Category: Resources

It’s Irish Soda Bread Season!

Every March, Irish Soda Bread starts showing up everywhere. We've seen it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Markets. But, we prefer the versions from a few favorite area bakeries.

Where do you buy your favorite Irish breads? Tell us in a comment below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas as an update.

Clear Flour Bread had both white Soda Bread with raisins and traditional whole wheat brown bread (above) last weekend. They hope to have it Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through St. Patrick's Day. We recommend getting there early before they run out of the day's supply. And, call ahead on weekdays to see if they happen to have some.

Clear Flour Bread, 178 Thorndike St., Brookline, MA 02446 (map & reviews) Phone: 617.739.0060

Any time of year, you can find a full line of exceptional Irish Breads at Greenhills Irish Bakery in Adams Village, Dorchester. They add caraway seeds to their Irish Raisin Soda Bread (above). It tastes just like the recipe Penny learned to make with her Irish cousins.

They also make this Irish Brown Soda Bread that's perfect with meals, a Treacle Soda Bread for those with a sweet tooth, and Irish Barm Brack – a raisin yeast bread.

Greenhills Irish Bakery, 780 Adams St, Dorchester, MA (map & reviews) Phone: 617- 825-8187 ‎

We even took one for the team and taste-tested this "Trader Joe's Blarney Scone Irish Soda Bread." It was not a superlative version but, that said, soda breads are forgiving and there was none left a day later.

Over on the Boston Chowhound board, a couple of trusted hounds recommended Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge and Keltic Krust in West Newton as their favorite spots for soda bread.

(Update: Keltic Krust closed in 2014)

Tomorrow, we'll help you learn to make your own soda bread with a great collection of recipes, one of Ed's all time favorite carbo-loading versions, and a great video that shows the technique for Brown Bread that no recipe can completely capture!

(Update: Here's a link to that post. Irish Soda Bread Recipe Collection.)

Related Posts:

Greenhills Irish Bakery, Adams Village Dorchester

Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011- 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Blizzards and Irish Soda Bread

Soda Bread Knows No Season

Wholesome Irish soda bread recipe especially for St. Patrick's Day

Irish Soda Bread Scones

March 11, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

What would you miss from your pantry if you were cooking in a kitchen that was empty of food products? I quickly learned that I missed my seasonings. So, I created a spice box that travels with me when we rent a vacation home.

I use a box of watchmaker's tins that I've filled with a supply of spices and blends designed to give me the most versatility with the fewest containers.

What's in my spice kit?

Sea salt and kosher salt get their own larger containers. The blends are French herbs, curry powder, Bell's Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, and an Italian herb blend. One container holds star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and bay leaves. My beloved Aleppo pepper and candied ginger get containers of their own.

What would be in your spice box?

We'd love to hear in the comments below. Send us an email and we'll add your ideas to this piece.

Fortunately, you can now buy peppercorns in containers that are grinders,
so I carry one of those as well. You can also buy spice kits that are usually sold by ethnic group. If I were creating this today, I think I'd use magnetic spice tins.

Using what I have as a guide, I make an amazing array of meals over a couple of weeks with just this selection. I've also been able to loan some flavors to neighbors at an apartment complex in Provincetown. I remember one long-time fellow renter calling up to me, "Penny, I'm craving carrot salad, would you have some cumin." I did, and she shared her salad and recipe!

One exception to this empty pantry rule was a home we rented for a few years on Lake Tashmoo on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It had an herb garden outside the door and enough equipment to run a small catering business.

The homeowners stocked every spice, extract, staple, and supply imaginable. A note invited renters to use what they needed but to replace whatever they used up during their visit. That way the kitchen should always be fully supplied. Apparently, this worked because the system continued throughout the years we rented that home.

Updates from our readers!

(03/05/12) "I would have pickling spices. Why? Because we always prepare our own lobster dinner when on vacation, and the pickling spices added to the boiling water sweeten the lobster meat and create a unique aroma as well. Vacation rentals almost always come with a lobster pot and everything else you need for a lobster dinner, except for the pickling spices," wrote Marlene.

Thanks Marlene! I think we'll try this. What a perfect excuse to have lobster this week!

Related Posts:

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

At-A-Glance Chart of Spices

Your Questions: The 10 Essential Spices for Stocking Your Pantry

March 5, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

What would you miss from your pantry if you were cooking in a kitchen that was empty of food products? I quickly learned that I missed my seasonings. So, I created a spice box that travels with me when we rent a vacation home.

I use a box of watchmaker's tins that I've filled with a supply of spices and blends designed to give me the most versatility with the fewest containers.

What's in my spice kit?

Sea salt and kosher salt get their own larger containers. The blends are French herbs, curry powder, Bell's Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, and an Italian herb blend. One container holds star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and bay leaves. My beloved Aleppo pepper and candied ginger get containers of their own.

What would be in your spice box?

We'd love to hear in the comments below. Send us an email and we'll add your ideas to this piece.

Fortunately, you can now buy peppercorns in containers that are grinders,
so I carry one of those as well. You can also buy spice kits that are usually sold by ethnic group. If I were creating this today, I think I'd use magnetic spice tins.

Using what I have as a guide, I make an amazing array of meals over a couple of weeks with just this selection. I've also been able to loan some flavors to neighbors at an apartment complex in Provincetown. I remember one long-time fellow renter calling up to me, "Penny, I'm craving carrot salad, would you have some cumin." I did, and she shared her salad and recipe!

One exception to this empty pantry rule was a home we rented for a few years on Lake Tashmoo on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It had an herb garden outside the door and enough equipment to run a small catering business.

The homeowners stocked every spice, extract, staple, and supply imaginable. A note invited renters to use what they needed but to replace whatever they used up during their visit. That way the kitchen should always be fully supplied. Apparently, this worked because the system continued throughout the years we rented that home.

Updates from our readers!

(03/05/12) "I would have pickling spices. Why? Because we always prepare our own lobster dinner when on vacation, and the pickling spices added to the boiling water sweeten the lobster meat and create a unique aroma as well. Vacation rentals almost always come with a lobster pot and everything else you need for a lobster dinner, except for the pickling spices," wrote Marlene.

Thanks Marlene! I think we'll try this. What a perfect excuse to have lobster this week!

Related Posts:

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

At-A-Glance Chart of Spices

Your Questions: The 10 Essential Spices for Stocking Your Pantry

March 5, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

What would you miss from your pantry if you were cooking in a kitchen that was empty of food products? I quickly learned that I missed my seasonings. So, I created a spice box that travels with me when we rent a vacation home.

I use a box of watchmaker's tins that I've filled with a supply of spices and blends designed to give me the most versatility with the fewest containers.

What's in my spice kit?

Sea salt and kosher salt get their own larger containers. The blends are French herbs, curry powder, Bell's Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, and an Italian herb blend. One container holds star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and bay leaves. My beloved Aleppo pepper and candied ginger get containers of their own.

What would be in your spice box?

We'd love to hear in the comments below. Send us an email and we'll add your ideas to this piece.

Fortunately, you can now buy peppercorns in containers that are grinders,
so I carry one of those as well. You can also buy spice kits that are usually sold by ethnic group. If I were creating this today, I think I'd use magnetic spice tins.

Using what I have as a guide, I make an amazing array of meals over a couple of weeks with just this selection. I've also been able to loan some flavors to neighbors at an apartment complex in Provincetown. I remember one long-time fellow renter calling up to me, "Penny, I'm craving carrot salad, would you have some cumin." I did, and she shared her salad and recipe!

One exception to this empty pantry rule was a home we rented for a few years on Lake Tashmoo on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It had an herb garden outside the door and enough equipment to run a small catering business.

The homeowners stocked every spice, extract, staple, and supply imaginable. A note invited renters to use what they needed but to replace whatever they used up during their visit. That way the kitchen should always be fully supplied. Apparently, this worked because the system continued throughout the years we rented that home.

Updates from our readers!

(03/05/12) "I would have pickling spices. Why? Because we always prepare our own lobster dinner when on vacation, and the pickling spices added to the boiling water sweeten the lobster meat and create a unique aroma as well. Vacation rentals almost always come with a lobster pot and everything else you need for a lobster dinner, except for the pickling spices," wrote Marlene.

Thanks Marlene! I think we'll try this. What a perfect excuse to have lobster this week!

Related Posts:

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

At-A-Glance Chart of Spices

Your Questions: The 10 Essential Spices for Stocking Your Pantry

March 5, 2013
Edible Boston Spring 2013 Issue Has Arrived!

When my preview copy of Edible Boston arrives, it goes to the top of my reading file. Not only because I want to read about all the local food news and meet some of the people who supply the food I love, but also because I want to look at it. As always, this month's cover is another stunning photo by Michael Piazza.

I often smile and nod as I read Publisher/Editor, Ilene Bezahler's letter from the editor. This month, it was her comment on her gratitude to those who have made winter farmers' markets a part of our long dull winter and again when she wrote about cooking more meals at home. I've been doing that too!

This edition, the incredible Edible Boston team and their readers have given you the information you need to become a master of lamb. Writer Elizabeth Gawthrop Riely takes you to Springdell Farm in Littleton, MA and then gives you a primer on lamb, its history, recipes, and talks about the increasing interest in this red meat. A second article provides more lamb recipes from Edible readers who entered their favorites in a recent recipe contest.

(I never got around to entering, but here is my favorite lamb recipe: Lamb Shanks Braised in Chipotle-Coffee Sauce.)

Of course, there is much more to read in the issue from a tour of the Medford food scene to a piece on growing those beautiful mushrooms on the cover. Here's where you can pick up a copy.

How do you support a publisher like Ilene Bezahler and her remarkably talented team?

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on Facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

You can also buy the Edible cookbook! Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods or find more local food in The Boston Homegrown Cookbook

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

March 4, 2013
Edible Boston Spring 2013 Issue Has Arrived!

When my preview copy of Edible Boston arrives, it goes to the top of my reading file. Not only because I want to read about all the local food news and meet some of the people who supply the food I love, but also because I want to look at it. As always, this month's cover is another stunning photo by Michael Piazza.

I often smile and nod as I read Publisher/Editor, Ilene Bezahler's letter from the editor. This month, it was her comment on her gratitude to those who have made winter farmers' markets a part of our long dull winter and again when she wrote about cooking more meals at home. I've been doing that too!

This edition, the incredible Edible Boston team and their readers have given you the information you need to become a master of lamb. Writer Elizabeth Gawthrop Riely takes you to Springdell Farm in Littleton, MA and then gives you a primer on lamb, its history, recipes, and talks about the increasing interest in this red meat. A second article provides more lamb recipes from Edible readers who entered their favorites in a recent recipe contest.

(I never got around to entering, but here is my favorite lamb recipe: Lamb Shanks Braised in Chipotle-Coffee Sauce.)

Of course, there is much more to read in the issue from a tour of the Medford food scene to a piece on growing those beautiful mushrooms on the cover. Here's where you can pick up a copy.

How do you support a publisher like Ilene Bezahler and her remarkably talented team?

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on Facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

You can also buy the Edible cookbook! Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods or find more local food in The Boston Homegrown Cookbook

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

March 4, 2013
Edible Boston Spring 2013 Issue Has Arrived!

When my preview copy of Edible Boston arrives, it goes to the top of my reading file. Not only because I want to read about all the local food news and meet some of the people who supply the food I love, but also because I want to look at it. As always, this month's cover is another stunning photo by Michael Piazza.

I often smile and nod as I read Publisher/Editor, Ilene Bezahler's letter from the editor. This month, it was her comment on her gratitude to those who have made winter farmers' markets a part of our long dull winter and again when she wrote about cooking more meals at home. I've been doing that too!

This edition, the incredible Edible Boston team and their readers have given you the information you need to become a master of lamb. Writer Elizabeth Gawthrop Riely takes you to Springdell Farm in Littleton, MA and then gives you a primer on lamb, its history, recipes, and talks about the increasing interest in this red meat. A second article provides more lamb recipes from Edible readers who entered their favorites in a recent recipe contest.

(I never got around to entering, but here is my favorite lamb recipe: Lamb Shanks Braised in Chipotle-Coffee Sauce.)

Of course, there is much more to read in the issue from a tour of the Medford food scene to a piece on growing those beautiful mushrooms on the cover. Here's where you can pick up a copy.

How do you support a publisher like Ilene Bezahler and her remarkably talented team?

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on Facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

You can also buy the Edible cookbook! Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods or find more local food in The Boston Homegrown Cookbook

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

March 4, 2013
Easter Dining in Boston 2013 (and this year Easter is March 31st)

Those in the know already have reservations for Easter brunch and dinner. This is one of the big days for dining out, and popular restaurants will fill their tables for Sunday, March 31, 2013 quickly.

First up, the list of places that organize information about Easter reservations and special offerings.

Open Table seems to have the most complete information, and you can click right through to make reservations. They also give you some idea of prices and special menus. And, you'll find a few places that are offering their regular menus as well.

Boston Chefs has a list of offerings from their member chefs and restaurants. (update 3/4/13)

Gayot lists favorite Easter brunches at places like Henrietta's Table in Cambridge.

Next, a few places we picked from these lists

The Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel is always a treat. For Easter, they're offering their regular Sunday Brunch in the Lounge with some special Easter additions to the menu. And, as an alternative, you can reserve a place at their special Gourmet Easter Brunch in the Ballroom.

Upstairs on the Square always pays attention to holidays and as they say, "Guests compare our dining rooms to stepping into a Faberge egg. Come see what they mean for a festive Easter brunch, or an elegant Easter Sunday dinner in the Soirée Room."

To meet up with family who don't want to come into the city, consider AKA Bistro in Lincoln. We're happy to see that they're offering their regular brunch menu in addition to some Easter specials. The nearby deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is the perfect place to walk off your brunch and take Easter photos.

Don't be surprised if some places require a credit card to secure the reservation. This is the type of holiday when some people would try to book multiple restaurants and decide where to go at the last moment. That can cause the restaurant to turn away other potential customers and makes the venues require a deposit to hold a place.

One thing we would look for, if we were dining out on a holiday, is a place that is offering its regular menu for the day. That's always a plus for us. We're not fans of special menus.

If you know of places where the regular menu will be served, let us know. If it's a place we can recommend, we'll add it to our list. And, we'll add updates and links to this post as we find them. Check back here or follow us on Twitter to learn about updates!

Update 03/29/13- Here's a list of great lamb dishes for Easter from Eater.

From BostInno's Lisa De Canio: Dyed Eggs & Ham: 9 Go-To Easter Brunches in Boston

Opting Out of Easter

If this holiday stuff is really not part of your life, this is a great day to go ethnic. Chinatown will be wide open and filled with great menu options. Your neighborhood Indian, Korean, Chinese, or Persian restaurant will be happy to feed you. And, most BBQ and Pizza places do not have Easter menus.

Sign-up for the comment feed or follow us on Twitter for a notice, if we add updates to this page.

Don't miss an Easter photo opportunity. This Canon PowerShot G15 camera
will give you what you need to take stills and video of your Easter celebration. Canon's G series is our all-time favorite for everyday cameras. We own the G10 and G11. They're a little bigger than the compacts most people use, but let you shoot with automatic settings or easy-to-use manual controls that please the many pros who use them as second cameras. And, if you are ready to turn pro, follow our lead. Ed Shoots with the Nikon D7000 Digital SLR too, and we just added a Nikon D600
to our camera fleet and are extremely happy with the performance it has delivered.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photos: from iStockphoto.com

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads out of comments.

Related articles

Patterned Easter Eggs

Snowdrops, Crocus, and Tulips, Oh My!

Boston Tweet's Terrific Late Night Dining List

February 25, 2013
Easter Dining in Boston 2013 (and this year Easter is March 31st)

Those in the know already have reservations for Easter brunch and dinner. This is one of the big days for dining out, and popular restaurants will fill their tables for Sunday, March 31, 2013 quickly.

First up, the list of places that organize information about Easter reservations and special offerings.

Open Table seems to have the most complete information, and you can click right through to make reservations. They also give you some idea of prices and special menus. And, you'll find a few places that are offering their regular menus as well.

Boston Chefs has a list of offerings from their member chefs and restaurants. (update 3/4/13)

Gayot lists favorite Easter brunches at places like Henrietta's Table in Cambridge.

Next, a few places we picked from these lists

The Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel is always a treat. For Easter, they're offering their regular Sunday Brunch in the Lounge with some special Easter additions to the menu. And, as an alternative, you can reserve a place at their special Gourmet Easter Brunch in the Ballroom.

Upstairs on the Square always pays attention to holidays and as they say, "Guests compare our dining rooms to stepping into a Faberge egg. Come see what they mean for a festive Easter brunch, or an elegant Easter Sunday dinner in the Soirée Room."

To meet up with family who don't want to come into the city, consider AKA Bistro in Lincoln. We're happy to see that they're offering their regular brunch menu in addition to some Easter specials. The nearby deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is the perfect place to walk off your brunch and take Easter photos.

Don't be surprised if some places require a credit card to secure the reservation. This is the type of holiday when some people would try to book multiple restaurants and decide where to go at the last moment. That can cause the restaurant to turn away other potential customers and makes the venues require a deposit to hold a place.

One thing we would look for, if we were dining out on a holiday, is a place that is offering its regular menu for the day. That's always a plus for us. We're not fans of special menus.

If you know of places where the regular menu will be served, let us know. If it's a place we can recommend, we'll add it to our list. And, we'll add updates and links to this post as we find them. Check back here or follow us on Twitter to learn about updates!

Update 03/29/13- Here's a list of great lamb dishes for Easter from Eater.

From BostInno's Lisa De Canio: Dyed Eggs & Ham: 9 Go-To Easter Brunches in Boston

Opting Out of Easter

If this holiday stuff is really not part of your life, this is a great day to go ethnic. Chinatown will be wide open and filled with great menu options. Your neighborhood Indian, Korean, Chinese, or Persian restaurant will be happy to feed you. And, most BBQ and Pizza places do not have Easter menus.

Sign-up for the comment feed or follow us on Twitter for a notice, if we add updates to this page.

Don't miss an Easter photo opportunity. This Canon PowerShot G15 camera
will give you what you need to take stills and video of your Easter celebration. Canon's G series is our all-time favorite for everyday cameras. We own the G10 and G11. They're a little bigger than the compacts most people use, but let you shoot with automatic settings or easy-to-use manual controls that please the many pros who use them as second cameras. And, if you are ready to turn pro, follow our lead. Ed Shoots with the Nikon D7000 Digital SLR too, and we just added a Nikon D600
to our camera fleet and are extremely happy with the performance it has delivered.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photos: from iStockphoto.com

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads out of comments.

Related articles

Patterned Easter Eggs

Snowdrops, Crocus, and Tulips, Oh My!

Boston Tweet's Terrific Late Night Dining List

February 25, 2013
Easter Dining in Boston 2013 (and this year Easter is March 31st)

Those in the know already have reservations for Easter brunch and dinner. This is one of the big days for dining out, and popular restaurants will fill their tables for Sunday, March 31, 2013 quickly.

First up, the list of places that organize information about Easter reservations and special offerings.

Open Table seems to have the most complete information, and you can click right through to make reservations. They also give you some idea of prices and special menus. And, you'll find a few places that are offering their regular menus as well.

Boston Chefs has a list of offerings from their member chefs and restaurants. (update 3/4/13)

Gayot lists favorite Easter brunches at places like Henrietta's Table in Cambridge.

Next, a few places we picked from these lists

The Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel is always a treat. For Easter, they're offering their regular Sunday Brunch in the Lounge with some special Easter additions to the menu. And, as an alternative, you can reserve a place at their special Gourmet Easter Brunch in the Ballroom.

Upstairs on the Square always pays attention to holidays and as they say, "Guests compare our dining rooms to stepping into a Faberge egg. Come see what they mean for a festive Easter brunch, or an elegant Easter Sunday dinner in the Soirée Room."

To meet up with family who don't want to come into the city, consider AKA Bistro in Lincoln. We're happy to see that they're offering their regular brunch menu in addition to some Easter specials. The nearby deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is the perfect place to walk off your brunch and take Easter photos.

Don't be surprised if some places require a credit card to secure the reservation. This is the type of holiday when some people would try to book multiple restaurants and decide where to go at the last moment. That can cause the restaurant to turn away other potential customers and makes the venues require a deposit to hold a place.

One thing we would look for, if we were dining out on a holiday, is a place that is offering its regular menu for the day. That's always a plus for us. We're not fans of special menus.

If you know of places where the regular menu will be served, let us know. If it's a place we can recommend, we'll add it to our list. And, we'll add updates and links to this post as we find them. Check back here or follow us on Twitter to learn about updates!

Update 03/29/13- Here's a list of great lamb dishes for Easter from Eater.

From BostInno's Lisa De Canio: Dyed Eggs & Ham: 9 Go-To Easter Brunches in Boston

Opting Out of Easter

If this holiday stuff is really not part of your life, this is a great day to go ethnic. Chinatown will be wide open and filled with great menu options. Your neighborhood Indian, Korean, Chinese, or Persian restaurant will be happy to feed you. And, most BBQ and Pizza places do not have Easter menus.

Sign-up for the comment feed or follow us on Twitter for a notice, if we add updates to this page.

Don't miss an Easter photo opportunity. This Canon PowerShot G15 camera
will give you what you need to take stills and video of your Easter celebration. Canon's G series is our all-time favorite for everyday cameras. We own the G10 and G11. They're a little bigger than the compacts most people use, but let you shoot with automatic settings or easy-to-use manual controls that please the many pros who use them as second cameras. And, if you are ready to turn pro, follow our lead. Ed Shoots with the Nikon D7000 Digital SLR too, and we just added a Nikon D600
to our camera fleet and are extremely happy with the performance it has delivered.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photos: from iStockphoto.com

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads out of comments.

Related articles

Patterned Easter Eggs

Snowdrops, Crocus, and Tulips, Oh My!

Boston Tweet's Terrific Late Night Dining List

February 25, 2013