Restaurants Archives - Page 6 of 27

Restaurants

Getting a clear-headed fresh start on another day of tastings

Posted on December 14, 2021December 6, 2021 by Pat

Even with all the temptations of great Bourbon, I managed to avoid overindulging on my tasting tour through northern Kentucky. But I still like to start the day with a brisk walk to clear my head. In Covington, there's nothing better than a jaunt over the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. Popularly called the “Blue Bridge,” it connects the city to Cincinnati on the other side of the Ohio River. The bridge is a short walk from the Hotel Covington. Like the Buffalo Trace Distillery, the bridge is one of Kentucky's National Historic Landmarks—and with good reason. When it was completed in 1867, the 1,057-foot span over the river was the longest in the world. Moreover, it's one of only two bridges by noted civil...Read More

Sophisticated plates pair with Goslings Rum cocktails

Posted on November 18, 2021November 17, 2021 by Pat and David

Located in the tiny downtown of Milford, New Hampshire, Greenleaf (bar above) is proof positive that farm-to-table fine dining can coexist in a region where pasta and cheese-intensive Greek and Italian restaurants otherwise rule. Chef Chris Viaud grew up in nearby Londonderry, studied at Johnson and Wales, and cut his teeth as part of the crew in Boston's modern French dining room, Deuxave (deuxave.com). Drawing on a slew of excellent local producers, Viaud normally serves an inventive and artfully articulated menu based on seasonal produce, meat, and fish. But the Goslings Rum Dinner was even a step above, as three of Viaud's fellow alumni from Top Chef Season 18 joined him in crafting a menu that would also showcase the many faces of Goslings Rum....Read More

From Bermuda with love, Goslings Rum

Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by Pat and David

‶I'm from Bermuda,″ Malcolm Gosling explained to the dinner audience at Greenleaf, a seasonally inspired farm-to-table restaurant in Milford, N.H. ‶So that explains why I'm wearing shorts in November in New Hampshire.″ The Sunday night crowd tittered. Owned by executive chef Chris Viaud, Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford, N.H.; 603-213-5447; greenleafmilford.com) usually opens for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. But this Sunday night special was a reunion of Viaud and three of his former fellow Top Chef Season 18 contestants. Sponsored by Goslings Rum, the dinner benefited the food pantry and soup kitchen in nearby Nashua, N.H. Shown above holding the microphone, Viaud was joined by (from left) Jamie Tran of Black Sheep in Las Vegas, Nelson German of alaMar Kitchen & Bar in Oakland, and...Read More

Newagen Inn in Southport, Maine, inspires asparagus soup

Posted on July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 by Pat and David

When we spent the better part of a week in Maine recently, we spent a day exploring some of the touchstone haunts of the modern-day patron saint of the environmental movement, Rachel Carson. She was the epitome of scientific and literary rigor—the long-time chief editor of U.S. Bureau of Fish and Wildlife publications and the impassioned popular science writer whom some credit for saving whole swathes of the avian world from extinction. Between tidepools and typewriter, though, she knew how to relax and enjoy herself. She often treated herself to the restaurant at the Newagen Inn (60 Newagen Colony Road, Southport, Maine; 207-633-5242, newagenseasideinn.com). So we did the same. The photo at the top of this post shows the view from the restaurant's outdoor porch...Read More

In Milan, a little wealth helps make rich risotto

Posted on March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by Pat and David

Our experience with Milan is a little like Stanley Tucci's before he started shooting the Searching for Italy series now running on CNN. It was always a place we admired from afar and but visited mostly when we were changing trains or planes. For many years, Alitalia had direct flights between Boston and Milan, so we often flew through Malpensa when we were visiting northern Italy. As Tucci observed, the first thing that hit us about Milan is the pace. The city has a hurry-scurry that almost makes Manhattan feel laid-back. That's probably because the Milanese are so busy making money. The city is home to the Italian stock market, the furniture industry, and to Italian fashion and design. It helps to have all that...Read More

Tucci’s Roman pasta experience was a déjà vu

Posted on February 28, 2021February 28, 2021 by Pat and David

Watching Stanley Tucci sample the classic pastas of Rome was a déjà vu experience for us—especially when he showed up at a restaurant on Piazza della Rotondo to launch the episode. We had a similar experience just a few years ago, also in front of the Pantheon at Ristorante di Rienzo. It's now Bistrot al Pantheon di Rienzo (Salita de’ Crescenzi 3, 06-687-7404, www.bistrotalpantheon.it) and in one incarnation or another dates back to 1952. Thanks to an introduction by an Italian chef friend, the daughter of the founder invited us to come back at dinner time so the chef could show us how to prepare some classic Roman pasta dishes. When we returned around 6 p.m., chef Alessandro Sillani and his assistant Tsatsu Nicholas Awuku...Read More

Faces of Paris at the winter cafés

Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Pat and David

For the last few months, Boston and Cambridge have had a decidedly European flair as both cities allowed restaurants to spill outdoors and set up dining terraces on the streets. Restaurateurs embraced the chance to spread out and lure diners back. Most planned and decorated their terraces with style and diners jumped at the chance to get out of the house and out of the home kitchen. On weekends, Hanover Street in Boston's North End seemed like a giant block party with especially good food. Alas, the party has started to fizzle as New England's weather inevitably turns colder. So we were heartened to learn that Restaurant Strong Winterization Grants are going to help restaurants in Boston (as well as Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia)...Read More

World on a Plate: Caino’s coffee-dusted cacio e pepe

Posted on November 6, 2020November 5, 2020 by Pat and David

Sometimes culinary genius reveals itself in a brilliant gesture rather than in profound technical flourishes. This tangle of pasta demonstrates the genius of restraint. It also embodies the taste and imagination of Valeria Piccini. Piccini simply calls the dish spaghettone cacio, pepe, e caffè. She frequently offers it as a pasta course at her family restaurant. Il Ristorante Caino (Via Canonica, 3, Montemerano; +39 0564 692 817; dacaino.it) is hidden away in a tiny medieval mountain village in Tuscany's Maremma. But Piccini's cooking draws admirers from all over Italy to the 13th century hamlet where sheep and goats may outnumber the 400 human inhabitants. Da Caino earned its first Michelin star in 1991, and has held two since 1999. The dining public and Michelin's inspectors...Read More

World on a Plate: Tybee Island boils

Posted on October 17, 2020October 16, 2020 by Pat and David

Even the alligators eat well at The Crab Shack (40 Estill Hammock Road, Tybee Island, Georgia; 912-786-9857, thecrabshack.com). The casual eatery seems to have evolved from a casual marina and even more casual beer store on Tybee Island, the laid-back, barefoot suburb of genteel Savannah. A barrier island backed by a stunning salt marsh, Tybee Island is literally a crab shell's throw away from the South Carolina-Georgia state line that cleaves the main channel of the Savannah River. Subtropical waters lap Tybee's shores, making it warm enough to go fishing or kayaking in the middle of the winter. Or to feast on the deck of The Crab Shack. This is Low Country cooking par excellence. The cuisine has strong elements of African dishes, a lot...Read More

World on a Plate: beet salad in Jordan, Ontario

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Pat and David

As harvest season bears down on us here in northeastern North America, we're reminded of some of the great dishes we enjoyed during visits to the wine country of Ontario's Niagara Peninsula. Beets are popping up in all colors at our Cambridge, Massachusetts farmers markets, and they only make us hanker for the beet salad (shown above) that we enjoyed at On the Twenty (3845 Main St., Jordan, ON; 905-562-5336, vintage-hotels.com/inn-on-the-twenty/dining-experience/) in Jordan Village, Ontario. The restaurant is part of Inn on the Twenty, the classy getaway hotel across the street. It's part of the Vintage Hotels group, which emphasizes luxury stays in Niagara wine country. We are happy to note that On the Twenty restaurant was able to reopen for patio and indoor dining...Read More