Happy Halloween Everybody!!!

Video Friday: José Andrés at Harvard

José Andrés, the internationally renown Chef, discussed avant garde food at Harvard this week and we are very lucky to bring you this exclusive snippet of the lecture. Here he is passionately, humorously and entertainingly discussing the absolute breakthrough of gelification and spherification in modern, techcno-emotional cooking. Chef Andrés spoke for two hours, non-stop, about the history of food science from ancient Egypt to the work he is doing at this minute bringing solar stoves to Haiti. It was clearly not understood by all but, for me, an absolutely thrilling view of how food weaves everyone in the world together and an insightful challenge for people to open their minds.

He also gave us a Tweet shout out!! Thanks Chef.

Wine Of The Week

I know. It's been a while since we featured a wine of the week but we are happy to be back on Wine Wednesdays. Today, from the Château de Jau in Roussillon, France, comes le jaja de jeau saivignon blanc 2009. The jaja range is designed to be fun and youthful without compromising quality.

The word "jaja" is regional slang used to represent the area's delicious, full-flavored, everyday wines. It is often the house selection in local bistros and restaurants. The actual label was designed by Benjamin Vauthier, founder of the "fluxxus" movement of contemporary and graphic art. Storage of 3-4 months in stainless steel vats enhance the true fresh fruit base, so important for the Sauvignon grape variety. Very aromatic, with both flowery and fruity notes, it is crisp, fresh and zesty on the tongue.

The Meat House

I had seen them in movies and read about them in books. I had heard family members talk about them when I was a kid but I never really had a local butcher shop in my own neighborhood. That, however, is changing. As the local, sustainable movement grows smaller shops are flourishing, as opposed to mega, warehouse shopping experiences. One of these is The Meat House, which is a chain but the shops are all smaller and all of the meat is cut on the premises. Eighty per cent of everything here is local. So, you can truly get your meats both fresh and cut to order, total quality at a price point less than that of Whole Foods. As I've often said before, I'll always choose small, local shops every time. Just look at that bacon, will you?


The Meat House is famous for their marinated meats, always fresh, vacuum-sealed with a special process that allows the meats to draw in the marinade before sealing.


The staff, like Bryan here, are all knowledgeable foodies and eager to help.


Plenty of cheeses.


The Meat House carries a good selection of imported and domestic wines.


There are lots of craft brews like Dogfish, one of our faves.


Specialty foods, spices and locally produced sauces and condiments of all kinds are also available.






And, of course, there is always plenty of product to sample.

The Meat House
1285 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA
Telephone: 617.739.9300
Other locations opening soon.

Head Of The Charles Regatta 2010

Prepsters lining up to buy oxford cloth button-down shirts from BB. Don't they know you can get them tailored in town?

I don't follow sports weekly but as you may know TBF turns ESPN once a year for the annual tradition known at "The Regatta" among our best friends. This year was spectacular. Cool, crisp, sunny weather with trees at peak color, loads of international friends in town and everyone calling for help with Cambridge dinner reservations! Go to Foundry On Elm, I kept saying. It's only two red line stops away.




This year was as crowded as ever. Look at that mob on the bridge. We ate, watched, cheered, laughed with new friends and sipped the wine we smuggled in.


GO Boston College!!! The Eagles (my alma mater) soared. Boston College Women came in with a time of 20:46.309. Number 12 in the Top Twenty. Great job ladies.


What's a picnic without slices of spinach and butternut squash pizza?




Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream.

There is still one more day left so if you haven't experienced this event head on over to Harvard Square and follow the crowd to the river. You will not be disappointed.

Fashion, Food, Fun and The Future

You all know what a fashion shoot is like. Or, if you don't, read on. First, there is location.


Then, there is wardrobe.


After that, you wait around until you are "called" for the camera.

As a writer I am more than happy to be off camera, behind-the-scenes and I've observed hundreds of fashion shoots but none that ever made me so happy as this one for Future Chefs. You all know it's my favorite organization and over the next few months I'll be pressing all of my food writing and blogging friends to learn more about them. For now, I was really happy to be in the background, chronicling this occasion. It's a real turning point for us to be featured on the cover of Edible Boston for their December issue. And that was only the beginning of the day for this group of amazing kids who are the next generation of culinary stars in Boston.














Thanks to Michael of Michael Piazza Photography for letting me intrude and having an amazing eye. (I kept my no-flash promise). Thanks to Ilene Bezahler, Publisher of Edible Boston for opening eyes. Thank you to Future Chefs for inviting me in.

To my blogger friends who share all those fancy ten course dinners and events with me, and you know who you are, this was like having a front row seat to watch a rocket blast off. Future Chefs IS the future and I want all of you to be involved because this is the organization you have been looking for. It's been so rewarding to share my ideas, skills, insights, contacts and to mentor these young people and I promise you that you will learn so much from them. I really want all of you to be involved.

Foundry On Elm

Justin of @JustinCanCook was just one of the food bloggers we met up with.

We were invited to the official opening of Foundry On Elm this week, which, for anyone who has been by there, already knows that the place is packed pretty much at all times since the day it began operation over a month ago. We met up with a bunch of fellow food bloggers, all of which have a growing presence on twitter, a trend we've seen increasing in Boston. There was Megan of @DeliciousDish, Melissa (Miss Yunks) of @FoodiesAtWork, Robin of @DovesAndFigs, Scott of @OneFoodGuy, Justin of @JustinCanCook and, of course, @TheBostonFoodie.


Low lighting and dark paneling set the mood of the space.

Foundry is a classic tavern with good food and drinks and plenty of microbrews available. It's a very welcome addition to Davis Square and we thoroughly enjoyed the food, drink and company, what it's all about in tavern dining. It's the kind of place you can stop in and hang out and always see someone you know or even strike up a conversation with someone you've just met.


The shrimp salad was one of the dishes served, along with a smoked trout pate I already love.


With classic tavern seating at tables, the long bar and booths there is plenty of room for a large crowd. When full it does get a bit loud but I think that always adds to the atmosphere.


The "Elm Street Punch", a concoction of rum, fruit juice and mint is both smooth and refreshing. One of the best drinks we had here.


The long bar is an active and lively scene and the central gathering spot at Foundry On Elm.


Fried macaroni and cheese cakes. Great idea for a tavern snack food we had never seen before.


The service was attentive and friendly all night long. Here we are getting shots of Butternut Squash Soup.


The flatbread pizza with potato and bacon, some of that delicious shrimp salad and a healthy dollop of the smoked trout pate.


Raspberry crumb bars and pumpkin cookies rounded out the desserts.


And then we all just had to have another round of those Elm Street Rum Punch drinks.

Congratulations Chef Sam Putnam on a quality gastropub fare in a great, new setting.

Foundry On Elm
255 Elm St
Somerville, MA 02144
Telephone: 617.628.9999

Ultimate Secrets To Career Success

I was lucky enough to be invited to the W Boston yesterday for a success boot camp organized by Mel Robbins, whose talk show on 96.9 FM Boston Talks we never try to miss. You should tune in on Saturdays from 10AM-1PM and and listen for great life and career advice as well as the updates for fun weekend events from our friend Max Buccini.

Mel kicked off the event with her topic: There's A More Powerful You. Having just finished her new book: STOP SAYING YOU'RE FINE - DISCOVER A MORE POWERFUL YOU. Her basic message was one I espouse all the time, stop sabotaging yourself. It reminded me of one of my favorite sayings, an old Zen proverb: To know and not to do is to not yet really know. I do believe that we all really do know what we want and we pretty much know how to get it, too. That's not the problem. The problem is: why aren't we doing it? I really suggest you tune in to her show and you'll be hooked.

Other interesting speakers of note were Christine Mason-McCall, who gave a very informative talk on one of our favorite subjects, Social Media. This woman is a dynamo, a very successful CEO and a mother of six children!

Mark Jeffries, author of THE ART OF BUSINESS SEDUCTION lent his upbeat British humor and practical techniques for how to win over anyone in any business challenge you face.

Eric Trump, son of the one and only Donald Trump, shared with us his father's best advice for success in business on any front. Here it is:

1 Choose work that you can be totally passionate about.
2 Negotiate everything, all the time. American culture does not foster the everyday practice of negotiation that is seen in most other world cultures.
3 Go with your gut. Successful businesspeople act on their instincts.
4 Keep up your guard. Don't blindly trust everyone all the time without checking the facts.
5 Always fight to the very end. Never give up. The only way to lose is to give up.
6 Put emotions aside. Eric shared a story about a businessman who walked away from a $48 million dollar offer because he let his emotions cloud his mind. The offer was never matched.
7 Think big. Don't be satisfied with small goals when a bigger possibility is there.

Blogger Booty

Thanks to our invitation to the Natural Products Expo East 2010 and a fashion show event last week, our blogger booty bags are overflowing. And this is not even all the stuff we were asked to take and sample. Plus, there is more on the way! Occasionally people ask why I devote so much time to blogging. Well, aside from the interesting people you get to meet and the fun events you get to attend are all of the cool, new products you get to try out. It ranges from the kinda crazy (beef jerky on a keychain) to the very inventive to the just plain fun. Here's a few of the favorites we gathered.


We thought this Adora calcium supplement was ingenious. A small disc of delicious chocolate with all the calcium a healthy body needs. Do you know that most women and teens are calcium deficient?


GLEE Gum. One of our fave things from the Natural Products Expo East 2010. Quirky and fun with a retro design trademarked long before any hit TV show these samples were the biggest hit with friends. Gotta love the Glee.

Some of the products were so good (Wembé eco-friendly soaps) that we'll be writing all about them in future posts devoted to each product individually. We'll also be running more giveaways and contests so that readers can try out these new products and share in the fun.

Fashion and Food

We were lucky to accompany fashion blogger Mara Steinitz this week to the Passport To Fashion event in Cambridge. Not only did we get to pose for the cameras ourselves but we also had the chance to nosh on some quite nice tastes.






While Mara and I did not agree on every fashion statement we both were sure that that the ladies of Cakeology had the very best red velvet cupcakes ever.


Delectable bites courtesy of Jason Santos of Gargoyle's On The Square: Tuna Tartare Deviled Eggs.

I am thinking that the Foundry On Elm party this week will be even more fashionable! Thanks Mara, Becca and Sam.