CT’s Biggest Food Truck Festival EVER, ever, ever: 1st Annual Connecticut Food Truck Festival

Set aside July 19 and 20…now…seriously…we’ll wait…

Update:  the festival organizer changed the price for tickets to $5.  Bring your ticket back on Sunday and pay only $2 admission! 

Connecticut peeps really like their food trucks.  And, on July 19 and 20 from 11-7 on both days, CT peeps are gonna fall straight up, head-over-heels in LOVE with a helluva lot of food trucks at the The Connecticut Food Truck Festival at the North Haven Fairgrounds.  Although the final details are still being worked out, there are already a few dozen trucks that have been signed up, with 40-50 expected by the time of the festival.  That brings this festival into the record books here in CT as the biggest food truck festival.  The previous record was at Westbrook Tanger Outlets with about 20 food trucks, and the recent RBS Food Truck Festival clocking in at 15.  And, the top record will soon be broken with an estimated 33 trucks at the Hamden Food Truck Festival…still not as big as the CT Food Truck Fest, though.  

5th Annual Hops + Grapes, Toasts + Tastes to Benefit Leukemia + Lymphoma Society at Chelsea Piers

We hope that you can help us to kick off the weekend on Friday, 4/25/14, from 7:30-10:30 at the 5th Annual Hops & Grapes, Toasts & Tastes at Chelsea Piers in Stamford!  This will be our third year going and our second year as one of the proud media sponsors, along with 95.9 Fox and Star 99.9.  A VIP ticket is $100 and that includes a VIP gift bag, a raffle ticket, and a LLS Wristband, you can also buy a pair of VIP tix for $175.  The other option for attendance is a General Admission ticket that gets you a gift bag and costs $75 or get a pair of tix for $125.  

So, look…there’s a reason why we keep coming back:  there’s always great food, a great variety of drinks, lots of chances to win wicked good auction and raffle items, great people, and most importantly you get to make a big difference and raise some major money for Leukemia and Lymphoma research.  These two branches of blood cancers kill tens of thousands of lives each year, taking a person every 10 minutes.  So you can see how every donation and every dollar helps to fight and gets us closer to extraordinary breakthroughs.  

Now, back to the Hops & Grapes, Toasts & Tastes fundraising event…although the list of restaurants, bakeries, caterers, breweries, and vendors is still growing, here’s the most current list:

Taste of Stamford 2014: Culinary Tour of the City that Works

Antipasto has been proven* to elevate mood and happiness

 

As if the great deals of Stamford Winter Restaurant Weeks weren’t enough, the Stamford Chamber of Commerce is giving hungry people even more reasons to visit Stamford. You got it people, it’s the 21st Annual Taste of Stamford!  This year’s event is on 2/27/14 at the Stamford Marriott and goes from 5:30-8:30.  Tickets are $50 if you pre-pay by ordering here or will be $60 at the door.  Money raised from Taste of Stamford will go to the Kids Our Future Trust Fund formed by the Chamber to bolster educational programs in Stamford Public Schools.  

Now, let’s give you the details on why this night is gonna rock yo world:

New Year’s Eve Bashes Paired with Hangover Breakfast Spots – Fairfield County, CT

Course 1: Halibut and shrimp sangria ceviche

2013 is so, well, last year. Let’s do some serious talking about 2014 now. It’s definitely going to be an awesome year, huh? You’ve got your resolutions and you will surely conquer the world, lose some weight, get that promotion, and find that one true love this coming year. Okay, well, let’s be honest with ourselves…we might not do all we hope for, but we can accomplish at least one thing: get a lil bit crazy on New Years Eve! So, being the kind hearted couple that we are, we rounded up a list of places to celebrate NYE then breakfast spots to help fight off that hangover the next day.  If you have any places for us to add, please share…

New Year’s Eve Bashes

Bridgeport

Barnum Publick House:  dinner served from 5-10 pm, champagne toast at midnight, and DJ Los from 10-2 am.

Bistro B:  4 course menu that’s $65 for the 6:30 seating or $75 for the 9 pm seating.

Hacienda Villa:  app, entree, dessert, coffee, and an alcoholic drink for just $30!  Score.  See the menu here.

Darien

Fresh Dine brings freshly made meals to your door with local love

Chef Peden and Maureen of Fresh Dine at the New Canaan’s Farmers’ Market, from Fresh Dine site

Like many locals, Maureen Shankar and Chef Lauren Peden (chef/owner of Simply Delicious catering) went to the New Canaan Farmers Market last weekend.  But what was different about their trip was the fresh ingredients they were shopping for weren’t for them…they were for their new farm-to-chef-to-door service called Fresh Dine.

Meals come in recycled and recyclable materials

Full 3 Day Recap of the 2013 Greenwich Wine and Food Festival (We’re Still Full)

Because of prior commitments, we were only able to attend the Grand Tasting at last year’s Greenwich Wine & Food Festival.  So, after having a great time at that last year, we vowed to hit up every event this year…and we did!

Thursday’s kick-off party was held at Miller Motors in Greenwich and featured wine, cocktails, finger food, and lot of goodies up for auction to help benefit the Hole in the Wall Gang.  We learned a great deal about the charity that Paul Newman founded to give children with disabilities a chance to attend a great summer camp and met some great people.

And, then there was Friday’s Grand Tasting (see our complete album with descriptions here).  This year’s event was in a bigger tent, so there was lots of room to stroll around and go from table to table.  This event was amazing and featured some of the best chefs from NY and CT including Michael William Batt from Food Design Catering, Rui Correia from Douro, Clifford Crooks from BLT Steak, Eric Gabrynowicz of Restaurant North, Bryan Gilmore of 121 Restaurant, Frederic Kieffer of l’escale, Michelle Klem of CakeSuite, Fritz Knipschildt of Chocopologie, Eric Korn of Good Life Gourmet, Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse at Cannondale, Debra Ponzek of Aux Delices Foods, and Bill Taibe of LeFarm and The Whelk.  There was a nice variety of wine, plenty of great top shelf liquor, and even lots of sweets and coffee to wind the night down with.  We finally had the chance to meet Chris Barrett and Brianna Pennel from Steam, so that made us very happy.  And, we got to meet and talk with Raphael Palomino, owner and culinary brain behind the amazing Sonora and the newcomer to Greenwich, Bistro Latino.  We also finally had the chance to meet Graham Elliot who became part of the auction by offering up not one but two exclusive experiences at his new restaurant in Greenwich, Primary Drink & Food.

Vote in Your Fave Green Restaurants for Nature’s Plate Awards

The Nature Conservancy recognizes restaurants throughout the country that fit the ideal of “Green Restaurants” with the 2013 Nature’s Plate Awards.  What does that mean exactly?  It means that the chefs and owners focus on sustainable seafood, free-range and grass-fed meat, they use organic food, they thrive on local and seasonal food, and even serve up tap water instead of bottles of water.  What it comes down to is that each Green Restaurant focuses on using sustainable food and making it awesome.

Now, it’s your chance to help pick your favorite Green Restaurant!  Just click here to go to the main landing page, then vote in the restaurant in your area that is your favorite by 10/15/13 by 5 pm PST.  We’ve listed all the restaurants in the semi-finals from across the country that are up for voting, with Connecticut and New York highlighted first.

Westport + Weston, Greater Valley, Milford, Fairfield, West Haven, and Connecticut Restaurant Weeks Info and Listings

Restaurant weeks are about exploring new places, trying new restaurants, and saving mucho dinero.  Lucky for us, there are always restaurant weeks here in Connecticut.  In October, alone, there are 6 special weeks.  So, let’s look at all the restaurants that are taking part in the Westport + Weston, Greater Valley, Milford, Fairfield, West Haven, and the statewide Connecticut restaurant week.

Westport + Weston:  9/29/13-10/12/13

Lunches for $10 or $15, dinners for $20 or $30

23 participating restaurants (info here)

323 Main Restaurant & Bar ($15/30), Acqua Ristorante ($15/30), Arezzo Ristorante ($15/30), Artisan ($15/30), Blue Lemon ($15/30), Cru Restaurant & Lounge ($15/30), DaPietro’s ($15/30), Matsu Sushi ($15/30), The Mumbai Times ($10/$20), Pink Sumo Cafe ($15/30), Positano’s Trattoria ($15/30), Post 154 ($30), The Red Hen at the Westport Inn ($15/$20), Rive Bistro ($15/30), Rizzuto’s ($15/30), Sakura Japanese Restaurant ($15/30), Spotted Horse Tavern ($15/30), Tabouli Grill ($15/30), Tarantino’s ($15/30), Tavern on Main ($15/30), Tarry Lodge ($15/30), Tengda Asian Bistro ($30), Terrain Garden Cafe ($15/30)

Fairfield County Restaurants Raise a Ton of $, one Beer at a Time to Support Hurricane Sandy Relief

–Video about A Buck for a Beer fundraiser from ItsRelevant—

Back in early November, we told you about our effort (A Buck for a Beer to Support Hurricane Sandy Relief) to work with Fairfield County restaurants to make a difference.  The idea was simple:  when a certain beer was ordered at a restaurant, a dollar would be donated to American Red Cross.  After we wrote some of our favorite restaurants, we heard back quickly, owners eagerly hopeful to get involved.  While the first night of the fundraising week (11/7) wasn’t the best start because of snow, people were eager to go out, eat some food, drink some brews, and make a difference all week long.

Casey Dohme, manager at The Ginger Man of Norwalk had this to share:

“We got an incredible amount of support from our customers that the word had spread to.  From a woman stopping me on the street when I was changing our menu box to tell me she was coming the following day with a group of friends just to support the cause, to Friday night when another woman came in with a group of people who had really been affected and were stoked about the idea of drinking and helping.  One customer actually put her credit card down, and handed out drink tickets personally to her friends to use only towards beers that fell under NY/NE.  Very cool.  It gave people a release and a temporary distraction.  And while they were enjoying each other’s company, they in turn were helping and that got people excited.”

Harvest Table Luncheon and Demos to Benefit Local Soup Kitchen – Italian Center of Stamford

Debra Ponzek from Aux Delices of Greenwich will be guest speaker at the Harvest Table Luncheon. Photo from press release.

Update:  back on track!  Harvest Table is happening on 11/11 from 11 to 2:30 pm.  

Our crazy dog Maynard who is harassing us now to throw the ball to him.

Our cute kitties who leave piles of fur, day after day, throughout the house.

Our health.

The promise of new beginnings.

Fans that rock and that make our day, every day.

These are just some of the things that we’re thankful for.  See, there’s just something about the holidays that makes us reflect back on our lives, see what we have, then see how we can give back to those who don’t have.  It’s that spirit of giving that fuels New Covenant House of Hospitality, a vital soup kitchen and food provider that is able to feed residents of Lower Fairfield County.  In fact, they provided over 600,000 meals to residents just last year.  To help them continue their mission, they are throwing their Second Annual Harvest Table event on 11/3 from 11 am to 2:30 pm at the Italian Center of Stamford.