Wine & Dine on Beacon Hill: Featuring Wines from Argentina! April 15, 2015 at 7 pm

WINE & DINE ON BEACON HILL

Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro Presents a Wine Dinner Featuring Wines from Argentina

 On Wednesday, April 15^th, 2015 at 7:00PM guests will take a virtual culinary wine tour of Argentina at Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro’s spring wine dinner. 

Designed to both educate and entertain, Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro’s (BHHB) wine dinners are aimed at individuals of all experience levels. 

This event is about “wonderful wines, creative food and good friends,” says Cecilia Rait, proprietress and wine director of the BHHB.

Beginning at 7:00PM, diners are invited to visit all four regions without leaving the comfort of their seats.  

Cecilia and Tracy Burgis of M.S. Walker act as virtual tour guides, moving from region to region expanding the history, curiosities and nuances of each selection. 

During this educational dinner, guests will sample wines from regions across Argentina.  

In addition to wine, the dinner will showcase the culinary artistry of Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro’s Executive Chef Lucas Sousa, whose dishes are designed to complement each featured wine.

This intimate adventure is set in communal seating to encourage conversation, laughter and fun. 

For $65.00 per person (tax and gratuity not included), guests are treated to four wines, a four-course dinner and Cecilia's and Tracy's good cheer, humor and expertise. 

Reservations are encouraged as the event will sell out fast.

WHERE: Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro| 25 Charles Street, Boston, MA 

617-723-7575 | www.beaconhillhotel.com.

      Wednesday, April 15^th, 2015; 7:00PM

COST:              $65 Per Person (tax and gratuity not included).

Reservations are necessary. 

Please call 617-723-7575.

About the BHHB:

Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro is both an intimate and authentic boutique hotel, and an award-winning Bistro in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill. The Hotel consists of 12 guest rooms and one in-room suite; blending both modern convenience and historical character reflected in its thoughtful and distinctive design.

The Bistro serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, as well as, weekend Brunches and is open 365 days a year. Hours of operation are as follows:  Breakfast: Mondaythrough Friday 7AM to 10AM & Saturday and Sunday 7:30AM to 10AM, Lunch: Monday through Friday 11:30AM to 3PM, Brunch: Saturday and Sunday 10AM to 3PM, Afternoon Bar Menu:  All Week 3PM to 5:30PM, Dinner:  Monday through Saturday 5:30PM to 11PM - Sunday 5:30PM to 10PM. 

The Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro is located at 25 Charles Street and is adjacent to the Public Garden on the corner of Charles and Chestnut Street, easily accessible by T from either the Charles/MGH or Park Street Stations. For More information please call 617-723-1133 or 617-723-7575 or log on to: www.beaconhillhotel.com.

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Monday, March 30th, 2015: 3rd Edition of "Art of the Cocktail": A DrFoodie and Boston Center for the Arts Collaboration: Scotch Whisky with Naomi Levy of Eastern Standard

Monday, March 30

6:00-7:30 pm first seating

8:00-9:30 pm second seating

Mills Gallery | 551 Tremont Street 

The Boston Center of the Arts (BCA) and Dr. Markeya 

Williams (Traveling Foodie in 4" Stilettos) host the next

 edition of Art of the Cocktail featuring Scotch!

Intimidated by Scotch? Wondering which style to order? 

What is the difference between a single malt and blended? 

Naomi Levy, Beverage Manager at Eastern Standard Kitchen 

and Drinks demystifies this alluring spirit at this lively 

interactive lecture and tasting. 

Tickets include tasting, 

conversation, snacks and a private exhibition viewing of the 

Mills Gallery.

$25 Early Bird Tickets March 1 – March 16

$35 Regular Tickets March 17- March 30 at 3pm

Tickets will be available at the door at 6pm. 

This is a 21+ event and proper ID is required for entry. 

No refunds or exchanges.

Upcoming Reviews...Paris, Future of Junk Food, Chef Suzi Maitland, Distiller Maggie Campbell, My Cocktail Series-2nd Installment, Shojo, David Burke-Prime @Foxwoods, Seoul Korean & Much More!

Hi All!  

Between my week in Paris for my 35th birthday and my hitting the ground running once back in Boston at my gig practicing medicine and surgery, it has been awhile since my last post.

I can't wait to share my foodie adventures over the past 30 days and the days to come.  

Thanks for your patience.

Visit my Instagram page for photos of the reviews to come http://instagram.com/drfoodie 

Zenato Wine Dinner @ Piattini Wine Cafe, 226 Newbury Street, Boston, MA

I've attended a couple of wine dinners at Piattini, which you can read about here and here, and they are always amazing.  You can also read my interview and food review with Owner/Menu Director Josephine Oliviero Megwa, here.

It promises to be another intimate evening with spectacular Italian eats and guided (but not stuffy) wine tasting and pairing.

Zenato Wine Dinner

Monday 10/6/14- 6:00PM

Join us as we explore the fine wines of Zenato, Veneto Italy. The esteemed fine wines will be paired with exquisitely prepared classic Italian dishes.

Our Guest speaker will be Mr. Austin Sitts- Wine Bow

Menu

Reception

Zenato Lugana di San Benedetto DOC 2012

First Course

DIVER SEA SCALLOP AND PANCETTA ENVOLTINI/ GRILLED ROMAINE HEARTS/ARRABIATA SUGO

Zenato Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2011

Second Course

HOUSE MADE POTATO GNOCCHI/WILD BOAR BOLOGNESE/SHAVED PECORINO

Zenato Ripassa Superiore DOC 2010

Third Course

DRY AGED BONE IN SIRLOIN/GRILLED POLENTA/RED WINE REDUCTION YOGURT/BRAISED BROCCOLI RABE

Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC 2009

 

 

About Piattini

Piattini is an upscale restaurant and wine bar specializing in regional Italian cuisine and exceptional wine located on Newbury St. in Boston, Massachusetts’s fashionable Back Bay neighborhood. Opened in 2001, Piattini means “small plate” in Italian, thus the emphasis on shared tapas style offerings where guests can sample a variety of different hot and cold plates, or select from Piattini’s always changing lunch and dinner menus which include traditional sized dishes.  

Similar to the owner’s ancestors in Italy, Piattini is committed to using the finest ingredients with a menu that combines the authentic flavors of yesterday, while adding the creativity and diversity of today. Known for their robust educational wine program,  the experience of choosing from the vast selection of exceptional wines is enhanced as each glass is accompanied by a small card detailing the region, tasting notes, and other pertinent information.  

The intimate dining room and secluded outdoor patio provide the perfect atmosphere for after work gatherings, drinks at the bar, wine tastings and private functions alike.  

Piattini is located at 226 Newbury Street Boston, MA, 02116. 

  For more information call Piattini at 617-536-2020 or visit www.piattini.com.

 

Random Snapshots of Good Times with Great Friends @ Silvertone, Trade, Audubon, and Wink & Nod, Boston, MA

Random night...with Veuve...who says you have to have a reason to celebrate with champagne?

Dr. Andrew Rausch, Summer Williams, Dr. Markeya Williams (DrFoodie) enjoying some bubbly.  #RandomMondays

Let me upgrade ya!

From the Champagne of Beers to Veuve Cliquot

After the Sonoma Wine Group private wine tasting focus group...

Sips with Tenzin @ Trade

Games any night @ Audubon!  Who doesn't like drawing on the bar???

 

Tiki Night at Wink & Nod with Brother Cleve 

Waterfront/Marina Bay Quincy, Memorial Day

Downtown Crossing

Estragon

Another Fantastic Feast: Toro - Barcelona-Style Tapas, South End, Boston, MA

I don't know of one person in Boston who's dined at Toro and not had amazing things to say about the cuisine - myself included.  See my last review, here.  The most common complaints are about not being able to snag a table in this busy joint and similarly, not being able to make a reservations for groups smaller than six.

My idea of a few bites...

Sous chef Mike Stark is one of my favorite chefs in the city...humble and fantastically talented, he puts up with my obsession with creating nicknames (his latest and official one being "Shammy Bandana"...gangsta, right?)

Chef Mike is infamous for sending out some amazing dishes for us to try. 

Chef presented us with a simple, bright, perfectly fatty dish Jamon Blanco: grilled sourdough points topped with slick, decadent La Quercia lardo (cured fatback),  the freshest of marinated Jonah crab, fresh herbs, crisp shallots, and cracked black pepper.

Lardo and Jonah crab toast

Crispy veal sweetbreads w smoked coco bean purée & preserved lemon vinaigrette and watermelon radish

The cappicola (coppa), the Italian salume of the day was newly cut on this particular day after a 5 month hanging/curing process.  Coppa is very similar to prosciutto, but unbrined.  It's the long, thin cut of muscle extending from the head to the neck and lateral thorax of the pig.

Chef was clearly excited about it, serving it with pride and a smile, and rightly so.  

It was a beautiful slice of meat with bright seasoning and perfect marbling imparting tender texture.

Coppa

Queso Mahón-Menorca with cracked black pepper and spices.

The chefs at Toro know how to handle and present lovely morsels of foie gras (Chef Mike Stark's griddled foie at Boston Bites Back was simple and amazing).  The Foie gras y Piquillo in house at Toro was no exception - smooth, rich foie gras center with delicately seared edges flanked by tender, roasted, bright piquillo pepper was served with sweet and sticky vinegar gastrique for additional acidity and a welcome piquant layer and topped with candied, crushed walnuts really rocked our world.  Every bite leaves you yearning for more and regretting the gluttonous sampling just before.

Foie gras y Piquillo

Then you have your staples...the dishes that you crave which initiate and activate your 'must go to Toro'  genetic code.  Shishito peppers (Pimientos el Padron), Roasted corn with cotija cheese (Maiz Asado con Aioli y Queso cotija), and the Patatas Bravas (Fried potatoes with aioli and spicy tomato sauce).

Pimientos el Padron

Maiz Asado con Aioli y Queso cotija

Patatas Bravas (Fried potatoes with aioli and spicy tomato sauce)

Hungry Yet?!?

How about thirsty?!?

Well, Ethan and Tyler both made me "just for me" cocktails.  The first being a cocktail - on menu - that I read about and immediately desired.  Even my good girlfriend who I joined said, "Wow, that sounds exactly like you."  And she was so right.  I am a bit on the extreme side of spirits and cocktail palatability (as you man know if you follow this blog).  

I am an extremist when it comes to the salinity, sour, bitter, strength of a spirit or cocktail.  

The "Butterfly's Revenge" spoke to me on paper and on the palate.  Ethan was our b-tender at the time:

Butterfly's Revenge is made with a good pour of Rye whiskey, Carpano Antica vermouth, Cynar, Brandy, Orange bitters, and ice cubes sprinkled with Jacobsen sea salt!

 For my next round, I requested an off-menu cocktail from Tyler based on Sam Ross (previously of Milk & Honey, NYC) "Room with a View" 

Great times!

Small Bites at Wink & Nod by Whisk and Sips with Cormac, Curtis McMillan, and Colleagues

 Me and a few girlfriends visited a packed Wink & Nod late night for a nightcap on its first hard open night.  I couldn't wait to return to take in the beautiful bar packed with premium spirits.  

A couple of weeks later, I made it my every Monday evening spot for cocktail and food tastings and enlightening a few friends to this fabulous addition in the South End.

The famous quote by Martin Lomasney (Massachusetts politician who held many positions from 1893-1922) on the importance of discretion graces Wink & Nod's menu:

This new sexy craft cocktail speakeasy in the South End (3 Appleton St at Tremont) features one of the most beautiful and fully loaded whisk(e)y-heavy bars in the city!  

Curtis McMillan, VP of USBG Boston and spirits currator/GM at Wink & Nod will blow your mind with the collection behind the wood and private collection goodies, like the award winning, 18th Century Old Potrero rye whiskey.

Me and the Whiskey man himself, Curtis McMillan

Most are mesmerized, as expected, by the $100 cocktail featuring beyond premium spirits created by Curtis and named the Billionaire's Bijou is made with:

•  $700 Nolet's Reserve gin (only a few hundred bottles hand-signed by Master Distiller Carolus Nolet Sr. are produced annually)
• Chartreuse Green V.E.P (Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé), prolonged aging in oak casks, ~$200 retail
• Martini & Rossi Gran Lusso vermouth (150th anniversary edition)
• Orange saffron bitters, procured personally by Curtis from small orange juice producer/cocktail enthusiast friend in France created the saffron infused orange bitters exclusively for Wink & Nod

 

The chartreuse alone will change your life with it's velvety, slick mouth feel, traditional herbaceous influence on the palate and smooth finish.  Even the color in comparison to its younger, more ubiquitous counterpart is brilliant.

The uber talented and humbly philanthropic gentlemen of Whisk, Chefs Philip Kruta and Jeremy Kean take full command of their menu at Wink & Nod and serve up a number of spectacular dishes, a few of which I've sampled thus far.

Venison tartare with mint, pumpkin seed, parsnip, and a quail egg.

The venison tartare was rich with clean flavor, no gaminess.  The pumpkin seeds added a lovely, crunch and texture, as did the papadum wafer.  Delivered, like a traditional steak tartare, with an egg (quail for this dish) for mixing and binding the perfectly balanced ingredients.  I love a well prepared game meat dish.  The venison and quail egg certainly did not disappoint.

Who can resist duck meatballs?  How about foie gras?  No?  How about their wedding?

Whisk has created the ultimate meatball, duck & foie gras - tender, succulent, rich meatballs served with pickled blueberry and black garlic with a side of housemade granola...there are no words!

 The creamy-centered, crispy coated pork belly arancini with fiddlehead remoulade was superb.   You can never go wrong with perfectly cooked tender bits of porcine heaven.

 The black squid ink pasta with squid, miso, cauliflower, and black garlic was only overpowered by the sharpness of the cream dollop which through off its balance.  The dish itself, however, was a combination of beautiful ribbons of handmade pasta, tender whole baby squid with tender roasted cauliflower and chunky tomato.

Black squid ink pasta with squid, miso, cauliflower, black garlic

 I fell madly in love with the Bolognese made with kale drunken noodle, pancetta, oregano and topped with crisp kale chips and Parmesan - a rich, creamy dish given texture by the roasted kale.

On one of my Monday nights (Cinco de Mayo), Curtis talked me into sampling their tiki menu from the "May the Fourth Be with You" themed drinks menu.

I'm not much of a tiki girl due to the sugar content of the classic style drink, but I endulged and didn't complain of a sugar hangover the next day, so job well done on that front.  They could grow on me.

Dark Side of the Force

 Dark Side of the Force

Sailor Jerry rum
Cranberry Juice
Fresh Lime Juice
Fresh Orange Juice

Wookie Juice

 Wookie Juice

Bulleit Rye (originally made with Rittenhouse rye)
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh orange juice
House orgeat syrup
Simple syrup 

Obiwan Kenobi DTO

Obiwan Kenobi DTO

Brugal white rum
Fresh Lime Juice
Fresh Grapefruit Juice
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur 
 
Join me on Monday nights...starting at 11 pm, elite guest bartenders from around Boston will host a tiki bar.  Here's the upcoming dates & shakers:







Spent some time at Wink & Nod?  Tell me about it in the comments section...