Boston Restaurant Blog -- June, 2013

Below are blog entries from June, 2013. Use the links in the left column to do a quick search of blog entries, or to see blog entries from other months. And feel free to use the "Comments" links under each blog entry to reply to us; your comments just might end up in our Boston restaurant blog! (Note: This page is part of our restaurant features section.)

June, 2013

Thursday, June 27, 2013
Congrats to Picco for Making It to the Food Network's Ice Cream List

A South End dining spot that Boston's Hidden Restaurants has featured as a place to go for pizza has made it onto a national list from the Food Network--but not for its pizza. Instead, the Tremont Street eatery made it onto a "50 States, 50 Ice Cream Treats" page that recently came out, with the Food Network mentioning the "adult" ice cream soda that is offered there (raspberry Belgian Lambic that is poured over vanilla ice cream).

Other spots in New England that were mentioned in the list include Morse Farm in Montpelier, VT, Shady Glen in Manchester, CT, Camille's in Providence, RI, Puritan Backroom in Manchester, NH, and The Gelato Fiasco in both Portland and Brunswick, ME.

The review of Picco on this site can be found below:

http://www.hiddenboston.com/Picco.html

And the complete Food Network listing of spots for ice cream treats is at the following link:

50 STATES, 50 ICE CREAM TREATS

Thanks to Eater Boston for bringing this to our attention.

Related Blog Entries: South End restaurants

Posted by MH, Boston's Hidden Restaurants, on June 27, 2013.
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Five Good Restaurant Options to Usher in the Summer

photo of of Barefoot Bob's Beach Grill, Hull, MA Today is the first day of summer, and the weather forecast for the next week or so certainly proves it, with warm days and sunshine ahead. So what are some good "summertime" dining spot to go to that might not be as well-known as, say, Kelly's at Revere Beach, Woodman's in Essex, or Legal Sea Foods in Boston's Seaport District? Below are five eateries (in no particular order) that you might not know about, but which represent the summer in a variety of ways, including water views, scenic drives to get to them, and outdoor dining.

1) Barefoot Bob's Beach Grill, Hull
Hull is not an easy place to get to, but for those who are willing to drive to this narrow peninsula on the South Shore, there are a number of interesting restaurants in town, including this fun spot that's across the street from Nantasket Beach. Barefoot Bob's is a great place to go to in the warmer months, as it has an outdoor tiki bar where folks saunter in from across the street in their beach garb and enjoy seafood and drinks while catching the sea breezes that come off the water.

2) Johnson's Drive-In, Groton
In some ways, getting to Johnson's is half the fun, as a trip up Route 225 goes through some of the more peaceful and scenic areas of Eastern Massachusetts. And once you get to Johnson's, you're rewarded with a classic roadside food spot complete with fried chicken, burgers, ice cream, and yes, the option to dine outdoors under the pines. Dining indoors isn't so bad, either, as the interior is well-worn and rustic, feeling like a place a million miles away from Boston.

3) Bianchi's Pizza, Revere
Just south of the aforementioned Kelly's at Revere Beach is a tiny take-out only pizza spot called Bianchi's. And to say takeout is an understatement, as it is basically a large counter facing the street without even an entrance or a dining area inside. But what Bianchi's lacks in atmosphere it more than makes up in pizza quality, with classic foldable slices that are reminiscent of some of the best that New York City has to offer. And you can walk across the street and sit on the wall, enjoying ocean views with your slices.

4) 88 Wharf, Milton
Nearly completely hidden from, well, just about everyone and everything, this upscale dining spot is located in Milton Landing, a scenic waterside area behind Milton Village and just south of Dorchester's Lower Mills. 88 Wharf resides on the ground floor of a residential building and has an outdoor patio that overlooks a part of the Neponset River that's more like a little harbor or a pond, making for a very peaceful overall experience--especially since there's almost no traffic because it's at the end of a short dead-end road.

5) Sophia's Grotto, Roslindale
OK, so there are no water views and the drive isn't particularly scenic (unless you go through the Arnold Arboretum on the way over), but this Mediterranean and Italian restaurant in the heart of Roslindale Village has a wonderful little piazza-type outdoor dining area that it shares with Village Sushi. The hidden patio is indeed a perfect spot to linger over food and drinks while catching the occasional breezes that cut through the alleyway that leads from Birch Street.

What are some of your favorite "summer" dining spots in the Boston area or elsewhere in Eastern Massachusetts? If you have any that you'd like to share, post them in the comments section here, thanks!

Posted by MH, Boston's Hidden Restaurants, on June 21, 2013.
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Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Twitter Lists to Follow (Or Become a Part Of)

As some of you know, Boston's Hidden Restaurants has been on Twitter for awhile now, and part of our Twitter page includes lists that categorize other users into specific areas. For instance, a list on Boston-area restaurants exists, as does one on local food writers, another on food trucks, and more. Unfortunately, the lists had been limited by Twitter to 500 users for each one, so for lists such as the one for Boston-area dining spots, not all places could fit into it. Twitter recently updated their lists, though, so that now up to 5,000 users can be included on each list, which will allow us to start adding more to the Boston-area restaurant list over the coming weeks and months.

If you are on Twitter, you can subscribe to any of the lists that we have created, and even if you aren't on Twitter, you can still use the lists to get information. A few of the more popular ones are found below:

Twitter List of Boston-Area Restaurants

Twitter List of Boston-Area Food Trucks

Twitter List of Boston-Area Food Writers

Twitter List of Boston Media

Twitter List of Boston-Area Liquor Stores

Twitter List of Massachusetts Restaurants (Outside of the Boston Area)

If you would like to see all of the lists, please go to our Twitter Lists page (you'll need to be logged in to Twitter to see this page). And to join our Twitter page, please go to @hiddenboston and click the "Follow" button. Finally, if you are a restaurant owner/manager, a media person, etc., and would like to be added to any of these lists, let us know by sending us a message or reply on Twitter, thanks!

Related Blog Entries: Twitter

Posted by MH, Boston's Hidden Restaurants, on June 11, 2013.
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Twelve of the Best Food Dishes of 2013 (So Far)

photo of coppa, pepperoni, and mushroom pizza from When Pigs Fly Pizzeria, Kittery, ME It's hard to believe that the year is nearly half over already, as it seems like just yesterday that a slideshow was going up here on some of the best food items of 2012. Well, since we're already into the first part of June, 2013, it seems like a good time to look back at some of the best food items of this year so far. There were a lot of them, which made it rather difficult to pick just twelve, but the ones chosen seemed to stand out a bit more than the others. Included are dishes mainly from Boston-area spots, though the end of the slideshow starts to get a bit outside of the region.

And now...the latest slideshow. By the way, expect another "best of" toward the end of the year, looking at more good dishes that have not yet been tried.

Slideshow for Twelve of the Best Dishes of 2013 (So Far)

Related Blog Entries: slideshows

Posted by MH, Boston's Hidden Restaurants, on June 4, 2013.
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