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. A few months ago I visited Agave during one of my......

Harvard University students were surprised to discover that they won't be receiving "party grants," which are exactly what you think. But those halcyon days are over. After a brief struggle over whether or not party grants should continue, it appears that the Undergraduate Council abruptly settled the issue, at least for this semester. From the Crimson: Two Mondays ago Joshua D. Smith ’09 applied for an Undergraduate Council party grant. When he received no word......

Gordon's Fine Wine and Culinary Center is slated to host "Sip, Shop, and Support" at their Waltham store Feb. 12 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Gordon's' Marketing and Events Director Lindsay S. Cohen created the monthly charitable event with her friends Gail Schneider and Catherine Howe during her first few days on the job. "The ultimate ladies night out" features a free wine tasting as well......

Ed. Note: No wonder the Harvard Lampoon is honoring her. She brings her own beverages. Socialite Paris Hilton has posed naked in a new advertising campaign to launch her luxury sparkling wine in a can brand. The hotel heiress can be seen nude, covered in gold paint and crawling across a desert for the advertising campaign for her drink Rich Prosecco. The drink is described as: “The perfect ’starter drink’ for your night or a......

One of your favorite childhood treats is all grown up now. The classic Root Beer Float has taken a decidedly adult turn with the Beer Float. For best results, pair your favorite Stout or Porter with some creamy vanilla ice cream and you've got a delicious dessert that's you need to be at least 21 to enjoy! For wicked local flavor, try combining your favorite locally made brew like this Berkshire Brewing Company Drayman’s Porter......

So, you didn't listen to your momma, and you didn't drink water or eat nibbles as you poured booze down your gullet. Or, more appropriately, Bostonist didn't drink water or eat nibbles--an eagle-eyed commenter caught us boozing early. So here are three lists of hangover remedies that you might be able to use right about now: Forbes: Why listen to a bunch of stock jockeys? Because the biggest deals happen during martini lunches, and they......

Some Bostonists found out about this the hard way--by actually being on the green line and having our drivers announce "last stop Government Center"--but the Green Line is closed between Park Street and Kenmore Square this morning after two trolleys collided at Boylston. One trolley rear-ended a stopped trolley, and one car derailed, according to the Globe. Not only were legions (including some Bostonists) made late for work, but the Globe reports nine people complained......

Leeland Eisenberg has been named as the man who took staffers hostage yesterday at Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters in Rochester, NH. He was already a man on the edge when he took the hostages. According to an AP report, his wife was divorcing him, and he was "due in court with her for a domestic violence hearing." He had a record for drunk driving and domestic violence, and he was involved in an odd incident......

Now that absinthe is legally available in Boston, you may be tempted to try it out. But, like many potent liquids, absinthe should be quaffed with care. Hanky Panky of LUPEC, the Boston chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, has a few words of advice for absinthe novices: "As Absinthe is quite high as far as alcohol content is concerned, you most frequently find it being used in very small quantities.......

After Harvard officials attempted to crack down on "party grants" that were funding booze, the school and the Undergraduate Council reached a compromise. The UC will still be able to give out party grants, but the money can't go toward alcohol. Victoria Kabak at the Crimson reported yesterday that "The money may now instead cover the costs of other party-related expenses." The agreement will last until the end of the semester. And the Harvard students......

MUSCLES Jokers Of The Scene @ Hearthrob Middlesex Lounge 315 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 9pm - 1am 21+ / $5 MySpace: Muscles MySpace: Jokers Of The Scene MySpace: Hearthrob The UK-based Modular Records is fast becoming one of Britain's most important electronic music exports on a global level. Now, Klaxons are one of the biggest indie bands to carry the dance party torch, uniting it with the rock venue atmosphere and audience. Stepping up......

As expected, Mayor Menino is following up after toxicology results showed that late firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne had alcohol and drugs in their bodies. He's put together a three-person panel to review the fire department's policies. The panel consists of "a national fire-code specialist, a doctor who specializes in substance abuse treatment, and the former head of the Massachusetts Port Authority." That in itself is no big surprise, but Bostonist couldn't help noticing......

--In Centerville, Kelsey Pratt, 19, of Osterville, allegedly drove drunk into the side of a house. That in itself doesn't seem Blotter-Worthy, but WBZ has the video, and Pratt didn't just tap that house. She plowed into that sucker like it was a garage. No one got hurt. WHDH says this is Pratt's second OUI offense. --But wait, there's more drivers plowing into houses! In Saugus early this morning, an unidentified driver struck two cars,......

The story of the drugs and alcohol found in the toxicology results for the bodies of firefighters Warren Payne and Paul Cahill has three threads--the freedom of the press, public safety, and the memory of the firefighters themselves. As noted earlier, all news outlets except WHDH reported yesterday and today about the toxicology results. WHDH couldn't report because Suffolk Superior Court Judge Merita Hopkins silenced them at the request of the firefighters' union. WHDH appealed,......

Last night, word broke out that firefighters Warren Payne and Paul Cahill, who perished in a blaze at the Tai Ho Restaurant, had drugs and/or alcohol in their system. This morning, many citizens are expressing outrage at the smear on their memories on the local news. Several outlets are reporting that Warren Payne had cocaine in his system, and Paul Cahill was legally intoxicated. However, the report comes from, in the Globe's words, "A......

--Any reader of crime logs must admit that Northeastern University generates some of the most entertaining crime logs known to humanity. A crime log is not judged on the amount of mayhem listed (though it is good to know what is going on in one's neighborhood, don't walk along at night, etc.) but by the sheer stupidity of the crime involved. And Northeastern students know how to deliver. They've given us an incident worthy of......

We thought we might be able to squeak by with optimism (whether produced naturally or provided by alcohol), we thought that the worst was behind us. But here we are, rounding that final bend before we plunge into the postseason and...well...the Sox lost to the Blue Jays on Tuesday night, 4-3, while the Yankees pulverized the Orioles, 12-0. Here we go, gang: only two and a half games separate Boston and New York. Sox fans......

--One man was shot to death and two were wounded in Dorchester last night. One resident told the Herald that the man was exactly who the shooters were looking for, and they shoved him into the hallway of an apartment building on Shandon Road and started firing. Two men were killed at that spot back in July. Last night's victim is the 49th homicide of the year. Later last night, two other people were shot......

And the store isn't even open yet! A tipster on our Contribute Board left a little note about the store Kickass Cupcakes, which will have its grand opening on Davis Square on Highland Avenue tomorrow. Cupcake fans should swarm upon Kickass Cupcakes, as their website features dizzying cupcake possibilities. Cupcake Shooters immediately captured our attention. The shooters are not what you think. Instead of filling cupcakes with kahlua and hoping for the best, Kickass Cupcakes......

--Not every day is a crimefighting day, at least not in Methuen last week. A sergeant for the Methuen PD was on duty - while watching the Patriots play a preseason game on TV. One could argue that it was fine if nothing was happening, but other officers joined him, and only two officers were left on duty. They must have been rookies. The scene could have come right out of Super Troopers - the......

The world's most expensive bottle of beer is being shipped – very carefully, we hope – to Somerville. According to the Somerville News, a resident of the city will pay over $500,000 for an unopened bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale on eBay. The beer was brewed in 1852 and is 155 years old. The Somerville News provides the history of the beer, a special mix with high-alcohol content that went on a trip to the......

--A deadly car crash happened early this morning on Blue Hill Avenue. One person died, and three people, including a child and a baby, went to the hospital in critical condition. The baby was in a car seat, but it was thrown from the car. Road rage allegedly caused the crash, and police have arrested 28-year-old Jason Bailey. He is being charged with "Leaving the Scene Personal Injury, Leaving Scene resulting in One Death, Operating......

Amtrak is offering a $100 per person alcohol credit to Guest Rewards Program members who take a "GrandeLuxe" trip between November and January. What the hey-ho is GrandLuxe, you ask? Oh... just fully-restored, vintage (c 1940s-1950s), deluxe sleeper cars with cushy beds, picture windows, wood paneling, private showers and individual toi-tois. And $100 in FREE BOOZE. You will eat "exquisite meals in an elegant dining car, served by uniformed waiters." There's also free wine......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

Fourth of July. Barbecues, fireworks, alcohol...and mischief in Boston streets. Who would have thought? -- Police are on the lookout for Michael Stokes, 23. A woman told police that Stokes had a firearm when he assaulted her at her residence in Dorchester today, but then jumped out a third floor window to escape authorities. He is described as a 5'7 black male with a slim build. There was a gun found, but police are still......

Think about it: Josh Beckett's been out of the Boston Red Sox lineup for a couple of weeks. He missed two starts and generated some genuine worry over the cut on his finger that taught a few million baseball fans what "avulsion" meant. One couldn't expect a super top-notch showing from a guy just getting back into the groove, right? Seven innings, seven strikeouts, one walk, three hits. Oh, and he's the first Red Sox......

It's rare when we get to cross into Matt Taibbi turf, but Celtic Sebastian Telfair's gun-and-speeding charge allows us to do so. The Redux has already pointed out that Telfair didn't get the memo when he was busted for packing heat in 2006. Shira Springer points out that Telfair's latest incident in Yonkers is his "third brush with [the] law in 14 months." If only Telfair put the same amount of time in his basketball......

Friday will mark the start of the third weekend the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square will serve you a beer and let you take it with you to your seat. The Boston area has been an outcast for a while without a movie house serving beers - the Somerville Theatre has ended our thirst. They may have gotten the idea when Snakes on a Plane hit the theaters, knowing the bureaucracy it probably took until......

--On Saturday, a 17-year-old in South Boston had a little house party for his friends when his aunt was out of town. That wouldn't be a huge problem were it not for the "numerous bottles of empty alcohol containers" spotted by the BPD. The officers called the aunt, who said that she did leave the 17-year-old in charge of her house, but that didn't give him the right to party it up. The BPD's headline......

Sometimes even those of us who live in the rock clubs can forget how to behave ourselves. Maybe it’s some strange alchemy of alcohol and entitlement. Maybe it’s a vague attachment to the spirit of “punk rock.“ Or maybe it’s just plain rudeness. Just in case, here’s a brief refresher course on the things to keep in mind from people who know best - the ones who work there. 1) Keep Your Hands to Yourself......