Living in the heart of Boston has plenty of advantages for the food lover. This time of year, we can celebrate the fact that many of our farmers' markets are popular enough and supported well enough to stay open until Thanksgiving week. With this year's extended growing season, we're not only enjoying fall crops, but also a return appearance of favorites like scallions, baby bok choi, baby turnips, lettuces, and radishes. More
Boston city councilor Michael Ross has been an early supporter of street food, calling for a simpler permitting process. "We need to roll out the welcome mat for businesses, let people know Boston is a business-friendly city, embrace innovation. Food trucks are welcome," Ross told Devra First in the Boston Globe. I chatted with him about the growing support for food trucks in Boston. More
Six months ago Clover Food Lab was still something of a secret. The food cart, which opened quietly in 2008, still served a small selection of breakfast and lunch items to a crowd of mostly MIT students and professors, continuing a longstanding tradition of lunchtime food trucks at the university. The chef-owners were ambitious, conceiving a seasonal vegetarian menu that could be served within minutes after ordering, where no item topped the five dollar mark. More
On Sunday, Boston street food lovers flocked to the 1st Annual Boston Food Truck Festival held at the SoWa Sunday Marketplace. Lines full of happy, hungry people streamed across the parking lot hoping they would reach the truck before supplies ran out at crowd favorites like M & M BBQ Ribs. More
It's summer in Boston and the sweet corn alone is reason enough to walk to the Copley Square Farmers' Market twice a week. But, that so-good-you-could-eat-it-raw sweet corn is surrounded by hundreds of other delicious choices. And, after nearly two decades of shopping at Copley, I enjoy spending time with the "small-town" community that has developed at this "big-city" market. More
The problem with most Sichuan restaurants is that they don't use Sichuan Peppercorns. How important could a single spice be to a cuisine, you ask? Very. The Sichuan peppercorn is not hot at all in the conventional sense. Rather, it is extremely floral and aromatic with a unique tongue-numbing ability. Unfortunately, the list of restaurants that have already reincorporated Sichuan peppercorns on their menu don't necessarily line up with the list of restaurants serving the best Sichuan food. Case in point: Sichuan Garden in Brookline, Mass.. More
It's time for another street food profile. This time we chat with Philip "Lefty" Francis of Lefty's Silver Cart at the Harvard University farmers' market, who sells local, organic, fair-trade (and cheerful) soups and sandwiches. More
The Belmont Farmers' Market won "Boston Magazine's Best of Boston Farmers' Market 2009." I agree with the magazine that "picking the best farmers' market is like trying to pick the best heirloom tomato. What's not to love in any of the forms and flavors they take?" Still, I had to pay a visit because they also said that Belmont, "earns bonus points (and a loyal following of chefs) for the bumper crop of other regional goodies it has on hand." I also visited the Harvard University Farmers' Market for some of the area's best strawberries. More
Add "cat tails" to the roster of foraged foods like ramps, fiddleheads, morels, and wild garlic, that spring brings to market. Cat tails are also known as, "broadleaf bulrush," common bulrush, broadleaf cattail, common cattail, or cat-o'-nine-tails. One word or two, opinion seems to be divided. They have a cucumber-like flavor with a heart of palm texture. You can use them like leeks, about the first ten inches, and you can use them raw. You can saute them, bake them or use them in a stir fry. More
Last week many farmers' markets around Boston opened for the season. Shoppers were out in large numbers welcoming their favorite farmers back to the city. And, everyone was pleased that a combination of great growing weather and agricultural shelter systems brought more early crops to market. I spent the whole week market-hopping all over the city. More
