About this column:
Newton resident and foodie Wendy Schapiro chats with Waltham chefs and restaurateurs about their restaurant, their cooking, their passions and best of all, what makes them hungry. She also covers Waltham food news.Normally, I try to leave my own story out of my column. After all, “Waltham in the Kitchen” is about Waltham restaurants and food, and besides, I’m not a reviewer. In fact, I often say that I couldn’t even think about writing restaurant reviews now because I’ve grown so fond of all of the people and places I write about. But, this week I am making an exception. New Mother India was the first Indian restaurant at which I ever ate, as a sophomore at Brandeis University. When I visited recently, I just had to thank owner and chef Sham Sahni for helping me start a lifelong love affair with Indian…
Most restaurateurs have had some sort of culinary training or at least have had the benefit of coming from a home where food was a central part of their family life. Not Terry Knight, who on Sept. 17 opened Habanero’s Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar on Moody Street. “I grew up on grilled cheese,” he laughingly states when asked about his background. “I don’t like to cook at all. I don’t have the patience!” But, that doesn’t mean that Knight is a stranger to running a business. He started out as a sales trainer for a pharmaceutical company but left in 1994 when his father fell ill and he had …
When he was growing up in Newton, Phil Mastroianni never thought he’d be making limoncello or working in his father’s Waltham-based landscaping business. But, that is now how he spends his days. “I left my job [as an accountant] and began working for my father’s landscaping company. I’ve gone from one day, a year-and-a-half ago, to half and half with Fabrizia. It’s more time, no more just nights and weekends," said Mastroianni, a Bentley University graduate. Early on, Mastroianni was fascinated with the stock market. When he joined the Stock Market Club at F.A.Day Middle School and later did …
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first edition of our new column called Waltham in The Kitchen. It will cover food news in Waltham as well as other restaurant happenings. Waltham has one of the widest varieties of ethnic cuisines available in greater Boston. With its location right off of Route 128 and a number of colleges in close proximity, it is the ideal location for not only good ol’ American food but is also the place to travel the world, at least with your palate. Coming soon: Stadium Sports Bar and Grill, 342 Moody St. (opening TBA) – With locations already in South Boston and Quincy, …
