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Grub, Booze, gratis
Sometimes the best eats in life are free
By JENNIFER CACICIO + SARAH LEECH-BLACK
del.ico.us
reddit!
Whether it's a heady sample of stout or plates of buttery bites, freebie eats make everything better. Consider 'em like bonus points in the game of city survival.
WELL-BREAD
Area restaurants have graduated to more sophisticated carb and condiment combinations than your run-of-the-mill bread basket. At the Franklin Café [278 Shawmut Ave., South End, Boston. 617.350.0010. franklincafe.com] meals come with crisp breads and a garlicky bean purée, while Tasca [1612 Comm. Ave., Brighton. 617.730.8002. tascarestaurant.com] preps diners for tapas with red pepper hummus and bread. Try not to fill up before dinner, especially at Café Polonia [611 Dorchester Ave., South Boston. 617.269.0110. cafepolonia.com] where they fortify diners with rye bread and a bacon fat spread. Zaftigs [335 Harvard St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline. 617.975.0075. zaftigs.com] introduces brunch with bagel chips and an addictive garlic cream cheesy spread. The cornbread served at Union Bar and Grill [1357 Washington St., South End. 617.423.0555. unionrestaurant.com] is good enough on its own and just the right size in a mini-skillet for the table to share. Impressive are the organic French baguettes served at Petit Robert Bistro [480 Columbus Ave., South End, Boston. 617.867.0600. petitrobertbistro.com] which are imported several times a week from Montreal.
ON THE TABLE (AND THE HOUSE)
Adventurous eating invokes plentiful rewards, including freebies. The cozy hospitality at Taberna de Haro [999 Beacon St., Brookline. 617.277.8272] affords you a small dish of their patatas alioli, a cold potato salad with garlic. Brookline Family Restaurant [305 Washington St., Brookline. 617.277.4466. brooklinefamilyrestaurant.com] doles out fasulye piyaz, a Turkish white bean salad. La Voile [261 Newbury St., Boston. 617.587.4200. lavoileboston.net] coyly teases the appetite with an amuse-bouche selection that changes often but is always delicious. Sip a serving of the creamy mushroom soup at the Kebab Factory [414 Washington St., Somerville. 617.354.4996. thekebabfactory.net] while you agonize over the selection of curries. The sultans of good will at Falafel King [48 Winter St., Downtown Crossing, Boston. 617.338.8355] hand out free falafel just for waiting in line. The bounty of Korean cuisine is apparent in banchan, the side dishes served with entrees. There is a mini-feast in the pickled radishes and turnips, kimchi and spicy potato cubes at Buk Kyung [9 Union Sq., Somerville. 617.623.7220] or Suishaya [2 Tyler St., Chinatown, Boston. 617.423.3848]. Chris Schlesinger is one American ambassador of free extras, serving up signature house pickles at the East Coast Grill [1271 Cambridge St., Inman Sq., Cambridge. 617.491.6568. eastcoastgrill.net] and Oreos for the taking at All-Star Sandwich Bar [1245 Cambridge St., Inman Sq., Cambridge. 617.868.3065. allstarsandwichbar.com].
RAISING THE BAR
Pho Republique [1415 Washington St., South End, Boston. 617.262.0005. phorepublique.net] puts an Asian twist on cocktail nuts with their wasabi pea mix. Spicy wasabi peas also make it into the medley of sweet, dried fruit and nuts at Noir [1 Bennett St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 617.661.8010. noir-bar.com], free during their weekday after-work hours. Bukowski's [50 Dalton St., Boston. 617.437.9999] also offers weekday steals, including their notorious $1 hamburger or hotdog until 8pm. Bouquets of garlic, parmesan and hot pepper breadsticks await at Cambridge 1 [27 Church St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 617.576.1111]. Scope favorite neighborhood dives like Silhouette Lounge [200 Brighton Ave., Allston. 617.254.9306] and Halfway Café [394 Main St., Watertown. 617.926.3595. thehalfwaycafe.com], where baskets of popcorn flow as freely as the beer into bargain pitchers. Following true vintage form, B-Side Lounge [92 Hampshire St., Kendall Sq., Cambridge. 617.354.0766. bsidelounge.com] kindly hands out hard-boiled eggs at the bar. [SLB]
MO' BEV
Stop into Brix [1280 Washington St., South End, Boston. 617.542.2749. brixwineshop.com] on a Friday or Saturday night (6pm-8pm), and you might find the fantastic staff pairing Spanish wines with steaming empanadas or comparing a variety of small-batch Bourbons. Look out for the monthly Brix Mix tastings, when mixologists serve the featured cocktail, then buy ingredients conveniently bundled in an all-in-one package to shake things up at home.
The Wine Gallery's Boston location [516 Comm. Ave., Kenmore Sq., Boston. 617.266.9300. wine-gallery.com] offers beer tastings on Thursdays (6pm-8pm) and wine tastings on Fridays (5pm-7pm), but if you can get yourself to the larger [375 Boylston St., Brookline. 617.277.5522] outpost, it'll totally be worth the trek. They do tastings as well (beer: Thu 5pm-7pm; wine: Fri 5pm-7pm, Sat 3pm-6pm), but the real draw here is the wine jukebox. All you need is your ID and a palate—free wine shall follow.
Both Best Cellars locations [745 Boylston St., Boston. 617.266.2900. 1327 Beacon St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline. 617.232.4100. bestcellars.com] offer tastings on weekdays (5pm-8pm) and on weekends (2pm-5pm), but head to Brookline for their "Weekend of Wine." Friday happy hour offers live music, food and vino. Saturdays host themed tastings (recently it was "Hola, Argentina") and Sunday is "Family Fun Day" (read: Mommy's time out).
Drop in to Bauer's Wine & Spirits [330 Newbury St., Boston. 617.262.0363. bauerwines.com] on Saturday afternoons for wine tastings (4:30pm-6:30pm). Beer tastings aren't as regular, but are announced via website. "My Smutty Valentine," featuring the Smuttynose Big Beer Series, is next on deck this V-Day (5pm-7pm).
Check out Dave's Fresh Pasta [81 Holland St., Davis Sq., Somerville. 617.623.0867. davesfreshpasta.com] anytime for some of the best fresh goods in town, but do visit on Fridays (5pm-7pm) or Saturdays (3pm-5pm), when Dave himself usually has a couple of wine bottles open to share. It'll tempt you to indulge in their food and wine classes after-hours on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Tuck into Vinalia [101 Arch St., Downtown Crossing, Boston. 617.737.1777. vinaliaboston.com] on Wednesdays (7pm-9pm) for complimentary wine, cheese and fruit. The selections vary from week to week, but we're guessing your attendance won't.
SUPERMARKET SWEEP
I can't recall a single visit to Trader Joe's when someone in a Hawaiian shirt wasn't handing out something yummy. There are no scheduled tastings per se, but there's always something to munch on. The Brookline [1317 Beacon St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline. 617.278.9997. traderjoes.com] and Cambridge [727 Memorial Dr., Cambridge. 617.491.8582] stores offer TJ's infamously low-priced wine selections, and your best bet is to do your shopping on the weekend—they usually have something open.
Whole Foods are kind of like snowflakes: They're all the same, and yet no two are exactly alike. Scheduled tastings vary from store to store, and while often it's just storewide sampling or a hulking tray of cheese, other times it's really cool (and free!) events—like when local vendors come to share their products every Tuesday from 4pm-7pm at Fresh Pond [200 Alewife Brook Pkwy., Cambridge. 617.491.0040. wholefoods.com].
Formaggio Kitchen [244 Huron Ave., Huron Village, Cambridge. 617.354.4750. formaggiokitchen.com] offers tons of rad stuff, but for free tastings (other than cheese, which both stores generously proffer) head on down to South End Formaggio [268 Shawmut Ave., South End, Boston. 617.350.6996. southendformaggio.com] where you can sample goodies like Sassy Sauces (Sat.2.9, 12pm-2pm), a local dessert toppings producer.
There are all kinds of scrumptious things going on at Savenor's [160 Charles St., Beacon Hill, Boston. 617.723.6328. 92 Kirkland St., Cambridge. 617.576.6328. savenorsmarket.com]. Both locations offer food tastings on Thursdays, Fridays, Mondays (5pm-7pm) and Saturdays (4pm-6pm). They might school you on Superbowl snacks, offer samples from a local vendor or host a crazy chocolate tasting for V-Day.
RETAIL THERAPY
Stop by Shake the Tree [95 Salem St., North End, Boston. 617.742.0484. shakethetreeboston.com] for monthly trunk shows, where you'll often find locally designed wares plus wine and nibbles. Upcoming: Ame&Lulu, whose line includes seersucker yoga mat carriers and colorful tennis racquet covers.
On the first Wednesday of every month, there's no excuse to miss Via Matta's [79 Park Plz., Boston. 617.422.0008. viamattarestaurant.com] FAME series: Fashion. Art. Music. Enoteca. Browse local merch (past events have hosted collections from Habit and Stel's) and artwork while taking advantage of the restaurant's passed food and cocktails. Say thanks by buying a new outfit. (Next up: Persona Jewelry Mardi Gras, Wed 2.6, 8pm-11pm. RSVP: 617.266.3003)
Ever since you saw the original Willy Wonka, you've wanted to tour a chocolate factory. Taza Chocolate [561 Windsor St., Somerville. 617.623.0804. tazachocolate.com] offers regular open houses (next up: Sat 2.9, 1pm-6pm). Get a tour of their digs and try some chocolate from both Taza and La Tene [latenechocolate.com], a smaller chocolatier that shares Taza's space, and scope letterpress action at neighboring Albertine Press [albertinepress.com]. [JC]
