1. There are
certain things people do on Christmas and certain food that we all eat. Certainly, my people, the Jews, love their
Chinese food and movies. To that end,
there are a couple of Chinese places that I particularly like:
Sichuan Gourmet, with locations in Framingham, Brookline,
Sharon and Billerica. I like my food
spicy and Sichuan Gourmet does not disappoint.
Food is fresh, place is always busy, but it’s my go-to spot for decent
Chinese food. Laosichuan.com
2. I have
recently discovered Chinese Mirch, with two locations: route 9 in Framingham and Mass Ave. in
Boston. Their’s is a unique spin on
Chinese cuisine, merging Indian spices and flavors with the cooking style of
Chinese cuisine. I’ve been there a few
times lately, for lunch, and have been really impressed with their delicious
food and presentation. These spots, with
their multiple locations, seem like perfect places to grab Chinese on Christmas
day. Chinesemirch.com
3. Similar to
Thanksgiving, sometimes you just don’t feel like hosting a huge dinner and
having your family come over and trash your house. So why not eat out on Christmas? There are many places both in the city and
suburbs hosting a Christmas dinner. Bar
Bouloud at the Mandarin Oriental hotel on Boylston Street, a highly respected
and regarded restaurant with locations also in London and NY is offering a prix
fixe meal. Buca Di Peppo in Shrewsbury,
MA is also offering a set menu of Christmas foods.
Most Legal Seafoods are open for Christmas, and I’ve eaten
at a Metrowest location on Christmas
day. Everyone knows Legal, and there’s
nothing wrong with a nice seafood dinner on Christmas day. Just remember to treat your waitstaff right,
because they’re working on your holiday.
4. Tipping on
the holidays:
This is a time of year where we really should show our
appreciation for our service providers…people that provide us service
throughout the year and who really are the unsung heroes of our daily
life. For me, I like to leave something
for our postal employee, our UPS of FedEx delivery person at the office, or our
Poland Springs delivery guy, my Starbucks barista. These, among many other people, make my life
easier and work hard all year-round.
5. When
customers begin pounding on your front door weekend mornings, begging you to
open up, you know that it’s time to offer brunch. And, with football and
hockey seasons in full swing, Menotomy Grill & Tavern has bowed to popular
demand and now offers a weekly-changing blackboard menu of brunch items, served every
Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Proprietor Billy Lyons
has lined up some cool live jazz to complement the Tavern's warm
stone fireplace and coppery bar.
Executive Chef Mark Thomson (formerly of CHEZ HENRI) offers:
The Monte Cristo: The ultimate hangover reliever.
Challah French toast filled with smoked pork shoulder and ham, gruyere, apples
and onions – jpeg available
* Cream Cheese-Stuffed French Toast with Mixed Berry
Compote – jpeg available
* Southern Fried Chicken, Buttermilk Biscuit, Sausage
Gravy – jpeg available
* Seasonally-inspired Omelets and Quiches
* Classic Eggs Benedict
* Huevos Rancheros
Menotomy Grill also pours its “secret family recipe” Bloody
Mary, along with hefty 20-ounce draught beers from its list of 40 varieties,
including Battle Road 1776 Tavern Ale … Slumbrew Attic & Eaves … Wormtown
Be Hoppy IPA … and Allagash White.
Menotomy Grill & Tavern
25 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, Massachusetts 02472
781-468-1775 / www.menotomygrill.com
6. No one complains about getting gourmet food as a gift
Why go nuts shopping for
the perfect gift when a call to either of FRUIT CENTER MARKETPLACE’s two South
Shore locations can almost instantly result in an impressive and imaginative
gift basket, tailor-made to foodies’ interests ?
In addition to its ever-popular deli, fruit and
dessert platters, FRUIT CENTER MARKETPLACE this year offers a wide variety of
well-priced, customizable gift baskets.
See the baskets and platters at www.fruitcentermarketplace.com
Fruit Center Marketplace
10 Basset Street, Milton and at 79 Water Street, Hingham
7. For a unique
holiday gift for the foodie in the house, how about a cooking class, offered at
local restaurants, or cookware stores like Sur La Table, with locations in
upscale malls all across Massachusetts.
There are many selections of classes, from knife skills, Italian and
Chinese cuisine, to classes on how to use cast iron or La Creuset
cookware. Or How about a food tour of
the local area. Boston Food Tours (http://www.bostonfoodtours.com)offers tasting tours of the North End or Chinatown, with
stops at shops for instructional shopping and discussions with the shopkeepers.
9. While people in
the United States have their favorite holiday dishes, such as Christmas Ham and
figgy pudding or fruitcake, many other countries have their own traditional
foods. Our friends to the north, in
Canada, celebrate with a meat pie; in Puerto Rico, roast pork shoulder is the
celebratory food, Lebkuchen in Germany are soft, deeply spiced an sweet
cookies; Herring and beet salad in Sweden; In Hungary, stuffed cabbage rolls
heavily seasoned with paprika, a perfect deep red, for Christmas, is the
celebratory food. Perhaps for the next
holiday, the listeners can try to incorporate some holiday dishes from foreign
lands and try something new. For a collection of recipes, check our Saveur Magazine.
10. Potato latke
recipe.
People of our heritage celebrate Hanukah and with that,
comes greasy, fried foods to celebrate the miracle of oil lasting 8 days. Here’s my tried and true recipe.
4 large potatoes
2 medium onions
4 tablespoons of flour
1 vitamin c tablet dissolved
salt and pepper
hand shred the potatoes and onions, and mix all ingredients
together (the vitamin c keeps the potatoes from turning brown). Heat vegetable oil in a pan (for a real
traditional method, use olive oil), and drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the
oil, and cook until they look done. Put
on a paper bag to absorb the excess oil and eat. Or freeze and reheat in a 300 degree oven.
11. While not
necessarily a food event, on December 24, 2014, Sean Altman of Rockapella fame
will be performing at Club Passim in Harvard Square at 6:00pm and 8:30pm. Sean has written and sings several Jewish
parody songs, from benign to slightly bawdy.
I will be performing in one song, as I have the past several years. While the kitchen at Veggie Planet is being
renovated, there will be snacks and beverages available. More information at Club Passim.org. Check out a previous performance here:
