Slice of Saugatuck 2015 Returns w/ 25 Restaurants Participating, Live Music + a Ton of Fun!

Hey, people, Slice of Saugatuck is back and you need to get yo’self there. All you need to do is bring $10 ($5 for kids) for a ticket on 9/12 from 12-3 in the Saugatuck part of Westport. When you arrive at any of the ticket stations or the main area in Bridge Square (where Kawa Ni is). After you purchase your entry, you’ll get a map of Saugatuck (deliciously shaped like a piece-a pizza) so you can find all the spots to discover. You’ll also get a Golden Passport that lists all the places where you can nom away on free bites of food. When you visit 10 or more spots (and why wouldn’t you?) you become eligible for various $25 gift certificates.

The Granola Bar in Westport Hosts Holiday Boutique; Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary w/ Deals

Even though we live in Greenwich, we’ve come on over to Westport a few times to check out The Granola Bar. The first time, we had a nice breakfast with plenty of great coffee and food, we checked out their new menu when they began to stay open for dinnertime, and we stopped in after Christmas tree shopping for some snacks and had a chance to sample some of the great desserts that they are serving.

Why Kawa Ni Is the (Sake) Bomb – Westport, CT

When you’re asked where you want to go out to dinner for your birthday, how do you pick? Do you go for that fancy schmancy place you’ve been waiting for a special occasion to go to, or your favorite spot you know is going to be amazing, or the hot new restaurant you’ve been dying to try? It’s a tough call…I mean, you only get that choice once a year.

Well, when Danny’s birthday came around he didn’t even need to think twice (or once really) as he blurted out Kawa Ni within seconds of asking. See, years ago (before the blog) we spent his birthday at Chef Bill Taibe’s restaurant, LeFarm, and had an astounding meal that featured bacon in every dish. Danny knew going with Bill again along with his brother Jeff would be a sure bet at their new Izakaya pub with Pan-Asian influences. And (spoiler alert) it SOOOOO was!

Kawa Ni is located in a somewhat unsuspecting spot, tucked away in the corner of Bridge Square in Westport. It’s small but lively when you walk in, with the bar at the back left and a decent amount of seats throughout for such a cozy spot. The decor is tasteful…not that stereotypically tacky and kitchsy Japanese decor you might expect, but it definitely says modern Japanese food is served here. One random but awesome thing about the restaurant itself to mention in the blog post? Yeah, the bathrooms have the mega-toilet 3,000 or something like that with seat warmers, a bidet, dryer and more buttons that we were too scared to press. As we got comfy in our seats, we occasionally heard the bang of the gong and Bartender and Beverage Director, Jeff Marron, enthusiastically shout out something in Japanese. But more on that in a minute…

Kickin’ It (Latin) Root Down at Tierra in Westport: CT Restaurant Review

Here’s Tierra’s version of the margarita…excellent.

Make sure to add the egg…it’s sooo necessary!

Beautifully prepared and contrasted

Make sure to ask what the season ceviche is when you’re ordering.

Abstract art never looked so damn good

When we hear about new restaurants, we get excited. When we hear about new Latin restaurants, like Tierra in Old Town Hall in Westport, we get really excited. Tierra (which opened in mid-June) is a bit hard to find at first, located to the right side of Spruce at 90 Post Road, close by Urban Outfitters, and by the parking lot off of Jesup Road.

Like good ‘ole Americans, we went there with our friend Christine on the Fourth of July (woo hoo South ‘Murica). Looking around, the bar to the left was warm, classic, and comfy with a huge loungy couch behind it. In the back there’s a private room with a nice wine rack wall and a fancy, shimmering chandelier. The main dining room features the same kind of vibe with a few tables and a side area with a view of the open kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, a husband and wife team run the kitchen and own it along with Chad Whited (and Laura Luce) who was there that night to help out. We first met CIA grad Chef Sue Torres, who is half Italian and Puerto Rican. She’s had an amazing amount of experience with Nuevo Mexicano fare including working at her own Suenos, Arizona 206, Rocking Horse Cafe, and Hell’s Kitchen.  We met her during our dinner as she went around from table to table to see how everyone was enjoying the food. Next was chef Darren Carbone, who comes from Columbia with an Italian-American upbringing. His impressive resume includes a CIA degree like his wife, and heading the kitchens at Super Linda, Rosa Mexicano, La Verdad, El Vez, and Alma de Cuba.  Ok, ok, you’re probably getting anxious to know about the food, so vamos, vamos.

Insider’s Look at NEAT of Westport: Part Cafe, Part Cocktail Bar, 100% Awesome

Uppers and downers all in one spot!

Espresso NEAT has built a reputation in Fairfield County as being at the top of their game.  Year after year, they’ve been awarded best cafe and best coffee, and after you’ve gone there, you can see why.  Owner Rachel Haughey and her crew pick their coffee beans with care and perform routine coffee cuppings to ensure that only the best quality coffee will be served at their Darien hotspot.  And, that quality comes through big time.  Add in their other options like tea, espresso, coffee, salads, snacks, breakfast goodies, and sandwiches, and you’ve got the perfect spot to hang out or grab a quick bite.  

So, to Rachel, it was only natural to take Espresso NEAT into the next phase of evolution by opening up a brand new restaurant that was part cafe and part cocktail bar.  The new venture, NEAT, will open up in the National Hall Campus in Westport in early August.  Working with Rachel in this venture will be owner of Experience Hospitality, Bobby Werhane, and Managing Director Kevin Daniel Lalumiere. Both Bobby and Kevin are locals, too, with Bobby coming from Westport and Kevin from Fairfield.  Kevin and Bobby unite Rachel’s expertise and cafe experience with an amazing resume of bars, restaurants, and shops.  The team at Experience Hospitality helped to bring some amazing restaurants into NYC like Spasso, dell’anima, L’artusi, and Johnny Utah’s, adding an even more rounded background to the structure of NEAT.  

Taste of Westport: a night of food + drinks to raise money for CLASP

Taste of Westport is back with their annual fundraiser that directly benefits CLASP, a nonprofit that provides homes and services for adults with autism and developmental disabilities.  This year there’s an amazing variety of restaurants and drink providers including spots in Westport and all over Fairfield County.  The event happens on 5/1/14 from 6-9 pm at Westport Inn right in Westport.  Tickets are $75 prepaid via PayPal or by contacting Robin at (203) 226-7895 or $80 at the door.  Once there, taste some food, drink some wine, sip on some cocktails, and try to win some of the great silent auction items that are up for grabs.

Here are 26 delicious reasons to come to Taste of Westport this year:

Dear readers, this is our review of Post 154 in Westport. Sincerely, OmNomCT

Dear beloved OmNomivores,

When’s the last time that you wrote a letter to a friend, folded it up into an envelope, slapped a stamp on it, then mailed it out?  If you’re anything like us, you can probably count on your hands the number of things you’ve mailed in the last few years. We bet you don’t even know where your closest mailbox is.  So, it’s no surprise to see post offices close down across Connecticut and the rest of America.  And, the fate of these (often-times) architecturally amazing and ornate buildings is either to be knocked down (sad), to stay put, unoccupied (bad for the neighborhood), or to be repurposed for another great thing (awesomeness).

This is where Post 154 of Westport comes in. Opened just two months ago in the old Westport Post Office building, you can still see traces of the post office inside, but you also see an astonishingly beautiful open kitchen, a large, welcoming bar, and cozy booths and tables throughout. After gawking at the interior, we were quickly seated. Now, it’s important to point out that we called ahead and asked about reservations.  Unfortunately, like many new restaurants in the area, they only take reservations for large groups, so we asked when there is no wait. The host said if you come before 6:30pm or after 9:00pm you’re golden, so we came at 9:30pm, because if we eat at 6:00pm, well, we’d need a 4th meal by 11:00pm. Yeah, that’s how we roll.

Westport Rotary shells out Second Annual Lobster Fest at Compo Beach

Last year we put together a list of food festivals going on throughout Fairfield County and included in that list was the first annual Westport Rotary Lobster Fest.  It was a giant surf & turf fest on Compo Beach that pulled in 750 people.  This year on 9/21 from 3-7 pm they’re hoping for even more people and have set the ticket limit at 1,500 people!  The cost for a steak or lobster dinner is $40 or you can get a child’s meal for just $10.  You can buy them online (click on the Lobster Fest link then buy whatever option you’d like), from a Westport Rotarian, or at Joey’s by the Shore at Compo Beach.  But, buy them by September 19 because that’s the last day for ticket purchases!

Now, let’s go through what you’ll get for attending Lobster Fest 2013:

A French Bistro with a View of the Saugatuck: Rive Bistro – Westport, CT

•••

This is no April Fools’ joke: Rive Bistro will open in Westport on April 1.  This new restaurant will overlook the Saugatuck River and will, undoubtedly, become a great place to take a date, to wind down, or to just enjoy a great meal.  The menu, put together by Chef and owner Eric Sierra, is focused on the rich and elegant flavors of French food, but most notably “sans pretense,” as noted in a recent press release.  Chef Sierra knows French food, too.  He grew up in Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay in Southwest France.  Years ago, he hit up Westport and opened Bistro des Amis and then opened up Il Palio in Shelton.

And now he’s going to work his magic with Rive Bistro.   There will be plenty of room inside of the “urban-chic” restaurant with plenty of seating (75) and enough room for 15 people at the bar.   Speaking of the bar, the wine menu will focus on French wines, but there will also be other great options for California and Italian wines, too.  Also, you’ll find lots of different cocktails and martinis to order from.  This will also be a great place to dine al fresco with about 50 guests being able to sit outside on the patio. 

Bartaco, Moja, and Safita to Open in Westport at National Hall Complex! Yeah Variety!

Porkslap Ale (it’s boss) with tacos at Bartaco Stamford

Update:  Moja is now open and bartaco is having a soft opening this week, 4 pm until closing with normal hours start with lunch on 6/17 at 11:30!

 

Located at 20 Wilton Road in Westport (the old Peter Coppola space & next door to Save the Children), bartaco opens its doors to the public today after 4pm for a soft opening. The 4pm opening time will take place all week and we will begin lunch service next Monday, 6/17 at 11:30am.

It’s been spinning around the rumor mill for over a year, but just a few days ago there was confirmation from Vanessa Inzitari of Westport Daily Voice:  Bartaco is coming to Westport.  This will be the fourth Bartaco to hit the streets, with one in West Hartford, one in Stamford, and the other in Port Chester.  The lease is now signed, so you’ll be able to get your drinks and get stuffed on tacos at 20 Wilton Road.  Although we were critical of Bartaco in our last review, we can always give the Westport location a shot.    

Moja sake, from their FB page

According to Vanessa’s article, Bartaco will open in the spring, perfect timing for the margaritas and drinks that lots of people rave about.  But, even if Bartaco isn’t your style, there will be two other choices of restaurants.  You could check out Moja:   Asian fusion with Brazilian flare.  Another great piece of news here is that it looks like they will have lots of custom and unique sakes!  According to their FB page (website is down right now), “Our mission at Moja is to deliver a healthy, fresh, unique eating experience based on asian cuisine with flavors from around the world, served in a vibrant, upbeat environment.”  We’re all on board with that.