Category: We recommend!

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.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Screenshot: From City of Boston website

June 6, 2012
The Boston Homegrown Cookbook

When my review copy of The Boston Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes arrived last month, I leafed through page-after-page of old friends, long-admired farmers, and chefs and recipes I wanted to try. This is a collection that will be dear to Boston food lovers.

(Photo by Margaret Belanger)

The book profiles 28 Boston area chefs who work together with local farms to bring the freshest, locally grown, sustainable foods to their menus. Farmers like Kate Stillman, from Stillman’s at the Turkey Farm, and Chef JJ Gonson (above) often work together and laugh together.

The author, Leigh Belanger is a food writer and the program director for the Boston-based Chefs Collaborative, a national network of chef and culinary professionals dedicated to improving the food system through education and community building. With this publication, she has shown the strong community links that exist between Boston area chefs, local farmers, and food producers.

Pairings

The book is first divided into seasons. When you create a local and sustainable menu, seasonality is a driving factor. Each season has a collection of pairings of a chef with a food producer. An introduction gives some background on each member of the team and then recipes with the chef creating dishes using the food from that farm or source.

Among the chefs of summer is Steve Johnson of Rendezvous in Central Square paired with Eva Sommaripa and her legendary Eva’s Garden herbs that have been the secret of chefs since the 1960s. Steve puts summer tomatoes to good use in a Turkish Tomato Salad that he pairs with Grilled Mackerel.

I can't wait to try both. And, with the new fish vendors at the farmers' markets, I may be able to shop for the entire menu in one spot.

Photography

In addition to celebrating local heroes, seasonal food, and having recipes you’ll want to try year round, this is a beautiful book. You may want to keep it on your coffee table so you can open it often, each season, and try new recipes.

Photographer Margaret Belanger has a keen eye for the beauty of food from hoof, to field, and onto the plate. Her photographs are a family album that captures the people, places, and products that are part of the Greater Boston foodshed right now.

You can sneak a peek at some of her art in the preview provided on Amazon.

Book Tour!

There will be a cooking demo and book signing for The Boston Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes on June 28th, 7 pm, at Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Newbury Street.

We've invited Leigh to update us on any other book signings and appearances in the comment section of this post. We'll send word out to you as we learn of them.

Thanks to everyone who remembers to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! And, for our readers in other parts of the country, there may be a Homegrown Cookbook for your area.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino

Photograph Of Kate & JJ : © 2012 Margaret Belanger

Cover Art: Courtesy of Quayside Publications.

Disclosure: The publisher did provide me with a review copy of this book. Here is our full disclosure policy.

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 5, 2012
Wood’s Seafood, Plymouth, MA for Lobster & More

Driving back to Boston from Provincetown, we have a tradition of stopping in Plymouth for lunch. Wood's Seafood on the town pier is the perfect place to enjoy one last lobster and seafood feast.

The good folks at Woods seem to have the old fashioned notion that being nice to customers while serving fresh, simple, well-prepared local food at a good price, is the way to go. This table full of lobster, steamers, chowder, and sides cost just over $30. A great value in this tourist town on a busy holiday weekend.

Hearing the banter with the staff, we've figured out that this is where locals seem to come when they have guests, for take out, and to buy fish for supper in the adjacent fish market. As our former favorites in the Town Pier cluster take on a plastic, Disneyesque atmosphere, and are not as good a value, Wood's is our go-to spot.

The dining area is tiny, just 50 seats, so you may want to have an alternative spot for feasting in mind or be prepared to wait for a table. The guys above took their food outside to the pier and used the concrete barrier for a table.

When we don't dine in, we prefer to picnic in the park just north the breakwater you see on the map for Wood's in our details. If you park in the big lot that leads to the breakwater, you can be halfway between Wood's and al fresco dining. After years of traveling with dogs, we are skilled at finding places were we can enjoy a meal without leaving a friend locked in a hot car.

This can also make a great daytrip destination. If you have vistors who want to see Plymouth, you'll know the great place for a lobster, clam plate, or other seafood shack meal.

Related Posts:

This summer we hope to add more Daytrips and Weekend destinations to our collection.

Here's more about Provincetown.

What's on your summer travel shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Wood's Seafood

15 Town Pier, Plymouth, MA 02360 (Map & Reviews)

Phone: 800-626-1011 or 508-746-0261

www.woodsseafoods.com

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 4, 2012
A Frisky Italian Malvasia to Celebrate June!
This sparkling Malvasia from the Emilia region of Italy is a perfect way to celebrate the arrival of June. As we scour the vineyards of the world for interesting candidates to fulfill Our Sparkling Resolution – to greet each month by popping a bottle of bubbly – we couldn’t have found a more perfect fit, right in our own backyard.

Our first impressions: fruit, almonds, a briny nose, hints of Manzanilla sherry, light, subdued bubbles (frizzante).

We consulted an award-winning wine source, The Oxford Companion to Wine , Edited by: Jancis Robinson, that described Malvasia from Emilia as, “lightly sparkling dry to demi-sec.” It’s known as, “champagnino or ‘little champagne’, and where local trenchermen consider it the perfect accompaniment and digestif for the rich local fare.”

Well, alright, if it’s good enough for local trenchermen, than we must be in good company. Our local fare included pretzels, a cucumber & tomato salad, and our favorite shell-on roasted almonds from Fastachi.

The Malvasia Dell’Emilia’s also won points for its 11% alcohol, a trend we enthusiastically support. We say, “serve this sparkler cold and keep it cold,” (with a chilled sleeve on the bottle).

Who might like this wine?
- Riesling Lovers
- Anyone with a “Life-List” of Wine
- Trenchermen (of course)
- Italian Wine Fans
- Moderately Priced Wine Advocates
Malvasia Dell’Emilia – $18 @ TerraVino Wines in Brookline

Here's a look at the Wines We’ve Been Tasting

And, more about Our Sparkling Resolution

Thanks to everyone who begins their Amazon shopping for one of the links or products on our site. It doesn't cost you any more but Amazon puts some coins in our tip jar for everything you buy.

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 a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.
June 1, 2012
Pride: 40 Years of Protest & Celebration

This year's Boston Pride Week (June 1-10, 2012) is the perfect opportunity to visit the art gallery at the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE). On view, right now, is Pride: 40 years of Protest & Celebration.

(Photo courtesy of the History Project)

This is a joint project between the (BCAE) and The History Project. Drawn from The History Project’s archive, the exhibition traces the development of Pride in Boston from a sparsely attended protest to a massive celebration drawing hundreds of thousands of participants each June.

The pieces displayed in the exhibition, showcase the immense cultural and political changes that have affected New England’s LGBTQ communities over the decades.

(Photo by Joel Benjamin)

Accompanying Pride: 40 Years of Protest & Celebration will be Fierce Pride: 1992, an exhibition of portraits taken during the 1992 Pride Celebration by Photographer Joel Benjamin. These never-before-exhibited portraits reflect the rich diversity of LGBTQ communities and the role of Pride in creating a safe space for self-expression.

Click on any image to see a larger version.

As photographers, we are grateful when organizations like BCAE open their gallery space to photographic art. And, we applaud collections and archives like those compiled by The History Project that save and share the work across time.

What's on your summer fun shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Boston Center for Adult Education
122 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (map)
Phone: (617) 267-4430

www.bcae.org

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © Courtesy of BCAE

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.

May 30, 2012
Otto Pizza, Coolidge Corner: Our First Look (At This Location)
We love Otto Pizza and were so happy about the arrival of their first sit-down dining spot in the Boston area, that we rushed over to Brookline on Friday to enjoy a few opening day slices.

Mashed potato, bacon, and scallion – Genoa salami, tomato, and scallion.

Yes, there is a bite out of the "mashed potato, bacon, and scallion" slice. Penny, who normally doesn't eat the crust of her pizza, ripped off a corner and was chomping on it before anyone could grab a photo. That says a lot about the quality of the Otto crust. We think that without great crust, you can't have great pizza.
(Click on the thumbnails to view any photo in the space above.)

The newest Otto Pizza is one block from the Coolidge Corner stop on the Green line, across from the Coolidge Corner Theatre. (Now isn't that handy?)

This corner location has large, arched windows that fill the space with light, and high ceilings that make the room seem far bigger than it is. The user-friendly design accomodates customers who want to dine-in with table service, order a slice and drink at the bar, or anyone who prefers to grab a slice and sit along a counter. You can even stand at a giant beam along the Harvard Ave window "people watching" while you eat.

(Click on any photo for a larger view.)

We always have to start with the mashed potato, bacon, and scallion. This is one of many white (meaning without red sauce) pizzas on the menu, and we both love this combination of flavors. Next up was the Genoa salami, tomato, and scallion. And, we finished with the butternut squash, ricotta, and cranberry which we think of as a dessert pizza.

A wide choice of slices ready-to-go after a quick heat & crisp in the oven.

A nice selection of pizza-friendly beer & wine!

Best wishes, Otto for great success in this new location. You've given us one more reason to shop Coolidge Corner!

Related Posts:

Otto Pizza, Harvard Square and Portland ME

TerraVino Wines: Places We Shop

Michael's Deli

When Pigs Fly Bakery

Party Favors

Brookline Farmers' Market

What's on your Amazon shopping list? Father's Day is coming up! Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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

Otto Pizza

Coolidge Corner

289 Harvard Street, Brookline MA (map)

Phone: 617-232-0014

www.ottopizza.com

Twitter: @otto_pizza

Facebook: Otto Pizza

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.
May 29, 2012
UBER: On-Call Car Service in Boston

This year, we added one more option to our car-free lifestyle. UBER offered a discounted $40 introductory package on Gilt City Boston and we bought it. Since then, we've treated ourselves to a few UBER rides and are ready to recommend it to you at today's Friday Link.

Test Drives!

Our first trip was to the preview opening of the Gardner Museum. It seemed like a festive event and our schedule for the day was heavy, so to enjoy more time exploring the museum, we decided to take a ride there and then on to our next destination.

We used the UBER iPhone app to request a car. We watched the app as the photo of the driver who had accepted our request popped up, then followed his movement on a map as he approached from about seven minutes away. Unlike a taxi, we knew where he was and that he was really on his way to our location. When he arrived out front, he called to let us know.

We enjoyed a couple of hours exploring the new and old spaces at the Gardner, had a meal at Cafe G, and then pulled up the UBER app and requested a ride to our next destination. This time, our driver hit some traffic and called to say he'd be a few minutes longer. He arrived, quicker than expected, and called to tell us he was in front of the door.

Another evening, we tested the service on a rain-soaked trip through rush hour and baseball traffic to an event in the Fenway area. Each time, we've been happy that we were in the care of a completely professional, attentive driver whose only concern was making our day a bit better and getting us calmly and safely to our destination.

Last week we found a perfect use of UBER– a pick up from a medical procedure. For Penny, it was an appointment at Mass Eye and Ear that left her dilated eyes half-blind in the blazing sun. Rather than fumble around trying to find a cab, she called UBER. Her driver, Sal arrived in minutes, handed her into his clean, comfortable car, found a way out of the traffic jam surrounding the hospital area, and even offered to assist her into our building.

For Us, It's Worth the Price!

Yes, UBER costs a bit more than a taxi. But, it costs less than a scheduled car service for trips like these. The cars are clean, the drivers professional, and we enjoy the difference.

Since we don't own a car and usually walk, take the MBTA, use Zipcars, or rentals, UBER fits nicely into our transportation scheme. We look forward to using UBER in the other cities, like New York, where it's also available.

DISCOUNTS!!

This UBER link will give you a $10 credit to get you started and they will also send a reward our way.

And, if you click on the Zipcar box over to the left, you can get a driving credit to start you off when you join and we'll also have some Zip added to our account.

What's on your fun-in-Boston shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to 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.

May 25, 2012
Brasserie JO’s Salade Niçoise: A Best Bite
Brasserie Jo at the Colonnade Hotel is a wonderful spot for a hearty lunch. Ed's favorite there is the Salade Niçoise with medium rare tuna.

Each part of this dish gets the attention needed to make the whole an outstanding version of this classic French brasserie salad. The tuna is trimmed and tender, grilled with that balance of rare and sear that marks a good grill cook.

The greens are crackling fresh, the kind Ed would eat without dressing, by the handful, if he were in his own kitchen. Green beans, potatoes, pickled onion, chopped eggs are all allowed to let their personalities shine.

The next time you're hungry for a big, big salad, think about giving this one a try. Or, at the bar, you can share it with a friend followed by their famous profiteroles with a giant pour of chocolate sauce for dessert.

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Details:

Brasserie JO‎
```
120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116 (map)
The Colonnade Hotel‎
(617) 425-3240
www.brasseriejoboston.com‎
```
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.
May 24, 2012
Ross’ Grill : A Long Time Provincetown Favorite

It's astonishing that we don't have at least ten posts on Ross' Grill in Provincetown. Lunches and dinners at this long-time favorite are one of the highlights of every visit to this town at land's end.

But, like many of the places where we go to relax and where we avoid working, Ross' has been neglected except for the many times Penny has recommended it on Chowhound's Southern New England Board and Trip Advisor's Provincetown Forum.

If a visit to Provincetown is in your weekend or summer plans, here's what you need to know to be assured of a great meal.

Find Whaler's Wharf at 237 Commercial Street. Walk all the way through and go up to the second floor to find Ross' Grill. They do take reservations and we needed one even in mid-April. Our favorite seats are at the bar where we have been well cared for by some of the nicest bartenders anyone could imagine, over the years.

Every time we think the food can't top our last visit, it does. This time, we were blown away by the perfect Pan-seared Gloucester Sea Scallops, Scallion Risotto cakes, Lemon Zabaglione and a creamy cod brandade.

And, be sure to check the blackboard of wine specials. The wine list here has been a source of new favorites for many years. We have a tradition of auditioning Thanksgiving wines and choosing one from this list. We share their taste in Pinot Noir.

Enjoy the great food that comes out of the tiny kitchen but try to save room for dessert. We were alerted that they had pies from their excessively talented pie lady. This time, it was strawberry rhubarb but, later in the season, it may be blueberry/peach.

There's a great harbor view from the waterfront deck if you stop in for a drink or snack. And, if you have a housefull of guests, ask about the large table in the corner where we've seen so many happy gatherings of diners feasting on good food while enjoying good conversation and good friends. It's that kind of place!

Here are more posts from our Provincetown collection!

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Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2008- 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 a 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.

May 23, 2012
Stuart Street at Trinity Place: Where to Find Food Trucks

As these rolling restaurants expand their reach and numbers throughout the Boston area, we’re Food Truck Tracking– checking out some of their favorite nesting spots, and what you’ll find when you get there. -The BostonZest Team!

Stuart Street (Copley Square South At Trinity Place on the City list)

Location: From Copley Square walk past the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on either Dartmouth or Trinity Place and you'll see a pod of food trucks. (map)

MBTA Link: Back Bay Station on the Orange Line and Copley on the Green Line plus all the buses that connect in this area.

More Info @: Boston's Food Truck Page, Hub Food Trucks, or on the Street Food Boston app.

How Many Trucks? Two or three (at-a-time) are scheduled here this season (April 2012 schedule)

Who's Here: This season, these trucks will be rotating in and out of this space– Go Fish, Grilled Cheese Nation, The Cupcakory, Mei Mei Street Kitchen, Staff Meal, Chubby Chickpea, The Dining Car, Bon Me, Chicken and Rice Guys, Lobsta Love, and Gourmet to Go.

What We Had: We made this a three-truck-lunch. Tacos from Staff Meal, Dumplings from Mei Mei, and a falafel plate with lots of sides from Chubby Chickpea. Update: The Staff Meal team have gone on to other adventures and the truck of deliciousness is not more.

Hours and Dates: A full lunch time schedule but no breakfast hours here, and dinner hours are only scheduled on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. There are no Sunday hours on the plan.

Tips: Walk the line of menus before you decide. Come with friends and you can each order from a different truck and all the food will come out at about the same time.

Where to Eat: In fine weather, the park at Copley Square or the library steps are great picnic settings. The shady benches on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall are not very far away. Our favorite spot is the courtyard of the Boston Public Library, when it's open.

Where to Eat, Inside: Last winter we slipped inside Copley Place to enjoy a food truck meal on one of the benches.

Restrooms: The Boston Public Library, the City Toilet on the Boylston Street side of the Library, Copley Place, and click here for Universal Hub's Wicked Good Guide to Restrooms in the Back Bay.

Bonus Points for: We love multiple truck locations. It brings out more people and makes for a livelier scene. It also builds the community for the food truck folks and regular customers.

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

Here are some of our favorite food truck picnic items. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Picnic Table Cloth (We cut it up into big placemat sizes)

Reusable Bamboo Utensil Set

DII Palette Check Indian Summer Napkin Set of 4

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. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

May 22, 2012