Saturday, June 27, 2015

Paloma Grill in Stamford CT

Social Media Sampling

Last week we received an invite to head up to Stamford CT to sample some of the Latin-infused menu at Paloma Grill. The restaurant is located on the water in the Harbor Point area, an up and coming section that boasts several restaurants, clubs, and eateries.

In addition, the restaurant is owned by Chef Aarón Sánchez, of Food Network fame.

Paloma Grill in Harbor Point - Stamford CT

The menu features a wide array of offerings, from whole roasted cuts of meats, to an extensive raw bar, ceviche, grilled seafood, and a slew of of shareable plates. 

Of course, we started with some of Paloma's classic and contemporary cocktails made from a wide selection of handcrafted spirits, including tequila, mezcal, pisco, cachaca, and rum. 

Cocktails at Paloma Grill in Stamford 


Paloma Margarita
Lime and Orange house tincture, hibiscus nectar, gran mariner, silver tequila

After sipping on cocktails we began sampling some of the great appetizers and shared plates available at Paloma Grill!

Here's a photo tour featuring some of our offerings of the night....

Seafood Tostadas
Crab Salad
and Glazed Shrimp - both delicious!


 Snapper crudo (top left) and lobster ceviche (top right)
Bottom: queso fundito skillet with mushrooms

Albondigas, meatballs with chipotle broth,
brightened flavor with mint, and cojita cheese

Mexican street corn
with chipotle crema and cojita cheese


Garganelli pasta with chorizo

The pasta dish was the only 'miss' of the night for me as it was a bit too heavy in seasoning for my flavor preferences.

Then we moved on to our entrees! Favorites were the amazing Short Ribs and the moist and flavorful Cuban Chicken.

Camarones Mojo de Ajo


Short Ribs of Beef with ancho cacao rub and vegetables


Cuban Chicken with a side of tamarin fried rice

Dessert was a double win with the light churros and the creamy deliciously rich salted caramel cheesecake parfait.

Churros with dulce de leche rolled in cinnamon sugar


Salted Caramel Cheesecake Parfait


We loved Paloma and Chef Sanchez has a winner with this location directly on the waterfront at Harbor Point with amazing views. The restaurant features both indoor and outdoor seating, along with a private dining room and bar dining options for larger parties.

A salute to Chef Nanyo - Thank you for a delicious dinner!

Paloma Grill
15 Harbor Point Road
Stamford, CT 06902
203.998.7500


http://www.palomagrill.com/home

Disclaimer: We were invited to Paloma Grill by members of Paloma's marketing and management teams, however, all opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.

Click to add a blog post for Paloma on Zomato

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Quintessa Wine Pairing Dinner at Paragon at Foxwoods Resort Casino

An Exclusive Wine Pairing and Dinner At Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut.

UPDATE: Read my recap of this event here ==> http://bit.ly/ParagonQuintessa

On Thursday, June 25th, 2015 Paragon Restaurant at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut will celebrate the wines of Quintessa Vineyards with a multi-course fine dining and wine pairing.



Passed Appetizers

Crunchy Scottish Highland Grass Fed Lemon Meatballs
Reister Farms Lamb with Toasted Barley
Point Judith Skate Wing with Chili-Anchovy “Paste”
Chilled Bomster Scallop with Passion-Bamboo Rice
Flowers Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast 2013

First Course

House Gin Cured King Salmon
two hour pickled veggie slaw, parsley oil, smeared capers
The Prisoner Red 2013

Second Course

Town Docks Monkfish
razor clam hash, house bacon, summer corn-saffron
“bouillabaisse”
Faust Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Entree 

Naturally Raised Veal Tenderloin*
late season morels, local asparagus, rich cabernet-marrow glace
Quintessa Red 2011

Final Dessert Course

Organic Chocolate Crémeux
pistachio sable, roasted cherries, vanilla tonka bean cream,
pistachio chantilly
Thorn Merlot 2012


June 25, 2015, 6:30 pm 
$145 per person plus tax and gratuity
Reservations Required**: 800-369-9663


*Item may be cooked to order. Consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of food borne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions.

**Paragon kindly requests 72 hours’ notice of cancellation. A $30 service charge will be levied for non-attending patrons or for less than 72 hour cancellation.

Greenwich Marketplace and Wine Dinner on 6-23-15


On Tuesday, June 23, 2015, local specialty food markets will come together (cue the Beatles song) over some great food and amazing wine.




Bistro V & Patisserie, Greenwich Avenue

6:30 PM Reception
7:00 PM Multi-course Wine Dinner

What hat was once considered to be “old school” is now very much back and here to stay.

Specialty markets have found their way back from the mega-market mentality and are providing consumers with quality food for how people are eating today.  Join Greenwich Cheese Company, Fleisher's Craft Butchery, Fjord Fish Market, Glenville Wine & Spirits and Bistro V & Patisserie for an amazing evening of food and wine and a virtual tour of a day in the life of a busy cheesemonger, butcher, fishmonger, wine expert, chef and baker.

Bistro V & Patisserie chefs will be creating a multi-course dinner event which highlights responsibly sourced, fresh, quality food. Guests will be able to meet these talented market owners and learn about what is taking place in today's food world and the access we all have to great quality food and what both the market owners' role is in all of this - as well as the consumer.


“Education is such an important part of what we do, “says Laura Downey, co-owner of Greenwich and Fairfield Cheese Company, “What animal is the milk from and from what region of France was the cheese produced? What does “farm-raised” fish really mean? And ultimately a consumers’ questions are answered when they taste the fresh pork from Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury CT that was brought to the butcher whole to be cut into pork belly, butt, shoulder or tenderloin – and even sausage and pate.”


Food and wine enthusiasts will come together on June 23rd, 2015 to meet these passionate market owners and experience a multi-course dinner featuring their products.

Bistro V Executive Chef Erik Erlichson will showcase these amazing products in a variety of ways, bringing out the best in each ingredient.

Wine pairings will be presented by Glenville Wine & Spirits, one of the oldest wine and spirits shops in Greenwich.

An added highlight will be the crusty breads and French pastries from Patisserie V, which are prepared daily in the wee hours of the morning to be available for customers by sunrise – another wonderful art form that thankfully has not been lost.

 Information:

$110 per person, (+ tax and grat)
Includes wine pairings and take-home gift.
Seating is limited – reserve early - 203 661-6634
339 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830
Link to Menu ==>> Greenwich Marketplace and Wine Dinner Menu


Back 40 Kitchen to Open in Greenwich CT

The Back 40 Kitchen is scheduled to open on July 6th 2015!


This will be a summer modern farmhouse style restaurant, with an organic mission on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich CT.

The Back 40 Farm Group will open Back 40 Kitchen, a modern farmhouse restaurant bringing sophisticated organic, local, and seasonal dining to Greenwich Avenue this summer. The restaurant’s healthy “real food” menu and relaxed setting will be available for lunch, dinner, catering and takeout beginning early July 2015.

Yup. The Back 40 Kitchen will be the real deal!


REAL FOOD: ORGANIC. LOCAL. SEASONAL.


Central to the Back 40 Kitchen dining experience, is a changing menu dedicated to “real food” with organic, seasonal, and local origins. At Back 40, this means healthful dishes constructed with a range of local organic vegetables, ancient grains, wild fish, and heritage and humanely-raised meats. Complementing the menu’s sustainably sourced ingredients is a modern barn-inspired setting.

The second story dining room has been thoughtfully renovated with reclaimed wood, a wall-mounted herb garden, and a new soaring cupola, lending the light-filled space an authentic vibe.

“We want to be the place where you can enjoy a full dinner - or bring one home - and feel 100% confident about what you are feeding your family. Everything on our menu is organic. We long forward to a time when being ‘organic’ is once again redundant.” 
                                                                       - Jen Demarsico, Back 40 Kitchen Manager

Back 40 Kitchen will source the majority of its produce from Back 40 Farm, the owner’s 85-acre family-owned organically managed farm in Washington, CT, as well as other regional farms and purveyors, including but limited to: Fleishers Meats in Westport; Dancing Dog Farm in Ridgefield, CT; Blooming Hill Farm in Blooming Grove, NY; Gaia’s Breath Farm in Jordanville, NY; Cato Corner in Colchester, CT; Beltane Farm in Lebanon, CT; and Red Bee Honey in Weston, CT among others.

THE BACK 40 KITCHEN TEAM


Back 40 Kitchen is owned by Greenwich residents Lesley and Bill King, who also own Back 40 Farm in Washington and Back 40 Mercantile in Old Greenwich. They have tapped husband and wife team Jennifer and George Demarsico to manage the restaurant and its kitchen. Jennifer is an organics enthusiast who will manage the front of house and George, the former executive chef for Peter Kelly’s award-winning New York restaurant Xaviers, will lead the kitchen’s modern take on farmhouse cuisine.

“My approach is to take things that are perfect to begin with and make them shine. Everything I do is very technique-driven, given my fine dining background. Back 40 will be all about simple food, very well executed.”
                                                                                                  - Chef George Demarsico

THE MENU


The menu has been crafted for a range of appetites, diets, and tastes – with the unifying element that every aspect – from the spices to the dairy, from the vegetables to proteins – is organic and healthful without risking sophistication.

On the lighter and smaller side, are snacks and small plates such as Heirloom Popcorn with smoked paprika, Green Eggs with Crispy Ham, and a Lobster and Avocado Toast.

For bigger appetites (like mine!), a range of creative and hearty entrees are anchored by a variety of both vegetables and proteins: a house-made veggie burger to a honey-brined pork loin that is served with black lentils, swiss chard and cherry mustard.

Not to be missed is the classic Back 40 Burger, paired with bacon, cheddar and popcorn on a brioche bun. For those who imbibe, the bar will celebrate “drinking healthy” with organic fine wines,

Non-GMO spirits, and cocktails carefully selected and crafted by Beverage Director Michael Galluccio, formerly of the Inn at Pound Ridge, NY.


LOCATION


Back 40 Kitchen is located at 107 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, CT.


Regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday for Lunch and Dinner, Monday is Lunch only.

BACK 40 KITCHEN PROJECT TEAM


Construction: Western Connecticut Craftsmen
Design: Marcia Tucker Interiors
Architecture: Rudy Ridberg

CONNECT WITH BACK 40 KITCHEN NOW!


Web: back40kitchen.com
Instagram: instagram.com/back40kitchen
Facebook: facebook.com/back40kitchen
Twitter: twitter.com/back40kitchen



ABOUT THE BACK 40 FARM GROUP


The Back 40 Group started, as most great things do, on the farm. Back 40 Farm is a family-owned 85-acre organic farm in Washington, CT that has since expanded to include Back 40 Mercantile, a modern take on an old-fashioned general store, Back 40 Kitchen in Greenwich, and Mill Street Bar & Table Restaurant in Byram (opening August 2015).

George DeMarsico - Chef


Experience: Doral Arrowwood in Purchase, N.Y., Farm Neck Golf Club in Martha’s Vineyard; Harvest Bistro in Closter, N.J.; Relish in Sparkill; Bedford Post Inn in Bedford; X20 in Yonkers.

Cooking style: “It’s a bit humble and intuitive. My approach is to take things that are perfect to begin with and make them shine. Everything I do is very technique-driven, given my fine dining background.”

Back 40 Approach: “The menu will change depending on seasons, and the farms we are sourcing from, certainly Back 40 Farm. It is in constant fluid motion with the surrounding environment.”

Ingredient you can’t live without? Pork. There is not one part of the animal I don’t love.

If you weren’t a chef you’d be? A farmer.“Back 40 will be all about simple food, very well executed.”

Nichole Norby & Alexis Barbalinardo - Back 40 Farmers


“Norby” is an electrical engineer turned organic vegetable farmer and a graduate from the Stone Barns Center for Agriculture’s Farmer’s Apprentice program. She went on to run a large CSA program on a farm in New Jersey and returned to Stone Barns to work before joining the Back 40 Farm team. She is passionate about flowers, has expanded the Back 40 beehives, and is devoted to propagating the best tasting organically grown produce.

Alexis is a naturalist, educator, and farmer with a passion for good food and connecting people to our earth. She has grown vegetables and flowers in Northern California, worked as a cow-herder and cheese maker in New Jersey, coming to Back 40 Farm most recently from two years as a greenhouse grower and propagator at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

Bill & Lesley King Back 40 Kitchen Owners


Lesley & Bill have been together since high school but never envisioned owning a farm or a restaurant. Amidst long careers on Wall Street however, they threw themselves wholeheartedly into the organic food movement and the local food scene, beginning by co-founding the Old Greenwich Farmers Market. As these passions grew, both began contributing in an array of other community and health related organizations.

Lesley works with Partners In Health and Village Health Works on issues of Social Justice, and is a board member of the Perrot Library, Old Greenwich.

Bill is an active board member of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, The Greenwich Land Trust, as well as Trinity Church in Old Greenwich. Their mutual commitment to chemical-free food for themselves, their families and their community, along with farming and a whole lot of entrepreneurial spirit -- helped carve the way for the Back 40 Farm, Back 40 Mercantile and Back 40 Kitchen


Saturday, June 20, 2015

SomruS Indian Cream Liqueur Pairing at Thali New Haven

Social Media Promotion

I've always loved the subtle spices and flavors from the Eastern hemisphere.

Flavors like saffron, nuts, cardamom, tumeric, mints, and more ... so I was beyond pleased when we received an invite to a cocktail and food pairing, featuring a new Indian Cream Liqueur, SomruS,  that was being held at Thali on Orange Street in New Haven's Ninth Square.


Although this wasn't my first time sampling SomruS Indian Cream Liqueur, it was my first time eating at Thali, despite having met Chef Prasad Chirnomula at the Greenwich Wine and Food Festival and being totally enamored with his passion for cooking.

After our group had assembled we got to learn all about SomruS' inception by an Indian businessman who realized that the existing cream liqueurs, while good, didn't have the beautiful light and subtle flavors of his background, and hence the development of Somrus Indian Cream Liqueur, that blends cardamom, saffron, almonds, pistachios and rose, which results in an all-natural, gluten free and Kosher liqueur.

Learning about SomruS, the original Indian Cream Liqueur from the SomruS marketing team


SomruS, a rum based liqueur, whose name translates to "Nectar of the Gods" is delightfully light and smooth, with a slightly sweet and aromatic quality.

What a perfect compliment to the exotic flavors from Thali Restaurant!

We started our pairing with SomruS on the rocks. Here's where we could truly appreciate the unique flavors developed and infused in this liqueur. On just the right side of sweet, it's truly a wonderful accompaniment to Eastern cuisines.

SomruS - On the Rocks


Paired with our "Somrus on the Rocks" we sampled Gobi Manchurian and Samosa.

Thali-Orange Street New Haven CT
Gobi: Cauliflower in a spicy cilantro garlic sauce
Samosa: Amchur potatoes and green peas in a handmade pastry shell

For our second course we sampled the Somrus Kama Sutra, a more bold mixing of flavors meant to enhance our light seafood served with it. While this was tasty, I think I'd prefer it without the Green Chartreuse, whose heavy blend of spices overpowered the light flavor of this SomruS cocktail.

Kama Sutra
Somrus Indian Cream Liqueur, Chambord Raspberry Liqueur, Green Chartreuse


The Kama Sutra otherwise paired well with Shrimp Kabob with Saag. The bold cocktail had a great balance with this light and flavorful course.

Thali, Orange Street, New Haven, CT
Shrimp Kabob with Saag: Shrimp sauteed with butter over a bed of Indian style spinach.


Our third course paired a variety of Thali dishes with the SomruS Mayan Rickshaw, a mixture of SomruS with Casamigos Reposada tequila.

Somrus Mayan Rickshaw
Somrus Indian Cream Liqueur and Casamigos Reposado tequia

Our dishes were Chicken Tikka Masala, Kadai Ghost, Rice, and warm flatbread.

Here's where we really experienced the pairing at its finest. The hearty cocktail enhanced and elevated the spicy and flavorful accompaniments. This was my first time eating Kadai Ghost, which was goat in a spicy sauce. Sooo good!

Thali, Orange Street, New Haven, CT
Chicken Tikka Masala: Chicken, ginger, garlic and cayenne in a creamy tomato sauce
Kadai Ghost: Goat roasted with toasted spices and peppers

For dessert, we paired a Somrus Chai with Sormus Rice Pudding. This was another successful pairing. The black tea and spice with SomruS - and the rich rice pudding illuminated why SomruS truly is  ... the "Nectar of the Gods".


SomruS Chai
Somrus Indian Cream Liqueur with Black Tea

This rice pudding was so good, brothy, flavorful and aromatic due to the infusion of SomruS. That's right! You can cook and bake with Somrus too!


SomKheer: Indian Rice Pudding sith SomruS


SomruS is now available in Connecticut! Look for it in fine dining establishments and spirit shoppes!
Find a merchant near you ==> http://www.somrus.com/where-to-buy.php


I can't wait to come up with my own recipes for cocktails using this exotic liqueur. 


Sompriya Premium Spirits Company 

(makers of SomruS Indian Cream Liqueur)
http://www.somrus.com/welcome.php

Like them on facebook ==> https://www.facebook.com/EnjoySomrus
Follow them on instagram ==> https://instagram.com/enjoysomrus


Thali - New Haven

4 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 777-1177
http://www.thali.com/restaurants.php


How about you?

What would you pair SomruS with?

Disclaimer: We were invited to Thali for a Somrus Cocktail Pairing by members of Sompriya's  marketing and management teams. However, all opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.

Click to add a blog post for Thali on Zomato
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