Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

At this time of year, we are all getting bombarded with appeals for myriad organizations to support others in various ways. Especially in these days when some of us are having trouble making ends meet, it can be downright overwhelming, especially when the ask is on behalf of people far away or an organization we may not know.

Fortunately, there is a serious problem that we can now get our hands on better than ever!

For over 40 years, Feeding America has been reaching out to people in need right in our neighborhoods to help them with food insecurity. Today, they are the largest such organization in the nation. So while I still have a big spot in my heart for the Greater Boston Food Bank (where I met my wonderful wife!), Feeding America is a favorite as well. 

Thanks to their gift catalog, people can now send a donation and know exactly how much food it is paying for! From apples and cheese to rice and turkey, Feeding America offers a manageable menu of offerings that can help save lives and make this season a little better for everyone! Through their partnership with gratitude-supporting people behind Turkey on the Table, they can also get donations from every turkey bought, which should make for a great addition to your Thanksgiving traditions (especially for this un-traditional Thanksgiving)!

The holidays can be stressful enough. Thanks to Feeding America, we can be sure to get gifts that will be just right and for which many will be grateful.

www.feedingamerica.org/ways-to-give.

https://turkeyonthetable.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

I love chocolate. I especially love locally-made chocolate. It seems like, the smaller the batch and the more independent the company, the more you can taste the love in each bite!

Among my favorite chocolatiers is the Happy Chocolatier from my old stomping grounds of Acton, MA. In addition to hand-wrapping most of his decadent and diversely-flavored but universally high-quality and…well…happy chocolates, Paul McMahon and his talented team drop inspirational messages into each of their signature truffle Cubze (that’s “c-u-b-Z-E”), making them (and all who enjoy them) even happier!

In an effort to spread the happiness even further, the Happy Chocolatier will be donating 5% of all proceeds to Feeding America (each $1 of which can help feed 10 people at over 200 food banks nationwide). In addition to giving some of the profits that have been so eaten into for many independent food makers, Paul hopes to inspire others to give as well.

So if you want to bring joy to a would-be trick or treater, thank a postal worker or other neighbor or friend, or just treat yourself to a moment with more happiness than madness – all while helping the growing list of hungry people in this nation, go to www.thehappychocolatier.com and make everyone smile!

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

As the pandemic wears on and on, I am going a bit nutsola.

And I must say, it’s delicious!

For those who have not heard, Nutsola is a delicious snack that comes complete with all-natural, preservative-, gluten-, dairy- and soy-free superfood ingredients you can spell and pronounce (like almonds, dates, and coconut), and that even has its own cooking kit so you can turn the yummy mix (which is great in yogurt, on ice cream, of by the handful) into convenient and nutritious bars!

With an expanding menu of flavors that includes cherry, banana nut, peanut butter cacao, and a convincing PB&J that is made with cherries and chia seeds, Nutsola has something for everyone’s taste. And as it can be used in so many ways, it can even work as a family activity in a pandemic pinch.

Speaking of family, Nutsola was created by an entrepreneurial father and son who were inspired by their family to find new ways to get healthy foods into themselves and others they loved. As so often happens, the home kitchen eventually grew into a commissary and now people are getting Nutsola all over the place?

If you are not one yet, be sure to go to www.nutsola.com and find something else to be crazy about!

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

I was recently watching “Shark Tank” and saw a husband and wife who had put apple cider vinegar into sparking juice and come up with a drink called ”Mother” (which refers to the raw, undistilled vinegar bacteria culture that is alleged to hold most of the new superfood’s power). It was a hit!

By the time the shark’s had taken their respective bites, however, the drink had undergone a major change. In fact, it had gone from Mother to Poppi.

Could this be the age of gender-fluid beverages?

Regardless of its persuasions, Poppi is sure to persuade many others who may have shied away from the intense taste of apple cider vinegar to try it, thanks to their use of such amazingly refreshing, all-natural fruit flavors as watermelon, strawberry lemonade, ginger lime, pineapple mango, raspberry rosé and peach tea, all of which have no GMO, only around 5 grams of sugar and a healthy dose of Mother in each can.

So if someone you know has suggested trying apple cider vinegar for whatever ails you (and we ALL have things ailing us these days!), don’t go running to mommy. Try Poppi!

www.drinkpoppi.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

While I am still a devoted fan of Farm Grille in Newton, I am always up to try new takes on Greek food.

That is why I am so excited about Krasi, the new meze and wine bar in Boston’s Back Bay that is being run by the folks behind GreCo and Committee Ouzeri + Bar.

As befits the name (Krasimeans “wine” in Greek), the new spot offers over 180 Greek wines and other great drinks (including their signature Krasimimosa, Aphrodite’s bellini, a bloody Mitsosmade with spicy feta olives and chicken skin, and over 25 kinds of tsipouro, ouzo, mastiha, tenturaand more), but their latest offering – a new Greek take on brunch –  will surely bring more people out of hibernation and into this Hellenistic hotspot.

The new meze-style brunch menu explores and celebrates many lesser-known Greek regions, flavors and techniques. Guests can either try a few new faves a la carte or enjoy the Feast Like The Gods option that includes a little bit of everything.

Among the Olympian options are baklavamuffins, creamy bougatsacustard, fried lemon-filled pancakes known as lalagites, and partatesmade with fried egg, goat cheese cream, and shredded poitatoes.

For those who wish to imbibe with brunch, Wine Director Evan Turner has hand selected a group of grapes that are being offered for only $30 a bottle, making for a great opportunity to try new wines as well. And there is even a spiked frappe for those who want to wash their feast down with a bit of naughty sweetness!

With outdoor seating for 30, indoor barriered seating, and takeout, Krasi is a great place to pick at or pick up your new favorite Greek treats.

www.KrasiBoston.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

For those of us who are still wary of venturing out too far to try some of the area’s best food, it is good to know that Time Out Market Boston is reopen and has more than enough to offer!

With more than 23,000 square feet of high-ceilinged floor space in the historic Sears Building at the end of the Fenway neighborhood, an additional 6,000 square feet of patio space, multiple bars and more great food than we can fit in one segment, Time Out is a great place to try a sanitized and socially-distanced smorgasbord of Boston’s best. With DoorDash deliveries and its own app, it is easy to order ahead so you can get in, get out, and enjoy in the space of your choosing. And bartender Nicole Brown has been donating her handmade masks and selling them to raise funds for Covid relief.

In addition to Brown, Time Out boasts such other proper Bostonians as Michael Schlow, who has brought his Monti Roman Pizzeria to the space. There are also outstanding outposts for Cusser’s Roast Beef and Seafood, Revolution Health Kitchen and Bisq, and Union Square Donuts has even brought along the North Shore’s Atomic Coffee Roasters.

 What may be the most encouraging story, however, is the team behind neighborhood-supporters (and Connoisseur’s Corner faves) anoush’ella has not only survived but have expanded and are bringing their new concept, Nu Burger, to Time Out as the first participant in the market’s incubator series. At her new place, Chef Nina Festekjian is going beyond her native Lebanon to explore international takes on the all-American burger, including a cauliflower burger that is burning up Instagram and pleasantly stuffing many veggie fans.

While the Boston food scene is still thankfully too big to fit under one roof, Time Out Boston makes a solid effort that is worth exploring!

www.timeoutmarket.com/boston 

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

We have been talking a lot about local restaurant-repreneurs who have been going above and beyond to support their guests and their communities. Among the most notable of these has been the Festekjianfamily at Anoush’ella.

Despite the fact that they had to close their outposts due to Covid, the Festekjians not only kept their South End flagship open, but used it as a community center where hundreds of free meals were distributed to out-of-work hospitality workers!

Now, it appears, that their generosity has been rewarded as they have been invited to open a new (or “Nu”) concept in the reopened Time Out Market in the Fenway, a 23,000-square foot socially-distanced eating emporium that also touts such local legends as Michael Schlow and the teams from Cusser’s, Mamleh’s, and Union Square Donuts.

While many Festekjian family fans are flocking back to Time Out for their faves from Anoush-ella, at Nu Burger, the Festekjians go far beyond their Middle Eastern roots to explore international takes on one of the most popular foods in the world. Every patty is made with all-local beef with no hormones. If you favor the veggie lifestyle, the cauliflower-based burger has been burning up Instagram and pleasing even curious carnivores!

Our local food friends are working hard. Let’s try to get out and show support!

www.timeoutmarket.com/boston 

www.anoushella.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Boston is known for its tea parties, but few area tea-makers have done so much to liven them up as Lisa Marie Gennawey of J’enwey Teas.

In addition to being the tea of choice (if not the official tea provider) at such posh places as Canyon Ranch, InterContinental and W hotels, The Newbury (formerly the Taj), the Encore in Everett andLas Vegas, and Fenway Park, J’enwey has expanded its reach to the Four Seasons at One Dalton Street, the 907 Hotel in Cambridge, and Maria’s Java Stop in Marblehead.

At One Dalton (which is quickly becoming theaddress in Boston), J’enwey teas are being offered in the mini bars in each room and as part of their Trifecta High Tea service on Sundays from 11-3 that is quickly becoming a great reason to venture back downtown for a civilized break from pandemic madness.

At 907 ‘s restaurant – The Dial – the teas are being used in creative cocktails like the Sun Rising East (which features J’enwey’s ginger-turmeric oolong) and the Social Butterfly (which combines hibiscus tea-infused Wheatly vodka with rose water and Fever Tree pink tonic).

When Maria Torres reopens the popular coffee shop Java Sun, she is set to offer J’enway tea-based sodas and lattes, including J’enwey’s famed London Fog.

Of course, all of their teas (and some great suggestions for your own concoctions) can be found at www.jenweytea.com.

It is so encouraging to see another kid from Lowell do so well!

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

As Connoisseur’s Corner fans know, one of my favorite places to eat is BONAPITA. I love the simple, fresh flavors, the AMAZING fresh-baked pita, and the fact that he food is healthy can actually help me stick to a diet so I can indulge in other treats that I taste test on our listener’s and reader’s behalf.

Like so many other restaurants during the pandemic, BONAPITA has been supplying medical workers and others in the neighborhood (its West Roxbury location is near the VA hospital and Roxbury Latin School). Unlike any others, however, BONAPITA is taking a step further by expanding its already amazing and diverse menu!

In addition to the long-loved chicken a la plancha, zucchini falafel, black bean and beet patties, and Angus beef meatballs that can be plated with Basmati rice and veggies, tossed over salad, or stuffed in a pita, BONAPITA is now offering beef or pizza empanadas, spicy Shakshuka, and a new salad that includes roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed green beans, and grilled broccoli. There is also a new pita stuffer- chicken schnitzel topped with homemade pickles – as well as special value meals that will change regularly, so even die-hard fans like me can enjoy even more variety and flavor!

While BONAPITA also looks forward to reopening in Downtown Crossing, they are still delivering and offering their impressive catering menus that work well for family meals and business meetings as well.

Winter is coming and restaurants need our help more than ever! Let’s help friends like BONAPITA continue to thrive so they can continue to support us all.

www.bonapita.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Every year at the time, my mouth begins to water as I start to think about the holiday season especially as it means the annual return of Beyond Bubbe’sKitchen – the popular food extravaganza that is put on each year by the Jewish Arts Collaborative.

This year, Bubbehas to stay home due to Covid, but she has reached out to some of her most talented teammates who are ready to bring their ‘A game’ remotely.

All you need to do to enjoy her homemade hospitality is go to www.jarts.org and order a set by December 2 and it will be delivered in time to participate in this year’s online “kitchen” on Wednesday, December 9 (which, it so happens, is the night before Chanukah begins).

For the event, ubiquitous kosher caterer Catering by Andrew is offering a pareve meal that includes freshly-baked pita with za’atar hummus, latkes with apricot-apple chutney, Moroccan salmon, and Chanukah cake pops or a meat-based meal that includes Barolo-braised short ribs and Andrew’s amazing flourless chocolate cake. Peregrine’s plates include smoke bluefish pate, a potato pancake with cultured sour cream, and lamb stew and can be accompanied by an adult beverage to help light your candle in a different way! Mamaleh’s meal includes their famed matzo ball soup, Israeli salad, latkes with sour cream AND applesauce and a pair of raspberry sufganiyot(aka, donuts) so you can share with your socially-distanced friends. And if you want to share the whole meal, Avi Shemtov’s Simchais putting together a multi-course meal that includes charred dandelion salads, leek kefte, bulgar wheat-based kibbet yatkeen, and a duet of duck that is sure to bring joy to any home that orders it.

Covid may still be raging, but Bubbealways knows how to take care of you, especially at Chanukah!

https://jartsboston.org/hanukkah-2020/