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Trade, a restaurant from Chef Jody Adams of Rialto fame, is my one of my favorite restaurants in Boston, and a place I find myself again and again. Living in the Leather District, it is also luckily (and dangerously!) close to home, and when we get home to find the fridge bare we often take the short walk to Congress Street. Because we have tried the menu so many times, I’d like to share some of what I’ve found to be the best dishes on the menu. The space, by Fort Point Channel at the intersection of Congress Street and Atlantic Avenue, is airy and industrial, with lots of warm wood and exposed brick. The long bar area is a favorite of the after-work crowd, and is often filled with people from downtown looking for a drink before heading home. And with good reason: the drinks are delicious, especially their gingery cockney mule. As great as the bar scene is, it is so worthwhile to stay for dinner. The menu is served in the bar area as well as a more formal seating area at the front of the restaurant. While there are larger entrees on the menu (between $22 and $28), sharing the small plates ($7 to $15 each) is a delicious way to try several dishes. In line with the aim of using fresh local ingredients, the menu shifts with the seasons to feature the best produce available. There is always a crudo, and it has been delicious every time I have tried it. One memorable version featured fluke in a delicate coconut broth. The current menu includes a tuna crudo with wasabi, radish, chilli, and yuzu – yum! A perennial favorite of mine and a constant on the menu is the black bean enchilada with Taza mole, cabbage, and avocado. It is cooked in a small cast iron skillet in the huge pizza oven, which also crisps up several varieties of flatbreads. Another favorite is the crispy potatoes with paprika and cumin, simple but oh-so satisfying. Vegetables really shine, including avocado served with an addictive green mango-tamarind-peanut chutney, Brussels sprouts with harissa and dukkah, and gingered beets in a grainy mustard vinagrette. The menu often features burrata, a fresh cheese made from mozzarella and cream. A version we tried recently paired a zingy quince jam and toasted nuts with the rich cheese, for a perfect decadent forkful. While there are several interesting deserts on the menu, we always come back to the baked Alaska. The flavor of ice cream or sorbet changes with the seasons, but the meringue shell is always crisped beautifully in the hot pizza oven. It has consistently been a perfect ending to some of my favorite meals in Boston. If you try Trade, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  

Chinatown can be a bit intimidating.  The myriad of streets over lapping each other in a haphazard fashion, all lined with bustling restaurants adorned with colorful awnings decorated with their names, menus in the windows listing their fare in both English as well as Chinese, or Cantonese. But how do you tell which is good and which is better passed by?  Even more so, once you’re seated, how do you know what to order? Some spots make it easy on their clientele.  Gourmet Dumpling House is widely regarded as one of the best places in Chinatown, and here I let the name guide me when ordering - their dumplings are out of this world.  They specialize in a variety of types of dumplings, steamed to pan fried, with vegetarian fillings to meat fillings, however, I have to guide you to the Juicy Dumplings.  Often called Soup Dumplings, these little steamed pockets of perfection contain either crab meat and pork or just pork with a healthy addition of broth.  One does need to take some care when eating these treasures, as the broth can make for a messier experience, but the combination of the dumpling with the filling and the soup makes a perfect bite every time. Perhaps you’re more of a Steamed Pork Bun fan?  A sandwich of sorts with a “bun” so pillowy soft that it feels like a cloud encompassing artfully seasoned pork, sometimes accomplanied by veggies or a spicy mayo, and sometimes served clean, as is.  Mei Sum is the go to spot for these, with very honorable mentions at Chau Chow City and China Pearl. Looking for a good first date spot?  Head to The Q Restaurant for their Mongolian Hot Pot.  Hot Pot allows diners to choose their broths, their vegetables, their meats and create their own unique dinners right at their own table.   Differing a bit from the standard fare, Hot Pot is incredibly interactive, fun for a group or to help smooth out any awkward corners in the dating world. Chinatown is a large section in the city and is comprised of much more than just the restaurants listed here.  It’s streets contain many markets, pharmacies and the like all stocked with imported goods from China, each with their own unique feel.  If you are interested in learning more, there are phenomenal tours offered through Boston Food Tours that will guide you through the neighborhood and offer answers to all those questions you have. No matter what you’re looking for, I urge you to get out and explore the great Chinatown, treasures are sure to be found. Hungry for more? Explore all of our Boston restaurant deals.

Wine remains a mystery to so many of us.  Every time we walk into a wine store or peruse a wine list at a restaurant we're faced with a daunting task.  What are we going to choose?  What goes with what we're eating?  What is perfect to just watch TV with?  These are the pressing questions, especially as the weather gets colder and we start looking for big reds to pair with our stews and perfectly drinkable wines to ignore the snowstorms outside with.   If you are in this predicament- I have a solution for you. Each  Saturday and Sunday the City Wine Tours offers walking tours of Cambridge's Harvard Square, as well as the North End, the South End and the Back Bay of Boston.  Each tour stops at three different, unique restaurants and sample two different wines at each, all accompanying the libation with small bites to nosh on.  Of course, that isn't all you get- the real beauty here, beyond an afternoon of eating and drinking great wines, is a knowledgable guide who mixes an abundance of educational wine tips and information with tidbits of knowledge about the area in which you are walking.  All this is done in a fun and informal way to create a stress free experience. I had the opportunity to join a tour of the South End recently and was really excited start to finish.  We began our tour at Gaslight on Harrison Avenue, kicked things off with a bit of sparkling wine, and a white burgundy (my favorite) and learned the unique processes used in the creation of both.  Tour leader John Fiola kept us entertained with leading a discussion on the proper way to open champagne and the different regions of French wine.  We traveled next to CinqueCento also on Harrison Ave and dove into Italian wines and the different laws which rule them as opposed to French.  He also opened up a conversation here looking at how to order wine in a restaurant- invaluable knowledge.  Our final stop was Masa on Tremont Street, and as we meandered there, John took the opportunity to give us some insight into the South End, it's history and the major changes that have happened there over the past few years.  Masa, with its SouthWestern cuisine concentrated their wine in South America as well as California, and offered up a crisp white and full bodied red.  Here we looked at the unique processes of "New World" wines as well as how to properly open a screw top wine bottle.  John also let us in on the how the non corked wines came to be and why. The tour lasted just a little over two hours, but seemed to speed by much faster.  The knowledge that was transferred throughout the process kept us on track and provided a great elementary education without overwhelming us with too much detail.  CIty Wine Tours is offering a unique way to spend a weekend afternoon while combining a little education with glasses of truly great wine.  This is a perfect way to learn a little more about the neighborhoods of Boston and wine. CIty Wine Tours offers tours every Saturday and Sunday at each of the different locations.  Gift Certificates are available, and, hint hint, would make a fabulous holiday gift.  They do offer some coupons and sales- check http://www.citywinetours.com for details.