It was flattering…at first. Absolut chose Boston as the third city in its Absolut Cities campaign (following New Orleans and L.A.), using it as the inspiration for a new flavored vodka. But then it was unveiled in August, its label paying homage to Fenway’s Green Monster (yawn) and its black tea and elderflower flavor summoning memories of a party thrown in 1773. The reviews of the Boston-inspired booze weren’t great, either. (Said Grub Street’s Leila Cohan: “It’s very strange, and frankly, as we found out when we got our hands on a sample bottle and had a little taste test with some folks around the office, so is the vodka’s flavor.”

But what do the drinkers think? (more…)

Down economy? What down economy? While restaurant openings were scarce in the first half of ‘09, summer’s end is proving a hotbed for casual, affordable spots launching all across the Hub. Here’s our quickie guide on where to get your grub on in the coming months.

OPEN NOW

The Stork Club has settled into the spot where Bob the Chef once reigned (and where Circle existed for precisely one hot second). A soulful South End resto-lounge, it has a menu of comfort-food classics (think meatloaf and buttermilk fried chicken) and live jazz and blues nightly. 604 Columbus Ave., Boston, 617-391-0256, storkclubboston.com.

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From the whisper-thin pies at Pizzeria Regina to the Sicilian-style slices at Galleria Umberto, there’s plenty of cheesy, tomatoey goodness in the North End. What could another pizza joint possibly bring to the neighborhood?

Turns out, plenty. Before its arrival, the area lacked truly casual pizza place. The kind of easy in, easy out, neighborhoody, non-chaotic, and—this is key—minimally touristed joint that serves good beer and well-made food at reasonable prices. Like Cambridge, 1, or maybe Picco. And Ducali, a 58-seat spot which opened just around the corner from North Station about a week ago, seems to be just that. (more…)

Formerly of downtown Boston’s Good Life, Michael Scelfo recently took on the role of executive chef at Cambridge favorite Temple Bar.

You’ve done a lot of work in fine dining, and you’ve also had experience in the American bistro style of cooking that Temple Bar is known for. How’s your new job at Temple Bar unique among the other posts you’ve held?

It’s different in the sense that it’s really a very bustling, busy place, so from a volume perspective, I have the opportunity to showcase my food to a much larger crowd. I’ve worked in much smaller places before, and it’s exciting to have this bigger venue.
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With Restaurant Week filling up tables on otherwise empty weeknights at our favorite neighborhood spots, what are we to do if all we want is a few cocktails and a bite to eat, and not a three-course gorge fest?

We have you covered. Grab a seat at the bar post nine-to-five and take advantage of the many specials we’ve rounded up, many of which include inexpensive drinks and free bar bites, or even $1 oysters, 50-cent tapas, and $2 tacos.

Or you can check in at local spots that aren’t on the Restaurant Week kick instead, to see what kinds of deals they’re offering up. This new web feature will live on Bostonmagazine.com from here on out, and we’ll be constantly updating it with the latest specials at your favorite places.

We’ll have the best after-work dining deals listed all year long. Who needs Restaurant Week?

View the Slide Show.

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I have a friend (or sister, or aunt, or all of the above…) who never orders dessert herself. Instead, her M.O. is to let the rest of the table order, then capitalize on the inevitable offers to “taste” the sugary, fatty spoils. Like the chronically dieting office mate who tears off but a fraction of one of the home-baked peanut butter cookies left on the “Free Stuff” table near the copier, she’s pinning her hopes (at least psychologically) on the notion that the calories don’t count when you don’t fully commit.

Ridiculous? Of course it is. On the other hand, while I long ago worked through any lingering “commitment issues” when it comes to full portions of food, there’s some psychological finagling that still comes into play when dining up at the bar. (more…)

The Boston foodie world is in a tizzy over the rumor that Tom Berry, chef of Temple Bar, is on the outs with the bustling Cambridge haunt. Ever-vigilant Chowhounders, scouring restaurant-industry job boards, noticed it first, spotting an ad seeking a new executive chef for the restaurant. (Apply here.)

What was the story? Irreconcilable gastronomical differences? A prep-station blowout gone horribly wrong? An insistence by management that Berry switch to (gasp!) frozen fries?

To find out, we called the man himself.

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All right, enough already. Chowder certainly has a soft spot for comfort foods, but eventually, one tires of the same old, same old. And I’m not just talking about mac-and-cheese or meatloaf entrees.

No, lately we’re starting to wonder what’s up with all the uninspired appetizers, salads, and bar menus.

Maybe it’s the winter doldrums setting in—me getting cranky, chefs having to cook sans fresh, local vegetables—but I can’t seem to open a menu without seeing the same old stuff. The most common? Sliders (Kobe or otherwise), truffle fries, beet salad, tuna tartare, beef carpaccio, steamed mussels, fried calamari, and—a newer addition to the fallback-menu-item lineup—arancini. Really, is there nothing else to eat? (more…)

Maybe it’s just us feeling old, but we at Chowder don’t spend a whole lot of time in clubby lounges. Those so-called hotspots where the house DJ goes by first name? Not really our scene. So when an invite to a media dinner at “Boston’s newest nightlife destination,” Bond, crossed my desk, I didn’t exactly whoop out loud. The location, in the Langham Hotel, was also suspect. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually had fun in the Financial District, which normally clears out at 7 p.m.

But curiosity won out, and come Thursday, I found myself sipping bubbly in the Dom Perignon VIP lounge, a balcony that overlooks the cavernous Jeffrey Beers-designed space. The Champagne lounge bit is an ostentatious exercise, for sure. But Bond is hardly bashful, and—somewhat unnervingly, given the economic climate—its theme is cold, hard cash.

Blown-up $1,000s, $100s, and $50s hang from the walls, replacing the murals that dominated the former restaurant, Julien; giant crystal chandeliers, another vestige of the old restaurant, hang conspicuously above the carnival-colored, revamped space, once the home of Boston’s Federal Reserve Bank.

And yet money doesn’t buy everything. (more…)

There’s a spirited fight discussion currently raging on the local Chowhound board regarding Bina Osteria, the newish Italian eatery opened in Downtown Crossing by the folks behind Lala Rokh and Bin 26 Enoteca.

No one’s taking issue with the quality of the food itself: Indeed, when Chowder sampled the menu a few weeks ago, every morsel was exquisite, perhaps even some of the best cooking going on in the city right now, courtesy of (super-young) chef Brian Konefal, who did time at Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Eleven Madison Park, two of Manhattan’s finest restaurants.

The issue is the cost. Are the prices outrageous? (more…)