Tag: small

  • We’ll Pass on Restaurant Week, But We’ll Share 5 Tips…

    We know that Restaurant Week (RW) has it's fans, but it's not the type of event that appeals to us. We're grazers! We often have a couple of appetizers or share an entree. We like to sit at the bar and nibble our way through a meal. We seldon eat three courses. What's more, most of our favorite restaurants don't take part in the event. 

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    Since we don't have recent Restaurant Week experience, we can't comment on the service or the overall quality of the offerings. But, we can link you to conversations over on the Boston Chowhound Board about last year's event and we'll add new links as they pop up this year. 

    Restaurant Week Boston, Winter 2012 reports?

    Here are a few tips that might increase your enjoyment of Restaurant Week. 

    1. Check the menus carefully. Is there something on that special menu that is on the chef's regular menu or that this restaurant will do very well. Skip the places with the chicken, short ribs, and salmon specials.
    2. A few places offer their full menu. Here's a Chowhound report on that from LAST year. Things change but you can check the menu on the RW site or call ahead for confirmation.
    3. Support and enjoy the places that are not taking part. Again, here is a Chowhound list from LAST year that you can check against the official RW list. 
    4. Pick a chef-driven place that takes pride in its food every day of the year over a chain experience. Support small and local.
    5. Tip your server as if you paid full price for 3-courses at this restaurant. This is a very hard week on servers. They didn't decide to run the promotion but they take the brunt of the problems from the event and work harder for less money. Since you're saving money, share a bit of it with your server. 

    Give us your Restaurant Week thoughts and experiences in the comments below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas when we do updates. 

    Updates:

    (03/19/13) From www.welovebeantown.com : Boston Restaurant Week 2013 – Staff Picks!

    (03/19/13) Here's Rendezvous in Central Square's answer to RW. A much better deal!

    (03/24/13) Over on BostInno, Lisa Decano has reported on 7 Unofficial Menus for Boston Restaurant Week

     

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     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: 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 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.

  • 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

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    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.

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    (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.

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    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. 

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    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. 

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    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.

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    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.

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    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. 

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    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.