Steve's Bagels--not just bagels!

When my husband and I first moved to Ridgefield, we were busy day and night unpacking. Every day we would take a break and go over to Steve's Bagels in the CVS shopping center, of course, for bagels. But I quickly fell in love as well with Steve's quiches—quiche lorraine, mushroom, cheddar and onion quiche, bacon,cheddar, and onion quiche (pictured at the bottom here), and their special broccoli quiche. All are delicious. In the colder weather, we sampled and fell in love with all their homemade soups—split pea, soupe au pistou, chicken vegetable noodle, curried chicken, seafood chowder, and many, many others. (A nice feature at Steve's is if you ask what's in the soup they'll give you a page with all the ingredients written on it). In the summertime, their gazpacho is my favorite warm weather treat. Some of my other favorite things served at Steve's are the challah, the pumpkin bread, the whitefish salad, (I think it's the best in Connecticut!)

and the orzo salad. They also have chef's salads, wonderful smoked salmon, flavored cream cheeses, and lots of different delectable muffins, danishes, and scones. It's hard to go wrong at this little eatery, where the service is always quick and friendly. The owner, Mark, pictured here, is always working very hard to make sure everyone is served delicious food promptly and with courtesy and a smile.

So, for almost 6 years we've been coming to Steve's—in the summer we eat outside at a cafe table with our little cairn terrier, and in the winter we are cozy inside with our bowls of hot soup and muffins, or quiche! I hope we'll see you there!

Steve's is a member of the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce. Their address is 463 Main Street, and the phone number is 203-438-6506. They also have a Wilton store, at 151 Old Ridgefield Road, phone: 203-762-7141.

Cake and cupcake heaven in Ridgefield

The Cake Box, purveyor of sumptuous cakes, cupcakes and other pastries, has moved to a new location in Big Shop Lane, next to Terra Sole. And, they've expanded their line of goodies to include breakfast pastries.

Shown here are their fabulous cupcakes, heaven in a little fluted paper cup. I always have a hard time deciding which is my absolute favorite--the Sweet & Salty, which has a caramel drizzle on top of an amazing buttercream icing, or the Mochaccino--a chocolate cupcake with coffee buttercream and a chocolate drizzle.

But you really can't go wrong with any of the flavors. And they have a special flavor every day. Wednesday is Lemon Drop, Thursday is Mint Chocolate Chip and a carrot cake cupcake called What's Up Doc, and many other special flavors for each day.

You can stop in and pick up cupcakes, or order a standard cake (nothing standard about their cakes, trust me!) 48 hours in advance. They will accommodate last minute orders when they can. Custom cake orders need to be done by appointment at least one week prior to an event.

They also sell yummy cookies, for the Cookie Monster in us.

As if that was not enough, you can get a delicious cup of coffee or tea, and have your sweet and a warm beverage in their lovely little cafe.

AND they have just opened a sister store named Swoon in The Marketplace at Copps Hill Commons. Swoon sells gluten free desserts. If they are anywhere near as good as the delicious desserts at the Cake Box, I will be swooning indeed.

So if you need a cake fix, drop in today and pick up some heavenly cupcakes and treat your whole family.

The Cake Box is at 1 Big Shop Lane, Ridgefield. Phone: 203-403-2558. For more information or photos, go to http://www.thecakeboxofct.com

Swoon is at 109 Danbury Road in the Marketplace in Copps Hill Commons. Phone: 203-438-4326. Web site: http://thecakebox.vpweb.com/

YUM!!!!!

Happy New Year, Ridgefield!

Winter in Ridgefield can be particularly beautiful. Main Street trees are strung with lights, and greens with lights in them twirl around the lanterns. On a snowy evening, I think there is nothing quite as magical-looking as this downtown. There are several very good restaurants right along Main Street and the side streets. Some of them are: Bissell House, 378 Main Street, Bailey's Backyard, 23 Bailey Avenue, Fifty Coins, 426 Main Street, Tom-Tom's of Ridgefield, 417 Main Street, The Cellar Door Bistro, 439 Main Street, Sagi restaurant on 23 Catoonah Street, The Ancient Mariner at 451 Main Street, Wild Ginger at 461 Main Street, Maru Restaurant at 470 Main Street, Terra Sole at 3 Big Shop Lane, Luc's restaurant at 3 Big Shop Lane, and Eats on Main at 449 Main Street.

So, some day or night soon, take a stroll down our lovely main street, and stop in one of the many fine restaurants Ridgefield has to offer for a delicious meal.

Happy 2013!

Some hamburger!

I think this is the first time I've ever seen a letter to the editor about a hamburger. The letter refers to Tom Tom's, at 417 Main Street (I've reviewed their bakery in this blog). The letter was in this week's Ridgefield Press (Thursday, December 6). Read it, then run right over to Tom Tom's and get yourself a delicious hamburger.

Also, this issue of the Ridgefield Press has a terrific article by Jake Kara about Bartolo restaurant,in the Business section on page 26. I've reviewed Bartolo in the previous post on this blog.

Fine dining in Ridgefield

We had a magical evening with friends last night. We had dinner at Bartolo, the new restaurant in Ridgefield's Marketplace at Copp's Hill, occupying the space that was Plate and then Cello. We're happy to report that this fine restaurant is a wonderful addition to that gourmet area of Ridgefield.

It is a lovely, very popular restaurant, serving great food, by terrifically attentive servers.

This was actually our second time dining there, and it was wonderful both times. The pastas are all homemade, and the meat and fish entrees are truly delicious.

Last night, we started with a beet salad, pictured here, a Caesar salad, salmon (also pictured here with carrots) and perhaps the moistest, most succulent roast chicken I've ever tasted (also shown here).

The dessert list sounded wonderful, but at that point we were already pretty stuffed. We had wolfed down the garlic bread brought before the  meal started (it came with a fabulous tomato dipping sauce).

So we'll just have to go back another time and enjoy a few of the yummy-sounding desserts.

We also want to try lunch some day--they are open six days (closed Sundays) for lunch and dinner.

Bartolo is a member of the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce. The restaurant is at 103 Danbury Road, and their phone number is 203-894-8141. A reservation there will ensure that you have a wonderful meal, in a lovely setting.

Ridgefield cake bakeries, Part 1--TomTom's

About 6 years ago, there were few places in Ridgefield from which to purchase baked desserts. But I'm happy to report that we now have some wonderful stores/restaurants that sell cakes, cookies, and pies.

If you want to order a cake for a special occasion, or pick one up in a hurry, or are in the mood for a cookie or cannoli or cupcake with a cup of coffee, right behind his restaurant at 417 Main Street, down a flight of stairs, is Tom Tom's restaurant of food-to-go and bakery, owned by Tom Salemo.

The pictures on the left will give you an idea of what goodies Tom has in store for you. We've frequently seen Ridgefielders coming downstairs in the afternoon to pick up something delicious. And we've bought their wonderful cakes for our children's (and grandchildren's) birthdays.

So if you need a cake or pie for a celebration, stop by. If you just feel like a cookie and some coffee, there are tables and chairs where you can sit and enjoy a snack.

I'll be doing another post soon about Tom Tom's bagels (fabulous!) breads, and his upstairs restaurant and his sandwich cafe. All part of the same restaurant!

TomTom's is a Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce member.

His phone number, if you want to call ahead, is 203-244-5289. And check out their new website at http://www.tomtoms.net.

Yummy sandwiches!

We are always on the lookout for new and delicious places for lunch. We're in luck, in Ridgefield. There are several great places to grab a sandwich. One of them is certainly What's Cooking, located at 590 Danbury Road. It's right near the corner of Danbury Road and Rte. 7. What's Cooking has lots of different sandwich salads, pictured here.

Their chicken salad, curried chicken salad, and tuna salad are outstanding. And they have the best cole slaw I've ever tasted. It is used in their fabulous barbecue chicken sandwich (also pictured here, on a wonderful multigrain ciabatta).
Another of my favorites is the fresh carved turkey and caramelized onions sandwich (the first entry on their paper sandwich list).

They also have interesting hot entrees, which we have not tried yet.

In the summer, they have tables and chairs on the sidewalk, so we can sit outdoors and enjoy the weather.



Their phone number is 203-403-3676, so you can call in your sandwich order and pick it up.

So hop on over and enjoy a delicious sandwich today!