but stay ♪ hi there, welcome to "connecticut style." i'm teresa labarbera. thanks for joinig us today as we get ready to celebrate thanksgivingment we are talking kitchens.
bender bender showrooms is here to show us the styles plus remoding tips to desig your dream kitchen. caring for outdoor cats,we'll tell you about the greater new haven cat project and all they do in the community. and i'm in the kitchen with one
of our favorite guests, tony mali, the executive chef at inn at villa bianca. the owner. thanks for being here. and the tavern. 1757 i up and running. how is business going? beautiful, beautiful,
beautiful. we're very excited. so we're talking thanksgiving here, and you could, people can call you and you can do the whole dinner, can't you. yes, the tavern is open 12 to 6, thasgiving, and also we have a complete dinner to go for
as many as ten people. $25 a person. it will be ready with all the trimmings from pie, soup, a complet turkey. i like that, all courses. many courses. let's get the show started, we'll hear bit in a minute
tell everyone what they need to do. relax, sit down, have a lunch with style. a kitcn no matter what size is the heart and soul of a home, so if you're planning on renovating yours anytime soon, bender showrooms is a great
place to star joining me is a kitchen designer specialist. how did i do with your name? it's. [ pronouncing ] thank you for fixing that for us. tell bus bender showrooms, you
have locations all across the state. yes we do. we actually have a beautiful show rooms on seven location we show bathroom products, we do kitchen cab. s, countertops, hardware. we also actually do hvac.
and i know you have a pretty impressive website. you just won a hobie award forries, congratulations. yes, we're proud of it. you must be able to log on and see cls examples, right? yes, we have a wonderful website, people definitely
should check that out. the staff is highly trained, and you can answer all the questions if you godown to the show room? yes, i am an asid-cde, a certified kitchen designer, and i can certainly help anyone with their kitchen and interior
design needs. it's not just kitchen, you have bathooms, a little bit of everything. tell us about the variety. well, we have a huge variety, and we have the latest products as you an see here. we do custom cabinet arery, we
are able to fit all budgets. okay. you brought a lot of examples today. we're doing kitchens. if you want to remodel, where do you start? it's quite a process. yes, it's very overwhelming
for most people. what i like to always recommend that people d is do their homework. do a lot of research. go online look through some websites, and try to come up with an inspiration picture. and that will be the picture
that's going to help guide you into getting that kitchen of your dreams. how pretty. we're taking a look at some of the items in the show room here, lovely. yes. let's talk about what you
brought here today. well, we have several door samples and colors to show you. you know, what's really popular right now are the white cabinets. the cream with the glazing is also very popular. which is this brown hang-up
here. we do custom colors as well. and the stained woods are still really popular right now. we dosome granites, there's a number of countertops that you can choose fro of materials. we have granite, quartz, we also do marble, wood tops, also
concre and stainless steel. and my favorite is this. it add variety, right? yes, it's the jewelry of the i love, that's one of my favorite parts of the kitchen that littl final touch that makes everything come together. wat are these for?
these are actually hardware too. those are come crystal knobs. people don't realize those are still available, but they are, and they do really add a nice touch. you mentioned te white cabinets are in, so white
kitchens i assume are a trend? they're very popular, yes. and we're looking at a picture. it just looks clean. yes, it's a very clean look, andthat's the direction we're going in as a transitional style.
if you head to bende showrooms, there's a free consultation. tell bus that. what we do is we always ask that the customers call ahead of time and schedule an appointment, so you get to meet with one of our experienced
designers and get our undivided attention. we like to go through the process with you and make it less overwhelming, and hopefully get you that dream kitchen that you've always wanted. and i know because i visited the show rooms before, you can
create kind of a picture of what things aregoing to look like ahead of time. yes, we have a program. it's a computer-generated program that shows you your kitchen in a three-imensional view. that's pretty cool, it's a
great service. i want to ask you, you've been designing kitchens for a while. whatis your favorite part about the job? my favorite part would be meeting with the clients and really just helping them achieve their dream.
and do they ever give you ideas? i'm sure once in a while? i like to hear their ideas, because definitely, my goal is to make them happy, and i like to listen to my clients and help them achieve the beautiful look in the end.
my favorite part of the job is to get that phone call saying they're so happy with their kitchen. the end product, too, probably after all the designing. now at bender's there's a customer referral program.
tell us the details. well, if you refer, if you purchase a kitchen through s and you refer a friend, then what we do is we send you an american express card valued at $50. not bad. all right, we're running out
time. thank you so much for being let's put some information on the screen if you'd like to get who hold of the folks at bender showrooms. check out alternate exampls they have.
thanks again. thank you. up next, turkey and alternate fixings, the inn at villa bianca gives us a preview to their thanksgiving day feast. don't go anywhe. this thanksgiving give yoursf a break from cooking,
let tony mavuli and his staff do all the work at the inn at villa bianca. and over at tavern 1757. tony is the owner and executive chef. welcome back, tony. alwas nice to be back. the tavern is up and running.
how is it going so far? we just start up, and also for this week, it's moving along good. i have to mention i visited, it is beautiful. you have that great pizza oven downstairs also. it's a greatplace.
people are very satisfied. oh, good. very nice. we're talking thanksgiving today, and you're going to make it a little bit easier for us. right. thanksgiving we are open, we are serving dinner from 12 t 6, so
you can make reservation, at the 1757 tavern. also, we have dinners to go for minimum 10 people, $25 a person, and you get a complete ood, turkey, with pmpkin soup. pumpkin soup, i love that. cranberries, also different stuffing, regular stuffing and
the apricot stuffing, with sweet mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, lots of bread, everything, it's complete. it's pretty easy. talk about this soup, that is great appetizer. you can actually carve it right out of the pumpkin?
yes, you can roast he pumpkin, stick him in the oven and put the soup, it's very different. what ype of sides can we pick from? i see brussels sprouts, potatoes. rig.
the basics. mostly the basic, it's very much, yes. we don't have too much choice. [ laughter ] that's what it is on thinking, right? it's what it is, right. it's great you combined the
strawberries and cranbery sauce. strawberry and cranberry probably takes the tartness a little bit, yes. this is a unique stuffing, too, tell bus this. this is an apricot stuffing, and it's a little different.
you give little -- sweetness, maybe? sweet in your mouth. [ coughing ] it's different. all right. and the tavern -- -- excuse me, the tavern is opn six days a week.
after january it's open also mondays. right now we're still setting up the stuff very good, so we take a brea on mondays. but after january, it will be open seven days a week. also we open for brunch. oh, for how fun.
we have a beautiful brunch, start 11:30 to 3:00, then serving al sunday long. great! i like that. now, let me ask you, tony, are you doing weddgs this time of year? oh, yes.
oh, yes, weddings is part of the business. and we've got a secial, we don't increase the price for 2013 into 2014, we leave the price the same. so we try to give a break, with this economic times. andthe people are very, very
happy with that. so alsoer, we have a special on thursday nigt. also a discount friday and sundays. but still very good price. on saturday. we should mention its it's really one-stop shopping,
you have the car service, the room to get ready in, you ave accommodations. when we take everything in our arms, we organize everything for you. we take a lot of stress away from you. we take care of evething.
you know. very good. you know, the brides are very happy. all right, let's talk more about thanksgiving, because it's right around the corner copia's and this is such a great idea, because nobody wants to be stuck
inthe kitchen during thanksgiving, right? certain things that can be done ahead, like i sa. you know, always try to buy fresh turkey instead of frozen. it tastes much better, easier to cook, instead of keep it thre, four days defrosting and stuff
like that. so thanksgiving is traditional, and the tavern is open, like i said, from 12:00 to 6:00. because you don't want dleen anything up, right? and everybody coming to see me always get one of my april ron's.
that's fantastic. i have world cup of those. i want to ask you, tony, if you're aving thanksgiving dinner, do you serve red or white wine? well, i prefer red. you always prefer red. but you can use a brut, you
know, not a fruity chardonnay or pinot grigio or nice brut like brut in the day, and finish with a nice red. a nice rsso that doesn't break the bank, it's a very, very good wine. also in the tavern we have abea0 wines.
great wine cellar too. beautiful wine cellar that is getting finished, so it will be ready in the next couple weeks. fantastic. any other exciting events going on? are you going going going to ex, tony?
no, no, i'm done. this is easy, we can call for you thanksgiving inner. i see gravy, you've got alternate course, bread. right, everything. one-stop shopping. let's put some information up on the screen.
give us a call, we'll take care of you. the inn at villa bianca and new tavern 1757 at 312 roosevelt drive in seymour. tony, we're going to check wack with you at the end of the show and dig in. youyou got it.
up next we're going to tell but greater ne haven cat project when style returns. we'll be right back. today we're shining a spotlight on the greater new haven cat project, a nonprofit that helps to alleviate the suffering of
ferrel cats through spaying and neutering. joining me are the president and the secretary. ladies, thanks for being here. tell us who you have with you. i actually have terrence. and i have his brother samuel over here.
they are, they're brothers. both up for adoption we should mention. yes, both available or adoption. they were rescued actually from a backyard in new haven, as part of one of our neuter return sessions.
they were young enough, and we determined with their disposition and what not that they would be able to be socialized and placed in a permanent home, and now they're getting all squirmy. they're excited to be on tv. i think so.
tell me about the greater new haven cat project. what's the mission? the organization started in 1996. it was just small grass-roots organization, and our purpose it population, in a humane manner, and we do thatthrough spaying
and neutering. we offer our trap neuter he return program for people who are feeding ferrel cats, and if someone has taken in a stray cat we will also accord them an appointment for a low-cost spay and neuter service. you say they go back to the
neighborhood they came from because that's their home. yes, ferrel cats do have a home, and their hme is wherever they happen to take up residence, probably where they found a feeding source. and what wedo when we receive calls about ferrel cats is we
encurling people to put them on a regular feeding schedule. that helps us determine a volunteer who would be able to go out and humanely catch the cats, transport them to the vet. we work with two wonderful veterinarians. and we recover the cats
postsurgery. they receive a distemper and rabies vaccine in addition to being altered, and they go bck home. how many cats would you say are living on their own in maven? thousands.
there are thousands. we live in a community where there are a lot of transient residents. and ferrel cats are known to sort of exist in places like college campuses and what not. with the economy, they are sort of taking a downspin.
a couple of years ago we experienced a lot of people who just don't have the resources on their own to even have their pets spayed or neuered, and it only takes two, and two months. that's true. let me ask you, what about diseases or rabies
do these cause any problems to humans? i would say not to humans, it's not a big problem. as rabies, it'snot what you would think of as wild animals, because these are more domesticated. this is a domestic species.
and ferrel cats aren't aggressive, they more run away from humansthan run towards or bite a human. so a ferrel cat who contracts the rabies virus, would have to be bitten by an animal that had rabies and then survive that attack.
and then attack a human, which is very rare that a ferrel cat would go after a human. you touched upon it with sam and terrence here, sometimes cats are rescued. what's the difference? well, so one thing that we should say right up front is
that we don't operate as a shelter in taking in people's petsment all the cats that we have available for adoption are from a rescue effort. so when we're, for instance, when w were trapping in their former neighborhood, when the cats are trapped and they go to
the vet, when they're in recovery after their urgery -- oh, they love that -- yeah, they really want to play maybe they should go together. that's our hope. to adopt them togther. you know, we determine when
they're in recovery whether or not we think that they can be socialized enough to be adoptable. we often take in kittens, we take in friendly cats that might have been abandoned into a ferrel cat colony. so age doesn't matter, olor
doesn't matter. we just go for sort of like their personality. we're looking at some pictures on the screen. do these guys need homes as well? yes, those are a couple of our senior cats.
colette on theupper left, actually, she was given to us by one of our veterinarians. her amily was going to euthanize her because she wasn' getting along well with their dogs. when you receive a phone call like that --
you want to save them, right? oh, who's this? this is hillry. hilary is one of our special needs cats. she was rescued from a landscape nursery in amden, and -- oh, and there's oliver. that's their brother.
great. yeah. i know you guys have an upcoming cat food drive happening saturday, december 8, from 10 to 3. where is that happening? so that's going to be, that was actually a result of a grant
that we received from the aspca. apparently the a and subaru have a partnership, so we're going to have our cat food drive at premier ubaru in branford, and it's we call it fill the forester for ferrels. filling up a subaru, ight?? we have that information on the
screen, at wtnh.com. thanks to much, hopefully we can find terrence and sam a home. thank you so much. stay with us, more "connecticut style" after the break. millions of people are unemployed.
there are new signs that people holding onto jobs are getting more stressedded out. elizabeth vargas has thestory. what's new in the world of 9 to 5 will make you wan to call 911. youtube makes it look like the american work force son the edge
of a nervous breakdown. workers ofthe world rising up against infuriating workplace pression, the tierney of bulky computers, paperless printers, and annoying coworkers. we all bring baggage to work every day. now, many of these videos are
fake. some are clever viral marketing campaigns. this is really an ad for office chairs. but all these online videos tap into something real. let's call it cubicl rage. there's a lot of frustration
in our society. let rewards of economic gains have gone, as we all know, to fewer rather than more people in society in general. and when people perceive inequity, they're likely to feel angry and they're likely to want to take steps.
he worked in a well-known video game store in new york a. coworker captured his state of mind the day after christmas 2009. he says he was joking, sort of, but he says he truly had had it with the customers and his manager.
[ shouting ] dave has now moved on from that job. this video went viral on the internet. here comes the new computer monitor. and there goes the new computer for some disgruntled parcel
delivery people, everything is air mail. but why sitthat grown adults can act like children in the office? in the workplace it's a powerful social situation, so we come to react to each otheras if we were pseudosiblings.
the workplace can be a big, happy family, or the workplace can be a big, dysfunctional family. wow, that surely doesn't happen on "connecticut style," we all get along. that was elizabeth vargas reporting.
here we are in the kitchen with our guests, tony mavuli, reminding us we can get thanksgiving dirp, call the tavern 1757. and more information about bender showrooms at bender showrooms.com. ladies, the cat people have left
already, but we'll have that information on our website, wtnh.com. all right, everyone, ready forrarily thanksgiving? yes! yummy. looks fantastic. come and vis me.
laugh. we want to thank everybody for watching. make it a great day. we'll see you back here tomorrow. bon appetit!