Breaking Boston Food News: Clover on Federal Street!

Food News about Clover.

While it’s still in the beginning stages, it looks like Clover is coming to the Financial District! 160 Federal Street to be exact.

I noticed building permits a few weeks ago and wondered what would be going there. Breaking food news is one of my favorite things. Then yesterday I noticed that the Clover sign had been put up. According to Clover’s website, back on July 10, 2015, they wrote about Clover #7.

So while we’re still hoping that the Copley site will happen, we’re not expecting it will be Clover #7. The next Clover restaurant will likely be downtown. We just signed a new LOI on a site at Federal St. near South Station. It’s really exciting. Our truck at Dewey Square was our first in Boston, and the first new food truck in Boston. And it’s a beautiful site.

So for all the Clover fans out there, the food news is that you’ll soon have another location to choose from!

My Fake French Snack

fake French snack

It seems like something so simple shouldn’t taste so good. But it does. I picked up this brioche at Market Basket and slathered some wild blueberry preserves on it. What a great snack! I love Bonne Maman products, because they taste great and I keep the cute little jars.

The flowers have nothing to do with this snack, except for they are simple, pretty and giving me a French vibe too. So why not include them? Enjoy! 😀

pink flowers

Breaking Dessert News: Donut Ice Cream Cones Coming to Massachusetts!

*Updated 4/4/2016*
If you missed getting your donut ice cream cone, don’t despair! Scroll down for details.

donut ice cream cone in front of flavor sign

When I first learned about donut ice cream cones, all I could think was, “When are they coming to Massachusetts?

This amazing dessert appears to have started at Good Food Coffee and Bakery in Prague. The original name for the pastry is “trdelník” and is of Czech or Slovak origin, according to Wikipedia.

A traditional cake and sweet pastry, trdelníks are “made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and walnut mix.”

The dessert is also called a “chimney” when filled with ice cream. Since the pastry is similar to a donut according to some people, it was dubbed a donut ice cream cone. Confectionary chaos ensued.

Like a bird at a Bernie Sanders rally, people are standing up and applauding this latest dessert trend! Including me. Although sadly, I have yet to try one.

I’m all about a good dessert mystery, so I was interested in finding out when donut ice cream cones would hit Massachusetts.

donut_ ice_ cream_cones_Pizzi_Farm

Well, breaking dessert news! Pizzi Farm in Waltham may be the first to sell them in the Bay State. Rick Pizzi graciously provided me with pictures of the donut ice cream cones that he will be selling for one day only — on Pizzi Farm’s Opening Day, this Friday, April 1st.

No joke! The supply is limited, so get there early!

donut_ice_cream_panini_sandwiches_Pizzi_Farm

But don’t worry if you miss out. There will be more donut ice cream treats throughout this season at Pizzi Farm. Donut Ice Cream Panini Sandwiches are coming and will be available as a weekday special. The day is not decided yet, so be sure to check their Facebook page for details!

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Photos: Courtesy of Rick Pizzi.

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*Updated 3/29/2016* The local and national news media grabbed hold of this story and gave it a lot of coverage. Exciting!! Here are links to some of the stories below.

Universal Hub

Boston Restaurant Talk

MassLive

Boston.com

CBS Boston

Waltham Patch

Money

FOX25 News Boston

100.7 WZLX

Forbes

Wicked Local Waltham

*Updated 4/1/2016* From what I observed on Facebook, the cones sold out!

*Updated 4/4/2016*  Pizzi Farm‘s Facebook page says that due to the  overwhelming response” they will be bringing back donut ice cream cones on the first Friday of each month during the season. Good news!

The Book List: A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking

The Up South Cookbook by Nicole A. Taylor

Yesterday I compiled a summary list with links for the restaurants mentioned in the New York Time’s article, A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking. Now for the book list!

I figured I might as well summarize the book list too. The list below has the names of each book mentioned in the article, along with the authors’ names and links to their websites.

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The Up South Cookbook (Nicole A. Taylor)

Hog and Hominy: Soul Food From Africa to America (Frederick Douglass Opie)

High on the Hog (Jessica B. Harris)

Senegal (Pierre Thiam)

The Jemima Code (Toni Tipton-Martin)

Afro-Vegan (Bryant Terry)

 

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Screenshot: Amazon

The Restaurant List: A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking


A few months ago, when I read the New York Times article on African-American cooking, by Jeff Gordinier, it was a welcome surprise. Yet, it was a great disappointment as well, because there are no links to each restaurant nor the books listed in the article. Nor is there a summary list, which would be nice to refer to later.

Much like the “Big List of free yoga classes in Boston that I created, since it’s a list that I want that nobody else has put together, at least that I know of, maybe I need to do it for myself. So I am creating another list for myself again. But of course, I want to share it with you too!

Below is a list with links to each restaurant named in the article and the locations by city and state. For those of us living in these areas or planning to travel to them, this restaurant list may help us to find some great places to eat.

Hopefully many of us will get a chance to try these restaurants. Happy eating!

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Salare  (Seattle, WA)

Brown Sugar Kitchen  (Oakland, CA)

1300 on Fillmore (San Francisco, CA)

FarmerBrown (San Francisco, CA)

Willie Jane (Venice, CA)

Post & Beam (Los Angeles, CA)

The Cecil (Harlem, NY)

Minton’s (Harlem, NY)

The Grey (Savannah, GA)

The Fat Ham (Philadelphia, PA)

Sbraga & Company (Jacksonville, FL)

Chef Benjamin Dennis (Charleston, SC)

Husk  (Nashville, TN)

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Photo by Rajesh TP from Pexels