Backyard Farms Tomato Lunch at Nebo (Boston, MA)

I recently had the opportunity to try out Nebo at a lunch with Backyard Farms. Backyard Farms is a tomato farm in Central Maine. Their 42 acres grow 4 tomato varieties that supple Whole Foods and some restaurants in the area. It's one of the few farms in New England that grow year round (most are just in winter - not something I thought about much while in California) and they recently won Best Products Supplier in North Atlantic Region from Whole Foods.

They're launching a new varietal called Somerset Pink that has been in the making for 2 years. It's tough to grow tomatoes! The somerset pink is like a beefsteak tomato so the texture is robust for salads and sandwiches, but it has a higher sugar content than most other beefsteak tomatoes.

Our lunch at Nebo started with a plate of Backyard Farms Somerset Pink tomato with burrata, saba, EVOO

So, saba is the must that results from the first pressing of wine grapes, that is then cooked and concentrated to a syrupy consistency. It has a strong, balsamic-vinegar like flavor that goes really nicely with the fresh tomatoes and creamy burrata.

The restaurant is started by 2 Italian sisters who hail from Boston's North End. Before opening the restaurant, they were running a hair salon. But one day, one of them decided she wants to open a restaurant serving their mother's style of cooking. They have some great stories about the North End to tell!

Did you know that North End is still separated into regions of Italy? The people living on Endicott and Prince Sts are from Naples while those on Waterfront are Sicilian! Italians are known to be very loyal and they still buy from same purveyors in North End that their grandmother used. That also means they have great relationships and can call them in the middle of the night should emergency arise.

Another example is the story of this bread.

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Old Town Pasadena Drinking at PUNCH

While 1886 Bar is one of my favorite bars in the LA area, there wasn't many other options for cocktails in Pasadena. That is, until recently. Now, you can get pretty good drinks at Trattoria Neapolis, though they've gone through some staff changes lately. One of the latest entrants is PUNCH Bar (it's been a while now since they've opened), headed by Robin Chopra and Darwin Manahan, who are also manning the bar at Corazon Y Miel.

The bar is a bit hard to find. It's on top of PICNIK, and I think you're supposed to go up the stairs from the parking lot around the back, but I got lost and they let me upstairs from inside PICNIK.

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November 10: Wine and Food of Spain at The Bazaar ( + Ticket Giveaway!)

On Monday, November 10, head on over to The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills for a taste of Spain's best wines and food. The event is called Spain's Great Match and will feature more than 200 Spanish wines. The wines will be accompanied by tapas from The Bazaar. We're talking 200+ wines with Chef Jose Andres' lauded food! Last year's bites include a taste of their famed molecular gastronomy techniques

There will also be a Cava Bubble Lounge. I don't know about you, but I love my bubbles.

Sounds good? Even better, at the end of this post you can enter a giveaway for 2 FREE TICKETS to this event!

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