Used to be, the organized chaos of a restaurant kitchen was a tucked-away affair, hidden from the view of a paying public who preferred to dine far away from hot burners and splattering grease, thankyouverymuch. If you wanted to see your food being cooked, you’d have to go to a sushi bar or a shrimp-flinging Japanese steakhouse.

These days, many of the city’s top restaurants prepare their food in full view of the folks who’ll be eating it. Chefs and their knife skills practices are on full display at upscale eateries like Craigie on Main, B&G Oysters, Sportello, Scampo, and Ten Tables in JP (which is expanding to include a bar in December). The seats closest to the action are often the most coveted.

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Myriad eateries hold court around Coolidge Corner. Thai and sushi joints mix with bagel shops and delis. A shiny new tart yogurt café glistens across from a dingy but popular creperie. But bistro dining has been conspicuously absent from the mix, that is, until this month, when the Regal Beagle moved in and gave neighborhood types a reason to stay

closer to home. You can feel the buzz surrounding the restaurant (opened by the owners of upscale Fenway hangout Church) just walking by, as crowds peek at the menu displayed in the window and murmur votes of approval.

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The theater district has a new show in town: Market by Jean-Georges, which recently opened inside the new W hotel. We’ll admit that, in the months preceding the restaurant debut, we had our doubts about whether it’d be a deserving new dining destination or just another ho-hum import from a too-busy-to-care celeb chef. But during a warm, lovely chat with the international culinary superstar himself, Jean-Georges Vongerichten shed a little light on what makes Market work for Boston, and why he’s glad to be back in the Hub after a long hiatus. (His first U.S. venture was Boston’s Lafayette restaurant, which opened in 1985 in what is now the Hyatt hotel and was located just blocks from Market’s site.)

Being the types to eat the frosting before the cake, we’ll skip to the good parts: Read the rest of this entry »

The best things in life are free—especially when they come with cocktails. Lucky for us, lots of local boites are are serving complimentary bar snacks for imbibers to nibble while they drink.  Never again will our budget force us to choose between another glass of Pinot and a bite to eat.  Here are some of our current—and free!—faves.

From 5:30-7 p.m., Monday through Friday at the bar, Union Bar & Grille serves free nouveau-American bites like sliders, mini corn dogs, and their play on the ball park favorites, Cracker Jacks. The options vary day-to-day. 1357 Washington St., Boston, 617-423-0555,  unionrestaurant.com Read the rest of this entry »

Turkey and stuffing is as good as gravy, but what we here at Chowder really look forward to on Thanksgiving is the pie. (Case in point: The November issue’s Ultimate Pecan Pie.) But when hosts are so focused on the bird being moist, dessert can be an afterthought. Luckily, Community Servings’ Pie in the Sky program comes to the rescue.

Community Servings is baking pies for you to take home for $25, which is probably less than it would cost you to prepare one at home (including the four pounds of butter you wasted trying to get that crust just right). Not only that, but all of the proceeds go toward feeding the critically ill and their families in Greater Boston. But you have to hurry. You only have until November 21 to place your order. Read the rest of this entry »

When Boston’s food lovers around town see fresh mozzarella on their favorite menus, there’s a good chance Lourdes Fiore Smith had something to do with it. The daughter of Italian immigrants has cheesemaking in her blood, and supplies handmade mozz, burrata, and mascarpone to some of the area’s top restaurants (think Oleana, Beacon Hill Bistro, and 51 Lincoln). When Chowder learned that Smith was joining Chef Jody Adams at her monthly cooking class at Rialto a few weeks ago, we jumped at the chance to see how she makes curds and whey.

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Photo by Keller + Keller

For local chef/owners, branching out from one restaurant to several is a mark of success. But while seemingly empire-minded chefs (e.g. Todd English, Ken Oringer, Barbara Lynch) make opening a 3rd, 4th, or even 10th venture look easy, the transition from chef to multi-restaurant owner requires lots of careful planning. (It also helps if you know how to juggle.)

When Krista Kranyak, owner of Ten Tables in Jamaica Plain, opened a second Ten Tables in Cambridge this past February, she was constantly shuttling between the two locations. Her survival strategy? Rely heavily on general managers Sean Callahan in Cambridge and Stan Hilbert in JP. “I have the vision of what I want to create, and I hire the right people to oversee that vision,” she says.
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This year, we’re not risking any dinner party disasters–and neither should you. Kick off the holiday entertaining season by studying up with local chefs at Bina Osteria, Radius, The Butcher Shop, Taranta, and The Elephant Walk, all of whom are offering cooking classes and demos across the city. Check out these gems, and get cooking for a crowd.

Holiday Classes at Bina

Bina Osteria/Alimentari is holding seasonal cooking classes and workshops every Saturday at 2 p.m., now through December. This weekend’s workshop is an olive oil tasting on Oct. 24,  followed by candy making for Halloween on Oct. 31 , and wine and cheese pairings on Nov. 7. There will also be other November classes on Scotch and holiday pies, and December classes on gingerbreads, cookies, and more. Most of the classes are free, and you can bring the kids.

Bina osteria/alimentari , 581 Washington St., Boston, binaboston.com, 617-357-0888
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Chowder has seen many restaurants shutter their doors lately, including Azure, Bonfire, and Excelsior. But there’s good news: More affordable eateries are opening up in their places throughout this month and next. Check out the slew of spots coming to a temporarily empty restaurant near you.

Todd English’s “Latin steakhouse” Bonfire has closed, but Pairings will open in its place at the Park Plaza Hotel on October 26. We’re not sure what to make of the “food and drink with personality” it promises–we like our food silent–but we do know that there will be small plates for sharing and good selection of wines by the glass. Executive chef Robert Bean will continue dishing out locally and seasonally crafted selections.
Pairings, 50 Park Plaza, Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, 50 Park Plaza, Boston, 617-262-3473, pairingsboston.com
Hours: Breakfast: Mon.-Sun., 6:30–11 a.m.; Lunch: Mon.-Sun., 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m.; Dinner: Mon.-Sat., 5–10 p.m.; Bar menu: Mon.–Thurs., -10 p.m.–1 a.m. and Fri. & Sat., 10 p.m-2 a.m.
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Good news for avid home cooks (and folks whose appetite for high-end eats exceeds their dining-out budget): three new gourmet shops have come to town.

In Union Square, husband and wife team Ben Dryer and Karen Coughlin recently expanded the space next to their popular Sherman Cafe to include the newly opened Sherman Market, selling locally-grown goodies and other household staples. As the store’s been open for only a couple of weeks, the  shelves will be stocked “as they go,” says manager Jodi Malone, and already feature a selection of New England cheeses (heavy on Vermont), B&R Artisan Bread, homemade jam, and milk and produce from local farms (delivered by fellow local entrepreneur Metro Pedal Power). Many of the farmers and artisans sold at the market have long supplied Sherman Café, Malone says, so the market is simply making use of these existing relationships. Our favorite feature? Sherman Market will sell herbs in smaller bunches, putting an end to our sad practice of throwing out shriveled yellow bunches of unused parsley.
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