Cooking with Community Servings, Plus: Touring Boston Public Market

Most Bostonians already know about Boston Public Market as a great place to shop for produce and prepared foods, but did you know about The KITCHEN that sits in the back of the market? The KITCHEN is a demonstration kitchen space that serves community teaching and learning. The Trustees have partnered with a number of partners to provide classes, workshops, and more. These programs range from baking classes, yoga classes presented by REI, and weekly seasonal tastings with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. I recently attended a preview of a cooking demonstration with Community Servings where we made a sweet potato lentil soup. 

Community Servings is a great non profit organization that prepares and delivers nutritious meals to critically ill patients (and sometimes the family they have to provide for). Each meal takes into account the patients' illnesses and the dietary restrictions that come with them.

Appropriately, the classes they will be holding at The Kitchen are titled: "Food Heals: Taste Your Way to Better Health with Community Servings". These classes will be on March 19 (11 AM - 1:30 PM) and June 23 (11:30 AM - 1:30 PM). These classes will teach how to prepare nutritious meals and how they can improve health.

Chef Kevin Conner came up with this sweet potato lentil soup when he had to make a meal for someone who was vegetarian, diabetic and in need of a high protein meal.

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A Food and Drinking Crawl Through Grand Case (Saint Martin)

Grand Case, on the French side of Sint Maarten/ Saint Martin, is the gourmet capital of the island. Naturally, I had to spend some time there during my vacation! We had dinner plans at one of the top rated restaurants, but ended up food crawling our way down!

The first place we saw was this little crepe shack on the side of the main road (Boulevarde de Grand Case). Both times I passed by the little crepe shack I was too stuffed. I'm regretting it. You guys should try it and let me know what I missed out on.

Across the street from the crepe shack is our first stop, Calmos Cafe. We went there to drink and let our lunch digest.

Calmos Cafe is a popular bar/cafe on the beach.

By on the beach, I mean lterally on the beach! Grab the best tables which sit on the sand, right next to the water! I could feel the waves on my toes.

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Charcuterie and Vegetables Showcase at BISq (Cambridge, MA)

The popular Bergamot Restaurant opened a more casual sister restaurant near my apartment in Inman Square. I had walked past BISq many times in Inman Square, and I finally had the perfect opportunity to try it when I saw a Groupon for a 6-course tasting menu for $30 per person! I hadn't used Groupon for a while but recently I took a look around and saw that they actually have some great restaurant deals in Boston. I convinced my roommate to join me for dinner one night.

Our tasting menu starts off with some grilled avocado, grapefruit, frisee, salumi jam, peppercorn vinaigrette

I love avocado so this was a great starter for me, but the star of the dish was really the salumi jam. Yes, really, it's "jam" made with salumi instead of fruits!

Herb-marinated beets, raita, fennel, sunflower seed granola

It was unusual to have beets paired with spicy flavors as in this dish.

King oyster mushroom carpaccio, queso verde, red cabbage, peanuts, omelette, soy-ginger dressing 

This was my favorite dish of the night. A thin slice of king oyster mushroom is topped with small cubes of egg omelette, peanuts, and a bold queso verde.

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Global Flavors at Tavern Road (Boston, MA)

The airy Tavern Road in Fort Point is a hip eatery that merges the neighborhood's recent emergence and the creative community who's long occupied the area. DiBiccari has a lot of connections to the art community in Boston (his uncle was an artist), so the artwork displayed in his restaurant is also done by local artists.

Tavern Road's menu spans diverse global influences. Diners may start with some Sumac hummus and grilled beans with apple, sesame, and freshly baked pita ($8)

In fact, diners should start with this amazing sumac hummus, along with the warm, fluffy pita. It's unlike other hummus you've had. The sumac and apple adds a refreshing tartness, and I am always partial to the nutty sesame flavor. I could't stop munching on the pita and hummus!

Chickpea frites, sweet and spicy tomato jam ($5)

When I read the description, I was imagining falafels, but these cubes of ground chickpeas are surprisingly smooth and creamy morsels.

Maine Crab conserva, soffrito, fried pita, pickles, herbs ($12)

Shifting direction to a jar of light marinated crab. The fresh pita makes another appearance here and is a great vehicle for the cool, fresh lumps of crab meat.

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Home Chef Meal Kit Delivery Review

Back with another meal kit delivery service review! I recently got to try another service called Home Chef. Home Chef is an ingredient kit service based out of Chicago and currently deliver to 60% of the country.

Herbes de Provence pork tenderloin with zucchini and yellow squash

Just like Plated and Hello Fresh, you can choose your specific meals. Each meal is $9.95 per serving (each meal serves 2), and delivery is free if you order $40 (otherwise, delivery is $10). If you get delivery, which you would with 3 meals for 2, Home Chef comes out to be cheaper than Plated or Hello Fresh. Also, you can Join Today & Enjoy 3 Free Meals.

They have at least 8 meal choices each week and they're clearly labeled with food restrictions like "gluten-free", "nut-free", "low calorie", etc. I also like that they have breakfast meal options, too, which are also cheaper, so you can get 2 dinner meals and 1 breakfast if you choose, to meet your $40 minimum.

Home Chef is a subscription service, but you can adjust the number of recipes each week.

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Picnic LA: Fast Casual with a Fine Dining Flair (Culver City, CA)

Culver City residents and workers have a great new lunch spot. Picnic LA is a fast casual, produce-driven spot that's perfect for a quick lunch, takeaway orders, and now even deliveries. Opened by trio Brad Zions, Noah Ellis (who formerly worked in the Red Medicine kitchen), and Eliot Silver, Picnic LA is slinging healthy, vegetable-heavy menu that features produce and proteins from local farms and ranches.

Walking in, you'll see today's selections of entrees, salads, and more displayed on the counter

Each item can be purchased individually, or you can get a combo. A combination of any entree with any 2 salads will be $14.50, $17.50 for entree and 3 salads, or get 3 salads with no entree for $12.

The bread they use come from Lodge Bread Co, a new darling in the LA bread world, which is also made in the Culver City area.

As I mentioned, the items here are produce-driven so there are a lot of vegetable items featuring local farm products like in this Citrus and fennel salad

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Healthy Dining at Freshii (Boston, MA)

When you eat out as much as I do, and eat as much unhealthy stuff as I do, a dinner filled with salads and healthy options is a welcomed change. A couple weeks ago that change came in the form of a blogger dinner at Freshii in Back Bay.

Freshii is a fast food franchise out of Canada that focuses on fresh, healthy items like salads, wraps, juices and such. They have multiple locations in Boston including one on Dartmouth St in Back Bay.

We tasted samples of quite a few things during dinner including the popular Metaboost Salad (field greens, spinach, kale, mangos, carrots, edamame, almonds, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette)

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Cochon Butcher: New Orleans' Best Sandwiches, Elvis King Cake

Happy Mardi Gras! Where are you all celebrating this day of revelry?
In honor of this day, I thought I would post my favorite place I visited last time in New Orleans. NOLA is home to many great sandwiches that were invented here, but this places takes them to the next level. Yes, Cochon Butcher is a hip, "craft" sandwich place. And the sandwiches are amazing.

The Muffuletta was invented at Central Grocery in New Orleans, but I believe the best muffuletta in the city is here at Cochon Butcher. The giant sandwich costs $12.

Sure, there is something satisfying in the messy, old school sandwiches (and you shouldn't miss a pilgrimage to Central Grocery - still a great spot!), but the muffuletta here is perfect. Great sesame bread, the right ratio of olives, various deli meats and mozzarella. Of course, the key is the fact that the meats they use at Cochon Butcher are housemade or house cured, so it's a flavor you won't get elsewhere.

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Ticket Giveaway! LA Weekly The Essentials, Feb 20

LA Weekly's annual food event of the year is coming! The Essentials is returning on February 20 to California Market Center in downtown LA, featuring more than 40 restaurants. Curated by LA Weekly's food critic Besha Rodell, you can expect LA's top restaurants at this event. Among them are: Animal, AOC, Broken Spanish, Bestia, Connie and Ted's, ink, Jitlada, even Kiriko Sushi. Been wanting to try Curtis Stone's Maude and can't get in? Don't want to make the trek to SGV for Szechuan Impression? Come here instead. 

The VIP tickets are already sold out, but there are still general admission tickets available for $70 per person which includes unlimited samples of food, beer, wine, and cocktails starting at 6pm. Part of the proceeds go to benefit Food Forward.

Lucky you, though, LA Weekly is generous enough to give away a pair of tickets through my blog!

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Bar Toscana, Brentwood's Hidden Italian Gem

Bar Toscana is the cocktail bar next door to longtime Brentwood favorite, Toscana. The Italian trattoria has been in business for 26 years. In the competitive culinary world of Los Angeles, that means they must be doing something right!

For their cocktails at Bar Toscana, they have brought William Perbellini who came from Italy to head the bar program here.

Perbellini's cocktail menu ranges from the classics to the seasonal, like this Costa Esmeralda (cognac, Grand Marnier, grapes, and sage)

I love grapes as a cocktail ingredient, and here it is paired with a grape-based spirit.

Barrel aged negroni with Plymouth gin, campari, and sweet vermouth

This was an unusually good negroni, expertly made and even smoother thanks to the barrel aging.

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Max and Leo's Coal-Fired Pizza, Now Open in Fenway (Boston, MA)

Max and Leo's is a highly rated coal-fired pizza join in Newton, and lucky for us they've just opened up shop in the Game On! space in Fenway.

This is such a great place to grab a bite and a drink before or after a game at Fenway. I really enjoyed the thin crust! We tried a white pizza with mushroom, sausage, and caramelized onion.

Wings are also a good appetizer to share. They're not deep fried and the meat was tender and juicy. The favorite (if you can take the heat) seems to be the Honey Hot Habanero wings ($10.50)

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Willie Mae's Scotch House (New Orleans, LA)

I'm late in posting about my visit to Willie Mae's Scotch House but decided to do so now because of the recent news of Willie Mae Seaton's passing. This great woman ran Willie Mae's Scotch House for decades until she passed away at age 99.

I had the chance to dine at Willie Mae's when I was in New Orleans for the last Foodie Hub North American Awards (formerly known as Chowzter). This hole in the wall had won a James Beard Award! Of course, Anthony Bourdain has been here, too.

Willie Mae's is off the beaten path, but it's less than 2 miles away from the French Quarter, so the pilgrimage here is totally doable. The place was completely packed. You'd probably have to wait in line but thankfully they are quick in serving you and churning food out, so the turnover is high.

Willie Mae's fried chicken definitely deserves one of the top spots on any fried chicken list. The skin is super crispy, the chicken is juicy and seasoned well. We all dug in and loved it! Get it with a side of fried okra.

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Sicilian Breakfast at Brelundi (Waltham, MA)

First, let's talk about the name. Brelundi may sound like an Italian word to some, but it actually just refers to "breakfast lunch dinner" - the three meals this Italian cafe in Waltham serves. They actually have quite a unique breakfast offerings. Breakfast, Sicilian style. Brelundi is open from 7am everyday and it's close to the T station, so it's great stop for locals on their way to work.

The unassuming eatery actually has quite a few surprises, like their breakfast arancini ($4 each). If you're not yet familiar with it, arancini is a fried risotto ball and it is said to have originated in Sicily back in the 10th century. They're usually filled with cheese, meat, or vegetable, but Brelundi takes a unique approach with their breakfast versions!

The breakfast arancinis, which were quite big - two might fill me up, are filled with either eggs and spinach, or eggs and sausage. They're also great for a grab-and-go breakfast since it's easy to hold and eat them with your hands.

I really enjoyed these since I usually like both arancini and eggs in general, why not put them together, right?

There's also a 12" breakfast pizza for $8, topped with fresh, housemade mozzarella cheese, bechamel sauce, eggs, and a choice of spinach, prosciutto, or sausage.

I was impressed by the thin crust of this pizza - usually I end up not eating the edges of pizza because it's too doughy or too plain or something, but this one was nice and crisp.

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Where to Eat In Irvine, CA During WITS '16

There'll be 500 women travel bloggers from all over the world convening in Irvine, CA in March for Women in Travel Summit! Having lived in Southern California, I'm excited to share the diversity of the food culture we have with these women. Here are ten of my picks for the more off-the-beaten and alternative places to eat in Irvine for WITS attendees to try while they're in town:

PS. If you're a female travel blogger, be sure to check out the summit schedule and see if you'd like to join!

Bruxie
14376 Culver Dr, Irvine, CA 92604
Waffle sandwiches! That's all you need to know, really. Not just sweet waffle sandwiches, but savory ones like fried chicken or ham and eggs. Because who needs bread when you have waffles? Read my review from their other location.

Mick's Karma Bar
2010 Main St, Irvine, CA 92614
This small spot is hidden in an office building but rather hard to find, but it's worth it to try their award winning burgers. The meat is ground fresh multiple times a day, making for a great burger that goes well with their strawberry basil lemonade.

Santouka
14230 Culver Dr, Irvine, CA 92604 
Even though great ramen places have opened up all over the LA area in the past year, Santouka still serves some solid ramen, and some of the beste in Orange County area. Santouka is an oldie but goodie, you can't go wrong with this place when you have a ramen craving.

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Beta Burger Brings Sous Vide Patties to Fast Food

Using the sous vide method to cook burgers has been done by some higher end restaurants, but at a fast food restaurant? Beta Burger, steps away from the Roxbury Crossing T station, may be the first. While I do think thick patties are the best for sous vide, using this method for the usually thinner fast food style burger still promises a healthier and juicier burger than its counterparts.

The patties have been slow cooked all day, and when you place your order, they will grill it briefly. You can order one of their three burger options, or build your own with a choice of toppings. Their fries (dubbed "skinny fries") are thin fries that come with a packet of seasoning - pour the seasoning in the bag and shake. They had 4-5 seasoning options but everyone opted for the garlic parmesan.

Topping options include the usual like onions (fresh or caramelized), tomato, along with mushroom, bacon, peppers, and perhaps some special ones for the month - we'll get to that later.

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Thai-Inspired Poke at Okipoki (Downtown LA)

If you hadn't noticed, there's been a lot of poke shops opening in LA last year. I mean A LOT. I love poke and all, but some point you think to yourself, do we really need another poke place? Among all these, it's great when you encounter one that does things a bit differently. Mix it up a little.
Okipoki in downtown LA does just that, in my opinion. Instead of the usual traditional poke bowl (they have that, too), I believe the point of Okipoki is the way they infuse other cuisine's flavors into it. The chef is Thai, so you'll see some Thai influences in some of these poke bowls.

I started lunch with the Nani Moana Shooter (uni, tuna tartare, scallop, roe, creme fraiche, $6) - a great bite filled with my favorite things.

Another appetizer: Shrimpin Ain't Easy (shrimp, masago, nori, togarashi, hawaiian roll, $4.50)

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Searching for Good Sushi: Cafe Sushi (Cambridge, MA)

I've been on the hunt for good sushi in Boston, but I had put off Cafe Sushi for a bit because someone said the omakase was too expensive. I finally made it there, though, and this Harvard Square sushi joint was packed! As it turns out, you don't have to break the bank to eat here. I didn't get the omakase but you can have good sushi relatively for a relatively affordable price with their samplers.

The first is their Signature Sampler, which gives you chef's selection of five of their signature sushi creations for $15. At $3 per piece, it was a nice value.

Among the signature pieces we got were the Salmon Aburi (seared salmon belly, aburi ponzu, negi),
Gomadare Branzino (European seabass, iced onion, sesame sauce), Maguro-zuke (house cured tuna with yuzu kosho), among others. These pieces are $3-3.50 if you order them a la carte.

These signature creations add a unique touch to the nigiri - for example, the sesame sauce on the seabass was one I particularly enjoyed. The fish itself was great, fresh and definitely some of the best I've had in Boston.

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New Brunch Menu at The Oinkster Hollywood

by guest blogger @iam_robot

Ever since Andre Guerrero opened the first Oinkster in 2006, it immediately became one of the most sought haute burger and shake joint in Eagle Rock and beyond. By now, many of their popular burgers range from Pork Adobo Burgers to Northeast Bacon Cheeseburger are becoming daily Los Angeles staple.

Living of the ethos “Slow Fast Food”, The Oinkster seeks to whip up multi-ethnic and contemporary cuisines utilizing the finest ingredients. They currently have two locations in LA andt hese days, their Hollywood location is changing the breakfast game in the area, better fast food without the high-price or infinite long-lines. Breakfast price ranges from $6 to $11.50, and there are many great options for just $6. You can have 2 versions of equally delicious breakfast sandwich, egg with applewood smoked bacon or egg with fry chorizo hash.

Moving up the ladder at $6.50, I thought the breakfast burrito is the best one I’ve had in a long time.

I like how much filling they wrapped inside the tortilla: Belgian fry chorizo hash, scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar, and bacon. Burrito felt like the perfect to go food – easy grip with no mess or greasy fingers. Finally, the cream of the crop of breakfast menu is the Cluckster Chicken and Waffles w/ Belgian fries.

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Loretta's Last Call: Southern Food and Live Music Steps From Fenway (Boston, MA)

The area near Fenway isn't just for sports bar. If you're looking for something different, head to Loretta's Last Call for some Southern food and live country music.

When you do go, be sure to get the Bacon and cheese grit fritters

Tater tots? Arancini? Who needs either of those when you have these, bacon and cheese grit fritters!

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