A Successful Launch for Boston Food Bloggers.com!

Boston Food Bloggers.com is an ever expanding resource for food and drink bloggers in and around Boston, Massachusetts started by the dedicated and passionate Rachel Blumenthal who also blogs over at Fork it over, Boston. Rachel had a vision of an online resource center, a one-stop-shop if you will, where members of this vast local community could visit to seek out new blogs, expand their google readers, and in general discover like minded food and drink obsessed. The site is a compilation of over 260 blogs and counting related to cooking, baking, dining out, beer and wine, local and sustainable eating and more. The blog itself features event recaps, guests posts, giveaways and happenings. Rachel teamed up with Christine Liu of Urbanspoon as well as Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project and SoCo Creamery to host an exclusive launch party on Monday January 17th at The Gallows. The Gallows opened in June of 2010 at 1395 Washington Street in Boston's South End. One of the neighborhoods newest hangouts priding themselves on simple and straightforward yet exciting and fresh top-notch fare and cocktails, the opening was met with stellar reviews. I arrived with friends just moments after 6pm to a line out the door and an already bustling scene. In the vestibule we were greeted by hanging bats and a wall mounted dinosaur head and once inside by Rachel and her boyfriend Joel with Swag bags and smiles. As over 150 bloggers poured in I felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment for Rachel. Throughout the night I sipped on Pretty Things Jack D'Or, munched on Poutine, sampled SoCo Creamery ice cream and took in the scene and decor while mingling and catching up with local bloggers. Bowls of Bacon Caramel Chex Mix (popcorn and pretzels popped in bacon fat and covered in a bacon cream and sugar caramel) were an addiction waiting to happen. I'm pretty sure The Gallows have invented the ultimate party snack.

SoCo Creamery representatives set up shop in the back scooping ice cream flavors of ginger, espresso cookie, vanilla and dirty chocolate.

Friendly waitresses served Pretty Things Jack D'Or beers.

Innovative serving platters presented guests with Poutine in cone shaped paper cups.

Poutine = hand cut fries topped with house made gravy & cheese curd. Jacki and Meesh of Just Add Cheese & Lizzy of Food to Run For. The Crowd. I was quite fond of the table decor which consisted of large vases filled with bright vegetables such as hot peppers, carrots and leeks.

Kirsten of Cake, Batter & Bowl, Shannon of Tri to Cook & Jen of Beantown Baker. What?! The Poutine deserved another close up. The bar scene. I also enjoyed a Tar & Feather made with vodka, cherry heering, ginger and black tea.
Alicia of The Clean Plate Club, Meghan of Travel Wine Dine, Megan of Delicious Dishings, Justin of Justin Can Cook & his wife, Leah. Thought provoking wall decor.Above: Meesh & I show off the BFB gear we won. I desperately needed an apron and who doesn't love a coffee mug?! Below: The awesome Swag bag whose contents and deals go on for days. Congratulations Rachel and in addition a huge thank you to Christine, Urbanspoon and The Gallows for organizing, sponsoring and hosting respectively, a hugely successful launch party!

Signpost Launch Party

Where can you uncover what night the MFA or ICA has free admission, when & where to score $1.99 tacos, learn details on Joanne Chang's upcoming Flour book signing and get informed on the city's latest holiday shopping deals, all in one place?! A one stop shop for all the going ons at any given time, Signpost is an online community that uncovers local deals and popular happenings in your city. Tuesday night the launch party of Signpost Boston was held at the rustic and cozy Green Briar Irish Pub in Brighton Center. Guests were treated to complimentary Magners Cider, tasty appetizers and Mix Bakery Cupcakes. I arrived with Lizzy around 7:15 and we were greeted by the always smiling and friendly Elizabeth, who is Signpost Boston's Community Manager and writes the blog Free Food Boston. Lizzy and I headed for the bar where we ended up chatting with the super nice Magners rep before seeking out the appetizer table.I munched on battered chicken tenders, meatballs in marinara sauce with shaved parmesan cheese,

mashed potato balls, (these were my favorite)
and buffalo chicken tenders. Also consumed were unpictured spanakopita and pigs-in-a-blanket. Throughout the night it was great to mingle with the likes of Miss Yunks, Katie, Jen, Christine, Rachel and Michelle PC. I was also delighted to put familiar names and faces to real people, meeting for the first time Fiona from a Boston Food Diary, Shannon from Image Unlimited Communications, as well as Meesh Z and Jacki Mo the lovely ladies behind Just Add Cheese.

Hot appetizers weren't the only thing I munched on all night. I made sure to get my fill of Mix Bakery Cupcakes.

The mini size made it easy to consume one of each. Vanilla with buttercream frosting, Chocolate also with buttercream frosting,
And my favorite - the pumpkin with cream cheese frosting.

I consumed Magners and mingled with blog friends until about 9pm. SWAG is always appreciated, especially when it involves one of my favorite beverages!Thanks to the Signpost Community for hosting a fabulous launch party. Here's to uncovering the best deals in Boston!

Red White Boston Launch Party

Red White Boston is a new app avalible for the iPhone (it's free!) that allows users to identify a participating wine store closest to them and suggests wines avalible for purchase as recomended from the store owner. The app is based on the premise of such a scenario "You're on you're way to a party, you're in a new neighborhood, or maybe you're just on your way home, but either way, you need to pick up a bottle of wine. Where is the closest wine store? And how can you choose from their vast selection of wine bottles?" Cathy Huyghe, the apps creator held a launch party this past Tuesday evening at Sonsie to share the inner workings of Red White Boston and brainstorm ideas and answer questions regarding how we as wine lovers in Boston can personalize the application and get the most use out of it in our everyday lives. Sonsie's infamous presence on Newbury Street boasts large french doors exposing a sidewalk cafe with a European flair.

However, the guests were lead downstairs to the wine room revealing an open tile floor plan with modern furniture including deep brown leather booth and chairs, set amongst an old world backdrop of brick archways and intricate wall detailing. I've enjoyed a dinner upstairs at Sonsie, as well a drink or two at the bar, but had yet to experience what the intruiging wine cellar had to offer. I sipped on a Spanish Rioja as I participated in a wine questionnaire in the form of Mad Libs.
The red was minerally with notes of plum and blackberry. I enjoyed the light bodied flavors and drank two glasses of this. Guests were treated to an extensive cheese spread with hand cut chips. As well as Sonsie's signature Brick Oven Pizzas. Mushroom, caramelized onion, mozzarella, brie cheese.Mozzarella, fresh tomato, basil pesto, pecorino.Goat Cheese, sweet roasted pepper, calamata olives, flat parsley.

The pizzas were equally tasty with a light crispy crust, but I'd have to say my favorite was the first one pictured. I've never experienced brie cheese on pizza, and the thick melty slices were a welcome pairing with the mushrooms and carmelized onions.

Meghan, Alicia, Megan, Katherine and I had fun brainstorming wine stores in our respective neighborhoods and offered plenty of advice, ideas and feedback to Cathy as she explained to us what this brilliant app can already do! A list of participating Boston wine stores (ever growing) can be found here. If you don't have an iPhone, you can navigate the web version on a Blackberry or Andriod or any smartphone that has a web browser.

Happy Wine Shopping!