The moment you’ve waited for is here. Western Mass Brussels sprouts are back in the restaurants, which means the King himself has landed! What’s on this glorious sandwich and why is it the King of all seasonal sandwiches? A dijon-mayo spread, smoked Grafton cheddar, fried Brussels tossed with za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice blend), pickled red cabbage, and toasted hazelnuts.

Some of you might remember Food Dev, a weekly meeting we had that was open to the public. It was a chance to peek behind the curtain, see how food gets on our menu, and maybe even suggest a few items yourself. We’ve been working on a Latte program at our HSQ restaurant (we’ve had espresso at Newtonville and Harvard Science Center for ages but we are rapidly bringing espresso to other restaurants in the form of a nifty, easy-to-use new machine). Tomorrow we’ll be doing a mini Food Dev Meeting all about Winter Lattes…

The Japanese Sweet Potato sandwich is coming back onto the menu. Enzo created this super-addictive sandwich after Farmer Ray had an extra good “bumper crop” of sweet potatoes and no outlet for them. Several years ago, I went with a group of staff members to watch Next Barn Over crew harvest our sweet potatoes, and I can still hear the sounds. Roots ripping, farmers laughing, boots squishing mud, iPhone cameras snapping. Quiet fields with the occasional pickup truck driving past. Some of the sweet potatoes were so big that year that the farmers were taking the kind of photos you’d take if you caught a big trout.