Dishcrawl Fairfield County Expands + Launches New Canaan Events

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

Prosciutto wrapped figs at South End

Off the Hook: Guinness Chocolate Milkshake! Chili Fries in Back w/ Kristien ;)

When we hit up the first Dishcrawl Greenwich experience, we were excited to meet some great people and try some new food.  First we tried some excellent tapas at Barcelona and had Chef Michael Lucente talk to us about what was on the plate, then we got a huge surprise with the Haitian food of Maddy’s Food Truck.  From there we checked out Sundown Saloon for some tacos and chicken wing bites, then ended up at Meli-Melo with a nice scoop of ice cream.  Throughout the night we met some great people that we had only known online and it left us wanting to spend more time with them all.  While some people thought that the choice to go to Sundown Saloon wasn’t the best and didn’t fit the bill, Jesse (Greenwich Dishcrawl Ambassador) took it as an opportunity to learn and help make Dishcrawl better.  He’s definitely listening and trying to make each Dishcrawl even better than the last.  Case in point will be the Surprise Dishcrawl that he has planned with only 8 tix left…we think he’s got something great up his sleeves.

Now, there are a few things to go through here with you:

Dishcrawl Greenwich and Dishcrawl Stamford merged to form Dishcrawl Fairfield County.  This makes much more sense, especially because they are looking to expand into more cities such as Norwalk, Darien, and now–officially–New Canaan.  Yes, the experience of checking out four restaurants in a night (only the first restaurant is revealed, keeping the rest a mystery), meeting great people, talking with chefs and owners, and enjoying nomworthy food is coming to New Canaan.  Jesse was able to partner with the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce and Taste of the Town Stroll to create a two night event on August 27 and 28, both at 7 pm.

If you’d like to get your tickets, just click here.

If you’d like to learn more about the Dishcrawl concept, check out our first post about Dishcrawl Greenwich.

Again, if you are vegetarian, please note that when you buy your tickets as Jesse can accommodate you.  If you have other restrictions, you can always see if Jesse can help to arrange suitable food for you.  Just contact him at jessel@dishcrawl.com.  Also make sure to follow Dishcrawl on Twitter with their new handle, @DishcrawlFCT.

Where in New Canaan would you love for Dishcrawl to go?  We say elm because we’ve been dying to go there for a long, long time.  :)

Chef Plum Takes Dinner Underground Again with a Saranac Beer + BBQ Dinner – Newtown, CT

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Now that we finally have that warmer weather that we dream of during the colder months in Connecticut, we can look forward to BBQ season.  For some, BBQ season never ends, though.  The tailgate warriors, the backyard chefs who won’t allow a little annoying snow to ruin their plans of cooking up some burgers on the barbie.  But, whether you’re a BBQ expert, a novice, or just a BBQ eater, you’ve probably never had a BBQ meal like the one that Chef Plum of Newtown, CT has planned out for Sunday, May 26 from 7 to 10.  He’s repurposed Butcher’s Best in Newtown as a pop up restaurant in his dining series called Dinner Underground.  Tickets are limited to just 30 people and cost $85.39 (that’s with the service fee) and you can buy them here.  So, you know how we work…this is where we explain why you need to get yourself to this event:

Plan B Burger Bar Opening in Fairfield, Bringing Burgers, Brews, + Booze

People went crazy last year when Plan B Burger Bar opened in Stamford Town Center. What? A restaurant with great burgers, a killer beer selection, and an amazing variety of bourbon? Yes, yes, and yes. Well kiddos, ya’ll further out east in Fairfield County won’t have to drive out to Stamford anymore for your Plan B fix. Coming this fall, Fairfield will have its own Plan B Burger Bar at 1262 Boston Post Road, the old post office building. If that’s too far to wait, don’t worry. They opened the Stamford location ahead of schedule and maybe that will happen here?

Keep up to date with Plan B Burger Bar Fairfield on Twitter and their Stamford FB page to see what’s new. You’ll especially want to see what this cryptic message on FB means:

We are opening in Fairfield, CT Fall of 2013!
But, you won’t have to wait that long to have a Plan B Burger in the fair city. Stay tuned to find out what we’re doing in Fairfield for National Burger Day on May 28th.

Step Out for Stepping Stones with Wine, Brews, and Bites

Update:  unfortunately, Step Out has been postponed.  We’ll give you more info when we get a new date.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk is a fun place to be, especially if you’re a kid…or a kid at heart.  They have an amazing amount of exhibits for children all the way from birth to 7 and up, they provide educational classes, they are always up to something new like Dinosaur Revolution, they have tons of events, and they are a favorite stop for schools.  Fun like this isn’t easy to provide, so that’s why Stepping Stones is holding their 8th Annual Step Out Wine & Food Tasting fundraiser.  This vital (and tasty) event is being held in partnership with our friends over at the Young Professionals Network of the Business Council of Fairfield County.  Here are all the details for you:

Sunset Dinner w/ Drinks and Bites in the Garden at Ambler Farm in Wilton

 

Around this time last year we headed up to Ambler Farm in Wilton to take part in Bull N’ Brew.  The farm was beautiful and the night was just perfect, set off by good wine, beer, and food from Super Duper Weenie.  And, just about a year later Ambler Farm is holding another event…a much anticipated annual event.

We are talking about their Annual Sunset Dinner, this year called An Evening in the Garden at Ambler Farm.  The dinner will be held on June 15th from 6-10 pm and will take place inside their new educational gardens.  Program Manager Kevin Meehan not only developed these gardens, but has also tended them carefully—he did get some help from students, though.  :)  Tickets, which are soon to go fast, go on sale 5/15.  Tickets are $95 for members or $110 for non-members.  There will be lots of cocktails, little bites of goodness, and a whole buncha live music from local musicians.  After the little “garden hour,” guests will be treated to a full four course dinner from Bistro du Soleil as the sun sets.  And, in true farm dinner fashion, Bistro du Soleil will be using a good deal of Ambler Farm’s organic produce for the meal!  The lovely people at Ambler Farm were kind enough to share the menu with us, so we’ll share it with you:

Sooo Meaty: Burger Wars Contest at Plan B

Plan B Burger Bar asks, tongue in cheek, “Can you beat our meat?”  Lolz.  But, taking things to a more serious level, we love us some burgers.  Heck, we’re even in the middle of our Burger a Day in the Month of May post.  And there, on May 11 is Plan B.  While they haven’t done anything specific for National Burger Month, they have planned quite the event for National Hamburger Day, May 28.

To do: CT vineyard and brewery bus tour with tastings from Slow Food Shoreline

How do you like your food?  Slow with a heaping of healthy local goodness?  That’s basically the mantra of Slow Food Shoreline, a chapter of the larger Slow Food USA organization.  According to the SFS site:

“Slow Food Shoreline’s mission is to promote cooking and nutritional education, with a focus on using local ingredients, to improve the health of the region. Our focus is on teaching scratch cooking using whole ingredients, with an additional focus on fresh, local, and seasonal products. We believe that teaching core cooking skills and encouraging a love of food and cooking, is the best way for participants to sustain what they’ve learned and change eating habits long term, as well as become better informed consumers. Through cooking demonstrations, tastings, cooking classes, and other food education opportunities, we’ll provide the community with the confidence, knowledge, and motivation to build healthy and delicious food habits.”

We definitely are on board with this and think a focus on “slow” cooking from scratch and on local ingredients elevate not only the taste of the food, but also is pretty zen and meditative.  If you can’t find yourself and your center by baking a batch of brownies or preparing a roast, you’re doing it wrong!

Taste of the Nation New Haven 2013 Vows No Kid Hungry

No Kid Hungry.  That’s the rallying call of Share Our Strength, an organization put together to wipe out childhood hunger.  And, with about 105,000 (13%) of children under 18 in Connecticut being food insecure, you can see how important this organization is.  One of their major fundraisers across the country is called Taste of the Nation that feature local food, chefs, and drinks.  And, we just so happen to be lucky enough to have a Taste of the Nation taking place at The Omni Hotel at Yale in New Haven on 5/22 from 6-9 for regular ticket holders ($85) or 5-9 for VIP ticket holders ($150).  The money will not only benefit Share Our Strength, but it will also benefit Christian Community Action, Connecticut Food Bank, End Hunger Connecticut, and the local chapter of No Kid Hungry Connecticut.  So, not only will you be helping to end childhood hunger, but you’ll also have some great music, treats, and drinks.  Here are the details:

• Honorary Chef Chair Chef Jacques Pepin will be on hand.
• The Elizabeth Dellinger/Tony Dioguardi Duo will be entertaining all our guests in the Grand Ballroom.
• VIP Tickets holders can listen to an Evening Of Song with Tanya Leonard with Derek Monahan on guitar.
• Restaurants will be delighting…
  • 116 Crown
  • Barcelona
  • Bella Bella Gourmet
  • Box 63 American Bar & Grill
  • Bridgewater Chocolate
  • Briq Restaurant
  • Brownson Country Club
  • Caseus Fromagerie Bistro
  • Cask Republic
  • Chocopologie
  • Claire’s Cornercopia
  • Cooking Matters
  • Fig Cooking School
  • Gelato Giuliana
  • Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill
  • Heirloom @ The Study
  • Ibiza
  • Ibizia Tapas Wine Bar
  • John Davenport’s
  • La Cuisine Cafe, Market & Catering
  • MIKRO Beer Bar
  • Oaxaca Kitchen
  • Parallel Post at the Trumbull Marriott
  • Savvy Tea
  • Shake Shack New Haven
  • SONO Baking Company
  • Thali & Thali Too
  • The Farmer’s Cow
  • Wheelers Market-Café & Restaurant
  • Willoughby’s
  • Winvian (VIP only)

Go Down Home at Hash House a Go Go at Mohegan Sun

“Is that a meal or a monument?” Dan’s friend Adam asked on Facebook.

He was referring to a pic of the legendary Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles dish at Hash House a Go Go, newly opened in Mohegan Sun.  This dish is famous because the redonkulously amazing Adam Richman of Man vs. Food tasted and loved its epicness at their Las Vegas spot.  You know if Adam Richman put all other chicken and waffles on notice, it has to be good.  So, we did like any other brave and upstanding American would do…we pigged out and got down and dirty.

Spiked Kiwi Watermelon Lemonade

Our first piece of business was checking out the drink options.  While they don’t have any beers on tap, they do have a decent selection of the classics and some craft beer choices by the can and bottle.  Also, there are some wine choices, but their mixed drinks menu is what really shines.  The two drinks that stood out to us were the beautiful Spiked Kiwi Watermelon Lemonade that Dan ordered and the perfectly balanced Champagne Supernova that Kristien drank.  Dan’s was a great balance of sweet, herby, and tart with just the right amount of liquor.  Kristien’s was also nicely balanced with a mixture of two different champagnes, Riesling, mint, lemonade and sugar cane.

Dishcrawl Stamford kicks off with 4 restaurant crawl this May!

Creamy lobster polenta at Zaza Italian Gastrobar

Some of the amazing Coppe Speciali at Volta

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Hot outta the oven…Dishcrawl Stamford is official and is ready to go!  Yes, the successful start-up that began in New Haven, then worked its way down to Greenwich has set up in Stamford!  Their inaugural event is on May 29 at 7 pm and costs just $45 (buy the tickets here).  That gets you food tastings at four different awesome Stamford restaurants.  If you’re not familiar with Dishcrawl (if you’ve been following us, you should know this like the back of your hand), let’s tell you some of the basics:

1)  You hit up 4 restaurants in a night.

2) You’re told 48 hours before the event where you’ll meet.

3) The rest of the restaurant crawl is a complete mystery.

4) You get to talk with chefs and owners about their food.

5) You meet great new people.