Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best culinary events in town. Check back every Thursday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie feasts, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.
May. 1st - May. 31st Brasserie Jo Month-Long Celebration Brasserie JO is celebrating its 10th anniversary throughout May with a month filled with activities. Every day there’s a new special drink or food offering, from free crepes and complimentary cheese courses to a $1 bar menu and more. Check out the full list here.
May. 7th - Jun. 30th Aw Shucks!
Pigalle
Tues.-Fri., 5-10 p.m.; Sat., 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Sun., 5-9:30 p.m. Marc Orfaly, chef/owner of Pigalle, is introducing an early spring patio special of $1 oysters at the patio, bar, and dining room, every Tuesday–Sunday evening. Read the rest of this entry »
Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as finding an outdoor table on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Chowder scours the internet for the latest news on what’s coming and the latest way to die as you lived.
Opening The Daily Grill, a chain with a meat-and-potatoes menu, has opened in the Prudential Center.
Daily Grill neighbor Haru is now accepting reservations for its outdoor seating.
Last week we told you that the Beehive’s outdoor dining would open on Saturday, but the South End hotspot has delayed the opening until May 24 due to, “unforeseen construction issues.”
Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best Mother’s Day brunches in town. Check back every Thursday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie feasts, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.
Mother’s Day Meals
Avenue One May 11, Reservations will be taken for the following seating times: 11 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Prices vary
617-422-5560
Even Mom will want to lick the plate clean when she tastes the delectable goodies prepared by Avenue One’s gourmet chefs. She’ll enjoy traditional breakfast favorites, enticing entrees, seasonal salads, and freshly baked desserts. And children will love the Little One’s Buffet with finger-friendly favorites.
Beacon Hill Bistro May 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
$38 (pre-fixe menu)
617-723-7575
This classy cafe is offering an impressive brunch that will make mom swoon. With a pre-fixe menu that includes cinnamon French toast, fresh omelets, and mouth-watering desserts. Read the rest of this entry »
On Saturday morning, I’m going to wake up at the crack of dawn, pack a bag with a brunch-appropriate get-up, and jump on the 8:15 Acela train from Back Bay to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Then hitch a ride back to Boston Sunday night. All for—you guessed it—my mom.
Because, in case you’ve forgotten, Sunday is Mother’s Day. And even living 300 miles away doesn’t excuse you from the responsibilities that come with the ultimate of Gold Crown holidays.
But, if for some reason you can’t make it home, there is a more convenient alternative: sending sugary wishes via the Harvard Sweet Boutique. Created by Harvard resident Sue George, this e-bakery will craft mom the melt-in-your-mouth cookies, brownies, and toffee you wish you had time to make yourself—then wrap them in adorable packaging and ship them off in less time than it will take you to travel home and back. Read the rest of this entry »
Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as finding a Mexican restaurant without a four-hour wait on Cinco de Mayo. Chowder scours the internet for the latest news on what’s coming, what’s going, and the latest offering from Burger King.
Opening
The North End is getting another Italian restaurant. Shocking! Paesan’s will open on Salem Street in the space that was once La Brace. Chowhound posters don’t seem too optimistic for the chances of the place being any good.
Boston Restaurant Talk reports that Shiraz Cuisine, which will serve Persian food, is opening in Watertown.
The Beehive will open “the BEEch,” an 80-seat outdoor dining addition, on May 17.
From the press release:
[D]iners will be seated and handed a menu of freshly prepared casual gourmet items to choose from. Once customers have selected their items, the wait staff will return with these culinary treasures in packages and jars along with fresh bread tucked in picnic baskets to share.
After a miserably cold winter, that sounds like heaven.
No surprise that local pit-master Chris Schlesinger’s latest release, Grill It! (DK Publishing, 352 pages, $25), is a big slab of a book, packed with juicy photos and recipes: It’s like a Texas T-bone with a table of contents. What is surprising is that Schlesinger, co-owner of Cambridge’s East Coast Grill, still has a lot to say about the art of grilling. After all, he and collaborator John “Doc” Willoughby, executive editor of Gourmet magazine, have already been on a veritable hot streak with License to Grill, The Thrill of the Grill, Let the Flames Begin, and How to Cook Meat.
What makes Grill It! stand out, though, is first the tiptop photography: Publisher Dorling Kindersley is known for lavishly illustrated titles (it puts out the superb Eyewitness Travel guides, for instance), and that gives Grill It! extra appeal. Read the rest of this entry »
Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best culinary events in town. Check back every Thursday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie feasts, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.
May 1, 6:30 p.m. Heading Home
Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, $250
Help Shelter in their efforts to end homelessness by attending this fundraiser, which will involve 25 of the area’s greatest chefs and restaurants, including Chez Henri, Oishii, The Olive Group, Pigalle, Rialto, Spire,Tremont 647, Upstairs on the Square, and more. Guests will also hear from special guest speaker Jeanette Walls, author of New York Times bestseller “The Glass Castle,” a memoir about growing up homeless.
Unless you make friends with a chef, food writers rarely get to see what’s going on in the kitchen. We guess at what’s happening behind the scenes, taking our cues from what’s on our plates. Unsurprisingly, then, I jumped at the chance to get an insider’s look at Legal Sea Foods.
Yes, it’s a chain. And yes, it’s where you take your parents when they come to town. But, the sheer magnitude of this Boston-based operation—30-plus restaurants, plus more in the queue—made it impossible for me to ignore. So last Friday, I gladly donned a fleece and followed CEO Roger Berkowitz into the innards of Legal’s local operations: the Quality Control Center, on the South Boston waterfront. (The address? One Seafood Way.) Read the rest of this entry »
Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as navigating an open bar without losing your dignity. Chowder scours the internet for the latest news on what’s coming, what’s going, and where you can get the equipment you need to peddle your meat.
Opening Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey’s new bar, McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon, opened for a one-day preview on Patriot’s Day. Chowder walked by the bar a couple of days before the Marathon and got this picture of the handsome space. McGreevy’s will be open for regular business sometime in May.
People on cooking shows will tell you that cooking with Arborio rice at home is easy. And it is…if you’ve got the time to stand around a pot and stir, stir, stir, until your clothes stick to you and your arm can’t take anymore.
That’s why I make my own risotto on lazy Sundays, when life allows me to chop, roast, and yes, stir to my hungry stomach’s content. In honor of the end of a painful (semi) bread-free week, I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite Italian-inspired recipes, spun from a love of both carbs and gourds: butternut squash risotto. Just remember: recipes using Arborio rice are as flexible as they are delicious, so have fun with whatever farm-fresh vegetables you have on hand—and add or subtract whatever you please. Read the rest of this entry »
May. 1st - May. 31st
Avenue One
On Saturday morning, I’m going to wake up at the crack of dawn, pack a bag with a brunch-appropriate get-up, and jump on the 8:15 Acela train from Back Bay to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Then hitch a ride back to Boston Sunday night. All for—you guessed it—my mom.
No surprise that local pit-master 
May 1, 6:30 p.m.
Unless you make friends with a chef, food writers rarely get to see what’s going on in the kitchen. We guess at what’s happening behind the scenes, taking our cues from what’s on our plates. Unsurprisingly, then, I jumped at the chance to get an insider’s look at 
Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey’s new bar, McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon, opened for a