The food media have, by and large, largely ignored Boston since the 1990s, yet the city is one of America's great food centers, from its extraordinary markets to its panoply of restaurants. The Atlantic Ocean buoys everything in Boston's food scene, nourished by the bounty of New England fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, cheeses, maple syrup, and so much more indigenous to the region.  So here are some new restaurants taking full advantage of all that New England offers.

Bronwyn
255 Washington Street
Somerville, MA
617-776-9900
bronwynrestaurant.com

         I’m not really positive German-Austrian food will be the next Big Thing (though it’s got a lot more grounding than the fleeting fad for New Nordic Cuisine).  Bronwyn in the Boston suburb of Somerville is a signal reminder of how wursts and beer have never gone out of favor but are only now being sublimated in novel ways that make such fare exactly what you’re dying to eat right now.

    Chef owner Tim We
ichmann is rendering everything from housemade wursts—a gargantuan platter at $32 gets you six varieties, including currywurst and lemon weisswurst—along with bulked-up bacon dumplings called knödel with white summer peaches. He does biernüdeln—pasta made with beer--and the best, tangiest sauerbraten you’ll ever taste outside of Munich.

         When you sit down at the two-room restaurant, you begin by smearing schmaltz—pork fat—onto a giant Bavarian pretzel with roasted apple mustard, then have a beer soup with a cheddar cheese kreplach.  The borscht (above) is as beautiful as it is delectable. The venison pastrami with gulyas puree and the crisp, buttery jagerschnitzel are just made to go with the 40 beers poured here, from a 5.7 percent alcohol Warka Pilsner to a 9.5 percent Zywiec Baltic porter.  The bar serves as a weinstube (wine bar), where hard-to-find varietals like Austrian rotgipfler, Hungarian furmint, and Croatian plavac malí anchor the list.

         Bronwyn is a neighborhood place but it deserves national attention for proving the value of how what’s tried-and-true becomes pride in the new in the hands of a great chef.

 

BLUE DRAGON
324 A Street
617-338-8585

ming.com/blue-dragon

 

    Fifteen years ago I  honored a young Chinese-American chef named Ming Tsai  (left) as Chef of the Year for his groundbreaking Asian restaurant Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  Since then, his trajectory has been ever upward, not least as host of the long-running, award winning TV cooking show “Simply Ming,” whose gentlemanly, down-to-earth approach has been a balm to all the screeching, fright wigged nonsense that passes for entertainment these days.
    He certainly took his time to open a new place—an 80-seat Asian gastropub that has been jammed from lunch and after midnight. Blue Dragon, with executive chef Tom Woods,  is a revelation of myriad tastes and preparations you just don’t find in places with names like New Hunan Balcony and Lotus Tiger King.  And Blue Dragon is a great looking room, almost diner-like, with Ming right there at the open kitchen, picking up plates and schmoozing with wide-eyed guests taking photos with their iPhones. At Blue Dragon the quandary is choosing among dishes that all look and smell so mouthwatering—how do you stop yourself from ordering six, seven, eight dishes like Japanese sweet potato chips with charred scallion and meat jus dip? Braised beef and celery pot stickers? Crispy pork tail with mango sticky rice? Korean chicken wings with fresh kimchee and soy glaze? Or “Mom's Salt and Pepper Shrimp”?
    Best not to even try. Bring your friends, order rounds of craft beers, and don’t get up from the table until you’re way beyond ecstasy. And even if you've eaten way too much, force yourself to order "The Cookie" a deep dish chocolate chip cookie served warm and topped with ice cream and soy caramel sauce.

 Open for Lunch and dinner daily. Snacks and dim sum $3-$9; main dishes $9-$16.

 

REVERE HOTEL BOSTON COMMON
200 Stuart Street
617-482-1800
reverehotel.com

    The Revere Hotel Boston Common is one of the city’s most modern luxury boutique hotels, with just 356 rooms, located conveniently in the city’s theater district and near the Common. It obviously draws a young crowd, both for its reasonable room rates and its sheer conviviality, not least at the Rooftop@Revere Lounge and Bar (right), seven stories above ground, next to the beautiful swimming pool here.
    From there a panorama of Boston’s landscape gives you a very good sense of how intimately this fairly small city is tied to the water and the harbor and how its proud inhabitants have maintained as much historicity in its neighborhoods as possible.  (It is sad how the city fathers allowed such a grotesque Government Center to be built in the heart of the city.)
    The Rooftop encompasses 16, 000 square feet and, when open (it’s closed right now for the winter season), is set with broad, deep cabanas that may be rented, and chaise lounges where you may relax and feast on a remarkable array of dishes for which the word “snacks” is wholly insufficient.  Indeed, my friend and I made a complete meal of beautifully wrought items like Nantucket bay scallop ceviche in Bibb lettuce wraps and a coconut shell; Bully Boy tequila shrimp cocktail spiked with wasabi; spiced hummus with warm, puffy pita bread; and a terrific array of sliders that included Black Angus beef, Caribbean chicken, and, in a town of first-rate lobster rolls (below), the Revere’s stand near the top of the pack, luscious, creamy, and generous with lobster. Dishes run $5-$18.
    With these you may sip signature cocktails like the Hibiscus Rum Punch of Rum, Bacardi 8, Domaine de Canton, hibiscus tea syrup and lime, or the Frida, with Tanteo jalapeno tequila, fresh watermelon puree, and lime. To make things still merrier, the staff on the Rooftop is composed of some beautiful young women dressed in swimwear by Pret-à-Surf, which makes the whole experience up there more like South Beach than Boston.

They are an extremely cordial group and the Rooftop has become a major draw for cocktails and sunset any time after 5 p.m. There is also an indoor Emerald Lounge whose brilliant lighting color gives it its name, and a restaurant, Rustic Kitchen, featuring Mediterranean cuisine by Chef Michael Kelley, which I did not have a chance to try on my visit.
    The lobby is set with dramatic metal sculpture, and the same degree of warm hospitality upstairs makes check-in and the courtesy of being shown to your room quick and easy. The colorful premises and layout of the rooms themselves balance all the most modern amenities with exceptional comfort in the furniture and bedroom.
     One caveat: The Revere took over an older, less deluxe hotel, so the air conditioning and heating units in some rooms can be loud at night when you’re trying to sleep. Fortunately the pillows are downy enough to block out some of the noise.
    Looking at the photos arrayed above, I'm not sure I can wait for next summer.

PURITAN & COMPANY
1166 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA
617- 615-6195

 
  I hesitate to write about how Puritan & Company is faring these days because it has been several months since I (happily) dined there.  Still, today's menus seem quite in the same style, with many of the same items, Chef/partner Will Gilson set out at the beginning to evoke in a homey, old-fashioned atmosphere that includes an old ceramic 1920s stove (in which they have set the computer and host stand). Soapstone sinks make up the oyster bar here, and there is a cozy communal dining table.
    This used to be the Puritan Cake Company, and Gilson himself is a 13th generation descendant of the Mayflower. A better pedigree for culinary pride than that would not be easy to find.
    We enjoyed ourselves that evening very much for all sorts of reasons, not least the dining room’s extremely cordial staff.  It’s a good-looking place, the music not too loud, and clearly people were enjoying themselves to the hilt. Is it New England reserve that keeps them from shouting like Americans elsewhere when dining out? The wine list strong, sommelier very informative.
    We were bowled over by the hot Parker House rolls--the name refers to the Parker House restaurant in Boston, where the rolls were first made--and the manager was nice enough to give us a box to take home. They were truly transcendent, and matched by the gougeres (left), though one for three bucks, for an item given away in France, is a tad steep. Every one of the appetizers was first-rate, and it was difficult even to choose which were better than others.  Luscious confit, innovative swordfish pastrami, frisee with foie gras, and desserts were all very good and imaginative.
    I was, however, disappointed in some of the entrees.  The duck was good but hadn’t much flavor on its own, needing seasoning; the grilled cobia was actually fishy and unpleasant; and I expected the “local flounder” to come as a fillet flat on a plate but it was like a rollmop, tasting steamy. I trust that those faux pas are not an every night occurrence, for Gilson is a serious chef and Puritan & Company a winning combination of New England fare and hospitality.

Open nightly for dinner, for brunch on Sun.; Starters $3-$15; main courses $17-$28.

                                                                                                                   

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NEW YORK CORNER
Anassa
200 East 60^th Street (off Third Avenue)
212-371-5200
 www.anassataverna.com

    Those of you old enough to remember Yellow Fingers on Third Avenue and 60th Street probably also remember Sign of the Dove, Maxwell’s, Serendipity 3 and the original TGI Friday’s—all must-see boites for the thrashing singles scene of the 1960s and 1970s.  (Wasn't it at Yellow Fingers that Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffmann [below] battled over custody in “Kramer vs Kramer"?) Many restaurants have occupied that enviable space—right across from Bloomingdale’s and a bunch of movie theaters—yet none survived for very long.
      On the basis of the packed crowd I saw at Anassa the other night, this is one tenant I hope has a long lease. Anassa, which opened in May and means "breath of fresh air," is thoroughly Greek, under executive chef Nikolaos Karvelas and owner Tim Pappas, the power behind Avra on East 48th Street.  It’s an expansive place--170 seats on two floors; and the second floor also was occupied on a mid-week night--with a décor “inspired by the Greek village and seaside,” so you’ll find all the expected touches of rusticity, along with a collection of traditional Greek jewelry such as “Evil Eyes,” and “Komboloi beads (Worry Beads),” available for purchase. 
    The whole place has a vibrancy that draws a very mixed crowd of young and older people from the neighborhood, and Anassa carries on the long tradition of the location’s singles bar ethos.  As you might expect, then, Anassa can get very, very loud, not helped by piped-in music of a throbbing kind you’re unlikely to hear at a taverna in Plaka.
The greeting is cordial, the waitresses pretty and from various eastern European stock, and the menu dependable, if striking no new ground in modern Hellenic cuisine.  But what is on the menu is, overall, delicious and true to form.  The wine list has a slew of good Greek wines well worth ordering.
    As in all Greek restaurants, the mezes are usually the most enticing, always accompanied by warm pita bread, spreads like tzatziki, taramasolata, skordalia, and fava puree ($12).  The octopus at Anassa is as good as any in town, tender, warm, nicely charbroiled with onions and capers (below).  I know saganaki is just fried cheese, but what’s not to love about that, and Anassa does a hot, crispy version.  Meatballs in tomato sauce went fast at our table.
    Among the main courses I enjoyed were grilled lamb chops with roasted potatoes, grilled tomato and topped with tzatziki, which gave them extra flavor. The eggplant in the moussaka gets a boost from involving chunks of lobster meat and a béchamel sauce, and the Thursday special was braised veal shank, coming right off the bone, with tomatoes, orzo and the good touch of tangy feta cheese. The only real disappointment was the showy dish of wild striped bass cooked in parchment, with steamy vegetables; it was just that, steamy and without much flavor, the fish’s texture having disintegrated.
         Don’t forget the usual and irresistible Greek sides like oregano potatoes, giant lima beans in tomato, and the wonderful greens called horta dressed in olive oil and lemon.  The Greek desserts push no envelope, but the honey cake is the best of them, the cheesecake the least, the baklava standard issue.
    Anassa Taverna is clicking right now, not least at the bar, and since this neighborhood is not currently rich in good Mediterranean fare, it’s a fine place to go when you have a true yearning for the kind of food that always leads to a Zorbian sense that life is, after all, pretty damn wonderful.
 

                                                                                                                   

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NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

Wines for Healthy Year-End Holidays
By Geoff Kalish, MD

  

    While toasting and drinking add to all the merriment associated with the year-end holidays, researchers have recently reported some important considerations regarding the choice of alcohol-containing beverages so as not to detract from post-festivity well-being. In fact, these considerations can not only mean the difference between sobriety and inebriation, but can also affect sex drive as well as whether the event is followed by a peaceful night’s sleep or one disturbed by bouts of “heartburn.”
    The following discusses why this is so, what we can do about it and which wines are best to drink or serve at your year-end holiday event for a healthy outcome.
    Studies have now shown that in men alcohol consumption can decrease the production of testosterone--the hormone produced primarily in the liver (but also in the testes)--that is instrumental in enhancing libido, physical arousal, attaining an orgasm, as well as the intensity and amount of pleasure produced from an organism. (In women, while testosterone is likely also associated with sexual arousal, it appears that the situation is more complex and the effect of alcohol not as profound.) So, in men, the more alcohol consumed over a shorter period of time, the lower the testosterone level. In addition, there appears to be a delayed effect of alcohol, with testosterone reaching its lowest levels some hours after the blood alcohol level has peaked. What this means is that, if a man consumes a large amount of alcohol early in the evening, his sex drive will be maximally decreased later in the night or the next morning. Clearly, drinking moderate amounts of relatively low-alcohol wine along with food, especially items rich in carbohydrates and protein (which slow absorption of alcohol from the gut) is the way to go for those planning amorous activities following a holiday dinner or party. As to what constitutes a moderate amount, most authorities on the subject recommend limiting intake to 12 to 16 ounces of wine over at least 4 to 6 hours or more. And, importantly, to keep the blood alcohol from peaking too rapidly, the wine should be consumed slowly.
    As to the effect of alcohol on heartburn--a searing or burning sensation in the chest made worse by lying down--it has been found that large amounts over a short period of time have an increased likelihood of inducing the condition, through an effect on the upper gastric tube (esophagus). In fact, in a study conducted just a few years ago in Japan, it was found that the men who drank the largest amount of alcohol over a period of time had the most severe symptoms. On the other hand, another recently published study conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente in California showed that small amounts of wine (a glass daily) might have a protective effect on the lining of the upper gut. Moreover, this protective effect was not seen in men with beer or distilled spirits.
    So, like the situation with the effect of alcohol on testosterone, the evidence from these studies strongly indicates that to maintain a healthy gut, relatively low-alcohol wine in moderate quantities is preferable to other alcohol-containing beverages, especially for year-end holiday events. And, there does not seem to be any difference between whites versus reds. So, to set you on the right path for an enjoyable, healthy holiday season, the following widely available wines are recommended.

SPARKLING  

Non-vintage Prosecco – In general these Italian bubblies contain less alcohol than French Champagne or California sparkling wine. However, remember to sip slowly since the carbon dioxide in these wines enhances alcohol absorption. Brands to look for include Candoni and Nino Franco Rustico, Zardetto and Mionetto.

  

WHITES

Moscato d’Asti – These Italian wines have about 6 percent alcohol and a very fruity, slightly fizzy taste with a somewhat sweet finish and make good matches for hors d’oeuvres, fruit and cheese. Two standouts are the 2012 Bartenura and the 2012 La Spinetta.

 

Viñho Verde – These dry whites from Portugal, with a bit of effervescence, usually contain less than 10 percent alcohol and mate perfectly with seafood and chicken dishes. Try the 2012 Casal Garcia or the 2012 Grinalda.

 

German Riesling Kabinett – The best of these contain 8 to 10 percent alcohol and have a slightly sweet bouquet of apricots and peaches and a touch of acidity in the finish that marries well with shrimp, oysters and other raw shellfish. Brands worth seeking out include Dr. H. Tanisch, Joh. Jos. Prüm, Geyser Weinheimer and Weingut Johanneshof.

REDS 

Lambrusco – These Italian red bubblies usually have less than 11 percent alcohol and make great aperitif wines to serve with prosciutto, tuna tartare and pigs-in-the-blanket. Reliable brands include Riunite, San Giuseppe and Opici.
 

Beaujolais Nouveau – From France, these light fruity, grapey quaffs usually contain about 11 percent alcohol and pair well with a range of fare from grilled or poached salmon to veal and beef. Good bets are the 2013s from Georges Duboeuf and Joseph Drouhin, which feature bright, festive labels sure to heighten the mood at any year-end celebration.

 

Geoff Kalish, MD is a former wine columnist for The Wine Spectator and The New York Times (Westchester Weekly Section) and has long studied and reported on the effects of wine on health.