Downtown Stamford just received a jolt of caffeination with the grand opening of Winfield Street Coffee at The Ferguson Library.
This third branch of Winfield Street—Westport and Croton-on-Hudson are the other two—will serve up the goods that the brand has become known for under owner Breno Donatti, starting with expertly made lattes, cortados, espressos, cappuccinos, and high-quality drip using Counter Culture Coffee.
Other fanciness comes in the form of turmeric, charcoal, or matcha lattes, house-made strawberry oat or chocolate almonds “mylks,” healthy smoothies, or you can treat yourself to a cup of hot cocoa T.M.F. style with a heaping scoop of toasted marshmallow fluff on top.
Award-winning Chef and local business-owner Mike Pietrafeso is proud to announce the opening of his second Roost Kitchen + Coffee at Stamford Urby on Friday, Oct 25TH, located at 1 Greyrock Place (corner of Greyrock Pl. and Tresser Blvd.)
Roost Stamford will offer their signature scratch-made items, featuring locally sourced ingredients, in a seasonal menu and paired with locally roasted artisan coffee from Kestrel Coffee Roasters. Chef Pietrafeso and his team will offer an all-day experience for guests with made-to-order breakfast and lunch items, including toasts, oats and smoothies, and coming soon an evening offering with small plates, wine and beer. Guests can dine in at this location with 100 seats and plenty of space for local residents and professionals, or take items to-go with convenient parking on-site.
I pose this question to you…Is there anything better than a well executed egg sandwich in the wee hours of the morning (or really any time of day)? A nice runny yolk…smoky bacon…buttery Parker House roll….drooling yet? Well, for lovers of all things egg sandwich, we’ve got some egg-citing news. The crave-worthy egg sandwich food truck, The Tasty Yolk, has officially opened the doors to their NEW storefront location at 2992 Fairfield Ave, Bridgeport TODAY! No longer will hungry diners exclusively have to seek out one of their three Fairfield County mobile breakfast sandwich delivery vehicles. Chef Eric Felitto’s (Food Network Chopped Champion) award winning menu will be available 6 days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. P.S. MSN awarded The Tasty Yolk one of "America's 100 Best Food Trucks." Oh, and did I mention they have added a FULL LUNCH MENU to the lineup?? Yup…We’re pumped.
Have you heard the “buzz”? Sunday, September 29 is National Coffee Day, and CT is home to some great local coffee spots where you can celebrate. There's a lot of coffee in this state so we've divided our list into Fairfield County & Beyond Fairfield County. Did we miss one of your favorite spots? Please add it to the list in the comments sections or email us.
Here are 32 places that serve some of CT’s best java. One might even say they’re more than just your average “joe….”
Eighteen months ago, a small eatery with an odd name opened in a strip mall on the Norwalk-Wilton line. It was then that our own April Guilbault clued readers in on what The Dilly Duck Shop was all about.
Fast forward to present day. Word about The Dilly Duck Shop is getting out, and it’s all been positive for chef Russ Zappala and his mother, Phyllis, who runs the front of the house. “We’ve somehow maintained solid online ratings across the board, five stars,” Russ said. “We haven’t been able to fully commit to advertising, so we rely on that, and word of mouth. It spreads slowly, but we’ve noticed growth every month.”
That word of mouth is what brought me to Dilly Duck in the first place. Locals talk about it, as do Fairfield County chefs. Zappala’s philosophy that’s worked so far is to grow organically with the community and create a menu that the people here yearn for.
Dilly Duck is a darling amongst its regulars for a reason.
Karen Hubrich will openly state that she’s not a classically trained chef. Despite that, she has certainly lived the life of a bonafide foodie.
She grew up in London, in a household where her parents were avid cooks that often threw dinner parties and they believed in eating “good food.” Her love of cuisine only grew after time spent in Italy, but she credits a restaurant owner on the Greek island of Corfu with her first true kitchen lesson in which they made moussaka.
There’s a lot more to Hubrich’s culinary origin story by our friend Dan Woog, but her past eventually led to chef gigs at the MetroTech Center in Brooklyn and Williams Club in Midtown. After that she was hired as Michael Bolton’s personal chef and had stints at the Fairfield County Hunt Club, as the executive chef for the New York Times dining room, and back to Connecticut to work at the Pequot Yacht Club. To boot, she even ran a private catering business through most of her chef life.
These days, you’ll find Hubrich doing her own thing in Southport. Chances are you’ve driven past Gruel Britannia on the Post Road and likely eased off the gas pedal as you wondered, “What is this?”
At Gruel Britannia, Hubrich is going back to her London roots by cooking British food, a cuisine she once described as “diabolical.” Hubrich’s food is more refined. It’s brighter than the bland browns and beiges we picture when we think of old-world English grub.
The story of Mothership on Main Bakery in Danbury began eight years ago, after owner Anna Llanos had just finished treatment for cancer. Instead of applying for a job, “like a normal person,” she did what most of us would not dare to do in the easiest of times, she turned the Airstream trailer in her driveway into an espresso bar and bakery. After opening two more kitchens in commercial buildings in Danbury, she realized that she wanted to find a location where she could be a part of the larger community. This is how she eventually set up shop in a converted 1930s-era gas station on Main Street, where fans flock for breakfast, lunch, and all the baked goods they can eat in between.
The burger at Harlan Publick is always the right move. You know, the one on the Wave Hill Breads English muffin, with the sweet, salty bacon jam, and the cheddar ale sauce that drips down the plump brisket blend patty. No one would blame you if you ordered it every damn time. It’s that good and should be mentioned amongst Connecticut’s best burgers.
Spoiler: Harlan Publick is more than just a burger. I knew this, but it was still tough to look past. Even when I went for dinner and ordered something else, I still thought about the Harlan Burger. I felt guilty. It felt like cheating. And it’s not that the food wasn’t good, it was! Fact is, I’ve never had a bad experience at any of the Harlan restaurants.
I’ll continue to blame the burger for clouding up all my Harlan experiences, including Sundays, because that’s a thing, a thing I overlooked every time I had brunch in South Norwalk. When Harlan Publick reached out to CTbites with a brunch invite, I jumped all over it. SoNo’s my ‘hood and I needed to know if I could get over their burger or at least forget about it for one freaking visit.
The breakfast/sandwich/grill/grocery place had been around since 1926. It served nearby residents, Staples and Bedford students, and plenty of landscapers and workers nearby or passing through. But it was a non-conforming use, in a residential area. Now it was shut. These things don’t usually end well. Fortunately, this one does.
Chef’s Table is moving in. Rich Herzfeld will pick up right where John Hooper left off.
80% of New Year’s resolutions don’t make it to February. Yeeks. Sorry. Not to start our 2019 Healthy Eating Guide off on a negative foot or anything. Are you determined, though, that this will be the year that you finally cut the junk, cut the excuses, and buckle down so you don’t have to move that ol’ belt buckle? We thought so and therefore, we’d like to give you a leg up on throwing that 80% statistic to the ground and showing it who is boss. When you surround yourself with the healthy stuff, it makes it easy to enjoy the healthy stuff, so that said, we’ve got a nice long list of inventive, delicious, inspiring spots that are serving up food that will help you cruise into February with your head held high.
My version of coconut and orange baked French Toast is creamy and comforting. It takes not time to prep and the coconut milk and orange zest combination is a bit different than the usual vanilla custard. It has a bright and creamy finish and it fills the kitchen with a delicious and homemade scent. This French toast is perfect for the holidays and it is a no-fail-recipe that can easily be prepped or baked ahead of time. I like to serve it for brunch or at a family breakfast.
When I first covered Rob VanKeuren more than a year ago, I found him in the early morning hours baking countless loaves of bread and hundreds of croissants at Lombardi’s Trattoria in the Georgetown section of Wilton.
A lot has changed since then.
customers—over to a larger space at GrayBarns, where he sold loaves and pastries out of a barn.
Unfortunately for VanKeuren’s sourdough-obsessed following, his stint at GrayBarns was short-lived. As a result, his sought-after bread for public sale disappeared for a bit.
Some months after, VanKeuren announced something more exciting, plans to open a bakery of his own, right next door to NEAT in Downtown Darien.
Donut Crazy is happy to announce the opening of its newest location in West Hartford today. The store, located at 993 Farmington Avenue, offers all of Donut Crazy’s food and beverage items.
For those uninitiated into Donut Crazy’s world of over-the-top sugary doughnut confections, this location feels like a giant step forward both in selection and ambiance. All of their baked goods are made in-house in a Donut Crazy Kitchen by an overnight team of bakers. In West Hartford, Donut Crazy will offer its typical selection of “Dailies” and “Crazies.”
The Tasty Yolk, gourmet breakfast sandwich truck, is excited to announce the opening of their third location at 1916 Post Rd in Fairfield. You can find them cooking up decadently delicious breakfast fare 6 days a week Tuesday - Sunday. They will be open from 7am-12pm Tuesday-Friday and 8am- 1pm Sat & Sunday, (unless there is a private event to tend to). The truck will be parked right in front of the now closed Mrs. Greens Natural Market, on the southbound side of Post Road. Commuters can text in their orders to 203-726-6520.
The menu is small, but mighty. Each sandwich includes two freshly cracked eggs with high quality fixings pressed inside- gourmet rifts on the bacon, egg, and cheese. There is also $5 burrito and a griddled smashed potato side for $1. We are somewhat addicted.
Sono Baking Company shares a little Thanksgiving goodness with their recipe for Pumpkin Raisin Muffins. Cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon make these muffin the perfect autumn breakfast treat, although they can certainly be enjoyed year-round. These moist quick breads are even better the next day, when the spices have had a chance to mellow. Try adding ½ cup chopped walnuts or ½ cup chocolate chips for even more flavor and texture. Extra unused pumpkin puree can be transferred to a resealable freezer bag and stored in the freezer for up to one month.
Welcome to the neighborhood SoNo Baking Company. We’re awfully glad you’re here! (Though my waistline may beg to differ.)
SoNo Baking Company & Café officially opened its doors on Pequot Avenue in Southport today. Behind the glass display cases a beautiful array of cookies, tarts, pastries, cakes, and croissants all neatly arranged all ready to be purchased. Trays filled with delectable treats, fresh out of oven, were stacked and cooling. Brand new coffee and espresso machines glistened along the back wall.
Nearly one year after announcing its plans, vegan and vegetarian, Organika Kitchen, officially opened Monday in downtown New Canaan at 96 Main St.
Owners, Gino and Cathy Riccio are excited the new location for their organic plant-based eatery, the first having met with great success in Southport. While many alleged healthy eateries have been popping up all over the place, Organika Kitchen takes the idea of healthy eating to a new level.
Organika is more than a restaurant Gino explained, “It’s an experience that is as much about the food as it is the customers and the employees.” Organika opened its doors in August to praise from vegetarians, vegans and meat-eaters alike. Cathy expanded on her husband’s thoughts. “We felt that we needed to be eating healthier.
Adding a bit of whimsy into the Olde Mistick Village shopping center and amping up its already kid-friendly atmosphere, let yourself go into the looking glass at the recently opened Alice in the Village tea shop and café. The completely decked out exterior is replete with faux floral window frame and the beloved doorknob from the 1951 animated Disney film Alice in Wonderland. And is this uber-theme continued on the inside? Of course!
Step inside and you will find an enchanted tea house split roughly into three sections: Eat Me!/Drink Me! to go orders, an Alice-themed shop, and tea room. In addition to Alice in Wonderland collectables and kitsch, the shop section stocks an excellent selection of Harney and Sons teas. The bright green walls and sage green ceilings are decorated with hanging playing cards, pictures from Alice in Wonderland scenes, and flying books. My favorite décor element is the life size bottom half of Alice hanging down from the ceiling—any child who loves Alice in Wonderland would love a visit to Alice and the Village simply to see the décor.
Get over to Goats N’Roses while the weather is still acceptable. Connecticut Magazine shares a must-visit spot in Malborough.
Somehow, despite all I’d heard and read in praise of Goats N’ Roses in Marlborough, I still wasn’t prepared for the experience of eating here.
Words, after all, don’t really do this place justice.
Driving along a sparse stretch of Route 66 in Marlborough, you know you’ve arrived at The Farm at Carter Hill, where Goats N’ Roses is located, when you see a vintage gas station and small sign proclaiming this as the home of Goats N’ Roses, an “edgy eatery.” Turning in you enter a space that feels part farm and part Cold War-era roadside attraction. The complex of buildings and fields is home to a bed and breakfast, general store, pub and event barn. There is even an animal pen filled with goats who jump and dance on their hind legs. An elaborate series of bridges crisscrosses the goat pen, allowing them to show off their climbing abilities.
