At Bergamot, one of our 50 Best Restaurant picks, chef Keith Pooler is known for his elegant, locavore cuisine. Over the past six months, Pooler has been upping his meat game with the introduction of charcuterie plates that contain a combination of classic cured meats (think coppa, rilletes) and funkier wildcards (like head cheese potpie, corned beef/pimiento scrapple, and salami beignets).
Next week, the chef plans to roll out a charcuterie plate ($14) that is fit for non-carnivores—everything from the terrine to the sausage is all-vegetarian. “What I really like about this plate is that it takes you for a flavor ride,” Pooler says. Get to know what goes into the vegetarian charcuterie in our breakdown ahead.
Animals are people, too. That’s the message spread by the Farm Sanctuary, an organization dedicated to combating the cruel conditions of factory farms and giving safe haven to sick or mistreated farm animals. Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 when president and CEO Gene Baur started selling veggie hot dogs out of his VW van at Grateful Dead concerts; today, the organization has preserves in California and  New York, has saved more than 10,000 animals, and has a dedicated following that includes celebrities like Jesse Eisenberg and Kim Basinger.
Chowder attended Farm Sanctuary’s 25th-anniversary dinner on Sunday to nosh on vegan eats by Cambridge-based farm-to-table caterers Season to Taste (think: sweet-potato latkes with grilled-pear-and-chipotle salsa, and tiny tarts filled with homemade strawberry preserves). In between bites, we chatted with Baur about the cause, the diet, and the little steps that can make a huge difference.
Prana owners Taylor and Philippe Wells; photo by Kelly Lorenz
Vegan eatery Prana, which opened a few doors down from the yoga studio of the same name in Newton in 2009, is closing its doors today – the owners have sold the business to focus on other pursuits. But owner Taylor Wells gifted us one parting recipe before shuttering down: a summertime elixir that gives new meaning to the term “going green.” Chockablock with summertime greens and veggies (yup, those same ones you found in this week’s CSA box), this hearty juice is a sweet and savory concoction that provides your daily dose of vitamins — and a healthy bit of refreshment to boot.
Taylor’s Green Lemonade
Ingredients
1/2 fresh lemon
1 cucumber, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 or 2 chard leaves
1 or 2 kale leaves
filtered water
1 tsp coconut nectar or agave nectar
Combine the lemon, cucumber, celery, chard, kale and a little water in a juicer. Pulse and pour into a glass. Sweeten with coconut or agave nectar to taste. (Do not try to mix this in a blender.)
Okay, so we took a few points from Donna Garlough about the pros and cons of Boston’s Restaurant Week — but that doesn’t mean we think you should go hungry during this citywide eating event. In fact, we’ve scoured the menus, checked the names, and picked a list of eight surefire places worth trying this time around. Check the offerings on our slideshow, but keep in mind — no matter how much you read about these restaurants, nothing compares to a satisfied stomach.
Restaurant Week runs from March 6 to March 11, and again from March 13 to 18. Three-course dinners cost $33.11, lunches $20.11, and only at participating restaurants. See restaurantweekboston.com for more information.
In the spirit of eatinglocal and sustainable foods, the National Summit for Chef’s Collaborative will be in town from October 3 – October 5 to give chefs and members of the food community a place to share their expertise and ideas. We talked to Lumiere’sMichael Leviton, who is also a board member of the Chef’s Collaborative, about what’s in store for the conference, plus how we can better our eating (and buying) habits.
What is the Chef’s Collaborative?
It’s a national organization for the greater food community, dedicated to the agenda of local and sustainable cuisine.
And how did you become involved?
I moved back to Boston in 1996 — there was already a very active presence and it seemed like a great way to get involved in a local sustainable community. But, having just lived in San Francisco, I remembered how the Monterey Bay Aquarium would hand out wallet cards with a list of safe seafood: According to Monterey Bay and their criteria, there wasn’t anything that we were supposed to be serving here in New England. So, this made me realize that a lot more was needed to be done.
How have you worked to make your own restaurant sustainable?
How have I not? I’ve focused on sourcing and searching for the best local food, and knowing the right questions to ask about seafood and meat. It’s all about trying to find the best possible network of local people trying to do the right things.
Why is having a sustainable restaurant so important?
If we don’t make efforts, our food system is going to get a lot worse. This is a “think globally, act locally” kind of issue — we need to act on a small level in order to impact the way food is raised, grown, and distributed everywhere.
You’ll be on a panel discussing sustainable seafood issues at the National Summit. What’s in store?
A lot of different voices will be heard: scientists, fishermen, the government, distributors, chefs, consumers. There really hasn’t been a time where all of those voices were able to sit down and have a discussion about issues of sustainability that are most salient to them. Getting all of those voices in the room is important because the more voices you have in a room, the more you can learn. And the more you know, the more you can do.
Still trying to eat local? Yeah, we are, too. As the weather gets cooler, things are getting more difficult, but Darry Madden and Kristi Ceccarossi and their blog, Boston Localvores, might be able to help. Here are five tips for an easier transition into a lifestyle of eating locally.
1.Do a little research ahead of time. From a farmers’ market calendar to winter CSA information — you can start your homework with their website, which also provides listings on how to find veggies, meat, cheese, fish, beer and other goods that are grown or produced locally.
2.Start slowly. If you’re intimidated about changing your eating habits, take your time. And take steps that you can ease into. “Start with cheese — it’s widely available, even at big stores,” says Madden.
3.Don’t sacrifice too much. “You shouldn’t have to give up your favorite foods in order to eat locally,” says Madden. “Instead of drastic changes, change your lifestyle and be aware of all the benefits.”
4.Prepare to be dedicated. “This is a process of changing the things we buy, and it’s much easier to grow, evolve and develop habits,” says Ceccarossi.
5. Understand the costs. While eating locally can be more expensive and can also take more time to prepare, Ceccarossi believes that it shouldn’t be used as an excuse. “If someone truly has the desire to start eating locally, they can.”
Fan the Localvores on Facebookand find out about local food-tasting events in the future, like cheese and beer tastings, as well as to check in with local farmers.
It’s farmers’ market season in Boston. We’ve been consuming a steady supply of veggies, fruit and Vitamin D. But come November, like every year, we’ll be stuck staring wistfully at that snow-swept parking lot where cheerful farm-stands once hawked the best of local goods.
But there may be hope one winter soon!
The long-anticipated Boston public market has taken new steps toward reality. Governor Deval Patrick (shamelessly courting the foodie vote?) is now pledging 10 million dollars toward the project, organized by the nonprofit Boston Public Market Association. The association’s website features a promotional video (below) with the Boston culinary scene’s biggest names — Barbara Lynch, Todd English, and Ming Tsai, to name a few — and one adorable little girl in a chef’s toque throwing their support behind a public market.
The Boston Public Market would allow local farmers and artists to sell their goods year-round to an eager consumer base, following in the footsteps of other tourist-attracting markets like San Francisco’s Ferry Building, Philly’s Reading Terminal, and Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
If all goes well, Boston could have its very own market on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in a year to 18 months. Until then, we’ll be relying on places like the “Best of Boston” farmers’ markets from 2009 and 2010.
Wow, that headline really feels like sacrilege, given how long I’ve bowed at the altar of Rami’s, and the Israeli takeout joint still does turn out fantastic chick pea fritters. But the spinach falafel wrap at Sofra has made a convert out of me, and so it’s over the river we go.
Why? Start with the Turkish flatbread, called yufka–similar to a tortilla–which is made fresh the moment you order. Add a lashing of beet tzatziki, which adds a sweet tang and gorgeous color, and sprinkle on sine house-made sweet-and-sour veggie pickle (I spied cauliflower, peppers, carrots, and cucumbers). Throw in a few pickled hot peppers and a sprinkling of lettuce. Then pile on the falafel themselves, made with whole chickpeas, chickpea flour, and spinach, stirred with allspice and onions, and fried until crispy outside, moist and tender inside. Drizzle with tahini brown butter sauce. Die happy.READ MORE
All right, people, get excited. While we’re not out of the woods yet (see: the April Fool’s Day blizzard), all signs point to spring. I’ve spotted window boxes full of freshly-planted pansies in Charlestown, crocuses coming up in JP, and a few rogue bulbs sprouting up in my own backyard. (I’m hoping they’re ramps, but I’ll settle for daffodils.)
Not long ago, an acquaintance of mine (who isn’t too fond of ethnic or spicy cuisines) proclaimed that Indian food “all tastes the same”—a gross overgeneralization, to be sure. But while she and I differ on most food-related matters, this time I could actually see where she was coming from.
Especially in Boston, lots of Indian food does taste the same. Why? Much of it is prepared using a batch method (i.e. one master sauce base is doctored up to flavor several different dishes). Kind of like an Italian restaurant adding meat to their marinara and calling it Bolognese.
A few great outlets do serve up authentic and elegant Indian cuisine, like Best of Boston 2008 winner Tamarind Bay in Harvard Square or homestyle lunch-delivery service Guru the Caterer, but they’re the exception, not the rule.
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Not long ago, an acquaintance of mine (who isn’t too fond of ethnic or spicy cuisines) proclaimed that Indian food “all tastes the same”—a gross overgeneralization, to be sure. But while she and I differ on most food-related matters, this time I could actually see where she was coming from.
