Run for the Roses

Celebrate the running of the 138th Kentucky Derby at the 4th Annual Pequot Library Derby Day.

Saturday, May 5th
4:00-7:00pm
The Great Lawn at Pequot Library
720 Pequot Avenue, Southport

Join Pequot Library supporters for an afternoon of big hats, fast horses, juleps and jockeys as they take part in "the Greatest 2 Minutes in Sports!"

Tailgate Tickets (4 tickets and 3pm entry) - $300
Individual Ticket - $60
*all tickets include full open bar and Kentucky fare

Purchase tickets here

Be sure to participate in the best hat or best tailgate competition!

Sponsored by Lilly Pulitzer

Reminder: Lunch with Elin Hilderbrand!

Reminder: Friends of the Fairfield Public Library's lunch with Elin Hilderbrand is coming up next week! If you would like to go and haven't bought your ticket you can do so below. There will be a silent auction, lunch, a discussion with Hilderbrand as well as a book signing. This is sure to be a great event and a fun way to support your local library. Hope to see you there!

Join the Friends of the Fairfield Public Library
For a Ladies' Literary Luncheon
Wednesday, May 2, 2012, from 12-2pm
At The Patterson Club
1118 Cross Highway, Fairfield, CT 06824

Special guest, Elin Hilderbrand

Best-selling author of 11 books
including Silver Girl, The Island, Barefoot,
and the soon-to-be-released, Summerland.

Tickets are $55 per person and include
lunch, dessert and a glass of wine.
Reservations are required.

Purchase tickets here

or contact Danielle Sharp at
dsharp@fplct.org or (203) 912-5963.

If you can't make this event be sure to check out her newest book, Summerland, being released June 26th. 

JLG Shopping Extravaganza

Help support the wonderful projects of the Junior League of Greenwich by participating in their first annual Shopping Extravaganza. This is a great way to give back to your town solely by doing what you normally do - shopping and dining out! Please take this opportunity to go out and buy the items you've been meaning to pick up, a Mother's Day gift, a baby gift, that dress you've had your eye on, some summer wines. Or choose one of the restaurants on this list and bring your friends along for a great dinner out. All you have to do is print the below coupon here and present it to a participating retailer and they will give up to 15% of your purchase price back to the JLG - and some retailers will even be offering special discounts to shoppers who use their coupon.

Please take this easy step to help support the Junior League of Greenwich in all that they do - the new Byram Pool Project, the Greenwich Youth Film Festival, Positively Me, The Enchanted Forest, Touch A Truck and much much more!

We'll be headed to Morello for dinner on Thursday night and then hitting the Ave for some shopping on Friday!

Juliska and ASHA Trunk Show

A great combo of two of my favorite brands. Join Juliska for a Spring ASHA Trunk Show Thursday from 10am-4pm. All jewelry is 10% off AND you'll receive a special gift with purchase. This is the perfect time to start shopping for mom for Mother's Day and to check out the new spring arrivals at Juliska!

Juliska Flagship Store
465 Canal Street, Stamford
www.juliska.com
www.ashabyadm.com

$5 Pasta Dishes!

One of my favorite local restaurants, nessa, just started offering half price pasta night every Tuesday. Their hand made pasta is delicious and for as little as $5 for a half order you can't pass up this deal! Order some of their wonderful bruschetta, a glass of wine and a half order of pasta and you could be out the door for $15. Help yourself get through the week by enjoying a Tuesday out!

Grandma's Eggplant Siciliano with Ricotta and Reggiano $5
Rigatoni Bolognese $6
Cavatelli with Spicy Sausage and Swiss Chard with a Sage Cream Sauce $6
($10-$12 for full orders)

Also with the warm summer-like weather their garden and bocce court is now open for the season!

325 North Main Street, Port Chester
914.939.0119
nessarestaurant.com

Outdoor dining

50% off Orchids!

I got a great email this weekend from my favorite garden store! Open the below image in a new window and print to save 50% off orchids until May 15th! You can use it as many times as you'd like but only one per visit. A great gift for Mother's Day!

Nielsen's Florist and Garden Shop 

1405 Post Road

Darien, CT 

203.655.2541 

Updated: Grilled Cheesus

Update: We finally got to hit up the Melt Mobile today and it was delish! Their menu is slightly more limited than what is seen below but they have all the important things - grilled cheese, chips and soda!

The sandwiches have an amazing crunchy crust and a great blend of mixed cheeses that creates a unique and more modern flavor. I will definitely be back to try one of their speciality sandwiches - today I just had to stick to the basics, bacon!

****

A hot new food truck has rolled into Stamford and I can't wait to give it a try! The Melt Mobile has taken up residency in Veterans Park/Landmark Square in Stamford. Open Monday-Friday from 11-4, this delicious deli on wheels in dishing out melty meals by the truckload.

Check out their menu of tasty treats...

Some fun facts - they will be featured on Bobby Flay's show "The Bobby Flay Project" where Flay mentors new businesses in the days before their opening. Airing on Food Network. They will also give 2% of all the proceeds to the Umbrella Club in Stamford, an organization that helps community families and children in need. 

Images from CT Bites

Check out this gooey, cheesy deliciousness. I'm off to Atlanta for work but as soon as I return I plan to make this one of my first lunch breaks!

Veterans Park/Landmark Square, Atlantic Street (across from the Old Town Hall)

Monday-Friday, 11am-4pm

Visa, MasterCard and cash accepted

www.meltmobilect.com

203.609.1422

Also available for private parties!

Laughing Pizza

This Saturday, April 21st, the Junior League of Greenwich is hosting its first Children's Concert Fundraiser. Come see Laughing Pizza perform at The Greenwich Country Day School Performing Arts Center and support the JLG! There will be two shows - 10:30am and 1:30pm and tickets are $35/person. Click here to buy your tickets to this great event!

presents

Laughing Pizza is a real family band who write and perform all original pop-music for families. This mom, dad and daughter trio travel around the country performing concerts and also can be seen on PBS - they have performed at the White House, received seven Parent's Choice Awards and have been featured on the Today Show, CNN and FoxTV. 

www.laughingpizza.com

Champagne & Shopping

Join lovely jewelry line, Pomeline, to preview their new shop in French Sole. To celebrate their opening they will be offering 10% off jewelry and shoes. Stop by for some bubbly and some great spring shopping! 

Crafted of precious and semi precious stones, Pomeline offers uniquely created designs, ensuring that no single piece is exactly like another. Here are a few of my favorite pieces, priced $70-$300. 

Pomeline 

behind French Sole

160 Greenwich Ave, Greenwich 

www.pomelinejewelry.com

Carrots They'll Fight Over

My mom, always the crafty lady, came up with a big hit this Easter, Cheetos carrots! Taken from an idea she read in a magazine and spun into this clever creation, they were the perfect basket stuffer!

Using large disposable pastry bags from the Cook's Nook in Norwalk, Cheetos and a little green string these couldn't be an easier holiday craft. 

My cousins came up with the most clever way of eating them - cutting the tip off and eating them funnel style. I highly recommend adding them to your list for next year!

Where My Peeps At?

That was the header to someone elses Easter post and I just had to borrow it - it made me laugh so hard! As the Easter Bunny plans his big arrival on Sunday, we hope that you will support your small local candy stores this season! They have the most original types of candies and treats and you'll be doing good by helping your neighborhood businesses. Happy Easter Peeps!

Sweet Teez
401 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich
203.340.9616
sweetteez.com

Darlene's
185 Sound Beach Avenue, Old Greenwich
203.698.9441
darlenesicecreamct.com
*be sure to grab a fresh crepe when you make this stop!

Chunky Pam's
1096 Boston Post Road, Darien
203.202.7981
chunkypams.com

Peeps on a Stick : )

Mad Hatter

We're planning ahead here but we have to with how popular this new item is! Smathers & Branson has just launched their newest needlepoint accessory - hats - and they are almost all backordered 6 weeks! We think this is going to be the perfect Father's Day gift, especially at an incredibly reasonable $35, so we want everyone to order their hats now!

This latest addition to Smathers & Branson's line comes in seven different color ways with a cotton twill body adorned in their signature 100% hand stitched needlepoint. This is going to be the must have beach accessory for the summer.

View the full line at www.smathersandbranson.com and receive free shipping on all orders over $175.

We had to pick one up emblazoned with our favorite summer destination - Nantucket. And in Nantucket red stitching no less, perfect!

My personal favorite - the sage rainbow fleet!

For your favorite fisherman

For the patriot 

Put your orders in now for delivery mid May - you don't want to be the only one at Figawi without your needlepoint hat! 

Birthday Recap

I had a great birthday celebration last weekend and I wanted to share one of the highlights - dinner at new New Canaan restaurant, Carpe Diem! We've been wanting to check out this new spot since it opened earlier in the spring and we finally got a chance to try it in perfect time to celebrate my birthday. With the lucky week long heat wave we got to enjoy a lovely table on their patio, filled with sunflowers, candles and heat-lamps. 

With a delicious menu there were many dishes which I was dying to try. We settled on the asparagus and baked goat cheese salad to start and then the chicken parmesan special and the paglia e fieno (tagiolini with green peas, prosciutto and a pecorino cream sauce). The entrees were amazing, the palia e fieno was honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. I find dirty plate photos disgusting but I just had to share this one of us as clean plate club! 

The delicious food paired with a few glasses of champagne, tasty wine and creme brulee for desert made for the perfect night. I look forward to going back to try the penne buttera and the piccatina al limone. The menu is incredibly reasonable, with entrees from $15-$34. The wine list is however a bit pricy, with most bottles around $60 to $90. However certainly worth it for the wonderful food and atmosphere. I highly recommend going back to sit outside on their terrace and enjoy the spring air!

Carpe Diem 

26 Locust Avenue, New Canaan 

203.594.9599

www.carpediemnewcanaan.com

A gorgeous orchid from my hubby from our favorite flower shop - Cos Cob Farms, 61 East Putnam Ave. They have the best cut flowers as well as orchids and potted plants. 

Chocolate cookie pies for birthday dessert! Recipe courtesy of EH to come! 

Thanks to my family and friends for a great, great weekend! Looking forward to enjoying every minute of the last year of my 20s! 

Best of the Gold Coast

FFC411 is asking everyone to support their favorite local retailers in Moffly Media's Best of the Gold Coast. Most of what we write about here is local restaurants, shops and vendors that make the FFC area great. So please take a few minutes to vote for your favorites below and help spread the word! 

Vote here!

Don't know your favorites? Vote for some of ours...

Box Car Cantina 

Carpe Diem 

Pizza Post 

Sugar Bowl 

Rowayton 101

Cescos 

Rory's 

Wild Ginger

Bamboo 

Jake's Place

Alpen Pantry 

Partners Salon and Spa

William and Warren 

Plumed Serpent Bridal 

Hoaglands

Dough Girl Bakery 

Small Field Papers

Good Food Good Things

The Linen Shop

Neilsens Florist 

Aux Delices Cooking Classes