Sweet Cheeks Q, 1381 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

 

I'd like to preface this post by presenting my self-appointed "BBQ awareness" credentials earned, not really by birthright (being that I'm a Jersey Girl), but by the mere fact that my grandparents were born in NC and I spent 9 years of my early adult life in Alabama for college and vet school ;0)


Not many individuals having either been raised or lived extensively in the deep south believe the Northeast region of the U.S can possibly deliver a decent bbq, let alone a great one.  These same people might have written off Chef Tiffani Faison's work of art housed within this establishment and they'd be sadly mistaken.


Even Chef Faison's cold dish served at the Chefs for Obama event was a hit so I was not surprised that this talented Top Chef finalist rocked out at the BCAE's First Annual What's Your Beef Event as well!


The service was phenomenal thanks to Holly our server and her colleagues who were all very attentive and super friendly!

I love that you have the option of sitting at family-style picnic tables or more private, intimate dining which I typically prefer.


The starters & sides:


The fried green tomatoes were fantastic...hearty and tangy (vinegary-marinated?) with a light crunchy coating, served with a ranch-based dipping sauce. They were even great the next day! 

The hush puppies were just ok, but my favorite side dish of the evening was definitely the broccoli and cheese casserole!  It was rich and seasoned perfectly.  
The creamy mac n' cheese was also a hit!  
The farm salad with hazelnuts, parmesan, halved grapes, roasted whole asparagus and asparagus heads was wonderful!

I loved that the thick-cut purple cabbage cole slaw which was a meal all its own!


The meat:

You're not going to get meats drenched in and hidden behind aggressive sauce at Sweet Cheeks.  Tiffani really presents the meat in all it's glory, using smoke and spices (~Central/Western Texas style) to showcase the real star.  Mild and spicy sauces are made available at the table, but I didn't find them necessary.


The pork belly!!!!  I was blown away!  They were rich and fatty as any good pork belly should be, but also enough meat for good measure.  Loved!


The ribs were tender, smoky, amazing!


We chose to wash it all down with cocktails served in mason jars, of course.  

The Heartless Jezebel featured Prichard’s Cranberry Rum, Sailor Jerry, Triple sec, Clear Creek Cranberry liqueur, and orange juice, garnished with Maraschino cherry and orange wedges.


The Dollywood freatured Tito’s handmade vodka, Limoncello, and Kenwood sparkling wine, garnished with raspberries and a lemon twist.


Being the Sweet Cheeks is around the corner from my home, they can expect to see a lot more of me this summer!

http://www.sweetcheeksq.com/

Taste of Chicago, Grant Park, July 11-15, 2012

Wednesday-Sunday, July 11-15, 2012

Taste of Chicago

Highlights: Hundreds of Chicago restaurants and food vendors featuring their signature dishes!

@: Chicago, Grant Park

Event Website: http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/mose/taste_of_chicago.html

1st Annual What's Your Beef? Event- Boston Center for Adult Education

Eight of Boston's most talented chefs were each assigned a specific cut of beef to prepare for the event.  Chef Louie Dibiccari prepared a lovely vegetarian dish while Dustin Rennells presented Italian macarons inspired by hamburger sliders!

I'd double booked events on this evening, so I was pleased that the event was well organized and only one to two chefs were stationed in each classroom, thus breaking the crowd up nicely.  The open wine/beer bar was located between each hallway so the flow through was easy.

Chef Michael Scelfo of Russell House served what he does best using his nose-to-tail style.  He served a braciole-esque dish of beef tongue and heart-stuffed skirt steak with roasted tomato, broken crostini, over a spiced-herb puree.

The tender textures were amazing.

Chef Tiffani Faison of Sweet Cheeks served a Southwest meets Asia "street food": Brisket Rou Jia Mo, tender sliced braised brisket and pickle served on soft, warm bread, with a side of spicy hot chili sauce.

Chef Jason Bond of Bondir served  mini corn tortillas stuffed with corn-fed braised beef shanks in a bitter chocolate and rhubarb mole verde.

Chef Jamie Bissonnette had at work on this fabulous short ribs.

Chef Jamie Bissonnette of Coppa presented dashi (Japanese stock) and pickled spruce braised short rib over a warm farro and hazelnut salad.

 

 Chef Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger prepared a tea-smoked beef (sirloin butt) tataki (Japanese-style of pound-tenderized meat of fish) with black garlic pesto and spring pea salad.

Chef Ming Tsai...Focused!

Chef Colin Lynch of Menton prepared a wonderfully tender chilled flank steak with Thai flavors, soybean sprouts, shredded carrots and crushed peanuts.  
He served them in lettuce wraps.

Chef Will Gilson of the soon to be launched Bridgestreet Restaurant served a chuck meatball ground with mushroom, onion, and bacon braised in bourguignon (red wine) sauce.  The flavorful meatball was dressed with a bright greek yogurt, ramps (wild leeks), green onion, and olive oil sauce.

Chef Louie Dibiccari served a cool farro salad with raw asparagus, spring beans, cashews and pecorino.

Ironically, the vegetarian dish was one of my favorites of the evening! 

The dessert station filled with creations by Dustin Rennells.  Italian macaron towers inspired by hamburger sliders!

Close-up of macaron slider. Source: Dustin Rennells' tumbl pic. http://madyago.tumblr.com/

The Gin Bar.  The 24 punch was delicious: Beefeater gin, pineapple, and mint.

I'm hoping What's Your Beef becomes an annual program for the Boston Center for Adult Education!

Update:  Read about the 2nd Annual What's Your Beef? Event, here.

Cooking for a Cause-East End House Fundraiser, Seaport Hotel-Waterfront Boston

http://www.eastendhouse.org/cooking-for-a-cause/2012/event

Cooking for a Cause was a beautiful event!

Held at the elegant Seaport Hotel on the Waterfront

March 30, 2012

to benefit The East End House who's mission includes:

 "...to provides nationally accredited childcare and after school programs, develop new programming to meet the unique needs of teens and middle school youth, offer senior outreach programs, provide emergency food assistance, and offer community and volunteer programs." 

It was inspirational to hear from past and present East End House beneficiaries and with Chef Jay Santos of Blue, Inc, serving as the Culinary Chair and MC of the Live Auction and Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli of Island Creek, as Wine Chair, it was bound to be a success!

My lovely friend & hair stylist (Jessenia Lockward of Salon Marc Harris, Newbury Street, Boston) was the perfect self-titled "assistant", handing out my blog business cards and taking photos!  I must thank her for her enthusiasm and friendship! 

A few of my samplings...

Aura Restaurant's Richard Rayment served a Honey-glazed Pork Belly over chipotle, jicama, and purple carrot slaw.  

 

I LOVE pork belly, but this small bite was in a class of its own!  Rich and sweet with a bit of spice (from the slaw), It was the perfect way to start this adventure (aside from the first pit stop at the open wine/beer bar, of course)!

dante served a pork meatball incorporating Vermont cheddar and maple that was fantastic...moist and seasoned well.  It was simple yet delectable!  The charming Chef Dante let me grab seconds!



The Hawthorne's mixologist Nicole Lebedevitch prepared a beautiful modified French 75 with Berkshire Mountain Distillers (a sponsor) gin, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, sparkling wine, and Earl grey tea (the twist). 

Eastern Standard's mixologist and bar manager Kevin Martin created a cocktail using Appleton Jamaican rum, lime Becherovka (a Czech liquer with a mysterious recipe to which, supposedly, only 2 people in the world are privy), and Bittermans velvet falernum! Loved it!

Craigie on Main served a very interesting dish of Beet pasta with boudin noir (blood sausage) ragout!
 I overcame my mild "beet-phobia" and dove into this magnificent dish with a bit of unnecessary but fun urging by the table's cheer section (I exaggerate). 
I was more apt to eat the blood sausage (which was not foreign to my palate).  Their cocktail was a refreshing pisco, rose jam, orange liquer, and lemon thyme herbal cocktail created by Ted Gallagher.

Post 390 prepared a spicy Seafood Tortilla Soup. Chef Eric Brennan warned me about the spice and rightly so, but the soup incorporated wonderful flavors! 

Seafood Tortilla Soup (BEFORE the base). Mussels, char-grilled jumbo shrimp, calamari, avocado...

AFTER the spicy base was added! The avocado was a perfect "cool down" component.

William Kovel's tuna.

Catalyst Restaurant prepared an aleppo-crusted tuna on a rice cake. It was topped with a mango compote.

J. Lohr Vineyard & Wines

I fell in love with their Merlot, though I am not usually into merlots.  Luckily, I was able to grab a few bottles from Bacco Wine & Cheese (St. James St,  Back Bay).  A few weeks after, I purchased their Cabernet from the Wine store @ Costco in Everett and was just as impressed!

 Deuxave's Chris Coombs presented a beautiful, light and airy duck liver mousse on a buttery crostini topped with rhubarb mostarda, tarragon, and pickled red onion!

Duck liver mousse

The dish was brilliant in both presentation and palatability.


 Harvest's Mary Dumont served a fresh Jonah Crab

Delicious crab salad.  The mint sprigs really added to the freshness of the dish which was also well-balanced with garlic.

 EVOO's Peter McCarthy served up a nice lobster, parsnip, and hedgehog mushroom bisque flavored with tarragon, butter, and leeks!

Lobster-parsnip bisque

Chris Weld with Berkshire Mountain Distillers made a fresh cocktail using Ripe cocktail mix and Berkshire Mountain Greylock gin...an easy enough cocktail to mix at home.

 



The highlight of my schmoozing for the evening was meeting The Masciarelli Wine Co. group.  The couple at this table were THE most entertaining!  It was like a party within a party as they drew us into their bubbly personalities!
I have been a fan of Masciarelli's Trebbiano d'abruzzo since a Back Bay wine tour I attended earlier in the winter which landed us at Bacco Wine & Cheese.  I became an instant fan and purchased a few bottles. 

On the evening of this event, I was also impressed with their rose, Rosato colline teatine (Montepulciano).










Zyr Russian Vodka was also a sponsor:

 

I look forward to attending East End House's 

10th Annual Cooking for a Cause Event!