Photo: Jesse Costa, WBUR

LOCAL BITES

Food to Fund
Restaurants around the state join together this week in the Rally to Raise Funds for Massachusetts Tornado Relief Efforts in western Mass. 15 restaurants, including The Beehive,  Burtons Grill and Dante, are donating a portion of their proceeds to the American Red Cross to assist with relief efforts. The event is week-long, ending this Sunday, June 19th.

Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry season is now in full swing. All month local farms will be welcoming visitors to pick their own and participate in berry festivals. Connors Farm in Danvers, for one, is celebrating their crop with a Strawberry Festival to be held this Saturday, June 18th, 9 am to 6 pm. Statewide, learn more about local farms and strawberry-related events through this handy map. If you can’t (or won’t) pick your own, learn more about the 40+ Mass restaurants currently serving fresh and local berries to benefit the Mass Farmers Markets Strawberry Dessert Festival.

Sealing the Deal
This week Massachusetts Agricultural Officials announced the creation of the Commonwealth Quality Seal Program. This new initiative allows the placing, literally, of a seal on Mass-made products that meet specific standards for freshness, safety and sustainability. 20 farms from across the state will pioneer the use of the Quality Seal. Read more about participating farms and licensing criteria here.

Celebrating the Science of Eating
Mark your calendars! On Saturday, June 25th, the Museum of Science is hosting the “Let’s Talk About Food Festival” on the Cambridge Parkway as part of their ongoing series “Let’s Talk About Food.” The day features demonstrations, samplings and public discussions with culinary masters. Guests can look forward to talking with and learning from some of the city’s great chefs, and taking a lunch break at a Food Truck Food Court. PRK will feature this event in detail in next week’s posts. Stay tuned…

Rib Fest in Beantown
The Phantom Gourmet BBQ Beach Party will take place from June 24-26 at City Hall Plaza in Boston. The weekend features one of the premiere rib fests in the nation with summer-y fare prepared by BBQ teams from around the globe. Guests can also enjoy live music and two beer gardens for a $10 admission.

More EVOO This Summer
Peter McCarthy’s acclaimed Kendall Square restaurant EVOO  has expanded, adding 50 seats and a new patio to be shared with EVOO’s sister restaurant, Za. This expansion continues McCarthy’s legacy of commitment to sustainability and green initiatives: EVOO’s renovation earned a Gold Certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Rosé-Colored Glasses
Like pink? Drink it much? Eastern Standard Kitchen in Kenmore Sqaure announces its “drink pink!” program for lovers of rosé wines and curious first-timers. The celebration of ‘drinking pink’ lasts until October, with an impressive list of Rosé By-the-Glass, featuring blends from vineyards in Burgundy, Provence and Santa Barbara, CA.

Bigger and Better: Bedford Farmers’ Market
In its fourth year, the Bedford Farmers’ Market is implementing promising new changes. The market’s hours have changed, now beginning at 1 and running until 5:30. Also, June marks the start of the market’s lunch service and the opening of a large seating area.

NATIONAL TREATS

Faster Foodies
A new iphone app called Recco is gaining national attention for its unique combination of dining reviews and social networking. The application marries Twitter, Yelp, Facebook and Foursquare in what the New York Times calls “a recommendation service for foodies with short attention spans.” Must be a lot of us out there: the application is growing, with over 2,000 subscribers.

Twenty-Something Cookbook
The authors behind the Big Girls, Small Kitchen: A Guide to Quarter Life Cooking blog have released their debut cookbook The Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes From Our Year of Cooking in the Real World. The cookbook is a cross between food memoir and working-woman recipes designed with young professionals and beginning cooks in mind. Their recipes have broad appeal; the Barefoot Contessa is a fan and wrote the book’s foreword.

International Cooking and the Human Family
 A newly released cookbook allows American families to prepare Japanese fare at home. But Peko Peko: Family-Friendly Japanese Recipes is no ordinary kitchen tome. This collection of recipes was created to support Japanese recovery: a portion of each sale benefits the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Fund.

Surprising Snacks on Capitol Hill: A New Kind of Political Junkie
In addition to the typical patriotic paraphanelia one expects to find in Congressional offices, The New York Times reports that many members of Congress are welcoming constituents with edible treats from their home states. These snacks range from Rep. Tim Walz’s cans of SPAM (hmmm, a treat?) to Rep. Charlie Dent’s model of the U.S. Capitol, made entirely out of marshmallow Peeps (better). Check out this map to learn more about your representative’s food of choice.