On March 15th, Join us as we dive in for a feast of Peruvian cuisine and culture at Machu Picchu (307 Somerville Ave., Union Sq.)! For just $25, attendees will receive and appetizer, an entrée, and a pisco sour—the quintessential Peruvian cocktail. Restaurant owner Rosy Cerna will tell us about the history and cultural significance of the various dishes and DJ and mixologist Brother Cleve will offer us al a pisco primer and spin Peruvian surf beats music all night long. Tickets are available for purchase at the door beginning at 7 pm; Dinner will be served at 7:30, so… Read more…

September is upon us and this means it’s time to celebrate that sweet white goo invented just outside Union Square, Somerville. We are talking about Marshmallow Fluff, of course. It was Archibald Query who invented the stuff back in 1917. He whipped up the confection in his kitchen and peddled it door-to-door. Sadly, wartime food shortages ended his business; but post war, he sold his invention to H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower for five hundred bucks. The duo started mass producing the stuff, promoting it with a “Flufferettes” radio show starting in 1930. America has been eating Fluffernutters… Read more…

A few years back we threw an ArtsUnion event called Project Yum, which featured an Iron Chef contest. It was delicious fun and we’ve been hankering to throw another food-related event ever since. So when Meagan O’Brien, our stupendous ArtsUnion coordinator (and designer of this blog!), said she knew a woman named Mary Haoren who wanted to produce a food festival, we said: sign us up. We pow-wowed with Mary over tamales at La Cantina Mexicana and excitedly agreed to co-produce an event with her: The Hungry Tiger Street Festival, which will take place this Saturday in Union… Read more…

Bring your appetites and passports: On Wednesday, July 20th, we’re heading to Peru, Thailand and Mexico—without leaving Union Square!

We will nibble our way around the globe by visiting three different restaurants: Machu Picchu, Ronnarong Thai Tapas and Cantina La Mexicana. At each stop, we’ll chat with restaurant owners to learn about their cultural heritage and get the culinary backstories to the exotic fare being offered.

The tour will kick off at Machu Picchu with Passionfruit Pisco Sours and traditional Peruvian cuasas (featuring Peru’s most famous chile: ají amarillo). Then we’ll hop over to Ronnarong for papaya… Read more…

Would you like to take a free tour of three Union Square markets? Well, you’re in luck. We’re offering our first ArtsUnion market tour this Wednesday, June 22, from 6-7:30pm. On this tour you’ll learn where to find the best kimchee around, Haitian akasan (a cornmeal drink) and Nepalese timur (a fragrant spice).We’ll start at the Brazilian market Pão de Açúcar, then head to Reliable Market; the final stop is a surprise! To sign up and for more information, send an email to: artsuniontour@gmail.com

Other tour dates this summer are below; sign up soon because tours usually fill up!

Saturday, July… Read more…