What to Eat (and Drink) This Weekend

Oysters and more are on the new raw bar menu at Casa Verde. / Photo by Yuri Bredbeck

Seafood

After gorging on grillables yesterday, perhaps you’re craving something fresh and briny. Head to Casa Verde, which is rolling out a new raw bar program beginning this week. New chef Owen Royce-Nagel, an alum of Row 34 and Nantucket’s Straight Wharf, among other seafood-friendly spots, is shucking $1 Island Creek oysters from 4-5 p.m. today. Look out for menu additions like shrimp cocktail, Peruvian- and Nikkei-style ceviches, and more creative preparations, too. At Il Molo in the North End, chef Pino Maffeo has a solution for those who don’t have a taste for the raw stuff: his new “hot tower” is a spin on the traditional shellfish tower (though that is also available), with three tiers of oysters Rockefeller, clams casino, Hawaiian-style grilled prawns, and steamed Maine mussels.

Photo provided by Lolita Cocina Tequila Bar

$5 Cinco de Julio Snacks

The newest Lolita Cocina and Tequila Bar is celebrating the fifth of July the best way it knows how: With cotija-dusted spicy fries, street corn esquites, and a bunch of mini tacos—a patio party that wouldn’t be out of place on, say, the fifth of May. All the snacks are priced at $5, and Wellfleet oysters with Mexican-style accoutrements are $1 a pop. The bar staff will be pouring $5 glasses of rosé from a few 15-liter (!) magnum AIX bottles, and serving up $5 rosé popsicles, too. The waterfront patio will host a DJ to keep things festive, and the event is rain or shine.

Cinco de All-the-Rosé party, Thursday, July 5, 2-5 p.m., Lolita patio, 253 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston, 617-369-0931, lolitamexican.com.

Frank Pepe’s seasonal Fresh Tomato Pie. / Provided

Frank Pepe’s Fresh Tomato Pie

’Tis the season for this New Haven classic: Frank Pepe’s summer special landed at the Chestnut Hill location (and all Pepe’s pie shops) on July 1. The fresh tomato pie is available for as long as fresh tomatoes are. In other Frank Pepe’s tomato news, the legendary Pizzeria Napoletana recently launched its own retail line of genuine Italian tomatoes. The 28-ounce cans are $3.50 from the 10 regional restaurants, and are also sold online.

Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana at the Mall at Chestnut Hill, 199 Boylston St., 617-964-7373, pepespizza.com.

“Huevos” rancheros and more Sunday brunch fare is now available at Whole Heart Provisions’ new Cambridge location. / Photo by Brian Samuels

“Huevos” Rancheros, Pancakes a la Mode, and a Beet Pastrami Reuben

Allston isn’t the only place to find the unique beet pastrami Reuben: Whole Heart Provisions’ new location in Central Square is now doing Sunday brunch. The menu offers vegan-friendly riffs on brunch staples such as “huevos” rancheros (tofu scramble with tomatoes, Korean black beans, pineapple salsa, spicy gochujang, and tortillas); and seasonal flavors of pancakes with an optional scoop of dairy-free ice cream. The more lunch-minded will enjoy pastrami-spiced beets with Daiya dairy-free cheese, kimchi, and Thousand Island on Iggy’s rye; or chef Rebecca Arnold’s signature seared avocado with crispy lentils, served as tacos with orange miso and red cabbage slaw. Brunch continues at both Whole Heart Provisions locations every Sunday.

10 a.m.-2 p.m., 298 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-945-8991; 487 Cambridge St., Allston, 617-202-5041, wholeheartprovisions.com.

A swizzle at the Hawthorne. / Photo by Melissa Ostrow

Bermuda’s National Drink

No Sunday scaries; only Sunday swizzles. Wind down the holiday weekend with an island-inspired cocktail party on the Hawthorne patio, with Jackson Cannon and a rotating cast of industry all-stars guest bartending and whipping up a variety of rum-lovers’ drinks. Swizzle Sundays return every Sunday evening this summer.

5 p.m.-dusk, the Hawthorne patio, 500A Commonwealth Ave., Kenmore Square, Boston, 617-532-9150, thehawthornebar.com.