Category: Nearby New York City Travel

Famed Connecticut Chef And Restaurateur Carole Peck Opens Zeeburger In Woodbury CT

Trend-setting chef and noted restaurateur, Carole Peck is opening a casual eatery called Zeeburger, whose hamburger menu will reflect her love of local and farm fresh. Located in the Sherman Village Plaza at 670 Main Street in Woodbury, not far from her acclaimed and award-winning restaurant, Good News Café, Peck, following 18 years of serving high-end cuisine to diners far and wide, and many noted celebrities who have homes in Connecticut, will now turn her eclectic and tasteful art of cooking to a more grounded hamburger, hotdog and shake fare that the whole community can enjoy.

With the influence of her French husband Bernard Jarrier who refers to a hamburger as “Zeeburger,” Peck says the proximity of her new eatery close to Good News Café is an ideal situation that she couldn’t pass up.

“I see a real need in town for a family place where people who are pressed for time can enjoy a burger that’s tasty, healthy, and fun, and that’s what Zeeburger is all about,” Peck says. “Burgers are totally hot again and everyone loves them, so why not engage the community by giving them what they love and support our local and regional farms.”

Peck is indeed supporting area and regional farms. She is sourcing meat for the burgers from several organic and grass-fed farms. The milk for Zeeburger’s milkshakes and floats will come from Arethusa Farm Dairy in Litchfield, and she’s created a maple syrup shake using fresh maple syrup processed in Woodbury.

Zeeburger will offer a moderately priced menu appealing to both meat eaters and vegetarians. The hand-formed organic beef burgers, all served on brioche buns will include: Zee 5 ounce Burger with cheese, Zee Compact Burger, Zee Monster Burger, Zee Juicy Lucy Blue Burger, and Zee Bacon Cheeseburger. For those looking for an alternative to beef, there is: Zee Meat without Feet Salmon Burger, Zee Shroom Burger, Zee Falafel Burger, Zee ground Hot Dog on a pretzel roll and Zee on-going Grilled Cheese with bacon. Burgers and hot dogs all come with different toppings and can be accompanied by Zee hand-cut French Fries and Sweet Potato Fries.

For those who want a lighter, vegetarian fare, Zeeburger offers three types of Zee Green Goods: Caesar Salad, Chopped Salad and Crunchy Kale Salad.

Fresh dairy beverages sure to be a hit among children and adults alike are real and hand-dipped milk shakes and floats that come in either two ounce or 12 ounce sizes with a variety of flavors, including, chocolate, vanilla, malted, coffee, banana, raspberry, mint, hazelnut and maple syrup. Beer and wine will be served for adults.

For more information about Carole Peck, Zeeburger and The Good News Café, visit: http://www.zeeburger.com, http://www.good-news-cafe.com. For information about Litchfield Hills Connecticut visit http://www.litchfieldhills.com.

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New Roller Coaster Ushers In 103rd Season At Quassy Amusement Park

What do you get when you put more than 140,000 board feet of lumber, 200,000 nails and 35,000 nuts and bolts all together? In this instance, a wooden roller coaster! Quassy Amusement Park is celebrating the year of the “Wooden Warrior” in 2011 as the 103-year-old park ushers in its new marquee attraction on April 23 and 24th with its Annual $35 Campership Fund Weekend where proceeds go to help send underprivileged children to summer camp.

Designed by The Gravity Group of Cincinnati, Ohio, the “Wooden Warrior” is more than 1,200 feet long and towers 35 feet into the air. With the natural topography of the park playing into the blueprints, the ride drops more than 40 feet overall and crosses over the park’s miniature railroad twice, adding additional thrills for riders on both attractions. The ride will obtain a maximum speed of 35 mph with one six-car train, with a capacity of 12 persons, running the course. “Our new roller coaster is a family ride – one parents and grandparents alike can ride with children,” park owner George Frantzis II asserted. “It will not be an extreme or white-knuckle experience – that is not who and what we are.”

Later in the season, Quassy will usher in the summer of its new marquee ride by staging the “Rock ‘N Roll ‘R Coaster” laser light spectacular on May 27 and 28. The outdoor laser light show will take place in the great lawn area of the park after dark. Canned food donations will be accepted as admission to the show area in support of the Connecticut Food Bank.

The park will be staging a variety of other special events and live entertainment, including the African Acrobats International July 2 – Aug. 12 at the Silverleaf Resorts Carousel Theatre. For a complete listing of events visit http://www.quassy.com.

About the Park

Quassy Amusement Park features more than two-dozen rides and attractions, beach, “Saturation Station” interactive family water play area, redemption arcade and restaurant.

All-day wristbands or individual ride tickets are available. There is no general admission fee to walk around the amusement park, but guests must have an all-day wristband or pay a fee to enter the beach and waterpark area. Parking is $5 on weekdays and $6 on weekends. July 4 parking is $7.

The park is open weekends through mid-June and then operates daily through Labor Day, before returning to a weekend schedule to close out the season.

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Meet The Snakes… At Earthplace !

Earthplace in Westport Connecticut has a long history of educating the community about nature and the environment. True to their mission on Saturday, April 16 from 2:30 – 3:15 pm families are invited to get up close and personal with a snake ! Animal Care Technician, Andy Todd, aka The Snake Guy, will take participants on a journey to learn all about the world of snakes.

Andy will answer questions and provide key information and insights into snake behavior, snake size, daily diet, and which snakes make good pets. “Snakes are one of the most misunderstood and unjustly feared and hated animals on the planet” said Todd. “I want kids to come away feeling like they just got to participate in something exciting and out of the ordinary; something that they will remember when they are adults.”

Children over the age of 3 will have the opportunity to see and touch different types of snakes. The program runs from 2:30-3:15 and is included with the price of general admission and free for members. Contact Linda Roberts at (203) 227-7253, ext. 115 for more information.F

Founded in 1958 and accredited by The American Association of Museums, Earthplace, a non-profit organization maintains an 84-acre wildlife sanctuary with trails, contains an interactive natural history museum, houses live wildlife for public viewing and hosts many public nature programs and events for children and adults. Other activities include a state-licensed and accredited nursery school, summer day camp, a wildlife rehabilitation program, and the Harbor Watch/River Watch water quality testing program, which this year is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its formation.

Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center is located on 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, CT 06880.(I-95 Ex.17. Rte. 15 Ex. 41). (203) 227-7253. Grounds are open daily 7 to dusk and the Center is open Mon.-Sat. 9-5, Sun. 1-4. http://www.earthplace.org.

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BOULDER DASH TO BE FEATURED APRIL 3RD, 4TH, 10TH AND 11TH ON TRAVEL CHANNEL’S BERT THE CONQUEROR

Lake Compounce, America’s oldest continuously operating amusement park,will be featured on the Travel Channel series ‘Bert the Conqueror’ as he conquers one of the world’s most popular wooden roller coasters, Boulder Dash. Boulder Dash is the only roller coaster built on a mountain and it has been voted the #1 wooden roller coaster in the world by Amusement Today Magazine. The episode will be the first of the show’s new season, and will air on Sunday, April 3rd at 8:00 P.M. on the Travel Channel. The episode will air again on Monday April 4th at 3:00 P.M., Sunday April 10th at 8:30
P.M. and Monday April 11th at 3:30 P.M.

“We were excited, but not surprised to hear that Bert wanted to come to Lake Compounce to ride our signature ride” said Jerry Brick, General Manager for the park. “You have not lived until you’ve ridden Boulder Dash!”

About Lake Compounce
Lake Compounce, part of the Palace Entertainment family of parks, is New England’s Family Theme Park and the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America and is preparing for its 166th season. Season passes are now on sale for the 2011 season, and can be purchased
for $69.99 for a limited time (Regularly $79.99). Unlimited parking passes are available to all season pass holders for $33.00. Regular admission price for the 2011 season will be $35.99. Junior admission, which is for guests under 52 inches tall, is $25.99. Senior admission, for ages 61 and up, will be $17.99. Children 3 years of age and younger are admitted free. All tickets and season passes may be purchased by visiting http://www.lakecompounce.com.

About Palace Entertainment
Palace Entertainment hosts over 13 million visitors annually at 40 locations with eight theme parks, eleven water parks and 21 family entertainment centers and is the largest operator of water parks and
family entertainment centers in the nation. For more information, visit http://www.palaceentertainment.com.

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MAPLE SYRUP SCENTS ARE SURE SIGNS OF SPRING IN WESTERN CONNECTICUT


If it seems as though this winter will never end, take heart, The sweet scents of maple syrup in the making clearly announce that spring is coming—and they are a good reason to plan a visit to Litchfield and Fairfield counties in Western Connecticut.

Sugar maples are plentiful in these scenic areas and more than a dozen sugarhouses from private farms to nature centers welcome visitors during peak syrup season in March. Guests will view the process from tap to tastes, see how the big bubbling kettles of thin sap boil down to thick fragrant syrup and get to sample the delicious results. Some operations are open every weekend, some have special maple celebration days and some smaller farms request a call to be sure they are ready for company.

For the sap to run, nights below freezing and warm days are required, so dates can vary. A call always is a good idea before visiting.

The Maple Calendar

Lamothe’s Sugar House in Burlington starts the season early with the chance to see how syrup is made every weekend from February 12 to March 26. This family owned operation began as a hobby with seven taps and has grown to over 4500 taps and a year-round showroom. Coffee and cider are complimentary to visitors. Along with the maple syrup business the family also raise pigs, and mini-lop bunnies.

One of the busiest sugaring spots is the Flanders Nature Center Sugar House at Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary in Woodbury. Demonstrations are conducted by staff and volunteers on March 5, 6, 12 and 13th and the season ends with an annual grand finale Maple Celebration on March 19. On March 6 the day begins with a pancake breakfast, topped with Flanders’ own maple syrup. The final winter festival on March 19 features music, bird talks and walks, cooking and wood bowl turning demonstrations, maple food sampling, cooking demonstrations and special kids’ crafts and activities.

At Warrups Farm in Redding, visitors also are welcome the first three weekends in March to watch the whole process, sap to syrup in the log cabin sugar house, to take a taste of the sap direct from the trees and as well as the almost-ready syrup. Guests can savor all of the harbingers of spring on a farm.

Special Maple Days

March 6

Maple Sugar Sunday at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, the museum’s traditional family festival, will offer the chance to learn how sap from their own trees is made into syrup, to sample the syrup and to enjoy lots of fun for children including air bounces, maple-themed crafts, games, storytelling, and music.

March 12

The Fifth Annual Maple Festival at Sweet Wind Farm in East Hartland will be a busy day with a tree tapping demonstration, maple syrup and sugar making with free syrup samples at the sugar house, a narrated slide show and video, a cooking and recipe class story time for kids, and –almost everyone’s favorite activity– a sugar-on-snow candy making demonstration.

March 12, 13

At the Open House Maple Festival at the Great Brook Sugar House on Sullivan Farm, guides will escort visitors around the farm to various sites to see demonstrations reflecting a 300-year history of maple sugaring. Syrup and other maple products will be available for purchase.

March 19

This busiest March weekend is when the New Canaan Nature Center will hold tree-tapping demos, and a maple sap boil down at their Sugar Shack, as well as give a look at historic methods of making maple syrup. Families can also enjoy a delicious Pancake Brunch with maple syrup, join naturalists for a hike along “Maple Lane” to learn tree identification tips, warm up around the campfire to share tall tales, make a Maple craft and take home souvenir treats from a Maple Bake Sale.

The Institute for American Indian Studies will have a different take on sugaring at its annual festival on the 19th. Demonstrations will show how local Native Americans traditionally made maple syrup and its importance to their culture and pancakes made by IAIS staff will be served with local maple syrup.

The sweet aroma of boiling sap and syrup will fill the air and samples of fresh syrup will be handed out to guests at the annual Maplefest! at the Sharon Audubon Center on March 19th. Tours throughout the day will show how maple syrup is produced at the Center and samples will be available for purchase.

Maple Sugar Contacts
To be sure sugarhouses are in operation, always phone ahead.

Flanders Nature Center Maple Sugar House, Church Hill Rd., Woodbury Phone: 203-263-3711, flandersnaturecenter.org. March 5, 6, 12, 13, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free.

Pancake breakfast fundraiser, March 6, 8 a.m.-noon, adults $7, children ages 5 – 11, $5; under 5 free. Maple Celebration, March 19. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., $5 per person or $15 per family.

Great Brook Sugarhouse at Sullivan Farm, 140 Park Lane, Route 202, New Milford, 860-354-0047, March12, 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free.

Institute for American Indian Studies, 38 Curtis Road off Route 199, Washington, 860-868-0518, March 19, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Advance Tickets, Adults $8, Children, $6; At the door: Adults $10, Children, $8

Lamothe’s Sugar House, 89 Stone Road, Burlington, 860-675-5043, lamothesugarhouse.com. Saturday and Sunday p.m. February 12 to March 26. 1 to 4:30 p.m. Free

New Canaan Nature Center, 144 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, Phone: 203- 966-9577, newcanaannature.org. March 19, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Members, $8, non-member $12

Sharon Audubon Center, 325 Route 4, Sharon, 860-364-0520,Sharon.audubon.org March 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Adults, $5, children, $3.

Stamford Museum and Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Road, Phone: Stamford, 203-322-1646, stamfordmuseum.org, March 6 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Members $5, non-members, $10

Sweet Wind Farm, 339 South Road, East Hartland, 860-653-2038. Sweetwindfarm.net March 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free

Warrup’s Farm, 11 John Reed Rd., off Route 107, Redding, Phone: 203- 938-9403, warrupsfarm.com, March 5, 6, 12,13, 19, 20, noon to 5 p.m. Free

These farms also welcome visitors, but an advance appointment is necessary.

Brookside Farm, 79 East Chestnut Hill Road, Litchfield, 860-567-3805

Brothers and Sons Sugarhouse, 998 Saw Mill Road, Torrington, 860-489-2719

Dutton’s Sugarhouse, 28 Sunny Ridge Road, Washington, 860-868-0345

Kasulaiis Farm and Sugarhouse, 69 Goose Green Road, Barkhamsted, 860-379-8787

West Hill Sugarhouse, 525 West Hill Road, New Hartford, 860-379-9672

Woodbury Sugarshed, 41 Washington Road, Woodbury, 203-263-4550

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SANTA’S ON BOARD FOR FUN IN LITCHIFELD HILLS

If you want to find Santa in Northwest Connecticut, catch a train. On weekends, you can join Mr. and Mrs. Claus taking a break for a fun ride aboard the Santa Express, a restored 1920s train from the New England Railroad Museum in Thomaston. To see Santa at work, ride a train to visit the great man and his busy elves in the weekend Toyland he sets up in a vintage train car at the Danbury Railroad Museum. Santa works late this time of year, and the special Northern Lights tours from Thomaston let you make a stop to see him at Santa’s Train Workshop. Wherever you find him, you can be sure that Santa has gifts ready for all young children.

Fans of miniature trains also will find irresistible holiday exhibits of whizzing, whirring miniature trains at many spots in this scenic part of the state.

Riding the Rails

The Santa Express leaves the 1881 station in Thomaston on Saturdays and Sundays for an hour and a quarter round-trip scenic ride beside the Naugatuck River in 1920s-vintage coaches. Mr. and Mrs. Claus make sure to visit with each child on board and often they bring elves along. Evening light displays inside and outside the train greet passengers after dark on the very special Northern Express journey to Santa’s Train Workshop.

The gift shop inside the gaily decorated historic station has a host of ideas for train fans young and old, including railroad books, children’s books, Thomas the Tank Engine™ merchandise and lots of train memorabilia. And there is an operating miniature Christmas train layout.

Santa Express trains, $14 adults, $12 children, leave at 2 p.m., Northern Express trains, $22 depart at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on 12/4-5, 12/11-12 and 18/19. Additional Northern Express trains are scheduled for 11/27-28 and 12/3.

Santa’s Rail Yard

At the Danbury Railway Museum, which includes a classic 1903 station and a railroad yard with vintage train cars, visitors can ride a working vintage train through the yard to Santa’s own train. They will find him in his workshop supervising his elves, who are busy making toys. Santa rides begin at noon and run every half hour until 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays, December 11 and 18, and Sundays December 5, 12 and 19 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. The $8 admission includes the ride, a gift from Santa, and exhibits and displays in the yard and indoors. A miniature layout is in action in the station, along with a coloring station.

Once again, there is a tempting Gift Shop, with over 600 different items, including Thomas the Tank™ and Little Engine That Could™ merchandise, books, clothing, puzzles, and other railroad items. The station is at 120 White Street in Danbury. Reserve tickets in advance at http://www.danbury.org/DRM or phone (203) 778-8337.

Mini Magic

Miniature train displays are a traditional holiday favorite for many families. The Wilton Historical Society’s annual Great Trains exhibit features a range of makes, models and gauges of model trains rolling around curves, passing scenic local landscapes and rushing through mountain passes. Each model landscape is intricately designed by the Society’s “Trainmen” and the holiday exhibit includes a vast collection of toys, dolls and miniatures. Dates are December 4 through January 17. Admission is $5; Hours are Tuesdays – Fridays, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sundays 1 – 4 p.m. The Society is located at 224 Danbury Road. Check online or phone for holiday closings: http://www.wiltonhistorical.org or 203-762-7257.

The 23rd Annual Hands On Train Display at New Milford’s restored vintage train station December 18th through 31st offers four big operating train layouts. Each year the waiting room of the station is transformed into a Lilliputian landscape of hills, valleys and villages. The towns, populated by tiny figures dressed in winter finery, are crisscrossed by whizzing layouts of scale model Lionel trains. The setup includes almost 100 feet of track. Visitors can do more than admire the trains. They are invited to take the controls, starting and stopping the action and operating signals and lights. The trains operate daily from noon to 4 p.m. This yearly free event is sponsored by the Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about trains, directions to events and listings of all the holiday doings in the region, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com. They offer a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to the Litchfield Hills and a free Fairfield County Getaway Guide.

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