Tag: brookline

Ancienne French Baguette from Clear Flour: A Best Bite
With a dedicated bread-a-holic in residence, we have tried all the recommended baguettes in the Greater Boston area. Our favorite is from Clear Flour Bread. While we pick up their regular baguette when we see it at Whole Foods or another shop, we will go out of our way to get their darker, richer Ancienne style.
This bread deserves a slide show to flaunt its star power. Click on any thumbnail to open any photo in the space above.

On their site, Clear Flour describes it as, "rustic french baguette with a very open texture & a fully caramelized crust for those seeking bold crunch and mildly sweet flavor." It's always the first item we order at the bakery or at their stand at the Brookline Farmers' Market.

Important tip: This bread is not available until after 1pm so plan your shopping trip with that in mind.

When the poster, doctorandchef, over on Boston's Chowhound board asked for the areas's best Parisian-style Baguette, Penny quickly nominated the Ancienne French and it won applause from the locals. (That conversation also discusses other wonderful, local, favorite baguettes.)

Some of the criteria doctorandchef requested were:

"1) a crisp (yes, I want crisp!!) and light crust
2) proper reddish brown hue
3) open crumb structure with a creamy appearance
4) chewy texture
5) firm enough that when you break the baguette in half, it makes noise, yet soft enough that it doesn’t break apart completely
6) Smell of wheat…"

We've tried to show these characteristics in the photos above.

What's your favorite Boston area baguette? Have you tried the Ancienne from Clear Flour? If so, let us know what you think.

Related Posts:

Cherry Tart Season at Clear Flour Bakery: A Best Bite

Clear Flour Pain Meunier or Miller's Bread

Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

Brookline Farmers' Market – Thursday is Market Day

What's on your food lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino
July 30, 2012
Cherry Tart Season at Clear Flour Bakery: A Best Bite

We had finished lunch in Kenmore Square and were looking at the dessert menu. Nothing was tempting me but I knew that temptation was quietly waiting behind the counter at Clear Flour Bread in Brookline.

I leaned over and whispered to Ed, "Clear Flour." His eyes lit up and we were soon on a Green line B train to Packard's Corner where we filled a shopping bag with baked goodness.

While bread may be in their "official" name, Clear Flour is one of our favorite places to buy pastries. They usually have a country tart. The fillings are seasonal. On this visit our choices were cherry or peach/plum.

Related Posts:

Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

Clear Flour Pain Meunier or Miller's Bread

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Clear Flour Bread

178 Thorndike Street, Brookline, MA 02446-5844 (map)

(617) 739-0060

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

July 24, 2012
Cherry Tart Season at Clear Flour Bakery: A Best Bite

We had finished lunch in Kenmore Square and were looking at the dessert menu. Nothing was tempting me but I knew that temptation was quietly waiting behind the counter at Clear Flour Bread in Brookline.

I leaned over and whispered to Ed, "Clear Flour." His eyes lit up and we were soon on a Green line B train to Packard's Corner where we filled a shopping bag with baked goodness.

While bread may be in their "official" name, Clear Flour is one of our favorite places to buy pastries. They usually have a country tart. The fillings are seasonal. On this visit our choices were cherry or peach/plum.

Related Posts:

Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

Clear Flour Pain Meunier or Miller's Bread

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Clear Flour Bread

178 Thorndike Street, Brookline, MA 02446-5844 (map)

(617) 739-0060

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

July 24, 2012
A Frisky Italian Malvasia to Celebrate June!
This sparkling Malvasia from the Emilia region of Italy is a perfect way to celebrate the arrival of June. As we scour the vineyards of the world for interesting candidates to fulfill Our Sparkling Resolution – to greet each month by popping a bottle of bubbly – we couldn’t have found a more perfect fit, right in our own backyard.

Our first impressions: fruit, almonds, a briny nose, hints of Manzanilla sherry, light, subdued bubbles (frizzante).

We consulted an award-winning wine source, The Oxford Companion to Wine , Edited by: Jancis Robinson, that described Malvasia from Emilia as, “lightly sparkling dry to demi-sec.” It’s known as, “champagnino or ‘little champagne’, and where local trenchermen consider it the perfect accompaniment and digestif for the rich local fare.”

Well, alright, if it’s good enough for local trenchermen, than we must be in good company. Our local fare included pretzels, a cucumber & tomato salad, and our favorite shell-on roasted almonds from Fastachi.

The Malvasia Dell’Emilia’s also won points for its 11% alcohol, a trend we enthusiastically support. We say, “serve this sparkler cold and keep it cold,” (with a chilled sleeve on the bottle).

Who might like this wine?
- Riesling Lovers
- Anyone with a “Life-List” of Wine
- Trenchermen (of course)
- Italian Wine Fans
- Moderately Priced Wine Advocates
Malvasia Dell’Emilia – $18 @ TerraVino Wines in Brookline

Here's a look at the Wines We’ve Been Tasting

And, more about Our Sparkling Resolution

Thanks to everyone who begins their Amazon shopping for one of the links or products on our site. It doesn't cost you any more but Amazon puts some coins in our tip jar for everything you buy.

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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 a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.
June 1, 2012
TerraVino Wines: Places We Shop

We live a city lifestyle. Our shopping trips are more likely to take us to three or four small shops than to one big box store. Here in Boston, and on the road, we'll share our great shop finds with you. -The BostonZest Team!

Update: Alas we can't shop here any longer because the store closed a few months later.

Name: TerraVino Wines

Address: 234 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446 (Map & Reviews)

Phone: 617-232-1180

Do you have a roster of small, well-curated shops where you find the best selections? Let us know in the comments below or send us an email. We're always ready to add new resources to our list.

(Click on any photo for a larger image)

Shop Description: Calm and soothing. You can see the thought that was put into designing the shop. What you may not see is that it is also very green– environmentally responsible that is! Here are the details about that aspect of this store.

People: Christopher and Rayna Carbone are the owners. Christopher (above) is a Certified Specialist of Wine. But, more important than the letters after his name is his ability to communicate his love of the wines he stocks to customers with any level of wine knowledge. He asks the right questions, tries to figure out what you like, what food you are matching, offers tastes, and refines his recommendations from there.

What makes this shop special: A very warm welcome. Great wine knowledge. A carefully curated selection. Plus, a great location right off the Green Line in Coolidge Corner. You know you'll be going there soon, for something, so stop by and explore this new shop while you're there.

They say: "We believe in wines that are Real, honestly made, in the most Natural way. We offer wines that we truly believe in, allowing them to express their origins, the talent and commitment of the producers, and the inherent quality of the vintage. We put our dedication to work through our commitment only offering exceptional Natural wines that are sustainable, organic and biodynamic. "

We Say: Our first visit was like walking into a room filled with old friends. As we circled the selection, we took turns saying, "Look they carry…." followed by the name of a longtime favorite wine, producer, or importer.

Nice Touch: They have four reds and four whites available for tasting. This allows you to try wines that might be a bit out of your comfort zone and helps guide the staff to offer better recommendations for you.

Regulars say: Richard Auffrey, The Passionate Foodie said, "This is very much a hand sell store where customer service is key. Many of these wines will be unfamiliar to the average consumer, and even the avid wine lover is likely to find plenty of wines they have not tasted before. It is a very intriguing selection of wines, and there were plenty of wines which interested me."

Gretchen (@MoralBeast) and Urban Wine Dweller wrote: "The brilliant Thierry Triolet Champagne Brut from @terravinowines. Really great stuff. Perfect with sushi." Our thanks go to Gretchen for recommending TerraVino Wines.

Did you know? Another part of this couple's green and natural lifestyle is a gluten-free, vegetarian diet.

Don't Miss: Their sparkling wine selection on the center table. Here's a Grower Champagne we bought from TerraVino. You know how we love sparkling wines!

Phone: 617-232-1180

Website: www.terravinowines.com

Twitter: @TerraVinoWines

Facebook: Terra Vino Wines

While you're in the neighborhood: Coolidge Corner is home to many great, local businesses, and a fabulous farmers' market on Thursday afternoons from mid-June to late October.

Here are reports on a few of our favorite places in the area:

Michael's Deli

When Pigs Fly Bakery

Party Favors

Brookline Farmers' Market

While we love to support local shops, we also hope you'll support us when you shop on Amazon. When you click over to Amazon from one of our links, they put some change in our tip cup. It doesn't cost you anymore, but it helps keep BostonZest coming your way.

Fine wine glasses that are dishwasher safe? While Ed insists on washing our stems, I can't swear to it but the manufacture says that, the Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Forte Collection can go in the dishwasher. We do put our barware from the same line through the dishwaser all the time. How about this Stemless Snifter?

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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 a 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.

May 10, 2012
New Food Truck Schedule: Food Truck Tracking April 2012 Update

Our Friday link is to the new schedule and new locations for food trucks approved by the City of Boston and set to begin on April 1, 2012. On Sunday, it won't be an April fools joke if you can't find your favorite food truck in its usual place. Here are links to the city's information, including a schedule and map of approved locations.

And, don't forget the food truck sites in our neighboring cities like Cambridge and Brookline.

The folks at Roaming Hunger aggregate the tweets from Boston area food trucks so you can see who is out and about and what they're tweeting.

If you know of other maps and schedule locators, let us know and we'll add them to this collection.

And, remember, if you're going out of your way to find a certain truck, you should check their twitter feed, facebook, and web pages. These guys are always dancing, trying to make a living, so they may have a catering gig or they may have run out of food. Lots of them give out phone numbers so you can call ahead to check on their status.

What are your favorite food trucks, and where do you find them?

If you know of other maps and schedule locators, let us know and we'll add them to this collection.

How do you find great food when you travel? We highly recommend the book from our pals over at Serious Eats. Here are some references for great Road Food.

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 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 a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 30, 2012
Phone Book Attack: Here’s an Opt-Out Link

Last weekend, Back Bay homes had piles of unwanted phone books dumped on their front steps. The photo above is a single family home, so you can imagine how many were left at buildings with 40 or 60 apartments.

How do Bostonians feel about this topic?

Click over to Universal Hub, and read the comments on the post, Our annual mid-winter ritual: The rotting of the abandoned phone books. Adam Gaffin also links to his 2008 and 2009 phone book conversations.

This week he took a poll. We got two different phonebooks yesterday – which to toss in the recycling? Go over and add your vote!

Did you know that you can opt-out of having phone books delivered to your home?

In response to complaints, the Association of Directory Publishers has set up an opt-out program at this site, www.yellowpagesoptout.com. We're making this site our Friday Link!

You do have to register, and then you can opt-out of the phone books from those businesses that belong to this group. We were able to elimate three deliveries with one visit.

Of course, if you live in a multi-family home, you will have to encourage your neighbors to join you in the opt-out effort.

Wider Pilot Progam Underway

The good news is that Brookline and Cambridge are working with the Product Stewardship Institute and Catalog Choice on a pilot opt-out project. The test will make it possible for residents to stop the delivery of unwanted phone books, catalogs, coupons, and credit card solicitations. It will also measure the number of requests and program efficiency. The Product Stewardship Institute will issue a project report in the fall of 2012.

Begin all your Amazon Shopping here to support BostonZest and the information we bring your way!

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 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 comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 23, 2011