BOSTON, MA — It was a major day for Boston’s culinary scene on Tuesday as one of the city’s restaurants was finally awarded a Michelin star.

In total, it appears that 26 restaurants were honored by the Michelin Guide.

311 Omakase in the city’s South End was awarded the star at the Michelin Guide Northeast Cities Ceremony, which was held at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

The Japanese restaurant known for its sushi offerings won the biggest honor of the night, but 26 Boston-area restaurants were also noted at the ceremony.

According to NBC Boston, Bar Volpe and Fox & The Knife, both in Boston; Sumiao Hunan Kitchen, Pagu and Jahunger in Cambridge and Mahaniyom in Brookline were recognized in the “Bib Gourmand” category, which is awarded for its value for the money spent.

Boston Business Journal shared that a number of other area spots were recognized by the organization for their culinary products, though they were not awarded a star.

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ALEWIFE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — It’s a plentiful year for River Herring in Massachusetts.

Daria Santollani is the senior engagement manager at the Mystic Watershed Association, the organization that tracks herring population and migration every year since 2012.

She told WBZ NewsRadio that this year, volunteers reported the highest number of herring passing through the Boston Harbor into the Mystic River, at nearly 815,000.

“It’s just amazing that the largest migration of herring in Massachusetts happens in the most urban watershed,” she said.

In the past, overfishing depleted the herring population. In 2012, the association reported the herring population was only around 21,052.

“Because of interventions like fish ladders at the Mystic Lake dams, we’re starting to see that population come back,” she said.

By 2019, the herring population had grown to nearly 789,000. However, there was a dramatic dip in 2020 with only around 378,000 herrings reported.

According to the association, the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries attributed the decline to the statewide drought in 2016 that caused lower reproduction of the fish.

Despite that setback, the herring population continued to grow every year since, with more than 550,000 reported in 2021, and jumped to nearly 640,000 in 2024.

River herrings are not only an important food source for indigenous people but also play an ecologically significant role in both freshwater and marine food webs.

“The Alewife T station is named Alewife because of this fish,” Santollani added.

She credited the hundreds of volunteers who spend every day counting the herrings passing by during migration season.

“From April through June, seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., [each volunteer] going for an hour to count how many herrings they’re seeing passing the dam,” she continued.

WBZ NewsRadio’s Emma Friedman (@EmmaFriedmanWBZ) reports.

Food insecurity is on the mind of many across the Massachusetts, after the 43-day government shutdown and its brief pause in SNAP food aid funding

The crisis sent ripple effects throughout the food benefits system and put a strain on supply.

“My confidence is shaken,” said Andrew Morehouse, with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

He said the organization “has had to dip into private funding,” and that about a third of its food comes from the state.

“With the rising need and SNAP disaster, we’ve realized we need to do more,” said Rachel Albert with Food Link.

People in Massachusetts who rely on SNAP food payments will get the payment that had been missed in November amid the government shutdown had the funds released, Gov. Maura Healey said.

Gov. Maura Healey on Monday discussed the “continuing need across” Massachusetts for food.

Previously, the federal government had funded SNAP benefits during government shutdowns, and she said, “I sure hope that, as we go forward, human beings, people, aren’t used as political pawns.”

Political calculations that only add to growing uncertainty.

“During the great recession and pandemic, the federal government had our backs,” said Morehouse, “That was not the case during the government shutdown.”

SNAP benefits have been extended through September 2026 as part of the agreement to reopen the government.