Tell All Your Friends. Taking Back Sundae Ice Cream Pop-up & DJ Night is Back

Eat your feelings.

Para-smore, 30 Seconds to Mars Bar, Pistachio at the Disco, Something Chocolate, MODEST MOOSE TRACKS! We’re getting off genre and you get the point. Taking Back Sundae: An Ice Cream Pop-up and DJ Night is making a return this summer. The “anti-social” event will take place at Great Scott in Allston on Friday, July 15th // 10PM // 21+ with valid ID // $5 at the door (price includes admission + cone). 

Featuring music spun by RTT Presents and ice cream courtesy of locally sourced, small batch company, The Parlor Ice Cream Co. Check the official Facebook event page for additional details.

Regina Pizzeria Parent Company Files For Bankruptcy

Historic Regina Pizzerias files for bankruptcy (image credit)

Earlier this afternoon, Boston Globe* dropped a bomb that Regina Pizzeria parent company (Boston Restaurant Associates Inc.) filed for bankruptcy in federal court Wednesday (5/20).

In addition to 17 Regina Pizzerias, including the historic North End location (established in 1926), Boston Restaurant Associates also owns two Polcari’s Italian Restaurant locations in Saugus and Woburn.

The decision was said to have been made based on changes in sales, high leases and operating costs.

It is reported that the Regina Pizzeria locations in Allston and at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut are operated by other companies that license the Regina name, and are not expected to be affected by the bankruptcy.

Read the full story at www.bostonglobe.com

*Originally reported by Dan Adams

Taco Party To Open Storefront in Somerville - Everyday Reported to Become 'Taco Tuesday'

Taco Party coming soon to Somerville.

Taco Party, the all vegetarian / vegan Mexican-inspired food truck slinging Chimichurri Tempeh Tacos, Tofu Tacos and Chorizo Seitan Tacos, is getting a brick and mortar store of its very own according to a recent Facebook announcement.

"Checks have been written, keys handed over. I can now officially announce Taco Party the restaurant! We've always had such great experiences in Somerville so we've chosen Ball Sq as our new home. 711 Broadway is the spot. I won't be so bold as to choose the opening date yet but we will act fast! Can't wait to put a roof over your heads!"

Taco Party hit the streets in 2013 with Keith Schubert (ex-The Raging Teens) behind the wheel. The truck can be found in the Boston area Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and is also available for catering. Follow Taco Party on Facebook and Twitter for updates and truck schedules. And visit www.tacopartytruck.com for complete information.

Support Music Education, Feed A Zombie

One day only in Central Square, Cambridge.

On Sunday, October 12th from 3-6pm, (ONE DAY ONLY YOU GUYS!!!), two zombies will be humanely chained to the patio at Thelonious Monkfish 524 Mass Ave, Central Square, Cambridge (the best damn sushi place in town) to benefit the Johnny Hodges Fund, a program designed to support the musical aspirations of Cambridge students.

Synopsis: It has been 10 long years since the Zombie Apocalypse. 80% of the human population has been infected, most succumbed to a dead-fall life...a life of the same boring routine of working day in and day out. Work, Eat, Sleep, Work, Eat Sleep. A life in which creativity, fun and joy were a long lost dream.

How can you help? You can buy Zombie Bits for a minimum donation of $5 and feed the Zombies.

Thelonious Monkfish in association with Trapped in a Room with a Zombie presents: Feed Our Zombies. A 1-Day Event in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Proceeds for the event will be used to support local musicians through the Johnny Hodges Fund...because Music Cures Zombism.

Learn more about the event at the official Thelonious Monkfish website.

Chaparrals' LP Release Show: Local Music, Local Food, Local Beer, No Cover

Local music, local food, local beer, no cover.

Local music, a food truck, a brewery and no cover. We could just stop there, but we'll also throw in a record release for good measure. On September 26th, indie band, Chaparrals, will be celebrating the release of their debut LP, Elpis, with Soft Pyramids and Kirk Swan Music (LA) at Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville.

Food will be available from Pennypackers Food Truck (specializing in Porchetta, sandwiches, house made sausages, soups, and salads) all night for purchase.

5:00pm - 11:00pm (Music from 8:00pm - 11:00p). Additional details can be found on the official Facebook event page. Snag a free download from Chaparrals and Soft Pyramids below and be on the look out for Soft Pyramids' record release show for Fossils of the Free World  October 3rd at Lilypad.

Announcing the 2nd Annual Punk N Roll BBQ

Happening 8/3. All proceeds go to Rawkstars Inc., purchase your tickets now.

Do you like punk? Do you like BBQ? Do you like special announcements?!

Bishop And Rook is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Punk N Roll BBQ and Fundraiser!

Local boutique label, Ocelot Records (formally Boston Bloghead), will continue the trend of all-day punk rock music and good food at Allston’s O’Brien’s Pub Sunday, August 3rd with performances by The Down and Outs, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, A Minor Revolution, Dead Cats Dead Rats and more.

Fifth Annual StarlabFest Music & Arts Festival

StarlabFest is a Rock and Roll, Film, Comedy, Cookout, Flea Market Party, and it’s happening Saturday, July 19th from 10a-9p in Somerville. This year's event will take place at two locations; 32 Prospect St. (the old Starlab studio where the rocking and the rolling will commence on two stages) and 453 Somerville Ave. (the new, current Starlab Studios showcasing comedy, film and art show). It is a short, half-mile walk straight through Union Square between locations.

A flea market organized by Somerville's High Energy Vintage will be available at both locations. Admission is $10, all ages welcome, 21+ with valid ID to drink. Advanced tickets can be purchased online. Visit www.starlabstudios.com and the official Facebook event page for more information.

32 PROSPECT ST.
(PARKING LOT)
12PM-9PM
ROCK AND ROLL SHOW

BEWARE THE DANGERS OF A GHOST SCORPION! 8-8:45
BLINDERS 7:30-8
ABADABAD 7-7:30
NICE GUYS 6:30-7
LUNGLUST 6-6:30
BOOGIE BOY METAL MOUTH 5:30-6
STEPHEN KONRADS & THE ETERNALS 5-5:30
THE DAZIES 4:30-5
ANIMAL MOTHER 4-4:30
CONGRATULATIONS 3:30-4
FUTURE SPA 3-3:30
THE SUN LIONS 2:30-3:00

Other Location Details
FREE BURGERS, HOT DOGS AND VEGGIE OPTIONS
plus
FREE TREATS FROM LOCAL VENDORS
and
$3 NARRAGANSETT TALL-BOYS

♜

453 SOMERVILLE AVE.
10AM-6PM
COMEDY, FILM AND ARTS SHOW

Comedy Block:
MYQ KAPLAN (featured on Conan, The Late Show, Comedy Central Presents) 5-6
DAN BOULGER (featured on The Late Show) 4:30-5
STEVE MACONE 4-4:30
with support from
SAM IKE, CAM MacNEIL & RYAN DONAHUE 3-4

Short Films by:
PAUL VILLANOVA
TIM BIERBAUM
PADRICK RITCH
ELLIOT KAFFEE
JIM DANDEE
ANTHONY KNASAS
KEVIN REUNING
Playing at 11:30AM and 2PM

Visual Arts Show featuring:
HEATHER SEELEY
MARS JUPITER
LEEANNE DAVIGNION
EQM

17th Annual Taste of Allston

Taste of Allston happens June 28th. Buy your tickets now.

For one day only, you can save 52% off Taste of Allston tickets via Groupon.

Admission for two – Was $60, now $29

Admission for four – Was $120, now $58 

Buy now

The 17th Annual Taste of Allston features over twenty restaurants, live music, beer tastings and kid friendly fun. The event happens June 28th at Harvard Athletic Complex (65 North Harvard St., Allston, MA). Kids 10 and under get in for free.

All profits raised by the festival go straight to the Allston Village Main Streets, a nonprofit revitalization effort working to keep the community safe. Regular priced non-Groupon tickets can be purchased here.

No to the Effing Way - Hi Fi Pizza Closed

Only the good die young, amiright? (image credit)

I mean, we haven't eaten here in over 12 years, we make gross-face whenever someone reminisces about eating here and actually told a member of Diarrhea Planet we'd recommend Cinderella's for pizza while sitting in here, but it saddens us to find out Hi-Fi Pizza in Central Square has closed.

Wicked Local Cambridge reports that after 40 years of rusty trusty service, the go to late night drunk punk pizza place across from The Middle East / TT's has shuttered its door. A lot of obvious shady details surround the closure but Property Manager Michael Simon of Central Property Management LLC, which owns 492 Massachusetts Ave., told the publication "the restaurant’s mechanics were not up to code and it would simply be too expensive to try to keep a restaurant in that location." Shock and awe...shock...and...awe. Read on for the full story.

On a separate note, Cinderella's sells Toscanini ice cream.

Boston Cookie Takedown at The Middle East

It's an old-fashion cookie takedown, just like Mom used to do.

The Takedown commences on Sunday, December 1st between 2p-4p at Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge. The first stop on a 3-city tour brings radioactive special powers of tummy destruction to Boston!

Enjoy the home baked cookies of 20+ Bostonites, chug [Bishop And Rook advises against chugging] Sailor Jerry cocktails and, at the suggestion of The Takedown, laugh. Unlimited cookies. Only $15. This is an 18+ event, valid ID required. For additional information including advanced ticket ordering, please visit the official Facebook Event Page. Come hungry.

“In the spirit of two wholly American pursuits — overeating and winning — comes the Takedown, a cooking competition where anything goes.” – New York Times

The Takedown was established in 2003 in Brooklyn, NY and has since grown into a nation-wide event including Sugar Takedowns, Chili Takedowns, Cat Painting Takedowns, and of course, Cookie Takedowns. For a more colorful narration and upcoming events, please visit the official Takedown website.

Record Store Day Black Friday at Tres Gatos

While Black Friday may take a turn for the worse in shopping malls across the country, Record Store Day brings music fanatics together for a day of collectable commerce...and sometimes tapas. Shop local this Black Friday at fine record stores like Tres Gatos in Jamaica Plain.

"For two days out of every year, our record store literally takes over our restaurant in an all-out, unabashed celebration of vinyl: Record Store Day in April, and Black Friday.

We are really excited about the huge batch of indie-exclusive vinyl that we’ve ordered for this Black Friday. This is all limited edition, highly sought after stuff, true gems for any serious record collector.

We open our doors at 10am sharp on Friday, November 29, and our restaurant bar, tables and stools will be COVERED with records. We’re offering free coffee, and free record cookies baked by our very own pastry chef, Allyson West. All day long, there will be a 10% discount on turntables and used vinyl, as well as a 50% discount on a selection of hardcovers and first edition books.

We hope to see you there. Thank you for supporting your local indie record shops!"

The bar will open at 2pm, and the restaurant will open for normal dinner service at 5:30pm. Check out the Record Store Day Black Friday post for a complete list of special releases on November 29th and follow Tres Gatos on Facebook and Twitter.

Pie in the Sky 2013

Thanksgiving just got a lot sweeter with Pie in the Sky

Each November since 1993, Boston's best restaurants, bakeries, caterers and hotels donate thousands of pies that over 600 volunteers then sell to family, friends and colleagues. Each pie costs $25, providing a week's worth of hearty home-delivered meals to a Community Servings' client and a tasty Thanksgiving treat to the buyer. This Thanksgiving, purchase a pie from Pie in the Sky and $.93 of every $1.00 goes directly to feeding Community Servings' clients.

Choose from apple, pecan, pumpkin, sweet potato, diabetic apple. Have a pie donated to a Community Servings’ client or donate additional cash. The last day to purchase a pie is November 23rd, but you can donate to Pie in the Sky anytime.

Purchase a pie today!

Community Servings, based in Jamaica Plain, is a not-for-profit food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Community Servings delivers 395,000 free, home-style meals to about 1,300 people per year, who are too sick to cook for themselves or their families

Office Snacks

While eating trail mix today, a kamikaze peanut went to a place of no return. Doing the truffle shuffle at my desk in hopes I'd start raining snack food didn't help. I'm sure it will reappear at the most inappropriate moment.

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The 30 Day Challenge

You know what I don’t do? New Year’s resolutions. I set myself up for failure enough in one day, I don’t need to voluntarily recognize all the things I should accomplish / change / be better at in one year and then make false promises to myself that said improvements will happen in a timely manner. I resolve to not eat this entire bag of trail mix. Fail, every time. Guaranteed disappointment.
I made one resolution a few years ago that I just carry over each January 1^st. Say yes more. It’s so easy to become a reclusive hermit, but if you pound that Red Bull and get out in the world, you’ll be more interesting, meet cool people and realize that you want ticker tape falling from the sky wherever you go.

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Holiday Detox

A much needed detox...after I eat these leftover mashed potatoes and finish this wine. I don't know about you, but after a weekend of reckless eating and drinking, I'm in need of some serious recuperation before the next wave of holiday celebrations. There are a lot of different ways to detoxify your body, here are my top ten favorites.

Image Courtesy of BeautyBuzz411

Plan a Trip to Portland

Essentially a foodie pilgrimage, I spent three days and two nights in Portland, Maine, (destroying my diet) being a fat kid.

Deciding to forego a typical Cape Cod Labor Day Weekend, we headed up to Maine where our money could be spent on dietary delights that were Food Network worthy. A basket of overpriced, indistinguishable fried food and melty soft serve versus co-op harvested vegetables, grilled and pressed on locally made artisan bread?

Welcome to Vacation Land.

Here is my mini-Maine guide to Portland.

Honestly, I was too busy eating to make out

New England Food Truck Festival

How I almost became a Food Truck Groupie.

Last Saturday we ate our weight in food truck food at the New England Food Truck Fest on the Charles River. It truly was a fat kid moment. And I kind of wish we could do it again...every day.