Ocean freshness along the Norwalk River-Mediterraneo @ Hotel Zero Degrees, Norwalk

Executive Chef Albert DeAngelis

The entrance to Mediterraneo

Lounge area next to the dining room

We were in an interesting position when we were asked if we’d like to attend a Fairfield County Food Writers’ Dinner at the new Mediterraneo in Hotel Zero Degrees on the Rt 7 connector in Norwalk. See, we’ve been to every single restaurant in the Z Hospitality Group (Terra, Sole, Aurora, Acqua) and recently even wrote up Mediterraneo in Greenwich, so, we weren’t sure if there would be a lot of the same stuff at this new spot. Luckily, though, Executive Chef Albert DeAngelis and Chef de Cuisine Ethan Morse were feeling creative and were offering up many different options on this menu. Before we sat down to eat, we got a tour of the newly opened Hotel Zero Degrees. What we love about it is it’s modern, slick and trendy, but it won’t break the bank. We especially loved the big, open spaces with plenty of room to move around and relax. Our little tour ended in the big, expansive dining room, overlooking the Norwalk River and a rushing waterfall (who knew there was a waterfall in the Norwalk River?). The windows open out into a V and you get that beautiful cool breeze that makes dining so nice and relaxing. Ok, so the food. There was definitely an ambitious menu set before us with 10 courses and paired wines for 9 of them. Yes, we know, it’s a tough life that we lead. So, let’s go through a heavily seafood-focused dinner…hey, we ain’t complaining.

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:

Tea•rrific! Ice Cream of Norwalk: To-tea-lly Redefining Ice Cream in NY and CT

Ahhh, om nom nom nom (photos by Paul Johnson)

A local artisan ice cream maker, Tea•riffic! Ice Cream, recently took home some major awards at the 2013 CT Specialty Food Association‘s Product Awards Competition.  They took home first place for their Chunky London Mist and Masala Chai flavors, took second for their Ginger Matcha, and placed third with London Mist.  The judges (food writers, chefs, and local media personalities) evaluated food based on taste, flavor, texture, aroma, appearance, and color.  So, to get recognized for all of these qualities was great, but it’s also more impressive when you consider that there were over 30 different products in various categories in the competition.

But, these aren’t the only awards that Norwalk based Tea•riffic! have won.    They were also named Best New Product in the “Edibles Category” at the 2012 World Tea Expo East in Philly.  Trying to understand why they have been recognized for great ice cream isn’t very difficult, though.  It all began with Mario Leite (co-owner with his wife) wanting to put out ice cream using his two favorite teas:  Thai Iced Tea and Earl Grey.  From the start of production in October 2012, he saw the importance of using local ingredients whenever possible (Connecticut doesn’t exactly have too many exotic spices and teas that grow here).  In addition, he believes that the more simple the ingredients, the better.  No need for preservatives or other added junk.  Keep it real, keep it pure, keep it yummy.

Mediterraneo opens a second location in Norwalk @ Hotel Zero Degrees

Terra of Greenwich.

Sole of New Canaan.

Acqua of Westport.

Aurora of Rye, NY.

And Mediterraneo of Greenwich AND Norwalk.

Bellinis and margaritas at Mediterraneo

Now, let’s play a guessing game.  What do you think these all have in common?  They all serve Italian?  Well, kind of.  They all feature seafood?  Well, kind of.  They all have been created by Ramze Zakka of Z Hospitality Group?  Good answer, good answer team.  You guys and gals are on top of things!

Goat cheese tartlets

It’s pretty cool to say that we’ve been to every single one of those restaurants, but now we have another one to try starting on Monday, 4/29, for dinner.  On that day at the brand new Hotel Zero Degrees in Norwalk, the second Mediterraneo in Connecticut will be open.  From there, according to a recent press release on Stamfordplus, they’ll be easing into things with dinner only until May 7 and having Sunday brunch starting on May 12.  At that brunch you can enjoy a celebratory Bellini or Mimosa.

Forever Sweet Bakery Finds Their Forever Home in Norwalk

Look how pretty that bow is. Well, that didn’t last long…

Chocolate Celebration, Cinnamon Streusel, and Chocolate Vanilla

EXTREME CLOSE UP! Awwwwww yeahhhh

Sweet Endings Bakery Kiosk in the Stamford Town Center mall

Sweet Endings Bakery Kiosk in the Stamford Town Center mall

So cute, but not cute enough to not devour!

You’re all in for a real sweet treat.  Forever Sweet Bakery (formerly Sweet Endings) has set up their very own location in Norwalk at 4 New Canaan Avenue.

You might remember we wrote about their awesome cupcakes, cookies, and treats when they were at Stamford Town Center.  While they moved out, they took up shop and based themselves out of Scoop Cafe in Stamford.  During this time, they were able to get their cupcakes placed in many restaurants and were able to make lots of custom cakes and grow a steady customer base.

Frances Mercede, baker/owner extraordinaire, recalls what it was like to see the building at 4 New Canaan Avenue:  “When Sky showed me the space, I knew this would be a great home for Forever Sweet Bakery.”   But, that doesn’t mean it was easy to get things rolling.  Sky (co-owner, husband of Frances, media specialist, awesome guy all around) immediately got to work with friend Ted Sihpol and built a wicked awesome bakery.  One of the Forever Sweet Bakery customers said, in fact, “This is the nicest looking bakery I have seen.”

Brewmaster Dinner with Brewers from Italy + Denmark @ Ginger Man SoNo

Good beer is worth writing and talking about.  And, do you know what else good beer is perfect for?  Drinking, duh.  So, it only makes sense that beer dinners are great because you get to drink the beer and you get to learn about the beer.  Sometimes a rep from the brewery will be present and sometimes if you’re lucky you’ll get the owner or head brewer to present.  But, in the case of the Brewmasters Dinner at Ginger Man SoNo on Monday, May 6 at 7 pm ($85 pp includes tax and tip), you’re getting much more than that.

That’s right beerologists, you’ll be getting a major treat.  We’re talking about two brewers from Italy and a brewer from Denmark.  The guests of honor, along with their breweries, are:

Arik Bensimon Joins LeFarm, Carlos Baez Takes over The Spread

Rich, fatty, earthy…excellent pork belly atop French lentils at The Spread

Life’s kind of strange, isn’t it?  Chef Bill Taibe who started LeFarm and The Whelk became very well known in Connecticut when he cooked at G/R/A/N/D in Stamford, he started his own spot called Relish Food & Wine, and especially when he took Napa & Company to new heights.  When he left Napa in 2009, a chef named Arik Bensimon came in and took the reigns.  He was a chef who had received major praise from his experiences at Le Cirque and Picholine in NYC and La Panetiere in Rye.  LeFarm was born soon after.  And, from day one, Executive Chef Arik Bensimon made a name for himself again at Napa & Company plating food with heart, soul, and reverence for local food.  We were treated to an amazing dinner that Chef Arik prepared and we were really blown away…course after course.  Then this past summer we found out that Chef Arik had left Napa & Co and we all wondered…what was he up to next?  Well, he took Fairfield County by storm a second time by becoming Executive Chef at The Spread in Norwalk.  Again, we had a meal there and we really loved Arik’s rich and hearty dishes that were sprinkled with simple complexity, and vowed to come back time and again.

Local duck egg with black truffle at Napa & Co

And, now onto the life is strange part.  Chef Arik Bensimon has left The Spread and is now Executive Chef at LeFarm in Westport, owned by Bill Taibe.  We wish lots of great success to Arik and we’re so happy for him.  He’s the kind of guy who deserves the best.  Being Executive Chef at LeFarm, for him, will be a perfect match and can only push LeFarm to even greater culinary heights.  Seriously…make your reservations now.  You’re not going to be able to get in the door.

Stew Leonard’s Voted Best New England Shopping Spot

When you want to find out about gardening, you go to about.com.
When you want to find out about the birds in your backyard, you go to about.com.
And, when you want to find out what everybody’s favorite shopping spot in New England is, you go to…Stew Leonard’s!

That’s right, about.com readers picked Stew’s over other amazing places such as The Yankee Candle Village, the L.L.. Bean Flagship Store, Settlers’ Green Outlet Village, and Vermont Country Store to win Best New England Shopping Spot. If you’ve ever been to Stew’s, you know why. They are the world’s largest dairy store, they have great produce, excellent prepared food, a stunning selection, and they have animated figurines that greet you throughout the store.  Really, who else does that and can pull it off?  It’s like an adventure every time you go to Stew’s!

We’d like to congratulate Stew Leonard’s on this awesome win.  It’s a testament to their hard work, their commitment, their devotion to charity, and their love of community.

Stew Leonard’s is in Norwalk, Danbury, Newington, and in Yonkers.

Holy Cowabunga Dude! Totally Rad Food Truck Hits Fairfield County! Gnarly.

Sup dudes?  When you’re done shredding some waves you’ll wanna check out Fairfield County’s newest food truck, Cowabunga Food Truck Grill and Soft Serve.  Their motto?  ”Surf’s up, so chow down!”  Chow down on what you ask?  We’re talking lots of goodies from the grill and lots of soft serve ice cream.  The truck is the brainchild of Benjamin Boger who actually started with his own ice cream truck and business in Miami, Ben’s Ice Cream Truck.  Now, you could imagine how popular ice cream is down there.  Especially when you party in the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach till the break of dawn (points if you get the reference).  One day he hit up the Food Truck Roundup and he was blown away by how awesome food truck food could be.  He joked that these aren’t the kind of food carts that he was used to seeing in New York City.

Inspiration hit and he knew that he wanted to create a food truck that would show off his love of ice cream, but would also pump out some great food.  He found a gnarly 1993 step van from a bread distributor, packed up all his things, then headed back north to his homestate…Connecticut.  And now, we have Cowabunga!

Look Out! Bar Sugo Opens 4 Lunch + Brunch – Norwalk, CT

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Brace yourselves.  Are you anchored down?  Good, let’s forge ahead.  Bar Sugo in Norwalk is opening up for lunch and brunch and will soon have outdoor seating.  Yeah, we know…that’s awesome.  Lunch (from 11-4) will start on April 1 (not a joke, punks) and will feature much of the same dinner menu, but they’ll also be adding some panini, more salads, and a burger.  Oh, but to call it a burger is selling it short.  It will be a house dry aged Ox Hollows Farm beef burger with red onion jam, gouda, rosemary mayo, and a Sport Hill farm egg on top, served on housemade brioche.  Chef Pat and co. will also be offering cold fried chicken with crispy speck and pickled mustard, too.  

Brunch (11-3) starts off on April 7 and Pat promises that it will be like a brunch that you’ve never experienced before.  We’re talking about old Italian countryside kind of brunch, unlimited bellinis, and special dishes such as lemon pancakes with lemon custard and lemon butter or Sport Hill farm eggs and pork belly from Millstone.