BostonZest

Greeting April with a Big Sip of Bugey Bubbles!

We’re saying Hello to April with an outstanding sparkler– Montagnieu Brut from the Bugey!

Repeat after me, BOO-zhee. I enjoy saying Bugey almost as much as drinking this outstanding sparkler.

In a year where each week seems to hold a special weather surprise, this Montagnieu Brut from the small French region of Bugey seems a perfect wine to celebrate our sparkling resolution as we leap into the unknown of a new month.



While this is not Champagne, we think it’s very Champagne-like. Without the label in plain view, it could have easily fooled us.

This sparkler has a big, important Champagne character to it. Penny insisted, “It became better with every sip– bigger, fuller, like an aged white wine.” It reminded us both of the way Krug gets better sip-by-sip. Try drinking this Bugey through the range of temperatures by enjoying each glass without topping it up.

It’s a white sparkling wine that’s nice and dry with the roundness of a pinot. As constant students of wine, we now know we really like the blend of Altesse (also known as Roussette) and Mondeuse Noir grapes.

Simply put, Bugey “Montagnieu Brut” was a pleasant surprise and has prepped us for the next 30 days. Bring it on, April.

For more about the wines we’ve been enjoying (including a Bugey Cerdon) check out
Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Bugey “Montagnieu Brut” $25 at The Wine Bottega, in Boston’s North End

Here’s more about Bugey “Montagnieu Brut” from Louis Dressner Selections

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here's, The Food Lover's Guide to Wine the latest addition to our wine reference list. We heard a great interview and review of this book over on Taste of the Past.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

New Food Truck Schedule: Food Truck Tracking April 2012 Update

Our Friday link is to the new schedule and new locations for food trucks approved by the City of Boston and set to begin on April 1, 2012. On Sunday, it won't be an April fools joke if you can't find your favorite food truck in its usual place. Here are links to the city's information, including a schedule and map of approved locations.

And, don't forget the food truck sites in our neighboring cities like Cambridge and Brookline. 

The folks at Roaming Hunger aggregate the tweets from Boston area food trucks so you can see who is out and about and what they're tweeting.

If you know of other maps and schedule locators, let us know and we'll add them to this collection.

And, remember, if you're going out of your way to find a certain truck, you should check their twitter feed, facebook, and web pages. These guys are always dancing, trying to make a living, so they may have a catering gig or they may have run out of food. Lots of them give out phone numbers so you can call ahead to check on their status.

What are your favorite food trucks, and where do you find them?

If you know of other maps and schedule locators, let us know and we'll add them to this collection.

How do you find great food when you travel? We highly recommend the book from our pals over at Serious Eats. Here are some references for great Road Food.

 

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

Parking Your Car for Boston Marathon Weekend 2012

UPDATE: Parking Your Car for Boston Marathon Weekend 2015

Now's the time to plan where you'll park for Marathon weekend, so you don't end up on the hook. And, be warned, the city does tow every car left in the way of the racers.


 
If you normally park on the streets along the route of the weekend's races, you may want to begin looking for spaces off-the-route. If you can do without your car for a few days, consider stashing it in a safe spot before everyone else has the same idea. And, remember the bike lanes on Massachusetts Avenue have eliminated more than 70 spaces so finding on-street parking will be harder than ever.

Here's a Google map that locates public parking facilities using the Boston Marathon Finish Line as the central point. 

And, if you'll need your car on Monday, you should make sure it's on the side of the Marathon route where you can reach it and get to your planned destination.

Here are some transportation restrictions & parking tips for Boston Marathon volunteers from the B.A.A. Site.

Sunday, April 15, 2012 - The B.A.A. 5K 

Again this year, there's a major race on Sunday in addition to Monday's marathon.

Thousands of runners are expected to compete in a 5K (3.1 mile) race one day prior to 116th Boston Marathon. This race will start at 8 AM and cover a route through parts of the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, ending at the traditional Boston Marathon finish line.

Here's a link to the 5K course map on the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) site.

Plus, there are the Invitational Mile races that will also be held on Sunday, April 15, 2012. For details, including streets affected by this event, go to Invitational Mile 2012.

Street Closures and Parking Restrictions for Marathon Monday, April 16, 2012

Parking restrictions for the Marathon often begin on Boylston Street five or six-days before the event. From this point, until the last runners are safely across the finish line, you'll see more and more "No Parking/No Stopping" signs pop-up along the marathon route and some adjacent streets.

Remember, many streets in the Copley Square area will be impacted by the marathon. The best advice is to park your vehicle and walk and/or take public transportation.

For more information on road closures, here's the City of Boston's:

2012 Boston Marathon and Patriot’s Day Traffic Advisory

The City says:  "Patriot’s Day Holiday – Monday April 16, 2012 ... Street Cleaning: No MONDAY cleaning (resumes 12:01AM Tuesday on posted arterials)"

 

Related Posts & Helpful Links:

 

What's Open in Boston on Patriots' Day 2012 (Marathon Monday)

 

Parking and No-Tow alerts

 

Tracking a Boston Marathon Runner 2012

 

Routes for Visiting Runners 2012 

 

Views from Hereford Street 2009

 

How to Get to the Esplanade from Boston 

 

 

Details:

Words: Ed Cherubino

Photos: © 2008 Penny Cherubino

Cuvée L'Astrée Rosé de Loire at Island Creek Oyster Bar

Last week, at Island Creek Oyster Bar, we enjoyed a great rosé wine by the glass. Frankly, we didn’t think we liked Cabernet Franc. Then, the 2010 Chateau Soucherie Cuvee L’Astrée Rosé de Loire opened our eyes, our noses, our palates.

This wine, a selection of Neal Rosenthal, one of our favorite importers, was a great partner for our oysters, lobster roe noodles with Brussels sprout leaves, braised short ribs, grilled lobster, trumpet mushrooms and pecorino. And, Virginia Striped Bass with pearl pasta, shiitake mushrooms, sweet and sour peppers, spring onion cream, and grilled ramps. 

This pretty, pink glass of luscious had the backbone to face this line up of flavors and stand up to all of them. It's going be added to our next wine order. We have a feeling it will be one of our roof deck wines of the year. 

What's on your shopping list for serving wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

The Cupcakory - Food Truck Tracking

Visiting The Cupcakory is like sitting down at a friend's kitchen table, if your friend happens to be a fabulous baker. Making desserts with well-balanced flavors (sweet, but not too sweet) is an art that this baker has mastered. Here's a profile of one of the area's original food trucks.

What's your favorite cupcake flavor? 

This one is Nutella– chocolate cake with Nutella buttercream

Name: The Cupcakory, a mobile cupcake truck.

Truck Description: Her name is Tillie, short for Utilimaster. She was a catering truck that was put out to pasture until Diane and Mick rescued her and got her back in the food business. She's a simple, unassuming girl with a white paint job and gentle green lettering. 

Don't you love a cupcake baked by the person who hands it to you?  

Chef & Team: Founder and head baker Diane turned a recession job loss into an opportunity to follow her heart and passion as a baker. Now, she puts smiles on a lot of faces. Her husband Mick is, "assistant baker, dishwasher, driver, mechanic, handy man, you name it, he does it." 

What’s on the Menu: Cupcakes are $3 each or $16.50 for half a dozen– a great excuse to gather some pals and head for the truck. "We try to have 5 to 6 rotating flavors each day, we also include a seasonal flavor and will test something new every so often, so please check Twitter or Facebook for the day’s menu."

Drinks: BYOM, Bring your own milk, or coffee, or tea... Just cupcakes onboard, unless it's hot, and then Diane will bring some bottled spring water to keep her customers cool.

Known for/must try/signature dish: Salted Caramel, "chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream on top."

They say: "We love cupcakes and are passionate about what goes into them, so we’ve taken extra care in testing and picking out the best ingredients. For us, quality and taste comes first."

Nice Touch: Diane says they offer, "both vegan and gluten-free options upon request for pick-up on the truck, please request at least 48 hours in advance." 

Philosophy/Mission: "Most of our ingredients are locally sourced and organic where possible. When fruit and berries come into season we will opt for local and organic, but if organic is not available we will use local for the quality of flavor and for our continued commitment to supporting local farms and sustainability practices."

We love this little showcase window where you can see exactly what cupcakes haven't been gobbled up by the Cupcakory regulars. 

Regulars say: Brandon Rigolini called them, "Best cupcakes in Boston." 

Talking about a Guinness Chocolate cake topped with Madagascar vanilla buttercream, Erika Bee said, "That one was my breakfast this morning ..."

Asking Diane to hold a cupcake on facebook, Raquel L. Auriemma said, "I need a salted caramel, but can't be there until about 1:30."

Order and Pick up routine: There is one window with Diane's smiling face ready to put something wonderful in your hand.

Payment: Cash or credit cards

Website: www.cupcakory.com

Twitter: @cupcakory

Facebook: Cupcakory

Check The Cupcakory site for this week's schedule.

The Cupcakory's new schedule beginnng April 1, 2012 

• Tuesday, Financial District at Milk & Kilby Streets (11:30 am - 3:00 pm)
• Wednesday, Back Bay at Stuart Street (11:30 am - 3:00 pm); Clarendon St. (3:15 pm - 7ish)
• Thursday, Financial District at Milk & Kilby Streets (3:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
• Friday, Copley at Clarendon Street (11:30 am - 3:00 pm); Financial District at Milk & Kilby Streets (3:15 pm - 7:00 pm)
• Sunday, SoWa Market in the food truck lot

For more of our Food Truck/Street Food coverage: click here. Or, anytime you visit BostonZest, you can click on the Food Truck/Street Food tab at the top of the page.

Link: Boston Food Truck Location Map 

What's on your party shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

Meet the Hellebores, Winter Blooming Perennials

We were noticing more and more of these blooms in Back Bay gardens. A friend with plant expertise told us they are Hellebores and are also called Lenten Roses and Christmas Roses because they bloom in winter.

We are grateful for any plant that brings the thought of spring our way in the darker months. So think about adding a few of these as you plan additions to your garden. This year, they've had lots of company with some pansy, crocus, and snowdrops springing up early. But, in colder years these will bring smiles to the faces of winter weary neighbors.

But, since we were just formally introduced to the Hellebores, we'll let them star alone today as our photograhy models. Above is a carpet of them that we found on February 5th.

What's on your gardening shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

Mr. Beagle Taking His Friend for a Walk

 

We were waiting to go for a stroll with our Greyhound friend Greer when we spotted this busy Beagle boy taking a favorite toy for a walk.

He didn't have time to stop and chat, so we didn't even get his name. As you can see, he was really busy showing this cuddly critter a bit of the outside world. His walker told us she didn't know which toy it was– he had grabbed it on the way out the door. 

Have fun, Mr Beagle. Hope your little pal made it all the way back to the toy box.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

What's on your dog toy shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here, to support this site!

 

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.