I’ve been spending a lot of time lately logging various awards, nominations, and victories for Boston chefs and restaurants. And today we have even more good news! In last night’s broadcast of Iron Chef America on the Food Network, our own Ken Oringer beat Iron Chef Cat Cora in a head-to-head battle. The secret ingredient? Coffee.

I’m not surprised that Ken won. For one, he’s a terrific talent. And when I saw him last week after dinner at Clio, he did seem pretty darn cheerful (though he was tight-lipped about the show). Congratulations, Ken!

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Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as nabbing a table at Miracle of Science. Chowder scours the internet for the latest news on what’s coming and the loss of a great innovator.

Opening
Old-school Italian favorite Cafe Marliave will be reopened by Grotto, according to Boston Restaurant Talk. Boston.com’s Dishing blog has the details.

“The Marliave will reopen this spring and will feature two dining rooms and an oyster bar. The menus will reflect the history of the establishment, which has operated as a French, Italian, and New England restaurant, and even as a speakeasy and illegal distillery (liquor and label print equipment was seized many times during Prohibition). . . .”

We love a restaurant with street cred.

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We’re beginning to feel a little smug around here at Chowder Central. For the second time this month, a Boston eatery has been named “best in the country” (that’s after the New York Times’s Frank Bruni named O Ya the best new American restaurant). Hah!

In this case it’s Speed’s Hot Dogs, the Newmarket Square stand where franks are marinated in apple cider and brown sugar, grilled over charcoal, then topped with homemade condiments. Raymond Sokolov of the Wall Street Journal calls them “the dog[s] against which I now measure all others.” (more…)

Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as completing the Eagle Deli’s Challenge Burger. Chowder scours the internet for the latest news on what’s coming, what’s closing, and who’s on Iron Chef.

Closing
The North End’s La Brace has closed, according to Boston Restaurant Talk. The site also reports that Coolidge Corner sushi joint Takeshima shut its doors and reopened as Blue Ocean, which has a similar menu. Thank God another sushi place replaced Takeshima. That way Brookline will continue to be well on its way to 17th sushi restaurant.

Chain dining aficionados will be sad to learn that the Chili’s in the Copley Place Mall has gone to that great fajita skillet in the sky. Mall representatives wouldn’t tell Boston Menu Pages what will fill the vacancy, but there’s always hope for another Margarita’s. (more…)

During the warm weather months, Boston is blessed with an abundance of local farmers markets. But it lacks a central year-round market along the lines of Seattle’s Pike Place, San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, or New York’s Union Square Greenmarket.

This wasn’t always the case: Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market were once home to a thriving collection of fishmongers, greengrocers, butchers, and bakers (probably even candlestick makers) as far back as the early 1800s. But those vendors were eventually replaced by today’s takeout food stands, making the Haymarket the only year-round source of produce and fish (I’ll leave discussions of quality and atmosphere to another post). (more…)

Ice cream fans are one step closer to rejoicing. Toscanini’s is getting closer to reopening. After launching a blog to solicit donations for its $167,000 tax bill, the owners report that they’ve received enough money to make a down payment to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and will hopefully start scooping soon.

But the owners are still accepting donations if you want to help them out.

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The Toscanini’s saga continues to unfold, four days after its surprise shuttering for unpaid taxes. On Friday, owner Gus Rancantore informed us that he and sister/partner Mimi were working to set up a payment plan with the state, and hoped to reopen on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Rancantoris launched Save Tosci’s, a PayPal-enabled blog aimed at raising $25,000 for a down payment on their bill. They also sent out a public statement. (more…)

As of Friday afternoon, Toscanini’s remains closed. However, owner Gus Rancantore sent us this update:

“We were trying to prevent this from happening and we thought we could get things in order by today, Friday, noon. That’s not going to happen and because of the MLK weekend we probably won’t be able to do anything until Tuesday.

“We do owe money to The Commonwealth. The DOR does not want to close us and we certainly don’t want to close. We have been discussing the amount owed and the payment plan. Right now we are, per their suggestion, filing abatements for certain months and running around.

It has been amazing to have so many people say and write nice things about the store, its workers and our ice cream…We just want to get this settled and reopen.” (more…)

Everyone here at Chowder was dismayed (devastated?) to learn via Bostonist that beloved Cambridge ice cream parlor Toscanini’s had been shuttered this morning—seized by the Commonwealth for nonpayment of taxes. It was bad enough to lose the Harvard Square location in 2006. Could this be the end of the micro-sundae?

We’re (cautiously) happy to report that there may be reason for hope: Owner Gus Rancantore tells us that he’s hoping to have this matter sorted out very quickly, possibly within days. Though he didn’t get into details, he indicated that he’s spent the day running around, sorting through red tape. (more…)

This time of year, it’s not unusual for certain foods to keep cropping up on the Chowder radar: Champagne. Cookies. Chocolate. But lately we’re starting to feel like we’re being followed, and not by any humanoid, ginger-flavored pastries. (Are we the only ones who find that story creepy?)

Our stalker? Gougeres. (more…)