The relationship between Cape Cod’s Bay End Farm and Cambridge restaurant the Blue Room has deep roots: The organic farm’s husband-and-wife owners, Kofi and Erin Ingersoll, worked under restaurateur Nick Zappia at the Blue Room more than 15 years ago, and the restaurant was among the first to use their produce. And what started seven years ago as a benefit to help the Ingersolls build a barn and canning kitchen has grown into an annual tradition of summer get-togethers by the bucolic Bourne farm’s oak trees. On July 26, Aug. 16 and Sept. 20, they’ll team up once again for prix fixe four-course family-style dinners paired with organic wines from Central Bottle, the wine shop Zappia co-owns in Cambridge. The dinners are capped at 80 people, and since many are repeat guests, Zappia and his team try to change the offerings yearly—in fact, the actual menu isn’t determined until the week of the event, to better take advantage of what’s being harvested that week. For the Ingersolls, that may mean seven kinds of heirloom tomatoes, small leafy blond cucumbers, onions, radishes, greens, fingerling potatoes and carrots. Anything they don’t grow, like corn and fruit, they trade for with neighbors. For the July dinner, Zappia says, the produce will probably be “oniony, herby, greeny, which would pair with local striped bass, clams from Wellfleet or mussels from Duxbury.” FYI: Children are welcome at the event, and if there are enough of them, Zappia’s crew has been known to set up a separate table so their parents can enjoy a leisurely meal while the kids graze.
$75-$95 at eventbrite.com
Northern Italian favorite La Morra in Brookline brings the farm to you on June 25, when farmers from Chestnut Hill’s 130-acre Allandale Farm will be the featured guests at this four-course dinner paired with organic wines. Diners can dish on the baby kale, radish, fresh herbs, heirloom greens and baby spring peas with the men and women who grew them.
$65 at lamorra.com
Hump Day gets a little happier July 8-Aug. 19, when North Andover’s Smolak Farms welcomes a different guest chef each Wednesday for a multi-course meal in the pine grove. This year’s crop includes the likes of Peter Davis of Henrietta’s Table (July 15), Jay Murray of Grill 23 (July 29) and Eric Brennan of Post 390 (Aug. 12).
$69-$89 at smolakfarmsevents.eventbrite.com
DIY Department
Throwing farm-fresh feasts at home will get a little easier with the July opening of the long-awaited Boston Public Market at 136 Blackstone St., a 28,000-square-foot year-round destination for locally produced food, including dairy delights from Wolf Meadow Farm, pasture-raised meats from Lilac Hedge Farm, hydroponic produce from Eastie’s own Corner Stalk Farm and much more.
Seize the Summer
Celebrate the season with these spectacular dining events.
By Linh Tran Brincat May 29, 2015
The Blue Room & Bay End Farm Dinners
The relationship between Cape Cod’s Bay End Farm and Cambridge restaurant the Blue Room has deep roots: The organic farm’s husband-and-wife owners, Kofi and Erin Ingersoll, worked under restaurateur Nick Zappia at the Blue Room more than 15 years ago, and the restaurant was among the first to use their produce. And what started seven years ago as a benefit to help the Ingersolls build a barn and canning kitchen has grown into an annual tradition of summer get-togethers by the bucolic Bourne farm’s oak trees. On July 26, Aug. 16 and Sept. 20, they’ll team up once again for prix fixe four-course family-style dinners paired with organic wines from Central Bottle, the wine shop Zappia co-owns in Cambridge. The dinners are capped at 80 people, and since many are repeat guests, Zappia and his team try to change the offerings yearly—in fact, the actual menu isn’t determined until the week of the event, to better take advantage of what’s being harvested that week. For the Ingersolls, that may mean seven kinds of heirloom tomatoes, small leafy blond cucumbers, onions, radishes, greens, fingerling potatoes and carrots. Anything they don’t grow, like corn and fruit, they trade for with neighbors. For the July dinner, Zappia says, the produce will probably be “oniony, herby, greeny, which would pair with local striped bass, clams from Wellfleet or mussels from Duxbury.” FYI: Children are welcome at the event, and if there are enough of them, Zappia’s crew has been known to set up a separate table so their parents can enjoy a leisurely meal while the kids graze.
$75-$95 at eventbrite.com
La Morra Farm Dinner with Allandale Farm
Northern Italian favorite La Morra in Brookline brings the farm to you on June 25, when farmers from Chestnut Hill’s 130-acre Allandale Farm will be the featured guests at this four-course dinner paired with organic wines. Diners can dish on the baby kale, radish, fresh herbs, heirloom greens and baby spring peas with the men and women who grew them.
$65 at lamorra.com
Whim Dinner Series at Smolak Farms
Hump Day gets a little happier July 8-Aug. 19, when North Andover’s Smolak Farms welcomes a different guest chef each Wednesday for a multi-course meal in the pine grove. This year’s crop includes the likes of Peter Davis of Henrietta’s Table (July 15), Jay Murray of Grill 23 (July 29) and Eric Brennan of Post 390 (Aug. 12).
$69-$89 at smolakfarmsevents.eventbrite.com
DIY Department
Throwing farm-fresh feasts at home will get a little easier with the July opening of the long-awaited Boston Public Market at 136 Blackstone St., a 28,000-square-foot year-round destination for locally produced food, including dairy delights from Wolf Meadow Farm, pasture-raised meats from Lilac Hedge Farm, hydroponic produce from Eastie’s own Corner Stalk Farm and much more.
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