Devra First

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Devra First

It’s huge news for the local dining scene: The Michelin Guide is coming to Boston. The guide, started by a French tire company more than a century ago, sends anonymous inspectors into the field to evaluate restaurants and award its rare, coveted stars. For a long time, I did not believe that Boston should have a Michelin Guide. Which is not to say I didn’t think Boston deserved one.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Devra First

In the kitchen at La Padrona, mother and daughter stand side by side in the narrow space between stainless steel stoves and spotless counters. Amarilys Colón, in chef’s whites and a tan apron, is the executive chef at this Back Bay Italian restaurant. But Gladys Rivera, her mom, is the cook here today. She is showing us how to make rice and beans, a dish she is known for, one that has nourished her family at countless meals through the decades.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Devra First

Gladys Rivera’s rice and beans are a meal by themselves, but you can also serve them as a side dish. This recipe feeds 6 generously as a main course; leftovers freeze well. Rivera prepares the rice in a caldero, the covered pot frequently used in Puerto Rican kitchens. If you don’t have one, a Dutch oven or other favorite rice pot will do. If you’re lucky, you’ll wind up with a bottom layer of crispy, golden grains, a coveted treat called pegao (“stuck”).

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Devra First

Good morning. I’m Devra First, the Globe’s restaurant critic and food writer, filling in as a guest today to tell you about the places where I like to eat when I’m not working. (Ian Prasad Philbrick will be back tomorrow.)But first, here’s what else is going on:Last Thursday was Bring Your Child to Work Day, which means the Globe offices were flooded with smaller, cuter versions of our co-workers, and we got to guess who belongs to whom.

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Devra First

SHREWSBURY — The hottest restaurant opening of the season may not be a sleek city bistro but a lodge-like edifice in Shrewsbury where the air smells as golden and buttery as a fresh batch of free popcorn. For many who grew up going to the Ground Round, this is the smell of childhood. The restaurant chain, founded locally in 1969 as an offshoot of Howard Johnson’s, once had more than 200 outposts nationwide. There were in-state locations from Andover to Fairhaven, all now closed.