Photo: CubaGallery/Flickr
LOCAL TREATS
L’Espalier at Apple Street Farm
Apple Street Farm of Essex, MA, is hosting its 2011 seasonal dinner series, in conjunction with Sel de la Terre restaurants and L’Espalier, with monthly feasts from June until October. Each month Apple Street will invite a city chef to prepare a seasonal meal made from its own produce. The next dinners will be held in Essex on August 11th, 12th and 13th. Guests can expect a tomato-themed feast prepared by Frank McClelland, executive chef and L’Espalier owner. Tickets are $175 dollars and the feasting begins at 6:30 PM sharp. Call 617.262.3023 for reservations.
Latin Eats, Boston Streets
South America pays Boston a visit this August at Chez Henri’s Latin Dinner Series. Head Chef Paul O’Connell takes guests on a tour of Latin cooking from his Cambridge restaurant, kicking off the series with authentic tastes of Argentina and Venezuela in a prix fix menu available until August 13th. The three-course menu costs $39 per person. Call 617.354.8980 to make a reservation or to learn about upcoming menus.
Spice up your life
The mother-daughter team at The Elephant Walk are sharing some cooking tips this summer at weekly cooking classes held Saturdays, 10:30-1:30 p.m., at one of their two locations in Cambridge or Boston. This Saturday, July 30th, the duo teaches “Quick and Easy Stir-Fry.” The class includes lunch (with food prepared by the class, of course) and costs $75 per person. Call 617-247-1500 for more information and to make a reservation.
Bostonian Mix-Off
Last week, beating out competition from bars in Los Angeles and New York City, Fort Point’s Drink won the title of “Best American Cocktail Bar” at Tales of Cocktail 2011, the Spirit industry’s largest, annual gathering held in New Orleans. Drink also sent one of its own bartenders, Misty Kalkofen to compete for the title of American Bartender of the Year. Congrats to all!
NATIONAL BITES
The Winer Choice
This week the Wall Street Journal lends support to amateur foodies struggling to select the right wine, offering suggestions about deciphering wine labels and picking the best bottle amid endless selections. Cheers.
A Michelin Meal for a Movie Price
This month Spain’s acclaimed El Bulli restaurant will close indefinitely. If you missed the chance to eat from head chef’s Ferran Adrià’s kitchen, you can still get a behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant’s incredible cooking, thanks to a new film to be released this month.”El Bulli: Cooking in Progress” tracks over a year inside the El Bulli kitchen, highlighting chef selection, recipe creation and testing. The film opens in select cities July 27th.
Cheers to History
If you fancy yourself a history buff and a lover of scotch, you’ll be glad to learn there will soon be a chance to toast Shackleton’s crew with scotch replicated from the ship’s own supply. The scotch will be bottled and crated to look like it’s headed on a 20th-century trip to the South Pole and available in the coming months for about $160 dollars.