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Mommy dearest: Local chefs dish on their mother's epicurean influences

Heather Bouzan — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:41:00 GMT

EVERY TIME we sit down to a divine home-cooked meal at our mother’s house, we get to thinking: what influences have mothers had on their professional-chef offspring? So we got personal with eight of Boston’s finest cooks, who shared memories of family meals, childhood culinary lessons, and what it’s like to serve dinner to the women who are, in many cases, their toughest critics. An added bonus: they even agreed to share recipes passed down from their family kitchens.

Josh Ziskin, owner/executive chef of La Morra (48 Boylston Street, Brookline, 617.739.0007)
Childhood cooking lessons weren’t what inspired Josh Ziskin. It was simply all of his mother’s home-cooked meals (aside from indulgent Thursday-night trips to McDonald’s, that is). “Looking back on it recently, I’ve realized that [my mother’s dinners] were pretty good stuff,” he recalls. “She had her main dishes, like roast chicken. She always had rice, always had a vegetable — sort of a square meal, you know?” Ziskin never made it into the kitchen himself until college, when he’d call his mother with questions. “I had a bunch of roommates, and we rented a house, and I’d do basically all the cooking,” he says. “I’d call her for her [recipes].” These days, Ziskin’s parents are frequent diners at La Morra — though Mama Ziskin’s presence is felt whether she’s there or not. “I definitely hear her in the background, like, ‘Do you have to add that much butter to that?’ or ‘Does it need that much oil?’ or ‘Can you do without the bacon or pancetta in that dish?’ ”

Chicken with Red Wine and Tarragon
1 whole roasting chicken
1 can cheddar-cheese soup
Equal amount red wine
2 tablespoons dried tarragon
Salt and pepper

Mix soup, red wine, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cover chicken with mixture. Roast at 350 degrees for one hour or until done. Serves 4.

Gabriel Bremer, chef/owner of Salts (798 Main Street, Cambridge, 617.876.8444)
For Gabriel Bremer, who was raised in a small family outside of Cleveland, “Food was always part of the family and growing up.” Family dinners were a big deal during his childhood — “[We weren’t] the family that would make a quick meal and eat in front of the TV” — and on weekends, he and his mother would bake together. “We would pick a couple recipes and try some new breads, some muffins, things like that.” His mother didn’t necessarily teach him cooking techniques, but she did instill in him a love of food and family. “I think with the techniques we use [at Salts], she wouldn’t know where to begin,” he says. “It was more of the involvement in having food and the family be kind of one.” If anything, Bremer’s current style draws on the preferences of his grandparents: braised cabbage, sauerkraut, and lots and lots of pork. But it was his mother’s support of his culinary endeavors — even if she “turned around and threw it out when I wasn’t looking” — that had the most significant impact on his career.

Heirloom Squash Soup
with Cider Cream
For the soup:
4 cup peeled, seeded squash
cut into two-inch pieces
1 leek, sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, quartered
4 Medjool dates, pitted
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander
2 tablespoons butter
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

In a four-quart saucepan over low heat, add butter, squash, leek, apple, and dates. Cook for two minutes, being careful not to burn the squash. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Place the spices in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie closed with a string. Add the spice pouch and stock to the squash mixture and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. Remove the spice pouch and purée the soup in a blender until smooth.

For the cider cream:
1 cup apple cider reduced
down to 2 tablespoons
1 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan, slowly reduce the apple cider. In a mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold the cider reduction into the whipped cream and season with salt and white pepper to taste. To serve, top the soup with a dollop of cider cream and a little fresh grated nutmeg (optional). Serves 4.

Peter Beresford, chef at 224 Boston Street Restaurant (224 Boston Street, Dorches-ter, 617.265.1217)
Peter Beresford’s mother was always ahead of the crowd. “When other mothers were plugging in that fondue pot, she was reducing balsamic vinegar and cooking with lentils,” he says. Naturally, then, “My mom definitely taught me to fly by the seat of my pants in the kitchen. She taught me to try new things and to go against what the conventional style of the minute is.” In addition to the bonding time dinner provided, nutrition was also key, and Beresford’s mom had her family on a macrobiotic diet. “As a kid, honestly there were times I was like, ‘Oh, this is so crappy. Can’t we just go to McDonald’s like every other family?’ ” he remembers. “But now I use a lot more vegetables and things like that than I think I normally would have in my cooking, had I not had that sort of background.” When it comes down to it, the inventiveness of his mother’s strict diet proved a major inspiration to chef Beresford. “Sometimes her stuff was so oddball, I was like, ‘Wow, Mom, nobody in the world is going to eat this.’ But she never stuck to the rigidity of how a dish should be or how a recipe should be.” Lesson learned.

Lentil Loaf
1/2 cup barley
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium Spanish onion, minced
1 rib celery, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 cup wheat cracker crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups water
2 cups low sodium chicken or
beef broth

Sauté garlic, onion, and celery in medium stock pot with olive oil. When vegetables begin to sweat, add barley and lentils. Stir frequently for about one minute. Add liquid and sea salt. Bring to a boil for one minute, then reduce heat to low and simmer. Add carrot. After simmering for approximately 40 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed, add egg and cracker crumbs. Bake for 35 minutes in lightly oiled 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. Allow to rest for 15 minutes, then turn out on serving platter. (This recipe can be doubled or tripled with no additional ingredient adjustment. Eggs can be deleted, but the finished product will be looser in consistency.) Serves 6.

Carla and Christine Pallotta, cook/owners of Nebo (90 North Washington Street, Boston, 617.723.NEBO)
When they were growing up, Christine and Carla Pallotta were barely allowed within swatting distance of their traditional Italian mother while she was prepping meals. “There were no [cooking] lessons; there was, ‘Get out of my kitchen,’ ” says Christine. As the girls grew older, they were allowed small tasks — sealing homemade ravioli, making pizzelle cookies — but everything had to be done their mother’s way. So when they abandoned a salon business to open Nebo, based solely on their mother’s recipes and their family’s social style of eating, the Pallotta women had their work cut out for them. “We actually didn’t have any recipes when we came to the restaurant, because she doesn’t measure anything,” explains Carla. “So when we decided to do this restaurant, a couple of months before, we literally stuck her in the kitchen here and had to stop her hands as she was doing things and move the stuff from her hand, put it in a measuring cup, measure it out, write it down. It was a long process, believe me.” When it comes to style, the Pallottas haven’t changed a thing. “We’re very adamant about having [the cooking] done the way we do it, the way my mother did it,” Carla stresses. “I feel like, if something’s been working that long, it’s already perfected. Why change it?”

Minestra with Fried Polenta
2 pepperoni, preferably
Santa Margherita
4 pounds end of prosciutto di Parma
2 racks of baby-back pork ribs
2 heads escarole
2 cups white beans (cannelloni)

Brown ribs and put aside. In a large saucepan, place prosciutto end, pepperoni cut into quarters, and ribs. Cover completely with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, place beans in cold water and bring to a boil. Drain beans and rinse with water. Add beans to stew. Chop escarole into thirds. Continue cooking for 30 minutes.

For polenta:
1/4 pound coarse cornmeal
3/4 pound fine cornmeal
1/2 cup canola oil
Kosher salt
Water

Bring three quarts of salted water to a boil. Slowly add in cornmeal, stirring continuously. Lower heat and simmer. Continue stirring until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Pour oil into a medium-size frying pan. Heat oil. Pour polenta into pan. Smooth into cake form. Cook over medium heat until bottom is crisp. Place a large dish over top of pan and flip polenta over. Slide polenta back into pan and continue to cook until other side is crispy. Slice polenta into eight pieces and serve with minestra on top. Serves 6.

Geoff Gardner, chef/creative director at Sel de la Terre (255 State Street, Boston, 617.720.1300)
“The kinds of things that my mother would cook would be comfort food, but homemade comfort food,” says Geoff Gardner. “Roasts like pot roast, or stews like beef stew, or chicken fricassee or chicken cacciatore. Pretty simple, but also oftentimes things that would be just cooking away, low and slow all day long and sort of filling the house with the wonderful aroma of food.” Gardner’s mother’s meals brimmed with “real food made with real ingredients” that helped to shape his feelings about what makes a good meal. “It was just nice beef and onions and celery and carrots with some spices and stewed up, and it was just good, wholesome comfort food,” he says. The slow-cooking style that he remembers from his youth has had a lasting appeal for him, and it’s evident in the professional techniques he uses today. “I learned to love eating long, long before the cooking part of it,” he says. “I kind of fell into that later in life, almost out of necessity in my teens, looking for work. But I think the seeds were planted early on with a love of food and eating.”

White Bean Soup with Clams,
Pancetta, and Fines Herbes
2 cups dried navy beans, soaked
overnight in water (use extra water
since beans will expand)
1 cup diced pancetta
1 medium white onion, peeled
and diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 medium-size carrot, peeled
and diced
1 stalk celery, washed and diced
2 quarts chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped mixed fines
herbes (chervil, chives, parsley,
tarragon)
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded,
and chopped
24 Littleneck clams, washed to
remove any sand
Salt and pepper

Put pancetta in medium-size souppot over medium heat. Gently render for 7 or 8 minutes. Add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and gently sauté in the rendered pancetta for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove navy beans from their soaking water and add to the pot. Discard the water. Immediately add chicken stock and simmer gently, uncovered, for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Add tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper. All of this can be done one day in advance and refrigerated. When ready to serve, return to a simmer, add clams and fines herbes and cover. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until clams open. Serve immediately. This recipe assumes 3 clams per serving. Feel free to add more if you would like. (Note: Many prepared chicken stocks can be quite salty, so taste the soup before adding any additional salt.) Serves 6 to 8.

Joanne Chang, chef/co-owner of Myers+Chang (1145 Washington Street, Boston, 617.542.5200) and pastry chef/owner of Flour Bakery (1595 Washington Street, Bos-ton, 617.267.4300; 12 Farnsworth Street, Boston, 617.338.4333)
Part of the reason Joanne Chang opened her latest venture, Myers+Chang, was that the takeout Chinese she was eating bore little resemblance to her mother’s cooking. “We grew up eating Chinese food, and that’s all we ever ate,” she explains. “I think I was about 13 or 14 when I realized that not everyone eats Chinese food every night.” One of the most important components of her mother’s cooking, which has translated to the restaurant, is the use of fresh vegetables. “I don’t know if that’s a Mom thing or a Taiwanese thing, but she’s always, all the time since I was growing up, cooking us lots of vegetables,” Chang says. “We have a lot of vegetables on the menu, and we don’t have a lot of fried things; we try to keep things really tasty and really fresh and really healthy.” In fact, many items on the Myers+Chang menu — Mama Chang’s Pork and Chive Dumplings, Spicy Silky Tofu, Mung Bean Cake — are direct descendants of dishes Chang’s mother cooks at home, and the elder Chang has spent time in the restaurant’s kitchen, teaching the cooks her methods. As for Flour, Chang’s mother doesn’t bake — so your guess is as good as ours.

Mom’s Hot and Sour Soup
4 cups chicken stock
2 ounces pork loin, julienned
1/3 cup bamboo shoots, julienned
1/3 cup wood ear mushrooms, soaked
and sliced
1/4 cup lily buds, soaked and chopped
1 block firm tofu
3 pieces scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sambal oelek
1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons fresh ginger,
finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 egg

Heat chicken stock and add pork, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and lily buds. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add tofu, chopped scallion, soy, salt, vinegar, sugar, sambal, pepper, ginger, and sesame oil. Simmer for a few minutes until flavors meld. Taste and adjust seasoning. Whisk in egg right before serving and divide into 4 bowls. Sprinkle with a little sesame oil, fresh ground pepper, and some chopped scallions for garnish. Serves 4.

Carlos Rodriguez, executive chef at Orinoco (477 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, 617.369.7075)
Growing up in Venezuela, Carlos Rodriguez’s weekday meals were prepared by his family’s housekeepers. But what stands out for him are the Sunday dinners he’d help his mother, Trina Michelangeli, assemble. “We took a theme every time,” he recalls. “We’d do a really, really complicated Chinese dish. Sometimes we did Indian, sometimes we did Venezuelan. [We were] always looking for international recipes.” The most important lesson his mother imparted, Rodriguez says, is to have a passion for cooking. “Most of the things that I learned, I learned right in the industry. But I think she gave me the passion to do it.” And, he says, she’s most definitely his number-one fan. These days, when she’s given a traditionally Venezuelan recipe (Rodriguez uses some, like the Asado Negro, at Orinoco), it’s mother who calls son for ideas. “She’ll call me and say, ‘Baby, can you give me this recipe for this rice that you made, I don’t know, 20 years ago?’ ” he laughs. But when it comes down to it, she’ll also be the first to give it to him straight. “I know if I give her a [bad] dish — and I know I’m her son and she loves me to death — she will tell me the dish is not good,” Rodriguez says. “So if I go too trendy, she will tell me, ‘Too many flavors. Go back, keep it simple, let the ingredients come out from themselves.’ ”

Escabeche de Mariscos, a/k/a
Rompe Colchon (mattress breaker)
1/2 cup each of mussels, clams,
conch (all without shells), and
baby octopus
21 to 25 deveined shrimp
1 red onion
1 bunch cilantro
1 cup lime juice
1 red bell pepper
1/4 cup white vinegar
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Worcestershire sauce, as desired
Ketchup, as desired

Cook all shellfish for 1/2 hour over medium heat. Julienne onion, pick the cilantro leaves, and cut peppers in small squares. Cool down the shellfish, mix all ingredients in a glass jar, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Enjoy at a party or at the beach with Saltine crackers. Serves 6.

Nadsa de Monteiro, executive chef at the Elephant Walk (900 Beacon Street, Boston, 617.247.1500; 2067 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.492.6900; and 663 Main Street, Waltham, 781.899.2244)
Nadsa de Monteiro and her mother are practically opposing forces — but that doesn’t mean they can’t run a restaurant (or three) together. During Nadsa’s childhood in Cambodia, her mother enjoyed preparing food even though the family employed cooks — which meant Nadsa never had to learn. “When I was growing up, I didn’t get into cooking — I was just really good at eating,” she says. In fact, she didn’t spend time in the kitchen until her family moved to France after the fall of their native country. While away at school in Paris, she’d crave Cambodian food and call her mother for recipes. Eventually, the family relocated to the United States and opened the first Elephant Walk, but Nadsa didn’t end up in the kitchen until their chef failed to show up one evening. “I lasted the night, and I realized that I had a natural knack for it.” She began working side by side with her mother — which wasn’t always easy. “There’s always the tension of mother and daughter. We’re so different from each other, character-wise,” Nadsa says. “But overall, when it came to food, we worked well together.” Currently, Nadsa handles the day-to-day operations of the business, while her mother has transitioned into more of a consulting role. The two still butt heads — Nadsa’s willing to experiment, while her mother’s style is more traditional — but as Nadsa admits, “There’s integrity in every cuisine, and you have to respect the integrity in order to take it somewhere else.”

Poulet Pochani
For the chicken breast:
4 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled
and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken
breast, cut on the diagonal into
1/4-inch-thick pieces

Blend the chopped ginger with the water until smooth; add a little more water if necessary to blend. Extract the ginger juice and discard the rest. Marinate the chicken with the juice and set aside while you make the paste.

For the paste:
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon galangal, peeled and
coarsely chopped
3 dried New Mexico chilies, soaked,
seeded, and deveined
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 large shallots, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons shrimp paste
1/2 cup water

Blend all the above ingredients in a blender until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.

To assemble:
3 tablespoons soybean or other
vegetable oil
Paste (see above)
2 cups coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Marinated sliced chicken
breast (see above)
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed,
quickly blanched, and cut in half
1 1/2 teaspoons hot chili flakes

Preparation:
Heat oil in large sauté pan or small wok over medium-high heat. Add paste and stir to render for about 20 seconds. Add coconut milk, salt, sugar, and fish sauce and stir to cook for 2 minutes. Add sliced chicken and stir to mix well and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the green beans and hot chili flakes and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve with steamed jasmine rice. Serves 4. @

In Recovery: The holidays are finally over. Here’s how to unwind and chill out, stat.

Heather Bouzan — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:54:00 GMT

ALL THE THINGS we love about the holidays - the expensive bottles of wine, the multi-course meals, the fancy soirées that end with breakfast - are also the things that leave us bleary-eyed, pudgy, and hating ourselves come the season's proverbial "morning after." As much as it pains us to admit it, even we find ourselves craving a few nights in, a simple salad ... in a word, a little detox. So here's a roundup of nightspots, spa treatments, classes, and cultural activities that give our puffy lids time to shrink and our livers a chance to regenerate. Trust us, after a few calm days and quiet nights, you'll be yanking your Louboutins out of the back of your closet rejuvenated and ready to make your re-entry onto the social scene.

raising the bar on relaxing
Yes, we said we wanted to chill out - but we never purported to swear off drinking entirely. Instead of heading to the city's latest hotspot only to endure long lines, cramped bars, and far too many air kisses, we recommend a low-key hangout where you can disappear into a corner with a well-mixed drink and - if you're feeling social - a chatty friend. We love the way the low-lit, bookish Washington Square Tavern (714 Washington Street, Brookline, 617.232.8989) quiets us upon entering; once the bartender slides us a glass of wine from a well-chosen list, we've all but melted into our stool. There aren't many bars in this city where we'd hang solo, but this is one of them. A quick cab or T ride down Beacon Street is Audubon Circle (838 Beacon Street, Boston, 617.421.1910), where we can't help but feel as relaxed and casual as the clientele - no buttoned-up business types here. Cambridge Common (1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.547.1228) has always been a comforting spot to grab a post-work beer without the nuisance of eager, chatty singles, and we've always felt at home at Clery's cousin Brownstone (111 Dartmouth Street, Boston, 617.867.4142), with its slightly older, slightly more sober crowd. Another option? Hit your favorite nightspots when it's - the horror! - still light out. Alibi (Liberty Hotel, 215 Charles Street, Boston, 617.224.4000), still new and hot enough to be mobbed at peak hours, envelops us in its basement calm on off nights, and 28 Degrees (One Appleton Street, Boston, 617.728.0728) is an early-evening treat.

lose the booze
If your holiday revelries have left you unable look at another alcoholic beverage without needing to hightail it to the restroom, plenty of local bartenders have created mocktails with you - and your hard-drinking reputation - in mind. Want to enjoy Sushi Teq (InterContinental, 510 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, 617.747.1000) without indulging in the latter half of the restaurant's moniker? Pair your spicy tuna rolls and salmon sashimi with booze-free margaritas offered in lush, fruity flavors, including Blackberry Mango ($6) and Blood Orange Strawberry ($6). Meanwhile, the doting bartenders at Eastern Standard (528 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.532.9100) have devoted a whole section of their cocktail list to non-alcoholic tipples. The Stormy Monday ($5), a ginger-beer-based beverage, can assuage even the queasiest of stomachs, and the Sophisticated Lady ($5), which melds cranberry and cucumber, is just that. And we love the connotations of the Lemmy Tum Tum ($5), described as a "cure for what ails you." If even those are too close to the real stuff for comfort, find solace in a pot of peppermint tea - or another of more than 25 varieties - offered at the 1369 Coffee House (1369 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, 617.576.1369; 757 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.576.4600), with locations in Inman and Central squares. They're open later than most coffee shops, too, boasting hours until 10 or 11 p.m. nightly.

weighty issues
If it's sustenance you desire, we can only assume that it's the light, low-fat stuff you're looking for after the gluttony that is December. Forgo rich, creamy dishes for tastes from the raw bar at Neptune Oyster (63 Salem Street, Boston, 617.742.3474) or East Coast Grill (1271 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, 617.491.6568), and sate your sweet tooth with the super-fresh Watermelon and Feta Tidbit appetizer ($7.95) at Vlora (545 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.638.9699). Eateries like Harvest (44 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.868.2255), Garden at the Cellar (991 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.230.5880), and Craigie Street Bistrot (5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617.497.5511) are known for their natural, wholesome takes on fresh, simple foods with big flavors, and we've long admired the merits of the salad selection at the Metropolitan Club (1210 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, 617.731.0600). And as we reported earlier in this issue, keep an eye out for the ultimate in detoxifying dishes with the opening of Alissa Cohen's new raw restaurant, Grezzo (69 Prince Street, Boston).

gym dandies
We've always subscribed to the idea that the best way to cure a hangover (no matter that this one has lasted weeks) is to sweat it out. We all have our favorite trainer - or the neighborhood gym to which we've vowed to devote our lives come January 1 - but there are other ways to supplement those hours on the elliptical machine. To get the booze oozing out of your pores quickly, turn up the heat, literally, with a Bikram yoga class. With the average temperature cranked up to 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity, you won't leave the class dry - but you will emerge incredibly clear-headed and cleansed. A number of classes are offered daily at Bikram Yoga Boston (108 Lincoln Street, Loft 1A, Boston, 617.556.9926) and Bikram Yoga Harvard Square (30 JFK Street, Second Floor, Cambridge, 617.54.SWEAT). If you're in need of a little extra oomph (i.e., you'll talk yourself out of that workout with the slightest provocation), we suggest plunging in headfirst with a session at Ultimate Bootcamp (www.ultimatebootcamp.com; 617.787.1224). The program kicks off '08 with a six-week class held outdoors on Boston Common Monday through Thursday mornings beginning on January 7. For less hardy folk, indoor sessions begin on January 7 and February 25. After a few workouts, you won't even think about sleeping through that early-morning wake-up call. Finally, mixing things up with your gym's group fitness classes is always beneficial. Not only will you work muscles you likely never knew you had, you'll also be less inclined to allow yourself an out when the going gets tough - especially when the post-menopausal woman with Madonna arms next to you is crunching her abs double-time. Each gym has its own roster of offerings, some more creative than others (think stripper-pole workouts, samba dancing, ass-class); one of the more innovative and imaginative of the bunch is Equinox (131 Dartmouth Street, Boston, 617.578.8918), which debuts new classes including "Hardbody Meltdown" (exaggerated step-training), "Red Carpet Ready" (covering cardio and toning, plus confidence, poise, and grace), and "Temple Dance" (sexy, exotic moves to world music) in January.

spaaah!
If your definition of "sweating it out" involves a stint in the steam room after a spa treatment, we have some less active (yet still rejuvenating) options worth exploring. Heat up with a 75-minute Hot Stone Massage ($100) at Inman Oasis (243 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, 617.491.0176) - the rocks work wonders on a fatigued body - followed by a soothing soak in one of the wellness center's hot tubs. If you'd rather scrub away your demons, try the Urban Renewal Exfoliating Facial ($125) at G Spa (35 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.267.4772), which incorporates cleansing enzymes; exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids; and hydrating cranberry, pomegranate, and green-tea moisturizers. If your eyelids are puffy from too many carbs, too much booze, and too little sleep, head to Pyara (104 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, 617.497.9300) for the Revitalizing Eye Treatment ($35; $25 as a spa enhancement), while people looking for a full-body experience might do well to invest in the Sea Foam Head-to-Toe Body Ritual ($265) at Bella Santé (38 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.424.9930), featuring two hours of re-mineralizing, oxygenizing masques, scrubs, and creams.

it's academic
Don't be afraid to get studious about your detoxing. The Cambridge Center for Adult Education (42 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.547.6789) offers evening and weekend classes in subjects as diverse as "Introduction to Decoupage" (beginning January 15) and "Greek Philosophy" (beginning January 16); visit www.ccae.org to browse the winter course catalog. If you've been itching to put pen to paper and engage in more literary pursuits, enliven your prose with one of the themed writing workshops at Grub Street (160 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.695.0075). Updated listings are posted at www.grubstreet.org. Food and wine education more your speed? The latest addition to the Barbara Lynch empire, Stir (102 Waltham Street, Boston, 617.423.STIR), offers classes with a sophisticated take on both, including an introduction to chenin blanc on January 7 and, on January 8 and 9, instruction on how to assemble Lynch's "No. 9 Classics" such as prune-stuffed gnocchi and steak tartare. And the Boston Wine School (1354 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.784.7150) leaves no bottle uncorked in its quest for vino wisdom.

art attack
If you crave culture's more social side, Boston has a wealth of opportunities. The ICA (100 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617.478.3100) offers date-worthy programming that swaps late nights at the bar for lectures, films, and performance pieces that inspire discussion. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (280 The Fenway, Boston, 617.566.1401) appeals to a young, savvy crowd with its "Gardner After Hours" events every third Thursday of the month; on January 17, attend "People and Portraits," which includes a drawing session, tours of the museum's portrait collection, and, for an additional fee, the Boston debut performance of the International Contemporary Ensemble in "Composer Portraits: Music of Magnus Lindberg." And cultural veterans like the Museum of Fine Arts (465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.267.9300) and the Museum of Science (Science Park, Boston, 617.723.2500) have also stepped it up in an attempt to appeal to more than just big-name donors and grade-school field trippers. The MFA has made a name for itself as an edgy live music venue, and it also sponsors mfafirstfridays cocktail events and "Winesday" wine tastings on the last Wednesday of every month; the scientifically minded can find romance in the Museum of Science's planetarium or rock out to Zeppelin, U2, the Beatles, and Metallica at a laser show. And there's always the cool, dark, hangover-dulling sanctuary of a movie theater: the Somerville Theatre (55 Davis Square, Somerville, 617.625.5700), the Coolidge Corner Theatre (290 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617.734.2500), the Harvard Film Archive (24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, 617.495.4700), and the Brattle Theatre (40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.876.6838) all have eclectic offerings. @

[Photos by Kelly Davidson]

Nouvelle New England: These are not your great-great-grandfather’s hoecakes

MC Slim JB — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:29:00 GMT

NEW ENGLAND’S culinary tradition may be America’s oldest, but it’s not often considered its most delicious. After all, our local cuisine originally sprang from the British Isles, land of the boiled potato and overdone roast, and the Pilgrims, whose religious convictions and the harsh privations of early colonization demanded a bland parsimony at the table. Consider two signature dishes of our colonial forebears: New England boiled dinner, a wan soup of stringy boiled beef and root vegetables, and red flannel hash, the remains of the previous night’s boiled dinner chopped up for the next morning’s breakfast. Is it any wonder that the only Boston restaurant still dishing out unrepentant Olde New England cookery is Durgin-Park, a cartoonish, conglomerate-owned Faneuil Hall tourist trap?

Fortunately, New England cuisine didn’t stop evolving with the Puritans, but continued to absorb influences from subsequent waves of immigrants from all over the world. And we remain blessed with an incredible range of fresh local foodstuffs: abundant seafood; superb dairy products; heirloom fruits and berries; wild game; beautiful squashes, corn, and legumes; good beer and cider. Independent chef/owners have cultivated a more modern local cuisine that highlights the best of our local forests, farms, and fisheries, but supplants Puritan frugality with epicurean flair and the accents of later-arriving New Englanders. You can continue to enjoy your plain boiled lobster and Indian pudding; just don’t overlook the efforts of our most creative local chefs to update classic New England dishes.

Union Bar & Grille
A relative veteran of the burgeoning South End restaurant scene, Union Bar & Grille (1357 Washington Street, Boston, 617.423.0555) hews to a modern New American ethos that favors local, seasonal ingredients in refreshed versions of American classics. Its handsome ambience is bolstered by a mostly American wine list and famously smooth service. Perhaps in response to its scads of new nearby competitors, Union offers an autumn prix-fixe menu, making it possible to have a three-course feast featuring game, gourds, tree nuts, root vegetables, and maple syrup ($40; $68 with wine pairings) that would have been mostly foraged or hunted in the wild three centuries ago.

An appetizer of wild boar in a gingersnap braise is a bit gamier than farmed pork loin (like dark turkey meat versus light), flanked by a featherweight parsnip purée and showered with crunchy fried sweet-potato matchsticks. A hefty medallion of seared New Zealand venison is milder and leaner than the liverish meat of wild deer served in my hunting cousins’ homes, but benefits from a sweet-spiced, concentrated pan gravy. The roasted chestnuts in this jus are a little confounding: they have a pleasant flavor reminiscent of chickpeas, but an odd chewy/chalky texture.

More appealing are sides of pumpkin spätzle (like gnarled yet fluffy gnocchi) and wilted turnip greens. A recently offered maple bread pudding tastes of Grade B syrup, the darker, more intensely flavored product that maple farmers reserve for themselves while selling so-called Grade A syrup at a premium to unwitting outsiders. Granted, most of these dishes would be as familiar to Squanto and Myles Standish as Martian cuisine, but the refined treatment of high-quality rustic ingredients suits this posh urban oasis to a T.

Petit Robert Bistro
How could a modest-looking Parisian bistro in Kenmore Square evoke classic New England cuisine? Certainly not in the canonical French classics featured here, like charcuterie, duck confit, bouillabaisse, coq au vin, cassoulet, and steak frites. Yet there is one clear echo of that homely Yankee one-pot supper, the aforementioned New England boiled dinner, which Petit Robert Bistro (468 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.375.0699) exalts with a Gallic flair and luxury that might furrow a Boston Brahmin’s stingy brow. When a premature arctic breeze whistling down Comm Ave has me turning up my collar, Petit Robert’s pot au feu ($16) manages to warm my chilly bones from the inside.

The basic boiled dinner ingredients are all here: a tough, cheap, fatty cut of beef (boneless short ribs) braised slowly to falling-apart tenderness, plus some parsley-flecked potatoes, carrots, and onions (but no cabbage) in a mild, clear broth. What boosts this stew to kingly heights is the side plate of roasted marrow bone (a donut-sized shank segment) garnished with dollops of Dijon mustard and pink-tinged horseradish dressing. The steaming marrow, spooned onto hunks of excellent baguette, is unctuous and decadent-tasting, a coarse country cousin of the noble foie gras.

One could hardly follow this elegant gloss on the Irish-heritage boiled bacon and cabbage with mere pumpkin pie, so we opt for a pumpkin soufflé ($10) with cinnamon crème Anglaise, which arrives the promised 20 minutes later. It’s as scalding, sweet, and steamily evanescent as a salacious dream. (There’s one more parallel to Olde New England here in the refreshingly stony demeanor of the waitstaff. They offer no obsequious smiles, no phony familiarity — just a taciturn, workmanlike service that, while eminently French, would not seem out of place in Puritan Boston.)

Green Street
Under new Cambridge-native ownership, Central Square institution Green Street (280 Green Street, Cambridge, 617.876.1655) dropped its spicy Caribbean menu in favor of casual Yankee cooking for the 21st century. Chef Peter Sueltenfuss’s innovative approach to old-timey New England fare is exemplified by his treatment of bluefish, an oily local game fish that in clumsier hands can be unpleasantly fishy. On most local menus, bluefish is carefully trimmed of its darkest meat and grilled to reduce its natural greasiness, or smoked and mashed with cream cheese into a mild pâté. Here, Sueltenfuss produces an extraordinary appetizer of bluefish ($8) by curing thin filets in-house with salt and sugar. The result has the tender, almost-melting texture of cured salmon while retaining the unmistakable blue-gray color and richness of bluefish. This artisanal product is remarkable by itself but well-served by its piquant accompaniments: crunchy pickled green beans, cubes of vinaigrette-dressed beets, and a sinus-clearing horseradish cream. Combine bites of these on chunks of crusty bread and you get the flinty New England cousin of that deli classic: lox, cream cheese, and red onion on a bagel.

New England-style chowder is another traditional dish that’s inspired many colloquial variants. What they share is a clear broth lightened with cream or milk, cured pork (often fatback) for saltiness, root vegetables, and local sweet corn, lobster, oysters, clams, or cod, usually with a garnish of plain crackers. Some versions are absurdly rich with heavy cream, others lighter-bodied with whole milk. In Rhode Island, chowder is sometimes served clear, whitened to each diner’s taste with hot milk or cream at the table. Aficionados agree that the only unforgivable sin — one constantly committed in lesser restaurants — is heavy-handed thickening with flour or cornstarch.

Green Street’s chowder ($8) is a beautifully light, inland-style corn chowder with bacon, potatoes, and a touch of cream. Its novel twist is the addition of crisp, deep-fried soft-shell clams, combining the flavors of sweet corn chowder, fried clams, and briny clam chowder in a single bowl. You might add a side of the excellent, not-oversweetened baked beans with molasses-rich brown bread ($5) to complete the nutritious and frugal meal. It will gladden the hearts of your swamp-Yankee ancestors, who’d probably rather not know how tasty it all is.

Neptune Oyster
With its extensive raw bar and French-inspired menu of mostly seafood specialties, Neptune Oyster (63 Salem Street, Boston, 617.742.3474) provides a rare respite from the North End’s endless procession of Italian restaurants. But it also may be the best small-Western-style seafood restaurant in Boston, offering an astonishingly fresh, broad, and thoughtfully prepared cornucopia of local and flown-in marine delicacies: littlenecks and quahogs; steamers and mussels; crab, lobster, and langoustines; sea urchin, squid, and octopus; sardines, tuna, bluefish, and anchovies; sturgeon and trout; smoked salmon and salt cold. Neptune’s kitchen sings of the river and the sea, the raw and the cooked, the smoked and the cured, in salads and crudos, deep-fries and stews and grills. If you want to show a visitor what New England seafood is about, this is a nonpareil starting point.

On Monday nights, Neptune gives a rare nod to its Italian neighbors by featuring a special of lobster spaghettini ($33). This is a big, bold-flavored dish, a mound of slightly underdone pasta with copious chunks of Maine lobster tail meat, sauced in a spicy plum-tomato marinara with white wine and a fistful of sliced garlic, topped with Parmigiano and dark-roasted breadcrumbs. This makes a fitting follow-up to the similarly Italophilic oyster stew ($10), a true minestrone loaded with poached oysters and the pungent aroma of fresh oregano. You might argue that the delicate flavor of lobster and oysters are overwhelmed by the insistent Mediterranean flavors of these dishes, but you’d go unheeded by the crowds packing Neptune on a night when its competitors are mostly empty, and the special always runs out well before the kitchen closes.

Pops
With its elegant turn-of-last-century décor, Pops (560 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.695.1250) looks as fancy as its tonier South End neighbors, but has prices (all under $22) that put it in a more modest class. Chef/owner Felino Samson serves a kind of elevated comfort food that attracts thrifty Bostonians who might feel guilty splurging on a Tuesday-night dinner. Indeed, Pops often seems more packed with locals than the wealthy suburbanites who flood the neighborhood on weekends, no doubt drawn by Samson’s creative-yet-budget-friendly stamp on prosaic dishes like the stuffed quahog.

This staple of Rhode Island clam shacks is designed to make the best use of the quahog, a cheap, oversized hard-shell clam with tough, chewy meat. In its traditional preparation, a steamed quahog is removed from its shell, chopped, mixed with a mild Wonder Bread stuffing, and stuffed back into the shell for serving. Samson’s update of the humble “stuffie” ($9) doesn’t vary much from this formula; it just uses better ingredients with more trenchant flavors: very fresh quahogs, homemade Portuguese-bread crumbs, diced linguiça (a garlicky Portuguese pork sausage), sweet corn, a vibrant topping of minced tarragon and parsley, and a dollop of eye-wateringly garlicky aioli.

Samson has managed to punch up a beloved but often insipid shore-food classic with flavors from the Portuguese-speaking immigrant community that historically manned much of our local fishing industry. His glamorized stuffie is another example of how classic New England cuisine is evolving to reflect the increasing diversity and culinary sophistication of New Englanders themselves. With chefs like these at work, we can all be thankful we’ve moved beyond pot roast and codcakes. @

[Photos by Joel Veak]

Worth their salt: Local veteran chefs choose their favorite young guns

Heather Bouzan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:01:00 GMT

YOU ENTRUST your dinner to them, so doesn’t it make sense to ask your favorite local chefs which up-and-coming
cooks they think are talented? We checked in with restaurant vets Jody Adams, Robert Fathman, Marc Orfaly, Bill Poirier, and Jeremy Sewall about the young, still-under-the-radar talent working in kitchens all over Boston.

Colin Lynch, executive sous chef at No. 9 Park
We can’t imagine that it’s easy for one chef to impress another as talented as Barbara Lynch. But Marc Orfaly, chef/owner of Marco and Pigalle, saw it happen. Not only that, he shared her sentiments. Who was it? Colin Lynch, who serves as executive sous chef for Barbara Lynch (no relation) at No. 9 Park (9 Park Street, Boston, 617.742.9991). “Barbara and I and a few friends of ours all went to eat at No. 9, and [Colin Lynch] cooked for us — stuff that wasn’t on the menu,” remembers Orfaly. “Everything was great. It was really great to see a young chef like that taking the reins and doing his thing — even Barbara was impressed. I thought that was cool.”

Culinarily speaking, Colin Lynch has taken a traditional route: in high school, he worked summer jobs cooking in Newburyport, which led to his enrollment at the Culinary Institute of America. From there, he scored a three-month externship at No. 9 Park; after graduation, he worked briefly at B&G Oysters until a full-time position at No. 9 opened up. And that brings us to the present: Colin Lynch has spent almost four years toiling in the storied downtown kitchen, and with Barbara Lynch’s new Seaport District projects on the horizon, he hopes to log at least five more with the company. Though he claims he didn’t really know how to cook until he came to No. 9 — “It was a whole new world of intricacies and intensity and just perfection” — Lynch describes his style as “steeped in French technique” with a strong focus on the seasonality of ingredients. But when it comes down to it, “most of what I’ve learned is through Chef Barbara, and her style really comes through me.” Lynch is a fan of Craigie Street Bistrot, KO Prime, and O Ya, and you might also catch him on a 4 a.m. Chinatown run for salt-and-pepper shrimp. But what makes him a great chef is his willingness to learn. “It’s just been an incredible experience,” he says, “and it’s really what drives the restaurant, the ability to teach and be taught.”

Nick Terrafranca, executive chef at 28 Degrees
Jeremy Sewall, chef/owner of Lineage, has done some consulting work for 28 Degrees (One Appleton Street, Boston, 617.728.0728). He still helps out at the South End lounge from time to time, but the kitchen is truly executive chef Nick Terrafranca’s territory — and Sewall considers him supremely qualified. “He’s a young man who’s just really committed to the craft and committed to the business,” says Sewall, who also notes that Terrafranca is easy to work with and has “a great leadership quality,” especially for a young chef. (Terrafranca is 30.) “[Nick] has a great food sense; he knows when to add a little bit or stop when it comes to preparing dishes. He’s proven [that] to me time and time again, every time I go over there to eat. His food comes from the heart; it doesn’t come from trends or pages of magazines. He cooks solid food with a solid foundation.”

Terrafranca began his career as a sort of traveling chef, which he describes as his “have whisk, will travel” phase. He’d work six months here, six months there, hitting cities including Colorado Springs, Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon, and fitting his studies at the New England Culinary Institute somewhere in between. His first gig in Boston was as line cook and then sous chef at Grotto; from there, he helped open 28 Degrees, where his menu is intensely seasonal and each dish is created to be shared. “Your perfect dining experience at 28 Degrees,” says Terrafranca, “would be to sit down with a couple of friends and have a couple half-carafes of wine or cocktails while you enjoy a slow yet steady parade of food.” He’s a disciplined, detail-oriented chef, but he’s also learned to relax and let his ingredients shine. “I go back to my Italian roots and simplicity,” he explains, “letting quality ingredients speak for themselves on the plate, and doing lots of little things — rather than several big things — to ingredients to improve where I can.” As for what’s up next, Terrafranca is still thinking about it. “It’s a question I’ve been asking myself for quite some time,” he says. “I really want to just learn. It’s going to be more exploring who I am as a chef and as a cook, what kind of style is really mine and not anybody else’s. But I think that that’s a challenge that chefs go through their whole lives.”

Ben Hennemuth, chef at the Harp
When Ben Hennemuth worked as Robert Fathman’s chef de cuisine at the now-defunct Anthem, Fathman, who’s currently the executive chef at Azure, found him “an easy guy to work with. He’s not a raging lunatic like some people that happen to be in the kitchen — just a calm, cool, collected type of dude.” That attitude translates to the cuisine that comes off Hennemuth’s line. “His food is the kind of food I like to eat,” Fathman says. “It’s comfortable without being predictable.” After Anthem closed its doors, Hennemuth was brought on at the Harp (85 Causeway Street, Boston, 617.742.1010) to inject the sports bar’s menu with some fresh ideas — and Fathman is impressed with the results. “[Ben] is encompassing this casual, new American cuisine,” he says. “And when it comes to the integrity of the product, the balance of flavors in his dishes, I think that he’s doing a great job.”

Hennemuth’s early training might come from the family-style dinners he prepared for his UMass Amherst dorm and a college course on the “Anthropology of Food,” but none of that matters now. He developed his technique working at Anthem under Fathman, and he’s applying what he learned there — “a free-spirited approach to sophisticated food” — to the menu overhaul he’s just debuted at the Harp. Hennemuth says the new dishes are “recognizable as comfort food” and “approachable” with a “fresh twist,” but they still reflect the Harp and its customer base. Highlights include pulled-pork wontons with chipotle-honey barbecue sauce, nachos made with tortillas fried in-house, and a classed-up American chop suey — all a serious improvement on typical bar fare. Hennemuth develops menu items based on what he’s been eating, what he’s been craving, and what’s fresh. “You don’t have to do a lot to support something that is already inherently good and flavorful,” he explains.

Jason Maynard, line cook at Troquet
As one of chef Bill Poirier’s sous chefs at Sonsie, Jason Maynard was “very eager to learn,” according to his former boss. “[He] really absorbs what goes on” and has a strong palate that’s enhanced by his intuitive understanding of how flavors interact. But what really stands out for Poirier is Maynard’s post-Sonsie career move: he left his sous-chef position at the Back Bay hotspot for a line-cook job at the smaller, more upscale Troquet (140 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.695.9463). “Being exposed to a busy restaurant like Sonsie, that was a great foundation for [Jason],” Poirier says. “He decided, now, to step in a direction of doing a smaller, finer-dining establishment, where it’s not such a hurried pace and there’s more involvement in ingredients, plate presentation. I think that was a great career move on his part.”

So who is Jason Maynard? A former UMass Amherst student, Maynard opted to attend the New England Culinary Institute, landing at Sonsie for his second-year internship and staying on after graduation. He considers his time at Troquet a learning experience; he’s there to try his hand at a different style of food and for the restaurant’s reliance on top-notch products. “I just cook with my heart, if you can call that a technique,” Maynard says of his approach. As for what his future holds, “it’s still kind of undecided. It’s up in the air.” Maynard will stick around in Boston as long as there’s more for him to learn here — and he thinks there will be. His ultimate goal is to own his own place, but that’s about more than just the food. “I’d want a place that has a performance space, where there would be live music,” he muses. “Fairly small, very casual, organic sandwiches and maybe some sort of pasta dishes. More of a place just to go and hang out than a place to go and eat.” For a guy raised on grilled cheese and “simple food,” that sounds spot-on.

David Punch, chef at Ten Tables
Jody Adams, chef/owner of Rialto, first met David Punch when he worked in the nearby kitchen at UpStairs on the Square. “I was struck by his passion, energy, and sense of humor,” Adams says. “The food they produced was fabulous. David always seemed to be willing to take chances and push the culinary envelope, without making wacky food.” Now that Punch is the chef at Ten Tables (597 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, 617.524.8810), Adams makes the journey there for his wild boar sausage with juniper-braised sauerkraut. (“Tremendous,” she notes.) Says Adams, “[David’s] choice to work at Ten Tables shows a commitment to working with the best ingredients and treating them with respect. And since it is such a tiny place where all hands are used, there is no doubt he loves to cook.”

Punch’s start in the industry was less than glamorous: he washed dishes and worked the counter at sub shops throughout high school in Natick, ending up at a burrito place in Vermont in his early 20s. Fine dining or not, it whetted his appetite for cooking, and he headed back to Boston for a culinary course at BU. Just six years later, with stints at the Nightingale, UpStairs, and Rendezvous under his belt, he’s at the helm of Ten Tables, where, he says, “I’m just really freaking proud of the fact that we try our hardest every day to give [our customers] the most affordable fine-dining kind of cuisine in Boston.” His enthusiasm for the job is infectious, but Punch is a grounded guy. He describes his specialty as “food that tastes good” and says his ultimate goal is “to keep cooking food that people want to keep eating.” @

[Photos by Tim Gray for Furnald/Gray]

Shop talk: Ever wonder where your favorite chefs find all those great ingredients?

Heather Bouzan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:15:00 GMT

ASK US WHERE we shop and it’s a simple answer: Newbury Street, Copley Place, and, when time allows, the Natick Collection. But when we pose the same question to 10 local chefs, most wax enthusiastic on the merits of various meat distributors, organic farms, local cheese shops, and, in a few cases, the vaguely mysterious “Ben the Mushroom Guy.” Read on for a glimpse into some of the best-stocked fridges, pantries, and spice racks in the city.

Jason Santos, executive chef at Gargoyles on the Square
Meat/poultry: “I use Cambridge Packing. These guys are definitely the most honest, definitely the highest quality. We use a lot of natural meat — that’s all I use — natural, no-hormones, no antibiotics. They have a lot of natural lines. For me, it’s sort of a one-stop shop. I can get something simple like burgers, and I can also get Kobe strip if I want.”

Fish: “Cambridge Packing does some fish. But I also do a lot from Constitution Seafood. They’re [supplying] restaurants for the most part. They’re smaller; the owner often delivers it himself. They’re just good people.”

Produce: “I use Russo’s, predominately Russo’s. I’ve been using Russo’s for, like, 15 years. If they deliver and I forgot to order a lime, they’ll bring over a lime. I guarantee, if you start getting into asking all the chefs, like 90 percent of the people probably use Russo’s.”

Breads: “We bake everything in house. But if I had to buy, Iggy’s, I think, is the best bread in the city.”

Cheese/dairy: “Basic dairy I buy from Paul Marks. And then specialty dairy, like cheeses and stuff, I use Capone’s. They make homemade pastas there, and they have lots of cheeses. It’s really, really small. But their stuff is super-high quality. [I use] a little bit of Formaggio, too.”

Herbs/spices: “I get my spices from a lot of different people. But I’d say Christina’s in Cambridge; they do a lot of spices. Some of the spices I use, I have to buy on the Internet because nobody has them. I get some spices from France, from Spain. If you want something authentic, unfortunately — or fortunately — you have to get it from the source. We’re using a great Filipino sea salt right now.”

Other: “I use D’Artagnan; I buy my mushrooms from [them]. It’s a company out of New York; they do specialty mushrooms and truffles and stuff like that. They do a lot of high-end meat, too, so I buy some meat from them.”

Andy Husbands, chef/owner of Tremont 647 and Sister Sorel
Meat/poultry: “We use John Kinnealey. Good price, and really good, high-quality stuff. They do our grass-fed burger; they do Giannones, which is a free-range chicken, hormone-free.”

Produce: “A. Russo and Sons [Russo’s]. I’ve done business with them for, jeez, maybe 15 years now. They have a lot of local stuff, good quality, and just a good variety. Also, they’re kind of a grocer, so they have great cheeses if you need them. Also, we use Nesenkeag Farms. I talk to the farmers twice a week. We’re using what they have, what’s fresh.”

Bread: “We make most of our own, but Iggy’s rocks. We buy our bagels from there for brunch. Sometimes we buy their focaccia, because it’s just awesome. Like anything, you’ve got to start with good ingredients. And they’re a great company; they’re good people.”

Cheese/dairy: “Formaggio Kitchen, of course. That’s the cheese place, as far as I’m concerned, in Boston. Selection, quality, and just overall good people. I like to do business with people that I enjoy.”

Herbs/spices: “Herbs is Nesenkeag Farm. Also Eva’s Garden. Good, local, fresh. [For spices], Christina’s. We also use Paul Marks, Accardi. They’re awesome. Those are more wholesale, where Christina’s is wholesale and retail. [And] sometimes you’ve got to run down to Chinatown when you’re looking for something really goofy.”

Exotic items: “Accardi and Sons, they’ll get us a lot of stuff. When you’re looking for some good snails, they’re going to be carrying [them].”

Other: “Pat the clam guy. They’re Wellfleet clams, and Pat Woodbury is his name. I’m also a big fan of Louisiana shrimp, so there’s this woman, Kay, I deal with out of Louisiana. Kay Brandhurst sends me an e-mail pretty much every week about what they’re catching. They also have great crab meat. These things are caught this morning and we’ll get them the next day, and they are just fresh and awesome.”

Ana Sortun, chef/owner of Oleana
Meat/poultry: “Savenor’s. [For poultry], I get the chickens from Canada — Giannones, they’re called. Very delicious, free-range bird.”

Fish: “Some comes from Maine, some comes from Gloucester. I’m partial to Captain Marden’s. Again, it’s quality.”

Produce: “It’s our farm, [Siena Farms]. We started it a couple years ago. My husband is a farmer. [In the off-season], for the restaurant, we shop through a wholesale vendor, Specialty Foods.”

Bread: “Clear Flour Bakery, and we make some.”

Cheese/dairy: “That varies. It comes from all over the place; it’s so random. Sometimes we go to Formaggio Kitchen.”

Herbs/spices: “Watertown, Sevan Bakery.”

Other: “Wine: Violette. It’s on the corner of Mount Auburn Street and Belmont Street. It’s an organic-wine store. And the other great place to shop is called Vintages in West Concord. It’s an unbelievable store; it’s worth driving out to.”

Rachel Klein, chef at OM
Meat/poultry: “We use D’Artagnan. D’Artagnan and William & Company. They work with a lot of restaurants; they just kind of know how to talk to their chefs. And they really work with me to get me the product I need.”

Fish: “Honolulu Fish Company, or Foley. Foley is a national company. They’re very particular on how they handle their seafood; everything’s very fresh. And Honolulu Fish Company, they’re out of Hawaii. We get all our West Coast fish from them, like our tunas and our opah, or anything a little bit more exotic. We get our blue prawns from them. And that comes in FedExed every day.”

Produce: “For the restaurant, our produce comes from Russo’s. Russo’s and the Chef’s Garden. Russo’s has really nice quality. They’ve been around a long time, it’s a family-operated establishment, and, to be quite honest with you, if I lived closer I would personally go there myself and shop. Chef’s Garden, that’s out of Ohio, and we get all our microgreens from there — we get baby vegetables, little precious vegetables and fruit or lettuces, the really delicate stuff.”

Bread: “We bring bread in for brunch, and it’s Iggy’s. We also use Mariposa Bakery in Central Square. Iggy’s does all of our little pastries for brunch. They do baguettes for us, and they do our hot dog buns — we do a hot dog on our lunch menu. And Mariposa used to do scones for us, and they do a really good brioche.”

Exotic items: “When I’m bringing in anything exotic, I really just talk to the companies I’m presently using, and they source them for me. So if I say, ‘Hey, I’m looking for a Japanese purple yam,’ Russo’s is going to find it for me, and then they’ll call me the next day and be like, ‘We found it.’ ”

Other: “I go shopping a lot at Super 88, personally and for the restaurant. We use a lot of Asian products here, and my pastry chef happens to be part Chinese. You can find really bizarre things there sometimes, like mini octopus and frogs’ legs. They have some really funky things in the fish department and the frozen foods department at Super 88. Of course, no one speaks English there, so it’s hard to get any information. You have to learn by trial and error.”

Tim Wiechmann, chef/owner of T.W. Food
Meat/poultry: “Most of the meat comes from the Big Ox Farm, which is my friend Peter. It’s in Concord. He raises the meat pretty much for the restaurant. We talk a lot about the diet, and we are in control of the whole production. He usually only has, like, two pigs at a time, and I buy them. He had a steer about four weeks ago, and I bought the whole steer.”

Fish: “For the restaurant, I have some fishermen friends in Marblehead, ’cause that’s where I grew up, and oftentimes I’ll get fish directly off the boat from them. After that, I consign myself to buying fish that’s only in season and only fished off of our waters. So I don’t buy Alaskan fish, or I don’t buy Oregon salmon, because it takes forever to get here. I buy whatever bluefish is running or bass is running. They’re both Massachusetts fish. Or lobster. And there’s a great store in Marblehead called Marblehead Lobster Company, and they have lobster right from off of Marblehead.”

Produce: “I get it from Grateful Farm, which is in Franklin. They come to me three times a week with whatever they’ve grown. I also have given them stuff to grow for me. Like, kohlrabi was something I had them plant in the spring.”

Bread: “Bread I only get from B&R Bread. He’s my friend, and he’s a very good baker.”

Cheese/dairy: “Dairy, I use Vermont Butter & Cheese. I use their high-fat butter. Best butter out there, by far. Cheese I get from Russo’s. They have a great cheese department. I go to Formaggio as well.”

Herbs/spices: “Herbs we grow ourselves out in Marblehead.”

Exotic items: “We had mallard duck from Long Island, which is the duck that’s indigenous to our East Coast. D’Artagnan, they’re the big guys that do that. And right now we have Oregon porcini mushrooms — fresh, so they’re really, really good.”

Jamie Bissonnette, chef de cuisine at KO Prime
Meat/poultry: “I use Cambridge Packing Company, D’Artagnan, and Kinnealey a lot. Kinnealey will do all of our aged meats, because they have an aging room. D’Artagnan helps me with farmers out of New York state and Pennsylvania, getting things like veal, Berkshire pigs, small farm chickens, and ducks. And Campco helps me get our all-natural grass-fed meat from Brandt Farm, Brandt Meat Company out of the West Coast, Nebraska, and California. We use Bella Bella Gourmet to get our foie gras.”

Fish: “We get a lot of it from Sunny’s Seafood. It’s a Boston company, just known as Sunny’s. When striped bass comes in season in the summer, the first day it’s in season, the guys at Sunny’s Seafood know that I’m gonna want it. [For more exotic fish], we use a Japanese company called True Worlds.”

Produce: “We use a lot from Eva’s Garden in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. [She’s an] organic farmer. She custom plants things, so you can say, ‘Hey, I really want ground ivy next year,’ or ‘I love lovage. Can you make sure you have extra lovage for me?’ And her herbs are impeccable; her edible flowers are unbelievable.”

Bread: “B&R Artisan Bread, Michael Rhodes. I love his baguettes and his bread. I also do use Iggy’s for a lot of things as well. I prefer Iggy’s for their breakfast pastries.”

Cheese/dairy: “I’d say 90 percent of our artisanal cheeses, we go through Ishan at Formaggio.”

Herbs/spices: “Fresh herbs pretty much all come from Eva, or we have a garden on the roof here at the restaurant. So we’ll grow stuff over the summer. Lovage, tarragon — I didn’t plant tarragon, but I couldn’t get rid of it. And chives, garlic chives, allium flowers, chili peppers, and tomatoes. We’ve got about 250 cubic feet of sod; it’s pretty cool.”

Exotic items: “I sourced out my Wagyu beef from a woman who bills herself as the ‘Kobe connection’ out of New York. Her father and uncles farm Wagyu beef in Kyoto, and they sell it, but it gets distributed through a company called Austin Meat that’s based, ironically, out of New York. Mushrooms, I love using Ben, a local mushroom forager. I forget his last name, but ‘Ben the Mushroom Man’ is pretty much what he’s known as. He lives in Jamaica Plain with his wife, and they forage all over New England.”

Other: “I’m really happy with our coffee. It’s a local roaster called Karma Coffee. He delivers three or four times a week, with beans that are roasted the day of or the day before. Coffee is so much better when it’s roasted so much more fresh.”

Tom Fosnot, chef at Rocca
Fish: “We buy from Captain Marden’s, and from Seafood Specialties. It’s good to have multiple purveyors in case someone’s out of something.”

Produce: “For the restaurant, we use Verrill Farm and Nesenkeag Farm when in season. Otherwise, we use Russo’s. They’re the kind of purveyor that will deliver one bunch of thyme. If you forget and you call them up, they’ll order one bunch of thyme for you.”

Bread: “We buy from Iggy’s, and we make it ourselves. We make our crackers and our focaccia in-house, and we’ll buy our bread that we use for crostini from Iggy’s.”

Herbs/spices: “Eva’s Garden would be one good place we get a lot of herbs from. She just has really nice, fresh herbs she grows down in [South Dartmouth]. I think that being near the ocean, they’re heartier and they have a lot more of an intense flavor.

Other: “We buy our gelato from a company called Spasso Foods. We buy some Ligurian olive oil through Accardi. I think sweet yeast is probably the most non-standard [ingredient we use]; we get it from Italian delis. We use it in the crust for our fig walnut tart. We talked to someone in Italy who used it in a bakery there, and we bought a ton while we were over there and brought it over.”

Paul O’Connell, chef/owner of Chez Henri
Meat/poultry: “We buy from Savenor’s. I’ve known Ronnie for a long time, and I like his quality. And he’s local. He’s in Cambridge, right on the corner, so if we’ve forgotten something on the order, he can get it over to me pretty quick, or I can swing by there and grab it.”

Fish: “Captain Marden’s Seafoods. Again, it’s a relationship, and quality.”

Produce: “In the summer, I’m most seasonal, so I buy from Nesenkeag Farm, and then there’s some people at the farmers’ market I deal with on different apple orchards and stuff. I buy mushrooms from Ben the Mushroom Guy. When he started out, he used to just forage, but now he also has connections where he imports stuff from the West Coast, like chanterelles from Washington State.”

Bread: “We make half our own bread, and the other half I buy from this artisan bread guy out in Framingham, B&R Artisan Breads.”

Cheese/dairy: “I buy all my cheese from Formaggio Kitchen. Ishan’s probably the top cheese shop in the country. Ishan travels to Europe frequently and is always finding new cheeses and new products.”

Exotic items: “From Ishan [at Formaggio Kitchen], I just got this Maras pepper; it’s a Turkish pepper. It’s somewhere between cayenne and Italian red pepper flakes, but it’s softer and fluffy, and it costs like $15 for a little teeny thimbleful — it’s like saffron, but it’s delicious. I’m using that on lamb right now.”

Other: “I go to Latin markets to get Latin ingredients. My secret place is Market Basket over here, and if I happen to be over in JP, there’s the tropical supermarkets. I can buy frozen banana leaves that I use to wrap tamales in, and dried corn husks, and yucca.”

Mary Dumont, executive chef at Harvest
Meat/poultry: “The lamb actually comes from Pennsylvania. But I think they do a lot of mail-order things for the general public. [It’s called] Jamison Farm.”

Bread: “We cook a lot of our breads in-house. We get some other breads from Iggy’s. And there’s another companycalled Pain D’Avignon.”

Herbs/spices: “Her name is Eva and she has Eva’s. She goes to some of the farmers’ markets, but she also supplies some of the restaurants in the city. It can be a little spendy, but she has some really, really interesting herbs and varieties that she grows that I really appreciate. She grows burnet, which is kind of a melon-flavored herb that looks like a really small parsley. And she grows lemon verbena and lemon balm and calumet and all these really cool heirloom herbs. Not only [is it] good to support sustainable agriculture, but they have historical significance as well, which I really like to weave into the food. Food that represents a time and a place.”

Alison Hearn, executive chef at Myers+Chang
Meat/poultry: “I use Kinnealey for most of my meats. It’s actually a purveyor. They sell meat to restaurants everywhere, all over Boston and New England. Super 88 over in South Bay Shopping Plaza has super-fresh chickens. They have head-on, feet-on chickens. The Chinese tend to be really fanatical about having super-fresh chickens.”

Fish: “Captain Marden’s, hands-down. Captain Marden’s is run by Kim Marden; it’s out in Wellesley. They have a retail store that’s got a pretty wide selection as well.”

Produce: “We have a certain challenge, which is that we’re trying to get a lot of Asian greens and Asian produce. I’d love to find some farms, and I’m hoping to, maybe next spring, where I can get some of the things we use. When I walk around the South End there’s these little garden plots. I’ve seen various people out there, and people growing their own Asian greens. Maybe I’ll go tap one of them on the shoulder and see if they want to sell to me. But I find that Russo’s has a pretty good selection of Asian greens, and that’s someplace I like to go on my days off. It’s a purveyor that also has a retail market, so they get a very brisk turnover and very good prices.”

Herbs/spices: “I really like the herbs I get from Specialty Foods. Some stuff I can’t find from them, though, which is a shame. I have to go pound the pavement to track down yellow chives.

Cheese/dairy: “[Dairy isn’t relevant to Asian restaurants]. I do use tofu, which is what Asian people use. There’s a place right around the corner from me called Ho Kong, and I call up Ho Kong every morning for my fresh tofu and super-fresh, gorgeous bean sprouts. They get it from somebody who makes it every day; it’s local.”

Exotic items: “I use the same places for myself personally if I’m cooking Asian at home as I do if I’m cooking for the restaurant. Of course, Super 88, which carries tons of great Asian ingredients.” @

[Additional reporting by Melissa Cronin]

[Photos by Kelly Davidson]

Now and then: Hot trends from the last decade — and their contemporary counterparts

Heather Bouzan — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:20:00 GMT

WE’RE GLAD that one of the inherent qualities of a trend is its brevity, because if we’d had to endure a lifetime’s worth of leggings, scrunchies, and New Kids on the Block, we’re not sure we’d still be around to talk about it. In the last 10 years, what were once obsessions have trailed off to distant memories, only to be replaced by more contemporary counterparts. (As for the next 10 years, we can’t wait to see what comes next — just, please, not the hot pants again.)

1997
THEN
basic black
Minimalist-chic was in, Calvin Klein was our man, and black was our color. In fact, 1997 was the year black pants became our uniform. Shapes were sleek, spare, and streamlined, so we wore the hue head to toe, with shades of charcoal for a little variety. Might a patterned scarf or something in paisley have brightened our moods? Probably. But we were too busy stomping around like a humorless New York fashionista to care.

NOW
jewel tones
In contrast, the more recent red carpets have been the perfect backdrop for fashion’s latest color craze: jewel tones. Tired of looking dismal, starlets have been gravitating toward lush purples, velvety blues, and vibrant greens for their eveningwear, and designers have used similar shades to make a statement on the runways. Visit American Apparel (138 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.536.4768) for basic pieces in high-impact hues. The current collection at Anthropologie (799 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.0545) skews towards brights, and at Wolford (Copley Place, 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.236.5070) you can swathe your legs in hues like “True Red” and “Mazarine Blue.”

1998
THEN
boy-band heartthrobs
That bleached-blond hair. Those chiseled abs. Those overalls. Boy bands were hot in ’98, with groups such as the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and 98 Degrees belting out cheeseball love tunes and causing millions of girls — and women — to squeal with excitement. Boy bands, no matter their canned harmonies, cookie-cutter personalities, and dubious fashion sense, ruled the airwaves and, we’ll go so far as to say, the world in 1998. We have the trading cards and ticket stubs to prove it.

NOW
indie-rocker heartthrobs
Lately, a new crush has emerged on the music scene. Indie rockers might not bring us to tears like the boy bands of yesteryear, but their bad-boy personas, nerdy glasses, tight pants, and sensitive lyrics serve similar purposes. Bands such as the Shins, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nada Surf, and Death Cab for Cutie paved the way, and now it’s hip — and hot — to be indie.

1999
THEN
feathered hair
Farrah Fawcett’s locks may have peaked during her Charlie’s Angels days, but her ’do was back in style (with a little less oomph and a lot less hairspray) in 1999, with soft, sweeping layers showcased on stars such as Gwen Stefani. (It might’ve helped that hype for Drew Barrymore’s Angels remake, which hit theaters the next year, was in full swing.) We thought the feathered look made for a smooth transition out of the Jennifer Aniston–inspired Rachel cut we’d been rocking for years.

NOW
movie-star curls
We’re so glad that classic looks — including glamorous movie-star curls with a 1940s flair — are back. Best suited for evening, the full, bouncy ringlets pair nicely with this season’s statement-making red lips. Jessica Alba wears the style with the mix of elegance and sex appeal that we aim for — even if our red carpet is actually the welcome mat outside our door.

2000
THEN
designer jeans
We admit it: we got a little obsessed. We could identify a brand from its pocket stitching a mile away, and though we’re normally a little thrifty, we couldn’t stop collecting pair after pair of designer jeans. It was the year that denim megabrand 7 For All Mankind launched, and dozens of others followed. We bought light washes and dark, wore them with our cutest flats and our favorite heels, and pulled out the credit card whenever a new line appeared on shelves. But with pairs going for $150 to more than $300, our bank account wasn’t such a fan.

NOW
Target collections
When one of Target’s GO designer collections hits stores, we’re among the first lined up to tear through the racks. Thus far, the retail giant has partnered up with superbly credible brands including Proenza Schouler, Behnaz Sarafpour, Libertine, and, most recently, Alice Temperley for limited-edition collections at almost laughably low prices. Following Target’s lead, we’ve seen Vera Wang for Kohl’s and Kate Moss for Topshop. Now if only there was some way to keep the eBay resale value from skyrocketing.

2001
THEN
the Cosmopolitan
From the minute Carrie Bradshaw picked up a delicate martini glass and sipped her first Cosmopolitan, the drink has been all the rage — much to the chagrin of the bartenders who were forced to mix them up night after night for troupes of giggly young women. We won’t deny having once had a taste for the sickly-sweet pink cocktails, but this trend was one that hung on well past its prime.

NOW
the renaissance of classic cocktails
When it comes to cocktails, everything old is new again — and our taste buds couldn’t be happier. Locally, people such as John Gertsen at No. 9 Park (9 Park Street, Boston, 617.742.9991) and Jackson Cannon at Eastern Standard (528 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.532.9100) have been spearheading the renaissance; just reference Cannon’s cocktail menu for a huge listing of classics, among them the Negroni ($9), the Sazerac ($10), and the Jack Rose ($10). And we’ve already told you about the ladies of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails), led by Misty Kalkofen of Green Street (280 Green Street, Cambridge, 617.876.1655). Theirs is one history lesson we can stomach.

2002
THEN
stilettos
For a while there, it seemed like we were all competing to see who could teeter and totter around the longest on the skinniest of heels. Sexy they were; practical they were not. We can’t even tell you how many times our spikes lodged in the cobblestones and brick walkways of Faneuil Hall and Government Center — and the cobbler fees were atrocious. But armed with handbags full of backup flip-flops, we soldiered on.

NOW
chunky heels
Our poor, pained feet rejoiced when the chunky heel clomped down the runways of almost every fall collection. They’re not the unflattering, squared-off heels of old: these pumps are sexy, sleek, and modern, often with a hint of retro sensibility. Now our toes aren’t throbbing and staying upright isn’t a challenge — even after a few martinis. Habit (703 East Broadway, Boston, 617.269.1998) carries a line called DRU New York that we love, and Marc Jacobs (81 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.425.0707) stocks a range of styles.

2003
THEN
the South Beach Diet
When Dr. Arthur Agatston’s The South Beach Diet hit shelves, even the Atkins-obsessed thought they’d found their miracle. Using three phases (and thankfully reintroducing carbs in phase two), the plan aimed to help dieters make a natural — and actually achievable — lifestyle change instead of yo-yo dieting their way to their goals. The diet was hugely successful, spawning a range of cookbooks, cereal bars, salad dressings, and more. We even considered trying it — until we realized that Phase One requires two weeks of alcohol-free hell. We’ll live with our pudge, thank you very much.

NOW
eating locally
The current eating craze is all about intermingling environmental goodness and overall health: eating locally. T.W. Food (377 Walden Street, Cambridge, 617.864.4745) and Craigie Street Bistrot (5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617.497.5511) are known for stocking their kitchens with locally-grown products, and the increasing importance of farmers’ markets has been emphasized over and over in our city. The idea of the 100-mile diet, which sprung from one couple’s realization that most foods we eat travel 1500 pollution-filled miles before reaching our table — see Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon’s Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally — further underscores the trend.

2004
THEN
SUVs
It wasn’t long ago that mammoth sport utility vehicles lumbered with mind-boggling frequency down Newbury Street. (Al Gore wasn’t quite so Inconvenient yet.) When it came to the status vehicle, bigger was unquestionably better, and spacious, tricked-out interiors rivaled the scope of some city apartments. But countless sideswipes and mirror dings — not to mention gas-price increases — later, Boston’s elite started rethinking things.

NOW
hybrid cars
Perhaps it was celebs like Leo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz buzzing around LA in their sporty Toyota Priuses, or maybe we just collectively grew a conscience. Whatever the catalyst, we’re liking the change: stroll Newbury Street now and though you’ll still see plenty of BMW SUVs and Mercedes M-Classes, they’ll look like monstrosities compared with the perky little eco-conscious vehicles scooting by. And don’t you know, less gas consumption means more money for Newbury Street cocktails.

2005
THEN
small plates
For a while there, it seemed like we couldn’t get a normal-sized entrée on a normal-sized platter. Instead, small plates were all the rage, inspiring course after course of two-bite dishes — and the puzzle of trying to fit them all on one little table. (Back in the kitchen, the nonstop dishwashing couldn’t have been much fun, either.) But as much as we loved the creativity that went into so many of these tapas-style dishes, we really sucked at sharing.

NOW
high-end sushi
We know sushi isn’t a new trend. What’s noteworthy is that we’re finally willing to shell out the big bucks for it. The Leather District’s pricey O Ya (9 East Street, Boston, 617.654.9900) is known for its execution and sumptuous flavors. Not too long ago, the swelling popularity of closet-sized Oishii (612 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, 617.277.7888) forced the opening of a South End location (1166 Washington Street, Boston, 617.482.8868) with décor to match its new neighborhood. Back Bay’s chic Douzo (131 Dartmouth Street, Boston, 617.859.8886) is packed on a nightly basis, while Ken Oringer’s Uni (Clio, 370 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.536.7200) is popular as ever with the Black Card set.

2006
THEN
skulls
Johnny Depp rocked his Pirates of the Caribbean look with such flair that we emblazoned everything we could with bony skulls. They dangled from our necks, leered from our knuckles, and sported sinister smiles on our sweatshirts. Then there’s the other Johnny in our lives — Johnny Cupcakes, that is — whose ubiquitous confection-and-crossbones stamp also found its way into our T-shirt drawer.

NOW
snakes
Snakes are the latest icon to appear on clothes and jewelry all over town. They look great wrapped around wrists in bangle form and slithering across trendy T’s. Portia de Rossi even wore a bedazzled snake to help hold up her dress at the 2007 Emmys. We’re crushing on the Antonio Palladino Silver Snake Ring ($465) at Barneys New York (100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.385.3300); for thriftier types, Urban Outfitters (11 JFK Street, Cambridge, 617.864.0070) carries a super-hot snake belt ($28) in gold mesh. @

Perfect 10: Get in touch with your inner pre-teen

Melissa Cronin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:29:00 GMT

ANOTHER YEAR older, another year wiser, another birthday pub crawl? Nah — we’re so tired of the usual bar-hopping birthday fêtes. In brainstorming ideas for Stuff@night’s 10th-birthday celebration, we found ourselves yearning for the days of cupcakes, candy, and themed table settings. That in mind, here are some places to party like a 10-year-old (a city-dwelling 10-year-old with a fake ID and a wad of allowance cash, that is).

sweet talk
No celebration is complete without cupcakes, but more and more schools are banning the treats, saying they’re just too unhealthy for kids. Good thing we’re all grown up! Somerville is the local sweet spot for fans of the dessert: Kickass Cupcakes (378 Highland Avenue, Somerville, 617.628.CUPS) offers modern flavors like Mojito ($2.75) and Caramel Apple Cake ($2.75), but if you’d rather have a more classic cupcake experience, there’s nothing better than Super Chocolate. Another option just a mile away, Petsi Pies (285 Beacon Street, Somerville, 617.661.7437; also 31 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge, 617.499.0801) is famous for Whoopie Pie cupcakes ($2), with chocolate cake and whipped-cream filling. Grab a couple for yourself, and don’t worry about sharing with the class.

get racy
Want to take a trip down memory lane at 45 miles per hour? Anyone who ever tried to hotwire their Power Wheels will love F1 Boston (290 Wood Road, Braintree, 781.848.2300), 20 minutes south of Boston. F1, New England’s only inside track, is modeled on the super-sexy world of European Formula 1 racing. Visitors can drop in, suit up, and head out on either a “city” or “country” course that simulates a wide array of driving conditions. One run of practice and race laps costs $28. After racing, replenish with snacks and cocktails at the track’s on-site restaurant. (Repeat: after.)

dirty little secret
Mud pies were never for eating, so why do kids insist on dabbling in dirt? Well, maybe children’s peachy complexions are a hint that they’re on to something: mud can actually be a purifying agent that stimulates the metabolism as it draws out toxins. Spa Newbury (115 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.262.9464) does the dirty work for you with its Mud Wrapsody treatment ($125), using sterilized mud and peat imported from Europe. Technicians apply the mixture all over your body and wrap you in warm blankets to start the detox process. It’s perfect, they say, for starting a fast. We’d rather take our shiny selves to the club.

late bloomer
Boston lawmakers have stuck us with one of the country’s earliest bedtimes. For the past few years, though, determined partiers have been staying up with strobes instead of flashlights. Behind a nondescript Back Bay doorway, Rise (306 Stuart Street, Boston, 617.423.7473) hosts parties that don’t even start until most people are heading to bed. The welcoming scene, which includes international DJs spinning on two floors, might be a result of the members-only policy, a means of getting around the closing-time restrictions. You won’t get in if you just show up, but we know a bad babysitter who’ll help you stay out late. To get on the guest list, e-mail promoter Tina Snell at club.xtina@gmail.com.

juiced-up drinks
Whole Foods doesn’t stock Capri Sun or Hawaiian Punch, but we haven’t missed them; those syrupy concoctions are too much for our refined adult palate. Instead, Match (94 Mass Ave, Boston, 617.247.9922) offers drinks with the right mix of sweet nostalgia and grown-up naughtiness in a sleek and sexy environment. Mom told us not to swallow our gum, but vodka, peach schnapps, lemon juice, and Champagne go down smooth in the Bubbletini ($11). The Pop Culture martini ($11) features strawberry vodka, Bacardi Coco, and cranberry and pineapple juice, all rimmed with pop rocks. They won’t make your stomach explode, despite what you may have heard from the big kids.

peanut, peanut butter — and jelly!
Who says you have to leave behind your PB&J sandwiches when you graduate from elementary school? The Sunset Grill and Tap (130 Brighton Avenue, Allston, 617.254.1331) serves one that’s no smushed white-bread mess: they accent their fresh-ground peanut butter with honey, before spreading it with strawberry preserves on a Texas toast ($3.99). Marshmallow fluff, banana, and cream cheese are add-in options. Now if only they’d cut off the crust.

the games people play
Double Dare, Guts, Wild ’n’ Crazy Kids: the tragedy of our childhood was that we were never chosen to appear on a Nickelodeon game show. But we’ve finally found a way to live out our earliest fantasies of TV stardom. Tomb (186 Brookline Avenue, Boston, 617.375.9487) is a real-life Legends of the Hidden Temple, tucked right behind Fenway Park. The Egyptian-themed puzzles, obstacle-course challenges, and goofy fake smoke throughout the 45-minute experience are the closest we’ll ever get to Olmec.

grown-up gluttony
One of the best parts of growing up: “big eaters” become “connoisseurs,” and “pig-out sessions” become “tastings.” Our favorite Boston spot for socially accepted adult bingeing is the Chocolate Bar ($35) at Café Fleuri (Langham Hotel, 250 Franklin Street, Boston, 617.956.8751). On Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m., there’s a Wonka-worthy spread of more than 125 chocolate desserts. Leave the candy to the kids while you sample crêpes, fresh-baked cookies, truffles, tarts, and the products of a “donut machine.”

get down from there!
With more than 17,000 square feet of rock surfaces stretching as high as 45 feet, Metro Rock Boston (69 Norman Street, Everett, 617.387.7625) is the kind of place your mother warned you about. Monkey types of all ages are encouraged to scale the walls, and the floors are thickly padded for those who haven’t done that kind of thing for a while. Call before you hop on the Orange Line and they’ll pick you up at the Wellington stop. Just like mom used to. @

[Photos by Joel Veak]

Flashbacks: What we were talking about...

Michael Diskin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:28:00 GMT

… in 1997
“Remember when Princess Diana sparked the rage for colonic irrigation? (It makes me feel so energized.’) That development sent bicoastal trendsetters bot-toms up. Now it’s time for deep breathing. An oxygen hit is the pick-me-up of the moment in Los Angeles. Kirstie Alley keeps a bottle on the set of her sit-com, Veronica’s Closet. She thinks it helps her face look fresh (translation: wrinkle-free). Harrison Ford takes a number of blasts before he does publicity interviews. Clears the brain, heightens the senses, and reenergizes the psyche, he says. Oxygen bars are the new rage in Tinseltown. Experts say that the best way to minister to clients is in a spa setting, often along with a massage. Because oxygen can dry out your nasal passages, humidifiers are used to infuse the air with moisture and natural scents. It’s a heightened form of aromatherapy. Mango, anyone? Word is that Adam Berke, of the Adam Berke Gym, is plan-ning to introduce the big O as soon as he can clear the local regulatory hurdles. Most major cities allow patrons to ingest oxygen as long as they sign a consent form. But things aren’t as simple here. Oxygen, which enriches the blood and boosts energy levels, is treated rather like a drug. You need a prescription to take it. Having trained medical personnel on staff might allow Berke to go for it. There is a certain irony at work: some of the leading local health clubs allow cigar smoking and have bars on their premises. But oxygen is more closely regulated.”
— 12.23.1997

… in 1998
“For the last few years that Nike has been ‘just doing it’— racking up astronomical sales and luring athletes of every size and shape to rep its product — Boston’s own New Balance has been quietly toiling away on its own running shoes, slowly expanding its line, and making a steady though comparatively modest buck. Suddenly, however, that low profile is making NB the hot footwear among a group of buyers the company never thought of wooing: European fashion mavens, Hollywood stars, and other pop culture trendsetters. ‘It’s sort of an unexpected surprise,’ company spokesgal Kathy Shepard admits. ‘Most of our market is not a fashion market.’ Until last fall, that is, when a couple of designers featured New Balance’s line of brightly colored suede-and-mesh running shoes in their European runway shows. Since then, something akin to fashion mayhem has erupted. Everyone from Spin magazine to Vogue to Elle has been dialing up NB headquarters in recent weeks trying their damnedest to get ahold of the shoes, which cost about $150 and come in baby blue, salmon, lemon, purple, and other flamboyant hues. Even Hollywood’s knocking. Actor Hank Azaria, boyfriend of Helen Hunt, called Brighton recently to order two pairs for his lovely SO’s birthday (pretend you didn’t know, Helen). Only problem is, the shoes aren’t available in America yet, so the people at NB headquarters have been feverishly setting up plans to begin importing them from their UK operation. Much of that first batch, according to Shepard, is going straight to LA. But local club kids shouldn’t despair. The shoes are available here in blue and gray, and some of the brighter shades occasionally show up at the NB factory store in Brighton. Our advice? Run, don’t walk.”
— 3.3.1998

… in 1999
“We’ve been seeing some high-waters about town — and we’re not talking meteorology, fellow fashion forecasters. The ubiquitous capri-length pants (what is with the Gap’s ankle fetish this season?) have finally infiltrated the male populace.

Far from alerting the Emergency Broadcast System about an impending fashion disaster, we’re kinda keen on this modern male rendition of clam-diggers. Both linen and cotton versions of short-but-sweet trousers have been spotted in the more glammy (or would that be ‘gammy’?) parts of town so far, but it surely won’t be long before the Abercrombie & Fitch college set get word of the fashion brief and adopt them as their own.

Get a leg up on the trend — so far, the shorties have been spotted at the Gap and DKNY. And whether you’re digging for clams or digging the scene, be sure to step into the right footwear — sporty slides and sneaks (Tevas are verboten) will help you put your best foot forward. Let’s just hope the boys don’t take a shine to our tube tops next.”
— 6.22.1999

… in 2000
“Remember the brouhaha a few years back when Hooters decided to open near North Station? We’d have thought Hester Prynne was opening a voc-ed center. The restaurant, ‘whose name is slang for women’s breasts,’ as The Boston Globe felt compelled to tell us, had a rough start, including troubles with the unions and a suspicious fire. Also, its callow gimmick appealed to lads fancying burgers and boobs as opposed to the more jaded deep-pockets crowd. So it came to pass that the Boston Hooters franchise quietly filed for bankruptcy this summer. Plans are still in the works to launch one in Peabody, and the North Station operation remains open. Where, uh, kids under 12 can eat for free.”
— 9.26.2000

… in 2001
“New Yorkers have no time for mawkishness. Even grotesque pain and anger spawn action, in the ineffable New York way. There’s a motto in the DNA of natives (although it can be acquired): ‘Keep moving.’ Be it emotionally, logistically, or commercially, the urge is fast-forward. Leave it to New Yorkers (of whom I am, proudly, a fourth-generation one, despite three decades in Boston) to carry on, no matter what. To find solace in social connections, in committing acts of normalcy. The day after terror struck, Rudy Giuliani exhorted people to go out to a restaurant, to see a show. No matter how many funerals he attended, he had time to escort down the aisle a bride who’d lost her firefighter brother. ‘This is what life is all about,’ he said.

Alas, Boston seems more stalled. Restaurateurs say business has been woeful (although bars held their own); hoteliers were wringing their hands. As many free-spending Middle Easterners went home (bin Laden relations among them), clubs and shops worried that their gate would suffer. Never mind that people just seemed to want to stay home. ‘It’s not fear,’ said Marc Harris, owner of Newbury Street’s Ecocentrix salon, ‘it’s more guilt — or duty. I don’t want to see some sit-com. I want to turn on CNN and let it sink in.’

And yet. As ABC executives said when they decided to stop showing the footage of the attack, ‘It could become wallpaper.’ Or, as adds Marc Harris, ‘I’ve got to snap out of it.’ Truth be told, if one more person uses the word ‘unbelievable,’ I’ll stick a sock in his mouth.

For sure, there will be lingering emotional talons we can’t shake off. Life — and social life — will have added intensity. You can’t expect the same everyday distractions to have the same impact. But the catharsis that people desperately need helped them through other scary times: think the dancing, drinking, and romance at USO canteens.

It’s preposterous to equate quaffing a few cosmos with, say, enlisting — but going out and having fun are ways of spitting in the face of evil. We can ‘show the flag’ by putting more life in nightlife. It’s time.”
— 9.25.2001

… in 2002
“Don’t hate him because he’s handsome. Chef Ken Oringer has been in recovery ever since People magazine named him one of the 50 sexiest bachelors of the year — yep, our local phenom, right up there with George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and Enrique Iglesias (none of whom actually showed up at the reception). Oringer is the only chef on the list and has no idea how People found him. The day after the ‘very Hollywood’ reception in New York, he was deluged with e-mails, calls to his cell phone, and ‘interesting’ photos of women wanting to be his new best friend. It began to interfere with opening his brand-new sushi bar. What’s the best way to respond when you become an overnight heartthrob? He turned to long-time friend Ming Tsai for advice. ‘Just thank them for their interest and ask them if they ever come to Boston, to come visit the restaurant,’ Ming counseled.”
— 7.2.2002

… in 2003
“It’s not just vodkas that are getting swept up in the flavor craze. Bacardi is taking its product to the next level of lusciousness (or is it ‘lush-ishness?’) with the introduction of three new flavored rums: Bacardi Razz, Bacardi Vanila, and Bacardi Coco. These spirits, respectively infused with raspberry, vanilla, and coconut, continue Bacardi’s success in the flavored-rum realm, which began with Bacardi Limon and Bacardi O. Drink ’em up.”
— 4.15.2003

… in 2004
“Built into the old Chaps space at 101 Warrenton Street just in time for summer is the screaming-hot new nightclub Rumor. The space (and the staff) is gorgeous — upon opening a few weeks ago, it immediately became one of the nicest clubs in the city. Which is no surprise, considering that old friends Shahrokh Reza, Igor Blatnik, Alex Yunis, and Heather Light are the brain trust behind it. Thursday nights are where it’s at for now (although the Asian night on Saturday’s building momentum); look for a full schedule of programming in the fall.”
— 5.25.2004

… in 2005
“I refuse to blink when ordering the cheekily named ‘good plate of offal’ ($10) at Eastern Standard (528 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.532.9100). Nor does its arrival give me pause — though the sexy little assemblage of what look rather like savory petit fours certainly causes my vegetarian lunch companion to blanch a tad. (She recovers quickly enough to eat all the cornichons off the accompanying dish of toasted croutons and Dijon mustard, however. Those herbivores sure are blood-thirsty in their own way.) But then the waitress describes the plate’s contents. Though they can vary according to the chef’s whim, mine boasts a rabbit terrine, duck rillettes, foie gras–chicken liver mousse, and head cheese. Gulp. Well, nothing to do but dive in headlong. So I start with the cheese. So much is wrong, not just misleading but wrong, with the name alone that dwelling on it produces a whole new form of head cheese. It actually denotes, essentially, pork Jell-O — or, to put it another, less poetic way, a type of charcuterie derived from the chopped meat from the head of a pig (or, occasionally, a sheep or cow) and the gelatin it yields when cooked, which is used to bind the pieces together in a mold. And the prosaic truth of it is — it’s good. Damned good. Not unlike pulled pork, but subtly seasoned rather than barbecued. The surrounding aspic, meanwhile, possesses the proper, just-firm-enough consistency — which is about all but the pickiest connoisseur can ask of aspic. And all but the most humorless snob might forgive you for describing the terrine as a moist, salt-tangy rabbit meatloaf and the rillettes as an agreeably gamy duck-burger patty — which their familiar textures respectively recall. (Actually, as I later learn, the rillettes are organ-free anyway — though the terrine, sure enough, benefits from some poor bunny’s involuntarily donated kidneys.)”
— 7.19.2005

… in 2006
“As much as we’d like to believe we’re on the cutting edge of fashion and beauty, most retailers see Boston as second-rate when it comes to introducing products. Our friends in New York and LA get the hottest new jackets and slickest new gloss while we’re left waiting, hoping the fresh styles arrive here soon. Well, we’re waiting no longer. Shu Uemura (130 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.247.3500), the high-end, trend-setting Japanese beauty line, opened recently on Newbury Street, and already it’s given us something no one else has. The new Butterfly Make-Up Palette ($35) comes with a vibrant array of colors for cheeks and eyes, all packaged in a specially designed case featuring butterflies similar to those in the Mamechiyo-designed boutique. Flick open the sleek compact in front of one of your out-of-town friends, and she’ll immediately want one of her own. That’s when you can use the phrase you’ve been saving for years: ‘Really? Well, it’s only available in Boston.’ Domo arigato, Mr. Uemura.”
— 6.20.2006

Lounge lizards: 15 of our favorite spots for chilling out and getting down

Heather Bouzan — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:45:00 GMT

THERE’S NOTHING like a big nightclub: getting lost in the middle of a crowd, clearing a spot, and just dancing. But being the variety-craving socialites we are, we’ve embraced another nightlife trend that’s been gathering momentum for the past few years: lounges. Purveyors of the lounge understand that we like to hear each other speak, so the decibel level should be kept within reason. That our stilettoed feet need a break and our stuffed-into-a-size-four butt needs a place to rest. That we like something to nosh on that isn’t caked with gluey orange cheese. That we want a decent buzz to show for that $12 martini. And that sometimes we’d prefer to relax with our friends than endure a high-stress night seeing and being seen (though if we feel like climbing on a table when a good song comes on, we’d like to have that option, too). Read on for a guide to 15 of our favorite Boston lounges.

28 Degrees
It’s all flickering candlelight and clinking glasses at 28 Degrees (1 Appleton Street, Boston, 617.728.0728), where South End sophisticates go to for perfectly-poured cocktails, gossipy whispering, and impromptu fashion shows.
Sit: in the cozy booths, ideal for conversation.
Listen: to low, moody tracks with a good beat; dancing picks up as the night goes on.
Wear: your favorite ensemble from that chi-chi South End boutique.
Sip: seasonal drinks like the Caramel Apple ($11.50) and the Cranberry Sour ($10.50).
Snack: on to-die-for brick-oven pizzas.
Discuss: the tony black-tie benefit you attended last night.
Bring: the coworkers you’ve been dying to drag from their usual post-work hole-in-the-wall.
Meet: your new gay best friend.

33 Restaurant & Lounge
33 (33 Stanhope Street, Boston, 617.572.3311) is for those who like to dance. But resist the urge to break out your dad’s disco-era moves or risk expulsion by the A-list crowd.
Sit: at a table; they get pushed aside as the night goes on, so arrive early for a spot.
Listen: to something progressive but approachable, with a great beat that’ll surely get you dancing. But be warned: downstairs can turn into a bit of a mob scene.
Wear: something slinky and chic.
Sip: one of the house infusions; green olive, starfruit-peach, and blueberry-apricot lend themselves to some inventive signature cocktails.
Snack: on bar bites with style. The fries are truffled, the mini burgers are Kobe, and the chicken tenders come with honey-mustard aioli.
Discuss: who’s stuck languishing in line while you’ve scored a prime spot by the DJ.
Bring: that neighbor who’s been begging for a taste of your cosmopolitan life.
Meet: an adorable law student looking to let loose for the weekend.

Alibi
We can’t help but feel downright mischievous in the low-lit, shadowy corners of Alibi (Liberty Hotel, 215 Charles Street, Boston, 617.224.4000) — but get yourself arrested in this former jail and risk becoming the ultimate cliché.
Sit: on something swathed in leather — the barstools, benches, and couches are all made with the supple stuff.
Listen: to low, atmospheric house that’s not trying too hard.
Wear: head-to-toe black; this place reminds us of something trendy we’d find in a back alley in New York City.
Sip: from the small-but-savvy wine list.
Snack: on nothing yet, but Lydia Shire’s Scampo will provide a bar menu when it opens (fingers crossed) in November.
Discuss: your small-time run-ins with the law.
Bring: the group of old friends you’ve been dying to catch up with.
Meet: a celebrity hotel guest who’s staying upstairs.

The Beehive
Following its hotly anticipated opening, the Beehive (541 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.423.0069) has emerged as a gathering spot for a wide range of Bostonians — and all agree that the lounge embodies what’s right with our city’s nightlife.
Sit: at one of the prime tables, either upstairs or downstairs.
Listen: to jazz most of the time, often performed by Berklee’s talented elite.
Wear: a boho-chic, Anthropologie-style ensemble.
Sip: anything the talented and friendly bartenders create. Tell them what you like and dislike, then sit back and watch them create.
Snack: on the Bohemian Platter ($24), which goes a long way with its assorted meats and cheeses, or the quirky Kielbasa Pig in a Blanket ($9), served with sauerkraut.
Discuss: something intellectual and vaguely pretentious (in a good way).
Bring: a sheltered friend in from the suburbs looking for an escape from married life.
Meet: an on-the-cusp new musician with the sexiest eyes you’ve ever seen.

City Bar
Far from a hotel-lobby cliché, City Bar (Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter Street, Boston, 617.933.4800) is a low-lit, intimate room with enough sex appeal to keep us coming back.
Sit: on one of the cushy banquettes or leather chairs and couches, or a barstool if you can snag one.
Listen: to something moody and understated.
Wear: business attire injected with some not-so-conservative style.
Sip: the lounge’s fizzy Champagne Libations ($8), which include the Bellini (made with peach purée), the Confetti (guava purée), and the Emerald (kiwi purée).
Snack: on treats from neighboring Azure. We can’t argue with the “Really Good Lobster Soup” ($12) or spicy polenta fries ($7).
Discuss: that big business deal you’re just about to close.
Bring: your girlfriend’s dad, who you really need to impress.
Meet: no one, if you know what’s good for you (see “Bring,” above).

District
Even though we first brushed by the velvet ropes more than a year ago, District (180 Lincoln Street, Boston, 617.426.0180) hasn’t lost its savvy, street-smart feel. And the funky décor sets off our designer ensembles perfectly.
Sit: in one of the white-vinyl booths or scattered conversation areas.
Listen: to a playlist that runs the gamut (though weeknights tend to skew more toward hip-hop, and weekends more toward ’80s favorites). A few drinks in, dancing becomes unavoidable.
Wear: something urban-chic from Karmaloop.
Sip: on fun, fruity cocktails like the Perfect Peach ($10).
Snack: on upscale potato products, including tater tots ($7), truffled frîtes ($8), and sweet-potato fries ($8).
Discuss: that über-talented new DJ you’ve been into lately.
Bring: your tough-to-please industry friend.
Meet: the hot bartender you’ve been crushing on since the summer. And it’s her night off.

Enormous Room
So what if it’s not really that big? Central Square’s Enormous Room (569 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.491.5550), with its earthy brick walls and cozy, loft-like feel, makes us feel like exclusive members of a super-secret club. (If the line outside doesn’t give it away, just look for the elephant on the door.)
Sit: on something in worn-in leather, including the backless couches and the errant footstool.
Listen: to indie rock, in the early hours; a more boisterous DJ might get the crowd going later in the evening.
Wear: ironic T-shirts and rumpled khakis.
Sip: something from the “Enormous Drinks” list, like the Bad Babysitter ($8.50), Grass Stained Knees ($8.50), or Geisha’s Whisper ($9).
Snack: on small plates with a crunchy Cambridge flair: try the grilled salmon skewer with cucumber-yogurt dill sauce ($7) or the Mediterranean dip plate ($9).
Discuss: the amazing underground show you caught last night in Allston.
Bring: the friend who thinks she’s been everywhere in Boston and is so over it.
Meet: a cerebral Cambridge hottie.

The Foundation Lounge
A true haven for the international crowd, the Foundation Lounge (500 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.859.9900) caters to worldly BU students and other jet-setters with expensive tastes and cosmopolitan tendencies.
Sit: on cozy benches and pillows.
Listen: to everything from Top 40 and house to live soul, depending on the night; dancing is common, so escape outside to the smokers’ patio if you need a break from the action.
Wear: Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, or the Forever 21 equivalent.
Sip: something from the great sake selection.
Snack: on anything from the Japanese-inspired Zensai appetizer menu.
Discuss: the European holiday you’re planning.
Bring: your coupled friend who’ll take one for the team and chat up the unattractive sidekick of the guy you have your sights set on.
Meet: a European transplant with a sexy accent who’s getting his master’s at BU.

The Living Room
The Living Room (101 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, 617.723.5101) strikes an enviable balance between swank and cozy: we often watch patrons try and resist the urge to ditch their shoes and curl up on the plush couches.
Sit: on one of the signature couches. Park yourself early and don’t move.
Listen: to a mix of current nighttime favorites that might tempt you into some dancing.
Wear: your priciest pair of designer jeans.
Sip: one of the signature martinis. Indulge your sweet tooth with the Whipped Goddess ($10.50), the Tiramisu ($10.50), or the Vanilla Bean ($10.50).
Snack: on the drinks; we love this place for morning-after brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, so spend your money at the bar, then drag your hung-over self back tomorrow to feast.
Discuss: who’s wearing what and who’s here with whom.
Bring: your younger sister, who’s home on break from college.
Meet: the best post-bar makeout session you’ve had in a long time — and names were not exchanged.

Lucky’s Lounge
Seaport District favorite Lucky’s Lounge (355 Congress Street, Boston, 617.357.LUCK) may be lacking signage, but its after-hours glow draws in-the-know patrons in droves into the retro subterranean space.
Sit: at of the numerous tables and nooks in the main room.
Listen: to Frank Sinatra, if it’s Sunday (and often Wednesdays too).
Wear: a T-shirt and jeans — no need to get fancy.
Sip: martinis, no matter what. The spot is modeled after a speakeasy, after all, so it just feels right.
Snack: on standard barroom fare, kicked up a notch. Super-fresh spinach-and-artichoke dip ($9) and mini burgers ($14) hit the spot.
Discuss: how amazing the old-school wood paneling would look in your living room.
Bring: your high-school friend who used to throw the best basement parties.
Meet: a Southie yuppie who’s finally branched out from his usual neighborhood dive.

Match Burgers & Martinis
We head to Match (94 Mass Ave, Boston, 617.247.9922) because who doesn’t look amazing bathed in flattering firelight? Plus, we can’t help but love the buzzing of Boston socialites from table to table, and the true urban-chic feel of the place.
Sit: at one of the intimate booths or tables, or stand around the bar.
Listen: to some cutting-edge French DJ you’ve never heard of.
Wear: something tight, or risk being upstaged by the cute waitresses.
Sip: any of the original cocktails — we love that each drink is served with its own tiny silver shaker.
Snack: on one of the variations of the mini-burger.
Discuss: where the hottest after-party is.
Bring: your college roommate, in from New York City for the weekend.
Meet: the gorgeous model you recognize from that Stuff@night spread a few months back.

Middlesex Lounge
Sure, most of the clientele is probably smarter than you’ll ever be, but the industrial, minimalist space that is the Middlesex Lounge (315 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.868.MSEX) is a key stop on the local party circuit.
Sit: on a stumpy barstool or a pillowy bench on wheels, but beware: they’re
moved out of the way when the dancing gets crazy.
Listen: to the bass line, which is always thumping. Dancing is common.
Wear: skinny jeans.
Sip: beer — though the drink list is eclectic, too.
Snack: from an eclectic menu of vaguely healthy options, including Ten Tiny Tacos ($8) served with pulled pork or black beans, and jerk chicken sticks ($6.50) with mango dipping sauce.
Discuss: the new eco-friendly tequila you’re hooked on.
Bring: the cute friend you’ve been crushing on but haven’t quite figured out how to tell how you feel.
Meet: the owner of the cool restaurant you’ve been frequenting lately.

Saint
Tucked away on a Back Bay side street, Saint (90 Exeter Street, Boston, 617.236.1134) has garnered a rep as a go-to for visiting celebrities looking to get their party on — plus those of us who crowd the nightspot hoping to catch a glimpse.
Sit: at one of the spot’s VIP tables, if you can snag one.
Listen: to those Top 40 tracks that get you totally pumped; just try to resist busting out your moves.
Wear: something trendy.
Sip: Red Bull and vodka for the energy to make it until closing; Saint’s version is the Ketel of Bull ($12).
Snack: on one of the menu’s many dishes that are made to share, like the selection of gooey fondues.
Discuss: the industry love triangle you got wind of on your last trip to the ladies’ room.
Bring: your destined-to-be-famous best friend.
Meet: whoever’s hiding in that roped-off corner.

Vintage Lounge
Don’t underestimate the developed palates of those financial types: from the way they crowd the Vintage Lounge (72 Broad Street, Boston, 617.482.1900), one might mistake them for professional imbibers. And they have the funds to pick up the tab.
Sit: at one of two bars, or on some of the mod seating in the front room.
Listen: to tunes that aren’t too obtrusive.
Wear: a well-cut suit and tie, if you want to blend in.
Sip: something from the great list of wines by the glass.
Snack: on a selection varied enough to impress even the most well-traveled CEO: tuna sashimi ($12), duck confit spring roll ($10), grilled goat-cheese sandwich ($9).
Discuss: your stock portfolio.
Bring: your cash-strapped best friend in the dead-end relationship.
Meet: a financier with money pouring out his ears.

Whiskey Park
We love that Whiskey Park (64 Arlington Street, Boston, 617.542.1482) reminds us of some rich dude’s study — all dark, lacquered wood and leather accents. But come late night, the place becomes anything but stodgy with one of the best party scenes in the city.
Sit: on one of the front room’s leather chairs or padded barstools, or reserve a VIP table in the back.
Listen: to a popular mix of Top 40, old school, and rock, and arrive ready to show off your moves.
Wear: something black and designer, with a prominent label.
Sip: from the kind of list that starts trends. Challenge your palate with the Clementine Crush ($13), the Mangomint Mojito ($13), or the Rosemary-Lemon Martini ($14).
Snack: at your own risk. You’ve got that great outfit to fit into.
Discuss: the amazing outlet shopping just outside Milan.
Bring: that hot friend who always manages to draw attention to you both, for better or worse.
Meet: the kind of guy who spends more time getting ready than you do. @

[Photos by Kelly Davidson]

Stuffed: The third-annual Stuff@night dining awards

RUTH TOBIAS AND MC SLIM JB — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:12:00 GMT

MC Slim JB: “Best-of lists are the McDonald’s cheeseburger of food/drinks articles: everyone occasionally wolfs one down, and no one brags about it afterward.

But why do they always include some howler that makes you wonder if the judges are daffy or corrupt?”

Ruth Tobias: “I hear ya. But suppose it were you and I who slapped together that cheeseburger over, say, a bottle of wine? How would it differ from the assembly-line version?”

Slim: “Hmm, maybe it’d be more carefully made, but idiosyncratic, bound to provoke responses like, ‘Some odd choices — brioche instead of a roll? — but tasty overall.’ ”

Ruth: “Good point. Between our eclectic sensibilities — shaped by Chowhound.com and the gung-ho attitude of human guinea pigs — and our tendency to drink on the job, we’d have spontaneity on our side.”

Slim: “Which might yield something like these dining awards: a bit lopsided, maybe a little cheesy, but still plenty juicy. Would you like pommes frîtes with that?”

READ: 2007 Stuff@Night Dining Awards

MP3: MC Slim JB talks to FNX about populace food reviews

[Photos by Joel Veak]

All grown up: Sophisticated takes on some college-food favorites

Heather Bouzan — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:53:00 GMT

THERE ARE surely some things about college you miss: the random hook-ups, the endless parties, the complete lack of responsibility, and, of course, the excess drinking. But that dining hall serving half-congealed mystery meats and triple-fried everything? Not so much. Since your palates have surely grown up a little, here are some popular college dishes, updated for your newfound sophistication. (As for those packages of ramen noodles in your cupboard, we won’t tell a soul.)

It’s no Fenway Frank, that’s for sure: the “Haute” Dog ($13) at OM (92 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, 617.576.2800), served with a tower of tempura onion rings on the side, is made with all-natural ingredients and soaked in an apple-cider-and-brown-sugar solution prior to grilling. Better than the late-night dogs you used to make on your George Foreman, don’t you think?

Ramen has long been considered the quintessential college meal. (We even had a friend who snacked on the noodles raw.) Still a bargain but far more palatable than the cellophane-wrapped packages is the seafood ramen ($12.50) at Wagamama (Faneuil Hall, Boston, 617.742.9242; 57 JFK Street, Cambridge, 617.499.0930). While the restaurant’s menu features a number of ramen options, we particularly like this one, a dashi soup with ramen noodles, grilled black-tiger shrimp, salmon, barramundi, and marinated squid, all topped with wakame seaweed, pickled bamboo, greens, and sliced scallions.

Some things haven’t changed since freshman year: brunch is still our favorite meal for exchanging stories of the previous night’s exploits while soaking up the booze still sloshing around in our bellies. And we can’t think of a better setting than the Pajama Brunch at Tremont 647 (647 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.266.4600), where Joanne’s Pop Tarts ($5) are one of our favorite menu items. Made from a recipe lent by Flour Bakery’s Joanne Chang, the pastries are formed from fresh sugar dough, filled with a seasonal house-made jelly, and topped with fondant.

It never mattered what was on that 3 a.m. pizza — all it needed was bread, gooey cheese, and a sauce that ranked even slightly above ketchup. But our adult alternative is beyond decadent; it’s a crispy-crusted beef tenderloin, mashed potato, and white-truffle-oil pizza ($22), served fresh out of the oven at Mistral (223 Columbus Avenue, Boston, 617.867.9300).

Remember choking down those cardboard-tasting veggie burgers because they were the only meatless option in the dining hall? Well, the walnut-mushroom veggie burger ($14) at the Beehive (541 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.423.0069) is a whole different breed. The burger is formed from caramelized onions, mushrooms, walnuts, lentils, and grated cheese, and it’s served with Greek yogurt and a spicy hot-pepper sauce — far classier than the ketchup with which we used to drown those collegiate patties.

Macaroni and cheese has always been our ultimate comfort food, but it’s also the reason we packed on 18 pounds during freshman year. (Well, that and beer.) But the dish is worth a post-college diet splurge at the Bristol Lounge (Four Seasons Hotel, 200 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.351.2052), where the rock shrimp mac and cheese ($29) is made with chedder, American, and parmesan cheeses and Florida rock shrimp. Even better, it’s served with an arugula salad and teardrop tomatoes.

In college, our culinary abilities ranged from your basic sandwich to ... well, that was about it. Hence our love for this twist on an old favorite: the lobster PLT ($24) on the lunch menu at Dante (5 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, 617.497.4200). It’s made with fresh lobster meat, and the “P” stands for pancetta. The rest of the sandwich is stacked with arugula, tomato, and a house-made smoked-chili aioli.

When we were 20, red meat didn’t fit into our beer-and-pizza budget very often, but we managed to get our iron intake in the grossest possible way: the gooey, fatty cheesesteak. Much more refined are the trademarked Philly cheese steak spring rolls ($12) at Davio’s (75 Arlington Street, Boston, 617.357.4810). The chef at the restaurant’s Philadelphia location developed the rolls; according to our local source, they were “perfected” in Boston with shaved meat and a blend of Philly cream cheese, parmesan, sautéed onions, salt, and pepper. They’re served up in a spring-roll wrapper with spicy ketchup and mayonnaise. @

[Photos by Joel Veak]