50 Great Ideas

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As the owner of a 32-foot houseboat who lives aboard during the summer, Steve Johnson knows about cooking in tight quarters. But as chef-proprietor of the highly regarded Rendezvous in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he’s also got tremendous cred in the Boston food scene. “I grew up on the water, and have always enjoyed fishing, crabbing and foraging,” says Johnson, who brings that locavore love to his menu at Rendezvous. And for the past several summers, he’s also been teaching fans all about cooking great food out of a small kitchen.

The chef sets up a tiny galley in the warehouse of a specialty foods purveyor and demos the likes of blue-crab cakes, fluke ceviche, freshly raked clams cooked on a charcoal grill and lots of fresh vegetables from the farmstands that abound along the Westport River where he moors his boat. “I thought about a cookbook, but this is more fun,” Johnson adds.

#50 | Using your noodle

#49 | Eat a pita, feed a kid

#48 | Ask the staff chaplain

#47 | I’ll be calling you

#46 | Rolling in dough

#45 | Fried chicken flies the coop

#44 | A penny for your calories

#43 | Better than a lobster bib

#42 | Bending the bento

#41 | Billboard redux

#40 | Dining at the fountain of youth

#39 | Building a better box

#38 | Roll out the barrel

#37 | Mochi Madness

#36 | A toast to Belgium

#35 | Screening employees on the screen

#34 | An Olive Garden customer sat here

#33 | Setting the e-table

#32 | The buck strolls here

#31 | Gin game

#30 | Childhood revisited

#29 | Moveable feast

#28 | Certified gluten free

#27 | Buy a car, eat a meal

#26 | Locating the best Happy Hour

#25 | Local broadcast

#24 | Tabletop taps

#23 | Double the pleasure

#22 | The three Bs

#21 | Cocktails to amuse

#20 | Fans of the grape

#19 | Whole animal accessorizing

#18 | Translucent menus

#17 | Have oven will cater

#16 | Allergic interaction

#15 | Greener produce

#14 | Competing to win at weight loss

#13 | Space saver

#12 | Test kitchen=test market

#11 | Be my guest

#10 | Plug in and eat up

#9 | Rx for pilferers

#8 | Hands free—and clean

#7 | Some like it too hot

#6 | Chicken fried steak gets its day

#5 | The staff that reads together…

#4 | Twinkle toast

#3 | Stick with this

#2 | Stamp of approval

#1 | From seed to fork

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