Cutting down on meat these days? If you are, then no doubt you are on the lookout for delicious plant-based eateries. Here’s our listing for you—you little budding veggie lover—that highlight fabulous eats to break any preconceived ideas about being plant-forward in the ol’ Nutmeg State.
Would the New Year transition be complete without some kind of purging and rearranging (um, no)? After the cookies and cocktails of the holiday season, vibrant fruit and vegetable juices and some super-duper, feel good cleanses might just be the reset that your bod is craving. Just think of it like a Home Edit for your, well, ultimate *home*. Feel free to label and color coordinate all you please.
Enjoy our ultimate Guide to Juice Bars in Connecticut.
CBD-infused products have risen in popularity in recent years thanks to de-stigmatization, and a new law passed in the state of Connecticut could see yet another spike in public interest. In 2021, Connecticut made it legal for those with prescriptions to purchase cannabis in-state. But as of today, January 10th of this year, the recreational sale of adult-use cannabis will become legal, with nine medical marijuana operators already approved for business. But in addition to those businesses, there are a wide variety of shops around the state that already sell CBD-infused products, such as oils, creams, and edibles. Perhaps you are just as curious as the rest of us to learn more about the benefits of CBD (for starters, it won’t get you high), or maybe you are a seasoned pro and want to find new local businesses to support while shopping for all of your favorite CBD products.
Today, we are going to focus on that final category (since, after all, we’re all foodies here). CBD can be used in a wide variety of ways, including as an infused ingredient in gummies, coffee, seltzers, cookies, honey, candies, and more. Check out some of the shops around the state where you can pick up some of these CBD products, as well as a few national brands to be on the lookout for the next time you head to the store.
You’re probably still recovering from the seasonal avalanche of candy corn, but the “other” holidays are now peeking around the corner-and it’s always better to be ready for them when they jump out at you. Whether for cozy and familial Thanksgiving gatherings, spirited and sparkly holiday parties, a Let’s-Get-2023-Right New Year’s celebration or any of your special events and holidays next year, these caterers will help you feast and fete with panache. Best part about this listing is that many of these caterers work throughout the entire state of Connecticut and even the tri-state area. Go forth and celebrate! Here are 18 Connecticut Caterers who will make your next event a stress-free delicious success!
September 29th is National Coffee Day. If this listing was a coffee cup it would be a mega-super-duper-de-booper-trente. To make the (brewing) process easier for you to discover fabulous-and sometimes hidden- java joints to caffeinate or simply enjoy the velvety and multi-faced notes of a fine cup of’ Joe, we have divided this list by county. Enjoy the thrill of a new favorite spot or re-visit an old favorite.The slow pour has already begun as you read this…
Enjoy our guide to the best places to get coffee in the state of Connecticut.
At the beach, at a picnic, on a boat, maybe a pool floaty shaped like a flamingo, in your backyard, or hell, even just sprawling on your favorite chaise. What do all these places have in common? They are spots where it would be a great opportunity to crack open a can of something refreshing and well, lightly, fabulously spiked or mixed. Yep, cocktails or spiked seltzers in a convenient can! Ready that index finger and pop into fizzy, fabulous libations made with fresh juices and your favorite alcoholic beverages. Take the party outside this season, pop those tops and keep it easy and fun.
One fish, two fish, red fish…lobster. And seafood in all its forms. Oh yeah, baby! Get the bibs, the frosty beers and get crackin’, shuckin’ and lovin’. Nothing signals the start of summer quite like eating by the water while the sunshine sparkles on the waves. Picture, if you will, your teeth sinking into a lobster roll dripping with drawn butter, or wistfully dragging fresh steamers through (more) butter or popping hot-out-the-fryer clam strips and fritters into your mouth. Whether dining on land or by sea, seafood rules the roost this season. These simple summer pleasures make time stand still for a few blissful moments. Summer is here, and food is easy.
Enjoy our guide to over 40 summertime—or anytime—spots to get buttery lobster, chow down at a clambake, and sit and eat at a seafood shack!
Tired of cooking? Or maybe you love to cook but just can’t face the stove one…more…night. There are a million reasons why help is sometimes needed in the kitchen: a dear friend had a baby and hasn’t slept in 3 weeks, a neighbor is sick, your parents are getting older and you want to make sure they eat well, you’ve been away on vacation and would love to have some meals for when you return, or, well, you’re just plain sick of cooking (as we mentioned). It is vacation time, after all. Whether you need prepared meals for someone special or just to supplement your own cooking and streamline life a bit, there are plenty of options that make it easy. And delish! That’s precisely why we are highlighting these eight fantastic services. Some cater to dietary needs, some focus on local or organic ingredients, and all offer many tasty options to satisfy.
Here are 8 home meal delivery services we have enjoyed in Connecticut.
Feels like we were all just stuck home together and dreaming of getting OUT and low and behold, now we can! Let’s start with getting those kiddos some cool stuff to do once school lets out. Let’s hear it for cooking camps! To learn (in a fun way) about food, where it comes from, what the heck we can do with it, and yummm, how it tastes-what could be better? Follow it with some parent-kid trips to your local farms or farmers’ markets, and lookie there, you’ve just filled the calendar a bit for the summer months. Here’s to brilliant and tasty new discoveries!
We are officially into winter and, in addition to the regular flus and colds, all that other “stuff” is still swirling around. Behold, a listing of establishments where you can grab healthy eats, products, and even some classes that will boost your immunity and overall health in an attempt to steel you against whatever might endeavor to chase you. From the humble elderberry and cup of tea to stores that stock all manner of healthy living goods and purveyors specializing in quality goods for your wellness, we want to help you stack the deck in your favor this season.
Here are 35+ Spots for Healthy Eats & Wellness: Markets, Apothecaries, Nutritionists, Spice Shops, Juice, Teas and More!
Bruno. Joe Bruno. AKA Joe. Bold. Intense. Irreverent. Stubbornly set in his ways, yet with the naive audacity of a young teenager. Joe Bruno cares about one thing only: perfecting his art. A perfectionist in an imperfect world.
Everything else is just show, point of view, shock and awe. “I’m not a chef,” he once said to me, “but I know that I have to recreate a dish exactly as I made for you the first time.” Right? Exacting execution— that’s what we grew to expect and that’s what we were given, night after night after night.
He was 35 when he opened Pasta Nostra. It was never meant to be a restaurant. “I wanted to sell pasta. I made a few dishes to showcase my pasta and the next thing you know it’s a restaurant.”
Sitting on a bench, licking a drippy ice cream cone on a warm summer day or a balmy evening can be, well…sublime. The skies are clear, the sun or moon is hanging in the sky-all is right with the world and these are a few moments to enjoy life’s simple pleasures. And creamy rich ice cream or scoop of blissful gelato is one of those pleasures, indeed. Honestly, unless you have dropped that cone (bloop, splat! *tears*), when have you ever gone for ice cream and left unhappy? Cream, fruits, swirls of caramel, bits of chocolate chips, a nut here and there-nothing can beat it. Take a few moments this summer to enjoy those simple things, like a cone with a friend or even by yourself. Here’s a list to point the way…
Enjoy these 75+ Spots for Ice Cream, Gelato and Frozen Desserts in CT.
Amongst the bright and airy courtyard of the Waypointe Apartments resides Haruki Ramen & Izakaya.
Owners, Lily Nimonjiya and Ben Chan, first opened Haruki’s doors in February 2020. They wanted to bring a new side of the Japanese culture to Fairfield. Most importantly, they wanted to showcase what you’d normally find in an izakaya in Japan. “I want to highlight that there is more to the Japanese cuisine than sushi and ramen,” says Nimonjiya.
So, what is an izakaya? In Japanese, it directly translates to, “stay sake shop.” It is a casual drinking establishment with small bites. A more colloquial comparison for an izakaya would be a pub or a tapas bar. Alongside their izakaya offerings, there are also options for ramen and rice dishes. And of course, craft cocktails and an extensive list of sake—47 kinds to be exact.
The Spread you know and love from Main Street in South Norwalk has some new digs and a whole new summer look. Spread owners Andrey Cortes, Chris Hickey, Chris Rasile, Shawn Longyear and Chef Carlos Baez have taken their much heralded menu and rustic industrial vibe, and moved down the street, next door to their sister spot, El Segundo. The new spot resides in the old Harlan Public location within the IronWorks complex, and it comes with one of the most beautiful outdoor dining spaces in Fairfield County. Loyal diners and regulars….don’t worry. The menu will feature all of the usual favorites such as their Brick Chicken and Ricotta Gnocchi but Chef Baez has a few surprises up his chef’s coat.
Bruxelles Brasserie recently opened its doors on Main Street in the space formerly occupied by Barcelona Wine Bar. The setting is hip - a SoHo vibe in SoNo – the flavors are somewhat more traditional. Chef Roland Olah describes his cuisine as simple, though I beg to differ. While there is a familiarity with every dish, nearly everything we tried also had an element of surprise. At Bruxelles Brasseries, you might find that the expected meets the unexpected.
The Hour has just confirmed the rumors regarding Sally’s Apizza opening in South Norwalk’s new SoNo Collection.
The billboard has long been on the opposite side of Interstate 84 from Danbury Fair, steering drivers a few exits beyond the mall to the western-most Connecticut outpost for the legendary Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, a New Haven institution since 1925.
About 20 miles south, another New Haven pizza icon will be firing up the ovens in Fairfield County — and you’ll be able to pop in from the mall concourse while shopping.
Sally’s Apizza chose The SoNo Collection mall for the first entree in what new owner Lineage Hospitality sees as an expansion nationally. The mall will open Friday with a handful of stores, and others to follow as the holiday shopping season gears up.
My arm had to be twisted to join a panel for judging Lobster Bites at last weekend’s (September 22) first SAVOR LOBSTER event at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. I would be walking around a gorgeous museum filled with things that take me back to the ooos and ahhs of childhood; drinking creative tasty libations; having some of the most delicious bites of Lobster EVA; and judging said bites with slick fellow writer and official realfooddude Andrew Dominick, and the endlessly talented Chef Matt Storch of Match (duh), which just rocked out for its 20th anniversary. You can see how this would be a struggle for a newly single gal on a Sunday afternoon.
NOT.
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.
It was a vote of 14 to 20.
One hundred years ago in 1919 Connecticut State Senate couldn’t ratify the 18th Amendment which made Connecticut one of two states at the time to defeat prohibition.
It was a real moment in history, and now a real moment for SONO 1420, the revolutionary new distillery making waves in the world of spirits. As far as everyone knows, they are THE only distillery around using hemp seed in its remarkable mash for whiskey as well as other parts of the plant for its flavorful and aromatic essence in gins, bourbons, and ryes.
SoNo’s biggest recent mystery involved the space where Washington and N Main streets meet. Stacked piles of wood blocked all hopes of peeking inside. A fox shaded on the ends of the wood made passersby more curious. What stumped a bunch of us even more was another fox that popped up in the windows, this time in emoji form, accompanied by the hashtag #Hola.
What was this riddle? A restaurant? Another bar? In SoNo, that’s what it usually is. But definitely something with a Spanish cuisine theme, right?!
I was puzzled. I posted about it many times. I asked around to no avail. People asked me what it was. I had no freaking clue. Eventually, I heard it would be a Mexican restaurant concept by the good folks at Skal Restaurant Group, who run things at The Cask Republic locations and The Ginger Man Greenwich. All of this was later confirmed (sort of) by a fittingly odd Instagram account that tagged me in a lot of posts as they did food and drink research in Mexico.
It’s a secret no longer! Evarito’s is now open in South Norwalk!
