Category: Boston:101

The Walking Bostonian, Our Friday Link

A very well presented report on MassDOT's meeting about the Bowker Overpass brought The Walking Bostonian blog to our attention. We instantly subscribed and are catching up on back posts.

On the about page, this description made us see a bit of a kindred soul in Matthew, the blogger.

"This blog is a place for me to write down some of my thoughts. I live in the city of Boston, MA and I work in the field of Computer Science. I use my two feet, augmented by mass transit, to get around. Although I am not an urban planner, I try to pay attention to the city around me, many parts of which we take for granted. I am attempting to figure out why some cities decline, why some succeed, and how we can help."

We live in the city, don't own a car, use our feet (goal of 10,000 steps a day), and the MBTA for most of our transport. We're also people who notice things, and we're walking advocates.

We don't understand why walkers are not given top priority in city planning. Hey, we are way less expensive and even more environmentally friendly than bikes!

There is a lot to think about and learn on the pages of the Walking Bostonian. Questions are raised, background information is supplied, throughtful options considered, and some interesting walks are mapped on Google Earth.

Related Posts: For our Friday Link collection click here.

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

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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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 22, 2012
Our Collection of 7 Cooling Tips for Hot Days!

With years of posts behind us, we sometimes forget how many tips we have for something like a heat wave. Here's what you need to know for the temperatures they're forecasting for the next few days.

Bonus tip: go find a cool place to sit and relax like a dock along the Charles!

Cool Summer Sips – A couple of cool drink ideas to welcome summer to Boston

Someplace Cool to Walk… If you still want to get some exercise, we have some air-conditioned paths to follow.

Surviving a Heat Wave – What You Need to Know – Tips from everyone from the city to the CDC.

Cool Food for a Hot Day - One of our favorite hot day suppers

Miss lilibeth and Gisselle are Issuing a Hot Car Alert – Be sure to protect your pets inside and out!

Poached Chicken Becomes Curried Chicken Salad – Another cool supper and you can make it with take-out chicken too!

Maggie says, “Drink Up!” – Tips on giving your dog a drink when you're out and about.

What's on your Summer heat shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

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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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 19, 2012
The Boston Stinkers Are Blooming

We see readers popping in to read our posts about Boston's stink trees. And, we walked under this one in full bloom in the Back Bay. If you're seeing sidewalks covered in yellowish, green bloom debris that gives off a strong smell, you've found an Ailanthus.

For more information check our posts on the topic.

Boston's Stink Trees (Ailanthus) Are In Bloom

The Stink Trees are Back and….

And, to read what others think about them, click over to these conversations on Universal Hub. Adam Gaffin just loves to write headlines about these trees.

The Back Bay stinks

Return of the stink trees brings gasps of disgust, runny eyes to tony Back Bay

The stink trees of Boston are in bloom

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

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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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 16, 2012
Friday Links to Free Music!
Summer in Boston is full of opportunities to enjoy free and low-cost concerts. Today, we're linking to some of the free ones but we invite you to add links to other low cost options in the comments section.
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above.

Shannon Selig (photos above) opened the Prudential Center Lunchtime Concert series on Tuesday. This free concert series is part of the Berklee Summer in the City program.

Keep your eye on Shannon and get out and see her whenever you can. She's piling up awards and we think this young singer/songwriter has a very bright future. These and few additional photos of this concert are in our Smug Mug gallery.

Berklee Summer in the CIty

Berklee will be treating us to music at dozens of locations in and outside the city. If you get out to one of the concerts be sure to pick up the Berklee Summer in the City brochure. It features concerts by series, by location, by date and featured artists. You can also find the information on line here.

Boston Public Library Courtyard

Bacchante and Infant Faun are dancing on water in the courtyard of the Boston Public Library. Mark your calendars! The popular, free, Friday lunchtime concert series has returned to the courtyard and continues through the end of August. Here's a link to details of the full schedule.

Hatch Shell Concert Series 2012

In 1939, the trustees of Maria E. Hatch’s estate entered into an agreement to give the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $300,000 to build a concertorium, or music shell, on the Storrow Memorial Embankment in Boston. It would be a memorial to her bother, Boston real estate auctioneer, Edward Hatch.

The agreement was very specific as to the use of the structure. It would be for “musical and artistic purposes… of general public interest and entertainment, except, however, that it shall not be used for sectarian, political or controversial purposes.” Here's this year's list of musical presentations!

More Series at More Locations

Boston: City Hall Plaza and Christopher Columbus Park Series

Boston: Boston Harbor Hotel Free Entertainment Series on Rose Wharf

Boston: Downtown Crossing Street Music Series

Boston: Post Office Square Summer Lunch Concert Series

Cambridge: Regattabar Courtyard Series with Berklee College of Music

Cambridge: Club Passim/Berklee Summer Concert Series at Kendall Square and Harvard Square

Okay, we have the list started. Add your favorite free, or low-cost, summer concerts in the comments.

Related Posts: For our Friday link collection click here.

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
June 15, 2012
Ye Olde Clover Tavern on Boston Common

The Clover Food Lab truck near the Brewer Fountain Plaza on Boston Common is attracting customers from many eras!

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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 add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 14, 2012
What’s Open on July 4th, 2012 in Boston & MBTA Schedules

Here's a run-down of what's Open & Closed in Boston on Monday, July 4th, 2012 and changes to MBTA schedules.

This is an old post. Here's a link is the 2015 resource page for July 4th:

What's Open on July 4th, 2015 in Boston, Parking, Trash & MBTA Schedules

We publish these reminders before a holiday to help you make your plans, and we update the information as more official word is released. Follow us on Twitter to be notified of updates. Or, scroll down to the bottom of this post and subscribe to the comment feed to receive email notice of updates.

Photo: John Schinker used under this creative commons license. Here's a link to his wonderful July 4th photostream!

Restaurants, bars: Open

Convenience stores: Open

Supermarkets: Open

Retail stores: Are allowed to open, if the owners choose.

Liquor stores: Open

City, Town, State and Federal offices and facilities: Closed. This includes: Schools, Libraries, and the Postal Service (express mail will be delivered). Only emergency services are available.

Financial Services: As the British would say, this is a "Bank Holiday" with both banks and the stock markets in the United States closed. Some international markets are open. Also, some banks may open certain branch offices– often those inside supermarkets. Check with your own financial institution for details.

Photo: John Schinker used under this creative commons license.

Boston Parking: You don't have to feed the meters. Other parking rules apply. There will be some temporary parking restrictions and some street closures in the areas surrounding the Charles River Esplanade on July 4th.

Street Sweeping: The city says, "Daytime street sweeping is suspended on city holidays, but nighttime sweeping schedules remain in effect. Constituents are advised to call 617-635-4500 for exact details."

Boston Trash: from the city's site, "Independence Day, Wednesday, July 4 | 7am – Saturday, July 7, 2012 | 5pm. Delay trash and recycling pickup 1 day only if you live in South Boston, Allston, Brighton, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain*, Mattapan, Roslindale, or West Roxbury AND your trash and recycling is normally collected on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. *If you live in Jamaica Plain and your trash is picked up 2 times per week, do not delay."

Here are some of our related posts about July 4th, the Charles RIver, and the Esplanade

    How to Get to the Esplanade from Boston

    Once Grand, Now Unnoticed

    Charles River Clean Up Boat Update

MBTA Schedule Changes

Here's a link to the information released by the MBTA. With all the special schedules for the tall ships in addition to the July 4th schedule changes, we feel you need to look at the original material.

Remember! Fare increases and some changes to MBTA services including The Ride are "effective July 1, 2012." Check www.MBTA.com in advance to be certain the bus, or train, and the stop that you intend to use is still available.

Save storage space with these collapsible coolers. Perfect for small city homes. We have an older version of the Arctic Zone 30 model, and it's amazing at keeping things chilled. We not only use it for picnics, but grab it to go grocery shopping.

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Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: By John Schinker used under this creative commons license. Here's a link to his wonderful July 4th photostream!

June 12, 2012
Dragon Boat Weekend in Photos!
The Boston Dragon Boat Festival participants could not have imagined a better weekend than this one. And, we were very happy to have had two perfect days to capture photos for an upcoming project.
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above. All photos © 2012 The Cherubinos, all rights reserved.

The time trials used to determine the seed order for the final races were held on Saturday. It was fun to watch the boats set up, start, and the teamwork onboard each dragon boat. We also enjoyed seeing the pre-race workouts and coaching. And, the people who are part of this sport.
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above.

On Saturday, we walked back to Boston with Sheryl Mendlinger a member of the Wellness Warriors team. You'll see a lot of this crew and their pink boat in the photos. They won our hears and our cheers!

"It’s a cancer team for men & women– all cancers. And, we paddle on the Charles River,” Sheryl told us. “It’s just phenomenal! It’s one thing having to go through cancer, it’s another thing being on a team where you’re out there and you feel physically alive again.”
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above.

Sunday was race day and the day of a culture festival on the banks of the Charles. It's an event that we highly recommend. And, if you're looking for a new obsession in life, we recommend dragon boats. The looks on the faces of almost everyone taking part in this sport make you want to try it.

We've put a full album of photos in our gallery over at SmugMug. The folks over there take care of all our photo printing and can put a photo on a full line of items from postcards to mousepads. We do our part and let them do theirs!

Here are the photos from the Saturday time trials.

Here are the photos from Sunday, Race day with a few of our favorites from the festival.

What's on your summer sports (or father's day) shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino, all rights reserved. Use requires written permission.

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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
June 11, 2012
Edible Boston Summer 2012 Issue is Out!

Just as I look forward to the local food each new season brings my way, I look forward to the new issue of Edible Boston for each quarter of the year. The new issue is out and is our Friday Link, today.

This is your alert to start looking forward to the Summer 2012 issue available at most of the local businesses that support this great publication with their advertising.

When my preview issue arrived, the first article I read was "Seta's Rules to Cook By," a feature on Chef Seta Dakessian. Many of you know her from her Seta's Mediterranean Foods stands at farmers' markets around Boston. You'll learn about Seta's background, food philosophy, and some of the rules this farm-to-fork chef sets for herself to achieve the wonderful balance you find in her food.

Publisher Ilene Bezahler said of this, her 25th issue, "I think it has solidified my transition from a magazine about food to a magazine about people and food. Food is the common denominator, of course, but the exploration into who produces our food, who has access to local food and where to find it seems to be as important as whether it tastes good or, for that matter, is good for us."

Also in this issue, you'll learn about: "Earth Mothers," a cover story on young female farmers; Everett's Nanobreweries; Feeding Boston, the growth of Boston Organics; and many more features, plus the tasty tidbits supplied by the regular columns.

How do you say thank you to a publisher like Ilene Bezahler and her remarkably talented team?

May I suggest that you: let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine, grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. And, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, that you write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on Facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

You can also buy the Edible cookbook! Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

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 great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 8, 2012
Father’s Day Dining 2012 In & Around Boston

Time to make reservations, if you plan to treat Dad to a meal out on Father's Day, Sunday, June 17, 2012.

Here's a link to our " Dining around Boston on Father's Day, June 15, 2014 post.

Would your Dad love to get his hands into some great BBQ at Sweet Cheeks Q?

For Father's Day dining ideas, here are two excellent lists of restaurant suggestions.

Open Table always does a great job guiding you to the right reservation. What's more, you can just click through and reserve from this list.

Boston Chef's has a special list from their members. Updated info: June 10th!

Our picks:

On chowhound recently, one contributor said that, "Island Creek is the one to beat these days…" We agree. In our opinion, Island Creek Oyster Bar sets the standard for relaxed, comfortable dining with outstanding food and great cocktail and wine programs. We haven't given them nearly as much coverage as we should, considering how much we like the place. Here's a post from their early days, and they continue to set the bar high. So, if you want a table there, call right now.

Sweet Cheeks Q in the Fenway may seem to be just for the meat lovers in the clan, but they put out some great veggies and a tray of hot and cold scoops (as they call them) with a remarkable farm salad that will put a smile on any one with a preference for vegetarian fare. And, remember to order the crazy-good biscuits. (You may want to treat Dad to a doggie bag of them for the rest of the week!) Check out our Sweet Cheeks posts:

Sweet Cheeks BBQ: A First Look

Sweet Cheeks Q- Great Northern Brisket

Salt & Pepper Potatoes at Sweet Cheeks Q

Bourbon Beer? at Sweet Cheeks

How about simple Italian-American food in a very comfortable setting. We suggest Artu in the North End or on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Here's one of our favorite menu items.

If you'd like to treat Dad to something really special, consider the ultimate hamburger at the Bristol Lounge at the Four Season's Hotel. Lunch there for just the two of you, some quiet afternoon, could be a great IOU if you can't be together on the 17th. Here's what we wrote about that burger.

Another great spot to share a meal, any day of the week, is Coppa in the South End. You can even top off your meal with a quick shopping trip to South End Formaggio across the street. We always do! And, that will let you create a super take-home gift that Dad can help select. Need more convincing? Take a look at:

Friday Lunch at Coppa, an Italian Seduction

Coppa Italian Grinder: A Best Bite

Coppa- A First Look

And, if you're thinking of adventure and the South End, how about a guided tour of the food trucks gathered at the SOWA Open Market each Sunday. No resevations needed! Check out:

SOWA Market: Where to Find Food Trucks!

And, for the best gift, let Dad choose something from his wish list. Get an Amazon gift card! You can send it by email or print it out to tuck into a greeting card. And, if he doesn't shop online, offer to sit with your Dad and take him on an Amazon shopping trip.

Details:
Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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 add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

June 7, 2012
Boston Hazardous Waste Collection Dates for 2012

The City of Boston has announced the 2012 Household Hazardous Waste collection dates with June 9, 2012 next on the list. It will be followed by a second collection date on June 30th.

June 9th, 2012 from 9am to 2pm

University of Massachusetts-Boston Harbor Campus, Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester (Map)

Saturday, June 30, 2012 from 9am to 2pm

West Roxbury Public Works Yard, 315 Gardner Street, West Roxbury (Map)

Here are highlights of the city's published guidelines from their Hazardous Waste page:

For a complete list of acceptable materials, download the flyer here.

For Boston residents only. No commercial waste will be accepted. Proof of residency required. The City reserves the right to reject materials. For more information call 617-635-4500.

TVs & Computer Monitors

TVs & computer monitors are NOT accepted at Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Days. Please call 617-635-4500 for home pickup of TVs and computer monitors.

Latex Paint

The city says, "*NEW* Latex paint is no longer accepted at drop-off days. Latex paint is not hazardous. Let latex paint dry out completely, then set it out with your regular trash."

Get rid of the junk, and then don't bring more of it back into your home.

Clean out under your sink, your cleaning closet, gardening shed, garage, and storage areas. Once your home is free from toxic, flammable, and other dangerous materials, learn how to avoid bringing more of this stuff back into your life.

Here are three great books to help you change your hazardous ways.

And, remember, when you start any of your Amazon shopping from here, you support BostonZest and keep information like this flowing your way.

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Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Screenshot: From City of Boston website

June 6, 2012