Tag: Boston

The Food Lover’s Guide to Wine: Book Review
With our sparkler of the month on March 1st, we mentioned that we had put The Food Lover's Guide to Wine on our book wish list. That afternoon, we received an email from the authors Karen Page & Andrew Dornenburg saying they would love to send us a review copy.

It arrived a few days later and hasn't made it to a bookshelf yet. It has spent a few nights beside the bed as Penny's relaxation reading, we've used it explore a couple of new wines, and we're planning to feature some recommended producers as our Sparkler of the Month.

Learn in various ways from a collection of great wine lovers.
- If you were hanging outside our door, you might have heard us reading quotes from the book to one another. It has the greatest collection of quotes from wine lovers and wine experts you can imagine. Boston's own Cat Silirie is often cited.
- Ed loves the pronunciation guide in the core listing of wines, grapes, and wine topics.
- The system used to emphasize the importance of wine grapes, characteristics, and producers (by using bold and all caps in lists) is brillant and intuitive to use.
- The end chapters on matching wines with foods, cuisines, and courses will have us exploring new options.
- We love the gold boxes with great asides on topics. A few are already marked with page tabs.
- Since these writers believe that the wine you like is the right wine for you, they've prepared a series of recommendations based on your own taste. If you like a flavor, for example almonds, they give you a list of wines to try. If you like a particular wine, they give you others with similar flavor profiles.
A Great Interview Grabbed Our Attention

We first hear about The Food Lover's Guide to Wine on the Heritage Radio Network show, A Taste of the Past. Penny listens to podcasts of food shows while she cooks, and this one was good enough for a shared listen during an afternoon of crab-cracking and conversation.

Host Linda Pelaccio began by covering the history of American Wine (the book contains a timeline) and then a discussion of the book that really gave us an insight to the authors' points of view and how this book would fit into our collection. Here's a link to that show.

Meet the authors and hear what some experts say about this book.

We are not only recommending this book to our readers, we'll be buying copies as gifts for wine-loving friends. It is a treasure and we expect it to look a bit worn and well-used pretty quickly. It may even suffer a few wine stains but we doubt that Karen and Andrew will mind.

Here are more books from this team:

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers

Becoming a Chef

and of course

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

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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.
April 10, 2012
Trade, Our First Look & Listen
A mid-day meeting in the building next door gave us the opportunity to try Trade on Atlantic Avenue at an off hour, when we hoped the sound level would allow conversation.

Flatbread with lamb sausage with eggplant, Manchego, peppers, and garlic yogurt

Every report we had heard on this new venture for long-time Boston Chef Jodie Adams had been filled with warnings about the noise level. A deal-breaker for us. But, we had also heard that the small plates and flatbreads were worth a try.

Pomegranate glazed eggplant with capers, olives and pine nuts

Our post-lunch, pre-dinner meal was delicious. We followed the recommendations of the crew over at Chowhound, and especially outstanding food scout MC Slim JB, and ordered the eggplant small plate and the lamb flatbread. Both were outstanding with deep, rich flavor profiles. We both love sheep's milk cheese and were happy with the flavor the Manchego lent to the flatbread.

Head-on shrimp with piri piri sauce.

We went off on our own to add the head-on shrimp that were new to the menu, according to our server. Penny loves head-on shrimp. In this case, the sauce overwhelmed the shrimp. It was a good sauce but didn't allow the shrimp to shine.
(Click a thumbnail above to see other views of Trade.)

As you can see, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. But, even with an empty room, the music was not to our taste and didn't add a positive note to our meal. But, we could converse easily.

Will we return? We may, when we happen to be in this part of town, about this time of day. There were more items on the menu we wanted to try. And, if we stop and just have one or two small plates and a glass of wine, we can be gone before the whiny vocals drive us to the street.

Hey Trade, how about a quiet night once in a while with some soft instrumental jazz? It could open up a whole new group of customers for this (and other) loud restaurants.

Related Posts: More Food & Drink from BostonZest

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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.
April 9, 2012
Seasonal Cycle, Hydrangea Style

Walking along the Greenway,

Wind whipped grasses making musical sounds,

Found last year's flowers turning to lace,

While this year's buds sprouted to take their place.

What's on your spring 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 a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

April 7, 2012
Peaceful Places Boston, Book Review

Last month, we had the pleasure of attending a Boston Society of Architects Placemaking presentation by Lynn Schweikart, author of Peaceful Places: Boston: 121 Tranquil Sites in the City and Beyond. She is a kindred soul who enjoys, promotes and, with her book, will help preserve havens in our area.

As Lynn showed slide after slide of some of our favorite spots, she must have noticed us nodding in unison and smiling at one another in agreement. We've shared some of these places with you, our readers, over the years and hope you will consider adding this book to your Boston books collection.

Lynn lists 121 sites and tells you what she feels is special about each one. She also includes: directions to reach them, times they're open to the public, and reasons to go there.

Here are a few of the place that we have covered that Lynn has included in her book.

Allandale Farm

Arnold Arboretum

Boston Public Library Courtyard

Boston HarborWalk

We could go on and on but, even for us, there are new places to visit and new ways to think about other places as urban escapes. We highly recommend this book and plan to make it a list that we'll explore in the years ahead.

For those who read us from other parts of the country, the publisher has some peaceful books for other cities.

Peaceful Places: Boston: 121 Tranquil Sites in the City and Beyond

Peaceful Places: Chicago: 119 Tranquil Sites in the Windy City and Beyond

Peaceful Places: San Francisco: 100+ Tranquil Sites in The City and the Greater Bay Area

Peaceful Places: Los Angeles: 100+ Sites for Tranquility Across the City of Angels

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Cover art © 2012 Lynn Schweikart

April 5, 2012
Busy Bee, Back Bay Boston

Busy bee buzzed by,

Stopped us in our tracks.

Followed the beeline to the blossom,

Where this friend of hungry humans

Helped mother nature turn flower into fruit.

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

Details:
Words: Penny 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.

April 4, 2012
What’s Open in Boston on Patriots’ Day 2012

UPDATE: This is an old post. Here's a link for: What's Open in Boston on Patriots' Day – Monday, April 18, 2016 + Parking, Trash & MBTA Schedule Changes

Here's a rundown of what's open and what's closed in Boston on Patriots' Day, and the MBTA schedules for – Monday, April 16, 2012.

On three occasions, General John Glover and his “amphibious” regiment of Marblehead fishermen saved the American Revolution.

Patriot's Day is a Massachusetts State Holiday Only.

Open:
Restaurants, Bars, Convenience Stores, Supermarkets, Retail Stores, Liquor Stores

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."

Reminder:

City of Boston via ‏ @NotifyBoston says "STREET CLEANING: Overnight sweeping Sunday-Monday morning still in effect. NO MONDAY regular posted sweeping."

You don't have to feed the meters. Other parking rules apply. Many streets 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 sure it is not in a tow-away zone for the event. Here's how you can sign up for parking alerts and tow alerts.

Changes to Boston Street Sweeping Schedules 2012

Parking and No-Tow alerts

Here's our latest post with tips for local parking on this holiday–

Parking Your Car for Boston Marathon Weekend (2012)

Boston Trash Collection (the city says)

"Patriots Day

Monday, April 16 | 7am – Saturday, April 21, 2012 | 5pm

Delay trash and recycling pickup 1 day only if you live in Allston, Brighton, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain*, Mattapan, Roslindale, or West Roxbury.

*If you live in Jamaica Plain and your trash is picked up 2 times per week, do not delay."

http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/RecyclingandSanitation/holiday.asp

MBTA information after the BostonZest Amazon Selection of the Day.

If this information helps you, reward us by beginning all your Amazon shopping from BostonZest. Here are the latest versions of the cameras we'll use to photograph the Boston Marathon plus our favorite camera bag. Click over to the video on the Tamrac Velocity series of camera bags, and you'll see why we love it.

2012 MBTA Marathon Monday Schedule – Updated 4/6/2012

Tips:

Buy your fares in advance with a Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket to avoid waiting in line on Monday.

"Copley Station will be closed all day … access to the Green Line at Hynes Convention Center or Arlington Station."

Due to crowds, they don't allow bikes on the subway on Patriots Day.

Marathon Monday

Blue, Orange, Red, Green, and Mattapan Line service will run on "regular weekday schedule with extra service before and after the marathon."

Commuter rail trains will operate on their "regular weekday schedule."

"Buses and trackless trolleys will operate on a Saturday schedule."

Commuter Boats will operate on "regular weekday service."

"THE RIDE will operate on a modified weekday schedule."

Bus routes that impact the marathon course will be rerouted at times.

Complete details on all changes are here: Official MBTA Information for Marathon Monday 2012

Official Boston Marathon information.
www.bostonmarathon.org

Related Posts:

Tracking a Boston Marathon Runner 2012

Routes for Visiting Runners 2012

How to Get to the Esplanade from Boston

Views from Hereford Street 2009

Do you have enough memory for all the photos you'll want to shoot of the spring blooms? Do you need a new camera for the season or a gift? Begin your shopping by Click right here to check the prices at Amazon on great items like Transcend SDHC Flash Memory Cards and the our favorite cameras the Canon G12 Digital Camera and the Nikon D300s & NIKKOR 18-200mm Lens.

Details:
Writer: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photo: © 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.

April 3, 2012
Changes to Boston Street Sweeping Schedules 2012

The Street Sweepers are back! Give ‘em room!

And, make sure you know when they will arrive at your car!

Boston’s “Daytime” Street Cleaning Program returned on April 1st, and that means paying attention to parking restrictions.

Changes to the Street Sweeping days in the South End, Allston/Brighton, Charlestown, East Boston, Roxbury, and South Boston:

"The Public Works Department will be implementing a new schedule of posted street sweeping days for many streets in the neighborhoods of Boston over the next two years beginning in the Spring of 2012. The goal of the alterations is to provide mechanical street sweeping services to more closely follow residential trash and recycling collection days. This new schedule will alleviate much of the litter generated by the weekly collection in a faster and more efficient manner. To view the new schedule, please visit our No-Tow page."

Now, let’s see, is this the first or second Tuesday of the month? And, on which side of the street did I park?

Wait! Relax. There is another way. Instead of trying to remember when to move your car for the street sweeper, let the City of Boston remind you. Sign-up for Street Sweeping Alerts now, and avoid headaches later.

Take a few minutes to check out the city’s website. You’ll find a complete series of services that’ll help you avoid a ticket, or worse. And, to make it even faster, we’ve listed links to prepare you for almost any car-related issue in Boston.

State Roads Also Have Restrictions

And, you also have to check the State Street Sweeping Schedule for Department of Conservation roads, like Day Boulevard, parts of Park Drive and Boylston Street. You'll find a complete list at that link.

Links:

Register for No-Tow™ email reminders/Street Sweeping Schedule Finder

Manage Your No-Tow Subscription

Parking Ticket Notification Service

Locate a Towed Vehicle

Street Occupancy Permit Finder & Alerts

Related Posts:

Scary Stack– Boston Parking Tickets

Parking Your Car for Boston Marathon Weekend

Begin all your Amazon shopping at BostonZest to keep information like this coming your way. How? Just click here to be transported to Amazon and then shop as you always do. They'll reward us for sending you their way. And, if you plan to be a neighborhood sweetheart who sweeps the sidewalk to the curb before the street sweepers arrive, here's a great selection of tools for that job.

Details:
Words: Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

April 2, 2012
Sunday Dog Wilson, the Fastest Tongue in Boston!

Wilson not only has the fastest, but also the most accurate tongue in all of Boston! Of course, you wouldn’t know it to look at this handsome little guy, but when you’re this good, there’s absolutely no need to brag.

Besides, maintaining a low profile preserves the element of surprise. A “Lightning Licker,” as they’re known in the trade, can be quite the cunning character. This extraordinarily talented actor might pretend to be following a scent, when he’s actually moving into position.

Or, as Wilson so expertly demonstrates, there’s the classic “Staring Off into the Distance” pose– often employed just before the final set-up. This crafty canine appears to be in a trance-like state, but it’s a sure sign that he’s about to strike!

A blur of pink extends toward his target as Wilson lunges in for a landing. Notice the body extension and fluid form that propels him toward his destination. You can tell, it’s not his first time.

And, we have Touchdown! What precision! What grace! (Your Applause, Here)

A Special Thank You to Our Cast…

Dog with fast tongue —————— Wilson, a 1 ½ year old Jack Russell/Chihuahua (Jack Chi)

Gorgeous Greyhound —————- Greer, the very patient object of affection

WARNING! This incident happened in broad daylight on a busy Boston street. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to you. Stay Alert. And, whatever you do, please “play” responsibly.

This has been a service of Sunday Dog, a weekly production on BostonZest.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

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

Details:

Words: Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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.

April 1, 2012
Greeting April with a Big Sip of Bugey Bubbles!

We’re saying Hello to April with an outstanding sparkler– Montagnieu Brut from the Bugey!

Repeat after me, BOO-zhee. I enjoy saying Bugey almost as much as drinking this outstanding sparkler.

In a year where each week seems to hold a special weather surprise, this Montagnieu Brut from the small French region of Bugey seems a perfect wine to celebrate our sparkling resolution as we leap into the unknown of a new month.

While this is not Champagne, we think it’s very Champagne-like. Without the label in plain view, it could have easily fooled us.

This sparkler has a big, important Champagne character to it. Penny insisted, “It became better with every sip– bigger, fuller, like an aged white wine.” It reminded us both of the way Krug gets better sip-by-sip. Try drinking this Bugey through the range of temperatures by enjoying each glass without topping it up.

It’s a white sparkling wine that’s nice and dry with the roundness of a pinot. As constant students of wine, we now know we really like the blend of Altesse (also known as Roussette) and Mondeuse Noir grapes.

Simply put, Bugey “Montagnieu Brut” was a pleasant surprise and has prepped us for the next 30 days. Bring it on, April.

For more about the wines we’ve been enjoying (including a Bugey Cerdon) check out
Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Bugey “Montagnieu Brut” $25 at The Wine Bottega, in Boston’s North End

Here’s more about Bugey “Montagnieu Brut” from Louis Dressner Selections

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here's, The Food Lover's Guide to Wine the latest addition to our wine reference list. We heard 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.

March 31, 2012
New Food Truck Schedule: Food Truck Tracking April 2012 Update

Our Friday link is to the new schedule and new locations for food trucks approved by the City of Boston and set to begin on April 1, 2012. On Sunday, it won't be an April fools joke if you can't find your favorite food truck in its usual place. Here are links to the city's information, including a schedule and map of approved locations.

And, don't forget the food truck sites in our neighboring cities like Cambridge and Brookline.

The folks at Roaming Hunger aggregate the tweets from Boston area food trucks so you can see who is out and about and what they're tweeting.

If you know of other maps and schedule locators, let us know and we'll add them to this collection.

And, remember, if you're going out of your way to find a certain truck, you should check their twitter feed, facebook, and web pages. These guys are always dancing, trying to make a living, so they may have a catering gig or they may have run out of food. Lots of them give out phone numbers so you can call ahead to check on their status.

What are your favorite food trucks, and where do you find them?

If you know of other maps and schedule locators, let us know and we'll add them to this collection.

How do you find great food when you travel? We highly recommend the book from our pals over at Serious Eats. Here are some references for great Road Food.

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 add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 30, 2012