Getting clucky with it: Westport Chicken Coop Tour @ WTF

Buk buk bagockkkk!

Ah, such finer sounds are hard to find at the farm, but would you expect to hear chickens at people’s homes in Westport?  We’re asking this question to you, so you must expect that we’ll begin to share that there are actually lots of homes in Westport that have coops in their backyards.  Guess what?  There are lots of people in Westport who are raising chickens in their very own backyards…and Wakeman Town Farm is highlighting these coops with their 2nd Annual The Westport Chicken Coop Tour.

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:

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:

Ginger Man + Coalhouse Celebrate American Craft Beer Week

Two of our favorite spots to get brews and grub in Fairfield County have lots of fun ahead for American Craft Beer Week.  ACBW kicks off today, 5/13, and goes until 5/19.  The focus of the beer week has always been on smaller batch brews, a focus on fine details, and more of a hands-on approach to beer.  Now, it’s no coincidence that Ginger Man in Norwalk and Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford live and breathe this philosophy year round, but you know they have to step up their game (is that possible?) to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.  It’s kind of like the Super Bowl of the beer world.

Coalhouse Pizza is featuring a week of tap takeovers:

Flights at Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford CT

Monday, 5/13:  Sebago

Tuesday, 5/14:  Half Full (see a full week of special Half Full events here)

Wednesday, 5/15:  Harpoon

Pop by PopShop Market for food, brews, local goods, and more!

You might have heard of pop up restaurants, springing up in empty spots or abandoned places.  Here one week, gone another.  You know…that’s so 2012.  PopShop Market, though, is taking things into 2013 with their pop up market.  For each pop up event they’ll have 50 or more vendors, a mini farmers’ market, they’ll feature a local brewery, and they’ll have a bunch of CT’s best food and food trucks available for your noming needs.  The first PopShop Market is being held on June 1 from 9-3 at the Fairfield Theater Company‘s warehouse and parking lot.  There’s no cost at all and there is live music, too.  Here are the details for the first event:

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

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)

Food trucks take over SM+NC for Spring on the Farm Festival Weekend

You NEED this!

One of our favorite places in all of Connecticut Stamford Museum & Nature Center.  And, this coming Spring on the Farm Festival Weekend it’s about to become our more most favoritest place!  All the action is going down on 5/18 and 5/19 from 11 am to 3 pm.  Yes, their annual party is getting bigger and badder than ever with the addition of seven, count ‘um seven, food trucks.  On Saturday you can get the Caribbean flavors of Maddy’s Food Truck, good ol’ fashioned American fare with Cowabunga, hot pies from Victoria’s Wood Fired Pizza Catering, got your hands on some meatballs from The Local Meatball, and cold and creamy goodness from Skip’s Ice Cream Co.  Then, come back for more on Sunday where you can try the awesome fries and sandwiches of Fryborg, the awesomely organic and oven-to-table pizzas of Skinny Pines, and get more of that ice cream from Skip’s Ice Cream Co.

Aw, we have the same hair color!

But, this weekend isn’t just about food.  Okay, it’s a big portion of it, but there’s other reasons why you’ll love coming by:

1) Check out the baby goats.  It’s all about the baby goats…but there are lots of other animals to ooh and ahh over.

Graze Delivers the Farm to Your Fridge to Your Table

The skillet meal

The before of the skillet meal, directions included

Look how nicely everything is packaged

Processed and passionless food.  Tight aisles.  Fumbling for coupons.  People who won’t move out of your way.  Finding the right aisle for your special ingredient.  Horrible music. Old ladies writing checks in the express lane.  These are just some of the reasons we haven’t looked back since switching over to grocery delivery several years ago.  We just feel so much more centered and can use that extra time to catch up on our DVR shows.  Ya know: Bones, The Walking Dead, How I Met Your Mother, L & O SVU, and Big Bang Theory ain’t gonna watch themselves!

So, you could imagine when Vermont based Graze contacted us with promises of a complementary delivery of their farm food for a week, we were game.  The process of how this happens is very interesting. Will (or whoever is available) drives bins of food (that have been organized by order) from Vermont to their Norwalk location.  From there, drivers deliver the orders on to happy homes throughout Fairfield County on Monday between 2-7 am, ready for you before you leave for work.  When they see you next, they’ll collect your bin, so no cardboard box waste anymore!