Fun With Carbs

Jason Hawkins, host of CPTV's "Eating Connecticut"

If you’ve ever enjoyed a meal in the Nutmeg State, then you’ll love “Eating Connecticut,”
CPTV’s increasingly popular show focusing on local restaurants. Fun With Carbs recently sat down with its host, Jason Hawkins, to find out more about the delicious show and just how Hawkins landed such a fantastic job…

“Eating Connecticut” is the brainchild of Hawkins, a veteran TV producer and writer for the Food Network and HGTV. As a producer for NECN’s “TV Diner with Billy Costa,” Hawkins hosted a regular “Where The Heck is My Producer?” segment, where he visited restaurants all over New England and viewers pieced together clues to find him. The segment grew in popularity and Connecticut viewers clamored for Hawkins, a Hartford-area native, to visit more spots in his home state.

Jason Hawkins at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven

When Hawkins’ NECN contract was up in 2007, he decided to pitch a Connecticut-based restaurant program to local networks, with the show ultimately going to CPTV. A pilot episode was shot and edited, featuring the nationally-recognized cuisine of New Haven. It first aired in July 2008.  As funding followed, so did more episodes, and “Eating Connecticut” has now covered the culinary scenes of Litchfield, Mystic, Middletown, South Norwalk, Hartford, Waterbury and Stamford. The show even earned two local Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Magazine Program/Special and Outstanding Editor-Program.

Hawkins says the show has picked up quite a few fans, judging by the amount of restaurant suggestions submitted on CPTV’s website and the response he receives when out in public.

“People come up to me – no, they run at me – to tell me how much they enjoy the show,” he said.

Hawkins with chef Noel Jones of ON20 in Hartford

Each episode requires quite a bit of legwork, Hawkins says, starting with his own research. Once they settle on a town or city, Hawkins will visit up to 20 restaurants there, taking notes, talking to owners and managers and learning more about the eateries’ backgrounds. Featured restaurants are chosen in response to a number of factors, among them viewer recommendations, popularity and interesting backstories.

“We try to choose something for everyone,” Hawkins said. “We’ll pick a restaurant that’s been open for a really long time, then one that’s pretty new. We also try to keep the types of cuisine and prices really varied.”

Hawkins and Jeff Esau of Jeff's Cuisine in South Norwalk

Once the restaurants are chosen, the crew shoots on-site at six to eight restaurants and a handful of historical/tourist attractions. Several more restaurants are mentioned off-camera at the end of the episode, in a segment called “Bonus Bites.” With editing, Hawkins estimates that the process of completing one episode takes about a month.

I asked Hawkins to name his favorite Connecticut restaurants and he handed me a list -  guess it’s hard to keep them straight. “I like so many restaurants for so many reasons,” he said.

He heralds Remo’s Brick Oven Pizza in Stamford for “the best thin-crust New York-style pizza I’ve ever had,”  – high praise from a former pizza-shop employee who admits he doesn’t eat much pie these days. His fine-dining favorite is West Street Grill in Litchfield and he raves about Chocopologie in South Norwalk, where, he points out, he ordered their hot chocolate in summertime, despite temperatures in the high 90s.

Hawkins and Chef James Cosgriff of West Street Grill, Litchfield

For now, the future of “Eating Connecticut” looks good, Hawkins said. They’re exploring new funding and sponsorship opportunities. As for future episodes, Hawkins says he’d like to potentially visit West Hartford, Greenwich, Glastonbury and the northeastern part of the state, known as the “Quiet Corner.”

He will also be appearing in dining-related segments of another CPTV show, “All Things Connecticut,” hosting a ‘guessing game’ feature similar to his ‘TV Diner’ gig.

Hawkins, who has lived in Boston and Philadelphia, says “Eating Connecticut” is dispelling the illusion that the best cuisine only exists in big cities with star chefs.

“You can find great food all over this state. It’s just a little more spread out,” he said.

You tell us: Where should Jason and “Eating Connecticut” visit next?