New Year’s Eve comes but once a year, and that’s probably a good thing, cuz it’s about time you get all liquored up and let your freak flag fly! And, to help you do that, the enablers we are, we’ve put together the biggest and most ultimatest guide to NYE 2015 for Fairfield County. To help ya out, we’ve organized by town and city, too. As we find out more of our favorite spots here in FFLD, we’ll add them for ya so check back.
Black Rock
TruNorth: It’s on starting at 5 and will go way into the night! Make sure to check back here for more info when it’s available.
[oink] is heading to Caseus in New Haven. Get your tix now! Picture from their Facebook page.
New Haven’s loss is our gain! That’s because the extra popular 9th Note Jazz Supper Club that used to be at 56 Orange Street in New Haven is opening today, 11/6, in Stamford. Although things didn’t work out how they would have liked in New Haven, they found a perfect spot in The City that Noms. They took over the sexy cool spot where GRAND used to be at 15 Bank Street.
So, why is this a spot that we’ll all need to check out? Well, first of all the music scene there will be killer good with plenty of stellar jazz and blues acts. But, it’ll be lots more than just music, there will also be burlesque dancing . . . hopefully in Star Wars gear! ;) Continue reading
Franklin Street Works is now offering a brunch with all the fixins! All photos provided by Franklin Street Works.
Franklin Street Works is an art space, tucked away on (you guessed it) Franklin Street in downtown, right by UConn Stamford. But, to call FSW just an art space seems cheap, seems unfair. It’s actually more like a combination of an interactive gallery, community garden, and gathering place. And, there, at the heart of FSW is the cafe.
Over the past few months, they have been working on making it more social and have added some great craft brews to their offerings. But, the biggest changes have just happened with the appointment of Executive Chef Erin Emmett. She trained at Le Notre in Paris, learning how to craft perfect macarons, working with chocolate, and letting the sweet side of food shine. She took that experience and worked at Alizé in Las Vegas and Knipschildt Chocolatier right here in CT, then soon became Pastry Chef at Vandaag in Manhattan. She then packed her bags and became Pastry Chef at Chantal Guillon and Executive Pastry Chef of Componere Fine Catering in Cali. Taking all of that knowledge and experience, Chef Emmett came back to the East Coast to start her own dessert and pastry company, Sweet Pistachio.
With Chef Emmett at the helm, Franklin Street Works is serving up lunch as well as weekend brunch. Local ingredients are used, some hyperlocal . . . like backyard garden hyperlocal. Expect Signature Sandwiches (that come with a side of mixed greens) like Grilled Sweet Manchego (Manchego, Fig Jam, Sopressata) and their Chicken Apple Curry that includes Curried Chicken-Apple Salad, Almonds, Dried Cranberries, Cucumber, and Red Onions. There are also two different options of grilled focaccia that include either White Bean, Cherry Tomatoes, EVOO or Smashed Avocado, Lime, and Chili Flakes. In addition, there are four creative salads available including their Harvest Salad that includes local greens with ingredients right from their garden, all topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Brunch items include a daily baked quiche, a grilled egg sammy, roasted veggie frittata, yogurt bowls with housemade granola, bread pudding, and lots of more brunchy things. If you’re ready for dessert or just want a sweet snack, check out freshly baked cookies, brownies, hand pies, and Chef Emmett’s famous macarons (you just might develop an addiction). It’s also good to know that there are gluten free and vegan options, so they take care of you whatever you eat.
Wrapping things up, they also have more than just craft beer to drink. They have a nice selection of wines, mimosas during brunch, natural sodas, herbal teas, and take care of your caffeine needs by brewing coffee and espresso drinks from Brooklyn Roasting Company. Sweetening the pot up a bit, Franklin Street Works also provides free wifi and outdoor seating to help make the most chill day of food and art as possible. As always, there is no fee to look around the art space and check out the exhibits. Hours are Wednesday-Friday from 12-5 and Saturday-Sunday from 8-5 pm.
Franklin Street Works
41 Franklin Street
Stamford, CT
Hours: Wednesday-Friday from 12-5 and Saturday-Sunday from 8-5 pm.
Admission: there is no charge for admission during regular hours (but donations or membership purchases are very nice)
More about Franklin Street Works:
Franklin Street Works, a not-for-profit contemporary art space and cafe located in downtown Stamford, has worked with more than 150 internationally exhibiting artists, curated 15 original exhibitions, and has organized 100 free, public programs. This work was acknowledged with an Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts grant in 2013. Franklin Street Works’ exhibitions have also received positive reviews and features in major art publications such as Artforum online, Art Papers, and Hyperallergic.
That title is pretty much ’nuff said for our review of Sunday brunch at Amore Cucina & Bar (11-3), but in typical OmNomCT style, we’re going to give ya every mouth-watering detail just in case you’re one of those people that needs to see their odds of a killer meal before they place their bets on a new spot.
First off, let’s talk drinks. In addition to their regular drink menu, they also have a plethora of brunch must-haves: a soon-to-be famous bloody Mary bar with 40 different toppings and bottomless mimosas and bellinis in various flavors for $15. Then they get even more creative with some surprises: Magic Milk, featuring brandy, milk, vanilla bean, and chocolate, and different shots too, including a breakfast shot, which Chef Jared Falco (a French Culinary Institute grad and former Executive Chef at Washington Prime) lined up for us a couple times throughout our brunch. This shot is like buttah, made of Jameson Irish Whiskey and butterscotch, chased with a shot of OJ. Yeah, that goes down waaaaaaaay too easy.
When we heard a brunch buffet was coming to SoNo we had our doubts. When we hear the word buffet we get an immediate scowl on our faces. I mean let’s face it, there are plenty ‘o crappy buffets out there, packed full of stale, processed, fatty, fried, foods that are luke warm at best. On the flip side, we love us some brunch . . . except for the price tag that often comes along with it. So we figured, if the brunch buffet was actually going to be any good, well, then we assumed it was going to cost a stupid amount of money. Here’s the thing though (spoiler alert), the brunch at Washington Prime was actually delish AND, at just $29.95 a person, yep you read that right, it’s frickin’ dirt cheap. Especially when you see what that gets you. Let’s do this . . .
Well, here we are, already at the end of 2014. Man, how time flies. But fret not friends, because the end of another year means another celebration of the best of the best in Fairfield County. That’s right, it’s time for the 4th Annual OmNomys! By now most of you know how this works, but for those of you new here, this is a list of the best that we’ve experienced in 2014… NOT necessarily the best EVER in Fairfield County. If your favorite spot or food didn’t make it on here, maybe it was on our list back in 2011, 2012, or 2013… and if not, let us know so we can check it out in 2015!
So, without further ado, here we go:
Best Ambiance: Cask Republic, Stamford
With not one, but two fireplaces, Cask Republic has a warm, rustic, and down-homey kind of vibe going on. It’s hard to think of a chill spot with more class. It’s the perfect place to meet up with friends, have some drinks (from which there are many to choose), and try out some great gastropub grub.
There are few things in this world that excite us more than brunch. It’s all about being too lazy to wake up for breakfast and just letting a lazy Sunday drag on. And, most importantly, it’s all about the food. All about the mixture of sweet, savory, salty, and meaty, together as one. Yeah, and drinking . . . you can’t forget the cocktails at 11 am, either.
Karen operates Chop Shop classes right out of her beautiful kitchen
With Fairfield County’s active food scene, it’s no problem trying a new restaurant whenever you want. But, sometimes you might want more than a meal out. Maybe you want to take those restaurant-quality dishes home with you to make whenever you want. Again, there are certainly many cooking classes that you can try out here in the 203, but many are simple meals or involve basic skills.
Some of the steps involved in making a great ceviche
So, we were very excited to learn about Karen Brownlow of Chop Shop Cooking. She loved cooking for friends and at parties so much that she decided to study cooking at The New York Restaurant School in Manhattan. Seeing her talent, they kept her on in their catering department and became one of their head chefs in charge of the many events that they cater. From there, she worked at Abigail Kirsch and even started her own catering company. As her life got busier and she wanted to spend more time with her family, she decided to stop catering, but…and here’s where Chop Shop came in…but, her friends convinced her to start cooking classes. And, so Chop Shop Cooking was born!
Dan and Kristien Del Ferraro
OmNomCT 
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