Tag: whole foods

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
Sunday Dog, Toby Has “the Look!”

Sunday Dog, Toby has “the Look,” but I’m not really sure what that look is. It’s what a critic might say about a successful fashion model, actor, or a best in show winner. It’s that special look that makes you pause and feel as though someone is peering inside your soul. Or, it just might be Toby’s way of saying, “What’s that strange looking thing you’re pointing at me?”

Actually, he didn’t seem to mind our cameras and was happy to pose– nice profile!

At just a year old, this Basset Hound plays in spurts but sleeps most of the time– he “is” still a puppy! His person admits, “He does bark a lot, but he doesn’t know how to howl like a big boy, yet.”

While Toby can be very stubborn, he is a very good boy who loves to play and chase a favorite ball. Bassets need a lot of exercise, you have to "keep them fit and thin or they’ll have really bad back problems.”

This intriguing little character is already very well socialized– he’s being raised around a lot of people and other dogs. And, Toby is definitely one of the friendliest pups we’ve ever met, you can tell just by … “the Look!”

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

We met Toby at the MSPCA table at a Dog Day event at the Greenway Open Market. He was a great ambassador for one of our favorite animal organizations.

In his honor, we are replacing our ad today with an opportunity for our readers and our neighbors to support the MSPCA just by shopping at the Whole Foods Markets Jamaica Plain & Symphony locations on Tuesday June 26th. When you do, 5% of the net sales will go to MSPCA Angell. Click here for more details.

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

June 24, 2012
Pomelo Season: Readers’ Choice

Thanks to BostonZest readers, we remembered to look for pomelos last week. As the BostonZest archives grow and grow, we're letting readers' choices guide us to favorites from the past. If you come across a post you think should get a new spotlight, let us know. This post is from our archives but the fruit is around and still wonderful.

Here's the beautiful, heavy, lush pomelo we brought home from Whole Foods on River Street in Cambridge. We added a tangerine and lime to give you an idea of the size.

Add a comment to let us know if you spot Pomelos where you shop. Sometimes they can be hard to find.

Here's an even better measure of the size– this one is just 17 inches around. And, this is not the largest one we've had, it's average!

Inside is the prettiest pink citrus fruit!

The rind is very thick, and you can break the fruit into lovely pieces that are perfect when mixed with some romaine lettuce, toasted almond slices, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

To learn more about Pomelos, here are links to those previous posts our readers were viewing…

River Street Whole Foods has Pomelos

Florida Pomelos At Costco

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

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2008-2011 Penny Cherubino

December 28, 2011