Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food & drink events.. **********************************************************
1) Pastoral Chef/Owner Todd Winer invites guests to learn Italian cooking techniques during his Todd Teaches Sunday School cooking classes which take place monthly. The next class will take place on Sunday, April 26 from 4pm until 5:30pm and the theme is Meatball Madness. Students will learn the basics behind making meatballs. The class is $40 per person and includes wine, samples of the finished dishes, and recipe cards to take home. Space is limited and can be reserved by logging onto Eventbrite.com.

Upcoming class include:
Cooking With Mama- May 10th
Vegetables Steal the Show- June 14th
Fish Feast- Italian fish prepared in Neapolitan style
Knife Skills- how to properly carve poultry, filet fish, chopping vegetables
Italian Casseroles- Learn how to make Lasagna, Mac & Cheese and Eggplant Parmesan

For more information and reservations, please call (617) 345-0005 or visit www.eventbrite.com.

2) In an effort to discover who will be mixing up the Seaport District’s best sangria this season, the Seaport Hotel is introducing the first-ever Seaport Sangria Smackdown. Bartenders from various Seaport District establishments will come together on May 13 from 6pm-8pm at Seaport’s state-of-the-art Action Kitchen, where they will bring their sangria A-game; whether an existing recipe from their eatery or a new twist on an old classic. Guests will be the final judge of who will be dubbed the Seaport Sangria Smackdown champion!

For $20 per person, guests will enjoy sangria tastings and light hors d’oeuvres; they are encouraged to vote for their favorite sangria, with one restaurant being crowned the Seaport Sangria Smackdown Champion. Participating restaurants include: City Bar, Empire Restaurant and Lounge, Legal Test Kitchen, MC Spiedo, Sam's at Louis, TAMO Bistro & Bar and The Barking Crab.

TICKETS: Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased online at: www.sangriasmackdown.eventbrite.com

All Star Sandwich Bar: A Revisit

The warm cornbread thoroughly impressed me and I would visit again just for that. The proper moistness, just a touch of sweetness, and a wonderful corn flavor. I love cornbread, yet it seems so difficult to find good cornbread. Far too often it is heavy, dry and crumbly. But this was superb and I almost want to keep it a secret so there will be more for me.

Last week, I and several other local food writers and bloggers were invited to a lunch Sand-Tweet at All Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge. I was joined by some good people, including Jackie of Leather District Gourmet, Rachel of Fork It Over, Pam of Cave Cibum, Christine of Citysearch Boston and Dave of Thrillist Boston.

It had been quite a long time since I had eaten at All Star, way back in 2006, and relatively soon after they had opened. The restaurant had initially garnered a lot of buzz but that died down, especially after the restaurant made some significant changes. I was not impressed with their sandwiches, which seemed to be average in quality and over-priced for what you received. So I did not return.

But about two years ago, ownership of the restaurant changed, and two brothers, Kosta and Johnny Diamantopoulos took over. Though they maintained the basic concept of the restaurant, they made some changes as well. For example, the menu is much larger than my last visit. There are actually two menus, one for the regular items that are always available, and a sheet of specials, which are available for a limited time. The specials menu usually has around 8 different sandwiches and some sides. There is certainly plenty of variety available and everyone can find a sandwich that appeals to them, from vegetarians to carnivores.

But what about pricing? I don't recall all of the prices from the prior menu, but I do know that the price of the Beef on Weck used to be $9.25 and now is $8.95, a slight decrease. The average cost of a sandwich is $8.95, and you get some cole slaw and a pickle. Burgers range from $10-$12.50, but in addition to the slaw and pickle you also get French fries. This is not a cheap place to eat, but the size and quality of the sandwiches has definitely improved under the new ownership and gives a better value now.

For beverages, they have a variety of non-alcoholic drinks as well as beer, wine and sangria. To my liking, they carry fresh brewed, unsweetened iced tea. I also tried their sangria which was very pleasant and fruity. The alcohol flavor was very subdued and it was rather refreshing, making for a very good summer drink.

I began with the Grilled Sweet Corn with Basil Butter, one of the special sides. This was a decent side, and I really liked the taste of the basil butter when it melted over the corn.

The hand-cut Cheese Fries ($4.95) were a mound of crisp fries, with plenty of melted cheese. A good value side, the fries have a fresh, clean taste with lots of potato flavor. If they added some bacon atop the fries, I would have been in heaven. It is a large enough dish that 2-3 people could easily share it.

I ordered the BBQ Smoked Pulled Pork ($8.95), which normally comes topped with creamy coleslaw but which I had them omit. It is good that they are flexible enough to omit certain ingredients if you do desire. As you can see, there is a good amount of meat in the sandwich, better than the size of the sandwiches before. As for its taste, it was quite good, with plenty of tender pork with a slightly tangy BBQ sauce. The roll was fresh and I finished the entire sandwich, enjoying each bite. My dining companions enjoyed their sandwiches as well, all of which seemed to have plenty of meat in them, even the Weck.

All Star has certainly improved over the past and I will return to check out more of their menu, as well as for more cornbread. I still feel they are slightly pricey, but you now receive a larger and better sandwich. I don't think I would be as concerned about the prices if they only included some french fries with your sandwich, like they do with their burgers. They are doing a lot good here, and they could do even better with such a slight change. I'll report back again after I have eaten here a couple times more.

All Star Sandwich Bar
1245 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA
Phone: (617) 868-3065

Sangria Recipe

Summertime is a perfect time for a big glass of chilled Sangria. The best Sangria I have ever had is from Dali, a Spanish restaurant in Somerville. And I was lucky enough to get a copy of their recipe, which tastes exactly like what you get at the restaurant. I have made it for numerous parties and it is always a hit.

Here is the recipe.

--3 bottles of Vina Borgia (An inexpensive Spanish Garnacha wine though you could substitite many other inexpensive Spanish reds)
--1 cup of brandy
--1 cup triple sec
--1 cup of sugar
--1/2 gallon of orange juice

---Mix all the ingredients together and then let it sit overnight. If you do not let it sit, it may seem bitter. Add some sliced fruit when it is ready.

Enjoy!