Tag Archives: seaport
August 17, 2014 Boston Magazine’s The Cue
Guests gathered on Tuesday night at Black Falcon Terminal for Boston Magazine’s first annual, The Cue. Readers of Boston Magazine voted to pick the top 10 mixed drinks in the city. Those top 10 mixologists came to The Cue to mix their drinks live and guests of the event were asked to pick their favorite.
The event started at 6pm for VIP’s and at 7pm for the general public. Those that were lucky enough to be VIP’s were treated to a private lounge, early access to the drinks and exclusive vendors.
Alex and Ani set up shop in the private lounge, showcasing their bangle bar.
The first thing you saw when you walked in the door was Stay Sweet Macs, a coconut macaroon company that is just about a year old. They are sold only through their website at this time, check them out here. They have amazing flavors (orange zest, pink salted dark chocolate, toffee almond, jackfruit, and strawberry white chocolate) and who doesn’t love a macaroon covered in chocolate!
First Trade Union Bank was sponsoring a ice cream bar featuring ice cream from Rancatore’s. Rancatore’s is located in Belmont and Lexington. You may be more familiar with Toscanini’s, owned by Gus Rancatore. Gus and Joe Rancatore are brothers.
Pangea Shellfish company was there shucking oysters for VIP’s.
Above are their Standish Shore Oysters that are grown just over in Duxbury.
Celebrity Cruises was their mixing up dry ice cocktails.
The event was sponsored by Absolut, so all drinks this evening showcased their many different flavors of vodka.
Guests were treated to some great live music for the evening and the MC for the evening was Amy Brooks from radio 92.9.
How fun are their outfits? Abby Lane brought their A game, with their “pineapple express” cocktail.
1 oz Absolut Vodka
.75 oz 888 Pineapple Jalapeño spirit
.5 oz Hum Botanical spirit
.5 oz Orgeat
8-10 oven roasted pineapple chunks
Roast sliced pineapple chunks in an oven on 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Muddle roasted pineapple in a Boston Shaker. Fill with ice. Add all remaining ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass.
It’s always fun to see the guys from Dillon’s. They were serving up Mexican street corn with honey lime butter and strawberry basil.
A little dance break.
Dillon’s also served up a basil and lavender mint infused lemonade.
Some of the Absolut flavors being showcased this evening.
Richer Pour wine was also in the VIP lounge, pouring glasses of wine on tap.
Andy Husbands was blowing up social media before the event. He was the only one who brought his own smoker!
Tremont 647 was serving up the best ribs you’ll ever have.
Check out how delicious they look!
Got to love Andy’s outfit!
Regal Beagle featured pulled pork and jalapeno cornbread sliders: pulled pork, watermelon bbq sauce, jalapeno cheddar cornbread.
Fairsted Kitchen was smokin’ up some lamb ribs, dusted with cumin and fish sauce.
Sweet Cheeks was go big or go home – they brought a whole smoked pig!
Champions was mixing up their signature cocktail the “Boston Strong”.
1.5 oz Absolut Vodka
.5 oz blueberry syrup
.5 oz ginger simple syrup
.75 oz lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp ginger powder
1 tbsp lemon zest
Prep martini glass- coat half of glass rim with lemon juice and dip in mix of sugar, ginger powder, and lemon zest. To make rim sugar: mix equal parts sugar, ginger powder, and lemon zest.
In an ice filled cocktail shaker add Absolut Vodka, ginger simple syrup, and lemon juice. Shake vigorously. Strain into rimmed, chilled martini glass. Finish by adding blueberry syrup into the martini glass along the side so that it sinks to the bottom. Ahead of time, coat peaches in brown sugar and grill until tender.
Earls Kitchen and Bar featured Slow Braised BBQ Back Ribs with sweet + spicy bbq sauce, warm potato salad and coleslaw.
Empire was mixing up a “Bom Dia”
1.5 oz Absolut Citron
.5 oz St. Germain
.5 oz lime juice
muddled guava and grilled peach
dash guava simple syrup
prosecco
sliced peach
brown sugar
sugar cane
In a shaker, muddle guava and peach with a dash of guava simple syrup add ice and all ingredients except prosecco. Shake and pour into a highball glass and top with prosecco. Garnish with fresh sugar cane.
The Living Room was mixing up “The Cucumber Haze” which earned them the title of first runner up at the event.
1.5 oz Absolut Vodka
.5 oz blueberry-thyme simple syrup
1.5 oz fresh lemon juice
2 slices of cucumber
sprig of thyme
lemon twist
2 blueberries
Muddle two slices of Cucumber. Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Serve over ice in Collins glass. Top with Soda water. Garnish with sprig of thyme two blueberries and lemon twist.
Bronwyn had a delicious Hungarian smoked brisket with paprika and honey glaze
Stop by Larry J’s in Southie and say hello to Larry Jimerson.
Larry J’s brought pulled pork (Texas and North Carolina) that was from slow smoked pork butts (12.5 hours!!)
Brian Moy of Shojo (right).
Shojo had a dish inspired by a Hawaiian luau. Coconut water glazed suckling pig; Hawaiian salad of pineapple, ham, tomato, carrot, broccoli, shrimp; tahitian POI: banana, mango, coco creame, taro pudding and coconut sticky rice.
BT’s Smokehouse did a brisket rueben: smoked beef brisket, sexy slaw, pickled rye sauce, on honey brown bread.
Leah Famularo of Burton’s Grill was mixing up an “Absolut Sizzle”
1.5 oz Absolut Vodka
.5 oz Cointreau
.75 oz cayenne simple syrup
2 oz fresh squeezed grapefruit Juice
chunk of lime
cayenne simple syrup
1 cup superfine sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In shaker pour Absolut and Cointreau over ice, finish with cayenne simple syrup and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice in snifter glass. Squeeze one fresh lime chunk into glass.
Robert’s Maine was at the event as well sampling some of their delicious bites.
Michael’s Deli served up a BBQ meatloaf knish: housemade BBQ meatloaf wrapped in knish dough and baked.
Glenn LeMaitre of Bricco mixed up his Bricco Espresso Martini and came out on top as champion at the event.
2 oz Absolut Vanilia
1 oz Kahlua
.25 oz Amaretto
.25 oz Baileys
.25 oz Frangelico
Double shot of espresso
Place all ingredients into martini shaker and shaken vigorously. Stain into a martini glass rimmed with cocoa and sugar. Garnish with three espresso beans.
A closer look at those winning cocktails!
East Coast Grill and Raw Bar served up baby back ribs – house smoked with a blackberry peach bourbon sauce.
Look at those ribs!
Kings was serving up some delicious mac and cheese!
Bond was serving up their signature cocktail “Bankrupt” that earned them the title of 2nd runner up for the evening.
3 oz Absolut Vodka
3 oz strawberry rhubarb puree
rhubarb
strawberries
.5 cup sugar
For the puree juice equal portions rhubarb and strawberry in a juicer. Then, bring juice to boil and immediately remove from heat stirring in fine sugar to sweeten and thicken (for 1 cup juice add ½ cup sugar). Combine vodka and puree in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass.
A closer look at those delicious cocktails!
Bokx 109 was mixing up their “Absolutely American” cocktail:
1 oz Absolut Mandarin
1 oz sweet and sour mix
.5 oz grenadine
1 oz Blue Curacao
Cherry garnish
Add 1 oz Absolut Mandarin, 1.5 oz sweet and sour to shaker over ice. Stir with bar stirrer. Pour in Collins glass, add .5 oz of grenadine allow to settle to bottom. Add ice to fill, float with Blue Curacao. Garnish with cherry. Drink should layer red, “white,” blue.
A great event over all, already looking forward to next year’s event.
Boston Magazine’s The Cue
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/cookout/cue/
Tags: bbq, boston magazine events, events, seaport
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June 22, 2014 Chefs in Shorts
It was a beautiful night on Friday, a perfect evening for the 14th annual Chef’s in Shorts event.
Guests gathered at the Seaport Hotel for an evening of food from over 50 chefs. The event benefited Future Chefs, a nonprofit school-to-career program focused in culinary arts.
Our first stop was The Lagham Hotel’s table, where Executive Chef, Mark Sapienza was cooking up piri-piri grilled shrimp and sweet corn flan with spring onion, chorizo and vinho Verde.
I’m pretty sure I could have eaten the corn flan for days – it was light with just the right amount of sweetness – the shrimp was tasty and perfectly grilled.
Chef Andreas Edlbauer from the Dining Room, a restaurant within a restaurant (at the Living Room), served grilled cold smoked salmon with roasted cauliflower purée, Norwegian cucumber salad and micro lettuce.
Row 34 had a great smokey, spicy smoked mussel salad with grilled scapes, aleppo and pickled red onion. One of the better dishes of the night. I forgot to take a picture of it because I was too busy enjoying it, but it was delicious, there was spicy and crunchy with a little bit of sweetness – a very well balanced dish!
Tim Pennington, head chef at Earls bar and kitchen, opening soon at Assembly Row in Somerville, served up ribs with warm potato salad. A little messy to eat, but finger licking good!
Skybokx 109 in Natick served up grilled sugarcane skewered shrimp with pineapple salsa and barbeque glaze.
A dish from LTK.
The Blue Ox in Lynn.
Chef Robert Tobin from Tamo, in the Seaport Hotel, made a grilled marinated short rib with picked radish and carrot, Boston lettuce and asian bbq sauce.
Artbar in Cambridge.
How beautiful is that cauliflower?
Grilled flatbread from Flour Bakery.
Abby Park in Milton served up a short rib slider with savory cabbage slaw.
The Back Deck served up grilled hot wings: confit chicken wings tossed in a chipotle lime butter and served with celery sticks and gorgonzola dressing. These were right in their wheelhouse!
Chef Doug Rodrigues from the Tip Tap Room grilled up whole wild striped sea bass.
It was served with mustard greens, picked green tomatoes, and cucumber.
Executive Pastry Chef at the Seaport Hotel, Karen Hodson served up s’mores in a tin.
This dessert was outstanding!
They put ice cream on top and served them warm off the grill – SO good.
Chef de Cuisine Michael Zentner from Gaslight served up a Korean beef dish, similar to bulgogi beef, and wrapped it in lettuce for eating snacking.
Aragosta served up a ceviche with scallops, striped bass and calamari.
Crispy grilled pork belly.
Check out this beautiful dish by the chefs from the Sinclair.
Mark Porcaro, Top of the Hub, was serving up some delicious mahi mahi fish tacos.
Check out the amazing color of the slaw!
The Ashmont Grill served up grilled oysters, mussels and clams with salsa verde and BBQ butter.
Chef Chris Douglas of Ashmont Grill/Tavolo.
Mela served up chicken tikka, chicken marinated in spaices and yogurt and cooked on skewers in tan door, a clay oven.
Parla served up smoked scallop shish kebabs.
Lucca Restaurant and Bar in the North End.
Jason Albus, chef at Fairsted Kitchen in Brookline served up Soutern Pork Hash.
Steve, co-owner of Fairsted couldn’t make it, but was there in spirit with the face of Steve stamp – follow the hashtag #faceofsteve.
Kickass Cupcakes provided a welcome break from all the meat and seafood at the event.
Hoe cute are these?
Chef Andrew Herbert from TRADE was at the event, we chatted about the upcoming Battle of the Burger. Have you voted yet? You have until July 7th – vote here.
Chef Richard Rayment from the Seaport Hotel.
Check out the beautiful purple potato and grilled corn salad from Bravo at the Museum of Fine Arts – it was served with escabeche of local bluefish, aji amarillo and dried herb gremolata.
Pie tarts from King’s.
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October 23, 2013 James Hook + Co
Lobster rolls? You bet! 🙂 On a sunny weekend, we walked over to James Hook + Co.
James Hook has been an institution in Boston, some of you may remember that they had a fire in 2008 that burned their location to the ground.
They sell wholesale and retail.
They have tables inside as well as some picnic tables outside while the weather is still nice. The service is quick, we wait in line and have our lobster rolls in under 5 minutes.
Check out these enormous lobsters!
The atmosphere is casual, a great little seafood shack in the middle the city.
The lobster roll won Best of Boston 2013. The roll is simple, lightly dressed lobster meat with just celery and mayo on a toasted bun. The flavor is light and clean – and there are large pieces of meat – no skimping here. At $14, the price is on par with other lobster rolls in the area. Stop by and try one, you won’t be sorry.
James Hook+ Co.
15-17 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210
Tel: (617) 423-5501
Fax: (617) 423-5505
info@jameshooklobster.com
Hours:
Monday through Thursday 10-5; Friday 10-6; Saturday 10-5; Sunday 10-3
Tags: casual dining, restaurant, seafood, seaport
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October 18, 2013 Rowes Wharf Sea Grille
It’s a beautiful day on the Harbor so we decide to have lunch at the Sea Grille. Check out the Iroquois, John Henry’s 164 foot yacht. 
Located right on the harbor in the Boston Harbor Hotel, the restaurant has a wonderful outdoor patio. It is a bit chilly when not in the sun, but they have heat lamps all around the perimeter. 
We are gearing up for a big week, so we decide to treat ourselves to margaritas ($15) Don Julio Reposado, Licor Beirao Orange-Caramel, Japanese Yuzu, Agave Nectar, Smoked Chipotle Salt. The bartender makes a strong drink, certainly getting your money’s worth. 
I had the Maine lobster roll on a challah roll ($24.95) with crispy french fries (not pictured). The lobster salad was delicious, but the roll certainly sent this lobster roll into it’s own category. Really delicious sandwich with lots of lobster meat. I even enjoyed the heirloom tomatoes in the salad. The service was good, although not as good as should be expected with lunches at $25 a plate. The couple next to us tried to use their open table gift check for their meal and they wouldn’t accept it, saying that they don’t take checks of any kind. Finally after escalating and speaking to a manager, they were reluctantly allowed to use their gift check. Overall a lovely meal with views and people watching that can’t be beat. Rowes Wharf Sea Grille Boston Harbor Hotel – 70 Rowes Wharf, Boston, MA http://www.roweswharfseagrille.com/ 
Tags: patio, restaurant, seafood, seaport
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October 7, 2013 Taco Truck
With a new office location, comes new food trucks! While I’ve eaten at the Taco truck before, it’s nice to have them close to the office now! The lines at lunch time are quite long, just the nature of the location and just how many business’ are frequenting them. But it’s a nice day, warm, and it feels good to be out in the sun. Pretty soon you will be able to order online in Boston, so keep your eyes out for that!
I grab 3 barbacoa tacos with guacamole and cotija cheese (cheese and guac are an additional charge). The tacos come with pasilla braised shredded beef with onions, cilantro and roasted red salsa. The meat has some really nice flavor and the guacamole and cheese add a nice texture. Highly recommend that you stop by. Check out their website or follow them on Twitter to find their location.
The Taco Truck
http://www.thetacotruck.com/locations/boston-truck
Tags: food truck, seaport, tacos
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September 12, 2013 Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House
It was a friend’s birthday – he loves steak, so the natural choice was to try out Del Frisco’s by the water. The weather was perfect and we snagged a seat by the window, taking advantage of the great view. We arrived early and there were only a few tables sat, but they still asked us to stand at the bar for 10 minutes. When I think of steak houses, the first things I think of are blood red leather booths, dark corners and businessmen. Del Frisco’s has all those things, but I wouldn’t consider it a classic steakhouse. The crowd has money to spend and they’re looking to impress whomever they brought here, whether it be a girl, a client or their buddies. There are a lot of big personalities in the dining room tonight (and very few women). We are brought to our table by a hostess – there are a few of them, and they are all dressed in skin tight black dresses. All I’m saying is that if I am paying $100 a head for dinner, I don’t need to see the hostess’ stomach, because she’s wearing a crop top, while I’m being led to my table. I’m sure that there are a lot of people that come to Del Frisco’s that like that aspect of the restaurant, but it made it feel more like an upscale hooters as opposed to a fine steakhouse.
The VIP ($13) Svedka Clementine Vodka infused with fresh Hawaiian pineapple is a sweet refreshing drink to start the night. While we are looking over the menu we notice that there are quite a few servers, all appear to be men, dressed in vests and long aprons – dressed to the T. While we are looking over the menu, one of the hostesses walks towards me while showing a party to their seat. I kid you not, I was flashed with lady business. If your skirt is so short that you’re showing off your you know what, and you have to pull it down to (just barely) cover it, then you should re think your outfit. Some of the clientele don’t want to see what you’re offering. And please, wear some underwear.
Our waiter is professional and knowledgeable. The 16oz Ribeye ($46) was really well flavored – probably some of the best steak I’ve had. I had asked for it medium but it came out more like medium well – not a deal breaker, but unfortunate. When you’re at a restaurant like this, you are here for the experience and the quality of the food.
Sides are all a la cart. We have three waiters bring over our food so that we are served simultaneously. The spinach supreme ($12) didn’t taste like there was anything healthy in it, and that’s a good thing in my book. It was creamy and rich – really well seasoned.
King Crab Gnocchi ($16) was amazing – creamy, decadent – we couldn’t even eat the whole side dish.
Steakhouses aren’t known for their desserts. We order the cheesecake ($10) which tasted like it was unsweetened and felt like we were taking a bite out of a bar of Philadelphia cream cheese. I think we may have had two bites.
Del Friscos
250 Northern Ave, Boston, MA
http://delfriscos.com/menu/boston/
Tags: gnocchi, patio, restaurant, seaport, steak, waterfront
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August 28, 2013 Jerry Remy’s Waterfront
We just had our annual summer retreat for my company. Finding a place that can hold 30 people without a room charge or a food and beverage minimum is tough. The folks over at Remy’s really took care of us. We had two long tables side by side inside, but right at the open windows – so we were set no matter what the weather was going to be. We started the day off doing a fun photo scavenger hunt, so by the time lunch came, we were famished. Sounds silly that we were tired from a photo scavenger hunt, but we are all fiercely competitive.
It had rained the night before, and it was cloudy all morning – with serious humidity, but by the time the afternoon rolled around, the day had cleared up completely. We could not have asked for better weather and the view from Remy’s was impressive.
We pre selected items for staff to choose from. I picked the lobster salad (above). I was hoping for large pieces of delicious sweet lobster, but this was shredded and heavy on the mayo, sort of made me think of a lobster sandwich at D’Angelo’s or something along those lines. The fries were the saving grace, they were delicious – crisp and salty.
We ordered two desserts, the turtle cheesecake is pictured above. Delicious – loved the crust on the cheesecake. It was by far the most popular dessert.
We also had the key lime pie, that was good, but not great – not after tasting the turtle cheesecake at lease. The service was good, our waitresses were attentive – keeping our drinks filled and clearing away dishes quickly. Not the best food on the water, but the views make up for it.
Jerry Remy’s
250 Northern Ave
http://www.jerryremysseaport.com/
Tags: patio, restaurant, seaport
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A Little Bit About a Lot of Things 