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Blount Clam Shack

The Taste of Summer in Warren
The scene at Blount Clam Shack on a Sunday summer afternoon is like a well-orchestrated block party: large white tent for keeping out rain or providing shade; long, family-style picnic tables; outside the tent, more picnic tables and beach chairs; a large cooler with bottles of water; and live music from 3-7 pm, often provided by Warren resident Otis Read and friends.
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ  |  July 22, 2009
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M and M Ribs

Back-yard barbecue made extraordinary by a seasoned pro
In America, there's barbecue, and then there's barbecue. For most of us, barbecue means direct, high-heat grilling over a gas flame or charcoal, the method used in most back yards. To the growing cult of authentic-barbecue aficionados, only slow, indirect cooking of meats using hardwood smoke at low temperatures (200 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit) is the real deal.
By MC SLIM JB  |  July 22, 2009
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The Friendly Toast

From the décor to the drinks, it's all a bit wacky — and undeniably good
There was some in-office debate about reviewing the Friendly Toast in our "On the Cheap" column. After all, its menu of diner favorites, retro-'50s filler-uppers, and contemporary vegetarian options are pretty inexpensive. And their motto is "Great Food. Cheap."
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  July 22, 2009
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Ronnarong

A small-plates concept elevates a veteran Thai place above the pedestrian
For more than 10 years, the Great Thai Chef held forth in Somerville's Union Square.
By MC SLIM JB  |  July 15, 2009
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Max & Dylan's Kitchen & Bar

From the owners of Scollay Square, another fine bar-restaurant that does everything fairly well
Who is Max? Who is Dylan? The casual visitor cannot know. We know that the owners also have Scollay Square (which is not located in what used to be that square), so we have our suspicions that Max and Dylan are children or cats, or a confected evocation of the contrasting merits of ethnicity and cool.
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  July 15, 2009

Bob & Timmy's

World-class pizza in your own backyard
Okay, technically Bob & Timmy's, but actually Rick & José's. I thought that food writer Alan Richman was joking on MSNBC when he renamed the Providence pizza institution, but nope. José Sanchez and Rick Remeika bought the place two years ago, after having worked there for 15 and 10 years, respectively, starting out as dishwasher and busboy.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ  |  July 15, 2009
rav list

Italian escape

The best of Milan in Portland
One of my earliest culinary memories is of my father bringing home a tin of hard, crisp, almondy Italian cookies. As my sisters and I ate, my father dimmed the lights and put a match to the thin paper wrappers. They began to float like enchanted lanterns. I thought these Italians must be magical.
By BRIAN DUFF  |  July 15, 2009
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Maxed out?

The push to establish a credit card ceiling
Rhode Islanders have grown accustomed to a certain amount of silliness in the General Assembly. It was only a few months ago that members of that august body were debating the merits of an official state ice cream.
By CHRISTOPHER COLLINS  |  July 08, 2009

United BBQ

The pull of the pork, and so much more
Reviewing the dishes at a barbecue eatery feels a bit like judging a family dinner. Most of us have specific expectations of what the meats and the sides should taste like — sensory memories that grabbed us the first time we ate pulled pork or collard greens, and they won't let go.
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ  |  July 08, 2009
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Spiga Ristorante Italiano

A famed Boston chef moves to the 'burbs
I've had my eye on Spiga for a while — even though it is hard to keep an eye on a place tucked into a back street.
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  July 08, 2009
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Franklin Southie

A popular chef's hangout branches out
The original Franklin Café in the South End won friends quickly with a unique combination of minimalist but inventive cuisine, comfort food like turkey meatloaf, an innovative wine-pricing scheme ($15 over wholesale), a terrific selection of draft beers, and the latest hours of any fine-dining possibility in town.
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  July 01, 2009
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Mt. Everest Kitchen

The strange yet strangely familiar (and undeniably delicious) cuisine of Nepal
Asked to create pithy descriptions of obscure cuisines, food writers often triangulate, using familiar geographic signposts to nudge readers into the general neighborhood.
By MC SLIM JB  |  July 01, 2009
nicaragua list

Finding a way

Making Nicaraguan gallo pinto
If it weren't for Nicaragua, Jenny Sanchez and her favorite dish, gallo pinto, wouldn't be here. She's a 75-year-old grandmother. She's short, has wavy dark hair, black eyes. She leans over slightly even when she's standing upright and has a stiff, belabored walk. She lives alone in a neighborhood of single-floor apartments.
By LINDSAY STERLING  |  July 01, 2009

Rosinha's Restaurant

The traditional taste of Portugal
The latest eatery at Pawtucket's Hope Artiste Village is Rosinha's Restaurant, offering Portuguese cuisine — Cape Verdean, to be specific. Not wanting to give the wrong impression — music hipper and hoppier than fado sometimes reverberates from the Blackstone down the entrance corridor — a kind of manifesto stands at the door.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ  |  July 01, 2009

St. Clair Annex

Seasonal delights in Watch Hill
Seasonal delights in Watch Hill
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ  |  June 24, 2009
food list

Where everyone knows your name

A conversation with the owners of Caiola's
A conversation with the owners of Caiola's
By LEISCHEN STELTER  |  June 24, 2009
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Scup's in the Harbor

How refreshing: a waterfront joint that's actually quite good
Scouting out great cheap restaurants takes me down some strange byways, but I almost never make it to Boston's waterfront. Most places with water views tend to be overpriced or mediocre. Perhaps it's the high cost of picturesque real estate, or that owners count on the scenery to mask their shortcomings.
By MC SLIM JB  |  June 24, 2009
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Yoma Burmese Restaurant

After a long lapse, Boston gets another fine taste of a rare cuisine
Burmese food bears some resemblances to that of its neighboring countries, which has been emphasized during Boston's surprisingly long, if gapped, history with the cuisine.
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  June 24, 2009
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South End Pita

Even sandwich shops need a little time to grow up
Restaurant critics must perform a balancing act. We want to bring attention to worthy new places, but slagging a brand-new venue during its shakedown cruise for slow service or uneven kitchen output isn't really fair.
By MC SLIM JB  |  June 17, 2009

Letters to the Portland editor: June 19, 2009

Warning: Salad may kill you
In a recent issue, Brian Duff reviewed GRO Grassroots Organic Café, in Portland (see  "In the Raw,"  May 22). I've never read anything on the topic of food and nutrition more arrogant or opinionated.
By PHOENIX STAFF  |  June 17, 2009
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Outdoor bites

Eve's at the Garden's lovely new happy-hour menu
Nothing democratizes like nature. Rousseau thought all primitives were equal until the moment someone thought to build a hut and move indoors. Nowadays people who would never enjoy similar books, films, or music nonetheless appreciate the beauty of the outdoors in much the same way.
By BRIAN DUFF  |  June 17, 2009

The Place

When only fancy will do
Sometimes a burger or a heap of nachos is just what the appetite (and budget) ordered. Sometimes nothing less than white linen elegance will do. A Newport place ambitiously named the Place bills itself as "the wine bar and grille at Yesterdays." The latter restaurant describes itself as "an alehouse;" it has 36 microbrews on tap and a menu that skews playful and Caribbean. Oy — a pint, mon.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ  |  June 17, 2009
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Espèria Grill & Rotisserie

Come for the gyros, stay for the pizza, lamb shanks, subs, etc . . .
The Center House of Pizza was a regular neighborhood pizza place for more than 20 years, and then, two years ago, suddenly changed its name to Espèria and put up a sign for rotisserie.
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  June 17, 2009
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Jack and the Bean Bowl

A tasty vegetarian/vegan cart sneaks past the Back Bay’s guardians of dullness
A tasty vegetarian/vegan cart sneaks past the Back Bay's guardians of dullness
By MC SLIM JB  |  June 10, 2009
sushi list

Sushi

Hoopleville
Sake, sashimi, tempura
By DAVID KISH  |  June 12, 2009

Review: Chez Pascal

Regional fare, boundless pleasures
Everything about Chez Pascal, beginning with Monday Market Menus and ending with a gallery show for a Rhody painter, emphasizes co-owners Matt and Kristin Gennuso's support for local talent, be it farmers or artists.
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ  |  June 10, 2009
primo list

Ahead of the curve

Rockland's Primo finds the future in past traditions
Popular tastes wax, wane, and wander about, but over the long run people most appreciate those things that are timelessly simple, elegant, and right: Roger Federer's backhand, German-expressionist art, cotton, and the summer here in Maine.
By BRIAN DUFF  |  June 10, 2009
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Livin' la Vida Locavore

If farmers and artisans are packing their best goods and schlepping them to your 'hood, cheap, what's your excuse for not consuming them? 
Winter has always traumatized New Englanders, but because of the economy (thanks, rapacious mortgage-bundling douche bags!), this past season was particularly grim.
By SHAULA CLARK  |  June 10, 2009
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Exotic Sushi and Tapas

A little bit of everything, from Europe to Japan
Exotic Sushi and Tapas doesn't have the most exotic sushi, but the combination of Japanese bar snacks with their European small-plate counterparts is an unusual angle on fusion that can be worked into a square meal.
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  June 10, 2009
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Halal Indian Cuisine

Negotiating one's way to solid Northern Indian fare
I imagine many diners who like Indian cuisine and can tolerate some chili heat have had this frustrating discussion with their server: "Curry: spicy, please." "Would you like that mild, medium, or hot?" "Hot, please." "Ooh, hot here is very hot." "Hot, please."
By MC SLIM JB  |  June 03, 2009

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