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  • Tangerine Tip: Don’t Toss Those Peels!

    -menino-name-trash-can-

    We peel a lot of tangerines and related citrus this time of year. One of us will grab a few clementines, peel them, and pop the wedges in one bowl and the peels in another. The fruit goes to the table while the peels stay on the stove adding a lovely clean scent to the kitchen. 

    What’s on your Food Lover’s Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2013 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.

  • Tangerine Tip: Don’t Toss Those Peels!

    -menino-name-trash-can-

    We peel a lot of tangerines and related citrus this time of year. One of us will grab a few clementines, peel them, and pop the wedges in one bowl and the peels in another. The fruit goes to the table while the peels stay on the stove adding a lovely clean scent to the kitchen. 

    What’s on your Food Lover’s Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2013 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.

  • Tangerine Tip: Don’t Toss Those Peels!

    -menino-name-trash-can-

    We peel a lot of tangerines and related citrus this time of year. One of us will grab a few clementines, peel them, and pop the wedges in one bowl and the peels in another. The fruit goes to the table while the peels stay on the stove adding a lovely clean scent to the kitchen. 

    What’s on your Food Lover’s Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2013 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.

  • This Sidewalk’s Made for Exercise Biking…

    IMG_7016 - Version 22013-12-04© 2011 cherubino, exercise-bike-25

    First, some city worker decided to plant a pole in the pedestrian space on this sidewalk rather than putting it in the utility strip near the curb. Then, someone locked an exercise bike to the pole to take up a bit more of the sidewalk.

    Hope the new city administration reads Jeff Speck's book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, and starts thinking about how each small decision impacts pedestrians. 

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2013 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.

  • This Sidewalk’s Made for Exercise Biking…

    IMG_7016 - Version 22013-12-04© 2011 cherubino, exercise-bike-25

    First, some city worker decided to plant a pole in the pedestrian space on this sidewalk rather than putting it in the utility strip near the curb. Then, someone locked an exercise bike to the pole to take up a bit more of the sidewalk.

    Hope the new city administration reads Jeff Speck's book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, and starts thinking about how each small decision impacts pedestrians. 

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2013 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.

  • This Sidewalk’s Made for Exercise Biking…

    IMG_7016 - Version 22013-12-04© 2011 cherubino, exercise-bike-25

    First, some city worker decided to plant a pole in the pedestrian space on this sidewalk rather than putting it in the utility strip near the curb. Then, someone locked an exercise bike to the pole to take up a bit more of the sidewalk.

    Hope the new city administration reads Jeff Speck's book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, and starts thinking about how each small decision impacts pedestrians. 

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2013 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.

  • Where to Dine on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day 2013 in Boston

     

    UPDATE: Where to Dine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2015 in Boston

     

    Where can you dine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the Boston area? There are a few great choices! But, if you're planning to dine at one of Boston's fine restaurants over the holidays, make a reservation!

    6a00e54fc42bb888340120a6fe484b970b-800wi

    Don't be surprised if a deposit is required to hold your reservation or if there are special menus and seatings for these special holiday meals. Unfortunately, restaurants have been forced to do this because of people who make multiple reservations so they can decide at the last minute where to go. This leaves other diners without choices and the restaurants with empty tables.

    What's Open on Christmas Eve?

    There are more choices on Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day. Some of our favorite, special places have wonderful holiday meals planned for those who reserve for the 24th.

    • The legendary team from L'Espalier offers a prix fixe Christmas Eve menu.  
    • La Morra in Brookline is an ideal spot to meet friends or family from that side of the Boston area. They are offering family style dining, "sharing traditional dishes of Piedmonte."
    • Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel has a four course prixe fixe menu set for the 24th.
    • The Petit Robert Bistro locations will be open with regular meals and specials. We like the one on Columbus Ave in the South End.

    At the early date of this posting, some places have not announced their traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes events for Chistmas Eve. Check back or follow us on Twitter for updates on this fun holiday dining option. 

    • Grotto has their Feast listed on Boston Chefs. This tiny Beacon Hill gem was one of the first to present this holiday tradition.
    • Kitchen and Marliave, Grotto's siblings in the South End and Downtown, are joining in the festive fish feast.

    What Boston Area Restaurants Are Open on Christmas?

    Hotel restaurants, since they must serve the hotel's guests, are normally open on holidays.

    In Boston, hotel restaurants open both the 24th and 25th include some excellent choices:




    Other places open on holidays would include chains like Legal Seafoods and many restaurants in Chinatown. We once asked a long time Boston cabbie where we could get something we needed on Christmas, and he said Chinatown was the place to go.

    Here are some conversations on Chowhound.com and Trip Advisor about Christmas dining. We'll add more as we see them pop up this year.

    Trip Advisor on Christmas Dinner (2013)

    Eater Boston's Christmas Map (Updated 12/16/2013)

    What Chinese Restaurants are Open On Christmas Day– (2012)

    Christmas Day Brunch (2012)

    Open on Cape Cod on Christmas Day (just in case you're going there) (2012)

    Xmas Lunch in Boston  (2012)

    Restaurant open Christmas Day in Newton or nearby (2012)

    Other resources:

    The reservation site, Open Table has a feature list of its member restaurants with Christmas Eve Specials and Christmas Day Dining. 

    But, you can also input information on the reservation you want on Open Table and come up with a list of restaurants open at that hour. Change the hour and the list will change and some are not on the featured lists. It's a good place to start.

    The Boston Chefs site has posted a list of its participating member restaurants with special features for the holidays. Here's the Christmas Eve List & the Christmas Day list.

    From Last Year: Eater Boston has a list of Where to Eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We'll update with the new one when it's available.

    They have many good choices to add to your holiday options. We'd particularly like to recommend:

    Island Creek Oyster Bar for Christmas Eve. It's one of our favorite places, and I can just imagine what a happy scene it will be on that evening. 

    Eastern Standard: They will be open Christmas Day for breakfast and then for a special 3-course prix fixe meal. 

    Market by John-Georges: They will have a la carte items from their regular menu in addition to a special holiday menu on Christmas Day.

    Subscribe to the comment feed of this post or follow us on Twitter, and we'll notify you of updates to this post.

    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!

    Details: 

    Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Photo: from iStockphoto.com

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those 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.

    Enhanced by Zemanta
  • Where to Dine on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day 2013 in Boston

     

    UPDATE: Where to Dine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2015 in Boston

     

    Where can you dine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the Boston area? There are a few great choices! But, if you're planning to dine at one of Boston's fine restaurants over the holidays, make a reservation!

    6a00e54fc42bb888340120a6fe484b970b-800wi

    Don't be surprised if a deposit is required to hold your reservation or if there are special menus and seatings for these special holiday meals. Unfortunately, restaurants have been forced to do this because of people who make multiple reservations so they can decide at the last minute where to go. This leaves other diners without choices and the restaurants with empty tables.

    What's Open on Christmas Eve?

    There are more choices on Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day. Some of our favorite, special places have wonderful holiday meals planned for those who reserve for the 24th.

    • The legendary team from L'Espalier offers a prix fixe Christmas Eve menu.  
    • La Morra in Brookline is an ideal spot to meet friends or family from that side of the Boston area. They are offering family style dining, "sharing traditional dishes of Piedmonte."
    • Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel has a four course prixe fixe menu set for the 24th.
    • The Petit Robert Bistro locations will be open with regular meals and specials. We like the one on Columbus Ave in the South End.

    At the early date of this posting, some places have not announced their traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes events for Chistmas Eve. Check back or follow us on Twitter for updates on this fun holiday dining option. 

    • Grotto has their Feast listed on Boston Chefs. This tiny Beacon Hill gem was one of the first to present this holiday tradition.
    • Kitchen and Marliave, Grotto's siblings in the South End and Downtown, are joining in the festive fish feast.

    What Boston Area Restaurants Are Open on Christmas?

    Hotel restaurants, since they must serve the hotel's guests, are normally open on holidays.

    In Boston, hotel restaurants open both the 24th and 25th include some excellent choices:




    Other places open on holidays would include chains like Legal Seafoods and many restaurants in Chinatown. We once asked a long time Boston cabbie where we could get something we needed on Christmas, and he said Chinatown was the place to go.

    Here are some conversations on Chowhound.com and Trip Advisor about Christmas dining. We'll add more as we see them pop up this year.

    Trip Advisor on Christmas Dinner (2013)

    Eater Boston's Christmas Map (Updated 12/16/2013)

    What Chinese Restaurants are Open On Christmas Day– (2012)

    Christmas Day Brunch (2012)

    Open on Cape Cod on Christmas Day (just in case you're going there) (2012)

    Xmas Lunch in Boston  (2012)

    Restaurant open Christmas Day in Newton or nearby (2012)

    Other resources:

    The reservation site, Open Table has a feature list of its member restaurants with Christmas Eve Specials and Christmas Day Dining. 

    But, you can also input information on the reservation you want on Open Table and come up with a list of restaurants open at that hour. Change the hour and the list will change and some are not on the featured lists. It's a good place to start.

    The Boston Chefs site has posted a list of its participating member restaurants with special features for the holidays. Here's the Christmas Eve List & the Christmas Day list.

    From Last Year: Eater Boston has a list of Where to Eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We'll update with the new one when it's available.

    They have many good choices to add to your holiday options. We'd particularly like to recommend:

    Island Creek Oyster Bar for Christmas Eve. It's one of our favorite places, and I can just imagine what a happy scene it will be on that evening. 

    Eastern Standard: They will be open Christmas Day for breakfast and then for a special 3-course prix fixe meal. 

    Market by John-Georges: They will have a la carte items from their regular menu in addition to a special holiday menu on Christmas Day.

    Subscribe to the comment feed of this post or follow us on Twitter, and we'll notify you of updates to this post.

    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!

    Details: 

    Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Photo: from iStockphoto.com

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those 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.

    Enhanced by Zemanta
  • Where to Dine on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day 2013 in Boston

     

    UPDATE: Where to Dine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2015 in Boston

     

    Where can you dine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the Boston area? There are a few great choices! But, if you're planning to dine at one of Boston's fine restaurants over the holidays, make a reservation!

    6a00e54fc42bb888340120a6fe484b970b-800wi

    Don't be surprised if a deposit is required to hold your reservation or if there are special menus and seatings for these special holiday meals. Unfortunately, restaurants have been forced to do this because of people who make multiple reservations so they can decide at the last minute where to go. This leaves other diners without choices and the restaurants with empty tables.

    What's Open on Christmas Eve?

    There are more choices on Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day. Some of our favorite, special places have wonderful holiday meals planned for those who reserve for the 24th.

    • The legendary team from L'Espalier offers a prix fixe Christmas Eve menu.  
    • La Morra in Brookline is an ideal spot to meet friends or family from that side of the Boston area. They are offering family style dining, "sharing traditional dishes of Piedmonte."
    • Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel has a four course prixe fixe menu set for the 24th.
    • The Petit Robert Bistro locations will be open with regular meals and specials. We like the one on Columbus Ave in the South End.

    At the early date of this posting, some places have not announced their traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes events for Chistmas Eve. Check back or follow us on Twitter for updates on this fun holiday dining option. 

    • Grotto has their Feast listed on Boston Chefs. This tiny Beacon Hill gem was one of the first to present this holiday tradition.
    • Kitchen and Marliave, Grotto's siblings in the South End and Downtown, are joining in the festive fish feast.

    What Boston Area Restaurants Are Open on Christmas?

    Hotel restaurants, since they must serve the hotel's guests, are normally open on holidays.

    In Boston, hotel restaurants open both the 24th and 25th include some excellent choices:




    Other places open on holidays would include chains like Legal Seafoods and many restaurants in Chinatown. We once asked a long time Boston cabbie where we could get something we needed on Christmas, and he said Chinatown was the place to go.

    Here are some conversations on Chowhound.com and Trip Advisor about Christmas dining. We'll add more as we see them pop up this year.

    Trip Advisor on Christmas Dinner (2013)

    Eater Boston's Christmas Map (Updated 12/16/2013)

    What Chinese Restaurants are Open On Christmas Day– (2012)

    Christmas Day Brunch (2012)

    Open on Cape Cod on Christmas Day (just in case you're going there) (2012)

    Xmas Lunch in Boston  (2012)

    Restaurant open Christmas Day in Newton or nearby (2012)

    Other resources:

    The reservation site, Open Table has a feature list of its member restaurants with Christmas Eve Specials and Christmas Day Dining. 

    But, you can also input information on the reservation you want on Open Table and come up with a list of restaurants open at that hour. Change the hour and the list will change and some are not on the featured lists. It's a good place to start.

    The Boston Chefs site has posted a list of its participating member restaurants with special features for the holidays. Here's the Christmas Eve List & the Christmas Day list.

    From Last Year: Eater Boston has a list of Where to Eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We'll update with the new one when it's available.

    They have many good choices to add to your holiday options. We'd particularly like to recommend:

    Island Creek Oyster Bar for Christmas Eve. It's one of our favorite places, and I can just imagine what a happy scene it will be on that evening. 

    Eastern Standard: They will be open Christmas Day for breakfast and then for a special 3-course prix fixe meal. 

    Market by John-Georges: They will have a la carte items from their regular menu in addition to a special holiday menu on Christmas Day.

    Subscribe to the comment feed of this post or follow us on Twitter, and we'll notify you of updates to this post.

    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!

    Details: 

    Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Photo: from iStockphoto.com

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those 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.

    Enhanced by Zemanta
  • We Didn’t Find Sunday Dogs Olive and Ziggy, They Found Us!

    While we didn’t know where we’d find this week’s Sunday Dogs, we never guessed that Olive and Ziggy would find us!

    Our recent post on the Hotel Fensgate opened a conversation with a reader, Rich, who not only has two wonderful rescue dogs, but also happens to be a terrific photographer. So, we asked him to send us a photo of his girls, along with their stories, for today’s feature.  

    Olive and Ziggie May 2002 copy

    Ziggy (dressed in black), who has a Terrier/Chihuahua background, came from Buddy Dog in Sudbury when she was just a year old. Rich says, “She wants to play 24/7, mostly just fetch (and of course keep-away … from me, that is). She is very territorial.”

    Olive, a Rat Terrier (with very expressive ears), was rescued at 2 years of age, after having survived a home with an abusive husband. Rich told us, “It took a year before she would even go near a man. Fortunately we came along at the right time, and she has been a gem for the last 14 years.”

    Today, at 15 and 16 years of age, Oive and Ziggy are thriving. “We attribute their health and longevity to keeping them at the same weight all these years, with almost no human food.” As Rich says, they’re “still going strong!”

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

    And, to see more of Rich’s stunning photos Click Here.

    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!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photo Credit: Rich Snider (copyright image used with 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.