Food: March 2008 Archives

Speed's Hot Dogs was spotlighted as a top dog by the Wall Street Journal. Raymond Sokolov waxes rhapsodic about his discovery in a Roxbury parking lot, which he deems "untrendy":

At first look, Oggi seems like a regular pizza joint - you can watch one of the cooks in the open kitchen as he works dough into a perfect circle before topping it with sauce and cheese. The pizza is delicious and extremely fresh. A basic tomato, basil, and garlic slice ($2.50) screams of bright tomato and earthy garlic, with just a hint of spice. The unexpected sesame seeds on the crust were an added bonus, lending a nutty flavor to the sauceless, cheeseless crust.

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to The Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page.

You can make your own liquid sunshine! All you need is lemons, sugar, and vodka.

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to The Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page.

Dale Cruse, who writes Bostonist's "Drinks Are on Us" and the site Drinks Are on Me, has been nominated in the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards' "Best Graphics" category. And we'd love it if you could take a few minutes to vote for his blog.

Almost every family has traditions surrounding the holidays and typically they incorporate food. Thanksgiving equals turkey, Christmas perhaps a beef roast of some sort, and for Easter the answer is almost always ham (or a pork roast). While the rest of us gather around the table with eyes bigger than our stomachs could ever be, there is a set of people who lag behind for they know their fate before they even pick up a fork.

Spring officially sprung yesterday, although the rain and wind made it feel like a regular winter day. Lucky for Boston, Persephone has already been in town for a while.

For the past 28 years, people across the country and throughout the world have dubbed the first day of spring as the Great American Meatout, using the day to spread the word about veganism. Spring is a season of renewal and birth, making it a perfect time to learn more about a compassionate diet that celebrates life - both the life of the animals and the preservation of our own health.

Is there anything Dustin Pedroia can’t do? You can add Condiment Connoisseur to his resume. The Rookie of the Year has recently released his first salsa. Be on the look out for Pedroia’s Black Bean and Corn salsa . Produced by PBL Sports , the company that’s seems to have the market cornered when it comes to athletes and food. How some Big Ben XL Beef Jerky (helmet not included) or maybe for those of you looking for something sweet, how about a Carmelo Anthony Melo Candy Bar ? No word yet though if Pedroia’s salsa starts off kind of mild and bland, then suddenly has a pop of heat after the second bite.

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to The Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page.

Bostonist realizes that $33 may not seem like cheap eats, especially when this column has been focusing on $10-and-under places. This, again, is where some careful research comes into play. At some restaurants, the price of a Restaurant Week meal ordered a la carte may come out to roughly $33. Avoid the places where a regular meal would be less than $33. In the case of Davio's, a three-course meal would run about $50-$75 dollars, making the $33 Restaurant Week menu - and it's accompanying dose of attentive service - a steal.

Bostonist heard on Universal Hub that Bartley's Burger Cottage in Cambridge added a "Spitzer" burger to the menu.

According to its website, Anthony's Pier 4 is "an exceptional dining experience". In fact, it boasts: "Anthony's Pier 4 offers fine food prepared to Anthony's exacting standards, an award winning wine list, superb service, and a spectacular view of the city overlooking historic Boston Harbor." Perhaps it's because the restaurant was supposed to be fantastic-so old school classy, not trendy and a little pretencions-that it turned out to be one let down after another.

You've always meant to start that wine tasting group, right? It's just about the last New Year's Resolution that we haven't broken. Well, now's the time.

Has that stack of takeout menus grown unmanageable? Did you forget which pizza place has the best pepperoni? GrubHub can solve that problem for you. All you need to do is type in your address, and you'll get a list of all the dining establishments that will deliver to your home, along with their menus.

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to The Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page.

These days, things seem to be shrinking-MP3 players, cell phones & cameras and even cars are being made small. It shouldn't surprise you then, to see this shrinkage spilling into menus. "Sliders" or mini-burgers are popping up in restaurants and pubs across the country. These tiny versions of America's favorite sandwich come in many varieties and seem to be all the rage.

Veggiest is passionate about a meat-free diet, and will happily discuss the innumerable benefits of adopting a veg lifestyle with anyone who asks. When it comes to speaking of slaughterhouses and the meat-producing industry in the U.S. however, Veggiest almost always keeps mum. Why? Well, to be frank, we don't want to piss anyone off. We understand there are many happy carnivores out there who want nothing less that to hear the reality of how their burgers actually get to the table.

Tastes like bad chicken to us! Stop & Shop has pulled the following items because they might be tainted with listeria:

Six bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1870. You can't afford them.

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to The Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page.

Bostonist tends not to eat at places with the word “junkyard” in their name, but when the food is as good as at Spike’s Junkyard Dogs, rules can be broken. Spike’s offers up hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, subs, salads, and wings (plus burgers at the Somerville and Boylston branches) that are quick, inventive, and delicious.