Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•Have any readers actually eaten the Godzilla at Eagle's Deli & Restaurant? We would very much like to hear from you if you have. [A Hamburger Today]
•We want a Mario Batali bobblehead! [Amuse Bouche]
•Oh, honey, it's always an a-hole convention in Downtown Crossing. [On Common Ground]

[Photo: Flickr: Sarcasmette]

Liquor-based dishes:
flambeeing is so much fun
but why no rum balls?

"30-packs are whack!"
We absolutely must agree.
Natty Light is gross.

Diner's Agenda is in love with the full-length video for Werewolf Bar Mitzvah.

Wednesday, October 31
•So, in yesterday's roundup of good Halloween events, we completely neglected to mention tonight's festivities at Masa. There will be dancing, a costume contest, and most importantly, fifty cent tapas. A bargain at twice the price! [Boston Chefs]

Thursday, November 1
•It's time for another Girls Night Out at the Cyclorama! The event, which runs from 5pm-10pm on Thursday through Saturday, combines shopping with cocktails and free munchies. Not to be shallow, but if they threw in TV, that would pretty much be all of our favorite things right there. Tickets, which are $10, can be purchased online. [Shecky's]

We're as sad as anyone that the baseball season is over, especially such an incredible season as this one. There is, however, one notable plus about the off-season: restaurants around Fenway Park are a lot less crowded. During the postseason, it's been damn near impossible to get a seat at some of our favorite area spots, so we're very much looking forward to things returning to their low-key winter state. For your edification, we've created a guide to your best options.

•Some of Boston's simplest yet most luxurious food can be found at Kenmore Square's Eastern Standard. Don't miss the roasted chicken paired with mushrooms, foie gras, and spaetzle or, for that matter, the stellar cocktails.
•Ken Oringer's taco joint La Verdad has only gotten better since its opening in April and now that the baseball crowds have thinned out, it's a surprisingly mellow spot (as long as its not prime clubbing hours, that is). The guacamole is stellar and we can't stop thinking about the chorizo y papas taco.
•The Lower Depths Tap Room has two important credentials: a burger containing bacon fat and the best Fenway Frank outside of the park itself. Go buckwild and top your dog with guacamole and pair it with a selection from the extensive beer list.
•Pretending you're in Paris while dining at Petit Robert Bistro is so much easier without swarms of behatted Sox fans surrounding you. Indulge in escargots, steak frites, and a good glass (or a bottle...whatever) of red wine. There, now, the off season isn't so bad, now is it?

Eastern Standard [Official Site]
La Verdad [MenuPages]
Lower Depths Tap Room [MenuPages]
Petit Robert Bistro [Official Site]

[Photo: Red Sox Diehard]

As we mentioned, we are lazy and will be staying in tonight, sans costume. If you, however, are planning to go out and are still seeking a costume, we cannot recommend this bacon getup strongly enough! We absolutely guarantee that you'd be the most popular lady or gentleman at any party you might attend. After all, who can resist bacon? Full instructions are available over at Junkyard Clubhouse and pretty please send us a picture if you do dress up as bacon (or really, any other food item) tonight.

[Photo: Junkyard Clubhouse via Serious Eats]

Oof. This hasn't been the best week for Boston restaurants. We've got only opening to report and an extremely sad closing. Ordinarily, we choose to measure the health of the city's dining scene by the number of openings, but we're still in a good enough mood from the World Series (and today's parade!) that we're going to keep on believing that Boston can do no wrong right now.

Openings
•The Beantown Bloggery reports that a second Morton's, The Steakhouse will open at the Seaport on Friday. OMG! Just what this city needed! Another steakhouse and another chain!

Changes of Plans
•Remember when we told you a month ago that Tapeo was planning to open a second branch in Southie's Allele condos? Yeah. Change of plans. Tapeo has apparently backed out and Boston Condo Report claims that a Jae's Cafe will take its spot instead. We called Boston Condo Group, who were unable to confirm. Developing!

Closings
•The Newton Tab reports that the West Street Grill in Nonantum is closed, although its unclear whether its for renovations or forever. Nonantum sure is fun to say, isn't it?
•In the BS OF ALL BS, the Globe reported today that soul food emporium Bob's Southern Bistro will shutter in December, only to be replaced by (shudder) Night Town, an "upscale lounge for college students and young professionals." We'll readily admit that Bob's has gone downhill since its glory days as Bob The Chef's, but the fried chicken remained incredible and the restaurant was always plenty of fun. It will be very sorely missed.

[Photo: Flickr: greenbeangirl74]

We know that it's totally Iron Chef day here at MP: Boston, but we just got around to watching Sunday night's episodes last night (thank you, DVR). In addition to our regularly scheduled Next Iron Chef viewing, we also checked out the most recent episode of Iron Chef America, featuring a battle between newly-minted Harvest chef Mary Dumont and Cat Cora. Girl on girl action, so to speak. Anyways, although Dumont sadly lost, we very much enjoyed the episode. Below, our thoughts:

•We realize that Dumont just started at Harvest a month or so ago, but we know for a fact that the episode taped on October 23, so why was her chef's jacket from her former restaurant? Was it simply a desire to represent the Granite State? You're a Bostonian now, Chef Dumont!
•As usual, the Chairman got the best line of the night: "Chef Dumont, you come to us from the rugged coast of New England, but are you ready for the raging storms of Kitchen Stadium?”
•The secret ingredients were milk and cream. A fun fact from Alton Brown: whole milk only has 3.5% fat, but some of the creams presented in Kitchen Stadium had as much as 30-40% fat. The milks and creams were presented in a variety of bottles that were reminiscent of everything from candlesticks to bongs.
•Dumont's sous chefs were her brother Daniel of Wentworth Dining Room and Ben Hasty, the Dunaway Restaurant's current chef.
•No matter how many times we watch Iron Chef, the flurry of activity in Kitchen Stadium takes our breath away. We freak out if we don't make a detailed plan before a dinner party, so we're very much in awe.
•What's up with Food Network personalities looking like dudes on The Hills? If Alton Brown doesn't shave soon, he's going to start looking like America's Enemy Spencer Pratt.
•The judges were Ted Allen, Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief Dana Cowin (who, by the by, we would like to be when we grow up), and actress Julie White, who recently won a Tony for her supremely excellent portrayal of a talent agent in The Little Dog Laughed. We love Julie White, but food is clearly not her milieu, and she was one step away from being one of the starlets on the Japanese version of Iron Chef who say things like "I never knew you could do so much with fermented bean curd!"
•This is the first time we've ever seen a Cora battle and we must admit we were a little skeptical, because girlfriend has never had a restaurant. After watching, however, we suspect that she's a little bit awesome, even if we do wish she had more experience under her belt. She seems like a great leader, always checking on her teammates, and her food (especially the milk and cookies) looked great.
•Dumont completely rocked it with most of her dishes. We're going to spend a good long time thinking about her pate au choux mussel beignets and we would kill for the recipe to her creamy mussel soup. Her flan, however, looked a bit weak (prompting Cowin to remark "I like a sort of buxom flan") and overall, her plating didn't seem to be as strong as Cora's. She was more than a worthy competitor, however, and seemed to be having a great time.
•We leave you with a truism for Ted Allen that surely would have been the quote of the night if the Chairman weren't so exceedingly awesome: "Bacon is nature’s perfect food…everyone loves bacon, even vegans.” So true, Ted. So true.

Iron Chef America [Food Network]
Harvest [Official Site]

[Photo: Winter Wine Festival]

As you undoubtedly know, Halloween is tomorrow. Personally, we're planning on staying in, watching Top Model, and handing out candy to trick or treaters, because is there anything in this world that's more adorable than babies in pumpkin costumes? No there is not. Also, we suspect that our days of "I'm a mouse, duh" costumes might be behind us. If you're feeling more social than we are, however, than put on that sexy chef costume (in case you missed it, the embroidery reads "Chef Boy am I Hot") and head down to one of these MenuPages-approved parties.

•The reliably fun Brookline spot The Fireplace is hosting a "Nightmare on Beacon Street" from 8pm onward. Prizes will be given in categories ranging from most original costume to best makeup and beyond. There will also be cocktails and munchies, as there should be at any Halloween party worth its candy corn.
•Although The Living Room will be charging a $10 cover for their party, which runs from 7pm to 1am, the money will go to charity (the Ellie Fund, to be exact). Besides, you'll have plenty of chances to recoup your funds, since the restaurant will be awarding $100 prizes for everything from most original costume to best couple/group costume.
•If we were going to stir ourself from our peanut butter cup induced torpor, we'd probably go over to UpStairs on the Square, which will be hosting a kickass Halloween night, including a $35 three course prix fixe menu, a DJ, and a costume contest, the prize for which is a seven course tasting dinner. What more could you want?

The Fireplace [Official Site]
The Living Room [Official Site]
UpStairs on the Square [Official Site]

[Photo: Yandy.com]

We'll admit it. We had fairly low expectations of Sunday night's episode of The Next Iron Chef. In setting the elimination challenge on board an airplane, they were not only subjecting the chefs to a challenge already used this year on Top Chef. Moreover, the whole thing reminded us of the Season Three Project Runway episodes where the designers went to Paris. Could TNIC live up to the high standards set by these excellent hours of television. In a word: yes. Sunday's episode may have been one of the most engaging and exciting yet. Let's take a closer look at what happened, yes?

•As on Top Chef, the challenge was to prepare a high-end airplane meal. In this case, it would theoretically be served on Lufthansa's new 8380 Superjet, which seems to be one of those crazy airplanes with multiple levels (is it so wrong that those inevitably make us think of Snakes On A Plane?). Guys, we want to fly on one of those so bad. Everyone is separated into their own little pods! It is perfect for us, as we are totally misanthropic while flying.
•In an episode stuffed full of awesomeness, the most awesome thing was undoubtedly the highly staged shot of the four remaining contestants walking into the Culinary Institute of America from four different directions. Seriously, one of the best things about the Iron Chef franchise is the over-the-top sense of theatricality and The Next Iron Chef is no exception.
•The second most awesome thing was the Chairman speaking German. We wish we were clever enough to embed soundbites in this here blog, but since we're not, you'll just need to take our word that he fully relished it and it was awesome.
•We generally like Alton Brown much more on Good Eats where he's like a foodie Mr. Rogers than on the Iron Chef shows where he is, frankly, kind of a dick, so we were rather pleased when he toured the Lufthansa kitchens and The Next Iron Chef briefly turned into Good Eats, complete with camera views through coolers.
•Did you know that taste buds become desensitized at high altitudes? It's true and part of the reason that airplane food is usually so unappealing. This means that if you, like us, like to pack snacks for the plane, you should use herbs and spices more aggressively than you would on the ground.
•John Besh continued to bug us this week, both for mispronouncing spaetzle and for passive-aggressively insulting the other contestants: "I am nervous because my flavors are very subtle…they all cook alike…to me it’s all very predictable.” Thanks, Marcel.
•Chris Cosentino could use a little anger management training, we think. He repeatedly screamed at the cameraman, which seems unbecoming of an Iron Chef. If you don't like having a camera in your face and your way, don't go on television. On the plus side, we majorly covet his gingham sneakers.
•Michael Symon continues to charm us. There's something very endearingly "aw, shucks" Midwestern about him and we like it. We especially enjoyed when he put back the venison he didn't need, just to help everyone else out. He made a gutsy decision to finish cooking his salmon on the plane and it paid off big time. We definitely hope that he doesn't choke a la Top Chef's Casey, because we truly think he's in it to win it.
•We suspected Aaron Sanchez was a goner last week and we were, somewhat sadly, correct. His ceviche looked good (even though you couldn't pay us to eat pickled papaya), but in the end, his dishes simply weren't strong enough.

We think we could be pretty happy living in a forest where the trees were made of prosciutto and the streets are paved with salami. We have to wonder one thing, however. Is the below ad for Italian salumi company Negroni from the same advertising company that brought us the amazing dancing cheese?

[Photo: eternallycool via Snobsite]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•Oh no! The area's only kosher Dunkie's (in Brookline, naturally) has reportedly closed. No one wants treyf donuts! [The Kosher Blog]
•L'Andana is open and the Burlington revolution is well underway. [A Passionate Foodie]
•Mmmm, pub food. [Boston Food & Whine]

[Photo: Flickr: K+K Kozloff]

It's a very exciting week here at MenuPages, as we're pleased to welcome a new editor for our San Francisco site. Adam Martin comes to MenuPages from the San Francisco Examiner where he was an ace reporter. He'll be blogging about all the delicacies the city has to offer, so expect a lot of talk about cioppino and burritos. So go ahead! Blast the Full House theme song, eat some sushi, and raise a bottle of Anchor Steam to our new blogger.

Diner's Agenda seems to have an abundance of free time now that baseball season is over.

Tuesday, October 30
•The Savant Project has been generating buzz like whoa. See what the hype is about at the 6:00 Tuesday Tasting. There will be an abundance of hors d'oeuvres and wine and, as usual, tickets are $19 in advance or $29 at the door and must be purchased through Boston Event Guide. [Boston Event Guide]
•Why not spend an evening in the soothing environs of Icarus sipping on exemplary wines from Wolf Blass? We certainly can't think of a good reason to abstain. Dinner is served at 6:30 and $75 gets you four courses with wine pairings (including a delightful-sounding Riesling that's been awarded 90 points by Wine Spectator). Call (617) 426-1790 to reserve. [Icarus]
•Sicily has more to offer than a reputation as a hotbed of organized crime. It's a vibrant area filled with excellent food and drink. Experience the region's bounty at 6:30 at UpStairs on the Square's Donnafugata Winery dinner, showcasing some of the best wines from Sicily paired with a rustic Italian menu including lavender donuts with spiced honey (!!!). Space is limited, so call (617) 864-1933 to save your spot. [UpStairs on the Square]
•We know that radical booksellers are so college sophomore, but we very much enjoy them nonetheless, perhaps specifically because they remind us of a more idealistic time in our life before we had to pay rent. We recommend stopping by the Lucy Parsons Center in the South End for tonight's panel discussion, which seeks to answer the question "Can Boston Eat Local and Sustainable?" Despite the fact that both of those adjectives should really be adverbs, which is annoying, to say the least, it promises to be an excellent talk. We suspect that the answer to the question posed is "Not unless you have the means to do a lot of canning and/or don't mind eating only potatoes for several months", but we're open to hearing other arguments. Things get going at 7:00 and the event is free. [Lucy Parsons Center]

"And so on the day the Patriots officially moved halfway to perfection and the Boston College footballers enjoyed another 24 hours as the No. 2 team in the nation, the Red Sox won their seventh World Series in franchise history. How do New England parents explain to children there was a time when local sports fans endured failure and collapse and actually waited for a rare championship season to unfold?

In October of 2007, the streets of Boston are paved with gold and this week those streets will be packed with the legions of Red Sox Nation, saluting the World Champion Boston Red Sox. Again."

-Dan Shaughnessy

Full disclosure: we didn't watch either The Next Iron Chef or Iron Chef: America last night but can you blame us? It's next year all over again and we're still beaming.

The Best [Boston Globe]

[Photo: Boston Herald: Stuart Cahill]

We don't really truck with chocolate martinis and other such frou-frou innovations. A martini for us is just vodka and a teensy splash of vermouth (sorry, but we hate gin). Chocolate liqueur is emphatically not something that belongs in a martini glass. Chocolate mousse, on the other hand, is quite another story. We're very intrigued by this picture of chocolate mousse in a martini glass (pictured with dark chocolate and orange creme brulee from the weekly Chocolate Bar at Cafe Fleuri. Is it too early in the morning to think about desserts? What a foolish question!

Cafe Fleuri [MenuPages]

[Photo: Flickr: itsjustkate]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•We're so sad that we couldn't make it to Blogtoberfest! [AllEyesOnJenny]
•Note to Sam Adams: you can't really sue someone for having your name. [Bostonist]
•We didn't even know that Abe & Louie's got down like that. Heh heh. "Got down." [Boston Food & Whine]

[Photo: Flickr: K+K Kozloff]

•MP: Chicago frightened us with a giant blob of mayonnaise and dazzled us with something that is probably pork.
•MP: Philadelphia filled us in on a scarily awesome candy bar.
•This grouper? Scary! MP: South Florida's godson? Scary adorable!

Diner's Agenda is hoping for a sweep.

Friday, October 26
•While we frequently enjoy a bottle of Sam Adams with our dinner, we must admit that we don't generally go to the trouble of pairing said beer with our dinner (related: what beer goes best with Trader Joe's chicken and vegetable gyoza?), which is why it's nice that Aura is holding its own dinner with appropriate Sam Adams pairings. The fun gets underway at 6pm and tickets, which cost $55, can be reserved by calling (617) 385-4300. [Aura]
•Have you ever been to Belgium? It's fantastic. All you really do is drink beer and see Magritte paintings and eat chocolate and waffles and moules frites. Enjoy a taste of Belgium (sans Magritte) at this weekend's Belgian Beer Fest at the Cyclorama tonight and tomorrow. Tonight's Night Of The Funk sounds pretty promising. $55 gets you samples from 50+ beers, Cabot cheese, snacks from Sunset Grill & Tap, and Belgian waffles. The party goes from 6pm-9:30pm and ticket information can be found on the Beer Advocate website. [Belgian Beer Fest]
•Free cider! Goody Glovers! 10:15 to midnight! [Goody Glovers]

Sunday, October 28
•Why is brunch so much more awesome than breakfast or lunch? Is it the abundance of poached eggs? Perhaps! Anyways, the only thing more awesome than brunch is brunch for a good cause. Rocca will be hosting a brunch from 10am on to benefit Community Servings. A $50 donation is required, but thanks to the Kresge Foundation, each such donation will transform into $100 for community servings. Call (617) 451-5151 to reserve. [Rocca]
•In Boston, we strive for equality between the city's breweries, so it stands to reason that on a weekend where there's a Sam Adams dinner, there should be a Harpoon dinner as well. Head down to Somerville's Gargoyles on the Square from 5:00 on for a multicourse dinner with beer parings. Afterwards, there will be live music and a costume contest. Call (617) 776-5300 to save your place. [Gargoyles on the Square]
•Italy's Piedmont region borders France and Switzerland, so it's unsurprising that the area's cuisine has a pleasantly international flavor. See for yourself at Rialto's Piedmont Wine Dinner at 6pm. A four course autumnal Piedmontese feast will be paired with outstanding wines of the region. At $125, tickets are a bit steep, but Rialto devotees will find them well worth it. Call (617) 234-8025 for reservations. [Rialto]
•Harvest's brand new chef Mary Dumont will be appearing on Iron Chef America at 10pm. She'll face off against Cat Cora. We'll be live-blogging the whole thing and will post it on Monday morning. Just another local to root for this weekend! [Food Network]

Ivy Leaguer chefs:
there are at least five in Hub!
We're a smart city.

Garden at Cellar:
unique spot gets a B for
simple comfort food.

Hey, Red Sox! Here's balls!
Rocky Mountain Oysters are
a regional treat.

We have a vivid memory of reading a book when we were small (Googling reveals it to be this one) in which the main character wrote a poem about her hatred of parsnips. It left an imprint on our impressionable mind (we were probably six at the time) and we refused to eat parsnips for several years thereafter. We finally tried the root vegetable several years later and immediately realized that we had spent our entire life previous missing out. Parsnips are fantastic. They're almost unbelievably sweet and they're delicious whether pureed, simply roasted, or made into a soup. In the years since we discovered parsnips, we've been making up for lost time. Below, four of the Hub's best parsnip dishes.

•Aujourd 'hui has what is probably the city's most decadent dish involving our favorite root vegetable: butter poached Maine lobster is accompanied by a parsnip puree, braised lettuce, and a savory potato mille-feuille. We love how pairing a humble vegetable with lobster automatically makes it feel decadently luxurious.
•At Brownstone, diners can order a side dish of carrot parsnip puree, which is sweet as candy, but quite a bit healthier.
•Parsnips hold up beautifully in soups and the roasted parsnip and apple version at Casablanca is no exception. The soup is topped with blue cheese and crispy onions and there could be little finer to enjoy on a cold and rainy day.
•To the best of our knowledge, Salts is the only area restaurant brave enough to include parsnips in a dessert. The restaurant's toasted coconut and parsnip cake is topped with tropical fruit and coconut ice cream.

Aujourd 'hui [Official Site]
Brownstone [Official Site]
Casablanca [Official Site]
Salts [Official Site]

[Photo: Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network]

Generally, when we want to check out the buzz on a particular Boston restaurant, we turn to Chowhound, Yelp, or Citysearch. Today, however, it occurred to us that Facebook, the social-networking site originally for college students and now for everyone and their mother, could be an excellent tool for gauging the dining opinions of Boston's younger population. Like many of our peers, we're pretty obsessed with Facebook. We enjoy games of Scrabulous (side note: MP: Chicago's Adam P. will demolish you in Scrabble) and, since we're intensely nosy, we very much enjoy the "News Feed" feature, which, as a friend once pointed out, is "like US Weekly, but it's about your friends." For those unfamiliar with Facebook, one of the best parts of the site is the ability to join groups, which can be based on anything from alumni affiliation to shared interests (we, for one, count both "The Dedham Mall Reference In The Departed = Awesome" and "I've Got Talent cuz I Went To Boston Arts Academy" among our memberships). A surprising number of Boston restaurants have their own Facebook groups. Without further delay, here are the top five Hub restaurant Facebook groups.

Restaurant: District
Group Members: 606
Best Comment on Group's "Wall": "Hmmmmm, I am Super Hungry! I am craving some Italian."

Restaurant: The soon-to-open Cafeteria
Group Members: 425
Best Comment on Group's "Wall": "anxiety is running by newbury st. expecting what cafeteria Boston is going to be...i cant wait to see the new hot spot in boston lol."

Restaurant: Yo! Berry
Group Members: 274
Best Comment on Group's "Wall": "ooonly when the yogurts gone....i feel like dyinggg. i feel like dyingg."

Restaurant: Vlora
Group Members: 233
Best Comment on Group's "Wall": "I still enjoyed it even though I didn't like the fish-egg appetizers, guess that's just my taste though."

Restaurant: UBurger
Group Members: 98
Best Comment on Group's "Wall": "You guys make awesome burgers! Each bite makes up for all the love I didn't receive as a child!"

[Photo: n = 1]

Two stars for Gaslight:
review not as blistering
as one might expect.

Mmmm, Pescatore:
a find, hidden in plain sight,
serves beautiful fish.

The Savant Project
puts Mission Hill on food map,
satisfies diners.

Hooray, oyster bars!
Boston is going crazy
for the raw mollusks.

The Grinder directed our attention to an excellent slide show over at Time Magazine. The photo essay is promoting Melanie Dunea's new book My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals, which has a gloriously simple conceit at its heart: fifty of the world's top chefs were asked what they would choose for their last meal on earth. This is a game that chefs (and foodies of all stripes) have long played among themselves for ages and the idea of compiling them into a book is, we think, genius. We were especially excited to see Locke-Ober chef Lydia Shire profiled, although we're a bit confused. Chef Shire says that she'd choose "a 14-16 oz. sirloin steak, served with parsnip purée and crispy parsnip chips", but the picture shows her holding a gigantic lobster.

Watching the drool-worthy slide show inspired us to pose the question to our fellow city editors here at MenuPages. Adam P. of MP: Chicago would start with illegal beluga caviar with all the trimmings and sashimi before moving on to his mom's brisket and would finish with brownies and chocolate chip cake and good vanilla ice cream. MP: Philadelphia's Neal would get an appetizer of al pastor sopes from Plaza Garibaldi before travelling to New York and hitting up Peter Luger Steak House for a porterhouse, German potatoes, and some fine whiskey. He'd forgo dessert in favor of a giant plate of bacon. New hire Adam M, soon to be the force behind MP: San Francisco, wants steamed clams, french fries, chowder, an al pastor super burrito, Anchor Steam beer, and mud pie from Mattie's Tavern in Los Olivos. Carolina over at MP: South Florida would like an appetizer of crema de malanga (a soup full of malanga, a yam-like root vegetable, garlic, and cream), followed by vaca frita, white rice, black beans, and tostones from Havana Harry's Restaurant, and a dessert of her friend's mom's passion fruit mousse topped with strawberries and mangoes from her uncle's tree. As for us, we'd start off with a pan-Mediterranean plate piled high with prosciutto, salami, jamon Iberico, pate, olives, Taleggio, Manchego, goat cheese, and a really excellent baguette, before a first course of spaghetti carbonara with fresh pasta, a second course of the grilled Wolfe's Neck sirloin from Rialto, and a light dessert of a few fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. We'd drink bellinis throughout.

We're dying to know: what would you eat for your last supper?

The Rockstarification of Chefs Continues [The Grinder]
My Last Supper [Time Magazine]
My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes [Amazon]

Yesss, Wagamama
is Nadeau's guilty pleasure
and also, our own.

Conch Yaniqueque
at Chez Henri is a treat:
rich and indulgent.

Truly, ramen is one of our top twenty foods of all time. We like our ramen topped with all sorts of yummy things, but we have a pretty firm policy of savory items only. When we saw this picture of ramen topped with vanilla ice cream, we immediately turned into a LolCat. DO NOT WANT! This is almost as bad as the mayo-gerita.

Ice Cream Ramen [Boing Boing]
Ice Cream Ramen [Japan it UP!]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•Memo to those dining out in the next few days: your chefs might be a little distracted. [Mouthing Off]
•It's official: our Halloween costume indecision is officially over. [The Food Monkey]
•What could be more pleasant than a warm Sunday spent brunching in the South End? [AllEyesOnJenny]

[Photo: Flickr: denizen8]

Beer: it can go bad!
Never fear! Beer Advocate
has prevention rules.

Icelandic candy:
Caramel and licorice?
Not our cup of tea.

Weyerbacher Muse:
a peppery farmhouse ale
with an awesome yeast.

Diner's Agenda is looking forward to tonight!

Wednesday, October 24
•We pretty firmly believe that if something is good enough for Todd English, it's good enough for us. Chef English is the Honorary Chair of tonight's Art BeCAUSE benefit to raise money for breast cancer prevention, so you should probably go if you have a spare $150 lying around. The party gets started at 6:00 at the Epicenter in South Boston. There will be many wines to taste and tickets may be purchased online. [Art BeCAUSE]

Thursday, October 25
•We're a big fan of anything with an autumnal theme, so we think that the autumn harvest dinner at Beacon Hill Bistro sounds mighty fine. Two separate menus will be offered for $65 each: one for meat-lovers and one for vegetarians. There are seatings available at 6:00 and 8:30 and you can save your seat by calling (617) 723-1133. [Beacon Hill Bistro]
•We can hardly think of a better excuse to dress up than the dinner dance at 9pm at UpStairs on the Square. There will be a band and dancing and as usual, it's free for diners and $20 for those who eat elsewhere. [UpStairs on the Square]

As though the fact that we're proud Bostonians wasn't enough incentive to root root root for the home team over the next five to fifteen days, now there are two further draws. First, as you undoubtedly know if you're a regular over at Jordan's Furniture, back in March, Eliot and Barry offered a killer deal to patrons: anyone who purchased furniture between March 7 and April 16 would get a full refund if, and only if, the Sox won the series. Although the Tatelmans won't disclose just how much money they might have to shell out, the Globe reports that they took out a separate insurance policy to provide for such a scenario, so don't worry, they won't have to shut down MOM or anything.

As regular readers know, we are no great fan of fast food chains. We are, however, exceedingly fond of free things. Given those two criteria, we're a bit torn about how we should feel about Taco Bell's latest promotion: steal a base, steal a taco, wherein if any player steals a base during the World Series, you can get a free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco. On the one hand, Taco Bell is gross, but on the other hand, free stuff! We'll let you make up your own mind on this one, but in the meantime, go Sox!!!!!

Monster Deal [Jordan's Furniture]
Jordan's Shoppers Sitting Pretty If Sox Win [Boston Globe]
Steal A Base, Steal A Taco [MLB]

This video of a man doing a stand up routine in which he simply reads reviews from our New York site has been generating a lot of buzz here at MenuPages (for real, we love being referenced in anything resembling pop culture). Instant messages (the primary form of communication round these parts) have been exchanged! Laughter has occurred! This qnarf fellow asserts that the major reasons for posting a review on MenuPages are "One: you HATED that restaurant, two: you're paid by that restaurant, and three: you are a crazy person." Not entirely false! We have one thought for Mr. qnarf: you should really see the reviews we can't publish. Comedy gold.

Menupages [YouTube: qnarf]

After a few weeks of relative inactivity, the Tuesday report is back in full force with plenty of openings to report and no real closings, per se. We feel greatly heartened by this information and, in fact, are planning to use it as ancillary evidence that Boston is having a moment. Without any further ado, let's see what there is to see:

Openings
•Somerville got just a little more caffeinated last week when the Diesel Cafe opened its sister spot Bloc 11 in Union Square. Between all the festivals and the continued awesomeness of the 'hood's restaurants, Union Square is becoming quite the hot spot, no?
•Is Kendall Square posed to become the next burrito zone? Chowhound reports that a branch of Brookline's Baja Betty's is looking to open in the area. There's already an Anna's Taqueria in the MIT student center, so all the neighborhood needs now is a Qdoba and a Boca Grande to be the next Brookline.
•Chowhound brings us the news that Cambridge institution Hana Sushi has re-opened. It seems that not much has changed except the service, which is much improved.

Changes
•An interesting change is afoot in Brookline. The Kosher Blog is reporting that Ruth's Kitchen has been taken over by Edna Ben-Zion of Ora Catering. The possibility of Sephardic cooking is dangled. It's a tantalizing possibility indeed.
•Bad news: Chowhound brings news that Rachel's Kitchen in Bay Village is closing at the end of the month. Good news: owners Rachel and Alon will be opening a new spot, Hungry Mother Kitchen, in Kendall Square by early 2008.

[Photo: Flickr: D. Knisely]

Yesterday, we were reading Slate and we noticed something amazing. Two out of the day's sixteen stories were directly about Boston and two more made reference to our great city. Ben Affleck's mash note to the Hub, Gone Baby Gone (which we're finally going to see on Thursday), came in strong at the box office and is getting killer reviews. The most recent new episode of Saturday Night Live featured Burlington native Amy Poehler playing a high school version of herself, complete with full accent. We've got two of the country's best new restaurants and some of the best pizza. The Pats are undefeated, Boston College football is number two in the nation, and the Sox are going to the World Effing Series for the second time in four years. Guys, Boston is having a major moment. We, for one, couldn't be prouder.

Ben Affleck's Boston [Slate]
Manny Ramierez, As Himself [Slate]
The Standells - Dirty Water [YouTube: 23Daves]

The Weekly Dig, everyone's favorite local paper with an ever-revolving staff, has opened voting for its annual Dig This Awards. Bostonians can vote in a wide range of categories on everything from food to...well, actually, their "next" button seems to be less than functional at this exact moment, so right now, it's just food. Nonetheless! There are certainly a wide range of categories, but we must take umbrage with some of the nominees. Not only does the pizza category neglect each and every one of our favorites, but the Middle Eastern category neglects both Rami's and Shawarma King. Guys, that's just unreasonable!

Perhaps the best part of the Dig's list of nominees is that almost every category contains a notable burn in their omissions: one restaurant that is among the very top of its genre, but mysteriously not nominated. For example, the nominees for Best Burger are Audubon Circle, UBurger, Bambara and Porter Belly's Pub, which is a total burn on Grille Zone. Best Burrito? The Dig says Taqueria La Mexicana, Burrito Express, Boca Granda Tacqueria, and Boloco. Burn on Anna's Taqueria. Your options for Best Steakhouse are Smith & Wollensky, Abe & Louie's Steakhouse, Ruth's Chris Steak House, and Grill 23 & Bar. There is no mention of either KO Prime or Mooo.....

If you want to vote, the polls are open until Halloween. We, for one, are anxiously awaiting the results.

Dig This 2007 [Weekly Dig]

Here at MenuPages Boston, we're always interested in incidents of food-based sexism. Women and food are a continually controversial topic. Now, New York Magazine is weighing in with a fascinating round table discussion among some of that city's top female chefs.

The chefs discussed why, despite the fact that the majority of home cooks are estimated to be women, so few women run kitchens of prominent restaurants. Explanations ranged from the fact that many women simply aren't willing to make the personal sacrifices necessary to become a top chef (we'd argue that plenty of men aren't willing to do so either) to the sense that male investors aren't as willing to sink money into a female-owned operation. The chefs have some dispiriting anecdotes to share: both Jody Williams of Morandi and Anita Lo of Annisa report that their male comes addressed to "Mr." and Pearl Oyster Bar's Rebecca Charles (she of the infamous lawsuit) says that her food deliveryman consistently gives the bill to her (male) sous-chef to sign.

Interestingly, most of the chefs agree that the food of female chefs is different (and better) than that of their male counterparts. Sara Jenkins opines: "I think women cook different food, and I think women cook better food. It’s more from the heart and more from the soul. I look at this whole molecular-gastronomy thing, and I’m like, “Boys with toys.” They’re just fascinated with technology and chemistry sets. I think we make better-tasting food. I’m sorry, I know that’s politically incorrect." We've made our opinions on the differences between male and female cooking known, but we will admit that men seem to be more interested in molecular gastronomy in a general sense than do women. On the other hand, however, when the contestants on The Next Iron Chef had to use molecular gastronomy tools, LA chef Jill Davie of Josie seemed to be the most into it of any of the chefs.

The more we think about other cities, the more it seems that Boston is, in many ways, a haven for female chefs. Chefs like Barbara Lynch, Joanne Chang, Lydia Shire and Ana Sortun are some of the cities most respected (the question, of course, then becomes why none of these women are among Boston's celebrity chefs like Todd English or Ming Tsai). If we go by the deterministic mama v. show-off cook dynamic, one could argue that this might be because Boston diners are less adventurous than, say those in New York or Chicago and thus, more likely to gravitate toward homey cooking. We, however, think that while the food of chefs Lynch and Shire is certainly soulful, it's also artful and something that could not be easily duplicated by a home cook. What do you think? Is there something about Boston's dining scene that's especially welcoming to female chefs?

Top Female Chefs Dish on Why They're Such a Rare Breed [New York Magazine]

Travel & Leisure just published their annual list of America's Favorite Cities. The website has a neat feature where you can click on each of the twenty-five cities profiled and see how it ranks on everything from attractive people (Boston is #16) to vintage shopping (the Hub ranks tenth). We were, of course, interested in all of Boston's food rankings (we must take umbrage with Boston's rankings in both barbecue (#24, above only DC) and overall food/dining, where we placed twelfth. Really? Below San Antonio? For reals?), but the one which most intrigued us was our high ranking for pizza. Boston placed fourth, below only Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia (sidebar: our boyfriend is both a pizza enthusiast and a Philadelphia resident and we must say that in our humble experience, Philly pizza is awful, so we don't know what T&L is on about). Although we may dispute Travel & Leisure's methodology just a touch, we're very proud of Boston's pizza accolades, so we'll present you with our five favorite pizzas in Boston, just because we love you. Even those of you who leave us spam comments like "I like your diary. Allow to be friends!" followed by links to pornography.

•We went to high school in the Fenway and thus, Little Stevie's Pizza was a staple of our diet during those years. The pizza is insanely cheap, the slices are huge, and to our mind, it's a near-perfect example of a certain pizza archetype: greasy, unhealthy, and wildly delicious. Also, we enjoy playing pinball in the back.
•As regular readers of this blog have doubtless deduced, we are not actually that cool. Exhibit A? Bertucci's carries some of our absolute favorite pizza in the city. We're a bit embarrassed to hold a chain in such high esteem, but honestly, the pizza is just so good that we don't care all that much. The margherita has been venerated by no less an authority than Ed Levine and we can personally attest that even though it's fantastic hot, it's even better when eaten cold the next morning.
•Same Old Place is absolutely our favorite neighborhood pizzeria in Boston. Don't bother with the menu's many non-pizza choices, but do delight in their excellent cheese pizza. Obviously, you should feel free to follow your pizza up with a scoop from JP Licks across the street.
•We spent a summer working at Harvard and we became a little bit obsessed with Beauty's during those three months. We usually prefer our pizzas fairly unadorned, but we delight in Beauty's pies, stuffed to the gills with goodies like spinach and olives and feta.
•Of course, the ne plus ultra of Boston pizza is, now and forever, Santarpio's Pizza. How good is Santarpio's? It's worth braving airport traffic during rush hour. That good. We cannot stop raving about the garlic pie and the sausages are to die for.

[Photo: Bertucci's]

Blogston Proper is your thrice-weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

•We happen to love Indian MTV. [A Passionate Foodie]
•Want to hobnob with Eastie's power players? Head over to lunch at Rino's. [Dispatches from Seth Gitell]
•It seems like it might be a pretty good idea to check out the mojito ice cream sandwich at Laurel Grill and Bar. [Anali's First Amendment]

[Photo: Flickr: *starsrichochet]

Truly, could there be any better day than this to be a Bostonian? We woke up this morning and blasted the Standells and Jonathan Richman as we got ready, and since we got to work, it's been a steady listening diet of Sweet Caroline because you know what? Good times never seemed so good. We're going to the World Series, folks. Let's rock it. Why not start by making yourself a Fenway Frank?

[Photo: Flickr: AC:MP]

Diner's Agenda is in love with the Red Sox all over again.

Tuesday, October 23
•Pressed Sandwiches will be offering $2 Cuban sandwiches from 11:30am-3pm at all their locations. Allegedly, it's one per customer, but we bet that if you were a dedicated enough glutton to try and hit up all three locations, no one would really stop you. [Pressed Sandwiches]
•We spent our high school years living in West Roxbury, back when a nice dinner in the neighborhood meant the Bertucci's on VFW. We're still a little shocked by the range of excellent options available on Centre Street. See for yourself at the 6:30 wine dinner at Masona Grill. $45 gets you a four course meal with appropriate wine pairings and the right to brag that you were into Westie (or WeRo, as it will undoubtedly be called in five years when the population turns over from the elderly to yuppies) way before it was cool. [Masona Grill]
•It's time for another Tuesday Tasting. This week's edition is going down at the Fenway Cambridge 1 and will involve plenty of pizza and wine for $19 in advance or $29 at the door. As always, you have to be a member of Boston Event Guide, but it's free to join, so get on your stick! [Boston Event Guide]
•Is Craigie Street Bistrot chef Tony Maw's psychic or is it a mere coincidence that his "Let The Game Begin" dinner is happening a mere night before the Sox kick off their second World Series in four years? Either way, it promises to be an excellent event, featuring multiple game-focused dishes for a mere $85. Space is limited, so call (617) 497-5511 to save your spot. [Craigie Street Bistrot]

Last night's episode of The Next Iron Chef was, once again, an excellent one. There was only one challenge, but two chefs were eliminated. We're still putting our money on Michael Symon and we suspect that Aaron Sanchez is not long for this competition's world. Let's jump right into it, shall we?

•The episode's sole challenge revolved around resourcefulness. The chefs were required to make two dishes using only an outdoor grill and a cooler full of ingredients that had been picked for them by one of the other chefs. Interestingly, Kaysen, Sanchez, Besh and Morou all seemed to sabotage each other a bit while Cosentino and Symon chose each other ingredients they thought the other would enjoy.
•The one weak spot of this show? The super-cheesy graphics. They look like rejects from Channel Seven News, guys.
•Perhaps unfairly, John Besh continues to kind of annoy us. We really can't quite articulate why except for the fact that he seems like the only chef who isn't buddying down with the others. His chicken-fried rabbit did, however, look killer.
•Can we please discuss Michael Symon's tattoo? There are flames and it says "Live to Cook" and it is either the best or worst thing we've ever seen. Maybe both at the same time?
•The way Cosentino pronounces "dandelion" (dandy-lion) is very endearing.
•Our highlight of the night was Morou's confessional about his dish's plating (hated by the judges), spoken in a crazy mixture of second and third person. We didn't manage to transcribe it exactly, but it was along the lines of: "Morou, you shouldn’t have done this and now he might go home.” Unfortunately, he was eliminated shortly thereafter, denying us of a chance to find out if he is the Brian Malarkey of this show.
•We knew that Kaysen was a goner as soon as he complained abo