich Wine and Food Festival as one of the Innovative Chefs. The two small bites that he prepared at the festival were delicious. In hopes that these were reflective of his newly revised menu, CTbites returned to the restaurant to sample other dishes on his recently introduced Autumn menu. The appetizers and entrées that we enjoyed highlighted the inherent flavors of the ingredients utilizing Chef Luke’s balanced vision and delicate touch.
We shared three dishes from the “smaller” section of the menu.
Now open in the Byram neighborhood of Greenwich, Mill Street Bar & Table celebrates American seasonal fine dining in one of Connecticut’s most elegant tavern-inspired settings. Executive Chef and Managing Partner of Mill Street is Greenwich native Geoff Lazlo (whom we know and love from The Whelk and leFarm) along with partner Bill &Lesley King.
Under Geoff's leadership, the Mill Street menu is comprised of rustic yet sophisticated dishes (whole roasted proteins such as chicken and trout, a beautifully appointed oyster bar, homey pasta dishes, inventive flatbreads...) that embrace the bounty of land, farm, and sea, featuring among other purveyors, Mill Street’s own Back 40 Farm in Washington, CT.
Chef Nick Martschenko’s (South End) newest venture, SE Uncorked, is already creating an incredible buzz throughout New Canaan for its great food and great vibe. Inspired by the speakeasies of the Prohibition era and taverns in the UK and Australia, Chef Nick told CTbites that his vision is for “guests to be comfortable and relaxed in a heavily beverage, comfortable environment with foods designed for a pub versus restaurant theme.”
Located at 15 Elm Street, both the exterior and interior have been completely redesigned. The brick-faced exterior features a drop-down wood shelf, windows at eye-level and a wood carved sign announcing “Uncorked” with the familiar South End circle-logo with the additional prelude... “Snacks & Taps.”
Vespa Restaurant recently introduced its new culinary team, Executive Chef David White and Pastry Chef Susanne Berne to create a vibrant menu to complement the relaxing décor and wonderful water view. The duo will collaborate in creating a menu for the full dining experience, from the first bite of Antipasti to the last bite of Dolci. In addition, the restaurant recently unveiled its lunch service, a new dessert menu and the commencement of “Apertivo Hour” from 4-6PM, offering half price beer, wine, $8 select cocktails and a small plates menu.
Chef David joins Vespa from The Inn at Pound Ridge, where he was the Chef de Cuisine. Prior to working with Chef Jean-Georges, he sharpened his skills in Europe before returning to the US to further refine his talents with award-winning Andrew Masciangelo at Savona. Chef Berne’spassion for the culinary arts was sparked by a pastry course in college before receiving her Grande Diploma in Pastry Arts in 1999. She subsequently won back-to-back ACF Florida Pastry Challenges in 2003 & 2005.
CTbites recently visited Vespa to sample a variety of the new culinary team’s Italian-inspired creations.
The heck with “Veni, vidi, vici,” my return visit to Hoodoo Brown BBQ in Ridgefield was more we came, we saw, we ordered and man we tried. And when I say we tried…we tried EVERY meat on the menu and we tried to eat every ounce of meat on numerous trays. If this was a gunfight with Hoodoo Brown in the 1870s we would be full of holes, he won.
Armed with a reservation for the “BBQ Room,” twelve of us ventured to Hoodoo Brown. As our group congregated, I placed the initial appetizer order plus a round of beers, sodas and lemonades. To warm up our appetites, this initial order included two large BBQ Nachos (one with chopped brisket and the other with pulled pork), a dozen Bourbon Teriyaki Wings and a couple of Strawberry and Arugula salads. As we waited, super Pitmaster Nestor Laracuente wandered into the room to offer his humble thanks to all of us for coming and wished us a great meal. He was heading back to Queens for the evening before beginning the return voyage the following morning at 4AM.
