Elevated, True Farm to Table at Bailey’s Backyard in Ridgefield, CT: Restaurant Review

Some of the veggies that Forrest has pickled for sale

When we talked with Forrest Pasternack (former Executive Chef of Morello Bistro in Greenwich) a few weeks ago, we couldn’t help but get excited about what he and owner Sal Bagliavio had planned for the reopening of Bailey’s Backyard.  A farm-to-table restaurant that would live up to its name, built from the ground, the farm, and garden up.  A restaurant where the chef actually visits local farms and buys food from them.  A full and complete embrace of what farm to table means.  And, after visiting Bailey’s Backyard a few days before opening and being treated to a special preview menu, we know our excitement was well warranted.

The Menu

The menu is pretty easy to handle, fitting on just one (large) page.  In terms of what to order, it’s divided up into a few sections:  snacks, sides, greens, starts, mains, and desserts.  Of special note is that this is a great restaurant if you’re looking for fresh vegetarian options.  You can order whatever you’d like, or have a 3 course meal (starter, main, and dessert) for $27 ($39 with wine pairing) or a 4 course meal (greens, seafood starter, main, and dessert) for $38 ($50 with wine pairing).  In addition, you can even have the special Chef’s Tasting which is a seven course tasting menu for a very reasonable $65 or $95 with wine pairings.  No tasting menu will ever be exactly the same because it’s built daily based on what’s fresh and from the farms.

Harvest Wine Bar + Restaurant Brings Modern American Farm-to-Table to Greenwich

Update:  Harvest is open and here’s our review!

The rows of plants seem to stretch on endlessly on harvest day.  Within a few hours, months worth of hard work and devotion will come to fruition as all the veggies and fruits are gathered.  Hundreds of fresh tomatoes, corn, apples, and more will soon hit up the farmers’ markets, the stores, that cute little stand set up in front of the farm, local restaurants, and will eventually end up right on your plate.

This is the kind of imagery that owner Vicente Siguenza and Chef Eben Leonard of Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant want to convey.  If you’ve been following our blog, you might remember those names.  Yes, Vicente is one of the owners of the classic go-to spots that we know as Cava in New Canaan, Scena Wine Bar & Restaurant in Darien, and 55 Wine Bar & Restaurant in Fairfield (we wrote an article for CBS about all of them, too).  As for Eben, you might remember his work as chef at Scena.  While we have love for their takes on Italian dishes (two years of OmNomy wins) and can’t get enough of their gnocchi, we’re really interested in what Harvest has to offer.

The new spot at 372 Greenwich Ave. (former home of La Brasserie and Le Figaro Bistro de Paris) in Greenwich will focus on Modern American food, put together with love and attention, and will be held together with deep roots to the earth with a farm to table experience.  In fact, they refer to the experience of eating at their restaurant as “farm to fork” dining.  According to Eric Gendron’s article for Greenwich Daily Voice, they will have an extensive wine menu of over 300 bottles, a beautiful wood-fired grill, will have small and large plates, and will also offer charcuterie options.  Sounds like our kind of place.

Ocean to Table Sushi that Is Seriously out of this World! Miya’s Sushi – New Haven, CT

Our fascination with Miya’s Sushi and Chef Bun Lai began when we had our first bites of their sushi at The Whole Hog fundraiser for Wholesome Wave.  Bun’s uniquely awesome personality really came through when he talked to us about harvesting his own seaweed and how everything in the sushi roll was made.  We could tell that he had a deep passion for food and keeping things local, which is exactly what made us want to travel into New Haven to check out Miya’s.

It was finally when we were contacted about Bun Lai and Miya’s Sushi being on a new TV show that we got our butts in gear and headed out to New Haven. Plus, it was the perfect place to celebrate Dan’s birthday! We know that New Haven can seem so far away, especially when you’re in the western part of CT, but it’s really worth the trip!

As we sat down, we learned from our waitress about some basics of Miya’s.  First off, she told us that the staff are trained divers and they were going on a diving trip the following day to get seafood for their rolls and dishes.  The DIY philosophy also comes through when they served us their homemade low sodium soy sauce and their homemade ginger that is just de-vine.

Our strategy was to order lots and lots of rolls so that we could try as many flavors and combinations as possible.  This worked out well because most rolls were sliced into four slices, not an overwhelming amount at all.  We also HAD to order a few drinks because they were so incredibly unique. And, despite all the food and drinks that we ordered, we still ended up spending a bit less than we would at other “comparable” sushi joints.  We say comparable because, well, it’s hard to compare anything to Miya’s anymore after eating there.  Dan felt very zen, so he allowed his poetic side to reign and compose haikus (5-7-5 syllables) for each roll.

Elm in New Canaan: One of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America for 2012!

Congratulations to Elm and Chef Lewis, announced from their FB page!

Well, that pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?  In their 28th year (here are this year’s results) of seeking out the hottest and best new restaurants all across America, Esquire is out with their latest list that has Elm in New Canaan on the list.  To those who have dined here, they’d probably say that this is no surprise.  Chef and owner Brian Lewis has been featured in countless articles and reviews, praising his style and his love of all things local and seasonal.  His gig before Elm was cooking up a storm at Richard Gere’s The Farmhouse at Bedford Post.

As for options eating here, there are so many to pick from:  dinner, chef’s tasting, bar dining (snacks), Sunday brunch, and even Sunday supper.  Perhaps one of the coolest things to do here is go with Chef Lewis on a journey to the farm through his tasting menu.  For $45 you’ll get three courses, paired beautifully for you.  If you have more of an appetite or feel a bit more daring, check out five courses for $75.  Now, this is great, but even more exciting (at least to us, we’re in serious awe of talented chefs) is the Chef’s Tasting Counter.  Saddle on up and enjoy each bite of your tasting menu while you watch all the action go down in the kitchen.  Yes, you’ll see your dishes cooked and prepared right before your hungry little eyes.

Celebrate Connecticut Farm-to-Chef Week at 65 Different Locations Throughout Our Fine State!

Eating local food shouldn’t have to be something that you seek out and search for.  You shouldn’t have to hunt down a farm to table restaurant or find out which places use local and sustainable food.  Imagine if we kept things local wherever we went to eat.  Imagine the jobs that would be opened up and how the Connecticut economy would thrive.  Well, Connecticut is trying to bring awareness to this and to the vast amount of farms throughout Connecticut by holding the third annual Connecticut Farm-to-Chef Week.  It runs from September 16 until September 22, 2012 at various locations throughout the state.  What’s very interesting about the list of restaurants that are participating is that, well, they aren’t all just restaurants.  You’ll see many schools on this list that want healthier, non-processed, and more local options for their menus.  You’ll even notice a couple of farmers’ markets on the list, too.  We got this info from CT Farm Fresh, if you’d like to check out more from and about them.

Local Change, One Meal at a Time: Eat for Equity Comes to Stamford, CT

How it all began…

Eat for Equity.  You can find them hard at work in Boston, Minneapolis, Portland, and the Ozarks…and soon you’ll find their ground-breaking, community-minded, locavore-loving, change-making meals in Stamford, Connecticut.  To understand Eat for Equity, you need to understand where it all began.  After witnessing the deadly tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, one of the founders of E4E put a New Orleans style meal together in order to raise money to help out.  Turns out, it was a huge success with 100 people attending.  As the dinners continued, the popularity grew and so did the money that was raised.  Their ideals and their approach to helping bring a fair shot and equity to the disadvantaged spread across the country and the next place on their stop:  The City that Works.

Who they’re helping

E4E helps puts meals together using local ingredients in order to raise money and awareness for groups that fight inequities in education, the environment, health, and opportunities. In addition, they will help local organizations to make short-term changes and to bring about change to the community to bring about self-sufficiency.  Check out all the non-profits that they’ve helped so far. 

The meals

Here’s how it works:

Seasonal + Local End of Summer Wine Dinners @ Rizzuto’s 4 Locations

When we were in Seattle and Portland we learned about FLOSS during one of our food tours.  Yes, we took food tours.  Did you expect anything else from us?  So, yeah, we learned about FLOSS:  fresh, local, organic, seasonal, sustainable.  Both cities subscribe to this and it’s a way of life for a great deal of the restaurants and even the food carts.  Well, Rizzuto’s is bringing some of that FLOSS into Connecticut.

Check them out for their special End of Summer Wine Dinners at all four of their locations in Stamford, Westport, Bethel, and West Hartford.  You’ll get a special cocktail and appetizer reception, followed by four courses that are paired with wines.  If you buy the tickets online, you’ll only pay $39.95 for this family style meal.  If you buy your tickets at the restaurant, you’ll pay $47.95.  Just remember that tax and–more importantly–gratuity are not included.  Remember your servers and reservations. :)

Unsuspecting spot brings approachable farm to table food to Wilton. Bistro 7 – Wilton, CT

Back in October of 2011 Breno Donatti followed our blog and encouraged us to try out his, and his partner Matt Criscuolo’s, Piccolo Gelato Bar & Cafe in Ridgefield. Well, turns out Breno and Matt were up to more than just slinging gelato, they were also opening up the brand new Bistro 7 in Wilton!

So when Breno invited us to come out to Bistro 7 for a special blogger preview dinner, we had to oblige! Before even getting there we were excited for the food.  With Chef Kris Grossman‘s focus on fresh ingredients from local sources, his love of organic food, and making food from scratch, could we really go wrong?

Well, we couldn’t and we didn’t.  Starting things off, we were greeted by our nervous server, Carolina.  Not nervous because OmNomCT is scary, but just because she wanted things to be great and just right.  She did a great job all night, checking in on us and making sure that we were enjoying everything.  Carolina also serves triple duty here, also tending bar and creating desserts as the pastry chef.

When our orders for drinks and food were in, we had a chance to talk with Breno and got a taste of what it was like to run a farm to table restaurant.  Starting off, Chef Grossman has to be very flexible in terms of the menu and ingredients.  Sometimes you just can’t find the right items locally or they are out of season.  Also, because they won’t freeze or store large amounts of food (potentially wasted), they could run out of ingredients much faster than other restaurants that usually fall back on frozen ingredients.  So, they solve these challenges by creating new dishes all the time and keeping the menu quite large.

Well, let’s dig in and give you some snapshots of Bistro 7:

Get ur prix fixe fix at Napa & Co this summer! – Stamford, CT

Happy Fourth of July, Omnomivores! Whether you are celebrating by having a BBQ at home, checking out a movie, watching some fireworks, or just chilling, we hope you have a great one.

So, we’ve gotta give some major props to Napa & Co in Stamford.  To begin, we were blown away by the dinner that Chef Arik Bensimon prepared for us during a blogger dinner.  We’re also impressed with all the awards that they have stacked up over the past few weeks:

Weekly Best of Fairfield County Reader’s Poll, 2012

• Best Wine List

Best of Stamford, 2012

• Best American  • Best Service  • Best Wine List  • Best Creative Menu  • Best Special Occasion

Best of The Gold Coast, 2012

• Best American  • Best Service  • Best Wine List

They’re sharing the love this summer by offering up special prix fixe menus.  In July, they will be offering a Summer Farmers Tasting Menu.  Stop by any night in July and you’ll get a 3 course meal that is paired with wine for just $45.  That kind of value, complemented by Chef Arik’s culinary chops is killah.

The awesomeness doesn’t stop, though.  In August, Napa & Co is extending the Stamford Summer Restaurant week deal.  Yup, get a 3 course meal with wine for just $30.12 during the night.  It’s hard to pass this deal up even more.  Also, be sure to check up on our Nomworthy Events calendar for wine related tastings and events.

Happy Fourth!

Noms: 4.25

Cost: $$$

Napa & Co

Address: 75 Broad Street

Stamford, CT 06901

Phone: (203) 353-3319

Site:  http://www.napaandcompany.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/napaandcompany

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/napaandcompany

Friday Farm Markets Return to Stamford Museum & Nature Center, 2012

Last year (was that a year ago?) we told you about Friday Farm Markets at SM&NC.  Things have changed a bit this year, but for the better!

Here’s the info:

Fridays, 6/8-10/26/2012

10 am – 2 pm

Located at their Meadow this year

Here’s what you can expect:

Wave Hill Breads:  breads, pastries, cookies

Dream Desserts:  gluten-free and all natural-desserts.  Dream Desserts is redonkulous, btw.

Moorefield Herb Farm: herbs, duh :P

Smith Acres:  fruit and vegetables

Truelove Farms:  pork and beef

Pickle Licious:  pickles :)

Victoria’s Wood Fired Pizza:  pizza yumminess

SM&NC:  their own farm fresh, cage-free eggs

In addition, check out some music from Steve E. while you shop.  If you want to relax a bit, grab some pizza, veggies, desserts, and/or pastries and head down to one of the benches by the pond.

Stamford Museum & Nature Center

Address:  39 Scofieldtown Road
Stamford, CT 06903

For info:  203.322.1646