chefstu's Profile
New Haven area source for wood chips for smoking food
I'd try and call Agway in N. Branford or Goodies Hardware in East Haven to start.
Cabella's in E.Hartford, even Stop and Shop may have some.
Ebay may be another good option if you don't mind waiting a few days.
Good luck!
breakfast suggestions in new haven, monday 8am
Lena's Cafe & Confections
873 Whalley Ave
New Haven, CT 06515
(203) 397-5885
www.lenascafeandconfections.com
This is where we like to go in New Haven when we can. Not cheap but you get a great and creative breakfast. I find the food here way better than 98% of the other NH offerings.
restaurant for lunch near Omni Hotel New Haven
Bentara is 2 blocks away and is one of the premier Malaysian restaurants in the country,
Bar is also 2 blocks away for great New Haven Pizza, equal to Wooster St..
Oaxaca also on the next block for delicious Mexican.
-----
Bentara
76 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06510
Know where can I find frozen hominy in CT?
Hi katty
I recall seeing frozen posole at C-Town in Fairhaven, the corner of Grand and Ferry streets
Burger along Merritt/Rt 15 or I-91 between Norwalk-Hartford?
There's a Five Guys at the New Haven/Woodbridge exit.
Finding Steak Tartare in CT
We dined at Bar Bouchee in Madison last week and had a wonderful Steak Tartare, all at the table thought it was delish.
Catering Advice for Wedding - Fairfield County!
bagelman01 is absolutely correct.
IMHO, as someone in the catering business, these days its impossible to do a quality traditional reception with labor, food, rentals and alcohol for anything less than $90 per person. Also a GOOD buffet won't be much cheaper, you still need to feed everyone and make sure you don't run out of food.
Personally I don't think I'd trust one of the most important days of my life to a caterer that quotes you $50 per person. The the same ingredients for an event all cost us the about the same amount of money, the labor costs us similar amounts of money, the rentals cost us the same amount of money and we all need to make a profit to stay in business.
As an example we pay our event staff between $15-25 per hour, events go 8 hours . If your event is for 100 persons we would have 5 wait staff, 3 cooks and 2 dishwashers.
$1900 in labor that works out to $19 per person just for labor.
So where are the costs cut?
In your food quality and portions? In your labor or rentals? In the profit? It will be in your quality and portions more than likely.
My suggestion would be to think about something not so formal, an alternative reception like a Pig roast , a picnic or a BBQ. Something you can afford without braking the bank. The worst thing you can do is to start your life together by going into debt for your wedding. If these options don't suite you, I hate to suggest it but maybe a wedding hall might fit your needs better.
Fresh, whole crab
Sorry, but I'm not familiar with the Natick area, but I would expect any Oriental market in the Boston area would have them.
Fresh, whole crab
Most Oriental markets carry live Blue crabs or can get them for you and are usually very reasonable. Live Blue crabs are very common in Asian cookery.
There are company's in Maryland that sell and ship live but this method gets very expensive.
Where are you located? for specific recommendations.
Branford local seafood?
There's a man that I believe harvests and sells local seafood on Harrison Ave. in downtown Branford. According to his sign which is on the corner of Harrison and Main St. he usually has clams, oysters, lobsters, conch and black fish.
Buying lamb products near Trumbull, CT
My statements only apply to CRYOVAC (vacuum packed) meats.
But the best way is to thaw overnight in the fridge.
Buying lamb products near Trumbull, CT
I been buying from Sankow's for 20 years, both for home and my restaurants. I defy you to tell the difference between their frozen lamb and fresh, when its been properly stored and thawed. I know for a fact that they age their whole lamb for 3-4 days after slaughter, then butcher, vacuum pack and freeze in 1 day. Vac packing removes the air from the product which in turn reduces the size of the ice
crystals in the frozen meat. The smaller the ice crystals the less freezer damage to meat flavor and texture. Sankow's turnover is every 2 weeks, meaning they butcher and sell ALL their lamb in 14 days or less. So if you buy their meat frozen it was probably within the last 14 days.
Buying lamb products near Trumbull, CT
If you are willing to drive to New Haven to Ferraro's then you should come to the Wooster Farmers Market on Saturday mornings and buy your lamb from Sankow's Beaver Brook Farm.
All spring lamb and the best flavored lamb available in the state. IMHO.
New Haven–Area Chicken
Sankow's Beaver Brook Farm sells natural, field raised chickens at the Wooster Street market on Saturday's. They raise one very tasty bird.
Breakfast off 95 in CT
The Waiting Station on he Green in Branford is my fav place of breakfast, great coffee,
killer omelets, muffins and homefries. Ask for Dori, the best waitress around.
-----
Waiting Station
1048 Main St, Branford, CT 06405
Can I find this treat in CT?
After thinking about it, If you ask them at either place they'd probably order them for you.
Can I find this treat in CT?
Nika's in New Haven and Liuzzi's in North Haven both carry Bindi.
I don't know if they have that particular one though.
6/11 Mystic Area Great Food?
Hey chef,
The Suburban is in downtown Branford and Arturo's Mexican place is expected to open in 2-3 weeks. Have you ever tried Kitchen Little for breakfast of lunch in Mystic? The foods really great.
Sorry I can't help with dinner recs. Have a nice time.
-----
Kitchen Little
135 Greenmanville Ave, Mystic, CT 06355
Vegan food shopping in New Haven, CT
I buy Turkish/Middle Eastern supplies at a market across from the library in West Haven on Campbell Ave., sorry but I don't remember the name but they have a very good selection of groceries and spices.
Asian groceries I buy at J Mart at 45 Orange St. next to Miso and across from Nini's Tapas and Royal palace.
S.E. Asian groceries Thai/Malay I buy at a store on Foxon Blvd. around the corner from
Domino's Pizza.
Berst Farmers Market is Wooster Street on Saturday mornings from 9-1.
Thali 2 on Broadway has the best vegan offerings around, the food is delicious and reasonably priced.
I don't know of any markets that make or sell their own veggie patties, you could try Edge of the Woods (a very large store) on Whalley Ave.
Finally most of the restaurants around are usually happy to accommodate Vegan/Vegetarian diets with a little notice, like when you make your reservation.
Good Luck and Welcome to New Haven
-----
Thali
4 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06510
Yamadora - Really good Korean in East Haven, CT
A friend just told me about this place and said it was quite good.
I can't wait to get over there.
HELP! Need a REAL Italian place in New Haven for this weekend.
Right across the street from Pepe's is Tony and Lucille's which is about as Mom & Pop as you get.
Salsa Lizano in CT?
I recall seeing it at Chico's market in New Haven. Chico's is at the corner of Chapel and Ferry streets.
There's also a supermarket at the corner of Grand and Ferry, I can't remember the name, I think they have it too.
New Haven restaurant week starting April 3rd
I understand that Zinc may be one of your fav's but isn't the point of Restaurant Week to try Restaurants new to you that you may think sound interesting?
Boston to New York - 'must stops' en route ?
A great road food stop would be New Haven, Ct. Within walking distance from the train station are Pepe's Pizza and Louis Lunch. Although I'm not a huge fan of Louis Lunch, any hamburger lover should eat there at least once, if only for bragging rights. As for Pepe's I love their pizza, especially the White Clam Pizza and the Original Tomato Pizza.
Best "lingering" lunch Guilford/Branford CT
Personally I think Tommy Sullivan's is a great choice, whereas a restaurant may get antsy to see you go after lunch, Tommy's is open all day, no closing b'tween lunch and dinner.
So as long as your eating and drinking I have no doubt that they would welcome you.
Plus the food is very good! We live right down the block so get burgers, wings and sandwiches from them all the time.
-----
Tommy Sullivan's Cafe
240 N Main St, Branford, CT 06405
Where and How to purchase Prime Rib
Dry aging tenderizes and flavors the beef. When dry aging, 28 days is the professional standard. We wrap the meat in cheesecloth and put it on a screen shelf so air circulates around it 24/7. In the 28 days the meat will shrink by 20-25%, the natural enzymes in the meat tenderizes it and the meat will develop a stronger beefier and gamey flavor.
When you unwrap the roast to use it some trimming of the meat will be involved.
Caution: Not everyone likes this flavor.
As far as where to buy your meat I believe Stop & Shop carries Certified Angus Beef in their butcher shop/case and they cut to order, so you can get any size you want.
Lastly, dry aging for a couple of days won't do much for your meat, at least a min. of
10 days to be noticeable.
