Tag: beer

  • Go to Toro and Order This Combo! It’s a Best Bite…

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    It had been a while since we'd visited Toro, but at two recent lunches, we really enjoyed this combo of tomato bread ("Pan con Tomate -Toasted bread, tomato, garlic" on the menu) and Chorizo ibérico de Fermín proving that simple, high quality ingredients, perfectly prepared and presented can be wonderful. 

    That board was filled with slices of the most delicious chorizo before we tucked in, and the tomato bread had a perfect, crisp, grilled bottom to stand up to being handheld as you munch. A glass of sherry or a beer will match this snack well. 

    Try it the next time you're in the area. By the way, if you have found Toro too busy and too noisy, we highly recommend visiting at lunch time on a weekday. 

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    Toro1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

    617-536-4300

     

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Here's something we love having in our kitchen. It's perfect for getting all the foam out of our Nespresso Aerocchino frother.

     

     

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2019 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Otto Pizza, Coolidge Corner: Our First Look (At This Location)

    We love Otto Pizza and were so happy about the arrival of their first sit-down dining spot in the Boston area, that we rushed over to Brookline on Friday to enjoy a few opening day slices.

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    Mashed potato, bacon, and scallion – Genoa salami, tomato, and scallion.

    Yes, there is a bite out of the "mashed potato, bacon, and scallion" slice. Penny, who normally doesn't eat the crust of her pizza, ripped off a corner and was chomping on it before anyone could grab a photo. That says a lot about the quality of the Otto crust. We think that without great crust, you can't have great pizza. 

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    (Click on the thumbnails to view any photo in the space above.)

    The newest Otto Pizza is one block from the Coolidge Corner stop on the Green line, across from the Coolidge Corner Theatre. (Now isn't that handy?)

    This corner location has large, arched windows that fill the space with light, and high ceilings that make the room seem far bigger than it is. The user-friendly design accomodates customers who want to dine-in with table service, order a slice and drink at the bar, or anyone who prefers to grab a slice and sit along a counter. You can even stand at a giant beam along the Harvard Ave window "people watching" while you eat. 

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    (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

    We always have to start with the mashed potato, bacon, and scallion. This is one of many white (meaning without red sauce) pizzas on the menu, and we both love this combination of flavors. Next up was the Genoa salami, tomato, and scallion. And, we finished with the butternut squash, ricotta, and cranberry which we think of as a dessert pizza.

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    A wide choice of slices ready-to-go after a quick heat & crisp in the oven.

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    A nice selection of pizza-friendly beer & wine!

    Best wishes, Otto for great success in this new location. You've given us one more reason to shop Coolidge Corner!

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    Michael's Deli

    When Pigs Fly Bakery

    Party Favors

    Brookline Farmers' Market

    What's on your Amazon shopping list? Father's Day is coming up! Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     

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

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    Otto Pizza

    Coolidge Corner

    289 Harvard Street, Brookline MA (map)

    Phone: 617-232-0014

    www.ottopizza.com

    Twitter: @otto_pizza

    Facebook: Otto Pizza

    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.

  • The Food Lover’s Guide to Wine: Book Review

    With our sparkler of the month on March 1st, we mentioned that we had put The Food Lover's Guide to Wine on our book wish list. That afternoon, we received an email from the authors Karen Page & Andrew Dornenburg saying they would love to send us a review copy. 

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    It arrived a few days later and hasn't made it to a bookshelf yet. It has spent a few nights beside the bed as Penny's relaxation reading, we've used it explore a couple of new wines, and we're planning to feature some recommended producers as our Sparkler of the Month.

    Learn in various ways from a collection of great wine lovers.

    • If you were hanging outside our door, you might have heard us reading quotes from the book to one another. It has the greatest collection of quotes from wine lovers and wine experts you can imagine. Boston's own Cat Silirie is often cited.
    • Ed loves the pronunciation guide in the core listing of wines, grapes, and wine topics.
    • The system used to emphasize the importance of wine grapes, characteristics, and producers (by using bold and all caps in lists) is brillant and intuitive to use.
    • The end chapters on matching wines with foods, cuisines, and courses will have us exploring new options.
    • We love the gold boxes with great asides on topics. A few are already marked with page tabs. 
    • Since these writers believe that the wine you like is the right wine for you, they've prepared a series of recommendations based on your own taste. If you like a flavor, for example almonds, they give you a list of wines to try. If you like a particular wine, they give you others with similar flavor profiles.

    A Great Interview Grabbed Our Attention 

    We first hear about The Food Lover's Guide to Wine on the Heritage Radio Network show, A Taste of the Past. Penny listens to podcasts of food shows while she cooks, and this one was good enough for a shared listen during an afternoon of crab-cracking and conversation.

    Host Linda Pelaccio began by covering the history of American Wine (the book contains a timeline) and then a discussion of the book that really gave us an insight to the authors' points of view and how this book would fit into our collection. Here's a link to that show.

    Meet the authors and hear what some experts say about this book.

     

    We are not only recommending this book to our readers, we'll be buying copies as gifts for wine-loving friends. It is a treasure and we expect it to look a bit worn and well-used pretty quickly. It may even suffer a few wine stains but we doubt that Karen and Andrew will mind.

    Here are more books from this team:

    The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs  

    What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers

    Becoming a Chef

    and of course

    The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

    Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     

    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.

  • Bourbon Beer? at Sweet Cheeks

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    If first impressions are as lasting as claimed, then we will definitely be regulars at Sweet Cheeks BBQ. While we’ve given you our Sweet Cheeks BBQ – First Look, I saved the “beverage” part of the meal for today.

    I’m always ready to try a new beer, especially if the word bourbon is used to describe it. So, when bartender Rich told me about an ale that’s aged in bourbon barrels, I had to have one. I’ve been a bourbon-lover for years. But, that's certainly not a requirement for enjoying this brew.

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    My first sip of brilliant, amber-colored Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale from that mason jar was outstanding! Full-flavored, but not heavy, with hints of oak and vanilla. It complemented the entire meal, especially our butterscotch pudding dessert.

    This beer is so good, it could be dessert!

    Do you have a beer lover on your holiday gift list. How about something from Amazon's collection of beer glasses

     

    Details:

    Sweet Cheeks

    www.sweetcheeksq.com

    1381 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 (map)
    phone: 617-266-1300 
    email: info@sweetcheeksq.com

    Words: Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 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 that are part of the 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.