Jeanne O'Brien Coffey
I'm a journalist and editor.
A versatile writer at home in the world, but with deep New England roots, I can cover anything from Hong Kong's gin cocktail craze to classic clam chowders with flair.
PROJECTS
Wine & Spirits
Common Vines
Tucked into an office tower in Boston’s Financial District, Common Vines packs a lot into less than 900 square feet. A marble counter, used for daily tastings, dominates the space, backed by a couch and a children’s nook. Floor-to-ceiling racks line the walls, with 450 selections especially strong in smart finds in the $15-to-$25 range, like Gen del Alma’s Ji Ji Ji, a blend of pinot and malbec from Mendoza, at $17. There are also plenty of off-the-beaten-track finds like Kiralyudvar’s dry fur...
Wine Searcher
Uncle Sam Doesn't Care About Your Oscar
Director Steven Soderbergh faces down the regulatory gauntlet to sell his new spirit, Jeanne O'Brien Coffey reports.
Boston magazine
Bright and Early: Everything You Need to Know About Preschool around Boston
Kingsley. Apple Orchard. Cambridge-Ellis. Ask around this brainy town, and parents will swear a happy life begins with the right preschool. But how early should the rat race really start? Clue: It’s younger than you think.
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...