August 2009 Archives

Does this question that waiters/ waitresses love to ask toward the end of the meal, bother anyone besides me?
Happened again Saturday night at the Rosebud in Somerville. A fine comforting port in the storm on a dark-as-sin evening. Things capsized when the friendly waitress looked over at my half-eaten salmon dinner and said: "Still picking?"
I realized right then and there I have a major bone to pick.
First of all eating is not picking. Picking is something that's done to a nose, a guitar and apples. Eating is the pleasurable enjoyment of food. It's not a task that needs to be completed in one fell swoop and ... take it away. DONE! Almost every time I've refrained from gobbling my meal in seconds, or before my tablemate, I'm accused of picking.
I know this shouldn't bother me w/ all the problems we face, but why can't we replace "picking" with the much more accurate and non-offensive "eating?" A simple, "Are you through?" would do. I think picking undermines what we are doing here. Worse, it feels like a slight. I can just hear my parents telling a 10 year-old me "Don't pick at your food."

Equal Exchange, the hip coffee cooperative in Bridgewater, takes its single origins seriously. Starting Tuesday (September at last) they put their best and brightest beans, 61 new varieties, on a road tour of 10 coffee shops. Brew'd Awakening on Market Street in Lowell is a key stop for this promo called 61 Beans. Stop by for a taste of San Juan del Rio Coco, a Nicaraguan blend w/ interesting tasting notes. Butterscotch, honeysuckle, lime, almond, intensely sweet. In all my years of drinking copious amounts of the black stuff, I've never detected the faintest whiff of honeysuckle -- not entirely sure I would recognize such effeteness. Brew'd owner Andy tells me his Greenwich Village-esque cafe will serve umpteen blends before this is through. That's some serious drugage. Should keep the entire downtown lit for years to come. I'll keep you posted on any and all cuppings.

In other cafe news, Cafe Aiello is now the Second Wind Cafe. This is a good move, considering this place (corner of Gorham and Appleton streets) needed a rebranding strategy and a breath of fresh air. The Gazebo Cafe finally reopened in the American Textile History Museum today. The Greek iced coffee will be the morning eye-opener of choice for Sun reporters. Bottoms up!

It's been a long week. Sickness, death, and now a hurricane is once again headed our way this weekend? It's time to batten down the hatches with a lime rickey. No, Im not talking about the kind we craved at 13, I refer to the sort we must have at 33 (plus). Made with fresh raspberry puree, lime juice, Bombay gin and a splash of soda, the lime rickey at 41 Main in Ayer is my drink of choice this weekend. I keep telling ya'll about this find in the sticks, but I suspect few have heeded my sage advice. Yes Ayer is a can't-get-there-from-here but it's on the commuter rail and the bike path. Can't think of a more central locale. Plus, if you're like me, weekends are all about getting away.

In other bar news, the hits keep coming at Gibbet Hill. I was just visiting the lush 2-acre farm that the restaurant now pulls from and found out this: bartenders at the Groton gourmet pluck herbs from the deck and infuse them into drinks like lemon basil and lavender martinis. This gives new meaning to the words garden party. These drinks will leave you shaken, stirred and smelling like Crabtree & Evelyn.

Starbucks, the king of all caffeine, is lowering the price of its average brew by 5 to 15 cents. I'll drink to that. Lattes too. Only on smalls tho. Drinkers of the Pacific Northwest bean will shell out an average of 10 to 15 cents more for large, "complex" drinks. I never went for the fru-fru brew anyway. But I know many of you don't consider coffee, in its raw, bitter form, drinkable. You gotta add milk, cream and x-tra sugar, right?

Price seesawing went into effect in some markets today, but not in the motherland, Seattle. Have you noticed a change at your backyard bucks?

True Coffee Confession: I've been doing the DIY iced coffee dance all summer long. Figured I've pocketed at least $100. Still there are times when the body craves, natch demands Starbucks. I'm feeling pretty good about the shift, but it seems counter intuitive. Are they trying to get us to buy talls only? At this rate, wouldn't two talls be cheaper than one venti? And what of the long-lost short? You can order this 8 ounce pet (i say pet becuz I'll carry this puppy with me all day long from car, to store to office and finally throw out the cold stuff end of day) off-the-menu, but they don't want you to. Baristas if you're out there, please weigh in.

I went to the Farm to Fork dinner at GH last night and it was probably the best vins dins I've attended. Scratch that, it was THE BEST food we've tasted and the wine, from all over the grape GPS, fails description. Although Gourmet Guy was wowing the table with superlatives like "seductive, velvety, mind-blowing," I just thought this is incredible. This family-run spot in Groton is five years old now and ready to be recognized.

Chef Richmond Edes is a culinary God. Hyberbole? If you were in the barn last night, you would've felt blessed. This was not eating, this was high art. Foodies with more serious pedigrees than me, like former Globe scribe Alison Arnett (seated at my table) were swooning. What this man can do w/ dessert is almost X-rated. Raspberries and beets sounds like a spa meal, but in Edes' skilled hands, the mundane combo became a gastronomic smash. Picture a cute cube of whipped beats sprinkled w/ chocolate crumbs, dusted w/ powdered sugar and served w/ a graceful dollop of cheve and honey ice cream, a handful of berries and was that homemade sourpatch kids? I rest my case.

What made this evening sing was the ultra-local produce. I'm talking obscenly local. Gibbet Hill has a 2-acre farm that it culls from for meals like long island duck served w/ watermelon radishes, chard and stewed mayflower plums. Hello Gourmet Magazine. Yes an editor was in the house. Expect to be hearing more about this backyard bistro and Edes in the upcoming year. The Webbers hit a grand-slam last night by celebrating the very land it helped save from the developer's clutch. Twenty minutes outside of Lowell, who knew nirvana could exist in such tasty detail. Oh, there was wine too. This pinot truly rocked.

On Middlesex Street tonight something magical happens. Irish/Mexican hybrid Garcia Brogans finally unlocks its doors at 6 p.m. This should settle the score when your man wants a Guinness and you crave margaritas. Sheppard's pie and nachos, anyone? Be the first to visit this gorgeous space in Lowell's new South End, also known as the JAM District. Can't we come up w/ a better moniker? Address: 135 Middlesex St., in the new Early Garage. I want reviews.

Just found the freshest orange orbs out at Gary's Farmstand in Littleton. If you haven't made a trip out 119 West yet, your summer meals are suffering. Try these perfect peaches from a farm in Harvard lightly sautéed atop grilled pork chops or, my fave, French-styled w/ blackberries, Hemp granola, yogurt and milk!!!! Hello power breakfast. Best when served w/ a trough of coffee.

Seems I've offended some of you with my last post. But at least I know you're still alive and kicking. I love that GG readers are so passionate about their favorite restaurant and the lively dining/entertainment scene in DTL enough to go to the mat. I am not out to bite the hand that feeds me, it was just an observation probably tainted by Gourmet Guy, who was, shall we say, feeling a tad curmudgeonly Thursday night. No, I'm not throwing my husband under the bistro bus, but realize this: our dining experiences are colored by our company.
It takes two to tapa. How many of you have gone out dying for curry and ended up with cacciatore? I like music, he wanted to talk. We found a happy medium.

There are still spaces available for Gibbet Hill Grill's Farm to Fork dinner tomorrow night in Groton. Local farmers (will Gary be in the house?) and a vintner pair their beautiful bounties for your delectation. This vin dins, overlooking the rolling hills of the Vermont of the Merrimack Valley, is the coolest way to toast the hottest stretch of summer. Overalls and bibs OK.

Just last night I was reminded of a comment someone posted here a year ago.

The Billerica food fan had finally made it to Ricardo's, after years of neglect, and kicked himself for not going sooner. I too was miffed at moi for having strayed from the Gorham Street trattoria for so long. What must I have been thinking?

After casing our options downtown, we came to this realization: Entertainment has taken over the dining scene. From the Village Smokehouse, to the Athenian Corner to Centro, music, dancing, and more amped-up music has replaced the simple joy of a meal out. The Johnny Cash performer rattling the small space of one bistro sent us out into the street hungry and headachy. I don't begrudge people for wanting to let loose on a Thurs. night, but that's what bars are for.

Then it hit me ... Ricardos!!!!!

We trudged up Gorham Street just as the dining crowd was vacating. Dennis, the BEST bartender in the 978, cleared a space for us, set us up w/ drinks and before you could say "Ring of Fire," we were digging into a chef's muse of mashed potatoes. It was close to 10 p.m. and the kitchen was all about finito, but chef Brian Lima threw together a gourmet pizza -- pesto, chicken, asparagus and whatever was left in the kitch that was simply delicious. After a glass of Stump Jump, we started to feel more like ourselves. What makes this classy, old-world bar work is what it doesn't have. No Plasma TVs, no loud rock. You can carry a conversation with your date, the bartender and the couple next to you w/o having to shout. Fewer distractions refocuses energy on the meal. We were so relaxed, we felt off-the-grid. I had forgotten this place, once one of few options in the DTL, because so many newbies have popped up. Ricardos, don't go changing.

I may be the last foodie in America to see Julie & Julia. What am I waiting for? I think the scenes from Paris and the hollandaise sauce might shock me. She had such a larger-than-life life. Reality check: this is not the south of France. Oh well, we can cook and dream right? This restaurant blog is breaking rank to ease into the recipe realm today. I whipped together a smashing Mediterranean cobb salad over the weekend from a Mohegan Sun cookbook. No pix, it disappeared too quickly. Although I had a great meal at the Blue Taleh over the weekend (shout out to the Thai calamari) I'm finding cooking at home to be a relaxing nocturnal activity. Who knew an entire day could be centered on getting the right ingredients and working them into an edible masterpiece like paint on canvas? OK, most of you knew this already. I never truly experienced said nirvana until recently. Thank you Julia for making antics in the kitchen an engaging pastime. And dropping food and dusting it off a respectable tool. Any reviews? Did this movie make you hungry?

Gourmet Guy and I finally made it to the ocean last night and docked it at The Rudder in Gloucester. You don't know about this waterside gourmet gem? We'll half of the North Shore does and they think they can keep it to themselves. Tucked away on Rocky Neck, the oldest art colony in the country, this restaurant does everything right.
First the bread. Think crusty Italian, served with a small vat of perfect pesto. This was the food we expected to find in Sicily, but maddeningly could not. Next came caprese salad, juicy tomatoes, perfect moz. and a surprise heaping of Marscapone. So hungry at this point I didn't mind the disconnect of textures and truth be told, it needed more vinegar. The baked haddock served on marvy mashed could make the Gorton's fisherman jump overboard. Sit out on the deck, festooned w/ little white lights, and you'll think you are in a small Tuscan town. A great escape.
www.rudderrestaurant.com

Today is National Root Beer Float Day and that means two things: fun and calories. This retro nod to a child's dream is not just for tikes. Savvy libations lovers are getting crafty by adding vodka into the mix. Why should espresso have all the fun? Gather your friends around the pool tonight and whip up this recipe from Three Olives vodka. After all root beer was initially an alcoholic beverage. You could say it's getting back to its roots. Cheers!

Three-O Root Beer Float
2 oz. Three Olives Root Beer Vodka
4 oz. root beer
Float 1 scoop vanilla ice cream on top

yummmmmmmm!
I just came across this pic, and while I can't share a recipe or witty detail with you, it looks good doesn't it? In these minimalistic times a photo is enough. Anyone have a recipe to go with this stuffed-pepper extravaganza? I know you look to me for culinary guidance, but I'm lazy today. Anyone want to take a shot? Hint: beef is involved.

In Downtown Lowell dining news Mama Lias opened yest. I haven't visited the comfort joint in the former Angelina's space, but hear pulled pork pizza and fried candy bars are on the menu! Stoners everywhere are smiling. Dharma Buns should open any second. Did I mention beer and Belgian fries are on the menu at this Market Street marvel? Are people enjoying Restaurant Week? I'm hitting the Blue Taleh this weekend.