To spear a full sliver of garlic from the broth of some good mussels, you have to trust the chef: Undercooked and it’ll ruin your night; cooked well, it’ll half make it. When faced with the choice at 88 Wharf last month, I took the plunge knowing that Josh Ziskin had recently … [Read more...]
For Jacques Pepin cooking is about creating pleasure
As Jacques Pépin made the rounds of the 120 guests attending the celebrity chef dinner at Hingham’s Summer Shack last Monday, guest after guest embraced the legendary chef - metaphorically or literally. “We just love you!’’ said a woman as she held Pépin’s hand in both her … [Read more...]
Bread, chevre, and honey from Glastonbury Abbey
I’m standing in the large kitchen at Hingham's Glastonbury Abbey talking to its head cook, John Gauley, when Father Tom, one of the monastery’s 12 Benedictine monks, pops in. I’m glad because although I’m here to talk about the food Gauley makes, I don’t know what monks actually … [Read more...]
A comfy spot gets sophisticated
It's easy to miss Remick’s, the new restaurant in downtown Quincy at the site of the former Finian’s. The brick building is quietly handsome and the only sign is a flat spread of letters that simply spells Remick’s. The interior design is similarly … [Read more...]
Saporito’s still great after all these years
When Saporito’s Florence Club Café opened in 1988, it was a shining star in an otherwise fairly lackluster South Shore dining scene. The small, fine dining room became known far and wide, received awards and accolades, and remained at the height of its glory throughout the ’90s. … [Read more...]
Celebrity chef series at Hingham’s Summer Shack
Living and dining in today’s ubiquitous celebrity chef and foodie culture, anyone could be forgiven for not knowing that the American food scene wasn’t always so. But chef Jasper White [left], who was part of the culinary flowering of the late ’70s that led to the scene as it is … [Read more...]
Babycakes in Quincy: Great cake for little money
When I started this column 18 months ago, I figured I’d exhaust the South Shore food scene is a few months. But, every time I search the area for a particular type of food maker, baker, business, cook, or restaurant, I find someone doing it, and I become amazed by the depth in my … [Read more...]
Sintra: A treasure of a restaurant in Braintree
It’s nice to see a restaurant grow, bit by bit, expanding as time passes and needs arise. When owner-Chef Brian Jenkins and his wife Kerri opened Sintra in 2003 it was a storefront space with 40-foot ceilings, a loft, and its “front” door around the back. In 2007, Jenkins took … [Read more...]
Cooking with Chef Kevin Long at Tosca
Wondering what would be special for holiday eats, I called one of my favorite chefs, Kevin Long, to see what he was doing. “I thought oysters with a pomegranate mignonette would be kind of fun,” said Long, when I walked into Tosca in Hingham one afternoon last week. The chef … [Read more...]
Wahlberg’s Alma Nove shines
You might not think, in a less-than-stellar economy, that there’d be room for a new, high-end restaurant in the suburbs. But as owner-chef Paul Wahlberg has proven, there’s always room at the top. The top, in this case, is actually the side — the waterside. Alma Nove is … [Read more...]
