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.) (more…)

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.

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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. (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.

April 24, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Lala Rokh Art Dinner
Lala Rokh, $55 per person

Celebrate the addition of a new life-size Qajar dynasty painting of a female dancer to the restaurant. The evening will begin with a discussion lead by Persian art collector Elmar Seibel, who is also president and owner of Ars Libri, and a former overseer of the MFA. A three-course dinner with wine pairings will follow.

April 24, 6 p.m.
Cocci Grifoni Wine Dinner
Il Capriccio, Waltham, $70 per person

Spend the evening discovering new wines from Cocci Grifoni, an estate in the coastal region of Central Italy’s Marches, which has reinvented the pecorino grape. Sommelier Jeannie Rogers will present the evening’s featured bottles, while guests savor a four-course menu, including mussels in white wine, black linguine with calamari, ramps, and garlic, citrus marinated Giannone chicken, and mixed berries with zabaglione. (more…)

It’s no secret that Chowder bloggers are a little nutso about chocolate, whether it’s in bar, cookie, or even vegan cupcake form. So we all said a little “hallelujah!” when pastry chef Lee Napoli opened Chocolee in the South End. I shed more than a few tears of joy, and probably drooled a little, too.

And then Aroa opened. And then I kind of lost it. (more…)

Ever since Al Gore made An Inconvenient Truth, it feels like every day is Earth Day. We’ve been better about recycling, have tested out the green lifestyle, and think a little more about where our food comes from.

Just in time for today’s celebration of the planet, the Bon Appetit Management Company has developed the Low Carbon Diet Calculator to make it easier to eat green.

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Let’s talk about bad tables. Most restaurants have at least one that’s too close to the kitchen or the front door, or positioned under the air conditioning vent or in a too-dark corner. And most of us have been seated there at least once.

It’s not a personal slight. Real estate is expensive and restaurants are looking for that sweet spot where the maximum number of revenue-generating tables are filled with happy, comfortable customers.

I’m not usually sensitive to where I’m seated. I try to keep a low profile anyway, and don’t mind when others get the prime geography. If a designated seat is bad enough for me to notice, I just ask for a different one. Most of the time, the strategy works. But the other night, I was seated at table so bad it was actually funny.

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Italian food, for me, is a bit like the visiting the MFA: I have a sense of its vastness, its variety, but—time after time—I trundle along the same route, past the big-name American and European masters, and end up standing in front of Isabella and the Pot of Basil. Again. Like most people, I need someone to show me what I’m missing. In short, I need a guide.

For those looking to explore Italian cuisine beyond seafood fra diavolo and pasta puttanesca (and, let’s be honest, fettucine alfredo), there is an excellent guide in the form of Boston’s own G. Franco Romagnoli, who with his wife, Gwen, has just published Italy, the Romagnoli Way (The Lyons Press, 368 pages, $24.95).

More-mature foodies will remember him from his 1970s PBS series, The Romagnolis’ Table, or from his restaurants of the same name in the Boston area. Romagnoli has since gone on to publish numerous cookbooks and food and travel articles, experience he draws on for this sumptuous culinary guidebook. (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.

April 17, 6-8 p.m.
Spring Sangria Party
Vlora, $10 (advance); $15 (at door)

Enjoy a tasty selection of hors d’oeuvres and all-you-can-drink sangria for only $10.

April 17, 6:30 p.m.
Toast to Loire Valley Wines
Legal Sea Foods, Chestnut Hill

Enjoy an evening of Loire-inspired recipes paired with the region’s crisp, aromatic, mineral-accented wines. The six-course wine dinner will be hosted master sommelier Sandy Block, and Director of Culinary Operations Jeff Tenner. (more…)

Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as eating a well-done steak. Chowder scours the internet for the latest news on what’s coming, what’s going, and the return of some old-school beer deals.

Opening
At long last, Brookline is getting a restaurant that isn’t a sushi joint. The website for popular South End spot Orinoco says a new location is coming soon to Brookline Village.

We can always use more cupcakes in our lives. Sweet Boston will come to Mass. Ave. in May.

The new North Station watering hole DJ’s at the Garden had a big opening party last Friday night. Despite being within stumbling distance from the Garden, the crowd was mellow and well-behaved, even after the Celtics game let out. I didn’t sample the food, but the bar had a decent beer selection so it shouldn’t stay quiet for long.

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