A Taste of Back Bay Social Club

Last night I had the opportunity to finally try out Back Bay Social Club courtesy of Citysearch Boston.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I was surprised at how open the place looked compared to its predecessor, Vinny T's.  The decor was simple but it definitely had the vibe of a 1960s social club.

I started out with a cocktail at the bar.  There were a lot to choose from but I went with the mai tai, one of my favorite cocktails when it is done right.  Back Bay Social Club started the evening off on the right note because my mai tai was delicious.

Over the course of three hours, we managed to indulge in many different tastings of Back Bay Social Club's menu.  To start, we snacked on the house garlic sausages wrapped in pretzel with a hoppy ale mustard.

The sausage bites were a big hit.  I was soon done with my mai tai and I wasn't sure what to order next.  But as the restaurant's beer offerings were listed right in front of me, it was easy to veer towards beer.

Ever since I first tried it at Stone Hearth Pizza, I've been in love with Pretty Things beer so I ordered the Jack D'or.

As we began our next course, we were served a complimentary tasting of the house white Russian. 

Although it was definitely a more mature version of the cocktail, we all thought it was a bit odd that they served it after the first course.  It didn't stop us from enjoying it though.

The gorgeous Lingbo enjoying her white Russian.

Let's just say that I had quite a few drinks in front of me!

And then we were onto the next course - the meat "candy".  This retro dish involved smoked kielbasa and pineapple roasted in a brandy brown sugar coating. 

We were told that the chef put this on the menu because his mother used to make this dish for him when he was growing up.  The young chef loved candy so his mother called this "meat candy" and hence the dish.  This dish reminded me of something I'd eat at a block party or cocktail party growing up...skewers and all.  It was familiar and nostalgic...and gosh darn good.

Our next course was a grilled crostini topped with country ham, Pop's pepper relish, arugula, olive oil and lemon juice.  This was not one of my favorite bites.  While all of the flavors went well together, there was just too much ham.  I think dish would have been best served with a thinner slice of meat (and less of it).

For the vegetarians and pescatarians of the group, there was also a cheese board, which included some delightful cheddar, a tangy Great Hill blue cheese, and Capri goat cheese.  The Tupelo honey served with this cheese board was really wonderful.

After a conversation with the staff about our favorite cocktails, a few of us were brought a tasting of some very sweet and smooth vermouth.  It was a tad too sweet for me, but Brian was more than happy to indulge. 

On a sidenote - can I say how happy I was to finally meet Brian? If you haven't read his blog, check it out - his writing and photographs are truly inspiring.

Our last savory course included a mushroom and pork terrine head cheese.  I'm not a huge fan of head cheese so I didn't really jump in but the presentation was beautiful.

Before the dessert course came, I managed to snag a photo with Lingbo before she jetted off back to her studies.

And then we dug into the desserts, which we all shared bites of:

Phyllo-wrapped apples with a caramel sauce

Peanut butter and jelly chocolate ganache cake

Beignet with chocolate fudge sauce - these were a bit too doughy for me.

The sticky toffee pudding was by far my favorite!

With one final photo, we called it a night.

Brian, Katie and I.

This was a great introduction to the Back Bay Social Club.  With a kitchen open until 1:30 AM every night, I know I'll definitely be grabbing one of these bites with some cocktails soon.

Back Bay Social Club is located at 867 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.  Thanks to Citysearch Boston and Back Bay Social Club for this evening of complimentary tastings.

Bloodypalooza at Turner Fisheries

After weeks of hearing about Turner Fisheries' weekly Bloodypalooza event, I was excited to finally check it out at a preview event hosted by Citysearch Boston. 

Despite walking by Turner Fisheries many times, I've actually never been there before and I really like how beautiful the restaurant was with its tall ceilings and windows.  Bret and I arrived a few minutes early and we were ushered to a private room and found that Meghan of Travel, Wine and Dine was already there with her husband Eric.  We were all in agreement that there is no better way to start the weekend off than with a Bloody Mary and we eagerly headed to the Bloody Mary bar set up for the event.

To start, we were offered a shot of their Lobster Mary, which is a traditional Bloody Mary mix strained to a clear liquid and combined with a house lobster juice.  While I adore a good Bloody Mary and have an equal affection for lobster broth, this was just not the Bloody Mary for me.

I decided to order a traditional Bloody Mary and when Meghan asked for extra horseradish, we were assured that the house Bloody Mary mix is very spicy.  I was happy to report that he was right and this Bloody Mary had a wonderful kick to it.  Everybody was allowed to pick your own garnish and I went with a spicy pickled green bean and blue cheese stuffed olives.  I can never resist a blue cheese stuffed olive!

There was plenty of food  as well with a station set up with some delicious sandwiches.

My favorite was a delightful little wrap filled with lobster meat.

Another big hit were the upstate New York spiedies filled with grilled shrimp.  I really loved the crusty bread on this sandwich.

I also enjoyed their Bloody Mary infused risotto and chicken breast.

While Bret eagerly chowed down on Turner Fisheries' "Hall of Fame" clam chowder.

We had a great time getting a small taste of Turner Fisheries' menu while catching up with some of my favorite food-loving pals, including Justin and his ever-friendly wife Leah, and the always on-the-go Athena of Forays of a Finance Foodie.  It was a great way to start the weekend off with great Bloody Marys and wonderful conversation.  And of course I remembered to take at least one photo that involved people and not just food!  Here is a photo of Meghan and I (and don't forget to check out her blog for a great re-cap of the event):

Thanks to Citysearch Boston and Turner Fisheries for hosting such a wonderful event and for helping make my weekend start off on the right note!

Turner Fisheries is located at the Westin Copley Place at 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA.  Their Bloodypalooza with their make-your-own Bloody Mary bar is offered every Saturday from 11:30 AM to 4 PM.

Sea to You Sushi & Asian Foods: Sushi Making Class

Last night, despite still battling my nasty summer cold, I headed out on the D line with B and the always hysterical Megan Johnson to take a sushi class at Sea to You Sushi in Brookline.  We were one of the first ones to arrive and like eager beavers, we took the first row to learn as much as we could about making sushi.

To begin, we learned about making sushi rice.  I was eager to learn about the type of rice vinegar to use and the proportions for a nice sticky rice consistency.

And then we were on to learning about safe preparation of sushi ingredients, such as handling the sushi grade fish to preparing the vegetables.  Although we were learning about this very important handling information, we were kept laughing with humorous anecdotes from our instructors.

Finally we were onto the sushi-making demonstrations.  We were given lots of tips like the amount of sushi rice to use (the amount of a decent-sized snowball) and how to roll the sushi (a method called the "cat's paw").

But as we all know, you can learn by watching and then you really learn by doing.  We headed off to our own stations to prepare our own sushi rolls.  Some of my rolls were a success and some were not but we laughed and chatted along as we did it.  Here's a photo of Robin Cohen of Doves and Figs in action.

And even though I was a sick and tired mess, I was still proud of my sushi creations.

The best part about making the sushi was getting to enjoy eating it in the end.  One of my favorites was a sweet potato, avocado and crab stick inside-out roll.  It was a strange combination but seriously delightful.

B and I have taken a few cooking classes together and we really enjoyed this one.  I think this would be a great class for couples or for any group of friends who would enjoy learning about making sushi as much they enjoy eating it!

Thanks CitySearch Boston for a wonderful learning (and eating) experience!

Sea to You Sushi & Asian Foods is located at 5 Kendall Street, Brookline, MA and an easy walking distance from the Brookline Hills MBTA stop.

Citysearch Boston and Alibi's Patio Party

Last night, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an exclusive patio party hosted by Citysearch Boston and Alibi.  It was gorgeous out last night and we got to sample some of Alibi's new drink and food menu items on their patio.  Their food is now coming straight from the kitchen at Scampo and so we were in for a treat to sample these yummy bar bites:

Ciccio (best described as a flatbread-like quesadilla) 

Crispy Scallion Pancake

John Daly Cocktail (Absolut Boston, Firefly Iced Tea Vodka, & Lemonade)

Classic Tomato, Mozarella & Basil Pizza

Truffled Polenta Fries (that carried a strong resemblance to Lincoln Logs but were oh so tasty!)

Caprese Salad

Dirty Harry martini (dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives!)

In addition to the food, I was in great company and happy to sit down at the patio and catch up with the fabulous Beantown Socialite, Kristen Haley (photo credit to Christine Liu).

And I couldn't stop talking about local food and barber shop quartets (don't ask) with the always delightful Robin Cohen of Doves and Figs (photo credit to Christine Liu):

Thanks to Citysearch Boston and Alibi for inviting me to such a fabulous event.  And I'll sign off with one final shot with one of my favorite Beacon Hill gals, Megan, and our pal Lindsay who can't seem to stay out of trouble.

Stone Hearth Pizza Co. - Local, Sustainable, and Delicious

Last night, I had the opportunity to sit down to a true local dining experience at Stone Hearth Pizza Co. in Porter Square.  I had definitely heard about Stone Hearth Pizza before but I never thought of it as anything more than just another pizza company in the Boston area.  But I was surprisingly happy to find that Stone Hearth Pizza is so much more than that.

I arrived at the Cambridge location a little after 6:30 PM to dine with nine other fabulous food bloggers and social media whizzes courtesy of Citysearch Boston.  The restaurant is small with about forty seats available that were kept full throughout the evening.

We were greeted by the Stone Hearth Pizza Chef Michael Ehlenfeldt who spoke to us at length about Stone Hearth Pizza's menu and direction, which includes:

• An ever evolving menu that incorporates a healthy blend of premium organic and sustainable ingredients that are locally produced, whenever possible;
• Staying local by working with over fifty New England vendors and producers;
• Featuring a seasonal, rotating list of local, craft beers, including some of my favorite Allagash and Cisco Brewery beers; and
• Offering gluten free pizza and pasta.

I really liked how Michael explained his focus on using local and sustainable ingredients but mindfully balancing that with the extra costs that come from purchasing ingredients that aren't out of season or mass-produced.  His ideology really resonated with me and I was eager to learn more from him throughout the evening.  While a restaurant's mission is important, we can't forget about focusing on what the food tastes like and Stone Hearth Pizza was definitely a success on this front too.

We started out with a glass of Original Sin Hard Cider as we were happily bombarded with some tasty starters that included a roasted eggplant dip, mozzarella-stuffed beef meatballs, the most divine ricotta and pickled asparagus and ramps.  The Parmesan flatbread, made with organic dough in an oven-fired grill, was addictive.  The picture below shows about half of what was remaining of just one of the plates at our table. None of the diners could get enough of it!

And the marinated olives were gorgeously plump and briney.

Although I'm not a huge fan of gazpacho, this traditional tomato gazpacho was a welcome relief with yesterday's high temperatures.

And the gazpacho went well with the light Allagash White, which is one of my favorite beers from Maine.

We were then onto the salads, which included a traditional Caesar and a mixed field greens salad featuring asparagus (from Michael Ehlenfeldt's own garden in New Hampshire) and some delightful radishes.  But my favorite was by far the arugula and portobello salad topped with thin slices of a locally-sourced Parmesan-like cheese.  I especially enjoyed the salad while sipping on Nantucket's Cisco Brewers' Whale's Tale Pale Ale.  I visited Cisco Brewery a few summers back and I am always thrilled when a local restaurant or bar carries their beer.

But of course, the main attraction were the pizzas and we tried almost all of them with our family-style dining!  Some of my dining companions loved the Bean (garlic oil, white bean spread, fresh mozzarella, sauteed red onion topped with a spinach salad) and the Farm Fresh (garlic oil, roasted cherry tomatoes, charred peppers, Yukon gold potatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, mozzarella topped with prosciutto).

But I was distracted by the Prosciutto Pineapple pizza which made up half a pie with the BBQ Chicken.

And I could NOT stop raving about the pesto pizza that had huge dollops of pesto and ricotta cheese.  This was by far my most favorite slice of the night!

The pizzas were all served on thin whole wheat crusts and went down smoothly went some additional fabulous local beers that I have never tried before.  First up was Pretty Things' Jack D'Or, which had a gorgeous label.

And our last beer was the dessert-like Allagah Curieux, which is barrel-aged with a hint of bourbon flavor in it.

As if the evening wasn't fabulous enough, Michael Ehlenfeldt provided us with our own basil plants to take home.  I couldn't think of a more perfect way to send the message that Stone Hearth Pizza Co. is about staying local and sustainable.  I think we were all in agreement that this was the best swag party favor ever.

Thanks Citysearch Boston for a fabulous evening and for introducing me to Stone Hearth Pizza Co..  I couldn't fall in love more with Stone Hearth Pizza for it's message and mission, while never compromising in taste or flavor.  Although there are no locations in my neighborhood, I know that this won't deter me from becoming a repeat customer for years to come.

Stone Hearth Pizza has three locations in the Boston area, including Belmont, Needham and Cambridge.  The Cambridge location is at 1782 Massachusetts Avenue, located a short walk from Porter Square T Station.