How many different kinds of wine do you think you can try in one day? Fifteen? Fifty? How about 1,800? That’s how many international varieties you’ll find at the Boston Wine Expo, the largest consumer wine expo in the United States. Time to sharpen those sniffing and sipping skills.

The team behind beloved Kendall Square restaurant Hungry Mother bring another dose of Southern-fried flavor to Cambridge with their newest venture, State Park. Called Hungry Mother’s “(obnoxious little) sister bar,” State Park feels like a dive bar on steroids.

Valentine’s Day may be a few weeks away, but it’s never too early to start indulging in chocolate. Luckily, the Taste of Chocolate Weekend, hosted by the Harvard Square Business Association, returns in all its sweet splendor January 24-26.

The North End may be synonymous with Italian food, but don’t expect to find any traditional red-sauce dishes at the neighborhood’s newest addition, Ward 8. Owner Nick Frattaroli—whose family owns North End restaurants Ducali, Lucia and Filippo—envisioned an American brasserie with a menu full of comfort food and a roomy bar serving classic cocktails.

Shake Shack aficionados are a zealous lot, the kind to line up in a snowstorm just for a burger from the NYC-based chain—which is exactly what they did when the new Cambridge location opened earlier this month.

January is National Soup Month, and to honor the occasion, we’ve rounded up some of Boston’s most coveted soups to keep you warm and satisfied through the remaining winter months.

Billed as a “workingman’s oyster bar,” Row 34 is the newest addition to the trendy Fort Point neighborhood’s ever-growing culinary scene. The sister restaurant to Kenmore Square’s popular Island Creek Oyster Bar is housed in a historic Congress Street building that, ironically enough, was built on oyster shells at the turn of the 20th century.

With their small portions and high prices, Spanish-style tapas could have been a fleeting trend in the culinary world — but they appear to be here to stay. The plates may be petite, but they're big on flavor.