Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
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1) James Beard Award winning chef Ken Oringer and Italian restaurant, Capo, have announced a Gluten Free Collaboration Dinner on Tuesday, May 9th, from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM. Every Tuesday, Capo has "Gluten Free Tuesdays," where the entire menu is Gluten Free. 

For this collaboration dinner, Ken will join the team at Capo to host a gluten free night to celebrate his newest cookbook, Cooking with My Dad, the Chef, which he wrote with his daughter Verveine Oringer after her celiac diagnosis. Their cookbook has over 70 gluten free recipes, which can be made by young chefs. 

Chef Nick Dixon, of Capo, shared "We were so excited that Ken wanted to host a GF evening with us! He often dines here on GF night with his family, so it is special to now have him in our kitchen, preparing some tasty, innovative GF items. Ken’s restaurants are top-notch, and we think he is an exceptional chef and leader in our industry. We started Gluten Free night back in 2019. We noticed that many people would ask for gluten free pasta and bread. So, to respond to what people wanted and needed, we challenged ourselves to make all of the Capo menu items gluten free. We felt that if we were going to do it, then we should go big! While testing recipes, we found quality gluten free products that by all accounts make the food very tasty. We are proud that we have been able to take a traditionally gluten-full menu of breads, pizza and pasta and safely and successfully transform it. Gluten Free night has grown into one of the most popular nights at Capo. ”

The menu at Capo will highlight Ken’s favorite gluten free recipes such as:
Ramen Cacio e Pepe
Squid Ink Gluten Free Pasta with Spicy Crab Sauce
Gluten Free White Pizza with Black Truffle, Pesto and Bacon
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars

Make reservations now, and you can call Capo at 617-993-8080.

2) After a three-year hiatus, the Boston Pizza Festival is returning to City Hall Plaza in Boston’s government center. This pizza event will take place on Saturday, June 24th and Sunday, June 25th from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. The Boston Pizza Festival will feature over 30 pizzerias in the New England and Greater Boston areas, along with select participating pizzerias hailing from Italy. The festival will feature something for everyone, with vegan and gluten-free options. Each pizzeria will be cooking in Marra Forni artisan pizza ovens. 

This year, Anheuser-Busch will be sponsoring the refreshments throughout the weekend, alongside 19 Crimes for the wine. The two-day celebration will also showcase a children’s pizza tossing station, an interactive pizza-making demo with the Dough Connection, and live music and entertainment. 

Admission to the festival is free, with pizza tokens available for $3.00 available for purchases in varying packages upon arrival. Each token is good for one full-size slice of pizza.

Some of the participating pizzerias include:
Rina’s Pizzeria (Boston, MA)
da LaPosta (Newton, MA)
Florina Pizzeria (Boston, MA)
Montebella’s (Gluten-Free)
DaCoopas Pizza (East Boston, MA)
Motor City Detroit Pizza (Detroit, MI)
Il Sarago (Calabria, Italy)
Pizza Taxi (Amalfi Coast, Italy)
Wicked Cheesy (Tewksbury, MA)
Cafe Quattro (Boston, MA)
Eat Cini’s (Boston, MA)
And a dessert pizza booth selling Nutella pizzas!

3) Kane’s Donuts is debuting new flavors for the month of May while also bringing back some fan-favorites. The May flavors of the month include: 

The Red Velvet Cheesecake Donut is a features Kane's famous, ruby-red cake-style donut with a pile of hand-piped rich cream cheese frosting, finished with red-velvet crumbles. The Snickers Donut is an airy yeast ring frosted with Kane's homemade decadent chocolate frosting dipped in crushed Snickers bars, then topped with a swirl of Kane's special caramel frosting. The Blueberry Filled Donut is an old classic flavor, a fluffy yeast shell with bursts of fruit and tastes of a homemade blueberry pie filling, then tossed in confectioners' sugar. The Gluten-Free Vanilla Cookie Donut is an old-fashioned gluten-free donut dipped in Kane's signature honey glaze, then topped with their homemade fluffy vanilla frosting and finished with a delicious cookie piece! The Vegan Chocolate Frosted Donut is a cake-style donut frosted with rich vegan chocolate sprinkled with chocolate sprinkles.

Starting Thursday, May 4th through the 7th, for Cinco De Mayo, Kane's will feature a Margarita Donut. The donut is an airy yeast ring dipped in a glaze made from High Noon Tequila Seltzer with real Blanco tequila and real lime juice blended with Kane's signature honey Glaze then lightly salted.

To celebrate all moms out there, Kane's will feature Sweet Honey Hibiscus Donuts and Mother's Day Donuts. The Honey Hibiscus Donut is an airy yeast donut coated with rose-hued hibiscus glaze infused with Kane's signature honey glaze for a show-stopping dessert any mother would love! The Mother's Day Donut is a yeast-style ring festively decorated to remind Mom how much we love her!