The Lunch Break Chronicles

Looking for ways to earn your locavore credentials? Check out this month’s farm-to-table dinner party at Audubon Greenwich.

This local, food-centric event will showcase organic farms, seasonal meals, and sustainably managed vineyards. Guests will be treated to wines paired with farm-fresh goods sourced from organic and biodynamic farms. The evening, hosted in the historic Ketay-Asnes Barn, will include wine education and an auction of small items to benefit Audubon’s conservation and education initiatives. For more information, call Jeff Cordulack at 203-869-5272 ext. 239.

What: Farm-to-Table dinner party
Where: Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road
When: 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 17*
Cost: $120 per person.

*Date may change due to storm damage on the farms.

Do you think you’ve got serious chili skills? Here’s your chance to prove it! The Diamond Hill United Methodist Church in Greenwich is hosting a Chili Cook-off Challenge from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 1.

For those who want to taste, admission is just $5. If you’re more the roll-up-your-sleeves sort, you can enter by calling 203-869-2395 or via email at cawill@optonline.net.

As if eating piping hot chili weren’t a good enough incentive to go, you can also feel all warm and fuzzy inside for a different reason: all proceeds are to benefit the Neighbor to Neighbor Food Bank.

The deets:
Diamond Hill United Methodist Church
521 East Putnam Avenue
Cos Cob, CT 06807-2506
(203) 869-2395

Sept. 1, 2011

BARTACO: 222 SUMMER STREET, STAMFORD

Bartaco, the immensely popular upscale taco joint from the Barcelona Restaurants group in Port Chester, is set for a September 12 opening in Stamford.

This is exciting news for fans of bartaco who a) don’t want to drive to Port Chetser and b) find the crowd over there to be, um, interesting.

Count me in, if for no other reason than the $33 “tray” that includes a bunch of tacos, a couple tamales, guacamole and a few other things is a fantastic deal and easily split between two diners.

But seriously, I hope the crowd in Stamford is a little more chill.

–CP

READ THE PRESS RELEASE:

September 1, 2011, Stamford, CT: Inspired during a jog along the beaches of Brazil, restaurateur Sasa Mahr-Batuz of the popular Barcelona Restaurants throughout Connecticut, came up with the concept of “bartaco”. Defined simply by good food, great drinks, and an aura of fun, Sasa envisioned a light and airy informal space with style and sensibility – one that could easily be located on a white sandy beach alongside the blue water and sea air.

In December of 2010, amidst an early snow fall and bone chilling temperatures, Sasa and partner Andy Pforzheimer opened the first bartaco in the emerging city of Port Chester, NY.

“We knew we had the formula right when customers were sipping margaritas and sitting on our patio overlooking an icy bay in the middle of January,” beams Sasa.

Getting it right has now led to the opening of bartaco in Stamford, CT.

the space

Ok, so we didn’t get the waterside location like we did at bartaco’s first incarnation, but the newest bartaco is just as exciting…in a downtown city sort of way. Located on what is known as Stamford’s “Little Summer Street”, in the heart of downtown, bartaco Stamford is in good company, with big brother Barcelona right next door.

The minimalistic décor is light and breezy, with the air of a contemporary beach resort. Crisp clean colors of blue and white are accented by wood paneling and furnishings, hanging basket-weave light fixtures, and oscillating ceiling fans.

the food

Staying true to the concept, Mexican street food that is fast, affordable, and above all, mouthwatering, the menu focuses on land and sea taco creations, and runs the gamut from Baja fish, red snapper a la plancha, and lobster, to pork al pastor, spicy chorizo, and beef al carbon. More untraditional tacos include tripe, duck, and lamb barbacoa. Herbivores can enjoy the portobello mushroom taco with queso fresco. bartaco dresses their tacos with house made sauces, relishes, fresh vegetables and lots of flavor. Side dishes include grilled corn with lime, cayenne, and cotija cheese, chipotle slaw, pickled carrots, onions and jalapenos, and a refreshing crispy cucumber salad.

Going beyond tacos, and taken straight from those street vendors in Mexico, are pork and chicken tamales, assorted gorditas (stuffed corn cake), and cheese arepas. Salads, ceviche, rice bowls with choice of protein, and spice rubbed rotisserie chicken round out the menu.

The full menu is available for take-out orders and catering, and bartaco’s signature sauces and spices are available for purchase.

the drinks

Drinks are the real deal at bartaco – starting with the Mexican Coca-Cola served in the bottle and hand-pressed sodas. State of the art juicers at the bar ensures freshly-squeezed juice in all of the cocktails. There are more than 25 tequilas to choose from and a creative cocktail menu that includes specialty martinis, imported beer, and exceptional wine, as well as all the usual suspects such as margaritas, mojitos, and caipirinhas.

play

An undeniable energy fills the space. A state-of-the-art sound system pumps music into four independent music zones. DJ spun music contributes to the party atmosphere that takes place at bartaco every day of the week.

Bartaco is planning to open September 12, 2011

222 Summer Street, Stamford, CT

More information can be found at: www.bartaco.com.

Time for a little more flavor in Greenwich? The New England Culinary Group thinks so.

The organization has announced a new event on the culinary calendar: Eating Greenwich & Port Chester, a week-long event Oct. 16 through 21. Modeled on the restaurant weeks popular in New York, Stamford and elsewhere, Eating Greenwich & Port Chester strives to go one further, offering more than just prix fixe specials.

Also of interest to Greenwich foodies, though in a more compact setting (Roger Sherman Baldwin Park) and timeframe (two days), Serendipity magazine is planning to kick off the first Greenwich Food & Wine Festival this year, benefiting the Breast Cancer Alliance.

More from the Eating Greenwich organizers:

The New England Culinary Group is gearing up for a week-long celebration of dining in the neighboring towns of Greenwich, Connecticut and Port Chester, New York.

Eating Greenwich & Port Chester is a lead-in to Serendipity Magazine’s Greenwich Food & Wine Festival (October 22-23) and will offer consumers specially discounted prices on prix fixe menus and special offers throughout the entire week, enticing customers, old and new, to visit Greenwich and Port Chester restaurants.

Unlike your typical “restaurant weeks” that have so fabulously been taking place throughout the country, Eating Greenwich & Port Chester will not only include specially priced prix fixe menus, it will also include an array of delicious and fun offers from participating restaurants such as; Family Style Dining, Lunch Buffets, Early Bird Dining, “Ladies Who Lunch”, A La Carte Menus, and even Wine Pairing Menus. Prix Fixe prices are set at:
Mid-range:    Lunch $10.11    Dinner $20.11
High-end:    Lunch $18.11    Dinner $30.11

Restaurant offers can be found at: www.newenglandculinarygroup.com

In addition to the week-long event, a special feature of Eating Greenwich & Port Chester will be a bounce back incentive. Customers who dine at any participating restaurant during Eating Greenwich & Port Chester week will receive a 20% Off Gift Certificate which can be used at any participating Eating Greenwich & Port Chester restaurant before December 1, 2011 (valid Sunday-Wednesday only).

Restaurants who are interested in having their restaurant participate in Eating Greenwich & Port Chester can contact The New England Culinary Group:
Linda@Newenglandculinarygroup.com phone 203.323.4185

Restaurant Week Bingo Board

There’s no way I’m missing out on any of the action in Stamford’s Restaurant Weeks between now and Sept. 5. No. Way. So earlier today I decided to make myself a randomized Bingo Board as an incentive to hit as many eateries possible in the next T-13 days.

As you can see, I’ve made it to napa and Mitchell’s so far. Here’s a mini review of my experiences at each:

napa is definitely one of the pricier restaurants in town, so hitting them up for a $20.11 lunch was sort of a no-brainer. I went there yesterday, and believe I sat down about five minutes after Restaurant Week officially kicked off — not that I was excited or anything.

napa's hanger steak

napa is only participating in the event during their lunch hours, and the restaurant is offering up two choices of starters —a gazpacho and a fennel and pear salad — and two entrees — a hanger steak and bronzino. I chose the salad, which was pretty good, and the hanger steak, which I thought was delicious. It comes with a glass of wine too. I had the red.

All five of the people at my table ordered the steak, and we all mentioned how impressed we were with the size and quality of the portion; even when offering up such a deal, napa didn’t skimp on the meal. But there was one other thing we all agreed on: our server was a little snooty.

Granted, when you have five people ordering nothing but Restaurant Week specials, the size of the bill will be a lot smaller than a typical table, therefore the size of the tip will be smaller as well, but I was a little surprised with how little care, attention and patience we were granted by our waitress.

It was a totally different story at Mitchell’s Fish Market today, where I grabbed lunch with a group of friends. Our service was awesome (they even agreed to let my friend order the key lime pie for dessert, even though it was only listed on the dinner menu) and really attentive.

Mitchell's Maine lobster roll

There were four options for starters. I chose the New Orleans seafood gumbo, which was absolutely excellent, although I snagged a slurp of soup from my friend, who ordered the New England Clam Chowder, and I’m sort of kicking myself for not ordering that instead. It was kind of perfect.

Five of the six of us ordered the cold lobster roll for our entree, which is served on big, buttery New England roll, and contains a very good portion of lobster, and — what’s that delicious flavor coming from the bottom of the roll?— bacon. It was fantastic and I ate the whole thing, which probably was not a good idea, considering how much bread I’d gobbled when I first sat down at the table.

I finished up with the creme brulee, which essentially rocked my world (although that may have been the earthquake rumbling beneath us), making Mitchell’s an all-over solid experience.

The science behind the Bingo Board:

I created this little gem a few minutes ago. Unfortunately, there are only 24 boxes up for grabs, so three restaurants had to be left out. That’s why I was certain to randomly assign restaurants to the boxes the scientific way (you know, when you close your eyes and move your pointer finger around in a circle before planting it on the paper). I filled in the boxes one by one, starting at the top left and ending at the bottom right. If you like mine, you can download it here, or you can always make your own!

That's my score sheet, which is surprisingly void of wing-sauce thumbprints.

The bellies are full ballots are in, and the votes are tallied from yesterday’s LBC Wing Crawl, and there is one clear winner: Brickhouse Bar & Grill.

About a dozen chicken chompers participated in yesterday’s crawl, grading the five restaurants  on four criteria: Meatiness; Flavor; Texture; and Atmosphere. The scores ranged from 1 to 5, in each category, with 5 being top marks. Here’s how the scores shook out:

• Seaside Tavern: Meatiness – 3.83; Flavor – 4.5; Texture – 3.83; Atmosphere - 4.67
• Tiernan’s: Meatiness – 3.79; Flavor – 3.57; Texture – 3.71; Atmosphere – 3.57
• Bobby V’s: Meatiness – 4; Flavor – 4.4; Texture – 3.7; Atmosphere – 4
• Bradford’s: Meatiness – 4.1; Flavor – 3.1; Texture – 2.8; Atmosphere – 3.4
• Brickhouse: Meatiness – 4.18; Flavor – 4.81; Texture – 4.63; Atmosphere – 3.9

Here’s the rundown, complete with comments from some of the crawlers.

Seaside Tavern: Seaside Tavern took home the top score for atmosphere, which it seems can be summed up by the tavern’s wide array of recreational activities in the back room. That’s just pure calculus, according to Richard B’s score sheet, on which he wrote, Wings & shuffleboard = Happiness. They also have a wide array of sauces. For the record, we tried the Feather Ruffler, which was a basic buffalo sauce with hints of black pepper.

Tiernan’s: The wings here were a little on the tangy side, even though we ordered them with the medium sauce. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but when I order buffalo-style wings I’m looking for more of a bite than tang. N. Wilhelm, who is one of four Buffalo, N.Y. natives who joined the crawl, noted that while the taste is good, there were only three flavor options. Compared to the 18 choices at Seaside, it was a little lacking.

First stop: Seaside Tavern

Bobby V’s: There’s no disputing that Bobby V;s has some of the best finger foods in Stamford for watching the big game. When Syracuse is playing a basketball game, you’re likely to find me there. But while just about everyone was more than pleased with the flavor, the blue cheese left a lot to be desired. Sean B. commented, Good sports. Watery blue cheese. Yeah. That sums it up.

Bradford’s: The first wing I had from our plate of 20 was dry. And I’m not talking coulda-been-saucier dry. I’m talking did-this-wing-evaporate-or-something dry. But I gave them the benefit of the doubt, especially given that I like Bradford’s for an early evening hang out in the summer. The next wing (from the exact same plate) was perfect. As Julie H. put it, The cooking was inconsistent. Some were perfect, others were dry or undercooked.

Brickhouse: There were two things that rally excited me about the wings at Brickhouse: the first was that they were perfectly sauced and flavorful; the second was that they were half off, because of the Sunday Funday special. Seriously, how do you fight with that? Claire W. summed it up pretty well with her comment: Amazing flavor. Yes, I’ll be back, but this time with room enough in my stomach to eat more than just a couple.

Gates Restaurant on Forest Street will be one of several eateries that will offer menu items at reduced cost during the town's first-ever Restaurant Week. File Photo

Restaurant Weeks in Stamford is kicking off this afternoon with the lunch rush, as 27 restaurants open their doors to diners for a 14 day streak of prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus. But City That Eats Works isn’t the only town in Lower Fairfield County showing off its culinary chops this week.

New Canaan is hosting its first ever Restaurant Week, beginning Thursday with a special downtown event, The Taste of Downtown Stroll, which will feature samples of many of the weeks; participating restaurants at booths throughout the downtown area. Restaurant Week will run from Friday, Aug. 26 through Saturday, Sept. 3. And after seeing the lineup, I’ve already started moving around my Stamford Restaurant Weeks schedule to make room for more dining experiences.

The prices in New Canaan are $11.11 for lunch and $20.11 (while Stamford’s vary from $10.11 and $15.11 to $12.11 and $20.11 to $20.11 and $30.11, depending on the restaurant), making some of the nicer restaurants in town a bit easier on the pocketbook. Here’s the list of participating eateries:

• Tuscan
• Fifty Coins
• Cherry Street East Café
• Gates, Plum Tree Restaurant
• Cava
• Roger Sherman Inn
• Thali
• Solé
• The Pine Social
• Kouzina
• Club Sandwich
• Bistro Bonne Nuit.

Just made it to Tiernan’s – our second stop on the wing crawl. Next up is Bobby V’s at 2 pm, followed by Bradford’s at 3 and Brickhouse at 4. See ya there?

-Maggie