Thursday, October 2, 2025

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) Kane’s Donuts is pleased to announce two limited-edition seasonal donuts with fall favorites from Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard to bring customers the Sam Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale Donut and Angry Orchard Hard Apple Cider Donut. These fall flavors are in stores beginning October 1 and available through October at all Kane’s Donuts locations.

Tapping into Samuel Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale, Kane’s has crafted yet another seasonal delight. The Sam Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale Donut is a pumpkin’d cake-style donut, drenched in Kane’s honey glaze infused with a reduction of award-winning Sam Adams’ Jack-O Pumpkin Ale. Kane’s Angry Orchard Hard Apple Cider Donut is a cake-style apple cider donut made with fresh apple cider and a hint of cinnamon, then dipped in Kane’s honey glaze reduced with Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider.

Sam Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale is the pick of the patch with cinnamon and nutmeg aromas that recall memories of freshly baked pumpkin pie. It has a balance of seasonal spices with a crisp, refreshing finish. At 4.4% ABV, Jack-O finishes smooth with a lingering, subtle notes of fresh citrus. 

Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider is nothing short of biting into a crisp fall apple freshly picked from the tree. At 5% ABV, it is a perfect balance of sweetness and bright acidity from culinary apples, combined with the dryness of traditional cider-making apples, resulting in a complex yet refreshing hard cider. 

For the month of October, Kane’s will also feature the Caramel Apple Crunch Donut, an airy yeast donut filled with apple pie filling, frosted with Kane’s homemade caramel, and topped with Kane’s Butter Crunch. The Vegan Fall Funfetti Donut is Kane’s vegan cake-style donut, complemented with fall sprinkles folded in the dough, then drenched in a sweet glaze and topped with sprinkles. The Gluten Free Apple Cider Donut is a cake-style donut loaded with spices and apple cider, then rolled in fresh ground cinnamon and sugar. Plus, Kane’s uses real, fresh local cider in their donuts. The Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Donut is a cake-style donut made with real pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and is drenched in Kane’s Signature Honey Glaze. This donut is gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. The Marble Cruller Donut is a cake-style classic donut with Kane’s twist of rich chocolate and cake doughs combinedinto a cruller, cooked to a crispy texture, and then drenched in Kane’s signature honey-dip glaze.

2) Eva's Little Kitchen, with locations in Bedford and Concord (newly opened), they have some Specials coming in October.

First, Eva’s Little Kitchen is celebrating National Banh Mi Day on Friday, October 10th with a buy one, get one 50% off promotion for its Pork Belly Banh Mi dish at both West Concord and Bedford locations, from 8am-3pm. Eva’s Pork Belly Banh Mi is made with carrot, radish, cucumber, cilantro, sriracha mayo served on ciabatta and usually sold for $17.

Eva’s Little Kitchen is also celebrating National Dessert Day on October 14th early by offering free chocolate chip mini cookies to the first 25 customers at both West Concord and Bedford locations each day on Sunday, October 12th and Monday, October 13th.

Eva’s typically bakes anywhere from 3-5 dozen of its chocolate chip cookies every day, which are sold for $4.75 and one dozen for $57. The chocolate chip cookies contain two kinds of chocolate and both chocolates vary in the consistency, so the chocolate is really dispersed throughout. They’re chewy, gooey, and not too sweet. They’re topped with Maldon flakey salt which really helps balance it all out. Eva’s uses the best raw ingredients it can source - from the flour to the butter - and high quality chocolate.

3) il Casale (with two restaurant locations in Belmont and Lexington) is hosting a Chef’s Choice Pasta Contest for National Pasta Day. From October 1st through October 14th, contestants are invited to send a pasta recipe and photo to il Casale executive chef & co-owner Dante de Magistris at pasta@ilcasalegroup.com, who will hand select a winner to be announced on October 17th (National Pasta Day). The winner will have their pasta dish featured on both il Casale menus all weekend long from Friday, October 17th through Sunday, October 19th.

il Casale is an intimate, rustic-Italian farmhouse restaurant offering equal parts traditional Italian cuisine and exclusive family classics. The menu is structured to resemble the courses of a traditional Italian meal and are helmed by co-owner & executive chef Dante de Magistris, who takes inspiration from his Grandmother’s family recipes, travels to his family's hometown in Italy, and techniques he learned under years of guidance by Michelin-Starred Chef Don Alfonso in the Sorrento Peninsula. Owned by the de Magistris brothers who grew up above their father’s hair salon down the street, il Casale offers seasonal indoor and outdoor dining options at both locations.  

In addition to the Chef’s Choice Pasta Contest, il Casale has recently rolled out new Nonna-inspired fall dishes and cocktails, including: Fall Dishes helmed by co-owner & executive chef Dante de Magistris: Gamberi Risotto (shrimp, saffron cream risotto, broccoli rabe); Pesce Spada alla Griglia (grilled swordfish, butternut squash pine nut pesto, spinach, crispy sage, grilled lemon); Ravioli ai Fungi (mushroom ravioli, corn cream, aged white balsamic reduction, crispy kale, parmigiano crumbs). 

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