Category: Food Feed

Food happens. Whether it’s breaking news about an opening or closing, passion articles regarding chefs or restaurants, or even suggestions on pairings and places with atmospheres. For Mass Foodies, local food is always on our mind and this feed is a testament to why we are always hungry.

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All Aboard the Blog Bus

A few weeks ago, food photographer Ally Voner and graphic designer Chris Boudrow drove their converted school bus through the White Mountains of New Hampshire with no plan of a final destination. The Blog Bus had been years in the making. Voner and Boudrow’s longtime dream came to fruition last Christmas Eve with the purchase of a vintage school bus. After six months of automotive labor, nothing compared to the feeling of finally hitting the open road.

“I really like it when I’m sitting on the bench,” Voner says, “When we’re driving and we turn—with all the windows open—it’s an ‘oh my God’ moment.” She likens the feeling to that of a subway car winding down the tracks.

Graphic designer Chris Boudrow reviewing for Good Bites and Glass Pints.

Voner and Boudrow arrived in Worcester three weeks into their journey, prepared to pitch restaurants and breweries ripe for change. With many years of hospitality experience and an arsenal of marketing skills between the two of them, the couple had become something of a traveling PR agency. The mission was simple: find a new city, compile a list of establishments in need of a reboot, send out some introductory post cards, zero in on new businesses, and repeat. 

“I think one of the biggest things is that we had a stint working at a fine dining restaurant and it really put a bad taste in our mouths, not necessarily the job itself, but just the way that company in particular was run,” Voner recalls. “They kept growing to the point where they were buying hotels left and right and they were turning themselves into this big hospitality group.” Boudrow felt like the whole operation was growing impersonal. It was time to start calling their own shots.

Voner always has her camera in hand. When it comes to restaurant marketing, photos are everything. Voner’s blog, Good Bites & Glass Pints showcases a keen eye for detail and a passion for making small pubs and eateries shine. “I really wanted my voice to come through and I didn’t want stuffiness in my writing,” she says.

Food photographer Ally Voner reviewing for Good Bites and Glass Pints.

Boudrow hopes that their home grown platform can overshadow the antiquated constructs of sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor. “Bad reviews sit there and bring down the score,” he explains, adding, “One bad review can negate seven good ones and stay up at the top. Then, they’ll take your money in order to get rid of the bad review.”

Voner and Boudrow intend to change the narrative from the comfort of their Blog Bus. The hardest part of working and living out of a school bus is not the confined space so much as the lack of a shower. The couple is excited to head south where beaches and outdoor amenities abound. 

Inside the bus, everything has its secure place. Tucked into drawers, inlets, and corners are the makings of an entire screen printing studio.”I like how I can grab everything within an arm’s reach,”Boudrow says. “I have orangutan arms.” He reaches out his arms to demonstrate an impressive wingspan; it feels like the whole country is at his fingertips. 

You can follow @goodbitesandglasspints on Instagram to check out recent posts from Redemption Rock Brewery and Brew City in Worcester.

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Intimidated by Cheese? Leave it to Pecorino in Grafton.

Simone Linson cutting cheese at Pecorino in Grafton, MA (Photo: Erb Photography)

Photo: Erb Photography

Simone Linsin’s brigade of cheese purists is unsuspecting. Some of them began training their palates at her country cheese shop, Pecorino, before they could talk.

“Those are our cheese kids,” she says, gesturing to a collage of smiling children holding up wedges of aged goat gouda and triple creme blue as big as their tiny heads. “The kids actually make buying decisions for their families. They sample things from the case, then their parents step aside and let them do the shopping.”

Linsin grew up in Heidelberg, Germany where her grandfather ran a butcher shop. When she and her husband moved from Germany to America two decades ago, she set out to recreate what she refers to as “the good old world.” The center of her universe is the cheese case, which consists of between 50 and 80 selections depending on the season.

Photo: Erb Photography

Linsin doesn’t sell so much as she consults. “Whether they have people coming over, they want to give a gift, they want a snack, or they want something for after dinner—we are prepared to help customers compose a cheese board,” she says, acknowledging that many people are anxious and embarrassed on their first go around with the cheese case.

“We help customers navigate through textural differences: soft, medium, hard. Different milks: goat, sheep, cow, buffalo. Raw milk cheeses, washed rinds, and all sorts of stinkers,” Linsin says with a lightness that at once renders her sharp and approachable. She stares at the case as if it lives and breathes like one of her beloved cheese kids.

Linsin frequently finds herself asking, “How can we elevate the cheese experience?” For a long time, she underestimated the importance of accompaniments. At present, Pecorino carries 35 cracker varieties in its pantry section, along with duck fat, cornichons, specialty spice blends, and heirloom salts.

She fiddles with the spout on a giant metal vat, explaining, “We have olive oil fresh from California here in the tank and we fill three different vessels. People can bring those back for a dollar off their refills.” The olive oil compliments a selection of fresh bread from Nashoba Brook Bakery in West Concord, with whom they have worked since Pecorino opened 10 years ago.

Back then, Linsin was still skeptical about opening a cheese shop in North Grafton. “To be very honest, I hated this building. It was run down and I didn’t want to be here. This was a shack.” Linsin points behind the counter to reveal the feature that changed her mind, saying, “I hated everything except this 800 degree wood fired oven, which was actually used by a pizza place in the old days.” There was still wood in the oven when she moved in. Her family helped clean the place out and scavenged for refurbish-able materials in the basement of the building.

When it comes to wine, Linsin is particular. “I taste everything before I buy. I don’t do commodity buying. I don’t do deals. Everything is very meaningful to me including how I source it.” Linsin focuses on European wines, but she has also taken to curating an impressive natural wine selection from California.

Linsin prefers to bring lesser known varietals to her shop. “Ten years ago, that was a no-no, because Chardonnay and Cabernet ruled the world in America. I was very fortunate to find a clientele in North Grafton that was eager to learn and raise the level of education around here,” she explains.

When Pecorino opened in 2010, people told Linsin she was crazy. Now, she hosts two tastings a month. “We draw a super-crowd!” she says. Just like Linsin’s original cheese kids, the shop has grown up. In 2019, Pecorino is a fearless touchpoint for food and culture in the community.

See for yourself at their next wine tasting on August 23 from 5-7 p.m.

Photo: Erb Photography