Chocolate, Wine & Food Lovers Evening 2015 Sweet Deets + Ticket Giveaway

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and, you know what that means: yup, time for the annual Chocolate, Wine, & Food Lovers Evening! This year it’s going down on 2/5 from 6-9 at The Marriott Hotel & Spa in Stamford. This event has been held as a way to not only help people find the best drinks, food, and desserts in Fairfield County, but to also give attendees a chance to pick up some great gifts at the Valentine Boutique or via silent auctions. But, the real heart of the event is the cause: 100% of the proceeds go directly to Shelter for the Homeless, a Stamford-based organizaton that serves Lower Fairfield County by “[P]roviding temporary housing to homeless men, striving to obtain permanent supportive housing and services for men and women tailored  to meet their relevant needs, and empowering people to help themselves achieve their greatest level of self-sufficiency.”

Last year was so much fun, we talked with so many great people, ate so much great food and tried out so many new restaurants, drinks, chocolates, and cupcakes that it was well worth it. Tickets are just $60 and can be bought here, by calling (203) 406-0017, or online/at the door for $70 after 2/4.  

The 2014 OmNomys: Celebrating the Best in Food in Fairfield County

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.

SoWe Food + Wine Festival 2014 Ft. Celebrity Chefs + Demos, Restaurants, Food Trucks and Drinks Galore

While we focus on Fairfield County, we sometimes can’t control ourselves when it comes to nearby towns and events: there’s the CT Brewers Guild Brewfest at Ski Sundown, Miya’s in New Haven, Coals in Port Chester, Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, and there’s also the SoWe Food & Wine Festival.  That’s Southern Westchester Food & Wine Festival for you n00bs.

This event, now in its third year, (2012 was Taste of Scarsdale which morphed into the SoWe Food & Wine Fest) brings together the best of food in NYC, Westchester and Fairfield Counties, along with excellent wine (beer too) and exclusive experiences.  SoWe goes down from 9/19-21 with tickets ranging from $0 to $85 for the Celebrity Chef Battle on Friday.  They have also teamed up with WhyHunger, Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, The Community Counseling Center, JDRF, Greyston, and the Food Bank for Westchester to donate a sizable portion of their profits from the weekend to these important charities.

Let’s take you through the different days and options that you can take part in.

Best of the Gold Coast 2014 Voting Is Now Open…Plus, Win Big!

Now open for their 10th year of voting, Moffly Media’s Best of the Gold Coast contest is ready for your votes!  Just login or register if you’re a n00b then you’re ready to pick your favorites in tons of food categories and other categories such as clothing, jewelry, things to do, education, fitness, beauty, bridal, home, kids, pets, music, retail services, and automotive.  Once you get your votes in you can then enter their contest, too, to be one of 5 winners who will win two VIP tix to the Best of the Gold Coast party (we had a blast last year) on July 24? from 7-10 pm at the Hilton Stamford.  Plus, you’ll also win dinner for two one of five previous winners:  Bartaco of Darien or Fairfield, EOS of Stamford, Dinosaur Bar-b-que of Stamford, Rowayton Seafood of Rowayton, or Harvest Wine Bar of Greenwich.

3rd Annual OmNomys: Celebrating the Best in Food in Fairfield County, 2013

Can you believe that this is the third year of the OmNomys?! For those of you new to us this year, we like to eat a little food every now and then (riiight), and keep track of the best of the best to celebrate at the end of the year. In 2011 and 2012 we were lucky enough to dine on some amazing food throughout Fairfield County, but we feel like 2013 really upped the ante with some fantastic new spots opening up!

So here it is, the 2013 OmNomys…the best food we’ve eaten in Fairfield County in the year 2013 (not necessarily ever, just in 2013)!  If you noticed one of your favorites that wasn’t on the list, it doesn’t mean it’s not awesome…it just means we may not have eaten there in 2013 or we happened to eat somewhere just a little better this year.  But hey, there’s always 2014, so tell us where we need to hit up for next year’s list!

Best Ambiance: Dolce Cubano, Stamford

OmNomCT Readers: Vote in ur faves for CT Magazine’s Best of 2014 Awards

After reading your comments on our posts, our FB page, and our Twitter, we know that all of you are food critics at heart.  You know what’s good, you know what’s great, and you know what’s freaking redonkulous.  And, it’s those redonkulous restaurants that need your help to get voted into the Best of Connecticut 2014 survey from Connecticut Magazine.  And, you know what?  We want to see some major representation from Fairfield County restaurants on this list.  We love you New Haven and Hartford counties, but we’re hoping that FC will dominate this year!  So, get your vote in by clicking here and entering your favorites in by the end of the first week in October.  When you vote, make sure that you leave some comments because they might use what you say in the Best of Connecticut 2014 issue that comes out in December.  You can drool over this year’s winners here or even on your iPad, too.

Party, eat, and drink up @ The Best of the Gold Coast Party

The Best of the Gold Coast celebrates the best in restaurants, shopping, entertainment, and everything that matters in Fairfield County.  While we generally feel that results for contests such as this are inaccurate and don’t let the true stars shine, we feel that the Gold Coast awards from Moffly Media are pretty darn accurate.  Readers vote in their favorites and this year had record breaking amounts of votes!  If you’d like to give this year’s winners a gander, here they are.  And, if you’d like to see the winners for 2013, check out the latest issue of Greenwich, Westport, New Canaan-Darien, Stamford, or Fairfield Living magazines.  There’s also one more option:  check out the 9th Annual Best of the Gold Coast Connecticut party!

Lots of the winners will be there, sampling their wares and (most important to us) their food!  It’s all going down at the Stamford Hilton on July 25 from 6:30-9:30.  There will also be live music and we’ll be there, too.  Tickets are $65 now or $80 at the door and a portion of the ticket sales will be going directly to benefit the important work of Kids in Crisis in Cos Cob.

See you there?  Make sure to say hi.  We’re the ones stuffing our faces.

9th Annual Best of the Gold Coast

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013
Time: 6:30 PM

Stamford Hilton
One First Place
Stamford, CT 06902
Map & Directions