The Greater Boston area harbors a growing population of urban beekeepers, from residents with hives in their backyards to businesses that provide a home for bees on skyscraper rooftops. Local honeybee expert and researcher Dr. Noah Wilson-Rich, who founded The Best Bees Company while pursuing a PhD in Biology at Tufts, shares his insights on this valuable insect. Despite the threat of Colony Collapse Disorder and other diseases, the future holds the buzz of promise for pollinators.

The Best Bees Company is described as a full-service beekeeping operation. Can you explain what that means?

It started six years ago with no funding, no investors, just a Facebook page and a dream. Now we’ve got over twenty employees, we’re a national company and we’ve raised about a million dollars for bee research from our clients. The business hasn’t changed since day one. We build beehives by hand here in Boston, install them at client sites (whether that’s a city rooftop or a farm in the country), install the bees and check in about once a month to make sure they’re healthy.

Who are your clients?

Our clients are very diverse. We have some large scale corporate clients, but the majority of our work is done for individual residences. We also work with schools, and have a lot of clients from the hospitality industry, including hotels and restaurants. That is a huge client base, especially here in Boston.

Why is focusing on urban beekeeping – you mention skyscrapers – so important?

It’s been so fascinating; I think that perhaps it started off by chance, the research. Just because of proximity, I started selling most of my beehives to residents of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville. Eventually, I sold hives to places in the countryside as well, outside of the cities, and what we came to notice was that the beehives in the cities were making more honey than beehives outside of the cities. And the beehives in the cities were surviving winter at higher rates.

That’s surprising!

Yeah, it’s been going on for years. We don’t exactly know why yet, but what it does say is that urban beekeeping is not just a trend. It’s actually better for the bees, and we need to pay attention to that. Available land is limited, so we have to be smarter about how we’re using it, even when it comes to the most basic need of food. It becomes a social justice issue, and policy makers around the world, including cities like Boston, Cambridge and over in Watertown, they’re noticing this. And I believe they’re really working hard to put policies in place so that there are guidelines to make all of these urban homesteading things, from beekeeping to farming on rooftops, possible.

What’s the most common mistake people make when they start out?

You know, one thing that people sometimes do is they let the excitement of a new venture get ahead of them and they don’t take the proper beekeeping class in order to know what to do. [Honeybees] can get diseases and fly for miles, so if there’s a hive that gets neglected or it’s just not properly managed, an infected beehive can then cause a disease outbreak. It really is a larger community issue. You need to work together to provide educational opportunities for everybody.

In addition to getting educated, is there any other advice you’d give to beekeepers?

To get started, take a beekeeping class and then hire a beekeeping service to manage your hives, or let an experienced beekeeper put hives on your land for a one-on-one learning opportunity. Communication is also key. The neighbor issue is something that people in big cities often wonder about. Honeybees die when they sting, so they’re not motivated to sting us, and they’re super beneficial. It’s the beekeeper’s burden to become the educator.

How would you describe the beekeeping community in the Boston area?

It is a very young one. The Boston Beekeepers Association hasn’t even been in existence for a year yet! The Massachusetts Beekeepers Association has been around for, I’d say, around a hundred years now. So even though beekeeping is not new to Massachusetts, in Boston and Cambridge we can finally say, ‘We’re a group, let’s get together and have dialogue and learn and work together.’

So what is Boston honey like?

There are actually two hot spots that every single year produce the most honey, the South End of Boston and Harvard Square in Cambridge.

It sounds like even the bees at Harvard are overachievers!

Exactly! It’s pretty amazing, and we don’t exactly know why, but some of the things that are hurting honeybee health might be absent in these particular areas, [such as] pesticides and fungicides, plus there is floral diversity. And the honeys change with the season depending on what’s in bloom. There’s a store in Harvard Square called Follow the Honey where visitors can taste all of the different honeys from around the world.

Can you give me some examples of what kind of research you do?

We have two different research operations under the same roof these days. Applied research at The Best Bees Company develops things like vaccines for bees or other treatments that can then be put on the marketplace to help beekeepers and farmers keep bees healthy. The Urban Beekeeping Laboratory & Bee Sanctuary is a 501c3 non-profit research organization, and that’s for basic science research. We’re looking to educate and test hypotheses and get information out there. We’ve got a paper coming out now with Tufts University that shows some insight into how to vaccinate a bee. We’re also doing a really exciting study on urban beekeeping around the country, looking at different factors, such as elevation.

You’ve written about bee health in your book, The Bee: A Natural History, among other places. What can you tell us about that?

This over-reliance on honeybees is stressing them out; it’s hurting their immune systems and making them sick. More honeybee hives live on our nation’s highways than do not. About two million honeybee hives live on flatbed trucks because the monoculture crops around the country have the whole American agricultural system out of whack. That’s a huge problem because there’s less diversity for bees to forage upon, and when one particular crop [is done], all those two million beehives need to hit the road again to go find other food. These are the bees that are associated with disease and colony collapse disorder (CCD). We need to understand other species of bees so that at minimum we can stop this overreliance on honeybees.

You write about the phenomenon of CCD and how it has ended. How come no one else talks about this?

Nobody has seen CCD for at least three years. That’s not to say that bees aren’t dying, they’re just dying from other things now, such as fungal infections. But we weren’t updating the public, and I think there was a big disturbance because everyone was working with outdated information. These mass die-offs have happened before [throughout history], so I think the overall message is to understand that there are different environmental changes that can happen. The least we can do is stay updated, try to understand the importance of bees and where our food comes from, and then we can actually try to make a difference from there.

What can be done to promote bee health?

Well, the three leading hypotheses for what’s killing bees are: one, chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides), two, disease, and three, habitat loss. There aren’t enough diverse flowers to keep bees healthy. Something anybody can do [to help] is to plant flowers.

To learn more about beekeeping and classes near you, visit the Boston Beekeepers Association at bostonbeekeepers.org or the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association at massbee.org. You can find more information on Dr. Wilson-Rich and The Best Bees Company at bestbees.com.

This interview has been edited and condensed by Amanda Balagur.

Few subjects have proved to be as polarizing as the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food. What began in the 1940s as an effort by U.S. scientists and policymakers to address the global food supply has evolved into a contentious debate about the safety and methodology of moving selective plant breeding from the fields to the laboratory.  Recently, the debate has found a new battleground, the food label.

This past March, House Representative Mike Pompeo, a Republican from Kansas, introduced H.R. 1599: Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, which would allow companies to voluntarily label foods as containing GMOs or GMO-free. Opponents argue that the bill undermines current efforts to mandate GMO labeling at the state level.

Earlier this year, the results of a Pew Research study in cooperation with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) showed that 89 percent of scientists believe genetically modified foods are safe, in comparison with 37 percent of the general public.

“If you look at what’s published in the scientific literature, almost all the evidence says that the crops that are transgenic that are on the market now are perfectly safe,” says Dr. Michael Shintaku, plant pathologist and faculty member at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He expresses frustration that the media has presented the issue to the public as having two sides without revealing how much scientific evidence supports the use of genetically modified crops. “They don’t really give you enough information to make what I think is an educated decision.”

Dr. Ellen Messer, a food and nutrition anthropologist with faculty affiliations at Tufts and Boston University, has spent years researching the potential of GMOs. “Some of the original cutting-edge technologies that allowed the adoption to go forward were actually joint projects of the USDA experimental research stations and Monsanto,” says Messer. “The U.S. wanted to lead the possible applications and licensing of these technologies.”

She feels the GMO issue has been oversimplified. “You can’t just say, ‘are they good or bad?’ What you want to ask is: what crops are transformed by what technologies to introduce what genes which carry what characteristics that will be used by which populations to what advantage? You really have to look at the specifics and the environment into which they’re being introduced, and who is developing particular products for what ends.”

“The poles are pretty extreme, and neither is exactly right,” agrees Gary Adamkiewicz, Assistant Professor in the Environmental Health Department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He contends that most of the problem stems from press coverage based on knee-jerk reactions instead of a healthy dialogue. “The way I look at it is that genetic modification is a technology, and like most technology, it can be used appropriately or not. It’s up to us to judge every case on its own.”

There is also the issue of how products should be labeled. Should “Non-GMO” be printed on the front of a bag of corn chips? Should it appear in the list of ingredients on the back? Will restaurant menus be updated to inform diners which dishes are non-GMO? Do consumers have enough information about GMOs to make an educated decision about whether or not to avoid them?

The first genetically engineered food to hit the market was the The Flavr Savr canned tomato.  A U.S. product developed to ripen off the vine, it was not a market success. A similar tomato, developed by a European firm, was marketed in tomato paste sold in the UK in the mid-1990s. The cans were labeled ‘Contains GMOs’. “Nobody got sick,” says Messer, “but they had to take them off [shelves] when there was a swift anti-GMO reaction several years later.”

Under current regulation, consumers looking to avoid GMOs do have some options. Food that is ‘Certified Organic’ by the FDA cannot include GMOs and products sporting the ‘Non-GMO Verified’ label have been certified through a network of private agencies to be GMO-free.

Dr. Christina Roberto, Assistant Professor of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and principal investigator of the Psychology of Eating and Consumer Health (PEACH) lab, conducts research on how food labeling affects both consumers and the industry. “Certainly labeling is a good way to challenge false beliefs consumers have,” she says, but it can also be misleading. Just because a bag of gummy bears is labeled organic doesn’t necessarily mean eating them is good for your health. “For any labeling system that you use, there’s going to need to be a consumer education system to go along with it.”

In Germany, scientists recently lobbied for labeling to expose how widespread GMOs are in the current food landscape. “It’s going to be interesting to see how people react to all of the cheese made with microbial rennet that is a genetically modified organism,” Messer says. “People have been eating that now for years.”

“It doesn’t matter how much scientific information you have," says Messer. “If people are convinced that GMOs are unhealthy, they’re not going to be otherwise convinced by the evidence.” Not that Messer is convinced that all GMOs, in all instances, will be safe. “There is a need to exercise constant vigilance for new threats to human health and the environment.”

“There is a psychology to this,” says Roberto. “How much information should you give people, and what is their ability to retain it and take it in and actually do something with it? Labeling can impact people’s perceptions of food, their behavior, and new research shows it can possibly connect to their physiology. Consumers are already inundated with lots of different messages, so the goal is to communicate useful information in an uncomplicated manner based on what they need. In some ways, it’s ‘just a label,’ but it can really influence the public.”

Rhonda Kallman has been at the forefront of craft alcohol since the early 80s. She co-founded the Boston Beer Company (brewer of Sam Adams) in 1984, and was recognized by the Institute for Brewing Studies as a “Pioneering Woman in the Beer Industry.” As CEO and founder of Boston Harbor Distillery, she aims to be at the forefront of education on craft distilling.

Did you always want to craft spirits? Was this your end game?

I’ve always had an affinity for spirits. Jim (Koch, co-founder of Boston Beer Company) was the one that got me really passionate about and interested in beer, and being at the forefront of the craft beer revolution was a pretty exciting place. When we started Sam Adams, there were, like, 35 breweries in the United States, and that includes the big guys. And today, there are more like 3,735!

I know!

It wasn’t until I shut my last beer company…it was played out for me. I had a couple of fellas say, ‘You ought to look into craft distilling.’ And I did, and I just immediately became enamored with it.

So, how did you find this location?

My husband and I just happened upon it. It was falling down, all boarded up… The next day, we met with the landlord and I signed a 20-year lease. I’m pretty committed to the community and investing in it. I love it! I feel like all roads lead to Dorchester.

You’ve got history here.

I call it the Port of Boston Harbor. I did some research on the building—it was built in 1859. It’s been the center of entrepreneurial commerce since then.

Where do you see things going with Boston Harbor Distillery?

I would like the city of Boston and New England to be really proud of the distillery and our products, just as they are with Sam Adams. There were more distilleries here in Boston pre-Prohibition than there were breweries. So, if that’s any indication of where things are going, it’s pretty exciting! Currently, there are 20 [craft distillers] in the state of Massachusetts, and 61 in New England. We formed the Massachusetts Distillers Association. I’m really thrilled that a collective group of like-minded artisans can get together and, hopefully, expand the category.

How would you define craft spirits?

What craft means to me is the passion, the integrity and the quality of the spirit inside. And it’s what’s inside you as an entrepreneur and a craftsperson. The industry sees it more as how you make and market your brands. So what’s happening, unfortunately, is some distillers buy already aged and finished spirits from a big supply and put it in a bottle. That’s not necessarily hand-crafted!

So they don’t control the process from start to finish?

Exactly. You’ve got to know what you want to make, figure out the recipe, choose the ingredients...then you have to get approvals by the government for the formulas, do your batches, make your barrel selection and pick your grain or whatever your sugar source is. There are a lot of decisions that artisan distillers need to make. And, to me, that’s the definition.

How many tries does it take to get to something that you’re really proud of?

Well, I’ve been very fortunate. Our master distiller is John Couchot. He’s been at the forefront of the craft distilling industry for over ten years. He’s—he’s my artist, and that’s what I call him. He has not disappointed me once when it comes to the quality of the spirits that he makes.

Tell me about the spirits you’re making.

Well, for our Putnam New England Rye Whiskey, which is 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley, we actually source un-aged rye and redistill it. When it comes off the still, there’s heads, there’s hearts and there’s tails.

Really?

Yeah! The heads have many bad flavors and compounds in them, and some of the tails do too, so the closer you cut to the heart, that’s the meat of it, that’s the delicious spirit. When we make our cuts, that’s really the talent of the distiller himself, and that’s where some of the artistry comes in. You should be able to drink it when it comes off the still. It’s that good.

What else?

Our flagship, Putnam New England Whiskey, is grain to glass. We make it all here. That is resting nicely in new American Oak barrels, and we use lots of chocolate malt and two-row malted barley. It gets that nice richness from it. And the first thing off our still was Lawley’s New England Spirit, which is our riff on rum. The government won’t allow us to call it rum because we use local maple syrup as our sugar source versus sugar cane. The white is 86-proof, and Lawley’s Dark New England Spirit is 92-proof—you can taste it more in a cocktail, the flavor really comes through.

What’s the hardest part about the craft distilling business?

The regulations would make your head spin—there’s federal, state and city. What’s very difficult is something that I’m literally an expert in: distribution. Getting it to market and getting it to sell when it’s on the shelf. Timing that is so hard. When I was a contract brewer, I didn’t have my own temple for people to come to. In our first two months since we opened our doors, we had over a thousand people come here to learn about our craft and taste our spirits. They’re enthusiasts.

Is it worth it?

I love virtually everything about the business. For me, I’ve made it a lifestyle. It’s an adventure. I’m excited about what we’re doing and how we do it, and I enjoy drinking it as well!

Starting September 30, Boston Harbor Distillery will be hosting Whiskey Wednesdays, a monthly whiskey tasting series. To make a reservation, call to reserve your spot or visit: whiskeywednesdaybhd.eventbrite.com You can find more information on Rhonda Kallman and Boston Harbor Distillery at bostonharbordistillery.com.

This interview has been edited and condensed by Amanda Balagur.

At Craving Boston, we know the food world isn’t all about buttermilk cake and cocktails (though they are very important parts of it), so this week we are shining a spotlight on a special series produced through a partnership between WGBH News and The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  In the WGBH News series Food Fights: From Farms to Labels, reporter Rupa Shenoy explores issues affecting all of us who eat in and around Boston, including possibilities for food production in New England, nutrition inequality, and even the promise of pick-your-own lunch from a bookshelf garden in your living room.

Part one, New England Can't Compete With Other Food Growing Regions. Or Can It?, focuses on farming in New England. Sure, we’ve got a short growing season and a dense population for the amount of agricultural land available, but does that mean most of our food has to come from so far away?  With climate change and water shortages affecting the cost of growing food in places like California, we may need to take a second look at how we use land in the Northeast.

Shenoy interviews Brian Donahue, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Brandeis University and farmer John Lee, who manages Allendale Farm in Chestnut Hill, one of the oldest privately-owned farms in the country. Each weighs in on the possibility of New England taking back part of its food production.

In part two,Children's Hospital Leads The Push To Serve Patients Locally Grown Food, Shenoy looks at how big food distributors control what ends up on the plates of institutional cafeterias, and how that is starting to change for the better at Boston Children’s. Efforts have included big changes—pressuring food distributors like Sodexo to purchase more local food, for example—and smaller ones, like charging higher prices or cutting back portions. While the Children’s meal program is still a work in progress, they are now helping other hospitals improve the quality of their food service.

In part three, Genetically Modified Food: Worries Outstrip The Science, Shenoy interviews Mike and Linda Gioscia whose son Ethan was diagnosed with a form of autism. After receiving advice from other parents to modify his diet, the couple started researching organics and genetic modification of crops and decided to adopt a mostly-organic diet, free of GMOs.  Though there have been no established scientific links between GMOs and health complications, the Gioscias believe the changes have helped their son. Shenoy also brings in Walter Willett, a Harvard University professor of epidemiology and nutrition, and Philip Robertson, a professor of ecosystem science at Michigan State University, to weigh in on where the science stands and how the battleground over the food labels affects our eating choices.

Does local food leave out the poor?  In part four, Nutrition Inequality: The Gap Between The Poor And Everyone Else, Shenoy looks at the recent evolution of local food, from the rise and decline in CSA shares to subsidized produce for low-income families.

Getting people access to fresh food is important, but so is educating the public on what to do with that locally-grown bunch of greens. The problems and solutions that surround healthy food access in lower-income communities are complicated, and many experts disagree on the solution. Shenoy interviews a nutritionist, a culinary instructor, the director of an urban farming institute and a reformed unhealthy eater to explore the many ways Boston is working to improve the health of its population by influencing what ends up on their plates. 

New England may lag behind other parts of the country in arable land, but when it comes to innovation, we’ve got the best of the best. In part five, On The Roof & In The Living Room, Startups Tackle Urban Farming, Shenoy talks to agricultural entrepreneurs from Higher Ground Farm, which grows produce on a rooftop in the Seaport, and Grove Labs, which can turn your living room into a vegetable garden, for a price. There is no question that hard work and passion are behind these projects, but can they make a profit? 

Read or listen to the whole series at projects.wgbhnews.org/food-fights/.

Dan Pashman, the creator and host of WNYC podcast “The Sporkful,” is an eater, not a foodie. His mission is to get his listeners to eat more, better. Pashman, along with his guests, dissect the culinary quirks, cravings and traditions of eaters from around the world with an eye toward perfection.

The Tufts University alumnus will host a live show in partnership with the Tufts Hillel at his alma mater in Somerville, MA on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30pm. The event is open to the public.

Boston is such a big college town. What was your impression of college food in New England when you were a student at Tufts?

I always thought the food at Tufts was actually pretty good. Granted my tastes have changed over the years. I love dining halls. Yes, some of the food can be a little greasy and gross, but I like the fact that you [can] view this giant smorgasbord as a sort of palette of ingredients. If you go into a dining hall and don’t come away with something that’s pretty delicious, it might mean you’re not trying hard enough.

Were there any particular dishes you remember either assembling yourself or that they made in the dining hall?

I remember one time I tried to make a fluffernutter sandwich. I was rushing and I got confused; it wasn’t until I sat down and bit into my sandwich that I realized I had mistaken the sour cream for marshmallow fluff. So I had a peanut butter and sour cream sandwich. Now that I think about it, that could actually be pretty good, but back then, especially when you’re expecting fluff, sour cream is gross.

It wasn’t until I moved to Boston for college that I discovered calzones, particularly the buffalo chicken calzone. Is the buffalo chicken calzone a New England thing?

Calzones are very different in New England than they are in New York. In New York, a calzone is much thinner and smaller and it often has ricotta cheese on the inside. They don’t put tons of stuff in there. In Boston, it’s more like a pizza folded in half. I personally kind of prefer the Boston version. If there’s one food that I really remember [from college], it’s the local pizza place that might have closed down. It’s called Espresso’s. Their chicken parm calzone was amazing.

Do you think there’s a way that college students should be trying to eat better? Should they not even bother because their metabolisms are robust?

Enjoy it while you’re young. There’s going to be a time when you can’t eat that stuff. That being said, if it makes you happier to eat healthier, then eat healthier. But, you will get to a point in your life when eating a whole chicken parm calzone will make you feel very bad, physically and emotionally.

How do you think that the college dining hall experience could improve?

What I would rather see are better cooking facilities in the dorms. You have a dorm with hundreds of students and there’s one stove. I hear [this] from students around the country. I understand a lot of students don’t want to cook, but if colleges created a nicer kitchen space that was more accessible and there were more of them in a building, then I think the students would be encouraged to cook.

In your podcast and web series, “You’re Eating It Wrong,” you dissect the ways in which we could be approaching the way we eat in better and more strategic ways. What quintessential New England foods are we eating wrong?

Fried clams. Clams strips are an abomination. They’re just bits of fried [stuff]. You’re not eating clams if you’re eating clam strips.

So what you’re saying is that we should be eating whole belly clams.

Only eat whole belly clams. And I understand that they’re not for everyone and that’s okay. But don’t eat clam strips and convince yourself you’re eating clams. It really upsets me. It's very hard to find fried clams in New England with really big bellies, but either eat whole belly clams or eat some other fried fish.

Speaking of clams, there are three chowders that I’m aware of: New England, Manhattan and Rhode Island. Do you have any thoughts on which chowder is superior?

I prefer New England clam chowder of the chowders. Ideally, you want your oyster crackers to be a little crispy, but a little bit soggy. So what I do is, I put half the bag of oyster crackers in, dunk them, stir them around a bit, let them sit. Then I start eating and when I’m halfway done I add the other half of the bag of oyster crackers and mix those in. The perfect bite of New England clam chowder will have the creamy broth, a piece of clam, a piece of potato and a slightly crispy oyster cracker. If you can get all of that in the same bite, that’s nirvana right there.

There are a lot of opinions about the ideal lobster roll. Cold with mayo or hot with butter? Is there a perfect lobster roll?

I don’t know that there’s a right or wrong. If you’re eating the hot lobster roll with butter, then you’re really just eating regular lobster on a bun. The only difference is that they put it on a hot dog bun. That’s fine, but what are you adding? Why is putting that on a bun better than just having a lobster with drawn butter? I’m not convinced that it’s better. But to me, the lobster roll with mayo is a unity. You have mayo on the lobster, the buttery salty flavor that’s coming from the top sliced bun. So in the mayo-based lobster roll, the bun is adding something you can’t get with plain lobster salad. Whereas with the hot buttered lobster roll, I’m not convinced that the bun is doing anything special.

If the bun is not griddled in butter, forget it. That’s an F-minus. And don’t skimp on the lobster, people. I’d rather pay $22 for a lobster roll that has a ridiculous amount of huge chunks of lobster meat in it, than pay $17 for a crummy lobster roll that’s half empty.

It’s starting to get cold out. What is your ultimate comfort food?

I would say matzah ball soup. Chicken soup is a classic comfort food. It’s hot, it’s salty, it’s rich with without being heavy. Matzah balls are a perfectly engineered broth delivery system. I love their texture, I love their flavor, I love that they soak up the broth. I like to take the spoon and slice the matzah ball in half and then spoon the broth on top of the matzah ball so it’s fully saturated.

Have we reached peak pumpkin spice?

Oh god. Last year was peak pumpkin spice. This year the backlash is really coming out in full force. Although the memo clearly has not gotten to the major food corporations of the country. It’s just awful. I was just thinking the other day that if I had a restaurant, I would declare it a pumpkin spice free zone in the month of October and that would be my marketing ploy. Come to my restaurant, where nothing pumpkin related will be served the entire month. Maybe I would only use pumpkin spice in the toilets. I would scent the toilet water with pumpkin spice. Like, this is where this garbage belongs.

This interview has been edited and condensed by Emily Balk.

“You really need to get in there and work it!” my new drill sergeant exclaims.  I’m elbow-deep in cold cabbage at the Boston Fermentation Festival, kneading my way towards tangy greatness with the Kraut Mob Station, a hands-on, instructor-led sauerkraut tutorial. Spread across the Boston Public Market, professional fermenters and at-home enthusiasts converge on the Festival, packing in to lecture rooms and scoping out the latest cookbooks. Me? I’m here for the food—and a crash course in DIY fermentation.

Most people know the basics of fermentation, if only from an unfortunate food-storage mistake. The focus of this festival is on lacto-fermentation, a process where lactic acid bacteria forms and breaks down the glucose in a food, while simultaneously encouraging the development of pro-biotics and inhibiting the growth of “bad” microbes. All you need to jumpstart this process on vegetables is a ratio of 1.5 percent salt and some elbow grease to knead the ingredients and create a brine. Pack it all up, submerging the solids in brine, and leave it on the shelf for about five days. Voila! Fermented vegetables!

Of course, we all have pre-conceptions about fermented products. Talk about Kimchi or Sauerkraut and many people might sympathetically wrinkle their noses.  However, any umami lover knows that fermentation is where it’s at. “Fermentation brings out unique flavors that you can only get through this process,” Jeremy Ogusky affirms. As the public face of Boston Ferments, the local, volunteer-based organization that arranged the Festival, he would know.      

Soft-spoken with a relaxed but witty demeanor, Ogusky primarily works as a studio potter, combining his two passions in the shape of aesthetically pleasing fermentation crocks. He co-founded Boston Ferments about three years ago, when he and his friends found themselves organizing an increasing number of events and classes for the general public. This year marks the first time a festival is held outside of Jamaica Plain. “Moving to the Boston Public Market seems like a great opportunity to bring the festival to a wider audience,” Ogusky explains.  

It certainly seems to have worked. Market patrons join the Festival attendees thronging around vendor carts and overflowing out of the lecture sessions. While part of this popularity can be attributed to an interest in the many potential health benefits and consumer curiosity, there is no denying that the food is the main attraction. Creative, small-business fermenters from New England sell much more than the standard kraut or pickles—although those remain two very popular products.

My favorite vendor, Real Pickles, is based out of Greenfield, Massachusetts. If cabbage isn’t your thing, this company has got you covered. Spicy and addictive ginger carrots, fresh tomatillo hot sauce, and earthy beets round out the usual suspects on this company’s fermentation roster. And then there’s Kvass, one of the more versatile product offerings. Blood-red and slightly effervescent, this tangy fermented beet juice is frequently consumed as a refreshing beverage in Eastern Europe. While the Real Pickles folks confirm that this is a great way to go, they also recommend using Kvass as a vinegar substitute in homemade salad dressings or as a flavor additive in borscht. Have a recipe that needs an earthy tang? Add Kvass.

For those looking to move beyond the usual salad and creatively incorporate fermented foods into more of their meals, author and self-proclaimed fermentista Kirsten Shockey offers an amazing cookbook, Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys. Appearing as a guest lecturer, her talk touches on dos and don’ts of at-home fermentation, utilizing the catchy slogan, “submerging in brine conquers evil every time.” Shockey encourages us to think of these foods like any other ingredient in our kitchen arsenal and play around with flavors, experimenting with different types of produce. Her book offers tons of original recipes like a lemon dill kraut cream cheese—which I can confirm is spectacularly tasty—or an old-fashioned cocktail that incorporates a fermented cranberry relish.

While the lectures and suggested recipes definitely inspire the creative juices, the real motivator is how easy all of this seems. Most ferments incorporate few ingredients and the process is pretty straightforward. Stable temperatures and dim lighting help ensure consistent results, but a root cellar is hardly necessary—glass mason jars and a kitchen towel to block direct sunlight are all you really need.

Although several novices attending the lectures express a fear of inadvertently poisoning their family, we are assured that this is highly unlikely. Shockey’s book contains handy photographs displaying normal ferments, as well as experiments gone awry. While those with experience explain that the human nose will know if your pickled peaches have gone bad, there are tons of local opportunities to learn about fermentation in a controlled setting. Boston Ferments hosts regular workshops and "Kraut Mob" sessions through their website, while the Cambridge Center for Adult Education offers a three hour fermentation tutorial. If DIY is not your scene, lacto-fermented products can be found in the refrigerated section at most Whole Foods, local natural foods stores, or direct from the vendors themselves. However you end up consuming fermented foods, your tingling taste buds will thank you.

Boston Ferments - bostonferments.org

Cambridge Center for Adult Education -  42 Brattle St., Cambridge,
617-547-6789  ccae.org

Food entrepreneur Charles Vanijcharoenkarn is on a mission to connect busy Bostonians with delicious home-cooked meals, one dish at a time. After studying economics and sustainability at Harvard, Vanijcharoenkarn began his career as a consultant. He experienced firsthand both the difficulty of finding time to cook and having access to healthy, affordable and diverse food options in his neighborhood. His new venture, Take-In, is the first of its kind: an attempt to bring home cooking into the sharing economy.

Tell me about Take-In. What is it exactly? 

It’s basically a peer-based cooking and eating network that strives to make it easy for home cooks to share healthy cuisine and authentic ethnic dishes with people in their community. The basic goal is to get people eating better. We’re encouraging them to develop more sustainable eating habits, to expand their palates and create a community around food. Our organization also supports local charitable food initiatives to bring quality food to those who need it most. I’ve been working with a charitable cooking initiative called Community Cooks, and I’ve committed to donating a portion of our revenue to local food initiatives based on every meal sold.

What inspired you to create a business around this?

One of my main inspirations was to make authentic, diverse food more accessible. My father was born in Thailand and my mom is from Burma. I grew up in Atlanta in a household where large dinner parties and sharing food with family and neighbors was a common occurrence. We traveled a lot, and my favorite part was discovering new foods. As I grew older, my schedule became really busy and unpredictable, and it was very difficult to find time to cook. There also weren’t that many diverse food options where I lived. I thought if there was a way that I could make it very easy for people to share food—almost like a virtual potluck that brings the best part of food sharing and discovery together—and if we could make that more accessible across the community, that would be a really cool idea.

So convenience is a factor?

Yes, and I was also inspired because of my work as a consultant in the healthcare and food space. Studies have shown that Americans cook less due to time constraints, regardless of socioeconomic status, and get a higher share of calories from processed foods. It’s not helping us combat the rise of diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, which can derive from poor eating habits. I wanted to build a platform that motivates people to take a more active role in their own health and wellness. 

Can you explain how it works?

The cooks decide very selectively when they’d like to cook, what dish they’d like to share and what price they’d like to set, given the cost of ingredients. Eaters basically log onto this platform, browse what’s cooking and reserve a dish. We handle everything in between to make it as convenient as possible for both parties. There’s benefit on both sides.

How so?

That’s where the model of the sharing economy comes in, like Airbnb and Uber. The whole thing hinges on the fact that both parties can benefit and neither of them has to sacrifice much. It’s very flexible. That’s very powerful, because in order to get people to start changing their behavior—which, in this case, means getting people to eat healthier and use fresh instead of processed ingredients—I think you have to make the barriers very low. The cooks can use this platform as a way to subsidize their groceries. By splitting the cost among 10-15 people, it makes it more affordable and more accessible. At the same time, the person who’s eating has the opportunity to try a special dish.

How can people sign up?

Well, our next step is to launch a beta test, so we’re not fully active yet, but we are in the process of recruiting cooks and making sure we have the logistics in place. The testing period will be four weeks, and it will involve close to 20 cooks and hopefully 100 or so eaters. We’re focusing on a specific geographic area [Cambridge and Somerville] and we want to grow the community through organic relationships. It’s a private network, so unlike a restaurant, people have to agree to the terms and know that these are home cooks.

How do you handle food safety—do you follow a certain set of standards?

Take-In is a private network, or club, which means that you must opt in and acknowledge that the services provided are from home cooks usually cooking out of the comfort of their own kitchens. Because Take-In doesn’t produce any food—we are simply the platform that helps connect people who enjoy cooking and eating—we do not legally certify or control the food that is being produced. Similar to any online matching service, whether it’s a dating site, eBay or AirBnB, it’s the responsibility of the individual parties to provide truthful information or they risk being banned from the platform. That said, we do take steps to foster a trusting and safe food community because we know that is important to the user. The idea of trust and safety is very important. One of the things we’re doing is sourcing cooks through friend networks and also through recommendations.

So you need to be invited to become a cook for Take-In?

Yes, either that, or, we’ve been approaching culinary schools looking for people who are trained. So they’re either currently personal chefs, or working in the food truck scene and looking to open their own place. Many of them are already certified as a food handler, as am I. There’s a vetting process. Cooks have to provide information about themselves by submitting a form. I interview each of them personally. We also perform a kitchen visit to check that their spaces are places that we, as home cooks, would eat out of. We provide them with food handling best practices for things like handwashing, food temperature, eliminating cross-contamination, etc., and we’re working on a way to subsidize voluntary ServSafe training for cooks sometime in the future. Take-In also provides each home cook with new, clean containers for each meal. We take a lot into consideration before we onboard a cook.

Will people be able to leave a review?

Yes, when you go through and place an order, you’ll be able to see testimonials about dishes and the cooks who make them, and after you sample it, you’ll be able to rate the dish and leave comments. The next step is creating profiles of all the cooks so they’ll be on the site when we officially launch. And usually there’s a story behind the dish they’re preparing, too.

What’s the average cost of a meal?

It depends because the cook sets the price, and some people are using more expensive ingredients, like all-organic. We’ve had a range of $7-$12 so far, but I imagine with a wider range of food in the beta test phase it will be $7-$14 per dish.

Logistically, how does it work? Is this a delivery service?

For now, to make things easier, we’re only doing delivery. Eventually, when this thing is running full-scale, I would like it to be a platform that encourages people to have both options, to meet or get the food by delivery, based on the cook’s specifications.

What are some of the challenges to making this work?

Balancing supply and demand is definitely a tricky thing. You need to give people what they want, which means providing people with more options. I want to treat this as a passion project. It’s very much about creating a self-sustaining network. If I can do that, I consider that successful.

This interview has been edited and condensed by Amanda Balagur.

Visit take-in-food.com to learn more about Take-In and founder Charles Vanijcharoenkarn. To find out when the site will officially launch, subscribe to the newsletter mailing list or find them on Facebook.

Before we dive in, a disclaimer: The following exploration of dumpling identity politics may be offensive to some readers. As a journalist, it’s my job to address controversial topics head-on and I offer no apologies, so you may want to put the kids to bed now.

Dumplings are a celebrated foodstuff sought after in hole-in-the-wall eateries and Michelin-rated restaurants everywhere. But dumplings were a global tradition long before ascending to the culinary A-list. They started life as humble, functional peasant food used to stretch out a meal, utilize leftovers, or mark occasions. Where exactly they originated is unclear. Written descriptions can be found in Apicius, a collection of ancient Roman recipes written at the turn of the fourth century, as well as in Chinese records dating back to the Song dynasty (960 – 1279), though they surely predate such accounts. Due to their simplicity, the prevailing theory among scholars is that dumplings likely developed independently throughout the world, with no single country or region able to claim the patent.

You may be thinking, “This is great! Dumplings are delicious! We all invented them and nobody’s feelings got hurt. Let’s wake the kids up and go for ice cream!” Not so fast, Jack. We’ve only just begun.

See, there’s a serious discrepancy between what we commonly think of as dumplings and what the word actually means. In English, a dumpling refers to a steamed or boiled lump of dough, often used as a filler for soups and stews. Think matzo balls and gnocchi. This definition has expanded to include dumplings stuffed with meat, as well as the sweet fruit-filled variety, but in this case, dough is paramount and filling is a flourish.

However, when most people think of dumplings, they associate them with the East Asian varieties like wontons, momos and jiaozi. You can add the likes of Jewish kreplach, Central Asian manti and Russian pelmeni to this category. This family of dumpling has a thinner outer layer and the filling is essential.

Dr. Ken Albala is the director of food studies at the University of the Pacific. He laid out the differences for me. “Dumpling originally refers to a roundish blob of dough dropped directly into boiling water or broth. So bread and crumb mixtures you find all over Eastern Europe are proper dumplings,” he said. “Asian dumplings are nothing of the kind, they’re noodles with fillings, boiled or steamed. It was a mistake to call them that in the first place.”

Is your mind blown?

The reason for the confusion is simple: English is limited. We use Latin to classify species, French for cooking terminology, and our curse-words fall far below global averages in both creativity and imagery. English lacks the linguistic specificity to account for all the various forms of regional foods, so the word dumpling was applied wholesale, creating a bitterly divisive semantic debate.

Alan Davidson, author of The Oxford Companion to Food, finds these taxonomic broad strokes particularly offensive to his originalist interpretation. He takes issue with “the numerous tribe of dumpling lookalikes, things which are neither dumplings nor English, but have been called dumplings, when an English name for them has been required.” The application of the word to East Asian dumplings is particularly offensive to Davidson, who calls it a “heinous excursion.”

It was time for some Bostonians to weigh in on the debate, so I stopped into Café Polonia, a Polish restaurant in Dorchester, to get an Eastern European perspective. I eschewed pirogues in favor of boiled, fleshy potato dumplings. They were covered in a beef and mushroom goulash, accompanied by chilled beet and cabbage salads. The dumplings were starchy, yet surprisingly light.

I invited restaurant manager Justyna Szreter to join me in discussing the intricacies of the dumpling debate. When I asked her if she considered pirogues a type of dumpling, she shook her head emphatically no, and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d disappointed her.

“The dough is totally different,” she explained, describing the variances in composition in the two dishes. Pirogues are made entirely from flour and have an elastic texture, while Polish dumplings are doughy, made mostly with potatoes and little flour. “In Poland, you have pirogues and dumplings and that’s it,” she said.

Okay, I get where these guys are coming from, but there’s got to be some middle ground, right?

Author Barbara Gallani takes a more egalitarian approach in her book Dumplings: A Global History. According to Gallani, there are “both unfilled and filled varieties, including what is sometimes described as filled pasta." That said, she prefers "to exclude frying and baking as cooking methods, since these result in what people usually recognize as 'fritters.'”

This is a common viewpoint, and brings up the issue of where we draw the line. While Gallani refutes fritters’ claim to dumplinghood, Maria Polushkin, author of The Dumpling Cookbook, argues otherwise, stating that fritters have “certain obvious connections [to] both dropped and filled dumplings… the most elaborate example of which is tempura.” Polushkin’s daring inclusion of tempura in the dumpling debate is problematic, opening the door for other disputed dishes like knishes, empanadas and samosas.

I also met with chef Greg Reeves of Cambridge's Viale, who took the conversation in a completely different direction. “The word dumpling on the surface refers to Asian food,” he said. “Gyoza. Wontons. In my mind, those are the first things I think of. When you bring in pasta, you’re pushing it.”

Apparently, I was in the mood to push it. I ordered tortellini, a classic stuffed pasta, filled with short rib and beets, alongside Brussels sprout leaves, fried parsnip, sunchoke puree and a dusting of fresh horseradish. The firm, fresh pasta was a good vehicle for its contents and accompaniments. Tortellini are my favorite food, and I thought I’d find clarity through comfort. But my investigatory instincts were unsatisfied. There was more to this story.

My next move was to call local food anthropologist Lilly Jan, who holds a masters degree in gastronomy from Boston University. “I think the dumpling needs to be filled. I really do believe that,” she told me. “In the world of Italian cooking, for example, I’d consider the ravioli closer to a dumpling than a gnocchi. With chicken and dumplings, I think of those as biscuits.”

Jan’s radical interpretation may not fit with the encyclopedic definition, but it is in line with the parlance of our times. “I look at it from a cultural definition, rather than a literal definition," she continued. "Even if the word 'dumpling' wasn’t created to describe the Asian dumpling, it’s certainly evolved into that. If it’s become the cultural reference point, it’s difficult to argue.”

The journalist in me couldn’t rest until I’d tasted East Asian dumplings for myself, so I stopped by Myers + Changin the South End for Mama Chang’s pork and chive potstickers and braised pork belly buns. The pan-fried dumplings were juicy and balanced by an allium bite. The buns were wrapped in bao, which, interestingly, is closer in consistency to a European dumpling. Fluffy and just a little sweet, they had me wondering what they would taste like stacked and covered in maple syrup.

I spoke with executive chef Karen Akunowicz, who explained her dumpling outlook to me. She is of the mind that dumplings need to meet two requirements: they must be made of dough or a starchy plant product, and be steamed, simmered or boiled. By this definition, Akunowicz believes that “East Asian dumplings, like the sticky rice bahn it, the Indian vada and even Middle Eastern varieties, are all still dumplings.”

“I love that dumplings transcend cultures,” she continued. “They often involve two or more people coming together to make them. Dumplings, like bread, pancakes, pasta or biscuits, really represent the foundations of good cooking, and the magic simplicity of a few good ingredients.”

And then she dropped the mic.

After all this, I’m still not sure I know what the true meaning of dumpling is. But I don’t recommend waking your kids up to tell them everything they know is a lie. Let them sleep through the night, and in the morning hug them and tell them everything’s going to be alright because if I’ve learned anything, it’s that dumplings come in all shapes and sizes, and we can love them in whatever way makes us most happy.

Café Polonia – 611 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, 617-269-0110, cafepolonia.com

Viale – 502 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-576-1900, vialecambridge.com

Myers + Chang – 1145 Washington St., Boston, 617-542-5200, myersandchang.com

Until recently, if you had asked me what life was like for the Puritans who founded Boston in 1630, I’d have painted you a pretty bleak picture: a life of hard labor and near-starvation, including having to grow all their own food and subsisting on a very limited (read: boring) diet. As it turns out, my assumptions were all wrong. They didn’t have it quite so bad.

According to Plimoth Plantation culinarian Kathleen Wall, few of the early Bostonians grew, hunted or fished for the food they put on the table. In fact, it was quite the opposite. “That frontier mentality came later,” says Wall. By 1640, you would have been able to go to the market and buy bread, butter, sugar, fish, spices and more. “There was a culture of markets and trade that took off very quickly in New England,” she explains.

Even more surprising, the food was pretty tasty back then! At a recent event titled “Repast from the Past: A Taste of 17^th Century New England,” a gathering of historians and curious locals dined like the Puritans did, starting with pumpkin sops. The familiar orange squash was roasted, pureed, seasoned well with butter and spices, and served on top of sliced thirded bread (so named because it’s made with rye, wheat and corn) that had been baked at Plimoth Plantation. Wall, who gave a short lecture on the cooking and eating habits of the Puritans before the meal began, also brought a sweet, dense Indian pudding made with corn ground at the Plimoth Grist Mill.

In addition, local restaurant Loyal Nine presented a modern rendition of "pease porridge"—so delightful that people asked for seconds. “We serve ours cold,” says executive chef Marc Sheehan, “seasoned with a little turmeric.” This was topped with Cape Cod Bay mussels, marinated in sauerkraut juice with ginger, chili and husk cherries. Accompanied by a crisp and earthy buckwheat cracker, Sheehan likened it to eating chips and dip. “Doubtful that this was exactly how pease porridge was eaten back in the 1630s,” he admits, “but certainly inspired by.”

Approximately sixty people attended the sit-down tasting, which was a first for The Partnership of Historic Bostons as part of its Charter Day celebration. “The public was just so thrilled with the food,” enthused the organization’s president, Rose Doherty. “People said to me, ‘I expected this to be absolutely awful, and it was really quite lovely!’”

Every year, The Partnership of Historic Bostons commemorates Boston Charter Day with a series of events based on a particular theme. Last year, it was “survival.” This year, by popular demand, they decided on “food and drink.” But the fun isn’t over yet! Several free educational events are scheduled through the middle of next month. This includes “Stirring up the Past: Puritan Beliefs about Food” on Nov. 4, “English Puritanism and the Settlement of New England” on Nov. 13 and the “Founders Trail Tour” on Nov. 14.

If you’d like to recreate some 17^th-century dishes for your family over the holidays, The Partnership of Historic Bostons has also published a recipe booklet called "The Pleasure of Taste," available for purchase at Old North and Plimoth Plantation. Included in its pages are recipes for Narragansett succatash and sweet Indian corn pudding. The latter dish, especially topped with a dollop of whipped or ice cream, is sure to please any dinner guest (Puritans included).

For more information on Charter Day events and The Partnership of Historic Bostons, go to historicbostons.org. To learn more about Plimoth Plantation, go to plimoth.org.

It’s Monday morning and the sun is beaming down on the snow-white backs of the large birds roaming outside Bob’s Turkey Farm in Lancaster, MA. At the sight of people approaching the wire mesh fence that secures them, they gather eagerly and utter their signature gobbling sound. The fields and sheds house about 10,000 birds and it’s almost their time to shine. Most of them will end up gracing Thanksgiving tables across the Commonwealth at the end of the month. The rest are destined to be Christmas turkeys.

This is the busiest time of year for the family that runs the farm. Bob Van Hoof, a World War II Navy veteran, started the business in 1954, with just 125 turkeys. “A fellow went out of business that had a good breed, and we just used that same breed with the same blood line ever since,” he explains. Since he retired, two of his seven children, Susan Miner and Richard Van Hoof, work full-time to keep things running with occasional help from their siblings. “It’s truly a family business,” says Sue.

The team at Bob’s Turkey Farm will start slaughtering and processing the birds on Nov. 12 and work straight through Thanksgiving Day. “We grew up around it, so it doesn’t faze us,” says Sue. “All hands on deck.” Once the turkeys are cleaned, they’re packed in chill tanks with ice and kept at a very low temperature. According to Bob, Sue and Richard, the flavor and texture are better if the turkey has been dead at least two to three days. After processing is done (it takes over a week), the staff starts preparing specialty orders, deboning turkeys and making rolled roasts. Every year they sell at least 3000 quarts of homemade gravy to dress the meat.

When it comes to cooking the turkey, Bob is clear about his preferences. “Personally, I think at Thanksgiving the only way to do a turkey is to roast it in the oven in a pan—a covered pan, preferably.” He and Sue recommend cooking the bird in a 175 degree oven (very low, and very slow). Families and markets alike have been getting their holiday birds from Bob’s for decades. It’s become a bit of a tradition. Sue remembers last year when a whole family met up at the farm to get their turkey together. “It was like an event for them,” she laughs. “They took pictures!”

Things slow down at the farm in winter and pick back up in spring. When Richard picks a breeder, he looks for good clean uniform feathers, a long tail, a broader breast, straight legs and toes that aren’t crooked. “Good lookin’ Toms,” Bob chimes in. “We don’t have any problems with this particular breed.” The Broad Breasted White Turkey, the most widely sold domestic breed, can grow to over thirty pounds (although most customers prefer them smaller).

After the hens lay their eggs, they take 28 days to hatch. The baby chicks are fuzzy and yellow. Fed a balanced grain diet that consists mostly of corn and soy, they grow quickly. By the second week, they’ve doubled in size and started getting their signature white feathers. Much like wild turkeys, domesticated turkeys can be unfortunately be aggressive and mean to each other. “It’s survival of the fittest,” says Sue. “They can sense weakness,” Richard agrees. “Sometimes I have to separate them.”

The on-site kitchen and store runs year-round, selling pot pies, soup, stuffing, ground meat, sausages and many other items. According to Sue, the individual frozen turkey dinners have been flying off the shelves. “It’s got mixed-meat turkey, stuffing, gravy, and then in separate compartments, it’s got mashed potatoes and butternut squash,” she explains. They also slice breast and thigh meat daily for sandwiches; in the summer, they sell a lot of turkey salad.

If you haven’t ordered your holiday bird yet, it’s not too late to get one from Bob’s. They take orders up until the week of Thanksgiving, but they do run out of certain sizes as it gets closer to the big day. And if you should choose to buy your bird straight from the farm, make sure to grab dessert and some tasty side dishes—and take a family photo while you’re there.

Bob’s Turkey Farm

181 Old Common Rd., Lancaster, 978-365-9271, bobsturkeyfarm.com 

If you notice an extra item on your receipt marked “Checkout Bag Charge” while visiting a Cambridge business in a few months, it’s not a rogue restaurant passing their operating costs on to the customer. It’s the result of years of effort by sustainability advocates that culminated in a city ordinance passed last March.

The “Bring Your Own Bag” ordinancerequires businesses to use bags that are reusable or compostable—no more single-use plastic pouches. And in an effort to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags, customers will be charged ten cents per bag with a specific line item on their receipts.

Fitting with the Innovation Hub’s forward-looking reputation, the goal of the ordinance is environmental. Fewer disposable bags will “protect the marine environment, advance solid waste reduction, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect waterways,” according to the Cambridge city website.

There are two primary reasons for the ten-cent charge, says Amy Klein, marketing and communications director for the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts.

The first is to help offset the cost of the compostable bags for businesses. While costs vary, most compostable bags will be in the 15 to 20-cent range.

The second reason is to have customers start paying for what they are using. “It shouldn’t necessarily be an expectation that you can get as many bags as you want for free because that way, it’s so easy to just throw it in the trash,” says Klein. “The ten cents puts a value on that.”

The ordinance will go into effect on March 31, 2016. The Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts and specialty tote-maker 1 Bag at a Time held a bag vendor fair on Tuesday to assist businesses with the transition.

Some businesses are exempt, such as non-profit or religiously-affiliated bazaars, or those that can demonstrate hardship. Some bag types are also exempt, including produce bags and bags used to contain frozen food, meat, or fish. However, diners who want their leftovers wrapped up will see the ten-cent charge on their bill.

“Hopefully it will help shift consumer habits, so whether they’re in Cambridge or anywhere else, they’ll remember to bring their own bag,” says Klein. “That way we can reduce the amount of products that are being produced and put into the landfill.”

What do you think of the ordinance? Tell us in the comments section!

Follow Nicole Fleming on Twitter @GirlEatsBoston.

It's hard to keep up with Lidia Bastianich. The chef and entrepreneur is a partner in some of New York City's best restaurants, has penned several best-selling books and has a line of food products; on top of all that, she's an Emmy award-winning television personality, whose presenting station happens to be WGBH!

We managed to catch up with her for a few minutes and dig into one of her latest projects, her new book, Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook, which contains over 400 recipes and is a veritable tome of Italian-cooking knowledge.

We also chatted about her latest business in Boston, and how you can connect with her in person.

In the intro of the book you remind us that you have been sharing your knowledge of Italian Cuisine for 46 years. Why was now the time to take on writing this big, seminal book?

I’ve been collecting a lot of information for myself along the way—things I've put into practice—so I felt that it was time that I put it all together and give it back. All the things that kind of show the technique and all the little bits and pieces of information that I think will make the home cook better. 

You refer to yourself as a cook-chef. Could you explain that a little bit?

Mine is a profession, but it’s also a passion. It’s a way of life. So I come to it from both sides, but I think in this book I am more of a cook than a chef. And that’s the way I want to be because I want to communicate [with home cooks] on that level.  

You work with your daughter [Tanya Bastianich Manuali] in a lot of capacities, but what was it like to co-write this particular book with her?  

This was our fifth book together. She is a great researcher and an academic in her own right; she kind of put the academics into this book. The glossary at the end is her work and research, and the big intro in front she helped me pull off, with more research. It was very helpful to me, and I’m sure that others out there at home will find it very helpful. She kind of guided me in a way, because [the book] has almost a dictionary element to it. There are a lot of little paragraphs of explanation and that had a lot to do with her.

One of the things that you talk about is the importance of the seasonality of ingredients. Here in New England, it’s a tough time of year for the home cook. Do you have some advice for making the most of winter produce and what we have available?

I think the best cooking is done in season and that should apply to the ingredients. You just need to get into the products of the season and apply the proper techniques. You know, you have fresh string beans in the summer, but in the winter you have those great dried beans and lentils. So you soak them and cook them into soups and into braises. You have to know the logistics, and that is what this book helps with, what technique is good for what. Also, remember that root vegetables, with a piece of meat, braised for two hours, make a darn good meal.

Why did you choose to go with illustrations rather than photographs in the book?

Because with all the content that it has—all the 400 recipes, over 500 pages with the glossary—this is a book that could be cooked from for generations, sitting on the kitchen shelf. Photos kind of date the food, so I didn’t want to date this book. I felt that you didn’t need the picture; sometimes you can try to be as perfect as the picture, as great as it is, and it never happens! For the picture you have food stylists, this and that. I didn't want that. I wanted every dish to be for the home cook.

You have this event coming up at the Shubert Theater and we are going to be giving away a couple of tickets. Can you tell me a little bit about what that will be like?

A conversation with Lidia. It’s turned out very well in the sense that I am interviewed by a moderator, but also, there is an opportunity to open up the discussion. It's an opportunity to meet and get the signed book—it's kind of like 'Lidia in the living room.' 

Can you tell us any news about Eataly Boston, opening in 2016?

I was up there two weeks ago with my hard-hat on to see the space. We are so excited and it should be great. We have a school as part of that, in the same vein of educating and sharing information. I will be coming up and doing some classes as well.

It is the holiday season. What are you looking forward to most when it comes to food? 

You know I love my chestnuts. The truffles. I look forward to Baccalà [dried salted cod]. It's very traditional. We have it every Christmas Eve with all the children.

This interview has been edited and condensed by Catherine Smart.

Want to meet the chef in person? Purchase your tickets for An Evening with Lidia at the Shubert Theater on January 26th. Each ticket comes with a pre-signed copy of Bastianich's new book, Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook, which contains this recipe and many more.

For a chance to win a pair of tickets, support WGBH by making a donation here. 

The holidays are a wonderful time of year for food lovers. But while trying to stay healthy, there are tempting treats everywhere: office parties, holiday dinners and that sweet neighbor who brings cookies to your door. 

It’s fine to indulge a little in this festive season. But the reality is casual noshing along the way could pack on the pounds. Here are 5 tips to keep the bulge off this holiday season:     

1. Jot it down. The best way to see why you're gaining or losing weight is to track it, whether with an app or an old-fashioned pen and notebook. The key is to log everything you eat and drink and to do so immediately. It might sound burdensome, but it takes only a few minutes a day and can be illuminating. That handful of almonds post-workout?  Jot it down. The cookie at the holiday party? It counts too. And be sure to track portion size and when you eat. If you wait too long between meals, you are much more likely to gnaw on that stale peppermint bark that's been living on the conference table. Tracking can help you identify postitive behavior as well, which is encouraging and tells you what works. Gaining one pound a week can come down to as little as 500 additional calories a day. That's one 16 oz. white chocolate peppermint mocha from Starbucks. 

2.Use moderation with winter cocktails. While we're on the subject of beverages, you don't have to abstain from holiday cocktails completely. I mean, mistletoe punch and yule mules? Yum! But these tasty drinks can add a major calorie dent and padding to your waistline. If you're a wine or beer lover, stick to the basics and try to limit to 1-2 servings per outing. If you are a seasonal cocktail lover, indulge in your kryptonite, but cut back elsewhere and count that eggnog as dessert. 

3.It’s okay to give away seasonal sweets. You don’t have to appreciate a sweet gift like chocolates by eating the whole box. During this time of year, chocolates, brownies and other sweet treats are a lovely way co-workers and friends show their admiration. Unfortunately, that gift contains calories too. Indulging in a nightly sweet treat is more likely when tempting items are in your home or office area. Add the stress and exhaustion of the holiday season and you have the perfect storm. Promote a "safe food house" by tempering the amount of sweets that are in the cupboard. And make smart substitutions. Keep healthy snacks within reach. One of my favorite protein-packed ways to avoid hunger pangs is  ¼ cup of roasted nuts (or chestnuts, if you're feeling festive!) with an apple or berries, and low-fat Greek yogurt. If you love chocolate, have a small piece of dark chocolate, instead of that chocolate pie, which contains mostly regrets. ​

4.Stick to your rituals. For many of us, food is a way to celebrate and unwind with family and friends. But it shouldn't be the ONLY way. Find alternative festive activities that don’t involve calories. Your rituals can be as simple as a board game with family and friends, watching your favorite holiday movie, or a meditation or yoga class. Identify whatever works for you and don’t let it fall by the wayside this holiday season. If you veer off track, just start again the next day. 

5. Bring your healthy habits into the New Year. Many folks think if they go all-out during December, they can restart in the New Year. Unfortunately, getting back to healthy habits may not be as easy as it sounds. If you stick to your usual routine, adding a few indulgences along the way shouldn’t derail your progress, especially if you incorporate excercise through the season. Bundle the family up for a walk on Christmas Day after opening presents. Put on your favorite holiday tunes and bust out in a family dance party. Fall on your butt ice skating. And if you need a little help keeping it all in balance, just think of me as the little dietician-angel-on-your-shoulder, gently reminding you that a second lap around the block is better than one around the dessert table. 

Finally, this being the holidays, give yourself a break. This is a time for mindful enjoyment of food, friends and family. Not the time to beat yourself up over every edible transgression made in 2015. Remember, every time you take a walk, choose the healthy snack or practice portion control with those treats, you are giving yourself a present as good as any under the tree.

When I tell people I put salt and olive oil on my ice cream, they have one of two reactions:

“That’s disgusting!”

“That’s… intriguing.”

I understand, I do. It’s hard to imagine why someone would sully a sweet, creamy treat with such wild abandon.

Until you’ve tried it, that is. Then, if you’re like me—a savory flavor lover from way back—it’s how you’ll want to eat ice cream FOREVER.

But don’t stop with olive oil and salt.

How about strawberries macerated in umami-packed balsamic vinegar? Add a bit of brown sugar to bring out the best in both.

Or a few dashes of slightly sweet—but definitely hot—sauce, like Boston’s own Alex’s Ugly Sauce?

If you’ve got a hankering for a classic chocolate topping, sprinkle a few shavings of Somerville’s Taza Chocolate over your scoops. Their Chipotle Chili or Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano Discs will add just the right amount of oomph.

And if you’re a real rebel, try a nod to my husband’s habit of dipping his fries in his vanilla milkshake: crumble your favorite variety of potato chip into your bowl. Cape Cod Chips’ Sweet and Spicy Jalapeño or Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper add unforgettable flavor and texture.

“But hang on, Meg,” you say, “Those are all interesting ideas, but it’s November. Why are you talking about ice cream right now?”

Well, you might not want to hang out at your local ice cream stand with a cone in hand when a parka feels more appropriate than a sundress, but a bowl of ice cream in the comfort of your cozy home is just as good right now as it ever was.

Ice cream also makes for a perfect finish for a rich autumnal or winter menu, when you’ve taken a journey through all the roasty, toasty flavors of the season. Armed with a quirky bit of sauce or spice, ice cream is a little less “I’m going to need some elastic-waist pants, pronto” than a giant slice of pie or a big helping of bubbling hot fruit crumble.

You could even serve a bit of frosty goodness as a cocktail party snack: put a scoop or two in a pretty glass, and let your guests go wild with a bar of unusual accoutrements.

If you’re still squinting at me with skepticism, just remember how weird salted caramel seemed just a few years ago… and it’s everywhere now. They even have salted caramel chewing gum! 

Try it tonight, and I promise you’ll be a convert. And by the time next summer rolls around, you might just find yourself heading off to your favorite ice cream stand with a salt shaker stashed in your pocket.

I can smell it already… the turkey at our family Thanksgiving dinner in Newburyport. This truly is my favorite time of year. In the weeks leading up to Turkey Day, Boston becomes a seasonal food mecca. Restaurants are filled with pumpkin and autumn spiced dishes, and attention soon turns towards the big feast itself. During Thanksgiving, one of the last things we think about is our weight. But did you know that the average American gains one to two pounds during the holiday season?

Allow me to share with you my nutrition hacks for Thanksgiving and beyond:

1. No Turkey Day fasting. Often times I hear people say, well, I didn’t eat anything all day, I'm saving my calories for dinner. The reality is, by skipping breakfast and lunch you are sending your body into starvation mode and actually slowing your metabolism, which leads to weight gain and increases the likelihood that you will have an all-out gorging session by the time the turkey hits the table. Instead, have a healthy breakfast and lunch, and include a balanced pre-turkey snack—think apple and peanut butter.
2. Pick one or the other. Cheese or dessert; if you are an apple pie lover, skip the brie. Same goes for starches; load up on stuffing or potatoes, but not both.
3. Visualize your plate. You know that ideally, you want half of your turkey day plate to be veggies. Green bean amandine is a staple at our house, so I try to make those about half my plate, with mashed potatoes and turkey making up the other half. I always start with salad dressed in oil and vinegar for an extra veggie punch. By the time dessert rolls around, I'm usually feeling pretty satisfied and less tempted.
4. Step away from the food. The best thing you can do following the meal is to pack up the leftovers. Refrigerate immediately or send friends home with leftovers, especially dessert items. Keep staples around like white meat turkey, veggies and sweet potatoes, but ditch the pies and cookies; if they are hanging around, you will eat them!
5. Budget the booze. Decide how many glasses of wine you're going to drink and stick to it. If you're drinking a budget wine, make your glass last longer by adding seltzer for a spritzer, or just stick in a few ice cubes. When it comes to the good stuff—that special bottle your uncle brought from his celllar—sip slowly. Remember, extra alcohol means lower inhibitions around what you're eating. Suddenly that 300 calorie slice of pie doesn’t seem to bother you...

What to do in case you fall off track…

• Make it a teachable moment. Use this slip-up to ensure that you don't make the same mistake next time; ask yourself what the trigger was and how you would have done it differently. Treat yourself with compassion, not shame, which will likely lead to a cycle of overeating. Yes, you ate too much pie, but learn what triggered it and re-set.
• Set a short term goal. When things feel vague and overwhelming, people often don’t meet their weight loss goals. Decide on one or two small goals you want to reach over the next seven days, like limiting wine to two glasses this week, or making it outside to walk the dog every day.
• Remind yourself why you are trying to improve your diet. What is your driving force? Is it important to you to be healthy for an upcoming road race, or to be healthy for your family? Find that root of motivation and run with it—literally.

When I say "Thanksgiving," what image pops into your mind? You might picture your family sitting around a long table laden with food, or that time your grandmother ate the entire bowl of gravy thinking it was soup (true story: she said it was good, but a little salty, and laughed along with us once she realized her mistake).

And what about the "First Thanksgiving"? The one you were taught about in grade school, complete with Pilgrims in black hats with buckles and Native people in deerskin, harmoniously feasting on corn, turkey and squash. The scene wouldn’t be complete, of course, without a cornucopia (the horn of plenty!) adorning the center of the table.

Well, I’m about to blow your holiday-loving mind. That image you have of the first Thanksgiving? It’s almost certainly, for the most part, a myth.  

By the time the Pilgrims settled in Plymouth Colony, it was common practice for a local authority figure to declare days of thanksgiving. For example, King James declared November 5^th an annual day of thanksgiving to commemorate the failed attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605 (commonly known as the Gunpowder Plot). William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth Colony, declared a day of thanksgiving in August of 1623, which, over time, got conflated with a celebration of the Pilgrims’ first harvest in 1621.

Back then, days of thanksgiving were strictly religious and involved more fasting than feasting. So much for our naive notion of Thanksgiving being about peace, love and turkey…

But wait—some aspects of what you were taught are true! Both the Pilgrims and Wampanoag traditionally celebrated a bountiful harvest by giving thanks. This likely included a feast of venison, fowl, fish, shellfish and maybe some vegetables, nuts and berries (sorry—no cranberry sauce!).

Fast forward a century or so and most of the colonies in New England were annually declaring a Thursday in late November/early December a thanksgiving holiday. But it wasn’t really until the Victorian era that it turned into what we think of as Thanksgiving today, complete with big family gatherings, roasted turkey and—perhaps most importantly—pie.

Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 thanks in large part to the persistence of Sarah Josepha Hale, an American writer who argued it was as important a celebration of the American identity as the Fourth of July. By the late 1800s, Thanksgiving preparations in a typical New England household took over a week. Sound familiar?

Across the region, pie closet shelves—yes, they dedicated a specially designed closet just to storing pies—groaned under the weight of every type imaginable: mince, apple, chicken, pumpkin, cranberry and plum. The Marlborough pie, a Massachusetts specialty featuring apples and lemon custard, was especially popular.

Thanksgiving tables featured local ingredients served in creative ways. Plump oysters were used to make stuffing and sauces, wild game was roasted and presented whole, pickles and preserves were always within arm’s reach and there was plenty of wine, ginger beer and cider on hand to wash it all down. The company was equally important; friends and family traveled great distances to be with their loved ones on the special day. And, yes, there was usually a kids’ table (looks like we can thank our Victorian ancestors for that humiliating invention).

The way we celebrate Thanksgiving hasn’t changed much since then. We still travel great distances to spend the day with friends and family. Our tables are laden with hearty fare that echoes the shades of autumn—golden squash, green beans, orange yams—and roasted turkey remains the star of the show. The meal usually ends with a few types of pie and expressions of gratitude. It’s nice to know that some things haven’t changed since the time of Honest Abe. And to think, it all started right here in our little Northeast corner of the nation.  When you trace it back to its beginning, Thanksgiving is really about celebrating New England’s unique history—pumpkin pie included—which is just one more thing to be thankful for.

In order to compile a list of top holiday gifts, we tracked down a group of five Boston-area boutique owners, cheesemongers and even a "resident oyster dude" to find out what's looking fresh at shops all over the city.  

Real people, reccomending real New England-made products, sold at stores just around the corner from you. We're taking "buy local" to a whole new level this year.
 

1. Olives & Grace, Sofi Madison, Owner

Structure serving boards

“It took me a while to find serving boards that stand out and offer something special. Peter Jackson Hussey, of Boston-based Structure Design and Build, rose to the challenge and started creating serving boards with metal handles for proper balance and presentation.”

Price: $55

Cocoa Santé hot cocoa

“This is my favorite hot cocoa—in particular, the Azteca flavor. The cinnamon and chipotle peppers create a nice spice, so you don't know if it's the heat from the cocoa or from the peppers that you're feeling. A must with our Sweet Lydia's vanilla marshmallows, also locally made and sold at the shop.”  

Price: $11

Ceramic bowls by Jeremy Ogusky

“Our friend and maker, Jeremy Ogusky, a Boston-based potter, is our go-to for strong and timeless ceramics. Often times, we'll pick up bowls, mugs and decanters at his home studio. He's exactly the type of person you want to support.”  

Price: $34

Where to buy: Olives & Grace - 623 Tremont St., Boston, 617.236.4535, olivesandgrace.com

2. Formaggio Kitchen, Julia Hallman, Buyer & Manager

Moxie's sirop de cassis

“From Backstage Farm in Blue Hill, Maine. Elena makes this traditional syrup using black currants grown on her farm. Each batch is handmade once a year when the cassis berries are ripe. This syrup is the perfect addition to any cocktail, and it's wonderful drizzled over ice cream, too.”

Price: $18.95

Twig Farm cheeses

“Made by Michael Lee on his farm in West Cornwall, Vermont, these raw milk cheeses from Twig Farm are exceptional. Michael is best known for his natural rind goat cheeses, which provide a balance of both an earthy and savory rind, with a bright, yet creamy paste. Never adhering to any norms, Michael constantly tweaks and revises his recipes, while consistently delivering cheese perfection!”

Price: $24.95/lb

Somerville Chocolate

“What began as a chocolate CSA in Somerville—that Formaggio Kitchen was a member of— is now a full-fledged bean-to-bar chocolate making operation. Eric is the man behind this amazing chocolate. He is constantly experimenting and perfecting his craft in a never-ending quest to perfect his already amazing chocolate.”

Price: $9.95-$11.95

Where to buy: Formaggio Kitchen - 244 Huron Ave., Cambridge, 617.354.4750, formaggiokitchen.com

3. Island Creek Oysters Holiday Pop-Up Shop, CJ Husk, “Resident Oyster Dude”

Oysters

“No holiday cocktail hour is complete without everyone standing around the sink taking turns at shucking oysters. Just squeeze a bit of lemon over them and pair with a glass of your favorite sparkling wine."

Price: $18 per dozen

The New England Kitchen Cookbook

“Jeremy [Sewall] is a master of so many cooking techniques—but he really shines when it comes to New England style seafood. If you want to know how to bring the cooking styles of Island Creek Oyster Bar and Row 34 into your home kitchen, this is the book to get.”

Price: $39.95

Premium shucking knife, made by R. Murphy in Ayer, MA

“This is my shucking tool of choice. The polished rosewood wood handle gives a glamorous touch to a knife that is perfect for the novice, or the seasoned pro."

Price: $40

Where to buy: Island Creek Oysters Holiday Pop-Up Shop - 142 Newbury St., Boston, islandcreekoysters.com 

4. Central Bottle Wine + Provisions, Molly Hargrove, Cheese Monger

Bobo's Mountain Sugar

“Their motto is ‘a taste of tree’ and this couldn't be more accurate. It is woodsy and delicate and just a whiff of it transports me to Vermont, where it is made.”

Price: $18/$11 for a pint or half-pint

Overland honey

This is a 100 percent pure honey that our chef drove all the way to Maine to get, and it was well worth the drive. It is rich and floral and made by a small, sustainable beekeeping operation that cares for their bees in the best way possible.

Price: $18 for 12 oz

Songbird Farm cornmeal

“Songbird Farm is run by a couple from Unity, Maine, who travel the country as a bluegrass duo in the off season. Their organic cornmeal is the perfect accompaniment to winter stews and braises.”

Price: $10 for 2lbs

Where to buy: Central Bottle Wine + Provisions - 196 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617.225.0040, centralbottle.com 

5. Loyal Supply Co., Kimberly Lafoy & Ryan Habbyshaw, Owners

Bees Wrap

“We love Vermont. It has been our home and our weekend escape, and many times where we find amazing products. Sarah Kaeck, founder and owner of Bee's Wrap, makes an all natural, reusable alternative to plastic wrap, all from a shop in our hometown of Bristol. Bee's Wraps are made from an organic fabric infused with a combination of beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil. The result is a slightly stiff wrap that becomes pliable from the warmth of hands.”

Price: $6-$15

Cuppow travel mug

“This glass travel mug designed by our friends and neighbors, Cuppow, is perfect for everything from coffee to cocktails. Take it everywhere you go, every day, and enjoy it every time you do.”

Price: $20

Bee Raw honey flight

“The four hand-corked 1 oz. vials are sealed in beeswax and packaged with a beautiful American Oak block, in a gift box. There are four varieties: fruit, wildflower, cheese complimentary and Maine blueberry—our personal favorite.”

Price: $46

Where to buy: Loyal Supply Co. - 21 Union Square, Somerville, 617.996.6930, loyalsupplyco.com

When you ask Renita Mendonca what it was like to participate in one of television’s most arduous chef competitions, she does not hesitate. “It was great!” she exclaims. “I loved the challenge the most, the competition itself.”

The Mumbai native will tell you that life nowadays is less about TV appearances and more about running two businesses—a catering company and a new restaurant—while raising a family. She says her 2011 stint on the Food Network’s “Chopped” will always be linked with the birth of her son. “I was nursing between shoots,” she says, referring to the hectic filming schedule the year before episodes aired. (In the competition, she made it through the entrée round, but was cut before desserts. She doesn’t seem the least bit phased by the turn of events.)

Since then, Mendonca has grown her catering company, Seasoned and Spiced, and made sure that son Liam, now 5 years old, started pre-school. Four months ago, she opened Dates and Olives Mediterranean Grill on a busy block in Brighton. It’s in the same strip mall as coffee house Fuel and Moogy’s Restaurant. If that sounds like an ambitious run of accomplishments, you quickly realize it’s par for the course in the life of this chef-entrepreneur.

After finishing hotel school in India, Mendonca worked on the culinary side of luxury hotels in her home country, as well as in Dubai and Oman, before winning a scholarship to Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. That led to an internship at The French Laundry, the three-star Michelin restaurant in California. She felt energized by her time in the Golden State. “I’ve loved every place I’ve lived,” she says. For her, food has always been a way to embrace the culture in which she found herself. She credits her home town’s “melting pot of cuisines” as an important influence, as well as her own mother, whom she declares “one of the finest cooks ever.”

Dropping by Dates and Olives one weekday afternoon, we are fortunate to catch up with her. She is often running between the restaurant and pop-up catering gigs around town. Today, she is greeting guests, tallying labor hours, and making sure everything is running smoothly in the kitchen. The simple space, done in a palette of neutrals and light green, is cozy and inviting, with sun streaming through the storefront windows.

At this 20-seat spot, you approach the counter and ask staff to build your meal as a rice bowl, a salad bowl, or a pita pocket. You select an entrée—like grilled chicken with Moroccan spices ($8), beef with Turkish seasonings ($8.50), or falafel ($7.50)—and add four toppings. There are a dozen or more on offer, all arrayed before you. The baba ghanouj here is not the creamy style you find at most other places. This one features chunks of roasted eggplant with fresh tomato and mint. There is also zhoug, an emerald green sauce of puréed parsley, garlic and chiles, and Mendonca’s own version of muhamara, a sweet roasted red pepper dip with ground walnuts and the zip of tangy pomegranate. Flavors here are vivid, bright, and altogether delicious.

Some might be surprised by the eatery’s emphasis on Middle Eastern rather than South Asian flavors. “Mediterranean has been embraced by the masses,” the chef-owner explains, saying she wants to give her customers healthy food that is also familiar. She points out that there is one Indian favorite—mango lassi, the popular yogurt-based drink—in the cold-pressed juice case. It’s made by her husband from his own special recipe.

We’re finishing with the lovely date cake ($4), frosted with whipped labneh cheese, and talking about the holidays. “You know how it is,” Mendonca says with a knowing grin. “You cook at the restaurant and then you cook at home.” She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dates and Olives Mediterranean Grill, 160 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brighton, 617-515-0010, datesandolives.com.

Whether you want to start a new tradition this year that takes all the planning and shopping off your plate, or you always outsource Christmas dinner, there are many motivations to eat out on the big day. 

Maybe you cooked for family on Thanksgiving. Maybe they cooked and you wished they hadn’t. Whatever your reasons, you've got dining options. Here are eleven good ones.

1. Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental in Back Bay offers traditional French bistro fare. The Boston addition to Michelin starred-chef Daniel Boulud’s growing culinary empire will have an $85 three-course prix fixe menu from noon till 8 p.m.

776 Boylston Street, Boston, 617-535-8800, barboulud.com

2. Bricco Ristorante in the North End will be open for its usual dinner hours on Christmas because Bricco is no fair-weather restaurant. “In the eight years I have been here, we have never closed,” said general manager Nick Vatistas. “Every holiday, every snowstorm, every state of emergency, you can always count on us.” The regular dinner menu will be available, as well as a couple of chef features.

241 Hanover Street, Boston, 617-248-6800, bricco.com

3. Ceres Bistro, a culinary landmark in Worcester, serves locally-sourced food in a sleek dining room within the Beechwood Hotel. The restaurant will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Christmas, with a $49 three-course prix fixe menu.

363 Plantation Street, Worcester, 508-754-5789, beechwoodhotel.com

4. Clink at the trendy Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill will offer a special holiday à la carte menu from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

215 Charles Street, Boston, 617-224-4004, clinkrestaurant.com

5. Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks was declared a “perfect restaurant” by the Boston Globe, in part for its ability to satisfy every combination of occasion and diner palate, and so we can safely assume that its Christmas offerings would satisfy your family as well. The long-acclaimed Kenmore Square favorite will be open for lunch and dinner with a prix fixe menu.

528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617-532-9100, easternstandardboston.com

6. Fogo de Chao is a Brazilian churrasco steakhouse in Copley Square. Wait staff move from table to table with giant skewers of meat, slicing it right onto your plate. The restaurant will be open for dinner, offering its standard all-you-can-eat menu for $51.95 per person.

200 Dartmouth Street, Boston, 617-585-6300, fogodechao.com

7. La Voile on Newbury Street in Back Bay won Best of Boston for French cuisine this past year. (Urgent French language trivia interruption: la voile means “the sail” in French.) In addition to the regular à la carte lunch and dinner menus, prix fixe menus will be available for both meals: during lunch, $31 for two courses and $37 for three courses; and for dinner, $74 for four courses.

261 Newbury Street, Boston, 617-587-4200, lavoileboston.net

8. Mooo offers exactly what you would expect from the name: cows in an improved form. The Beacon Hill steakhouse will have limited items from its à la carte menu, plus a holiday prix fixe menu.

15 Beacon Street, Boston, 617-670-2515, mooorestaurant.com

9. Nubar, the chic restaurant and bar located in the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Harvard Square, will again feature a holiday buffet. The buffet will run from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at $45 per adult and $20 per child.

16 Garden Street, Cambridge, 617-234-1365, nubarcambridge.com

10. Oishii, the Best of Boston-winning sushi icons in the South End and its sister location in Chestnut Hill, will be available for dinner only with their regular menus. Break up your Facebook feed’s monotony of roasted birds and gingerbread with some toro and uni.

South End: 1166 Washington Street, Boston. 617-482-8868. Chestnut Hill: 612 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill. 617-277-7888, oishiiboston.com
 

Nicole Fleming is the author of The Girl Who Ate Boston food blog. Follow her on Twitter @GirlEatsBoston.