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Eataly Boston – A Sneak Peek

November 28, 2016 in events by traveleatlove | 5 comments

It feels like a little bit of a dream and a bit of a whirlwind. Right before we left for Ireland (like four hours before we boarded the plane) I had the amazing opportunity of getting a sneak peek of Eataly Boston, which opens this week! Due to a late start and my hard stop to leave for the airport, I didn’t even get to tour all of Eataly, but everything I saw was simply incredible from start to finish.

I think I love Eataly Boston even more than I loved my first Eataly experience in New York City, and I still have so much to see and taste and enjoy!

Eataly Boston, from the very first glance, is simply gorgeous, clean, fresh, and European-chic. I entered via Boylston Street and was like a kid on Christmas morning as we awaited our tour.

Chef Mario Batali, in his signature orange Crocs, welcomed all of the media in attendance, and then led half of the group in the tour.

Eataly is designed to be like an Italian town center, with all of the little shops and restaurants you need to eat, shop, and learn. Chef Batali noted that it’s a place where you can pick up a coffee in the morning, grab lunch later in the day, and stock up on ingredients for dinner and entertaining at home later.

I love the concept of going from specialty store to specialty store – when we are in Europe we employ this practice, visiting quality butchers, cheese shops, etc. for everything we need for a memorable meal, and Eataly will make this all possible in one place. From beautiful produce to crepes, a huge cheese counter to award-winning pizza to a gorgeous wine store and so much more, Eataly will blow you away with its offerings. For full information, visit the Eataly Boston website.

With winter coming to Boston sooner rather than later, Eataly will feel like a mini getaway to Italy without having to dig into our wallets for the airfare, and it will be a most delicious place to come in out of the cold.

As I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t stay for much of the tour, but I raced through and grabbed as many photos as I could before I left. Feast your eyes on the beauty that is Eataly Boston in the below photos. . . but be sure to pay this new Boston gem a visit as soon as you can!

Tags: Boston, Boston blogger, Eataly, events, Food, Mario Batali, tasting, tour, wine

Taste of Sonesta Boston Media Event

November 14, 2014 in events, Food by traveleatlove | 1 comment

There are so many intersections where my work and blogging meet that it’s hard not to blog about work events all the time. To celebrate the re-launch of the newly renovated Royal Sonesta Boston, we recently held a small media reception that included tastes of each our the hotel’s food and beverage outlets as well as a peek into new meeting space and bites from the banquet menu.

The event was a fun one to plan, especially since I have gotten to know so much of Boston’s blogging community in all of my blogging years. And still there are so many Boston bloggers for me to meet!

We had a really fun group for the event, which kicked off in the hotel’s brand new waterfront meeting space. The views of the Charles and Boston skyline are some of the best available, and the mini crudités and cheese plates were a big hit.

After having small bites and wine with introductions, we moved on for a tour of the hotel lobby to our next stop, ArtBar.

apple turnip soup

ArtBar offers seasonal cuisine and craft cocktails, and we sampled their Apple Turnip Soup and Duck Liver Pate on Crostini, along with cocktails from the fall cocktail menu.

From there we moved on to the soon-to-be-opened cocktail lounge, Motif. I love hotel cocktail lounges, and this one will be chic and comfortable with an old fashioned martini cart for tableside cocktails.

martini cart

Our next stop was the well-known and loved Restaurant dante. You may have seen Chef Dante on top Chef recently. The restaurant serves some pretty amazing pastas and other Italian fare, we and we enjoyed some samples of their famous arancini and meatballs along with a delicious white wine.

Our final stop of the night was the Royal Sonesta’s brand new coffee and pastry shop, Studio, where we had cider cake pops, brownies, biscotti, and coffee. I think we were all full at that point!

It was so fun being able to share the beautiful place I work with some bloggers I knew and others I was so happy to meet. We have so many things going on at the hotel, from holiday specials to holiday party promotions to packages and the ability to earn rewards points. It’s a topic I love talking about, so if you would like more information, feel free to ask!

Tags: bloggers, dine around, events, Food, hotels, media, media events, PR, tasting, wine

Coastal NE Wine Trail Kickoff

June 7, 2009 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | No comments

What a great day! The Coastal Wine Trail Kickoff was everything I hoped for and more- a total wine, beer, and foodie paradise! Thank you Sakonnet Vineyards!

One thing to note- oh my gosh, grownups are total vultures when it comes to free stuff. I heard more than one person talking about getting their money’s ($40) worth. At 29 I still often feel like a kid, and am always surprised and a little horrified to see adults pushing each other out of the way to get a piece of cheese. . .

Anywho, what a GREAT day! Thank you to Sakonnet Vineyards for hosting the kickoff! It was such an incredibly blue sky, sunny day by the sea, that I think nothing else could compare, though I am willing to attend more events to try :). There were so many stands with food, wine, and beer, and I am going to write a bit about my favorites below, including the winners in my wine awards.

White wine– the overall majority of wines we tasted were white, so I have a couple of favorites:

Sakonnet Vineyards Vidal Blanc, a super drinkable, peachy, delicious white

Greenvale Vineyards Vidal Blanc, also very lovely, slightly drier, but summery white wine. The ladies at the Greenvale booth were very friendly, and I am looking forward to visiting their vineyard soon.

My favorite Rose of the day was easily Travessia Urban Winery from New Bedford, MA. They also offered a stunning, un-oaked chardonnay. Normally I really do not look forward to drinking chardonnay, but this one was exceptional. The Rose has not yet been released, but once it is, I know it will be a star!

Dessert wine – Running Brook Ice Wine. This was sweet, rich, and syrupy, perfect for a dessert wine any time of the year. I really loved tasting the New England winter in this one. A small glass will definitely suffice, as the alcohol content seems quite strong!

Red wine– The easy winner in the red wine award category is Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod. They offered a gorgeous Cabernet Franc (Tasting Notes Cabernet Franc is the signature varietal of Truro Vineyards. Open vat fermentation, extended maceration and 18 months barrel aging all contribute to rich varietal fruit flavors and herbal tannins. This tasty dry red wine is best served with beef, pork and varied roasted dishes.) and a Cranberry Red, which would be a perfect fall/winter dessert wine. I loved it!

Sparkling – The only sparkling wine offered at the tasting was Westport Rivers’ which I have tried before and will surely drink again. After the event, we went inside Sakonnet’s tasting room and were offered some of their chardonnay champagne, which I ended up buying for my weekend at the Cape with the girls. It is lovely and tastes of honey and a slightly floral bouquet. I know my friends will love it, and it truly speaks to celebration of any kind!

Beer- By far the stand-out beer of the day was Newport Storm’s amber ale. On top of being offered a generous pour, the staff member at the booth was knowledgeable, friendly, and interesting. I loved the amber ale, and the hub loved the summer ale. We will be looking for these at local liquor stores like Kappy’s and Martignetti’s.

Food- Great wine has to accompany great food, right? We had a light lunch at the cafe at Sakonnet Vineyards prior to the event- a chicken and tarragon salad wrap, served by some very friendly young ladies. At the event itself, we bought oysters from Sakonnet Oyster Company, and they were briny, salty, plump, and delicious. I am a lover of east coast oysters, and these did not disappoint. The other favorite of the day was the blue goat’s cheese from Westfield Farm which was both salty and sweet and had the perfect goat/blue mix. I will definitely be following up with this cheesemaker to see what else they have to offer.

I have only covered about half of the vendors at this amazing event. A big hats off to Sakonnet vineyards for organizing it so wonderfully. I leave you with some great photos of what was a perfect day.