Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Stamford, Darien Restaurant Weeks begin Sunday

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 by:Maggie Gordon
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Nick Bilello, executive chef at Darien Social, prepares a meal in the kitchen.

Stamford and Darien restaurant-goers better prepare themselves for the most magical time of the year: Restaurant Week.

Stamford’s semi-annual Restaurant Week is back again, and beginning Sunday, diners will have access to prix fixe menus at 27 Stamford restaurants, offering up options for lunch and dinner. The two-week event will run from Sunday, Feb. 24 to Sunday, March 10.

As in past years, there are three pricing levels: Level One offers a $10.13 lunch and $15.13 dinner at restaurants like Volta Gelateria; Level Two offers $12.13 lunches and $20.13 dinners at restaurants like Kona Grill; and Level Three offers $20.13 lunches and $30.13 dinners at restaurants like Patrizia’s of Stamford. You can check out the whole lineup here.

The options are pretty similar to previous Restaurant Week cycles, with one notable exception: While napa & co., known as one of the finer restaurants in the city, traditionally only offered RW options for lunch, the Broad Street restaurant is now opening its doors for dinner during the two-week event.

And if none of the Stamford options tickle your fancy, it’s just a short trip to Darien, which is hosting a week-long Restaurant Week from Sunday, Feb. 24 through Friday, March 1.  Prix fixe menus will be available at several restaurants, including Darien Social, The Goose and Andy’s Coal Fired Pizza.

For the full list of Darien RW options, check out the town’s Chamber of Commerce website.

Shake Shack rated among America’s most important restaurants

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 by:Mike DeSalvo
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At some restaurants, when the line is too long, you go somewhere else. Not at Shake Shack.

And because of that, the burger chain known for its juicy hamburgers, crinkle-cut fries and out-the-door lines has been declared one of the 20 “most important” restaurants in America.

Shake Shack ranks 16th on foodie magazine Bon Appetit’s list. As the mag puts it, these 20 aren’t necessarily the best restaurants, but the ones that “define how we eat out.”

Eight New York City restaurants made the list, with David Chang’s Momofuku taking the top spot.

Shake Shack is a relatively new chain, especially in Connecticut. The restaurant opened its first location in 2004 in New York City before arriving in Connecticut, in Westport, in 2011. A second Connecticut location opened in New Haven last year.

Connecticut Magazine’s best restaurants

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 by:Mike DeSalvo
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Connecticut Magazine reached out to its dining experts last year to determine the best restaurants in Connecticut.

Now that the results have been tabulated, the magazine is slapping its “best” label on the top five restaurants in 26 categories.

Predictably, a number of Greenwich restaurants garner high praise, and more than two dozen Fairfield County restaurants are represented. We’ve highlighted many of those below:

Lorca: The best coffee in Stamford?

Thursday, January 3, 2013 by:Chris Preovolos
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I have been a Stamford resident for nearly ten years and for the entirety of this time I have pined for a really good coffee and espresso shop.

I have been a Stamford resident for nearly ten years and for the entirety of this time I have pined for a really good coffee and espresso shop.

Now, with the opening of Lorca at 125 Bedford Street, my wait is over.

There are others, Chocopologie recently opened on Main Street in Downtown Stamford, but if the espresso drinks at the other locations are any indication, they are not up to par. (Their hot chocolate and pretty much everything else  is praise-worthy, no doubt)

Lorca offers up a classic Spanish combo: coffee and churros con chococlate. While this decadent breakfast snack is commonplace is Spain, it hasn’t gained a foothold in America. There are but a few churros places in New York City, and definitely nothing else like it around here. (I ate pounds of them on my honeymoon on the Costa del Sol, which is probably why I came back so fat)

Besides the churros, Lorca offers pastries both from Wave Hill Breads in Norwalk and their own kitchen.

Full disclosure: I met the owner of Lorca, Leyla Dam a few years ago when she worked at Espresso NEAT in Darien and consider her a personal friend. However, I would not recommend her new venture as enthusiastically if I didn’t feel that she is now serving absolutely top-notch products.

In fact, try an espresso or a cortado or a cappuccino at Lorca, I personally guarantee that it will be the best coffee you have ever had in the City of Stamford.

Leyla recently sat down with a Stamford Advocate reporter before the store’s opening:

Inspired by sugar-dusted memories of eating churros during her childhood in Spain, Stamford resident Leyla Dam will soon bring the chocolate-dipped treats to the city, with a sturdy cup of coffee on the side. Lorca, Dam’s coffee shop venture, is set to open on Bedford Street in mid-December.

Dam has been “really obsessed” with churros since she was a child, she said, and wants Lorca to represent a blend of Spanish and American cultures. While the pastries are native to Spain and Latin America, the coffee, shipped from Handsome Coffee Roasters in Los Angeles, is pure American. Lorca will offer a menu of other pastries and lunch food provided by the nearby Station Eats.

“When I decided to bring churros to Fairfield County, I went back to Spain to learn how to make them,” Dam said. “There’s a huge culture around churros in Spain. It’s very much like late-night diner food here.”

As a downtown-ish resident, I am particularly pleased that Lorca opens at 7 a.m. when pretty much nothing but Dunkin Donuts is operating. Hopefully this will fill a niche that has long been needed for downtown residents and for those who work in the area, needless to say, I will be a regular.

P.S.: I’m not even kidding, the espresso is really good.

Dinosaur BBQ is here

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 by:Chris Preovolos
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Dinosaur BBQ is here.

The cult favorite from Syracuse adds a Stamford restaurant to its locations in upstate New York and Harlem — and it’s about time, anticipation has been high ever since word got out that the barbecue joint was coming to town.

I remained somewhat skeptical after being not super-overwhelmed by a meal I had at the original location earlier this year, however, it was probably just all the hype from a former co-worker (and ‘Cuse grad) that somewhat misinformed my expectations — I was expecting something transcendant and instead what I got was really decent ‘cue…

Here is the deal: Dinosaur BBQ opens officially Wednesday at 845 Canal Street and it really is very good.

Ribs: Just the way I like them, super tender but having just enough bite so they don’t fall off the bone and they are not overly sauced or sweet.

Wings: Crispy, salty, peppery skin, tender inside and a really good barbecue flavor. They aren’t hot, they are fried, they are just good.

Sausage: The house-made sausage appetizer was excellent and I’m definitely going back to try a whole plateful of the real thing.

Sides: I liked the slaw and the pickles enough but I wasn’t paying much attention to non-meat things. I saw a dude walking around with some mac and cheese but couldn’t fight the crowd over to the table where it was being dished out.

Beer: My wife and I both had an ale from Stafmord’s own Half Full Brewery which we enjoyed but I didn’t get a super-close look at the selection.

Brisket: Ok, I’m saving the best for last. The brisket was real, real good. Awesome bark, nice smoke ring, beautiful fat — actually, my only complaint was that the guy slicing the brisket was cutting off the beautifully rendered fat cap and throwing it away so I had to ask for some slices with it intact.

The only thing I didn’t like here was that I was asked by an employee to move my bicycle, which I was locking up to a railing in front of the restaurant. Would I want it in front of my restaurant? The answer is yes.

Check out CTBites’ nice November behind-the-scenes preview.

Plan B Burger Bar’s grand opening

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 by:Chris Preovolos
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PLAN B BURGER BAR: STAMFORD TOWN CENTER

Plan B Burger Bar finally held its grand opening opened in Stamford, and I missed it.

But that’s OK, they’ve sent me a few photos from the event and it only makes me want to go even more.

I’ve been to their West Hartford restaurant a couple of times and I think it would be fair to say if the new Stamford location is up to par, we may have a new contender for the best burger joint in Stamford.

What do you think?

The best Norwalk restaurant you’ve never heard of

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 by:Lisa Chamoff
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Back in March of 2009, I left the Norwalk bureau of The Advocate for a new job at Greenwich Time. I was excited for my new challenge and, though the Norwalk office was right next to Whole Foods and down the street from Stew Leonard’s, I didn’t really consider Westport Avenue to be a culinary hotspot.

A lot’s changed in three years. Apparently right around the time I left, a little gem called Sugar and Olives opened right across busy Route 1 on Lois Street, right near the Montessori Middle School I had written a few stories about.

Sugar and Olives scores points for getting most of its ingredients from the Westport Farmers Market, but what really struck me was that it was one of the most delicious and creative, but still unpretentious, brunches I have had in ages. I stumbled upon it while looking for a place to meet friends from Fairfield on Sunday. The place was surprisingly empty, so no wait for a table. It had modern decor with a rustic air… if that makes sense. It wasn’t super barnyard-y like some other “eat local” establishments. Our server was extremely nice and enthusiastic about explaining where the ingredients came from and how things were prepared.

The food was also pretty fantastic. Our meal included heavenly (pardon the pun) angel food French toast sticks, which my friends’ 4-year-old daughter happily enjoyed, and I got “rolled eggs”, a crepe-like omelette filled with pea and leek puree. My friends were excited the place had Gorilla Coffee from Brooklyn, and I enjoyed a pot of Earl Grey and a glass of Prosecco with blueberry liquor. They also have a separate bakery, and we brought home some “sugar bombs,” basically doughnut holes with cinnamon and sugar.

I know this place is three years old, but I thought it deserved a little recognition from us. Just don’t go making it all impossible to get a table on Sunday morning.

Continue reading →

Sometimes you take the high road

Wednesday, July 18, 2012 by:Chris Preovolos
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Well folks,

Sometimes you take the high road and sometimes you anonymously do this.

But anyway, if you would like to read the dissenting opinion on the Colony/Riko’s/Ridgeway post, check it out.

Personal aspersions aside, they are entitled to their opinion and obviously, they have done their research on the state of pizza in Stamford.

Keep it classy, Stamford.

–CP

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