Cast Iron Menorah designed by Josh Owen

$150 at Areaware

Todd English and his daughter Izzy, a senior in high school, will finally be debuting the Beacon Hill shop dedicated to the cupcakes he created and named after her, Isabelle’s CurlyCakes. The storefront is at 81 Charles Street (formerly Ritz Camera), and like Sweet, the décor balances sweet and strong shades of pink and brown.

The space, designed by architect Andrew Falkenstein of Brookline-based Concise Design Architects, is pretty darn cute. Falkenstein, together with project designer Jennifer Glickman infuses the traditional Beacon Hill feel with modern sentiment. Just three paint colors are used  – Benjamin Moore White Chocolate, Strawberry, and Fresh Brew. The countertops are Carrera marble and the floors are porcelain tile done to resemble old, wood planks. The backsplash behind the counter is back-painted so it can double as a menu board. And for the bathroom (teeny, tiny, as it goes on Beacon Hill), there are pink penny round tiles.

A photo accent wall, which faces opposite the counter, will showcase photos of the neighborhood and cupcakes, shot by Isabelle. The photos are interchangeable,   mounted between integral paneling/picture framing.

As for the cupcakes, the emphasis is on wholesome. The menu on the website touts six flavors: Tahitian vanilla bean, Valrhona chocolate, carrot cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting, toasted coconut, southern red velvet, light and fluffy lemon with pomegranate vanilla frosting.

Maybe if I wish really hard someone will deliver a taste to my doorstep.

Concise Design Architects, Andrew Falkenstein, AIA

Concise Design Architects, Andrew Falkenstein, AIA

poached pears and bleu cheese tarte

chocolate stuffed soft pretzel

white chocolate strawberry parfait

milk chocolate pumpkin torte

dulce de leche

macaroons

cotton candy

truffle toppings

the truffle chefs

Chocolate Bar, Saturday (September 11 – June 25), 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., adults: $38, children 5-12 years old: $25.

Sweet is now open on Newbury, and it’s just as sweet as the Mass. Ave. and Harvard Square shops. Same pretty wallpaper (Studio Printworks Grille Modern in a custom pink) and fixings – design compliments of Annsley McAleer. My son and I popped in on the way home from a friend’s on Saturday night. Though I wasn’t splurging on an 8pm cupcake, we indulged in frosting shots (him vanilla, me cream cheese) for fifty cents each. Genius.

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Treat cupcakes

While we’re on a sugar high . . . there’s another new cupcakery in town. Well, not really in town, it’s out in Needham, but it sounds so amazing that I’m almost tempted to make the drive. (Almost, not actually. Hoping Sam at Marlo Communications, their PR agency, will import a cupcake to the Back Bay.)  It’s Treat Cupcake Bar and the concept is make-your-own cupcake.  I put in my order for a chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting and a chocolate covered pretzel topping.

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One totally lucky (and probably tipsy) drinker will win a pair of martini-set diamond earrings worth $7,500 from Shreve, Crump & Low.

You see, every Statement martini from BOND at The Langham Hotel in downtown Boston comes with a sparkly diamond. One is the real. Bring it to Shreve’s in Back Bay to see if its yours.

THE STATEMENT MARTINI
Ketel One Vodka
Watermelon Liqueur
Orange Juice

Other new cocktails (some named for bank robbers) from the mixologists at BOND:

The Equity
Oxley Gin
Vanilla Simple Syrup
Grapefruit Juice
Caramelized Grapefruit

The Getaway
Belvedere Vodka
Navan Liqueur
Chambord
Pineapple Juice

The Baby Face Nelson
Cold River Blueberry Vodka
St. Germain
Lemonade
Soda Water

The John Dillinger
Patron Silver Tequila
Simple Syrup
Mint Leaves
Lemon Wedges
Lemon Lime Soda

Boston chef and restaurateur Barbara Lynch‘s new Fort Point restaurant Menton (rhymes with Vuitton), opened on Saturday. Yesterday her publicist sent along some official interior photos. (You can see the artsier shots on photographer Justin Ide‘s  blog.)

As fitting for a high-end, special occasion spot (she’s hoping diners will wear jackets), the décor, designed by Cheryl and Jeffrey Katz, is subdued. Looks like the entry has some nice details, and the Moroccan style lighting in the dining room keep it from coming off as dull.

It’s named for a small French village near the Italian border, and according to the press kit, “The cuisine is a marriage of refined French technique and soulful Italian cooking.”  There are two menu formats: a 4-course prix fixe menu for $95 and a 7-course chef’s tasting menu for $145. Pricey.

Photo: Justin Ide

The palette is composed of earthy greens, grays, and browns, with accents of silver, bright white, and black.  A Murano glass chandelier hangs above a silver leather reception desk. Iranian carpets cover the floor of the lounge.

Photo: Justin Ide

The main dining room features Italian wood veneer-clad walls, traditional black slat back chairs, glittering banquettes, and natural linen and white cotton table cloths

Photo: Justin Ide

The main dining room features paintings by Matt McClune, an artist and onetime bartender at Lynch’s No.9 Park, who is n ow based in the Burgundy region of France.

Photo: Justin Ide

Painter Matt McClune, who has a BFA from Mass Art, is represented locally by the Howard Yezerski Gallery at 460 Harrison.

Photo via Grubb Street Boston

The kitchen has marble mosaic floors and a stainless steel Molteni cooking suite, imported from France. Apparently it was a huge deal to get it into the space, since it’s all one piece.

There’s a view of the kitchen from the chef’s table, a glass-fronted room at the back of the kitchen. The space includes a silver banquette runs the entire length of the room, Philipe Starck ghost chairs, a faux-bois floor, malachite wallpaper, and stark graphite drawings of trees and flora by Dean Brown. Nineteenth-century reproduction French garden mural wallpaper covers the hallway leading to the private dining room. I wish I had a pictures!

Photo: Justin Ide

M E N T O N

354 Congress Street
Boston, Massachusetts

617.737.0099

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Read my interview with Lynch on her new cookbook Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition on eBay’s new style site The Inside Source, where Lynch names her must-haves for every kitchen.

James Beard award-winning chef Jody Adams of Harvard Square’s four-star Rialto restaurant (and contestant of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters”) is inviting you to Italy on a bike and cooking tour of the Veneto.

It’s her third such adventure with outdoor guide Vernon McClure. You’ll bike  in and around Venice – with a stop of the Rialto market, of course. You’ll learn about the history, traditions, food and wine of the region.  Biking is at your own pace, and there’s a van for those who prefer four wheels.

2010 Tour Dates
June 26 – July 3
September 25 – October 2

Jody Adams does Italy

Vernon McClure and Jody Adams

Handmade chargers in the Palladian pattern from Isis Ceramics Ltd., black bamboo flatware by Juliska, black water goblets and a chinoiserie-style tablecloth. More images from this table below.

Joe Nye

Upper left: Singerie-inspired invitations and little favor boxeds wrpapped in fuchsia ribbon. ( Singerie is the French word for “Monkey Trick”. It is a genre depicting monkeys apeing human behavior, often fashionably attired, intended as a diverting sight, always with a gentle cast of mild satire.) Upper right: Black bamboo flatware from Juliska. Lower left: A chinoiserie-styleparty table setting. Lower right: A prfusion of pink carnations in a silver mint julep cup.

Left: Contemporary Chinese Chippendale chargers paired with charming antique chinoiserie-style floral china and pretty aqua finger bowls. The natural wood handles of the bamboo flatware brings out the yellow and green tones in the plate. Right: Purple floral Mottahedeh dessert plates sit atop Charlotte Moss’s treillage pattern dinner plates. Green hydrangeas and amethyst goblets play up the green and purple theme. 

Above: Red, printed silk-toile tablecloths, and blue and red glassware from Cost Plus World Market mix nicely with fancy sterling silver and Blue Canton dinner plates. The red lantern is a fun centerpiece. A single flower on the napkin dresses up the plate.

Left: A mélange of blue-and-white ceramics mixed with yellow gladioli and oncidium orchids dress up the sideboard.  Right: The blue and yellow theme is carried over to the table, with blue water glasses, inexpensive bunches of yellow chrysanthemums and single yellow Fuji mums placed in teacups. The dinnerware is Torquay from Mottahedeh. Like the flowers, the cobalt blue-handled flatware provides an informal touch.

All images by Los Angeles-based photographer Edmund Barr. Courtesy of Rizzoli International.

For more table wisdom and photos, see my interview with Joe Nye on eBay’s style trends site,  “The Inside Source.”

Here’s the message on their website. Sounds like Newbury rents + recession booted them out of business:

“At the end of this month KitchenArts is closing it’s doors and leaving Newbury Street after nearly 30 years. Everything is on sale: merchandise, shelving, display tables, the works. Come on down, score some deals, and say goodbye to another independent retail store. Sale ends March 31, 2010. Everything must go.”