Modern Farmer Magazine: A Debut, With Chicken Love

Do you care about the source of your food? Do you prefer local, organic products? Do you frequent farmers' markets and local farms? Do you belong to a CSA or CSF? Do you grow your own herbs,  vegetables or fruits? Do you have respect for farmers? Do you want to learn about all of these topics, and more? If you answer affirmatively to any of these questions, then I recommend you check out a new quarterly magazine, Modern Farmer.While perusing...

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Rant: Boston Restaurants, Follow New York City's Lead

Consider a hypothetical restaurant which, on average, does 150 covers per night. In a week, they will do 1050 covers and in a month, that will total about 31,500 covers. Think of all the many pounds of ingredients that restaurant needs to create all those dishes. The major problem is that approximately 40% of that food will be wasted, discarded as refuse.Where does all that trash end up? Far too often, it goes to landfills, creating larger and larger mounds of refuse.Last summer, I ranted that Restaurants Should Cut Portion Sizes to reduce food...

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Fladgate Partnership Declares 2011 Vintage Port

"Port is the oil of good conversation."--Adrian Bridge Last month, I spoke with Adrian Bridge, the CEO of the Fladgate Partnership, which comprises the three major Port houses of Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca and Croft. During that conversation, he indicated that the decision whether to declare 2011 a Vintage or not had not yet been made but there was optimism that it would be. If it was declared, he was also unsure how much Vintage Port might be produced, though he suspected it would be a smaller amount than previous vintages. Other Port Houses have...

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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) The Barcelona Wine Bar, a new Spanish tapas restaurant in Brookline, has a number of upcoming cooking classes which you might find of interest.April 29, 7pm: Tapas Party in an Hour It's possible to plan and prep for a tapas party in an hour! We have quick, easy, dynamic, inspired tapas that can be easily...

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The Locapour Militia Rides: Will They Raid Your Restaurant?

Farm to table. Farm to fork. Seed to table. Ocean to table. Locavores. These terms are all the rage and restaurants across the country are touting how they rely on local ingredients. These restaurants support local farms, grow their own herbs, fruits, and vegetables, make their own salt, and more. Seasonality is also important to them. I am supportive of these restaurants, and the chefs and owners deserve kudos for their passion and dedication...

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Graffigna Winery & A New Riedel Malbec Glass

"We make loudspeakers for wine."--Georg RiedelWhat a cool way to think of wine glasses. Riedel creates a diverse selection of wine glasses, including many crafted for specific grapes. The goal is to make those wines speak the loudest and clearest, to best represent their aroma and flavors. On its face, many might find it silly that there is a different glass for grapes like Syrah, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Does the size and the shape...

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Rant: Dining In The Dark

Restaurants with special dining in the dark events are currently popular. In Boston, you can check out Dining in the Dark, where you are blindfolded for dinner, forcing you to rely more heavily on your senses other than sight. These type of restaurants extend back to Germany in 1999, where blind and visually impaired servers were used in pitch dark restaurants. Similar restaurants have sprouted up across the world.However, I am not ranting about these type of restaurants. Instead, I am talking about restaurants which intentionally keep their lighting...

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Gustave Lorentz: More Alsatian Wine Treasures

Charlie Sheen, oysters, white blood, bäckeoffe and Riesling.What do all five of these have in common?  I would learn that fascinating answer on a recent Monday evening as I drank some Alsatian wines with dinner. At Island Creek Oyster Bar, I dined with Pascal Schiele, the Export Director of Gustave Lorentz, and Matt Demers of Quintessential Wines.  It was a fun, tasty and informative experience as I got to sample and...

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Buy American Seafood: Four Excellent Choices

It is disturbing that Americans currently import 91% of their seafood, up 5% from 2010. Less than 10% of the seafood we consume is from our own country. That is a disheartening statistic and I previously Ranted about this issue, imploring Americans to eat more domestic seafood. Paul Greenberg, a writer, speaker and author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, understands this issue and he too strongly recommends...

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Shipping Wine To Massachusetts: A Critique Of Andelman's Plan

Like many wine lovers in Massachusetts, I would like the ability to receive shipments of wine directly from out of state wineries. There are plenty of wineries which do not sell their wines in Massachusetts but which I would like to be able to purchase. However, I still cannot do so because the legislature can't seem to get their act together and pass a constitutional law which would allow it.In 2006, a law was passed that barred many such shipments into Massachusetts but it was later ruled unconstitutional, a decision affirmed by the U.S. 1st...

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Rant: Local Sports, Local Wine

Sport fans tend to support their home teams, to have a sense of pride in these local sport teams. In Boston, most local residents support the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots. Even if you are not a big sports fan, you still tend to have a sense of pride in your local teams. One's pride in your local teams often does not depend upon the greater success of those teams. These sports teams don't even have to win championships to have local fans with great pride in their teams. For example, Red Sox fans fervently supported their team despite the...

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Friday Sips & Nibbles

I am back with a special Friday edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.**********************************************************1) Executive Chef Eric Gburski is getting ready to roll out a new lunchtime menu at Estelle’s in the South End. Chef Gburski’s Burger Joint menu will launch on Monday, April 15, and features five juicy burger options and four gourmet salads perfect for all palates. Estelle’s will now be a burger joint by day while...

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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) The Taste of the North End is turning 20 this year. The Taste of the North End was founded by Donato and Nancy Frattaroli in 1993 as a benefit for Casa Monte Cassino. The Frattarolis became aware of Casa Monte Cassino when a family from Italy came into their North End restaurant. The family was staying...

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Liparita: Cabernet of Balance, Complexity & Value

"Don't cheat!"That is the sage advice from Jason Fisher, the winemaker for Hoopla Wines, Hoopes Vineyard, and Liparita Winery. Though such advice is applicable as a general life lesson, Jason was referring to the act of winemaking. He means that wine should be made right, with minimal intervention, devoid of manipulation. Wine should express terroir, and manipulation only serves to conceal and obfuscate that sense of place. Jason told...

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Rant: Parents, Stop Spoiling Your Children!

"Recent immigrants aside, Americans spoil and cater to their children more than do other countries. We buy them more toys, read more books about how to bring them up, and give them larger allowances to spend."--An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies by Tyler Cowen Tyler Cowen is an American economist, academic, and writer. He occupies the Holbert C. Harris Chair of economics as a professor at George Mason University. I have been reading his newest book, which was released last year, and it is a fascinating look at the...

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Portsmouth & The Seacoast Restaurant Week & Ristorante Massimo

Not all Restaurant Weeks are created the same. The Portsmouth & The Seacoast Restaurant Week started yesterday and will continue through April 13. During this week, you will be able to obtain a three course Lunch for $16.95 or a three course Dinner for $29.95 at approximately 49 restaurants. In addition, some of those restaurants are offering even more for this low price, from free wine to extra courses.For example, The Portsmouth...

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