Fork it over, Rochester!

My food blogging days began in Rochester, NY during the summer of 2008. I was an active commenter on restaurant pages on RocWiki, a Wikipedia-like site for Rochester, and one day I decided to expand one of my comments into a full review, which I posted on a shiny new blog that I'm pretty sure I called Rachel's Restaurant Reviews. Creative, huh? Well, I don't think I posted more than one or two entries, but an editor for the Rochester Insider - now Metromix Rochester - stumbled on my blog and asked me to be a food blogger for the Insider's website. At that point, I was already planning on going to grad school for science journalism, so I jumped at the chance to get some pseudo-clips. For the next few months, I had a great time blogging about food, but then it was time to move back to Boston for grad school.

I was organizing my Google Docs a few days ago and stumbled on most of my posts from the old blog, which my editor had titled Fork It Over. (Thanks Todd!) As you can see, I continued using that title once I moved back to Boston. The old blog is no longer accessible online, so I decided to import some of the entries to the beginning of this blog, backdated to the original posting dates. Although a few are Rochester-specific, I hope you'll still find them interesting as travel posts.

Here's a complete chronological list of the old posts that have found a new home here at Fork it over, Boston!:

• Meat and Potatoes, Passover-Style - Learn how to make brisket (Jewish-style, not Texas-style)
• Lento: Fine Dining with a Side of Social Conscience - A review of a Rochester restaurant that features local ingredients
• Spring Is Here - Time for a BBQ! - Celebrating warm weather at a park in Rochester
• Hot Dogs, Baseball Cupcakes, and a Strong Green Drink - The drink is Fenway-themed, so check it out!
• Blueberries + Steak = Delicious? Or, Why I Shouldn't Be Allowed in the Kitchen - A sneak peak into my old kitchen ineptitude...I hope I've improved since then.
• Festival Food - A recap of Rochester's famous Lilac Festival, focusing on the food
• Pomegranate Mojitos and Banana Xangas: Tasty Treats at Tapas 177 - A review of a tapas restaurant in Rochester
• A Taste of New England - Doing the tourist thing on a trip back home; food highlights from Boston and the North Shore, plus a glossary for out-of-towners
• Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp and Cold Melon Soup - Awesome shrimp, so-so soup. Better than blueberry steak, at least!
• Off the Beaten Path - Praising the merits of both researching restaurants ahead of time and relying on a bit of spontaneity. Mini reviews of Bianca (NYC) and Bluestone Grill (Hancock, NY).
• A Birthday Weekend in the Finger Lakes - Wineries and hiking in the beautiful Finger Lakes of Upstate NY.
• Goodbye Rochester! - A wrap-up of favorites preceding my move from Rochester back to Boston.