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. (more…)

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.”

(more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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.

(more…)

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. (more…)

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.

May 2, 7:30-11:30 p.m.
Taste of the North End
New England Aquarium

Get your Italian fix without the parking fiasco. Forty-four popular North End restaurants, including Antico Forno, Eclano, Fiore, Mare, Mike’s Pastry, Taranta, Terramia, Tresca, and many more come together for an evening of fine dining to benefit the Cam Neely Foundation. (more…)