The Passionate Foodie

Ithaki, a mainstay of Ipswich for about 25 years, moved to Peabody in 2022. This Greek restaurant, owned by Petros Markopoulos, had an excellent reputation, and it's now located on Route 1, next to the Holiday Inn. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I've previously enjoyed breakfast and a wine dinner there. Recently, I stopped by for dinner and was once again impressed with its cuisine.
We began our dinner with the Hummus, accompanied by crunchy pita chips. The Hummus was tasty and creamy, with pleasant garlic and lemon accents. The Calamari, made with pickled peppers, spicy aioli, lemon, capers, and chimichurri, was excellent, with a crisp coating and incredibly tender calamari. It just melted in your mouth. The peppers and chimichurri added interesting and tasty flavors to the dish. One of the top Calamari dishes I've enjoyed in some time.The Baked Feta is made with Cretan honey, pistachios, and sesame seeds. The creamy and salty feta was balanced by the sweetness of the honey, and the crunchy element of the pistachios and nutty sesame seeds. A well balanced and delicious dish.The Bifteki consists of two, 4-ounce burgers topped by roasted tomato and a slice of feta. The burgers had a nice char, and were juicy inside, enhanced by the acidic tomato and salty feta. The soft rolls were a good choice for these burgers too. We split a Main Course, the Seafood Youvetsi ("Greek Paella"), composed of shrimp, scallops, cod, clams and mussels atop orzo with a lobster tomato sauce. There was plenty of tasty and tender seafood atop the orzo and flavorful sauce. It's a hearty dish, and there's definitely plenty for two people. My only suggestion is that maybe it would have been enhanced with some locanico, Greek sausage, as paella often has chorizo. 

It's one of the Best Values for lunch north of Boston. I've dined there three times now, with three different groups of family and friends, and everyone was very happy with their food, marveling at the value of the meal. It's a relatively new restaurant as well, and worthy of exposure. 

Ithaki, a mainstay of Ipswich for about 25 years, moved to Peabody last year. This Greek restaurant, owned by Petros Markopoulos, has a very good reputation, and it's now located on Route 1, next to the Holiday Inn. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, although I strongly suspect that most people aren't aware that it has breakfast. I attended a wine dinner there recently (of which I'll be writing about in the near future), and the food was excellent. And yesterday, I decided to enjoy breakfast there.

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food & drink events.
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1) Restaurants in Boston’s North End are coming together to help victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Central Italy. Restaurants in Boston’s North End will support the victims by donating funds from orders of bucatini all’amatriciana as part of a fundraising effort to help the hard hit town of Amatrice and others in central Italy.

Guests will be able to enjoy the homemade pasta dishes at participating restaurants in the historic North End where 100% of the proceeds from the dish will go to The Italian American Red Cross Relief Fund. to support the victims in Central Italy during their time of great need.

WHEN: Through Labor Day

Participating North End Restaurants include: Strega North End, Nico, Il Molo, Trattoria il Panino, Mare, Lucia Ristorante, Ducali, and Nebo.

2) Erbaluce, a compelling Italian restaurant in the Bay Village, is also running a special charitable endeavor to benefit the victims of the earthquake-devastated area around the Italian town of Amatrice. For the next couple weeks, Chef Charles Draghi will be offering plates of bucatini all'Amatriciana (made with local San Marzano tomatoes, house-cured guanciale, Summer onions, and shaved pecorino.), a traditional pasta dish from the Amatrice region. The total amount paid for each serving will be donated to the Italian Red Cross for relief efforts in that region.

3) Today, September 1, is National Gyro Day and you can head to Committee to celebrate during lunch service (Mon – Fri 11:30AM - 2:30PM) and try the Committee Gyro (olive loaf with crispy basturma, kasseri and sweet onion labne).

For those who want to keep the Gyro celebration going throughout the weekend, you can go to Committee for Brunch (Sat - Sun 11:00AM - 2:30PM) and enjoy the Breakfast Gyro (scrambled eggs, grilled haloumi, loukaniki, florina pepper sauce, wrapped in pita, served with patates tiganites). I've had the Breakfast Gyro before and it is quite tasty.

4) The Painted Burro team invites guests to a join them in celebrating Mexico’s Día de la Independencia with exciting food and drink specials. On Friday, September 16, from 4pm-close, the Painted Burro will be celebrating Día de la Independencia, Mexican Independence Day, by opening its doors early at 4 p.m. and offering guests delicious food and drink specials.

Featuring the colors of the Mexican Flag, The Painted Burro will be serving up a patriotic margarita flight for $15. The flight will include one mini coconut avocado margarita, representing the green of the flag, and one mini raspberry margarita, representing the red.

In keeping with Día de la Independencia tradition, The Burro’s menu will also offer Chiles En Nogada - an authentic Mexican dish customarily eaten to celebrate the holiday. The dish costs $11 and includes a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with house-made chorizo & tres queso, covered in a walnut creme sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. The green pepper, white sauce, and red pomegranate seeds also portray the colors of the Mexican flag.

To make reservations, please contact (617) 776-0005

5) Joslin Diabetes Center, the world's largest diabetes research and clinical care organization, will celebrate its annual “ritmos de salud” event on October 6th from 6pm-10pm at Space 57 at the Revere Hotel. The event will benefit Joslin’s Latino Diabetes Initiative (LDI), which works to improve the lives of Latinos who are at high risk of, or are affected by, diabetes through culturally-oriented care, education, outreach and research.

Emceed by Alberto Vasallo III, of WHDH Channel 7 & El Mundo Newspaper, the event will feature a fabulous array of food from nearly a dozen of Boston’s most renowned chefs led by culinary chair, Chef Jose Duarte of Taranta; other participating restaurants include Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, Temazcal Tequila Cantina, Il Molo, Capo Restaurant and more. Upbeat Latin rhythms by Alexander el Cantante will fill the room, and guests will be encouraged to join in on the dancing with a special performance by Boston’s own “Salsa Y Control” Dance Company.

Lazaro Lopez and Javier Bellini will serve as event co-chairs for the third consecutive year and Felix Arroyo, Chief of Health and Human Services for the City of Boston, will be the event honoree.

Diabetes is a disease of epidemic proportions across all populations, affecting certain racial/ethnic groups in even greater numbers. National data shows that Latinos have two times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to the Caucasian population.

Joslin Diabetes Center’s Latino Diabetes Initiative (LDI) strives to improve the lives of Latinos affected by diabetes, or at risk for the disease, through culturally-oriented patient care, education, outreach and research, as well as working to find a cure.

TICKETS: Individual tickets cost $100; to purchase tickets or for more info please visit: www.joslin.org/ritmos

6) From September 15 to October 12, Legal Sea Foods’ will bring half-shell hedonism to mollusk mavens and oyster newbies alike during their 8th annual Oyster Festival. For four weeks, a sequence of in-restaurant menu features and special events will take place to celebrate everything oysters and all are invited who share the belief “the world is your oyster.”

In-restaurant features will be available for the duration of the Oyster Festival and include Fried Oysters (three for $10) in four preparations (buffalo, BBQ, Sriracha lime and BLT); Baked Oysters (three for $12) available in a quartet of options (lobster spinach, crab & cheese, scampi and roasted); Oyster Stew ($14.95); and, the Legal Sea Foods teams will shuck seasonal standouts at their raw bars daily for those who opt to go au natural. Legals also suggests washing it down with the official drink of the 2016 Oyster Festival, the Deadrise, with American Harvest organic vodka, muddled cucumber, lime and grapefruit bitters ($10).

This year’s oyster-centric events include the following:

Shellfish Shindig
A “shuckout” with $1 oysters at the outside Terrace Bar*
Legal Sea Foods at Charles Square: 20 University Road, Cambridge
Sunday, September 18, from 2:00pm-4:00pm
a la carte pricing
Reservations: not required
*In case of rain, this event will be held in the atrium of the restaurant.

Sip, Slurp and Sup
A trio of small plates paired with oyster-friendly wines
Legal Sea Foods at Park Square: 26 Park Plaza, Boston
Tuesday, September 27, at 6:30pm
$45 per person (does not included tax and gratuity)
Reservations: 617.530.9392 or online

Mollusk Mania
A 21+ “everything oyster” party featuring a raw bar of eight varieties, four passed appetizers and a “How to Shuck an Oyster” station hosted on the all-weather rooftop
Legal Harborside: 270 Northern Avenue, Boston
Sunday, October 2, from 1:00pm-3:00pm
General Admission: $55 per person (includes tax, 1:30pm admission and access to raw bar with 8 varieties of oysters)
VIP Admission: $65 per person (includes tax, 1:00pm admission, access to raw bar with 8 varieties of oysters and four tickets to redeem specialty oyster appetizers)
Reservations: online only

WHERE: The Oyster Festival is celebrated at all Legal Sea Foods locations throughout Massachusetts, with the exception of airport venues.

HOW: Advance reservations are required for events, excluding the Shellfish Shindig. For more information on the Oyster Festival, its special events and for reservations, please visit: www.legalseafoods.com/oysterfestival.

7) As summer concludes, Pantry, located in The Verve Crowne Plaza—Natick, invites guests to join Chef de Cuisine Jim Booth for an artfully prepared four-course dinner on Friday, September 16, boasting ingredients from Natick Community Organic Farm. From start to finish, all dishes will feature hand-selected fruits, vegetables and meat, all sourced from within three miles of the restaurant.

Upon arrival, guests will be treated to a refreshing Natick Cucumber Basil Gimlet as well as farm-inspired, delectable hors d'oeuvres. In an effort to bring the culinary experience full circle, Chef Booth will enhance each course with a paired glass of wine sourced from a variety of notable domestic and international wineries.

Inspired by Natick Community Organic Farm’s 40 years of providing productive open space and its commitment to farming methods that are ecologically healthy and sustainable, Chef de Cuisine Jim Booth’s four-course dinner will be as follows:

On Arrival
Head Cheese
Lamb Bacon
Braised Lamb Rillettes
Chef Jim’s Selection of Pig & Lamb Accoutrements
Local Pickles Vegetables with Rustic Breads
1st Course
Natick Frisée Salad
soft egg, lamb, herb vinaigrette
2nd Course
Lamb Moussaka
winter squash & yellow tomato soup
3rd Course
Brined Pork Chop
onion jam, brown butter Parisian gnocchi, Olympic red kale
4th Course: Dessert
Variety of Carrot Cake
Natick organic maple

WHEN: Friday, September 16
Welcome reception starts at: 6:30pm; Dinner begins at 7pm
COST: $70 per person for four-course dinner (Tax and gratuity not included)
To make a Reservation, please call 508-416-1352

It is a tale of two restaurants, one part of a chain with over 65 locations and the other a small, independent restaurant with a single location.

It is a tale of a $13 meal, a burger and fries, offered at both restaurants.

It is a tale of mediocrity against quality, an illustrative tale which I hope will make consumers more carefully ponder their restaurant choices.

Last week, I made my second visit to A&B Burgers in Beverly and my first visit to Smokey Bones in Peabody. During my visits to A&B Burgers, I've tasted two of their burgers as well as their Mac n' Cheese dish. At Smokey Bones, I also tasted one of their burger as well as their Mac n' Cheese. I tasted a few other dishes at Smokey Bones too, but those are not part of this post's comparison, and I'll note they were all mediocre.

Both restaurants offer a burger and fries for approximately $13 so which is the better value?

At Smokey Bones, that $13 gets you 8 ounces of grilled Angus beef, topped with items such as BBQ sauce, cheddar, bacon, BBQ'd onions and onion tanglers. You can have french fries, or choose a different side, from cole slaw to a baked potato. And there is a small extra charge for certain sides, such as onion rings or big cheese macaroni. I opted for a burger with a fried egg atop it and chose the big cheese macaroni as my side.

At A&B Burgers, that same $13 gets you 7 ounces of locally sourced and sustainably farmed beef, which is first slow cooked, for almost two hours, in their new C-vap oven before it is then seared on the grill. It can be topped in a number of ways, such as with BBQ sauce, cheddar, onion strings, and bacon. It comes with sea salt fries and for a small extra charge you can substitute for items like bacon truffle fries or fried pickles. On my first visit, I had the Sweet & Salty with burrata cheese, fig jam and bacon with the bacon truffle fries. On my second visit, I had their 7X Wagyu burger with cheese, bacon and a fried egg.

Though you get 1 ounce more meat at Smokey Bones, the quality of the beef is better at A&B Burgers, as well as local and sustainable. At Smokey, the burger is just grilled while A&B uses a slow cooked method, with their C-vap oven, as well as grilling. You have a greater choice of sides at Smokey but that is only important dependent on the quality of those extra side choices. The true test though is obviously the taste of the burger.

The Smokey burger was mediocre, a serviceable burger but it didn't excite my taste buds. It is a burger you would eat and immediately forget. It wouldn't be something you would rave about to your friends. I was irked though that the fried egg atop my burger had a hard yolk. When I get an egg on my burger, I want a soft yolk to drip over the meat. It is messier but I love the taste of the yolk mixing with the meat.

The A&B Burgers though stood out, tender and juicy, with a meaty burst of flavor. They were the type of burgers that woke up your taste buds and which became part of your memory. They were the type of burgers which you would tell your family and friends about. They were the type of burgers which would draw you back to A&B, time and time again. And when I had an egg on one of their burgers, the yolk was soft and gooey, flowing over the meat.

For $13, you could order a burger and fries at either restaurant, but your choice should be simple. The taste of the A&B burger far exceeds the mediocrity of Smokey's burger. So why would you get the burger at Smokey? You should be going to a restaurant which delivers the best bang for the buck, which delivers the best tasting burger at such a reasonable price. Peabody and Beverly are fairly close and the two restaurants are only about 5 miles apart so there is little reason not to make the trip to A&B.

Far too many people opt for mediocre food when much better alternatives abound, even at a similar price point. You should care about the food that goes into your stomach. You should be seeking food that delivers exciting flavors. I went to Smokey because I hadn't been there before and wanted to try out their food. And now, after my experience, I'm unlikely to return. And even if I did, I wouldn't order a burger there again. With A&B though, I will definitely be returning there soon for another burger, and to check out more of their menu.

Don't opt for mediocrity!

(Disclosure: Of my two visits to A&B Burger, I paid for my first visit and the second visit was comped at the end of the meal. I was unaware that the second visit was going to be comped and simply ordered as I would normally.)

Two years ago, I wrote a short series of posts listing my personal recommendations for food/wine places in various cities and towns. The lists provided my favorite wine stores, restaurants, bakeries, food markets and other similar establishments. They were intended to be quick reference guides. But, the lists were incomplete, and did not cover all of the cities and towns I have visited.

In addition, with the passage of time, some of those lists now require revision, such as the omission of places that no longer exist or the addition of new places. So, over the next couple months, I will be working to update these lists. Plus, I will add additional cities and towns that I did not previously lists.

Below, you will find the list of cities and towns that I have already covered, as well as the date of the latest revision, if any. Please note that these lists provide only brief data on each place and you can easily search my blog for more extensive reviews of each place. This list of cities and towns will grow so please return here frequently to check for any additions.

Acton (6/16/09)
Andover (6/16/09)
Arlington (6/14/09)
Bedford (6/14/09)
Belmont (6/16/09)
Beverly (6/14/09)
Braintree (6/16/09)
Brookline (6/18/09)
Burlington (6/18/09)
Concord (6/20/09)
Danvers (6/18/09)
Malden (6/20/09)
Medford (6/14/09)
Melrose (6/20/09)
Middleton (6/20/09)
Natick (6/21/09)
Newton Lower Falls (6/21/09)
Peabody (6/14/09)
Reading (6/1/09)
Salem (6/21/09)
Saugus (6/7/09)
Stoneham (6/1/09)
Tewksbury (6/21/09)
Wakefield (6/7/09)
Winchester (6/14/09)
Woburn (6/14/09)

My new column of "A Passionate Foodie" can be found in the December 3 issue of the Stoneham Sun newspaper. This is a weekly column that concentrates on reviews of local restaurants though it may also touch on a few other food and wine topics.

The new column has been published today and will soon be available online. The new column is a restaurant review of P.F. Chang's China Bistro, a brand new Chinese restaurant in Peabody, and part of a chain. It is a delicious place and a welcome addition to the local culinary scene. It is a chain restaurant that is well worth visiting, though make reservations as this place is already very popular.

If you have any questions or comments about my column, feel free to add them here.

Dine with passion.

Banana Spring Rolls once again! How could I resist?

After my first excellent experience at P.F. Chang's China Bistro, I have since returned twice to check out more of their menu. My return visits have been a bit of a mixed bag, though much of it is likely due to the fact that the restaurant is still very new.

The Peking Dumplings ($5.50) appetizer had four, pan fried dumplings filled with plenty of ground pork & vegetables. They were quite tasty with a nice mix of textures and flavors. A good choice for an appetizer. The Northern Style Spare Ribs ($8.50) are wok-braised ribs served with a five spice salt. The ribs were tender, meaty, flavorful and easily came off the bone. Another good choice. The Sichuan Flatbread with Chicken ($7) is like a quessadilla though the flatbread is more like an Indian paratha or chapati than a tortilla. It was an ok dish, though nothing memorable and I would not order it again.

I also enjoyed Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps and they were once again delicious! Many of the customers at the other tables also seem to have ordered the lettuce wraps. It is obviously a very popular dish and I understand why.

The Chang's Spicy Chicken ($13) is a plate of cubes of lightly dusted white-meat chicken that was stir-fried in a sweet Sichuan sauce. This is actually a fairly hot and spicy dish and was extremely flavorful, a nice blend of sweet and heat. As it is not fried, it is a lighter dish, much better than a dish like General Gao's chicken. It also comes with a bowl of either white or brown rice.

The Lemongrass Prawns with Garlic Noodles ($16) has several quite large prawns, with garlic noodles, with a savory lemongrass sauce. Though it was flavorful, the prawns were a bit overcooked. The noodles also seemed a bit overcooked as well, having a slightly mushy texture to them. On another visit, I also tried their Garlic Noodles ($6.50) which were tossed with garlic and chili peppers, and accompanied by slivers of cucumber. Though I enjoyed their taste, they too seemed a bit overcooked and slightly mushy. As the noodles were similarly cooked on two different occasions, it seems that is their standard method. They would be even better if they were a bit more al dente.

Service was ok, with a couple minor issues which seem mainly due to the newness of the restaurant as well as some inexperienced help. The restaurant has been very busy since its opening and it may have been a bit overwhelmed. There certainly are some very professional and experienced servers at the restaurant but there also seem to be some who are not as comfortable or experienced. These are problems that can be worked out in time but which could take away from your dining experience right now.

I still do recommend this restaurant but like most new places, they do need to work out a few kinks. No one can expect perfection from any restaurant open for only a couple weeks. I will return there again, and hope that each time I do return, it improves. And I will be sure to report back to my readers.

P.S. I did have the Banana Spring Rolls again and they were just as fantastic as the first time!

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
210 Andover Street
Peabody, MA
Phone: 978-326-2410

I have to start with dessert. Banana Spring Rolls ($6.50)!!! Six pieces, each basically a half of a spring roll. A thin, light & crispy spring roll covering a firm but soft banana. It is warm and the banana avoids being mushy. Caramel and vanilla sauces have been drizzled atop the spring rolls, which surround a large scoop of coconut-pineapple ice cream. There are also fresh slices of strawberry, some blueberries and raspberries on the plate. A decadent dessert with so many of my favorite flavors. With each bite of the springroll, I smeared some creamy ice cream atop it. I could skip lunch or dinner and just have this delectable dessert.

With that out of the way, now I can go back to the beginning and talk about the restaurant. I don't usually get excited about chain restaurants, but there are exceptions. A new P.F. Chang's China Bistro opened a couple weeks ago at the Northshore Mall in Peabody. P.F. Chang's is very popular and it can often be a wait for a table at the Boston location. I was excited to try out the new location, to see how it would compare to Boston, so I went there for lunch.

As you enter the parking lot and approach the restaurant, you see the familar eleven foot high horses at the entrance. The inside of the restaurant is tastefully decorated and actually presents a rather elegant look. It is a medium sized restaurant with a long bar at the back of the room. Above the bar is a large, lengthy mural of a scene from 12th century China, an impressive and striking mural. The lighting was muted with candles on the tables, even for lunch. The restaurant presents a pleasant ambiance.

As we had arrived early, the restaurant was nearly empty. Though by the time we left, the restaurant was packed and there was quite a line of people waiting for a table. It seems this P.F. Chang's location may become as popular as the Boston one.

The menu is quite diverse, with plenty of familar dishes as well as some of their own creative dishes. Prices are reasonable, nearly all entrees costing under $15. In a comparison, many of their prices are comparable to what you find at the Kowloon Restaurant. I was expecting their prices to be higher but they apparently are trying to make it affordable for everyone. The entire menu is available at lunch.

We began our lunch with one of their signature appetizers, Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($8). You receive a plate with a mixture of chicken, Shitake mushrooms and water chestnuts, all finely chopped and diced that has been largely cooked in a wok. This was very flavorful, with a bit of crunch from the water chestnuts. You also receive a few large pieces of lettuce, very fresh and crisp, which you use almost like a soft taco shell. I have had lettuce wraps elsewhere, and these were some of the freshest I have ever had. There was enough of the chicken mixture to fill four lettuce wraps. As these were delicious, I understand why they are so popular and I would recommend them.

For lunch, they have a number of special bowls you can order. You basically get some type of meat, poultry or seafood atop a bowl of rice, white or brown. Plus you have a choice of egg drop or hot and sour soup. We both chose the egg drop soup which had a slightly thick broth, with pieces of egg, thin slivers of carrot and scallions. It was hot and tasty.

The Pepper Steak Bowl ($8.50) has pieces of steak with red and green bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic and black pepper. The steak was thin sliced and relatively tender and the pepper sauce was spicy and delicious. It made a great sauce for the white rice. The Crispy Honey Chicken Bowl ($7.50) had pieces of lightly battered chicken in a sweet sauce that was not overpowering. I very much enjoyed the chicken, which is better than similar General Gao dishes at other restaurants. These bowls make for a nice lunch and it seems they are made to order.

Service was excellent and our server, Jarrett, was very personable and attentive. He seemed very genuine and a strong advocate for the restaurant. I have seen plenty of servers elsewhere who recite the company word without any conviction but Jarrett seemed a true fan of the food.

I will definitely return here for both lunch and dinner, to try other dishes, and highly recommend it to my readers. The food tastes very good, the prices are reasonable and service is excellent. But I also recommend that you make reservations, especially for dinner as this is going to remain a popular place for some time to come.

And make sure you try the Banana Spring Rolls! I am going to be thinking about those for quite some time.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
210 Andover Street
Peabody, MA
Phone: 978-326-2410

Sometimes that carnivore in you just takes over and you crave meat, lots of it. Succulent, grilled beef, chicken, pork and more. Such a craving came over some friends and I last evening so we decided to dine at the Fire Bull Restaurant, a churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) in Peabody.

The Firebull is not my favorite churrascaria (that would be the Midwest Grill) but it is still a very good restaurant and well worth visiting. When I am around Peabody, and get the urge, the Firebull is a good option.

The Firebull is open for both lunch and dinner. At dinner, the Rodizio, the all-you-can eat BBQ is $23.95. This includes a salad, white rice, fried plantains, feijao tropeiro (a Brazilian dish of beans, bacon, eggs, collard greens, kielbasa), and all the meat you can eat. The meats include items such as garlic beef tips, top sirloin, chicken wrapped in bacon, chicken wings, ribs, pork loin, chicken hearts, lamb, and pork sausage. A few other items are sometimes available as well. If the Firebull had more sides available, like Midwest Grill, I would prefer it more. Though the meat is obviously the center of the rodizio, it is also good to have a variety of interesting side dishes.

One thing I wanted to note, as I think it is new at the restaurant, is that you can now bring your own wine, for a corkage fee of $8 per bottle. Though they do sell wine, with some interesting selections from Portugal and Brazil, it is even better that you can bring your own. That is certainly a very good change.

Last night, the Rodizio was maybe the best I had ever had there. The meats were cooked perfectly, were hot, juicy and moist. There was not a single meat last evening that I did not enjoy. And the restaurant was really not that busy so it was not an issue of a quick turnaround. The garlic beef, always one of my favorites, was absolutely delicious. The rare top sirloin just melted in my mouth. The pork loin was superb. Just a fantastic spread.

Service, as usual, was excellent. They are very accomodating, pleasant and and gracious. I will return again here and do recommend that you try it out as well.

Pellana, a high-end steak house in Peabody, is hosting another wine dinner on Monday, June 26, 2008, at 6pm. This dinner is being presented by the Pellana Wine Director, Nick Grimshaw & Brian Lamb, owner of the OurGlass Wine Co. in Saugus.

The wine dinner is a four-course meal including:

Salad:
Caesar Salad with fresh Shaved Reggiano Parmesan Cheese
Paired with a 2005 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, Napa

Appetizer:
Lamb Lollipops served with a mint demi glace
Paired with a 1999 Seavey Merlot, Napa

Entree:
Prime Ribeye, Frenched cut with traditional accompaniments
Paired with a 2003 Paul Hobbs Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa

Dessert:
Baked Apple Pie a la mode (Vanilla Bean Ice Cream)
Paired with a 2005 Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine, Canada

The wine dinner costs $125 per person (excluding taxes and gratuities). Limited Seating Available.

To reserve your seat, you can e-mail Nick Grimshaw, Pellana Wine Director, at ngrimshaw@pellanarestaurant.com or call Nick or Daniella LaRosa, Pellana Operations Manager, at 978-531-4800.

Pellana, a high-end steak house in Peabody, is hosting another wine dinner on Tuesday, February 26, 2008. This dinner is being presented by the Pellana Wine Director, Nick Grimshaw & Brian Lamb, owner of the OurGlass Wine Co. in Saugus.

The wine dinner is a four-course meal including:

First Course
Shellfish cocktail with Lobster, Jonah crab claws & Oysters
Paired with a Billecart-Salmon Champagne

Second Course
Iceberg Wedge Salad with Apple smoked bacon & Great hill Bleu cheese
Paired with a 2005 Olivier Leflaive Puligny Montrachet, Burgundy

Third Course
Prime New York Sirloin with a Rich Portobello Mushroom Demi Glace
Paired with a 1999 Dominus Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa

Fourth Course
Seven layer Chocolate Cake, a decadent dessert topped with smooth ganache
Paired with a 2004 Giovanni Allegrini ‘04, Rechioto della Valpolicella Classico, Veneto, Italy

The wine dinner costs $120 per person (excluding taxes and gratuities). Limited Seating Available. To reserve your seat, call Nick or Daniella LaRosa, Pellana Operations Manager, at 978-531-4800.

Pellana, a high-end steak house in Peabody, is hosting their first wine dinner on Tuesday, January 29th, 2007 at 6pm. This dinner is being presented by the Pellana Wine Director, Nick Grimshaw & Brian Lamb, owner of the OurGlass Wine Co. in Saugus.

The wine dinner is a five-course meal including:

First Course
Oysters on the Half Shell With a Champagne Mignonette
Paired with a NV Krug Grand Brut. Reims, France

Second Course
Wedge Salad, Apple smoked bacon, Great Hill Bleu cheese
Paired with 2005 Jermann Dreams, Friuli, Italy

Third Course
Prime Veal Chop with a Rich Portabello Mushroom Demi Glace & Traditional accompaniments
Paired with 2004 Duckhorn 3 Palms Merlot, Napa, California

Fourth Course
Prime Porterhouse with Traditional accompaniments
Paired with a 1999 Dominus Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, California

Fifth Course
Seven layer Chocolate Cake topped with smooth ganache
Paired with a 2004 Giovanni Allegrini, Rechioto della Valpolicella Classico, Veneto, Italy

The wine dinner costs $200 per person (which includes all taxes and gratuities). This is pricey but you should consider the type of meal you are getting and the high end wines that are being served. I have been to Pellana before and the food is excellent. Based on my previous experiences, I would expect this wine dinner to be very good.

Limited Seating Available. To reserve your seat, you can e-mail Nick Grimshaw at ngrimshaw@pellanarestaurant.com. You may also call Nick or Daniella LaRosa, Pellana Operations Manager, at 978-531-4800.

There is a lot of construction and renovation currently going on at the Northshore Mall in Peabody. Two new restaurants are going in there, though they are chains. The Salem News had a detailed article about these new restaurants, as well as the cost of a liquor license.

First, The Cheesecake Factory will open around October 18. They bought a liquor license for $135,000, which is the highest price ever paid in Peabody for such. Peabody has no unsold licenses available, which sell for $2200. So, any new restaurant has to buy the license from someone who already possesses one, and the market can be quite expensive. The last license sold in Peabody only garnered $80,000.

Second, P.F. Changs will also be opening at the Mall though the date is unknown right now. They too are seeking a liquor license.

Revised as of 6/14/09

This is my ninth post of a planned series noting my personal recommendations for food/wine places in various towns and cities. This time I am touching on Peabody. This list might be expanded and/or revised in the future but I will note when it changes. Be sure to check my extended reviews of many of these places elsewhere on my website.

Wine Stores:

Kappy's Liquors
175 Andover St.
Peabody, MA
Phone: (508) 532-2330
(Good selection of wines)

Restaurants:

Pellana
9 Rear Sylvan St.
Peabody, MA
Phone: (978) 531-4800
(Very good steakhouse, albeit pricey)

Fire Bull Restaurant
5 Central St.
Peabody, MA
Phone: (978) 531-5744
(Very good Brazilian BBQ/rodizio buffet)

Misono
82 Newbury St. (Rt. 1 South)
Peabody, MA
Phone: (978) 535-2268
(Excellent Japanese teppanyaki and sushi restaurant)

Tennessee's Real BBQ
260 Andover St.
Peabody, MA
Phone: (978) 977-9977
(Very good BBQ, including their pulled pork)

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
210 Andover Street
Peabody, MA
Phone: 978-326-2410
(Very good Asian food)

Last evening, I met with my Real World Winer friends for our weekly gathering. We were going to dine at the Churrascaria Rodeo in Woburn, a Brazilian rodizio restaurant. But, when we arrived, we found that the restaurant was closed for a private function. As we still wanted rodizio, we decided to drive up to Peabody, to the Fire Bull Restaurant. The Fire Bull does have its own parking lot.

I have been to the Fire Bull a number of times before though a few of the other Winers had never been there before. Though they have a number of entrees on their menu, we all chose the rodizio. This is an all-you-can eat BBQ buffet. You receive a salad, white rice, fried plantains, and a bean dish. Then, a server come by your table with skewers of different meats, slicing off the amount you wish. And he keeps returning until you are too full to eat anymore. Last evening, the meats included sirloin, roast beef, garlic steak tips, pork loin, lamb tips, chicken wrapped in bacon, chicken sausage, chicken hearts, chicken wings, and ribs.

The meats were delicious, usually juicy and tender. The garlic steak tips and the ribs were particularly tasty. There is a slight variation in what meats they serve each night. On different visits, they have had different types of sausage and sometimes even fish. At $21.95, it is very reasonably priced for all of the meat you can eat. The six of us gorged ourselves last night!

The Fire Bull has a small wine list, though it is very reasonably priced. It has selections from Portugal, Argentina, California and a couple other places. We ordered a few different wines from Portugal, including Vinho Verde and a Dao. We also got a Alamos Malbec from Argentina. Each of the bottles only cost about $16-18 each.

We did not get any dessert as we were too full.

Overall, we had a very good meal. My favorite rodizio restaurant remains Midwest Grill in Cambridge but I do enjoy and recommend the Fire Bull. You won't be disappointed.

Fire Bull Restaurant
5 Central St.
Peabody, MA
Phone: (978) 531-5744
http://www.firebullrestaurant.com

(Originally posted 9/30/06)

We visited Pellana last night for dinner. First, it can be difficult to find as it sits far back from the road, past the IHOP. There is a small sign by the road, that simply says "Pellana" and does not even indicate it is a restaurant. They definitely need to identify themselves better.

The restaurant itself is a small, intimate spot with a dining room and bar area. The decor is alot of dark woods and it feels like many of the Boston steakhouses. It would be a nice place for a date or a business dinner.

I started by looking at the wine list. It contains about 400 choices, and has alot of variety, and not just the usual cabernets. The list does have alot of Italian wines, plus wines from Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile. Prices are very good, with plenty of good choices in the $30-40 range. I decided to try a Californai Mataro ($35) but they could not find it in their wine cellar. I then asked for a French Rhone wine ($35), and again, they could not find it. They mentioned that their wine manager was off this weekend, and that their wine supplier had not yet provided them all of the wines on their list. They did offer me another French Rhone ($45) but at the $35 price. It was a good wine and I was pleased with the substitution.

The menu has most of the usual steakhouse choices and prices seem a bit lower than many of the Boston steakhouses. Some of the side dishes may be a bit less fancy than others I have seen. Like no truffled mashed potatoes. Just plain mashed potatoes. We were brought warm bread and butter, large pieces of an excellent bread, and they did offer us additional bread during our meal.

We began with appetizers of the crab cake and the sesame seared ahi tuna. The crabcake was large, very tasty and filled with plenty of crabmeat. But, there was no sauce atop the cake and all you got was the crabcake, without any greens, salad, etc. The same with the tuna, you got nothing else on the plate but the tuna, soy and wasabi. The tuna was very good, silky smooth, but I would have liked more than just the 4 pieces I got. The appetizers were good, but could have easily been made better.

For our entrees, we have the kurabada pork and the surf and turf. We also got a side of the mashed potatoes. The surf and turf came out, but there was a delay in the pork. To compensate, they did give us a complimentary side of Vidalia onion strings. The surf and turf consisted of an 8 oz. filet and a lobster casserole. The filet was excellent, tender, tasty and cooked as I asked, rare. There was no fat on it. If this is the quality of their beef, then the beef dishes should be excellent. The casserole had alot of lobster but it was too dry. It needed some type of sauce or just butter to add some moisture to it. Another dish with potential that just fell short. The pork was excellent, again cooked perfectly, and a large piece of tender meat. The mashed potatoes were excellent, very creamy and flavorful. The onion strings were excellent too, nice thin sweet onion rings.

The restaurant also offered us a complimentary dessert plate, containing a seven layer chocolate cake, a piece of cheescake, vanilla bean ice cream and fresh blueberries. This was all very good, and we took some of it home since we were too full to finish it.

Besides the previously noted service issues, the service was very good. They were very gracious about the problems that did arise, and attempted to satisfactorily resolve them. And I do think they did well at that. They definitely were concerned about the problems that did arise. Their main problem is that they are new, only about 2 weeks old. They still have a number of kinks to work out. The restaurant definitely has potential, and I will go back to see if the restaurant changes.

(Originally posted 3/25/07)

We returned to Pellana last evening, to see how they have changed now that they have been open longer. So, how did they stack up compared to my original visit. It is still difficult for people to find as it sits far back from the road, past the IHOP. There is a small sign by the road, that simply says "Pellana" and does not even indicate it is a restaurant. Due to legal restrictions though, they cannot have a larger sign.

The decor of the restaurant is the same, a nice intimate spot with a dining room and bar area. As for wine, I decided to try again to see if they had the California Mataro I had sought previously. And they did! The 2004 Trinitas Mataro, from old vines, was a superb wine with lots of fruit flavors, some spice and was very smooth. It was not overpowering and I would definitely order it again, or buy it at a store. Thus, my previous wine problems had vanished.

The menu had not seemed to change which was a good thing. It still had plenty of good choices. Once again, we were brought warm bread and butter, large pieces of an excellent bread, and they did offer us additional bread during our meal. I love bread and this was an excellent addition to the meal.

For our entrees, we had the filet oscar and just the plain filet. We also had a side of the mashed potatoes and the Vidalia onion strings. The filets were cooked just as we ordered, rare, and were very tender and quite delicious. They were good sized pieces of meat and sure to fill you up. No complaints with the filet. Both sides were done quite well too. The Vidalia strings were thin, sweet onions with a tasty batter. The potatoes were smooth, creamy and delicious. No complaints about the food at all.

As previously, service was very good. Our waiter, Matthias, was attentive and gracious.

We actually showed up around 6:15p.m. and did not have reservations. They were able though to get a table though the restaurant was quite busy. Both the bar and dining area were crowded so it definitely seems that many others are enjoying Pellana as well. It certainly seems that Pellana has worked out its kinks and has become an excellent dining establishment. It lived up to its potential. I look forward to visiting Pellana again and will recommend others visit as well.

Pellana
9 Rear Sylvan Street
Peabody, MA
Phone: (978) 531-4800