Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently. **********************************************************
1) BOKX 109 American Prime, a steakhouse at Hotel Indigo in Newton, announces the appointment of Stephen Coe as Executive Chef. A seasoned professional with over 20 years of restaurant industry experience, Coe excitedly joins the culinary team at BOKX 109 American Prime for the second time in his career.

"A Massachusetts native, Coe was born into the culinary world and was filling doughnuts at his grandfather’s shop by the age of eight. Coe’s passion was quickly realized and he began competing on the junior culinary circuit for five years. Coe graduated from Johnson & Wales University (Providence, RI) in 2000 earning a Bachelors Degree in Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts and Nutrition and an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts and Business Management for Hotel Restaurants. Upon graduating, Coe brought his near-perfect GPA to The Country Club (Brookline, MA) where he delved further into his budding career doubling as the banquet sous chef and a la carte chef de cuisine. After four years, Coe assumed the position of pastry chef and sous chef at the seasonal five-star, five-diamond Topper’s at the Wauwinet (Nantucket, MA), a Relais Chateau Luxury Resort. During the off season, Coe was employed as private chef for The Chef’s Table (Pembroke, MA) where he was responsible for a myriad of tasks including menu development, servicing a celebrity clientele and business administration. In 2008, Coe became part of the BOKX 109 American Prime (Newton, MA) team as the sous chef under former executive chef Evan Percoco where he was an integral part of the seasonal menu development and nightly execution. Coe left BOKX 109 American Prime to open a 22 acre non-profit training and research bee farm, Hollow Tree Farm (Plymouth, MA). In the last five years, Coe also held executive chef positions at Alba (Quincy, MA) and Patrizia’s Trattoria (Plymouth, MA). Most recently, Coe has taken the food truck world by storm serving as a consultant for Food Truck Nation where he was responsible for conceptualizing and overseeing four trucks and three culinary concepts including Italian Street Food, Lobsta Lova and two Grilled Cheese Nations. To date, Coe has worked in 143 restaurant lines and credits stints in France and California as major inspirations for his aggressive style of cooking and intricate technique."

At the BOKX 109 American Prime, Coe says, “In revamping the menu at BOKX 109, my goal is to appeal to our guests by offering new spins on classic American fare. I’m excited to be back and am anxious to get into the kitchen with the team so we can start pumping out some truly memorable meals.”

Highlights from Coe’s updated menu include: Smoke Show! (pear and mascarpone sacchetti, mustard fruit, chive cream); Wood Grilled Octopus Carpaccio (arugula, picked red onion, tarragon, lemon vinaigrette); Grilled Oyster (pancetta, chive, fennel pollen, oreganata, chive fondue); Sesame Tuna Nachos (sriracha sour cream, wakame, pickled ginger, crispy wontons); Duck Fat Poached Sweet Breads (sorrel puree, frisee, crispy apple); Rabbit Trio (confit leg, bacon-wrapped loin, French rack, stewed butter beans, peperonata); Tournadoes Rossini (Marsala glazed filet, seared foie gras, confit Yukon potato, haricot vert); and, Brick Chicken Tagine (curried cous cous, almonds, apricots, dates, raisin agro dolce). Coe has also developed some sweets including: Frozen Lemon Semi Freddo (Pop Rocks, raspberry leather, blueberry soda); Levitate! (flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse funnel, tuille cookie, caramel popcorn); and, Smoke! (freestanding marshmallow crème brûlée, honey nougat, Graham cracker cookie, chocolate sorbet, cinnamon fire). Coe will also continue to dish out BOKX 109 American Prime’s signature cuisine including BOKX Cuts (the restaurant’s a la carte Brandt Beef selections, numbered by the sub-primal part of the animal they come from) and an array of Surf, Turf & Farm options.

2) On Saturday, August 18th, celebrate the kick-off of the second annual North Shore Wine Week at the Wine ConneXtion located in North Andover. From 12pm-5pm, sample wines specially paired with cuisine from participating North Shore Wine Week restaurants Oregano Pizzeria and Ristorante and Chama Grill.

Mix and mingle at this complimentary event while sampling local culinary treats. Sponsored by Northeast FLAVOR magazine, in conjunction with NECN’s “TV Diner” and the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, North Shore Wine Week seeks to celebrate the North Shore as a premier destination for great wine and food. North Shore Wine Week will run from Sunday, August 19 through Sunday, August 26.

RSVP to VIP@northshorewineweek.com

3) "No matter how you shuck it, nothing compliments the subtle nuanced flavors of an oyster like a crisp glass of champagne." As a toast to this classic food and wine pairing, Central Bottle is reveling in the final days of summer with a special wine bar event: Bubbles + Bivalves.

The team at Central Bottle will be shuckin’ the ICOs (Island Creek Oysters, of course) and serving up a bubbly flight of Jean Vesselle Champagne and Movia Puro Rosato, a one of a kind Italian rosé rarely available outside of restaurant wine lists.

COST: $48 per person for a dozen oysters and ample amounts of champagne
WHEN: Thursday, August 23, 5:00 – 9:00 PM
TICKETS: Please visit http://bubblesbivalves.eventbrite.com/