[Eats] 
The flavor of a new Eire
Jonesing for salad cream or some fresh scones? Or maybe it's wholemeal flour, pinhead oats or HobNobs and Barry's for teatime.
[Eats] 
Shire raises the bar—incidentally, behind them
[Eats] 
We love you … knot!
Philadelphians consume 12 times more pretzels than the average American. Without that kind of demand, can a good pretzel be found in Boston? The' Dig trusted my culinary acumen (and German ancestry) enough to set me on the trail. The results prove that a good pretzel can surely be found in the city—provided you know where to look.
[Eats] 
Veg out and meat up with the Dig's summer dining guide
It's no longer enough to call food just plain food. From fried oysters to fresh bacon, plates offer far more than meets the eye—and table.
[summer dining 08] 
Oh, yeah—dogs allowed, too
Rocca
The gardens are lush and the umbrellas are yellow at this off-the-main-drag enclave. Strike when the sangria bianca's ice-cold, defending your meatball sliders and braised artichokes from the stares of a curious pooch.
[500 Harrison Ave., South End, Boston. 617.451.5151. roccaboston.com]
[summer dining 08] 
Spilled bowls, stolen fries and sidewalk-level sightings
I am not in a state of confusion or delusion about whether my dog is actually my child.
Eko is a big brown lab mix. He has no qualms about licking the floor, sleeping in dirt, chewing on raw bones or sniffing poop. He's sweet enough when snuggled on the couch, but show him a squirrel and it's not hard to remember that he's one evolutionary step away from a wolf.
[summer dining 08] 
Like a fish (and friends) out of water
Eastern Standard
Alaskan king crab legs, $7
Tucked at the very rear of the restaurant lies the bounty of the sea,
stacked upon ice at the raw bar. Tucked among the bivalves are massive
crab legs cooked, then chilled, for maximum shell-cracking and -sucking
action. We're all friends here—tuck that napkin into your shirt and let
the ocean-juice squirting begin.
[528 Comm. Ave., Kenmore Sq., Boston. 617.532.9110. easternstandardboston.com]
[summer dining 08] 
Get the shuck out with Island Creek Oysters
Shore Gregory, director of business development for Island Creek Oysters, is on the phone when we arrive at their Duxbury headquarters. One can't help but overhear: The call's with someone from Per Se in New York. Gregory greets us with a nonchalant fist-pound as he wraps things up with the Michelin-starred client. They sound like personal friends.
[summer dining 08] 
Plus cream, eggs and protein with ethical particulars
Bloc 11 Café
Cage-free organic egg & cheese sandwich, $4 (with prosciutto, $6)
Café owners Jen Park and Tucker Lewis provide a handy (and socially responsible) meal on the go, uniting bread baked at local yeast wizard Iggy's with eggs laid by liberated chix. Mass-produced McBreakfasts worldwide shudder, carving deep inferiority complexes. Yay: It's working.
[11 Bow St., Union Sq., Somerville. 617.623.0000]
[summer dining 08] 
Under the knife of chef Adam Fuller at Great Bay
The pig was to be delivered promptly at 10am.
In the relatively calm early hours of the kitchen at Great Bay, the air takes an anticipatory turn to the fleshy arrival: a 102-pound pig slung over the shoulder of Aidan Davin, co-owner of Stillman's Farm. Freed from its plastic wrappings, the animal emerges whole and shaved, soon relinquished to the long table along the wall. Executive chef Adam Fuller, who mere seconds ago composed an aromatic cardamom-, cumin-, cinnamon-inflected spice rub for cured pork belly, receives the animal and prepares for carnage with a grin.
