It's a reverse commute for Jacky Robert’s ultra-urban Petit Robert Bistro, as a third Eiffel Tower pops up in Needham. The menu and price point will be exactly the same as at the Columbus Avenue and Kenmore Square locations, which is extremely good news for pigs’-feet- and frogs’-leg’s-loving, price-sensitive, Euro-savvy suburbanites.
Cupcakes are the perfect indulgences: portion-controlled, immoderately sinful, and a grownup treat that always seems to bring back memories of a first-grade birthday party. And few are better than those seven-a-season flavors made by pastry chef Jennifer Warshaw at Sweet on Mass Ave in Boston. Fall flavors include S’mores, cranberry-orange, and caramel apple (an apple and spice cupcake dipped in caramel and served on a stick).
Todd English is very good about keeping his chefs in the family. Eben Leonard, the former chef at Bonfire in Boston, is off to helm the kitchen at English’s newest NYC restaurant, the Libertine; Bobby Bean, the chef at Kingfish Hall since 2004, moves over to Bonfire. According to his bio, Bean, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, is a third-degree black belt in karate and loves the movie Caddyshack. Okay, then.
On November 14, it’s the annual Home Sweet Home, a dessert celebration and contest to raise money for the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund. Since 1999, CHAF has kept 1300 families from homelessness. The event runs fro 7 to 11 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge and costs $50. For those who dare, multiple chocolate orgasms from Rosie’s Bakery will be plentiful, as well as sweets from many of Cambridge’s civic-minded culinary establishments. Visit www.CHAfund.org for details.
On November 17 at the Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, 10 restaurants including Dante, Chez Henri, UpStairs on Square, and Henrietta’s Table participate in the annual Flavors of Fall benefit. Along with food, there’ll be jazz, wine, beer, and specialty cocktails to raise money for CitySprouts, a school-based garden program. Tickets are $65. For more information, visit www.citysprouts.org.
