Jeanne O'Brien Coffey

upserve.com

The Realities of Service Included in Restaurants

Service included is a hard road for pioneers, but as restaurateurs struggle with the best way to deal with rising labor costs and fair compensation for the back of the house, everyone is eventually going go this route or disappear, says Amanda Cohen, owner and chef at Manhattan’s Dirt Candy.

Forbes

Steven Soderbergh Wants You To Demand His Obscure Bolivian Spirit

Check out the filmmaker's other iPhone movie, this one aimed at proving singani is not brandy, and deserves a place alongside tequila and pisco.

Boston magazine

The Plot to Destroy Your Favorite Seltzer

Business
Spindrift founder Bill Creelman wants to upend the seltzer industry and do for carbonated water what Sam Adams did for beer. And he’s starting by asking what the competition is really made of. —By Jeanne O’Brien Coffey
On a brisk day just after the new year, Bill Creelman, founder and CEO of Spindrift, sets a shiny, unlabeled aluminum can on his desk at the seltzer company’s new headquarters in Newton. The unassuming gesture is ripe with anticipation: Inside is Spindrift’s newest fla...

Forbes

The Best Restaurant You've Never Heard Of Turns Up On Chopped

Evan Hennessey, whose favorite kitchen tool as chef/owner of Stages at One Washington is probably tweezers, is the first chef from New Hampshire on Food TV's Chopped -- and he was tasked with to impressing judges by cooking with leftover lo mein. How will that go?

elliman.com

Celebrity Chefs Talk Trends

Over the past decade, the annual Cayman Cookout, a luxe food festival curated by Eric Ripart of Le Bernardin in New York, has quickly made Cayman the culinary capital of the Caribbean. It has become a magnet for Michelin-starred chefs and an intimate setting for food lovers to see Ripert smooch a sting ray or Daniel Boulud’s young son playing in the sand in the front row of “Papa’s” cooking demo. Elliman magazine caught up with a few chefs and celebs to dish trends.

upserve.com

‘Our Industry Sets the Standard’: How Restaurants Changes Can Help End Sexual Harassment

After nearly two decades of advocacy for restaurant workers, Saru Jayaraman is finally getting a moment in the spotlight – literally. The president and founder of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a national organization representing more than 25,000 people who work in the industry, walked the red carpet with actor/comedian Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes in January, and had multiple-Oscar nominee Michelle Williams join a February ROC United press conference marking 2.13 day, the orga...

Wine & Spirits

Restaurant Review: Pagu

The lobster roll at Pagu takes a sharp turn from the New England classic, its fresh-picked lobster meat flavored with Asian pear and soy aioli, on a squid-ink-black roll leavened by sake lees. For her tapas-style menu, chef Tracy Chang pulls on memories of her grandmother’s Japanese restaurant as well as lessons learned during stints at Boston sushi giant O-Ya and Martín Berasategui in San Sebastián, the result a delightful collision of cultures and flavors. Larry Rubin’s drink list keeps pac...

Forbes

Dare To Serve A Foie Gras-Washed Cocktail And Other Luxe Options For Your Oscar Party

Foie-Gras washed bourbon, bitters or bubbles: pick your poison. The geniuses at Blyth & Burrows cocktail lounge in Portland want you get infusing right now to serve the most luxe drinks ever at your Oscar party.

nshoremag.com

Fresh Tuna Dishes in Gloucester

It’s a short trip from the dock to the table at Tonno.

rodalesorganiclife.com

5 Surprising Things You Never Knew About Those Peppercorns On Your Table

Supplying the world with black pepper—especially organic—is surprisingly involved, considering how pervasive the spice is. The tiny berries are picked by hand at thousands of small farms then dried in the sun before traveling halfway round the world to U.S. tables.
Nonetheless, there are few spices as common—black pepper is on just about every counter and in every cupboard. And after learning a few things about these tiny taste bombs, you may never take another grind for granted.
Below, five ...

Forbes

Chase The Eclipse In A Private Jet

While the hoi-polloi scrambles around like ants on the ground to experience just a few minutes of totality, VistaJet has a better idea. Why not start in Oregon and follow the moon as it blocks the sun from coast-to-coast.
Because it's a private jet, the entire experience is bespoke, of course. Get picked up from anywhere on the planet and request meal service from a top restaurant in any city across the globe. Follow totality from Oregon to South Carolina or select just part of the country. P...

Forbes

Jim Koch Of Sam Adams Explores The Lunatic Fringe Of Beer

It’s hard to imagine how a beverage that clocks in at 28 percent alcohol still qualifies as beer, but craft beer pioneer Jim Koch, founder of Sam Adams, keeps pushing the boundaries. The fifth release of Utopias, his biennial display of the ways one can twist hops, yeast, malted barley and water, debuted a few days ago, and it is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. Whiffs of coffee and toffee, a sexy, almost viscous mouthfeel, with hints of molasses, somewhat reminiscent of a Pedro Ximenez sher...

nshoremag.com

Charleston, South Carolina

Riding a bike on the beach is exhilarating—with the ocean glistening off to one side, the breeze gently pushes you forward across a broad strand of sand. Zigzag to avoid tide pools or splash through them as you see fit.

Cycling in the sand is something few New Englanders would attempt. On Plum Island or at Good Harbor Beach, even the fattest tires would be mired before a pedal or two. Not so on th...

nshoremag.com

Plates to Share in Salem

Tiny tastes are big business at Bambolina.
Beet and Burrata, a small plate at Bambolina in Salem, is an exciting play of textures and flavors. Chunks of sweet, earthy beets nestle alongside creamy, rich mozzarella, topped with crisp watercress, while slivers of pickled celery root add a tart component and pistachios contribute a salty crunch.
The generous vegetable dish, beautifully presented on a wooden slab, is perfect for sharing—although the light, creamy beet puree dressing will have din...

nshoremag.com

Secret Dining in Newburyport

The beverage pairing was just a few characters printed in Japanese, leading guests at 14 Seats, The Poynt’s secret supper club, to speculate that it would be sake. But server Hana Philcrantz was coy, saying, “You will never guess what is going to happen next.”
Truer words were never spoken, as Sean O’Connor, director of bars and beverage for Wolfe Management (parent company of The Poynt) sailed...