Easter Brunch Picks
April 12, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
We rounded up some of our favorite places that are featuring special menus for Easter Brunch. 33 Restaurant & Lounge is also donating $3.33 from every brunch served to help the victims of the devastating earthquake in Italy. Book your reservation today.

Passover Menu in the Soiree Room
April 10, 14, and 16, 5:30-10 p.m.
UpStairs on the Square
Chef Steven Brand calls upon the flavors and traditions of his years growing up among the great food traditions of a Jewish home. He’ll serve up his favorite Passover dishes for your pleasure.

Olives Throwback Friday Menu
Every Friday evening, 5:30-10 p.m.
Celebrate 20 years at Todd English’s flagship. Every Friday night through April 24, you can order off the original 1989 menu, which features the dishes that made Olives so popular in the first place. And, you’ll also pay 1989 prices, including beef carpaccio for $5.50, grilled octopus with chickpeas for $5.95, brick oven roasted half chicken for $12.95, and bouillabaise for $15.95. Read an article about Todd English’s success in the April issue of Boston magazine.

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Down:2:Earth’s Sustainable Living Expo
April 3, 5-9 p.m.
Hynes Convention Center
The event kicks off with a “Local Bites” Preview Party featuring chefs, food producers, and wineries from the Boston area that are making culinary steps in the right direction: sustainability. Chef Mary Dumont of Harvest, chef Jay Silva of Bambara, and chef Jeffrey Fournier of 51 Lincoln are just some of the guests throughout a weekend any informed foodie shouldn’t miss.

Shucking Lessons
April 4, 1 p.m.
Mercato del Mare, 99 Salem St., Boston
Shucking oysters isn’t just a skill for brawny seamen, Head over to Mercato del Mare with your family and friends to master the art of shucking oysters and clams. Then learn how to wow people with recipes for oysters on a half shell, oyster shooters, oysters Rockefeller, clam dip, and fried clams.
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Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best culinary events in town. Check back every Friday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie festivals, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.

Extreme Beer Fest
Feb. 20, 6-9:30 p.m.; Feb. 21, Two sessions: 1-4:30 p.m. and 6-9:30 p.m.
Boston Center for the Arts
If you loved Beer Summit at the Castle, you’ll flip your cup for Extreme Beer Fest. It’s all about the American brewers this time, featuring more than 100 creative pours. Tickets are $40 and include entrance, a tasting cup, all 2 ounce pours, a fest guide, and an extreme beer education.

Throwback Friday Menu
Every Friday through April 24, 5:30-10 p.m.
Olives
Celebrate 20 successful years at Todd English’s flagship restaurant in Charlestown. In light of the milestone, every Friday night, you’ll be able to order off the original 1989 menu, which features the dishes that made Olives so popular in the first place. And, you’ll also pay 1989 prices! Some of the traditional plates available include: beef carpaccio with Roquefort polenta for $5.50, grilled octopus with chickpeas for $5.95, brick oven roasted half chicken for $12.95, and Olives bouillabaisse for $15.95. We love you Todd. No really.

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Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best culinary events in town. Check back every Friday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie festivals, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.

If you still haven’t booked those Valentine’s Day reservations, last minute planning never had such great odds. Click here to book now.

And now for our deals of the week:

$4 Bloody Marys and Mimosas
Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Grafton Street Pub and Grill
They say laughter is the best medicine. We beg to differ. Grafton Street grants you a recession remedy that includes $4 veggie bloody marys and blood orange mimosas with the purchase of each weekend brunch entrée.

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As everyone around me knows, I’ll soon be leaving my current digs in JP and moving across the city. And it’s starting to stress me out a little—not just the idea of packing and hauling all my stuff, but the fact that I still have a lot of eating to do before I go.

While I won’t miss that chicken smell, I’ll be leaving behind plenty of Chowder faves: Canto 6, Ula Cafe, City Feed, Bella Luna (which has a newish chef, Jacob Zachow) the Behan pub, etc.

And, of course, there’s the Alchemist. (more…)

Road trippers, rejoice! The next two months bring arguably the most pleasant driving conditions we get all year in New England (crisp, refreshing temps in the high 50s to low 70s) and, by mid-October, the most stunning visuals anywhere (brilliant-hued, leaf-shaped eye candy).

It’s also just about this time that once a year, every year, the brilliant-hued notion dawns on local foodies to take a gastronomic day trip to some farflung restaurant. Noble plan—if only the target weren’t the same tried-and-true restaurants every time.

To demonstrate that there are journey-worthy culinary destinations beyond the excellent Fore Street in Portland, ME, and Simon Pearce in Queechee, VT, Chowder put pedal to the metal to come up with new and exciting (and appetizing) alternatives that probably aren’t on your radar yet, but should be.

Every Thursday, for the next six weeks, Chowder counts down the best new foodie road trips, starting with No. 6 and working our way up to No. 1—which will be revealed in the November print edition of Boston.

Let the countdown begin. (more…)

While Boston editors hail from all over, a disproportionate number of us seem to reside in JP. Land of ridiculously cheap, absurdly good Latin food, sustainably cool vegetarian-ish eateries, the Sam Adams brewery, several legendary Irish pubs, mysterious chicken smells, and perhaps the coolest indie grocery store around: That JP. But few people realize that the neighborhood plays host to another little gem: Ula Cafe, located in the Brewery loft complex on Amory Street.

Working as a freelance writer, I spent the good part of 2007 using Ula as my office. (Thanks for the free WiFi, guys!). I’ve eaten practically every pastry they make (though they’re always coming up with seasonal additions, like fresh strawberry scones) and devoured every sandwich on the menu. Let’s just say that after a few months of this, I had to buy new clothes—and a scale.

So, when managing editor and fellow Chowder blogger Jenn Johnson mentioned last week that she’d dropped by for the first time, I just about screeched, “You’re just learning about this now??” Consider yourself informed. (more…)

Packed with storefront joints whose menus span the globe—as well with as hordes of thirsty college students—Allston for years has been a kind of culinary version of 1840’s California: While there’s a lot of wealth here in Rock City, it’s not a destination for those with, let’s say, delicate sensibilities. Yet amid the neighborhood’s trademark grittiness, and occasional hooliganism, there are a few beacons of civility.

And so it is that we found ourselves heading to Allston for brunch (yes, brunch). A few blocks from the heart of Allston, up Cambridge Street toward Twin Donuts, sits an inviting little bar called Deep Ellum. (more…)

Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best Mother’s Day brunches in town. Check back every Thursday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie feasts, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.

Mother’s Day Meals

Avenue One
May 11, Reservations will be taken for the following seating times: 11 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Prices vary
617-422-5560
Even Mom will want to lick the plate clean when she tastes the delectable goodies prepared by Avenue One’s gourmet chefs. She’ll enjoy traditional breakfast favorites, enticing entrees, seasonal salads, and freshly baked desserts. And children will love the Little One’s Buffet with finger-friendly favorites.

Beacon Hill Bistro
May 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
$38 (pre-fixe menu)
617-723-7575
This classy cafe is offering an impressive brunch that will make mom swoon. With a pre-fixe menu that includes cinnamon French toast, fresh omelets, and mouth-watering desserts. (more…)

Finding a good place for brunch is a tricky proposition when you live alone. Without built-in brunchmates, you tend to find yourself trekking across town to someone else’s neighborhood to eat the week’s most leisurely meal.

I found myself in this predicament on Sunday, when a friend persuaded me to bundle up and head to the North End for brunch at to the North Street Grille.

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