Swine, swigs, and swishes . . .
Beach and beer are like peanut butter and jelly as far as we’re concerned. Well, er, it’s not like we’d eat both of them together, but you feel us? You know what goes even better with beach and beer? Games! Yup yup, peoples. And you’ll get all this with the 2nd Annual Flag Day Cornhole Tournament, Pig Roast, and Beach Party. Oh, we left out the pig roast in all of that, well, now we didn’t. Okay, here are the juicy and hoppy details: Continue reading
We kind of feel bad sharing this because we know that Toni’s Tuscan Table is a little gem that not everyone has discovered yet . . . so, we know people will be pissed at us for blowing up their spot, but we’ve got some great news to share. Yup, Toni’s Tuscan Table has moved and reopened at 1006 Broad Street in Bridgeport.
Admit it, you clicked on this just because we said “free food.” Well, good, we got ya! Now that you’re here we need to tell you about Eclisse in Stamford. They’ve been around for 20 years and have been one of the main-stays on Canal Street when there wasn’t much else there (now there’s Fairway, Dinosaur, Harlan Social, and more). About a year ago, they changed things up and introduced the Tango Grill, mixing in Argentinian food with Italian. While there were some favorable reviews of this Italian/Argentinian duo, it seems that people online were most happy with their straight forward, classic touches on Italian food.
We’re giving you notice way in advance here, so take advantage of this: 10/25 from 5-10. Set it aside for an awesome Halloween party that just so happens to include lots of beer. That’s when Half Full Brewery in Stamford will be throwing their 3rd Annual Halloween Bash which serves dual purpose as their 2nd anniversary celebration! Like last year, Oh Cassius! will be back, and did we mention that there will be beer? Yup, they’ll have at least 8 of their brews on tap open to you all night long including their nummy Pumpkin and their Rum Pumpkin, too! They’ll have their life-size Jenga out for playing and will also have a tent so you can sprawl out and have the best time ever. In addition to all the games, music, and beer, you’ll also get your own trick-or-treat bag filled to the brim with awesome Half Full goodies such as cozies, pint glasses, key chains, and stickers.
Round up y’ur family and friends and head on down to Michaels II Cafe for the One Year Anniversary party of Farmboys Smokin’ BBQ. They got their start at Michaels II, actually, having their BBQ be a part of the menu from time to time. Since then, though, they’ve become very popular (nearly 2,000 likes on Facebook) and are booked solid. We’re talking parties, catering, special events, brewery stops, and food events. Oh, and only the best gig ever…catering Kristien’s killer birthday party over the summer. Trust us, we all ate like royalty and people really dug all the food.
So, want a piece of the BBQ action? Just head out to Michaels II on 10/19, starting at 5 pm and find yourself a seat. Farmboys will be there, getting the food ready and sending it out to the kitchen. First off, we’re talking about what they’ve become so famous for…their pig roasts. The delicately smoked pork will be served to you in pulled pork sandwich form with a side of coleslaw and a side of baked beans with brown sugar and bacon. There will also be smoked pulled chicken on the menu too, so keep your eyes out. But, let’s let you in on a little secret that only the elite Facebook followers of Farmboys know: they are making a secret menu item for that day. It’s their smoked pulled beef and they don’t have huge amounts of it. So, if you want some of that chuck roll, get down as early as possible so that you can devour it.
Congratulations on your first year in business, Farmboys! We can’t wait to see what you’ll be doing in your second year!
Michaels II Cafe
30 South Street
Danbury, CT
Q. Why do ghosts have so much trouble dating?
A. Women can see right through them.
Q. What do you use to repair a Jack O’ Lantern?
A. A pumpkin patch.
While we can’t take credit for these jokes (we got them from here), we can sure dig the awesome play on words and old school jokes that help us remember how much we love Halloween. And, wouldn’t you know it, Half Full Brewery in Stamford is giving us a few more reasons to keep loving Halloween.
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When we talked with Bob LeRose about the opening of Bar Q in Stamford to say we were excited would be an understatement. Small plates of BBQ with great drink options? It seemed like a no-brainer! Now, having been there five times, we can say the food has definitely improved and they’ve worked through their opening kinks. But, it’s crazy to think that they have been open for a year already!
And, with that year of being open, they’ve changed things up a bit. First off, they’ve revamped their menu by adding some larger BBQ plates, salads, sandwiches, and other options that will get you excited like the Bar Q Cuban sandwich. They have also added in good options for family dining such as the Sunday evening $50 family style dinner that gets you 3 fixins’, 5 BBQ items, and 3 sides. And, you also might have heard about their new concept on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights starting at 10: Bar Q Saloon. Cowgirls dance on the bar and serve up some mighty fine drink specials. They play country music and, at times, they even have a mechanical bull for your to conquer out on their patio. You’ll need to follow them on FB to see when the bull has arrived.
If you remember that commercial, you probably feel really old and wonder why you even liked it to begin with. If you’ve never seen that commercial, you probably wonder how we came to love cheese when there were commercials like that. Despite that inglorious ad, spouting the virtues of a world with cheese, the melty and stringy stuff has become near and dear to our hearts.
Mooove yo’self fast to the FCC party!
One of the reasons why people in Fairfield County have fallen for cheese is three years of the Fairfield Cheese Company. They have been selling artisanal, hand-crafted, cheese as well as farmstead cheese to their customers. In addition, they have lots of options for meats to pair with the cheese and have lots of other great food choices.
So, they are turning three years old and decided that it’s about time to break out monster and massive amounts of cheese. Stop by their store on Saturday, 5/19/12 from 1-4 pm for some eating fun. You can meet Laura Downey and Chris Palumbo (owners), their mascot Meg the Cow, nibble on and rave about a cheese tasting, and om nom nom on meaty grass-fed cheeseburger sliders provided by the awesome Saugatuck Craft Butchery.
When you’re there, check out the over 100 different cheeses avaialable…oh, and they add to that quite often. The owners make it a point to mention that they have an emphasis on American artisan cheese. That’s something that we can get behind.
Also, on another fun note, they’ll be competing in the Third Annual Cheesemonger Invitational (did you know this existed?) in NY on 6/23/12. Let’s cheer them on while we waft the odor of cheese to our noses, gently taste the cheese, see how the wine or beer highlights the flavor…oh, who are we kidding? Let’s cheer them on and chow down on big hunks ‘o cheese.
2090 Post Road (adjacent to Harry’s Wine Shop)
Monday – Thursday, 10:00 – 7:00 pm;
Friday and Saturday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm. Closed Sunday
Kristien and I OmNoming it up at Red Lulu
When we were thinking about some great places to OmNom it up for New Year’s Eve, we couldn’t stop going back to our amazing experience at Red Lulu. With a place that cool, we thought it HAS to be a scene on the craziest night of the year, right? So Kristien called up Red Lulu and was told the chef would be creating some new items for a very special menu, that there would be three seatings, one at 6:00, 8:00 and 10:00, and that they would have confetti and a champagne toast at midnight. We decided we couldn’t miss out on what was sure to be a fantastic night so we made reservations for us, and our friend, Paul Mueller, author of Abigail and Blueboy, for 8:00PM
To begin, we were led to the most awesome seat in the house: the head of the beautiful mirrored, cross table just below the brick wall where they were projecting NYC’s Time Square live. Paul freaked when the granita came out smoking and popped a picture just like we did. Some things never grow old! :) Our waitress, Emma, brought us our margaritas (HAD to have the Red Lulu and Diablo again) and prepared us for an awesome meal. Some of the major highlights of the night:
Paul, Emma, and I
1) The chef’s new guacamole! It was mixed with thick chunks of smoked bacon… yeah bacon, need we say more? I just hope this stays on their regular menu. If not, I’m sorry that I just told you about it without hope of you ever achieving oneness through this dish.
2) The carne asada, once again, was amazing. It was done up differently when I ordered it last time, so I didn’t feel as guilty for ordering the same darn thing. There were some nicely grilled onions on the side, with a beautiful strip of beef that was cut into slices and accompanied with some tortillas for wrapping. A spicy red sauce was there that added great flavor and heat to the dish. By itself, the beef was amazing, but adding in the red sauce made it great. Also, throw in some more guacamole and roasted jalapenos, and it’s perfect. Well, I guess if there was bacon in this guac, too! :)
3) The service! It was spot on yesterday. We were seated right at 8:00 and were well taken care of by the attentive waitstaff and by Emma. The time we spent at Red Lulu seemed to just drift by as they helped us to celebrate. Waiters, waitresses, and staff were clad in NYE necklaces and hats, were throwing balloons around, were cranking noise makers, and getting everybody excited.
4) Both the pulled pork and rib eye tacos. The meat, in both tacos, was cooked very nicely. The pulled pork, in particular, was of the kind of quality that you’d find at a stellar BBQ joint. The pork was just so moist and delicate, that it just seemed to melt away. Served up with some salsa verde, the pulled pork tacos were a great starter.
My New Year's Eve Cotton Candy Goatee
5) Last of all, we all shared a dessert platter. There was a tequila cupcake with a scoop of butter on top–I ate a big chunk of it with the cupcake thinking it was ice cream. Nope, it wasn’t, ewwww. It was butter! Damn, that was smart of me, but we all got a big laugh out of it. Also, there were fried banana cheesecake bites that Kristien just loved. The other two desserts: a bread pudding (we think… at this point we had quite a few margaritas) and a brownie cake were also very good. We were even given an extra complimentary dessert platter and some champagne to wash it all down. SWEET!
Red Lulu continues to kick some major culo! The place was packed, with three dinner seatings and a crowded bar, yet the food came out hot, and the service was superior. I just wonder when we’ll be back again…maybe next Saturday?
Dan and Kristien Del Ferraro
OmNomCT 
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