Ferran AdriÃ Visits Uni, Feasts on 15 Course Tasting Menu

Archive for the ‘Sushi’ Category

FERRAN ADRIÃ VISITS UNI, FEASTS ON 15 COURSE TASTING MENU

Posted by Leah Mennies on 10/14/2011 at 11:34AM | No Comments

Suzuki ceviche with beets, lime and coconut green curry, one of the dishes that Ferran AdriÃ ate at Uni. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/UniSashimiBar)

Over the past couple of weeks, bigwig chefs including Joan Roca, Grant Achatz and JosÃ© AndrÃ©s have been visiting Harvard to lecture as part of its Science + Cooking course. This week marked the arrival of Ferran AdriÃ , the world-famous Spaniard who helped pioneer the course and will give his lectureâ€”ticketed, of courseâ€”on December 4. The toque is in town for a few weeks to collaborate with the Harvard team, and, naturally, has started eating his way through town.

COMING RIGHT UP: PHILANTHROPIC BOOZING AT URBAN GRAPE

Posted by chowder on 5/19/2011 at 3:00PM | No Comments

Who says no good deed goes unpunished? The Urban Grape, one of our favorite boutique wine shops, is holding a sake seminar to benefit the Kiuchi Earthquake/Tsunami Fund on Sunday, May 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. The entrance fee will go directly to help feed, house, and clothe disaster victims, and renowned sake sommelier Nancy Cushman of O Ya will be conducting a tasting and information session. Sounds like a win-win to us.

Cushman, who studied in Japan under world-famous sake expert John Gauntner, says many people have misconceptions about the drink, the most common being that itâ€™s best served warm, it tastes like rubbing alcohol, and itâ€™s only good with Japanese food.

“Sake is a surprisingly fantastic partner to many different cuisines,â€ says Cushman. â€œI drink Junmai-type sake with pizza!â€

Guests can expect to learn about different types of sake and how to pair them with various foods, but can also request recommendations based on wine preferences. â€œAnd weâ€™re going to taste some really delicate, lovely sake,â€ says Cushman.

One hundred percent of proceeds are going directly to the Kiuchi Earthquake/Tsunami Fund, started by the Kiuchi sake and beer brewery. According to Cushman and UG co-owner Hadley Douglas, the brewery has completely halted alcohol production and is instead distilling and bottling fresh drinking water while attempting to house and clothe neighbors whoâ€™ve been affected by the recent disasters.

Space is limited, so please email hadley@theurbangrape.com to secure your spot.

$25, 7 to 9 p.m., the Urban Grape, 7 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, 617-232-4831, theurbangrape.com.

â€” Lindsay Tucker is a Chowder contributor.

TABLE TALK + THIS WEEK’S EDIBLE EVENTS

Posted by Erin Byers Murray on 4/11/2011 at 10:00AM | No Comments

Ken Oringer has no shortage of big news to share. New baby? Four weeks away. New hotel restaurant? Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine to be unveiled in early June. New awards? His partner Jamie Bissonnette was crowned “The People’s Best New Chef” by Food & Wine magazine last month. So what could possibly be next? His 14-year-old fine dining institution Clio, along with its younger sibling Uni, get a major design overhaul, set to start construction around July 4th.

Oringer admitted to us last week that it was time: “I’m done with the formal, upscale portion of my life. When I go out to eat, I want to be comfortable, I want a funky, creative environment. It’s time for a change.” To that end, he’s enlisted designer Thomas Schlesser (MÃ¡ PÃªche, Bar Boulud) to help rid the restaurant of its wrought iron/marble/dreary carpet decor and replace it with more modern details like a stainless steel bar and glass everywhere as well as a new wardrobe for the staff (this blog’s Ricardo Rodriguez and Bodega founder Jay Gordon are consulting on the look). Uni’s interior gets a full floor-to-ceiling makeover (a distressed walnut bar; new wood on the walls and ceilings) and the menu there gets an update too, with sashimi offerings taking on more worldly twists (hamachi with cubanelle peppers; wagyu beef with miso-goat butter) and a short list of Asian street food options (look for Japanese fried chicken). Oringer hopes these changes will return the sashimi den to its former glory, saying, “I want to take the seriousness out of it and make it a fun, bar-like atmosphere again.”

As for Clio, the bar menu will get an update and innovative bartender Todd Maul will continue to wow with his impressive drink list but otherwise, diners will find the same fine-tuned French/Asian cuisine Oringer’s been playing with for years. Because we’re guessing he’s got enough on his plate.

This Week’s Edible Events:

4/12 - La Morra Pop-Up Dinner
A small fire in early March closed La Morra for service but the restaurant pops up at the Boston Wine School this week for a four-course meal (keep an eye here for the restaurant’s reopening). ($75, 6:30p.m. Boston Wine School, 1354 Commonwealth Ave., Allston. For reservations, emailÂ jen@lamorra.com).

4/12 - Celebrate Seafood Dinner with Chef Peter McCarthy
Dine on sustainable seafood in the midst of thousands of live fish; chef Peter McCarthy of EVOO serves location-appropriate courses. ($65 for members, $75 for non-members, 6:30p.m., New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston. Tickets online.)

4/13 - An Evening with Jasper Hill Farm
Vermont’s Jasper Hill brothers, Mateo and Andy Kehler visit No. 9 Park for a reception, followed by dinner, featuring their cheeses and others. ($35 for the reception, $95 for dinner, No. 9 Park, 9 Park St., Boston. For reservations, call 617-742-9991).

4/14 – Taste of the Nation
Over 70 restaurants and 30 wineries take part at Share Our Strengthâ€™s annual fundraiser blowout. ($150 VIP, $90 General Admission, 6:30p.m. Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston St., Boston.Tickets online.)

CHEF’S NIGHT OUT

Posted by admin on 7/22/2009 at 8:55AM | 3 Comments

Ever wonder where your favorite chefs eat out? Most nights, they’re slaving away in their own kitchens, but we were curious: If we gave them $100 and a much-deserved night off, where would they go and what would they eat? And so we asked around.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), some chefs opted to stay away from restaurants, eschewing table service for picnics and other non-traditional venues. Others would head to some of our own favorite haunts. Either way, take note of their recommendations. These palates know good food.

Tony Maws, chef, Craigie on Main
“I’d go to Jumbo Seafood (7 Hudson St., newjumboseafoodrestaurant.com) in Chinatown with my wife Karolyn and one year old son, Charlie. Charlie is loving Chinatown! We’d order shortribs with white garlic sauce and lettuce, clams with black bean sauce, chow fung noodles, lobster ginger scallions, geoduck clam sashimi, and a couple of beers (Tsingtao). It’s great to go there and watch Charlie clean all the meat off the bone. He loves those short ribs, but pretty much it can be anything with meat on the bone.Â He will get every bit of meat off of it.” READ MORE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FUGAKYU

Posted by admin on 12/11/2008 at 3:23PM | No Comments

1228949418 With O Ya getting all the press, and Uni taking on the overflow, we were starting to forget about the city’s other great sushi spots. So Tuesday night we zipped over to Fugakyu in Coolidge Corner to celebrate the Japanese restaurant’s 10 years in the maki biz.

Lucky for us, we had polished our chopsticks: We’d be sampling chef Hiro San‘s special B-day menu, which will be available to guests all month. READ MORE

WHATâ€™S THE DISH?

Posted by admin on 12/5/2008 at 5:24PM | No Comments

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.

FuGaKyu Turns 10 Special Menu
Dec. 1-31, Restaurant hours
We love that the name sounds like a sneeze and a slur, so we’ll definitely join the party for FuGaKyu‘s tenth B-day. Throughout the entire month of December, the restaurant will offer a special celebration menu using ingredients such as apple, watermelon, and pickled daikon to create traditional Japanese cuisine.

A Family Affair
Every Tuesday and Friday night from 5:30-8 p.m.
Aura, Seaport Hotel
We know some particular South Enders loathe children raining on their dinner party. Those of us who have little ones prefer to go places where families are welcomed with open tables. Thank you, Aura, for hosting an impromptu “Romper Room” on Tuesday and Friday nights, complete with an adult prix fixe and accompanying kids menu. Does that mean we can feel free to fling the foie gras? READ MORE

WHATâ€™S THE DISH?

Posted by admin on 8/15/2008 at 11:36AM | No Comments

Most eateries are hosting Restaurant Week until August 22, so you know where to go for eats. But if it’s cocktails you’re ~~lushing~~ lusting for, then you can count on us to refill your calendar.

1218662235

Sundays, 3-10 p.m.
Sangria Summer Sundays
ZÃ³calo Cocina Mexicana, Brighton
Sangria is like your blood, the supply should be constantly flowing. To the rescue with a steady stream is ZÃ³calo’s summer sangria flight, three glasses of the fruit-addled wine libation for $12. The August selection: blood orange, pomegranate, and mango.

Aug. 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Riesling Night
Boston Wine School
We love a sweet riesling, except when we like a dry one. Join Boston Wine School as they showcase the entire spectrum of this chameleon grape with refreshing wines from vineyards in Germany, California, Washington, Australia, and New Zealand.

Mojito Mondays
RumBa, InterContinental Hotel, 6-7 p.m.
They’ll teach you how to make the drink, but don’t expect a pass behind the bar. Every Monday evening, RumBa, the InterContinental’s rum and champagne bar, hosts mojito making classes sponsored by Bacardi.

Every day through September
Sushi and Sake Flight Special
Fugakyu
Looks like someone wants to make sure you’re eating while you’re drinking. For the months of August and September, the Coolidge Corner Japanese restaurant offers a flight special which pairs three sakes with five pieces of nigiri (that’s the one with the rice) sushi.

Want more restaurant news? Sign up for our Table Talk newsletter.

A FISH TALE

Posted by Donna Garlough on 4/30/2008 at 1:29PM | No Comments

Unless you make friends with a chef, food writers rarely get to see whatâ€™s going on in the kitchen. We guess at whatâ€™s happening behind the scenes, taking our cues from what’s on our plates. Unsurprisingly, then, I jumped at the chance to get an insiderâ€™s look at Legal Sea Foods.

Yes, itâ€™s a chain. And yes, itâ€™s where you take your parents when they come to town. But, the sheer magnitude of this Boston-based operationâ€”30-plus restaurants, plus more in the queueâ€”made it impossible for me to ignore. So last Friday, I gladly donned a fleece and followed CEO Roger Berkowitz into the innards of Legalâ€™s local operations: the Quality Control Center, on the South Boston waterfront. (The address? One Seafood Way.) READ MORE

MERCURY RISING? NOT QUITE

Posted by Brittany Jasnoff on 1/25/2008 at 1:53PM | No Comments

In addition to the influx of upscale joints plating up astronomically priced maki and nigiri in neighborhoods already drowning in the stuff, yet another alarming trend in the raw fish industry has emerged this week, this one outside our city boundaries. On Wednesday, the New York Times released the results of independent research on mercury levels in raw tuna (mostly of the bluefin variety) served in Manhattan sushi establishments, and needless to say, the results are disturbing:

“Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market.”

So does this mean Bostonians should drop the chopsticks and head for the nearest Applebee’s? Not quite yet. READ MORE

TOO MUCH SUSHI

Posted by Amy Derjue on 1/11/2008 at 11:46AM | 5 Comments

1199984643 Sushi is a staff favorite here at Chowder. We don’t care if it’s prepared in a fancy high-end restaurant or a tiny storefront; as long as the fish is fresh we’re there. But as a former resident of Brookline’s Washington Square, I was depressed to hear that another high-end sushi place may be heading for the long-vacant space that was formerly the B&D Deli.

Archive for the ‘Sushi’ Category