Time to let you in on one of Boston’s best-kept secrets. You know Toro, Ken Oringer’s tough-to-get-in tapas place on the far end of Washington Street? Turns out they serve lunch. Yes really. For a while. No, I don’t know why you haven’t been there yet.

I’ve been there, as recently as, oh, yesterday. And it’s hands-down my favorite lunch escape, being just a few blocks from work and home to some truly delicious food. Start with the house salad. I always do.

No dried-out mesclun mix here. You’ll get tender young greens—arugula, dandelion, red-leaf lettuce—plus avocado, sunflower seeds, and nutty chick peas. I’m not a dainty salad girl, but this one could certainly stand in for a full meal.

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Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the new L’Espalier, and how things have shaken out since its summer move to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. By most accounts, the food continues to be divine.

But concerning the the ambiance, the response has been more mixed. It’s not just that the renowned restaurant is now a [insert sneer here] hotel restaurant, or that the expanded space is more modern than the old Back Bay brownstone. No, the common complaint has been about its scaled-down dress code.

Used to be, L’Espalier was a place you’d get all gussied up to visit. A fancy place. An “I just got engaged/promoted/a big new client” place. But as I’ve observed diners entering in frumpy sweaters and read reports of patrons in jeans and sports apparel, I’ve wondered: Is it still that place?

Come to think of it, how many of those special-occasion spots are left in our city? Read the rest of this entry »

Like most people I know, I don’t go to the North End seeking gastronomic epiphanies. I go for good food, okay wine, and great atmosphere. If I walk out with a full belly, a slight buzz, and sides that ache from laughing through dinner, I’m happy. (Something about the ever-present scent of garlic makes me easy to please.)

On a recent Friday, Hanover Street’s new Ristorante Damiano appeared to be just my speed: somewhat frenetic, very loud, and entirely fun. Read the rest of this entry »

Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best culinary events in town. Check back every Friday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie festivals, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.

Taste of Cape Cod Holiday Festival
Nov. 23, 1-6 p.m.
Resort & Conference Center of Hyannis
This time of year, the drive to the Cape is shorter than the wait at the new Craigie. The best Cape restaurants, including Barnstable Restaurant & Tavern, Gracie’s Table, Island Merchant, Bleu, Circadia Bistro, and Vining’s Bistro, among others, will be serving up samples of their signature dishes.

Da Vinci Prix Fixe
Every Monday and Tuesday, 5-10 p.m.
Da Vinci
You don’t have to wait for Restaurant Week to enjoy a great deal at Da Vinci. Every Monday and Tuesday, they’re offering diners the choice an entree, appetizer, and dessert for $29 per person. Read the rest of this entry »

Hotel restaurants serve many masters.

They must whip up eggs barigoule and intricate oatmeal-bowl extravaganzas for the power-suited traveler. They’re obliged to turn uncontroversial lunchtime fare into the appropriately fancified likes of Kobe Burger Three Ways and Deconstructed* Caesar Salad (more often than not “*with three grilled Santa Barbara spot prawns, add $18“).

Hours later, the balancing act becomes even harder. The corporate accountants want to lure in the expense accounts seeking steakhouse standards. The marketers want dinner plates that resemble minimalist still lifes that square up with the glitzy multimillion-dollar décor and $40-a-pop price point. The chef, bless his palate, just wants to create magic.

It was amid such a cacophony of mandates and mantras and focus-group-addled wisdom that Chowder first sampled the cuisine at Asana, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s “signature” restaurant, a bustling, undeniably swanky scene on the ground floor along Boylston Street. A restaurant that, through no fault of its own, is doomed, from the outset, to play third fiddle to Chef Frank McClelland’s adjacent (and one floor up) L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre, two beloved known-quantities that have a ready-made fan base. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, bartenders and imbibers from around Boston gathered at Drink to celebrate renowned cocktail maker Dale DeGroff’s latest book, The Essential Cocktail. Small samples of Manhattans (made with rye whiskey or bourbon) and Cosmopolitans flowed freely as DeGroff worked the room.

Before we sampled one to many of his libations, we talked to DeGroff about what he recommends you serve guests this holiday season.

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When I was in college, a friend of mine had a class in the Agriculture school called Meat Science, and his textbook was a brilliant tome called The Meat We Eat. And for some reason, I couldn’t get that four-word mantra out of my head while traipsing around Dante’s recent Ball Brawl, an al fresco meatball cook-off held on the restaurant’s patio.

Boy, was there meat.

Lots and lots of meat. Read the rest of this entry »

We at Chowder still aren’t sure how we feel about mixing food and fashion (apart from our love for billowy trapeze dresses, which let us put away a seven-course tasting menu with no telltale bulge). We like Michael Leviton’s Persephone, which shares space with the Achilles Project and all its upscale wares. But we were never entirely sold on Boston Public, a.k.a. the boite in Louis Boston, which shut its doors in May (presumably for nonpayment of taxes).

So we’re intrigued by a bit of buzz that came our way today: that chef-about-town Marc Orfaly will be taking over the indie retailer’s now-empty restaurant. Apparently, all outstanding tax issues have been resolved, and they’re ready to get cooking. Read the rest of this entry »

Your Chowder hounds have sniffed down the best culinary events in town. Check back every Friday for your weekly prix-fixe of foodie festivals, cooking classes, wine tastings, and more.

Harvest Pumpkin Dinner
Nov. 14, 5:30 p.m.
Summer Winter, Burlington Mall
You know we love our pumpkin beer, but we also love food that features the orange squash, and not just for pie, either. Summer Winter’s dinner fills our fancy with gourd-laced empanadas, roasted chicken with caramelized onion and roasted pumpkin sauce, and pumpkin beignets.

Home Sweet Home
Nov. 14, 7-11 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Cambridge
Go ahead, skip dinner tonight. You’ve got better things to fill your belly with. Namely, desserts from the best pastry chefs all over town, who will be competing at the dessert tasting to benefit the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund to help the homeless. Guests will sample delectable treats from Rosie’s Bakery, Zephyr, Burdick Chocolate, Kickass Cupcakes, Toscannini’s, and more. Read the rest of this entry »

That’s the thing about hot trends, fashion or otherwise: They’re so popular, everyone wants in on them.

And therein lies the trouble.

In the restaurant world, some of the hottest trends of years past have been adopted broadly and enthusiastically, with mostly harmless results—pomegranate, Okinawan taters, Kobe absolutely-everything. While “Kobe mini-burgers” may be missing the point entirely, there’s certainly nothing unappealing about scarfing down overly pedigreed sliders.

Other foodie fads, however, fall more into skinny-jeans territory. Meaning, not everyone’s got the goods to make them shine. The worst current offender? Read the rest of this entry »