Author: Matt Robinson

BULDLING UP THE CORPS

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We all know how hard our soldiers and first responders work and how much support they deserve.

That is one of the many reasons I have long been a fan of Fire Dept. Coffee – a Veteran-run business that offers some of the best-tasting coffees around and delivers them in ways that are convenient and that also support their fellow Veterans and life-savers.

To add to their already impressive menu of alcohol-infused coffees, ready-to-drink cans, and even donut shop-worthy flavors that will give you other things to run on, Fire Dept. recently released some additional options that combine things that most of us need and want to help us all make it through a challenging day.

Their new instant coffee protein powder contains 225 mg of natural caffeine per cup along with 20 grams of eco-friendly upcycled protein that is naturally vegan and soy free and derived from plants. Sustainable and sustaining, the coffee is easy to make and can be enjoyed hot or cold, before or after a workout, a meeting, or anytime you have a “fire” that needs putting out.

Another brave combo is Fire Dept.’s Camo Blend coffee, which combines the rich and smooth flavors of their most popular light and dark roasts, offering a delicious combination that stands out in the jungle of coffee options.

Whether you are a first responder or a weekend warrior, caffeine and protein are vital to get you going and keep you moving. If buying them can help support those who support us all- all the better!

BACK AT THE ‘BUD

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While we have lost some great places in recent months (including Latina in my now native Needham), one of my favorite haunts from a lifetime ago is back and better than ever!

When I started my writing career, Davis Square in Somerville was a regular stop. And when I was not reviewing music at Johnny D’s (another dearly departed), I was hanging out and chowing down at the legendary Rosebud Kitchen & Bar. 

Though it had been slated to close, farm-to-table pioneer Chef Keith Sarasin has revamped, and reopened the 1941 dining car (which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places!), bringing his years of Indian cooking experience to the menu of freshly-made, locally-sourced diner favorites.

From creatively-crafted burgers and creamy cracker-crusted mac n’ cheese to chicken tikka, tandoori-cooked Masala fries and mashed potatoes, and Indian veggie chili, the Rosebud now combines classic American comfort foods with inspired Indian infusions. No matter what you order, be sure to save room for their legendary desserts from nearby Petsi Pies or their new gulab jamun waffle and mango lassi parfait.

The Rosebud has also upped their cocktail game with help from NYC hospitality veteran Will Corado, who is using only fresh ingredients to craft such new signature standards as the Bombay to Boston old fashioned made with curry bitters and a chai espresso martini – all of which are only $10!

If you want more of Chef Sarasin’s masterful Mumbai-inspired meals, look for his pop-up restaurant Aatma or events hosted by his kitchen collaborative, The Farmer’s Dinner. No matter when you want great food – either American or Indian or both – The Rosebud has more than enough local flavor and international flair for any taste!                                

STAYING COZY WITH EVA

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As temperatures drop, those of us who still want to dine al fresco are finding fewer options and opportunities.

Fortunately, one of Newbury Street’s hottest hot spots is doing all it can to keep you warm even when the weather is not.

As the overseer of one of the biggest patios in Boston, Eva has made its claim on the local dining landscape. But when that landscape needs shoveling, there is now no need to fear, as Eva recently installed not just heat lamps but also a handful of portable fire pits (each of which can be reserved for up to six guests and combined for larger parties), making outdoor dining even cozier than eating at most walled-in venues!

In addition to the seductive seating, Eva has also brought Chef Vince Carideo (of Barbara Lynch’s Sportello fame) to Back Bay. In addition to his famed handmade pastas (which can be served with a three-meat Bolognese or seafood-=based sauce, among other perfect preparations), Chef Carideo brings fresh Mezze platters, hearty soups, locally-sourced salads, and burgers made with beef, lamb, or falafel, as well as standout standards and the Eva supreme pizza, which combines fresh Italian meats with meat mushrooms and Marzano tomato sauce. 

For starving shoppers and wintertime walkers on the go, Eva also recently revealed a Belgian waffle stand, but the seasonal sippers like a warming mulled wine, sweet Stroopwafel cider, and chill-chasing chai chocolate will surely entice many to linger by the fire and stay for a meal.

It may be cold outside, Baby, but you can still stay warm and satisfied thanks to your chic friend Eva.          

COMMON TIME

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Living in Needham, I am blessed with tons of great places to eat! And while I mourn the loss of Latina, I still love digging into pizza at Hearth, dining at The Farm House, hanging at Blue on Highland, and spending time with the Winiker Brothers at Cook, and I am now looking forward to the arrival of the Common Room, which is set to take the Venezuelan venue’s former spot.

Headed up by Tom Griffin of Brookline’s famed Hamilton and Needham resident Scott McCourt (among other local leaders), as well as Dave Dragani of Dante and Graffiti Pizza and Fred Zagami of Salem Food Market, the Common Room will be firmly nested in decades of food industry expertise and neighborly support.

From succulent steak tips and hearty burgers to mouthwatering wings and other game-watching faves, the Common Room will offer creative dishes that transform everyday ingredients into extraordinary culinary delights and offer special servings like prime rib on Thursdays and braised short ribs to kick off your weekend. And as Chef Francisco from Latina is apparently staying on, the transition will be comfort-able indeed!
As a toast to the neighborhood, the Common Room is concocting special cocktails like the Needham Rocket (which honors our historic mascot) and the One Punch (which rings the bell for Griffin’s pugilistic proclivities).

In addition to great food and drink, the Common Room is sure to become a favorite hang for fans of sports and other fun diversions. The big screens are up and there are already plans for trivia nights and live music as well!

Needham restaurants are consistently great. Now they will have more in Common than ever!    https://commonroomneedham.com

THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

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With all that’s going on in the Middle East, many are being discouraged to use many of the life-improving inventions that have come from the region.

Fortunately, the food is still too good to ignore!

In addition to Tzurit Or of Tatte, fans in MA can also enjoy the sweet creations of ‪Liron Pergament Gal’s Choc-allure and Uri Scheft and Or Ohana of Bakey and the authentic Lebanese flavors of Cedar’s Foods.

While the Haverhill-based, family-run company has been around for over 40 years, they are not resting on their laurels (or is that cedars?) and continue to innovate and introduce new taste sensations that bring the nutrition of chickpeas and other fresh Mediterranean foods to people all over the world with nothing artificial and everything fresh and founding family-approved.

Among their most recent releases are a pair of authentic labneh (a yogurt made with goat’s milk) that are flavored with scallions or feta cheese and onion and that make for creamy and cooling counterparts to hot and spicy favorites and great toppings for Cedar’s new pita chips.

For those who are familiar with their hummuses, Cedar’s can still help you expand your palate with new flavors like hot honey and pumpkin, each of which adds nutrition and pizzaz to nearly any dish.

For those who want to dip a toe in the Mediterranean, Cedar’s also offers single-serving packs that are also great to take with you on your next adventure (or just to work).

Friends and relatives may be facing unimaginable horrors in the Middle East, but at least we can support our neighbors while enjoying nutritious delicious food.  

APRÉS ALL DAY

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Though you may not know it from looking outside, it’s apparently ski season…somewhere. It is also five o’clock somewhere too!

That is why I was so stoked to find Backcountry Cocktails – a collection of White Mountain-inspired, beautifully-depicted recipes that are perfect for before, after, or instead of skiing, hiking, or any other exterior exertions.

Written by liquor legend Steven Grasse and food writer extraordinaire Adam Erace, Backcountry Cocktails has all you need for a great time in the great outdoors (or a safe and warm vantage point inside).

From a fresh-picked dandelion wine, a hard-seltzer-based Ameri-can-o, and a gin and juice-d Franconia 75 to a maple slush that brings in the best from the Green Mountain state of Vermont and an alpine cocoa that can be made kid-friendly so it is safe to drink even before your adventure, this handy guide to rural refreshment has something for every taste and activity.

With recipes and easily-improvised ingredients sourced from local crafters (many of whom are introduced in the book), readers can be sure to get the freshest, most authentic tastes no matter which new favorites they find. And as the book has offerings inspired by each season and tips on everything from foraging and fire making to beaver dam traversing, it is great to use to freshen up fishing trips, loosen up leaf peeping, or make any outdoor opportunity optimal.

The land of the Abenaki, Pennacook, and Wabanaki has been a source of sustenance and inspiration for generations. Now you can take some of the best of that knowledge and enjoyment with you wherever you go!

 www.RunningPress.com

COOKIN’ UP A NEW SPACE in NEWTON

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While I admittedly talk a better food game than I create, I still like to learn. That is why I was so bummed when Create-a-Cook closed and why I am so excited to see the space being revamped as Third Space Kitchen & Events.

I recently met owner Eric Brown and found that he also comes from more humble cooking stock. Having been in the tech world for most of his career, Eric went to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts before opening Third Space in Groton and hopes to bring other amateur and professional chefs to teach and learn about food while building community and having fun!

The name of the place comes from the concept of a space that is neither work nor home but that is comfortable and productive nonetheless. Both Third Space spaces offer after school classes that are intended to imbue newer chefs with confidence in both their kitchen skills and creativity and evening classes that will work well for date nights and also as sources of great family-style meals that can also lead to networking and friend-making. 

Eric also hopes to involve area food-makers and even has plans to set up a podcasting area where he can continue the culinary community support he offers on the regional food forum Nashoba Valley Eats.

While he is already sourcing from Springdale Farm and looking for other independent food makers (which we also have in common!), Eric admits that not every meal will be seasonal and makes it clear that the recipes that involve out of season ingredients are meant to allow students to find favorites they can make work any time of year and to enjoy and learn about food just like Eric and I do!

thirdspacekitchen.com

AS COMMONWEALTH-IAN AS APPLE PIE

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As Matt’s Meals fans know, I am a BIG cider fan who has been fortunate enough to find favorites far and wide- from Austin Eastciders in TX to Champlain Orchards and Stowe Cider in VT to Angry Orchard, Nine Pin, Hudson North, and Left Bank in upstate NY (not to mention Canada’s Sober Carpenter for when I want the flavor without the fuzzy feeling), I am blessed with an international menu of apple-based awesomeness!

While these brands are all worth reaching out for, living in MA, I am all the more blessed to be able to reach just a bit past my front door to find great ciders as well. While I have long sung the praises of Harpoon’s offerings, I am also a fan of my cider-savvy neighbors at Downeast and Stormalong.

As our area has so many great apple varieties, it is great to see how Downeast avoids filtering their ciders and adds instead of taking away. While I often enjoy their blackberry and strawberry ciders, as someone who still drinks syrup straight, I have been especially enamored with their maple waffle cider, but always look forward to the next addition to their offerings.

As they are just a few towns away in Sherborn, Stormalong is another recurrent go-to- And with good reason! From their Boston Heirloom and Blue Hill unfiltered option to their Mass Appeal and Massive Appeal imperial, the Stormalong team knows how to pay tribute to their Nor-easter roots. And their Berry Perry and Light of the Sun varieties introduce other fruit flavors without stepping on any apples.

So the next time you want locally-sourced refreshment, raise a cider to your Commonwealth and common health and enjoy the local bounty in a can. 

https://downeastcider.com / https://www.stormalong.com/

FINE CULINARY ARTS

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In the Boston area, we are fortunate to host some of the best cultural institutions in the world and some of the best food as well.

One of the venues that combines these two blessings is the Museum of Fine Arts, which has long been considered one of the greatest art collections in the world.

Recently, museum added a wonderful new acquisition in the form of chef Nicolas Boller who is been appointed Executive Chef for the Museum’s New American Café, Taste coffee bar, and catering services.

Chef Boller comes to Boston from New York City where he served as the executive chef for Barclays Investment Bank, and the popular thrill-ride RISE, where he helped develop menus and managed a scratch kitchen that served over 6,500 people a day!

He has also served as Culinary Director and Event Manager for the sustainable food company Scrappy Meals and also as Executive Chef at Saint Peter’s University, where he helped develop a “farm to table” program. He has also been involved with high-end events like the  MTV Video Music Awards and NBA Playoffs (something that Boston fans know well!).

Among the new sustainable and locally-sourced flavors Chef Boller is bringing to the Museum are roasted stuffed local squash, Iberian risotto, brick oven pizza, cheddar and chive scones, and a standout grilled octopus tartine! As befits the venue, Chef’s menu is expertly curated, his presentations artful, and his food enriching and satisfying and sure to bring people to the Museum on its own.

Speaking of other Museum attractions, Boston’s beloved John Singer Sargent will be feted with a special fashion-forward show starting October 8 and the recently-opened Strong Women in Renaissance Italy shifts the focus on this historically-artful time to the women who contributed as well.

Michel de Montaigne once observed that, “The art of dining is no slight art.” Where better to see evidence of the effort and love that goes into fine culinary creations than the Museum of Fine Arts?www.MFA.org

GATHER-ING SUPPORT

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Our food community is made up of not only some of the most talented chefs and restaurateurs but also some of the most giving!

From Steve Peljovich at Michael’s Deli to Karen Masterson at Johnny’s Luncheonette to Jeanie Gruber at Wish Dish, the list of food makers and food sellers who often give away more than they make to support their community is inspiring!

Apparently, this noble tradition of giving goes back quite some time – all the way back to 1816, in fact!

It was then, in Portsmouth, NH, that a group of charitable women who wanted to support the families of local fishermen started a social services organization named Gather, which was one of the first such groups in the country.

Since then, Gather has continued to grow, gathering more support and also gathering more people it supports with its pantry and food delivery programs.

As evidence of its continued development, Gather opened the Gather Cafe at Great Bay Community College just last year as a means of combatting food insecurity among college students. The Cafe charges the general public reasonable prices for freshly-made food and catering services so it can subsidize the food purchases of area students, allowing them to fuel their bodies so they can fuel their minds and fuel the future for all. Though this may be an underexposed issue (especially considering that nearly 40% of all students go hungry from time to time), it is one that is unfortunately very real and that other schools and organizations would be wise to get involved with as well.

Another way to get involved is through the Seacoast Half Marathon on October 29. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit Gather! 

With food and tuition prices rising and campus gun violence more prevalent than ever, students have a lot to worry about when they go to school. Eating should not be one of them.

Please go to www.gathernh.org and help gather support for this historic helping hand.