Caesar Salad

Serves 4. Alice Berlow serves this salad with good crusty bread. Boiling the egg for 1 minute thickens the dressing. 1 egg 2 cloves garlic, mashed with a pinch of salt to form a paste Juice of 1/2 lemon 2 fillets anchovy, mashed to form a paste 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ...

88 Wharf 88 Wharf St., Milton 857-598-4826 www.88wharf.com Hours: Monday through Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5-11 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Major credit cards accepted Handicap accessible To spear a full sliver of garlic from the broth of some good mussels, you have to trust the chef: Undercooked and it'll ruin your night; cooked well, it'll half make it. When faced with the choice at...

Serves 4. 12 slices thick white bread 1 1/2 cups olive oil 2 cups shredded fresh Parmesan cheese 1. Set the oven at 325 degrees. Have on hand a 3-inch and a 2-inch biscuit cutter or glass. Line a baking sheet with foil. 2. With the 3-inch cutter or glass, stamp a circle from each slice of bread. 3. With the 2-inch cutter or glass, stamp a circle from the center of each 3-inch round so you are left with 12 rings. 4. Pour the oil into a shallow bowl.

Mogador Restaurant & Lounge 126 Merrimack St., Methuen 978-258-6497 www.mogadorrestaurant.com Hours: Monday-Sunday, 11 a.m. -10 p.m. Major charge cards accepted Handicapped-accessible If you can get over the setting - a charmless strip mall hard off Interstate 495 in Methuen - then the Mogador Restaurant & Lounge is a gratifying experience. Mediterranean by way of Africa, the tastes it features are worlds away from the red-sauce-Italian eateries dotting this business district.

ROCKPORT, Maine — Down the hill from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, in the town’s historic Shepherd Block, sits a pub with a rustic tin ceiling. Its wooden walls evoke a ship’s galley and its dark dining room glows with candlelight. The building, an artfully renovated former grocery store once owned by Rockport industrialist Herbert L. Shepherd, dates to 1892. Shepherd’s Pie gives the impression that it’s been moored on Central Street forever. In fact, it’s been open about two months.

Fantasy man Neil Gaiman took his daughter Maddy to see Harvard over the weekend. The "American Gods" author dined at Russell House Tavern and thanked chef Michael Scelfo on Twitter for the tasty meal. . . . "Grey's Anatomy" actress Sandra Oh had a Caesar salad at Legal C Bar at Logan yesterday.

Makes about 4 cups Croutons are an essential part of a Caesar salad. Use a crusty baguette or something richer. The Metropolitan Club toasts buttery, flaky brioche for their salads; this recipe uses challah. You'll have more than you need for the Caesar salad. 1 loaf (1 pound) challah, preferably slightly stale Canola oil (for sprinkling) 1. Set the oven at 350 degrees.

Gennaro’s Eatery proves that all bruschetta are not created equal. Usually tomatoes and basil on toasted bread, this Italian appetizer at the Quincy restaurant is closer to a pizza without sauce. The crispy, brick-oven crust teems with fresh tomatoes, chopped basil, red onion, and garlic. A drizzle of olive oil and melted mozzarella bring all the flavors together. For lunch, bruschetta ($5.99) might be complemented by a Caesar salad ($3.99). Finish with a sweet, creamy ricotta cannoli ($2.49)

Chef Jim Casey focuses on seafood at Plymouth restaurant the Blue-Eyed Crab, but weekend pig pickin' events there have always been very popular. So when the West Roxbury resident began thinking about a new project closer to home, barbecue was on his mind. The result is the Red-Eyed Pig, offering takeout and very limited seating. With the help of a Cookshack smoker, the tiny storefront turns out large amounts of barbecue for a neighborhood hungry for something different.

Caesar salad, once served primarily in expensive restaurants, where it might be prepared tableside, is now ubiquitous. It’s even in fast food places, where chopped romaine is tossed with bottled dressing. The Caesar at 51 Lincoln ($11) is a classic — almost. “Even though we change our menu every day, that’s one of the things that doesn’t change,’’ says Jeffrey Fournier, chef-owner of the Newton restaurant. Romaine leaves are served long and whole, with a lemony dressing emulsified with egg yolk that has the briny hint of salt-cured anchovies.

Fantasy man Neil Gaiman took his daughter Maddy to see Harvard over the weekend. The "American Gods" author dined at Russell House Tavern and thanked chef Michael Scelfo on Twitter for the tasty meal. . . . "Grey's Anatomy" actress Sandra Oh had a Caesar salad at Legal C Bar at Logan yesterday.

Chef Jim Casey focuses on seafood at Plymouth restaurant the Blue-Eyed Crab, but weekend pig pickin' events there have always been very popular. So when the West Roxbury resident began thinking about a new project closer to home, barbecue was on his mind. The result is the Red-Eyed Pig, offering takeout and very limited seating. With the help of a Cookshack smoker, the tiny storefront turns out large amounts of barbecue for a neighborhood hungry for something different.

ON WGBH Greater Boston “Beat the Press’’ 7 p.m. WGBH-TV (Channel 2) Basic Black 7:30 p.m. WGBH-TV (Channel 2) A discussion about homophobia in the black community; the demise of black radio in Boston. ON CHRONICLE Main Streets and Back Roads: Bethlehem, N.H. 7:30 p.m. WCVB-TV (Channel 5) Meet the intriguing folks who are giving Bethlehem, once North America’s largest summer resort, a makeover. RADIO HIGHLIGHTS Friday First Listen 8:30 a.m. WUMB-FM (91.9)

At the bar, several blind dates are being made less awkward by flattering lighting. Several bad days are being soothed by Scotch. Four women with white bobs and dangling earrings sit down at a table, peeling off thick wool coats and smiling lipsticked smiles at one another. Two young couples reminisce about their law school days and hotly debate a current issue: the best way to find a good nanny. “The bison Bolognese!’’ bellows one man. “I had that once! It was like, whoa!’’ The Abbey offers comfort for all. Outside, it’s a cold night.

Caesar salad, once served primarily in expensive restaurants, where it might be prepared tableside, is now ubiquitous. It’s even in fast food places, where chopped romaine is tossed with bottled dressing. The Caesar at 51 Lincoln ($11) is a classic — almost. “Even though we change our menu every day, that’s one of the things that doesn’t change,’’ says Jeffrey Fournier, chef-owner of the Newton restaurant. Romaine leaves are served long and whole, with a lemony dressing emulsified with egg yolk that has the briny hint of salt-cured anchovies.

Gennaro’s Eatery proves that all bruschetta are not created equal. Usually tomatoes and basil on toasted bread, this Italian appetizer at the Quincy restaurant is closer to a pizza without sauce. The crispy, brick-oven crust teems with fresh tomatoes, chopped basil, red onion, and garlic. A drizzle of olive oil and melted mozzarella bring all the flavors together. For lunch, bruschetta ($5.99) might be complemented by a Caesar salad ($3.99). Finish with a sweet, creamy ricotta cannoli ($2.49)

Mogador Restaurant & Lounge 126 Merrimack St., Methuen 978-258-6497 www.mogadorrestaurant.com Hours: Monday-Sunday, 11 a.m. -10 p.m. Major charge cards accepted Handicapped-accessible If you can get over the setting - a charmless strip mall hard off Interstate 495 in Methuen - then the Mogador Restaurant & Lounge is a gratifying experience. Mediterranean by way of Africa, the tastes it features are worlds away from the red-sauce-Italian eateries dotting this business district.

ROCKPORT, Maine — Down the hill from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, in the town’s historic Shepherd Block, sits a pub with a rustic tin ceiling. Its wooden walls evoke a ship’s galley and its dark dining room glows with candlelight. The building, an artfully renovated former grocery store once owned by Rockport industrialist Herbert L. Shepherd, dates to 1892. Shepherd’s Pie gives the impression that it’s been moored on Central Street forever. In fact, it’s been open about two months.

It was a dark and stormy night when we visited Seaglass, a chic new restaurant and lounge on Salisbury Beach. The view from our table was riveting, almost scary. On the other side of an enormous picture window, floodlights illuminated wind-blown snow and rows of foaming breakers that swept endlessly up the beach below us. Our waiter assured us the restaurant wasn’t going anywhere. Its pilings are sunk 50 feet into the ground, he said. The huge restaurant was mostly empty the Sunday evening we stopped by. Lights were low, the décor tasteful.