Results tagged “restaurants”

Post 390, which opened on Friday, October 2nd, is billing itself as a “neighborhood restaurant.” This, despite the fact that it is being run by Eric Brennan, who has served as the executive chef for larger-than-life brands like the late Excelsior and the Four Seasons. This, despite the fact that it is being funded by big names like Kenneth Himmel, the restaurateur behind the Time Warner Center in NYC (home to Thomas Keller’s Per Se) and the CityPlace in West Palm Beach. This, despite the fact that the restaurant itself is a far-from-intimate two-floor space, with walls shaved clean of any hints that it was once a postal building, as its name hints. This, despite the fact that it is sandwiched between two larger-than-life iconic Boston buildings (the Prudential and its sidekick, the Trinity Church) in a “neighborhood” of high rises. All this means that it requires no small feat of imagination—in fact, it may require an outright suspension of disbelief—to see Post 390 as a “neighborhood restaurant.” But thanks to a food and beverage program that is strong straight out of the gate, a reasonably priced menu of true comfort foods, a few well-placed fireplaces and a staff with a built-in sense of warmth and hospitality (led by the grinning Brennan himself), Post 390 could transcend all that to become exactly what its clever marketers and anxious investors want it to be. more ›

A night in Framingham and Natick offers a lot of perks: endless shopping opportunities, a multi-screen movie theater… and restaurants galore. However, many of the restaurants are old favorites, with emphasis on old over favorites. Who isn’t a little tired of eating at Chili’s or Legal’s? We are, and so we decided to give a shot to the new chain in town, British Beer Company. Located on Route 9 right in front of Jordan’s Furniture, the Framingham British Beer Company is hard to miss with its bright yellow building and enormous sign. The restaurant boasts ample parking and even free valet, at least on the Saturday night that we visited. Inside, you’re likely to encounter a wait on popular nights. However, BBC does have call-ahead placement that actually works: we called about an hour before arriving and were seated at once. more ›

We personally can't imagine skipping our mom's classic holiday stuffing for a fancier restaurant version, even if it came drenched in truffle oil and served atop the Naked Chef himself. But if there's one thing we've learned over the years, it's that no matter how much therapy you've endured, how many times you've explained what "vegan" means to your hapless relatives or how well you think you've brined that bird, things can and will still go awry on Turkey Day. And some of us are just too lazy to cook. So rather than ending up in Denny's like the sorry dad in The Santa Clause, you can stash away this info on restaurants serving up truly happy meals on Thanksgiving. (You'll probably want to make a reservation for the big day in advance--just in case. And here's the Denny's restaurant locator if you forget to plan ahead.) more ›

You could eat at Bottega Fiorentina every day for weeks and never have the same thing twice. There are five specials a day (like Tuesday's lasagna with meat and bechamel or Friday's pumpkin tortellini in a butter sage sauce), plus a made-to-order option with your choice of pasta and sauce. The penne with Fedora sauce (tomato, red pepper, garlic, rosemary, and cream), pictured above, is both sweet and spicy, and the pasta is cooked to a perfect al dente. The majority of the pasta dishes are under $10 and are available for dine-in or take-out. more ›

The Herald unleashed an expose of Boston restaurants who haven't been separating recyclables from the trash. In a time in when it's crystal clear that people need to at least try to be less wasteful, restaurants don't think they need to pitch in. more ›

--Bechtel, Parsons & Brinckerhoff still keeps this city on a tight leash. They received $5.3 million after the Big Dig was supposedly finished. [Boston Herald] more ›

So we weren't the only ones who were ticked at a woman's comment about South End wait staff and how they handle children eating in their restaurant. Let's reflect on what the woman said: more ›

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. more ›

Mike of The Food Monkey shares 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. more ›

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 cave, has a cheese-of-the-month club. If that’s too pricey, we recommend just stopping in at either their Cambridge or South End location, and picking out a few choice items yourself. For your tea-loving grannie, a gift set from Tea Luxe might be a good idea (the $19.95 “Christmas mailbox” gift set caught our eye: it comes with a glass mug, mesh tea ball, jar of sugar cubes, and 100 grams of gingerbread tea). more ›

--Where have all the gay bars gone? Robert David Sullivan writes that we should be concerned about their disappearance: "In the Boston area, many of Harvard Square's bookstores, Kenmore Square's student eateries, and myriad other places that guaranteed a diverse urban experience have closed their doors, replaced by a far more uniform lineup of bank branches, chain stores, and upscale restaurants." A must-read. [Boston Globe] --If you haven't noticed with the cold temperatures and long... more ›

The mayor has opened his virtual food court so you can find out if your favorite Boston eatery is a squeaky-clean bastion of hygiene or a rat-infested hellhole. We wondered what happened to the swanky spots that Northeastern journalism students found to be filthy back in September, so we looked them up: Figs (As in Todd English's Figs) - Failed on Aug. 2, for many reasons, including "Management has not properly trained staff to use... more ›

This Bostonist swung by the newest sushi restaurant to invade Back Bay last week, and the overall impression was a good one. First off, Haru is a New York city implant, and the location in Dick's Last Resort's old spot in the Prudential Building is the chain's first in the city. Thank you very much, New York. We'll take your trophy AND your sushi. That'll be just fine. But Bostonist digresses. The decor at... more ›

Meal and Chat With Rudolph Chelminski Sunday, November 4, 5:00 pm Chez Henri 1 Shepard St, Cambridge Make reservations at 617.354.8980 More info Goodies With the Phantom Gourmet Tuesday, November 6, 7:00 pm Z Square 14 JFK, Cambridge More info Who knew that a bookstore would know how to feed the people so well? But Porter Square Books will be serving up two culinary treats. First off, brace yourself for some Beaujolais. Author Rudolph Chelminski... more ›

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival Saturday, Oct 20, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Reggie Lewis Athletic Center 1350 Tremont Street Free More info Boston is proud of its efforts to become a foodie-haven; and the success of such chefs as Ken Oringer, Barbara Lynch, and Michael Schlow have brought well-deserved publicity to the Hub. So while cutting-edge cuisine is on the rise, Beantown has not been known to fully live up to its legume-y name.... more ›

For a town that has a good number of vegetarians, Boston has surprisingly few vegetarian restaurants. Luckily, some of our favorite restaurants have veggie options that make even the most devoted carnivore think twice about their order. Chief among them is Mediterreanean- and Arabic-influenced Oleana’s six-course vegetarian tasting menu. Bostonist has tried it out several times, and it is never exactly the same twice—it varies from night to night with what’s fresh and best, and... more ›

Wagamama, the wildly popular UK-based noodle chain that opened restaurants in Faneuil Hall last April and Harvard Square last month, reminds us of IKEA: slick, modern, not terrible quality for the prices, and definitely designed to appeal to the masses. Like the London Wagamamas we’ve visited, the Harvard Square restaurant has a spare, modern aesthetic—diners sit cafeteria-style at long wooden tables set with paper placemats, which also serve as dessert menus and as a place... more ›

Massachusetts has plenty of temptations – donuts, chowdah, beer, and all kinds of goodies. Despite all that, a report shows that the residents of Massachusetts the least obese in the nation, second only to Colorado. These stats come from the Trust for America's health, which notes that 19.8% of adults in the state are obese, and that number went up 1.2 percentage points from last year. 19.8% seems rather high, so if Massachusetts is doing... more ›

The city is still reeling from the deaths of firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne in West Roxbury on Wednesday night. Residents expressed their thanks to Cahill, Payne, and the other injured firefighters by bringing flowers and cards to the West Roxbury fire station. Cahill and Payne were, by all accounts, men who were devoted to their jobs. Cahill discovered his life's passion when he became a firefighter at age 40. Payne had EMT... more ›

In a massive media blitz, Dunkin Donuts has announced that they're going the way of Brookline and cutting out most of the trans fats in their products. more ›

--Why toss a bucket of paint on a richie's fur coat when you can stop furs at the source? In Hinsdale on Monday, someone set about 400 to 500 mink who were destined to become pricey furs free from a farm. That's a lot of mink to let loose! The owner of Berkshire Furs is naturally blaming the "antifur people." No one's been caught yet, and the owner said the animals wouldn't be able to... more ›

During Restaurant Week, which runs from now to August 17 (skipping Saturday, August 11), you can eat three-course lunches for $20.07 and three-course dinners for $33.07 all over town. more ›

Before he left the House of Representatives to helm U-Mass Lowell, Marty Meehan spent wildly all over Washington. more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. Being the nation's capital, DCist felt especially proud to let freedom ring this week by exposing the really important issues, like how sad they... more ›

From the tallest skyscraper in the City of Brotherly Love to Canadian tourism copywriting brilliance, here's what you should know from our -ist cities: This week, Phillyist took a gleeful listen to the White Stripes' exciting new release, watched in awe as their new tallest skyscraper was finally completed, found a cheaper way to get to Gothamist, invented a tasty new dessert, and brought back their Craigslist Round-Up feature with a bang. Bostonist watches... more ›

--We thought copper was the new hot thing for thieves, but a group of perps have started a new trend - the stealing of toilet parts. The individuals, whom the Herald calls "bathroom bandits," have been swiping "flushometers" from restaurant bathrooms in Methuen. The funniest line of an already funny article? "Methuen police have advised restaurants to keep an eye on their toilets." Sorry, but we don't think that anyone is going to be lining... more ›

It's official - Brookline will purge trans fats, which increase bad cholesterol, from all foods made within its restaurants and schools. Per the ban, restaurants must "stop using trans fats for frying by Nov. 30, 2008, and to end their use in baked goods by April 30, 2009." more ›

Trans fat, the substance that keeps certain foods mysteriously moist for an artificial length of time, might be banned in Brookline effective May 29, during the town meeting. Studies show that trans fats increase bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease. They became such a concern that the amount of trans fats in a food is listed on food labels - which you don't get in restaurants. If the ban... more ›

Boston just got its own food scare thanks to tabloid TV show Inside Edition. They brought their "Rat Patrol" into several restaurants, including the Quincy Market McCormick & Schmick's, Ruth's Chris, China Pearl, and other establishments. After having to sit through some crap about Anna Nicole's momma, we discovered that Inside Edition really does have a dedicated "Rat Patrol" of five people standing around and looking tough while they sniff out rats under the cover... more ›