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Where to Dine Valentine’s Day 2016 – Ideas for Romantic Dining in Boston
Start early if you want to plan a Valentine's Day meal that your loved one will remember.

This year, February 14th falls on a Sunday.

Just as you could last year, you have the opportunity to plan a romantic weekend or one day with your true love and a couple more meals with friends close to your heart. A lovely Sunday brunch at a favorite spot is an option. You can follow that with a quiet dinner at home for two or a gathering of friends who are close to your heart.

Some of you enjoy trying the special holiday menus at your favorite spots. Others avoid dining out on days like this unless they can order off the regular menu. And, this year, we noticed more places offering that alternative.

This is one of the busiest nights of the year for restaurants, so expect many special prix fixe menus. Also, don't be surprised if you have to leave a credit card to guarantee a reservation and a cancellation fee.

If brunch is on your list, we recommend Coppa Enoteca. They say, "Join us for Valentine’s Day at Coppa. We will be offering our regular menu and specials with additional by the glass and by the bottle wine features."

Coppa is one of our favorite places to spend an afternoon nibbling and sharing plates of delicious offerings like the meatballs and asparagus above.

When a Valentine's Day Brunch or Dinner Is on the Menu …
- Open Table has a list of restaurants and note if they have a special menu or if their regular menu is available. Fortunately, it looks like more places are going with their regular menu with some additions.
- Boston Chefs has a list with some information at this link.
Reservations at wonderful, romantic restaurants go quickly. But, we have lots of ideas for all types of celebrations for budgets of all sizes. Today, we'll address where to dine. There are more ideas on some of our past Valentine posts. These are from other times, so check for details with the places mentioned.

Updates will appear here as we find lists of ideas from reliable resources:

Related BostonZest Posts:

Sophisticated Pink Sparklers for Valentine's Day

Your Special Place, Free Romance for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Live Performances at Half Price

Eight Tips on Buying Jewelry for Valentine’s Day from an Expert

Romance at the Gardner Museum – Valentine's Weekend Destination

Beacon Hill Hot Chocolate and Ice Skating on the Common (A Romantic but inexpensive date.) And, now you can also skate at the Boston Harbor Hotel and slip into the bar for a glass of Champagne after that hand-holding exercise.

Need some Valentine's Day gift ideas? Click over to Amazon and do some planning, and if you do buy something there, they'll put a few coins in our tip cup.

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photo: top photo from iStockphoto.com,

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January 22, 2016
Boston Needs a Toast Truck!

We've been talking toast around here because that's one of the things we've been seeing and hearing more about the past few months. It's also something we'd like to see more food folks explore.

If you know someone who has been itching to start a food truck, tell them it's time Boston had a "Toast Truck." Other cities have toast trucks and we think Boston's turn is overdue.

Great Bread is the start of any great toast, so we think the Toast Truck should partner with a great bakery like Clear Flour or Iggy's. Many of the great toast meals we create begin with bread from one of those places.

Select Oyster Bar's Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked Rhode Island Bluefish. (More photos here.)

Maybe the toast truck could follow the lead of Parish Cafe and feature menu items created or inspired by the great chefs around Boston. Michael Serpa from Select Oyster Bar should be one of the first to be asked.

How many slices?

One great thing about a toast meal is that you can have as many slices as fit your appetite. If you want to snack on a single slice of Banana and nutmeg on toast, you can order one slice. If you're training for a marathon and just did a long run, you can order two or three!

Photo from Wikipedia post on toasters

One reason we often have something on toast is because it's quick – and quick is essential to food truck success. With one of those classic diner conveyor toasters on board, a crew could create traditional "toaster" toast in a jiffy. They could also broil, fry, grill, or oven-toast.

Even the logo and graphics would be easy since most food trucks are already shaped like toasters.

Yes, we think a Toast Truck could be a hit. What would you like to see offered by a Boston Toast Truck?

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Bun Thit Nuong: A Fresh, Cool Summer Dish from Vietnam

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

January 21, 2016
Boston Needs a Toast Truck!

We've been talking toast around here because that's one of the things we've been seeing and hearing more about the past few months. It's also something we'd like to see more food folks explore.

If you know someone who has been itching to start a food truck, tell them it's time Boston had a "Toast Truck." Other cities have toast trucks and we think Boston's turn is overdue.

Great Bread is the start of any great toast, so we think the Toast Truck should partner with a great bakery like Clear Flour or Iggy's. Many of the great toast meals we create begin with bread from one of those places.

Select Oyster Bar's Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked Rhode Island Bluefish. (More photos here.)

Maybe the toast truck could follow the lead of Parish Cafe and feature menu items created or inspired by the great chefs around Boston. Michael Serpa from Select Oyster Bar should be one of the first to be asked.

How many slices?

One great thing about a toast meal is that you can have as many slices as fit your appetite. If you want to snack on a single slice of Banana and nutmeg on toast, you can order one slice. If you're training for a marathon and just did a long run, you can order two or three!

Photo from Wikipedia post on toasters

One reason we often have something on toast is because it's quick – and quick is essential to food truck success. With one of those classic diner conveyor toasters on board, a crew could create traditional "toaster" toast in a jiffy. They could also broil, fry, grill, or oven-toast.

Even the logo and graphics would be easy since most food trucks are already shaped like toasters.

Yes, we think a Toast Truck could be a hit. What would you like to see offered by a Boston Toast Truck?

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Bun Thit Nuong: A Fresh, Cool Summer Dish from Vietnam

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

January 21, 2016
BostonZest Take on Some 2016 Local Food Trends

In her January 5, 2016, Fresh & Local food column, Penny wrote about some of the food trends we thought we'd see strengthening in our area this year.

Do you remember early bowl pioneer "Jack and the Bean Bowl" back in 2009?

More Food in Bowls!

Bowls filled with ramen, vegetables, grains, noodles, and soups will grow in importance on restaurant, food truck, and take out menus. Part of this trend is due to our growing acceptance of authentic ethnic cuisines. The need for gluten-free (GF) menu items has restaurants offering the GF-safe ingredients from something like a burrito in a bowl rather than a wrap.

Here's one of our favorite bowls of Bun Thit Nuong from Pho Basil. (More on that dish here.)

In addition, many of these bowls contain warm, filling, comfort foods from the cultures where they originated and we quickly grow to love them for the same reason.

We were thrilled when we saw that the food minds over at the Globe agreed with us by publishing a simultaneous prediction!

Rumanian Pastrami from Sam LaGrassa's (More on this here.)

Good Deli Options

"What the Back Bay needs is a good deli," we hear this from neighbors all the time. We try to explain that the economics of rents in this neighborhood is probably going to prevent that from happening, but we do think we will have more great delicatessens popping up around the area.

And this new version of the old deli features high quality, often house-made meats, and prepared foods. This trend was started in Waltham by Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions. We are thrilled to learn that we will be able to sample their wares from shared space within the new Gordon's Boston store in Downtown Crossing.

While for us a deli sandwich is an occasional treat, we do have a few old favorites. Sam LaGrassa's is always on our list of recommendations for visitors. If we're in Coolidge Corner, we'll pick up sandwiches from Michael's Deli.

Tacos filled with lamb in barbacoa sauce from Tenoch Mexican Taqueria. (More photos here.)

Regional Mexican Food

A second national trend that seems to be slowly appearing in Boston is restaurants offering authentic, regional Mexican cuisines like our much loved Angela’s Cafe in East Boston and the small local Tenoch Mexican Taqueria restaurants and food cart.

In December, we learned that Angela's is opening a second location in Orient Heights much closer to transit. Getting there without a car has limited our visits to the original place.

What are you seeing in the world of local food that makes you smile? Add your thoughts in the comments below. Tweet them to @BostonZest or send us an email and we'll add your suggestions to this post as an update.

We have a few more trends to talk about and will link to that post when it is published.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2009-2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Tenoch Mexican Restaurants & Food Truck

Where to Pick Up Great Food for Boston Summer 2014 Events

January 20, 2016
BostonZest Take on Some 2016 Local Food Trends

In her January 5, 2016, Fresh & Local food column, Penny wrote about some of the food trends we thought we'd see strengthening in our area this year.

Do you remember early bowl pioneer "Jack and the Bean Bowl" back in 2009?

More Food in Bowls!

Bowls filled with ramen, vegetables, grains, noodles, and soups will grow in importance on restaurant, food truck, and take out menus. Part of this trend is due to our growing acceptance of authentic ethnic cuisines. The need for gluten-free (GF) menu items has restaurants offering the GF-safe ingredients from something like a burrito in a bowl rather than a wrap.

Here's one of our favorite bowls of Bun Thit Nuong from Pho Basil. (More on that dish here.)

In addition, many of these bowls contain warm, filling, comfort foods from the cultures where they originated and we quickly grow to love them for the same reason.

We were thrilled when we saw that the food minds over at the Globe agreed with us by publishing a simultaneous prediction!

Rumanian Pastrami from Sam LaGrassa's (More on this here.)

Good Deli Options

"What the Back Bay needs is a good deli," we hear this from neighbors all the time. We try to explain that the economics of rents in this neighborhood is probably going to prevent that from happening, but we do think we will have more great delicatessens popping up around the area.

And this new version of the old deli features high quality, often house-made meats, and prepared foods. This trend was started in Waltham by Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions. We are thrilled to learn that we will be able to sample their wares from shared space within the new Gordon's Boston store in Downtown Crossing.

While for us a deli sandwich is an occasional treat, we do have a few old favorites. Sam LaGrassa's is always on our list of recommendations for visitors. If we're in Coolidge Corner, we'll pick up sandwiches from Michael's Deli.

Tacos filled with lamb in barbacoa sauce from Tenoch Mexican Taqueria. (More photos here.)

Regional Mexican Food

A second national trend that seems to be slowly appearing in Boston is restaurants offering authentic, regional Mexican cuisines like our much loved Angela’s Cafe in East Boston and the small local Tenoch Mexican Taqueria restaurants and food cart.

In December, we learned that Angela's is opening a second location in Orient Heights much closer to transit. Getting there without a car has limited our visits to the original place.

What are you seeing in the world of local food that makes you smile? Add your thoughts in the comments below. Tweet them to @BostonZest or send us an email and we'll add your suggestions to this post as an update.

We have a few more trends to talk about and will link to that post when it is published.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2009-2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Tenoch Mexican Restaurants & Food Truck

Where to Pick Up Great Food for Boston Summer 2014 Events

January 20, 2016
Time to Clean Out That Sunday Dog Toy Basket!

Did the holidays result in a basket of new toys for your dog or cat? If your home is overrun with dog and cat stuff, animal shelters will often accept some of the things you no longer use. You’ll find wish lists on the Animal Rescue League of Boston and MSPCA websites. In addition to unopened bags of food and treats, they can use clean blankets, towels, sheets, and bedding.

We miss our old pal Odis who moved away. He was mad for new toys. More photos here.

Neophilia - A Love of New Toys

Does your companion animal like new toys better than old ones?

Scientific American published a review of recent studies about dogs and neophilia (what scientists call a preference for novelty). In one German study, the results were so strong that it was reported that, “the unfamiliar object was chosen first in 38 out of 50 tests.”

The studies confirmed what most of us know, that our furry friends love new toys and that new lasts a matter of minutes. You may find the much loved, new toy abandoned within days. Having a practical nature, the author, Julie Hecht, went on to suggest ways to keep your dog or cat enthralled with toys, new or old.

This beagle loved his toy so much he took it for a walk. More photos here.

Keep it Interesting

Her first suggestion is rotating the toys available. You can keep one group of toys out in a basket where your pet can choose what he or she likes. Then switch out the toys with some that are kept out of sight and out of scent. (Remember, our pets have a far keener sense of smell than we do and can root out hidden objects with ease.)

A natural love of smelling things was another suggestion from Hecht, “You might even consider adding a new scent to the toys, rolling them in leaves or grass, or finding another way to change their olfactory composition.”

Perhaps her most important suggestion was for you to become part of the toy. Any toy you are holding, tossing, or keeping away will become an instant object of desire. Even in our tiny home, my husband and our dog Poppy have daily play sessions with him tossing toys and her fetching them and then trying to keep them away from him.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino - Updated and adapted for BostonZest from our previously published material.
Photos: ©2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

January 17, 2016
Time to Clean Out That Sunday Dog Toy Basket!

Did the holidays result in a basket of new toys for your dog or cat? If your home is overrun with dog and cat stuff, animal shelters will often accept some of the things you no longer use. You’ll find wish lists on the Animal Rescue League of Boston and MSPCA websites. In addition to unopened bags of food and treats, they can use clean blankets, towels, sheets, and bedding.

We miss our old pal Odis who moved away. He was mad for new toys. More photos here.

Neophilia - A Love of New Toys

Does your companion animal like new toys better than old ones?

Scientific American published a review of recent studies about dogs and neophilia (what scientists call a preference for novelty). In one German study, the results were so strong that it was reported that, “the unfamiliar object was chosen first in 38 out of 50 tests.”

The studies confirmed what most of us know, that our furry friends love new toys and that new lasts a matter of minutes. You may find the much loved, new toy abandoned within days. Having a practical nature, the author, Julie Hecht, went on to suggest ways to keep your dog or cat enthralled with toys, new or old.

This beagle loved his toy so much he took it for a walk. More photos here.

Keep it Interesting

Her first suggestion is rotating the toys available. You can keep one group of toys out in a basket where your pet can choose what he or she likes. Then switch out the toys with some that are kept out of sight and out of scent. (Remember, our pets have a far keener sense of smell than we do and can root out hidden objects with ease.)

A natural love of smelling things was another suggestion from Hecht, “You might even consider adding a new scent to the toys, rolling them in leaves or grass, or finding another way to change their olfactory composition.”

Perhaps her most important suggestion was for you to become part of the toy. Any toy you are holding, tossing, or keeping away will become an instant object of desire. Even in our tiny home, my husband and our dog Poppy have daily play sessions with him tossing toys and her fetching them and then trying to keep them away from him.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino - Updated and adapted for BostonZest from our previously published material.
Photos: ©2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

January 17, 2016
Storyville Jazz Club at The Bradford Hotel and a Great Interview with George Wein

The Bradford Hotel was the last location for George Wein's fabled Storyville jazz club. Yesterday we told you about the history of the hotels that have occupied 275 Tremont Street in Boston. Today we'll tell you a bit about the musical legacy of this location.

Vintage drawing of the Bradford Hotel by Jack Frost.

Boasting the largest ballroom in New England, this Theatre District hotel always had music in the air.

Image from The Tichnor Brothers Collection, Boston Public Library

I have to believe that during the years when it was the Elks Hotel, there were a few informal sessions conducted within its walls.

In those days, you advertised which orchestra guests would find in your ballroom.

By 1960, George Wein had moved his Storyville jazz club to the Bradford Hotel for one last year of great jazz performances in Boston before dedicating his full-time attention to the Newport Jazz Festival that he had founded in 1954. The Duke Ellington Orchestra played an opening, one-week engagement on September 12, 1960.

To learn more about this club and George Wein's memories of jazz in Boston, I suggest you read this wonderful three-part interview over on JazzWax.com by Marc Myers.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Additional suggested reading on the topic would be The Boston Jazz Chronicles by Richard Vacca.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

<br />

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Images as credited under each

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January 15, 2016
Storyville Jazz Club at The Bradford Hotel and a Great Interview with George Wein

The Bradford Hotel was the last location for George Wein's fabled Storyville jazz club. Yesterday we told you about the history of the hotels that have occupied 275 Tremont Street in Boston. Today we'll tell you a bit about the musical legacy of this location.

Vintage drawing of the Bradford Hotel by Jack Frost.

Boasting the largest ballroom in New England, this Theatre District hotel always had music in the air.

Image from The Tichnor Brothers Collection, Boston Public Library

I have to believe that during the years when it was the Elks Hotel, there were a few informal sessions conducted within its walls.

In those days, you advertised which orchestra guests would find in your ballroom.

By 1960, George Wein had moved his Storyville jazz club to the Bradford Hotel for one last year of great jazz performances in Boston before dedicating his full-time attention to the Newport Jazz Festival that he had founded in 1954. The Duke Ellington Orchestra played an opening, one-week engagement on September 12, 1960.

To learn more about this club and George Wein's memories of jazz in Boston, I suggest you read this wonderful three-part interview over on JazzWax.com by Marc Myers.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Additional suggested reading on the topic would be The Boston Jazz Chronicles by Richard Vacca.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

<br />

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Images as credited under each

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Then & Now: Snow Shoveling in Boston

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January 15, 2016
The Bradford Hotel, Elks Hotel, Tremont House – Answering a Twitter Question

Today's history post about the hotels that have stood at 275 Tremont Street in Boston came about because of a question directed at Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub over on Twitter.

I took a quick look at some old maps superimposed on today's google view and saw that the building was once the Hotel Bradford.

(image from a private collection)

(Image from The Tichnor Brothers Collection Boston Public Library)

Originally it was the Elks Hotel, designed by the architectural firm of McLaughlin & Burr and dedicated in 1926. It was in the heart of Boston's Theatre District because it served as the headquarters of the Boston Lodge 10 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. This organization began as a fraternal group for the entertainers who would be working in this area.

(image from a private collection)

While I did not find any images or postcards, the Bradford Hotel became Tremont House and then was converted to a Courtyard by Marriott. You can see that today in this Google Streetview.

Katie responded with a nice thank you and brought the subject of music into my quest. Yes, Katie, this building did have an important place in the world of music, but it was jazz rather than opera. I'll tell you about that tomorrow with a link to a great three part interview that provided confirmation and a primary source for what I found mentioned elsewhere. (Here's the link to that part of the story!)

Update 01/15/16: The folks over at Back Bay Houses contributed the image of this postcard to add to our post.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Images: as credited under each one.

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January 14, 2016