During this winter's record snowfall, we saw few dogs on our daily walks. And, when we did, most of our friends were cutting walks short – hurrying back to the warmth of their homes.
What we did see out and about were faithful dog walkers with their canine charges. In snow, rain, and bone-chilling cold, we saw them out on their appointed rounds. Since we work at home, we walk our Poppy ourselves. But, over the years, we've come to know and highly respect a number of people who've been walking dogs in our neighborhood for years.
Dog Walkers of Boston, we salute you and make you our VIP Sunday dog feature today!
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
During this winter's record snowfall, we saw few dogs on our daily walks. And, when we did, most of our friends were cutting walks short – hurrying back to the warmth of their homes.
What we did see out and about were faithful dog walkers with their canine charges. In snow, rain, and bone-chilling cold, we saw them out on their appointed rounds. Since we work at home, we walk our Poppy ourselves. But, over the years, we've come to know and highly respect a number of people who've been walking dogs in our neighborhood for years.
Dog Walkers of Boston, we salute you and make you our VIP Sunday dog feature today!
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
Here's a rundown of what's open and what's closed in Boston on Patriots' Day, and the MBTA schedules for – Monday, April 20, 2015. Plus, tips and information on getting around Boston, parking, marathon issues, trash pickup, and other aspects of this day in the city.
Financial Services: Banks may open if they wish. All markets are open.
Federal Offices and Facilities are open: This includes the Postal Service.
Closed: Massachusetts City, Town, State Operations: This includes Schools, Libraries. Only emergency services are available.
Boston Parking
One of the most common questions we get is about street sweeping on Patriots' Day. Here's the page from the city website with the answer. It 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."
You don't have to feed the meters. Other parking rules apply. Many more streets than in the past will be cleared of parked cars to accommodate the Boston Marathon and Patriots' Day activities.
Be sure to check your car in the days leading up to the marathon to be certain it is not in a tow-away zone for the event. Here's how you can sign up for parking alerts and tow alerts.
No Delay of trash or recycling pick up in Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, Fenway, Leather District, Mission Hill, North End, Roxbury, South Boston, and the South End Allston/Brighton, Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain*, Mattapan, Roslindale, West Roxbury and Hyde Park, delayed a day *If you live in Jamaica Plain and your trash is picked up 2 times per week, do not delay."
2015 MBTA Marathon Monday Schedule:
You can see full details on their events page through April 20th. If you would like to see a copy after that day, we have made a pdf of the information: Download MBTA Patriots Day
Tips:
Buy your fares in advance with a Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket to avoid waiting in line on Monday.
The MBTA advises, "For the safety of our customers, Copley Station will be closed for the entire day on April 20, 2015."
Due to crowds, they don't allow bikes "on any MBTA vehicles on Patriots' Day."
Check T-Alerts for the most up-to-date service information.
Marathon Monday 2015 MBTA Quick Look
Blue, Orange, Red, Green, and Silver Line service will run a "regular weekday schedule." (See the MBTA page for special service notes on the Silver and Green Lines.)
The Green line will have, "… rush-hour levels of service before and after the race."
Commuter rail trains "… will operate a "regular weekday schedule."
"Buses, trackless trolleys, and express bus routes will operate a weekday schedule … Some bus routes will be detoured due to the Marathon and other race of Patriots' Day events. The approximate time for most street closures is 8:00 a.m. through 6:30 p.m." (See the MBTA page for special service notes.)
Commuter Boats "… will operate a regular weekday schedule."
"THE RIDE will operate a regular weekday schedule."
"Customers should also note that all MBTA parking garages will be pay-on-entry and cash-only on [Patriots' Day], April 20, [2015], in order to ensure all customers exit in a timely manner. Due to heavy parking demand, some MBTA parking garages and lots may fill more quickly than normal. Customers planning to park in an MBTA garage or lot should plan accordingly."
Here's a rundown of what's open and what's closed in Boston on Patriots' Day, and the MBTA schedules for – Monday, April 20, 2015. Plus, tips and information on getting around Boston, parking, marathon issues, trash pickup, and other aspects of this day in the city.
Financial Services: Banks may open if they wish. All markets are open.
Federal Offices and Facilities are open: This includes the Postal Service.
Closed: Massachusetts City, Town, State Operations: This includes Schools, Libraries. Only emergency services are available.
Boston Parking
One of the most common questions we get is about street sweeping on Patriots' Day. Here's the page from the city website with the answer. It 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."
You don't have to feed the meters. Other parking rules apply. Many more streets than in the past will be cleared of parked cars to accommodate the Boston Marathon and Patriots' Day activities.
Be sure to check your car in the days leading up to the marathon to be certain it is not in a tow-away zone for the event. Here's how you can sign up for parking alerts and tow alerts.
No Delay of trash or recycling pick up in Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, Fenway, Leather District, Mission Hill, North End, Roxbury, South Boston, and the South End Allston/Brighton, Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain*, Mattapan, Roslindale, West Roxbury and Hyde Park, delayed a day *If you live in Jamaica Plain and your trash is picked up 2 times per week, do not delay."
2015 MBTA Marathon Monday Schedule:
You can see full details on their events page through April 20th. If you would like to see a copy after that day, we have made a pdf of the information: Download MBTA Patriots Day
Tips:
Buy your fares in advance with a Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket to avoid waiting in line on Monday.
The MBTA advises, "For the safety of our customers, Copley Station will be closed for the entire day on April 20, 2015."
Due to crowds, they don't allow bikes "on any MBTA vehicles on Patriots' Day."
Check T-Alerts for the most up-to-date service information.
Marathon Monday 2015 MBTA Quick Look
Blue, Orange, Red, Green, and Silver Line service will run a "regular weekday schedule." (See the MBTA page for special service notes on the Silver and Green Lines.)
The Green line will have, "… rush-hour levels of service before and after the race."
Commuter rail trains "… will operate a "regular weekday schedule."
"Buses, trackless trolleys, and express bus routes will operate a weekday schedule … Some bus routes will be detoured due to the Marathon and other race of Patriots' Day events. The approximate time for most street closures is 8:00 a.m. through 6:30 p.m." (See the MBTA page for special service notes.)
Commuter Boats "… will operate a regular weekday schedule."
"THE RIDE will operate a regular weekday schedule."
"Customers should also note that all MBTA parking garages will be pay-on-entry and cash-only on [Patriots' Day], April 20, [2015], in order to ensure all customers exit in a timely manner. Due to heavy parking demand, some MBTA parking garages and lots may fill more quickly than normal. Customers planning to park in an MBTA garage or lot should plan accordingly."
We discovered our April sparkler, Denny Bini, Levante 90, Malvasia dell’Emilia Frizzante, at Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square. (In case you’ve just tuned in, for years we’ve kept our sparkling resolution to start each month with a toast over a glass of sparkling wine and we’d love to have you join us. More about that here.)
We nearly missed out on this appealing wine because Eastern Standard pours one of my favorite sparklers and I was ready to enjoy that once again. I did ask about the new addition on the sparkling menu, but frowned at the words “slight sweetness” when our bartender described it.
Ed encouraged me to have a taste before I fell back on an old favorite. The young man behind the bar concurred and Ed and I both quickly learned that the frizzante hid whatever sweet notes others found in this wine.
What’s more, it opened up in the glass after a couple of swirls and seemed perfect for the food we had ordered. This is not a wine for everyone and it is very much a wine that you will enjoy more with food.
Ed’s salmon was a match since a sip of this Malvasia cleared the palate of the lush fattiness of the salmon.
“… Italians refer to slightly sparkling wines as frizzante wines. In Spain, however, these wines are known as Vino de Aguja. The French term for them is Petillant, while the German term is Perlwein.”
Tip for wine seekers: Photograph the back of the bottle so you’ll have the information you’ll need to find wines in retail shops.
Orange-ish
We located this Malvasia for sale at the Wine Bottega in the North End. (Call before you run over there. The selection in a small, focused wine shop like this is constantly changing.) Here’s their description of the wine.
“Slightly effervescent, bottle fermented, orange-ish, aromatic, dry malvasia from the Fizz Belt of Italy? Need we say more? Denny Bini is a very small scale, cult followed producer in Emilia-Romagna. His wines are a reference point for the locals there and they are finally available (in very limited quantities) here in the US.”
Here’s an article from Wine Enthusiast about Orange wines. As they say, these are not for everyone, they are enjoying a cult following right now, and they are wonderful at matching multiple courses or a table of different choices at a restaurant.
I had chicken pot pie with this Malvasia and it works as well with this typical white wine dish as it did with the salmon.
Discovering Wines
Now you see how we discover wines new to us.
We explore wine menus we trust.
We take those offered sips.
We follow suggestions from servers in places where food and wine training is part of the restaurant’s culture.
We go to a few carefully selected wine tastings.
We listen to our wine mentors.
We’ve been fortunate over the years to have met a number of people in the wine and hospitality industry who have been incredibly generous in feeding our constant cravings for wine knowledge. Thanks to each and every one of them.
We discovered our April sparkler, Denny Bini, Levante 90, Malvasia dell’Emilia Frizzante, at Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square. (In case you’ve just tuned in, for years we’ve kept our sparkling resolution to start each month with a toast over a glass of sparkling wine and we’d love to have you join us. More about that here.)
We nearly missed out on this appealing wine because Eastern Standard pours one of my favorite sparklers and I was ready to enjoy that once again. I did ask about the new addition on the sparkling menu, but frowned at the words “slight sweetness” when our bartender described it.
Ed encouraged me to have a taste before I fell back on an old favorite. The young man behind the bar concurred and Ed and I both quickly learned that the frizzante hid whatever sweet notes others found in this wine.
What’s more, it opened up in the glass after a couple of swirls and seemed perfect for the food we had ordered. This is not a wine for everyone and it is very much a wine that you will enjoy more with food.
Ed’s salmon was a match since a sip of this Malvasia cleared the palate of the lush fattiness of the salmon.
“… Italians refer to slightly sparkling wines as frizzante wines. In Spain, however, these wines are known as Vino de Aguja. The French term for them is Petillant, while the German term is Perlwein.”
Tip for wine seekers: Photograph the back of the bottle so you’ll have the information you’ll need to find wines in retail shops.
Orange-ish
We located this Malvasia for sale at the Wine Bottega in the North End. (Call before you run over there. The selection in a small, focused wine shop like this is constantly changing.) Here’s their description of the wine.
“Slightly effervescent, bottle fermented, orange-ish, aromatic, dry malvasia from the Fizz Belt of Italy? Need we say more? Denny Bini is a very small scale, cult followed producer in Emilia-Romagna. His wines are a reference point for the locals there and they are finally available (in very limited quantities) here in the US.”
Here’s an article from Wine Enthusiast about Orange wines. As they say, these are not for everyone, they are enjoying a cult following right now, and they are wonderful at matching multiple courses or a table of different choices at a restaurant.
I had chicken pot pie with this Malvasia and it works as well with this typical white wine dish as it did with the salmon.
Discovering Wines
Now you see how we discover wines new to us.
We explore wine menus we trust.
We take those offered sips.
We follow suggestions from servers in places where food and wine training is part of the restaurant’s culture.
We go to a few carefully selected wine tastings.
We listen to our wine mentors.
We’ve been fortunate over the years to have met a number of people in the wine and hospitality industry who have been incredibly generous in feeding our constant cravings for wine knowledge. Thanks to each and every one of them.
One of the places we visited a couple of times during the dreadful winter of 2015, and recommended to friends, is Piattini on Newbury Street. I have to thank my friend Linda Cox for recommending and meeting me at this lovely cafe. Thanks Linda!
Ed and I find the lunch menu to be a good value and it's a great way to sample the dishes on offer. And, we were happy to see the dining room hopping on our recent visits.
The Scampi: sautéed shrimp in a garlic lemon white wine sauce over linguine was $9.95 on our last visit. It was more than I could finish. In fact, when I lunch with Linda, I'll often take part of my meal home.
Ed did finish his plate of Bolognese: homemade fusilli, traditional meat ragout. It was also $9.95 that day. And, he enjoyed some of my linguine.
We found wines well matched to the food. Plus, they come with a bit of information on small cards.
This is the type of restaurant we hope you will continue to support in the months ahead. Soon, the patio will be attracting new customers to Piattini. But, they need your support in winter and on rainy days, too. Small, local shops and restaurants will be in recovery mode from the winter woes for many months to come.
If you follow such things as I do, there have been a lot of restaurant closings since the winter began. We lost another favorite when Petit Robert Bistro in Kenmore Square changed hands. It was always a place we could recommend for value meals day-in and day-out and especially on holidays.
If you have a favorite places that you want to remain or if you've been meaning to try a small local cafe recommended by a trusted friend like Linda, get out and spend some money in your community. And, do it this month, next month, and in the many months to come.
If what you need is not local or if you are one of our readers from another part of the world, BostonZest is also a local business. When you are going to buy from one of the businesses that advertise here or pay us commission, we appreciate your support. One of the easiest ways is to start all your Amazon shopping on one of our pages.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
One of the places we visited a couple of times during the dreadful winter of 2015, and recommended to friends, is Piattini on Newbury Street. I have to thank my friend Linda Cox for recommending and meeting me at this lovely cafe. Thanks Linda!
Ed and I find the lunch menu to be a good value and it's a great way to sample the dishes on offer. And, we were happy to see the dining room hopping on our recent visits.
The Scampi: sautéed shrimp in a garlic lemon white wine sauce over linguine was $9.95 on our last visit. It was more than I could finish. In fact, when I lunch with Linda, I'll often take part of my meal home.
Ed did finish his plate of Bolognese: homemade fusilli, traditional meat ragout. It was also $9.95 that day. And, he enjoyed some of my linguine.
We found wines well matched to the food. Plus, they come with a bit of information on small cards.
This is the type of restaurant we hope you will continue to support in the months ahead. Soon, the patio will be attracting new customers to Piattini. But, they need your support in winter and on rainy days, too. Small, local shops and restaurants will be in recovery mode from the winter woes for many months to come.
If you follow such things as I do, there have been a lot of restaurant closings since the winter began. We lost another favorite when Petit Robert Bistro in Kenmore Square changed hands. It was always a place we could recommend for value meals day-in and day-out and especially on holidays.
If you have a favorite places that you want to remain or if you've been meaning to try a small local cafe recommended by a trusted friend like Linda, get out and spend some money in your community. And, do it this month, next month, and in the many months to come.
If what you need is not local or if you are one of our readers from another part of the world, BostonZest is also a local business. When you are going to buy from one of the businesses that advertise here or pay us commission, we appreciate your support. One of the easiest ways is to start all your Amazon shopping on one of our pages.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
We decided that all the changes around the topic of Boston dog licensing this year made a weekday post the best way to get the information out to our widest audience. If you have a dog or have friends with dogs that count on you for information from social media, here's what you need to know.
This postcard from Inspectional Services arrived in our mailbox this week. We already have our dog license because we applied online when our own annual reminder came up on our calendar on March 1st.
No form and no return envelope were supplied with this mailing. An increased fee was announced effective May 1st but I was already charged this fee in March. And, no mention was made of the department's move to 1010 Massachusetts Avenue that you will learn about below.
As we said in one of our Sunday Dog posts, "Massachusetts law requires that all dogs be licensed with their city or town by April 1st of each year. To apply, you must have proof of a current rabies vaccination.
"Normally, Boston officials send out packages reminding people with dogs to renew. I called Animal Care and Control to check if the mailing had gone out and found that it's been delayed this year and that the city of Boston plans to delay enforcement.
"I don't know what this does if you are in another city or town with your dog, since it's a state law that requires a license. Better apply online today and I would carry a copy of the receipt from the city until your tag arrives. Then, you would have something to show if you are stopped."
If you want to apply in person, you should know that the Animal Care and Control department is moving. Here is the city's announcement on that.
"2015 Dog licensing notes: We're Moving!
Effective March 30, 2015– the administrative office of Animal Care and Control will be moved to 1010 Mass Ave. Boston, MA 02118. The Animal Care and Control Animal Shelter will remain at it's current location, 26 Mahler Rd. Roslindale, MA 02131. Thank you for your patience during our transition."
Facebook Instead of information on the City site
When we searched for information about low cost rabies clinics on the city site, we found only a stale 2014 list.
Apparently the department is now using Facebook to announce important information like this.
That's not great for those who try to avoid this particular social media outlet and silly since not all items posted there will be seen by the people who are following the page. What is shown to each individual is up to Facebook.
"All posts from pages you 'Liked' are not showing up in your Facebook news feed. Only 10% of you will see posts unless page administrators pay to promote them. Since pages like ours are run exclusively by volunteers, we do not have a budget to pay for advertising." More here.
You'll also notice that this is a much shorter list of clinics. Five are listed here, while there were fourteen scheduled last year.
Editorial Page!
Early on, we had hopes that this administration would be dog friendly when we heard that the department was renamed Animal Care and Control and was moved under the direction of Human Services and Felix Arroyo.
Now, it seems it has been put under Inspectional Services, a department historically understaffed and with a record of less than user friendly performance. This is all very disappointing. Lets hope the city gets its act together, schedules more clinics, and puts more CARE and COMMON SENSE into services for people who have animals.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
We decided that all the changes around the topic of Boston dog licensing this year made a weekday post the best way to get the information out to our widest audience. If you have a dog or have friends with dogs that count on you for information from social media, here's what you need to know.
This postcard from Inspectional Services arrived in our mailbox this week. We already have our dog license because we applied online when our own annual reminder came up on our calendar on March 1st.
No form and no return envelope were supplied with this mailing. An increased fee was announced effective May 1st but I was already charged this fee in March. And, no mention was made of the department's move to 1010 Massachusetts Avenue that you will learn about below.
As we said in one of our Sunday Dog posts, "Massachusetts law requires that all dogs be licensed with their city or town by April 1st of each year. To apply, you must have proof of a current rabies vaccination.
"Normally, Boston officials send out packages reminding people with dogs to renew. I called Animal Care and Control to check if the mailing had gone out and found that it's been delayed this year and that the city of Boston plans to delay enforcement.
"I don't know what this does if you are in another city or town with your dog, since it's a state law that requires a license. Better apply online today and I would carry a copy of the receipt from the city until your tag arrives. Then, you would have something to show if you are stopped."
If you want to apply in person, you should know that the Animal Care and Control department is moving. Here is the city's announcement on that.
"2015 Dog licensing notes: We're Moving!
Effective March 30, 2015– the administrative office of Animal Care and Control will be moved to 1010 Mass Ave. Boston, MA 02118. The Animal Care and Control Animal Shelter will remain at it's current location, 26 Mahler Rd. Roslindale, MA 02131. Thank you for your patience during our transition."
Facebook Instead of information on the City site
When we searched for information about low cost rabies clinics on the city site, we found only a stale 2014 list.
Apparently the department is now using Facebook to announce important information like this.
That's not great for those who try to avoid this particular social media outlet and silly since not all items posted there will be seen by the people who are following the page. What is shown to each individual is up to Facebook.
"All posts from pages you 'Liked' are not showing up in your Facebook news feed. Only 10% of you will see posts unless page administrators pay to promote them. Since pages like ours are run exclusively by volunteers, we do not have a budget to pay for advertising." More here.
You'll also notice that this is a much shorter list of clinics. Five are listed here, while there were fourteen scheduled last year.
Editorial Page!
Early on, we had hopes that this administration would be dog friendly when we heard that the department was renamed Animal Care and Control and was moved under the direction of Human Services and Felix Arroyo.
Now, it seems it has been put under Inspectional Services, a department historically understaffed and with a record of less than user friendly performance. This is all very disappointing. Lets hope the city gets its act together, schedules more clinics, and puts more CARE and COMMON SENSE into services for people who have animals.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
