I’ve been in Boston with Jim and Amy Severson studying seafood at Steve Connolly Seafood’s “Seafood School for Chefs.” For the last three days, we have been driving the coastline of Massachusetts, talking with fishermen, touring production facilities and auction houses, and, of course, eating seafood. We also went out on a lobster boat and tended traps. I have scads of information, videos, and photographs to organize and disperse, but I wanted to write a short wrap-up before I leave town.
Where I ate:
Mama Maria in the North End. Wonderful old-style Italian food: buffalo mozzarella from Naples, lobster ravioli, frutta di mare (you name it) and fresh pasta, chocolate panna cotta.
Steve Connolly’s Seafood in Gloucester. Lobster roll from the public market located in the seafood plant.
Toro Restaurant. Kick-sass chef Ken Oringer’s tapas restaurant in Boston’s South End. Creative and extensive list of Spanish-inspired
dishes, including sea bass shoulder; house-cured duck ham and blood sausage; hummus topped with North African argon oil, za’atar, and dried black olives; fried potatoes with aioli and spicy tomato sauce; and grilled corn with aioli, lime, espelette pepper, and aged cheese. Place seats maybe 65 and was packed with very cool and hip crowd.
Jacob Wirth. Last night I was so tired I just walked around the corner and stumbled into Jacob Wirth, one of the oldest restaurants in Boston; it opened in 1868. Huge selection of beers, beer and food pairings, German specialties, and burgers. Great atmosphere. I feasted on grilled smoked bratwurst, weisswurst, hot German potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and hot apples. (Sorry, I left my camera at the hotel.)
