http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/table/ en adjones1@mac.com Copyright 2008 2008-08-11T17:52:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/it-only-works-if-you-believe-ming-tsai-on-feng-shui/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/it-only-works-if-you-believe-ming-tsai-on-feng-shui/#When:17:52:00Z More than ever Misstropolis believes in Ming Tsai. Abigail Jones unlocks the mysteries of the Blue Ginger universe with the master chef and owner of recently renovated Wellesley restaurant and his physicist/feng shui master Natalia Kaylin. I am sitting with chef Ming Tsai and his feng shui consultant Natalia Kaylin, at a corner table in Blue Ginger, Ming’s award-winning restaurant in Wellesley, MA. “I’m a rational guy,” says the much beloved, world famous chef.  “I’m tactile in a way, but I believe in this stuff - I don’t have to be sold on it.” Ming is talking about Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese practice of finding the flow of energy in an environment and the interconnectedness in life. People may know it as a way of figuring out where to put the couch, but spend five minutes with Ming and Natalia and you’ll realize that it’s not about decorating. table 2008-08-11T17:52:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/love-hotels/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/love-hotels/#When:17:21:00Z Don’t take Table literally here. In this week’s story, find out where to eat your chocolate and strawberries, and drink your champagne, in bed… Ahh summer! Three months of excessive relaxation, flirty fun, and much deserved time off. But if you’re really human, you’re probably still over-tired, under-sexed, and under-vacationed. Whether you’re busy chauffeuring the kids between play dates or stuck in a stuffy office with nary a vacation day in sight, Misstropolis has the perfect fix. Call the babysitter, pack a small overnight bag (trust me, you might not need much clothing), and book an intimate night for two with some of the sexiest romance packages steaming up the windows at Boston-area hotels. table 2008-07-07T17:21:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/sweet/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/sweet/#When:19:08:00Z They are sweet (sugary but not too) sweet (sooo cool) and sweet (charming) - the cupcakes at Boston’s new Back Bay confectionery boutique Sweet, are not afraid to live up to their name.  Men in suits. Families with strollers. Students with backpacks. They all file in to Sweet, a boutique cupcake shop in the Back Bay. table 2008-06-09T19:08:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/three-shine-at-thirty/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/three-shine-at-thirty/#When:19:11:00Z Three restaurants in and around Boston prove that turning thirty doesn’t mean you’re getting old, just that you’re getting better. Perhaps it’s only when you hit 30 that you realize — it doesn’t mean you’re old; it only means you’re time–tested, proud and self-assured. Three Boston restaurants, each celebrating their 30th year in business, illustrate this nicely: Icarus, the high-class perennial favourite; haute American dining spot Harvest, and Casablanca,the upscale neighborhood joint, decorated with murals of its namesake film.  table 2008-06-02T19:11:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/a-world-apart-lala-rokh-is-a-step-back-in-time/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/a-world-apart-lala-rokh-is-a-step-back-in-time/#When:18:55:00Z Azita Bina-Seibel and Babak Bina, owners of Beacon Hill’s Lala Rokh pair rare Persian art and authentic cuisine from Azerbaijan for a culturally and gastronomically exotic experience. Step into Lala Rokh on a quaint Beacon Hill side street and enter the ancient world of Persia. The smells and aromas of another time and place will lure you, ancient art will cause you to wonder and a friendly staff will warm you. Today, we know Persia as Iran, and when many Westerners think of this place, the current conflict likely comes immediately to mind. But executive chef Azita Bina-Seibel, who owns the restaurant with her brother, Babak Bina, have roots in Azerbaijan, just north of Iran. For centuries, Azerbaijan was a cultural and artistic center, and the Binas keep many of these traditions alive at Lala Rokh, both through their food and the distinctive art collection showcased here. “Art and food lend themselves to each other,” says Babak Bina. “We wanted to bring it all together.” table 2008-05-20T18:55:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/food-with-purpose/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/food-with-purpose/#When:11:00:01Z Haley House Café and Bakery in Roxbury’s Dudley Square is a way of life. It also has great food. Check it out - and don’t miss the fundraising auction and wine tasting coming up this weekend. Step into Haley House Café and Bakery in Roxbury’s Dudley Square and step back a bit in time – not too far, maybe the late 1970s, but slightly updated. Put away your PDA, pour yourself a cup of richly brewed organic Love Buzz Equal Exchange Coffee, or choose from a variety of teas, order an enormous and delicious chocolate chip cookie, take a seat and chill out. table 2008-05-07T11:00:01-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/raising-dbar-in-dorchester/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/raising-dbar-in-dorchester/#When:11:00:00Z South End food at Dorchester prices, created by a CIA-trained chef - plus a hopping late-night scene -make dbar on Dorchester Ave. the place to be. Dbar is not a restaurant to be taken for granted, even if you live in its Savin Hill, Dorchester neighborhood. This is a “go-to” destination spot whether you live in town or the ‘burbs. The dbar kitchen has been under the competent, creative hands of 23-year-old executive chef Christopher Coombs since February, 2007. His carefully constructed menu, with no entrée over $19.00 and fabulous apps from $7-12, make this deceptively understated spot worth a trek during the week and worth the wait on a weekend.  table 2008-04-23T11:00:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/cocktails-for-a-cause/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/cocktails-for-a-cause/#When:05:38:00Z LUPEC is a club that figured out how to do it right. Dedicated to Preserving Endangered Cocktails, these true mixologists keep female drinking traditions alive, raise money for local charities and always have a great time doing it. “Sex and the City” turned cosmopolitans into the poster drink for gab fests among girlfriends, but what about pink gin, Martha Washington’s rum punch, and the Hanky Panky? The members of Ladies United for the Preservation of the Endangered Cocktail (LUPEC) could tell you a thing or three about the history of drinks for dames. And there’s a lot more to talk about than frou-frou daiquiris. table 2008-04-09T05:38:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/the-time-and-place-for-oysters/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/the-time-and-place-for-oysters/#When:11:00:00Z There are a lot of reasons we are lucky to live in New England, and for many of us, oysters are high on the list. Whether you like yours straight up or a little more fancy, the Boston area has something for every oyster lover. We are all hip to eating seasonally and locally, and oysters express time and place more profoundly than any other ingredient I can think of. Just about all of the oysters from our local waters are crassostrea virginica—size, shape, texture and flavor are all determined by their provenance, not the species. (Belon or European, flat oysters are commercially grown in New England, but they are the exception and even their flavor is affected by the waters they are harvested from.) If you love Wellfleets, and I do, it is because of the tides, salinity of the water, temperature of that water, and the algae in the bay. Island Creeks from Duxbury, Moonstones from Rhode Island, Glidden Points from Maine, and Stoningtons from Connecticut — I love ‘em all and they proudly articulate their home turf, or surf as it were, in varying degrees of size, brininess, creaminess and even sweetness.  table 2008-03-26T11:00:00-05:00 http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/wine-spring-menu-tasting-at-the-sherborn-out/ http://www.misstropolis.com/index.php/arts/wine-spring-menu-tasting-at-the-sherborn-out/#When:18:41:00Z Join Misstropolis for a fun night of gourmet nibbles and sips at the world class Sherborn Out, the Sherborn Inn’s take-out shop.  Misstropolis subscribers will have an opportunity to meet the Sherborn Inn’s executive chef, Brian Corbley, at a special wine and menu tasting at the Sherborn Out on Friday, April 4, from 5:00 - 7:00pm. table 2008-03-19T18:41:00-05:00