Boston Foods

Hello there, I'm writing for Hungry Magazine and am currently working on an article on Boston foods here in Chicago. I recently went on a vacation through Beantown and became inspired to write about places in Chicago that serve authentic Bostonian food: New England Clam Chowder, Boston baked beans, Boston cream pie, Boston brown bread, Indian pudding, etc.
Can anyone help pointing me in a direction for some of these foods and other Boston traditions?

I moved here from Boston almost a year ago to date. I lived there for 7 years and have been to the great majority of local "institutions".

Honestly, I have never heard of "Boston brown bread" or "Indian pudding"...and I'm half Indian. As far as "Boston baked beans" and "Boston cream pie" go, I encountered them more growing up in New Jersey than I ever did in Boston. New England clam chowder...now we're talking.

I am VERY happy to be a foodie living in Chicago...much happier than I was in Boston.

However, the few things I miss from time-to-time are below:

Fresh seafood: I'm talking caught that day, or at least within the last 24 hours. Oysters(raw or fried), Lobster Rolls, New England Clambake, White Fish(whatever that day's catch was), Wellfleet Clams(with broth for dipping/cleaning), and of course...chowdah!

Irish Food: black pudding, white pudding, bangers and mash...and curry chips...oh my god...curry chips. I've been to a few places here, and none of them have lived up to any of the Irish pubs in Boston.

Dim Sum: Chinatown in Chicago is just NOT happening. Readers please note: Unless you've been to China Pearl or Empire Garden in Boston, please don't turn this into a online bicker fest. You have no frame of reference.

I guess only the seafood section above will suit your article, but I was getting nostalgic. I hope what I offered helps.

Well, I'm neither Indian nor from Boston, and I've heard of Indian pudding and Boston brown bread. Boston brown bread used to be widely popular, especially for luncheons and teas, generally served with cream cheese. If you made it at home, you baked it in an empty tin can. If you bought it at the store, it came in a tin can. It was moist and dense and heavy with molasses and raisins. Lovely stuff. But pretty much all the Boston brown bread I've seen in Illinois was either in a can at a fancy store, at a tea room, or was made at home.

The Cape Cod Room at the Drake might be a good place to find some New England goodies -- especially seafood.

And of course there's McCormick and Schmick.

I have definitely heard of Indian pudding, and Boston brown bread and I am also not from Boston,
but have visited there and enjoyed Indian pudding at Durgin Park (yum)
If anyone knows of a decent Lobster roll (that you don't make in your own kitchen) in Chicago I'd sure like to know where to get it! LOL
Because I've sure never seen one, and it's not an overly challenging item....
nor is good clam chowder-
I actually have the recipe from Union Oyster House at home-
all it takes it lots of high cal quality ingredients (like most good food)
And you do see good high quality oysters here,
but clams half shell less often,
and don't get me started on scallops-
The last plate of truly good scallops I ate was in Boston- so sweet and delish....
I only eat them on the east or west coast after too many dissapointing middle coast experiences.

Wow! That roster of seafood, courtesy of Sweetbread, just made my mouth water. I can't wait to dive headfirst into taste-test research and find some great examples of these around town. Also, the lobster roll idea definitely merits finding!
If anyone has heard of or been to a place that serves dynamite and real Bostonian chowders, lobster rolls, clam rolls, etc. as well as possible Boston-raised desserts and baked beans, I would LOVE to hear of it.
Thanks for all the feedback so far; it's been very helpful.

Gibson's in Rosemont has a pretty good quality lobster roll on its lunch menu during the week. There was, at one time, a New England style seafood place on North Avenue in Bucktown. I can't remember the name. It didn't last very long despite some decent reviews. I guess Chicagoans didn't have a " frame of reference" where it was concerned either.

If I wanted a lobster roll, I'd probably get it from The Fish Guy. I haven't tried it yet, but every lunch dish I have had was excellent.

YourPalWill wrote:There was, at one time, a New England style seafood place on North Avenue in Bucktown. I can't remember the name. It didn't last very long despite some decent reviews. I guess Chicagoans didn't have a "good frame of reference" where it was concerned.

It wasn't on North - it was in the old Scylla space on Damen and focused on Rhode Island-style seafood. I can't remember the name either.

I went to college in Boston and brown bread and Indian pudding were prevalent as "traditional" foods - they came up at my office's pot lucks during the summer along with clam chowder and corn chowder. I remember Indian pudding as a dessert offered in my high school's cafeteria, but that was in CT, not Boston.

But as for Boston/NE style foods, they can be tough to come by here. I remember some years ago, my mother wanted to boil whole, live lobsters for dinner and had to go to two or three places before finding them available at the Fish Guy.

I would also categorize raw clams with horseradish sauce as a typical NE staple, but again, good clams can also be hard to come by here as well.

I have to admit - I don't lament the unavailability of regional foods outside the regions they originate in. Not only does it provide an excuse to visit those places, but it preserves their authenticity and preciousness. If lobster rolls are available everywhere, it takes something away from the real thing.

Edited to fix typos.

aschie30 wrote:It wasn't on North - it was in the old Scylla space on Damen and focused on Rhode Island-style seafood. I can't remember the name either.

I believe it was called Glory

YourPalWill wrote:There was, at one time, a New England style seafood place on North Avenue in Bucktown. I can't remember the name. It didn't last very long despite some decent reviews. I guess Chicagoans didn't have a " frame of reference" where it was concerned either.

Yeah, the name was Glory. I ate there once. I thought it was pretty good but don't remember what I ate.

YourPalWill wrote: There was, at one time, a New England style seafood place on North Avenue in Bucktown. I can't remember the name. It didn't last very long despite some decent reviews.

Glory.

My Dad grew up in Watertown, MA (which may or may not be considered Boston enough for you, depending on where you're from) I think a lot of the recipes associated with Boston that you mention were depression-era recipes: my Grandmother did make Boston Brown Bread and Boston Baked Beans (like English Muffins in Britian, called 'brown bread,' and 'baked beans.') These were both cook-all-day recipes for frugal cooks trying to make ends meet on a budget. My father talks a lot about how inauthentic other baked beans are, but I don't recall if we ever ate either. My grandmother was not a particuarly good cook, being of the boiled until absolutely sanitary school of cooking.

Canned Boston Brown Bread is available in local grocery stores in the baked goods aisle; I used some for tea sandwiches (cream cheese and pineapple filling) for the Derby Day party - so apparently it was popular in Kentucky as well. I do also remember having Boston Cream Pie at her house (though I'm sure it came out of a box,) again, something that my father was very particular about, box or no box.

Watertown had a large Armenian population, so my real, striking memory of food there was the homemade baklava our neighbors brought to me once - I had one of those Ratatoullie moments biting in to one at Armenian Fest in Evanston (apparently Sunday, August 24 this year) It's not as cloyingly sweet as many of these pastries are.

Clam chowder (which, again, we almost always had canned, growing up) was another thing my Dad talked about a lot - he considered the Manhattan-style to be an abomination. However, the important elements I've been able to glean: it should be made with salt pork (not bacon) a small amount of flour to thicken, onions, potatoes, and clams and their juice (but not too much - the base should be milk.)

Mhays wrote:My Dad grew up in Watertown, MA (which may or may not be considered Boston enough for you, depending on where you're from) I think a lot of the recipes associated with Boston that you mention were depression-era recipes: my Grandmother did make Boston Brown Bread and Boston Baked Beans (like English Muffins in Britian, called 'brown bread,' and 'baked beans.') These were both cook-all-day recipes for frugal cooks trying to make ends meet on a budget.

While these are recipes for the frugal, my understanding is that Boston baked beans and brown bread are rooted in Puritanical traditions. The beans were cooked on Saturday, and could hold through Sunday when it was eaten, as working was banned on Sunday.

This excerpt is from an article from the San Diego Union Tribune:

San Diego Union Tribune wrote:The Puritans, who strictly avoided working on the Sabbath, buried pots of beans and other foods in coals to cook slowly so they would not have to do the work of lighting a fire on the Sabbath. That, however, does not fully explain the origin of baked beans.

Some historians believe the Bostonians copied the practice from Jewish people who also cooked beans in coals to avoid lighting fires on their day of worship. Sailors traveling to Boston from Africa and the Mediterranean region may have been introduced to the practice by Sephardic Jews.

I have seen whoopie pies at Jerry's Sandwiches, or you can make your own:
http://www.recipezaar.com/67828

Jen

JenM wrote:I have seen whoopie pies at Jerry's Sandwiches, or you can make your own:
http://www.recipezaar.com/67828

Jen

This thread is a lot of fun for me (and a great distraction from work and the boxes of documents I'll have to review between now and the end of the weekend ).

Until JenM's post, I had no idea whoopie pies were indigent to NE. I love them! Anyhow, Whole Foods usually also has them for 99 cents, although not a terribly great version, I'm afraid. They're usually prewrapped and nestled in with the rolls, bread and muffins.

In my neck of the woods, Dirk's Fish Market is my go-to for seafood.

http://www.dirksfish.com/

Has it been brought up on this forum yet? I'll have to run a search.

Anyway, I believe they make a New England Clam Chowder, but I can't vouch for it yet.

They have a decent size tank of live lobsters, and it's the type of place that might make a large batch of lobster rolls upon request. They also have Cape Cod oysters ready for the shuckin'.

Sweetbread wrote:Dim Sum: Chinatown in Chicago is just NOT happening. Readers please note: Unless you've been to China Pearl or Empire Garden in Boston, please don't turn this into a online bicker fest. You have no frame of reference.

How about if I've never been to China Pearl of Empire Garden in Boston, but I HAVE had dim sum in Shanghai? Am I qualified to speak about dim sum then?

gmonkey wrote:

Sweetbread wrote:Dim Sum: Chinatown in Chicago is just NOT happening. Readers please note: Unless you've been to China Pearl or Empire Garden in Boston, please don't turn this into a online bicker fest. You have no frame of reference.

How about if I've never been to China Pearl of Empire Garden in Boston, but I HAVE had dim sum in Shanghai? Am I qualified to speak about dim sum then?

Yes, and I will eagerly await your recommendation of a solid dim sum spot in Chicago.

aschie30 wrote: Until JenM's post, I had no idea whoopie pies were indigent to NE. I love them!

Thank you! Try making them, they are a snap. For real authenticity, the filling should probably include marshmallow fluff, but a simple buttercream works fine too.

Some might argue that whoopie pies and lobster rolls are more characteristic of Maine than of Boston-- maybe broadening the focus to New England food would help. As for things like Boston brown bread, I can't think of anyplace in Chicago that serves it, but then I can't think of anyplace in Boston that serves it either-- and I am from Massachusetts. It's like haggis-- the tourists know about it, but it's rarely eaten by the real folks. Indian pudding (based on cornmeal and molasses) I do like, but have not seen in a restaurant-- who would choose it over key lime pie or molten chocolate cake?

Alas, the OP has two difficult tasks-- first defining what "Boston Food" is (hard), and then finding it here in Chicago (unlikely!). Good luck-- keep us posted with the list-- I am curious what you come up with.

Cheers, Jen

Sweetbread wrote:Has it been brought up on this forum yet? I'll have to run a search.

Indeed, it has. Here is one such thread.

I will certainly keep my list posted and up-to-date. So far, I have had Boston Cream Pie at Swedish Bakery in Andersonville and Dinkel's. The only place I have seen yet that has something called 'Indian Pudding' on the menu is Crofton on Wells... but looking at it, I can hardly call that real Indian Pudding.
Dirk's Fish & Gourmet definitely merits a visit or two, as does the Fishguy Market.
Whoopie Pies, I would say, are certainly more Maine than Boston, but after browsing around, perhaps I will expand my research to include a little bit of this and that: Vermont maple syrup, Maine lobster, New Haven clam pizza, Rhode Island quahogs, etc.
This will be fun...and delicious.

Mattkrc-

Extra good luck finding the quahogs. Quick quiz - how do you pronounce them?

Hi,

There is only one commercial maple syrup grove in Illinois just north of Springfield, IL: Funk's Pure Maple Sirup. They also sell maple sugar candy.

Regards,

Quahogs are pronounced "co-hogs." If anyone's seen Family Guy, it's the name of the town they live in, so you'll catch on to the pronunciation of this curious word.

Not quite as much of a stretch as geoducks.

This is more New England than strictly Boston, but the food item I really miss here is maple butter. I've been able to find creamed honey, but maple butter eludes me. I need differently flavored sugar to put on my toast dammit!

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

There is only one commercial maple syrup grove in Illinois just north of Springfield, IL: Funk's Pure Maple Sirup. They also sell maple sugar candy.

Regards,

There are painfully few good stands of SUGAR maple trees in Northern Illinois. Several of the suburban county park districts have sugar camps but they are rather "bush league" compared to the small commercial camps in Ohio.

OK, so I finished my article on Boston foods. Here are the places I found that stood out as authentic and true to beantown:
Hagen's Fish Market, The Fish Keg, and Shaw's Crab House for seafood up the wazoo.
Silver Cloud Bar & Grill for side dishes, especially baked beans, but also tater tots and sweet potato casserole.
Swedish Bakery for Boston Cream Pie.
As you can imagine, seafood was the focus of my article. I found great examples of lobster rolls, clam chowder, scrod, cod cakes, and whole-boiled lobster.

Mattkrc wrote:OK, so I finished my article on Boston foods.

Where can we find it?

Boston foods in Chicagoland and no mention of Ferrara Pan's Boston Baked Beans?