New Blog Obsession: Camille Styles

While we all have plenty of blogs bookmarked on our computers to enjoy with our morning coffee, I would encourage you to add CAMILLE STYLES. I am obsessed!  Camille and her team are regulars on HGTV and have the best ideas for food, drink, entertaining, inspiration - you name it! 

Inspiration

Food

Drink

Parties

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

BLUE HILL at Stone Barns is on the top of my "must" list. 

In 2004, Blue Hill at Stone Barns opened in Pocantico Hills, New York. 

Chef Dan Barber helped create the philosophical and practical framework for Stone Barns Center, a working four-season farm just 30 miles north of New York City, and continues to create a consciousness about the effect of everyday food choices.

Sourcing from the surrounding fields, as well as other local farms, Blue Hill at Stone Barns highlights the resources of the Hudson Valley. There are no menus at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Instead, guests are presented with a list of over a hundred ingredients, updated daily, which contains the best offerings from the field and market.

Thursday Obsession: TW Food

TW FOOD is one of the best restaurants in the Boston area, but is often overlooked since it is small and tucked on a side street in Cambridge. I went when it first opened a few years ago and went back earlier this month with a few of my favorite friends. It did not disappoint! 

The service is impeccable - warm, welcoming and professional. The space is funky (with exposed brick and high ceilings) and wonderfully cozy with a total of about fifteen tables. 

The chef and owner, Tim Wiechmann, was raised in Massachusetts, but spent many years in Europe. He then worked at Aujourd'hui at the Four Seasons Boston was Head Chef at the stoves of Ten Tables. More recently, he and his wife Bronwyn moved back to Paris. There he had the good fortune of working under Alain Passard of Arpège and Joël Robuchon at his Atelier - whose cuisine he incorporates into his own style.

Tim and his wife, Bronwyn

I worked with the sommelier, Jillian Marini, to pick some wines in advance to taste with my friends. The restaurant had a great selection of wines to pair with your food.

Whether you are looking for an evening out with friends, or planning a special occasion, I encourage you to make a reservation!

My Latest Obsession: Still River Cafe

 

Friends were recently raving about STILL RIVER CAFE and insisting "I have to go"! They had been for a 40th birthday party and said the food, service and atmosphere were phenomenal. Well this I had to research! 

The restaurant is located in a 150-year old barn set on a 27-acre farm in the northeast corner of Connecticut, and is an hour's drive from Boston, Hartford and Providence. The dining room is beautiful! I love the old beams.

While I may not have heard of it, it certainly has not escaped the notice of the press. Zagat voted it one of the best restaurants. The New York Times rated it "extraordinary" and Boston Magazine voted it the #1 Foodie Destination in New England. Where have I been and how have I missed this gem?

The owners Kara (also the Executive Chef) and Robert Brooks

The menu is seasonal with many of the ingredients grown on the farm.

What a great place for a party and I am definitely making a reservation - soon!