|
Restaurant critic
Devra FirstDevra First is the Globe's restaurant critic and food reporter.
|
Catch of the day?
A meal of salmon is a time-honored Fourth of July tradition in New England, along with peas and new potatoes, which came into season around the same time the fish ran. Times, however, have changed. Atlantic wild salmon is commercially extinct. In May, salmon fishing was banned in California and most of Oregon to halt the rapid disappearance of the ...
Far from the same old, same old
Burger. Roast chicken. Fried calamari. Beet salad. These dishes are your faithful friends. You like them, really, you do. But you see an awful lot of them on area menus. Sometimes, well, admit it. They start to grate on you. They're so predictable! They always demand the same condiments, the same sides. Is it so wrong if you'd like to ...
Chef brings a new aura to the Seaport Hotel
When chef Rachel Klein was at Om in Cambridge, her food polarized diners. Some (like me) loved it for its originality, whimsy, and bold flavor combinations: the classic duo of grilled cheese and tomato soup tweaked, with tapioca and Asian herbs in spicy broth; a Caesar salad deconstructed, with anchovies, asparagus, and a poached egg laid out separately in a ...
Tapas and beyond at two spots in the suburbs
For a while, sushi appeared to be the new pizza - ubiquitous, with restaurants serving maki and miso sprouting up on every corner. Americans' acceptance of raw fish seemed astonishing. It was just so . . . raw. Now tapas seem to be the new sushi. Americans, we lovers of large portions, are gravitating toward small plates. These days we ...
Bean town
Lynne Biziewski of Lynn uses a pot on an electric stove. Tyler Hunt of Jamaica Plain uses a Behmor or Gene Cafe drum roaster. Bob Yellin of Underhill, Vt., uses a German machine from the '80s that he's tricked out with a thermocouple and a proportional-integral-derivative controller, splitting the heater and fan into separate voltage outputs. (No, you don't need ...
A new restaurant that does everything right
When Rachel Miller Munzer and Alon Munzer ran Rachel's Kitchen in Bay Village, they turned the postage stamp-size sandwich shop into a cornerstone of the neighborhood. They did it by serving great sandwiches, of course, but also by making everyone feel at home. If you'd been there once, they knew your face. Twice, they knew your order.
A good chef doesn't mean fine food
Earlier this year, a pipe burst at the Copley Square Hotel, which houses Saint and what was then Domani Bar & Trattoria. When the water poured in, chef Rene Michelena moved on after several years in the kitchen. The tide carried him to Central 37, a new restaurant in the Financial District space that used to be the Black Rhino, and the adjoining lounge, MKT. Shortly after the restaurant opened, a water main broke, shutting down many area eateries when gas pipes were flooded. Central 37 was relatively unaffected.
Smothered chicken for the soul at Poppa B's
On a Friday evening at Poppa B's in Dorchester, the opening notes of a Chaka Khan song waft from the restaurant speakers, and diners pause. Forks midway to mouths, heads cocked, smiling dreamily, people at each table stop eating, just for a moment, to sing along. "Baby baby when I look at you, I get a warm feeling inside." At ...
Deep flavors of Italy
Ciao, Benatti. What brings a little Italian gem like you to East Cambridge? The neighbors are all dishing out bacalhau and feijoada, and you show up and start sprinkling balsamic on everything. Things could get ugly during soccer season.