Tiny Urban Tidbits #18 - Local News

Kyubey in Tokyo, Japan

Happy Friday everyone!

I realize I've been doing a lot of non-local posts lately, so I thought I'd take a tiny break from the Tribute to Japan Series and talk briefly about local things going on around the city.

If you still want a taste of Japan, you can check out the one crazy post from the November Japan trip that I wrote earlier. In Round 9 of Project Food Blog, we had to write a restaurant review. The stakes were high, as 12 contestants were about to be narrowed down to three!

I decided to write about Kyubey, one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Japan. The entire meal is simply unforgettable, especially if you've never had a high end sushi experience Japan before. Check out the post here.



James Beard Award Nominees
Congratulations to some of my favorite local chefs for their nominations! Cambridge made a strong showing, with Tony Maws (Craigie on Main) nominated for Best Chef Northeast and Will Gilson (Garden at the Cellar) nominated for Best Rising Star Chef.

Barbara Lynch's Menton has been nominated for Best New Restaurant and Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery + Cafe and Maura Kilpatrick of Oleana have been nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Tim Cushman (O Ya) has also been nominated for Best Chef Northeast.

Several restaurants I've visited on my travels also made the list. Picasso (where I just went in January) has been nominated for both Outstanding Restaurant as well as Outstanding Wine Service. Richard Reddington from Redd and Josiah Citrin from Melisse are also nominated for Best Chef Pacific. Per Se in NYC has been nominated for Outstanding Service.

Finally, Gary Danko, who I just met a few weekends ago in Napa Valley, has also been nominated for Outstanding Chef. I would love to try his restaurant one day!

Congrats to everyone who was nominated!

New Openings!

Pinkberry will be opening right in the heart of Harvard Square at the old Alpha Omega Building (sharing that space with a spanking new Starbucks Coffee!). On top of the typical (delicious!) frozen yogurt and toppings, this Pinkberry will also serve breakfast as well as offer Pinkberry Take Home, a 25-oz swirl-to-order tub of your favorite yogurt.

Floating Rock, well loved Southeast Asian restaurant originally in Revere, has moved to Central Square and will have a soft opening next Friday, April 1. They are currently selling gift cards at a discount. These discounted cards will only be available up until the opening of the restaurant.

Purchase a gift card worth $25 for $20, a $50 card for $40 and a $100 card for $75. E-mail floatingrockrestaurant@gmail.com for details.

Thelonious Monkfish, a new Asian fusion place, has recently opened in Central Square. They have a full sushi menu, as well as plenty of Southeast Asian dishes plus many standard Chinese dishes. I've tried it a couple times and I plan on going again before writing up a full post. Initial thoughts? Some dishes were quite tasty while others were more average. Overall, I think it's a great addition to the area. Central Square can really benefit from a place like this.


EmPower Breakfast at Rialto with Jody Adams!
EmPOWER Breakfast is an annual benefit in collaboration with women from the business community to raise much needed funds for Asian women and children impacted by domestic violence.

This year, the event will be Thursday, April 7 from 8AM -10AM at Rialto. There will be breakfast, a silent auction, and a panel discussion. I'll be there blogging about the event as well!

To find out more and to purchase tickets, please visit this page.

This event will be hosted by Jody Adams (Chef/Owner of Rialto Cambridge), Vivian Hsu (Principal of Hsu & Associates, LLC) Renee Inomata (Partner at Burns & Levinson, LLC) and Janet Wu (7News/CW56).



Pop Up Restaurant!

They've struck again! It's yet another pop up restaurant! As many of you know, I went to my first pop up restaurant at the Taza Chocolate Factory.

This time, Aaron Cohen and Will Gilson (along with Sel de la Terre chef Louie Dibiccari) will set up a pop up restaurant at Mizu hair salon on Saturday, April 9, 2011. A 5-course menu will costs $100 and includes tax and gratuity. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the International Medical Corps to aid Japan.

To learn more and to buy tickets, click here.

That's it folks! Have a wonderful weekend, and we will continue the Tribute to Japan Series next week!

Tiny Urban Tidbits #17 - Bryan Tries Puffer Fish!

How many of you have seen that famous Simpson's episode where Homer tries puffer fish?

I think for most of us, puffer fish is something that's exotic, far away, and not really something you would expect to see ever on a US menu.

On Sunday we visited one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Boston, Oishii. Bryan saw fugu on the specials menu and really really wanted to try it. Fugu is the infamous puffer fish. It contains a lethal poison, tetrododoxin, which must be carefully removed before consumption. In Japan, fugu preparation is controlled by law and only licensed chefs (who train for 2-3 years!) can prepare and sell the fish.

Rumor has it that your lips "tingle" a bit when you taste it, allegedly from the tiny bit of residual poison. The poison works by paralyzing your muscles. Most victims die of asphyxiation.

And Bryan really wanted to try it???!!

Don't ask me why, but the risk of this dish is a large part of the draw of this weirdly exotic dish.True thrill seekers will actually flirt with death (and the law!!) by eating the liver, the most poisonous part of the puffer fish.

I continuously snapped pictures as Bryan tried his first bite.

One bite.

Chew chew . . . pause . . . . funny expression.

"It definitely tastes like a cross between lobster and squid sashimi. And there is a slight tingle."

Swallow. More pauses.

I think he's going to be OK.

Phew! OK . . on to dessert!

Valentine's Dessert at Oishii

In reality, these days the risk of dying from eating fugu is pretty low. In fact, between 1993 and 2006, only 23 incidents were reported, with only one occurring at a restaurant. All the others involved fisherman eating their catch.

Furthermore, the biggest risk is eating the liver (now illegal in Japan!), the ovaries, or the skin (not as much risk with the flesh).

Nevertheless, there's still this slight sense of fear and excitement at the same time when you're trying something like fugu for the first time!

Fugu

Valentine's Day
Though we eat out often, we actually chose to stay home on Valentine's Day proper. I seared a simple, sous vide prime steak and we paired it with some fresh pasta tossed with a little bit of butter, cream, and thinly sliced black truffles.
 
Simple, elegant, and totally relaxing.

What's up next?
Next week we wrap up the Las Vegas Series (three more restaurants, including the best steak Bryan's ever had in his life, Two-Michelin Stars, and a really famous chef from LA). After that? Look out for posts on some of Boston's most well-known burgers, several more giveaways, and a Tokyo Series!

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Tiny Urban Tidbits #16 - CHOPPED!

Imagine this scenario.

You're a chef at a well known local institution, a well-known restaurant on a prominent street that most people recognize. One random day while you're just doing your job, you get this crazy phone call from none other than the Food Network. They want to know if you'd be interested in competing in one of their shows. Your jaw drops, and you're like, "uhhh . . . heck yeah! when do I start?"

This is a very rough paraphrase of what basically happened to Chef Corey Comeau, local Boston chef of Stephanie's on Newbury and Stephi's on Tremont. Last night on the Food Network show Chopped, Corey was featured as one of four chefs competing for the $10,000 prize.
The entire competition just lasts one hour and only took one day to film. Essentially, 4 chefs are given a basket of surprise ingredients (which often have NOTHING to do with each other). They must create a course within 20 or 30 minutes incorporating all the ingredients. After each course, one chef is CHOPPED, until only one remains.

Last night I attended a viewing party at Stephi's On Tremont where Corey's fans watched the show in nervous anticipation. Keep in mind, Corey is totally sworn to secrecy about the results. No one in the room knew the final results except for Corey.

While watching the show, we sampled a few items from the new fall menu (which is coming out quite soon). These signature macaroni and cheese deep fried balls on a stick were delicious. I loved the gooey cheesiness of the inside, which contrasted the lovely outer crunch.

Gorgonzola, bacon, and pear. Need I say more? I may have actually liked these even better than the macaroni and cheese balls. I liked the sweet and salty contrast of the pears with the bacon and Gorgonzola.

One by one, as other contestants were "CHOPPED," the buzz in the room got greater and greater.

Here's Corey (guy with the baseball cap) watching with his immediate family in a small room right outside the bar. When the last contestant was CHOPPED and Corey was crowned the winner, the whole bar erupted into applause.

General manager Leo Fonseca and Corey gave a few words afterwards.

And then Corey's wife surprised him with a cake.

He only took a bite though since he's been avoiding flour and sugar. Can you believe he's lost 40 pounds since filming this back in March?

I had a chance to speak to Corey a bit after the show ended.

What was the filming experience like?
He said it was exhausting. They picked him up at 5AM the morning of the filming. Even though on the show it looks like the judges decide in a matter of minutes, they actually discussed for a good hour or so between each course. Meanwhile, the contestants just had to sit in this little room and wait.

Of course, the entire time they are in that little room, they are being filmed.

Corey also mentioned that it was interesting to see the show in its final edited form. Last night was his first time watching it as well, and he found it quite interesting how the editors strategically cut footage in a way to support a storyline that they might be trying to emphasize.

Overall, though, it seemed reasonably accurate. He said he became pretty good friends with Mona, the second to last competitor to be eliminated.

What's he going to do with the prize earnings? Take his wife to New Zealand in November! So, if you want to visit Stephi's on Tremont while Corey is in the kitchen, you better go this month!

Let's congratulate our local chef for winning this competition!

It's not to late to vote for this blog for Project Food Blog, Round 4. Voting is open until Thursday night, October 14th! You can check out my post and vote for me here.

Disclaimer
Time to time I receive free products, meals, etc. as a food blogger. I do not receive any payment for blog posts/reviews. The views expressed in this post are completely my own. The fall menu preview food items were provided for free by Stephi's on Tremont.

Tiny Urban Tidbits #14

Happy Friday everyone!

Here's a peek at some upcoming posts. Can you guess the restaurant from the photos?

One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Boston.

Uni with lardo on top of toast from an Italian one-star Michelin restaurant near Central Park in NYC.

Quail from a European restaurant on Newbury Street . . .

More experiments with sous vide! Can you guess what I'm making?

Check out my interview as a Featured Foodie on Travel Wine & Dine.
Ever wondered how I got into blogging? Or what my favorite posts are? Or maybe my favorite dining experiences and restaurants, both in Boston and around the world? If so, check out my interview on Travel Wine & Dine!

Have a great weekend!

Tiny Urban Tidbits #13

Tiny Urban Tidbits is where I share with you some insights, "tidbits", or just random encounters from the week. I carry my camera with me everywhere I go, and I love capturing photos of interesting things that I discover. These may include new dishes from a restaurant that I've already reviewed, updates on what's going on locally, or encounters I've had in the kitchen. It could even include a beautiful sunset, a funny sign, or just stuff I find amusing. Think of it as snapshots (literally!) of my weekly experiences with food - intertwined with stories, of course.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cooking Tidbits

"Il Panino"-inspired Caprese Sandwich

Summer is a time for refreshing sandwiches. This is inspired by one of my favorite sandwiches from Il Panino Express, an outpost of a North End establishment which used to be right near my home until they were essentially pushed out by the landlord with high rents. It's a bit unusual because I did not have normal bread lying around, just these whole wheat hamburger buns from Nature's Pride. What's in the sandwich? Arugula, proscuitto, tomatoes, and fresh mozarella. Perfect for a hot summer day.

We got just a few pattypan squashes in our CSA farm share last week. I love these squashes. Not only are cute and look like tiny UFOs, they have a wonderfully creamy and nutty taste that I absolutely love. You can mix them up with almost any other root vegetables to make a beautiful medley of roasted vegetables. My favorite way of preparing them is to roast some garlic on the side and mix it all together. You can click here for a more in-depth post that I wrote last summer about this.

I prepared a huge batch of frozen garlic logs this weekend. This is a great way to always have chopped garlic on hand. You can click here for the detailed tutorial on how to make these logs.


Dining Out Tidbits

What are these? They are called Spinach Squares, which we ordered at Upper Crust Pizzeria. Who would have thought a pizza place would carry something like this?

They taste like creamed spinach but are pan fried. They're not bad, but I found them to be rather cheesy and I kept thinking how I like Chinese Turnip Cakes (luo buo gao) so much better. It's worth noting I don't really love creamed spinach, so I am quite biased here.

Did you know at the freshman dining hall at Harvard University you can make your own waffle emblazoned with the Harvard crest? How awesome is that? We never had anything like that at MIT . . . .

I need something Sweet!
We were wandering in Harvard Square after our lovely meal at Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage when we stumbled upon Sweet, a very cute bakery in Harvard Square. I thought the middle cupcake looked so sad yet cute at the same time.

He looks like he's ready for a nap, which is how I feel often!

We were too full from the burgers to actually get any dessert, but one of these days I'll actually try a cupcake at Sweet!

Wrap Up
I guess that was a pretty random set of tidbits this week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Coming up next week: my fantastic dinner with NYC food bloggers at a new 1-star Michelin Italian restaurant in NYC. Also, refined Afghan food, trendy European food, and maybe some organic sushi. Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: Time to time I receive products, meals, etc. for free. I do not receive any payment for these posts/reviews. The views expressed in the posts are completely my own. For this post, Nature's Pride sent me some hamburger buns to try.

Tiny Urban Tidbits #12

Tiny Urban Tidbits is where I share with you some insights, "tidbits", or just random encounters from the week. I carry my camera with me everywhere I go, and I love capturing photos of interesting things that I discover. These may include new dishes from a restaurant that I've already reviewed, updates on what's going on locally, or encounters I've had in the kitchen. It could even include a beautiful sunset, a funny sign, or just stuff I find amusing. Think of it as snapshots (literally!) of my weekly experiences with food - intertwined with stories, of course.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a sad sad week for two of our local food businesses. The intense flash flood last Saturday caused a ton of damage for newly opened Think Tank in Kendall Square and Taza Chocolate in Somerville.

Think Tank

Think Tank had just opened less than a month ago. A collaboration between Jay Leno, Vincent Conte, and Mitchell Muroff, this bar and restaurant with Asian-inspired food was planning on hosting other interesting activities, such as live comedy, dancing, and arcade games.

They are located in the lower level of One Kendall Square. Sadly, the flash flood brought 12 inches of water inside the restaurant causing lots and lots of damage. They are estimating that repairs might cost up to $200,000. They are currently closed and anticipate they need about 2 months before opening up again.

We visited last week and I had been planning to write a review about the place. I will wait until they reopen, for it makes no sense to write a review now when you can't visit.

Taza Chocolate

Taza Chocolate's woes are just as sad, if not even more sad. They had just upgraded their chocolate production facility with new equipment a few weeks ago. In fact, just last week they had churned out the first batch of chocolate on the new machines. Saturday's flood caused tons of damage and they had to shut down production. The facility will be closed for at least a week, if not longer.

Taza Chocolate is asking their fans for support during this difficult time. You can support Taza by buying their chocolates or other things on their online store. Thankfully, their stockpiles of chocolate were stored on the second floor and thus not damaged. (phew!)

Check out their blog post here, which gives details about the damage to the factory.

Below are pictures from a tour of the chocolate factory I took last December. I am guessing that a lot of these machines had already been replaced, but it's still cool to see what the inside of the chocolate factory used to look like!

I'm a big fan of their chocolate. I wrote my first post about them last summer when I tasted their chocolate at The Garden at the Cellar and also at the Farmers Market.

That's all for today. Look out next week for yet another exciting Giveaway plus some reviews of some really cool new restaurants!

8 Ways to Use Up Your Farm Share Vegetables (Tidbits #10)

I'm stuck in a rut.

A cooking rut, that is. These farm share vegetables that keep coming back -  I find that I am preparing them the same way, over and over again. I think this happens when I run out of time, and don't have time to be creative.

And maybe some of you are in the same boat too. So I thought I would share with you what I usually do with my farm share vegetables. Maybe it will inspire some of you to try something different. Likewise, I love reading food blogs because they give me ideas for different ways of cooking familiar ingredients.

1. Stir Fry Leafy Greens with Garlic 
My default thing to do with leafy greens from my farmshare is to stir-fry them. You can stir-fry almost anything with garlic and it will taste good - beet greens, radish greens, Swiss chard, kale - you name it.  Oh, I did learn the hard way the collard greens take forever to cook, and a simple stir fry will NOT be sufficient.



Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy
I've been getting a lot of baby bok choy through my farm share lately. Baby bok choy is one of the Chinese vegetables that I almost invariably pick up whenever I go to Chinatown. I love how quickly it cooks, how great it tastes in a simple Chinese stir-fry, and how versatile it is. Not only does it work in Chinese cuisine, it's a simple, great side vegetable for a piece of steak or fish.

2. Make Chips!
If you get a reasonably starchy root vegetable, chances are you can make chips out of them. I've made all sorts of oven-baked chips: taro root, sunchokes, sweet potato, even kale "chips".

Oven Roasted Kale "Chips"
I love using up kale this way. First of all, the roasting gives the kale an excellent, deep caramelized roasted flavor that I love. Secondly, it reduces a whole bunch of kale into a rather manageable amount. Finally, it tastes really good, more like a snack than something that's actually healthy and chock full of vitamins!

3. Blend It Up Into a Soup
Root vegetables are great for blended soups. You can mix and match them, making all sorts of interesting combinations. Here are two classics:

Carrot Ginger Soup
I have been getting quite a few lovely rainbow colored carrots lately. Although I have usually just been snacking on them raw, here's a lovely healthy and flavorful soup that you can make with any kind of carrot.

Celariac Apple Potato Soup

This recipe will probably become much more useful when fall rolls around. The great thing about fall root vegetables is that you can blend any combination of them together to make a lovely soup. The general rules are pretty simple: aromatic + root vegetables + broth + blender. Play around and see what you create!

4. Oven Roast Your Root Vegetables

My default way of preparing farm share root vegetables when I don't have much time to think is to roast them all together with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. It never fails, and you can refrigerate them for use later.

Roasted Fennel, Zucchini, Carrots, and Parsnips

I have been getting fennel bulbs in my farm share lately, and yet I have not done anything with them yet. Roasted fennel bulb is beautifully sweet, mild, and does not really taste like licorice. It pairs nicely with other root vegetables, such as carrots and parsnips (which have also been appearing in my farm share!).

Oven Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens
The moment I get beets from the farm share, I toss it together with some olive oil and salt, wrap it up in some foil, and roast it. It's so versatile afterwards. You can toss it with your favorite dressing (balsamic works great) and a strong cheese, such as feta, goat's cheese, or blue cheese. You can also reheat it and eat it as a side dish with meat. If you're hungry in the middle of the night, you can even just munch on it cold straight from the refrigerator!!

5. Make Spring Rolls!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Have an over-abundance of basil? Or mint? Or heck, even other herbs? Make Vietnamese spring rolls! This light, refreshing, cool appetizer is healthy and delicious. Works great as a light meal and is a crowd pleaser at potlucks and picnics.

6. Make a Chopped Salad

Tomato, Basil, Mozarella, and Corn Salad
Here's my twist on the traditional caprese salad. I love fresh corn and I really think it adds to most salads. By quickly making the corn in the microwave using this super easy method, you can whip this refreshing salad together in minutes. Again, a great way to use up that excess basil!

7. Make a Cold Marinated Salad (or make pickles!)

Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
I love this dish in the summertime. It's so refreshing, cool, and healthy. It works great as a starter or also as a side dish to some grilled meat. I will often serve it with several other Chinese dishes to be eaten with rice.

8. Try Sauteing your Root Vegetables!

Sauteed Beets and Radishes
Last week, when I really was short of time, I decided to thinly slice my radishes and beets. I sauteed them in a small amount of butter with some herbs, and they tasted fantastic. They really hit the spot, and it only took a few minutes to prepare. That's my kind of recipe.

So there you have it. Just a few of the ways in which I have been using up my farm share vegetables. I'm curious to try pickling something, or even making ice cream out of something, like beets! Stay tuned!

What are some ways that you have been using up your CSA Boxshare vegetables?

Tiny Urban Tidbits #9

Lots of Chocolate For Me To Eat . . .
Imagine my shocked response when I saw this tweet from my husband while he was in Switzerland on business.

By the way, 262 CHF is $236 USD.  Things in Switzerland are expensive! For example, a cappuccino and a bottle of water from Starbuck's costs $12 USD.   Anyway, of course I wasn't mad. I mean, how can I be mad when I get to enjoy these?

I fell in love with Sprungli's liquor-filled chocolates the first time he brought them back from Switzerland. I even wrote a whole post about them. This time he brought champagne-filled chocolates too! Can't wait to try them . . .

I'm loving my farm share . . .

I haven't been posting pictures each week about my farm share, but I'm loving it just the same. Compared to a different farm share that I had tried a few years back (where it felt like we just kept getting tons of kale and lettuce each week), Siena Farms' box share is fun because it includes a lot of unique, heirloom varieties of stuff. The program is a bit more expensive (about $30/week), but the quality of the veggies are top notch. This past week, I got rainbow carrots, bok choy, French breakfast radishes, fennel, different colored beets, escarole, purplette onions, shelling peas, and Tuscan kale.

I recently checked out their website and found a list of really nice local restaurants that serve vegetables from Siena Farms. Here's the entire list with hyperlinks to my reviews.

Oleana (updated review with pictures here)
Sofra Bakery and Café
No. 9 Park
The Butcher Shop
B+G Oyster Bar
Sportello
Menton
Henrietta’s Table
Beacon Hill Bistro
Upstairs on the Square
Market by Jean-Georges
Lumiere
Hungry Mother
Erbaluce
Coda Bar and Kitchen
O Ya

These are some really nice restaurants! So happy I get to enjoy the same quality of veggies at home.

Morel Mushroom Giveaway At Marx Foods

I just recently discovered my love for morel mushrooms after trying them at a few local Italian restaurants (Mare and Rialto) and also in my own kitchen. Just the other day Marx Foods contacted me and told me about this cool giveaway that they are doing. 2lbs of free morels! Yummmmmmmm . . .

I just signed up for it! Click on the image below to enter.


Have a great weekend!