Friday, May 17, 2013
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 …
Friday, April 26, 2013
Popular Chinese restaurant Bernard's has reopened at THE STREET in Chestnut Hill. Patch spoke to General Manager Allan Lam and bartender Tim Tighe about what makes the restaurant such a local hotspot.
When Bernard’s closed its doors at the Mall at Chestnut Hill, a nearly audible cry of dismay arose from around Newton and Chestnut Hill. Longtime patrons of the popular Chinese restaurant wondered where they would dine locally for their favorite Asian dishes. During Patch's interview earlier this week, a customer came in to the restaurant (which had not yet opened for the day) and spoke to the gentleman manning the front desk. “So, are you really open now?” she inquired. When this was confirmed, she continued, “I’m so glad! When I went to the Mall (at Chestnut Hill) and saw that you had closed, my heart just sank. But then I saw the big red sign out front here, and I came in to make sure it was true. I am so glad you are back!” And they …
42.322627
-71.168046
THE STREET
55 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill, MA
/articles/bernard-s-brings-old-favorites-to-a-new-venue-in-chestnut-hill
2287755
/locations/9317013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Owners Rumyana Gizdova and Edgar Zavala share how the Newton bakery got its sort-of-new name, what customers love to eat there, and how they came up with an ingenious idea to make their iced coffee even better.
Since a long-forgotten inventive coffee drinker first added cubes to his caffeine to create iced coffee, aficionados have dealt with the same sad situation: as the ice melts, your iced coffee gets progressively more watery and less palatable. Edgar Zavala and Rumyana Gizdova, owners of New Breadsong Corner Bakery in Auburndale have come up with a simple yet extremely effective remedy for this dilemma: use frozen coffee for the cubes. “We just came up with the idea,” laughs Gizdova. “Instead of throwing the coffee away at night, we just freeze it in ice cube trays.” Zavala adds, “The coffee is really good, nice and strong. And with the iced coffee cubes (they use decaf so everyone can have it), it stays good.” This is just one of the …
42.34643
-71.24814
New Breadsong Corner Bakery
349 Auburn St, Auburndale, MA
/articles/new-breadsong-corner-bakery-in-auburndale-mixes-innovation-and-tradition
2007895
/locations/9170389
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Still not happy with your choices for breakfast during Passover? Try these "bagels!"
(Makes 1 dozen) In my mother’s annual synagogue Passover column, “Leaven Can Wait,” she always referred to these as Mrs. Meyer’s bagels. Yes, the only thing they really have in common with bagels is the hole in the center and they aren’t that pretty to look at. But considering that these allow you to enjoy your usual schmear on something other than a piece of matzo, they are a pretty darn good Pesach substitute! They also taste really good with butter and/or jam. Ingredients: Directions: B’tayavon and Happy Passover! More passover recipes: Newton Patch Facebook | Twitter | Email Updates | Instagram
Friday, March 22, 2013
One of the great quandaries for Jewish cooks is what to make for breakfast during Passover. Here are a couple of ideas that are sure to start your holiday mornings off right.
Passover begins at sunset on Monday, March 25 and ends at sundown on April 2. In past Passover columns, Newton in the Kitchen has shared recipes for dinner and dessert as well as soup and sides. But the meal that seems to give folks the most trouble during the holiday-when-bread-is-forbidden is breakfast. So here are two tried-and-true recipes for dishes you can make for the first meal of the day, even if you are short on time. Serves 4 There are many variations on this traditional Passover recipe- great also as a side dish- but this is the one I have been making for the past 30 years. It is based on the proportion of one-and-a-half sheets of matzo to one extra-large egg, so though this recipe serves four you can make a batch just for …
42.322627
-71.168046
THE STREET
55 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill, MA
/articles/newton-in-the-kitchen-passover-breakfast-recipes
2287755
/locations/9119129
Friday, March 8, 2013
Chef Shiva Kumar and Chef/Owner Kannan Kesav tell Newton Patch why everyone- even meat-lovers- will love the fare at their new vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Newton Highlands.
If you have driven by the new Walnut Grille in Newton Highlands, you may have noticed their sign that touts the restaurant as being a “vegetarian and vegan experience.” And you may have asked yourself, “What exactly is a ‘vegetarian and vegan experience?’” According to Chef Shiva Kumar, one of five friends involved in the new venture, the answer is actually pretty simple. “So many vegetarian restaurants, restaurants in general, are just that --restaurants,” Kumar explains. “We wanted to attract people with more. When they come, they get the full experience- the food, the atmosphere, the music. The whole thing.” Kumar got his culinary training in his native India and has worked at restaurants across the US. Most recently, he worked for …
42.320862
-71.2054
1203 Walnut St, Newton, MA
/articles/veg-ing-out-at-walnut-grille-in-newton-highlands
/locations/8967317
Friday, February 15, 2013
Galina Slezinger of Cafe St. Petersburg talks about how her grandmother influenced the restaurant's menu, why Russians love a good party and what makes a chicken so good you have to eat it with your fingers.
One of the best parts of living in Newton is the incredible variety of international cuisine from which we can choose when dining out. We have Mexican, Italian, Thai, Mediterranean, Japanese, Chinese and Irish fare, among others, available within the city limits. But, according to their website, there is only one “taste of old Russia,” and that is Café St. Petersburg in Newton Centre. The restaurant is truly a hidden gem, tucked between the shops and restaurants of Union Street and the bustle of Beacon Street. A brick path leads to a set of stairs that gently slope towards the restaurant’s entrance, decorated above with murals depicting scenes from Russia. Ludmilla and Natan Slezinger own the restaurant, and their daughter Galina runs it. …
42.330162
-71.191362
Cafe St. Petersburg
57 Union St, Newton Center, MA
/articles/cafe-st-petersburg-brings-authentic-russian-food-to-newton-centre
765361
/locations/8815237
42.360878
-71.208637
Newton Cultural Center
225 Nevada St, Newton, MA
/articles/cafe-st-petersburg-brings-authentic-russian-food-to-newton-centre
1812332
/locations/8815238
Friday, February 1, 2013
Marjorie Druker, owner and chef at The New England Soup Factory, talks about why she decided to expand into the rotisserie chicken business and how being a mom and a member of the Jewish community helps inform her new undertaking.
Marjorie Druker, owner of the New England Soup Factory in Newton and Brookline, is more than just the “soup lady.” She is now also the “chicken lady,” since opening an addition to her Newton store late last year that features rotisserie chicken. Why chicken, you may ask? “When I was a little girl growing up, there was a rotisserie restaurant in Newton Centre called Cinders, and we’d walk up from our house to get a nice dinner,” Druker recalls. “Then I opened Boston Chicken in Newtonville, in 1985, I created the menus (with that restaurant in mind). People always felt I should do that on my own.” But Druker’s chicken – and the other fare prepared in the large oven that dominates the New England Soup Factory’s expansion- isn’t your everyday…
42.30941
-71.214829
New England Soup Factory
244 Needham St, Newton Upper Falls, MA
/articles/new-england-soup-factory-chickens-out-in-newton-highlands
764815
/locations/8719801
42.34241
-71.23194
Temple Shalom of Newton
175 Temple St, West Newton, MA
/articles/new-england-soup-factory-chickens-out-in-newton-highlands
1509055
/locations/8719802
Friday, January 18, 2013
Judy Chow, owner/chef of Daikanyama in the Mall at Chestnut Hill talks about why her restaurant is a perfect fit for its location in Bloomingdale's and what makes her happy (hint: it's all about people).
Judy Chow, owner and chef at Daikanyama in Bloomingdale’s in the Mall at Chestnut Hill, had no trouble coming up with a name for her restaurants (her other location is in Lexington). She wanted a moniker that reflected the caliber of the towns where the restaurants were located but also reflected the elegant Japanese fare served within. So she named them after the Daikanyama neighborhood of Tokyo. “It’s like the Newbury Street of Tokyo,” Chow explains. “Very upscale, little shops and restaurants. It’s really nice, just like Chestnut Hill, like Newton.” In spite of the difficult economy, Chow opened her first Daikanyama in Lexington in 2008. A year later, she had a conversation with her son about how she wanted to grow her business, and …
42.320097
-71.176166
200 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill, MA
/articles/daikanyama-brings-tokyo-to-chestnut-hill
/locations/8625305
42.31993
-71.176655
Bloomingdale's
225 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill, MA
/articles/daikanyama-brings-tokyo-to-chestnut-hill
193275
/locations/8625306
42.32039
-71.17515
The Mall at Chestnut Hill
199 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill, MA
/articles/daikanyama-brings-tokyo-to-chestnut-hill
193487
/locations/8625307
42.322627
-71.168046
THE STREET
55 Boylston St, Chestnut Hill, MA
/articles/daikanyama-brings-tokyo-to-chestnut-hill
2287755
/locations/8625308
Friday, January 11, 2013
Tony Mirogiannis, owner of the Village Cafe on Washington Street, talks about how he found his way back to the Newtonville location, why he loves his job, and what makes his life special- his dog, Goliath.
There are two things you need to know about Tony Mirogiannis, owner of Newtonville’s Village Café: “If I don’t like it when I make it, I don’t want to sell it,” Mirogiannis states emphatically. “I love what I make. I have fun with it.” When Mirogiannis bought the Village Café two and a half years ago, it was already a familiar locale to him. His parents, who had also owned Nick’s Pizza in Wellesley, had been the owners of Midnite House of Pizza, one of the Village Café’s previous incarnations. His brothers had also been involved in the business and are the current owners of the North Ave Diner in Wakefield. In fact, the entire family helps each other out at all of their restaurant holdings and they all reside within a few blocks of each …
42.35254
-71.20289
Village Cafe
719 Washington St, Newton, MA
/articles/owner-of-village-cafe-in-newtonville-sure-knows-how-to-pick-em
765808
/locations/8571014
Linda Caslin
11:12 am on Sunday, April 28, 2013
THRILLED that Bernard's has reopened!!!! Nothing on the planet even remotely compares ....superb Asian cuisine!!!!! more ›