opinionatedchef

I think it's the 'young folk' and the new converts- who go for the trendy rock 'n roll sushi. The (usually older)sushi traditionalists have more sophisticated palates in general (gee, I won't get any hate mail from this post, right?)and appreciate the sushi for its simple clean unadorned quality. I don't go for any of the flavor-masking spicy mayo sauces myself, but I do like an occasional deep fried-type soft shell crab maki. Mea culpa, Mea culpa, Mea maxima culpa. thanks much for your report.

thanks for the update. the globe had a recent article about a pig cookoff and mentioned that jamie m....... from eastern standard- is the chef at toro now. His previous work has left me both impressed and shocked/disappointed so your experience at toro has me hopeful on his evolution. Owner , Chef Ken Oringer, does not strike me as someone who would suffer fools gladly.

campagna on main st in waltham- headed into watertown- is the best food i think you'll find in that area. far better then capriccio. lovely, northern italian,some very unusual offerings (in sefood esp.);once some amazing oneof a kind housemade breads, etc. it is very expensive; you can check their website (though their posted menu is not up to date we found out last time.) they do fill up quickly so reservations a must. we were pretty happy at tapeo a few months ago- moody st.-- spanish w/ tapas incl. Handsome interior. a bit of trouble w/ service and wrong order w/ unhelpful management...... the new 51 lincoln in newtonville is a great bet too. very talented chef, w/ some fusion and fun influences. handsome room; exc. service; everyth we ordered was super.

very talented and generous chef. tiny place; wicked tiny kitchen.

CIA placement office should be able to help him greatly. suggestions: whether it's boston or nyc,get names of area chefs who are both cia grads and exec chef/owners or owners. research the restaurants- look at their websites to get a feel for the place and the chef. Call the chef around 3pm, explain you're a double cia grad, brand new to the city, a hard worker and looking for work. if they have no jobs but are friendly, ask if you can come in and talk with them for 15 minutes only- just for informational advice. at that meeting,get names of other chefs from them. if no luck lining up meetings, find out what good restnts have open kitchens,go into the restnt in late aftnoon- 4 maybe, before front of house arrives, and approach a souschef or line cook or whomever- to ask if they've heard of anyone looking for help. include the boston AREA (including suburbs like newton, brookline, needham) in your search and maybe, if it appeals, look in other new eng small cities that have good restaurants and might not have a lot of cia grads approaching them for work ie: portland me., portsmouth n.h., burlington vt., hartford and new haven ct., providence r.i.- all of which are charming cities that have a burgeoning fine dining scene. and sometimes it's easier and a faster learning curve, if one is a big fish in a little pond. I.e. a small restnt in portland me. would likely have your son working on a very small team, so he'd learn a lot very quickly from the head chef; alot faster education and career climb than those gained from working in a large kitchen w large staff. bostonchefs.com has a joblisting that's updated. gayot.com is great resource for restnt reviews to lead one to names of places to research. also gourmet mag's 'top restaurants in u.s., by city' yearly issue. also opentable.com which can link you to gayot reviews and has a search box so you can enter a city name and find out what good restnts are there.while opentable is a reservation service, most fine restaurants work through them for online reservations, so you can find them through that route.

BTW, i don't know if it's available online but today's Sunday Boston Globe magazine features 'the best of the new ' with a lot of info on new food stores, vendors, restaurants etc. it's very well done.

there is no one market. whole foods is the closest you are going to come to that one stop shopping at this point. the flagship WF is in Fresh Pond, Camb. I think it gets the most traffic of all their boston stores and therefore has more varieties of seafood etc. local produce is found at the nomadic farmer's markets (web schedules available in season)and some farm stands. verrill farms is a noted stand- in west concord, 45 min NW of center boston. many restaurants join together and subscribe to a particular organic farmer for the season; places like EVOO, Tremont 647,, Oleana. and many more. many noted seafood vendors and butchers in the jewish enclaves of brookline and newton. expensive boutiquey versions of same in the South End. quincy market is the historic outdoors market held every wkend: produce vendor carts outside; cheese, meat and seafood vendors in their shops- all located in the area called quincy market- between the solid Italian North End- and the back of City Hall, in downtown boston. Long ago, I shopped there as a student . keep in mind that chowhound.com is a MUCH livelier, more active board for all things food in the new england area. there is a movement/organization working to create a yearround market here, but that has not happened yet. best to you.

rather than spend all your meals in gloucester, you might want to try Beverly, where SOMA gets good reviews on Chowhound. Hope you get to go to Beauport, Henry Sleeper's handsome house (museum) on Gloucester's Rocky Point. and the Cape Ann Historical Society- great little art museum. Passport on Main St. has nice brunch and lunch.

we just returnd from maine but all the places i've read about are on the coast. there is a lot of posting about lobster rolls on chowhound.com. you might try searching their new england board.

stigand, we've been here visiting burlington these past 4 days. a number of restaurants do most of their sourcing locally- pork, beef, duck, in addition to produce and dairy (chevre and cheddar and butter) and fruit. The Green Room in Burl is super; as is The Kitchen Table near Burlington. and , of course, Penny Cluse for bkfst in Burl. Starry Night in Vergennes was a waste compared to these 3. Specialty retail food products other than maple syrup? hmmmm I can only think of Vermont Creamery Sea Salt Butter.

skeeter, that is a tough one in my opinion. what a wasteland that stretch is between hartford and portsmouth n.h. We travel that route often. i am not a fan of reim's deli off rt 84 between hartford and sturbridge. it's not that the food is bad; it just isn't particularly great. my strongest suggestion would be Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford. they have a web site. Exc innovative international food; comfy attractive modern room. Lg. number of small and larger plates and salads.The cheng mai(?) beef w/ coconut curry sauce over noodles- is my fav dish there.and they are literally 5 min off highway. Fastest route is 91 north to 84 WEST just 1 exit i think; then a few blocks south of that exit- down Trumbull St. Street pkg and pkg garage too.

I have never been impressed w/ Hammersley's or L'Espalier. number 9 park never wowed me either, but if you do go there, you'll be having italian so i would suggest an innovative place for your other dinner. craigie st is very good but room is boring blah and food is nowhere near as creative as clio. I do think Clio is the most innovative menu you're likely to find in boston; and portions are as small as the prices are high. asian influences will also be a nice counterpoint to your italian meal. i am a sushi purist as well so i am not into the modernist places you have mentioned. oishii (correct spelling; it means delicious in japanese; and it is NOT a chain here in boston.) is TOOOOO expensive and oh so modern. not my cup of sake ho ho ho. hope you enjoy yourself and tell us all about it.

johhny, what a terrifically helpful person you are to post this. we're headed up fropm boston this month and have alrdy used it to make reservations!! i wonder who is generating this website- a labor of love?? best, mindy

for a more intimate and very fun/lively atmospherethere's Tremont 647 in the South End. All wood fired grill bistro food w/ latin and asian influences. website has current menu. in Somerville, 5 min. from Harvard Square, are EVOO and Gargoyles on the Square. Both are intimate elegant bistros w/ attractive dining rooms and very friendly staff. Both have much more interesting menus than Eastern Standard. both websites have current menus. these 3 are our "Go-to" favorite restnts in Boston area.

egullet is great at many things but chowhound.com is the best source for up to date restaurant info. you will find lots about your vt. areas.

at what venu is the show? the orpheum? are taxis not an option? is the seafood show at the hynes or the world trade center or where?

go to chowhound.com and then the New England forum and you will find lots posted.

if you go to chowhound.com you will have access to TONS of retsnt reviews by members. just remember to use the 'search' box. i.e. type in 'concord' or'western suburbs'. for a quick answer, you are in kind of a black hole of sorts out there, unf'ly. towns that are east and south of you- like waltham and framingham, and cambridge, which is east of you- are going to give you the most options . in billerica, there is a CH szechuan favorite; in groton there is a recent new place in a barn that is upscale but i've not been. you live in one of THE most beautiful towns in new england but the rstnt scene is minimal out there; sorry.

enter New Bedford into the search box and more things will come up. we come down yearly for the new bedford summer folk festival and pickins are slim. However, we have had excellent Pork with Clams at well known portuguese restnt in nb- Antonio's. and Candlewick is good italian and has a patio, but i've never heard of anyth particularly excellent down there-though Persimmon in Bristol- is innovative and excellent.and expensive. somehow I heard about Yang's in N.B. but haven't tried it. sorry but maybe you'll enjoy discovering Providence, a really neat, and historic New England city with tons of cultural and culinary opportunities.

nice report. thank you.

see my just-posted report of today(Bar Harbor Area Dining Report). Also, if you are staying in SWHarbor, a wonderful wonderful place to relax, w/ option of ordering a terrific drink (or bring your own!) is the waterside dock at the Claremont Inn. The best view we found. so peaceful and exquisite. We went a number of times around dusk- before an 8pm dinner reservation elsewhere.

thanks for everyone's info. i actually make my moussaka with ROASTED eggplant slices. the flavor is good and strong and no extra oil or breading. but if i don't need to salt it, that will save a great deal of time. as to salting, my japanese chef (for my catering co.) always soaks eggplant in salted warm water- with a weighted bowl on top of it) funny,somehow i wouldn't think the japanese would practice a needless food technique.

i am about to do a big batch of moussaka. do people have opinions about whether regular large dk ppl eggplant- or small ppl japanese eggplant- are more flavorful?