Farm-to-Post Foraged and Wild Dinner at Post 390 (Back Bay, Boston, MA)

Farm to Post is the dinner series at Back Bay's Post 390 that showcases the local farmers and New England producers the restaurant works with. I attended a pork dinner last year featuring Dogpatch Farm and I had another opportunity to attend a special dinner recently. In September, Post 390 held a "Foraged and Wild" dinner featuring (you guessed it) foraged ingredients.

Each Farm to Post dinner always starts with a cocktail reception with passed hors d'oeuvres. This year's most popular appetizer was probably the fried Damariscotta oyster (from Maine) with creamed wild spinach and bacon.

The first cocktail is a sparkling Cocchi Americano drink with wild peppermint and sweet fern tea


First course: "Secret spot" mushroom vol-au-vent
Marsh greens, spiced black walnuts, blackberries, wild flower petals, Solomon's plume vinaigrette.
This was paired with Oxbow Brewing Farmhouse Pale Ale from Newcastle, ME.

The pastry for the vol-au-vent was perfectly flaky. The mushrooms, and other foraged items in the dinner were foraged by Nicholas Deutmeyer. The mushrooms came from his secret spot (hence the name). We had black trumpet mushrooms, lobster mushrooms, and chanterelles. The greens also featured foraged sea beans and sea arugula. Perfect start to a foraging dinner!

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Brunch and DIY Irish Coffee Bar at Lansdowne Pub (Boston, MA)

Lansdowne Pub in Fenway started Irish Brunch Banger on September 17, which was Halway to St. Patrick's Day. I didn't know that was a thing, but why not - any excuse to drink Jameson and Guinness.

Lansdowne Pub is an Irish pub just steps away from Fenway stadium that offers live music and open mic nights. As a bar, live music spot, and a place to go before and after a Red Sox game, Lansdowne is quite popular, but this is the first time I'm checking out the food, which was surprisingly good.

We had a number of classic brunch dishes like the Sausage & Eggs. The grilled housemade chicken and maple sausage had a nice flavor and a touch of sweetness - I was a fan.

There were also some atypical items on the regular menu, like the Duck confit grilled cheese. This was a hit at the table, with tender duck confit on grilled bread. The duck is the star rather than the cheese, though.

My favorite item was probably the Apple Crumble Pancakes (buttermilk pancakes, sauteed apples, oatmeal cinnamon streusel, $10)

Usually I'm more of a waffle or french toast girl, and I was never a huge fan of apples either, but I couldn't s top eating this apple crumble pancakes! The pancakes themselves were nice and fluffy, and I loved the combination with the cinnamon streusel and the soft, slightly caramelized apples.

Other brunch dishes we tried was the Crab Cake Benedict ($13)

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Dine Out at LA Restaurant Oct 7-14 to Help Puerto Rico with LA Loves Puerto Rico

I think we all know by now how devastating Hurricane Maria had been for the island (and US territory!) of Puerto Rico and how much more help they still need.
Most of the people in Puerto Rico don't have access to clean water, shelter, and power.

If you're unsure of how to help, there are plenty of ways. In fact, there's a very easy way. Just go out and do what you normally do - go out to eat and drink at 100s of LA restaurants next week, from October 7-14. Just be sure to order certain special dishes, where these LA restaurants and bars and their great chefs and mixologists have pledged 100% of the proceeds from those items to Unidos por Puerto Rico for a campaign called LA Loves PR.

Unidos Por Puerto Rico / United for Puerto Rico is an initiative brought forth by the First Lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló, in collaboration with the private sector, with the purpose of providing aid and support to those affected in Puerto Rico by the passage of the hurricanes.

There are more than 85 establishments participating and offering great special dishes and drinks - because our LA peeps are awesome. You can find the full list here.

As an example: the coconut rice pudding with mango passionfruit sorbet at Woodley Proper.

Photo credit: Jakob Lyaman

Other participating restaurants include Georgie, Miro, Lucques, Sotto, Rossoblu, The Bazaar by Jose Andres, and many more. Seriously, just take a look.

There are some nice cocktails on the list, too, like this Pearl Diver from Accomplice Bar made with Puerto Rican rum, guava, and Gaby's secret Gardenia Mix.

photo credit: Accomplice Bar

You'll find cocktail specials at Commerson, Cana Rum Bar, Barcito, Harvard and Stone, and others.

I urge you, Angelenos, and anyone visiting the city next week. Eat and drink every day, as much as you can, and order these dishes/ drinks. It's for a good - and much needed - cause.