Category: People

  • Dot by Dot: Recent Work by Artist Bob Oppenheim

    Bob Oppenheim Dot by dot

    Tonight, a show of recent work by our friend, Bob Oppenheim opens at the Trustman Art Gallery at Simmons College. This is a great opportuntiy to not only see some of Bob's work but also to add another venue for exploring art to your leisure time list. The gallery exhibits the work of professional artists and has a yearly exhibition of student work.

    Dot by Dot

    April 30-June1, 2012

    Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m

    Gallery reception, Tuesday May 1, 5pm-7pm

    Closed May 18th

    Trustman Art Gallery
    Main College Building, Fourth Floor
    300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115-5898 (map)

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    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Mei Mei Street Kitchen: Food Truck Tracking

    As these rolling restaurants expand their reach and numbers throughout the Boston area, we’re Food Truck Tracking– here's a profile of one of the newest additions to the food truck scene. -The BostonZest Team!

    Name: Mei Mei Street Kitchen

    Do you want to be the first kid on the block to try a new food truck? We do, so we were on hand for their first lunch service! Tell us what you think when you try the food from this team.

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    Truck Description: Bright White Truck with Yellow and Blue Graphics

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    Founding Team: Mei, Andy & Irene Li. (click on a photo for a larger version)

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    What’s on the Menu: They call it, "…Creative Chinese-American cuisine made from locally sourced, sustainable ingredients."

    Drinks: Bottled water or Crimson Berry Iced Tea

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    Known for/must try/signature dish: It's early days, but we're betting they will have a problem taking the Beef and Cheese Dumplings w/soy-vinegar sauce off the menu. We returned for seconds.

    They say: "We pride ourselves on serving humanely raised meat and some of the most creatively delicious street food out there. Handmade braised beef dumplings with red wine and cheese, yes please! Mac & cheese with Chinese spiced pork, enough said. Steamed pork belly bun with crispy crackling, seasonal pickles, sesame chili aioli and local apple hoisin sauce? Yup, we’ll treat you right. "

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    Nice Touch: They'll try to have something vegetarian on the menu every day. We noticed their careful attention to the needs of those with restricted diets. The counter has liquid sweetener to mix into your iced tea. And, there's a big bottle of Sriracha for those who want a bit more heat.

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    Philosophy/Mission: "Grow well, eat well, be well: It’s what we want for ourselves, our family, our business, and our guests." Here's what they are doing to back up these words.

    History: They tell us, "We’ve taken food we have eaten and loved as children in the past, added modern elements and experiences of the present, and also incorporated practices that fit with our vision of how to do business for a sustainable future.  With Andy’s many years in fine dining management, Mei’s experience as a successful entrepreneur and MBA, Irene’s time living on a farm and working as a line chef and our combined love of good times and great eats, we have crafted a deeply personal venture that we hope you’ll enjoy as much as we do."

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    Here's Steve Leibowitz ready to order another round. 

    Regulars say: We ran into Steve Leibowitz from www.hubfoodtrucks.com who works at Northeastern and was all smiles after his first Mei Mei meal. "I think it's fantastic!" he said. "I had the Beef & Cheese Dumplings and they were great." A friend of his, who had the same thing, offered the perfect description, "It’s like prime rib in a dumpling!”

    And, a customer named Lisa went up to the truck and ordered, "One of Everything!"

    Did you know? "Mei Mei" is Chinese for "little sister" and the founders are Andy and his Mei Meis.

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    They were treating customers to some wonderful French green tea macarons.

    Order and Pick up routine: Step up near the back of the truck, next to the menu board, to order and pay. Pick up is on the other side of the window near the front door. They'll call your name when your food is ready. 

    Payment: Cash, Major Credit Cards, and LevelUp

    Website: www.meimeiboston.com

    Twitter: @meimeifoodtruck

    Facebook: Meimeisk 

    Pinterest: Mei Mei Street Kitchen

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    Since the city food truck schedule is not up-to-date, right now, here's where to find Mei Mei!

    For more of our Food Truck/Street Food coverage: click here. Or, anytime you visit BostonZest, you can click on the Food Truck/Street Food tab at the top of the page.

    Link: Boston Food Truck Location Map 

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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Domaine du Salvard, Cheverny from Kermit Lynch

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    One of the wines in a recent sampler case from importer Kermit Lynch was the Domaine du Salvard, Cheverny. 

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    We love wines from the Loire, as a rule. This one is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Chardonnay. The folks at Kermit Lynch say, "We continue to tout the domaine’s wine as one of the greatest values for Sauvignon Blanc perfection." They use words like simple and elegant to describe it. We agree and we applaud the blend. The Chardonnay moderates the grapefruit quality of the Savignon Blanc.

    What’s more, this “meant-for-each-other” marriage of grapes graciously enhanced our main course– pan-fried (breaded) fish. A side of goat cheese drizzled with olive oil went well with this Cheverney’s acidity. We did go to Provence to add some olives and Herbes de Provence, and they were all nice neighbors and played well together.

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    When we see this label, we know we have a treat in store.

    And, while the front label is important, we've learned to look at the back label to see who brought the wine into this country. We've developed a list of favorite importers that we trust to supply us with wines we'll love. Kermit Lynch is one of them and we'll tell you more about him soon.

    Love wine? Join our Our Sparkling Resolution

    Check Out: Our Wine List

    Here's an easy way to Expand Your Wine Comfort Zone: Sampler Cases

    Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Take a look at, The Food Lover's Guide to Wine– the latest addition to our wine reference shelf. Here's a great interview and review of this book over on Taste of the Past.

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Visit A Patriot on Patriot’s Day

    Just take a walk on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall to visit a few patriotic Americans on this day set aside to honor the men and women who have protected our freedoms. 

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    This statue of John Glover stands between Berkeley and Clarendon Streets. But you'll also find Alexander Hamiltion, William Lloyd Garrison, Samuel Eliot Morison, Lucy Stone, and Abigail Adams along the walk.

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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

  • The Freedom Trail: Our Patriots’ Day Friday Link

    Have you ever walked The Freedom Trail? I know that I walked parts of it years ago, but I've never walked the entire length. If you're looking for a nice, long tramp some lovely spring weekend, follow the red line and explore that route that brings visitors to Boston.

    Freedom trail

    The Freedom Trail Foundation has every type of tour you might want from maps and self-guided walking tours to ticketed guided tours. 

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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • First You Spiff Up the Dock: Swan Boats Step One

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    The Paget family set to work on the Public Garden dock this week, preparing for the April 14th Swan Boat opening day.

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    They reinforced, painted, and spiffed up Swan Boat HQ.

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    While to rest of us lounged, I'm sure they were happy to have an empty lagoon and fine weather for this annual chore.

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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • NorthEndWaterfront’s New Look for 2012

    Nothendwaterfront

    Over at NorthEndWaterfront.com, Matt Conti has been working hard and is now ready to show the world his redesign of this great community resource. If you live, work, or play in Boston's North End or Waterfront neighborhoods, you should subscribe to this site. 

    During the last year, Matt has been adding more photography and video to the solid news coverage he has always supplied. We read it daily and highly recommend it. We're making this redesign our Friday Link today!

    Thanks for all the great information Matt!

    Do you find new resources with our Friday Links? You can help keep them coming anytime you go to shop on Amazon. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!


    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Screenshot courtesy of NorthEndWaterfront.com

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Universal Hub for Award Winning Local Coverage

    Universalhub

    Universal Hub (UH) is our Friday link. We think you should resolve to really know what's going on in Boston in 2012. You can do that by visiting, subscribing, following, and retweeting, the award winning coverage over at Adam Gaffin's site. 

    People ask us how we know so many things long before the story is picked up by traditional media around town. UH is the answer. Penny visits there so many times a day that if you enter the letter u in her Chrome browser Google fills in the rest– www.universalhub.com.

    The world is starting to realize (and we think envy) the hyperlocal community that Adam has created. This month 415 Heat named Adam Gaffin one of the "Top Social Media Strategists to Watch in 2012."

    They said, "Adam Gaffin is the hyper-local journalism wizard behind Universal Hub, a site he founded in 2005 to bring Boston-area news to citizens through a collective online effort. He also coordinates the Boston Blog Network, which helps other local bloggers connect with online advertisers, and consults small, local media and news outlets."

    They listed a very elite group including: Liz Herson from the New York Times; John Pepper, Founder and CEO of Boloco; Scott Monty, who leads social media at Ford; and social media guru Chris Brogan.

    Last March, Adam was also named the winner of the first #Boston Shorty Award, Twitter says, "The Shorty Awards honor the best people and organizations producing short-form, real-time social media content."

    When local TV newscasts are wasting the little air time they have on "interesting" videos from around the world (that most of us have already seen on the web) and PR vidoes being passed off as news coverage, we have to support the people who are in the trenches delivering real news that is of use in our daily lives. Go check out Universal Hub!

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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Many Hands Make The Back Bay Greener

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    Earlier this month, we visited the Garden Club of the Back Bay's Wreath Week workshop for a story Penny was preparing for the Back Bay Sun. We wanted to post some of the photos here and salute this wonderful organization with the words of just a few of the more than 60 volunteers who make this fundraiser possible. 

    Here's the caption that went with the cover photo, (above)

    Twenty Years of Wreaths!

    “There’s something about coming here and doing this,” said Mary Ellen Udelson. “Everything else in your life kind of falls away. It’s just pure joy!” As one of the original volunteers, this was her 20th year decorating wreaths for the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s annual fundraising event, “Wreath Week.”

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    “Everyone has to come here to get an assignment,” said Janet Murphy from her seat at “Control Central.” She explained that the wreaths are highly personalized, and that she works with the decorators to be sure customers’ requests are reflected in the finished wreaths.

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    Stacey Richards (left) was a first year volunteer. “I’m not creative, but I can do this… And, someday,” she said with a big smile, “maybe I’ll do wreaths.” She was preparing ribbons for the bow makers with Louesa Gillespie. “Whatever you do is fun, here– doesn’t matter what your job is. And, there’s something for everyone,” Gillespie said.

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    “Margaret and I have the hands that are made for it,” said Nancy Devereaux who was making bows with Margaret Pokorny. Good hand strength is needed to fashion the lively bows that are one of the trademarks of these wreaths.

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    “It’s controlled pandemonium,” said first-timer, Nancy Stone as she helped to organize materials. “You can come here for 10-minutes or for 10-hours and, either way, you feel equally as purposeful.” “And, it’s so festive, it really is.”

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    Darwin Cordoba has been volunteering since 2009. He spent his day off from Ralph Lauren on Newbury Street creating wreaths for the Garden Club.

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    “It’s fun, and it’s for a good cause,” said Glenda Mattes who spent the past two “Wreath Weeks” helping one of the senior decorators. This year she was, “…picking out things that would go with my bow,” for the wreath she was about to create.

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    “Many of the most important jobs are stuff like keeping things orderly, sweeping the floor, checking to make sure things don’t fall off,” said Sherley Smith. Testing a finished wreath included giving it a good shake and tugging at the design elements to be certain they were secure.

    Related posts:

    Wreath week PM


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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

  • How to Make a Great Holiday Bow from an Expert!

    Ed produced a training video showing how to make a great bow for the Garden Club of The Back Bay's Wreath Week fund raising event. It was intended for them to use to train volunteers, but they decided to share it with everyone. 

    If you've always wanted to make a great bow for your holiday wreath or a special gift, this video will make it easy for you to use wired ribbon to create the bow of your dreams! And, listen when Margaret tells you that twisting that wire tight is the key– it is!

    We'd like to thank Margaret Pokorny for her great presentation and for letting us share her expertise with our readers. 

    If this video helps you, please consider making a contribution to The Garden Club of the Back Bay

    Address for PayPal payments: 

    GardenClubBackBayInc@gmail.com 

    You could also make the club members happy if you adopt a street tree, install a tree fencelearn to watch for the signs of Dutch Elm Disease, or Asian Longhorned Beetles. 

    Details:

    Words: Penny Cherubino

    Video: produced by Ed Cherubino, © 2011 BostonZest

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.