Rendezvous is delighted to welcome back the work of award-winning photographer and inveterate world traveler, Don Gurewitz.

This month, we are featuring Don’s photos from the Tibetan Kingdom of Bhutan.

Nestled in the Himalayas, sandwiched between India and China, Bhutan is one the least-known and least-visited countries in the world.  It is a Tibetan kingdom which is just opening to the outside, at the same time committed to preserving its ancient culture.

Stretching from the towering, snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas along the Tibetan border in the north, to the semitropical forests and grasslands along the border with India to the south, it is one of the most beautiful, and still largely pristine, natural environments in the world, filled with exotic flora and fauna.

Don’s images present a look at this breath-taking environment and the people who live there.  They bring to life the unique and striking villages and monasteries; the colorful masked dances and religious ceremonies; and the monks, lamas, merchants, farmers, herdsmen, and townspeople who make up the population of this fascinating kingdom.

Please stop on by for a chance to see these rarely seen people and landscapes.

Mark your calendar!  Artists Reception and Open House to be held on Saturday, March 24th from 1-3pm.  All are welcome!

January is here, and we have kicked off our wintertime tradition of “Cassoulet Sundays”.  Every Sunday , from 5-10pm, and will be serving our special Sunday menu as usual, available either à la carte or as a 3-course Prix Fixe for $38.

Time to toast 2012!

It’s time to ring in 2012!  We’ll be serving dinner 5pm-11pm on New Year’s Eve and from 5pm-9pm on New Year’s Day.

Chef/owner  Steve Johnson will be offering an á la carte menu on New Year’s Eve which will include several special dishes created for the Big Celebration!  Feel free to call us for details.

New Year’s Day will feature our traditional Sunday Prix Fixe for just $38 for 3 courses.  As usual, the entire menu is also available á la carte, for those who prefer.

For reservations, click here, call 617.576.1900, or just stop on by!  We’d love to be a part of your New Year’s resolution.

50 best restaurants Boston Magazine

We’re thrilled to be on the list again this year!

And here’s a follow-up article

in Boston Magazine’s online edition about

our weekly  Monday Night Tapas Bar.

Portuguese sardines 

These little fish have ALL the qualities!  First of all, and most important, they’re REALLY TASTY!  One of the most abundant species in the ocean and the current darling of the sustainability experts, health-wise sardines are an oily fish (like mackerel, bluefish, etc) and by that full of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins.  Also, being low on the food chain, they are happily devoid of heavy metals and parasites that much larger, older species acquire with age.  But lets get back to the flavor part of it . . . .

I buy fresh Portuguese sardines from my friends at Courthouse Seafood Market in East Cambridge.  Joe and Eddie run a busy little fish market, the displays are sparkling, the shop is spotless, and they are passionate about quality, freshness and flavor.  October is the height of the season, and the fully-mature fish (3-7 years old) are about 6 inches long and getting fattened up before their winter down time.  I purchase about 10 pounds every week during this time of year and pick them up at the store on Saturday mornings.  The sight of these fish takes my breath away; they are so sensationally fresh and beautiful.  If you check the encyclopedia on this, you will find that several different species are actually allowed to be called sardines in the marketplace — and most of them are good to eat, used for canning, etc. — but there is only one true Portuguese sardine (sardina pilchardus), and these are the real deal.

Here at the restaurant, I have three favorite ways of preparing sardines: the first is a salad, the second is a pasta dish, and the third is grilled.  I can never decide which one I prefer over the others, and come to think of it they would go together nicely as a 3-course sardine tasting menu!  These days we are serving the sardine salad and grilled sardines on our Sunday Menu and our Monday Night Tapas Menu.

Salad: First, we roast the sardines in the oven drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper (about 10 minutes).  Then we clean the meat off bones and cool it down.  The next step is to cook some hard-boiled eggs and peel them.  The salad also includes some well-cooked Yukon gold potatoes cut into thick rounds, a mixture of bitter greens (frisée lettuce, arugula, etc), our anchovy vinaigrette, and a sprinkling of toasted breadcrumbs.

Pasta: Prepare the sardines in the same manner as above (top-quality canned sardines will also work well, such as Cole’s).  While cooking some bucatini in salted water, quickly sauté in olive oil a bit of shaved fennel, some sliced garlic and onion, seasoning very lightly with salt and pepper.  Toss in some chopped black olive and capers and stir.  Add the crumbled sardine meat and stir again, adding another drizzle of olive oil if necessary.  Allow the mixture to cool in the pan.  Add some tender dandelion greens and/or chopped flat parsley.  Drain the pasta and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.  Top with toasted breadcrumbs.  This pasta dish needs no cheese!

Grilled: Here at Rendezvous we grill meats and fish over a live hardwood and charcoal fire.  The sardines cook quickly — only 3-4 minutes per side — but in that short time they pick up a lovely smoky aroma.  We usually serve grilled sardines with a chunky vegetable + herb vinaigrette.  My longtime favorite is made with shaved fennel, shallots, capers, lemon juice and olive oil.  We often sprinkle a little maras pepper over the top and the last minute.

Whether it’s riding a bike to work all year round, or building a menu with seasonally available ingredients – Steve can always be counted on to set a good example when it comes to being green.

Click here to watch the video!

Steve Johnson on NECN with Billy Costa

In the spirit of holiday giving and in celebration of Food For Free’s 30th anniversary we are hosting our second annual luncheon fundraiser for our neighbors in Central Square.

Join us Saturday, November 19^th in support of FOOD FOR FREE!

The price per guest is $25 all-inclusive (food, beverage and gratuity),and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to this wonderful and important local hunger relief organization.

Reservations may be made by calling us at the restaurant: 617.576.1900

Please join us in helping make this event a tremendous success!

Bridging the gap between waste and want

In  2010 FOOD FOR FREE’s Produce Rescue Program:

* Distributed 1,000,000 pounds of food

* Partnered with 76 food programs in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, MA

*Helped to feed 25,000 people every month

Food For Free rescues fresh food-food that might otherwise go to waste-and distributes it within the local emergency food system where it can reach those in need. Through a combination of food rescue, farming, and transportation services, we give food programs year-round access to fresh fruits and vegetables, while our delivery program brings food directly to isolated seniors and people with disabilities. Our programs address not only short-term hunger, but obesity, diet-related disease, and other long-term health effects of food insecurity and poor nutrition.

www. FoodForFree.org

My dear friend Ihsan Gurdal (of Formaggio Kitchen fame) has taught me a lot about Turkish food.  Dining out together, cooking for each other on weekends, and traveling abroad have given us countless occasions to discuss good food.  On a trip to Turkey with him several years ago, I got a wonderful introduction to authentic Turkish foods and ingredients, as well as into the culinary mindset of that part of the world.  Here at the restaurant, I often keep these lessons in mind when creating dishes for our menu.  One really good example of this is our Turkish Pizza.

What makes it a Turkish Pizza?

As is the custom in that part of the world, we grill our own version of homemade flatbread, actually a yeasted pizza dough infused with olive oil, fresh herbs (primarily rosemary and thyme) from our rooftop garden, cracked fennel seeds and black pepper.  We roll the doughs out into thin 10″ circles and grill them over the wood fire.  Then it’s about a delicious combination of late summer vegetables and herbs that are representative of Turkish cuisine: eggplant, tomatoes, marjoram, etc.  We slather some roasted eggplant purée on top of the flatbread, add some sliced tomatoes, crumbled goat’s milk feta, a few chopped black olives, a sprinkling of maras pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and then some fresh marjoram — the sweeter, more perfumed cousin to oregano — over the top of everything at the end.  You get a little bit of all of that in every bite, and it all works so well together!

How do we make the eggplant purée?

We roast whole purple eggplants until the flesh inside is thoroughly cooked.  After we scoop it out, we put it into the food processor with some minced garlic, a bit of ground coriander and cumin, chopped mint and parsley, some olive oil, red vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and give it a spin.  One important key is to be patient when cooking the eggplant, waiting for it to become really sweet, soft and mellow.

Why goat’s milk feta?

Goat’s milk cheeses are favored in Turkey, and the feta cheese made from the milk of these animals tends to be a little more tangy and less salty than it’s sheep’s milk equivalent.  I just plain love the stuff!

What’s maras pepper?

Maras pepper is a paprika-style spice made in the region of the vast pepper fields of eastern Turkey.  It has a moderate amount of heat, and the version that I use is coarsely-milled without being completely dried out so that it retains a bit of texture and freshness (as opposed to a completely dried-out and pulverized spice powder).  If you’ve read this blog before, I’ve spoken about it on several occasions already; it’s one of my favorite ingredients and contributes to the personality of the cooking here at Rendezvous.

Guided by chef Steve Johnson’s dedication to local, sustainable ingredients, Rendezvous wine director Nicole Bernier puts an emphasis on organic and biodynamic options from the West Coast and Europe. But the kicker here is value: Most bottles fall below $50. We also appreciate that Bernier introduces us to small producers, labels, and even varietals that you won’t see copied on lists all over town.

On Tuesday, July 26th, WCVB Channel 5 Boston’s local news magazine, Chronicle, featured chef/owner Steve Johnson in his Westport River houseboat kitchen.

On weekends during the summer months, Steve enjoys a change of pace from city life and the hustle + bustle of the restaurant to savor the simplicity, beauty and community on the river in Westport, MA.

Click here or go to http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/28675109/detail.html to watch footage from the show and to see Steve foraging for littlenecks and creating a super-fresh “clam red” with bucatini pasta.