Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
******************************************************
1) With summer coming, here's a few options for patio dining:

Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse opens an outdoor patio during the spring and summer months in the Seaport. Enjoy traditional Italian, steak and seafood dishes paired with fine wine and cocktails while taking in the views of the Boston Harbor. A stroll along the adjacent Harborwalk is also the perfect way to spend an afternoon or evening after dining. The patio is expected to open on or around May 1. 

Unlike many restaurants in the North End, Forcella has a year-round outdoor patio that is tucked privately behind the restaurant - an enclave of peace, quiet and romance in the busy neighborhood. Able to seat 44 guests, dogs are also welcome. All guests must order food when sitting outside. Heaters are set up during a portion of the fall & winter months and umbrellas can be put up during the hot summer months to create a comfortable atmosphere year round. The patio is currently closed to prep for the new spring season, but is anticipated to open up again as early as the first week of April, pending weather. 

Located along Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, steakhouse Abe & Louie’s boasts a patio area ideal for people-watching. Enveloped in lush topiaries with manicured topiaries, the Abe & Louie’s patio is lined with heat lamps ideal for chilly nights and awnings for sun-filled leisurely lunches or weekend brunches. For the best tastes of the season, opt for the lobster club sandwich or slurp some local oysters while enjoying a crisp rosé.

2) On May 4,  from 4pm-7pm, Joe’s Waterfront will host a Kentucky Derby watch party worthy of Churchill Downs complete with actual ponies, Louisville-inspired bites, specialty sips, raffles benefiting MassGeneral Hospital for Children, and more. While guests will have their chance to compete for “Best in Show” titles in top Derby attire later in the day, the real standouts will be the event’s welcoming committee: a duo of ponies from Hunter Haven Farm (Groveland, MA) who will be decked festively in blue and with flowers for the occasion.

Counting down to the “greatest two minutes in sports,” revelers will get the party going on passed hors d'oeuvres (caprese skewers, pimiento cheese crostinis, fried mac and cheese, Joe’s prime burger sliders, chicken satay) and stationed snacks (spinach dip, Italian hoagie, mini desserts). And because no Derby Day is complete without spirited spirits, the bar team will be shaking up themed cocktails at the cash bar.

Steam those seersucker suits and add some extra feathers to your topper because there will be luxe prizes at stake for those who come best dressed to impress. If you’re not feeling all that confident with your future bet, try your luck with the raffle – with proceeds benefitting MassGeneral Hospital for Children – that includes prizes like gift cards, overnight hotel stays, and more.

COST: $49 per person (includes entry and food)
TICKETS: Advance tickets recommended via EventBrite. Walk-in entry available as space permits.
MORE: A portion of ticket sales and all raffle ticket proceeds will be donated to MassGeneral for Children. This event is reserved for ages 21+.

Rant: Summer Is NOT Rosé Season!

The advertisements and media articles have begun, and will continue for the next several months, promoting the upcoming Rosé season. Distributors are promoting Rosé season to their wine store customers, who will start stocking a variety of Rosé wines. Everyone is being told that Summer is Rosé season. 

However, there's a major problem with all of this: Rosé season doesn't exist! 

It's a pervasive myth, a wrongful stereotype, that spring and summer herald Rosé season. The simple fact is that Rosé is appropriate year-round, even in the winter. Many of those perpetuating the myth of Rosé season know better, but they choose to ignore the truth. Stop deluding the public and embrace the reality of Rosé every month of the year. 

Sure, a chilled Rosé can taste wonderful on a hot, summer day, but it can equally satisfy when you are at home during a snow storm. It's extremely food friendly, and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't enjoy it with the same roast chicken or seafood dish you serve in the summer or winter. 

Even though many people drink more white wine than red in the summer, most continue to drink white wine all year round, including the winter. Why should Rosé be any different? For example, Rosé is a great choice for your Thanksgiving feast. And it doesn't matter how cold it might be on Thanksgiving, or even if it snows. 

The situation has slowly improved during the last several years but change is still needed. The myth that Rosé wine is just for the summer needs to be shattered. Wine writers should promote Rosé year round rather than jump on the bandwagon and only proclaim that summer is the season for Rosé, misleading the public. If these writers recommended Rosé year round, then Rosé consumption would grow even more. 

There are some wine stores which stock Rosé throughout the year, which they should, and if your local shop doesn't, then you should recommend that they stock it. And if they don't bring in some Rosé, then seek elsewhere for this wine. 

From 2017 to 2021, worldwide consumption of Rosé has risen to about 9.5% of all still wine consumed. Rosé production, from 2001 to 2021, has also risen by 25%. France is the largest consumer of Rosé, drinking about 35% of all production, while the U.S. is in second place, consuming about 15%. Germany is in third place with about 7%. Rosé wine continues to grow, and will get even larger if people embrace the fact it is a year-round wine, and not just a seasonal one. 

 I drink Rosé all year round and strongly encourage everyone else to do so as well.

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
******************************************************
1) Bakes for Breast Cancer – the Massachusetts-based non-profit organization dedicated to funding breast cancer researchers and clinicians – is proud to announce its 25th anniversary in 2024 and event dates for all ten events, including the addition of new locations for its signature weeklong fundraiser in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Founder Carol Sneider launched this event and nonprofit in memory of her mother who lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 43. The best memories Carol recalls were the times spent in the kitchen baking bread, cakes and other sweet treats.

Since its inception in 1999, Bakes for Bakes Cancer has encouraged restaurants, cafés, bakeries, pastry shops, grocery stores and other businesses offering desserts to designate one of their sweet treats during the weeklong event where 100% of the proceeds go to Bakes for Breast Cancer to fund breast cancer research. Participating establishments also have the opportunity to offer up their entire dessert roster where 50% of the proceeds goes back to the organization. Over the last twenty five years, Bakes for Breast Cancer has raised over 2 million dollars and over 5,000 different establishments have participated in the annual weeklong event throughout Massachusetts and as it expanded into different regions in various years. 

The dates for the 2024 Bakes for Breast Cancer Massachusetts and Rhode Island events include: Friday, May 10 – Thursday, May 16.

“Since 1999, Bakes for Breast Cancer has been on a mission to do its part to help eradicate breast cancer for good, one sweet treat at a time,” said Bakes for Breast Cancer Founder Carol Sneider. “We are proud to keep expanding into different states and marquee cities, and we will continue to do so in areas with thriving culinary scenes with establishments that share the same mission as ours. Statistics on the number of both women and men directly and indirectly affected by breast cancer are alarming, and we will continue do our best to help reduce those numbers.”

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. In 2023, an estimated 297,790 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women except for skin cancers, and it is estimated that in 2023, approximately 30% of all new female cancer diagnoses will be breast cancer. On average, every 2 minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States and approximately 15% of women diagnosed have a family history of breast cancer.

2) Croatian Premium Wine Imports (CPWI) has recently received, to their Massachusetts warehouse,  a new container from Croatia. In addition to new vintages of some of their previous favorites, they have brought in some new labels, including sparkling, roses and orange wines. The new wines should be available in their online store in a couple of weeks.

In addition CPWI has finalized the onboarding of a large distributor in Massachusetts – the Boston Wine Company (a division of MS Walker), who will soon been doing o a big-scale launch all over Massachusetts. They are starting with just a few wines at first, and will be adding more, so ask your favorite local wine store, restaurant or bar to contact the Boston Wine/MS Walker rep to carry deliciuous Croatian wines.

Recent Top Restaurant Dishes

I want to highlight a few worthy restaurant dishes I recently enjoyed, which are from some of my favorite restaurants. These dishes are some of the best dishes I've eaten so far this year, and which may also be some of my top dishes at the end of this year.

This past week, I was thoroughly impressed by a Rabbit Pappardelle special at Il Ponte in Woburn. It's one of my favorite Italian restaurants, and the cuisine is always delicious. This dish consisted of house-made pappardelle, with an excellent texture, covered with a rabbit ragu and topped by a scoop of ricotta. With a great depth of flavor and a nice balance of spices, each bite brought such pleasure to my palate. Rabbit is such a great protein, and with its mild flavors, most people would enjoy it if they can get past the idea that it once was a fluffy bunny. My dining companion was also quite taken with this dish.

The short movie shows a bubbling dish of Chicken Claypot, my favorite dish at Soall Viet Kitchen in Beverly, an excellent Vietnamese restaurant. This dish is made with small pieces of tender chicken in a caramelized sweet and savory sauce, with a couple chili peppers. It's accompanied by jasmine rice, or noodles, with some pickled and fresh veggies. It's also served bubbling hot and the aromas are so enticing. The chicken is moist and tender, and the sauce possesses a great depth of flavor, nicely balanced between sweet and savory, and with a mild bit of spicy heat. The veggies act as a nice palate cleanser to the richer sauce. They also make a Salmon Claypot as well. 

The Clam Box of Ipswich is my favorite clam shack, for the quality of its fried seafood, the quantity you receive, and its excellent service. Others may prefer other places, but the Clam Box has never disappointed me. This dish was a combination of Fried Clams and Fried Scallops, with an ample pile of onion rings and French fries. The Fried Scallops are superb, tender and sweet, and the fried clams are delicious as well, both with a clean, light fried batter. The dish is large enough to share, or to have leftovers for another meal. 

What have been some of your favorite restaurant dishes lately? 

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
******************************************************
1) This Sunday, April 14th at 3pm, Boqueria - the lively Spanish tapas bar and restaurant that opened last fall in the Seaport - will be hosting the latest in its series of quarterly seasonal cocktail making classes.

At the class, guests will:
- Receive instruction on how to make two spring cocktails - the lighty and fruit "Buen Rollo" margarita, and "Beach Please" - a fresh and herbaceous gin-based drink 
- Learn how to work with different spirits, flavor profiles, and mixology tools
- Learn how specialty liquors + ingredients are made and their origin stories
- And enjoy a tapas spread while crafting (and sipping) their cocktails

Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased on Resy. 

2) For Mother's Day, Abe & Louie’s will be featuring their signature menu in addition to a collection of specials. For starters, there is a chilled English pea soup with brioche toast and mint crème fraiche ($13) as well as Maryland soft shell crab with sugar snap pea slaw and malt vinegar aioli ($25). The “Land & Sea” entrée pairs a 6oz filet with a Maine lobster tail served alongside asparagus with bearnaise ($98) in addition to dayboat scallops with morel mushrooms, fava beans and charred ramp pistou ($46). For something sweet, there is a monterosa cake with wild strawberries atop sponge cake with ricotta and mascarpone ($12) and for a refreshing sip, Your Day to be Sassy with elderflower, lemon and mint ($16). Reservations from May 10-12 and please call (617) 536-6300. 

3) For Mother's Day, Atlantic Fish Co. will be dishing out a quintet of specials in addition to a cocktail feature. To start, there is a bouquet of baby greens with cucumber, shaved fennel, radish and a lemon-thyme vinaigrette ($14). For entrees, there is a “land & sea” option with a 6oz filet mignon and butter-poached lobster served with whipped potatoes, oyster mushrooms and truffle emulsion ($85) in addition to stuffed lemon sole with creamed spinach, saffron couscous and lemon beurre blanc ($46). The dessert feature is a limoncello raspberry cake with vanilla ice cream ($12) and to sip, there is Mumm Knows Best with Sipsmith gin, Lillet Blanc, mandarin and lemon ($18). Reservations from May 10-12 and please call (617) 267-4000.  

4) For Mother's Day, Coach Grill will dish an array of food and cocktail specials over three days. The starter features are a baby bibb lettuce salad with candied pecans, cinnamon apples, blue cheese and lemon vinaigrette ($17) and lobster crab Louie with avocado, endive and tomato ($24). Bring your appetite for the main courses, “land & sea” with a 6oz filet mignon and butter-poached lobster served with whipped potatoes and spring peas ($85) as well as pan-seared halibut with shiitake mushrooms, fingerling potatoes and lemon beurre blanc ($65). Leave room for dessert, a monterosa cake with wild strawberries atop sponge cake with ricotta and mascarpone ($12). For cocktails, there is Mum-Believably Good with Aperol, strawberry, lychee and sparkling rosé ($16) in addition to No One Said Life is Fair with gin, lemon juice, butterfly pea syrup and prosecco ($16). Reservations from May 10-12 and please call (508) 358-5900.