With all this talk about borders and walls, perhaps it is time to also discuss not just national borders, but also state ones as well.

To begin with an easy one, perhaps it is time to let Maine be re-absorbed by Massachusetts. After all, Roger Berkowitz takes most of the lobster anyway and who wouldn’t want to have the natural beauty of Acadia and Ogunquit to claim as their own?

Fortunately, it seems that steps are already afoot to recoronate the former king of New England.  In addition to the recent “immigration” of Eventide Oyster Co., the Babson-born brotherly burger biz known as Mainely Burgers (www.mainelyburgers.com) has not only come back to the Bay State but has recently doubled the size of its empire by adding a second store in Boston Landing right across from the New Balance complex to their already popular place in Cambridge’s foodie-friendly Central Square. Continue reading →

After a long day of struggling against The Man, we all need a place to sit back with fellow workers and strivers and get our just desserts (and WHAT DESSERTS!) for a job well done.

Fortunately, there is Democracy Brewing (www.democracybrewing.com).

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Good Egg and Bad Apple

By Henry Herz

I know that I am guilty of some pun-ishing plays on words when I talk about food, but I just get so excited!

Fortunately, it appears I am not alone.

In fact, I have just found a food-focused children’s book that revels in ridiculous wordplay. Continue reading →

Boston’s Union Street has some of the most historic pubs and drinkeries in the nation.

Thanks to Sons of Boston, it finally has some food to go with it!

With a kitchen helmed by former Locke Ober menu master Kat McCoart and management that brings Lyons and other experience to the long wooden bar emblazoned with the restaurant’s name (which is also the name of the signature spiced rum that is made just for SOB by Grand Ten Distilling), Sons is a good place to stop along the Freedom Trail, before or after a game at the Gahden, or anything that makes our home the Hub of the universe. Continue reading →

Though Donato Frattaroli may be best known as part of the familial force behind such legendary North End eateries as Il Molo, Artu, Ducali, Filippo, Lucia, and Ward 8 (not to mention the annual mega-fundraiser Taste of the North End), he recently dropped anchor in another popular (and dare we say trendy?) neighborhood- Quincy’s Marina Bay.

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With the seemingly endless construction and congestion and noise in the Seaport, it can be difficult to remember your own name, let alone find others who make the effort.

Leave it to legendary restaurateur Tom Kershaw to provide not one, but TWO places in the neighborhood where you are always welcome and where you can feel like you belong.

Building upon the success of his 75 on Liberty Wharf, the man behind the real Cheers has recently duplicated the classy but friendly vibe and delicious food of that venue (and his others in Back Bay and Beacon Hill) at 75 on Courthouse Square (http://75oncourthousesquare.com).

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While most people in Boston look north when they seek amazing and authentic pizza and pasta, there is now reason to look in a new direction.

Just off Route 9 in Framingham (and also further west in Worcester) is Volturno (http://volturnopizza.com).

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Though the view from the tall windows is of the parking lot and, beyond that, the traffic disaster that is Needham Street, District 118 is a pelasant place to pull over and also very much worth a trip (especially compared to many of the faster-food places nearby). And once inside, it is easy to forget the mess that lies just beyond Gardner Mattress.

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All-Natural Aquaponic Lawns, Gardens & Vertical Gardens

Logan Lyons and Caleb Warnock

Familius

As more and more consumers become more and more concerned with what they put into their bodies (as well they should be!), more and more of them are trying to grow more and more of what they put into their bodies on their own. And while lack of knowledge and lack of space can be valid reasons to go gently into this hyper-locally sourced venture, there is more and more advice out there for the would-be self-producing consumer.

As part of Familius’ Backyard Renaissance collection self-sufficiency experts Logan Lyons and Caleb Warnock have put together a handy and unitimidatingly slim guide to growing a lot of food in not a lot of space by allowing and encouraging various species of plant and animal (in this case, fish) to yield maximal benefit for both and also for the farmers.

From setting up your space and irrigation system to choosing everything from soil and seeds to fish and filters, Lyons and Warnock use their own stories and experience to reassure new farmers every step of the way.

(www.familuas.com)

Though he was raised in Philadelphia, two-time James Beard Award-winning Chef Alon Shaya made much of his name in New Orleans as the head of Pomegranate Hospitality. According t his latest book, however, he traces much of his culinary and cultural roots back to The Jewish State.

In this new book, Shaya not only shares his recipes, bur also his moving personal story of survival and discovery. Much like his people, Shaya has had to face many challenges (and not just running out of charoset on Pesach!) and has emerged even stronger. His story inspires and enriches inside and out, as do the creations and gorgeous food-tography that enhance it.

As he is aware of life’s ups and downs and lack of consistency, Shaya’s book is not organized in the traditional appetizer-mains-dessert way, Instead, the delicious and satisfying tale follows its own path, from place to place and flavor to flavor. In this way, the book serves not only as a culinary inspiration but as a philosophical and geographical guidebook that rewards continued and repeated investigation.

www.pomhospitality.com