To Do: Maple Sugar Festival Weekend 2012 at Stamford Museum & Nature Center

Oh divine liquid called maple syrup, we love thee

First County Bank is again (12 years) sponsoring the maple syrup utopia that goes down year after year, only this time things are a bit different.  You might remember there was a Chef’s Challenge where local chefs and caterers cooked and baked with maple syrup, then came back a few weeks later for Maple Sugar Sunday for a final face off.  This year both events are taking place on the same weekend!

Yup, Maple Sugar Festival Weekend is just about a week away at Stamford Museum & Nature Center.  If you’d like a preview of what’s to come, check out our past posts on maple syrup comas and our breakdown of Maple Sugar Sunday.  Here are all the syrupy sweet details:

Both Saturday and Sunday, 3/3-3/4, 11-3

$5 for members/$10 for non-members/children 3 and under as well as Family Plus or above=free

• Maple syrup creation demonstrations

• How to tap a tree for maple syrup

• How colonists made maple syrup

• Native American hot rock method

• How SM&NC uses the modern evaporation method to create their maple syrup

• SM&NC Maple syrup for sale (we still have a jug left from last year)

• Fun for kids with crafts, scavenger hunts, face painting, story telling, music, and more.

Saturday, 3/3/2012, 11-3

• Chef’s Challenge from 11:30-1:30 with the winner announced at 2 (a must see and eat event)

• Local chefs use maple syrup to make the most awesome recipes for you to taste and vote on

• We’ll update with the list of chefs, so be sure to check back

Marcia Selden's Beautiful Spread of Maple-goodness

Sunday, 3/4/2012, 11-3

• A yummy pancake brunch featuring SM&NC maple syrup for just $5 per person from 11-2.

This will be another great time for maple syrup lovers, couples, friends, and families to come down and check out why SM&NC is so awesome.  We bought a membership last year, so really think about the benefits.  You get lower entry fees to special events, you get to visit for free during the year, and most importantly you get to help SM&NC to thrive.  

Stamford Museum & Nature Center

39 Scofieldtown Road

Stamford, CT 06903

Tags: Chef's Challenge, First County Bank, fundraisers, how to make maple syrup, kid friendly events, Maple Sugar Festival Weekend 2012, maple syrup, pancake brunch

One Big Night, One Big Cause: Feasting Italian Style for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Rizzuto's is one of four restaurants helping to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Connecticut is gearing up for Big Night, where four awesome Italian spots in Stamford have special dinners to help benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  This Grande Notte is going down Tuesday, 3/6/2012 at Columbus Park, Bar Rosso, Rizzuto’s, and Sunny & Frankie’s.  While each meal and cost might be different, all of them will focus on the theme of an Italian feast.  This special event was brought together by New England Culinary Group’s Gene D’Agostino who also comes from Stamford.  He is also a nominee for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the year.  Here are the details from a press release:

Columbus Park Trattoria - (OmNomy 2011 co-winner for Best Italian)

Chef Michael Marchetti will feature an exciting evening of fine food and wines. Broadway star of “Company,” Kristin Huffman, will provide her musical stylings and there will be an appearance by Miss Connecticut 2011 Morgan Amarone.

$100.00 pp, all inclusive – 50% donated to LLS

7 PM.  Reservations – 203-967-9191

Bar Rosso 

Join Sommelier Eileen Kardos and Chef Sergio Reyes for a wine dinner based on the Veneto and Piedmont regions.  Learn about the region’s wine making techniques and climate and how they influence the wine style.

$65 pp, all inclusive, 20% donated to LLS.

7 PM. Reservations – 203-388-8640

Rizzuto’s

Stamford’s newest destination for great Italian food and fun will present a 4-course wine dinner featuring Rizzuto’s rustic Italian fare paired with wines that are some of Bill Rizzuto’s favorites.

$50 pp, plus tax/tip – 20% donated to LLS.

7 PM. Reservations – 203-324-5900

Sunny & Frankie’s

This neighborhood café will feature classic Italian dishes and offer and open bar.

$45.00 pp, all inclusive – 20% donated to LLS.

7 PM. Reservations - 203-252-2169.

For more information:

http://ct.mwoy.llsevent.org/gdagostino

Tags: Bar Rosso Stamford, charity event, Columbus Park Stamford, fundraiser, Gene D'Agostino, Italian feast, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser, Rizzuto's Stamford, Sunny & Frankie's Stamford

Sticky-Nuts: the Cure for Lame Trail Mix. The Yummy Details and Giveaway Info…

Girl look at the PB, ahhh, Girl look at that PB, ahh...I munch out

Do you suffer from trail mix lameness disorder? Maybe you’ve bought that generic mix, hoping for a fun, healthy,and yummy snack but you ended up with some boring mixture that you couldn’t get even a few bites into. So, if you suffer from lametrailmixitis, we’ve found your cure: Sticky-Nuts. Sticky-Nuts? Sticky-Nuts!

Choco Spice #ftw

Sticky-Nuts (sorry, just need to keep writing it) was founded back in 2011 by the dynamic husband and wife duo (they’re so darn cute) of Zachary and Rebecca Butlein.  They’re great people and they’re fun to follow on Twitter, too.  So, how did they start making trail mix?  In 2010, Rebecca received the news that she had Lupus.  During and after treatment, the food that her body could tolerate was cut down tremendously.  One of the foods that she could eat, though, was trail mix.  So, rather than deal with boring trail mix, Rebecca and Zachary went on a mission to create awesome new options.  And, there we have Sticky-Nuts, the Ridgefield based company of crunchy awesomeness.

Zachary and Rebecca sent us over two samples to try out and we’ve gotta go through all the delicious details.  Plus, they sent us two extra.  Yup, you know what that means?  GIVEAWAY.  You get a trail mix, you get a trail mix, the whole audience gets a trail mix.  Actually, we can’t make that claim.  One randomly lucky winner, though, will get both PB FIG and CHOCO SPICE sent via our beloved US Postal Service.  Just let us know, by commenting below, what you’d like to do with your Sticky-Nuts.  Contest ends on 3/2/12 at 4 pm, but Sticky-Nuts never ends.  

***

 Here are the descriptions from their site…yum!

PB FIG:You will go bananas for our PB Fig mix! A medley of roasted peanuts, walnuts, and pistachios with smooth peanut butter, black mission figs, plump raisins, and crunchy banana chips. Snack on them all day or top baked goods with them.

MORNING GRAPEFRUIT: Put away your grapefruit spoon and pick up a bag of Morning Grapefruit trail mix, a citrusy blend of almonds, cashews, and dried papaya, roasted together with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, zest, and candied rind. Great mixed into your morning yogurt or enjoyed anytime of the day.

ASIAN FUSION: Go on an adventure with Asian Fusion, a spicy and complex arrangement of cashews and peanuts with dried mango, banana, and layers of flavor. Also, Asian Fusion features crispy lentils and sweet sesame brittle. Snack on them throughout the day or give your weeknight salad and stir-fry a boost.

CHOCO SPICE: Indulge in our Choco Spice blend, a chocolaty mixture of pecans and cashews roasted with honey cherry clusters and peppery cocoa powder, sweet with a hint of cinnamon spice. It will liven up any baked good.

WINTER WONDER (limited season batch): Warm up your palate with Winter Wonder trail mix, a comforting blend of roasted walnuts, pecans, peanuts and raisins, infused with cardamom and star anise!  Each batch is sprinkled with crystallized ginger and candied orange rind.

FALL FESTIVAL ( limited Seasonal Batch): Celebrate the coming of a new season with a bag of Fall Festival. Each batch is filled with spiced pumpkin seeds, cranberries, dried apples, apple cider reduction, walnuts, pecans, and more.

***

We have to say, our favorite is CHOCO SPICE.  The flavors are amazingly complex, but not overpowering at all.  There is just the right amount of cocoa there and just a nice hint of pepper that adds a fun flavor.  The PB FIG is also great, with nice big chunks of yummy fig, mixed in with the banana chips and different kind of nuts.  Even better is the fact that Sticky-Nuts is all natural and uses organic ingredients, creating a gluten-free lovers paradise.  This shows through in how fresh and pure the trail mixes taste.  Nothing is overdone here and you won’t go away from eating Sticky-Nuts like you just had too much and you feel like you’re about to slip into a sugar coma.  Perfect taste, perfect flavor, perfect snack.  Yup, that’s Sticky-Nuts in a…well…nutshell.

Buy them from their online store or at:

• NATURE’S TEMPTATIONS IN RIDGEFIELD, CT
• RIDGEFIELD ORGANICS AND SPECIALTY MARKET IN RIDGEFIELD, CT
• THE ORGANIC MARKET IN WESTPORT, CT
• CHAMOMILLE NATURAL FOODS IN DANBURY, CT
• PETER’S MARKET IN WESTON, CT
• AVAILABLE AT THE WINTER FARMERS’ MARKET AT NORFIELD GRANGE IN WESTON,  SATURDAYS 10A-2P, NOVEMBER 12 – APRIL
• AT THE RIDGEFIELD FARMERS’ MARKET, FRIDAYS 2-6P, JUNE 10 – SEPTEMBER 30
• AT THE ELITE FARMERS’ MARKET AT THE DANBURY FAIR MALL, SATURDAYS 10A-3P,   JUNE 1 – OCTOBER 29

Tags: Asian Fusion, choco spice, fall festival, giveaway, gluten free, Morning Grapefruit, PB Fig, Rebecca Butlein, snacks, Sticky Nuts, Trail mix, winter wonder, Zachary Butlein

Stamford Downtown Winter Restaurant Weeks 2012 Heats Things Up

Leave it to Stamford to spice up the whole restaurant week thing into something great.  Yeah, well, you read the title correctly:  Stamford Downtown Winter Restaurant Weeks.  Weeks!  Yup.  Start eating February 26 and don’t stop until it’s March 11.  You’ll be able to try out 30 of Stamford’s best spots for diddily squat.  There are three price levels, starting at $10.12 lunch/$15.12 dinner, $12.12 lunch/$20.12 dinner, or $20.12 lunch/$30.12 dinner. Also mark down March 18 to March 23 for Stamford Uptown Restaurant Week.  We’ll update you when we get all the goods.

If you’re looking for some info on some of these spots, we’ve reviewed Volta, Capriccio, Grand Burger, Lola’s, SBC, Bar Rosso (when it first opened), napa & co, Tappo, and Zaza Gastrobar, but we’ve been to most of these spots.  We’d love to try out Aria and Patrizia’s, so these two weeks would be perfect.  Is that crazy that those two and one other restaurant on the list are the only ones we haven’t eaten at?  Well, guess it’s not that crazy.  What spots do you want to hit up?  Let us know if you need advice, k?

$10.12 Lunch and $15.12 Dinner

Some of the amazing Coppe Speciali at Volta

Black Bear Saloon

Kujaku Japanese Restaurant

Picante Fresh Mexican Grill

Remo’s Brick Oven Pizza Company

Volta Gelateria Creperia 

$12.12 Lunch and $20.12 Dinner

Elvis Burger with peanut butter, banana chips, and bacon at GRAND

BUtterfield 8 Restaurant & Lounge  •  Make Reservations

California Pizza Kitchen • Menu – 203-406-0530

Capriccio Café

Grand Burger (Dinner Only) • Make Reservations

Kotobuki Japanese Restaurant

Lola’s Mexican Kitchen (Excludes Fri. & Sat.) •  Make Reservations

Quattro Pazzi (Excludes Fri. & Sat.)

SBC Downtown Restaurant & Brewery

Tengda Asian Bistro (Excludes Fri. & Sat.)

$20.12 Lunch and $30.12 Dinner

Aria Restaurant* Make Reservations

Barcelona Restaurant & Wine Bar* (Excludes Sat. & Sun.)

Bar Rosso* (Excludes Fri. & Sat.)  Make Reservations

The Capital Grille*  Make Reservations

Chez Jean Pierre* (Excludes Sat. & Sun.)

House made fettuccine at napa & co

Columbus Park Trattoria

Emme of Capri*  Menu

EOS Greek Cuisine (Excludes Fri. & Sat.) Menu • Make Reservations

Ferrante*  Make Reservations

Mitchell’s Fish Market • Menu • Make Reservations

Morton’s, The Steakhouse* (Dinner Only)  Menu • Make Reservations

napa & co.* (Lunch Only)  Make Reservations

Patrizia’s of Stamford

Sam’s American Bistro at the Marriott • Menu

Tappo Restaurant*  Make Reservations

ZAZA Italian Gastrobar* (Excludes Fri. & Sat.)

* Not participating in the Kids’ Fans program.

This year in partnership with Stamford Hospital, Stamford Tables will host KIDS’ FANS 5-2-1-0, a program designed to promote nutrition and fitness in Stamford. All children under 12 will be offered a healthy lunch for $6.95 and dinner for $9.95 at the above listed restaurants.

The first 3,000 Winter Restaurant Weeks patrons will receive a voucher for a FREE medium popcorn with the purchase of a general admission ticket to the Avon Theatre, 272 Bedford Street, valid thru 3/31/12.

• List and info from connecticut RESTAURANTWEEK.  They have all the info you could ever want about restaurant weeks. •

Tags: Bar Rosso Stamford, Barcelona Stamford, Capriccio Stamford, Columbus Park Trattoria Stamford, Connecticut restaurant week, EOS Stamford, Prixe fixe menu, restaurant week, Stamford Downtown Winter Restaurant Weeks 2012, Volta Stamford, Zaza Stamford

Chattin’ ’bout Chowda with Chowderkids!

One of the best parts about being food bloggers is that we get to meet lots of other awesome foodies. And while we love each of our fellow foodies in their own unique way, none are quite as irresistibly  adorable and super cool as the “ChowderFamily”!

Who’s the ChowderFamily you ask? Psh, only the owners of Chowderkids, the most chowderific blog in Fairfield County (and the world) devoted to the love of all things chowder (well, New England style that is – but more on that later)!

We first came across Chowderkids on Twitter when we were talking about  how psyched we were for Chowdafest IV! But it wasn’t until we discovered that the brains and talent behind Chowderkids are two adorable kids (a dynamic brother and sister team) and their supportive and equally adorable parents, that we KNEW we had to get to know them!  See how it all began.

So in true blogger fashion, we set up a quick interview with the family to share with you so you can become as big fans of them as we are! Here’s the behind-the-scenes scoop!

What do you enjoy so much about chowder?

***

ChowderBoy: The clams. I love the clams. But I like the creamy, kind of thin, not too much clams, bacon, and overall yumminess. Mostly, I like to go to restaurants and if we have to try chowder, then we get to go out to eat more. And sometimes we take fun trips too. Like to Newport. Next year, mom says we can go to Ireland if they have another big festival.

ChowderGirl: I like very creamy chowder with a lot of butter and tons of salt.

***

What pushes you on to try chowder, even after you’ve had probably close to over 300 bowls?

***

ChowderBoy: I have no idea. I just keep eating it. But I’m not going to stop eating it.

***

Have you really had over 300 bowls?  We just made that up, just a guesstimate.

***

ChowderBoy: It’s a lot, but it not THAT much. Yet. Maybe we will get to 300 this year? (Turns to Mom) – How many more do we need to get to 300? Maybe we should do that. A chowder countdown.

ChowderGirl: I think we’ve had like…557 bowls.

ChowderMom: I am going to get technical. We have done about 120 different reviews and didn’t break out some of the individual ones. While we were talking about chowders we have loved, I thought of a bunch that I never reviewed and wish I could go back and review the chowder on the ferry from LI to New London. But I think it’s probably about 150 total different chowders. If I had to guess how many TOTAL bowls we have consumed, it is probably close to 250 each. We go to the same places a lot and don’t review them.

ChowderDad: I’m going to guess 200 different chowders.

***

Where’s the craziest or most fun spot that you’ve ever had some chowder?

***

ChowderBoy: This is too confusing for me to answer.  We have had so much chowder in LOTS of places. Like, weird places. Everywhere. We’ve had chowder on boats, sitting on fences, baseball games, and at a pool. We had chowder while waiting for a hurricane. We even had chowder at Lake Compounce but that was really gross. You don’t want to throw up chowder on a ride. The best time was when I got new Bey Blades and Mom took me to a movie at the Falmouth restaurant movie place (The Falmouth Cinema Pub). We ate chowder IN THE DARK!!! You could not see anything but the chowder was very very good. The movie was great  too. It was Zookeeper but Mom keeps calling it Zoolander.

ChowderGirl: We had some on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard once. That was very fun.

ChowderMom: I had “The World’s Best Chowder” at LAX. It was horrible. The worst thing was that I’d had a realllllllly long day where I wasn’t allowed to eat Southern California food (there’s a “scene” on Facebook where I take pictures of all the restaurants I wasn’t allowed to go to). BUT, on a positive note, the 7th fame of the Eastern Conference finals was on and the Bruins won.

ChowderDad: Even though the chowder was terrible, the Chowder Festival at the Melody Tent in Hyannis was really fun. Well, it wasn’t fun at the time.

***

When we’re having too much BBQ and can’t go on anymore, we say that we’ve hit the meat wall.  What kind of wall did you hit when you were chomping away on all 29 chowders at Chowdafest and couldn’t take much more?

***

ChowderBoy: At Chowdafest, I hit the “full wall” of being full of chowder. I couldn’t eat any more. It has never happened to me before that I couldn’t eat more chowder. I can eat 2 or 3 bowls sometimes in one sitting. I have finished almost every bowl I ever tried. I even finished the most disgusting one at Chowdafest. And it was really gross. I just had to finish it. But we had to go because Mom and Dad and ChowderGirl were full and annoyed. Daddy hit the Nauseous Wall.

ChowderMom: It’s true. He has never met a chowder he REALLY doesn’t like. In fact, I am kind of not sure what to do with him now because half the time he just says AWESOME. He is too nice sometimes.

ChowderDad: I felt as if I had way too many tastes and flavors floating around in my stomach. I had to lay down after.

***

Quick: bacon or no bacon in NE Clam Chowder?

***

ChowderMom: As I was reading this question out loud to him, he cut me off as soon as I said “bacon or no”. Bacon! BACON!!! Very quick.

ChowderBoy: I love bacon. I love dead pig in general. Dead pig is one of my favorite things to eat. I think you can make anything better with bacon. Except catsup or mustard. That would be gross. Bacon is almost as great as chowder. You know what is good? Colony Pizza with bacon. That is the best.

ChowderGirl: Sometimes it is good, sometimes it isn’t.

ChowderDad: Is that even a question? Bacon.

***

And last, but not least – Thoughts on Manhattan Clam Chowder?

***

ChowderBoy: (Blurgheeeeshhh*) Why would I ever want to try red chowder? Even though I already tried it. It was horrible. No one should eat it or make it or anything. If we go to the football field Chowder Festival (he’s talking about Long Beach), I am not going to eat the bad side.

ChowderMom: How do you write out a guttural blech kind of noise but with more disgust and horror? That was the first thing he did.

ChowderDad: Oh it is horrible. Why would you ask that? It’s like soup. And it’s a crime against clams.

Tags: chowda, Chowdafest, chowder, chowderkids, connecticut bloggers, kid bloggers

Cheeseboy Soon Offering Ooey Gooeyness to I-95ers in Milford, CT

Cheeseboy's Tomato and Basil. I'm in love.

Like your cheese with a side of sandwich?  Yeah, who doesn’t love grilled cheese?  If you don’t, then seriously…you’ve got to pack your bags and leave this country.  Disliking grilled cheese is a crime punishable by banishment or death.  As to whether you must have American cheese with your sandwich is another matter.

Now, onto a source of cheesevana:  Milford has been lucky enough to have a Cheeseboy at the Connecticut Post Mall, but because of the mall closing, they’ll be grilling at a new spot.  Yup, need a quick and ooey gooey bite on the road?  You’ll be able to stop in at the southbound service place of I-95 near the end of March 2012.

Cheeseboy has you covered no matter the cheese or stuffings–not toppings, because those go on the outside, duh.  Look at their four signature sandwiches:

• The Cheeseboy Classic: Italian bread & creamy white American cheese
• Tomato Basil Classic: Italian bread, creamy white American, sliced tomato & fresh basil
• Cheddar Delight: Rye bread, Cabot Cheddar, smoked ham & dill pickles
• Healthy Melt: Multigrain bread, Swiss cheese, roasted red pepper & spinach

Not stopping there, you’ll be able to make your own with Italian, rye, multigrain, or wheat bread.  Then, you can stuff that with American, cheddar, light Swiss, muenster, provolone, bacon, turkey, ham, pepperoni, tomato, basil, jalapeños, pickles, onion, spinach, and/or roasted red peppers.  There are also options for combos to add in soups (tomato,DUH, GIVEN!) or chips.  There are even breakfast sandwiches to get your daily FDA allowance of cheesy goodness.

I’m going with an Italian with American cheese, bacon, pickles, and jalapeños.  We’ve never had Cheeseboy, but we were one step away from getting some at South Station in Boston.  Oh, the humanity of missing that opportunity.

If you can’t wait until this spot opens, check out Cheeseboy in the Prudential Center in Boston, the South Station in Boston, Providence Place in Providence, South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Palisades Center in West Nyack, and Natick Mall in Natick.

Tell us your favorite or dream combos or suffer the consequences!

Tags: Cheeseboy, grilled cheese, Milford Connecticut, New Connecticut Restaurants