This weekend: Celebrate the Kentucky Derby with mint juleps and eye-catching hats
Plus, the food news you may have missed this week.
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We’re all eating a little differently these days: Cooking at home more. Ordering takeout. Dining on patios. Whatever your comfort level, here’s what’s been going on in Boston’s restaurant world recently, plus a few ways to enjoy some of our region’s best restaurants and bars from both the comfort of your own home and out in the world.
Here’s what you may have missed this week:
Server Maximo Matias serves patrons at Piattini outdoors on Newbury Street in Boston.
The pandemic is changing Newbury Street. We talked with neighborhood business owners and experts to find out: What’s in store for its future?
Grand Banks Fish House will open in the Back Bay. Here’s your first look at the menu.
Roundhead Brewing Co. will bring beer and pizza to Hyde Park this fall. “I would like to be an example for those brewers coming behind me,” said co-owner and head brewer Luis Espinoza.
Psst: Tell us where to find your favorite empanadas in Boston. (This article is also available in Spanish: Haga clic aquí.)
Massachusetts is one of the best pizza states in America, according to Food & Wine. The publication also named a few must-visit local pizzerias.
Our city received more accolades this week: Boston has one of America’s 10 best food markets, according to USA Today readers.
The Boston.com Cocktail Club went full Kentucky Derby this week, introducing recipes for The Kentucky Spire and the mint julep.
Drink this:
Citrus & Salt recently dropped its newest cocktail series, and this particular drink, Hot Girl Summer, has us ready for 80 degree days. Made with vodka, rhubarb, strawberries, lemon, and egg whites, it’s a frothy, refreshing delight — and inspired by Megan Thee Stallion, no less. The kicker? It’s decorated with a colorful skull-and-flowers vignette, making for a cocktail that’s almost too pretty to drink.
Eating and cooking alone, together:
‘Tis the weekend for mint juleps and extravagant hats: The Kentucky Derby returns on Saturday for its 147th year, and restaurants and bars around the city are going all in on mint juleps and “best dressed” competitions. Southie’s Coppersmith will serve Kentucky fried chicken and mint juleps, while Cunard Tavern in Eastie will pour glasses of its single barrel Select Eagle Rare Kentucky bourbon and mint juleps, paired alongside Derby-inspired appetizers. (The restaurant is also awarding prizes for “best hat” and “best dressed”). City Tap House in the Seaport is throwing a party with a photo station, specialty swag, themed food, and frozen mint juleps starting at 11 a.m. In the Fenway, Loretta’s Last Call, Game On!, and Lansdowne Pub will all offer food and drink specials, as well as prizes for the best Derby hat. Or you could head to The Beehive, where the South End restaurant will host a Kentucky Derby pre-game party featuring mint juleps, pimento cheese deviled eggs, walnut bourbon French toast, and more.
There are still a few more days until Cinco de Mayo, and while you may have your heart set on visiting a Mexican restaurant or tequila bar on Wednesday, there are a couple options to pre-order a Cinco de Mayo meal to enjoy at home. Stillwater‘s Cinco de Mayo Box, a compete feast meant for two, comes with salt and lime tortilla chips and roasted jalapeño queso, pork enchiladas, black beans, pico de gallo rice, tres leches cake, and two Don Julio Cadillac margaritas. Order now for pick up on Tuesday after 3 p.m. Lincoln Tavern has also put together a Fiesta Kit for two to four people, packed with housemade tortilla chips, guacamole, street corn, a crunch wrap supreme, buffalo chicken quesadillas, brisket and pork carnitas tacos, horchata chocolate chip ice cream, and the option to add cocktails. Pre-order is available until Tuesday at 4 p.m., and pickup will be Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m.
Read this: This week, Atlas Obscura shined a light on coffee jelly, a dish that Bostonians used to slurp up at the now-shuttered Durgin Park. While the article takes a historical look at the gelatinous dish, it also dives into the dessert’s popularity in Japan, which is so prevalent that coffee jelly is sold in corner stores around the country. If you’re keen on making it for yourself, there’s a recipe included at the end. I’d love to hear in the comments below if you have strong memories of coffee jelly, whether at Durgin Park or elsewhere!
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