Congrats to South End chef and restaurant owner, Andy Husbands, who is the latest local visiting chef to be featured at Dine Boston at Logan Airport’s Terminal E. Located before you need to enter security, Andy’s menu starts tomorrow, December 5th and includes fried Brussels sprouts; hanger steak with Swiss chard, wild mushrooms, and fontina-stuffed tater tots (OMG); and goat cheese cheesecake.
While I recognize that nearly none of my readership will ever visit Brazil’s third largest city, Belo Horizonte (B.H.), it is my partner’s home city and a place we’ve traveled to over the years. B.H. or Belo for short, is a sprawling metropolis of more than 5 million. While this publishes, I am currently in Florianopolis, but thought I’d share a bit about where I was last week.
When we visit family in B.H. we make it a point to come to Lourdes for dinner. Depicted immediately below is the trendy o Dadiva Restaurant, Oak Restaurant and Wine Bar and one of the desserts we tried at Oak (yes, I said “one of”…)
There are many dining options here and in the surrounding blocks, which means there is plenty of pedestrian traffic and great people watching. Main plates range between $25 – $35.
If one does find themselves visiting Belo Horizonte or has friends who live there, I would suggest dinner in Lourdes followed by a night out at the gay clubs / bars in neighboring Savassi.
You just might be in a Catholic nation if a top selling brand of coffee is Jesus.
I know my Mom will be happy to read that each morning Jesus is helping me start my day in Brazil.
Last week Boston Magazine hosted The Taste of Boston at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. While the photos above clearly show me having a lot of fun with my good friend and blogger, Frenchie and Yankee, overall the event left a lot to be desired, and I hope that Boston Magazine can do better next year.
While the venue was beautiful, The Mandarin Oriental really didn’t have appropriate space for the event. Tables were spread throughout four rooms (some quite tiny) and accessing many of the tables proved troublesome. However, perhaps the biggest disappointment was the food (or maybe I should say the lack of it). There were too far too few restaurants serving food, but this may have been in part due to the limitations of the space, which were significant.
Lest you start to think of me as a glass half full kind of guy, I’ll shift gears and tell you what I think Boston Magazine did right. As the photos at the top of the post show, the “Chef’s TV Booth” was both a great idea and clearly the hit of the party. We may not all be celebrity chefs, but it certainly was fun pretending.
Bobie’s Candy Bar also proved to be extremely popular. The lines near the end of the evening were not however, and allowing people to access this colorful candy bar from both sides would have gone a long way in making this less crowded for attendees.
When it came to my favorite foods, I have to tip my hat to Post 390. They served a delicious house smoked salmon, garlic chive goat cheese with a touch of jalapeno jelly (below left). Asana also deserves a nod for the bay scallop sashimi with a bacon vinaigrette and togarashi kale chips (below right). These combined for my favorite dishes served at an otherwise lacking tasting. 
I hope Boston Magazine moves to a more open and larger venue next year. It will make it far easier to access the tables and allow for more options for people to truly get a “Taste of Boston”.
A few restaurants in Boston’s South End neighborhood have closed over the past few years, creating vacancies in some prime locations. These spaces did not remain unclaimed for long and some of these restaurants have recently opened; most recently BoMA Restaurant. However, there remain four locations of particular interest that will open soon.
CINQUECENTO started training new staff last Friday in preparation for their opening later this month. This is the Aquitaine Group’s eighth property and first Italian restaurant. Located at 500 Harrison Avenue, this is likely to be one of the largest restaurants in the neighborhood too with 300+ seats as well as private dining space and a beautiful patio.
Location: 500 Harrison Avenue / Phone: 617-247-1102
Menu: Italian
Anticipated opening to public: mid November
ESTELLE’S will likely open just weeks after Cinquecento. Owned by chef Brian Poe (Poe’s Kitchen and The Rattlensake in Back Bay), Estelle will serve southern cuisine. Poe has opened up the space which was previously a pizzeria and has a nice looking bar that neighbors will undoubtably appreciate.
Location: 782 Tremont Street (Mass Ave & Tremont Street)
Menu: Southern cuisine
Anticipated opening to public: December
FIVE HORSES TAVERN was first reported by Eater Boston to open a second location in space formerly occupied by Columbus Cafe. Five Horses Tavern in Somerville serves food with a similar, affordable price point to Columbus Cafe. If they can pull this off, this could become the neighborhood’s best cheap eats and bar.
Location: 535 Columbus Avenue (Columbus & Claremont Park)
Menu: American comfort food with entrees from $9 – $18
Anticipated opening to public: Unknown
BOSTON CHOPS is opening in the space formerly occupied by Ginger Park and before that, banq. Speculation about what Chef Coombs has in mind when he refers to it as an “urban steakhouse” keeps me guessing. In an interview with Grub Street Boston he said, “The only thing we have in common with a typical steakhouse is that we’ll serve cow.”
Location: 1375 Washington Street (Washington & Union Park)
Menu: New concept steakhouse
Anticipated opening to public: Unknown
In approximately 30 minutes the popular Brazilian steakhouse chain, Fogo de Chao, will open their first restaurant in one of Boston’s most desirable addresses. Located in Copley Square, Fogo de Chao Boston can seat up to 325 hungry meat lovers. Note that the Boston restaurant is completely booked for its opening weekend so make reservations today. Fogo de Chao will start serving lunch on Monday, November 5th.
For more information, visit their website here.
Pigalle is a cozy French restaurant that straddles Boston’s Theater District and Bay Village. It has a reputation as a great place for a quiet, romantic dinner. However, in the summer, Chef Marc Orfaly decided it was time to jazz up the place (literally) so each Monday, a jazz band plays while the kitchen serves food from only the bar menu.
Last Monday, I was invited to sample the new bar menu with my friend and food blogger, 40-Something Life. The Pigalle bar menu offers a wide variety with items ranging from $1 casino clams to a $39 for Sirloin Steak Frites au Poivre (most items are $5 – $15). Shown below: Smoked Trout Fried Rice ($12) and Asian-Style Tacos ($7).
The smoked trout fried rice comes in Chinese take-out containers and was one of my favorite menu items. Along with the rice and trout Chef Orfaly includes sausage, leeks and ginger. The delicious tacos shown above are with duck but the fall menu will serve these with pulled pork.
If you’d prefer shellfish, the Clams Casino ($1 ea), served on a bed of salt stuffed with chunks of bacon and buttery panko crumbs are fragrant enough to make you salivate, but beware these are served hot and can be hard to handle. A cooler option I preferred are the local oysters served on the half shell (note on Friday’s these are $1 each at the bar). 
If you would like something more hearty the burger and shepherd’s pie (shown below) are worth sinking your teeth into. The burger is topped with sharp cheddar, caramelized and fried onions that add plenty of flavor and a bit of crunch. The beef, short ribs shepherd’s pie is a must try. It comes served in a hot skillet perfectly seasoned, although I would have loved it if the mashed potatoes were more crispy on top. 
The bar menu includes other tempting options such as salads, fried artichoke hearts, Malaysian-style chicken wings, etc… Mix up your routine, enjoy Pigalle’s bar menu and live music on Monday nights. Don’t believe me? Check out my friend’s 40-Something Life review.
Pigalle is located at 75 Charles Street South (617) 423-4944
The wait is over. The doors to BoMA open at 6PM tonight. No reservations are being taken (at least for tonight). Good luck BoMA! You may read more about BoMA and my recent dinner held prior to tonight’s opening, here.
BoMA is located at at 1415 Washington Street in the South End.
Are you a cupcake connoisseur or just a lover of these tasty treats?
You might want to check out the weekly “Cupcake Crawl” held each Saturday, which highlights some of Boston’s most historic and famous neighborhoods and teaches the history of the cupcake, how they are created, how the craze started and made its way to Boston.
Note that these paid tours fill quickly (14-people per tour). The Cupcake Crawl is brought to you by the same group that also provides chocolate tours in Boston (MMMM). Intrigued? Want to learn more? Visit the event website.
Left to Right: BosGuy, Jill Farver (Sam Adams Rep) and Ben Reedy
5 Napkin Burger started their second season of the Beer and Bourbon Dinner Series with Sam Adams last Tuesday, and yours truly along with my buddy Ben Reedy attended. The Sam Adams rep, Jill Farver, did a great job explaining the pairing of the four Sam Adams beers. My favorite was Sam Adams White Water IPA, a relatively new beer that had hints of apricot and nicely complemented the heat of the passed hors d’oeuvres (of which there were many – so arrive early).
Hats off to the 5 Napkin Burger staff for making the dinner so pleasant; tending to individual requests with ease and serving up some delicious nosh that left me stuffed; especially after I finished their barbecue cheese burger served – shown below with Sam Adams New World Tripel.
Spice up your Tuesdays and try the 5 Napkin dinner series
The 5 Napkin beer dinner series continues through the month and cost $45 / person (includes gratuity and tax). Reserve your seat online for upcoming dinners later this month online here.
Later this week, Boston will host the first Food Truck Throwdown. All the details about this free event are clearly posted above but if you have additional questions, check out the event website foodtruckthrowdown.com.
Rumors suggest we can expect The Aquitaine Group’s, Cinquecento, to open to the public on Monday, November 12th.
Cinquecento has had more than its share of rumors regarding opening so its understandable to be circumspect, but I’m marking the date in my calendar. While the restaurant will be new, much of the staff are Gaslight alum, including: Chris Robins in the kitchen and Eric Hogan and Sarah Pope on the floor.
Buona fortuna Cinquecento!
Cinquecento: 500 Harrison Ave Boston / Phone: (617) 338-9500
Last week BoMA Restaurant in the South End had a soft opening, and I was fortunate enough to sit down and enjoy the meal served compliments of Shane Manfred and chef Chris Bussell. I’ll refrain from providing a full review until BoMA opens later this week, but I wanted to provide Boston foodies another glimpse of what they can expect walking into this completely renovated property.
For those familiar with Pho Republique, the transformation will be impressive. Exposed brick, a large bar and cozy atmosphere defines this urban-chic 80-seat restaurant in SoWA.
Main dishes “Large Plates” range from $14-$27 and include a bit of something for everyone. Meat lovers will salivate over the BoMA burger with duck fat fries $14 or the hangar steak (shown below) $26. Seafood fans will be tempted by the roasted monkfish $22 and grilled swordfish with shrimp, gnocchi and artichokes in a lobster jus $27. Vegetarians will like the eggplant flatbread $14 and pasta options like bucatini all’amatriciana $16.
Shown above left: Chestnut Ravioli, Duck Confit, Rabe in Pistachio Cream was incredibly rich and flavorful. Shown above right: Grass Fed Hangar Steak, Texas Hash, Greens in Chili Garlic Butter.
BoMA has an intriguing dessert menu. I was tempted to try the “Purple Cow” made with house made grape crush, vanilla ice cream, pop rocks (you read that correct) and a pistachio cookie $10. However, on this first visit I tried the Chocolate Ganache Torta with Pecan Cookie Crust over a pool of warm caramel. Lets just say it was absolutely decadent. 
BoMA opens to the public on Tuesday, October 9th at 1415 Washington Street in the South End. Reservations encouraged, 617-536-2662.
Earlier this week Eater Boston reported that the owner of Five Horses Tavern in Somerville will open a second location in the South End in the space formerly occupied by Columbus Cafe.
The Five Horses Tavern in Davis Square serves modern American comfort food with nothing on the menu over $20. This matches the affordable menu that helped Columbus Cafe remain so popular with locals and would be a welcome addition to a neighborhood already overcrowded with restaurants serving $30+ entrees.
I’m curious to see what owner and head chef Dylan Welsh does to the rather unique layout and interested to find out how he will purchase a liquor license since the owners of Columbus Cafe were rumored to have sold their license to the soon to open Boston Chops.
BosGuy 