Photo: Lizbeth*King/Flickr
LOCAL BITES
Notes from Maine
At 7pm on Wednesday, April 11, Here & Now’s resident chef Kathy Gunst will be “in residence” — featured at Porter Square Books in a reading/signing event for her cookbook Notes from a Maine Kitchen. You’ll recognize Kathy’s name from the pages of PRK as well. Head over and meet her!
Dine & Donate
This month Blue on Highland in Needham will allow you to donate part of your check to a local school or non-profit. If you dine-in or order take-out on Sundays, you can specify where the donation goes, including: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dana-Farber’s The Jimmy Fund, Chickering School PTO in Dover, or the Needham Education Foundation. Dine and donate!
Boston-CA Vineyard Connection
On Saturday, April 14, from 12-5 PM The Wine ConneXtion in North Andover will host Peter Merriam, local resident from Boxford, MA, and founder of Merriam Vineyards in CA’s Russian River Valley. Merriam produces Bordeaux-style wines, which will be yours for the tasting.
A Quaffable Edible Meet-Up
On April 23, 6-8pm, join Brooklyn Brewery and the staff of award-winning Edible Boston at Local 149 in Southie for the first of four “Quarterly Carousels” — a meet-up of beer lovers, local food producers and Edible Boston readers. RSVP to events@edibleboston.net.
Your Cheese Addiction
It may not be a joke. Anthony Howard, blogger behind the “Culinarily Curious” column at boston.com, writes that there is real science behind your need for cheese.
Reminder: Healthy Oceans, Healthy Peeps
W2O, or Women Working for Oceans, is a local organization aimed at promoting healthy and sustainable oceans through education and action. They are hosting a luncheon April 10 at the New England Aquarium IMAX Theater focusing on the danger of plastics in our oceans. Tickets are $55/pp and include lunch. Visit the W2O site, or call 617-226-2143 for more information.
Reminder: Walk, Talk, Eat
BU’s Wood and Wine Program is offering a trio of Saturday walking tours led by Anthropology professor Merry White. White will discuss what food can teach you about social and urban identities as you stroll through three Boston neighborhoods beginning at 10 AM: the North End (April 14); East Boston (April 28) and Dorchester (May 12). Register for one tour ($70) or the full series ($175). Lunch included.
NATIONAL TREATS
Just Count It
The “Just Label It” (JLI) campaign’s deadline for the FDA to respond to its petition calling for the labeling of genetically modifed foods came and went on Tuesday. At issue are two factors: how many American consumers backed the petition, and what the government will do next. Anyway you count, public support for the petition appears strong, even if the FDA doesn’t. From the Chicago Tribune’s “The Stew.”
You’ve GOT to Watch This
The Southern Foodways Alliance has produced a documentary — six years in the making — about the food culture of the American South. “Pride & Joy” will premier in September, and the trailer is more than enough to feed your curiosity. There is something about the South which is like no other. Period. HuffPost Food reports.
Going, Going…
AFA Foods, a processor of so-called “pink slime” ground beef in King of Prussia, PA, filed for bankruptcy earlier this week due to a decrease in demand following the negative media coverage of its beef product. As back-drop, read food writer/NYU nutrition professor Marion Nestle’s take on the “pink slime” controversy. In her mind, it’s gotten “curioser and curioser.”
Paula’s Back
In case you missed it, Paula Deen is back in the news. Speaking this time, on the record. HuffPost Food reports. (For some levity, here’s SNL’s spoof on Ms. Deen and the recent allegations of sexual harrassment against her and her brother.)
GLOBAL TASTINGS
Beef Tongue at Age 4??
If it’s no surprise that beef tongue is NOT a favorite of French school-age kids, maybe it will come as a shock that they’ve tried it at all. Karen Le Billon, writing in the Wall Street Journal, examines the French model of teaching kids how to eat and why they’re so good at opening kids’ minds to trying new foods. It’s all about reinforcement and consistency. Sound familiar?