Although we continue to lament the trials of 2020 and all the ways in which IT has put a damper on our spirits, there are still some things bubbling to the surface as pure goodness. If anything, 2020 has called on all of us to be more creative and resourceful than we’ve ever been before. Take collaborations for example. Businesses have been coming together to not only support one another through tough times, but CREATE in ways which raise the bar of possibilities.
Grano Arso, in Chester and Highclere Castle Gin out of Essex, in partnership with the namesake estate in England and location of the beloved series Downton Abbey, have come together to create the ultimate moment of luxury. From November 1 - January 1, diners have the opportunity to delight in, perhaps, the most lavish cocktail ever made. This $99 cocktail is not meant to empty your pockets, although the pleasure itself might be worth the moment, but in fact, go to a wonderful cause. Given the downsides of Covid-19, the Channel 3 Kids Camp, celebrating their 110th year, was unable to run this year, therefore disappointing countless Connecticut children who did not get to experience it this summer. More than ever, the proceeds from this divine cocktail will ensure kids get their camp experience in 2021.
Restaurants around CT are creating swag for purchase, with the proceeds either going to help the struggling out of work restaurant industry, essential workers & hungry families. We encourage you to put your money where your mouth is and support those around you who need your help. The CTbites team is ordering everything we can. Thanks to CTbites writer, Andrew Dominick and @StamfordFoodie’s Raenah Marie for proudly modeling their swag.
The coronavirus pandemic's outsize effect on the restaurant, bar, and brewing industries has been apparent and catastrophic, but hope greets us in the knowledge that even as we all stay at home, we're finding new ways to stand together in support of the people who need us. The American craft brewing industry's will to work with one another is famous, and All Together - a collaboration spearheaded by Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn - is a way consumers and brewers alike can join up to support service industry, breweries, and healthcare workers. Fifteen Connecticut breweries have already joined up to produce an All Together beer.
The owners of Other Half share the message, recipes, and label designs on the All Together website:
CTbites is proud to be a part of Food For The Front Lines, a grassroots effort to support both our local Connecticut restaurant industry and the tireless work of our healthcare workers. What we do is simple. Our struggling local CT restaurants prepare food deliveries for hospitals and EMS workers. If you care about our struggling CT restaurants, Food For The Front Lines is a great way to keep money flowing into their businesses. We have put over 80K back into the restaurant community and fed over 10,000 meals to date.
We interrupt your daily dose of horror to tell you how a few chefs are changing the landscape and helping people in the community WHO NEED YOUR HELP NOW. Whether they are feeding school children, providing meals to people out of work in the restaurant industry, or donating meals to first responders and hospitals, these are a few programs we can ALL get behind. If you have the resources, please consider making donations to these incredible programs, and celebrate those just doing good work.
If YOU have a program that you would like to tell us about, please contact us.
For nearly a decade, Mezón Restaurant has been thought of as one of Connecticut’s premiere Latin eateries by word of mouth and its seen its fair share of media recognition—they are fresh off Connecticut Magazine Reader’s Poll wins for Best Latin in Fairfield County and the runner-up for Best Latin in the state. And that’s saying something considering they didn’t even know they were nominated and because of that, they didn’t publicize it.
Four years ago, our own Lou Gorfain sang Mezón’s praises after a small tasting of ceviche, pan seared pulpo, Dominican fried chicken, and churros. But everything food deserves an update, especially considering there’s a new chef at the helm, an obviously newer menu, and a haven for craft cocktails.
Oh, and I’m pretty sure Lou and Kristin are the only ones at CTbites who have been to Mezón. For Stephanie and me, we uttered the same thing, “I’m embarrassed I hadn’t been here before.”
During the month of December, diners can help feed the hungry while eating at their favorite local restaurants. CTbites is thrilled to announce the return of Food Rescue US ‘ Hunger Bites program which allows restaurants and diners to join together in the fight against hunger. If you see the Hunger Bites logo at your local restaurant, please consider donating $1 (or more) on your guest check. By giving just $1 today on your bill you'll provide 10 fresh, nutritious meals to people in need in your community.
We encourage you to dine and donate at these participating restaurants: Whelk Jesup Kawa Ni, The Whelk, Match Restaurant, Taproot Restaurant, ,Match Burger Lobster, The Spread, El Segundo, Terrain, Amis Trattoria, Cask Republic, The Ginger Man, Evarito’s, Little Pub (all locations) & Rowayton Seafood.
Ok, slow down, Chef Kevin, you’ve got a lot on your plate….I mean that literally and figuratively.
I had the pleasure of meeting Chef Kevin O’Neil of EP Experience Catering at the Flavors of Connecticut Gala at the Aqua Club in Southington last month for the American Liver Foundation. Chefs from all over the state come out for the foundation’s signature event and what an event it is. No one is paid, but everyone gives one hundred percent of their time, effort, and creativity for such a great cause. Chefs and their crew turn everything up a notch and create a special event for the guests that will be seated around their tables. It becomes a party within a party and each diner enters a world of the chef and crew’s creation. From a Ziggy Stardust theme table complete with smoke and music to a French Revolution scene decked out with a guillotine (!), many tapped the artist within and created a theatrical experience where in the food was the bonus. Others kept their space more classic with bursts of color from flowers and dishware or a built-on-the-premises rustic pergola. Either way, creative people came together for a tremendous show of that artistic flare and amazing food, for a great cause.
Here's how the Kitchen Crawl works. Guests purchase a $85 ticket and proceed to 4 different Westport houses, where chefs from The Spread, Mecha Noodle Bar, Match Burger Lobster, and Jesup Hall will be cooking just for you. Cooking demos and specially prepared bites will be enjoyed alongside wine and beer provided and paired by Stew's Wines... all in spectacular designer kitchens. This year, the chefs are bringing their mixologists so get ready for some killer cocktails.
All proceeds benefit Food Rescue US. Using technology, Food Rescue US empowers communities to reduce hunger and food waste through direct-transfer food rescue. Our vision is a hunger free and food waste free America.
For more than three decades, and under the leadership of Roe Chlala and Bill Kaliff,Festivities has been an integral part of the community, catering milestone celebrations from birthdays and weddings, to corporate events and galas. This award-winning catering and event design company has launched their newest venture through their foundation. Located on the Festivities Campus, “Pass on the Love” is a retail store offering a curated collection of gently used, quality, design, décor and tabletop items that have been donated and are available for purchase for your next event or for your personal use. “Buy it in love, pass it on in love” is the store motto. Proceeds from all sales are to be donated to agencies that provide services supporting safe and healthy homes. The first two recipient agencies are The Center for Family Justice and the Domestic Violence Program at the Greenwich YWCA.
Visit Fletcher Cameron Kitchens in New Haven for a mixology and tapas event featuring Barcelona Restaurant & Wine Bar on May 16. Learn the basic history of tapas and about great cocktails to pair with them. Signed copies of The Barcelona Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Wine and Life will be on sale as well.
Yoga and beer collide at Still Hill Brewery on May 16. The Rocky-Hill based brewery invites you to a one hour yoga session… complete with a pint of your choosing!
Olea in New Haven presents a Vivanco Wines wine dinner on May 17. Chef Manuel Romero has developed an inspired menu to complement the Spanish vino. Call 203.780.8925 to reserve.
Doing Good While Eating Well at the 21st Annual Food & Wine Celebration benefitting the Stamford Museum & Nature Center
With so many world-class chefs in Fairfield County, even the most-dedicated gastronome would find it impossible to sample the ever-changing culinary bounty in our midst. And while many an oenophile would be up to the challenge, pairing this delectable fare with the perfect wine would be equally challenging.
Fortunately, the 21st annual Food & Wine Celebration at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center presents the opportunity to do just that – sample a dizzying array of the most-distinctive local cuisine accompanied by spectacularly-curated wines – while benefitting one of Stamford’s most-beloved local institutions.
Starting November 15th, diners can help feed the hungry while eating at their favorite local restaurants. CTbites is pleased to have joined forces with Food Rescue US to launch Hunger Bites, a program allowing restaurants and diners to join together in the fight against hunger. If you see the Hunger Bites logo at your local restaurant, please consider donating $1 on your guest check, By giving just $1 today on your bill you'll provide 20 fresh, nutritious meals to people in need in your community.
Ellie Krieger, public television host of Ellie's Real Good Food, has been producing her award-winning television show out of Clarke, New England's Official Sub-Zero & Wolf Showroom and Test Kitchen in South Norwalk, for the past two years. Now she's returning for an exclusive event - open to the public - to help support Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.
Whether you're a foodie or into food rescue, Food For All, the hottest strolling culinary event in Fairfield County, is the place to be on April 26th. Help Food Rescue US end local hunger while enjoying tasting plates and specialty cocktails from the region's top restaurants. Trust us - you don't want to miss this buzz-worthy, drool-inducing, "take a picture of this food!" night to benefit Food Rescue US. With every $1 donated = 20 rescued meals, as a guest at Food For All you know you're making a significant difference to hungry families!
Restaurant sneak peek: Fortina, Fleishers Craft Kitchen, INDIA, Mecha Noodle Bar, Room 112. Visit event page for a full lineup of restaurants and details.
What if I told you that you could feast on Hudson Valley Foie Gras Torchon, nurse a glass of Fess Parker Ashley’s Cuvee Pinot Noir, get cooking tips from Chef Mary Ann Esposito, and dance the night away with celebrity chefs- all while raising over $70,000 to help veterans and military families? That by indulging in a bite of Truffled Tenderloin Beef Tartare you could help a young girl receive a much-needed bone transplant?
Savor, now in its second year, makes all of that possible. Dishes from Connecticut’s best restaurants, wines, spirits, beer, and merchandise are all available under one roof. Proceeds from the celebration go toward the Robert Irvine Foundation.
CTBites was invited to both sessions of the walk-around Grand Tasting as well as the Savor In Style Charity Gala. Here all of the delicious details.
There’s a new Latin pulse beating on West Park Place in Stamford and it goes by the name ACUARIO (Aquarium, in Spanish.) Funky, warm and charming, the new Peruvian jaunt is the latest culinary jewel from the treasure box of Saida and Nicolas Oshiro, who opened the original ACUARIO in Port Chester in the 1980s. This new ACUARIO is in the worthy hands of Oshiro offspring, Eduardo, and his wife, Beth, and they know what’s cookin’. We’ve dined at ACUARIO twice and each time the restaurant has been packed, with many patrons speaking Spanish - ALWAYS a good sign.
You know that little place, right around the corner? The one that serves just that dish you were craving? The one that serves food you just know comes from a parent or grandparent’s tried-and-true recipe? You know the place, your go-to joint, always reliable, where you don’t have to dress up and you don’t have to spend a fortune? Well, “La Esquina,” literally, “the corner,” is just THAT place, serving up authentic South American yummies with home-style flare and flavors that impress.
La Esquina Latin Grill,right on “the corner” at 50 Hamilton Avenue in Stamford, is a labor of love for the young and extremely talented co-owner and head chef, Robert Monegro. Chef Robert grew up in Stamford with his Guatemalan mother and Dominican father, both chefs. He decided that after learning all he could by growing up in the kitchen of his parents’ restaurant, Flamboyant in Stamford, he would put his own mark on the culinary map of Fairfield County. And he is doing just that.
