Highland Kitchen is a little off the beaten path—it’s situated somewhere in the no man’s land between Davis Square, Porter Square, and Union Square. But with a laid-back vibe, delicious Bayou-influenced food, and a fantastic cocktail menu, it’s well worth the trek. And if you don’t want to hoof it, never fear: There’s parking in the back, if you’re lucky enough to snag a spot. Bostonist went on a recent Saturday night to check... [continue]

If you stop in to When Pigs Fly Sourdough Bakery’s new shop outside of Davis Square, be sure your stomach is empty—the friendly loaf slingers behind the counter have samples of every bread right out on the counter, and it’s hard to say no. Bostonist enjoyed all of the bread we sampled, but we really loved the banana pecan, maple, and brown sugar bread, especially smeared with a little bit of their own pumpkin... [continue]

The owners of Clear Conscience Cafe in Central Square are on a mission. It’s pretty hard to miss… in fact, it’s conveniently spelled out on a poster behind the counter. They sell fair trade, shade grown, organic coffee and organic food “with an underlying agenda of social responsibility and environmental stewardship.” The counters are made of bamboo or crushed beer bottles; the ceiling tiles are made of 100% recycled material; the shop is illuminated... [continue]

If Elvis Presley were still alive, he’d be turning 73 today. In honor of the King, one of J.P. Licks' flavors of the month is banana ice cream with hand-swirled peanut butter, inspired by the ingredients in his favorite deep-fried sandwich. Never ones to turn down an excuse to eat ice cream, even in January, Bostonist tried out "Elvis’ Favorite." We have to hand it to J.P. Licks: Their ice cream impersonations are always... [continue]

Bostonist finds that food makes a great gift for even the most difficult to shop for. Some of our favorite local food purveyors have made it easy for us with food-of-the-month clubs. We’d be thrilled to receive the gift of pork from Savenor’s, which has a bacon-of-the-month club. For something sweet, Pemberton Farms of Cambridge has a coffee-cake-of-the-month club and plenty of locally themed gift baskets. Formaggio Kitchen, famous for having its own cheese... [continue]

Now that absinthe is legally available for sale in the US, the green fairy has landed on cocktail menus in Boston. Bostonist went to a couple local bars recently to try out the storied liquor of artists and poets. First, we tried out a more-or-less classic absinthe preparation at Kingston Station. It’s an interactive cocktail, and very pretty—you pour a bottle of spring water over a sugar cube sitting on top of a slotted... [continue]

To say that the baristas behind Barismo.com are coffee fanatics is a little bit of an understatement. For example, Ben Chen, an engineer by day, actually bought his own coffee-bean roaster in Taiwan, and then started making modifications to it (drilling extra holes so flames could lick the beans directly; hooking it up to a computer to better monitor roasting conditions). So when Bostonist went to a Barismo coffee tasting (or “cupping”) last week...... [continue]

One of the best things about Thanksgiving is the leftovers, no doubt. But this year, Bostonist roasted its own 19 pounder, leaving, oh, about 10 pounds of turkey left over. There are only so many gobbler sandwiches we can stuff into our maw, so we started to look for other ways to make sure we left no bird behind. Turkey pot pie seemed to fit the bill—we could put just about any leftovers in...... [continue]

Creamed onions are a Thanksgiving favorite at Bostonist’s house (except for the year we accidentally bought cocktail onions instead of boiled onions—bygones). So when we saw a recipe for gratinéed mustard creamed onions in this month’s Gourmet, we thought we’d do a side-by-side comparison of Grandma’s way (below) versus Gourmet (left). In the end, Gourmet’s onions were a bigger hit than our usual onions. The onions were bigger and firmer than the usual bottled...... [continue]

Bostonist made the trek up to Wilmington on Saturday to check out the latest Derby Dames bout—the Wicked Pissahs versus the Nutcrackers. Boy, was it worth the ride. The Pissahs crushed the Nuts 142 to 41, reasserting their dominance for a packed house after coming from behind to win last year’s season championship in May. A standout Dame on the Pissahs was Krushpuppy, a rookie roller who scored 15 points in one jam—trust us,...... [continue]

The people behind Diesel Café—which Bostonist has been a fan of since it opened in 1999—are charting (and caffeinating) new waters in Somerville’s Union Square. Bloc 11, which is located in a former bank, has a hip, industrial vibe similar to Diesel’s, but it plays to a slightly more mature crowd—it’s like Diesel, but eight years older. The sandwiches, which run from $6.95 to $7.50, are considerably more tony than Diesel’s, featuring ingredients like... [continue]

We love Dots and Butterfinger minis, but lately Bostonist has been wondering what kind of higher-end Halloween candies you can get around town. Some of our spooky finds included “eyeballs” at Gourmet Boutique, … A white-chocolate shell painted to look like a blood-shot eye gives way to a grossly gooey lemon crème filling. A little too gross for us: We preferred their mint-chocolate leaves with chocolate filling. The incomparable L.A. Burdick has adorable white... [continue]

When Bostonist heard that J.P. Licks’ October flavors include not just predictable seasonal favorites like pumpkin and caramel apple, but also a whole series of Thai-food-inspired ice creams, we had to give them a try. The Thai iced tea had a nice consistency—perhaps from the addition of condensed milk—but it had a milder tea flavor than we hoped for. If you hadn’t told us it was Thai iced tea, we might have mistaken it for...... [continue]

Like frozen-yogurt chains in the ’80s and bagel shops in the ’90s, cupcake bakeries are sweeping the nation. And, as with many trends, Boston is a little late to the game. But, in September, we finally got our own cupcake joint, Kickass Cupcakes in Davis Square. Bostonist went to Kickass to see if the cupcakes really lived up to their purveyor’s name. First we tried vanilla. Ours was a sweet, precious number with baby-pink buttercream... [continue]

Don’t let the heat wave fool you: It’s pumpkin season. If you need proof, you can find it tomorrow at the Topsfield Fair, where dozens of farmers will haul in Jabba-the-Hutt-sized gourds as part of the fair’s Giant Pumpkin Contest. Last year’s winner tipped the scales at 1,347.5 pounds—about half the weight of a Mini Cooper. (Bostonist also recommends checking out the fair’s birds of prey, chick hatchery, and racing pigs.) But if you can’t...... [continue]

Sorry, this user has not written about anything.