Short Orders

October 15, 2008

Tiny hamburgers, called sliders, have become standard bar fare. Now come ballpark sliders made with hot dogs. Jason Owens, owner of the Biltmore Bar & Grille, worked with famed meat man John Dewar to come up with this item. Dewar went to Pearl Meat Packing Co. in Canton, makers of high-quality, all-beef franks, and requested hot dogs in the shape of a bologna roll. Now Owens slices these into 3-inch disks, marinates them, and serves them on fluffy white mini-rolls that have the texture of hot dog buns (three for $9). Sauerkraut and the Biltmore's special sauce (ketchup, mustard, relish) complete these treats. The Biltmore Bar & Grille, 1205 Chestnut St., Newton Upper Falls, 617-527-2550, www.thebiltmoregrill.com. - RACHEL TRAVERS

For most, it's a tasty sideline to the Halloween tradition of carving Jack-o-Lanterns. But for Galen and Sennen Conte, brothers from Rhode Island, roasting pumpkin seeds is what they call a "high-wire balancing act." Now, after five years as a struggling small business, their company, Gerbs Pumpkin Seeds, is starting to pay dividends. (The brothers were once called Gerbs by their oldest brother, Barclay, when they were growing up in Barrington.) The idea for the company was a fluke, says Sennen, "We had a big Halloween party one time and people were just chowing [the seeds] down saying, 'I would buy these, I would buy these.' " At the time, they didn't know anything about manufacturing a product. Much trial and error followed. Gerbs Pumpkin Seeds, packaged at their facility in Bristol, now come whole-roasted ($3.19) or shelled ($3.69) in a variety of flavors. They taste a lot like home-grown - but you won't need to scrape out any pumpkin goop first. Available at Allandale Farm, 259 Allandale Road, Brookline, 617-524-1531; Whole Foods, 340 River St., Cambridge, 617-876-6990; or go to www.gerbspumpkinseeds.com. - GALEN MOORE

At Shanghai Gate, an unassuming Chinese restaurant in Allston, the murals on the walls and the pretty lighting make a charming frame for your meal. One of the owners is a public school art teacher, the other a restaurateur, so there's a light, knowing touch with both food and décor. Dishes like tofu custard soup ($6.50) are prepared by a classically trained chef from Shanghai who knows his way around American tastes, says manager Jeff Zhang. When food and art pair this well, it's a satisfying thing. Shanghai Gate, 204 Harvard Ave., Allston, 617-566-7344. - LEIGH BELANGER