Scenes From The New King Arthur Flour, Norwich, Vermont

King Arthur Flour recently completed the $10 million expansion of its baking center in Norwich, Vermont. I was nearby Norwich in Quechee for a wedding this past weekend. Once all of the wedding festivities were over, Jeff and I headed home on Sunday by way of Norwich (which is actually in the opposite direction but worth the minor detour). 

For those who don't know, King Arthur Flour is America’s oldest flour company and it's 100% employee owned. The baker's store and education center are a premier baking resource, offering ingredients, mixes, tools, recipes, educational opportunities, and inspiration to bakers worldwide. In addition to the store and education center, the new building also houses a bakery/cafe, which offers all sorts of amazing baked goods, breads, coffee, and sandwiches.

I actually went to King Arthur Flour for some classes back in September 2010. I learned so much there and had an incredibly fun weekend. I was back there again last July, just to stop at the shop and buy some baking supplies. The renovations were well underway at that point. Going back this past weekend, it was amazing to see the transition of the campus. Here are some photos from my recent visit.

King Arthur Flour is actually hosting a grand opening celebration from September 20 through 23. There will be all sorts of free samples, raffles, and cooking demonstrations all weekend long. Unfortunately I won't have time to get back to Vermont for the party, but if you're in the area or feel like making the trek, I'm sure it will be a good time. Just walking around the store is fun, let alone attending a party there.

I managed to get out of the store with just some mini peanut butter cups, real chocolate sprinkles, coffee mugs, and a few wedding supplies. Usually I do much more damage, but I'm lacking in storage space right now. I know I'll be making the trip back up there when I have my own pantry again. There are just way too many things I want!

Have you been to King Arthur Flour -- before or after the renovations?

Anchovies, A Neighborhood Spot In Boston's South End

A couple weekends ago, I met my friend Carrie in Boston and we trekked up to Portsmouth together for her final wedding dress fitting. After the fitting we came back to Boston, ran errands on Newbury Street, and then hung out at her place in the South End for a bit. We chatted about our upcoming weddings and other things going on in our lives and snacked on tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Before we knew it, it was after 10 p.m. 

Our original plan was to have dinner at Anchovies, a favorite restaurant of hers that I had never been to. And even though it was so late, we stuck with that plan. By the time we got ourselves out of the house and walked over to the restaurant, it was nearly 11 p.m. I was wondering if the restaurant would still even be serving dinner.

We walked in and were quickly greeted and assured that we could, indeed, still order dinner at such a late hour -- turns out the kitchen stays open until 1:30 a.m. -- so we settled into a booth and looked over the menu.

We started with a bottle of red (a bottle of red that cost us only $18!) and some of Anchovies' bread with spicy, garlicky olive oil. The oil was so spicy, the heat went straight up my nose, but it was good once I got used to it.

We ordered two entrees to share, and each entree comes with a small house salad. I had mine with the basil pesto vinaigrette. The salad is pretty ordinary -- just iceberg lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and shredded carrot -- but the vinaigrette really makes it. It packs tons of basil flavor and is just the right consistency. (Why have I never put pesto on my salad before?)

The potato gnocchi with braised short rib and a melty layer of cheese was incredible. The gnocchi were light and pillowy, and the sauce was so meaty and rich. I was disappointed to learn Anchovies' gnocchi is not made in house, but wherever they're getting it from is doing a great job.

"The Ricciardi" is Anchovies' specialty and my friend's favorite dish. And I can definitely see why. It's a heaping bowl of penne with chicken sage sausage and mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce (for just $14). The pasta was perfectly cooked and just as delicious as the gnocchi. I loved the strong hits of sage from the sausage and the rich cream sauce balanced by the tomatoes. I would have eaten the whole bowl if my stomach let me.

We definitely enjoyed our late-night dinner. The portions were generous, the prices affordable, and the food so flavorful and so filling (I was thankful we had to walk home afterward). The atmosphere is pretty cool too. There are lots of knick-knacks hanging on the walls and from the ceiling -- they make for a great game of "I spy." A disco ball sends dancing lights all over the room. And we actually had an old rocking horse (or maybe it was a carousel horse?) overlooking our table. Yes, it was a little creepy, but it just added to the ambiance. Anchovies seems a little bit dive-y and kind of looks like a hole in the wall, but isn't that true of some of the best spots?

I was so glad we stuck with our plan so I could discover this new-to-me restaurant. And I'm happy I got to spend the whole weekend running wedding errands and having some girl time with one of my good friends.

I'm heading to Vermont for Carrie's wedding this weekend! What are your weekend plans?

Tatte Bakery and Cafe, Kendall Square

I have to admit that I'm a little angry with Kendall Square. I worked there for five years and lived close by for a bit longer than that, and to be honest, there wasn't much going on there besides The Blue Room, Emma's, and Atasca. Now that I've switched jobs and moved away, the area is filled with great restaurants, after-work hangouts, and little cafes. Where was all this stuff when I needed it?

I guess the good news is that now I'm constantly drawn back to an area I thought I'd barely return to. I still love my former haunts, but now I also frequent West Bridge; I've stopped at Area Four for breakfast sandwiches; dined at Catalyst for brunch and dinner; swung by Abigail's for dinner or just oysters at the bar; and met friends at EVOO, Za, and Kika Tapas for lunch and dinner. And now I have a new favorite spot: Tatte Bakery and Cafe.

I first went a couple weeks ago to meet one of my friends for lunch and to say hi to one of my former Flour co-workers who now works at Tatte. After ooh-ing and aah-ing at everything in the cute, elegantly decorated bakery (including the nut cups it's known for and various cookies and cakes), I ordered an iced tea and the Balkani, one of the many sandwich offerings. The sandwich, made on soft ciabatta bread, consisted of melt-in-your-mouth roasted eggplant, ripe tomatoes, feta, fresh basil, and pesto. I loved it. The texture of the eggplant is just incredible.

My friend, who had been to Tatte before with her co-workers and really liked it, got a gorgeous-looking salad with wheat berries.

Then last weekend, my mom came up to go to my second dress fitting with me and flew my sister in to visit at the last minute. We stayed at the Royal Sonesta and got up bright and early Saturday morning for a run along the river. On the way back I guided us in the direction of Tatte, where we stopped for breakfast -- because pastries are the best post-run nourishment, right?

We got a few things to try. My sister had a blueberry-hazelnut muffin that was full of toasty hazelnuts. My mom had a peach-hazelnut muffin, and we shared a spinach-ricotta brioche.

We also got two cups of muesli, which was pretty awesome. The base is light, almost frothy, tangy Greek yogurt. It's topped with sweet granola (that's full of pumpkin and sunflower seeds) and lots of ripe fruit. I wish I could eat one of these every day.

And I couldn't leave the bakery without trying something with chocolate, so I had a chocolate croissant. The flaky pastry and melty Belgian chocolate hit the spot and made our nearly 4-mile run worth it.

I've enjoyed everything I've tried at Tatte so far, and I can't wait to get back there to sample some more sandwiches and pastries and to try some of the amazing-looking desserts.

Have you been to Tatte yet?

Brunch At Back Deck

This past weekend I stayed in Boston with one of my friends, and it was the perfect opportunity to check out Back Deck's new brunch menu. On Sunday morning, we both worked on some wedding stuff at her place, and then we headed over to Back Deck right when it opened at 11:30. (Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 to 3.)

It's located on West Street in Downtown Crossing, and while the street itself is a little dark and shadowy, the restaurant gets a good deal of natural light. The teak chairs and plentiful potted plants give the room an outdoorsy vibe, sort of like sitting out on a patio.

The concept behind Back Deck is backyard grilling in a laid-back city setting. The restaurant has three hardwood charcoal grills, which chef Paul Sussman has nicknamed "Big Red," "Monty," and "Nelly." There's an open kitchen so diners can actually see the grilling happening, just as they would at an outdoor picnic or at a roof deck party. But unlike an outdoor picnic or roof deck party, the restaurant brings grilling inside and keeps it going all year-round.

Shortly after we were seated, our waitress came over to take our order and she was super-friendly and helpful, answering our various questions about the offerings (what vegetables are in the goat cheese and vegetable omelet, etc.). We were impressed that Back Deck offers iced coffee, and my friend ordered one, while I went with an iced tea.

We decided to start with the grilled pink grapefruit half drizzled with honey. I'm not sure if this is typical, but we actually got two halves when our order arrived.

We loved the warm grapefruit, which was nicely charred and lightly sweetened. The only difficulty was getting it out of the peel because it wasn't sectioned at all. I realize it would be difficult to grill a sectioned grapefruit, but it would be helpful if it was sectioned after grilling -- or if it was served with a serrated grapefruit spoon.

My friend is a huge eggs Benedict fan, so she was immediately drawn to that on the menu. It ended up being a great choice because it was absolutely perfect. The eggs oozed golden, runny yolk everywhere as soon as she cut into them. And she described the hollandaise as being light and just the right amount -- some eggs Benedicts can have overwhelming, thick, gloppy hollandaise, but that was not the case here.

We shared a side of the green apple slaw. This was the only disappointment that morning. It just didn't have the apple presence we expected. It's more like regular slaw with bits of apple. We both wanted to punch it up a bit with a lot more apple and a little more acidity. It was crunchy and not swimming in mayonnaise, so those were pluses.

We also shared a side of home fries, not realizing that both of our breakfasts would come with them. It didn't hurt having an extra helping of them, though. They were crisp on the outside, cooked through (I hate home fries that are still raw in the middle), nicely seasoned, and accompanied by soft onions.

I ordered the ham and cheddar omelet. I know it's not the most adventurous breakfast option, but it was exactly what I was in the mood for. The omelet was stuffed with a thick layer of cheddar and plenty of thinly sliced ham. A little grilled bread on the side was charred and very soft and buttery.

Overall, we really enjoyed our brunch and were pleasantly surprised by the relaxed, patio-like atmosphere in the midst of bustling Downtown Crossing. While we opted to have egg dishes, there are also more lunch-like options on the brunch menu if that's more your thing.

This meal was complimentary, but as always I'm giving you my honest opinion.

What's the strangest thing you've ever grilled or the strangest grilled thing you've ever eaten?

Sampling The Menu At Nix's Mate

Nix's Mate, a restaurant that takes its name from an island in the Boston Harbor, is located just beyond the Boston Harbor Hotel in the Hilton in the Financial District. I recently went to check it out with seven lovely ladies. We filled a large round table in the corner, where we had a great view of the rest of the restaurant. I really loved the minimalist decor and think the William Fly Room would be a stunning spot for an event.

We spent a few minutes looking over the menu, which boasts seasonally inspired fare, and decided to share a bunch of appetizers. I collected everyone's votes for what they would most like to try. When our waitress came over, I gave her the rundown, and then we all settled back into chatting and catching up.

We started with the polpette vongole, tiny meatballs in a red clam sauce. It sounded odd but was intriguing. The dish was tasty but a little difficult to eat with the clams still in the shells. It makes for great presentation, though.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the bacon-wrapped scallop skewers with maple butter that were a special that night. I passed on these since I don't love scallops and there were plenty more dishes heading our way.

The fried "crab cake" nuggets with a shaved beet salad, mustardy aioli, arugula, watermelon, roasted corn, and walnuts was also a special that evening... and one of my favorite dishes. The dish was filled with crisp, crunchy, juicy summer produce, and the little crab nuggets added their own hot, crunchy presence. I kind of wished I didn't have to share this dish with everyone else.

The tuna carpaccio nicoise featured cracked olives, green beans, roasted potatoes, capers, hard-boiled egg, and lemon aioli. It was a flavorful rendition of the classic combination.

The braised veal cheek "pot au feu" was another of my favorite dishes. The soft, tender veal just about melted in my mouth, and the crisp tender vegetables, enriched with bone marrow, were light and tasty accompaniments.

The Harbor Island flatbread, topped with spicy fried rock shrimp, salami, pepperoni, tomato gravy, mozzarella, and leeks, sounded much better than it actually was. The crust was on the soggy side, and the combination of flavors just didn't work for me.

For something lighter, we wanted to try one of the salads and chose the Boston Bibb, which has pecans, blackberries, caramelized onion dressing, and cornbread croutons. It was a nice break from the heavier dishes.

The fried Maine lobster caramel, which I'd heard was the dish to order, was the most interesting lobster combination I can ever remember having. The battered fried chunks of lobster sit in a pool of warm Vermont cheddar and caramel. There's also some green onions and chiles imparting flavor to the dish, so there was some sweetness, some richness, and some spiciness. I can't say I've ever had lobster with cheese or caramel, and I wonder how the chef thought it up. It was another of my favorite dishes of all those we tried. (I only wished it was a little hotter, but it may have just been that it cooled down during the time it took eight women to photograph it.)

Dinner was good but there wasn't really anything that made me think I needed to rush back to Nix's Mate to have it again, not even the lobster. So I was a bit disappointed in our visit. Not ready to give up on the new restaurant, though, and always happy to satisfy my sweet tooth, I convinced everyone we should try some desserts. This was a good move because the desserts were amazing.

The chocolate-hazelnut torte was rich and fudgy with an even richer and fudgier chocolate sauce on top.

The ice cream sandwiches impressed me because the cookies were actually really good. I find that I'm always disappointed in cookies on restaurant dessert menus, but I loved how these were nice and chewy and flavorful. They were filled with various Christina's ice creams and topped with caramel.

It's pretty well-known that I am anti bread pudding (I can't stand how soggy most of them are), but I gave the bananas foster bread pudding a try and was pleasantly surprised. The homemade brioche was moist but not drenched and the toasted marshmallow and ice cream on top and bruleed banana on the side completed the sweet, sticky dish.

I love panna cotta and was delighted to see a strawberry shortcake on the menu that featured buttermilk panna cotta inside a buttermilk biscuit with buttermilk caramel and strawberries. This was a lighter dessert option with bright, summery strawberry flavor.

I enjoyed the night out with friends and was happy to have tried a new place. The meal ended on a high note with some interesting, well-executed desserts.

Do you have high expectations when you go out to eat?