Cochon 555 Returning to Boston, January 30, 2011

A national competition that focuses on pig-based dishes and wine is getting ready to return to Boston, with five local chefs competing in the event.

According to the event's website as well as the Bacon Hall of Fame site, Cochon 555 will be held on Sunday, January 30, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston's Back Bay. Five chefs, including Mary Dumont from Harvest in Cambridge, Will Gilson from Garden at the Cellar in Cambridge, Matt Jennings from Farmstead in Providence, RI, Barry Maiden from Hungry Mother in Cambridge, and Lydia Shire from Locke-Ober and Scampo in Boston, will be creating various dishes using five pigs that are supplied. Judges and guests will pick the winner of the event, taking into consideration flavor, presentation, and utilization. Wines from Domaine Serene (Oregon), Elk Cove Vineyards (Oregon), Peay Vineyards (California), Red Car (California), and Sokol Blosser (Oregon) will be featured at the event.

Tickets to Cochon 555, which begins at 5:00 PM, cost $125.

For more information on the winter 2011 Cochon 555 event in Boston, please go to the sites below:

[Cochon 555 website]
http://www.cochon555.com/

[Bacon Hall of Fame website]
http://www.baconhalloffame.com/

Thanks to one of our followers on the Hiddenboston Twitter page for bringing this event to our attention.

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Kabab and Tandoor in Waltham Is Moving to Moody Street

An Indian restaurant in Waltham that moved from Lexington Street to Main Street a couple of years ago is getting ready to move again, this time as part of a combination grocery store/food court within the city's "restaurant row."

According to the Waltham News Tribune and Wicked Local, Kabab & Tandoor is moving to Moody Street, with its location being in the downstairs section of the upgraded Waltham India Market, which moved from its older and smaller location up the street a few weeks ago. The article mentions that both Kabab & Tandoor and a soon-to-open food court that will feature a variety of ethnic foods will be separate from each other, with both possibly opening in early February.

Kabab & Tandoor, which focuses on Hyderabadi Halal cuisine, has been featured on our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants). A review of the restaurant can be found here:

http://www.hiddenboston.com/KababAndTandoor.html

Once the restaurant moves from 699 Main Street, its address will be: Kabab & Tandoor, 315 Moody Street, Waltham, MA, 02453.

For more information on the moving of Kabab & Tandoor (as well as the upcoming food court and the new Waltham India Market), please go to the Waltham News Tribune/Wicked Local link below.

Waltham India Market brings a slice of Mumbai to Moody Street

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Upper Crust Pizzeria Is Opening Another Location in Downtown Boston

An expanding local chain of pizzerias continues to grow, with a second branch planned for downtown Boston.

According to Adam's Hospitality and Tourism Industry Blog, Upper Crust Pizzeria is going to be opening on State Street in the city's Financial District. This upcoming location, which is just south of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, is not too far from its existing Summer Street branch (near South Station). The Adam's Hospitality and Tourism Industry Blog mentions that it learned about the new location of Upper Crust from an ad in the Improper Bostonian.

[October 21 update: According to EveryBlock Boston, Upper Crust has now received a business license for the State Street location, so it may be opening fairly soon.]

Currently, locations of the Upper Crust chain can be found in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Hingham, Lexington, Newburyport, Plymouth, Salem, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley, and West Roxbury, with another new one coming to Beverly this spring.

The address for this upcoming pizzeria will be: Upper Crust Pizzeria, 109 State Street, Boston, MA, 02109. The Web site for the Upper Crust chain can be found at: http://www.theuppercrustpizzeria.com/

Thanks to Grub Street Boston for initially bringing this to our attention.

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Live Streaming Video of Anthony Bourdain in Boston on Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The host of the Travel Channel's popular TV show "No Reservations" is currently in Boston filming for the show, and it looks like fans will be able to see him "live" tomorrow (Wednesday, January 5).

According to the Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Facebook page, live streaming video of Bourdain in Boston will be shown on Facebook, with exact times to be announced on the show's Facebook page. As soon as we receive updates on times, we will post updates here, or you can go directly to the No Reservations Facebook page (see link below) to find out when the video will be up and running. (We will also be posting updates on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook page and the Hiddenboston Twitter page.)

[January 5 update: According to the "No Reservations" Facebook page, Anthony Bourdain will be streamed live on the page from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (EST). Go to the Facebook link below and click "Livestream" to get the video.]

[APRIL 15 UPDATE: The Boston episode of "No Reservations" is going to be premiered on April 18. For more information (including the places that Bourdain went to), please go to our more recent article: Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" Boston Episode to Be Shown Monday, April 18]

So far, it appears that Bourdain has checked out The Galley Diner on P Street in South Boston, and there have also been several other "sightings" of the TV personality, writer, and chef in and around Boston, though none have been confirmed as of yet.

The No Reservations Facebook page can be found at the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/AnthonyBourdainNoReservations

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Kings to Open in Burlington

An entertainment facility with locations in Boston and Dedham [and Lynnfield as of October, 2013 -ed] that features bowling, billiards, food, and drink is apparently planning to open another location in the area, with this one being in the northern suburbs of Boston.

According to The Boston Herald, the group behind Kings (The Lyons Group) is looking at a space across from the Burlington Mall in Burlington as the potential site for another Kings location. The article states that the site used to be a car dealership, but it does not mention the name of the former dealer--an article we had posted in the fall had mentioned that a chain of restaurant and video game arcades called Dave & Buster's has also been looking at a former car dealership space across from the mall (Burlington Dodge) for a new location of its entertainment spot, but we have not yet been able to find out whether both places are looking at vying for the site or "sharing" the same space (keep checking back for updates here).

[February 14 update: According to The Burlington Union and Wicked Local, the location for the proposed Kings in Burlington would be at Northwest Park, which is a business park on Third Avenue at the Middlesex Turnpike intersection, a short distance north of the Burlington Mall. The article mentions that a formal application for Kings looks to be filed with the Burlington Planning Board sometime in the next month or two.]

[April 3, 2013 update: Kings is now in the process of being built, with the Burlington Patch reporting (via a Tweet from 3rd Ave Burlington) that it is planning to open this fall. The Patch says that the new Kings will include seating for nearly 300 diners along with 24 bowling lanes.]

[April 3, 2014 update: An email sent this week indicates that the new Kings in Burlington will open later this month, and it will be the largest Kings yet, with 30,000 square feet of space.]

Kings first opened in 2003 in the Back Bay of Boston, with a second location opening at Legacy Place in Dedham in the early fall of 2009. [Ed note: As mentioned above, a third Boston-area location of Kings opened in Lynnfield in the fall of 2013.]

For more information on the proposed opening of Kings in Burlington, please go to the Boston Herald link below.

Lyons Group eyeing a third Kings facility across from mall

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Rocca in Boston's South End Has Closed

It looks like a popular restaurant in the SoWa section of Boston's South End may have shut its doors.

According to several sources, including food writer MC Slim JB, who posted the news on Chowhound, as well as a few people on the Twitter site, Rocca on Harrison Avenue has closed, with the upscale eatery apparently shutting its doors as of either yesterday or today. A check on OpenTable indicates that reservations for Rocca are not being taken anymore, and calls placed to the restaurant have not been picked up by anyone. In addition, a note on Rocca's Twitter page mentions that the reservations manager's last day was on December 28.

Rocca, which first opened in the spring of 2007, featured mostly inventive Italian dishes, with such menu items as yellowfin tuna tartare, ricotta cavatelli, gnocchetti, smoked and braised pork, spiced lamb loin, and goat's cheese pound cake.

The address for this now-closed restaurant was: Rocca, 500 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02118.

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