Check out the Swift Select St Louis cut spare ribs at BJs. Nice and meaty 3+lbs per rack.

Not in Boston, but definitely meets other criteria: Armsby Abbey in Worcester. Very nice cheese program and a serious pass at food with local ingredient focus. Not DBGB, but certainly better than pub grub. A great american and belgian beer selection both draft and bottle.

Worth the commute out of the city if you are looking for a serious beer program with good food.

I ordered the fish fillet dish at the Framingham outpost this past weekend. The menu indicated the fish was sole. Also ordered double cooked bacon, shredded duck with fresh bamboo shoots and dandan noodles. Truly an outstanding meal.

Check out http://www.bbqnewengland.com/

Operated by a couple of very successful competition bbq cooks - formerly at the Red Rose in Weymouth. They could definitely provide what you are looking for.

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Red Rose Cafe
800 Broad St, Weymouth, MA 02189

Sorry Metrowest is along the 495 belt, not the 128 belt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetroWest

For people that actually live in Metrowest recommendations for restaurants in Waltham or Newton or Wellesley just aren't that helpful. If I am going to drive 45 minutes for dinner I'd probably choose to go into Boston.

Wellesley is not MetroWest

A pet peeve of mine, but none of those towns are in metrowest. MW is out closer to 495, Framingham, Southborough, Westborough etc.

I would put a vote in for Tomassos in Southborough.

If you are willing to drive to Duxbury, Bennets Lobster handles Island Creek retails sales. You need to call them in advance. I picked up a 100 count bag for $70 a couple weeks ago... super fresh and delicious.

Julia Child suggests in some of her recipes (Coq au vin) blanching bacon first to remove the bacon flavors.

Blanch the bacon to remove some of its saltiness. Drop the bacon into a saucepan of cold water, covered by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, drain. Rinse in cold water, pat dry with paper towels.

Yep, agree with the Wicked Good suggestion. Great for high temp grilling and slow and low. From a recent cook with WGC...

The best cook-off in New England where you can actually try the competitors food is held at the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT. Check out the New England BBQ Society website for details www.nebs.org

East Coast usually has a Hell item or two on their regular menu.

In order to answer your questions need to know how do you plan on cooking the pig and how many people do you want to serve?

Blood Farm is your best bet locally for a larger sized pig.

I bring my kids there and they are happy with the chicken fingers, dumplings and white rice.

Check out Tomasso's in Southboro, they have a private dining room and a nice bar area.

I'd recommend the upstairs bar at Incontro in Franklin. Nice place to meet friends for a drink and the calamari and truffle fries are very good.

Panzano's Market in Southborough has an excellent italian cold cut sub.... the 'Veneto': Soppresatta, Mortadella, Speck, Tomato, Pickled Peppers, Provolone, on a fresh baked Ciabatta roll.

Besides Wholefoods anyone know a good place to procure oysters in metrowest?

thanks

Sichuan Gourmet in Framingham. Was great to find authentic ethnic flavors out here in Metrowest.

The boston butt is the top portion of a bone-in shoulder, the picnic is the bottom portion.

And yes agree, no need at all to spend 2.99 on that cut.

There are a bunch of places to buy locally as mentioned in this thread. Home Depot and Lowes also have wood chunks. A great mailorder option is this http://www.hawaiiguava.com/

12lbs, $22 delivered to your door in 3 days. Wonderful smoke wood, similar to apple.

Pretty much any supermarket should carry Picnic Shoulders. The better shoulder cut to use, Boston Butt is harder to find. I'd check with Mayflower Butcher Shop (fresh killed) on Cambridge St.

Tomasso's in Southboro has a private dining area that probably seats 35.

Iggy's Black Pepper Brioche rolls as fantastic with a grilled hamburger. You can get em at Whole Foods.

Whole Foods carries wood chips, although its possible they are not in stock at this time of the year.

You may be better off mail-ordering some:

http://www.hawgeyesbbq.com/BBQ-Woods....

If you order wood from this place be sure to get some of the best BBQ sauce on the planet: Blues Hog.