MenuPages

•We're always in the mood for Belgian waffles! [MP: Chicago]
•Oh man: curry chips are awesome. [MP: Philadelphia]
•This tea egg with caviar is real pretty. [MP: San Francisco]
•We sure would like to try some swamp cabbage! [MP: South Florida]

Diner's Agenda wouldn't mind not having the flu anymore.

Friday, February 29
•So, apparently, today is, in addition to leap day, Sadie Hawkins Day, a day where girls are supposed to ask boys out. In celebration, UpStairs on the Square is holding a Sadie Hawkins Day dinner, complete with aphrodisical menu and free champagne. Tickets, which cost $75, may be reserved by calling (617) 864-1933. [UpStairs on the Square]
•Meanwhile, over at 75 Chestnut, Leap Day is a time to celebrate Audrey Hepburn. There will be special Audrey-themed cocktails and a raffle of a pearl necklace. The fun starts at 5pm, so be there! [75 Chestnut]

Saturday, March 1
•Verrill Farm out in Concord is offering a very nice deal: a pancake breakfast complete with pancakes, maple syrup, sausages, and bacon for only $6! Breakfast runs from 9am-12pm and no reservations are necessary. [Verrill Farm]
•Rialto will be offering a cooking class from 11am-2pm focusing on the cuisine of Italy's Alto Adige region. As always, class includes a sit down lunch. Call (617) 661-5050 to save your spot. [Rialto]

Rizelli Cafe
gets a B-. Brookline
goes Hungarian!

Something Savory's
Chef Levins loves Cuban food
and tilapia.

We've been sort of obsessed in our love/hate relationship with new raw food restaurant Grezzo, but until now, the only pictures we've seen have been those on its official website. We're very excited then to have stumbled upon the below shot of the restaurant's ravioli filled with "nut cheese." Dare we say they look really good? We're particularly smitten with the topping of edible flowers.

Grezzo [MenuPages]
Grezzo [Official Site]

[Photo: Flickr: alison.jane]

Angela's Cafe
has authentic Mexican
that's so craveable.

303 Cafe
brings some hip to East Boston.
Food could be better.

Style meets substance
at Banq. Still working out kinks,
but it shows promise.

Welcome to The Buzz, a feature where we look at what the Internet is saying about brand new restaurants. It's too early for a review, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

People have been getting excited about Banq for some time now. Banq comes to us from the owners of Mantra and, like Matra, it combines French techniques with Indian flavors. Expectations have been high, so let's see how the actual experience is shaking out, shall we?

The Good: Chowhound luminary and Phoenix reviewer MC Slim JB very much enjoyed his visit to Banq: "Prices are better than I expected for a fancy South End place. ... The dining room is very attractive, soaring ceilings, pretty hardwoods, well-spaced booths. ... The wine list is a nice surprise, not overloaded with $100+ bottles. ... The food is mostly very good, few outright misses. ... Overall, a pleasant surprise so far." Kate of local blog The Dish also loved her visit to Banq: "WOW! Everything was spectacular! The cod was crispy on the outside and perfectly seared, and the lotus root was a delightful new side dish for my taste buds, while the generous portion of short rib was rich and sinful, eaten sans a knife of course. ... The entrees are under $26, the portion size is liberal, and the drink menu is unique and fun. Another very welcome addition to Boston's South End, a neighborhood that's simply bursting with flavor."

The Bad: Views on Banq's dessert menus are decidedly more mixed. 'hounder kron reports: "Went out on a limb and ordered the "banq tasting" dessert. Bad idea. This "tasting" included wasabi ice cream, blue cheese ice cream, a pineapple spring roll (?) and some sort of berry-sushi (um, no). Awful. Thought it had potential (well, at least we thought the ice creams had potential), but realized it is something probably best served at some mediocre new american-asian-fusion restaurant that's trying to be hip. We think Banq should take it off the menu asap." Yelper Dan O. concurred: "For dessert, we ordered the sampler, and it was a little disappointing. The bleu cheese ice cream was my favorite on the plate...the bleu cheese flavor doesn't hit you until the end. The wasabi ice cream was a little too weird. The pineapple spring roll was unimpressive, and the chocoalte sushi was disgusting."

Banq [MenuPages]
Banq [Official Site]
Banq - News/Comments/Reviews? [Chowhound]
You Can banQ on It [The Dish]
Banq [Yelp]

Two stars for Z Square:
new location has better
menu and free bread.

At Tashi Dalek
Tibetan comes to Brookline
complete with momos!

Spicy Tiger's Tears
at Myers + Chang are light
with a nice texture.

The sea-urchin linguine with breadcrumbs and scallions pictured below is from La Morra. Somehow, it didn't quite make the cut for our sea urchin roundup, but looking at this picture, we're pretty sure that was a misstep on our part. We should probably go try it, though. Just for, you know, research purposes. God, our job is hard.

La Morra [MenuPages]
La Morra [Official Site]

[Photo: Flickr: winyang]

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.

•Oceanaire just might be worth the splurge. [Bostonist]
•Sigh. Remember when Au Bon Pain was just a really good bakery and didn't try to do too much? [The Beantown Bloggery]
•Airport restaurants need to chill. out. [Hot, Buttered, and Toasted]

[Photo: Flickr: imfedore]

Cantabridgia is reporting that famed Paris-based cooking school Le Cordon Bleu is set to open a location in Cambridge. The school, which will operate out of the the Athenaeum Press Building near Kendall Square will offer several programs, among them an associate's degree granting program in Culinary Arts and general education courses open to the public. It will also host an on-site restaurant, which we're especially excited about.

One of Le Cordon Bleu's most famous alumni is, of course, Julia Child, who was a longtime Cambridge resident. She attended the original Paris location while living in France in the late 1940s. Child often credited Le Cordon Bleu with teaching her to cook: a skill which she, of course, passed down to thousands of Americans. Who knows! Perhaps the next wildly influential food star will come out of the new Cambridge Le Cordon Bleu.

Sacre bleu! Le Cordon Bleu to open in Cambridge! [Cantabridgia]
Le Cordon Bleu Boston [Official Site]

Diner's Agenda has felt better.

Thursday, February 28
•Alibi is hosting an exciting clothing sale from 11am-8pm on Thursday and 11am-4pm on Friday, featuring clothes from shops like Stil and Grettaluxe for an astonishing 50-70% off. Won't someone think of the food smells on the clothing?!? [Alibi]
•The Blue Room is going crazy for their Le Piane wine dinner at 6:30. Courses will include a whole roasted lamb. A whole roasted lamb! Tickets, which cost $75 may be reserved online or by calling (617) 494-9304. [The Blue Room]
•Slow Food BU is holding an extraordinarily useful lecture at 7:30 in room 101 of the Kenmore Classroom Building on how to be able to eat sustainably on the cheap. Admission is a mere $5, so even cheapskates like us can afford it. Awesome! [Slow Food BU

Three stars for Grezzo:
it sure is "one of a kind"
and food is quite good.

Alissa Cohen
(of Grezzo, of course) loves raw
food so very much.

Roundup of cheap wines
is sweet music to our ears.
All under $15!

Steve's Firth of Fourth Ale
just misses the Scottish mark.
Too dry, needs more malt.

The below video depicts what is either a truly stunning feat of human achievement or a disgusting example of gluttony. We're going to go with "a little from column A, a little from column B." Behold as local blogger Andy visits the Fenway McDonald's and eats an entire Big Mac. In one bite.

Big Mac Challenge: Complete [Andy Eats]
Andy Eats: a Big Mac in ONE BITE [YouTube: igreczed]

Exciting updates abound in this edition of The Tuesday Report. Long-awaited restaurants are finally making progress, beloved favorites are opening second locations and the South End is getting a Spanish grocery store! Let's look at the details.

Openings
•Last week, we mentioned Estragon, the giant tapas restaurant set to open on Harrison Avenue this spring. Now, we've learned that Las Ventas, a Spanish food store, will be opening as a part of it. The store will carry "ver 100 Spanish products—olive oils, jamones, cured meats, cheeses, paella kits, cookbooks and more—as well as sell Spanish-style sandwiches and prepared foods to go." We can only hope it will be as awesome as New York City's Despana.
•This Craigslist post seeking staff for a new restaurant in Hyde Park is almost certainly for C.F. Donovan's, which Chowhounders have been gunning for for damn near a year. Will it actually open? Hopefully!
•Scampo, the Lydia Shire-helmed restaurant in the Liberty Hotel is now staffing for a March opening. Anticipation is very high on this one, so here's hoping for the best!
•Brookline favorite Super Fusion will be opening a second location in the old Sushi 21 space in Watertown. The location is expected to open in three to four months.

[Photo: Flickr: argyle1015]

We know, we know: it's guys night on American Idol and you've developed a bewildering crush on Jason Castro, dreads and all, and you're seriously considering just staying home and ordering a pizza. Pizza is great and we're feeling your Castro love (he just seems so happy!), but really, it's relatively warm out (albeit a bit rainy), so shouldn't you get out while you can? Boston is full of good shows tonight, so why not get a nice meal before checking one out?

•The Boston Symphony Orchestra hosts German violinist Isabelle Faust for a night of Mozart, Berg, and Brahms at 8pm. Prepare for this evening of high culture by getting your fix of rowdiness at Betty's. A big bowl of Shanghai wheat noodles will hold you through every last concerto.
•If you're in the mood for something a little more countrified, head to The Cantab Lounge for their 8pm Bluegrass Pickin' Party, but not before stopping into Rendezvous for a luxurious dinner. Grilled sardines with fennel and cherry tomato vinaigrette pair surprisingly well with pickin'.
•Get your indie rock fix at Harper's Ferry, which hosts New York band the French Kicks at 8pm. Beforehand, stop by New Trend Eatery for stellar Cantonese fare: don't miss the BBQ roast duck.
•We are a giant theatre nerd, but frequently, the over-intellectualized productions at the American Repertory Theatre leave us cold. We do, however, very much want to see their current production of Julius Caesar for one reason: Jim True-Frost, also known as Roland Pryzbylewski on the best television show of all time, The Wire, plays Brutus. Before you feast on his awesomeness, dine on a frisee salad and crispy seared duckling at UpStairs on the Square. Mmm...artsy.

Lately, we've been very much interested in investigating how many user reviews certain restaurants have on MenuPages. See, in the Platonic ideal of the Menuniverse, you could look at the user-submitted reviews for every restaurant to help you make an educated guess about where to go for dinner. Unfortunately, that's not really the current situation. While we'd love to have reviews up for every restaurant, today we're most concerned about a paradox: many of our most popular restaurants have very reviews. Below, a list of restaurants whose menus receive the most views per day and yet, have under five reviews to their names. Won't you help them out?

•Amsterdam Cafe
•Bar Lola
•Beehive
•Border Cafe
•Burtons Grill
•Central Kitchen
•Flames Restaurant II
•Kotobukiya
•Maggiano's
•Neptune Oyster
•The Pour House
•Radius
•Top of the Hub

"Help! I'm Trapped In..." is a semi-regular feature where we tell you how to make the most of being stuck in areas that are (fairly or not) regarded as culinary wastelands. You're welcome.

Government Center is really something of a mystery. Unquestionably, it is one of the neighborhoods most important for Boston's functioning, but it's also tremendously ugly (City Hall, we're looking at you) and full of very little good food. If you work in Government Center, however, there's no need to give up the hope of eating great lunches! All it takes is being a teensy bit flexible on what, exactly, constitutes Government Center. Below, a week's worth of lunches for the discerning bureaucrat.

Monday: J Pace & Son is downtown's leading lunch spot for a reason: the sandwiches are generously sized, delicious, and cheap. Many people don't realize that J. Pace's pasta is also good: try the gnocchi marinara.

Tuesday: People are always going on about Wednesday being Hump Day, but to our mind, Tuesday is much longer and more difficult to slog through. Reward yourself for making it this far by having a nice sit down lunch at Wagamama. After a repast of duck gyoza and chili beef ramen, you'll feel relaxed and ready to face the rest of the (seemingly endless) day.

Wednesday: Everyone knows that Grotto is a great spot for a romantic dinner, but the big secret is that their lunch is a very good value. Their excellent pastas go for a mere $11-16: we recommend the cavatelli with ground sausage, ricotta, fresh peas, mushrooms, cream and pancetta.

Thursday: After two Italian-style lunches earlier this week, it's time to give France its due, don't you think? Visit Kingston Station for an elegant meal: maybe the seared tuna Niçoise salad and the rather good steak frites? Yes, that sounds just about right.

Friday: You've been a good worker bee all week, so it's time to reward yourself with something decadent and wildly unhealthy. May we recommend a trip to Beard Papa? The impossibly airy cream puffs are as close to perfection as anything downtown and regardless of what your nutritionist may tell you, it's totally a valid lunch. Totally.

J Pace & Son [MenuPages]
Wagamama [Official Site]
Grotto [MenuPages]
Kingston Station [Official Site]
Beard Papa [Official Site]

[Photo: Wikipedia]

Even though we've definitely hit the point in winter when we're counting down the minutes until ramps reappear, signaling the beginning of the growing season, we're not immune to the charms of wintry vegetables. Case in point? Leeks. We adore this pleasantly punchy cousin of the onion and in the depths of winter, want to eat it as much as humanly possible. To assist you in your quest for leek-age (haha), we've compiled a list of five of the Hub's best leek dishes.

•Aujourd 'hui combines two of our obsessions with their dish of sea scallops served with truffled potato puree, melted leeks, and lobster sauce. It's a perfect treat for a chilly night.
•At Petsi Pies, leeks are paired with bacon and Swiss cheese and served in a deliciously gooey tart.
•Leeks vinaigrette is, of course, the quintessential leek dish. Petit Robert Bistro makes an excellent version, topped with grilled duck magret. It's pretty much all you could want from a lunch: tart and rich at the same time, not to mention hearty as all get out.
•At The Squealing Pig, braised leeks top a pizza, along with fried sage leaves, goat cheese, and puree of toasted squash. It doesn't look like much, but it tastes absolutely delicious.
•Stella makes comfort food decadent with their basil roasted chicken, served with potato leek ragout (a nice play on the standard potato leek soup) and crispy pancetta. Assembling a fork so you can taste each at the same time is one of the Boston dining scene's great pleasures.

Aujourd 'hui [Official Site]
Petsi Pies [Official Site]
Petit Robert Bistro [Official Site]
The Squealing Pig [MenuPages]
Stella [Official Site]

[Photo: Flickr: shaggyblog]

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.

•$12.95 just does not seem like enough money to buy a Kobe burger. [Boston Food & Whine]
•You might not guess at first, but apparently, the chicken is the thing at UBurger. [Bostonist]
•The idea of eating every meal at a steakhouse doesn't sound too bad! [Martin's Musings]

[Photo: Flickr: wemcg]

Michael Schlow of Radius has taken the top honors at the Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. We've never gotten a chance to try Radius' burger (mostly because we can't quite wrap our head around a $17 hamburger), but according to Chowhound, "Schlow's whole shtick (Schtick?) is to cook everything at a low temp, so I think they brown both sides, then shove it in a low oven for 20 minutes, so it just gently rises to the temperature you order. Comes out unbelievably juicy, and you kinda trust the med-rare meat. Served on a toasted bun with just four things: the meat, some melted Cheddar (the aged stuff, so it separates nice and greasy), a huge mound of frizzled onions (think a greasier, slightly softer version of that French's casserole topping), and a creamy horseradish sauce."

It sure sounds delicious, and god knows, any burger that triumphs over Shake Shack and Burger Joint must be pretty stellar, but we have to wonder: is Radius' burger really as good as those at Bartley's Burger Cottage? Tips are, as always, appreciated.

Radius [MenuPages]
Radius [Official Site]
Burger Bash [2008 Food Network South Beach Food & Wine Festival]
Radius Burger Wins Top Honors [Chowhound]

Diner's Agenda cannot believe last night's Wire.

Monday, February 25
•Sicilian food and wine guru Fabrizia Lanza comes to Rialto tonight for a four course wine dinner highlighting the region's cuisine. The fun starts at 6:30, and seats, which cost $100, may be reserved by calling (617) 661-5050. [Rialto]

Tuesday, February 26
•If the press releases we receive every day are to be believed, Boston just can't get enough of Spanish wine dinners. There's another one at Tasca at 7pm. $49 gets you five courses with wine pairings, including a delightful sounding herb crusted lamb chop over a white bean and duck casoulet. Call (617) 730-8002 to save your spot. [Tasca]
•Hey, service industry readers! Sel De La Terre is hosting a leap year party/service industry celebration from 11pm-2am. There will be food and drink aplenty, as well as live music. The best part? It's all free. [Sel De La Terre]
•We don't know if you've heard, but Starbucks nationwide will be closed from 5:30pm-8:30pm. We are of the mind that the world will not end (hint: you can patronize neighborhood coffee shops!), but Dunkin' Donuts apparently feels slightly differently. In order to capitalize on the Starbucks spillover, they'll be offering 99 cent lattes and cappucinos from 1pm-10pm. Hot. [Dunkin' Donuts]

Welcome to The Buzz, a feature where we look at what the Internet is saying about brand new restaurants. It's too early for a review, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

Persephone offers many reasons to get excited. Part of the new multi-use development The Achilles Project, the restaurant is helmed by the justly acclaimed Michael Leviton of Newton's Lumiere and showcases local and seasonal foods, with an emphasis on sustainability and eco-consciousness. These are all worthy goals, but how's the food? Let's check out the early reports, shall we?

The Good: The venerable Pam of Cave Cibum stopped by and loved her meal. She writes on Chowhound: "Food is delicious. Like Lumiere, there is a focus on local, organic, sustanable product, although it's not a selling point of the menu. The Lucki 7 Farms Pork Ribs from the bar menu were awesome, delicately cooked with a slightly spicy hoison sauce. The Crispy Gulf Shrimp, from the "Small" section of the menu, were crispy and light - some people might be turned off, though, by the full shell on the shrimp, but they were thin enough to eat the whole thing. The Braised Veal Shoulder, from the "Extra Large" section, was so tender. I'm not a veal fan, but I would order that to share. Overall, good food and drinks at not outrageous prices."

The Bad: Interestingly, most of the commentary on both Chowhound and Yelp comes from people who haven't yet tried out the restaurant. Chowhounders, in particular, seemed resistant to Persephone pre-opening and it was derided as the sort of place that would probably offer $15 pomegranate martinis. These worries, however, have probably subsided as the restaurant is offering a drink awesomely titled "The Obligatory Chowhound $15 Pomegranate Martini" for a mere $9. Currently, the only mildly worrying comment from someone who's actually been to the restaurant comes from 'hound Fort Point who writes "We have been twice and had a sampling of dishes, all of which were very good, but for some reason we have not warmed up to the spot yet."

The Decor: Persephone shares its space with trendy clothing boutique Achilles, so the space's layout has been of some general interest. According to Fort Point, it's "one continuous space; there are no dividers between the store and the restaurant. However, at least at night the clothing is enclosed in see through modern containers and there is not a lot of it so it does necssarily feel like two different venues. The store is in the front so you walk through it to get to the restaurant."

Persephone [MenuPages]
Persephone [Official Site]
Persephone - Where Is It [Chowhound]
Pomegranates for Persephone [Cave Cibum]
Achilles Project [Yelp]

The fascinating thing about sea urchins is that it's hard to think of an animal that is so highly prized as a culinary delicacy, yet has such a small edible portion of its body. Sea urchins are not tiny creatures, but the only part we eat is the roe*. Sea urchin tastes incredibly rich and complex: the very definition of umami. Sea urchin dishes across the country are generally pretty pricy and Boston is no exception. The following four dishes may not be cheap, but they sure are tasty.

•Clio wins our award for "Most Decadent Use of Sea Urchin" for their sea urchin and lobster cassoulet, which comes with parsnips, crispy shallots, and candied lemon. We can't think of much we'd rather eat on a cold winter's night.
•At Neptune Oyster, the sea urchin is served raw and accompanied by fried chickpeas, grilled eggplant, cucumber, mint, and a vinaigrette, for an absolutely insane flavor profile.
•O Ya serves their sea urchin as sashimi alongside shima aji (yellowjack). It's topped with a ceviche vinaigrette and some cilantro, ssupertasters beware!
•The Japanese name for sea urchin is, of course, uni, so it's not surprising that Uni has an excellent sea urchin dish on its menu. The roe is served with ginger gelee and purple rice. Delicious and pretty!

*: This is, in fact, a misnomer: while the edible part of the sea urchin is commonly referred to as the roe, it's actually the animal's gonads on which we chow down.

Clio [Official Site]
Neptune Oyster [Official Site]
O Ya [MenuPages]
Uni [MenuPages]

[Photo: Wikipedia]

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.

•Despite the restaurant's name, Fall River's Ugly American is quite lovely! [New England Bites]
•Dunkin' Donuts' controversial supermarket coffee is actually pretty good! [Slashfood]
•Mmmmmmmm is for marrow. [On Common Ground]

[Photo: Flickr: wallyg]

•Hee hee hee. Tunnel of Fudge cake. [MP: Chicago]
•We don't know what these people are complaining about: they got their "Suck my d**k f**k face" comped! [MP: Philadelphia]
•We have never seen a video that cries out for a Freudian interpretation so much as this one, which follows a girl deathly afraid of pickles. [MP: San Francisco]
•There might be poo on the lemon in your water. Just, you know, FYI. [MP: South Florida]

Diner's Agenda is wondering when that global warming is going to hit Boston.

Friday, February 22
•North Enders rejoice! Prezza has free gnocchi bolognese and Barolo for all customers from 5pm-7pm. The catch, of course, is that you have to get to Prezza to eat it, but that's less of a problem if you live in the area. [Prezza]
•If you're based in Waltham, head to the Sam Adams beer dinner at Gordon's Fine Wine & Culinary Center. $50 gets you a four course dinner. The fun starts at 7pm and reservations may be made online. [Gordon's]

Saturday, February 23
•If you're the sort of person who enjoys this type of thing, you should know that there will be a free tasting at the Best Cellars in Brookline of vegan wine and "sheese", which is, apparently, a soy-based vegan "fake cheese." Sheesh. Anyways, it's free and it's happening from 2pm-5pm. [Boston Vegan Association]

Ouch, Kingston Station:
Bostro (Boston bistro) gets
a C+...not great.

Hands-free Fasika
brings Ethiopian food
to Somervillians.

New England foodstuffs
are subject of a new book.
Mmm, apple cobbler.

Exchange's owner
thinks Malden is new Davis.
Hahahahaha!

With all due respect to the bar and restaurant parties that we mentioned yesterday, our favorite way to celebrate Oscar night has always been to have a party of our own. Oscar parties are more fun than dinner parties, since you can make up drinking games (we personally will be doing a shot every time someone gets cut off by the orchestra) and less stress than non-event-based parties, because everyone leaves by midnight. While you obviously want to prepare a feast for you guests, the Oscars are not a great time for a sit-down dinner. We prefer to lay out some bread, cheese, and cold cuts, a few finger food appetizers, and some desserts that can be eaten standing up. Below, a few suggestions:

Appetizers: The key to a successful Oscar party is to serve foods that can be prepared a day in advance so you can spend the day of the party making your home and yourself look gorgeous. We love these bagel chips with ricotta, chive puree, and prosciutto, although we actually prefer them with goat cheese taking the ricotta's place. They take minutes to prepare and can easily be wrapped and stored in the fridge until its time to eat. A friend of ours recently brought pissaladiere to a party and we can't get its savory taste out of our mind. We recommend making twice as much as you think you'll need. Trust us when we tell you that it will all get eaten.

Desserts: There is little we love more in this word than a nice whoopie pie and while the name would have been more Oscar-clever a few years ago, the pies are still delicious. Keep with the handheld theme by making black and white ice cream sandwiches: ice cream! Between two cookies! DIPPED IN WHITE CHOCOLATE! Truly, the mind boggles.

Bagel Chips with Ricotta, Chive Puree, and Prosciutto [Food & Wine]
Pissaladiere [Epicurious]
Whoopie Pies [Epicurious]
Black and White Ice Cream Sandwiches [Epicurious]

Da Vinci: two stars.
Food and service are quite good
but the space is weird.

At Hana Sushi,
the decor is so pretty
and the fish rock too.

Shabu shabu time
in Allston! Dipping food is
both fun and tasty.

Chiapan cuisine
comes to Cambridge at Ole.
It sounds delicious!

We're going to be completely honest with you: we have seen less Academy Award nominated films this year than ever before. The only best picture nominee we saw was Juno, which confirmed our suspicion that we like the idea of Diablo Cody more than her writing itself and was, at any rate, only the second best comedy about accidental pregnancy that came out in 2007. The fact that we never even considered seeing No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood, however, has not stopped us from wanting to watch the Oscars socially. Tomorrow morning, we'll discuss throwing an Oscar party at home, but for the less domestically-inclined, here are four local Oscar soirees.

•UpStairs on the Square always throws a great party. Their Oscar night fête starts at 5pm and will feature themed eats and drinks, a predicting contest, and prizes for the most glamourous outfits of the night.
•Club Cafe will be rocking the Oscars starting at 6pm with dancing, prizes (including a travel voucher worth $250!), and, thank god, "Joan Rivers" on the red carpet. Awesome.
•Lir will play host to awesome interactive celebrity gossip site Fafarazzi's Oscar bash at 6pm. There will be free food and prizes aplenty.
•Women's networking society GlamBoston will be holding their Oscar bash at Cafeteria at 7pm. We suggest getting dressed to the nines for this one.

UpStairs on the Square [Official Site]
Club Cafe [Official Site]
Lir Irish Pub & Restaurant [Official Site]
Cafeteria [Official Site]

[Props to MP: Chicago's Adam P. for the clever titles for both our Oscar posts.]

At Boston Public,
split personality works.
My, is it pricy!

Mmm, Danny's Diner
is not the fastest, but the
pancakes are worth it.

Ox meat and tripe app
at Sichuan Garden will
warm up your cold heart.

"Help! I'm Trapped In..." is a semi-regular feature where we tell you how to make the most of being stuck in areas that are (fairly or not) regarded as culinary wastelands. You're welcome.

Longwood Medical and Academic Area is something of a mystery to us, even after having spent no small amount of time there (we put in our three years at Latin School and spent a collegiate summer subletting on Tetlow Street). The area has no shortage of captive visitors (five hospitals and ten colleges) and yet, so very few decent places to eat. Sure the food court is fine for a few weeks, but sooner or later, you're going to want a sit down meal, even if it has to be a quick one. As always, we have you covered. Behold, a week's worth of lunching in Longwood. Why not try one of the suggestions out today?

Monday: Head to the brand new Cafe Italia for a hearty lunch to get your week started off right. After a lunch of spaghetti amatriciana, you'll be ready to face the week with your wallet a mere $8.95 lighter.

Tuesday: Stroll to the Fens for a fine meal from Brown Sugar Cafe or, if you can't quite spare the time, use their very speedy delivery service. You could order the excellent Pad Thai or you could be fun and adventurous and try the duck curry. Your choice.

Wednesday: Get over midweek madness with a serene meal at the Gardner Cafe, nestled in the Gardner Museum's gorgeous courtyard. Virtuously order the simple salad and cheese...so you can then indulge in their white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. Hey, Wednesdays are rough, you know?

Thursday: Sometimes, you just need a pizza in the middle of your workday. When that craving strikes, your best bet in Longwood is the Bertucci's in the Children's Hospital. Order a full-size Margherita and it can be dinner as well!

Friday: The buzz on The Savant Project is crazy, but fortunately, the restaurant lives up to the hype. Treat yourself to a cheddar-stuffed burger with truffled polenta logs and manchego aioli. It's a pretty good way to kick off your weekend.

Cafe Italia [MenuPages]
Brown Sugar Cafe [Official Site]
Gardner Cafe [MenuPages]
Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria [Official Site]
The Savant Project [Official Site]

[Photo: Joseph Barillari]

Today's Globe featured a really fascinating article about the current state of bay scallop fishery in Nantucket (summary: it's been declining, but this year, it's great!). It's definitely worthwhile reading, but the major takeaway for us was wanting to eat scallops right now. Below, five of our scallop-crazed city's best dishes featuring the delectable mollusk.

•Truth be told, most of the seafood-based restaurants in Chinatown make excellent scallop dishes. Our vote for the best, however, comes from the inimitable Peach Farm. Their sizzling scallops with black pepper are exactly as spicy as the name implies, so you'd better get a Tsingtao with which to wash it down.
•Franklin Cafe makes a play on oysters Rockefeller with their scallop version with spinach, lemon, and watercress. Given the natural creaminess of scallops, it's even more decadent than the original. Nice.
•The brand new Vee Vee focuses on seafood, so it's only natural that they should pay tribute to the scallop. Their shrimp and scallop fritters are served with chipotle aioli.
•In addition to scallops, we're thoroughly obsessed with leeks right now, so Lineage's dish of day boat scallops with leeks and sweet shrimp with a blood-orange reduction sounds pretty great.
•Let's face it: no one does spicy like East Coast Grill & Raw Bar. Their seared extra-large shrimp and New Bedford scallops are served with deliciously piquant sides of ginger-garlic noodles and sesame-chile spinach.

Peach Farm Restaurant [MenuPages]
Franklin Cafe [Official Site]
Vee Vee [Official Site]
Lineage [MenuPages]
East Coast Grill & Raw Bar [Official Site]

[Photo: bbally]

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.

•Need to eat soft food? Try Himalayan Bistro! [Boston Food & Whine]
•Craving coal-oven pizza? Make your way to Angela's in Saugus! [Slice]
•Want a good meal but don't want to leave Somerville? Hit up Highland Kitchen! [drinkboston]

[Photo: Flickr: daisuke.k]

Full disclosure: we're really good at trivia. How good? Our boyfriend won't watch Jeopardy with us because it's "not fair." Most of our college friends won't play Trivial Pursuit with us unless they're on our team for the very same reason. What can we say? We were a weird little kid who liked to read the encyclopedia and we retain facts incredibly well. If you're also a trivia fiend, why not hit up one of the below events tonight? All have cash prizes and plenty of beer.

•The Jeanie Johnston is one of our very favorite neighborhood bars. Their Wednesday triva nights offer prizes up to $30. Best of all, appetizers are half price from 5pm-6pm. Go ahead! Sneak out of work early! We won't tell.
•The Druid claims that its Wednesday Pub Quiz is "whip-smart." Even if you don't quite manage a win, the unspeakably good shepherd's pie and a pint or five of Guinness are an excellent consolation prize.
•Atwood's Tavern promises to "release your inner Jeopardy champion." You know what will probably help with that endeavor? Trying out some of their excellent beer list...we're partial to the Ipswich Oatmeal Stout ourself. You'll be a genius by the second pint.

Jeanie Johnston Pub [Official Site]
Druid Restaurant [Official Site]
Atwood's Tavern [Official Site]

[Photo: Carling (we are not mature enough to handle the name of the town)]

Diner's Agenda is ready for lunch.

Wednesday, February 20
•In the middle of a long and dreary February, what could be better than a taste of the sun-dappled Mediterranean? Head to Vlora at 7pm for a wine social featuring seven international wines, including some available exclusively at Vlora, and a selection of Mediterranean appetizers. Tickets, which cost $40, may be reserved by calling (617) 638-9699. [Vlora]

Thursday, February 21
•The 7pm Brunello v. Vino Nobile wine tasting at Tomasso Trattoria is geared toward "wine novices and experts alike", so its perfect for you, the wine snob, and your vino-ignorant date (or vice versa!). $30 gets you up to nine wines to taste, as well as some Italian delicacies to further enrich the palate. Call (508) 481-8484 to save your spot. [Tomasso Trattoria]

Vegan sweets are great.
From ice cream to carrot cake,
dairy-free is fine!

Caffeine! Alcohol!
Together at last, thank God!
Buzz buzz buzz, puke puke!

Learn about red wine.
There are many different kinds
so look at the list!

Sometimes we get a little obsessed with watching instructional cooking videos on YouTube (don't judge!). While poking around recently, we came upon this gem, which teaches users how to fry Cheerios. Yeah, you read that right.

Is it so wrong that this actually sounds sort of good? We hope not.

Fried Cheerios [YouTube: LukalsntLuka]

After two rather slow weeks in terms of major restaurant news, we have a slew of openings and changes (and no closings!) this week. We're just going to jump right into it, because there's a lot to report.

Openings
•Wellesley fine dining standby Blue Ginger is coming up on its ten year anniversary and to celebrate, it's getting renovated and expanded. The restaurant has acquired the space next door and plans to use it for a lounge which will showcase Ming's Bings, Chef Ming Tsai's take on Asian street food. We are unspeakably excited about this development.
•Chowhound reports that Harrison Ave is set to get even more bustling with the spring opening of Estragon, a giant tapas restaurant set to come later this spring. We were going to make an unspeakably pretentious Waiting for Godot joke here, but it turns out that "estragon" is also the French word for "tarragon." Although: it's a little strange for a tapas place to have a French name, no?
•The BU Free Press reports that Kenmore Square burger hotspot UBurger is opening a second location on Commonwealth Ave near BU's West Campus, neatly filling the space (both literally and figuratively) recently departed by Grille Zone.
•Speaking of expansion, rumor has it that Somerville's Redbones is planning a second location near Fenway Park. This would be tremendous good news for those who love both baseball and barbecue. A call to Redbones confirmed that while nothing is set in stone, they're definitely looking into opening in the area.
•The Fenway area is also set to get another fast food spot when Framingham wing and music emporium The Chicken Bone (beloved by Ming Tsai...this post is coming full circle!) opens a second branch. Note to the unemployed: they're hiring!
•It's unclear whether Sofra, the Ana Sortun/Maura Kilpatrick Middle Eastern bakery and cafe will be located in Cambridge or Watertown. It is, however, clear that people (including us) are getting pretty excited.

Changes
•The rumors are true...well, sort of. There's been a very big staff shakeup at The Biltmore with owner Rebecca Roth, chef Seth Morrison, and bartender Sean McKeown all departing. A call to the restaurant revealed that there are still a few staff members left over and it will not be permanently closing.

Earlier today, we highlighted those Hub restaurants with ten or more reviews. We're very happy for those restaurants, but we were sorry for those fourteen restaurants that just missed the cut. Won't you go to the pages for these restaurants and leave your thoughts? We'll keep adding to the Hall of Fame as the reviews roll in.

Restaurants With Nine Reviews: So Very Close!
•Chow Thai Cafe
•Giacomo's Ristorante
•Grain & Salt
•La Creperie
•Lineage
•Silvertone Bar & Grill
•Wagamama

Restaurants With Eight Reviews: Almost There!
•Al Capone
•Asahi
•Island Hopper
•Oishii
•Spice & Rice
•Vlora
•Zen

Welcome to The Buzz, a feature where we look at what the Internet is saying about brand new restaurants. It's too early for a review, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

We must confess to somewhat ambivalent feelings about Grezzo, the new raw vegan restaurant in the North End, operated by raw food expert Alissa Cohen. On the one hand, we find raw foodism suspect: while there are certainly uncooked foods we love (guacamole and sushi both come immediately to mind), we feel that basing your diet exclusively around the fact that raw foods are healthier misses the point that food is about more than simple nutrition (not to mention the fact that cooked foods are perfectly healthy in their own right). On the other hand, Grezzo is something entirely new for the Boston dining scene and, even if we don't necessarily agree with the philosophy behind its food, the dishes are fascinating. At any rate, most of the buzz seems to be pretty promising.

The Good: Grezzo's target audience (that is to say, raw foodists and vegans) is definitely responding well. In a post on the Gone Raw message boards, user jackiev writes: "I made it to Grezzo last night for Valentine’s Day and let me tell you…it was DELISH!! Alissa Cohen herself actually served us our salads…I thought I was going to pee my pants!! Although I don’t think my tummy can handle eating there everyday, I’m definitely going to be a faithful customer." Chowhounder Bob Dobalina concurs: "If you are a raw food vegan, this place is clearly the pinnacle, the Olympus of your philosophy. Go here now. ... If you are a vegetarian, vegan or raw food acolyte, RUN don't walk to this place. It is the best vegan food I have ever had " This is not terribly surprising. Grezzo is, after all, the first raw food restaurant in Boston and one of the city's few vegan eateries. More surprising is Grezzo's popularity with those not necessarily identifying as vegans or raw foodists. 'Hound enhF94 writes "parsnip soup for me! Maybe I'll double starters and also have the endive salad. This meat eater is excited!" The food has won wide praise, especially the vine-ripened tomato soup and the "cheesecake."

The Bad: There are plenty of gripes about the space itself. Bob Dobalina writes "It is a nicely decorated place, pleasing earth tones, some highlights of color, but the room is very narrow ... and so the tables are rather packed in and servers had some difficulty serving the patrons on one side of the wall." Yelper Katherine I. concurs: "Tables: One too many in the row. We needed more leg room." There have also been a few complaints about slowness. Chowhound's marilees writes that "they seem to have issues with timing still. My friend joked, 'I don't understand why our dinner is taking so long if they're not even COOKING the food!'"

The Nauseating: Here's something we didn't know until today: apparently, when you first try raw foods, you are likely to be ill, especially if you're also drinking alcohol. We counted at least seven reviews that mentioned extreme nausea a few hours after the meal. Grezzo makes all their food fresh every day, so we doubt it's anything they're doing and indeed, when Yelper Jasmine S. contacted the restaurant after being sicked by her meal, she was told that nausea and headaches are par for the course the first time you eat raw food and, apparently, it is best to limit your consumption of nut cream and alcohol the first time around. We can't understand why raw foods would make one nauseated (we don't get sick after, say, a salad), but it's a good warning nonetheless.

Grezzo [Official Site]
Has Anyone Been to Grezzo Yet?? [Chowhound]
Grezzo [Yelp]
Grezzo!! [Gone Raw]
Alissa Cohen [Official Site]

Welcome to our new feature, Critical Mass (get it?), where we highlight the restaurants on MenuPages: Boston that have the most reviews. Don't see your favorite restaurant on the list? Review it yourself!

Here at MenuPages: Boston, we love user reviews. In the best cases, they're informative and funny and smart and they make our day more entertaining. We wanted to pay tribute to our reviews, so we've found those reviews that have attained what we call Critical Mass and are defining as ten or more user reviews. We have five such restaurants. Let's check them out.

Restaurant: Rock Sugar Thai Cafe
Number of Reviews: 16
Most Informative Review: From "Anonymous" on November 13, 2007:

I've been going to Rock Sugar with some regularity since I've been in the financial district for the past four months. As others have stated, the food is fantastic but the place is a cramped dive with little in the way of vibe. I've found the cashier/secretary and servers highly stressed but other times, like today, I found them sociable and pleasant. I call ahead always but waited until 1pm today, bypassing the chaotic peak lunch hour. True, Rock Sugar could really benefit with a bigger and nicer space. They are only people like the rest of us and get stressed out like the rest of us.

Restaurant: Blackjack Pasta Bar
Number of Reviews: 13
Most Informative Review: Posted by "jonallen" on June 11, 2007

The name and logo of this place is deceiving- Blackjack does not conjure up the best, freshest pasta, nor does the "21 sauces" emblazoned over a jar inspire high culinary expectations, but this place has it all- freshly made pasta, cooked al dente, and served with delectable sauces. Add to that its secluded Queensberry St address, its sidewalk tables, its free delivery, its surprisingly low prices, and you wonder how they can afford to do it.

Restaurant: Addis Red Sea
Number of Reviews: 10
Most Informative Review: Posted by "Anonymous" on April 14, 2007:

I love Ethiopian, but the food at Addis is just average. The kicker is that they admit right on the menu that the bread isn't made from Teff, it's wheat or barley. It's pretty bland, and it also soaks up liquid so much that the layer under the food falls apart and can't really be picked up without making a mess - and that's usually the best part! It's not like there are so many other places to choose from...but I'll have to try them.

Restaurant: Orinoco
Number of Reviews: 10
Most Informative Review: Posted by "Marisa" on March 10, 2006:

By "off beaten path", I mean it's located on the corner of often unnoticed Shawmut Ave and West Concord St (kitty-corner to Siraj Cafe and one block from Flour Bakery). In addition to the unique menu offerings from the chef/owner's Venezuelan background, one of the best things Orinoco has going for it is the value -- at about $4 each, you can't resist trying more than one of the starters, plus dessert at the end too. My husband and I each had a starter, entree, two drinks, and shared the molten chocolate cake -- roughly $60 with tax & tip makes for a nice three-course South End dinner. Be prepared to not only wait for a table (good places attract a lot of people) but possibly wait outside (I repeat, *small*).

Restaurant: Super Fusion
Number of Reviews: 10
Best Review So Far: From "Anonymous" on July 28, 2007:

Try the escolar nigiri sushi. It's a white tuna that is to die for. I've never seen it anywhere else. It melts in your mouth and is slightly sweet. I ALWAYS get it every time I order from Super Fusion. The best thing about this restaurant is that they give such huge portions on the nigiri sushi. The fish hangs over on both ends of the rice. It's like getting two pieces of nigiri sushi in one! I know that authentic sushi is supposed to be bite sized and all but you really get your money's worth here. I've only dined in once. That was a pretty stressful experience because there are only three tables and you feel like you have to eat fast so someone else can have a table. So, now, we always order to-go. Their service is very quick. You can call in your order and then right after walk or drive over and it's usually ready and waiting for you by the time you get there.

It's no secret that Brussels sprouts get a bad rap. They, along with broccoli, are one of those veggies you're not really supposed to like. We spent decades hating on Brussels sprouts, only to re-try them for the first time in probably fifteen years a few months ago. It turns out that Brussels sprouts are delightful! They have a delicate, nutty taste that comes out beautifully when the crucifers are cooked with sweet ingredients like balsamic vinegar. We've been on something of a Brussels sprout bender recenltly. Here are three of the area's best sprout packed dishes.

•At Via Matta, the Brussels sprouts are caramelized and served in a side dish with almonds and balsamic vinegar. You could do much worse than ordering that and another side dish (we recommend the roasted cauliflower with butter, parmesan, and parsley) as your dinner.
•Hamersley's Bistro knows that bacon always makes it better. Their Brussels sprout side comes roasted with bacon and walnuts, making it similar to this recipe, with which we are obsessed.
•Sorellina also goes the bacon route with their sprout side. Brussels sprouts are combined with smoky bacon and caramelized onions for a decadent, yet healthy, treat.
•B Side serves up one of the Hub's most delectable Brussels sprout dishes: a Niman Ranch pork loin is grilled and served with garlic-braised sprouts and a warm German potato salad with roasted red onion relish. It's an international feast!

Via Matta [Official Site]
Hamersley's Bistro [Official Site]
Sorellina [Official Site]
B Side [Official Site]

[Photo: Wikipedia]

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.

•Get upscale at Pigalle... [On Common Ground]
•...or go lowbrow in Rozzie. [Universal Hub]
•Jim Koch just might be the nicest guy ever. [Brewing The Perfect Beer...]

[Photo: Flickr: wemcg]

Dunkin' Donuts had quite the eventful few days last week. On Wednesday, the company announced the launch of a new all-day menu featuring "oven-toasted" flatbread sandwiches, pizzas, and hash browns. On Thursday, the Globe reported that 95% of New England and New York Dunkin' Donuts franchisees are unhappy about the chain's decision to allow its coffee to be distributed in grocery stores and at Hess gas stations.

At heart, both of these pieces of news are about brand dilution. If Dunkie's flatbreads and pizzas turn out to be good, that's great, but, as we've mentioned, that seems unlikely. If a customer goes to Dunkin' Donuts and has a crap pizza, that's likely to diminish their approval of the brand in general, no matter how rocking the doughnuts and coffee may be. Furthermore, the effort expended on making the meal items may well take away from the time spent on the core items, such as the doughnuts, which could result in diminished quality for the entire menu. While we don't object to the selling of Dunkie's coffee at grocery stores, it does send a message that Dunkin' Donuts a brand that extends well beyond its own locations, which is likely bad news for franchisees, who are, after all, the core of Dunkin' Donuts' operations, especially in New England. We worry, in short, that Dunkie's is doing less with more.

What do you think? Are all these changes good or bad for the Dunkin' Donuts brand? Your thoughts are, as always, welcome in the comments.

Dunkin' Donuts Turns Up the Heat with New Oven-Roasted Menu [Dunkin' Donuts]
Bad Feelings Brewing Among Shop Owners [Boston Globe]

Diner's Agenda is not impressed.

Monday, February 18
•Mansfield's Trattoria Della Nonna focuses on the cuisine of Calabria, a region in Southern Italy with a rich culinary tradition that was once known as "the land of wine", so its only proper that they'll be holding a dinner focusing on the wines of the region at 6pm. $85 gets you five courses with wine pairings, including a delectable-sounding dish of lamb slow-cooked with tomatoes and potatoes with Swiss chard. Call (508) 339-5432 to save your spot. [Trattoria Della Nonna]
•Ice wines are delicious dessert wines made from grapes that have frozen on the vines. At 6:30pm, Gordon's Fine Wine & Culinary Center will be holding a seminar on pairing the sweet wines with cheeses. We rather recommend going, as ice wine is nice wine. Tickets, which cost $35, may be purchased online. [Gordon's]

Our favorite nerdy trade site, Nation's Restaurant News, ran a very interesting piece recently about Legal Sea Foods' plans for a new flagship in the old Jimmy's Harborside space in the Seaport. The new spot sounds pretty intriguing: it will feature a higher price point (oof), more non-seafood entrees, such as steaks and chops, and a rooftop lounge. The new flagship, which is shooting for a 2010 opening, will be helmed by Moncef Meddeb, who opened L'Espalier in 1982. Chowhound is already buzzing about this last detail.

We have, of course, always loved going to Legal's for a lobster dinner, and we'd be incredibly interested to see what they could do with a steakhouse. Roger Berkowitz and Moncef Meddeb are both very smart guys, and they could definitely bring a unique touch to a formal dining concept. The new flagship will be located very near the forthcoming Lynch Star. Between the two developments, we wouldn't be at all surprised if the Seaport finally actually turns into the restaurant row it's been hyped as for some time.

Legal Sea Foods to Debut New Flagship as Part Of Upscale Repositioning [Nation's Restaurant News]
Legal Sea Foods [Official Site]
Moncef Meddeb Returns! [Chowhound]

We adore ginger, both for its taste and its medicinal properties. Whether you're stuffed up or nauseated, ginger will have you feeling better near-instantly. We love ginger in all its forms: crystallized, for snacking, grated into hot water for a sort of tea, and most of all, at restaurants. Below, four of Boston's best ginger dishes.

•Ginger is, of course, a somewhat ubiquitous ingredient in Chinese cuisine. Our favorite ginger-focused dish has always been ginger and scallion lo mein and, for our money, it can be found in its best incarnation at Chau Chow City. The noodles are just thin enough, the scallion is fresh, and the ginger is absolutely perfect, especially when you're a little under the weather.
•Ginger's kick pairs especially well with rich ingredients, a fact that Beacon Hill Bistro takes beautiful advantage of with their ginger and lemon cured Moulard duck. The tart lemon and spicy ginger cut the richness of the duck . Honey-glazed carrots and kohlrabi complete the dish for a delicious meal.
•At East Coast Grill & Raw Bar, ginger finds its way into tuna-sausage dumplings to excellent effect. The combination may sound a little odd, but the end result is delightful, with no weird textural issues. It's listed as an appetizer, but you might be tempted to order a second helping for your main course.
•At Prezza, ginger finds its way into creme brulee. It's a nice surprise for what can be a boring dish, and the molasses crinkles it comes with are even nicer.

Chau Chow City [MenuPages]
Beacon Hill Bistro [Official Site]
East Coast Grill & Raw Bar [Official Site]
Prezza [Official Site]

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.

•Giacomo's has a mighty tempting menu. [We Are Not Martha]
•Don't hate the brussels sprout, hate the negative stereotypes. [The Epi-Log]
•V-Day at Harvest was a treat! [A Passionate Foodie]

[Photo: Flickr: cjess45]

•MP: Chicago celebrated Valentine's Day with an epic roundup of heartsy-heartsy foodstuffs.
•MP: Philadelphia expressed his deep admiration for Jewish deli sandwiches.
•MP: San Francisco thinks Valentine's Day dinners should be hot and steamy.
•MP: South Florida shows her love with braised short ribs.

Diner's Agenda wishes it was a three-day weekend.

Saturday, February 16
•As Bostonians, we're experts on shellfish...or at least, the more typical shellfish like clams, mussels, and, of course, lobsters. Those aren't, however, the only shellfish in the sea. At 11am, Great Bay chef Adam Fuller will be teaching a class on the lesser-known shellfish like razor clams. $125 gets you class and lunch, which comes with wine pairings. Call (617) 532-5300 to save your spot. [Great Bay]
•Valentine's Day may be over now, leaving in its wake dramatically discounted conversation hearts, but UpStairs on the Square isn't quite done celebrating yet. From 3pm-5pm, they'll be hosting a Valentine Sweetheart Tea with special V-Day treats including Valrhona hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows. Tea costs $25 for adults and $14 for kiddies and reservations may be made by calling (617) 864-1933. [UpStairs on the Square]

Sunday, February 17
•Rocca throws another one of their excellent Sunday suppers from 4pm-9pm. As always, $22 gets you three courses. This week's menu included semolina gnocchi with sage pesto: yum. Call (617) 451-5151 to get in on the fun. [Rocca Boston]
•Meanwhile at The Metropolitan Club, Sunday supper will be inspired by New England and New Orleans, so look for lots of great seafood. Dinner runs from 5pm-8pm and you call (617) 731-0600 to reserve. [The Metropolitan Club]

B- for Stix.
It's better than its concept,
but could use some work.

B+ for Gitlo's.
"All dim sum, all the time": yes!
Oh, and it's awesome!

New Bloc 11
rocks the scene in Union Square
with coffee and treats.

Oishii's Chef Yen
loves abalone and lamb soup
and makes great crab cakes.

There's a new cookbook
from the Union Oyster House
with some great chowder.

At Dave's Fresh Pasta
Dave Jick makes puttanesca
for Somervillians.

Even though the pace has slowed down a teeny tiny amount, we're still inordinately excited about the 2008 presidential primary season. Seeing as our great state voted over a week ago, we're assuming you already made your choice and, if for some unfathomable reason you haven't, there are plenty of great sites that will help you make an informed decision about who to support, based on a substantive analysis of issue positions. We, however, are not here for issue positions. We're here for baked goods. Below, a rundown of some candidate-inspired baked goods. Mmmm....political! In alphabetical order, we have...

Hillary Clinton: Admittedly, the below cake doesn't say have Senator Clinton's name on it, but the caption does say "Hillary in 2008!" It also notes that she does not advocate the burning of even imaginary flags.

Mike Huckabee: No baked goods for Governor Huckabee on Flickr...maybe because of his famous diet?

John McCain: Maybe Republicans just aren't that into baking. The closest thing we could find to a McCain baked good on Flickr was the below photo of the Senator and President Bush getting ready to chow down on some cake on August 29, 2005. It's not like there was anything else going on that day.

Barack Obama: Not only did someone bake the gorgeous cake below for a house party for the Senator from Illinois, but the campaign's official Flickr account has a picture of his birthday cake!

Hillary in 2008!* [Flickr: haikugirl]
White House - 2005-08-29 - 0002 [Flickr: smiteme]
Obama Cake [Flickr: nonprophet]
A Cake for Senator Obama's 46th Birthday [Flickr: Barack Obama]

We know you're out there. Here are a few places where you can still score a table for two at a semi-reasonable hour (between 6pm-10pm) tonight.

•29 Newbury : 6:30pm, 9:30pm
•Cambridge Brewing Co: "Whatever time you want to come in."
•Church: 6pm, 8:30pm
•dante: 7:30pm
•Hampshire House: 6pm, 6:30pm, 8:30pm
•The Metropolitan Club: 9:45pm
•Om: 8:30pm
•Sandrine's Bistro: 8:30pm
•Vlora: 6pm, 8:45pm
•Vox Populi: 6pm

[Photo: Lipara]

Two stars for Small Plates.
Like a college food party,
but in a good way.

Love for Ten Tables:
we don't love the headline but
review is dead-on.

Mmm, Ali Baba:
Cambridge Afghan spot is cold
but food's hot and good.

Weymouth's Peppercornz
offers fresh food, awesome pie,
and light gnocchi.

At Winsor Dim Sum,
there's lovely table service
and unique choices.

The long list for the nominees for the James Beard Awards has been released. "Long list? What do you mean?" you ask. Basically, this is the list of people nominated to be nominated for Beard Awards. As you might recall, last year, Todd English won for Best Food Special for his program Food Trip with Todd English and Frank McClelland was named Best Chef: Northeast. Who is in the running towards becoming a nominee this year? Let's take a look:

•Christopher Myers of Myers + Chang, Radius, Via Matta, and Great Bay for Outstanding Restaurateur.
•Patrick Connelly of Radius, Andy Husbands of Tremont 647, Steve Johnson of Rendezvous, Michael Leviton of Lumiere (and very soon, of Persephone as well), Tony Maws of Craigie Street Bistrot, and Marc Orfaly of Pigalle for Best Chef: Northeast.
•Maura Kilpatrick of Oleana for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
•Hamersley's Bistro for Outstanding Restaurant.
•Pigalle and Radius for Outstanding Service.
•Jim Koch of Sam Adams for Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional.
•Myers + Chang and O Ya for Best New Restaurant.

We're going to reserve full commentary until the short list of nominees is announced, but we will say now that with no less than four nods for his restaurants, Christopher Myers is probably having the best week ever.

[Photo: James Beard Foundation]

Cafeteria
food is just "credible", but
service is quite good.

Sushi Teq's sushi
is near-perfect but concept
is really quite weird.

Somerville's Paddock
is redone and yet, cheaper.
Quite a good value!

Dudley's Pepper Pot,
a Jamaican oasis
in Roxbury rocks.

Yum yum, UglyRipes
are tomatoes for flavor.
So nice in winter!

KO Prime's marrow
has whole bones, thin toast, sel gris,
is mostly perfect.

Sure, it's nice to go out for Valentine's Day, but it can also be perfectly lovely to stay in and make a nice meal. So go ahead: set the table, light some candles, put on your romantic playlist. This is, basically, the dinner we made for our boyfriend last year. It's probably our most successful meal ever, despite the total lack of vegetables (okay, radical honesty: when we made this meal, we served it with canned peas because we love them. Don't judge.).

Appetizer: Stop by South End Formaggio and pick up a nice round of goat cheese. Serve it with crackers and maybe an interesting flavored honey (we're fond of this rosemary variety).

Main: Filet mignon is one of the easiest cuts of steak to cook and it always feels luxurious. The Merlot sauce only intensifies the flavors and is excellent for sopping up with a nice piece of bread. Since we're making risotto for the side, we'd probably omit the roast potatoes.

Side: This lemon risotto just might be one of our very favorite recipes ever. The lemon magically makes the dense risotto feel light. We use sage instead of parsley because we can't resist the lemon-sage combination.

Dessert: This chocolate truffle tart is one of those amazing dishes that seems like it must take a disgusting amount of effort, but actually comes together incredibly easily, especially if you cheat and use a pre-made pie crust like we do. It is so good that your loved one will be reduced to murmuring nonsense syllables while looking at you lovingly. And really, isn't that all you want tonight?

South End Formaggio [Official Site]
Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Roasted Potatoes and Merlot Sauce [Epicurious]
Lemon Risotto [Epicurious]
Chocolate Truffle Tart [Epicurious]

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.

•Pops is tops! [The Leather District Gourmet]
•Lobby for your date to take you to Lobby Bar + Kitchen! [CultureJunkie]
•Brasserie Jo is good: no jo-ke! [Not So Daily Diva]

[Photo: Flickr: bendo1]

We have long been fond of using February 14 to celebrate not just our romantic relationships, but also our wonderful friendships. In high school, we exchanged Palentine's Day cards with our group of close friends. In college, we, along with our best friend, established The Feast of Leila and Jen's Awesomeness, an occasion on which to eat a grand meal and drink several bottles of wine that just so happened to coincide with Valentine's Day. (As both of us have been in relationships for the past few years and live five hours from each other, the holiday is now celebrated on an alternate date.) The way we see it, since there's no Friendship Day, why not celebrate your important non-romantic relationships on Valentine's Day, which, to our mind, is about love in all its forms?

We love going out for Palentine's Day dinner, but it can be tricky to figure out where, exactly, such a dinner should take place. Anywhere too aggressively fancypants and romantic can be either awkward or leave you feeling like a second-class citizen. On the other hand, it's a special occasion, so you don't just want to go to Bertucci's. Below, three spots that we think strike the right balance.

•Bella Luna is offering a special three-course menu for $40 featuring tasty treats like herb-crusted rack of lamb and wild mushroom ravioli with goat cheese béchamel. Afterwards, there will be dancing downstairs at the Milky Way Lounge & Lanes.
•Somehow, a dinner with beer pairings feels less romantic than one with wine pairings. Jacob Wirth is having a Belgian beer dinner, which sounds just about perfect. $48 gets you four courses, each with a different Belgian beer (including Leffe Blonde, which just might be our favorite beer of all time).
•Ashmont Grill's neighborhood vibe is perfect for a Palentine's Day feast. In addition to their excellent regular menu, they'll be offering special desserts.

Bella Luna [Official Site]
Jacob Wirth [Official Site]
Ashmont Grill [Official Site]

Diner's Agenda sure wouldn't mind a sunny day.

Wednesday, February 13
•We may have been inaccurate when we said yesterday that candy was the true meaning of Valentine's Day. The meaning of Valentine's Day is actually sweets in general. Celebrate the reason for the season at tonight's Divine Chocolate and Wine Tasting Dinner at Panzano. There will be plenty of treats (including chocolate fondue!) and plenty of booze, all for free. [Panzano]
•The reservation situation for tomorrow night is ridic, so why not celebrate V-Day a night early? UpStairs on the Square will be hosting a fancypants wine dinner. $65 gets you four courses with wine pairings. Call (617) 864-1933 to save your spot. [UpStairs on the Square]

An offal roundup
is quite good for Valentine's.
Innards are sexy!

This Big Black Bear Stout,
a Russian Imperial,
is easy to drink.

Wines to get you laid.
They will tempt your girl or guy
and you'll be happy.

Sexy Hub cocktails
seem to all involve vodka
and some kind of fruit.

Following in the esteemed footsteps of Christopher Walken, 90s rap superstar Coolio has gone and gotten his own cooking show. In the frankly amazing first installment, he schools us on the finer points of making Caprese salad. It turns out that Coolio is a stickler for presentation. Who knew?

Warning: In all likelihood, the below video is safe for neither work nor children.

Cookin' With Coolio #1: Caprese Salad [My Damn Channel]

Since there's not much new news in the way of restaurant openings and closings to report this week, we're going to structure this week's edition of The Tuesday Report a little differently. We're going to take a look at the current status of a few of the restaurants we've reported on that haven't yet opened. Let's jump right in.

•Way back on March 22, we mentioned Oliver's, Todd English's rumored burger joint in Post Office Square, originally expected to open in Fall 2007. At this point, we suspect it's safe to declare this one dead.
•Banq, which we originally mentioned back on September 11, is slated to open next week! There's lots of buzz on this one, so we're excited to see how it turns out.
•Johnnie's on the Side, which we initially discussed on September 18, was mentioned in the Herald last month. The article states that the restaurant will open by the end of the month. To the best of our knowledge (which is limited, as we cannot track down a phone number), it has not yet opened.
•Persephone, part of the Achilles Project we talked about on October 2, is set to open on Monday! The menu includes jamón ibérico and looks excellent all around.

[Photo: Flickr: johnnyfxb]

It is an inarguable fact of life that almost everyone will, sooner or later, spend a Valentine's Day sans significant other. We've been with our boyfriend for the past two V-Days, but before that, there were several years spent flying solo on February 14. We found this terrifically depressing when we were an unspeakably awkward fourteen year old, but as the years wore on, we got used to it and learned to focus on the true meaning of Valentine's Day: candy. Seriously, we can't get enough conversation hearts. If you, however, are a more enterprising sort of single person than we've ever been, you might look upon Valentine's Day not as a reason to overindulge in sugar, but as an opportunity to forge a love connection. If so, we've found three events you might want to check out.

•Beehive is hosting a Love Ball from 9pm-2am. There will be special cocktails (including one featuring champagne, absinthe, and strawberries), match making, and a live tribute to Barry White. Awesome.
•Vox Populi is taking a two-pronged approach to Valentine's Day. Upstairs, the restaurant will feature a four-course dinner for $65. Downstairs, however, will host a "sinful singles" party with complimentary hors d'oeuvres. The fun starts at 6pm.
•If you'd rather get the party started a day early, head to UpStairs on the Square, which will host a singles' party from 9pm-1am on Wednesday. To celebrate "Saint Singles Day", drinks will be priced in the single digits, there will be plenty of dancing, and lots of tasty treats.

Beehive [Official Site]
Vox Populi [Official Site]
UpStairs on the Square [Official Site]

Welcome to The Buzz, a feature where we look at what the Internet is saying about brand new restaurants. It's too early for a review, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

Folks in Jamaica Plain are pretty excited about Vee Vee, the new bistro on Centre Street (it's located in the old Cha Fahn space). There sure seems to be a lot to like: the pedigree is great (owner Dan Valachovic comes from neighborhood favorite Zon's), it's reasonably priced (appetizers go for $6-10 and entrees will run you $14-20), vegetarian-friendly (always an important consideration in JP), and the menu is widely appealing (we're particularly intrigued by the wild mushroom pate and the linguine with goat cheese, caramelized onions, and walnuts...and the cornmeal-crusted skate wing...and the stuffed Delicata squash...okay, really the whole menu). The buzz so far is quiet but positive. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The Good: Chowhound gourmaniac stopped by Vee Vee on its first night and had plenty of nice things to say: "The food is very good with moderate portions and prices. ... The cited food [two apps, two entrees, and one dessert] plus two glasses of Prosecco and an Oregon white beer and tip came to $90. All in all, Vee Vee is the kind of place I’ve always wanted to have within walking distance after a long, too-tired-to-cook day." 'Hound BarmyFotheringayPhipps seems hopeful as well: "There is not a single thing on that sample menu that I wouldn't eat, and at popular prices. Good graphic design, too. I am intrigued." Blogger D-in-Beantown also stopped by on the first night: "I had linguini, with goat cheeze, onions and pine nuts. It's perfect when the pasta craving can't be tamed. So much for dieting. They decorated in brick and shale colors, and it still had the feeling of the tiny little tea house. Dinner was good, staff was kind and relaxed, and the wine was delicate and perfect."

The Slightly Less Good: Per gourmaniac's report, the shrimp and scallop fritters are, in fact, one fritter and the beets in the beet salad "could have been roasted longer." These are clearly small issues. To our mind, the larger issue is that some folks might take a while to warm up to Vee Vee as Cha Fahn was such a favorite of many. We suspect, however, that Vee Vee is going to become an important part of the JP dining scene.

The Punny: From the inevitable DailyCandy writeup: "So, ur BFF wants u & the S.O. to take the T to J.P. for some V.V. Np, right?" We must say that here at MenuPages, the city editors typically communicate via instant messenger. As you might imagine, abbreviations abound. Recently, without thinking about it, we've begun to say "NP" out loud whenever someone thanks us. It is very embarrassing. In further pun news, the major Chowhound thread on Vee Vee is entitled "Oui, Oui to Vee Vee in JP". Shockingly, no one has yet said anything like "I'm v.v. excited about Vee Vee."

Vee Vee [Official Site]
Oui, Oui to Vee Vee in JP [Chowhound]
Notes from a Stroll Tonight [D-in-Beantown]
Cha Fahn is Now VeeVee (in JP) [Chowhound]
Short and Sweet [Daily Candy]

Tufts kids love ChoCho's.
Affordable, healthy food
is a student's dream.

B.C. discovers
Bottega, learns what we know:
it is so awesome.

Conscious B.U. kids
love Haley House Bakery
for snacks and good works.

Lucia's for romance.
Valet parking, gnocchi:
what more could you want?

Oysters are the food of love, so what better time to indulge in their briny goodness than Valentine's Day? We're always petrified to make any sort of raw seafood dish in our home, but thankfully, Legal Sea Foods is here to teach us how to shuck them ourselves. Turns out it's easy as pie! Easier, actually. Our pie crusts always fall apart.

Legal Sea Foods [MenuPages]
Legal Sea Foods [Official Site]
How to Shuck an Oyster [YouTube: chatni02]

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 would watch this game show every night. [Universal Hub]
•Mmm, impressively displayed potato chips! [Internet128]
•Even political writers like b.good! [Dispatches from Seth Gitell]

[Photo: Flickr: wemcg]

No holiday gives us more inner conflict than Valentine's Day. On the one hand, it's a cheesy manufactured holiday, but on the other, it offers a lot of opportunities to eat candy and an excuse to go out for a nice dinner. If you're interested in this last purpose, perhaps you're the organized sort and have already made reservations for you and your sweetheart at L'Espalier. If, however, you're not quite so on top of things, never fear! We've rounded up five great options that still have reservations available.

•For $75, dante will bring the romance with their outlandishly adorable four-course V-Day menu, stuffed with dish names like "menage a foie" and "love bird." Aww. Reservations for two are available at 5:30 and 9:45 (hey, we never promised to find you reservations for prime times).
•After the infamous New Year's Eve debacle at Vlora, the restaurant will presumably be on the straight and narrow for Valentine's Day....or it will be a good story to tell your friends. Either way, the four-course $45 menu looks pretty yummy. There's even steak! Seatings are available at 5:15 and 9:45.
•Get decadent at The Metropolitan Club with their a la carte menu. Guys, nothing says "romance" like langostino tails poached in butter and champagne. Reservations may be made for 5:30 and 9:15.
•We generally prefer our lobster to be as unadorned as possible, but we'd make an exception for the lobster thermidor cassoulet that's part of Bouchee's Valentine's Day a la carte menu. Reservations are available at 5:30 and 9:30.
•If you want to eat at a reasonable hour, UpStairs on the Square is probably your best bet. Reservations are available in the Monday Room any time after 8:30. The $85 five-course menu includes a delightful-sounding terrine of duck foie gras with rose-scented gelee.

dante [Official Site]
Vlora [Official Site]
The Metropolitan Club [Official Site]
Bouchee [MenuPages]
UpStairs on the Square [Official Site]

Diner's Agenda wouldn't mind more of that Florida weather.

Monday, February 11
•29 Newbury may not have made our list of the best Restaurant Week bets this morning, but it's definitely topping our bargain list now. From Sundays-Wednesdays now through March, the restaurant is offfering three courses for $29. Even more incredibly, those three courses include high-end options like grilled sirloin. Not too shabby! Call (617) 536-0290 to reserve. [29 Newbury]
•Grotto is also getting in on the prix fixe action. Throughout February, they'll be offering three courses for $35. We'd recommend the gnocchi and short ribs. Call (617) 227-3434 to save your spot. [Grotto]

Boston Restaurant Week is upon us again. From March 9-14 and 16-21 (why oh why is it not Boston Restaurant Weeks?), a broad selection of Hub restaurants will be offering three course dinners for $33.08 and lunches for $20.08. Try as you might, you can't hit every participating restaurant, so we've culled our top picks. Reservations may be made now and the best spots tend to fill up fast, so get on your phone and make some plans.

Restaurant: Chez Henri
Why You Should Go: Not only is Chez Henri is one of Cambridge's very best neighborhood restaurants, but for Restaurant Week, they're offering venison. One really doesn't see wild game on Boston area menus often enough.
What We'd Order: Start with the smoked cod and lobster chowder with chili lime butter. Follow that with the grilled venison with Tazo cocoa and ancho chile, which comes with a side of faro grain pilaf and clementine-piquillo pepper jus. Top it all off with tangerine flan with shortbread cookies.

Restaurant: Great Bay
Why You Should Go: Great Bay is lovely, but dinner there would usually run you quite a bit more than $33. Restaurant Week is a great chance to try their inventive seafood preparations on the cheap.
What We'd Order: Gazpacho seems hard to comprehend when it's this cold out, but it'll probably sound a bit better by March. For the main, the pan-roasted rainbow trout with asparagus, wild mushroom, new potato hash, and sauce gribizhe (we believe it's a rustic variation on tartar sauce) sounds pretty great. We're also drooling over the cornmeal cobbler with seasonal fruits.

Restaurant: Sandrine's Bistro
Why You Should Go: Alsatian food is always a treat, but never more so than in winter. Plus, there's lobster on the menu!
What We'd Order: Start with the rich celeriac veloute with parmesan croutons before moving on to the lobster risotto, which comes with wild mushrooms and a brandied lobster reduction. For dessert, you can't miss the frozen praline souffle with warm chocolate sauce. We'd actually like that meal right now, please.

Restaurant: La Morra
Why You Should Go: La Morra's Restaurant Week menu just might be the best bargain in town. Not only is chef Josh Ziskin squeezing in a fourth course, but the restaurant will also be offering wine pairings for just $15.08 extra.
What We'd Order: We'd start with an order of the hearty ribolita before moving on to a primi of linguine with mussels, tomato, scallion, and breadcrumb. For our secondi, we couldn't resist the spit-roasted pork chop with semolina polenta, fig, and balsamic vinegar. The dessert has yet to be announced, but we feel confident that it will be excellent.

Boston Restaurant Week [Official Site]
Chez Henri [Official Site]
Great Bay [Official Site]
Sandrine's Bistro [Official Site]
La Morra [Official Site]

[Photo: Alliance to Save Energy]

We adored Mark Bittman's piece on sun-dried tomatoes in last Wednesday's New York Times Dining section. Bittman correctly points out that when sun-dried tomatoes were introduced in the United States in the late 1970s, they almost immediately became a foodie sensation. We occasionally make a eggplant, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomato terrine from the Dean and DeLuca Cookbook, which we always think of as the ultimate in 1980s yuppie fare. Here's the thing about sun-dried tomatoes, though: they're actually really delicious. They have a bright, citrus-y tang, but they're also wonderfully chewy. We like to snack on them while watching TV almost as much as we enjoy eating them in a delicious (if hyper-salty) sandwich of prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and olive oil on focaccia. Boston has plenty of great dishes showcasing sun-dried tomatoes. Below, three of the best.

•Sun-dried tomatoes are consistently great in dips (Bittman includes a killer hummus recipe with his article) and our favorite dip in the area comes from Finale . The sun-dried tomatoes are combined with pesto and sweet mascarpone cheese and served with bread and a balsamic reduction. Yum!
•The Beacon Hill pizza at The Upper Crust is topped with a blend of sun-dried tomatoes and lots of eggplant. It's intensely flavorful and will fill you up thoroughly while keeping you reasonably healthy (since you did, after all, forgo one of the heavy meat versions).
•At Cafe Kiraz , sun-dried tomatoes make their way into a tasty wrap, where they're combined with eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and roasted red pepper. Hey, it's a cliche combination because it's irresistibly delicious, okay?

Catching Up, Finally, With a Worthy Trend [New York Times]
Finale [Official Site]
The Upper Crust [Official Site]
Cafe Kiraz [Official Site]

Originally posted on May 10. We may have accidentally revealed too much about our own grossness with this post. We don't actually eat food off our floor.

We've been living by the five-second rule since we were tiny and we're willing to bet that you do as well. You know the drill: you drop a piece of food on the floor or counter and scoop it up and pop it in your mouth at the speed of light. "Five-second rule", you state authoritatively. Obviously, the five-second rule doesn't apply to, say, a donut dropped on the T, but it holds true for a non-sticky morsel dropped on your living room floor. Right?

Wrong, say researchers at Clemson University and eminent food scientist Harold McGee. In an article from yesterday's New York Times, McGee reveals that five seconds is more than enough for your dropped food to get contaminated with yucky bacteria like E.coli or salmonella. McGee suggests "the five-second rule, version 2.0": pick up the food and take five seconds to think about whether it's worth eating. We think that sounds like a lot less fun.

It's also little sad that one of our last childhood beliefs has been proven false. What next? Will we learn that chanting "circle, circle, dot, dot, now I've got my cootie shot" and counting to ten (but skipping the number eight, which, as anyone can tell you, is the "cootie number") is not an effective vaccine against the most dreaded disease of our elementary school years?

The Five-Second Rule Explored, or How Dirty Is That Bologna? [New York Times]

Originally posted on May 9, 2007. We're very excited for the imminent return of Top Chef.

Our earlier post about Todd English and his new television show got us thinking about food on television. Like many food-lovers, we have a love/hate relationship with the Food Network. We have a total crush on Dave Lieberman and we find Paula Deen inordinately fascinating, but Effing Rachael Ray drives us CRAZY and we're pretty sure that what Sandra Lee does cannot be legally called "cooking." We do, however, love television in general and television about food specifically. Because we also love you, here are three food shows worth the space on your TiVo.

•Good Eats (Weeknights at 7:00 and 11:00, Food Network): Minute for minute, the most charming show on television. Alton Brown is by turns silly, informative, brilliant, and hilarious. Unlike the vast majority of cooking shows (and television shows in general), you feel smarter after watching an episode of Good Eats. Or a marathon, for that matter.
•Iron Chef America (Sundays, 9:00, Food Network): We didn't want to like Iron Chef America. We're totally obsessed with the original Japanese Iron Chef and we're really not sure what makes Cat Cora an Iron Chef on par with Mario Batali and Masaharu Marimoto, but we started watching because of Jeffrey Steingarten and we kept watching because it makes us sit on the edge of our couch and yell things like "Don't make a foam! They never like foams!". Good times. Good times.
•No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (Mondays, 10:00, Travel Channel): We make no bones about the fact that we love Anthony Bourdain. He's profane, irreverent and hilarious. His legendary bitterness, however, is not what keeps us tuning into No Reservations every week. What keeps us hanging on is his open heart. Unlike some food television personalities who look down on cuisines that many love (we're talking to you, George Duran), Bourdain will try anything. What's more, he'll be appreciative of the time, effort, and thought that went into it. It's absolutely the right attitude for an eater-traveler to have and, besides, watching him eat a still-beating cobra's heart (as he did in Vietnam) is truly great television.
•Top Chef (Wednesdays, 10:00, Bravo): Yeah, it's derivative of the best show ever, Project Runway. Yeah, the first season was better than the second. Even with all that, Top Chef is one of the most reliably enjoyable food shows on television. Tom Colicchio is the Simon Cowell of food competition: cranky, kind of mean, and absolutely correct 99% of the time. Rumor has it that former Queer Eye star Ted Allen will be a permanent judge this season, which can only up the awesomeness. Watching contestants pull together gourmet tasting plates in under thirty minutes (as they frequently do in the Quickfire Challenge in each episode) is truly awe-inspiring. All in all, an excellent weekly hour of television.

[Photo: Epicurian]

Originally posted on May 8, 2007. Helen is still very funny and you should go read her blog right now.

Congratulations are in order for the Boston-area winners at last night's James Beard Foundation Awards. Although the Globe didn't win for Best Newspaper Section and America's Test Kitchen was tragically robbed as Best National Television Show, local legend Todd English got a Best Food Special nod for his PBS program Food Trip with Todd English and, as I previously mentioned, Frank McClelland (of L'Espalier and Sel De La Terre fame) was named Best Chef in the Northeast. Our good friend, the brilliant and hilarious Helen Rosner of ReadySteadyGo. was lucky enough to attend last night's ceremony. Her verbose and riotous report follows after the jump.

This was my first year at the Beard Awards, so I couldn't really participate in all the "last year it was like X" compare/contrast that most attendees were having fun with. What I do know: past years' events were in a ballroom at the Times Square Marriott hotel, and this year's was at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center - an actual theater with actual seats and an actual stage.

Walking the red carpet (no, seriously) into the lobby, I passed Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill (a nominee for - and the eventual winner of - Outstanding Restaurant) and had a little swell of Chicago pride. Inside was crazy - a thousand professional and amateur foodies milling around and wondering how to sneak into the press room, which apparently had an open bar (those of us with paid-for tickets - the cheapest seats were $400 a head - had to wait until after the awards show to get sloshy). Here's a handy trick to tell professional foodie females from amateur foodie females: amateurs look like socialites and dress like they're going to prom. Professionals dress like your mom.

After painfully boring opening remarks from Susan Ungaro, the new president of the foundation (will she lift the foundation out of scandal?!?!? Stay tuned!!!!), the stage was occupied by Heather Storm, who I have never heard of. Apparently she hosts a segment on CBS's The Early Show (aka The Morning Show No One Watches) where she interacts with chefs and cookbook authors. Considering that (a) she used to be a sportscaster, and (b) she was the most skeletally thin person in the entire room, I am guessing her decision to be the cooking-segment gal was not entirely driven by a passionate, longstanding love for food and cooking. Heather Storm proceeded to miss virtually every cue throughout the show, leaving the audience staring awkwardly at an empty stage after winners departed with their medals, and whenever she ran on late she would blame someone else for her inability to get on stage on time. I think I dislike her strongly, though she did accidentally call Bobby Flay a "hoo-hoo honoree" instead of a "who's who honoree," which was hilarious because, well, think about it.

The awards presentation itself was poorly planned. The video screen showed lists of nominees that looked like they were made by someone who had just learned PowerPoint that day, and during the In Memoriam PowerPoint Presentation (I Swear To God I Am Not Kidding You) there was no audio whatsoever, which was really odd. The stage was gigantic and the auditorium was gigantic and no one seemed to have had the forethought to seat nominees up near the stage, so that we wouldn't have to listen to so much of "Sweet Potato Pie"
that we left the Ray Charles part and got to the James Taylor part (which is, for the record, the bad part) while the winners speed walked the city block down to the stage.

Speaking of "Sweet Potato Pie," someone thought it would be cute to have all the musical cues be songs about food. You know what? This is a great idea. In theory. The problem is that when you include songs like "American Pie" in that list, which open with about 70 seconds of slow and incredibly depressing lyrics, which sort of undercuts the excitement of your win for Best Regional Chef. Other food-related music choices: Strawberry Fields (adorably appropriate for Mollie Katzen, who entered the Cookbook Hall of Fame for Moosewood), Peel Me A Grape, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, and UB40's seminal Red Red Wine, a paean to alcoholism which inexplicably played as Wolfgang Puck came onstage.

A lot was really great. The Lee Brothers won their cookbook category and cookbook of the year, and gave sweet and funny speeches both times. Ted Allen self-consciously called attention to how crappy the PowerPoint was. Martha Stewart managed to curb her disdain. David Chang gave the credit for his Rising Star award to his restaurant team. Michel Richard and his sommelier were hysterically, farcically funny while accepting their Wine Service award, and I want them to have a Jeeves-and-Wooster-esque television show. Katie Lee Joel proved her uselessness by being unable to read the teleprompter, but has incredibly shiny hair. The honorees for "American Classics" - the proprietors of non-haute restaurants in far-flung, unchic cities, who cook things like deep-fried hamburgers and sandwiches with french fries used AS A CONDIMENT - were sweet, seemed genuinely touched, and made really cute remarks like "Stop what you're doin', swallow what you're chewin' - we won an award!" They also made me deeply crave fried chicken. Fun fact: REM took the album title for "Automatic for the People" from the slogan of a restaurant in Athens, GA. Another fun fact: the secret ingredient in that restaurant's fried chicken is garlic salt.

Here's my confession: I didn't make it through to the end of the awards show. Just about when Padma Lakshmi took the stage (verdict: pretty and competent), my companion and I decided to go out to the lobby and get a rush on the post-show reception. Which, let's be honest, is the real point: 30 tables with free food from the country's best restaurants? Yes please. For all that Anthony Bourdain was cranky about the lack of kitchen facilities at this year's new site, everyone seemed to do a bang-up job with portable burners and pre-mise'd prep. We spent a lot of time hovering by French Laundry's table (salmon tartare cornets, and free clothespins!), and I ogled the oh-so-dreamy Todd English as he ladled out deconstructed crab-and-parmesan-and-morel lasagna. Jose Andres' cotton candy foie gras was interesting if not delicious, and Traci Des Jardins's rabbit escabeche with favas was the springiest springtime food I might have ever eaten in my life.

Some final thoughts: Salman Rushdie was there, urgently barking into his cell phone that he was "standing by a sign that says Marcus Samuelson and where the *bleep* are you?!" And then Padma showed up and he calmed down visibly. Bill Buford, whose book Heat is amazing and who was utterly robbed in his category by that no-good upstart Michael Pollan, was carrying his wife's oversized silver metallic leather tote bag. Lorna Sass and Dorie Greenspan both have awesome glasses. I overheard a skinny woman in a Marc Jacobs sundress say "What's the French Laundry? Do you think it's good?" There were no gift bags.

Originally posted on May 8, 2007. We sure do love it when people write in with questions!

A reader writes in...

Dear MenuPages,
My dad is stopping in Boston next week and wants to have dinner. Can you think of any place(s) easily walkable from South Station, relatively traditional but not too boring, where a guy could buy his daughter a nicer dinner than she could afford by herself?
-Frances, Providence

Dinner with parents is a great opportunity to vastly expand your restaurant repertoire. Odds are that your parents aren't trying to pay rent and eat on an assistant's salary (or worse yet, as a student) and they generally want to give you a little treat. Although the South Station area isn't necessarily regarded as a food destination, there are lots of great parent-friendly eats nearby.

•Trattoria II Panino serves up eminently reliable Italian food a cut above the typical red sauce joint. Go for the excellent pappardelle al ragu and marvel at the the sauce's mindblowingly rich combination of four meats.
•Show your pops that you're a sophisticate at Les Zygomates, a wine bar with stellar food. Go for the butter-poached lobster because there is but one thing in this world that can improve upon the natural deliciousness of lobster and that is poaching it in butter.
•Indulge in the seasonal perfection of Pigalle's bitter greens salad: a sort of frisee aux lardons packed with pickled ramps and other goodies.
•The food at Avila is basic enough to appeal to a cautious eater but adventurous enough to satisfy a foodie. Go for the superlative hand-rolled potato gnocchi.

Have a question about Boston dining that's burning you up inside? Ask us!

Trattoria II Panino [MenuPages]
Les Zygomates [Official Site]
Pigalle [Official Site]
Avila [Official Site]

[Photo: A View on Cities]

Originally posted on May 3, 2007. One doesn't hear so much about La Verdad anymore.

The chips and guacamole at La Verdad are stirring up a fair bit on controversy over on Chowhound. Are the chips cut too thick? Is the guacamole refreshingly delicious as is or does it need a chile kick? Opinions are divided but one thing seems to be constant among both the Chowhounders and patrons we've witnessed: people are impressed by the cheese sprinkled atop the dish. Well, impressed and possibly a little bit baffled. Our own dining companion thought it was parmesan and was very confused. What is this puzzlingly tasty cheese?

The mystery cheese is none other than queso Cotija, a Mexican semi-hard cow's milk cheese with a flavor somewhere between feta and parmesan. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cheese comes from the town of Cotija de la Paz in the Mexican state of Michoacan, along the Pacific coastline. Queso Cotija is quite granular, which makes it ideal for grating. Its super-salty flavor makes it an ideal accompaniment to dishes in need of a little kick. If you're keen to buy some for home use, try looking at La Internacional Foods in Somerville.

La Internacional Foods, 318 Somerville Ave, Somerville, (617) 776-8855

La Verdad [MenuPages]
La Verdad: 3 out of 4 is pretty damn good [Chowhound]
Cotija Cheese [Wikipedia]
Cotija Puts The Accent On Mexican Foods [San Francisco Chronicle]
Cotija Cheese [Official Site]

Originally posted on May 2, 2007. We miss Noho!

Sure, Boston dining is amazing, but sometimes you want a bit of an adventure. Pile in the car, kids. It's time for a road trip. Today we head about an hour and a half west to Northampton, Massachusetts

Ah, Northampton. Home of Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, one-time residence of Smith College alumnae Gloria Steinem, Sylvia Plath and Barbara Bush (three names you never thought you'd hear in the same breath), birthplace of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Nestled into the heart of the Pioneer Valley just below the Berkshires, Northampton (or Noho, as the cool kids call it) is the cultural center of Western Massachusetts, boasting scenic views, killer art and music scenes, and, most intriguingly for our purposes, great food at a fraction of Boston prices. Drive on down for a day of art galleries, record and vintage clothing shopping, and gorging yourself.

Plan to arrive just in time for breakfast at Sylvester's. Housed in the former home of graham-cracker inventor Sylvester Graham, Sylvester’s makes hand-down the best omelets in town and the rest of the menu isn't too shabby either (we're very fond of the apple cinnamon pancakes).

Spend the rest of the morning doing some light shopping along Main Street before decamping to Pinocchio's Pizza for a slice topped with a semi-bizarre but delicious combination of ingredients. We're partial to the slice with feta, tomato, and avocado, but, really, nothing tops the anti-Atkins tortellini slice. Totally worth the inevitable tummy ache. If you're craving a healthier option, cross the street to find the Haymarket Café, for an excellent vegetarian sandwich and the best people-watching in Noho.

While away your afternoon checking out the galleries lining Main Street and the Smith College Museum of Art. When you're ready for dinner, mosey on over to Del Raye, widely regarded as Northampton's best restaurant. Although the prices are steep by Northampton standards, they aren't too bad to the Bostonian eye. If you've managed to go Sunday-Thursday, you can grab a $28 prix fixe. Don't have too much money to burn? Try Viva Fresh Pasta Company, where $6.95 gets you an ample portion of their house-made pasta and sauce. Go for either the egg linguine dressed with the near-perfect alfredo or the sweet potato ravioli with romesco. Head home, happy and full.

Pinocchio's Pizza, 122 Main St, (413) 586-1468
Haymarket Cafe, 185 Main St, (413) 586-9969

Sylvester's Restaurant [Official Site]
Del Raye [Official Site]
Viva Fresh Pasta Company [Official Site]

Originally posted on May 2, 2007. Ribbet Ribbet!

We must confess that talk of eating frog legs always makes us think of The Muppet Movie and inevitably gets "The Rainbow Connection" stuck in our head. That being said, the little buggers are pretty tasty. As has been oft-noted, they taste not unlike chicken, and like chicken, they can take on very different tastes when cooked in different ways.

•At Wine Cellar, the frog legs are served a la Provencal: pan-seared in white wine and olive oil with garlic and parsley. The result is like a meatier version of mussels prepared in the same way.
•The frog legs at Anise are braised with bamboo shoots and baby ginger. By serving time, the meat is meltingly tender with just enough heat to be truly satisfying.
•Muqueca Restaurant serves their frog legs as a crispy fried appetizer. Just try not to pop them like french fries. We just dare you.
•The little jumpers get fancified at The Blue Room, where they're fried in tempura and served with an arugula salad and a garlic-lemon vinaigrette.

With so many delicious options, what are you waiting for? Hop to it! (Sorry. We couldn't resist that one.)

Wine Cellar [Official Site]
Anise [Official Site]
Muqueca Restaurant [Official Site]
The Blue Room [Official Site]

Originally posted on May 10, 2007. Sadly, this was a limited time offer.

We were all set to make fun of the new $1,000 martini at The Capital Grille, but then we realized that it's for charity and we felt more than a little bit mean. The "martini" is made of Ciroc vodka, creme de mure (blackberry liqueur) and fresh berries. It comes garnished with a piece of jewelery, which, presumably, is yours to keep. 100% of the profits go to Share Our Strength. Here's our question: we're used to tipping a dollar per drink (sometimes a little more on something absurdly annoying to make), but somehow, that doesn't seem quite right on a thousand dollar drink. What would you leave?

For those of you without the means to donate a grand to a charity martini, here's how to make your own version at home:
1) Go to the liquor store and buy a bottle of creme de cassis and the cheapest possible bottle of bubbly.
2) Fill a champagne glass about an eighth of the way with creme de cassis.
3) Fill the rest with cheap champagne.
4) Garnish with a plastic ring. May we suggest this super-chic little guy?
5) Feel very swank.

What Makes A Martini Worth $1000? Serving It With A Very Special Twist [Capital Grille: News]
The Capital Grille [MenuPages]
Share Our Strength [Official Site]

Originally posted May 1, 2007. We could go for some Oreo ice cream right this second.

In "The $20 Challenge," we face the daunting task of eating three square meals in Boston's most expensive areas for a mere Jackson. As always, we recommend ordering water and getting your meal to go to avoid the expense of a tip.

Who can resist the unabashedly consumerist charms of Newbury Street? With its pretty lining of trees and gorgeously mismatched brownstones, it's certainly one of the world's quainter shopping meccas. The best part is that there's something for everyone. Flush with cash? Head down to the end nearest the Public Garden and drop in on Versace and Chanel. Not so much? Stop into H&M or saunter to the end near Mass Ave and check out the amazing sales at Jasmine Sola. In food, just as in fashion, Newbury Street can cost a small fortune, but the experience can also be had on the cheap. Behold: a full day of eating on Newbury Street for a mere $13.50.

Breakfast: Rebecca's Cafe may be ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean that they don't make a damn fine apple turnover ($1.95). Grab one to go and eat it on a bench outside to take advantage of Boston's best people-watching.

Lunch: After a morning of serious shopping, treat yourself to a sit down lunch at Steve's Greek Cuisine, where the prices are so incredibly outrageous that you can indulge in a bacon cheeseburger ($3.25), a Diet Coke ($1.25) and some falafel cubes ($1.45) without breaking the bank. Just the fortification you need before an afternoon of gallery-hopping.

Dinner: The issue with eating cheaply is that far too often, you need to sacrifice atmosphere for value. Fortunately, this is decidedly not the case at Shino Express Sushi. As soon as you step down the stairs into the inconspicuous room nestled into a small crook near the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth, you feel transported to Japan, to a tiny local place that tourists would never think to check out. Feel very pleased with yourself for knowing the secret as you enjoy a tekka roll ($2.50 for six pieces) and a hamachi roll ($2.50 for six pieces). Though the sushi is mind-blowingly inexpensive, it's pretty good, as is the service.

You've probably used up a little bit of the remaining $6.50 on tips at this point, but we're willing to bet that you have a little left over for some ice cream at J P Licks. May we recommend a small dish of the Oreo? Mmm. Thrifty.

Rebecca's Cafe [Official Site]
Steve's Greek Cuisine [MenuPages]
Shino Express Sushi [Official Site]
J P Licks [Official Site]

As you read this, we are (hopefully) on a plane to Florida, where we'll be visiting our grandpa until Monday. We don't want to be mean or anything, but:

Yeah, thunderstorms, but look at those temperatures! We're terribly excited. The internet connection is not so great where we're staying, so we'll be posting some reruns from now until Monday morning when we will return relaxed, rejuvenated, and full of Florida orange juice.

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 are not mature enough to handle the phrase "octopus balls." [Hot, Buttered, and Toasted]
•Oysters: full of briny goodness. [Sidekick]
•There really aren't many beverages that can beat horchata. [The Salted Cod]

[Photo: Flickr: blalor]

A dim sum death match
leaves only Gitlo standing
but Winsor shows too.

Boston Wine Expo
needs a strong plan of action.
Maximize drinking!

Sammy's Irish Red
is a classic beer style
for Saint Patrick's Day.

Diner's Agenda is obsessed with this election cycle.

Wednesday, February 6
•As long time readers have doubtless noticed, we're rather fond of Community Servings, both for the dedication they show to Boston's homebound population and for their tasty, tasty pie. At 6pm, they'll be holding a fundraiser at Azure. The theme is blue, so blue clothes, blues-inspired hors d'oeuvres, and, of course, blue cocktails will be present and accounted for. Tickets, which cost $50, may be purchased online. [Community Servings]
•Awfully, we always associate Bob Marley with fratty stoner college boys, so it's generally a nice surprise when we remember that we actually enjoy his music. You know who else likes Bob Marley? The folks at East Coast Grill & Raw Bar. They like him so much, in fact, that they'll be hosting a special culinary tribute to the man tonight, featuring an a la carte menu full of Jamaican-inspired treats. Call (617) 491-6568 to reserve. [East Coast Grill]

Friday, February 8
•We know we're not the only person who regularly eats a dinner of samples at Whole Foods. From 3pm-6pm, the Brighton location will be upping the ante with Chocolate Fest, which, as far as we can tell, is just a whole whole lot of chocolately samples. Niiiiice. [Whole Foods]

Saturday, February 9
•Valentine's Day is fast approaching and we always think that a fine feast is a nice way to show your special someone just how special they are. Rialto will be offering a class at 11am on how to make an exquisite Valentine's Day dinner. Class costs $125. Call (617) 661-5050 to save your spot. [Rialto]
•We sort of love the colonial events at The Fireplace. At 3pm, they'll be celebrating Valentine's Day with (what else?) a reading of John & Abigail Adams' love letters. Dishes prepared from Abigail's recipes will be served. Delightful! The event costs $30 and reservations may be made by calling (617) 975-1900. [The Fireplace]

Sunday, February 10
•The fine folks at Slow Food Boston will be having a screening of King Corn at 4pm at the Theodore Parker Church in West Roxbury. Tickets are a mere $5, which is certainly a lot less than most movies and may be purchased at the door. [Slow Food Boston]

Which major local steakhouse had run out of chicken and salmon by 7:30 on a recent Saturday night? The lack of lean proteins wouldn't be so bad (it is, after all, a steakhouse), but they were also almost out of filet mignon and the sirloin was "so fatty, it was hard to cut." When disgruntled customers asked to speak to a manager, they were told that none was available. At meal's end, the customers were told by the host that "he was sorry we felt that we had a bad experience" but the steakhouse had recently received accolades on a major website. Bizarre behavior! Will Boston soon be one steakhouse down?

Enjoy this blind item? Feed the tipline.

We literally cannot stop thinking about the Pickle Sickle we reported on yesterday. Our curiosity is bountiful, so we tracked down the below video of the company's founder discussing his bizarre product. Apparently, one can buy a cherry-flavored pickle pop. Truly, the mind boggles.

Pickle Sickle [Official Site]
Pickle Sickles [YouTube: ArtFennellReports]

Is it just us or does it seem a little bit like the openings and closings of our great city's restaurants have fallen into a bit of an update-filled week/slow week pattern? We've got a grand total of three pieces of news today and two of them involve closings. Sigh.

Openings
•The Newton TAB Blog reports that a branch of Fitchburg-based mini-chain Parrot Pizza has set up shop in West Newton. The site advertises a "unique menu", which...eh. It looks like pretty standard kid-friendly fare to us.

Closings
•It seems that the Chowhound we mentioned last week who asked if The Spotted Apron was no longer was on to something. The restaurant has closed, although rumors of a relocation continue to abound.
•The unfortunately named Trani has closed its doors. No longer shall ice-cream-infused cupcakes be available to North End residents! A second location of Bacco will open in its space.

[Photo: Flickr: Bart Hanlon]

Our brother blogs in Philadelphia and San Francisco have been all over the recent story of a German company that sells canned cheeseburgers. Canned meat is an aberration unto God and mankind to be sure, but you know what's even grosser? Frozen pickle juice.

Grub Street recently alerted us to the Pickle Sickle, which is, as the name implies, a pickle-flavored popsicle. A pickle-flavored popsicle. Because everyone is so fond of drinking pickle juice? Because people love sour frozen treats? Because the product's tagline "The bizarre-tasting 'pickle' craze from TEXAS you can't get enough of" is so wildly appealing? Truly, we are baffled.

We suspect that it's no coincidence that the word "sick" is right there in the title, so we will certainly not be trying a PickleSickle anytime soon. That being said, we are very interested in hearing from anyone who's tried one. As always, the tipline is open.

Pickle in a Tube: More Blechtacular Than Burger in a Can? [Grub Street]
Pickle Sickle [Official Site]

We can't imagine much better evidence of the epicurian revolution at hand than this: massive chain restaurant Ruby Tuesday now offers craft beer in over 900 of its locations. Admittedly, this is not necessarily wildly esoteric stuff: Magic Hat No. 9 and Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA are two of the beers mentioned. Still, it's a giant step up from the choices at most similar restaurants.

To city dwellers like us who are fortunate enough to have a wide variety of beer bar choices, this might seem like no great shakes. After all, Ruby Tuesday is still a Giant Chain Restaurant and we're not exactly going to go there when we could hit Bukowski's Tavern or The Publick House. But for beer enthusiasts living near one of the chain's more isolated locations, going to a great beer bar might not be an option. We, for one, think it's pretty sweet that Ruby Tuesday is supporting some interesting beers, even if we're not going to go check it out for ourself.

What about you? Does Ruby Tuesday's new beer list make you more inclined to make the trek to Watertown?

Ruby Tuesday Serves Craft Beer In More Than 900 of Its US Locations [Beer Advocate]
Ruby Tuesday [Official Site]
Bukowski's Tavern [MenuPages]
The Publick House [MenuPages]

[Photo: Pentagram]

We will fully admit that half of the reason we're writing this post is to reference the most ridiculous Herald headline of all time. The other half of our motivation, however, is nothing but the sincerest desire to make sure you're not in the dark about a good deal. In commemoration of the Pats' near-perfect season, Boloco is offering 18% off anything at any of the branches. In case you couldn't quite figure it out, that's 1 percentage point for every win. The offer is only good through the end of today, so head to one of their approximately eight million locations to take full advantage of the consolation prize deal.

Boloco [MenuPages]
Boloco [Official Site]

Super Mega Tuesday is finally here and we couldn't be more excited. More than twenty states will cast their votes for both parties' presidential nominees. It seems not unlikely that the Republican contest could be effectively over by night's end and the outcome of today's races will certainly bring the Obama-Clinton matchup one giant step closer to its end. No matter what candidate you support, it's a very exciting day and what better way to enjoy it than a big themed dinner? Since it's election day, we've gone with a red, white, and blue meal.

Appetizer: We're awfully fond of tomato soup in winter, since it's wonderfully hearty and rib-sticking. We especially like this Giada De Laurentiis version, since it incorporates both starchy cannellini beans and the lightening influence of lemon. Pair it with a glass of Hitachino Red Rice Ale.

Main Course: We've had a version of this macaroni and cheese with prosciutto and taleggio at Panino'teca in New York once and we've been craving it ever since. The richness can be almost over the top, so cut it with a bottle of Blue Moon.

Dessert: It's a damn shame that blueberries aren't in season right now, as blueberry pie is undisputedly the king of blue desserts, but we certainly see no reason that you couldn't dye the frosting of these delicious vanilla cupcakes a nice robin's egg blue. At this point, we recommend throwing caution to the winds, and preparing a cocktail with blue curacao. Perhaps a Prince of Wales?

[Photo: Boston Mamas]

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.

•"Pointers for Bachelors Emboldened Enough by Alcohol to Attempt Flirting With Their Waitress" [Undercover Blonde]
•"Oh, Barf" [Hot, Buttered, and Toasted]
•"NOM NOM NOM, QWERTY" [Serious Eats]

[Photo: Flickr: walknboston]

Here is a measure of our nerdiness: while we've been super mega excited about Super Mega Tuesday, we didn't realize that Mardi Gras was also today until...oh, about five hours ago. We're not from a religion that observes Lent, and we don't believe that we've ever had occasion to go to a Mardi Gras celebration, which seems a little odd now that we think about it. We'll probably forfeit going to one of tomorrow night's Mardi Gras parties in favor of going to a Super Tuesday party*, but if you're less of a giant dorkface, here are three events you might want to check out.

•Beehive is going all out for Mardi Gras with a party running from 8pm-1am. There will be live music from the Nat Simpkins/Henri Smith Band, a Cajun-inspired a la carte menu, a cash bar, and, bewilderingly, absinthe. A portion of the evening's proceeds will go to the Tiptina's Foundation, which benefits New Orleans musicians.
•The always-festive 75 Chestnut will not be ignoring Mardi Gras. The party starts at 5pm, and there will be masks, a hurricane bar, jambalaya and crawfish etouffee, and, most importantly, prizes.
•At the somewhat unfortunately named Hurricane O'Reilly's, the party is sponsored by Southern Comfort and lime. The fun starts at nine and we predict that the vomiting will begin at 10. Seriously, SoCo is the devil.

*:How will James Carville decide what to do with his evening??

Beehive [Official Site]
75 Chestnut [Official Site]
Hurricane O'Reilly's [Official Site]

Diner's Agenda knows that even though the Giants won, the Pats are still the better team.

Monday, February 4
•What's up with all the Spanish wine dinners lately? We feel like we get word of a new one every other week. We love Spanish wine, don't get us wrong, but seriously. This is a little excessive. Anyways! If you've missed the last several options, there will be another one at 6:30pm at Tasca Spanish Tapas hosted by Boston Uncorked. $65 gets you five courses with wine pairings and reservations may be made online. [Boston Uncorked]
•Bargain alert! To celebrate the leap year, Union Bar & Grille will be offering a three-course menu for $29 every day of February except the 14-16. Not too shabby! [Union Bar & Grille]

Tuesday, February 5
•It's time for another Celebrate Seafood dinner at the Aquarium. Sure, it might be a little perverse to chow down on seafood at the home of thousands of fish, but when Rebecca Newell of Beehive is serving up yummy treats, who cares? As always, dinner starts at 7pm and tickets, which cost $65 for Aquarium members and $75 for non-members, are available online. [New England Aquarium]

Originally posted May 1, 2007. We stand by our Bertucci's obsession.

Alex Witchel's article in last week's New York Times Dining section has been weighing heavily on our mind this past week. In the article, Witchel discusses her inner conflict between her urbane and conscientious side (which wants produce from a farmer's market and artisanal foods) and the part of her that craves childhood comfort foods like Wonder Bread and Hostess Sno-Balls.

While we're certainly not immune to the charms of processed foods (oh Kraft Mac & Cheese, you orange seducer, you), Witchel's piece really made us think about another kind of food-based guilty pleasure. As the main representative for MenuPages Boston, we feel a great responsibility to know about Boston restaurants and support local businesses. For the most part, this is not a chore at all. In theory, we would always rather eat at a local restaurant that has a sense of community and history and is owned by a small group of people, not a giant corporation. In theory. Listen, we've known each other for a few weeks now. We can be honest with you, right?

Sometimes, all we want in this world is the tomato-basil spaghettini with goat cheese from California Pizza Kitchen. Sometimes, we'd rather head to Bertucci's for a margherita pizza (we always order extra, since it is, perhaps, the world's greatest cold pizza) than down to our soulful neighborhood cafe. We love a dining adventure as much as the next food writer, but every so often, you just want something cheap and familiar, you know?

We're pretty sure we aren't the only ones who feel this way. What's your guilty pleasure restaurant? Drop us a line or let us know in the comment box. As we have no leg to stand on, we definitely won't judge you.

A Soft Spot for the Anti-Artisanal [New York Times]
California Pizza Kitchen [MenuPages]
California Pizza Kitchen [Official Site]
Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria [MenuPages]
Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria [Official Site]

[Photo: Virtual Tourist: emilienoelle]

Last week, the Herald reported that TableXChange will soon be making its way to Boston. TableXChange, for those unfamiliar with the business, is a site that allows consumers to buy and sell reservations for hot restaurants. In an ideal situation, it works something like this: You made a reservation at L'Espalier a month ago, only to come down with a nasty stomach flu on the day of your big dinner. You log on to TableXChange and sell your reservation to a fellow who's dying to take his wife out for a nice dinner tonight but can't get a table. Everyone's a winner! It currently operates in New York, San Francisco, and the Hamptons, and will be adding Boston, Miami, and Las Vegas shortly. TableXChange only offers reservations for selected restaurants on Friday and Saturday nights and reservations may be sold for a maximum of $40.

While we can certainly appreciate the difficulty of making a reservation for peak dining hours, we're not entirely sold on TableXChange for a number of reasons. First, although the company has tried very hard to explain that they're not scalpers, it certainly sounds like the system could be open to abuse. While it's easy to imagine TableXChange operating under optimal conditions, it's just as easy to imagine groups of scalpers calling L'Espalier for reservations far in advance, booking up the nights, and then unloading them on TableXChange, creating a situation where you have to pay for a reservation at the restaurant. Furthermore, is this service even necessary? OpenTable has made the process of making reservations at most top restaurants mind-bogglingly simple (full disclosure: OpenTable is a MenuPages partner but that's not why we like it so much) and, frankly, Boston doesn't have that many restaurants where it's nigh-on impossible to get a weekend reservation a few days in advance.

What do you think? Would you use TableXChange?

Company has Re$ervations [Boston Herald]
TableXChange [Official Site]
Launches & Releases: Table Exchange, the Non-Scalper Resy Service [Eater]
OpenTable [Official Site]

What is it that makes mango salsa so perfect? It must be the combination, since it's so much more delicious than either mango or salsa by itself. We would like to meet the inventor of mango salsa, and we would like to shake his or her hand. And then we would like to go to Uncle Pete's in Revere, where the below sample was purchased, and we would like to order some of our own.

Uncle Pete's [Official Site]

[Photo: Flickr: Brownie21487]

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.

•Bella Luna is the best bowling-alley-affiliated restaurant ever. [Cave Cibum]
•And this is why we didn't hit up Hell Night. [Divine Comedy of Errors]
•Mmm, Ma Soba. [We Are Not Martha]

[Photo: Flickr: awfowler85]

•What happens if you say "Bacon Bloody Mary" seven times in front of the mirror? [MP: Chicago]
•What if this were a BACON cheeseburger in a can? [MP: Philadelphia]
•Pork is one of the few things that could improve upon cioppino. [MP: San Francisco]
•Dogma Grill is a good name for a weiner restaurant! [MP: South Florida]

Diner's Agenda would like a coffee drip IV, please.

Friday, February 1
•We don't mean to brag or anything, but we're really super awesome at trivia. Trust us, you don't want to go up against us at Trivial Pursuit. We would, however probably not be any good at tonight's Wine Trivia competition at Gordon's. If you are a bigger wine nerd than we are, however (and really, who isn't?) you might want to check it out. It's at 7pm and it's free! [Gordon's Fine Wine & Culinary Center]
•The Hello Stiletto Shoe Club and Hampshire House team up with the Accelerated Cure Project to present the Glow and Behold Ball at 8pm. It basically sounds like the best ever excuse to get dressed up, dance and eat a delicious selection of hors d'oeuvres. Tickets, which cost $65, may be purchased online. [Accelerated Cure Project]

Saturday, February 2
•Love the brunch at the Oak Room? Want to learn how to make it for yourself? Then check out this week's installment of the Celebrity Chef series at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, which will feature Arwi Odense, the Oak Room's chef. As always, the fun starts at 1pm, and your $60 reservation may be made online. [Boston Center for Adult Education]
•The French Library hosts Roland Mesnier, White House Pastry Chef, for a book signing and reception (complete with delicious desserts, naturally). Mesnier has been in the White House for a whopping 25 years, so we're betting he has some pretty excellent stories. The event starts at 2pm, and tickets, which cost $35 for members and $45 for the general public, may be reserved by calling (617) 912-0400. [The French Library of Boston]

Haru gets a C.
Inconsistency is bad,
but sushi is fine.

Haute Super Bowl treats
from some of the Hub's top chefs.
Yum yum, veal schnitzel!

Jake's Dixie Roadhouse
says "don't barbecue at home!"
Order in instead.

Yesterday, we discussed some options if you're interested in going out and about for the Super Bowl. If you're a homebody like us, however, perhaps you'd rather stay in and host a Super Bowl party in the comfort of your own home. For some reason, Super Bowl food is governed by certain inalienable laws: it needs to be mostly savory (a little dessert is fine, but you can't go overboard!), spicy is generally better than not, and even for snobs like us, comfort food is the order of the day. (Our one concession to food snobbery at a Super Bowl party is putting out nice hard salami instead of pepperoni.) Below, some modest suggestions for a possible menu. Go Pats!

•We generally don't necessarily trust Paula Deen, who we once watched make a salad that involved both mayonnaise and marshmallows, but we think she's probably a reliable source on an occasion like the Super Bowl. These hogs in a sleeping bag are basically pigs in a blanket, except they're even more awesome because they feature kielbasas instead of hot dogs. Amazing.
•Buffalo wings are great and all, but it's the Super Bowl, you know? Up the ante with Jamaican jerk chicken wings, hot enough for the biggest spice aficionado. Make sure to have plenty of beer on hand to wash it down with.
•You know what's awesome? Nachos. You know what else? Mac and cheese. Are the two good together? Who knows! We'd sure be willing to try it out, though.
•Although a Super Bowl feast should be mostly savory, one would be remiss not to include any sweet stuff. These triple-chocolate fudge brownies are damn near perfect. We'd advise turning them into brownie sundaes.

Hogs in a Sleeping Bag [Food Network]
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings [Epicurious]
Nacho Macaroni & Cheese [Epicurious]
Triple-Chocolate Fudge Brownies [Epicurious]