The Travel Channel star will serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence for students.
 Andrew Zimmern spoke to a crowd of students on Monday afternoon. (Photo by Justin Knight.)
While Travel Channel personality Andrew Zimmern is known for dining on roasted raccoon and insects aplenty, the Bizarre Foods host also has an agenda when it comes to raising social awareness about food. The most recent example of this is his new collaboration with Wellesley-based Babson College, a school known for its entrepreneurial prowess. Zimmern will serve as entrepreneur-in-residence and work directly with the school’s Lewis Institute Social Innovation Lab plus the Lab’s ‘Food Sol,’ an ‘action tank’ that’s focused on food-related innovation.
To kick off the collaboration, Zimmern visited the college on Monday afternoon to give a talk in front of several hundred students and faculty. Per The Herald, he used the talk as an opportunity to encourage students to interact more with faculty, and also take the time to travel.
Prior to the lecture, I chatted with Zimmern on the phone to learn about his new responsibilities as entrepreneur-in-residence at the business school, and I was encouraged to learn that he’ll be serving as more than a mere famous figurehead. READ MORE
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Learn more about the roasty brown lager, and find out where to try it tonight.
 Behold the new label for Lovely Saint Winefride, which debuts today. (All art courtesy of Pretty Things)
Somerville’s omnipresent gypsy brewers Pretty Things are adding a new beer to their roster today: St. Winifrede. The roasty brown lager (which owners Dann and Martha Paquette suspect is the only brown lager on the market) was named after a Welsh lass whose spurned suitor chopped her head off back in the 7th century. Legend has it that after Winifrede’s uncle managed to put her dome piece back onto her body, she came back to life. Huzzah! READ MORE
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Where to find a dozen takeout hot dogs, one-pound burgers, and triple-sized burritos for the big day.
 The one-pound "Giant Killer" burger at Russell House Tavern. (Photo courtesy of RHT.) On Sunday, the New England Patriots will face off against the New York Giants — use our handy guide to ensure that you celebrate (or stress eat) alongside a stack of gourmet chili dogs or a one-pound burger. READ MORE
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Owner Michael Wang shares details his new New Year-inspired sandwich at Foumami and his favorite Chinese New Year eats.
 The new spicy La Long pork sandwich and Longan melon soda will be available at Foumami for the next 15 days. (Photo courtesy of Foumami.) Today marks the official start of the Chinese New Year, a 15-day celebration that’s the most important holiday of the year for those of Chinese descent. This year is the “Year of the Dragon,” and in honor of the occasion, Asian-inspired downtown sandwich shop Foumami will debut a Chinese New Year-themed sandwich today called the La Long, which is Chinese for “spicy dragon.”
I recently chatted with Michael Wang, Foumami’s owner, in order to get more details on the new spicy sandwich, and find out how he celebrates the New Year on his own time. READ MORE
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 Louis DiBiccari goes to town on a hunk of porchetta. (Photo courtesy of Chef Louie Night) Chef Louis DiBiccari, currently at the helm of Storyville in Back Bay (and formerly in charge of the kitchen at Sel de la Terre), just announced the latest installment in his recurring pop-up Iron Chef-meets-Kitchen Impossible dinner event Chef Louie Night, to take place on January 7 at the Boston Center for Adult Education. READ MORE
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Eleven Madison Park comes to Menton from Justin Ide on Vimeo.
On Saturday night, the team from New York’s venerable Eleven Madison Park (quick stats: four New York Times stars, three Michelin Guide stars) made a guest appearance at Barbara Lynch’s fine-dining destination for a five-course guest meal as part of a book tour promoting their new eponymous cookbook (preview the gorgeous food-porn photography here). For those curious, the luxurious menu included brioche toasts topped with uni and shaved foie gras, creamy celery root soup topped with barely-cooked strips of langoustine tail and icy green apple “snow,” fat lobster tails with lemongrass sabayon and celery, black truffle-stuffed chicken, and warm sweet potato beignets with chocolate ganache.
Before the evening began, I sat down in Menton’s swanky lounge to chat with Eleven Madison Park general manager Will Guidara and chef Daniel Humm (who recently took over the ownership of the restaurant from hospitality guru Danny Meyer). They were upbeat and energetic, despite having spent the night before getting the full Barbara Lynch experience with stops at Drink, B&G Oysters, The Butcher Shop, and what Guidara called a “down home Southie bar.” Read ahead to find out more about the duo’s book tour, their take on Menton, and their thoughts on the importance of fine dining in today’s economy. READ MORE
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 Jupiter Images Now that Thanksgiving is over and done with, it’s time to find new ways to keep your palate occupied. This week, there’s a Scotch and cigar evening, afternoon tea service and a giant wheel of cheese to keep you busy.
Thursday, December 1: Giant Cheese Comes to Concord
This Thursday, the largest wheel of cheese in the world will be on display in Concord. It’s being shown off with a parade down Walden Street, complete with a red carpet and “costumed school children tossing chunks of cheese,” per the release (can’t make this stuff up, folks). The 400 lb wheel of cheese (a Crucolo, which is a fresh, mild Asiago from Italy) will then be broken down and sold at The Cheese Shop of Concord. (Free, 3:30 p.m., The Cheese Shop of Concord, 29 Walden Street, Concord 978-369-5778, concordcheeseshop.com.) READ MORE
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 Asian Thanksgiving sandwich, anyone? (Photo courtesy of MMC) In our November issue, we discussed the rising popularity of dining out on Thanksgiving— and leaving all of the table setting and dirty dishes to the pros. Chances are, if you’ve decided to slack off on cooking a bird this year, you may have neglected to make your turkey day reservation as well. If this is the case, fear not, as all of the spots in our round up ahead—serving everything from confit duck crepes to chocolate cream pie—still have availability as of press time. READ MORE
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 Chang lectured on the topic of microbiology last night at Harvard. (Photo by Kimya Kavehkar) Last night, David Chang, leader of the Momofuku restaurant empire (and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People), spoke to a packed house of food geeks, science geeks and food-science geeks as the latest high-profile chef to take part in the Harvard’s “Science and Cooking” lecture series. The topic? The role of microbiology in food. READ MORE
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Monday 11/14: Boston Chef’s 8th Annual Flavors of Fall at the Regattabar in the Charles Hotel
It’s that time again: Bostonchefs.com brings its annual Flavors of Fall to the table. Enjoy sweet and savory dishes created from the freshest seasonal and local ingredients by a dozen chefs, including Michael Scelfo, of Russell House. Guests will be immersed in the unique blend of jazz of the Rollo Tomasi Quartet as they sip a new cocktail created by Noir, wines provided by the purveyors of fine wines Dreyfus, Ashby & Company, an assortment of beers from Brooklyn Brewery, and coffee from local roaster J.P. Licks. All proceeds go to Tutoring Plus. ($65 per person; 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Regattabar in the Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St., Cambridge. Info: 866-582-7956, charleshotel4-px.trvlclick.com.) READ MORE
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