Progressive Blogger Dinner - Bel Ari & Les Zygomates

Last week I was so excited to attend my very first Blog and Tweet Boston event: a progressive dinner at Bel Ari and Les Zygomates. Both restaurants are located right near South Station, so it's a surprise I haven't been to either!

We started at Bel Ari and were led into a private room in the back of the restaurant. After a short welcome from Mark Tosi (who owns both restaurants, as well as the New England-based Pastene Companies), we were introduced to the chef, who gave us a rundown of the menu. From their website: "Bel Ari’s culinary inspiration comes 'from all over the boot' with both classical offerings and contemporary interpretations."

We started with shared plates of whipped ricotta and sunflower cranberry bread. The ricotta was so creamy -- it was the perfect start to the meal and went well with some extra bubbly Prosecco.

Our first course was Arincini Di Riso. I really liked the unique spin on this common dish -- I've never had arincini with goat cheese and an onion marmalade. The combination was delicious.

We each had a choice between shrimp and lobster gnocchi or penne a la vodka for our next course. I has to go with the gnocchi and was glad I did! The gnocchi were cooked well and I loved the lobster cream sauce. I only wish I had some extra bread to clean my plate with!

Since I was eating seafood I ordered the white wine pairing, which went perfectly.

Once we were all finished eating we grabbed our things and took a very short walk next door to Les Zygomates to finish our meal. By this point I was already full and didn't know how I'd possibly eat two more courses. Luckily, I tend to underestimate the extra room my stomach will magically create when there's delicious food in front of me. 

Out of the two restaurants I LOVED the vibe in Les Zygomates, which appropriately translates to "the muscles in your face that make you smile." I'd say Bel Ari is a better spot for an intimate, romantic date, but Les Zygomates is where you go with your girlfriends. A great jazz band was playing in the corner and local artist Janice Eve Dale was using the restaurant as her gallery, so her incredible, colorful artwork lined the walls. The whole restaurant just had a very cool feel to it.

For our main course of the night we had a choice between beef and fish. Since I had ordered the seafood pasta I went with the beef. Plus, I'm a sucker for mushrooms and foie gras.

The woman sitting next to me ordered the bass and I had to snap a picture. These portions were huge!

I was really impressed with the beef and loved the red wine it was paired with. I only wish I could have finished the whole thing!

Finally, it was time for dessert. I (of course) ordered the flourless chocolate cake. I thought I'd only take a bite or two but I finished the entire thing! AND I had a bite of my neighbor's creme brulee. To top it off, I downed my glass of Moscato for a last bit of sweetness.

Overall it was a fantastic event with great food and great people! I'm so glad I decided to attend and look forward to lots more Blog & Tweet events in my future!

Note: This event was provided free of charge. All opinions, whether you like them or not, are all my own.

The Boston Public Market is OPEN!

Whenever I visit a new city, one of my favorite things to do is see the local public market. I've always been sad that Boston doesn't have one of its own (unless you count Quincy Market, which I don't), but finally, my dreams have come true!

The Boston Public Market opened to the public yesterday and I was lucky enough to squeeze a visit into my work day! From their website:

"The Boston Public Market is a permanent, year-round, self-sustaining market featuring fresh, locally sourced food brought directly to and from the diverse people that make up Massachusetts and New England. At the Boston Public Market, farmers, fishermen, and food producers from Massachusetts and throughout New England offer the public a year-round source of fresh, local food and an opportunity to taste, buy, and understand what our region has to offer. The market houses over 35 vendors selling locally produced items such as farm-fresh produce, meat and poultry, eggs, milk and cheese, fish and shellfish, bread and baked goods, flowers, and an assortment of specialty and prepared foods."

What I really like about the market is that the folks who run it are making a conscious effort to make it available to people of all backgrounds and income levels. While farm to table food is always on the more expensive side, the delicious and large sandwich I got was just $8.50 -- which from what I remember is about the same price as a Burger King value meal these days. And plus, every part of the sandwich came from local farms, which I'm more than happy to support vs a multi-million dollar fast food corporation. The vendors at the market also accept SNAP/EBT (Boston's version of food stamps) and they are offering free/inexpensive fitness and cooking classes to individuals and families. Furthermore, the market association itself is a nonprofit so they're making a sincere effort to spread the word to ALL types of people and are partnering with a number of other local nonprofits involved in food justice. It could really be something great for the city, and at the very least, I think it's smart that the local government is thinking about new ways to make healthy options available to people who live here while supporting local farms and businesses.

Anyway, let's see some photos!

Amazing free sample!

Beer alley!

Big crowd watching the opening ceremony

Cookbook exchange -- so cool!

Can't wait to try the Noodle Lab

The cutest little eggplants

Amazing sandwich from Wolf Meadow Farm

I can't wait to visit the Market again. It will definitely be my go to every time I'm downtown during lunch!

Fun

Twenty seven has been a really good year for me so far. I'm feeling happier than I have in a long time and doing so many fun things. Work is going great, I've made a ton of new friends, and I'm exploring parts of the city (and country) I've never seen. I've been busier than normal and filling up most of my evenings/weekends with activities. Here are a couple from the last week:

In an attempt to diversify my eating, I went out to my very first Cambodian dinner at Elephant Walk. It was awesome.

Rouleaux (crispy Cambodian pork spring rolls served with greens, herbs and tuk trey for dipping)

Special chilled avocado lime soup

Khar Saiko Kroeung (boneless beef short ribs braised in tamarind, ginger, chili pods and soy, with garlic Shanghai noodles and pickled cucumber

I had another event for work last week to kick off our tenth anniversary celebration. I spent an entire day putting together these favors...

One of my donors offered me Red Sox tickets in the Bank of America private luxury suite with unlimited food and drinks. I seriously don't know if I can ever sit in regular seats again. I ate WAY too much...

Owner's box right next door

The suite

Not a bad sky!

Unlimited watermelon

I bought a new dress for my event that I am in love with. I should have taken a picture when I had my real shoes on. It reminds me of the dress I almost bought from Stitch Fix but it was $100 cheaper and more comforatble. So crazy!!

Over the weekend I hit up Lawn of D with Mr. Math for a fun night. It was Beatles night and they showed Yellow Submarine (SUPER weird) and had some Beatles cover bands. It was a great night!

On Saturday I had a few birthdays to celebrate -- the first during the day with college friends in the Seaport. We went to a new rooftop bar that was amazing!! The view was awesome and they had free charcuterie to go around. I doubt they will keep that going for too long.

In the evening I moved downtown for another birthday party with people from my sports league. I had a blast but (as usual of late) drank a little too much. I need to stop accepting shots when they are handed to me.

On Sunday I watched the Orange is the New Black finale, met new potential roommates, went for a run (I'm finishing up week 4 of Couch to 5K), then had dinner plans in the evening. I've been staying up late every night watching reruns of The Office. I need to stop!

Now it's a short week because I'm leaving for NY on Wednesday for Liz's wedding weekend!!!