Bostonist had barely recovered from the New England Real Ale Exhibition when we realized that May 12th-18th was American Craft Beer Week. Established in 2006 by House Resolution 753, this week celebrates craft brewers as "a vibrant affirmation and expression of American entrepreneurial tradition" and their promotion of "the Nation's spirit of independence through a renaissance in hand-crafted beers like those first brought to colonial shores by European settlers and produced here by the Nation's......

This Valentine's Day, there's no shortage of options for those whose preferred wining & dining is beering & dining. Cambridge Brewing Company's skeezily-named Night of the Aphrodisiacs starts at 5 p.m. and includes a four courses "with every course built around an aphrodisiac and in some cases two or three": truffled artichoke, oysters, mango, anisette-honey, pinenuts, figs, coriander, chocolate. The beer menu includes Bostonist's beloved Weekapaug Gruit (an ale made with the herbs brewers used......

Organization is everything: Pick up a pill box and the drug store, and count out your Xanax, Ativan, or Valium ahead of time. Determine how many pills you will need for certain situation. Label one box of pills "EMERGENCY." Fill it. You can use that one when your cousin Rooster, who spent a few years in juvie, shows up at festivities looking for money, or when your uncle pats your butt and calls you "pleasingly......

Boston City Council: The four winners in the at-large race were incumbents Michael Flaherty, Stephen Murphy, Sam Yoon, and new arrival John Connolly. Incumbent Felix Arroyo didn't make the cut. Now Murphy and Connolly will need to figure out how to live with each other after Connolly's anonymous mailers, which accused Murphy of always looking for other jobs. Michael Pahre at Brighton Centered reports that Mark Ciommo defeated Greg Glennon for the District 9 slot......

Jordan's Furniture ran an ad right after the Red Sox won the game. President and Chief Executive Eliot Tatelman emerges in swim goggles, congratulates everyone on their free furniture, and gets a good champagne spraying. Anyone who bought a mattress, dining table, sofa, or bed at Jordan's in the spring will be reimbursed. All they need to do is fill out a rebate form and go over the FAQ to make sure you dot all......

--The BPD has issued another warning asking Red Sox fans to "play it safe," and they have announced that they will shut down the Fenway area one inning early. The last time they announced a warning, before Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians, they said they would shut things down for the 7th inning, but for tonight's Game 4: If you are not already inside an establishment, be it a bar or restaurant, you will......

--The Cambridge City Council has decided to name intersections after Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The Track Girls write that the council plans "to dedicate the intersections of Pearl and Cottage streets to Affleck and the corner of Pearl and Auburn streets to Damon." Once this is accomplished, wait for the college students to start defacing Affleck's corner and shouting, "And that's what I think of Gigli!" And then wait for someone to launch a......

Wagamama, the wildly popular UK-based noodle chain that opened restaurants in Faneuil Hall last April and Harvard Square last month, reminds us of IKEA: slick, modern, not terrible quality for the prices, and definitely designed to appeal to the masses. Like the London Wagamamas we’ve visited, the Harvard Square restaurant has a spare, modern aesthetic—diners sit cafeteria-style at long wooden tables set with paper placemats, which also serve as dessert menus and as a place......

--Why toss a bucket of paint on a richie's fur coat when you can stop furs at the source? In Hinsdale on Monday, someone set about 400 to 500 mink who were destined to become pricey furs free from a farm. That's a lot of mink to let loose! The owner of Berkshire Furs is naturally blaming the "antifur people." No one's been caught yet, and the owner said the animals wouldn't be able to......

Amtrak is offering a $100 per person alcohol credit to Guest Rewards Program members who take a "GrandeLuxe" trip between November and January. What the hey-ho is GrandLuxe, you ask? Oh... just fully-restored, vintage (c 1940s-1950s), deluxe sleeper cars with cushy beds, picture windows, wood paneling, private showers and individual toi-tois. And $100 in FREE BOOZE. You will eat "exquisite meals in an elegant dining car, served by uniformed waiters." There's also free wine......

After a weekend of rain where all we heard was disgruntled Bostonians complaining, because that's what we do best, about the weather we rock into the week. Miraculously the Red Sox managed to play all their games this past weekend making us furiously check the forecast for WBOS' 14th annual EarthFest coming up this weekend. For us it marks the first of many outdoor events that will happen this summer, and it's Memorial Day......

Ecomagination ads pepper the broadcast of Meet the Press on Sunday mornings. We though that GE just was pulling the wool over our eyes and pretending to actually undertake environmentally endeavors. With surprise we learn that they're bankrolling a $25,000 grant award to some innovative MIT undergrads. The group of students submitted a proposal to the Ecomagination Challenge to fuel the MIT SafeRide and Tech Shuttles with biodiesel fuel made from the fryers in the......

We must have blinked and missed the two months of voting that went into selecting the 2007 AOL cityguide Best Of list winners. Starting in mid-November and wrapping up in mid-January, voting took place on line on the set of contenders who had been nominated by AOL cityguide for their best of rating – opportunity for there to have been a little pandering to sponsors, but we'll never know. The categories seem endless: 24 categories......

Bostonist loves a night out, especially when she can save the receipt and write it off on her taxes, so attending Blogtoberfest at Match was like a dream come true. We'd been hearing about the luxe lounge since 2005, but, until last Thursday, hadn't found a good excuse to strap on our high heels and do some drinking. The hook for this trendy hotspot lies in the selection of specialty martinis and gourmet miniburgers that......

It’s that time of year again – that time when New Englanders gather up their beach balls and towels for one more run in the sun. This weekend, that last fling will take thousands of Bay Staters north to Maine, to explore the outlets, the beaches, and most importantly, the restaurante. Now, when envisioning a casual dining experience in southern Maine, jerk chicken may not spring immediately to mind. Nor might oxtail curry, meat pies,......

Bostonist likes it when we come across a webcast that isn't your typical talk show or music show. In fact, this week we are looking at a 'cast that not only isn't your typical talk show or music show, it isn't a show at all. The 'cast we are reviewing is an informational series for tourists (or others) wanting to know a little bit about this fine city of ours. This week's 'cast is Tourcaster......

While many argue about the discrimination in this city, this ideology is also affecting the vermin in the city sewers as well. As many shocked restaurant patrons came to find out last Thursday, rats do not add to the ambience when inhaling a filet mignon on Newbury Street. Louis J. Antonellis, a local labor union guy for Electrical Workers Local 103, decided he had had enough with the Capital Grille after fighting with them for......

Even as the stores sport back to school sales (which depress us, even now), summer lingers on your friends the -ists. This week's collection of links provides some of the best, worst, and oddest bits of summer fun. So, bring your laptop up onto the roof, make yourself an umbrella drink or ten, and enjoy this week's choice posts from across the Gothamist network. Torontoist (where it's 75 degrees F as of this writing)......

Hey, have y'all been using our new "Recommend this" feature at the bottom of each post? This week we're bringing you the "Most Recommended" posts from across the -ist world, as well as recommending some of our own. Phillyist thinks that readers recommended this post the most because "most of our quieter readers (probably) agree with us that rude commenting sucks." Know what else sucks? Philly's not getting the Olympics, but they are getting thinner.......

What goes better with summer than al fresco dining? Al fresco beer, of course, and Cambridge Brewing Company (a.k.a. CBC) has both in spades. Although this Kendall Square hideaway makes for a cozy nosh during the winter months, (wood-burning stove outside the front door so smokers don’t have to freeze,) once the mercury rises CBC opens its spacious patio for diners and drinkers alike. It’s an ideal place to while away a weekend afternoon, and......

A coastal city, Boston has no shortage of waterfront dining. Meritage, Sal de la Terre, Anthony’s Pier 4, all these are spectacular restaurants boasting five-star meals at five-star prices. But where to go when it’s the day before payday? When all you need to complete your week is an ocean view and a cup of chowder, but all you’ve got is a couple fivers? The answer, friends, lies under a yellow-and-red striped tarp on Sleeper......

A sub-level grotto hidden in the 1 Kendall Square complex, The Blue Room offers sweet relief from the neighborhood’s austere biotech ambiance. Upon arriving, diners are greeted and led through the dimly lit interior to a table that is, invariably, set with water and wine glasses, encouraging thoughts of an unoaked chardonnay or a ripe malbec. However, even the most die-hard oneophile would find it difficult to resist the specialty cocktails served up by resident......

Bostonist has long heard tell of the treasures that await in the brick-walled confines of Emma’s pizzeria, but has been unable to verify the rumors until just this weekend. Happily, all the compliments ring true - Emma’s pizza does indeed top the charts in every category. But the true value of this tiny eatery can’t be quantified by sauce alone. Unique charm is found in the details: adorably matched wine glasses, handmade signs in the......

Ah, the North End. The labyrinthine snarl of one-way streets, the perennial crowd at Mike’s Pastry, and the wafting aroma of espresso and garlic. On a cool June evening, what more could one ask for? Free parking, for one, but you take what you can get. The goal was simple: a nice, relaxing meal for two with wine and no wait for under a hundred dollars. After some 20 minutes of pounding the cobblestone, Bostonist......

Though Daedalus, in Greek mythology, was the craftsman who fashioned Icarus’ wings, the name here seems to be an oblique reference to a James Joyce character of the same name. The split-level restaurant has three distinct areas for eating and drinking: the first-floor bar features large windows that open to the air, weather permitting, which makes a relaxing atmosphere for a casual glass of wine. The downstairs dining room, while small, is cozily decorated with......

There is something intriguing about snooping around your neighborhood to see what is going in the vacated spots that once housed a locally owned business. In February, many were surprised when arriving at Zathmary’s in Coolidge Corner for some matzah ball soup and the doors were locked, bread in front of the door, with no sign of life inside. The place was gone forever without a last chance to hit up the great salad bar.......

Not to be confused with Cambridge’s Abodeon, nor with Arnold Arboretum, Audubon Circle is located just outside Fenway in – get this - Audubon Circle. The second venture from power-duo Matt Curtis and Chris Lutes (owners of Miracle of Science, Cambridge One, and the fantastically hyped Middlesex Lounge), Audubon circle sets itself apart from the others while maintaining the hip, laid-back atmosphere one might expect from this pair of restauranteurs. The word of the day......

Recipe for a most excellent Sunday: 1 invigorating hour - MIT Flea 1 generous heap - B-side brunch 2 folded bundles - Sunday papers 1 shared pint - fro-yo at Café Kiraz Prep your appetite with a stroll through the Albany Street garage during one of MIT’s legendary swap-fests. Who can pass up a cache of vintage Furbies for five bucks apiece? The Flea does offer sustenance by way of sausage sandwiches, chili, and hot......

So after Bostonist announced its little obsession with the cupcake on Monday, we thought we’d come clean entirely. We actually ventured to the North End on Saturday for one thing and one thing only: to try the cupcakes at Lulu’s Bake Shoppe on Hanover Street. After we read about them in the Globe last month, Bostonist kept seeing mention of this tiny “shoppe” and how great their ‘cakes are. After a walk through the ever......

We’ll play into the game, too – we like Weezer. Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer, is finishing up his last few courses at Harvard College. He’s 35 and going for the undergraduate degree he hasn’t finished yet. It’s been more than 10 years in the making - dotted with tours, album releases, and commitments other than academics. And apparently he’s got no fridge in his room and keeps on wearing the same shirt. Back in......