New Julia Child Documentary Hits Screens This Fall | Eat Mass

MASSACHUSETTS — Welcome to Eat Mass, Patch's weekly round up of food and restaurant news in Massachusetts. Scroll down for more, including:

• The famous sign outside East Cambridge wholesale firm Mayflower Poultry is up for auction.
• Lansdowne Street’s Bill’s Bar reopens its doors for select dates throughout August.
• A second location of Buttermilk & Bourbon set to open next week at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards.
• Malden brewery Idle Hands launches new beer in partnership with Ales for ALS.

Restaurant Openings, Closings

• Beverly: Ellis Square Social has returned to its roots, reopening after four months on Aug. 4. Currently operational from Wednesday to Saturday, the menu plans to keep it's much-requested shrimp & grits and resurrect previous favorites steamed duck dumplings and grilled carrots.
• Boston (Midtown): It will be burekas, babkas, and breads galore, courtesy of Uri Scheft once Bakey on Tremont Street is unveiled sometime this month, states Boston Restaurant Talk.
• Burlington: As reported by Boston Restaurant Talk, Shake Shack has now brought its burgers, fries, and yes, milkshakes to the Burlington Mall. Opening on Aug. 3, the tenth Boston area location of the New York-based chain is housed within part of the space formerly occupied by Sears.
• Burlington: Legal Sea Foods has temporarily closed its location at the Burlington Mall for renovations. In a Facebook post, they are encouraging patrons to visit their Peabody or Lynnfield locales for the duration. Burlington's location is scheduled to reopen sometime this winter.
• Cambridge (Harvard Square): Coming to the Hyde-Taylor House on Winthrop Street, The Boiling Crab will offer Cajun crab, shrimp, crawfish and oyster boils, as well as fried fish and seafood, according to Boston Restaurant Talk, and could open this December.
• Natick: Trend Pure Asian Cuisine has closed up shop on July 25, says Framingham Source. In its report, news of the closure, as well as the rationale for it, was made via a social media post, which states, in part: “Our realty company will not renew our lease in order to make way for smaller retail stores."
• Somerville (Magoun Square): Premiere on Broadway opened to much fanfare on Aug. 5. Featuring Italian-American cuisine and embracing local sources, this 10,000-square-foot space, complete with a performance stage, is set to offer dinner seven nights a week, as well as brunch on Sundays.

We Still Can't Get Enough of Julia Child

Hot on the trail of the HBO Max television series being filmed in Framingham, a new documentary is set to screen in theaters this fall on the life of renowned chef and former longtime Cambridge resident Julia Child.

Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, "Julia" chronicles Child throughout her legendary career: her upbringing in Southern California, work with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II (where she met husband Paul Child); a stint at the Cordon Bleu in Paris that lead her to write the iconic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle; to her subsequent move back to the United States and the launch of her landmark television show on GBH, "The French Chef", which catapulted Child to fame and cemented her image as the first modern culinary celebrity.

Cohen and West previously directed 2018's "RBG", profiling late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which received two Academy Award nominations.

"Julia"’s official release date has yet to be announced.

More Massachusetts Food News

Memorable chicken sign up for auction: East Cambridge's Mayflower Poultry will soon become a memory, but its famous "Live Poultry Fresh Killed" sign can be yours-for the right price. According to Eater Boston, with the sale of the property that housed the wholesale distributor and meat market, the instantly-recognizable sign at 621 Cambridge Street depicting a prominent yellow chicken is to be put up for auction on Aug. 26. The trademark to the design of said sign is included in the sale. The auction is being conducted by Paul E. Saperstein Co.

Lansdowne Street bar partially reopens: While restaurants and entertainment venues continue to slowly open their doors, you can now add Lansdowne Street staple Bill’s Bar to the list, albeit for limited dates. Starting Aug. 3 and continuing all month long, Bill's will operate on days in which there are Boston Red Sox home games and several special events at Fenway Park, along with Friday and Saturday evenings. New menu items will also be introduced, including Reuben tacos, yuca poutine, and street corn. Bill's Bar is scheduled to return to its normal hours of operation in September.

New Orleans meets Watertown: This Monday, Aug. 9, Chef Jason Santos will open a second Buttermilk & Bourbon at Arsenal Yards. The Crescent City-inspired restaurant, like its sister location in Back Bay, will feature local oysters, fried chicken, beignets, hurricanes and an assortment of bourbon-based cocktails. This is Santos' fourth restaurant in the Bay State, which also joins Boston's Citrus & Salt and Marblehead's B&B Fish.

A new beer for a good cause: For those that like charitable contributions with their beer, Malden brewery Idle Hands has debuted their fourth in partnership with Ales for ALS. Released at a launch party on Aug. 4, proceeds from the sale of their newest New England IPA, Kevin, will go to the ALS Development Therapy Institute. The beer is named for the brother-in-law of Idle Hands co-founder Grace Tkach, Kevin Lynch, who passed away after a four-year battle with ALS.

Grubhub sued by Massachusetts AG: Last week, a lawsuit was filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey against delivery service platform Grubhub. Filed in Suffolk Superior Court on July 29, the suit claims that Grubhub illegally charged restaurants fees above the 15 percent cap implemented in Massachusetts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cap was put in place beginning Jan. 14 of this year until June 15, when the Commonwealth's state of emergency was removed by Gov. Charlie Baker. In the suit, Healey is calling for Grubhub to refund restaurants that were harmed by their "unlawful practices".

Metro Boston loses BeerWorks: Brewpub chain BeerWorks has closed its doors for good. In a posting on their official website, the president of the company that owns the BeerWorks chain, Joe Slesar, revealed its fate: "Sad to say but we’ve brewed and served our last beers." While their five locations were shuttered since March 2020 due to the pandemic, the post made on July 26 confirmed the permanent closure of all its' venues in Boston, Framingham, Hingham, Lowell, and Salem.

Upcoming Food Events

Thursday, Aug. 5:

• Farmers Markets: Falmouth, Foxborough, Harwich, Melrose, Milton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Worcester, Yarmouth

Friday, Aug. 6:

• Farmers Markets: Osterville, Quincy, Worcester

Saturday, Aug. 7:

• Cape Cod Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival (East Falmouth)
• Taste Cambridge & Somerville 2021
• Farmers Markets: Andover, Braintree, Marblehead, Newton, Orleans, Provincetown, Wakefield, Waltham, Worcester

Sunday, Aug. 8:

• Restaurant Week Boston
• Taste Cambridge & Somerville 2021
• Farmers Markets: Acton-Boxborough, Canton, Needham, North Andover, Swampscott, Weymouth, Wilmington

Monday, Aug. 9:

• Restaurant Week Boston
• Taste Cambridge & Somerville 2021
• Farmers Markets: Beverly, Billerica, Truro, Worcester

Tuesday, August 10:

• Restaurant Week Boston
• Taste Cambridge & Somerville 2021
• Farmers Markets: Chatham, Lexington, Newton, Sandwich, Worcester

Wednesday, August 11:

• Restaurant Week Boston
• Taste Cambridge & Somerville 2021
• Normandy Farms' Summer Food Truck Festival #2 (Foxboro)
• Farmers Markets: Arlington, Brewster, Dedham, Scituate, Wayland, Wellfleet, Worcester

Thursday, August 12:

• Restaurant Week Boston
• Taste Cambridge & Somerville 2021
• Farmers Markets: Falmouth, Foxborough, Harwich, Melrose, Milton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Worcester, Yarmouth
  

Katy Kostakis is a freelance writer specializing in Arts and Entertainment, Lifestyle, Health and Wellness, and Food and Beverage. She has written for Gannett's Wicked Local, YourTango, and Film Inquiry.

Have a tip, question or suggestion? Connect with her on Twitter @KatyKostakis, on Instagram @katykostakis, as well as on her website, katykostakis.com.