Taste is fickle, and like a schoolgirl who falls in love with one boy after another, its affections are boundless. Not only that, but our taste buds aren't prejudiced and can thrill equally over a top chef's expensive dish, a simple soup, or that American mainstay, the … [Read more...]
Harpoon Brewery’s Island Creek Oyster Stout
Did you hear about the oysters from Duxbury who grew up to be beer? True story. One hundred and eighty bivalves, reared from tiny "seeds" in Duxbury Bay, were harvested on Jan. 21 and driven to the Harpoon Brewery in Boston's Seaport district. Upon arrival, oyster farmer … [Read more...]
High style with substance
The new Alba lends a sense of big-city style to downtown Quincy. Handsome Alba, with its dark wood and leather, high multi-level ceilings, and weighty stone presence lends a big city sense to downtown Quincy's Hancock Street strip. Situated among less substantial … [Read more...]
Bia Bistro in Cohasset remains in good hands
It's been just seven weeks since Brett Williams started as head chef at Bia Bistro taking over from owner-chef Brian Houlihan who's tending to his new pub, The Tinker's Son, in Norwell. The pristine and pretty bistro's menu – which has remained largely the same since the … [Read more...]
A find in Hull’s Kenberma section
It's a pity that Hull is on the way to nowhere, except the quirky and considerable charms of the peninsular town itself. Quite near the center, along the commercially populated strip of Nantasket Avenue known as Kenberma, is a fittingly eclectic corner cafe turned … [Read more...]
Jasper White’s new Summer Shack
It's only the third Saturday night since Jasper White's fourth Summer Shack opened at the Derby Street shops, and at 5:30 p.m. there's already a wait. The crowd is a mix of ages and styles, but en masse this feels like a group that absolutely knows its seafood. Trying to … [Read more...]
Living large at Patriot Place
Tavolino, which opened in early April near the new Renaissance Hotel, has an airy, clean feel to it. It didn't take any more prompting than a friend's recommendation to get me out the door and headed to Tavolino at Patriot Place in the darkness of a late Thursday … [Read more...]
Tosca
If it seemed quiet in Hingham last Saturday night, I can tell you why: Everybody was at Tosca, either dining happily, milling around the bar, or lined up 30 deep waiting for a table. Everybody, that is, except executive chef Kevin Long, who is splitting his time between Hingham … [Read more...]
Brasserie Zapp adds zip to the Red Lion
After circling the Red Lion Inn on a recent Friday night trying to figure out how to enter the enormous structure, we parked and followed the smell of wood smoke into the lobby of the gorgeous old lodge. From the second I wandered into the complex of dining areas that comprise … [Read more...]
These guys know how to cook
There's no scarcity of great restaurants in the suburbs, but they are fewer and farther between than in the city. So, when we heard about a good one, we made the jaunt to Easton to check out Porticello Ristorante. It was easy to find on Route 138, and its classic white clapboard … [Read more...]
