What to Eat (and Drink) This Weekend
It will require a lot of zucchini to counteract all this dessert and football food.
The Langham Hotel’s famous Saturday Chocolate Bar returns this weekend. / Sonya Highfield Photography
Literally So Many Pastries
Personally, I am not yet sprinkling pumpkin spice into everything nice. But I am craving carbs, as I do every fall—though it’s clearly still too warm outside to turn my own oven on. Best to leave the baking to the pros, and luckily, the ever-advancing treat scene continues to tempt this weekend. For one, this Saturday marks the start of the 30th season of the Langham Hotel’s Chocolate Bar (pictured). The seasonal dessert buffet, with seating weekly between 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., brims with 30 years of classics this fall, including Boston cream pie, chocolate soup, deep-fried apple pie spring rolls, and more. Plan to hit some outdoor markets this weekend? Fuel up with treats by Plum Delicious, which pops up at Field & Vine on Saturday mornings during the Union Square Farmers’ Market; and this Sunday only, check out the Central Flea for Baked, a free dessert festival held in conjunction with the regular bazaar. Finally: Somerville gets another new macaron shop this weekend with a brick-and-mortar location of Finesse Pastries.
Photo provided by Ashmont Grill
Zucchini
Abundant local zucchini is a late-summer staple. Perhaps the fresh squash is formed into a patty and griddled to cushion Long Island duck breast with a smoked peach bourbon barbecue sauce, like it is at Ashmont Grill this season. Or maybe it’s tucked into pita, like it is at Clover, along with corn, shiso, basil mayo, and fried glazed tofu. What about on top of pizza? The destination-worthy, Neapolitan-style Ciao Pizza & Pasta is featuring zucchini on a summery pie with corn, ricotta, bacon, and truffle oil. However you see zucchini prepared this weekend—maybe one of those pastry purveyors is whipping up a zucchini cake?—order it and enjoy.
/ Photo provided by Paragon Boardwalk
Beach Vibes + Plants and Beer
The summertime feelings are still going strong at Paragon Boardwalk, the Hull hangout revamped this season with chef-designed concessions, a beer hall, and upgraded arcade games. The main drag is open daily from 3-8 p.m. and weekends from noon-10 p.m. through September for all your late-season Nantasket Beach day needs. This weekend, it also hosts the special Rewild Plant and Beer Festival to make the most of sunny-and-70 and seasonal produce. A vegan-friendly beer hall in Quincy, Rewild is on track to open this fall with plant-based food, local beers, and a social ambiance, Eater Boston has reported. The two-day festival previews this with bites by Rewild chef Will Hernandez and others; beers from the South Shore, including the highly anticipated brewery-in-planning Vitamin Sea; live music, and more. Tickets include all the activities, while snacks and drinks are priced a la carte.
97 Nantasket Ave., Nantasket Beach, Hull, 781-925-0011, paragonboardwalk.com.
Head to Boston Burger Co. this weekend for a limited-edition lactose-free Freak Frappe
A Lactose-Free Freak Frappe
Attention, lactose-intolerant Instagrammers: Boston Burger Co. is finally serving a “Freak Frappe” friendly for you. This weekend only, the local chain is teaming up with Beckon Ice Cream (formerly known as Minus the Moo) to offer a lactose-free behemoth crowded with colorful vanilla-confetti ice cream, strawberry sauce, Fruit Loops, Skittles, and Dorchester-made Top Shelf Cookies. All components are non-dairy or otherwise fully lactose free. The limited-edition collab is available across Boston Burger Company from Friday, Sept. 7 until Sunday, Sept. 9.
1100 Boylston St., Boston, 857-233-4560; 37 Davis Square, Somerville, 617-440-7361, 1105 Mass Ave., Cambridge, 857-242-3605, bostonburgerco.com.
An Argentinean-style meat platter is one of the Gridiron Garden specials at Public Street Bistro during football season / Photo provided by Publico
Football Food
This is either your annual reminder to avoid sports bars on Sunday afternoons for the foreseeable future, or to make sure your Tom Brady T-shirt is washed and pressed. It’s Patriots season, everyone! The Houston Texans are coming to Gillette Stadium for Week 1 this Sunday. If you are headed to Foxboro, too, upgrade your tailgate with these unfussy feasts from local chefs like Tiffani Faison and Matthew Gaudet. But if you’re looking for a place to kick back for kickoff, a couple of locales to consider: The newest Kings Dining and Entertainment Center in the Seaport has more than 50 high-def TVs to catch all the NFL action, alongside Gronk-approved pub grub, plenty to drink, and 16 ten-pin bowling lanes (just in case you get bored). For a more idyllic setting, the courtyard and outdoor bar at Publico Street Bistro becomes the “gridiron garden” every Sunday this season, with global tailgating-style fare like this Argentinean grill platter (pictured) and seasonal cocktails and beer. Speaking of beer: The Craft Collective Beer Barn, which takes over the SoWa Power Station during the weekly Sunday market, has a couple TVs mounted near the cornhole area, so setting up there ensures you won’t miss a second of the Pats nor a second of beer garden season.
