Al fresco feasts
A Boston picnic primer
By Julia Rappaport | Friday, July 31, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining News
Whether it’s a warm summer day or a cool summer night, one of the best ways to enjoy the season is by dining al fresco. Just pack a basket and head to one of the city’s great outdoor spots for a picnic lunch or dinner.
We polled some of Boston’s experts on picnic fare for tips on food to bring, where to buy it and of course, the best spots to sit back and feast.
“Our farmers market is a great place to start,” said chef Peter Davis of Henrietta’s Table, located in Harvard Square’s Charles Hotel. “What’s at the market is fresher than what any store will have.”
When planning his own outdoor fete, Davis stops by the market (Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., through November) for such staples as goat cheese from Carlisle Farmstead, bread from Cambridge’s Hi-Rise Bread Co., tomatoes and lettuce from Franklin’s Grateful Farm and some homemade pickles from a company called MoonBrine. And he never leaves without a stop by the Kimball Farm stand.
“I get whatever fruit they have at their table,” Davis said. “They do have a lot of nice produce, but their berries are just the best, and I always get the peaches when they’re available.”
Before hitting his favorite picnic stop - either JFK park or along the Charles River just across Memorial Drive - he makes sure to stop by his restaurant for a cup of fresh lemonade to go. The drink gets a boost from local strawberries or raspberries in season.
If you’re not in the Cambridge area, check out the Copley Square farmers market (along St. James Avenue and Dartmouth Street) on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the City Hall market (City Hall Plaza along Cambridge Street), Monday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., or check out massfarmersmarkets.org to find where your local farmers are selling their wares.
Susie Anderson, 26, and Chelsee Adams, 25, like to mix homemade treats with store-bought items to make picnics easier. The childhood friends, who grew up in Andover and now live in Brookline and Brighton respectively, write the popular food and lifestyle blog, WeAreNotMartha.com.
One of their favorite picnic items is a homemade quiche because it can be made ahead. Other musts: samples of different cheeses from Brookline’s Publick House Provisions (“They have little sizes that are only $5 or $6” each, Anderson said), a bottle of wine, homemade cupcakes and a citronella candle to ward off bugs - or add a little romance.
Small touches can take a picnic from meh to wow, they said. Adams loves freezing black grapes for a healthy dessert. Anderson likes bringing a jug of lemonade, which she keeps cool with ice cubes made from juice. “It’s a simple way to prevent the drinks from getting watered down,” Anderson said. But the duo never sacrifice practicality. “It can be fun to find a cute basket, but they’re not always that practical,” Anderson said. “We’d probably use a cooler. It can be a picnic without the basket.”
When organzing an outdoor soiree for friends, Anderson and Adams head to Corey Hill Outlook atop Brookline’s Summit Avenue.
Don’t have time to put together picnic fixings yourself? Boston’s BiNA Alimentari (571 Washington St.) offers customized picnic baskets. For $30, you can get the Garden Lunch - two sandwiches (from proscuitto and mozzarella to local, organic turkey with fresh tomato and mixed greens to a melted cheese-and-meatball sub), two bags of chips or popcorn, two drinks and two of BiNA’s macaroons or truffles. For a $40 refundable deposit, you can also snag a picnic basket and a blanket, as long as you return them within 24 hours. The store has other options, too, like the Antipasti in the Park basket ($50), and the staff will customize orders for those with allergies or dietary restrictions. The store also sells wine and champagne.
“I usually end up picnicking in the park (Public Garden),” said BiNA general manager Rachel Giannotti. “Though I’ve also been known to take a picnic out to one of the Harbor Islands for the day to get out of the city while still being in the city.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/general/view.bg?articleid=1188091
Friday, July 31, 2009
Dawat review
RSVP to Dawat’s ‘invitation to feast’
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, July 31, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
DAWAT: B
Dawat, a new Indian restaurant in Allston, occupies a culinarily significant spot. This was the location of Rangoli, Boston’s first Indian restaurant to veer away from the Moghul-style, Northern Indian menu ubiquitous at other Indian eateries and venture into exotic regional cuisines.
In the mid-1990s, Rangoli introduced Bostonians to dosa crepes, uttapam pancakes and Goan xacuti curries - Southern Indian treats previously unavailable. Today, of course, local Indian restaurants routinely offer dishes from across the gastronomically vast subcontinent. You can thank Rangoli.
How ironic then that Dawat (meaning “invitation to a feast”) is a throwback to pre-Rangoli Indian dining. It’s an unabashed Moghul-style eatery serving the Northern India saags, kormas, tikka masalas and tandoori grills we all know so well.
Typically, many of the sauces are prepared in advance. Then, at the last minute, the kitchen adds the protein of your choice: lamb, beef, chicken, fish or goat. Yes, goat - it’s the most adventurous item on the menu.
Then again, for many people, adventure may be overrated - especially when it comes to dinner. If you seek a stolid, no surprises, not-too-spicy, workaday Moghul Indian restaurant, visit Dawat. What it lacks in excitement, it compensates for in familiarity and the gracious hospitality of its staff.
Begin your meal with baingon ($5.95), rounds of pan-fried eggplant napped with tomato and dollops of yogurt. “Like Indian eggplant parm,” observes my friend Brian. It’s an apt description.
Cubes of morabba ($6.95), candied, baked pumpkin, are drizzled with garlicky yogurt sauce. Yogurt notwithstanding, it is dessert pretending to be an appetizer.
Dawat makes excellent pastry-wrapped minced lamb and green-pea samosa turnovers ($4.95) and deep-fried shredded vegetable chickpea batter pakora fritters ($4.95).
Dip them into tart-sweet tamarind sauce, tangy, mint chutney and peppery, onion-cayenne relish - that trinity of gratis condiments that’s a staple on Indian restaurant tables in Boston. A plate of papadum wafers costs $2.
Entrees arrive family-style with a bowl of clove-seasoned basmati rice speckled with caramelized onion.
Murgh chilli karai ($13.95) features chunks of tandoori chicken breast, tossed with slivered onions and sliced chilies in gingery tomato sauce. Normally incendiary prawn vindaloo ($14.95) of shrimp and potatoes in thick, vinegary gravy is more bland than expected.
Lamb bhuna ($13.95) is a tasty combo of lamb, green and red bell peppers and
onions in subtly sweettomato sauce. We devour murgh korma ($12.95), chicken in creamy ground almond sauce. The food here is consistent, if predictable.
Do you like saag paneer? Dawat’s paneer saagwala ($12.95) is a reliable rendition of that classic dish of homemade cheese and gingery, braised spinach. How about baingon bhartha ($12.95)? Dawat’s interpretation of this mashed eggplant fave is aggressively smoky and good.
It may be oily, but you’ll like paprika-red, curried goat rogan josh ($13.95). There’s raw and cooked ginger aplenty in the goat dhansak ($15.95), with the meat in creamy stewed split peas. When eating goat, watch out for bones.
Breads are equally accomplished. We especially enjoyed Peshwari naan ($3.95) studded with dried fruits and sprinkled with coconut, and pillowy puffed whole-wheat poori ($2.50) you tear apart by hand.
The chardonnay- and cabernet-intense wine list is well-intentioned but not well-suited to the cuisine. You’ll do better with 22-ounce bottles of hoppy Taj Mahal lager ($6.50).
Desserts are the sugary confections you’ll find at any Indian restaurant - soupy kheer ($3.95) rice pudding and rose-syrupy gulabjamun ($3.95) milk dumplings. There’s also a small selection of American sweets (ice cream, fruit salad, pineapple cake).
Dawat is a pleasant space with wrought-iron furniture and patriotic white linen tablecloths, red napkins and cobalt-blue water glasses.
129 Brighton Ave., Allston. 617-526-0200; dawat
restaurantboston.com. Price: $20-$40
Hours: Lunch: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Daily, 5-11 p.m.; Brunch: Sat. & Sun., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bar: Beer and wine
Credit: All
Recession specials: 10-
percent-off dinner Web coupon
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: On street
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1188089
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, July 31, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
DAWAT: B
Dawat, a new Indian restaurant in Allston, occupies a culinarily significant spot. This was the location of Rangoli, Boston’s first Indian restaurant to veer away from the Moghul-style, Northern Indian menu ubiquitous at other Indian eateries and venture into exotic regional cuisines.
In the mid-1990s, Rangoli introduced Bostonians to dosa crepes, uttapam pancakes and Goan xacuti curries - Southern Indian treats previously unavailable. Today, of course, local Indian restaurants routinely offer dishes from across the gastronomically vast subcontinent. You can thank Rangoli.
How ironic then that Dawat (meaning “invitation to a feast”) is a throwback to pre-Rangoli Indian dining. It’s an unabashed Moghul-style eatery serving the Northern India saags, kormas, tikka masalas and tandoori grills we all know so well.
Typically, many of the sauces are prepared in advance. Then, at the last minute, the kitchen adds the protein of your choice: lamb, beef, chicken, fish or goat. Yes, goat - it’s the most adventurous item on the menu.
Then again, for many people, adventure may be overrated - especially when it comes to dinner. If you seek a stolid, no surprises, not-too-spicy, workaday Moghul Indian restaurant, visit Dawat. What it lacks in excitement, it compensates for in familiarity and the gracious hospitality of its staff.
Begin your meal with baingon ($5.95), rounds of pan-fried eggplant napped with tomato and dollops of yogurt. “Like Indian eggplant parm,” observes my friend Brian. It’s an apt description.
Cubes of morabba ($6.95), candied, baked pumpkin, are drizzled with garlicky yogurt sauce. Yogurt notwithstanding, it is dessert pretending to be an appetizer.
Dawat makes excellent pastry-wrapped minced lamb and green-pea samosa turnovers ($4.95) and deep-fried shredded vegetable chickpea batter pakora fritters ($4.95).
Dip them into tart-sweet tamarind sauce, tangy, mint chutney and peppery, onion-cayenne relish - that trinity of gratis condiments that’s a staple on Indian restaurant tables in Boston. A plate of papadum wafers costs $2.
Entrees arrive family-style with a bowl of clove-seasoned basmati rice speckled with caramelized onion.
Murgh chilli karai ($13.95) features chunks of tandoori chicken breast, tossed with slivered onions and sliced chilies in gingery tomato sauce. Normally incendiary prawn vindaloo ($14.95) of shrimp and potatoes in thick, vinegary gravy is more bland than expected.
Lamb bhuna ($13.95) is a tasty combo of lamb, green and red bell peppers and
onions in subtly sweettomato sauce. We devour murgh korma ($12.95), chicken in creamy ground almond sauce. The food here is consistent, if predictable.
Do you like saag paneer? Dawat’s paneer saagwala ($12.95) is a reliable rendition of that classic dish of homemade cheese and gingery, braised spinach. How about baingon bhartha ($12.95)? Dawat’s interpretation of this mashed eggplant fave is aggressively smoky and good.
It may be oily, but you’ll like paprika-red, curried goat rogan josh ($13.95). There’s raw and cooked ginger aplenty in the goat dhansak ($15.95), with the meat in creamy stewed split peas. When eating goat, watch out for bones.
Breads are equally accomplished. We especially enjoyed Peshwari naan ($3.95) studded with dried fruits and sprinkled with coconut, and pillowy puffed whole-wheat poori ($2.50) you tear apart by hand.
The chardonnay- and cabernet-intense wine list is well-intentioned but not well-suited to the cuisine. You’ll do better with 22-ounce bottles of hoppy Taj Mahal lager ($6.50).
Desserts are the sugary confections you’ll find at any Indian restaurant - soupy kheer ($3.95) rice pudding and rose-syrupy gulabjamun ($3.95) milk dumplings. There’s also a small selection of American sweets (ice cream, fruit salad, pineapple cake).
Dawat is a pleasant space with wrought-iron furniture and patriotic white linen tablecloths, red napkins and cobalt-blue water glasses.
129 Brighton Ave., Allston. 617-526-0200; dawat
restaurantboston.com. Price: $20-$40
Hours: Lunch: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Daily, 5-11 p.m.; Brunch: Sat. & Sun., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bar: Beer and wine
Credit: All
Recession specials: 10-
percent-off dinner Web coupon
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: On street
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1188089
Massachusetts liquor stores launch effort to repeal new tax
Package stores launch effort to repeal new sales tax
By Associated Press | Friday, July 31, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
BOSTON — An initiative that would again exempt alcohol from the state sales tax may be heading to the ballot in 2010.
The budget signed by Gov. Deval Patrick ended the sales tax exemption for beer, wine and alcohol sold in stores. The budget also increased the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent.
Patrick said lifting the exemption was needed to help balance the budget. Store owners say the new tax will hurt sales.
On Thursday, the proposed question was filed with the Attorney General’s office.
Massachusetts Package Stores Association Executive Director Frank Anzalotti was the first signature on the petition and is listed at the contact. Supporters would need to collect tens of thousands of signatures of registered voters.
The new sales tax takes effect on Saturday.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1188176
By Associated Press | Friday, July 31, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
BOSTON — An initiative that would again exempt alcohol from the state sales tax may be heading to the ballot in 2010.
The budget signed by Gov. Deval Patrick ended the sales tax exemption for beer, wine and alcohol sold in stores. The budget also increased the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent.
Patrick said lifting the exemption was needed to help balance the budget. Store owners say the new tax will hurt sales.
On Thursday, the proposed question was filed with the Attorney General’s office.
Massachusetts Package Stores Association Executive Director Frank Anzalotti was the first signature on the petition and is listed at the contact. Supporters would need to collect tens of thousands of signatures of registered voters.
The new sales tax takes effect on Saturday.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1188176
Lawmakers restore zoo money
NEW ENGLAND IN BRIEF
Lawmakers OK $80m in new spending
July 31, 2009
BOSTON
Late Wednesday night, state lawmakers put the finishing touches on $80 million in appropriations that partially undoes some of the $147 million in vetoes Governor Deval Patrick made to the fiscal year 2010 budget. The proposal would give $2.5 million to Greater Boston’s two zoos, Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and Stone Zoo in Stoneham, whose budgets were slashed earlier this year. It would also provide $40 million for the administration to craft a scaled-down health plan for 30,000 legal immigrants. Some worry that the governor will veto the newly approved spending. (State House News Service)
Lawmakers OK $80m in new spending
July 31, 2009
BOSTON
Late Wednesday night, state lawmakers put the finishing touches on $80 million in appropriations that partially undoes some of the $147 million in vetoes Governor Deval Patrick made to the fiscal year 2010 budget. The proposal would give $2.5 million to Greater Boston’s two zoos, Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and Stone Zoo in Stoneham, whose budgets were slashed earlier this year. It would also provide $40 million for the administration to craft a scaled-down health plan for 30,000 legal immigrants. Some worry that the governor will veto the newly approved spending. (State House News Service)
MBTA partners with Google to help riders
The Boston Globe
MBTA announces latest arrival: Google mapping tool for riders
By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent | July 31, 2009
Whether you are doing it from Beijing or Worcester, planning a trip in the Hub just got easier.
Through a partnership with Google Transit, MBTA riders will now be able to calculate their route and transit time and get walking directions by logging onto Google Maps, a Web-based application that provides transit information for cities around the world.
“This really makes a lot of information more accessible,’’ Steve Vinter, Google Boston engineering director, said yesterday at a press conference at South Station. “There are a lot of people like me who take the T to work but do not know much about the transit system outside of that.’’
The T’s website already offers scheduling information, customized planning tools, and fare information. It also recently added CharlieCard services to its site that allow users to buy cards and manage their accounts.
But Google has better technological resources and will bring a larger audience to transportation services, said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
“First off, it is the brand; everybody knows it, everybody trusts it,’’ he said. “It has such a great reach.’’
MBTA and local officials lauded Grabauskas’s leadership on the project.
Grabauskas, who in recent days has found his leadership questioned by Governor Deval Patrick and some members of the T’s board of directors, answered questions from reporters after the conference.
But he steered clear of politics, saying the recent controversy should not distract from the day’s announcement and other MBTA accomplishments.
Bostonians have now joined the ranks of residents in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Moscow, Montreal, and some 250 other cities, who have been using Google Maps in recent years for mass transit.
But not everyone at yesterday’s news conference was trumpeting the partnership. Jonathan Kamens, 39, of Brighton said Google Maps’s public transit routes are faulty because they rely on schedules provided by the MBTA, which are sometimes wrong.
Kamens, a software engineer, said his complaints to T officials have gone unaddressed for years, which drove him to pass out fliers questioning the deal.
Lisa Rivera, a spokeswoman for the MBTA, said that the authority was unaware of his complaints but that officials would look into them.
“We have an extensive planning and scheduling department and employees who are constantly updating our system,’’ she said.
Riding on the Red Line yesterday, Katherine Spencer said the online tool sounds convenient.
“I will be using it a lot now that I know,’’ said Spencer, who works as a financial associate in downtown Boston. “I’ll Google practically anything.’’
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
MBTA announces latest arrival: Google mapping tool for riders
By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent | July 31, 2009
Whether you are doing it from Beijing or Worcester, planning a trip in the Hub just got easier.
Through a partnership with Google Transit, MBTA riders will now be able to calculate their route and transit time and get walking directions by logging onto Google Maps, a Web-based application that provides transit information for cities around the world.
“This really makes a lot of information more accessible,’’ Steve Vinter, Google Boston engineering director, said yesterday at a press conference at South Station. “There are a lot of people like me who take the T to work but do not know much about the transit system outside of that.’’
The T’s website already offers scheduling information, customized planning tools, and fare information. It also recently added CharlieCard services to its site that allow users to buy cards and manage their accounts.
But Google has better technological resources and will bring a larger audience to transportation services, said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
“First off, it is the brand; everybody knows it, everybody trusts it,’’ he said. “It has such a great reach.’’
MBTA and local officials lauded Grabauskas’s leadership on the project.
Grabauskas, who in recent days has found his leadership questioned by Governor Deval Patrick and some members of the T’s board of directors, answered questions from reporters after the conference.
But he steered clear of politics, saying the recent controversy should not distract from the day’s announcement and other MBTA accomplishments.
Bostonians have now joined the ranks of residents in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Moscow, Montreal, and some 250 other cities, who have been using Google Maps in recent years for mass transit.
But not everyone at yesterday’s news conference was trumpeting the partnership. Jonathan Kamens, 39, of Brighton said Google Maps’s public transit routes are faulty because they rely on schedules provided by the MBTA, which are sometimes wrong.
Kamens, a software engineer, said his complaints to T officials have gone unaddressed for years, which drove him to pass out fliers questioning the deal.
Lisa Rivera, a spokeswoman for the MBTA, said that the authority was unaware of his complaints but that officials would look into them.
“We have an extensive planning and scheduling department and employees who are constantly updating our system,’’ she said.
Riding on the Red Line yesterday, Katherine Spencer said the online tool sounds convenient.
“I will be using it a lot now that I know,’’ said Spencer, who works as a financial associate in downtown Boston. “I’ll Google practically anything.’’
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Study says MBTA fare hike would reduce ridership
Fare hike would cut ridership on MBTA
Agency would still gain funds, report says
By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | July 31, 2009
Just one year after a record number of passengers flocked to the MBTA, the agency has come back to earth, as the price of gas has declined and the economy soured. And it can expect to lose another 5 percent of its riders if a proposed 19.5 percent fare hike is approved, according to a new state analysis.
Even that estimate could prove to be optimistic. The same state analysts predicted a 5 percent drop in riders before the last fare hike, in 2007, only to see an even larger dip: 9.5 percent fewer trips in the first year.
“Gas prices and the economy are going to dictate what that decline is and then when the rebound is,’’ said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA.
The analysis, conducted by a state government planning department that is independent of the T, also predicts that the fare hike, if approved, would result in a minimal impact on clean air, in part because analysts estimate that one-fourth of those who quit using the T will walk.
And they say the effect on poor and minority neighborhoods would not be disproportionate, based on an analysis that considers factors such as the modes of transportation available in different neighborhoods and their costs.
Despite losing passengers, the T can expect to generate $69 million more from the higher prices, according to the analysis.
The report from the Central Transportation Planning Staff acknowledges the predictions are inexact, and it includes a second method of analysis that estimates a smaller drop in passengers, 2.6 percent, as well as a different revenue gain. But those figures are considered less likely.
The report’s chief author, Elizabeth M. Moore, declined to comment.
Passenger counts at the T have dropped since last summer’s records, achieved when gas was zooming to more than $4 per gallon. A weak economy traditionally leads to a decline in public transit use, as fewer commuters have regular jobs. The T currently counts about 1.2 million passenger trips on an average weekday, with each segment of a rail or a bus ride considered a separate trip.
The MBTA is scheduled to hold a series of public hearings on the fare hike in August.
Grabauskas said the increase would probably take effect in January, although it could start in December.
The T is offering riders an opportunity to comment on possible cuts in service that would reduce the size of the hike. But Secretary of Transportation James A. Aloisi Jr., who chairs the T board, has said he believes that riders would prefer to pay more than lose bus routes or have less frequent subway and train service.
The fare debate comes as Grabauskas’s future is in doubt, following a public fight with Aloisi and a highly critical letter from three other members of the eight-member board that oversees the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Transit advocates, although watching the leadership fight, are immediately focused on the fare hike, with several organizations saying this week that they fear it would have direr impacts than predicted.
Taisha O’Bryant, chairwoman of the T Riders Union, said minority and low-income riders would certainly take a hit if fares go up.
“I’m one of them,’’ she said, pointing out that she would struggle to pay more for her monthly pass.
Environmental groups say they are also taking a closer look at the clean air estimates in the report, worrying that it assumes that too many people who leave public transit would walk instead of drive.
“It’s really going to change what it’s like to get around Boston and the Greater Boston area,’’ said Noah Chesnin of the Conservation Law Foundation.
The price of a monthly Link Pass with access to bus and subway would rise from $59 to $69. Monthly passes for senior citizens and students would also go up, from $20 to $24.
Those who use cash for a single bus or subway ride would be hit hardest, with fares rising by 50 cents to $2 and $2.50 respectively. Single rides with a Charlie Card would continue to cost less, going from $1.25 to $1.50 for a bus ride and from $1.70 to $2 for the subway.
Commuter rail fares, which are divided into numerous zones, would rise to as much as $280 per month, a $30 increase.
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Agency would still gain funds, report says
By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | July 31, 2009
Just one year after a record number of passengers flocked to the MBTA, the agency has come back to earth, as the price of gas has declined and the economy soured. And it can expect to lose another 5 percent of its riders if a proposed 19.5 percent fare hike is approved, according to a new state analysis.
Even that estimate could prove to be optimistic. The same state analysts predicted a 5 percent drop in riders before the last fare hike, in 2007, only to see an even larger dip: 9.5 percent fewer trips in the first year.
“Gas prices and the economy are going to dictate what that decline is and then when the rebound is,’’ said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA.
The analysis, conducted by a state government planning department that is independent of the T, also predicts that the fare hike, if approved, would result in a minimal impact on clean air, in part because analysts estimate that one-fourth of those who quit using the T will walk.
And they say the effect on poor and minority neighborhoods would not be disproportionate, based on an analysis that considers factors such as the modes of transportation available in different neighborhoods and their costs.
Despite losing passengers, the T can expect to generate $69 million more from the higher prices, according to the analysis.
The report from the Central Transportation Planning Staff acknowledges the predictions are inexact, and it includes a second method of analysis that estimates a smaller drop in passengers, 2.6 percent, as well as a different revenue gain. But those figures are considered less likely.
The report’s chief author, Elizabeth M. Moore, declined to comment.
Passenger counts at the T have dropped since last summer’s records, achieved when gas was zooming to more than $4 per gallon. A weak economy traditionally leads to a decline in public transit use, as fewer commuters have regular jobs. The T currently counts about 1.2 million passenger trips on an average weekday, with each segment of a rail or a bus ride considered a separate trip.
The MBTA is scheduled to hold a series of public hearings on the fare hike in August.
Grabauskas said the increase would probably take effect in January, although it could start in December.
The T is offering riders an opportunity to comment on possible cuts in service that would reduce the size of the hike. But Secretary of Transportation James A. Aloisi Jr., who chairs the T board, has said he believes that riders would prefer to pay more than lose bus routes or have less frequent subway and train service.
The fare debate comes as Grabauskas’s future is in doubt, following a public fight with Aloisi and a highly critical letter from three other members of the eight-member board that oversees the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Transit advocates, although watching the leadership fight, are immediately focused on the fare hike, with several organizations saying this week that they fear it would have direr impacts than predicted.
Taisha O’Bryant, chairwoman of the T Riders Union, said minority and low-income riders would certainly take a hit if fares go up.
“I’m one of them,’’ she said, pointing out that she would struggle to pay more for her monthly pass.
Environmental groups say they are also taking a closer look at the clean air estimates in the report, worrying that it assumes that too many people who leave public transit would walk instead of drive.
“It’s really going to change what it’s like to get around Boston and the Greater Boston area,’’ said Noah Chesnin of the Conservation Law Foundation.
The price of a monthly Link Pass with access to bus and subway would rise from $59 to $69. Monthly passes for senior citizens and students would also go up, from $20 to $24.
Those who use cash for a single bus or subway ride would be hit hardest, with fares rising by 50 cents to $2 and $2.50 respectively. Single rides with a Charlie Card would continue to cost less, going from $1.25 to $1.50 for a bus ride and from $1.70 to $2 for the subway.
Commuter rail fares, which are divided into numerous zones, would rise to as much as $280 per month, a $30 increase.
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Fenway workers reach settlement with Aramark over tips
Fenway workers win settlement over tips
Aramark agrees to pay $1.5m
By David Abel, Globe Staff | July 31, 2009
Fenway Park food service workers who filed a class-action lawsuit against Aramark Sports have reached a settlement with the ballpark’s concessionaire, which they accused of pocketing their tips and service charges.
The $1.5 million settlement, if approved by a federal judge, would provide a minimum of $100 to short-term employees and tens of thousands of dollars to those who have worked for the company the longest.
“The case has been amicably resolved,’’ said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, who will get a third but declined to comment further, citing an agreement with Aramark not to discuss the settlement.
Lawyers representing Aramark did not return calls.
The settlement, which received preliminary approval last month from the federal district court in Massachusetts, is part of a larger legal battle between food workers and their employers. Last month, food service workers at Boston’s two public convention centers agreed to settle a similar suit against Aramark for $1.75 million.
In both cases, the workers claimed that Aramark charged customers an “administrative fee,’’ which they said amounted to tips that employees never received. Aramark has denied the charges.
Liss-Riordan has filed similar lawsuits against the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons hotels, Top of the Hub, and local golf clubs, among other establishments she contends have violated the state’s tips law.
The Fenway lawsuit was brought in February 2008 by Michael Hayes, a bartender at the ballpark. Hayes and Brian Hickey, the other named plaintiff, will receive at least $25,000 each. Neither of them could be reached.
The rest of the money will be divided among hundreds of employees who provided catering services at events at Fenway and thousands of employees who worked in concessions between Feb. 14, 2002, and June 25, 2009. The settlement sets aside a disproportionate share of the money for employees who worked at catering events since 2005.
The plaintiffs asserted that Aramark violated other laws, including failing to pay wages and overtime. But the court dismissed those claims.
The employees have until Sept. 8 to file a claim for compensation.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Aramark agrees to pay $1.5m
By David Abel, Globe Staff | July 31, 2009
Fenway Park food service workers who filed a class-action lawsuit against Aramark Sports have reached a settlement with the ballpark’s concessionaire, which they accused of pocketing their tips and service charges.
The $1.5 million settlement, if approved by a federal judge, would provide a minimum of $100 to short-term employees and tens of thousands of dollars to those who have worked for the company the longest.
“The case has been amicably resolved,’’ said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, who will get a third but declined to comment further, citing an agreement with Aramark not to discuss the settlement.
Lawyers representing Aramark did not return calls.
The settlement, which received preliminary approval last month from the federal district court in Massachusetts, is part of a larger legal battle between food workers and their employers. Last month, food service workers at Boston’s two public convention centers agreed to settle a similar suit against Aramark for $1.75 million.
In both cases, the workers claimed that Aramark charged customers an “administrative fee,’’ which they said amounted to tips that employees never received. Aramark has denied the charges.
Liss-Riordan has filed similar lawsuits against the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons hotels, Top of the Hub, and local golf clubs, among other establishments she contends have violated the state’s tips law.
The Fenway lawsuit was brought in February 2008 by Michael Hayes, a bartender at the ballpark. Hayes and Brian Hickey, the other named plaintiff, will receive at least $25,000 each. Neither of them could be reached.
The rest of the money will be divided among hundreds of employees who provided catering services at events at Fenway and thousands of employees who worked in concessions between Feb. 14, 2002, and June 25, 2009. The settlement sets aside a disproportionate share of the money for employees who worked at catering events since 2005.
The plaintiffs asserted that Aramark violated other laws, including failing to pay wages and overtime. But the court dismissed those claims.
The employees have until Sept. 8 to file a claim for compensation.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Jimmy's to be replaced by Legal Seafoods
Famed eatery replaced on Boston waterfront
By Associated Press | Thursday, July 30, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
BOSTON — Jimmy’s Harborside, one of Boston’s most well-known restaurants, will not be rebuilt and will be replaced at its waterfront location by Legal Sea Foods.
The new restaurant will be the largest in the Legal’s chain. Owner Roger Berkowitz told The Boston Globe it would be three stories tall with 20,000 square feet of space.
Jimmy Doulos first opened the South Boston restaurant as Liberty Cafeteria in 1924. It was expanded and renamed "Jimmy’s Harborside" in 1955.
The restaurant was demolished in 2007 after its foundation began to crumble. But the Doulos family continued to work with developers in the hopes of rebuilding and reopening Jimmy’s.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1188016
By Associated Press | Thursday, July 30, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
BOSTON — Jimmy’s Harborside, one of Boston’s most well-known restaurants, will not be rebuilt and will be replaced at its waterfront location by Legal Sea Foods.
The new restaurant will be the largest in the Legal’s chain. Owner Roger Berkowitz told The Boston Globe it would be three stories tall with 20,000 square feet of space.
Jimmy Doulos first opened the South Boston restaurant as Liberty Cafeteria in 1924. It was expanded and renamed "Jimmy’s Harborside" in 1955.
The restaurant was demolished in 2007 after its foundation began to crumble. But the Doulos family continued to work with developers in the hopes of rebuilding and reopening Jimmy’s.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1188016
Developer breaks ground today on Jimmy's Harborside site
Where Jimmy’s stood, a Legal’s will rise
Developer breaks ground on site
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | July 30, 2009
When the redevelopment of Jimmy’s Harborside began, Doulos family members faced a difficult choice: Fight to save the eatery they started in 1924, or surrender its prime location.
They tried to fight, but the price was too steep. The restaurant’s foundation was sinking into Boston Harbor, and its cavernous interior required top-to-bottom renovations.
Now, after nearly 85 years, Jimmy’s won’t be back. In its place will be a three-story Legal Sea Foods that its owners say will be the flagship of the chain.
“We’re going to call the complex Legal’s Harborside, and part of that is a tip of the cap to Jimmy’s,’’ said Roger Berkowitz, whose family founded Legal Sea Foods in Cambridge. “They really developed this site and made it what it is.’’
Today the Cresset Group, a real estate firm, will break ground for three new buildings that will accom modate top-shelf office space and four restaurants at the old Jimmy’s site. In addition to Legal’s, Cresset - which has the rights to develop the property - has signed up Zed451, an upscale grill with locations in Chicago and Boca Raton, Fla., to open at the location.
The changing of the guard at Jimmy’s reflects a larger transformation underway on the South Boston Waterfront, where small family-owned restaurants founded generations ago are being replaced by chains and high-end eateries.
“It’s sad. My parents used to work over there years ago,’’ Jimmy Klidaras, the owner of the nearby No Name Restaurant, said of the final passing of Jimmy’s Harborside. “This area is losing a lot, a piece of its history.’’
Like the Douloses, the Klidarases are Greek immigrants whose modest enterprise became a neighborhood institution. By contrast, the Berkowitzes parlayed the success of their first few Legal Sea Foods restaurants into a powerhouse chain, with outlets in nine states and the District of Columbia.
The new one on the Boston waterfront will be its largest yet - 20,000 square feet over three stories, with each floor offering a different ambiance.
Berkowitz said the first floor will be for casual diners seeking a quick cup of clam chowder and a plate of oysters. The second floor will be more upscale, with a white-tablecloth-like feel and fine dining options. The third floor, which is still being designed, will feature a large roof deck and bar with views of the harbor.
“This is not a restaurant we plan to replicate anywhere else,’’ Berkowitz said. “Since waterfront locations are so hard to come by, we felt it really needed to be something unique compared to what we’ve done at other locations.’’
With two more restaurants to fill at the property, Edward Nardi, president of Cresset Group, said his firm is trying to be sensitive to the need to have unique businesses in the area. “We’re trying to see what else is out there that’s not necessarily a chain,’’ he said. “We want to go slow and see what’s the best fit.’’
The Jimmy’s location is owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority. Cresset first teamed with the Doulos family to redevelop the crumbling property in the early 2000s.
“Keeping them there was a priority,’’ Nardi said, but “in today’s world, the buildout and carrying costs were a significant hurdle for them.’’
With the property deteriorating, Jimmy’s was demolished in early 2007 and the Douloses sold the liquor license to Legal Sea Foods. Still the family continued to explore ways to return to the site. Discussions with Cresset ended in the latter half of 2007, Nardi said.
Kim Doulos, the restaurant’s most recent chief executive, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Her grandfather, Jimmy Doulos, was a 17-year-old Greek immigrant when he opened the restaurant as the Liberty Cafeteria in 1924. In 1955, he expanded the eatery and reopened as Jimmy’s, with a sign spelling out his name in giant red letters.
For decades, it was a Boston institution, offering a classic night out on the town that appealed to average diners who took comfort in its unchanging ambiance and fresh fish served for $15. As the decades wore on, its consistency became one of its quirks. It continued to serve uncomplicated food in wicker baskets at antique tables with lanterns for ceiling fixtures.
Meanwhile, across the street, the Berkowitzes opened Legal Test Kitchen in 2006. It features a back-lighted marble bar and modern table accents, touchscreen menus and docking stations for iPods, and serves Asian fusion cuisine. A couple blocks away at the Westin Hotel is Sauciety, which features seared scallops served with a vanilla bean beurre blanc.
As the once-barren Seaport District began to transform, Jimmy’s seemed to be more out of place. “Lifestyles have changed. People don’t have time for smoke-filled, two-martini lunches anymore,’’ said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. “Jimmy’s was geared toward businesspeople, but most people I know just eat their lunch at their desks.’’
The redevelopment of the restaurant property is now one of the few projects moving forward on the South Boston Waterfront. Nearby, developer Joe Fallon’s effort to transform the sprawling Fan Pier property into a 3-million-square-foot development is moving slowly because of tight credit markets.
Another stalled project is New England Development’s buildout of offices, a hotel, and retail stores on Pier 4, where another family of immigrants, the Athanases, continue to operate another Boston institution, Anthony’s Pier 4.
Michael Athanas said his family expects to be still serving baked stuffed lobster and other traditional fare in the new development.
“If it happens, we will be a part of it,’’ he said, “but that’s down the road.’’
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Developer breaks ground on site
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | July 30, 2009
When the redevelopment of Jimmy’s Harborside began, Doulos family members faced a difficult choice: Fight to save the eatery they started in 1924, or surrender its prime location.
They tried to fight, but the price was too steep. The restaurant’s foundation was sinking into Boston Harbor, and its cavernous interior required top-to-bottom renovations.
Now, after nearly 85 years, Jimmy’s won’t be back. In its place will be a three-story Legal Sea Foods that its owners say will be the flagship of the chain.
“We’re going to call the complex Legal’s Harborside, and part of that is a tip of the cap to Jimmy’s,’’ said Roger Berkowitz, whose family founded Legal Sea Foods in Cambridge. “They really developed this site and made it what it is.’’
Today the Cresset Group, a real estate firm, will break ground for three new buildings that will accom modate top-shelf office space and four restaurants at the old Jimmy’s site. In addition to Legal’s, Cresset - which has the rights to develop the property - has signed up Zed451, an upscale grill with locations in Chicago and Boca Raton, Fla., to open at the location.
The changing of the guard at Jimmy’s reflects a larger transformation underway on the South Boston Waterfront, where small family-owned restaurants founded generations ago are being replaced by chains and high-end eateries.
“It’s sad. My parents used to work over there years ago,’’ Jimmy Klidaras, the owner of the nearby No Name Restaurant, said of the final passing of Jimmy’s Harborside. “This area is losing a lot, a piece of its history.’’
Like the Douloses, the Klidarases are Greek immigrants whose modest enterprise became a neighborhood institution. By contrast, the Berkowitzes parlayed the success of their first few Legal Sea Foods restaurants into a powerhouse chain, with outlets in nine states and the District of Columbia.
The new one on the Boston waterfront will be its largest yet - 20,000 square feet over three stories, with each floor offering a different ambiance.
Berkowitz said the first floor will be for casual diners seeking a quick cup of clam chowder and a plate of oysters. The second floor will be more upscale, with a white-tablecloth-like feel and fine dining options. The third floor, which is still being designed, will feature a large roof deck and bar with views of the harbor.
“This is not a restaurant we plan to replicate anywhere else,’’ Berkowitz said. “Since waterfront locations are so hard to come by, we felt it really needed to be something unique compared to what we’ve done at other locations.’’
With two more restaurants to fill at the property, Edward Nardi, president of Cresset Group, said his firm is trying to be sensitive to the need to have unique businesses in the area. “We’re trying to see what else is out there that’s not necessarily a chain,’’ he said. “We want to go slow and see what’s the best fit.’’
The Jimmy’s location is owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority. Cresset first teamed with the Doulos family to redevelop the crumbling property in the early 2000s.
“Keeping them there was a priority,’’ Nardi said, but “in today’s world, the buildout and carrying costs were a significant hurdle for them.’’
With the property deteriorating, Jimmy’s was demolished in early 2007 and the Douloses sold the liquor license to Legal Sea Foods. Still the family continued to explore ways to return to the site. Discussions with Cresset ended in the latter half of 2007, Nardi said.
Kim Doulos, the restaurant’s most recent chief executive, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Her grandfather, Jimmy Doulos, was a 17-year-old Greek immigrant when he opened the restaurant as the Liberty Cafeteria in 1924. In 1955, he expanded the eatery and reopened as Jimmy’s, with a sign spelling out his name in giant red letters.
For decades, it was a Boston institution, offering a classic night out on the town that appealed to average diners who took comfort in its unchanging ambiance and fresh fish served for $15. As the decades wore on, its consistency became one of its quirks. It continued to serve uncomplicated food in wicker baskets at antique tables with lanterns for ceiling fixtures.
Meanwhile, across the street, the Berkowitzes opened Legal Test Kitchen in 2006. It features a back-lighted marble bar and modern table accents, touchscreen menus and docking stations for iPods, and serves Asian fusion cuisine. A couple blocks away at the Westin Hotel is Sauciety, which features seared scallops served with a vanilla bean beurre blanc.
As the once-barren Seaport District began to transform, Jimmy’s seemed to be more out of place. “Lifestyles have changed. People don’t have time for smoke-filled, two-martini lunches anymore,’’ said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. “Jimmy’s was geared toward businesspeople, but most people I know just eat their lunch at their desks.’’
The redevelopment of the restaurant property is now one of the few projects moving forward on the South Boston Waterfront. Nearby, developer Joe Fallon’s effort to transform the sprawling Fan Pier property into a 3-million-square-foot development is moving slowly because of tight credit markets.
Another stalled project is New England Development’s buildout of offices, a hotel, and retail stores on Pier 4, where another family of immigrants, the Athanases, continue to operate another Boston institution, Anthony’s Pier 4.
Michael Athanas said his family expects to be still serving baked stuffed lobster and other traditional fare in the new development.
“If it happens, we will be a part of it,’’ he said, “but that’s down the road.’’
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sampling of Boston area restaurants' staff meals
Chef’s table
Make-do cuisine or pasta for dinner? Must be what the staff is eating tonight.
By Devra First, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
They work hard to feed you. But what do chefs, servers, bussers, and dishwashers eat to fuel themselves for their shifts? Often that sustenance comes in the form of staff meal, also known as family meal, dishes prepared solely for those who work in the restaurant.
“People are really appreciative when staff meal is good,’’ says Michael Scelfo, chef at Temple Bar in Cambridge. “It’s a long day and long hours. It’s nice for everybody to sit down and eat together. In some ways, that’s more important than the actual meal itself.’’
The food isn’t anything fancy, nothing you’re likely to find on the menu. Because the meal is usually free, it must be cost-effective, making use of inexpensive starches and leftover bits of meat, fish, or vegetables. It is, in fact, the way more people are trying to cook today, deep in a recession. Nothing goes to waste.
“We use up whatever,’’ says Justin Melnick, executive chef at Tomasso Trattoria. “Not scraps, but for lack of a better term whatever kinds of odds and ends we’re not able to sell. When we butcher meat, we take the pieces we can’t use - whatever inexpensive things we can put together.’’
Tomasso’s staff meal can be anything from pasta with meatballs and salad to rice and beans, he says. There are a lot of Brazilians working at the Southborough restaurant, so sometimes they’ll prepare a native dish. The greens from beets might be turned into a salad. “There are a lot of potatoes, a lot of starches,’’ he says. “Every day I assign one of my cooks to be in charge. They have to turn something that’s potentially trash into something people get excited about having.’’
Sometimes that happens at staff meals. Sometimes it doesn’t.
“I’ve been really lucky,’’ says Rachel Klein, the chef at Aura. “Places I’ve been at have actually cared. Still, there are moments where there’s not much to work with. Pasta again. Oh, pasta again. Pasta with garlic and olive oil, great.’’ Aura doesn’t offer family meal because it’s in the Seaport Hotel, which has a staff cafeteria. Still, Klein tries to cook for her restaurant staff every couple of months. “It’s one of those things I miss because staff meal is so nice: We’re not all serious and focused right now. Let’s relax and have some food.’’
Jamie Bissonnette, the chef at Toro, admits to having produced some abysmal offerings in his time. “I used to do some pretty questionable staff meals,’’ he says. “I’ve taken the raft from consomme’’ - the stuff that floats to the top of the pot - “and baked it into meatloaf. I bought from [foodservice distributor] Paul Marks a bag of cooked chili and a bag of clam chowder for staff meal and inadvertently put them in the same pot. I called it Jamie B.’s world famous chili chowder.’’
The staff hated it. So the following day Bissonnette took the leftovers and made them into lasagna, baked with flour tortillas and cheddar. “The staff said, ‘This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had,’ ’’ he says. “I sing a song when I cook staff meal. It goes, ‘Once, twice, three times a staff meal.’ If you don’t finish it, you’re going to probably eat it again the next day.’’ (Lionel Richie would be so proud.)
Now he follows a rule laid out by Toro sous chef Mike Smith. “The best rule to have good staff meal is: Put cheese on it, bake it, and name it,’’ Bissonnette says. “Oftentimes the word ‘surprise’ is in it. ‘Cream of lunch’ is a frequently used term.’’ Asian rice with lap cheong sausage is another popular offering at the South End restaurant, as is just about anything that can serve as a vehicle for the hot sauce sriracha.
At Temple Bar, offerings have included sous chef Greg Boschetti’s chicken stir-fry, baked ziti, roasted chicken with macaroni and cheese and creamed spinach, and curried chicken salad. “Comfort food usually wins,’’ Scelfo says.
Eric Gburski, the executive chef and general manager at East Coast Grill in Cambridge, concurs: “The comfort things get people the most excited. They love burger day; we do nice big fat cheeseburgers. Barbecue, soups, a nice tomato sauce with ziti and cheese, macaroni and cheese.’’ They’ll repurpose leftover spit-roasted chicken into tacos, and occasionally even deep-fry a turkey or roast some beef to serve with mashed potatoes and gravy. “We try to be creative with our staff meal and make it fun,’’ he says.
Offering a good meal is simply good business, Gburski says. “We’ve found if you treat your people right, they treat you right.’’
“Would you send an army to fight on an empty stomach?’’ says Rudy Maniscalco, general manager of Temple Bar. “You’ve got to keep the staff as happy and content as possible if you want it to perform for you.’’
It’s also good for morale. “Because of the nature of the job, we’re usually inhaling staff meal in half-cold, intermittent bites while standing up in the kitchen, which is kind of a depressing way to eat,’’ says Kirsten Amann, a waitress at Toro who also does restaurant PR. “It’s comforting that our chef takes the extra time to make sure the food is delicious and that there’s enough to feed everybody.’’
“When people are doing really bad staff meals, it’s a big morale thing,’’ says Anthony Mazzotta, chef at Sasso in the Back Bay. “I’m not their mother and it’s not my job to feed them, but starting off on a good foot starts everything off well. I don’t want my cooks getting sick. I was there when I was young and working in New York. I was poor. We relied on staff meals.’’
Mazzotta says they try to mix things up at Sasso. Recently he took leftover pieces from a large striper and made striper fritters with coconut yogurt. Bolognese, tacos, salmon stir-fry, and burgers are other dishes the staff might eat. During Lent, there were veggie burgers. Friday is hot dog day: It’s an easy meal on a day that involves a lot of prep work. Pizza is also popular. “Nobody hates pizza,’’ Mazzotta says.
Just as eating together at home is good for the family, it also brings a restaurant’s staff together. “It’s a very good idea for the staff to sit and have dinner or lunch,’’ says Chung Yan, the husband of a Peach Farm employee, who often lends the Chinatown restaurant his English services. “They can sit down and talk about what happened during the day, whatever’s funny.’’
At Peach Farm, he says, there are two different dishes each day, and sometimes a soup. Beef with tomato, chopped pork steamed with soy sauce, pan-fried salmon with ginger and soy sauce, and watercress and pork soup are among the dishes served. If you’ve ever walked past the staff eating in a Chinese restaurant and coveted the food on their table, you’re not alone. “Once in a while we have requests from customers,’’ Yan says. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, what is that?’ If the boss is around he will answer and say, ‘Would you like to try?’ Then he will give the customer a small dish.’’
Family meal can also serve as a training ground. On Boylston Street, L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre share a kitchen, which means feeding 90 to 120 people every day. “We pretty much have to staff for it,’’ says Louis DiBiccari, chef at Sel de la Terre. “We carry one or two extra interns with staff meal in mind. What better way to learn about seasoning and cooking than to cook for chefs every day? We’re very comfortable with our opinions and happy to offer them. They learn at an accelerated pace that way; it’s a learning tool.’’
Dishes might include roast turkey, pork fried rice using bacon ends and other scraps, or a dish that recycles leftovers from the restaurant’s bakery. Focaccia becomes pizza; pastries are turned into bread pudding.
Perhaps no one in town has sampled more family meals than C.J. Husk of Island Creek Oysters (a.k.a. the Oyster Dude). In the course of making his deliveries, he says, he’s probably eaten the meals at about 30 different establishments.
“Staff meal is funny because in some places it’s competitive and people want to show what they can make, and sometimes it’s just like, OK, we have to eat so we’re just going to make something,’’ he says. “It can be really good. Sometimes it’s really bad. I’ll eat anything, so I usually think it’s really good.’’
About 63 percent of the time, he estimates, family meals are pasta. Some of his favorites: L’Espalier, because “they make the best pizza ever’’; Neptune Oyster, because the North End spot has a family feel and a small staff that’s easier to cook creatively for; and Craigie on Main, because the kitchen has high-quality leftover ingredients to work with.
At Craigie on Main in Cambridge, says chef Tony Maws, they’ll eat soup made from leftover fish once or twice a week, maybe a Thai-flavored version or an old-school chowder. There is plenty of pasta. Veal left after making stock can be turned into veal curry or Vietnamese fried veal, which “everyone flips out’’ for, Maws says. It’s floured, fried, and tossed with nuoc cham, chilies, scallions, and rice.
“I tell my staff that you can’t do what we do and cook two different ways: OK, I’m cooking staff meal, I’ll use one technique and old food or whatever, and cook another way for your guests,’’ he says. “I don’t care if it’s pasta with butter and parsley and chili flakes. Is the pasta cooked right, seasoned right? It has to be tasty. They’re cooking for me, they’re cooking for themselves.’’
In other words, the family meal can say as much about a restaurant as does the food it serves to paying guests.
“I don’t want to be too cliche,’’ Scelfo says, “but you can tell when someone cares and when they don’t. In this business, believe me, there are people who don’t, and kitchens that are just go go go. It comes through right away when effort is put forth. The people who are really passionate probably have the best staff meals.’’
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Make-do cuisine or pasta for dinner? Must be what the staff is eating tonight.
By Devra First, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
They work hard to feed you. But what do chefs, servers, bussers, and dishwashers eat to fuel themselves for their shifts? Often that sustenance comes in the form of staff meal, also known as family meal, dishes prepared solely for those who work in the restaurant.
“People are really appreciative when staff meal is good,’’ says Michael Scelfo, chef at Temple Bar in Cambridge. “It’s a long day and long hours. It’s nice for everybody to sit down and eat together. In some ways, that’s more important than the actual meal itself.’’
The food isn’t anything fancy, nothing you’re likely to find on the menu. Because the meal is usually free, it must be cost-effective, making use of inexpensive starches and leftover bits of meat, fish, or vegetables. It is, in fact, the way more people are trying to cook today, deep in a recession. Nothing goes to waste.
“We use up whatever,’’ says Justin Melnick, executive chef at Tomasso Trattoria. “Not scraps, but for lack of a better term whatever kinds of odds and ends we’re not able to sell. When we butcher meat, we take the pieces we can’t use - whatever inexpensive things we can put together.’’
Tomasso’s staff meal can be anything from pasta with meatballs and salad to rice and beans, he says. There are a lot of Brazilians working at the Southborough restaurant, so sometimes they’ll prepare a native dish. The greens from beets might be turned into a salad. “There are a lot of potatoes, a lot of starches,’’ he says. “Every day I assign one of my cooks to be in charge. They have to turn something that’s potentially trash into something people get excited about having.’’
Sometimes that happens at staff meals. Sometimes it doesn’t.
“I’ve been really lucky,’’ says Rachel Klein, the chef at Aura. “Places I’ve been at have actually cared. Still, there are moments where there’s not much to work with. Pasta again. Oh, pasta again. Pasta with garlic and olive oil, great.’’ Aura doesn’t offer family meal because it’s in the Seaport Hotel, which has a staff cafeteria. Still, Klein tries to cook for her restaurant staff every couple of months. “It’s one of those things I miss because staff meal is so nice: We’re not all serious and focused right now. Let’s relax and have some food.’’
Jamie Bissonnette, the chef at Toro, admits to having produced some abysmal offerings in his time. “I used to do some pretty questionable staff meals,’’ he says. “I’ve taken the raft from consomme’’ - the stuff that floats to the top of the pot - “and baked it into meatloaf. I bought from [foodservice distributor] Paul Marks a bag of cooked chili and a bag of clam chowder for staff meal and inadvertently put them in the same pot. I called it Jamie B.’s world famous chili chowder.’’
The staff hated it. So the following day Bissonnette took the leftovers and made them into lasagna, baked with flour tortillas and cheddar. “The staff said, ‘This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had,’ ’’ he says. “I sing a song when I cook staff meal. It goes, ‘Once, twice, three times a staff meal.’ If you don’t finish it, you’re going to probably eat it again the next day.’’ (Lionel Richie would be so proud.)
Now he follows a rule laid out by Toro sous chef Mike Smith. “The best rule to have good staff meal is: Put cheese on it, bake it, and name it,’’ Bissonnette says. “Oftentimes the word ‘surprise’ is in it. ‘Cream of lunch’ is a frequently used term.’’ Asian rice with lap cheong sausage is another popular offering at the South End restaurant, as is just about anything that can serve as a vehicle for the hot sauce sriracha.
At Temple Bar, offerings have included sous chef Greg Boschetti’s chicken stir-fry, baked ziti, roasted chicken with macaroni and cheese and creamed spinach, and curried chicken salad. “Comfort food usually wins,’’ Scelfo says.
Eric Gburski, the executive chef and general manager at East Coast Grill in Cambridge, concurs: “The comfort things get people the most excited. They love burger day; we do nice big fat cheeseburgers. Barbecue, soups, a nice tomato sauce with ziti and cheese, macaroni and cheese.’’ They’ll repurpose leftover spit-roasted chicken into tacos, and occasionally even deep-fry a turkey or roast some beef to serve with mashed potatoes and gravy. “We try to be creative with our staff meal and make it fun,’’ he says.
Offering a good meal is simply good business, Gburski says. “We’ve found if you treat your people right, they treat you right.’’
“Would you send an army to fight on an empty stomach?’’ says Rudy Maniscalco, general manager of Temple Bar. “You’ve got to keep the staff as happy and content as possible if you want it to perform for you.’’
It’s also good for morale. “Because of the nature of the job, we’re usually inhaling staff meal in half-cold, intermittent bites while standing up in the kitchen, which is kind of a depressing way to eat,’’ says Kirsten Amann, a waitress at Toro who also does restaurant PR. “It’s comforting that our chef takes the extra time to make sure the food is delicious and that there’s enough to feed everybody.’’
“When people are doing really bad staff meals, it’s a big morale thing,’’ says Anthony Mazzotta, chef at Sasso in the Back Bay. “I’m not their mother and it’s not my job to feed them, but starting off on a good foot starts everything off well. I don’t want my cooks getting sick. I was there when I was young and working in New York. I was poor. We relied on staff meals.’’
Mazzotta says they try to mix things up at Sasso. Recently he took leftover pieces from a large striper and made striper fritters with coconut yogurt. Bolognese, tacos, salmon stir-fry, and burgers are other dishes the staff might eat. During Lent, there were veggie burgers. Friday is hot dog day: It’s an easy meal on a day that involves a lot of prep work. Pizza is also popular. “Nobody hates pizza,’’ Mazzotta says.
Just as eating together at home is good for the family, it also brings a restaurant’s staff together. “It’s a very good idea for the staff to sit and have dinner or lunch,’’ says Chung Yan, the husband of a Peach Farm employee, who often lends the Chinatown restaurant his English services. “They can sit down and talk about what happened during the day, whatever’s funny.’’
At Peach Farm, he says, there are two different dishes each day, and sometimes a soup. Beef with tomato, chopped pork steamed with soy sauce, pan-fried salmon with ginger and soy sauce, and watercress and pork soup are among the dishes served. If you’ve ever walked past the staff eating in a Chinese restaurant and coveted the food on their table, you’re not alone. “Once in a while we have requests from customers,’’ Yan says. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, what is that?’ If the boss is around he will answer and say, ‘Would you like to try?’ Then he will give the customer a small dish.’’
Family meal can also serve as a training ground. On Boylston Street, L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre share a kitchen, which means feeding 90 to 120 people every day. “We pretty much have to staff for it,’’ says Louis DiBiccari, chef at Sel de la Terre. “We carry one or two extra interns with staff meal in mind. What better way to learn about seasoning and cooking than to cook for chefs every day? We’re very comfortable with our opinions and happy to offer them. They learn at an accelerated pace that way; it’s a learning tool.’’
Dishes might include roast turkey, pork fried rice using bacon ends and other scraps, or a dish that recycles leftovers from the restaurant’s bakery. Focaccia becomes pizza; pastries are turned into bread pudding.
Perhaps no one in town has sampled more family meals than C.J. Husk of Island Creek Oysters (a.k.a. the Oyster Dude). In the course of making his deliveries, he says, he’s probably eaten the meals at about 30 different establishments.
“Staff meal is funny because in some places it’s competitive and people want to show what they can make, and sometimes it’s just like, OK, we have to eat so we’re just going to make something,’’ he says. “It can be really good. Sometimes it’s really bad. I’ll eat anything, so I usually think it’s really good.’’
About 63 percent of the time, he estimates, family meals are pasta. Some of his favorites: L’Espalier, because “they make the best pizza ever’’; Neptune Oyster, because the North End spot has a family feel and a small staff that’s easier to cook creatively for; and Craigie on Main, because the kitchen has high-quality leftover ingredients to work with.
At Craigie on Main in Cambridge, says chef Tony Maws, they’ll eat soup made from leftover fish once or twice a week, maybe a Thai-flavored version or an old-school chowder. There is plenty of pasta. Veal left after making stock can be turned into veal curry or Vietnamese fried veal, which “everyone flips out’’ for, Maws says. It’s floured, fried, and tossed with nuoc cham, chilies, scallions, and rice.
“I tell my staff that you can’t do what we do and cook two different ways: OK, I’m cooking staff meal, I’ll use one technique and old food or whatever, and cook another way for your guests,’’ he says. “I don’t care if it’s pasta with butter and parsley and chili flakes. Is the pasta cooked right, seasoned right? It has to be tasty. They’re cooking for me, they’re cooking for themselves.’’
In other words, the family meal can say as much about a restaurant as does the food it serves to paying guests.
“I don’t want to be too cliche,’’ Scelfo says, “but you can tell when someone cares and when they don’t. In this business, believe me, there are people who don’t, and kitchens that are just go go go. It comes through right away when effort is put forth. The people who are really passionate probably have the best staff meals.’’
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Teranga review
DINING OUT
A warm welcome in the South End
Teranga brings the tastes of Senegal to city
By Devra First, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
"Teranga’’ means hospitality in Wolof, but it’s more than just a word, according to Marie-Claude Mendy, who made it the name of her restaurant. In her native Senegal, it’s a way of life, an integral part of the national character and a matter of pride. It fits Teranga, a tiny and charming new Senegalese restaurant in the South End. Teranga offers a familial kind of hospitality, not formal but warm. And it’s more than just a restaurant. It’s the fulfillment of Mendy’s longtime dream to open one - despite the fact that she still works full-time at a French asset management company.
“Everyone tells me I’m crazy,’’ she says by phone. “My strongest point is I like to be the underdog.’’
Until Teranga opened in May, Boston didn’t have a Senegalese restaurant. (No surprise - Boston is short on African restaurants in general.) Expats had to head to New York to visit one. Now they come here, along with former Peace Corps volunteers and South End residents. It’s not uncommon to find Senegalese families spanning three generations, gay couples, French speakers, and stylish 20-something Africans eating side by side. Teranga exhibits a particular brand of cosmopolitan vibrancy one doesn’t see that often in Boston. Does it feel like New York? Not quite. Paris? Closer. I’m guessing what it most feels like is Dakar.
The restaurant is stylish, too, done in a neutral palette with zebrawood accents, lights encased in large, round shades hanging from the ceiling. There’s a cute little bar. Tables are adorned with carved gourds, and modern African paintings hang on an exposed brick wall. The decor is also modern African; it reflects the origins of the food without trumpeting them in theme park fashion.
The menu makes great use of fish and lamb, cassava and sweet potatoes, onions, and rice. Mendy does some cooking on evenings and weekends, splitting the duties with chef Kadija Sylla. There is no pork - Senegal is a predominantly Muslim country. (There is, however, a pretty nice wine and beer list.) There is also - surprising to me - a distinct Vietnamese influence. Mendy explains later that people from the former French colony who went to fight in Vietnam brought back dishes such as nems (spring rolls) and fried rice. “You can’t go to a Senegalese party and not have nems,’’ she says.
The ones here are delicious. They’re wrapped in rice paper that’s fried so it’s still chewy but crisp on the edges, bubbly in a way that looks like the skin of fried chicken. They’re filled with chicken, beef, vermicelli, carrots, and mushrooms. There’s a meat-free version available as well, although Teranga is not geared toward vegetarians; all of the entrees contain meat or fish. The spicing on the nems is slightly sweeter than at many Vietnamese restaurants around town. The springy texture of the skins is addictive, kind of like a moonbounce for your mouth.
There’s also a salade Vietnamienne, made with rice vermicelli and many of the ingredients found in the nems. This could be very good, but the night we have it the vermicelli is undercooked. Better is the salade ordinaire, which, actually, isn’t ordinaire at all. It’s a mix of greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, and hard-boiled eggs with a coconut-lime dressing. We wish for more of the sweet-tangy dressing, a flavor profile Teranga plays well with: It’s exemplified by a dipping sauce that comes at the beginning of each meal and changes slightly each time, vinegary and sweet, sometimes spicy, sometimes with fennel seeds floating on its surface. It makes sliced bread that is otherwise very ordinaire something special.
Other appetizers are variations on the theme of fried. Accara are little fritters made from black-eyed peas, served with a bit of salad and tomato dipping sauce pooled in a white Chinese soup spoon; Teranga’s dishes are generally plated with finesse. Though the fritters are nicely fried, the flavor of the black-eyed peas doesn’t come through. Fataya are samosa-like turnovers filled with fish. We liked these; with stronger spicing in the filling we might have loved them.
One requisite dish is the thiebou djeun, not because it’s the best thing on the menu but because it’s the national dish of Senegal. It’s a composed plate of different ingredients - fish stuffed with herbs, plus cassava, cabbage, eggplant, and more - served with a cylinder of red-brown broken jasmine rice. And, in fact, sometimes it might be the best thing on the menu. Sometimes it’s not. “No matter how well versed you are in making it, it’s hit or miss,’’ Mendy says. “Sometimes you make it right, sometimes you don’t. We’ve had to throw away whole batches.’’
The dish is so tetchy because of the rice, which must be perfect: not sticky, not undercooked. Dried grouper is what gives thiebou djeun its unique flavor. A cube is fried with onions and tomatoes till the mixture is the proper terra cotta hue; then the cook adds water, fish, and vegetables and lets it simmer. At first thiebou djeun was only available on the lunch menu, because Senegalese eat dinner late and find rice too heavy at that hour. Mendy has now added it for dinner, trading a bit of authenticity for exposure.
What might be the best dish on the menu, consistently, is the yassa guinaar, which manages to make grilled chicken interesting by topping the meat - moist and smoky - with a fantastic sauce of lemon juice and caramelized onions. Or perhaps the best dish is the dibi, thin-cut grilled lamb chops with another onion treatment. This time it’s a kind of pickle, raw onions marinated in mustard, lime, white pepper, and olive oil: delicious. On the side, a pile of bright orange sweet potato fries. All told, the menu offers five onion treatments, each one different.
Chicken also shines grilled simply on a skewer, with a spicy onion sauce and fried sweet plantains. Poisson braise, a whole grilled tilapia, comes with a side of atthieke, which is like a more interesting couscous, made from cassava. The tilapia is very good on one visit, but fishy-tasting on another. Sometimes lamb can be tough in dishes such as michoui (a roasted shank with herbs, caramelized onions, and Moroccan couscous) and mafe (a stew in a ground nut sauce).
Teranga’s desserts distinguish themselves from the sea of sameness on the sweets portion of many Boston menus. Millet beignets, flat and lightly sweet, come with creme anglaise and citrus sauce. A sorrel creme brulee gets a layer of tartness from hibiscus. And thiakry is a sort of African kheer, made with couscous and mango. You won’t find these at Bistro X. Likewise a trio of lovely drinks - ginger, sorrel, and bouye, or baobab juice - all complex and tinged with things like pineapple juice, orange flower water, vanilla sugar, and coconut milk. (They fairly beg for a shot of rum.)
Mendy’s mother sends her many of the ingredients for the juices from Senegal, as well as spices and other items that are difficult to come by here. Teranga offers a taste of home for Senegalese diners. For others, it offers the pleasures of discovery.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
A warm welcome in the South End
Teranga brings the tastes of Senegal to city
By Devra First, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
"Teranga’’ means hospitality in Wolof, but it’s more than just a word, according to Marie-Claude Mendy, who made it the name of her restaurant. In her native Senegal, it’s a way of life, an integral part of the national character and a matter of pride. It fits Teranga, a tiny and charming new Senegalese restaurant in the South End. Teranga offers a familial kind of hospitality, not formal but warm. And it’s more than just a restaurant. It’s the fulfillment of Mendy’s longtime dream to open one - despite the fact that she still works full-time at a French asset management company.
“Everyone tells me I’m crazy,’’ she says by phone. “My strongest point is I like to be the underdog.’’
Until Teranga opened in May, Boston didn’t have a Senegalese restaurant. (No surprise - Boston is short on African restaurants in general.) Expats had to head to New York to visit one. Now they come here, along with former Peace Corps volunteers and South End residents. It’s not uncommon to find Senegalese families spanning three generations, gay couples, French speakers, and stylish 20-something Africans eating side by side. Teranga exhibits a particular brand of cosmopolitan vibrancy one doesn’t see that often in Boston. Does it feel like New York? Not quite. Paris? Closer. I’m guessing what it most feels like is Dakar.
The restaurant is stylish, too, done in a neutral palette with zebrawood accents, lights encased in large, round shades hanging from the ceiling. There’s a cute little bar. Tables are adorned with carved gourds, and modern African paintings hang on an exposed brick wall. The decor is also modern African; it reflects the origins of the food without trumpeting them in theme park fashion.
The menu makes great use of fish and lamb, cassava and sweet potatoes, onions, and rice. Mendy does some cooking on evenings and weekends, splitting the duties with chef Kadija Sylla. There is no pork - Senegal is a predominantly Muslim country. (There is, however, a pretty nice wine and beer list.) There is also - surprising to me - a distinct Vietnamese influence. Mendy explains later that people from the former French colony who went to fight in Vietnam brought back dishes such as nems (spring rolls) and fried rice. “You can’t go to a Senegalese party and not have nems,’’ she says.
The ones here are delicious. They’re wrapped in rice paper that’s fried so it’s still chewy but crisp on the edges, bubbly in a way that looks like the skin of fried chicken. They’re filled with chicken, beef, vermicelli, carrots, and mushrooms. There’s a meat-free version available as well, although Teranga is not geared toward vegetarians; all of the entrees contain meat or fish. The spicing on the nems is slightly sweeter than at many Vietnamese restaurants around town. The springy texture of the skins is addictive, kind of like a moonbounce for your mouth.
There’s also a salade Vietnamienne, made with rice vermicelli and many of the ingredients found in the nems. This could be very good, but the night we have it the vermicelli is undercooked. Better is the salade ordinaire, which, actually, isn’t ordinaire at all. It’s a mix of greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, and hard-boiled eggs with a coconut-lime dressing. We wish for more of the sweet-tangy dressing, a flavor profile Teranga plays well with: It’s exemplified by a dipping sauce that comes at the beginning of each meal and changes slightly each time, vinegary and sweet, sometimes spicy, sometimes with fennel seeds floating on its surface. It makes sliced bread that is otherwise very ordinaire something special.
Other appetizers are variations on the theme of fried. Accara are little fritters made from black-eyed peas, served with a bit of salad and tomato dipping sauce pooled in a white Chinese soup spoon; Teranga’s dishes are generally plated with finesse. Though the fritters are nicely fried, the flavor of the black-eyed peas doesn’t come through. Fataya are samosa-like turnovers filled with fish. We liked these; with stronger spicing in the filling we might have loved them.
One requisite dish is the thiebou djeun, not because it’s the best thing on the menu but because it’s the national dish of Senegal. It’s a composed plate of different ingredients - fish stuffed with herbs, plus cassava, cabbage, eggplant, and more - served with a cylinder of red-brown broken jasmine rice. And, in fact, sometimes it might be the best thing on the menu. Sometimes it’s not. “No matter how well versed you are in making it, it’s hit or miss,’’ Mendy says. “Sometimes you make it right, sometimes you don’t. We’ve had to throw away whole batches.’’
The dish is so tetchy because of the rice, which must be perfect: not sticky, not undercooked. Dried grouper is what gives thiebou djeun its unique flavor. A cube is fried with onions and tomatoes till the mixture is the proper terra cotta hue; then the cook adds water, fish, and vegetables and lets it simmer. At first thiebou djeun was only available on the lunch menu, because Senegalese eat dinner late and find rice too heavy at that hour. Mendy has now added it for dinner, trading a bit of authenticity for exposure.
What might be the best dish on the menu, consistently, is the yassa guinaar, which manages to make grilled chicken interesting by topping the meat - moist and smoky - with a fantastic sauce of lemon juice and caramelized onions. Or perhaps the best dish is the dibi, thin-cut grilled lamb chops with another onion treatment. This time it’s a kind of pickle, raw onions marinated in mustard, lime, white pepper, and olive oil: delicious. On the side, a pile of bright orange sweet potato fries. All told, the menu offers five onion treatments, each one different.
Chicken also shines grilled simply on a skewer, with a spicy onion sauce and fried sweet plantains. Poisson braise, a whole grilled tilapia, comes with a side of atthieke, which is like a more interesting couscous, made from cassava. The tilapia is very good on one visit, but fishy-tasting on another. Sometimes lamb can be tough in dishes such as michoui (a roasted shank with herbs, caramelized onions, and Moroccan couscous) and mafe (a stew in a ground nut sauce).
Teranga’s desserts distinguish themselves from the sea of sameness on the sweets portion of many Boston menus. Millet beignets, flat and lightly sweet, come with creme anglaise and citrus sauce. A sorrel creme brulee gets a layer of tartness from hibiscus. And thiakry is a sort of African kheer, made with couscous and mango. You won’t find these at Bistro X. Likewise a trio of lovely drinks - ginger, sorrel, and bouye, or baobab juice - all complex and tinged with things like pineapple juice, orange flower water, vanilla sugar, and coconut milk. (They fairly beg for a shot of rum.)
Mendy’s mother sends her many of the ingredients for the juices from Senegal, as well as spices and other items that are difficult to come by here. Teranga offers a taste of home for Senegalese diners. For others, it offers the pleasures of discovery.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Lyndell's Bakery comes to the North End
SHORT ORDERS
Twice as nice
July 29, 2009
A fixture in Ball Square, Somerville, since 1887, Lyndell’s Bakery now has another location. It opened in the North End this month. That means there are two places to buy one of the bakery’s specialties: half-moon cookies (above), known to some as black-and-whites. Lyndell’s half moons might have a yellow cake base, with the classic half-vanilla and half-chocolate frosting; other variations include chocolate-cake bottoms and chocolate tops. You’ll find old-fashioned creations such as bismarks (light doughnuts filled with jelly and whipped cream), neopolitans (multi-layered pastries filled with custard), eclairs (cream puff dough piped into elegant fingers and filled with custard), and cannoli. You have to wonder why it took Lyndell’s 122 years to cross the river. Lyndell’s Bakery, 227 Hanover St., Boston, 617-720-2200, and 720 Broadway, Somerville, 617-625-1793, www.lyndells.com. LISA FALSO
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Twice as nice
July 29, 2009
A fixture in Ball Square, Somerville, since 1887, Lyndell’s Bakery now has another location. It opened in the North End this month. That means there are two places to buy one of the bakery’s specialties: half-moon cookies (above), known to some as black-and-whites. Lyndell’s half moons might have a yellow cake base, with the classic half-vanilla and half-chocolate frosting; other variations include chocolate-cake bottoms and chocolate tops. You’ll find old-fashioned creations such as bismarks (light doughnuts filled with jelly and whipped cream), neopolitans (multi-layered pastries filled with custard), eclairs (cream puff dough piped into elegant fingers and filled with custard), and cannoli. You have to wonder why it took Lyndell’s 122 years to cross the river. Lyndell’s Bakery, 227 Hanover St., Boston, 617-720-2200, and 720 Broadway, Somerville, 617-625-1793, www.lyndells.com. LISA FALSO
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Cruise industry is down in US but up abroad
Cruise industry sank domestically while growing worldwide
By Travis Reed, Associated Press | July 29, 2009
MIAMI - Fewer Americans took cruises in 2008 than 2007, according to new industry data, showing that cruising’s core constituency might be weakening despite continued growth worldwide.
For the first time since 1998, when the Cruise Lines International Association started publishing economic impact reports, fewer cruise ships set sail from US ports in 2008 than the previous year.
As recently as 2004, American embarkations accounted for 77 percent of all cruises. By last year their shares had fallen to 69 percent as business grew in Europe.
Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, re-christened its Pride of Hawaii as the Norwegian Jade and now sails it year-round in Europe. The Pride’s departure and that of a sister ship moved from Hawaii to Miami are being blamed for Honolulu’s 59 percent drop in embarkations, while cruise traffic from Miami rose 11 percent.
But the decline in American cruises did not keep overall traffic or revenue from growing last year, when 13.05 million people worldwide vacationed on one of the giant, seafaring ships - a 4 percent increase. Gross revenue rose 9 percent to $24.88 billion and total spending in the United States rose 2 percent to $19 billion, though that was the smallest hike in the report’s history.
“In 2008, considering all that’s going on, we’re reporting a 2 percent increase. There’s a lot of businesses out there that would love to be reporting any increase,’’ said Bob Sharak, executive vice president of the Cruise Lines International Association. “The biggest point to take away is when other people are suffering greatly, we’re able to show an increase.’’
American passenger traffic increased each of the previous few years, though by shrinking percentages, and finally turned negative in 2008. About 9.3 million passengers took cruises originating in the United States in 2008, a 1.7 percent decline.
In addition to Honolulu’s traffic loss, American cruising took a hit from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas, where embarkations fell 28 percent. And New Orleans lost 30.6 percent of its embarkations. Florida, which accounts for 57 percent of cruise ship departures, saw a 2.7 percent increase to 5.1 million.
Sharak does not think the US market is done growing. He said the industry was doing fairly well in 2008 until the economic crisis escalated in September.
Carnival Cruise Lines, for example, is positioning its new ship Carnival Dream year-round in America.
Spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said the company would carry more North American passengers in 2009 than any year in company history.
But operators might not be poised to recover quickly from the downturn. In January, Royal Caribbean reported a 98 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings. And it saw a $36 million loss in the first quarter of 2009. The company is expected to release second-quarter earnings results today but cautioned last month that rising fuel prices and the swine flu outbreak will hurt full-year results.
Both Royal Caribbean and much larger competitor Carnival have slashed rates to fill ships in recent months, with mixed results. In the quarter that ended May 31, Carnival’s profit dropped 32 percent from the previous year, but the company still netted $264 million. However, it also lowered full-year guidance, citing high fuel prices.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By Travis Reed, Associated Press | July 29, 2009
MIAMI - Fewer Americans took cruises in 2008 than 2007, according to new industry data, showing that cruising’s core constituency might be weakening despite continued growth worldwide.
For the first time since 1998, when the Cruise Lines International Association started publishing economic impact reports, fewer cruise ships set sail from US ports in 2008 than the previous year.
As recently as 2004, American embarkations accounted for 77 percent of all cruises. By last year their shares had fallen to 69 percent as business grew in Europe.
Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, re-christened its Pride of Hawaii as the Norwegian Jade and now sails it year-round in Europe. The Pride’s departure and that of a sister ship moved from Hawaii to Miami are being blamed for Honolulu’s 59 percent drop in embarkations, while cruise traffic from Miami rose 11 percent.
But the decline in American cruises did not keep overall traffic or revenue from growing last year, when 13.05 million people worldwide vacationed on one of the giant, seafaring ships - a 4 percent increase. Gross revenue rose 9 percent to $24.88 billion and total spending in the United States rose 2 percent to $19 billion, though that was the smallest hike in the report’s history.
“In 2008, considering all that’s going on, we’re reporting a 2 percent increase. There’s a lot of businesses out there that would love to be reporting any increase,’’ said Bob Sharak, executive vice president of the Cruise Lines International Association. “The biggest point to take away is when other people are suffering greatly, we’re able to show an increase.’’
American passenger traffic increased each of the previous few years, though by shrinking percentages, and finally turned negative in 2008. About 9.3 million passengers took cruises originating in the United States in 2008, a 1.7 percent decline.
In addition to Honolulu’s traffic loss, American cruising took a hit from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas, where embarkations fell 28 percent. And New Orleans lost 30.6 percent of its embarkations. Florida, which accounts for 57 percent of cruise ship departures, saw a 2.7 percent increase to 5.1 million.
Sharak does not think the US market is done growing. He said the industry was doing fairly well in 2008 until the economic crisis escalated in September.
Carnival Cruise Lines, for example, is positioning its new ship Carnival Dream year-round in America.
Spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said the company would carry more North American passengers in 2009 than any year in company history.
But operators might not be poised to recover quickly from the downturn. In January, Royal Caribbean reported a 98 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings. And it saw a $36 million loss in the first quarter of 2009. The company is expected to release second-quarter earnings results today but cautioned last month that rising fuel prices and the swine flu outbreak will hurt full-year results.
Both Royal Caribbean and much larger competitor Carnival have slashed rates to fill ships in recent months, with mixed results. In the quarter that ended May 31, Carnival’s profit dropped 32 percent from the previous year, but the company still netted $264 million. However, it also lowered full-year guidance, citing high fuel prices.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Boston details bike-sharing program to debut next spring
Hub’s bike routes beckon, white knuckles and all
City details plans for cycle sharing
By David Filipov, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
A bicyclist on his first ride in Boston pedals tentatively into the furious rush-hour snarl of Charles Circle on a stormy morning. He signals that he needs to go left. The BMW behind him wants to go straight. Guess who wins. The biker brakes hard to avoid a collision, earning an angry honk from the Honda Civic behind him.
This is biking in Boston, city of clogged streets, minimal bike lanes, and drivers who often act as though two-wheeled vehicles have no right to the road. City planners want to change all that - by putting more bikers in the streets. They intend to roll out what would be the nation’s first citywide bike-sharing system next spring, making hundreds of bicycles at dozens of stations across Boston available to anyone who can swipe a credit card.
If all goes as planned, Bostonians and visitors will ride these bikes to run errands, reach their workplaces, travel from tourist site to tourist site and from meeting to meeting. All of this, officials say, will make drivers and bikers more respectful of each other, and possibly take some cars off the city’s road ways.
Over the next few weeks, officials expect to name the company with which they would negotiate a contract on how to run the system. They hope the program will lead to tens of thousands of people saddling up in Boston daily.
Now the question becomes whether enough people will put their lives on the line riding on bicycles along city streets that even Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has led the push to make Boston bike-friendly, describes as “old cow paths turned into roads.’’
Nicole Freedman, the city’s “bike czar,’’ says yes.
“Bike share will transform Boston into a world-class biking city,’’ she said. “All I see is this incredible upside.’’
The former Olympic cyclist, who estimates she has ridden enough miles to travel to the moon, is convinced that Boston bikers can cycle with the cars, even in a city thrice named by Bicycling magazine one of the nation’s worst for bicyclists. To prove her point, one recent morning Freedman led an inexperienced cyclist on several typical bike-sharing routes, each less than 2 miles and 30 minutes long.
The hair-raising negotiation of Charles Circle was not the only fright. As the newbie pedaled tentatively through windblown rain down Beacon Street, a teal Chevy Cobalt, its driver clearly impatient with the cyclist’s pace, accelerated and blew past, then made a sharp right, forcing the rookie’s second screeching halt of the morning.
Bike enthusiasts call this a “right hook,’’ explained David Watson, executive director of the advocacy group MassBike. So pugilistic are encounters with motorists that cyclists borrow terminology from boxing: a “left cross’’ is when a motorist turns left across the path of a biker going straight.
The bike ride was not all bad. Freedman’s routes - from City Hall Plaza to Kenmore Square, then to the South End, then to South Station, then back to City Hall - demonstrated the efficiency of biking instead of walking or taking public transportation. The city-owned bicycle was comfortable and stable. A biker’s-eye view of Boston is quite pleasant, when the biker is not terrified.
Appointed by Menino in 2007, Freedman is spearheading the effort to make Boston better for bikers; she has overseen such developments as citywide bicycling events, an annotated bike map, miles of new bike lanes and paths, and dozens of new bike racks. Bicycling magazine has changed its tune: In June 2008, it named Boston “a future best city’’ for biking.
Bike sharing is the next step. The city envisions making available between 1,000 and 3,000 bikes at stations 300 or 400 yards apart, located at subway and bus stops, main squares, tourist sites, and across city neighborhoods.
Riders would probably have the option of subscribing to the program for an annual fee, which would allow for discounts, or day passes. BikeNow, one of three companies the city is considering to run the program, would charge $2.50 for a day pass or $40 for an annual subscription. Each would allow cyclists unlimited rides of less than 30 minutes, but longer rides would be charged at an hourly rate, said Amy Trus, one of the Boston University School of Management graduates - class of 2009 - who formed the company. Cheap but functional helmets, Trus said, would be sold for $6 at nearby stores.
The bikes would have locks sharers could use during stops, but they would have very little value to thieves, said David Boyce, who runs the bike-sharing program for another company Boston is considering, Veloway.
A subsidiary of the France-based company Veolia Transportation, which operates the MBTA’s commuter rail system, Veloway would use bicycles that would be relatively heavy compared with bikes sold in shops, and their components would be hard to remove, Boyce said. He said the bike-sharing program Veloway runs in London has seen very little theft or vandalism of the bikes. (A third company Boston officials are considering is Public Bike System, which runs BIXI, Montreal’s bike-sharing program.)
Freedman said bike sharing in Boston would be as popular as it has become in Paris, where the city had to double its fleet of 10,000 bikes and 750 stations several weeks after its program opened in 2007. Today, on average, the 20,000 shared bikes in Paris are ridden some 200,000 times.
Watson says Boston is lagging behind in cycle-friendly infrastructure. The city added five miles of bike lanes last year and is planning five more for this year, while New York has added 200 miles in the past three years. Watson believes a bike-sharing program will force Boston to become bike-friendlier faster.
Safety is a bigger problem. The new bicycle law in Massachusetts addresses some dangers - for example, “dooring,’’ when a car occupant opens a door and hits a biker, is now a ticketable offense. Supporters cite studies that suggest biker fatalities and injuries decrease the more cyclists are on the road.
“As people see more cyclists in the streets of our city they’ll be more aware of the issues of safety,’’ Menino said in an interview. “It works in other places, it will work in Boston.’’
Menino, who has become an avid biker, is planning campaigns to educate drivers on how to coexist with bikers. But cyclists are also part of the problem: They ride on sidewalks, run red lights, and stop in right turn-only lanes, all of which infuriate drivers. Freedman pointed out a couple of riders who rode, helmetless, the wrong way on East Berkeley Street in the South End. With more bikes on the street, the city will have to “make sure bikers bike safely,’’ Freedman said.
Nearby, Rich Coombs, whose family owns Community Bicycle, a bike sales and service shop in the South End, expressed doubt that bike sharing would work in Boston.
“There are tight roads to begin with - roads dating back hundreds of years, little cow paths,’’ he said. “There’s barely enough room to squeeze by with narrow handlebars.’’
Still, those little cow paths give Freedman hope.
“People could live here before there were cars,’’ she said, “and they can do it again.’’
David Filipov can be reached at filipov@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Details of Boston’s bike-sharing proposal
July 29, 2009
▸ The city envisions making available between 1,000 and 3,000 bikes at stations 300 or 400 yards apart, located at subway and bus stops, main squares, tourist sites, and areas across city neighborhoods.
▸ One proposal would offer daily passes costing $2.50 or annual memberships for $40 that would allow for discounts. After the cyclist pays for a pass or membership, the first 30 minutes of any ride would be free, but longer rides would be charged at an hourly rate.
▸ The average bike-share trip is less than 2 miles and 30 minutes long.
▸ Less than 1 percent of Bostonians commute by bike, according to the US Census.
▸ In Lyon, France, which has a bike-sharing program and is similar in size to Boston, 13 percent commute by bike.
▸ According to the International Bicycle Fund, cyclists who begin commuting on average lose 13 pounds in the first year.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
City details plans for cycle sharing
By David Filipov, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
A bicyclist on his first ride in Boston pedals tentatively into the furious rush-hour snarl of Charles Circle on a stormy morning. He signals that he needs to go left. The BMW behind him wants to go straight. Guess who wins. The biker brakes hard to avoid a collision, earning an angry honk from the Honda Civic behind him.
This is biking in Boston, city of clogged streets, minimal bike lanes, and drivers who often act as though two-wheeled vehicles have no right to the road. City planners want to change all that - by putting more bikers in the streets. They intend to roll out what would be the nation’s first citywide bike-sharing system next spring, making hundreds of bicycles at dozens of stations across Boston available to anyone who can swipe a credit card.
If all goes as planned, Bostonians and visitors will ride these bikes to run errands, reach their workplaces, travel from tourist site to tourist site and from meeting to meeting. All of this, officials say, will make drivers and bikers more respectful of each other, and possibly take some cars off the city’s road ways.
Over the next few weeks, officials expect to name the company with which they would negotiate a contract on how to run the system. They hope the program will lead to tens of thousands of people saddling up in Boston daily.
Now the question becomes whether enough people will put their lives on the line riding on bicycles along city streets that even Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has led the push to make Boston bike-friendly, describes as “old cow paths turned into roads.’’
Nicole Freedman, the city’s “bike czar,’’ says yes.
“Bike share will transform Boston into a world-class biking city,’’ she said. “All I see is this incredible upside.’’
The former Olympic cyclist, who estimates she has ridden enough miles to travel to the moon, is convinced that Boston bikers can cycle with the cars, even in a city thrice named by Bicycling magazine one of the nation’s worst for bicyclists. To prove her point, one recent morning Freedman led an inexperienced cyclist on several typical bike-sharing routes, each less than 2 miles and 30 minutes long.
The hair-raising negotiation of Charles Circle was not the only fright. As the newbie pedaled tentatively through windblown rain down Beacon Street, a teal Chevy Cobalt, its driver clearly impatient with the cyclist’s pace, accelerated and blew past, then made a sharp right, forcing the rookie’s second screeching halt of the morning.
Bike enthusiasts call this a “right hook,’’ explained David Watson, executive director of the advocacy group MassBike. So pugilistic are encounters with motorists that cyclists borrow terminology from boxing: a “left cross’’ is when a motorist turns left across the path of a biker going straight.
The bike ride was not all bad. Freedman’s routes - from City Hall Plaza to Kenmore Square, then to the South End, then to South Station, then back to City Hall - demonstrated the efficiency of biking instead of walking or taking public transportation. The city-owned bicycle was comfortable and stable. A biker’s-eye view of Boston is quite pleasant, when the biker is not terrified.
Appointed by Menino in 2007, Freedman is spearheading the effort to make Boston better for bikers; she has overseen such developments as citywide bicycling events, an annotated bike map, miles of new bike lanes and paths, and dozens of new bike racks. Bicycling magazine has changed its tune: In June 2008, it named Boston “a future best city’’ for biking.
Bike sharing is the next step. The city envisions making available between 1,000 and 3,000 bikes at stations 300 or 400 yards apart, located at subway and bus stops, main squares, tourist sites, and across city neighborhoods.
Riders would probably have the option of subscribing to the program for an annual fee, which would allow for discounts, or day passes. BikeNow, one of three companies the city is considering to run the program, would charge $2.50 for a day pass or $40 for an annual subscription. Each would allow cyclists unlimited rides of less than 30 minutes, but longer rides would be charged at an hourly rate, said Amy Trus, one of the Boston University School of Management graduates - class of 2009 - who formed the company. Cheap but functional helmets, Trus said, would be sold for $6 at nearby stores.
The bikes would have locks sharers could use during stops, but they would have very little value to thieves, said David Boyce, who runs the bike-sharing program for another company Boston is considering, Veloway.
A subsidiary of the France-based company Veolia Transportation, which operates the MBTA’s commuter rail system, Veloway would use bicycles that would be relatively heavy compared with bikes sold in shops, and their components would be hard to remove, Boyce said. He said the bike-sharing program Veloway runs in London has seen very little theft or vandalism of the bikes. (A third company Boston officials are considering is Public Bike System, which runs BIXI, Montreal’s bike-sharing program.)
Freedman said bike sharing in Boston would be as popular as it has become in Paris, where the city had to double its fleet of 10,000 bikes and 750 stations several weeks after its program opened in 2007. Today, on average, the 20,000 shared bikes in Paris are ridden some 200,000 times.
Watson says Boston is lagging behind in cycle-friendly infrastructure. The city added five miles of bike lanes last year and is planning five more for this year, while New York has added 200 miles in the past three years. Watson believes a bike-sharing program will force Boston to become bike-friendlier faster.
Safety is a bigger problem. The new bicycle law in Massachusetts addresses some dangers - for example, “dooring,’’ when a car occupant opens a door and hits a biker, is now a ticketable offense. Supporters cite studies that suggest biker fatalities and injuries decrease the more cyclists are on the road.
“As people see more cyclists in the streets of our city they’ll be more aware of the issues of safety,’’ Menino said in an interview. “It works in other places, it will work in Boston.’’
Menino, who has become an avid biker, is planning campaigns to educate drivers on how to coexist with bikers. But cyclists are also part of the problem: They ride on sidewalks, run red lights, and stop in right turn-only lanes, all of which infuriate drivers. Freedman pointed out a couple of riders who rode, helmetless, the wrong way on East Berkeley Street in the South End. With more bikes on the street, the city will have to “make sure bikers bike safely,’’ Freedman said.
Nearby, Rich Coombs, whose family owns Community Bicycle, a bike sales and service shop in the South End, expressed doubt that bike sharing would work in Boston.
“There are tight roads to begin with - roads dating back hundreds of years, little cow paths,’’ he said. “There’s barely enough room to squeeze by with narrow handlebars.’’
Still, those little cow paths give Freedman hope.
“People could live here before there were cars,’’ she said, “and they can do it again.’’
David Filipov can be reached at filipov@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Details of Boston’s bike-sharing proposal
July 29, 2009
▸ The city envisions making available between 1,000 and 3,000 bikes at stations 300 or 400 yards apart, located at subway and bus stops, main squares, tourist sites, and areas across city neighborhoods.
▸ One proposal would offer daily passes costing $2.50 or annual memberships for $40 that would allow for discounts. After the cyclist pays for a pass or membership, the first 30 minutes of any ride would be free, but longer rides would be charged at an hourly rate.
▸ The average bike-share trip is less than 2 miles and 30 minutes long.
▸ Less than 1 percent of Bostonians commute by bike, according to the US Census.
▸ In Lyon, France, which has a bike-sharing program and is similar in size to Boston, 13 percent commute by bike.
▸ According to the International Bicycle Fund, cyclists who begin commuting on average lose 13 pounds in the first year.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Funds set to be restored for Zoos
Lawmakers set to restore funds
Package would earmark money for legal immigrant healthcare, 2 zoos
By Matt Viser and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
House and Senate lawmakers plan to vote today on a spending package that would provide $40 million for healthcare coverage for legal immigrants and at least $2 million for Greater Boston’s two zoos.
The proposal, which addresses two of the most controversial cuts in this year’s state budget, would restore some of the funding for the two programs. But it would not provide as much money as advocates had sought, and it would mean a fresh round of spending when state finances remain tight.
The plan departs from what Governor Deval Patrick wanted, awarding far less money for immigrant healthcare and more money to the zoos. If lawmakers support the spending, legal immigrants and zoos stand to gain, while many other programs will have to live with the cuts they were given under a $27 billion budget Patrick signed last month.
“I can’t emphasize enough that we are just glad it’s being done,’’ said Franklin Soults, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the state’s largest immigrants rights group. “There was a tremendous fear that immigrants were going to be cut off and left in the cold.’’
The funding would help maintain some health coverage for about 30,000 immigrants who have a “special status.’’ Many of the immigrants have been in the country for less than five years and are seeking asylum from war-ravaged nations such as Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan.
A host of questions remained unanswered, however, including how the state can cover 30,000 people with $90 million less than the $130 million Patrick included in his original budget proposal. After state lawmakers eliminated the funding in their budget, Patrick filed a supplemental budget request for $70 million.
Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said that while the administration is heartened by lawmakers’ desire to restore the healthcare funding, the $40 million is insufficient.
“While we appreciate this statement of support, our analysis shows that the level of funding appropriated is not sufficient to maintain meaningful coverage or to develop a scaled-back program,’’ Roy said in a statement. “If this passes the Legislature, we will work with the Legislature and relevant stakeholders, including the federal government, to review our options for maintaining support for this population.
The federal government does not chip in for the cost of treating certain classes of immigrants, so Massachusetts would not receive any matching federal money.
Meanwhile, zoo officials, who were on Beacon Hill lobbying for support yesterday, had asked lawmakers to override Patrick’s veto of $4 million in spending, saying the cut would force them to close their two zoos, Franklin Park in Boston, and Stone Zoo in Stoneham.
It is unclear whether $2 million would be enough to prevent their closure.
“We are grateful for the Legislature’s recognition of the reality of what the size of the proposed cut would do to the zoo’s ability to operate,’’ John Linehan, president of Zoo New England, which operates the two zoos, said in a statement. “We know that both the governor and the Legislature are working hard and are faced with very difficult choices in this budget process.’’
The boost in funding for the zoos could cap a bizarre political foodfight that erupted earlier this month when zoo officials contended that the budget cut could force the euthanization of some animals.
The zoo override initially seemed all but assured, and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray both predicted their members would restore the funding.
But as Patrick used his bully pulpit, staging several press conferences to suggest that the zoos should deal with budget cuts in the same way as other areas of state government, and as revenue figures worsened, lawmakers began to lose their appetite for a full override.
The healthcare and zoo proposals would be part of a larger spending package, which needs a majority in the House and Senate to pass. If lawmakers had tried to override the governor’s veto, they would have needed two-thirds of both chambers.
The Legislature is also planning to restore some funding, $13.1 million, for programs for low-income seniors. Lawmakers are poised to boost, by about $1 million each, funding for emergency food assistance, library aid, and services for children and families.
Several aspects of the plan remained in flux yesterday, including exactly how much would go to the zoos.
“We’re looking at all of our options,’’ DeLeo said in a brief interview yesterday as he headed into a House Democratic caucus.
On healthcare, it will probably fall to the Connector Authority, which oversees the state’s subsidized insurance program that covers these immigrants, to decide how to implement the reduced funding level.
Regardless of how the Legislature votes today, the affected immigrants will continue to be covered under their current plan until Sept. 1, because state lawmakers did not act in time to give residents the required notice that their health benefits would be changing, according to Richard Powers, spokesman for the Connector Authority.
Any proposed changes in the health plans will also require the authority to renegotiate contracts with the five managed-care companies that provide the coverage, according to Powers.
Zoo officials have said they hope to wean themselves off state funding, and they have been developing a plan to move toward financial self-reliance.
The Legislature initially provided $6.5 million for the zoos, but the governor used his line-item veto powers to reduce that to $2.5 million. If state lawmakers approve an additional $2 million today, it would put state funding for the zoos at $4.5 million for this fiscal year.
Patrick aides would not say whether the governor would veto additional spending for the zoos.
Efforts to restore the money are underway as state revenues continue to plunge, falling below even the direst projections last month and ending the fiscal year with a $180 million gap. State officials will probably make up the difference by tapping a reserve account.
State officials built this year’s budget on an estimate that about $18 billion in revenues would come in through state taxes. But that estimate could prove to be too high, which would require further budget cuts.
“It’s likely several hundred million dollars too high,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com; Lazar at klazar@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Package would earmark money for legal immigrant healthcare, 2 zoos
By Matt Viser and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
House and Senate lawmakers plan to vote today on a spending package that would provide $40 million for healthcare coverage for legal immigrants and at least $2 million for Greater Boston’s two zoos.
The proposal, which addresses two of the most controversial cuts in this year’s state budget, would restore some of the funding for the two programs. But it would not provide as much money as advocates had sought, and it would mean a fresh round of spending when state finances remain tight.
The plan departs from what Governor Deval Patrick wanted, awarding far less money for immigrant healthcare and more money to the zoos. If lawmakers support the spending, legal immigrants and zoos stand to gain, while many other programs will have to live with the cuts they were given under a $27 billion budget Patrick signed last month.
“I can’t emphasize enough that we are just glad it’s being done,’’ said Franklin Soults, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the state’s largest immigrants rights group. “There was a tremendous fear that immigrants were going to be cut off and left in the cold.’’
The funding would help maintain some health coverage for about 30,000 immigrants who have a “special status.’’ Many of the immigrants have been in the country for less than five years and are seeking asylum from war-ravaged nations such as Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan.
A host of questions remained unanswered, however, including how the state can cover 30,000 people with $90 million less than the $130 million Patrick included in his original budget proposal. After state lawmakers eliminated the funding in their budget, Patrick filed a supplemental budget request for $70 million.
Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said that while the administration is heartened by lawmakers’ desire to restore the healthcare funding, the $40 million is insufficient.
“While we appreciate this statement of support, our analysis shows that the level of funding appropriated is not sufficient to maintain meaningful coverage or to develop a scaled-back program,’’ Roy said in a statement. “If this passes the Legislature, we will work with the Legislature and relevant stakeholders, including the federal government, to review our options for maintaining support for this population.
The federal government does not chip in for the cost of treating certain classes of immigrants, so Massachusetts would not receive any matching federal money.
Meanwhile, zoo officials, who were on Beacon Hill lobbying for support yesterday, had asked lawmakers to override Patrick’s veto of $4 million in spending, saying the cut would force them to close their two zoos, Franklin Park in Boston, and Stone Zoo in Stoneham.
It is unclear whether $2 million would be enough to prevent their closure.
“We are grateful for the Legislature’s recognition of the reality of what the size of the proposed cut would do to the zoo’s ability to operate,’’ John Linehan, president of Zoo New England, which operates the two zoos, said in a statement. “We know that both the governor and the Legislature are working hard and are faced with very difficult choices in this budget process.’’
The boost in funding for the zoos could cap a bizarre political foodfight that erupted earlier this month when zoo officials contended that the budget cut could force the euthanization of some animals.
The zoo override initially seemed all but assured, and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray both predicted their members would restore the funding.
But as Patrick used his bully pulpit, staging several press conferences to suggest that the zoos should deal with budget cuts in the same way as other areas of state government, and as revenue figures worsened, lawmakers began to lose their appetite for a full override.
The healthcare and zoo proposals would be part of a larger spending package, which needs a majority in the House and Senate to pass. If lawmakers had tried to override the governor’s veto, they would have needed two-thirds of both chambers.
The Legislature is also planning to restore some funding, $13.1 million, for programs for low-income seniors. Lawmakers are poised to boost, by about $1 million each, funding for emergency food assistance, library aid, and services for children and families.
Several aspects of the plan remained in flux yesterday, including exactly how much would go to the zoos.
“We’re looking at all of our options,’’ DeLeo said in a brief interview yesterday as he headed into a House Democratic caucus.
On healthcare, it will probably fall to the Connector Authority, which oversees the state’s subsidized insurance program that covers these immigrants, to decide how to implement the reduced funding level.
Regardless of how the Legislature votes today, the affected immigrants will continue to be covered under their current plan until Sept. 1, because state lawmakers did not act in time to give residents the required notice that their health benefits would be changing, according to Richard Powers, spokesman for the Connector Authority.
Any proposed changes in the health plans will also require the authority to renegotiate contracts with the five managed-care companies that provide the coverage, according to Powers.
Zoo officials have said they hope to wean themselves off state funding, and they have been developing a plan to move toward financial self-reliance.
The Legislature initially provided $6.5 million for the zoos, but the governor used his line-item veto powers to reduce that to $2.5 million. If state lawmakers approve an additional $2 million today, it would put state funding for the zoos at $4.5 million for this fiscal year.
Patrick aides would not say whether the governor would veto additional spending for the zoos.
Efforts to restore the money are underway as state revenues continue to plunge, falling below even the direst projections last month and ending the fiscal year with a $180 million gap. State officials will probably make up the difference by tapping a reserve account.
State officials built this year’s budget on an estimate that about $18 billion in revenues would come in through state taxes. But that estimate could prove to be too high, which would require further budget cuts.
“It’s likely several hundred million dollars too high,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com; Lazar at klazar@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Basta Pasta Trattoria review
Cambridge’s Basta Pasta is lotsa good
By Leigh Harrington | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Food & Recipes
At Basta Pasta Trattoria in Cambridge, the only frills are the flavors.
javascript:void(0)
The casual Italian cafe located on Western Avenue near Central Square may be Zagat-rated, but you nevertheless order at the counter and serve yourself.
We devoured the linguine Bolognese, a whoppingly large bowl of al dente pasta topped with crumbled beef, garlic and fresh basil tomato sauce while we waited for our pizza to cook.
Fifteen minutes later, we were divvying up a piping hot 18-inch pie covered with fragrant house-made basil pesto, chunks of grilled chicken and juicy sliced tomatoes that added a pop of flavor.
Each dish is served straight off the stove, which means that diners may not eat in sync with their dates.
During a recent Monday night visit, the restaurant’s six tables were packed with families, police and firemen - in fact, the jakes had double-parked the engine truck right out front.
Basta Pasta Trattoria, 319 Western Ave., Cambridge; 617-576-6672; bastapastacambridge .com. Under $20.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/food/view.bg?articleid=1187634
By Leigh Harrington | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Food & Recipes
At Basta Pasta Trattoria in Cambridge, the only frills are the flavors.
javascript:void(0)
The casual Italian cafe located on Western Avenue near Central Square may be Zagat-rated, but you nevertheless order at the counter and serve yourself.
We devoured the linguine Bolognese, a whoppingly large bowl of al dente pasta topped with crumbled beef, garlic and fresh basil tomato sauce while we waited for our pizza to cook.
Fifteen minutes later, we were divvying up a piping hot 18-inch pie covered with fragrant house-made basil pesto, chunks of grilled chicken and juicy sliced tomatoes that added a pop of flavor.
Each dish is served straight off the stove, which means that diners may not eat in sync with their dates.
During a recent Monday night visit, the restaurant’s six tables were packed with families, police and firemen - in fact, the jakes had double-parked the engine truck right out front.
Basta Pasta Trattoria, 319 Western Ave., Cambridge; 617-576-6672; bastapastacambridge .com. Under $20.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/food/view.bg?articleid=1187634
Parish Cafe to open a second location in South End
Flock to Parish (and more...)
By Kerry J. Byrne / Fast Food | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Food & Recipes
Parish Cafe, the Back Bay bar known for its killer beer list and celebrity-chef-themed sandwiches, plans to open a South End location later this summer.
“It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to make a real statement,” said owner Gordon Wilcox, who also runs popular pubs the Rattlesnake and Flash’s. The decor will attempt to replicate the famous Edward Hopper print “Nighthawks,” which depicts a street-corner coffee shop. The new Parish will sit at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street.
Chef Sean Simmons says to expect the same casual entrees and hearty sandwiches created by top Boston chefs that have made the original Parish a Boylston Street hot spot for 17 years.
By Kerry J. Byrne / Fast Food | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Food & Recipes
Parish Cafe, the Back Bay bar known for its killer beer list and celebrity-chef-themed sandwiches, plans to open a South End location later this summer.
“It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to make a real statement,” said owner Gordon Wilcox, who also runs popular pubs the Rattlesnake and Flash’s. The decor will attempt to replicate the famous Edward Hopper print “Nighthawks,” which depicts a street-corner coffee shop. The new Parish will sit at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street.
Chef Sean Simmons says to expect the same casual entrees and hearty sandwiches created by top Boston chefs that have made the original Parish a Boylston Street hot spot for 17 years.
Number of green restaurants in Boston is growing
Green cuisine: Hub’s eco-friendly eateries get stamp of approval
By Mat Schaffer | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Food & Recipes
The next time you eat out, enjoy a side of environmental responsibility with your meal. Dine at a restaurant certified green by the Boston-based Green Restaurant Association. Its motto? “You don’t pay more to dine green, but our planet pays less when you do.”
Certification is more than cooking and serving locally grown, sustainable ingredients.
“That’s just a piece of the pie,” said GRA Executive Director Michael Oshman. “Our standards include water efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, sustainable furnishings and building materials, sustainable food, energy, (recycled and bio-based) disposables and chemical and pollution reduction.”
Currently, 260 restaurants nationwide are GRA certified - another 500-plus are in the midst of the certification process.
“(We might suggest) a chemical change for here. How about a spray valve? Or different napkins,” Oshman said. “We work with their vendors. There’s nothing noble about making it hard for the restaurant. Our goal is to make it easier than (the restaurateur) thought.”
The Green Restaurant Association targets the entire restaurant food chain.
“We work in a vertically integrated system,” Oshman said. “Meaning from the consumer to the restaurant, restaurant to distributor and distributor to manufacturer. Because consumers are increasingly educated and increasingly want choices of where to spend their money in a responsible way, they want a legitimate and transparent choice in every sector of their consumption.”
Locally, GRA certified restaurants include The Fireplace, UpStairs on the Square, Grendel’s Den, Taranta, Lumiere, Flour Bakery, Za, and all Boloco, Bagel Rising and Espresso Royale locations. Tables of Content Catering is certified green - along with catering operations at the New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo and Harvard School of Public Health.
For a complete list of GRA certified restaurants, go to dinegreen.com.
Participating restaurateurs say the Green Restaurant Association logo - a fork, knife and plate embossed with the planet Earth - is a magnet for customers.
“People will call for our catering and say they’ve been looking for somebody that’s socially responsible that can reflect their values at a wedding or at a catered event,” said Tables of Content Catering chef and owner Stephen Barck.
Fireplace chef and owner Jim Solomon says certification is also good for his bottom line.
“We save money across the board - on electrical expenses, water, heating, gas,” Solomon said. “We’ve become more conscious of energy savings, in general ... it’s a greener way of living.”
By Mat Schaffer | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Food & Recipes
The next time you eat out, enjoy a side of environmental responsibility with your meal. Dine at a restaurant certified green by the Boston-based Green Restaurant Association. Its motto? “You don’t pay more to dine green, but our planet pays less when you do.”
Certification is more than cooking and serving locally grown, sustainable ingredients.
“That’s just a piece of the pie,” said GRA Executive Director Michael Oshman. “Our standards include water efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, sustainable furnishings and building materials, sustainable food, energy, (recycled and bio-based) disposables and chemical and pollution reduction.”
Currently, 260 restaurants nationwide are GRA certified - another 500-plus are in the midst of the certification process.
“(We might suggest) a chemical change for here. How about a spray valve? Or different napkins,” Oshman said. “We work with their vendors. There’s nothing noble about making it hard for the restaurant. Our goal is to make it easier than (the restaurateur) thought.”
The Green Restaurant Association targets the entire restaurant food chain.
“We work in a vertically integrated system,” Oshman said. “Meaning from the consumer to the restaurant, restaurant to distributor and distributor to manufacturer. Because consumers are increasingly educated and increasingly want choices of where to spend their money in a responsible way, they want a legitimate and transparent choice in every sector of their consumption.”
Locally, GRA certified restaurants include The Fireplace, UpStairs on the Square, Grendel’s Den, Taranta, Lumiere, Flour Bakery, Za, and all Boloco, Bagel Rising and Espresso Royale locations. Tables of Content Catering is certified green - along with catering operations at the New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo and Harvard School of Public Health.
For a complete list of GRA certified restaurants, go to dinegreen.com.
Participating restaurateurs say the Green Restaurant Association logo - a fork, knife and plate embossed with the planet Earth - is a magnet for customers.
“People will call for our catering and say they’ve been looking for somebody that’s socially responsible that can reflect their values at a wedding or at a catered event,” said Tables of Content Catering chef and owner Stephen Barck.
Fireplace chef and owner Jim Solomon says certification is also good for his bottom line.
“We save money across the board - on electrical expenses, water, heating, gas,” Solomon said. “We’ve become more conscious of energy savings, in general ... it’s a greener way of living.”
Politicians move to restore zoo's budget
Pols move to restore $2M in zoos’ budgets
By Hillary Chabot | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
House lawmakers have roared back with $2 million for Franklin and Stoneham zoos following a month-long campaign where officials threatened possible animal euthinization.
“Now it’s a numbers game, where the zoos will have to see how much they can actually survive on,” said one legislative aide. The state originally gave Zoo New England $6.5 million in funding, which Gov. Deval Patrick cut to $4.5 million.
The proposal, which legislators plan on voting on today, will also include $40 million in funding for Gov. Deval Patrick’s push to restore health benefits for legal immigrants.
Many lawmakers are reluctant to restore funding for the initiatives, however.
“I suggested that there’s no money and we shouldn’t be overriding anything,” said Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams). “I think we need to be prudent about this.”
Others have indicated that the state may have to make emergency cuts to the budget as soon as next week due to poor July revenues.
“We are grateful for the Legislature’s recognition of the reality of what the size of the proposed cut would do to the zoo’s ability to operate,” said John Linehan, president and CEO of Zoo New England.
“We know that both the governor and the Legislature are working hard and are faced with very difficult choices in this budget process.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1187678
By Hillary Chabot | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
House lawmakers have roared back with $2 million for Franklin and Stoneham zoos following a month-long campaign where officials threatened possible animal euthinization.
“Now it’s a numbers game, where the zoos will have to see how much they can actually survive on,” said one legislative aide. The state originally gave Zoo New England $6.5 million in funding, which Gov. Deval Patrick cut to $4.5 million.
The proposal, which legislators plan on voting on today, will also include $40 million in funding for Gov. Deval Patrick’s push to restore health benefits for legal immigrants.
Many lawmakers are reluctant to restore funding for the initiatives, however.
“I suggested that there’s no money and we shouldn’t be overriding anything,” said Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams). “I think we need to be prudent about this.”
Others have indicated that the state may have to make emergency cuts to the budget as soon as next week due to poor July revenues.
“We are grateful for the Legislature’s recognition of the reality of what the size of the proposed cut would do to the zoo’s ability to operate,” said John Linehan, president and CEO of Zoo New England.
“We know that both the governor and the Legislature are working hard and are faced with very difficult choices in this budget process.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1187678
Morton's to settle Boston lawsuit over tips
Morton’s settles pay suit
By Donna Goodison | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc. has settled a national class-action lawsuit filed in Boston that alleged waiters for the upscale steakhouse chain were forced to give some of their tips to managers and were paid less than the minimum wage.
The Chicago company will record an approximately $13.4 million charge related to the class-action suit and the settlement of all other so-called wage-and-hour claims against it dating back to 2003. The sum includes cash payments for up to a four-year period and stock.
Mark Johnson, a former waiter for Morton’s Boston restaurant on Boylston Street from 1998 to 2002, filed the class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston in 2005. The suit alleged that Morton’s waiters were illegally required to give a percentage of their tips to managers, even while receiving the lower minimum service wage instead of the full minimum wage. The alleged chain-wide practice violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
The lawsuit was settled in arbitration. “The matter has been amicably resolved,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the waiters’ Boston attorney. She declined further comment.
In a statement, Morton’s denied the allegations, but said it agreed to the settlements to avoid additional legal fees, “uncertainty” surrounding the litigation and devoting management time to it.
Settling “is in the best interest of our company, our shareholders and our employees,” Scott Levin, general counsel for Morton’s, said in the statement.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1187701
By Donna Goodison | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc. has settled a national class-action lawsuit filed in Boston that alleged waiters for the upscale steakhouse chain were forced to give some of their tips to managers and were paid less than the minimum wage.
The Chicago company will record an approximately $13.4 million charge related to the class-action suit and the settlement of all other so-called wage-and-hour claims against it dating back to 2003. The sum includes cash payments for up to a four-year period and stock.
Mark Johnson, a former waiter for Morton’s Boston restaurant on Boylston Street from 1998 to 2002, filed the class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston in 2005. The suit alleged that Morton’s waiters were illegally required to give a percentage of their tips to managers, even while receiving the lower minimum service wage instead of the full minimum wage. The alleged chain-wide practice violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
The lawsuit was settled in arbitration. “The matter has been amicably resolved,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the waiters’ Boston attorney. She declined further comment.
In a statement, Morton’s denied the allegations, but said it agreed to the settlements to avoid additional legal fees, “uncertainty” surrounding the litigation and devoting management time to it.
Settling “is in the best interest of our company, our shareholders and our employees,” Scott Levin, general counsel for Morton’s, said in the statement.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1187701
Boston Cab Drive gets warning, not suspension for baby left in his cab
Yahoo! News
Boston hack almost takes blame for forgotten child
By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press Writer Bob Salsberg, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 28, 4:40 pm ET
BOSTON – A family picked up by a taxi at the airport left a sleeping 5-year-old child behind in the back of the minivan — and the cabbie almost took the blame for it.
Joseph Cohen, a taxi driver for 39 years, picked up the family at Logan International Airport on Sunday, drove them to their home in the city's Mattapan neighborhood, and helped them unload their luggage.
"They paid me, thank you very much, everything was nice, and I left," he said.
Minutes later, Cohen got a call from the cab pool at the airport. State police, who have jurisdiction over Logan, were looking for him.
He was told the family left a child in his cab.
"I said, 'What?' So I looked in the back and I see the baby sleeping. I said, 'What should I do?' So you know, I take the baby (back) to the family," he said. "The father came out. He was very happy."
He even gave him a $50 tip.
The following day, Cohen was ordered to report to the Hackney unit, where police told him his license was being suspended for three days because he didn't do a thorough check of the van. He appealed the suspension and was allowed to keep his license pending a hearing. On Tuesday, he visited the police station with an attorney and learned he would only get a warning.
"We are very happy that the baby was safely returned to mom and dad," said Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman. "That said, it was an important opportunity to remind cab drivers why we have a rule that dictates they must check the back of their cab after every fare."
Cohen said the girl had been in the back of the van behind another seat and he could not see her from his rearview mirror or from the outside of the vehicle.
The cabbies' union expressed outrage at the proposed suspension, saying the fault should lie with the child's family, not the driver.
Police would not release the names of the parents but said they were not being investigated.
"I think the sad piece here is that the police are not recognizing the responsibility of the adults and are now saying this driver also has to be responsible for passengers who forget their children," said Donna Blythe-Shaw, a staff representative for the United Steelworkers Boston Taxi Drivers Association.
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Boston hack almost takes blame for forgotten child
By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press Writer Bob Salsberg, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 28, 4:40 pm ET
BOSTON – A family picked up by a taxi at the airport left a sleeping 5-year-old child behind in the back of the minivan — and the cabbie almost took the blame for it.
Joseph Cohen, a taxi driver for 39 years, picked up the family at Logan International Airport on Sunday, drove them to their home in the city's Mattapan neighborhood, and helped them unload their luggage.
"They paid me, thank you very much, everything was nice, and I left," he said.
Minutes later, Cohen got a call from the cab pool at the airport. State police, who have jurisdiction over Logan, were looking for him.
He was told the family left a child in his cab.
"I said, 'What?' So I looked in the back and I see the baby sleeping. I said, 'What should I do?' So you know, I take the baby (back) to the family," he said. "The father came out. He was very happy."
He even gave him a $50 tip.
The following day, Cohen was ordered to report to the Hackney unit, where police told him his license was being suspended for three days because he didn't do a thorough check of the van. He appealed the suspension and was allowed to keep his license pending a hearing. On Tuesday, he visited the police station with an attorney and learned he would only get a warning.
"We are very happy that the baby was safely returned to mom and dad," said Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman. "That said, it was an important opportunity to remind cab drivers why we have a rule that dictates they must check the back of their cab after every fare."
Cohen said the girl had been in the back of the van behind another seat and he could not see her from his rearview mirror or from the outside of the vehicle.
The cabbies' union expressed outrage at the proposed suspension, saying the fault should lie with the child's family, not the driver.
Police would not release the names of the parents but said they were not being investigated.
"I think the sad piece here is that the police are not recognizing the responsibility of the adults and are now saying this driver also has to be responsible for passengers who forget their children," said Donna Blythe-Shaw, a staff representative for the United Steelworkers Boston Taxi Drivers Association.
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Boston taxi driver suspended after toddler left in cab
Cops clobber cabbie over dozing tot
By Laurel J. Sweet | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
Taxi driver Joseph Cohen’s good deed has not gone unpunished.
Capt. Robert Ciccolo, commander of the Boston Police Hackney Division, notified Cohen, 66, yesterday he was facing suspension after the Herald reported he unwittingly drove off with a toddler a family forgot to retrieve from his minivan after he picked them up at Logan International Airport and took them to Mattapan.
The little girl slept through the brief ride Sunday and once a friend alerted Cohen that state police were looking for him, he reunited the child with her family safe and sound.
Donna Blythe-Shaw, staff representative for the United Steelworkers Boston Taxi Drivers Association, said it was “outrageous” for the hackney cops to crack the whip on Cohen when - by his count - there were six adults traveling with the tot.
“What we should be saying is thank God this person was a decent human being,” Blythe-Shaw said. “Would the pilot of a plane be suspended because a parent left their child on board? It’s the responsibility of the parents to take the child out of the cab.”
But officer James Kenneally, a Boston police spokesman, said hackney regulations require cabbies to inspect their vehicles for forgotten carry-ons every time they drop off a fare.
“Clearly in this particular case the operator didn’t do that,” Kenneally said, “because if he had he probably would have discovered the infant.”
The good news: Cohen is allowed to drive pending a hearing.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1187416
By Laurel J. Sweet | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
Taxi driver Joseph Cohen’s good deed has not gone unpunished.
Capt. Robert Ciccolo, commander of the Boston Police Hackney Division, notified Cohen, 66, yesterday he was facing suspension after the Herald reported he unwittingly drove off with a toddler a family forgot to retrieve from his minivan after he picked them up at Logan International Airport and took them to Mattapan.
The little girl slept through the brief ride Sunday and once a friend alerted Cohen that state police were looking for him, he reunited the child with her family safe and sound.
Donna Blythe-Shaw, staff representative for the United Steelworkers Boston Taxi Drivers Association, said it was “outrageous” for the hackney cops to crack the whip on Cohen when - by his count - there were six adults traveling with the tot.
“What we should be saying is thank God this person was a decent human being,” Blythe-Shaw said. “Would the pilot of a plane be suspended because a parent left their child on board? It’s the responsibility of the parents to take the child out of the cab.”
But officer James Kenneally, a Boston police spokesman, said hackney regulations require cabbies to inspect their vehicles for forgotten carry-ons every time they drop off a fare.
“Clearly in this particular case the operator didn’t do that,” Kenneally said, “because if he had he probably would have discovered the infant.”
The good news: Cohen is allowed to drive pending a hearing.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1187416
Brandeis sued over Rose Museum closure
Museum overseers sue to halt Rose closure
By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | July 28, 2009
Three members of the Rose Art Museum’s board of overseers filed a lawsuit yesterday to prevent Brandeis University from closing the museum, selling artwork, or using any of the Rose endowment for other purposes - a surprising move that a university lawyer called “frivolous and without merit.’’
The suit, unusual in that it was filed in the state’s highest court, is the first legal challenge since Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz announced in January that the 48-year-old museum would close and some of its collection would be sold to help the financially troubled school ride out its budget woes.
The plaintiffs - prominent museum benefactors Meryl Rose, Jon athan Lee, and Lois Foster - have asked the Supreme Judicial Court to issue a preliminary injunction to keep art from being sold and an order declaring that Brandeis may not shut the Rose. The overseers want the court to order Brandeis to turn over the artwork and endowment funds to another organization committed to displaying the modern and contemporary works in a permanent, public art museum.
“The purpose of the lawsuit is to say, ‘Guess what? The art is not yours to sell,’ ’’ said Lee, chairman of the museum’s overseers, whose late mother donated more than 500 works of art to the Rose. “The university looks at this from a business perspective. This is a valuable asset, and they are going to rebalance their portfolio, as if they owned a timber stand in North Carolina. It is wrong to sell off a long-term cultural asset when you have a short-term financial problem.’’
University officials learned of the lawsuit late yesterday afternoon. Thomas Reilly, the former Massachusetts attorney general and outside counsel for Brandeis, said the university, like others around the country, has taken aggressive cost-cutting steps to preserve the quality of education and money for financial aid for needy students.
“The university has a responsibility to provide the very best education and faculty to fulfill its higher educational agenda,’’ Reilly wrote in a statement. “Apparently, these three overseers are oblivious to the Brandeis mission.’’
The Rose houses the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in New England, Lee said - 7,000 objects valued at $350 million.
After critics voiced their objections to the museum’s closure and Brandeis was thrust into the international spotlight for the dramatic move, Reinharz retreated from his original statement that the museum would close. Instead, he said the university would convert the Rose from an art museum open to the public into an educational arts center for Brandeis students and faculty.
The university also appointed a committee to examine the Rose’s future; it is slated to release a final report in the fall. In the meantime, the contract for the museum’s director, Michael Rush, was not renewed when it expired in June, and most of his staff was released.
Lee said the museum’s transition into an arts center is a technicality that will pave the way for artwork to be sold. Museum ethical codes require proceeds from any sale of artwork be used only to purchase new acquisitions. The lawsuit contends that Brandeis has accelerated the process of preparing works for sale in recent weeks, and that artwork will start to be sold by the fall, which the university denies.
“At this point in time, that allegation is premature,’’ Reilly said in an e-mail.
The overseers entered the suit in the SJC to make a larger point about honoring donor intent, Lee said. His mother, Mildred Schiff Lee, who died in May, began collecting American Expressionist art in the 1940s and started donating to the Rose shortly after its founding in 1961 because of the museum’s commitment to exhibit the works to the public.
Should the Rose cease to function as a public art museum, the artwork should revert to her estate to be donated to other museum purposes, the court documents said.
“If you undermine that, who’s going to give to art museums?’’ Lee said. “It’s a terrible precedent. It isn’t a question of fact, it’s a question of value.’’
Reilly said the university will “aggressively defend’’ its position in court. The Rose endowment “is part of the Brandeis endowment, its presence is on the Brandeis campus, and its major fund-raising over the past dozen years has been done by the Brandeis president.’’
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | July 28, 2009
Three members of the Rose Art Museum’s board of overseers filed a lawsuit yesterday to prevent Brandeis University from closing the museum, selling artwork, or using any of the Rose endowment for other purposes - a surprising move that a university lawyer called “frivolous and without merit.’’
The suit, unusual in that it was filed in the state’s highest court, is the first legal challenge since Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz announced in January that the 48-year-old museum would close and some of its collection would be sold to help the financially troubled school ride out its budget woes.
The plaintiffs - prominent museum benefactors Meryl Rose, Jon athan Lee, and Lois Foster - have asked the Supreme Judicial Court to issue a preliminary injunction to keep art from being sold and an order declaring that Brandeis may not shut the Rose. The overseers want the court to order Brandeis to turn over the artwork and endowment funds to another organization committed to displaying the modern and contemporary works in a permanent, public art museum.
“The purpose of the lawsuit is to say, ‘Guess what? The art is not yours to sell,’ ’’ said Lee, chairman of the museum’s overseers, whose late mother donated more than 500 works of art to the Rose. “The university looks at this from a business perspective. This is a valuable asset, and they are going to rebalance their portfolio, as if they owned a timber stand in North Carolina. It is wrong to sell off a long-term cultural asset when you have a short-term financial problem.’’
University officials learned of the lawsuit late yesterday afternoon. Thomas Reilly, the former Massachusetts attorney general and outside counsel for Brandeis, said the university, like others around the country, has taken aggressive cost-cutting steps to preserve the quality of education and money for financial aid for needy students.
“The university has a responsibility to provide the very best education and faculty to fulfill its higher educational agenda,’’ Reilly wrote in a statement. “Apparently, these three overseers are oblivious to the Brandeis mission.’’
The Rose houses the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in New England, Lee said - 7,000 objects valued at $350 million.
After critics voiced their objections to the museum’s closure and Brandeis was thrust into the international spotlight for the dramatic move, Reinharz retreated from his original statement that the museum would close. Instead, he said the university would convert the Rose from an art museum open to the public into an educational arts center for Brandeis students and faculty.
The university also appointed a committee to examine the Rose’s future; it is slated to release a final report in the fall. In the meantime, the contract for the museum’s director, Michael Rush, was not renewed when it expired in June, and most of his staff was released.
Lee said the museum’s transition into an arts center is a technicality that will pave the way for artwork to be sold. Museum ethical codes require proceeds from any sale of artwork be used only to purchase new acquisitions. The lawsuit contends that Brandeis has accelerated the process of preparing works for sale in recent weeks, and that artwork will start to be sold by the fall, which the university denies.
“At this point in time, that allegation is premature,’’ Reilly said in an e-mail.
The overseers entered the suit in the SJC to make a larger point about honoring donor intent, Lee said. His mother, Mildred Schiff Lee, who died in May, began collecting American Expressionist art in the 1940s and started donating to the Rose shortly after its founding in 1961 because of the museum’s commitment to exhibit the works to the public.
Should the Rose cease to function as a public art museum, the artwork should revert to her estate to be donated to other museum purposes, the court documents said.
“If you undermine that, who’s going to give to art museums?’’ Lee said. “It’s a terrible precedent. It isn’t a question of fact, it’s a question of value.’’
Reilly said the university will “aggressively defend’’ its position in court. The Rose endowment “is part of the Brandeis endowment, its presence is on the Brandeis campus, and its major fund-raising over the past dozen years has been done by the Brandeis president.’’
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Julia Child celebration at The Aquitaine Group Restaurants
Sidetracks
By Inside Track | Sunday, July 26, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | The Inside Track
Apropos of nothing:
Attention foodies: Raise a glass to the late, great food goddess Julia Child on her birthday, Aug. 15, at any of The Aquitaine Group’s restaurants - the first glass of bubbly is on the house. It’s also Restaurant Week in the city, making it a double bargain. The Julia offer is available at Aquitaine, Metropolis Cafe, Union Bar and Grille or Gaslight Brasserie du Coin.
And speaking of foodies, congrats to chef Evan Percoco of BOKX 109 at the Hotel Indigo, who will be rattling the pots and pans at the foodie nirvana James Beard House in NYC on Thursday.
And mazel tov to Dress for Success Boston, which was just named the 2009 Affiliate of the Year by Dress for Success Worldwide. Boston and the organization’s 93 other affiliates assist women in achieving economic independence through employment. The Lublin Award is given each year to the affiliate that demonstrates extraordinary growth in clients served, funds raised and the depth of its volunteer staff.
And finally, a round of applause, please, for Lansdowne Street’s The Sausage Guy, who got a shout-out from Maxim as the No. 1 Meals on Wheels in the lad maggie’s Food Awards. Also making the cut: The Clam Box in Ipswich.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1187090
By Inside Track | Sunday, July 26, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | The Inside Track
Apropos of nothing:
Attention foodies: Raise a glass to the late, great food goddess Julia Child on her birthday, Aug. 15, at any of The Aquitaine Group’s restaurants - the first glass of bubbly is on the house. It’s also Restaurant Week in the city, making it a double bargain. The Julia offer is available at Aquitaine, Metropolis Cafe, Union Bar and Grille or Gaslight Brasserie du Coin.
And speaking of foodies, congrats to chef Evan Percoco of BOKX 109 at the Hotel Indigo, who will be rattling the pots and pans at the foodie nirvana James Beard House in NYC on Thursday.
And mazel tov to Dress for Success Boston, which was just named the 2009 Affiliate of the Year by Dress for Success Worldwide. Boston and the organization’s 93 other affiliates assist women in achieving economic independence through employment. The Lublin Award is given each year to the affiliate that demonstrates extraordinary growth in clients served, funds raised and the depth of its volunteer staff.
And finally, a round of applause, please, for Lansdowne Street’s The Sausage Guy, who got a shout-out from Maxim as the No. 1 Meals on Wheels in the lad maggie’s Food Awards. Also making the cut: The Clam Box in Ipswich.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1187090
Friday, July 24, 2009
House of Blues restaurant review
Down-home eats in the House
By Mat Schaffer / Dining | Friday, July 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
HOUSE OF BLUES : B-
With its busy concert schedule and Lansdowne Street location, the recently opened Boston branch of the House of Blues chain could surely cut corners when it comes to cuisine. But it doesn’t.
The kitchen, under the direction of executive chef Tindaro LoSurdo (formerly of Smith & Wollensky), prides itself on its fresh, from-scratch eats - including desserts.
The menu includes sandwiches, pub grub, the Southern/Cajun dishes for which House of Blues is known and a handful of regional New England specialties.
Including an unusual clam chowder ($3.95/$5.95), atypically seasoned with rosemary. It’s thick with clams and potatoes and would be much better if it wasn’t on the cold side of lukewarm.
Rosemary heavy-handedly turns up in and on several plates. A huge sprig crowns a bowl of seared voodoo shrimp ($11.95) served on two squares of intense rosemary corn bread drenched in sugary Dixie beer reduction. It’s too sweet for my palate.
The sweetness continues with BBQ pizza ($8.95), slathered with sweet Jim Beam BBQ sauce, pulled chicken, mozzarella, gouda cheese, red onion and cilantro. Fans of BBQ pizza will surely be pleased.
I preferred a crock of battered and fried catfish nuggets ($9.95) atop a mound of sweet-potato fries. Though the fries were limp, the nuggets were perfect: light, flaky and delicious dunked into spicy, pickle-speckled tartar sauce.
Did I mention portions are gigantic?
There’s another rosemary sprig on the full rack of baby back ribs ($23.95). And rosemary is the predominant flavor in these spice-blend-rubbed ribs that fall off the bone.
We loved the Cajun meatloaf ($14.95), a slab of blue-ribbon-diner-caliber loaf smothered in thick mushroom, onion and celery gravy. Excellent mashed red bliss potatoes and steamed broccoli happily round out the diner theme.
From the local portion of the menu, there’s Maine lobster roll ($15.95) - actually a brioche bun filled with hot-sauce-orange lobster salad, lettuce and tomato. The hot sauce masks the nuances of the lobster. Kudos for a side of baked beans.
And enthusiastic thumbs up for the New England seafood bake ($17.95) of shrimp and crab in creamy sauce under a cheddar cheese and crumbled cracker crust - crowned with a single, rosemary-infused shrimp. It’s like crustacean potpie.
House of Blues has a pedestrian selection of beers and wines. The cocktails are generous and high-test.
Homemade desserts ($5.95) are worth saving room for - particularly Boston cream custard pie, a sundaelike concoction of vanilla cake, pastry cream, fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Chunky white-chocolate banana bread pudding with Jack Daniel’s whiskey sauce is a decadent delight.
If the ornately carved wooden bar looks familiar, it’s because it used to grace the long-closed House of Blues in Harvard Square - the first in the national chain. The Lansdowne Street site boasts none of the idiosyncratic charm of the original. It is corporate theme park decorated with folk art on the walls and a bright, shiny yellow tile floor. Mainstream rock plays nonstop in the background.
“(During) concerts and ballgames, it’s so packed in here, you can’t get the food through the crowd,” says a waiter.
But on two recent nights when the stage was dark, the Sox on the road and the restaurant virtually empty, service was spotty. Meaning a less-than-attentive staff, unbussed tables and an inexplicable 10-plus minute wait for a draught Guinness ($7).
15 Lansdowne St. (Fenway) 888-623-2583; houseofblues.com Price: $20-$40; Hours: Daily: 11 a.m.- 11 p.m. Bar: Full Credit: All Recession specials: No Accessibility: Accessible Parking: Nearby lots
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1186745
Related Articles:
By Mat Schaffer / Dining | Friday, July 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
HOUSE OF BLUES : B-
With its busy concert schedule and Lansdowne Street location, the recently opened Boston branch of the House of Blues chain could surely cut corners when it comes to cuisine. But it doesn’t.
The kitchen, under the direction of executive chef Tindaro LoSurdo (formerly of Smith & Wollensky), prides itself on its fresh, from-scratch eats - including desserts.
The menu includes sandwiches, pub grub, the Southern/Cajun dishes for which House of Blues is known and a handful of regional New England specialties.
Including an unusual clam chowder ($3.95/$5.95), atypically seasoned with rosemary. It’s thick with clams and potatoes and would be much better if it wasn’t on the cold side of lukewarm.
Rosemary heavy-handedly turns up in and on several plates. A huge sprig crowns a bowl of seared voodoo shrimp ($11.95) served on two squares of intense rosemary corn bread drenched in sugary Dixie beer reduction. It’s too sweet for my palate.
The sweetness continues with BBQ pizza ($8.95), slathered with sweet Jim Beam BBQ sauce, pulled chicken, mozzarella, gouda cheese, red onion and cilantro. Fans of BBQ pizza will surely be pleased.
I preferred a crock of battered and fried catfish nuggets ($9.95) atop a mound of sweet-potato fries. Though the fries were limp, the nuggets were perfect: light, flaky and delicious dunked into spicy, pickle-speckled tartar sauce.
Did I mention portions are gigantic?
There’s another rosemary sprig on the full rack of baby back ribs ($23.95). And rosemary is the predominant flavor in these spice-blend-rubbed ribs that fall off the bone.
We loved the Cajun meatloaf ($14.95), a slab of blue-ribbon-diner-caliber loaf smothered in thick mushroom, onion and celery gravy. Excellent mashed red bliss potatoes and steamed broccoli happily round out the diner theme.
From the local portion of the menu, there’s Maine lobster roll ($15.95) - actually a brioche bun filled with hot-sauce-orange lobster salad, lettuce and tomato. The hot sauce masks the nuances of the lobster. Kudos for a side of baked beans.
And enthusiastic thumbs up for the New England seafood bake ($17.95) of shrimp and crab in creamy sauce under a cheddar cheese and crumbled cracker crust - crowned with a single, rosemary-infused shrimp. It’s like crustacean potpie.
House of Blues has a pedestrian selection of beers and wines. The cocktails are generous and high-test.
Homemade desserts ($5.95) are worth saving room for - particularly Boston cream custard pie, a sundaelike concoction of vanilla cake, pastry cream, fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Chunky white-chocolate banana bread pudding with Jack Daniel’s whiskey sauce is a decadent delight.
If the ornately carved wooden bar looks familiar, it’s because it used to grace the long-closed House of Blues in Harvard Square - the first in the national chain. The Lansdowne Street site boasts none of the idiosyncratic charm of the original. It is corporate theme park decorated with folk art on the walls and a bright, shiny yellow tile floor. Mainstream rock plays nonstop in the background.
“(During) concerts and ballgames, it’s so packed in here, you can’t get the food through the crowd,” says a waiter.
But on two recent nights when the stage was dark, the Sox on the road and the restaurant virtually empty, service was spotty. Meaning a less-than-attentive staff, unbussed tables and an inexplicable 10-plus minute wait for a draught Guinness ($7).
15 Lansdowne St. (Fenway) 888-623-2583; houseofblues.com Price: $20-$40; Hours: Daily: 11 a.m.- 11 p.m. Bar: Full Credit: All Recession specials: No Accessibility: Accessible Parking: Nearby lots
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1186745
Related Articles:
Judge block's Boston hybrid cab order
Judge blocks Hub’s rule on hybrid cab fleet
By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | July 24, 2009
Boston cab owners won a significant victory yesterday when a federal judge ordered the city to stop enforcing a year-old rule requiring them to buy new hybrid cars by 2015.
US District Judge William G. Young’s granted the request for a temporary injunction after the city refused his request to voluntarily halt implementation of the plan while he weighed his decision on the legality of the restrictions.
A lawyer for the cab owners who filed suit against the regulations said he hopes the injunction will prompt the city to reach a settlement.
“The cabdrivers recognize that we have to do everything we can to protect the environment,’’ said Paul H. Merry, who represents the Boston Taxi Owners Association, which filed the suit.
Cab owners have pleaded for the right to buy used hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles to meet the city’s requirements. That flexibility would save them money not only on the price of the vehicle, but also the cost of insurance, which can run as high as $14,000 to $20,000 a year for a new Toyota Camry Hybrid, cab owners say.
But the city has insisted the owners buy new vehicles, arguing that a phased-in approach over seven years will help the environment and provide a comfortable ride to passengers without causing undue hardship to owners and drivers.
“At this time, we will respect the judge’s ruling on the matter,’’ said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, which regulates taxis. “Currently our attorneys are working closely with city attorneys to determine what the next steps will be.’’
The owners argue that the requirements are unreasonable and infringe on federal authority to set fuel-economy and emissions standards - an argument that New York cabdrivers have used to block a similar requirement.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino imposed the rule last August, during a summer of record-high gas prices that spurred taxi drivers to ask for a steep rate increase. The city also required owners to install credit card machines in their vehicles and banned drivers from talking on cellphones while driving, while allowing fares to be raised. Cabs now charge $5 for the first mile, a 35-cent increase, and $2.80 a mile after that, up from $2.40.
Attorneys for the City of Boston have asked Young to clarify his ruling, issued verbally from the bench, because it is unclear technically whether he meant to repeal all taxi-licensing requirements, or just the hybrid rule.
“We’re of a mind, with the plaintiff, that the order as handed down was broader than that,’’ said William F. Sinnott, corporation counsel for the City of Boston. “And I don’t think it was intentional on Judge Young’s part, but obviously we need the clarification.’’
Sinnott said the city will immediately stop enforcing the hybrid rule, but will leave the other licensing requirements in effect unless otherwise instructed. He would not say whether the latest ruling would spur a new round of negotiations with the taxi drivers, but did not rule that out. “We’ve been in discussions with [taxi drivers’] counsel for some time now,’’ he said.
Raphael Ophir, lead plaintiff in the case and the owner of three medallions, said he would like to broaden the requirement to not only allow used hybrids, but also other new cars that are considered efficient.
“I am for efficient cars but not necessarily hybrids,’’ he said. “We need to compromise on this.’’
Most taxis being phased out are Ford Crown Victorias, usually former police cars outfitted with new radios, partitions, and other taxi necessities. Cabdrivers say some are sold for as little as $4,000, though the city says the price ranges from $7,500 to $10,000.
Toyota Camry Hybrids, once converted to taxis, cost $25,000 to $30,000. They get 34 miles per gallon, compared with no more than 20 miles per gallon for Crown Victorias. Boston officials could not say yesterday afternoon how many of the city’s 1,825 cabs are now hybrids.
Andrew Hebert, a manager at USA Taxi, which has converted a third of its 36-car fleet to hybrids, said medallion owners sat down with Menino in December and asked that he slow down the implementation process, cutting in half the number of new hybrids required this year.
“We’re looking for the technology to improve, and it is,’’ he said. “The city refused to sit down and work it out with us. That was the big beef that everyone had.’’
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | July 24, 2009
Boston cab owners won a significant victory yesterday when a federal judge ordered the city to stop enforcing a year-old rule requiring them to buy new hybrid cars by 2015.
US District Judge William G. Young’s granted the request for a temporary injunction after the city refused his request to voluntarily halt implementation of the plan while he weighed his decision on the legality of the restrictions.
A lawyer for the cab owners who filed suit against the regulations said he hopes the injunction will prompt the city to reach a settlement.
“The cabdrivers recognize that we have to do everything we can to protect the environment,’’ said Paul H. Merry, who represents the Boston Taxi Owners Association, which filed the suit.
Cab owners have pleaded for the right to buy used hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles to meet the city’s requirements. That flexibility would save them money not only on the price of the vehicle, but also the cost of insurance, which can run as high as $14,000 to $20,000 a year for a new Toyota Camry Hybrid, cab owners say.
But the city has insisted the owners buy new vehicles, arguing that a phased-in approach over seven years will help the environment and provide a comfortable ride to passengers without causing undue hardship to owners and drivers.
“At this time, we will respect the judge’s ruling on the matter,’’ said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, which regulates taxis. “Currently our attorneys are working closely with city attorneys to determine what the next steps will be.’’
The owners argue that the requirements are unreasonable and infringe on federal authority to set fuel-economy and emissions standards - an argument that New York cabdrivers have used to block a similar requirement.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino imposed the rule last August, during a summer of record-high gas prices that spurred taxi drivers to ask for a steep rate increase. The city also required owners to install credit card machines in their vehicles and banned drivers from talking on cellphones while driving, while allowing fares to be raised. Cabs now charge $5 for the first mile, a 35-cent increase, and $2.80 a mile after that, up from $2.40.
Attorneys for the City of Boston have asked Young to clarify his ruling, issued verbally from the bench, because it is unclear technically whether he meant to repeal all taxi-licensing requirements, or just the hybrid rule.
“We’re of a mind, with the plaintiff, that the order as handed down was broader than that,’’ said William F. Sinnott, corporation counsel for the City of Boston. “And I don’t think it was intentional on Judge Young’s part, but obviously we need the clarification.’’
Sinnott said the city will immediately stop enforcing the hybrid rule, but will leave the other licensing requirements in effect unless otherwise instructed. He would not say whether the latest ruling would spur a new round of negotiations with the taxi drivers, but did not rule that out. “We’ve been in discussions with [taxi drivers’] counsel for some time now,’’ he said.
Raphael Ophir, lead plaintiff in the case and the owner of three medallions, said he would like to broaden the requirement to not only allow used hybrids, but also other new cars that are considered efficient.
“I am for efficient cars but not necessarily hybrids,’’ he said. “We need to compromise on this.’’
Most taxis being phased out are Ford Crown Victorias, usually former police cars outfitted with new radios, partitions, and other taxi necessities. Cabdrivers say some are sold for as little as $4,000, though the city says the price ranges from $7,500 to $10,000.
Toyota Camry Hybrids, once converted to taxis, cost $25,000 to $30,000. They get 34 miles per gallon, compared with no more than 20 miles per gallon for Crown Victorias. Boston officials could not say yesterday afternoon how many of the city’s 1,825 cabs are now hybrids.
Andrew Hebert, a manager at USA Taxi, which has converted a third of its 36-car fleet to hybrids, said medallion owners sat down with Menino in December and asked that he slow down the implementation process, cutting in half the number of new hybrids required this year.
“We’re looking for the technology to improve, and it is,’’ he said. “The city refused to sit down and work it out with us. That was the big beef that everyone had.’’
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Boston cab drivers get reprieve from hybrid order
Boston’s cab drivers win legal victory
By Associated Press | Friday, July 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
BOSTON — A federal judge has handed Boston cab drivers a legal victory by granting a temporary halt to a city order that requires taxi drivers to buy new hybrid vehicles by 2015.
U.S. District Judge William Young granted the request for a temporary injunction after the city refused his request to voluntarily halt implementation of the plan while he weighed his decision on the legality of the rules.
Paul Merry, a lawyer for the Boston Taxi Owners Association, tells The Boston Globe that drivers understand the need for low-emission vehicles and hope a settlement can be reached.
Cab owners want the right to buy used hybrids, which are less expensive to insure.
A spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, which oversees the city’s taxi fleet, says the department is weighing its options.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1186838
By Associated Press | Friday, July 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
BOSTON — A federal judge has handed Boston cab drivers a legal victory by granting a temporary halt to a city order that requires taxi drivers to buy new hybrid vehicles by 2015.
U.S. District Judge William Young granted the request for a temporary injunction after the city refused his request to voluntarily halt implementation of the plan while he weighed his decision on the legality of the rules.
Paul Merry, a lawyer for the Boston Taxi Owners Association, tells The Boston Globe that drivers understand the need for low-emission vehicles and hope a settlement can be reached.
Cab owners want the right to buy used hybrids, which are less expensive to insure.
A spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, which oversees the city’s taxi fleet, says the department is weighing its options.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1186838
Boston Chef's on 'Hell's Kitchen'; New Jazz eatery to open in South End; new concept for old Excelsior spot
Boston chefs scalded in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, July 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
It was a rough night for the two Massachusetts chefs competing in “Hell’s Kitchen,” which premiered Tuesday on Fox TV.
Fitchburg diner owner David “Louie” Cordio was booted in the middle of dinner service by chef Gordon Ramsay - the only contestant in six seasons to be kicked off the reality TV show even before the first elimination ceremony.
The two-hour show ended with a cliffhanger. Fans of Boston chef Andy Husbands, nominated by his team for elimination in the second round, will have to tune in next Tuesday to see if he’s dispatched.
It was a memorable, if short, run for Cordio, who in one scene doffed his shirt to do a champagne-fueled cannonball into a hot tub.
Now he wants to go mano-a-mano with Ramsay outside the kitchen. “Put all the spatulas and spoons aside,” Cordio, 45, said. “I just want a cage match.”
So is Cordio bitter about his early exit and Ramsay’s criticism of his signature dish? “It’s TV, what can you do?” he said. “Somebody has to go out first. I just think chef Ramsay is a clown, if you ask me.”
The 16 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestants had 45 minutes to prepare their signature dishes for the series’ first challenge, and Cordio made sausage gravy over biscuits.
“Ah, (expletive) me, what is it?” was Ramsay’s first reaction.
Cordio asked Ramsay what was wrong with the dish, noting he sells “5 gallons” of it a week at his 50/50 Diner in Fitchburg. “It tastes like gunk!” Ramsay replied after spitting out a mouthful.
The final straw for Ramsay was Cordio’s performance on the meat station on opening night of the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant. After reaming Cordio for putting the rack of lamb in the oven without searing and seasoning it - and wasting a heaping plate of it - Ramsay ordered him to get out of the kitchen and pack his bags.
But Cordio had a parting shot for Ramsay in his final closeup: “He can kiss my (expletive) ass!”
Tremont 647 chef Husbands, who also failed to win a point for his signature dish, had problems with allegedly undercooked chicken during the second night of dinner. “It was tough, and I definitely goofed some stuff up,” said Husbands, who was hit with one of Ramsay’s “you (expletive) donkey” insults.
Husbands was sweating it in the hours prior to the show’s airing, as evidenced by his Twitter tweets. He went from a “little” nervous to “losing my mind” and “head about to explode” a few hours before.
***
A new jazz lounge and eatery is headed to Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End.
The Stork Club Boston is drawing its inspiration from speakeasies and its name from the former Stork Club that operated in New York City from 1929 to 1965 and drew the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, J. Edgar Hoover and the Kennedys.
It’s taking the place of Circle Plates and Lounge, an upscale French restaurant that opened last October in the former Bob’s Southern Bistro space and closed six weeks later.
Managing partner Ziad Chamoun, previously director of operations for the Barking Crab restaurants in Boston and Newport, is buying out the current owner.
“The goal is to bring back a place where there’s conversation and music, and artists and people from different groups within Boston can come in and enjoy,” spokesman Marc Deley said. “There will be weekly live jazz music, but it will be more atmospheric jazz.”
The 88-seat Stork Club Boston is slated to open Aug. 11.
***
Executive chef Jeff Poliseno’s menu of comfort food “with a twist” that’s meant to be shared will be served until 1 a.m., an hour before closing, with prices of $7 to $17. Poliseno formerly worked at American Seasons on Nantucket and as executive chef at Boston’s Vox Populi.
***
A little bit of news on the restaurant replacing Excelsior at Boston’s Heritage on the Garden.
London’s Marlon Abela Restaurant Corp., which Himmel Hospitality is partnering with to run the restaurant, has posted a help-wanted ad for a “Provencal-style bistro.”
The Turning the Tables column runs every other Friday. Send restaurant tips to
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1186780
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, July 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
It was a rough night for the two Massachusetts chefs competing in “Hell’s Kitchen,” which premiered Tuesday on Fox TV.
Fitchburg diner owner David “Louie” Cordio was booted in the middle of dinner service by chef Gordon Ramsay - the only contestant in six seasons to be kicked off the reality TV show even before the first elimination ceremony.
The two-hour show ended with a cliffhanger. Fans of Boston chef Andy Husbands, nominated by his team for elimination in the second round, will have to tune in next Tuesday to see if he’s dispatched.
It was a memorable, if short, run for Cordio, who in one scene doffed his shirt to do a champagne-fueled cannonball into a hot tub.
Now he wants to go mano-a-mano with Ramsay outside the kitchen. “Put all the spatulas and spoons aside,” Cordio, 45, said. “I just want a cage match.”
So is Cordio bitter about his early exit and Ramsay’s criticism of his signature dish? “It’s TV, what can you do?” he said. “Somebody has to go out first. I just think chef Ramsay is a clown, if you ask me.”
The 16 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestants had 45 minutes to prepare their signature dishes for the series’ first challenge, and Cordio made sausage gravy over biscuits.
“Ah, (expletive) me, what is it?” was Ramsay’s first reaction.
Cordio asked Ramsay what was wrong with the dish, noting he sells “5 gallons” of it a week at his 50/50 Diner in Fitchburg. “It tastes like gunk!” Ramsay replied after spitting out a mouthful.
The final straw for Ramsay was Cordio’s performance on the meat station on opening night of the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant. After reaming Cordio for putting the rack of lamb in the oven without searing and seasoning it - and wasting a heaping plate of it - Ramsay ordered him to get out of the kitchen and pack his bags.
But Cordio had a parting shot for Ramsay in his final closeup: “He can kiss my (expletive) ass!”
Tremont 647 chef Husbands, who also failed to win a point for his signature dish, had problems with allegedly undercooked chicken during the second night of dinner. “It was tough, and I definitely goofed some stuff up,” said Husbands, who was hit with one of Ramsay’s “you (expletive) donkey” insults.
Husbands was sweating it in the hours prior to the show’s airing, as evidenced by his Twitter tweets. He went from a “little” nervous to “losing my mind” and “head about to explode” a few hours before.
***
A new jazz lounge and eatery is headed to Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End.
The Stork Club Boston is drawing its inspiration from speakeasies and its name from the former Stork Club that operated in New York City from 1929 to 1965 and drew the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, J. Edgar Hoover and the Kennedys.
It’s taking the place of Circle Plates and Lounge, an upscale French restaurant that opened last October in the former Bob’s Southern Bistro space and closed six weeks later.
Managing partner Ziad Chamoun, previously director of operations for the Barking Crab restaurants in Boston and Newport, is buying out the current owner.
“The goal is to bring back a place where there’s conversation and music, and artists and people from different groups within Boston can come in and enjoy,” spokesman Marc Deley said. “There will be weekly live jazz music, but it will be more atmospheric jazz.”
The 88-seat Stork Club Boston is slated to open Aug. 11.
***
Executive chef Jeff Poliseno’s menu of comfort food “with a twist” that’s meant to be shared will be served until 1 a.m., an hour before closing, with prices of $7 to $17. Poliseno formerly worked at American Seasons on Nantucket and as executive chef at Boston’s Vox Populi.
***
A little bit of news on the restaurant replacing Excelsior at Boston’s Heritage on the Garden.
London’s Marlon Abela Restaurant Corp., which Himmel Hospitality is partnering with to run the restaurant, has posted a help-wanted ad for a “Provencal-style bistro.”
The Turning the Tables column runs every other Friday. Send restaurant tips to
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1186780
Thursday, July 23, 2009
40th Anniversary of famous Prince Spaghetti Ad shot in North End
40 years after iconic ad, 'Anthony' still rings out in North End
July 23, 2009 03:13 PM
Anthony Martignetti recreates his famous run through a North End alley.
By Billy Baker, Globe Correspondent
Forty years ago this summer, 12-year-old Anthony Martignetti was walking with friends near Pizzeria Regina in the North End when three men approached and asked for directions to Commercial Street.
His friends didn’t like the outsiders in their neighborhood – “long-haired, hippie types,” as Martignetti remembers – so they told them where they could go, and it wasn’t to Commercial Street. But Martignetti felt bad, so he stayed behind to give the men directions.
Two weeks later, Martignetti saw the men again. They remembered that he’d been nice to them, and, perhaps most important, they liked his name. So the men, who were developing an advertising campaign for Prince Pasta, a company founded in the neighborhood, asked him a question that would change his life: Would you like to be in a TV commercial?
At first he said no, but after discussing it with his friends – who believed this was their ticket to getting girls – he consented and ran home to tell his mother.
“I said, ‘Ma, I’m gonna be on TV,’ ” he recalled. “And she slapped me. She thought I was in trouble and I was gonna be on the news.”
What he was going to be was an icon. Anthony!
That commercial, the award-winning “Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day” spot that ran nationally for 13 years, would become a symbol of Boston’s North End. Its famous opening scene – an Italian woman leaning out of a window on Powers Court, yelling for her son (“Anthony! Anthony!”) to come home and eat spaghetti -- made his first name a part of American pop culture, like “Stella!” in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Adrian!” in “Rocky.”
Martignetti, who had immigrated from Italy just three years before the commercial was shot, lives in West Roxbury now and works as an associate court officer in Dedham District Court. But when he goes back to the North End, as he did on a recent Monday with a reporter to revisit the spots from the ad, he still gets the celebrity treatment from the fellas on the street, who, naturally, call out his first name.
“Look at all these restaurants,” he said on Hanover Street, gesturing with his hands, which he does quite often when he speaks. “I think that commercial changed the lifestyle of the North End. Before that, nobody had ever heard of it. Rent was $60 a month. Everybody knew everybody. If you had four restaurants, it was a lot.”
Martignetti believes the 30-second commercial, which was both a stereotype of and a homage to Italian America – mother, family, pasta, yelling – may have hastened the gentrification of the North End, where high-priced condos have chased out many of the older families. At the least, he thinks an argument could be made that the warm glow of mass media softened the image of the fiercely parochial neighborhood and made it more appealing to outsiders (see: South Boston after “Good Will Hunting”).
But a lot has changed since that tumultuous summer of 1969, those hot months of Woodstock and the moon landing, the Manson family murders, and Chappaquiddick.
“The '60s and '70s were the last gasp of the North End families,” according to Anthony V. Riccio, the author of “Recollections of the North End.” “There was some truth to that commercial at that time; it was the typical Italian family situation. But things change. Now that commercial has gone from being a stereotype to something that’s quaint, something that you can look back on that no longer exists.”
prince_pasta_ad2072309.jpg Mary Fiumara, with window she yelled out of at upper left.
Mary Fiumara, the 81-year-old life-long North End resident who played the mother yelling out the window (she said she was cast “because they were looking for a woman with dark hair”), got nostalgic when shown a copy of the clip.
“It was so real,” she said. “I used to do the same thing with my two boys. I’d hang out the window and call them home for dinner,” she said from her home, just two blocks from that iconic window. “But you don’t see that anymore.'' (For the record, neither of her boys are named Anthony; and no, she will not yell “Anthony!” for you.)
As Martignetti continued his tour of the spots where he was filmed running home to his fictional mother, he took a detour out of the neighborhood and across the Rose Kennedy Greenway (then the Central Artery) to the spot where he began his run, on Blackstone Street, among the pushcarts of the Haymarket.
“People who know the area say, ‘How’d you hear your mother calling you from Powers Court?’ ” which is nearly a half-mile away. “ ‘What’d you get bionic ears from eating all that pasta?’ ”
While Martignetti, like many locals, laments that the North End has become a mix of an Italian neighborhood and a theme park of an Italian neighborhood, he says he has no regrets about making the commercial, even if it may have contributed to that transformation. It didn’t make him rich – he thinks he got about $1,500 for the commercial – and though he doesn’t have to wait for a table in the North End, he’s not exactly famous.
But his name is.
Michelle Topor, who leads the North End Market Tour, says that at least half the time, the people on her culinary expeditions will break into cries of “Anthony!”
Anthony Martignetti likes this. Five years ago, when he had a son, you can guess what he named him (he thinks that the two should do a commercial together).
And little Anthony is just like his dad. They both eat Prince spaghetti all the time.
“Wednesday, yes,” big Anthony said, when asked the obvious question. “But also Thursday, Friday. Every day. I love spaghetti. You open my cabinets and all you see is Prince spaghetti. What can I say? I’m Italian. And no one cooks spaghetti like my mother."
July 23, 2009 03:13 PM
Anthony Martignetti recreates his famous run through a North End alley.
By Billy Baker, Globe Correspondent
Forty years ago this summer, 12-year-old Anthony Martignetti was walking with friends near Pizzeria Regina in the North End when three men approached and asked for directions to Commercial Street.
His friends didn’t like the outsiders in their neighborhood – “long-haired, hippie types,” as Martignetti remembers – so they told them where they could go, and it wasn’t to Commercial Street. But Martignetti felt bad, so he stayed behind to give the men directions.
Two weeks later, Martignetti saw the men again. They remembered that he’d been nice to them, and, perhaps most important, they liked his name. So the men, who were developing an advertising campaign for Prince Pasta, a company founded in the neighborhood, asked him a question that would change his life: Would you like to be in a TV commercial?
At first he said no, but after discussing it with his friends – who believed this was their ticket to getting girls – he consented and ran home to tell his mother.
“I said, ‘Ma, I’m gonna be on TV,’ ” he recalled. “And she slapped me. She thought I was in trouble and I was gonna be on the news.”
What he was going to be was an icon. Anthony!
That commercial, the award-winning “Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day” spot that ran nationally for 13 years, would become a symbol of Boston’s North End. Its famous opening scene – an Italian woman leaning out of a window on Powers Court, yelling for her son (“Anthony! Anthony!”) to come home and eat spaghetti -- made his first name a part of American pop culture, like “Stella!” in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Adrian!” in “Rocky.”
Martignetti, who had immigrated from Italy just three years before the commercial was shot, lives in West Roxbury now and works as an associate court officer in Dedham District Court. But when he goes back to the North End, as he did on a recent Monday with a reporter to revisit the spots from the ad, he still gets the celebrity treatment from the fellas on the street, who, naturally, call out his first name.
“Look at all these restaurants,” he said on Hanover Street, gesturing with his hands, which he does quite often when he speaks. “I think that commercial changed the lifestyle of the North End. Before that, nobody had ever heard of it. Rent was $60 a month. Everybody knew everybody. If you had four restaurants, it was a lot.”
Martignetti believes the 30-second commercial, which was both a stereotype of and a homage to Italian America – mother, family, pasta, yelling – may have hastened the gentrification of the North End, where high-priced condos have chased out many of the older families. At the least, he thinks an argument could be made that the warm glow of mass media softened the image of the fiercely parochial neighborhood and made it more appealing to outsiders (see: South Boston after “Good Will Hunting”).
But a lot has changed since that tumultuous summer of 1969, those hot months of Woodstock and the moon landing, the Manson family murders, and Chappaquiddick.
“The '60s and '70s were the last gasp of the North End families,” according to Anthony V. Riccio, the author of “Recollections of the North End.” “There was some truth to that commercial at that time; it was the typical Italian family situation. But things change. Now that commercial has gone from being a stereotype to something that’s quaint, something that you can look back on that no longer exists.”
prince_pasta_ad2072309.jpg Mary Fiumara, with window she yelled out of at upper left.
Mary Fiumara, the 81-year-old life-long North End resident who played the mother yelling out the window (she said she was cast “because they were looking for a woman with dark hair”), got nostalgic when shown a copy of the clip.
“It was so real,” she said. “I used to do the same thing with my two boys. I’d hang out the window and call them home for dinner,” she said from her home, just two blocks from that iconic window. “But you don’t see that anymore.'' (For the record, neither of her boys are named Anthony; and no, she will not yell “Anthony!” for you.)
As Martignetti continued his tour of the spots where he was filmed running home to his fictional mother, he took a detour out of the neighborhood and across the Rose Kennedy Greenway (then the Central Artery) to the spot where he began his run, on Blackstone Street, among the pushcarts of the Haymarket.
“People who know the area say, ‘How’d you hear your mother calling you from Powers Court?’ ” which is nearly a half-mile away. “ ‘What’d you get bionic ears from eating all that pasta?’ ”
While Martignetti, like many locals, laments that the North End has become a mix of an Italian neighborhood and a theme park of an Italian neighborhood, he says he has no regrets about making the commercial, even if it may have contributed to that transformation. It didn’t make him rich – he thinks he got about $1,500 for the commercial – and though he doesn’t have to wait for a table in the North End, he’s not exactly famous.
But his name is.
Michelle Topor, who leads the North End Market Tour, says that at least half the time, the people on her culinary expeditions will break into cries of “Anthony!”
Anthony Martignetti likes this. Five years ago, when he had a son, you can guess what he named him (he thinks that the two should do a commercial together).
And little Anthony is just like his dad. They both eat Prince spaghetti all the time.
“Wednesday, yes,” big Anthony said, when asked the obvious question. “But also Thursday, Friday. Every day. I love spaghetti. You open my cabinets and all you see is Prince spaghetti. What can I say? I’m Italian. And no one cooks spaghetti like my mother."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)