Saturday, December 31, 2016

EAT UP NEW ENGLAND'S BEST OF 2016!

JOE Saturday, December 31, 2016
It's New Year's Eve, so there's no better time to look back at Eat Up New England's favorite foods of 2016. These are all dishes that I tried for the first time in 2016. Thank you all for reading my blog. I look forward to bringing you even more of New England's best foods, drinks and restaurants in 2017! - Joe
BEST APPETIZER: Poutine at Whetstone Station in Brattleboro, VT
BEST OPENING: Eataly Boston
BEST STEAK: Hanger Steak at Red Bird in Waltham, MA
BEST FOOD TRUCK MEAL: Waffle cone filled with chicken at Chick'nCone in NYC
BEST SANDWICH: Ham, cheddar, apples and honey mustard at Zoey's Deli in Manchester, VT
BEST PASTA: Pasta with truffles at Treva in West Hartford, CT
BEST HOT DOG: Doogie's in Newington, CT
BEST PIZZA: Potato & bacon pizza at Jack's Abby in Framingham, MA
 BEST BAGEL: SPoT! in Norwood, MA
BEST SALAD: Chopped salad at Branch Line in Watertown, MA


, ,

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

STEP INSIDE THE LIFE-SIZED GINGERBREAD HOUSE AT MOHEGAN SUN

JOE Tuesday, December 20, 2016
A Christmas tradition continues at Mohegan Sun. The casino's life-sized gingerbread house is back up for the holiday season. Mohegan Sun's pastry chefs put this together with the help of some elementary school kids. All of them sign their names on the bricks. It's made out of 3,000 gingerbread bricks, 4,000 gingerbread shingles and 2,500 pounds of icing. Step inside and you'll see a Christmas tree with gingerbread ornaments and a coxy faux fireplace. ,

Saturday, December 17, 2016

EAT UP IN NYC: SCHNIPPERS

JOE Saturday, December 17, 2016
Walking around New York City at Christmastime can make you hungry. At the end of a busy day, we wound up at Schnippers for a hearty meal. Schnippers has several locations in the city, but this one it's impossible to miss. It's on the ground level of the New York Times headquarters.

Schnippers reminds me on a modern take on a 50's diner. They have burgers, mac and cheese, salads, tons of sandwiches and milkshakes. For Christmas, they are offering a candy cane milkshake. It's chuck full of candy cane pieces and topped with red, green and white sprinkles and whipped cream. For dinner, I LOVED their Classic Burger, topped with cheese, applewood bacon, caramelized onions, arugula and Schnipper sauce. 

 www.schnippers.com , , ,

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

EAT UP IN NYC: SINFONIA DI PASTE AT BECCO

JOE Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Eat Up New England is just back from its annual Christmas trip to New York City. It wouldn't be a trip to NYC without a stop to EUNE Favorite Becco. As always, I ordered their Sinfonia di Paste. Everyday, they offer three of their homemade pastas and they'll keep filling your plate until you're full! This time, there was penne with shrimp, spaghetti with shrimp and cocoa ravioli filled with pumpkin.

, ,

Wednesday, December 07, 2016

VERMONT BEER TOUR: SWITCHBACK ALE

JOE Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Ask any Vermonter and they'll tell you that BEER is one of their finest exports. There are countless breweries in the Green Mountain State and recently Eat Up New England checked out a few of them.

Let's start off at Switchback Ale in Burlington. Its Tap Room features a rotating selection of Switchback beers. I enjoyed this flight of four for only $5. You can't beat that price!  Once you sit down at their bar, you can choose beers from their tasting menu. When EUNE was there, Switchback was sampling Switchback Ale, Marzen Fest Bier, Bohemi, Extra Pale Ale, Connector Ipa and Berliner Weisse. The Connector IPA was my favorite sample because it has a tropical citrus taste to it.

Brewery tours are on Saturdays and there is plenty of Switchback swag for sale in their store to the left of the bar.

Check out switchbackvt.com for The Tap Room's current list of beers. ,

Friday, December 02, 2016

TASTY & HEALTHY SLICES AT HILLSIDE ORGANIC PIZZA COMPANY

JOE Friday, December 02, 2016
The mission of Hillside Organic Pizza in Bernardston, Massachusetts is to make food using healthy, local ingredients. Everything is handmade with natural and organic ingredients.

Hillside's menu features pizzas, salads and wraps. I enjoyed two massive slices, one with olives and mushrooms, the other with BBQ chicken. They were so tasty and filling. It felt good to eat local and natural food. 

Hot wraps on the menu include the DJ Turkey with turkey, spinach, melted cheese, honey dijon and onion. There's the Ba-Da-Bing BBQ chicken, spinach, melted cheese and tomato. For salads, there's a traditional garden, a chicken curry, tuna and Feelin' feta, a Greek-inspired salad with feta and kalamata olives.

Hillside Organic Pizza has two other locations in Hadley and South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Their pizza are also sold frozen at many grocery stores in western Mass. They also pride themselves on helping the community by hosting fundraisers. As of this posting, Hillside has helped raise nearly $400,000!

hillsidepizza.com ,

EATALY BOSTON IS NOW OPEN!

JOE Friday, December 02, 2016
The sparkling new Eataly has finally opened in Boston's Prudential Center. Doors opened to the public at 4pm yesterday. As you can see, the lines were long. I waited for about a half hour before I squeezed inside. Of course, it was well worth the wait. Step inside now with eat Up New England for a look at what Boston and beyond are buzzing about!
Once inside, I ate waaaay too much, but enjoyed every bit of their authentic Italian food. Eataly bakes all of their bread everyday. You can sample it in their bread section. They also make plenty of pizza and focaccia. This is a slice of fall-inspired apple focaccia that I enjoyed.
For dinner, I loved this calabrese sandwich with salami, cheese and amazingly fresh bread. I washed it all down with a Peroni, which, of course, Eataly has plenty of on tap.
Eataly has a cannoli cart where the desserts are made right before your eyes! This is their "classic" cannoli with candied orange.
Celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Lidia and Joe Bastianich are partners with Eataly's owner Oscar Farinetti. Their pastas, sauces, books and other products are for sale at Eataly.
Customers can watch Eataly's crew make fresh pastas. Bring some home or choose from one of their many boxed pastas.
Have you ever seen so much cheese? They have every kind imaginable and they'll cut it fresh.
More cheese! Eataly also has a butcher, fish monger, a salad bar, gelateria, olive oil & vinegar sectrion, pastry shop and cafe. Their hot chocolate is incredible. It's so chocolatey and topped with the most delicious whipped cream. I also love their tiramisu.
Fresh herbs and vegetables. They also have a wide selection of fruit.
Eataly's outdoor entrance off of Boylston Street. Inside, Eataly has several sit down restaurants, including Il Pesce. Their seafood-inspired menu is the work of famed local restaurateur Barbara Lynch. There's also a wine bar which was packed on opening night.
The indoor entrance to Eataly. It's where the old Pru food court used to be. They've signed a 15 years lease for this space.
The best part of the grand opening was meeting chef, TV host, author and restaurant owner Lidia Bastianich. My wife and I bumped into her. My wife said, "Lidia is that you? I didn't expect to see you here!" She said, "I'm working." She took the time to talk with us on a very busy opening night and posed for several pictures with us. It's something we'll never forget. , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )