Masa's

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Take a break from shopping madness on Black Friday, November 27, with a two-course $15 lunch or $25 dinner (drink included with each) at Masa's South End (617-338-8884) and Woburn (781-938-8886) locations.

• – By 2018, 43% of Americans are expected to be obese. [NYDN]
• – Gordon Ramsay has lost his right-hand man. [Bloomberg]
• – The Senate is considering requiring beef to be tested for E. coli. [NYT]

• – Top Chef contestants aren't being paid for the TV dinners that feature their faces (and recipes). [Time]
• – First canned pumpkins, now an Eggo shortage looms. [NYDN]
• – The art of complaining to a restaurant. [Guardian]
• – A modest proposal for fixing restaurant and bar smoking bans. [Eater]
• – Related: the science behind banning smoking outside. [Time]
• – Ever wonder what it would be like to cook dinner for Thomas Keller? [Esquire]
• – Talking cooking with Coolio. [Fork in the Road]
• – NBC's newest cooking show, United Plates of America, will give away a four-restaurant chain. [Reuters]
• – Hey, so, while you eat that sushi, this guy here is going to swallow a sword. [WSJ]
• – Starbucks continues to roll out its unbranded coffee shops. [Diner's Journal]
• – If New York loses its lawsuit, Tavern on the Green will become Tavern in the Park. [Crain's]
• – Restaurants embrace Twilight. [NRN]
• – Martha Stewart is not a fan of Rachael Ray. [ABC News, via EMD and GS]
• – The Rolling Stones, the wine. [Examiner]
• – Pork belly and other over-served dishes. [Between Meals]
• – Students arrested for not paying their tip. [Philly]
• – Plastic wishbones: what will the kids fight over? [SE]

Biltmore Bar & Grille

Photo: Mike Ritter

The Biltmore Bar & Grille, a cozy American tavern in Newton, has just updated its dinner menu and expanded its bar and seating, bringing in a late-night crowd from the ’burbs. The additions also mean a new "Night Owl" menu, available 10 PM–closing, with classic comfort bites like hot wings and bistro sliders (617-527-2550).

Photo: courtesy of Sweet Solutions

Just in time for the holidays, on Wednesday, December 2, Gordon’s Fine Wine & Culinary Center in Waltham will host Chocolate Heaven: Dessert & Dessert Wine Pairings. Judy Mattera, a Boston-area pastry chef and owner of dessert-and-wine pairings consultancy Sweet Solutions, will present guests with myriad categories of dessert wines and numerous possibilities for creating “memorable end-of-dining experiences.” The class will include demonstrations, recipes and four dessert tastings with paired wines – like a chocolate orange timbale with Graham's 10-year-old Tawny port (7:30–9 PM; $45 per person; 781-893-1900).

• – Marcus Samuelsson will be working the kitchen at Obama's first state dinner. [Obama Foodorama]
• – The fight for Cadbury intensifies. [WSJ]
• – Chipotle sets its sights on London, Europe. [NRN]

• – Costco drops Coke. [AP]
• – Related: Coke bottles, 1899–1986. [Pixdaus]
• – Milk producers wish they could sell their product "raw." [NYT]
• – Hooters is having trouble in Vegas. [Eater]
• – A canned pumpkin shortage looms. [Diner's Journal]
• – Putting things in perspective with the Fat Map. [HP]
• – Jamie Oliver wants to help you find a date. [Marketing]
• – A Shake Shack in Boston looks increasingly possible. [GS:B]
• – What a $20 Thanksgiving feast from Walmart gets you. [The Awl]
• – A word we'd like to quickly forget? "Koodie." [SE]
• – Foods named after people. [Mental Floss and Cakespy, via SE]
• – They found water on the moon...can you drink it? [Slate]
• – Making mushrooms with coffee grinds. [Chronicle, via Coldmud]
• – Making art with meat, some wires, a videocamera and a stove. [EMD]

Gerard Barbin

Photo: courtesy of Sensing

Gerard Barbin cut his teeth in some of his home country's finest kitchens. Prior to coming to Boston, the Frenchman worked in Paris under Guy Martin, and when offered the chance to run Martin's kitchen at his first stateside restaurant, the Fairmont Battery Wharf's Sensing, Barbin jumped at the chance. The Buzz recently caught up with Barbin to discuss his first experience working in an American kitchen.

Zagat Buzz: We're only a couple of months away from Sensing's first birthday – congrats! How has your experience working in an American restaurant been so far?

Along busy Route 16 in Wellesley Hills, tucked away on a subterranean level, is Singh’s Café, a budget-friendly Indian arrival specializing in cuisine from the Northern region of the country – lamb, kebabs, lentils and roti (though there are some Southern options as well); the cheery, yellow-walled environs include a full bar, and there’s a buffet offered for weekday lunch and weekend brunch.

312 Washington St., Wellesley Hills; 781-235-1666

• See a menu
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• See more new restaurants in Boston

Mantra

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Ever wish you could whip up some Tandoor specialties? Now you can through Mantra’s Tuesday Tandoor cooking classes. The nominal fee includes one free cocktail, a sampling of various naans, kebabs and other menu items decided that day, as well as hands-on instruction (5:30–7 PM; $20 per person; 617-542-8111).

• – The FDA is targeting caffeinated booze. [WSJ]
• – Meanwhile, its efforts to ban eating raw oysters didn't work out so well. [NYT]
• – Burger King franchisees lose 10¢ for every $1 double cheeseburger sold. [NRN]

• – A special Subway franchise is set to rise up with the Freedom Tower in New York. [NYP]
• – U.S. chicken production is set to fall for the first time in 36 years. [Reuters]
• – Champagne sales are a bit flat these days. [NYT]
• – Musicians do covers of other bands' hits, why shouldn't chefs cover other toques' recipes? [Guardian]
• – Pinkberry's further expansion plans include Boston, DC, New Orleans and Mexico. [Eater]
• – Why we read cookbooks. [The New Yorker]
• – Want a new drug? Synthetic alcohol isn't out of the question. [Scotsman, via ColdMud]
• – Just when we've gotten used to twist-off tops, get ready for wine in a plastic bottle. [Stuff]
• – Things a restaurant patron should never do. [Applesauce]
• – Related, 10 dirty restaurant tricks. [Slashfood]
• – Peace through hummus. [Economist]
• – Hard to turn down a "love dessert" made with passion fruit and...Viagra. [NYDN]