Yoga, Summer Wine + Craft Beer Tastings at Bottlerocket of Westport this June

Blogging ain’t easy, yo.  While we might have plans to only go out once or twice a week, sometimes events come up, or you’re invited to a special dinner.  And, sometimes the food or event is just too good to resist.  So, to get more tone and to be able to keep up with our lifestyle (don’t you feel sorry for us?), we began Power 90 with Mr. Tony Horton.  We’re halfway through the program and will be starting P90X pretty soon. In between that time, we’ll be building up more stamina with some running, preparing us to run Warrior Dash in September.  Rawwwrrrr!  Now, we mention this because one of the toughest (but oddly most relaxing) parts of Power 90 is the part of the stretch routine when you do yoga poses such as Upward Dog, Downward Dog, Plank, Warrior, and Crescent.  It’s amazing how tone we’ve become just from “simple” yoga poses.

Barcelona hosts Memorial Day BBQ and pig roasts all summer long

Some of the tapas we sampled at Barcelona in Greenwich for the first Dishcrawl

Memorial Day and BBQs…they are inseparable like peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin, Lewis and Clark, Ren & Stimpy, bread and butter, and even pasta and sauce.  Perhaps they go so well together because BBQ’n brings family and friends together outside for good times, good fun, and good eats?  In essence, the grill unites people and connects us through our basic needs of friendship and food.

But, what do you do if you don’t have a grill or just want to go out and celebrate?  Easy…you head over to Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant in Fairfield on 5/27 from 1-9 pm.  For just $20 or $10 for kids (that’s a nice deal, btw) you’ll get a BBQ buffet that consists of sliders, kebabs, ribs, grilled veggies, salads, and their famous suckling pig.  For the beer lover, they’ll also have tastings from one of our favorite local breweries, Captain Lawrence.  They’ll have face painting for the kids (or that cool hipster) from 1:30-4:30, they’ll have outdoor games (cornhole please!), and they will even have a lemonade/popsicle/ice cream stand.  And, what’s a BBQ without live music?  Barcelona will have Rick Reyes & The Pasonfino Social Club playing from 2-6 while you chat, chew, and chill.

A seedling of potential at The Beer Garden @ Harbor Point

Dan, Volter, Kristien, and Dennis meet up! Great guys!

The upstairs bar

Tip: sit here to get served. It’s a much more calm experience.

The downstairs bar

Food trucks and brews….ah!

It’s a Friday night, mid 70s outside, and there are just a few little clouds in the sky. Could there have been a better day to hit up the brand new Beer Garden @ Harbor Point? No, probably not. Unfortunately, it seemed that everybody in Fairfield County agreed, but we still managed to find a killer parking spot just right outside of Walgreen’s. There’s also a huge lot nearby that they have devoted to Beer Garden parking, too, if you can’t find any street-side spots.

Before we even entered, we were amazed to see this building that was empty  just a few months ago, turned into a massive party scene. Maddy’s food truck and Lobstercraft were outside, with about 50 devoted followers ready to get their grub on. That is one of the great things about this Beer Garden: although you can’t get food inside (yet), they’ll have food trucks there for you to get your nom on.

Two Roads Brewery Has Some Serious (Meat)balls this Weekend

Get your mind out of the gutter, people.  We’re talking about Two Roads Brewery having The Local Meatball shop on hand for their Saturday food truck experience from 3-7 on 5/11, the start of CT Beer Week.    Since TLM launch on 4/20, Mike’s been gaining quite a following of ballers.  There’s no doubt that Mike will be serving up some Serious meatballs, his standard formulation made with Saugatuck Craft Butchery beef and other local ingredients.  Here are descriptions from his site about the meatball choices (there is usually Serious and one other on special):

SERIOUS:  made with the finest ground beef from Craft Butchery, we use only the best local ingredients. Soaked in our traditional sauce, they are like no other. These balls burst with flavor and are our version of the classic.

Future Specials

KICK IN DA:  made with the most tender local pork around and some hot cherry peppers to give them just the right kick. Served in a chunky, spicy sauce, they’re a win-win.

IN THE BUFF:  fresh ground chicken and our own buffalo sauce—these are the perfect combination of heat and flavor.

HONEY’S:  honey BBQ sauce from a local favorite and a tender, juicy pork ball…who needs ribs when you’ve got balls?

JEWELS:  these salty, sweet creations are what we like to call a “breakfast ball.” Made with delicious ground beef, sausage, bacon and chunks of melted cheddar cheese. Topped off with the tastiest local maple syrup on a soft, light and airy snowflake roll. They’re jewels.

Here’s how to do it:

1)  Place your oder.

2) Grab your slider, Average Joe, or Grinder.

3) Head upstairs to Two Roads Brewery  and down those meatballs with some old cold brews.  We highly recommend the saison.

4) Fill up some growlers or growleritos (they are so cute and tiny).

5) Get some more meatballs before you leave.

Two Roads Brewing Co.

1700 Stratford Ave

Stratford, CT 06615

Phone:  (203) 335-2010

Station Eats Gives Back w/ Their Dog of the Month

Cinco de Mayo doesn’t have to end, especially not at Station Eats.  Starting today until the middle of June, they’ll be featuring their Taco Dog as the Dog of the Month.  Pick your dog (grass fed beef, chicken, or veggie), then they’ll add on tomato salsa, lettuce, shredded cheddar, sour cream, and wrap it up in a warm flour tortilla.  If that’s not spicy enough for ya, just remember that the good guys at Station Eats will be donating 10% of their profits for Taco Dogs to two great causes:  Camp Promise East (giving summer camp experiences to people with muscular dystrophy and ALSTDI (fighting to find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  You can get the Taco Dog at either the New Canaan or Stamford locations, btw.

If you’d like a burger and shake to complement that doggie, then check out these specials starting today:  The Steak House Burger and their Coconut Shake.  The Steak House Burger (we’d had it before, it’s excellent) has cheese, Station Steak Sauce, shaved onions, and tomato.  So, make sure to come by a few times and get your Taco Dog!  Also, why not invite your friends, have family reunions at Station Eats, have your next birthday party, too!  A Taco Dog for everybody!

Colony Grill Featured on New Cooking Channel Show Pizza Cuz

Want some stingers and hot oil with that pie?

A while back we wrote about a special TV filming at the cult legend pizza of Connecticut:  Colony Grill.  At the time, all we knew that it was for a new show on a major network.  Well, we’ve got the scoop for ya:  Colony Grill of Stamford will be featured on a brand new Cooking Channel show called Pizza Cuz.  The series premiere is May 6 and the Colony Grill episode will air Monday, May 13 at 9 pm on Cooking Channel.  We’ll have more information about the show and the episode shortly, but in the meantime, check out the episode description:

Half Full Brewery Takes Over May and American Craft Brew Week

We can still remember walking into Half Full Brewery when it was in shambles and just a run down skeleton of a building. Even with so much work ahead, Conor and crew saw it all as if the glass was, well, half full. Then, we saw Half Full Bright Ales all over Stamford, then we saw more brews hitting Stamford restaurants, and then we saw Half Full expand out to restaurants all over Connecticut. And now, almost one year later, they celebrate their first ever American Craft Brew Week (May 13-19) with amazingly awesome events . Here we go:

May 3, 17, and 31:  Friday Night Open House, 5:30-8:30

Pay $15 and get a Half Full recycled plastic pint glass.  Taps are open for your consumption pleasures.  You are free to circulate, look around, hang with friends, play bags, and play the huge Jenga game.  Note:  Friday Night Open Houses happen every other Friday from here until eternity.

Prost! Landmark Biergarten at Station Eats to open in Stamford

Rendering of the Landmark Biergarten at Station Eats Stamford

Zicke, Zacke, Zicke, Zacke, Hoi, Hoi, Hoi!

Yeah, you’ll be singing lots of songs in German pretty soon.  Odes to the Oktoberfest gods, if you will.  And, you’ll be singing your heart out from the beautiful, newly renovated patio at Station Eats in Stamford.  The patio has been reimagined and redesigned and will forever henceforth be known as the Landmark Biergarten at Station Eats.  We got in touch with one of the owners, Nick Type, and he told us more about the Biergarten, opening half way through May:

Kristien’s classic burger at Station Eats, all loaded and ready to go

“It will offer a line of rotating draft craft beers, wines, sparkling wines and our house made (fresh / no mixes) station margarita (14oz – $6.00). Beer prices will be very reasonable. We will have buxom gals and hunky lads serving out there and the occasional live music act. The biergarten menu will be an extension of our current menu and include items such as bier braised brats, house made bacon sauerkraut on pretzel rolls. Complimentary warm station kettle chips made to order will greet every patron.”

Ridgefield resident signing copies of her book Rock and Vine at Stew Leonard’s Wines in Norwalk

If the world kept doing the same thing over and over, we’d never grow and evolve.  We’d stagnate and get caught up in the same ol’ routines of life.  But, one of the great things about our world today is our quest for knowledge, for change, and for growth.  This can especially be seen when you look at various vineyards throughout Napa and Sonoma Valley.  In fact, there are a handful of people at these vineyards who have revolutionized winemaking and they are the highlight of a new book called Rock and Vine.  The book is written by Ridgefield resident Chelsea Prince, who is also the publisher at Chelsea Print & Publishing.  It is edited by Christy Canterbury, Master of Wine, and photographed by Mary Steinbacher.

As we mentioned, Rock and Vine highlights “Next generation changemakers in America’s Wine Country” from Napa and Sonoma…eleven of them to be exact.

Chelsea Prince, author of Rock and Vine (from http://chelseaprintandpublishing.com)

The people who are featured in the book are:

Stamford Restaurants Paired with Acts from Alive @ Five 2013

We had a brilliant moment of realization:  someone needs to pair the bands and singers from Alive @ Five with restaurants in Stamford.  Who would be awesome enough to do that?  Well, since we couldn’t find anyone who’d be game, we decided to create a list of the bands and singers then provide a restaurant that would be perfect to hit up before (or after) the concert.  We’ll also give you an explanation for added entertainment value.  Also, check down below for costs, rules, and regulations for Alive @ Five 2013.

June 20, The Wallflowers paired with Zaza Italian Gastrobar

The Wallflowers, led by singer Jakob Dylan (son of Bob Dylan), gained popularity in the late 90′s.  Their rock riffs paired with deep lyrics and Dylan’s smooth voice (as opposed to his dad’s) make for some awesome songs like “One Headlight” and “6th Avenue Heartache.”  It only makes sense, then, that you’d need to eat at Zaza, a sleek, sexy, and rockstar-ish restaurant nearby the Alive @ Five stage.

June 27, The Mavericks paired with Plan B Burger Bar

It’s tough to really to say what kind of music The Mavericks play.  Sometimes they are country, sometimes they border on ska, sometimes they even push over to rockabilly, and sometimes they even find a way to throw accordions into their songs.  What better pairing, then, with Plan B Burger Bar at the Stamford Town Center?  You’ve got bourbon, you’ve got beer, you’ve got burgers, and you’ve got lots of killer sides that all gel together for that perfect pre-show meal.