Chef Of The Week

Today’s Special: Wilson’s Seafood Pasta

by | Feb 7, 2023 9:25 am | Comments (2)

Lisa Reisman photos

Manjares chef Wilson Coronel preparing seafood pasta marinara.

Clams. Shrimp. Escargot. Calamari. 

All elements are crucial to Wilson Coronel’s seafood pasta marinara. But the secret to its exquisite flavor is in the sauce. 

You have to reduce it, so it’s not too much and the taste comes through,” Coronel said on a recent late afternoon in the pocket-sized kitchen of the Westville institution that is Manjares Cafe.

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Zaroka Gets A Reboot

by | Jun 29, 2022 9:29 am | Comments (1)

Olivia Gross Photo

Fresh mozzarella naan with Italian seasoning.

Olivia Gross Photo

Mahesh Pirthiani, the new owner of Zaroka.

After 21 years of running his own 7/11 franchise, Mahesh Pirthiani was in need of a new project. Luckily, his favorite restaurant was looking for a new owner.

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Today’s Special: Jazzy’s Jerk Chicken

by | Dec 3, 2021 12:07 pm | Comments (1)

Lisa Reisman Photos

Executive chef Stephen Ross putting the finishing touches on his Jamaican jerk chicken at Jazzy’s Cabaret, a new Ninth Square nightspot which has its official kickoff this weekend.

To attain jerk status, the chicken sizzling on the grill at Jazzy’s Cabaret had spent the last 48 hours marinating in a blend of scallions, onions, and scotch bonnet peppers, with a rub of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice working their way into the meat.

That’s for maximum flavor,” said executive chef Stephen Ross, as he turned the chicken over with a pair of tongs, a smoky aroma wafting through the brightly lit kitchen.

And that flavor is why we make 40 of these on a given night.”

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Jey’s Burger Brings 259 Orange Back To Life

by | Aug 31, 2021 3:41 pm | Comments (5)

Lisa Reisman Photos

Chef Jeyson Santoni; his jam-packed 259 Orange burger (top).

You might call the 259 Orange a cheeseburger, a bacon burger, or an egg burger. Or maybe a short rib burger or an avocado burger.

The only thing certain is that the 259 Orange Burger nearly didn’t happen. Nor, for that matter, did Dangle’s Bar and Grill, which serves the 259 Burger, and which opened three weeks ago on 259 Orange just up the street from the New Haven County Courthouse.

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Today’s Special: Jesse’s Chicken Cutlet Scarpariello

by | Apr 22, 2021 11:03 am | Comments (1)

Lisa Reisman Photo

Brazi’s head chef Jesse Melgar in the kitchen.

Over the last 28 years, Brazi’s Italian Restaurant, just down the walkway from Long Wharf Theatre, has played the role of host to such luminaries as Arthur Miller, Robert Redford, and Al Pacino, as well as Brian Dennehy and Amy Irving. 

So it’s perhaps no wonder that, on a recent morning, head chef Jesse Melgar was at the industrial stove, adding a touch of Chardonnay to a skillet popping with chicken cutlets, red bliss potatoes, and cherry peppers, before theatrically tossing its contents as a flame gushed upward.

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Jazz Meets Bayou Burger At New Spot

by | May 19, 2017 12:06 pm | Comments (2)

Chef Joseph Williams scrutinized a bowl of ground beef, sprinkling it with dried parsley, chopped white onions and peppers, a secret red seasoning that turned the mixture light pink. He pressed and juggled the patty between both palms, spinning it like a thick round of pizza dough with a snap of his left wrist. Then he indented it with his thumb and placed it on a smoking grill.

Flames sprang up around the Cajun burger, and it broke a glistening sweat.

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