I can't eat until I finish Sketching

[Boston] Last year out of surprise, I was invited by a seafood restaurant called B&G Oysters to come sketch their weekly changing coursed meals called Shellabration. It was a great feeling to do a sketch for their social media pages in exchange for great food each week.

This year I was once again invited and will be spending the 7 weeks sketching these amazing seafood feasts and regional specialties from across the world!

I go to the restaurant straight after work so I'm quite tired and very hungry. I think I do one of my best and fastest sketches under these conditions since I can't eat until I finish.
I'm also under great pressure to finish fast since my wife can't eat until I finish too. But she's learned a little trick to 'snack' little pieces that aren't seen in my sketch tough :)



Week 2 was Sicilian Fritto Misto - the large crispy fish was really tasty!
This year they even created a postcard for the event using one of my sketches from last year.


There are 5 more weeks remaining of this event. If you're ever in town,check it out!

The Butcher Shop @ South Boston

By Mike Daikubara in South Boston

Back in January, I had the opportunity to visit B&G oysters in Boston to sketch their special dishes each week. This was a great experience since I was able to not only have fun sketching but received great food in exchange for the sketches too!

Anyway, fast forward a few months, I received a call from the restaurants parent company asking me if I was interested in doing more sketches at their other restaurants. ABSOLUTELY!!!

The next restaurant I was invited to was The Butcher Shop.
I've passed by this restaurant numerous times one day wanting to visit so this was a great opportunity.

The restaurants quite small but modern and elegant.
My wife and I got to the restaurant quite early and there were seats available but within an hour the place was fully packed.



As the name suggests, this place had lots of meat.



They even had a fully trained butcher on staff elegantly cutting up the various meats.
Here he's slowly cutting up the duck so I can capture a sketch of him in action.



For dinner, we received 3 nice dishes and an impressive Charcuterie board.
It even came with wine pairing too!
I'm Jumping right into sketching so I could get right to eating!
 

 
Here's the finished sketch. They wanted to print it into a postcard so I rearranged the sketches to fit into the postcard proportion.

I once again had a whole lot of fun!

Eating and Sketching: When 2 passions come together!

By Mike Daikubara in Boston, USA

I love food.
As with many Urban sketchers I love to get a quick capture of the food before going into experiencing the taste. This allows me to enjoy the food visually then go into enjoying the food through the other senses.
In January I went to one of my favorite seafood restaurants in Boston called B&G Oysters and as usual made a quick sketch of our food. One of the waiters saw my sketch, said he really liked it and asked if I could send them the sketch. I sent them this sketch.



A few days later I was contacted by the Chef from the restaurant mentioning that he really loved my sketch and had a crazy idea. He told me they were starting an even called 'Shellabration" where each week for 7 weeks they were going to introduce a different pre-fixed meal and asked me if I could come sketch it. In return he offered my wife and I a free meal for each visit. I was really excited since this was one of my favorite restaurants to begin with and gave me an opportunity to sketch a different meal each week.

Here's the capture of the weeks I was able to visit:


Week 2: Paella Valenciana w/Pulpo a la Gallega and Bravas



Week 3: Fritto Misto w/Fennel and Pork Lasagna and Warm Squash Salad



Week 4: Puerto Rican Chillo Frito w/Lechon Rice and Beans and Papaya Mofongo




Week 6: Maryland Crab Bash w/Smoked Oyster Hushpuppies and  Hominy Chowder

I seem to be able to focus real hard when I'm hungry since the faster I could sketch, the faster I can eat!

Final Week: New England Clambake w/Rhode Island Clam Cakes & Grilled Pork Sausage

They used these sketches each week in their social media pages and seems like it was getting quite a number of visitors.

This was a great experience fulfilling both my eating and sketching passion!

Shellabration Week 4 - Puerto Rican Theme

This weeks dish featured a Puerto Rican Chillo Frito - Red Snapper.
Really good and I'm starting to really like this Shiraz too!
I was told this wine couldn't be purchased at as store though, bummer....

I'm going to be missing out on week 5 Shellabration since I'll be out of town on a business trip next week. Another bummer.....

B&G Oysters: Shellabration Week 3 - 1 Whole Fish!

Here's week 3 of B&G 'Shellabration'.
This week featured one whole Dorade Fish!
Also came with Fennel/pork lasagna and warm Squash salad. 
We were able to eat and head back home before the huge blizard hit Boston. Excellent food as usual!

Chef hard at work frying the fish

Nice glass of Syrah to go with the meal.

B&G Oysters: Shellabration Week 2

My wife and I went to B&G Oysters for their weekly specialties called "Shellabration" where each week they have a different pre-fixed course. This week reminded us of the great tapas we had in Barcelona. They have 5 more weeks of Shellabration and we're already looking forward to next weeks food!