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| Bondir Restaurant | August 2011 |
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Greetings!
Summer is going by quickly here at Bondir. It's a wonderful time of year to enjoy the fresh fruit and vegetables from local farms in and around Massachusetts. That bounty is reflected in our daily menus such as our Farmed and Foraged Summer Vegetables and in our Heirloom Tomato Salad. Some of the great heirloom vegetables we use in our dishes come from Sparrow Arc Farm, a farm in Unity, Maine, which also makes CSA shares available in Boston
Read below about how we've travelled, explored, and spent time in our very own back yard with our local community.
And finally, we were thrilled and honored to be chosen by Boston Magazine as the 2011 Best New Restaurant in Boston, and by Bon Appétit as one of the Best New Restaurants in America! Thank you to Boston Magazine & Bon Appétit, and thank you to our friends, neighbors, and guests who continue to join us for dinner and enjoy our offerings.
It has truly been our pleasure. Sincerely,
Bondir Restaurant |
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Stepping Out Of The Kitchen
Bondir and the community
~ For the second year in a row, Chef Jason Bond served as an instructor in the Boston Center for Adult Education's Celebrity Chef Series. On July 25th, students participated in a two-day course that began on the water aboard a vessel with Captain Paul from Reel Pursuits, and ended in the kitchen at the BCAE with Chef Bond. There the students learned how to clean and prepare their previous day's catch. Chef Bond enjoyed working with his group of students whom he admired for being "adventurous enough to go fishing for four hours on a boat in the rain" and he also appreciates how the class helps support local fisheries.
 | | City Sprouts visit to Bondir |
~ On the morning of Wednesday August 10th a group of middle-school students from the Cambridgeport School arrived at Bondir to tour the restaurant and meet with Chef Bond. The students brought with them the fresh vegetables they had recently harvested during their school gardening project. The project is part of an internship created by City Sprouts, an organization that "provides young teens with an intensive month growing and harvesting food in an urban garden, expanding their first-hand experience preparing and eating healthy food and fostering a strong connection to their natural urban environment." Spending time with Chef Bond was one way for the students to get some real hands-on experience, and their freshly picked basil turned into a delicious pesto. To learn more about City Sprouts please visit their website; also visit their Facebook page which is updated frequently with photos of the student projects and activities.
~ Come on down to the Boston City Hall Plaza farmer's market on Monday August 22 at 10:30 AM where Chef Bond will once again join a panel of other experts to judge the 27th Annual Massachusetts Tomato Contest. Tomatoes will be entered in the contest by local Massachusetts farmers and will be judged based on flavor, firmness, slicing quality, color, and shape. The Department of Agricultural Resources is organizing the event and describes it as "a friendly contest designed to increase consumer awareness of local agriculture." For more information about the 2011 Tomato Contest, please visit: The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
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 | | Bondir bread fresh from the oven. |
So, What ARE the Nine Grains In Our 9 Grain Bread?
We get lots of questions about our bread but the most common one, often asked jokingly, is "Can you name the nine grains in your 9 Grain bread?" So, we've decided to come clean and not only tell you what they are, but also where they come from.
And the nine grains are ....... wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, millet, tritical, rice, and flax. Also included in the mix is one non-grain, soy. Which is why Woody Malot, operator of the Barker's Creek Mill where we get our grains, says "It's a nine-grain mix that has ten ingredients"
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Barkers Creek Mill. Image courtesy of buyappalachian.org |
Barker's Creek Mill is located in Rabun Gap, Georgia. It has been providing milling services since the 1800's. To learn more about the mill you can visit Barker's Creek Mill. If you would like contact information for Woody Malot and the mill please click this link. |
 How We Spent Our Summer Vacation Bondir travels near and far
SMOLAK FARMS North Andover, MA
Chef Jason Bond and the staff of Bondir Restaurant enjoyed a perfect summers evening, stepping out of the kitchen and onto the farm. We were thrilled to be the invited restaurant for Smolak Farm's very first WHIM dinner and the event was a great success.
The night was described as "magical" by some of the guests as dinner was prepared and served outdoors and all enjoyed some after-dinner dancing and a hayride through the farm.
In attendance was photographer Sarah McCaffery whose slideshow perfectly captures the mood and feel of that night. (Don't forget to turn on your speakers!) See the slideshow here: Sarah Jordan Photography
HISTORIC FOODS Cumbria, England 
In late June, Chef Bond traveled to Historic Foods in England to attend courses taught by Ivan Day in an authentic period kitchen. Ivan has over forty years of experience cooking period food and "is best known for his museum exhibitions of re-created historic table settings and is considered to be one of the foremost authorities in this field."
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Ask Bondir
Questions from our guests
Suzanne Greene from Cambridge, MA Asks: "What's the secret to making flavorful, creative, and interesting vegetarian food? Every vegetarian dish I've had at Bondir has fit that bill and I'd love to get some pointers. Thanks!"
Chef Bond Answers: "That's a great question Suzanne, First, remember that vegetables are people too. They want to be cared for, thought fondly of, and appreciated for the true depth of their character. Or, if you prefer, remember that vegetables can and should be cooked nose to tail. There are so many facets of each vegetable, from sprout, to shoot, branch, leaf, seed, and on and on. I just try and prepare each in a way that best shows its individual character. And don't forget group dynamics. Some can dominate, but most will do better paired with a few others of similar temperament. Thank you for dining with us at Bondir. I hope this helps, and I hope we see you again soon, Jason. " |
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| Channel Five's Chronicle
Did you catch Chronicle's episode this past June called "Thinking Outside The Squares"? Here's a link to the segment about Bondir and other Area Four businesses. (Bondir appears 2 mins. 40 secs. in.) We had a lot of fun and were happy to be included!
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About Us
Bondir
Bondir, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a cozy, farm-house style restaurant with 28 seats and a small fireplace salon. The menus showcase the pastoral and marine bounty of our New England region and offer a finely curated selection of American and European wines and beers. Chef Jason Bond has spent 20 years in restaurants refining his technique and style, and has developed a simple philosophy of quality and care. Our offerings-vegetables picked the same day, fish hours out of the ocean, pasture-raised meats-will change daily, and will always be tasteful in preparation and presentation.
www.bondircambridge.com
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