This weekend: A beer-centric bread making class makes its way into your home
Plus, the food news you may have missed this week.
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We’re all eating a little differently these days: Cooking at home more. Ordering takeout. Buying beans in bulk. And that’s the way it’s going to be until Phase 2 begins and we can start eating at our favorite restaurants again. In the meantime, here’s what’s been going on in Boston’s restaurant world recently, plus a few ways to enjoy some of our region’s best restaurants and bars from the comfort of your own home.
Here’s what you may have missed this week:
We asked, you answered: Here’s what Boston.com readers need to feel safe dining at a restaurant. (Hint: A coronavirus vaccine is not the No. 1 priority.)
‘I’m going to take my chances with God’: Frank Mendoza, co-owner of Monica’s Trattoria, doesn’t want to wait for Phase 2 to open.
Chef Jose Duarte recently debuted La Reina, a taco pop-up, inside his North End restaurant Taranta. “I will have to sell 10,000 tacos in a month to pay for my rent,” he said.
Looking for a new way to purchase your protein? Meat CSAs and local farms in Mass. are seeing exploding demand due to coronavirus.
Many food trucks face an uncertain future as Boston begins to reopen. Read what a handful of truck owners had to say about getting back out on the streets.
The state created a new restaurant, hotel, and tourism reopening group. Here’s what they’re doing.
Mike’s City Diner temporarily closed last weekend after its owner tested positive for COVID-19.
Netflix & Swill:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqSWXkgZFH/
I’ve been waiting all month for “Space Force,” and now it’s finally here: The Netflix comedy featuring Acton native Steve Carell debuted Friday. “The Office” creator Greg Daniels is behind the TV series, which follows four-star general Mark R. Naird (Carell) as he is put in charge of the newly created Space Force, a branch of the US Armed Forces that is dedicated to making America great (in space) again. It’s received some pretty tepid reviews so far, but with a supporting cast that includes John Malkovich, Lisa Kudrow, and Tawny Newsome, I’m in.
I’m also in for excellent cocktails this weekend, which brings me to this: I miss Drink. The last time I visited the storied Fort Point bar was to catch up with an old friend who was in town, and we spent a couple hours rehashing stories and giving the bartender vague guidance (“Gin! But not too floral. Maybe some rosemary? Can you make it spicy, too?”) while he crafted custom cocktails. Recently, Drink launched its own cocktail kits that are now available for pickup at sister restaurants The Butcher Shop and Sportello. This week, the bar is featuring a Pegu Club cocktail kit — an homage to the recently closed New York City bar Pegu Club, a prominent figure in the city’s latest cocktail renaissance. I’ll raise a glass to both bars this weekend.
Eating and cooking alone, together:
Breadbox kit from Grainbakers.
For more than four years, Caitlin Jewell, co-owner of Somerville Brewing Company (maker of Slumbrew beers), has taught bread making classes through her side project, Grainbakers. Using freshly spent grain, class attendees learn how to bake bread while delving into how beer is made, bread machine and bread-making tips, and sourdough starters, all while sipping on a pint. Now Jewell is bringing her class inside the home with the launch of Grainbakers kits, which will be available for pickup at participating breweries starting Tuesday. The kit includes everything except the necessary beer, which you can snag from the kit’s pickup location. First up: Idle Hands Craft Ales on June 2. Grab your kit and beer, bake your loaf at home, then join a Zoom call at 9 p.m. to show off your finished product to other kit classmates.
And speaking of beer! Saturday kicks off the Massachusetts Virtual Beer Festival, Fest From Home, and tickets are still available for $5. The virtual event, which takes place from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., is a spin on a traditional beer fest, complete with Facebook Live chats and interviews, videos that center around the latest beer trends, and, of course, the chance to sip beer with strangers. Check out the full list of participating breweries and the Fest from Home beer list, with beers available for pickup at each respective brewery.
Listen to this: “Take Away Only,” a podcast from journalist Howie Kahn, launched in mid-March to focus on the hospitality industry and how it is navigating its way through the pandemic. I’ve really enjoyed listening to everyone from Matty Matheson to Kwame Onwuachi give their take on the crisis. Recently, Mei Mei chef/owner Irene Li was featured in an episode titled “What can a restaurant be?,” and I highly recommend it. Li shared some of the unique ways Mei Mei addressed the needs of its staff, and how transparency within the industry is vital to a restaurant’s survival.
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