Newton in the Kitchen

A Fond Foodie Farewell

After two-and-a-half years as Newton Patch's food writer and freelancer, Wendy Schapiro is moving to warmer climates and back into the classroom

Last week, local editor Melanie Graham announced that she would be leaving Newton Patch for an exciting new opportunity at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. While I was excited to hear that the fabulous Brooklyn Lowery would be stepping into the local editor’s virtual shoes, I can’t imagine working without Melanie -– and, as I can now share, I won’t have to. This will be my last column as the Newton Patch food writer and author of the “Newton in the Kitchen” column. Not to steal her thunder, but my move was actually planned long before Mel’s.  In fact, when I first started thinking about moving to the Los Angeles area, which I will be doing at the end of the month, Melanie was in middle school! I came east for college, and though I have …

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Report: Chestnut Hill Shake Shack to Open Next Week

The popular NYC-based restaurant that is famous for its burgers, fries and shakes is opening next week in Newton (Chestnut Hill).

Move Over Harlem Shake: Chestnut Hill is getting its own Shake (Shack). The new Shake Shack is reportedly opening at The Street in Chestnut Hill on Wednesday, March 20. According to Eater Boston, the iconic New York-based higher end fast food joint will be welcoming customers a week from today. If its sibling restaurants are any indication, the newest Shake Shack location will undoubtedly be serving some Chestnut Hill-specific “concretes” or frozen custards with mix-ins. Also on the menu will likely be their usual wide selection of burgers and hot dogs, fries, frozen custard concoctions and beer and wine. The new eatery is opening up in the former Rugged Bear space. Shake Shack, part of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, opened …

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Newton in the Kitchen

Sycamore's GM Knows Less is More at New Newton Centre Bistro

Sycamore General Manager Zach Lieberman has a very clear sense of what he, owner/chef David Punch, and the whole team want for their new Newton Centre restaurant.

Three days after Sycamore quietly opened its doors -- and following months of anticipation and buzz -- Zach Lieberman says that he isn’t nearly as nervous as he thought he’d be in his first gig as a general manager. That could be because, for a young man, Lieberman has an impressive amount of experience. Raised in Lexington, Lieberman dropped out of high school at 16 and quickly found a job as an expediter (making sure food came out of the kitchen and to the diners correctly and quickly) at Lexx, a then-new restaurant in his hometown. From there he moved onto Craigie Street Bistro and then to Oleana. Finally, after some travel, Lieberman landed at Island Creek Oyster Bar. But it was a chance encounter with old friend Lydia Reichert, with …

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Sycamore Restaurant Open in Newton Centre

After months of anticipation by eager diners, Sycamore in Newton Centre has quietly opened.

Teasing its potential patrons with pictures of décor, food and drink on Twitter and Facebook, David Punch’s new restaurant Sycamore is now serving dinner Sunday – Thursday from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Cocktails and “small bites” are served until midnight every night. Their menu includes starters such as Vermont rabbit terrine (pickled scarlet turnips, pumpkin-quince marmalade), main dishes including black sea bass (crispy potatoes, artichokes, garlic confit, herb puree) and "le steak frites" (grilled top steak, aioli, red wine jus, marrow herb butter) and desserts like warm buttermilk beignets (apple cider caramel, burnt cinnamon anglaise). Food blogger Lin of Beantown Eats said via Twitter that …

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Newton in the Kitchen

Simple Pleasures are Central at the New Waban Kitchen

Chefs Jeff Fournier and Jakob White talk about what distinguishes their new Waban restaurant from 51 Lincoln, how they came to work together and what they'd do if they had a whole pig to work with.

  If you were going to open a new restaurant, would you choose a spot just a mile and a half away from your already wildly successful (but very different) dining destination?  If you were Jeff Fournier of 51 Lincoln, and now Waban Kitchen, that is exactly what you’d do. And you’d have a darn good reason for doing it too: the short commute makes for an easier balance between work life and home life. “My philosophy of entrepreneurship and being a chef has morphed over the last few years,” Fournier explains. “When I started thinking about starting a family (Jeff and his wife, Kate, are expecting their first child at the beginning of next year), I really started to make choices about quality of life for my staff and for myself and, moving …

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Newton in the Kitchen

Newton Restaurant Round Up: Openings, Closings and Transitions

Twice a year, Patch covers openings, closings and transitions at Newton restaurants. This time around, we have an unprecedented number of changes to share with you as the past six months have seen a great many shifts in the Newton dining scene.

OPENINGS: Terry O’Reilly Irish Pub (Newton Centre) – The most recent addition to the bustling Newton Centre “restaurant row,” Terry O’Reilly’s is an Irish pub with a twist. They also offer some Middle Eastern fare from Sabra, co-owner Elie Saroufim’s restaurant that formerly occupied this location. A full story on Terry O’Reilly’s will be upcoming on Newton Patch. Farmstead Table (Newton Centre) – Chef Chad Burns and his pastry chef wife, Sharon, bring a true farm-to-table dining experience to Union Street. With an emphasis on the freshest ingredients prepared to highlight their unique flavors, the menu will be changing frequently. Earlier this week, Farmstead Table started serving lunch. Brewer’s Coalition (Newtonville)- Building on the …

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Wendy Schapiro

9:31 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012

Helpful reader Andrea Kelley alerted me to the fact that The Local in West Newton has also expanded into the space next door, formerly occupied by Parrot Pizza. While owner Frank Santo told Patch in October of last year that he had planned to turn the space into a separate burger joint, apparently he decided to just open up the space for his very popular gastropub. Kelley says that the new area …   more ›

Newton in the Kitchen

Newton's New Brewer's Coalition Brings Together Local Beers, Good Friends

Owner Bill Honeycutt talks about the food and local beers that make his new Newtonville bar and restaurant a real neighborhood hangout.

During Brewer’s Coalition’s opening week, owner Bill Honeycutt really saw his vision of a “community-driven place” come to life at his brand new restaurant. “There were three couples seated at the high tops,” he recounts, gesturing at the row of tall, two-seater tables that line the middle of the restaurant. “They stayed almost until close, and by the end of the night they had all become friends. When they left, they exchanged email addresses and phone numbers. That’s what I want!” For Honeycutt, the designation “coalition” is about bringing things together. The new Newtonville bar, which opened on Walnut Street last week, should be a place patrons come together and see as their neighborhood spot, he says. Honeycutt also wants his staff to…

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Wendy Schapiro

2:53 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012

Hey Kevin - me too! *waves* Hi neighbor! :D Martha, I didn't actually talk to Bill about the source of his food since I was trying to angle the article towards the "hook" of his doing the cool beer-and-food pairings. I know that with seasonal shifts in the menu, he kind of HAS to be attuned to local produce, etc. but beyond that- I don't know! If you stop by and talk to Bill and get more info, …   more ›

Newton in the Kitchen

Newton’s New Farmstead Table Welcomes 'Guests' With Open Arms

Chef Chad Burns and his pastry chef wife Sharon want you to feel right at home in their new farm-to-table Newton Centre restaurant.

Coming in to Farmstead Table in Newton Centre is like having dinner at a friend’s home: simple, good food, fresh flowers and a cozy setting. And that is just the way chef Chad Burns and his wife, Sharon, the co-owners of the new farm-to-table restaurant, want it. “We don’t really have customers here,” states Chad. “We have guests and we treat them as such.” The couple’s warm relationship with their guests and their love of farm-fresh food has its roots in the genesis of their relationship, which began back when Sharon was a student at the University of Michigan. In the summer between her junior and senior years, Sharon came to work at Tapawingo in Ellsworth, MI. This was Chad’s hometown, and he had worked at the famous estate restaurant …

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Newton in the Kitchen

Nobody Puts Jake's Falafel in a Corner

Owner Jake Shahrooz and wife Nancy talk about Jake's Falafel Corner's move to a new Newton Centre location and what makes his falafel both familiar and exotic.

When State Treasurer Steve Grossman attended Mayor Setti Warren’s diplomatic reception in February, you might have thought he would be solely focused on touting his hometown's strong arts and business presence. But the local food being served at the event was too good to go unnoticed. “This is the best falafel I’ve had since visiting Israel in 1978!” Grossman proclaimed upon having a sandwich from Jake’s Falafel Corner. The 18-month-old business, currently located in a corner of The Sandwich Works, is owned and operated by Jake Shahrooz. Shahrooz moved to the US from Tehran in 1983 to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, and for many years worked in this field. But cooking had been his passion from a very…

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Wendy Schapiro

4:37 pm on Monday, July 30, 2012

Jake assures me that we will be the first to know as soon as he has signed the paperwork. So glad they're staying in Newton Centre!   more ›

Newton in the Kitchen

Jonathan’s Bar and Grille Brings Friendly, Hometown Vibe to Newton

Owner and "hometown boy" Jonathan Glick wants customers at Jonathan's Bar and Grille to come in and stay a while to enjoy the food, the atmosphere - and running into their friends.

Jonathan Glick, owner of the newly opened Jonathan’s Bar and Grille, has returned to his roots. Though Glick moved here at age six, he considers himself a Newton native. He went through Newton public schools, graduating from Newton South High School in 1985. From there he went to UMass Amherst where he earned a degree in Hospitality Management. Glick even spent two months in the César Ritz College program in Switzerland, learning first-hand all aspects of running an upscale restaurant. But for the next 21 years, that would be Glick’s last foray into the culinary world. “I came back here and started working in my family’s real estate business,” Glick explains, matter-of-factly. “I finished the construction of these two buildings (the …

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Melanie Graham

2:20 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012

Hi everyone -- Please remember to leave your reviews and rate Jonathan's on the restaurant's Patch directory page! http://newton.patch.com/listings/jonathans-bar-grill   more ›