I know you all know pizza and are very protective of your claims to your chosen slice, not to mention, have a tome of opinions about where to go, where not to go, on thick pie or thin pie. HOWEVER, just as there’s always room for another coffee shop, there’s plenty of love out there for more ‘za. So hear me out and listen to the exciting crackle of Square Peg’s crust.
I think we can agree that whatever Chef Tyler Anderson gets involved in, it’s backed up by experience, quality, and good old school hard work. Add Chef Bruce Kalman and his Italian stylings to the mix and you have a Bro-mance of delicious proportions.
Just a week out of the gate and people have some great things to say about the newest parlor in Glastonbury.
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.
The owners of the Little Pub have announced they will open their next venture at the location of the former Marnick's on the Stratford seawall. Little Pub will also take over the attached seaside residence, which is being extensively redone, and renamed the Surfside Hotel. Expect the new pub to open on the beach this month, with the hotel opening shortly thereafter. Read on to see what Little Pub owner Doug Grabe had to tell CTBites...
After a two-and-a-half-month hiatus, SoNo Seaport Seafood is open once again, serving up the ocean’s bounty with a few exciting changes.
In mid-April, the 35-year-old South Norwalk mainstay announced they would shut down shop while the restaurant, outdoor bar, and patio all underwent renovations. To oversee it all, SoNo Seaport’s owners, the Bloom Family, brought in a legit Fairfield County chef to consult on the project.
That’s where Matt Storch enters the fray. But make no mistake, the chef/owner of Match and Match Burger Lobster wasn’t merely brought in to make decisions on what furniture to buy and what color paint should go on the walls. One of Storch’s focal points at SoNo Seaport was to give an outdated menu a much-needed refresh.
Connecticuters! Time to cross the border….No walls to be found over there in Port Chester, New York where you’ll find a truly stellar diner serving up some out-of-this-world, groovy meals. When you walk in, especially if you are my age (eh hem 40 something something), you’ll be transported back to the days of wall-to-wall paneling and all the rust and brown your heart desires. With rugs on walls, aquariums, and I-swear-that’s-my-grandma's wallpaper, somehow the 70s just look better in the noughty oughts.
When you shake yourself from the timewarp, you’ll sidle up to the counter--truly the best seat in the house-but it will not be your everyday diner affair. It is, as the brand describes itself,“diner-inspired.” So what that really means is, yes, you can get breakfast all day and yes, there are regulars at the counter, and yes, they even have spinning cake cases, and lots of clinking silverware, but the similarities end there. This is a diner where a truly experienced Chef and creative team come to play, be inspired, and frankly, knock your socks off. So, you want pancakes? They’ll present you with pancakes in a plump piled stack like you’ve never seen, and should you be feeling a bit bougie, you can get them with a side of foie gras. No joke. You want French Toast? Just try and bite into these pillows of deliciousness without gasping. Something besides lego-my-eggo waffles? Sure, have them with some Marrow AND butter. Toast and eggs? Well, of course, but I’ll take mine with caviar, thank you very much. That’s how they do it over the border at Eugene’s Diner.
Picture this: you’re walking down Westport’s Saugatuck River Bridge on a beautiful summer evening. You’re feeling Italian, but you don’t want pizza. You’re craving some meat, but you don’t want steak. Then you see it. The sign you’ve been looking for since you stopped in to one of their ball-licious locations in New York City. “The Meatball Shop” stands proudly along the river, and you thank your lucky stars that a small town like Westport has been blessed with this treasure of a restaurant.
This fantasy will become a reality for locals this Tuesday, as The Meatball Shop will finally be opening the doors to its Westport location. With seven additional locations– one in D.C. and six in New York– The Meatball Shop has already made a name for itself with its unique take on meatballs and a variety of other delicious choices. For its Westport location in particular, CEO Adam Rosenbaum said he wanted to create a menu that ensures every palette is satisfied by the end of the meal. Diners, I assure you…It does.
Tavern on State, owned by Chef Emily Mingrone, is the latest to join the dozens of exceptional restaurants in the New Haven area. I was fortunate to check out the new digs, sit down with Emily, and sample some of the exciting items on the menu.
The restaurant boasts a tavern vibe, but perhaps more in appearance than what’s on the plate. Rich, warm woods welcome you inside a space that seats about 45 (with an additional 45 outdoors) but this is where your notion of tavern starts and ends.
Traditional tavern fare might include burgers and fries, nachos and the like, but a menu that features a blue cheese & truffle burger with thick bacon & red onion on English muffin, Spicy crispy chicken skins & chicharrones, Fried cheese curds with smoked tomato dip, or chilled oysters with yuzu kosho & cucumber, is anything but traditional.
The menu here is as eclectic as it is sophisticated; it raises high the burger bar. It is tavern fare reimagined, and certainly for the more discerning palate that can see beyond a standard plate of fish and chips, jalapeño poppers, calamari, and pepperoni pizza. I have had plenty of tavern fare in my day, and tavern fare doesn’t look or taste like this.
Connecticut are you ready? I mean really ready. You may have fallen under the spell of what others have told you is Soul Food, but Chef Chris Scott, of TV’s Top Chef Season 15 and beloved Brooklyn restaurants Butterfunk and Sumner’s Luncheonette, is not playing around. He is giving you the real deal, with seasoning to the nth power, and a history lesson to boot. In just 48 hours of opening, the reception has been tremendous. So much so, Chef says, “I might just have to sleep down stairs for awhile.” The lines have been long and the orders have been flying out the window. Birdman Juke Joint is on everyone’s list to try. But that is the thing. You can’t, or won’t just try it. You will be swept away. Or, as the fellers I sat with at the bar did, ….you might just use every curse word imaginable to convey your newfound love.
When the Blind Rhino opened in South Norwalk in 2015 it made waves both as the first dedicated sports bar in a nightlife-intensive district which was somehow devoid of one, and for making quality food and drink the focus, rather than an afterthought to bats and balls. Do they have beer and wings? Yep, but their beers are two dozen taps' worth of Connecticut focused craft, and their wings come with flavors like Togarashi dry rub and won multiple medals at the last year's National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY. Is there such a thing as a gastro sports bar? Yes, actually, there are two - and you can now find the second one just over the Fairfield town line in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport.
The historic corner waterfront property in the quaint village of Sandy Hook along the Pootatuck River has seen numerous habitants, but we think the current reign causing a stir at the Foundry Kitchen and Tavern are here to stay. Chef Clark Neugold and his magical crew are bringing lots o’ tasty vibes to hungry diners and we are eternally grateful.
An old foundry is quite likely the best place to spy upon all things shiny and the crew at the Foundry thought so too. The decor is what I like to call “dressed up rustic” with sturdy wood tables and chairs, exposed brick, and plenty of historic metal pieces from the original building circa 1857. Not to mention the metal plated ceiling that glistens when hit by candlelight. I daresay, this is what defined my first (and second, and third) “moment” at the Foundry.
Some people are afraid of change. Not Chef Neugold. Much of his career has been about creating, inventing, and trying new places and flavors. From Connecticut to Hawaii to Charleston, then back again, his very raison d’etre is to experiment, try new things, but commit to quality and great presentation. And, he hopes to do so in a welcoming environment with diners eager to know what’s new instead of expecting the same ol’ menu week after week. With that in mind, eaters at the Foundry will pick up exciting Pacific Asian notes he learned from his time working with chef of television fame Lee Anne Wong (Top Chef, Iron Chef, and Unique Eats) at her restaurant Koko Head Cafe in Hawaii; or, close their eyes in pleasure when tasting Southern fare inspired by Neugold’s time with world renown BBQ Master Rodney Scott.
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.
“It’s about the chicken…” says Chef Chris Scott (Top Chef Season 15), telling his new Connecticut fan base a story at his sold out Pop Up last Thursday night. And he’s about to knock nutmeggers socks off left and right with what he calls Real Soul Food, not the “gentrified” sort we’ve heard about or tasted before. There’s a story attached to the chicken, to the greens and black-eyed peas; there’s a story about the people who originally brought us the food. Real Soul Food is not just the celebrated dishes we’ve come to know and love. Chef wants everyone to understand the heritage behind this cuisine, and really hear about the ones who toiled long and hard for the meals we know as southern soul food. It’s time we learned about the Birdman; and Chef Scott is just the one to deliver the tale. He is passionate, he is immensely knowledgeable, he is experienced, and he just so happens to be one freakin’ amazing Chef.
When food trucks in Connecticut started to become more prevalent, there was one I remembered well. The name “Fryborg” definitely stood out, and the fact that they specialized in hand-cut fries didn’t suck either. I first stumbled upon Fryborg around the time Two Roads Brewing Company opened in Stratford, so that “stumble” was a real one after multiple pints in the brewery’s upstairs tasting room. It was then that Fryborg’s bacon, egg, and cheese fries and their marinara-laden pizza fries perfectly complimented my buzz. If I had to render a guess, I’m not in the minority on similar experiences.
Milestone Restaurant is redefining the idea of a neighborhood gathering spot offering made from scratch, simply prepared food with bold flavors and classic cocktails that are served up in a stylish yet understated setting. Drawing inspiration from the unique character of the area (the restaurant is on the site of a former lumber yard) owners Peter and Andi Fine aspire to do more than serve great food. The restaurant has been designed to be not only a welcoming gathering spot, but also to showcase fun and unique food events. (Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted!)
Sick of the same old greasy bar food consumed with flavorless big beer brands while out with colleagues or friends on Friday night? Me too. Skip the ho-hum bar and head directly to The Social, a relatively new spot on Bank Street in New London. Providing a new and much needed hang-out spot, the Social gives diners great food, a family-friendly atmosphere, and an extensive beer list; it definitely knocks it out of the park as a new place to spend Fridays after work or Saturday evenings with family or friends.
Largest Selection of Craft Beers on Draft in Southeast CT
The Social has selected hyper-local, local, regional, and U.S. beers, serving a whopping 50 on draft.
Lately, I’ve heard a lot about Blackie’s Hot Dog Stand, a roadside dive that’s been open for 90 years and counting. Blackie’s came up in casual conversation twice; the founder of this site, Stephanie Webster, heard about it from a friend, then a friend of mine mentioned it. Shortly thereafter, Visit Connecticut posted a list of “8 Classic Summer Drive-Ins” with Blackie’s being one of the featured haunts. Well, now I had to check it out. That’s no coincidence, that’s a sign!
One of the best parts about being on the road in the summer in Connecticut is stopping at a drive-in for a quick but tasty meal. The state has many such spots, but here are 8 of the most tried and true.
Sea Swirl, Mystic: It's easy to spot Sea Swirl as the former Carvel location, but the focus now is on fried seafood, especially clams, scallops, and oysters.
The Sycamore, Bethel: Known for its steak burgers and homemade root beer, as well as its carhops and 1950's ambiance. Be sure to check out their web site for cruise nights and and other special events.
Harry's Place, Colchester: Looking for a real juicy burger? Harry's shapes its patties into a ball, puts them on a grill, and then gradually flattens them with a spatula. The results have brought customers back every summer for decades.
