Embody believes in eating local, keeping things simply and honoring ourselves by eating real food! This summer salad with edible Nasturium flowers makes for a beautiful dish to bring to parties or just to enjoy on your own. Takes only 15 minutes to make! Also, the majority of the ingredients are LOCAL (from the Westport CT Farmers Market) and all are organic.
Terrain Garden Cafe in Westport hosted a vegetarian dinner this week to celebrate the summer bounty of the Westport Farmers' Market. Terrain's Chef Jes Bengsten, alongside Chef Jeff Michaud from The Vetri Group, created a stunning 10 course dinner to honor the Westport Farmers' Market, highlighting fresh, seasonal ingredients from local growers. Cocktails and wine pairings complemented the menu that featured the diversity of plant-based cuisine. Terrain Garden Cafe in Westport hosted a vegetarian dinner this week to celebrate the summer bounty of the Westport Farmers' Market. Terrain's Chef Jes Bengsten, alongside Chef Jeff Michaud from The Vetri Group, created a stunning 10 course dinner highlighting fresh, seasonal ingredients from local growers. Cocktails and wine pairings complemented the menu that featured the diversity of plant-based cuisine.
I come from Italian blood, and I have eaten my fair share of pizza, pasta, and pastries throughout my life. I have had pizza in Pisa and Parmesan in Parma, and it was all lovely. However, may I say, watch out grandma’s worldwide, Dough Girls Pizza Truck is coming for you because these pizzas are epic. Their custom outfitted food truck is packing a blazing hot wood fire oven which they use to crank out personal sized pizzas on the spot. Dough Girls Pizza Truck is based out of Greenwich, CT and sometimes make appearances in Stamford during lunch hours.
2017 was a good year for burger lovers in Southwest CT. A closing (Fleisher's Craft Kitchen) and a fire (The National) have sadly removed two of 2016’s winning burgers from contention in our 2017 edition of Top Ten Burgers in Southwest CT. Nonetheless, the local burger scene remains vibrant, inventive, and ever evolving. So we happily welcome three new, mouthwatering iterations to our 2017 Top Ten Burgers list.
We sampled over 75 burgers to arrive at this list. Our rankings this year are focused exclusively on the sandwich and its ingredients alone, not the accompanying sides.
The Black Rock Farmers' Market is back, Saturdays, June 10 -October 7th 9am to 1pm at 481 Brewster Street in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport CT. The season will kick off during Black Rock Day Weekend, an event that serves as a community initiative to promote projects that enhance the quality of life for residents and business in the area.
BRFM is a producer-only market featuring locally farmed vegetables, fruit, cheese, eggs (with a real life rooster), bread, meats, jams pickles and so much more. Their local artisan selection varies from vintage finds to natural beauty care products. Market visitors have the opportunity to start their day with a 10:30AM yoga class in the field and enjoy their weekly produce shopping accompanied by live local musicians.
It's that time of year, and Sundays in downtown Fairfield are about to become even more fun. The Fairfield Farmers Market returns for its second season starting Sunday, June 11. The market will be every Sunday 10-2, rain or shine, until Oct 1st on the historic Sherman Green in downtown Fairfield. Over 20 farms and food producers will have everything you need for beach picnics, Sunday dinner, even your weekly shopping. [View complete vendor list below]
Personally, I have always wanted to be a judge or even a guest at one of Top Chef’s cookout challenges; where the chefs are tasked with using locally sourced ingredients and doing them justice by creating an epic meal. Whether, your dreams are as ornate as mine or you would just like to have a chef cook you a delicious snack, the Westport Farmers Market is the place to be.
Every Thursday between 10- 2, a special guest chef will be at the market and tasked with finding some key local ingredients and making a meal for everyone to taste. (View the complete guest chef schedule below.)
Chef Anthony Kostelis will be one of the many guest chefs at The Westport Farmers' Market for the 2017 summer season. The complete lineup will be released shortly. In the meantime, Chef Kostelis has shared one of the recipes he will be demoing at the market, Kohlrabi & Radish Salad with Goat Feta and Zesty Breadcrumbs, made with local ingredients from CT farms. When you create this salad at home we encourage you to seek local purveyors at a farmers' market near you.
Kohlrabi and Radish Salad with Goat Feta and Zesty Breadcrumbs
CTbites has some exciting breaking food news regarding the ever expanding Greenwich restaurant scene. The Spread in Sono has just told CTbites that they have signed the lease for the old Barcelona spot in Greenwich CT at 18 W Putnam Ave. They hope to be open in fall of 2017.
The Spread has been awarded many accolades for Chef Carlos Baez' inventive American menu with strong global influences. The Greenwich food lineup will look and feel much like that of The Spread in South Norwalk, and will adhere toThe Spread’s philosophy of offering high quality, locally sourced ingredients. Expect to see classics such as Seared Foie Gras, Hamachi Crudo, Braised Octopus, Veal & Ricotta Meatballs and Beef Tongue Bruschetta alongside seasonally inspired specials.
Mark your calendars for opening day of the Westport Farmers’ Market, Thursday, May 18th, from 10 to 2 at 50 Imperial Avenue. (View the complete market vendor list below.)
Chefs from area restaurants will return this year to provide a source of inspiration to area shoppers. Each week they will create easy, healthful, delicious meals using fresh, local products found at the market. These seasonal recipes and others from top chefs throughout the area will be distributed each week at the market and available on the WFM website.
Farmers’ markets in Fairfield County, CT will begin opening in May and early June and we will update the listings below (from 2016) with 2017 information as it becomes available. Here are the markets updated so far via our friends at Fairfield Green Food Guide.
New Canaan opened April 22
Shelton opens May 6
Norwalk Rainbow Plaza opens May 17
Westport opens May 18
Greenwich @ Arch & Horseneck Streets opens on May 20
Fairfield’s downtown market that launched last year opens June 11
We felt this list of farmers' markets was pretty spot on. Check out Best of Connecticut's list of the 10 Best Farmers' Markets in CT.
Connecticut has organized its best local offerings into “trails” that visitors can easily follow to enjoy the best of the best. One such trail is the Farmers Markets of Connecticut trail, which highlights local markets across the state. At each market, you’ll find freshly picked local produce, delicious baked goods, coffee roasted in Connecticut, and other products to allow you to prepare the freshest most delicious locally-sourced meal for you and your family.
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.
Come clean. Celeriac is downright intimidating. Just what is that knobby-looking thing and how does one cook with it? Fear not, celeriac is not the province of chef menus only. Armed with a few facts and a killer recipe, you’ll want to run, not walk, to the Westport Winter Farmers’ Market this weekend to pick up the root and impress your friends and family.
Let’s start with what it is. Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceuem), is a species of celery in the family of plants that includes parsley, carrots, anise, and parsnip. Like many of its cousins, celeriac is a root vegetable that is often harvested during fall when the vegetable is sweetest. Indeed some species can remain underground throughout winter with mulch and protection; this is the reason it is often plentiful at winter farmers’ markets. While the root is most-often harvested when it is about 4 – 5 inches round, smaller bulbs can pack a more sugary punch. And the vegetable can be stored for 4 to 6 months at 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit once purchased.
Celeriac is delicious sliced and eaten raw but – as Chef Silvia Baldini demonstrates below
As more and more souls climb aboard the health(ier) train, the opportunities to eat well while eating out are becoming more frequent and less far between. Thankfully, the days of eating out with kids only to have them relegated to greasy, questionable servings of chicken nuggets, trans-fat laden fries, and white bread-grilled cheese or wondering how to stomach another blah serving of pasta primavera if you are vegetarian are fast departing. Enter, The Granola Bar, aka TGB.
Having established a loyal and vibrant following in Westport over the past 3 years, the duo of Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily decided to branch out to Greenwich just four short months ago. Judging from the speed at which the dining area filled up on the day I visited, the enthusiasm is running at full-speed boogie. From making their own granola a few years ago to now running two thriving restaurants, its been a wild ride but not so wild that they have forgotten where the brakes are located; TGB only serves breakfast and lunch, along with copious amounts of snacks. No dinner. That is precisely so that these two women can make it home to their own families for dinner. Hello, balance. It’s nice to see you again.
Folks in Fairfield County have no need to put away their farmers’ market bags or head to the grocery store just yet. For while the temperatures might be dipping and leaves dropping, farm-fresh food is still in abundance. The Westport Winter Farmers’ Market will return for its 6th season to Gilbertie’s greenhouses at 7 Sylvan Lane beginning Saturday, November 12th and continuing through March 11th from 10 to 2.
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."
The growth of the Black Rock Farmers' Market this year was tremendous and the enthusiasm for more things local has been contagious. After our market season ends on Saturday, October 15th, we will gather on the field once more to celebrate our third season (crazy, I know!) The Harvest Hootenannywill be held on Saturday, October 29th from 1-5 pm.
This family-friendly event will, of course, be chock-full of local chefs, breweries and music-makers. Walrus and Carpenter will be tempting our tastebuds again with a pig roast, poutine, and popcorn. For a special treat, BRFM veteran Whisk & Brushwill be filling our bellies with their delicious doughnut creations. In addition, there will be 10 local breweries and oodles of great stuff like a haunted house to scare your pants off, plus our annual corn hole tournament.Hitch and The Giddy Up and Grit Rhythmwill be laying down our musical soundtrack for the day. To get into the seasonal spirit of the month, Halloween attire and dancing will be most welcome (you know you want to).
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.
Chef Ian Vest of Greenwich's Back 40 Kitchenbegan his career as a busboy at thirteen years old. Since his teens, he has worked in top kitchens including Daniel Boulud's Manhattan hotspot, DBGB, where he served as Executive Chef. Ian's culinary ethos always begins by considering source—a fitting parallel for the refined farmhouse feel of Back 40 Kitchen in Greenwich, which gets much of its produce from its own farm in Washington, Connecticut.
Get to know Connecticut's newest culinary transplant, his recent late night cravings, his chef mentor, and why making it rain truffles is not always a good thing.
