The sleek exterior of Post 390 at the corner of Clarendon and Stuart Street opens up into a warm, inviting space offering equally warm and inviting cuisine. Post 390 is an urban tavern featuring seasonally inspired dishes from Chef Eric Brennan. Post 390 is part of the Himmel Hospitality Group (which also includes Grill 23 and Harvest). Himmel Hospitality Group emphasizes the highest quality food and service. This starts with their focus on quality ingredients and suppliers and extends through the staff in the restaurants. 

The food and drink at Post 390 reflects this focus. Menus change often to reflect the seasons and availability. Post 390 offers Farm to Post, a special series to highlight local producers and farmers. Farm to Post is a menu highlighting the product of a local farm or producer. The Farm to Post menu allows a larger restaurant like Post 390 to support the local food industry at a manageable scale. Featured producers over the series have included Kimball Fruit Farm (Massachusetts and New Hampshire), Ward’s Berry Farm (Massachusetts), and 5 Spoke Creamery (New York). I had the opportunity to attend the kickoff dinner for the latest Farm to Post menu featuring Cavendish Game Birds of Springfield, Vermont. The menu features inventive dishes from Chef Brennan utilizing quail from Cavendish Game Birds. 

Cavendish Game Birds is a family operation run by Bill and Rick Thompson. Since the early 1990s the brothers have been growing their business supplying high quality game birds and eggs across the United States. From their location in Springfield, Vermont the brothers manage all aspects of the process from breeding through processing. It is a surprisingly quick six weeks from hatchery to table. The Thompson brothers have spent many years breeding the Coturnix quail and the high standards and dedication of the Thompson brothers are reflected in the premium product they produce. Their facility includes a state of the art hatchery that produces 6,000 to 8,000 quail each week. Cavendish Game Birds’ quail is a light meat with a slightly sweet flavor. Streaks of fat under the skin keep the birds moist during cooking. 

Snappy asparagus, juicy tomatoes, plump, sweet cherries – it’s easy to enjoy the taste of fresh, seasonal produce. Unfortunately, despite the abundance of it we have here in Boston, there are still some neighborhoods that don’t have access to any of it. Thankfully, a group of locals are hoping to change that – with a farmers’-market-meets-food-truck.

Daniel Clarke and Josh Trautwein – both Northeastern grads - recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for their invention, Fresh Truck (you can learn about the rest of the Fresh Truck team here). Their goal was to raise $30,000 in order to bring healthy food to the communities that need it most, in bus form. Not surprisingly, Clarke and Trautwein reached their goal, and plan to deliver their first busload of goods in April or May.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to eat healthy and be well,” Clarke said.

Hatchland Farm is a dairy farm based out of North Haverhill, New Hampshire. I came across their milk during one of my recent trips to Tendercrop Farm in Newbury, Mass. and was excited to bring home a bottle. I have a bit of a guilty pleasure when it comes to farm fresh milk. There is just something so wholesome about enjoying a glass of milk that you know has come from a town or two over rather than being mass-produced on some huge farm in the Midwest. 

Local, sustainable, organic food – most of it cooked in a wood-fired oven. That’s what you’ll find at Area Four in Kendall Square.

Area Four is one of the newer additions to Technology Square in Cambridge – in the neighborhood of Area IV – and it has been impressing patrons since the day it opened its doors. Serving everything from quality baked goods and coffee to local beer and salads, it’s hard to walk into Area Four and not find something that intrigues your taste buds. Oh, and 90% of their menu items are cooked in their custom-built, wood-fired ovens.

Local in Season had the honor of visiting Area Four to try their brand new Sunday dinner menu (we visited the same day the new menu launched). Served every Sunday from 2:30 – 9 p.m., the Sunday menu features wood-fired pizzas, sharable salads and starters, as well as sustainable wines and local brews, to name a few. (Side note: Area Four showcases Boston’s first sustainable wine program).