Chef Bill Taibe's culinary reputation is nationally known. His restaurants in Westport (Kawa Ni, The Whelk and Jesup Hall) are destination dining locations. Chef Taibe is making some big changes to the way he does business however, and he sits down with Ken Tuccio to discuss exactly what those changes are and how he's dealing with them both professionally and personally. Listen here.
Ken Tuccio has frequently called Anthony Bourdain his "biggest inspiration". Sadly, Anthony Bourdain is no longer with us. In this very special episode of FOOD & DRINK, Ken sits down with some of the most well known names in the Connecticut culinary scene; Chef Bill Taibe (Jessup Hall / Kawa Ni), Chef Matt Storch (Match/ Nom-Eeez) and Casey Dohme (The Blind Rhino) to talk about the life and legacy of Anthony. Listen here.
Grief, as often as not, contains anger. The acknowledgment that terrible people behave that way because they are hurting is one of the primary, and most difficult, gears to turn in the machinery of compassion. If there is anything simple, it's that pain and anger are easy to spot when they present themselves openly. It's when grief turns inward, kept afloat and insulated from society by a perceptual blanket of zest and joy, that its revelation can be so unsettling. Anthony Bourdain, for as brash and shouty as he was, especially in the early seasons of No Reservations, was cognizant and open about many of his personal demons.
The world lost its original culinary badass and gifted storyteller. CNN reports that Anthony Bourdain was found dead. He was 61 years old.
He taught us that the culinary world and its kitchens were not all polite white tablecloth 12-course tasting menu affairs but were sometimes a drug-fueled f-bomb filled pressure cooker that would happily fill your Sunday brunch menu with questionable weekend leftovers.
Chef Prasad Chirnomula has made a name for himself across the state, and the country, for being one of the foremost experts on Indian cuisine. His new venture, Chef Prasad Indian Kitchen, opens up in New Caanan in June and he sits down with Ken Tuccio to talk about his goals and inspiration for the new spot, the importance of a Chef being present in the kitchen and how he approaches work now as opposed to when he was younger. Listen to podcast here.
On Thursday, June 14th, Chef Geoff Lazlo of Geoff Lazlo Food, in Greenwich, CT will be cooking at the prestigious James Beard House in NYC. The evening's menu will feature Connecticut farms, and is aptly titled "Connecticut Farm Feast." Check out the menu below. and reserve your seat here.
Connecticut Magazine’s Best Chef of 2018 Geoff Lazlo earned his fine dining chops with stints at Gramercy Tavern, Chez Panisse, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and the Mill Street Restaurant Group before venturing out to create his own company. Sample the cream of Connecticut’s farm-to-table crop with a sumptuous, organic spring harvest, fresh picked from his lovingly tended plots at Greenwich Community Gardens.
I visited Liberty Rock Tavern in Milford shortly after they opened, and I distinctly remember Dan Kardos’ description of his menu, “I’m making food that people like to eat, food that I like to eat,” he said.
That “food” is best described as elevated pub grub, which could be surprising to those who followed Kardos’ stints at Napa & Co., Le Farm, and various Barcelona locations. His fine dining background ultimately results in better bar food. It’s the kind of food made for cheat day, where you’ll have to roll up your sleeves, and sit as pulled up to the bar or table as you can get. It’s successful stuff.
Get pumped people. CTbites's new podcast, Food & Drink, hosted by Ken Tuccio, launches TODAY! Tuccio's first guest is two time James Beard award nominee, Top Chef, and Chef/Owner of Millwright's, The Cook & The Bear (BBQ), and a brand new Spanish spot, Porrón, at the Goodwin Hotel in West Hartford.
Today, the much anticipated Restaurant Porrón opened its doors to Connecticut's Capital City. Hartfordites and travelers alike will be able to dine in the Goodwin Hotel’s new signature Spanish-style restaurant. Helmed by nationally renowned Chef Tyler Anderson, and his all-star team - many of whom are behind the success that is Millwright's Restaurant and The Cook & The Bear - promise to bring local flair to the globally-inspired menu.
Restaurant Porrón is a tapas-style restaurant complete with wine room and ham bar, as well as an accompanying craft cocktail bar (Bar Piña) - set to officially open by week’s end. The restaurant will feature 60 wines by the glass, local draft beer and an exciting gin & tonic selection. The tapas-driven menu will allow guests to sample a wider array of items, order a bunch of items to share, or order a la carte Spanish steakhouse-style. The food and service are intended to be elegantly simple and will use the highest quality products that Anderson and his kitchen and bar team can procure.
The Westport Library is thrilled to announce FLEX: experiences - a five-day series of innovative programs designed to showcase the future flexibility and innovation coming to the new Westport Library. The events kick off Wednesday, March 21 and run through Sunday, March 25.
The events begin on Wednesday, March 21 with a celebrity lunch fundraiser hosted by local bestselling author Jane Green and emceed by James Beard Award winner Elissa Altman. The keynote of the lunch will be Sam Kass, former Obama White House Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition, who served as Executive Director of Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign. Kass will also host a book signing for his book Eat a Little Better after the luncheon.
On Thursday March 22nd, come to the Library for a food lovers’ Q&A with gourmet guru Ruth Reichl. The former editor of Gourmet Magazine and best selling foodie author will be joined by a celebrity panel including local celebrity chef and restauranteur Bill Taibe, master farmer and sustainability expert Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm and the “entertainologist” and celebrity chef Lulu Powers.
We continue our series, "Where Do Local Chefs Eat Out," with Chef/ Owner Stephen Lewandowski, who owns Harlan Social,Harlan Publick, and the recently opened, Harlan Haus in Bridgeport.
On the rare day or night you’re off from the restaurant where do you prefer to have dinner (If home what is your meal or food of choice)?
Tough question. I have 4 kids and when I do have that night off I like to hang with them and my wife so initially I would say we stay home and I will cook. My kids love chicken marsala so I tend to make this with penne pasta and an arugula salad. Simple but the kids love it. If we go out the kids really enjoy Sakura in Westport because of the hibachi. We have a good time and the staff is so friendly. We have been going there since we moved up here 5 years ago
Eleven years ago, I got hooked on Top Chef while… ironically… working out at the gym. I don’t think the other gym-goers appreciated the decadent food visuals- I got a lot of side-eye- but I was mesmerized by the lightning fast pace of the challenges and the culinary problem-solving. That initial encounter blossomed into full blown fandom; I’ve interviewed chef-testants and dined at their restaurants. It’s crazy to think that the latest installation marks the show’s FIFTEENTH season- and that one of Connecticut’s own chefs will be one of fifteen to compete for the coveted title. Chef Tyler Anderson of Millwright’s in Simsbury will vie for Top Chef when the series debuts on December 7!
“One of the main reasons I went on was to represent the state of CT,” Anderson said. “There are some Chefs, Restaurateurs and Artisans doing some amazing things in this state, I wanted to try and raise that awareness.”
Four years. That’s the time Tyler Anderson devoted to perfecting his signature dish, Tapioca Custard. A lush confection of clams, bacon, onion, potato and fennel, the delicacy perfectly defines the wizardry of this celebrated chef … a magical spin on homespun.
The small portion is intentionally introductory, a riff on a classic New England starter. As if by sorcery, the custard conjures “all the flavors of clam chowder.”
Anderson conceived the dish as a tribute to the meal – and the moment -- that super-charged his culinary life. “I went to the French Laundry in 1997 when Tomas Keller was in the kitchen,” he recalls. “Up to then I had been cooking mainly to meet women and go drinking with my buddies.”
He began the feast with Keller’s classic, Oysters and Pearls, a sabayon of pearl tapioca with beau soleil oysters and white sturgeon caviar.
“I took the first bite,” he remembers. “And at that exact second understood that cooking could be more than just cooking.” He pauses and grins. “It made me smile. I was happy. I now had a passion to make people happy.”
Over the last several years, we’ve shared news with you about a handful of local chefs and restaurateurs who have competed on the Food Network’s competition show, “Chopped“.
Most notable have been Christian Petroni, Chef & co-owner of Fortina, who appeared as both a contestant and a judge. Adam Greenberg, who was with Fortina when he first competed (and has since made his way to DC) competed on the show multiple times (coincidentally appearing again on December 5th). And of course, there’s Aaron Sanchez, a constant fixture on both “Chopped” and other Food Network shows. You may recall Sanchez owned and operated Paloma in Harbor Point which has since closed their doors. On top of that, there’s also been a handful of local kids on the junior version of the show.
So that’s all pretty cool! But as far as I am aware, we’ve yet to see multiple Stamford chefs compete on the same show….. UNTIL NOW!
On December 7th, Stamford’s own, Steve Costanzo, owner & chef at Olio and Chef Jean J, chef & co-owner at Soul Tastywill put their culinary skills to the test on the SAME SHOW!
Props to our CT Chef Tyler Anderson! This just in from Leeanne Griffin of CTNow.com
Tyler Anderson, the chef-owner of Millwright’s in Simsbury and co-owner of The Cook and the Bear in West Hartford, is about to add “Cheftestant” to his extensive resume.
Anderson has been announced as one of 15 competitors on the newest season of "Top Chef," debuting Dec. 7 on Bravo. He is the first Connecticut chef to join the series, which is now in its 15th season.
The new season is described as an "epic culinary adventure through the state of Colorado." "From deconstructing the Denver Omelet and preparing Rocky Mountain Oysters to tailgating with the Broncos, the level of competition for these 15 talented chefs is going to be a mile high. With the judges looking for the chefs' peak performances, the challenges will test the competitors' culinary abilities in picturesque locales."
We continue our series, "Where Do Local Chefs Eat Out," with a man who knows a thing or two about baked goods. John Barricalli of Sono Baking Company has been making bread the old fashioned way since before "artisan" was trendy. His favorite item? The classic sourdough loaf. Here's where John eats out when he isn't in his own kitchen.
Simsbury, a bucolic community nestled in the Farmington Valley about 25 minutes north of bustling Hartford, has rarely been considered a culinary hotspot. But unexpectedly, this former mill town is now home to what many critics deem the best new restaurant in Connecticut: Present Company, a small, rustic eatery located in what was once a horse stable astride the Farmington River.
Here the unexpected comes as no surprise. Consider the auspices of its co-owner, Jeffrey Lizotte, the acclaimed former chef at Hartford’s lux On20. His resume includes stints at Eric Ripert’s Le Bernadin and David Bouley’s Danube in New York, and two of France’s highly regarded restaurants, La Rupina in Bordeaux and the Michelin-starred La Bastide St. Antoine in Grasse. After all those glittering dining rooms, what is an award winning chef doing at a relaxed 49 seat venue in what some might call “The Sticks”?
Taproot is one of Fairfield County’s newest chef-driven restaurants. Jeff Taibe (Kawa Ni) and Steph Sweeney (Whelk, Jesup Hall) have teamed up to open the doors to a dining experience that combines a hyper local menu in a charming and down-to-earth setting. If you’re close, it's almost guaranteed to become a contender for a regular hangout spot. If not (but hey, Westport to Bethel is only 30 minutes), it is worth the drive. Thanks to a creative and seasonal menu, it's one of our new favorite spots. And here are just a few reasons why.
The first hot rod movement was sparked by people who realized cast off objects still had plenty of potential. Kids walking to school in post WWII America passed junkyards where derelict Model T Fords, relics even then, baked in the sun. An after school job's income could net you one of those heaps, and with it came your first taste of independence. Dropping in a salvaged flathead V-8 could make that old bucket loud, fast, and dangerous. The sexy combination was like flypaper to teenagers and young veterans, and their creativity launched an American culture.
Newly opened PizzaCo, just across the street from Two Roads Brewing Company, is one such hot rod. Once the site of several thoroughly defunct gas stations, the old place has been cleaned up, given a new paint job, and had its own motor swap. The driving engine is now a Marra Forni oven. They call their pizza "Garage Fired," and PizzaCo's edge was hiring world champion Bruno DiFabio to create it.
