By Phyllis M. Cahaly, CMD, Director of Partnership Marketing, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism
Jump to recipe for Mussels with Green Crab Broth and Smoked Kelp
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The love of food can derive from many different and unexpected places, as it did for Alissa Tsukakoshi, Executive Chef at Town Meeting Bistro at the Inn at Hastings Park, Lexington, MA. Chef Alissa grew up in a foodie family, which first influenced her love of food. “Everyone in my family loves food and is incredibly good at cooking,” says Chef Alissa. “One of my aunts would travel for her job and I remember that wherever she went, she would always bring back something special from that region and it was so interesting to learn about new food products.”
After graduating from the University of Michigan with her degree in English, Chef Alissa moved to Boston to pursue her Masters in Creative Writing & Fiction from Boston University and has called Massachusetts home ever since. While she never attended culinary school, Chef Alissa continued to gravitate toward cooking. While working as a counselor at a behavioral treatment center for adolescent girls, she discovered that the power of food was a natural neutralizer. She found that issues seemed to disappear once everyone started cooking together, friendships formed among the students and a pleasurable calm set in. In these moments Chef Alissa witnessed the joy that cooking brought to the students, making her want to cook for others even more. Chef Alissa recalls mentioning this remarkable observation to her boss, “I remember saying to my boss, wouldn’t it be great to just cook as a full-time job as my living and her response was, ‘Why don’t you?’ and that changed everything for me.”
Town Meeting Bistro at Inn at Hastings Park – Dining
At this point, Chef Alissa’s culinary journey began and she started piecing together a culinary education. She started as a prep cook, practiced basic cooking skills, learned fine dining techniques, became a pasta prep cook, a sous chef, studied the art of pastry and even learned how to butcher fish at a Japanese grocery store. “With each skill I acquired, I would then realize that there was so much I still didn’t know, so I would go to places that allowed me to learn”, says Chef Alissa. She joined Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar in Waltham, MA, Lumiere in Newton, MA (now closed) and then on to the Boston scene at L’Espalier (now closed). After about five years working in Boston kitchens, Chef Alissa found her way to the serene surroundings of Nantucket Island where she worked for the next four years at American Seasons under acclaimed Chef Neil Ferguson.
Town Meeting Bistro at Inn at Hastings Park
After the Covid pandemic, a former line cook co-worker at the Inn, Chef Jordan Bailey, contacted her and told her he needed a sous chef at Town Meeting Bistro at the Inn at Hastings Park and soon Chef Alissa joined the crew. Her passion for the craft of cooking her innovative creativity and her innate hospitality quickly proved that she was prepared to be become the Inn’s executive chef.
Inn at Hastings Park King Suite Main House
The Inn at Hastings Park, a 22-room luxury boutique hotel and Boston area’s only Relais & Châteaux property is located in historic Lexington, MA just steps from the Lexington Battle Green where the “shot heard ‘round the world” sounded in the first battle of the American Revolution. When you visit the Inn, you are enveloped with a warm and cozy feeling that reaches out to you and allows you to slow down and relax. The Inn’s unique boutique rooms feature stylishly luxurious accommodations that merge Lexington’s historic heritage and architecture with a contemporary American chic design throughout its three lovingly restored buildings.
Inn at Hastings Park Main House – Parlor Suite
The Inn at Hastings Park recently launched a series of new year-long room packages, events and dinners to honor the start of the American Revolution during this commemorative year leading up to the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 2025. The Inn and the Town Meeting Bistro will host creative events with all significant historic 250th commemorations leading up to 2026 the Semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding the United States of America.
Inn at Hastings Park Battle of Lexington Reenactment
The Town Meeting Bistro, the Inn’s restaurant, is named in honor of America’s Revolutionary era when town meetings were influential in New England, where town’s residents came together to discuss issues and deliberate collective actions, a form of government still widespread throughout New England. As Executive Chef, Alissa Tsukakoshi strives to create dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, Saturday High Tea and Sunday Champagne Brunch that reflect the ambiance of the Inn at Hastings Park– historically inspired yet modern and comforting. She and her staff of anywhere from 8 – 15 produce dishes that are coherent, elegant, elevated and timeless dishes for their loyal, local patrons and new visitors. Chef Alissa is inspired by experimenting with daily specials and the bounty of Massachusetts seasonal products. “I like to use what’s in season, what’s available as I build my menu,” says Chef Alissa. “First I start with the protein, then I think about what vegetables would pair well or what I call vegetable Tetris,” says chef Alissa. “We are so fortunate to have farmers, producers and representatives stopping by the restaurant showcasing their bounty and then I like to play off of that.”
Inn at Hastings Park Executive Chef Alissa Tsukakoshi and Oysters
One of the ‘must try’ items you will typically find on the menu is the Long Island Duck Breast served with Seasonal Vegetables and Honey or the Pan Seared Artic Char served with Saffron Coconut Quinoa, Summer Squash and Aleppo Yogurt. Chef Alissa knows her regular diners, residents and long-time patrons who over the years, trust the quality of the food and typically order the same thing every time. Some patrons and new visitors are more adventurous and are willing to try anything on the ever-changing menu.
Inn at Hastings Park Town Meeting Bistro Cheeseboard – Dining Outdoors
The restaurant believes that products harvested locally, using sustainable methods not only taste better, but are environmentally responsible and beneficial to the community. They maintain partnerships with local businesses such as Captain Marden’s Seafood, Westwood, MA, Carr’s Ciderhouse, Hadley, MA, Codman Community Farm, Lincoln, MA, Wulf’s Fish, Boston, MA, Little Leaf Farms, Devens, MA, The Grey Barn and Farm, Chilmark, MA and their neighbor, Wilson Farm, Lexington, MA.
Inn at Hastings Park Town Meeting Bistro – Saturday High Tea
Chef Alissa puts her belief in sustainability to work every day as she partners with her providers to utilize every part of product, even if it’s only listed on the menu once or twice during the week. “I like to use products that most people don’t like to use because something truly amazing happens when you discover a piece of food, an ingredient or a cut of fish or meat that people haven’t fully utilized like a bone-in swordfish chop,” says Chef Alissa. “Lately we have been using Invasive Green Crabs which can be found all along the Massachusetts coast. These crabs are flavorful, and while they don’t have a lot of meat, they are tasty and make a great stock for our seafood dishes,” says Chef Alissa. “I also like to create daily specials like our scallop roll made with broken scallops that we dredge in cornmeal and fry. Because of the big and small pieces, you get the ideal mix of crispy and soft and chewy. It’s a delicious scallop roll made with different sizes of delectable scallops. I am a big believer in imperfect cooking, I think the palate likes that more.” As we move into the fall season, rest assured that Chef Alissa is working diligently on her fall menu which (may or may not!) include ornate, old fashioned warm and flakey meat pies!
Bar at The Inn at Hastings Park
Many things bring Chef Alissa joy in her self-created career. She loves sourcing and buying the product, teaching her staff, talking to patrons, and serving them delicious food and working on the line. “I continue to find it so amazing to work on the line, to feel that adrenaline that runs through the kitchen after the fulfillment of a busy service and succeeding in that, expediting and controlling all of the madness, and seeing someone grow in their role brings a sense of joy,” cites Chef Alissa, “But if I had to pick just one thing, I guess I would say that I could just chop potatoes all day long! Everything adds up.”
When Chef Alissa isn’t in the kitchen and has some down time, she gravitates towards Cape Cod and The Islands. “I just love Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island, and go as often as I can. There’s just something so magical about the Islands,” says Chef Alissa. She has yet to visit The Berkshires and has put that trip on her ‘to do list’.
When asked what her favorite comfort food is Chef Alissa playfully responds, “This is where I get in trouble! I actually like canned soup with frozen vegetables reheated in the microwave. I know, I know, but we cook what we love to eat and that’s what I like!”
Chef Alissa says that friends and family tend to get apologetic about their food when they serve what they’ve cooked for her. Chef Alissa says, “Whenever anyone cooks for me it tastes better than anything due to love and care they have put into creating that meal. It’s something that cannot be replicated because it’s something that your family or your grandmother may have cooked for you. It’s comfort, it’s a memory and you cannot go wrong with that.”
Fall Exterior – Inn at Hastings Park
Town Meeting Bistro at the Inn at Hastings Park has a multitude of special events planned over the next year and below are just a few through the holiday season. Click here for a complete list of events.
- September 26, 2024 – Farm to Vine: Hispanic Heritage Dinner Featuring Lapostolle Winery and Lexington Community Farm
- October 9, 2024 Farm to Vine: Fall Harvest Dinner Featuring M. Chapoutier and Wilson Farm
- October 16, 2024 – Supper Club: Roast Revolution Farm to Vine
- October 26, 2024 & October 27, 2024 – Dia de los Muertos Tea
- November 21, 2024 – Revolutionary Rum Craft Cocktail Class
- November 28, 2024 – Thanksgiving Day at Town Meeting Bistro – A New England Thanksgiving
- December 2024 – Santa Teas
- December 24, 2024 – Christmas Eve Grand Dinner Buffet
- December 26-28, 2024 – Hanukkah Dinner Specials
- January 1, 2025 – New Year’s Day Champagne Brunch
Mussels with Green Crab Broth and Smoked Kelp
Courtesy of Town Meeting Bistro, Inn at Hastings Park, Lexington, MA
Executive Chef Alissa Tsukakoshi,
- 1 pint Mussels
- 1 Tbl Smoked Kelp
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 Tbl lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 4 oz Green Crab Stock (recipe below)
- Green Crab Stock
- 3# Green Crab
- 5 Onions
- 1 Fennel Bulb
- 3 stocks celery
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 quart clam juice
- 3 quarts water
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 sprigs Thyme
Rinse green crabs and put into a pot. Crush slightly with a mallet. Small dice onions, fennel, celery and put into the pot. Add garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Add clam juice and water. Add more water if needed to cover the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 min. Skim as needed. Strain.
Clean mussels. Heat a sauté pan until very hot. Add mussels directly into the pan. Add green crab broth and cover with a lid. Mussels will open after a couple of minutes. Once the mussels open, add the kelp and butter and a pinch of salt.
Download a PDF of this recipe
All photos courtesy of the Inn at Hastings Park
TOPICS: American Revolution, Culinary Corner, Lexington, Newton, Seafood, Westwood
