The Fish Head Whisperer Reigns Supreme

The Fish Head Whisperer is the Champion!I recently competed in the 3rd Annual iPura Tweet & Blogfest at IBSS 2013, the 2013 International Boston Seafood Show. In this contest, local bloggers vied against each other to present the best, most comprehensive and interesting coverage of the seafood show. An impartial third party judged the contest and the top prize was a significant chunk of change, $1000. Yesterday, I learned...

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Shojo: Tempura Pickles to Chocolate Sesame Balls

One year ago, I published Yurine's Pot, the first Tipsy Sensei story and it featured an ancient Japanese legend about Shōjō, water spirits who love Sake. In honor of this anniversary, it thus seemed appropriate that I should visit a Chinatown restaurant called Shōjō. I previously reviewed this restaurant, after a lunch visit, proclaiming it A Welcome Addition To Chinatown. Please read that post for background information...

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Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.**********************************************************1) On Tuesday, April 9, at 7pm, Legal Sea Foods in Park Square will host a wine dinner with Jordan Winery, a Sonoma County-based winery that specializes in producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Legal Sea Foods will team up Jordan Winery’s Assistant Winemaker, Maggie Kruse, to host a four-plus-course dinner...

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Savoring Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey:

George Washington, our first President, was a lover of whiskey. His passion for whiskey was so great that by 1798, he became the country's largest distiller, making 11,000 gallons of whiskey at Mount Vernon. During the Revolutionary War, in the frigid winter at Valley Forge, Washington bought Michter's rye whiskey for his men. Michter's would later say they were “the whiskey that warmed the American Revolution.”The history of Michter’s extends back...

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The Fugu Food Truck Is Coming!

Fugu. The Japanese term for the pufferfish. The above picture of a pufferfish makes it look cute though the actual fish can be lethal.Fugu is a highly prized fish, which has been eaten by the Japanese for thousands of years. However, it also contains a deadly poison, tetrodotoxin, which is 1250 times more toxic than cyanide and for which there is no antidote. A tiny amount, only 1-2 milligrams, is sufficient to kill someone. Each year, there is an...

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Rant: Forget Robert Parker, Celebrities Have The Power

The local Boston news has been highlighting the issue of direct shipping of wine. That is a very good thing. As Free The Grapes states: "Massachusetts wine lovers still cannot purchase wines directly from out-of-state wineries, even though the legislature has had three years to act on an appellate court ruling directing the legislature to correct its unconstitutional ban on wine shipments." Bills seem to languish each year, going nowhere, and new bills are currently in the House. Will anything happen this year?The reason this issue, which previously...

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Importance Of Wine Sales By The Glass

I have dined at plenty of restaurants which sell ten to twenty wines by the glass yet may have one hundred or more wines available by the bottle. Most restaurants have far more wines available by the bottle than the glass yet does that actually make sense? Would a larger selection of wines by the glass enhance a restaurant's business?In the latest issue of Foodservice East (Wintertide 2013, p.14), there is an article discussing a recent study by Restaurant Sciences. This study, involving research of about 10 million guest...

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Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.**********************************************************1) A couple of the restaurants celebrating with Easter Sunday specials on March 31 include:Aura at the Seaport Hotel(From 11am-3pm)Easter Brunch Buffet: $55 per adult; $13 per child (ages 5-14); complimentary for children under-5There will be an Easter Brunch Buffet ideal for the whole family, compete with...

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Rodizio Grill in Braintree

If you dine at a churrascaria, a Brazilian grill where you can eat all you want, and you have room for dessert, then you just didn't try hard enough. When that parade of enticing meats on skewers marches by your table, you can't help but taste a bit of everything until your belly cries surrender.Last week, I dined, as a media guest, at a new churrascaria, the Rodizio Grill, which is now open at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree. The Rodizio Grill...

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