Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as eating all the french fries on your plate at Coolidge Corner Clubhouse. Chowder scours the Internet for the latest good news and the one thing that could drive us away from ice cream.

Good News
Attention Logan passengers departing from Terminal B—the $33 million expansion of the Airmall will open this afternoon. Traveling foodies can enjoy restaurants like Todd English’s Bonfire and the Legal C Bar, or to-go concessions from UFood Grill and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Speaking of Bonfire, the Back Bay location recently named Bobby Bean its new executive chef.

To us, fall means short days and saying goodbye to regular al fresco dining. But the news isn’t all bad—Prezza has updated its menu to include seasonal dishes like Butternut Squash Arancini and a Pumpkin Napolean.

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It’s safe to say that Boston chefs are ingredient-obsessed. You hear about mozzarella di bufala being flown in twice a week from Italy, sushi so fresh it was swimming yesterday, and farmstand veggies just plucked from the dirt.

Boston bartenders, too, have gotten in on the act. With the return of classic cocktails, everything’s fresh-squeezed and muddled to order. (Frankly, methinks most club-type bartenders are sick to death of making mojitos.)

But Drink, uber-chef Barbara Lynch’s new cocktail-centric venture in Fort Point Channel, is taking things to a whole other level: they’re busting out the gourmet ice. (more…)

Last week, Chowder began a six-week odyssey to give hungry voyagers new-and-improved recommendations for road-tripping gastronomically around New England—destinations that aren’t Fore Street in Portland, ME. (This isn’t a slight to the tried-and-true FS: The wood-oven-fired mussels slathered with sizzling jalapeno-spiked almond-garlic butter will likely be Chowder’s death-row last meal.)

With Rubi’s Sandwiches in Great Barrington coming in at No. 6, we’re ready to reveal No. 5, as we inch our way to the top.

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After this summer’s tragic blaze at James Hook & Co., we thought we’d seen enough food-related destruction for a while. So when we heard that the beloved—and historic—Verrill Farm in Concord had suffered a four-alarm fire over the weekend, our hearts went out to owners Joan and Stephen Verrill.

Fortunately no one was hurt in Saturday evening’s disaster, which stemmed from an electrical fire, spread via propane tanks, and laid waste to the farm’s 3,000 square foot produce stand. Customers and employees escaped without harm. And while the damage was extensive—there’s not much of the stand left to be salvaged, says farm spokesperson Anne Cushman—the fields and animals were safe and sound.

It hasn’t taken long for the Verrills to see a silver lining, either. The outpouring of community support has moved the family, says Cushman, as neighbors and regular customers drop by to lend a hand with the cleanup and send good wishes. John Walker of the Concord Journal even helped set up a blog for farm updates. (more…)

Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as figuring out what to do with all those waterlogged pumpkins. Chowder scours the Internet for the latest good news, bad news, and Christmas gifts for the chocoholic print lover in your life.

Good News
Max and Dylans, the latest venture from Chris Damian and Brad Dalbeck of Tavern on the Water and Scollay Square fame, is now open in Downtown Crossing. The new joint promises “approachable home cooked comfort foods, with traditional American favorites as well as more adventurous offerings.”

Like french fries and ice cream? Try out their low-fat cousins at any UFood Grill location in the Boston area between now and October 1. Tell the store whether the UnFries or the UBerry is your favorite, and the winning item will be free in all local stores on October 5.

The only Huckleberry we know is the old-school cartoon hound. But Beacon Hill Bistro bartender Stewart Bishop brought some of the berries to Boston for a cocktail called The Finn.

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Considering the fact that we end up at the same eating and drinking establishments time and time again (see: Eastern Standard, Toro)—we at Chowder are always looking for the next great place to imbibe, preferably within walking distance (or an under-$7 cab ride) from our Back Bay office. So last week was a boon to us, as we got not one, but two new places to throw back a cocktail and some grub. (Well, one’s a chain and the other’s a renovation, but whatever. We’ll take it.)

First up: the new Sel de La Terre at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. (more…)

Sept. 19, 6:30 p.m.
Farm Aid Eve Dinner
Henrietta’s Table
Fuel up for Farm Aid as chef Peter Davis hosts a night-before party with a farm fresh al fresco buffet and live music from home grown musician, Will Dailey. The evening begins with cocktails at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds from each $100 ticket benefit family farmers.

Sept. 20, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Phantom Gourmet Food Festival
Fenway Park
Food Phans will sample up to 80 of their favorite local eateries, then gain entrance into the Lansdowne clubs for some post-nosh partying. If you consider yourself a Very Important Phan, hit the Jake Ivory’s VIP bash featuring Ernie and the Automatics and even more finger-lickin’ food. (more…)

Road trippers, rejoice! The next two months bring arguably the most pleasant driving conditions we get all year in New England (crisp, refreshing temps in the high 50s to low 70s) and, by mid-October, the most stunning visuals anywhere (brilliant-hued, leaf-shaped eye candy).

It’s also just about this time that once a year, every year, the brilliant-hued notion dawns on local foodies to take a gastronomic day trip to some farflung restaurant. Noble plan—if only the target weren’t the same tried-and-true restaurants every time.

To demonstrate that there are journey-worthy culinary destinations beyond the excellent Fore Street in Portland, ME, and Simon Pearce in Queechee, VT, Chowder put pedal to the metal to come up with new and exciting (and appetizing) alternatives that probably aren’t on your radar yet, but should be.

Every Thursday, for the next six weeks, Chowder counts down the best new foodie road trips, starting with No. 6 and working our way up to No. 1—which will be revealed in the November print edition of Boston.

Let the countdown begin. (more…)

It’s almost impossible to imagine the place without her, but Esti Parsons, the always gracious, ever-stylish general manager/partner at Radius, is leaving Team Schlow to open her own restaurant, Esti’s, in the soon-to-be-built Hingham Shipyard.

Her departure isn’t imminent—she’s planning to stick around until late winter, at which point she’ll devote herself to prepping for a July ‘09 opening at Esti’s, which she describes as a small bistro/brasserie with “pretty traditional French country food, using full local products.”

But the fact remains that she’s leaving the restaurant empire (which also includes Via Matta and Great Bay) that she helped create. Why?

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Keeping track of Boston’s dining scene can feel almost as daunting as figuring out what to do with all the apples you picked at the orchard. Chowder scours the Internet for the latest good news, nearly-bad news, and proof that evolution continues.

Good News
Skipjack’s at Patriot Place will open next week. Former Oishi and Ginza chef Tsui “Otto” Hiu Tou (on left, with the New England Revolution’s Taylor Twellman) will direct the location’s sushi bar, and will presumably instruct any soccer players who are eager to learn on the art of sushi-rolling.

The Mandarin Oriental Sel de la Terre and L’Espalier are now open, says Chowhound.

If Chowhounding your favorite (or most loathed) neighborhood restaurant isn’t enough for you, Zagat is surveying diners for its 2009/10 Boston Restaurant Guide. If you complete the survey before October 26, you’ll get a complimentary copy of the book when it’s published.

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