Boston Restaurant Talk
The Gallows to Open in the South End
A new restaurant and pub is coming to the South End of Boston, moving into the space where an Italian restaurant used to be. According to Grub Street Boston, The Gallows will be opening in the Washington Street spot formerly occupied by Sage, which moved from the North End to the South End in the spring of 2007, only to close last fall.
The Gallows looks to be a local neighborhood eatery and watering hole, with an apparent emphasis on American fare and comfort food, as well as several beers on tap and a cask ale, according to Grub Street. Prices for entrees look to top out just above $20.
The folks behind The Gallows have been involved with a couple of Boston-area dining spots--The Biltmore, which is a gastropub-style restaurant in Newton Upper Falls, and Vee Vee, an eclectic New American bistro in Jamaica Plain.
Grub Street mentions that The Gallows hopes to open sometime this spring.
The address for this upcoming restaurant and bar will be: The Gallows, 1395 Washington Street, Boston, MA, 02118.
posted by Marc at 12:07 PM | 0 comments links to this post
Friday, February 26, 2010
b.good to open on Mass. Ave in former Boloco spot
Boston Restaurant Talk
Friday, February 26, 2010
b.good Expanding in Boston
A small local chain of burger places is opening at least one more location in Boston over the coming weeks, and another one may be in the works for the downtown area.
According to BostonTweet and several other sources, b.good is moving into the space on Mass. Ave. in the Back Bay where Boloco was (Boloco has moved to a new spot on nearby Boylston Street). It appears that the new b.good may open sometime in March.
Another b.good may also be in the works for downtown Boston, though nothing has been confirmed yet. According to the b.good Twitter page, a new location on Washington Street in the Downtown Crossing area is apparently being looked at, as a note indicates that they are trying to get a lease on a space there.
b.good currently has five other locations in the Boston area, including two in the Back Bay (Newbury Street and Dartmouth Street), one in Brookline (Harvard Street), one in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge (Dunster Street), and one at Legacy Place in Dedham.
The address for the soon-to-open b.good in the Back Bay will be: b.good, 137 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA, 02115. The website for the b.good chain is at: http://www.bgood.com/
posted by Marc at 3:16 PM |
Friday, February 26, 2010
b.good Expanding in Boston
A small local chain of burger places is opening at least one more location in Boston over the coming weeks, and another one may be in the works for the downtown area.
According to BostonTweet and several other sources, b.good is moving into the space on Mass. Ave. in the Back Bay where Boloco was (Boloco has moved to a new spot on nearby Boylston Street). It appears that the new b.good may open sometime in March.
Another b.good may also be in the works for downtown Boston, though nothing has been confirmed yet. According to the b.good Twitter page, a new location on Washington Street in the Downtown Crossing area is apparently being looked at, as a note indicates that they are trying to get a lease on a space there.
b.good currently has five other locations in the Boston area, including two in the Back Bay (Newbury Street and Dartmouth Street), one in Brookline (Harvard Street), one in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge (Dunster Street), and one at Legacy Place in Dedham.
The address for the soon-to-open b.good in the Back Bay will be: b.good, 137 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA, 02115. The website for the b.good chain is at: http://www.bgood.com/
posted by Marc at 3:16 PM |
Grilled cheese truck to debut in Boston; Jacob Wirth may expand to Beacon Hill; Petit Robert Bistro now open at Felt
Grilled cheese inspired by Jesus
Also, Beacon Hill bro for Jacob Wirth?
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, February 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
When recent grad James DiSabatino wasn’t in class at Emerson College, he toured with his brother Michael’s local hardcore band, The Carrier.
“Just to save money, we’d go out and buy a whole bunch of bread and cheese, and my brother would serve up grilled cheeses,” said James DiSabatino, 22. “He started out with just Wonder Bread and Kraft Singles, and, over time, they just started getting more elaborate.”
Now the brothers are prepping to launch Roxy’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese. The plan is to retrofit a bread truck that’ll be stationed in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville on different days, possibly by early summer after securing permits.
“People know a few places that have good grilled cheese, but there’s not one place that is exclusively grilled cheese,” James said. “It’s kind of an untapped market that people definitely love.”
Drummer Michael will get menu help from chefs David and Bob Kinkead of Sibling Rivalry in the South End.
DiSabatino offered this “mythical” explanation for the company’s name and mascot: “Basically, what we believe is that Jesus was cooking grilled cheese sandwiches, and he held one up to the sky and thought he saw Roxy in it.”
The owner of the 142-year-old Jacob Wirth on Boston’s Stuart Street is eyeing a second spot for a German restaurant and beer hall.
Kevin Fitzgerald, whose family took over “Jake’s” in 1975, will meet with the Beacon Hill Civic Association next month about taking over 214-218 Cambridge St.
Fitzgerald is mulling a first-floor bar and second-floor dining room for the building, which is half the size of the original restaurant.
“The demographics of Cambridge Street and Stuart Street are very similar,” he said. “Jake’s is a comfortable family restaurant. I think the neighborhood really needs something to get between the Subway or Dunkin’ Donuts up the street and fine dining.”
The menu and pricing would be pretty much the same, and Fitzgerald also wants some kind of Friday night singalongs, which have been long led by pianist Mel Stiller on Stuart Street. But the second location would likely have a different name, because Fitzgerald doesn’t want to take customers away from the historic flagship.
Add Kathy Sidell Trustman to the list of restaurateurs interested in taking over the so-called “pink palace” on Boston Common.
Trustman believes the octagonal building, formerly a men’s “comfort” station, would be a great spot for a Met Burger Bar, her concept that specializes in sophisticated burgers at reasonable prices.
Trustman owns the Metropolitan Club in Chestnut Hill and the Met Bar & Grill/Met Burger Bar in Natick and Dedham. She’s also taking over the former Joe’s American Bar & Grill space on Boston’s Dartmouth Street for a hybrid of the two concepts.
The Conservation and Parks commissions have endorsed legislation that would allow the city to lease the “pink palace” for longer than three years, but the City Council must give its approval before it’s filed.
Trustman isn’t the only one who wants to operate a burger joint in the building. Chef Danny Meyer is eyeing it for a Boston location of his Shake Shack burger stands that operate in New York City.
“Are you going to go with a Yankees fan or a Red Sox [team stats] fan?” Trustman said. “I think you should go for a hometown girl.”
Petit Robert Bistro has taken over the first-floor restaurant of the Felt nightclub on Boston’s Washington Street, at least for the winter theater season.
The French bistro chain, which has Boston locations in Kenmore Square and the South End, is serving its dinner and dessert menus at Felt from 4 to 11 p.m. every day but Monday. It’s also offering a children’s menu to draw in families attending “The Lion King” next door at the Boston Opera House.
“We’re going to give it a try for two or three months to see how people will like it downtown,” said Loic Le Garrec, Petit Robert’s direction of operations. “The idea is to maybe stay there and renovate at one point.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1235622
Also, Beacon Hill bro for Jacob Wirth?
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, February 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
When recent grad James DiSabatino wasn’t in class at Emerson College, he toured with his brother Michael’s local hardcore band, The Carrier.
“Just to save money, we’d go out and buy a whole bunch of bread and cheese, and my brother would serve up grilled cheeses,” said James DiSabatino, 22. “He started out with just Wonder Bread and Kraft Singles, and, over time, they just started getting more elaborate.”
Now the brothers are prepping to launch Roxy’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese. The plan is to retrofit a bread truck that’ll be stationed in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville on different days, possibly by early summer after securing permits.
“People know a few places that have good grilled cheese, but there’s not one place that is exclusively grilled cheese,” James said. “It’s kind of an untapped market that people definitely love.”
Drummer Michael will get menu help from chefs David and Bob Kinkead of Sibling Rivalry in the South End.
DiSabatino offered this “mythical” explanation for the company’s name and mascot: “Basically, what we believe is that Jesus was cooking grilled cheese sandwiches, and he held one up to the sky and thought he saw Roxy in it.”
The owner of the 142-year-old Jacob Wirth on Boston’s Stuart Street is eyeing a second spot for a German restaurant and beer hall.
Kevin Fitzgerald, whose family took over “Jake’s” in 1975, will meet with the Beacon Hill Civic Association next month about taking over 214-218 Cambridge St.
Fitzgerald is mulling a first-floor bar and second-floor dining room for the building, which is half the size of the original restaurant.
“The demographics of Cambridge Street and Stuart Street are very similar,” he said. “Jake’s is a comfortable family restaurant. I think the neighborhood really needs something to get between the Subway or Dunkin’ Donuts up the street and fine dining.”
The menu and pricing would be pretty much the same, and Fitzgerald also wants some kind of Friday night singalongs, which have been long led by pianist Mel Stiller on Stuart Street. But the second location would likely have a different name, because Fitzgerald doesn’t want to take customers away from the historic flagship.
Add Kathy Sidell Trustman to the list of restaurateurs interested in taking over the so-called “pink palace” on Boston Common.
Trustman believes the octagonal building, formerly a men’s “comfort” station, would be a great spot for a Met Burger Bar, her concept that specializes in sophisticated burgers at reasonable prices.
Trustman owns the Metropolitan Club in Chestnut Hill and the Met Bar & Grill/Met Burger Bar in Natick and Dedham. She’s also taking over the former Joe’s American Bar & Grill space on Boston’s Dartmouth Street for a hybrid of the two concepts.
The Conservation and Parks commissions have endorsed legislation that would allow the city to lease the “pink palace” for longer than three years, but the City Council must give its approval before it’s filed.
Trustman isn’t the only one who wants to operate a burger joint in the building. Chef Danny Meyer is eyeing it for a Boston location of his Shake Shack burger stands that operate in New York City.
“Are you going to go with a Yankees fan or a Red Sox [team stats] fan?” Trustman said. “I think you should go for a hometown girl.”
Petit Robert Bistro has taken over the first-floor restaurant of the Felt nightclub on Boston’s Washington Street, at least for the winter theater season.
The French bistro chain, which has Boston locations in Kenmore Square and the South End, is serving its dinner and dessert menus at Felt from 4 to 11 p.m. every day but Monday. It’s also offering a children’s menu to draw in families attending “The Lion King” next door at the Boston Opera House.
“We’re going to give it a try for two or three months to see how people will like it downtown,” said Loic Le Garrec, Petit Robert’s direction of operations. “The idea is to maybe stay there and renovate at one point.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1235622
Woodward review
Ames’ Woodward right on target
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, February 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
WOODWARD: B+
There’s lots to like about Woodward, a self-described “modern-day tavern” at the new Ames hotel from nightclub mogul/restaurateur Seth Greenberg. And lots of people apparently like Woodward, judging by the crowds that fill the place virtually every night.
They come for the excitement of a see-and-be-seen scene spread over two busy bars and two noisy floors. They come for the pretty people and crafted cocktails. They come for the chic farmhouse-meets-lounge ambiance with its kitchen chairs, leather banquettes, upstairs fireplace and collection of Plexiglas-enclosed curios.
But what will keep them coming back is executive chef Mark Goldberg’s food with its big flavors and seasonal sensibilities.
A veteran of Mistral and Winnetu Oceanside Resort on Martha’s Vineyard, Goldberg turns out accessibly straightforward fare inspired by New England and the Mediterranean. Dishes are designed to be shared. Nothing costs more than $29.
Be sure to order the duck confit flatbread ($16) with its thin, slightly charred crust. It’s topped with a meaty, creamy, sweet, piquant combination of pulled confit, goat cheese, dried cranberries, red onion and arugula that will have you reaching for another slice.
Skip the mushroom toast ($11) - four tiny rounds, topped with garlic puree, portobello and shiitake duxelles and melted taleggio. They’re too expensive, too salty and unduly oily.
Salty-sharp ricotta salata cheese is an excellent counterpoint for the smoky sweetness of Mediterranean vegetable salad ($15) - a mix of chopped eggplant, squash, roasted red pepper, chickpeas and greens, tossed in tangy roasted tomato vinaigrette. Rock shrimp ($14) sauteed with capers, black olives, cherry tomatoes and garlic is delicious. I like how Goldberg uses fresh Italian parsley to garnish almost everything.
If only there was bread to sop up the buttery rock shrimp drippings. There is not. Woodward has a no-breadbasket policy, which means diners must rely on the assorted croutons and crisps that accompany some (but not all) menu items to savor Goldberg’s broths, gravies and sauces.
Gratis house-cured, pickled crudites are supposed to compensate for the lack of a breadbasket. But you can’t use pickled grapes, beets and cauliflower to help slurp up the briny broth in a bouillabaisse ($24) of shrimp, mussels, littlenecks, squid and monkfish. The bouillabaisse is terrific with each of its elements precisely cooked - yet the anise accents of Thai basil drown out the saffron seasoning.
We loved Meuniere-style flounder ($20), dusted with flour and flash-fried in butter and lemon with capers and crunchy green beans. Roasted chicken ($21) is just as moist and juicy as you’d ever want. It’s super with herbed jus and pureed potatoes.
Long-cooked short rib pot roast ($26) is marvelously fork-tender in deep, dark red wine gravy. With its chunks of parsnips and carrots, it’s the quintessential winter stew that begs for a heel of crusty bread.
Woodward’s wine prices are skewed higher than food prices - especially white wines. With the bouillabaisse and flounder, try a stone-fruit citrusy 2008 Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino ($40). A promised 2005 Glen Carlou “Grand Classique” Meritage ($38) was actually a 2006 but nonetheless tasty with the chicken and short rib.
For dessert ($10), plunge your spoon into the decadent warm brownie and peanut butter ice cream sundae under hot fudge and almonds. Or dense slabs of chocolate and almond bread pudding with burnt sugar ice cream. Calculate calories tomorrow.
Service is knowledgeable and attentive. One visit I was recognized as the Herald critic, on a second visit I dined anonymously.
Finally, kudos to Woodward’s quietly efficient front-of-the-house team. Making a new restaurant work seamlessly when it’s mobbed from Day One is complicated and stressful. Woodward managers make it look easy.
1 Court St. (Ames hotel) 617-979-8200; woodwardatames.com
Price: More than $40
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-2 a.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Valet, nearby garages
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1235505
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, February 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
WOODWARD: B+
There’s lots to like about Woodward, a self-described “modern-day tavern” at the new Ames hotel from nightclub mogul/restaurateur Seth Greenberg. And lots of people apparently like Woodward, judging by the crowds that fill the place virtually every night.
They come for the excitement of a see-and-be-seen scene spread over two busy bars and two noisy floors. They come for the pretty people and crafted cocktails. They come for the chic farmhouse-meets-lounge ambiance with its kitchen chairs, leather banquettes, upstairs fireplace and collection of Plexiglas-enclosed curios.
But what will keep them coming back is executive chef Mark Goldberg’s food with its big flavors and seasonal sensibilities.
A veteran of Mistral and Winnetu Oceanside Resort on Martha’s Vineyard, Goldberg turns out accessibly straightforward fare inspired by New England and the Mediterranean. Dishes are designed to be shared. Nothing costs more than $29.
Be sure to order the duck confit flatbread ($16) with its thin, slightly charred crust. It’s topped with a meaty, creamy, sweet, piquant combination of pulled confit, goat cheese, dried cranberries, red onion and arugula that will have you reaching for another slice.
Skip the mushroom toast ($11) - four tiny rounds, topped with garlic puree, portobello and shiitake duxelles and melted taleggio. They’re too expensive, too salty and unduly oily.
Salty-sharp ricotta salata cheese is an excellent counterpoint for the smoky sweetness of Mediterranean vegetable salad ($15) - a mix of chopped eggplant, squash, roasted red pepper, chickpeas and greens, tossed in tangy roasted tomato vinaigrette. Rock shrimp ($14) sauteed with capers, black olives, cherry tomatoes and garlic is delicious. I like how Goldberg uses fresh Italian parsley to garnish almost everything.
If only there was bread to sop up the buttery rock shrimp drippings. There is not. Woodward has a no-breadbasket policy, which means diners must rely on the assorted croutons and crisps that accompany some (but not all) menu items to savor Goldberg’s broths, gravies and sauces.
Gratis house-cured, pickled crudites are supposed to compensate for the lack of a breadbasket. But you can’t use pickled grapes, beets and cauliflower to help slurp up the briny broth in a bouillabaisse ($24) of shrimp, mussels, littlenecks, squid and monkfish. The bouillabaisse is terrific with each of its elements precisely cooked - yet the anise accents of Thai basil drown out the saffron seasoning.
We loved Meuniere-style flounder ($20), dusted with flour and flash-fried in butter and lemon with capers and crunchy green beans. Roasted chicken ($21) is just as moist and juicy as you’d ever want. It’s super with herbed jus and pureed potatoes.
Long-cooked short rib pot roast ($26) is marvelously fork-tender in deep, dark red wine gravy. With its chunks of parsnips and carrots, it’s the quintessential winter stew that begs for a heel of crusty bread.
Woodward’s wine prices are skewed higher than food prices - especially white wines. With the bouillabaisse and flounder, try a stone-fruit citrusy 2008 Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino ($40). A promised 2005 Glen Carlou “Grand Classique” Meritage ($38) was actually a 2006 but nonetheless tasty with the chicken and short rib.
For dessert ($10), plunge your spoon into the decadent warm brownie and peanut butter ice cream sundae under hot fudge and almonds. Or dense slabs of chocolate and almond bread pudding with burnt sugar ice cream. Calculate calories tomorrow.
Service is knowledgeable and attentive. One visit I was recognized as the Herald critic, on a second visit I dined anonymously.
Finally, kudos to Woodward’s quietly efficient front-of-the-house team. Making a new restaurant work seamlessly when it’s mobbed from Day One is complicated and stressful. Woodward managers make it look easy.
1 Court St. (Ames hotel) 617-979-8200; woodwardatames.com
Price: More than $40
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-2 a.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Valet, nearby garages
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1235505
Christian Science proposes hotel on Dalton Street
Christian Science Church changes Back Bay plans
By Thomas Grillo | Friday, February 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
As the need for new downtown office space disappears amid double-digit vacancy rates, the Christian Science Church has switched plans to develop its 14.5-acre site.
Instead of an office building, church officials now hope to build a 35-story residential tower and a 15-story hotel on Dalton Street and a third building at Huntington Avenue - all far above the zoning limits.
But a group of residents have filed an application with the city to landmark the Christian Science complex. They are seeking Boston Landmarks Commission status for the church, the plaza and reflecting pool, library and administration building. If granted, the church would face additional hurdles in getting construction approvals.
George Thrush, director of Northeastern University’s School of Architecture and co-chair of a 16-member panel appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to advise City Hall on the project, said the landmark effort is a move to resist large development on the church’s property.
“There are a whole bunch of people who want nothing but to stop as much development as they can,” Thrush said. “Almost everyone understands that this is a part of town that should have taller buildings.”
Barbara Burley, senior manager at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, said she is not concerned about the landmark status. “We will find a way to see the site evolve while preserving the special property,” she said.
Joanne McKenna, a representative from the Fenway Community Development Corp., said the project has the potential to meet goals of an urban village with affordable and market rate housing, access to public transportation, community space and other public benefits.
But she said so far the church has been vague about its plans. “We’ve been meeting for a year and I still don’t have enough information yet to give my opinion on the project,” she said.
Douglass Shand-Tucci, a spokesman for the group supporting the landmark designation, was unavailable for comment.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1235763
By Thomas Grillo | Friday, February 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
As the need for new downtown office space disappears amid double-digit vacancy rates, the Christian Science Church has switched plans to develop its 14.5-acre site.
Instead of an office building, church officials now hope to build a 35-story residential tower and a 15-story hotel on Dalton Street and a third building at Huntington Avenue - all far above the zoning limits.
But a group of residents have filed an application with the city to landmark the Christian Science complex. They are seeking Boston Landmarks Commission status for the church, the plaza and reflecting pool, library and administration building. If granted, the church would face additional hurdles in getting construction approvals.
George Thrush, director of Northeastern University’s School of Architecture and co-chair of a 16-member panel appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to advise City Hall on the project, said the landmark effort is a move to resist large development on the church’s property.
“There are a whole bunch of people who want nothing but to stop as much development as they can,” Thrush said. “Almost everyone understands that this is a part of town that should have taller buildings.”
Barbara Burley, senior manager at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, said she is not concerned about the landmark status. “We will find a way to see the site evolve while preserving the special property,” she said.
Joanne McKenna, a representative from the Fenway Community Development Corp., said the project has the potential to meet goals of an urban village with affordable and market rate housing, access to public transportation, community space and other public benefits.
But she said so far the church has been vague about its plans. “We’ve been meeting for a year and I still don’t have enough information yet to give my opinion on the project,” she said.
Douglass Shand-Tucci, a spokesman for the group supporting the landmark designation, was unavailable for comment.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1235763
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Boston to host new flower show this march
Flower show to bloom again in Boston
By Carol Stocker, Globe Correspondent | February 25, 2010
Gardeners can breathe easy. There will be a major March flower show in Boston after all.
The Boston Flower & Garden Show will be held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston March 24-28. It is a new show, with a new producer, new name, and new location. But it will include many of the people and even some of the props that were part of the former New England Spring Flower Show, a much-loved Boston institution that was suspended in 2009 after 137 years because of the financial meltdown of its producer, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
The Paragon Group, a Needham events marketer best known for its auto shows, will mount the new flower show, which will look awfully familiar.
Paragon has hired the old flower show’s longtime manager, Carolyn Weston, and she’s lined up veteran exhibitors from past shows.
But there will be differences. The factory-like Dorchester Expo Center has been replaced by a spiffed-up waterfront venue. The new show will be five days, half the duration of the old one, and also more commercial. Weston hopes to strike a balance between making money and satisfying horticultural sophisticates.
“You will see more retail as you walk through the gardens,’’ she said. “But I’m also going to make sure that all the plants on exhibit are still labeled in Latin.’’
Paragon was prepared to stage a flower show without participation from MassHort. But MassHort trustee Paul Miskovsky said he presented Seaport World Trade Center executives with a half-dozen letters from nurserymen, who said they would not mount garden displays for the new show unless MassHort had a role.
“There were enough of us who didn’t want to throw MassHort under the bus to change the outcome of the negotiations,’’ Miskovsky said. “Now there’s an adequate amount of money for MassHort to do what has to get done and after the show we’ll see where we are. The whole thing for us is to keep MassHort alive.’’ As in past years, its members will get free flower show tickets. Board director Betsy Madsen said last week that MassHort was getting 50 new memberships a day from gardeners who want flower show tickets. “MassHort is going to survive,’’ she said.
While Paragon deals with commercial vendors and large garden exhibits by professional landscapers, MassHort’s part of the flower show - which is called Blooms! - will encompass the nonprofit side of the show. This includes amateur horticulture and competitions, with displays by 16 plant societies and garden clubs, and a pair of floral design competitions. “Everyone’s a volunteer, including me,’’ said Blooms! director Neal Sanders. MassHort is also providing nomenclature, props, and some lecture programming and awards. The Master Gardeners Association, once part of MassHort but now an independent organization, will answer gardening questions.
“We’ve mended our fences and everyone is working well together,’’ said Miskovsky, adding, “The reality is we have to make this work.’’
For more information visit www.thebostonflowershow.com. or call 781-237-5533. To participate as an a volunteer or amateur grower, call 617-933-4900 or visit www.MassHort.org.
By Carol Stocker, Globe Correspondent | February 25, 2010
Gardeners can breathe easy. There will be a major March flower show in Boston after all.
The Boston Flower & Garden Show will be held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston March 24-28. It is a new show, with a new producer, new name, and new location. But it will include many of the people and even some of the props that were part of the former New England Spring Flower Show, a much-loved Boston institution that was suspended in 2009 after 137 years because of the financial meltdown of its producer, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
The Paragon Group, a Needham events marketer best known for its auto shows, will mount the new flower show, which will look awfully familiar.
Paragon has hired the old flower show’s longtime manager, Carolyn Weston, and she’s lined up veteran exhibitors from past shows.
But there will be differences. The factory-like Dorchester Expo Center has been replaced by a spiffed-up waterfront venue. The new show will be five days, half the duration of the old one, and also more commercial. Weston hopes to strike a balance between making money and satisfying horticultural sophisticates.
“You will see more retail as you walk through the gardens,’’ she said. “But I’m also going to make sure that all the plants on exhibit are still labeled in Latin.’’
Paragon was prepared to stage a flower show without participation from MassHort. But MassHort trustee Paul Miskovsky said he presented Seaport World Trade Center executives with a half-dozen letters from nurserymen, who said they would not mount garden displays for the new show unless MassHort had a role.
“There were enough of us who didn’t want to throw MassHort under the bus to change the outcome of the negotiations,’’ Miskovsky said. “Now there’s an adequate amount of money for MassHort to do what has to get done and after the show we’ll see where we are. The whole thing for us is to keep MassHort alive.’’ As in past years, its members will get free flower show tickets. Board director Betsy Madsen said last week that MassHort was getting 50 new memberships a day from gardeners who want flower show tickets. “MassHort is going to survive,’’ she said.
While Paragon deals with commercial vendors and large garden exhibits by professional landscapers, MassHort’s part of the flower show - which is called Blooms! - will encompass the nonprofit side of the show. This includes amateur horticulture and competitions, with displays by 16 plant societies and garden clubs, and a pair of floral design competitions. “Everyone’s a volunteer, including me,’’ said Blooms! director Neal Sanders. MassHort is also providing nomenclature, props, and some lecture programming and awards. The Master Gardeners Association, once part of MassHort but now an independent organization, will answer gardening questions.
“We’ve mended our fences and everyone is working well together,’’ said Miskovsky, adding, “The reality is we have to make this work.’’
For more information visit www.thebostonflowershow.com. or call 781-237-5533. To participate as an a volunteer or amateur grower, call 617-933-4900 or visit www.MassHort.org.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Yard House to open first New England location in Dedham
Dedham
Yard House to open at Legacy Place
E-mail|Link|Comments (0) Posted February 24, 2010 09:20 AM
By Johanna Kaiser, Globe Correspondent
Dedham’s Legacy Place will welcome a new tenant next month when the California-based restaurant Yard House makes its New England debut on March 14.
Yard House will offer American fusion dishes with Asian influences for lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. Ribs and pizzas will be offered alongside California rolls and sashimi on executive chef Carlito Johnson’s menu. The restaurant, which gets its name from the 3-foot-tall glass used to serve beer, also has a selection of 130 beers on tap.
Praised for having the “Best Beer List” by Nation’s Restaurant News and Cheers Magazine, Yard House will allow guests to peek at its keg room in the restaurant. The room houses up to 400 kegs and 1,000 gallons of beer. It takes 5 miles of tubing to transport the beer to the 130 taps at the bar.
“We’re excited to make our New England debut here in Dedham,” Harald Herrmann, partner and CEO of the company, said in a press release. “Our aim is to provide the Dedham community, along with the entire Boston metropolitan area, with a fun, quality dining experience.”
The restaurant, which is decorated with abstract artworks and stainless steel accents of its wood design, aims to cater to a wide range of diners including singles, professionals, families, and sports fans looking for a place to catch the game.
Yard House will celebrate its opening by inviting guests to sample its menu offerings on March 12 and 13. It will open to the public at 11 a.m. on March 14.
The restaurant is located near the Cinema de Lux at Legacy Place, 950 Providence Highway. For more information, visit www.yardhouse.com.
Johanna Kaiser can be reached at jkaiser@globe.com.
Yard House to open at Legacy Place
E-mail|Link|Comments (0) Posted February 24, 2010 09:20 AM
By Johanna Kaiser, Globe Correspondent
Dedham’s Legacy Place will welcome a new tenant next month when the California-based restaurant Yard House makes its New England debut on March 14.
Yard House will offer American fusion dishes with Asian influences for lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. Ribs and pizzas will be offered alongside California rolls and sashimi on executive chef Carlito Johnson’s menu. The restaurant, which gets its name from the 3-foot-tall glass used to serve beer, also has a selection of 130 beers on tap.
Praised for having the “Best Beer List” by Nation’s Restaurant News and Cheers Magazine, Yard House will allow guests to peek at its keg room in the restaurant. The room houses up to 400 kegs and 1,000 gallons of beer. It takes 5 miles of tubing to transport the beer to the 130 taps at the bar.
“We’re excited to make our New England debut here in Dedham,” Harald Herrmann, partner and CEO of the company, said in a press release. “Our aim is to provide the Dedham community, along with the entire Boston metropolitan area, with a fun, quality dining experience.”
The restaurant, which is decorated with abstract artworks and stainless steel accents of its wood design, aims to cater to a wide range of diners including singles, professionals, families, and sports fans looking for a place to catch the game.
Yard House will celebrate its opening by inviting guests to sample its menu offerings on March 12 and 13. It will open to the public at 11 a.m. on March 14.
The restaurant is located near the Cinema de Lux at Legacy Place, 950 Providence Highway. For more information, visit www.yardhouse.com.
Johanna Kaiser can be reached at jkaiser@globe.com.
El Pelon to open by Boston College
Boston Restaurant Talk
El Pelon Taqueria to Open Across from Boston College
A beloved Mexican restaurant in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston that was hit by two fires over the past few years is going to re-open, but in a new spot in another section of the city. According to BostonTweet, El Pelon Taqueria is going to be opening across from Boston College in Brighton sometime in March. In a text message sent to us via http://twitter.com/BostonTweet, we were told that this has been confirmed by the owner of the restaurant.
El Pelon Taqueria had been located on Peterborough Street just south of Fenway Park for a number of years, but it was damaged in a fire in December, 2007, then destroyed in a devastating blaze in January, 2009, that gutted several other restaurants, including Greek Isles, Rod Dee, Sorento's, Thornton's, and Umi. There had been talk late last summer that El Pelon may reopen somewhere around Washington Square in Brookline, but that apparently fell through.
When we receive more information on an exact address for the new El Pelon Taqueria in Brighton, as well as an exact opening date, we will post an update here.
[February 24 update: According to Grub Street Boston, the address for the new El Pelon Taqueria in Brighton will be 2197 Commonwealth Avenue (which is the former home of the College Sub Shop by the Lake Street intersection). Grub Street also mentions that El Pelon Taqueria is planning on returning to Peterborough Street in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston as well, with construction possibly beginning soon.]
posted by Marc at 12:03 PM |
El Pelon Taqueria to Open Across from Boston College
A beloved Mexican restaurant in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston that was hit by two fires over the past few years is going to re-open, but in a new spot in another section of the city. According to BostonTweet, El Pelon Taqueria is going to be opening across from Boston College in Brighton sometime in March. In a text message sent to us via http://twitter.com/BostonTweet, we were told that this has been confirmed by the owner of the restaurant.
El Pelon Taqueria had been located on Peterborough Street just south of Fenway Park for a number of years, but it was damaged in a fire in December, 2007, then destroyed in a devastating blaze in January, 2009, that gutted several other restaurants, including Greek Isles, Rod Dee, Sorento's, Thornton's, and Umi. There had been talk late last summer that El Pelon may reopen somewhere around Washington Square in Brookline, but that apparently fell through.
When we receive more information on an exact address for the new El Pelon Taqueria in Brighton, as well as an exact opening date, we will post an update here.
[February 24 update: According to Grub Street Boston, the address for the new El Pelon Taqueria in Brighton will be 2197 Commonwealth Avenue (which is the former home of the College Sub Shop by the Lake Street intersection). Grub Street also mentions that El Pelon Taqueria is planning on returning to Peterborough Street in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston as well, with construction possibly beginning soon.]
posted by Marc at 12:03 PM |
Boston City Councilors urge state not to cut movie tax credit
Councilor Tobin is right on about this! The movie tax credit helps fill hotels and keep many other people in Boston employed. - Adam
Universal Hub
City councilors to Patrick: Don't cut moviemaking tax credit
By adamg - 2/24/10 - 1:14 pm
Boston city councilors said today that Gov. Patrick's plan to cut the amount of money available to companies that make movies in Massachusetts would harm a nascent industry in the state.
City Councilor John Tobin (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain), who submitted a call for a hearing on the financial impact of the change, compared moviemaking to the Red Sox. Sure, David Ortiz and other players make "an obscene amount of money," but they're also responsible for hiring large numbers of local residents.
The tax credit "puts men and women from the city of Boston, and from around the Commonwealth, to work," Tobin said.
Councilor Bill Linehan, (South Boston, South End) said, if anything, the state should be looking at expanding the credit to bring more jobs here.
Universal Hub
City councilors to Patrick: Don't cut moviemaking tax credit
By adamg - 2/24/10 - 1:14 pm
Boston city councilors said today that Gov. Patrick's plan to cut the amount of money available to companies that make movies in Massachusetts would harm a nascent industry in the state.
City Councilor John Tobin (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain), who submitted a call for a hearing on the financial impact of the change, compared moviemaking to the Red Sox. Sure, David Ortiz and other players make "an obscene amount of money," but they're also responsible for hiring large numbers of local residents.
The tax credit "puts men and women from the city of Boston, and from around the Commonwealth, to work," Tobin said.
Councilor Bill Linehan, (South Boston, South End) said, if anything, the state should be looking at expanding the credit to bring more jobs here.
Plaza III owes $175,000 in rent; Barracuda Tavern proposed for Bosworth Street
Universal Hub
Restaurant news: Faneuil Hall steak place going belly up, seafood place planned for small downtown street
By adamg - 2/24/10 - 11:40 am
If you've been wanting to try Plaza III at Faneuil Hall, you better hurry. The place is $175,000 in arrears on its rent and the marketplace's owner - itself in bankruptcy - plans to replace it with an Anthem lounge-type restaurant, roughly along the lines of the nearby Houston's.
The Boston Licensing Board will decide tomorrow whether to let the restaurant's current owner transfer its liquor license to Anthem, which hopes to open up fully by May. Attorney Dennis Quilty told the board today Plaza III has had "a very long bad run of it" - downtown Boston just couldn't support so many steak places.
Also tomorrow, the board will vote on a request for a beer and wine license for the Barracuda Tavern, a proposed seafood restaurant at 15 Bosworth St. - the site of the old and infamous Hank's Tavern, near Cafe Marliave. The proposal has the enthusiastic support of city councilors Sal LaMattina, Steve Murphy and Rob Consalvo. "There's three city councilors here looking for a new restaurant," LaMattina told the board.
Restaurant news: Faneuil Hall steak place going belly up, seafood place planned for small downtown street
By adamg - 2/24/10 - 11:40 am
If you've been wanting to try Plaza III at Faneuil Hall, you better hurry. The place is $175,000 in arrears on its rent and the marketplace's owner - itself in bankruptcy - plans to replace it with an Anthem lounge-type restaurant, roughly along the lines of the nearby Houston's.
The Boston Licensing Board will decide tomorrow whether to let the restaurant's current owner transfer its liquor license to Anthem, which hopes to open up fully by May. Attorney Dennis Quilty told the board today Plaza III has had "a very long bad run of it" - downtown Boston just couldn't support so many steak places.
Also tomorrow, the board will vote on a request for a beer and wine license for the Barracuda Tavern, a proposed seafood restaurant at 15 Bosworth St. - the site of the old and infamous Hank's Tavern, near Cafe Marliave. The proposal has the enthusiastic support of city councilors Sal LaMattina, Steve Murphy and Rob Consalvo. "There's three city councilors here looking for a new restaurant," LaMattina told the board.
Boston Licensing Board could strip Lyons Group of Lansdowne Street liquor license
Universal Hub
Powerful Lyons Group could lose liquor license
By adamg - 2/23/10 - 4:09 pm
The Boston Licensing Board could vote Thursday to strip the Lyons Group, one of the city's largest nightclub and restaurant operators, of a valuable liquor license because it hasn't actually used it since 2007.
The holding company stopped using one of its Lansdowne Street licenses when it merged several venues into the new House of Blues.
Board Chairman Daniel Pokaski said he was particularly irked that the holding company told the board then it would seek permission to sell the license to a new buyer - then kept the license out of use all this time. He said he's strongly considering moving to revoke the license at a vote on Thursday.
"It's a pocket license, period," he said, referring to the practice of sitting on a liquor license without using it, which is supposed to be forbidden in Boston. Liquor license in Boston are a relatively scarce commodity because state law limits the number that can be issued - in some neighborhoods, such as the Back Bay, they can go for as much as $400,000.
Lyons attorney Dennis Quilty, however, pleaded for more time, saying the company is close to agreement with another operator, which he did not identify, to open a new venue within a block or two of Lansdowne Street. He said the company spent more than a year negotiating a deal with the Somerville-based Redbone's, which wanted to open a new outlet in the Fenway area, but that that deal fell through.
Board member Michael Connolly said he was inclined to give the Lyons Group at least three more months to reach a sales agreement, because he said the company negotiated with Redbone's in good faith and that it shouldn't be blamed for the deal falling through, especially in tough economic times like these.
The third board member, Suzanne Ianella, did not indicate how she would vote.
Powerful Lyons Group could lose liquor license
By adamg - 2/23/10 - 4:09 pm
The Boston Licensing Board could vote Thursday to strip the Lyons Group, one of the city's largest nightclub and restaurant operators, of a valuable liquor license because it hasn't actually used it since 2007.
The holding company stopped using one of its Lansdowne Street licenses when it merged several venues into the new House of Blues.
Board Chairman Daniel Pokaski said he was particularly irked that the holding company told the board then it would seek permission to sell the license to a new buyer - then kept the license out of use all this time. He said he's strongly considering moving to revoke the license at a vote on Thursday.
"It's a pocket license, period," he said, referring to the practice of sitting on a liquor license without using it, which is supposed to be forbidden in Boston. Liquor license in Boston are a relatively scarce commodity because state law limits the number that can be issued - in some neighborhoods, such as the Back Bay, they can go for as much as $400,000.
Lyons attorney Dennis Quilty, however, pleaded for more time, saying the company is close to agreement with another operator, which he did not identify, to open a new venue within a block or two of Lansdowne Street. He said the company spent more than a year negotiating a deal with the Somerville-based Redbone's, which wanted to open a new outlet in the Fenway area, but that that deal fell through.
Board member Michael Connolly said he was inclined to give the Lyons Group at least three more months to reach a sales agreement, because he said the company negotiated with Redbone's in good faith and that it shouldn't be blamed for the deal falling through, especially in tough economic times like these.
The third board member, Suzanne Ianella, did not indicate how she would vote.
Boston Licensing Board to decide tomorrow on liquor license for new restaurant at Hynes Convention Center
Universal Hub
Upscale restaurant planned for Hynes Convention Center
By adamg - 2/24/10 - 12:06 pm
The Lyons Group and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority are planning a full-service restaurant for the Hynes on Boylston Street.
The proposed Towne Stove and Spirits, which actually has the support of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, could open mid-spring. The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow on a request from the Lyons Group to transfer a liquor license from Radius on High Street to the new eatery.
Meg Mainzer-Cohen of the Back Bay Association told the board at a hearing today the restaurant would help boost street traffic at that end of Boylston Street.
City Councilor Maureen Feeney, who represents Dorchester, said she liked the idea so much she was willing to speak publicly in favor even though it's not in her district. "This is such an exciting proposal," she said.
Towne would have 300 seats indoors, 80 seats on a patio and three bars.
Upscale restaurant planned for Hynes Convention Center
By adamg - 2/24/10 - 12:06 pm
The Lyons Group and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority are planning a full-service restaurant for the Hynes on Boylston Street.
The proposed Towne Stove and Spirits, which actually has the support of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, could open mid-spring. The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow on a request from the Lyons Group to transfer a liquor license from Radius on High Street to the new eatery.
Meg Mainzer-Cohen of the Back Bay Association told the board at a hearing today the restaurant would help boost street traffic at that end of Boylston Street.
City Councilor Maureen Feeney, who represents Dorchester, said she liked the idea so much she was willing to speak publicly in favor even though it's not in her district. "This is such an exciting proposal," she said.
Towne would have 300 seats indoors, 80 seats on a patio and three bars.
Passenger traffic up at Logan
Passenger traffic is up 11.1% at Logan
Rise attributed to budget carriers
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | February 24, 2010
Passengers may have ranked Logan International Airport near the bottom in customer satisfaction on a recent J.D. Power survey, but they’re flying out of Boston in increasing numbers, thanks to four new airlines.
In January, 1.8 million travelers passed through the airport, an 11.1 percent rise from the previous January - the first doubledigit growth at Logan since December 2004. Passenger numbers started picking up in July, after falling in all but one of the previous 20 months.
“The numbers seem to be heading in the right direction every month,’’ said Phillip Orlandella, airport spokesman.
The airport has not bounced back to the passenger numbers it had in January 2007 (1.93 million), but it’s doing better than the nation as a whole. About 0.4 percent fewer passengers traveled on US airlines in January than in the previous January, according to the Air Transport Association. Logan finished 2009 down about 2.3 percent from the year before; nationwide, the drop in passenger volume was 6 percent last year.
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire ended 2009 with 14.4 percent less traffic than the year before; T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island had a 7.7 percent slide. Last month, T.F. Green reported a 12.2 percent decline; Manchester has not released its January numbers.
The uptick at Logan is largely attributed to the four low-cost carriers that launched service from Boston last year: Virgin America, Sun Country Airlines, Porter Airlines, and Southwest Airlines - ratcheting up the competition and driving down fares. Logan now has seven airlines it considers low-cost, a marked change from eight years ago, when Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways were the only discount carriers in the market. The biggest of the bunch, JetBlue Airways, has more flights and destinations out of Logan than any other airline.
The rising passenger numbers reflect the fact that affordable airlines have been flocking to Boston, said Daniel Kasper, at the Cambridge office of LECG, an economics and financial consulting firm. “It largely reflects a reshuffling of traffic in New England,’’ Kasper said.
And new airlines are always on the radar. Air Canada, for example, is planning to increase its service out of Logan by 24 percent this year.
Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Rise attributed to budget carriers
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | February 24, 2010
Passengers may have ranked Logan International Airport near the bottom in customer satisfaction on a recent J.D. Power survey, but they’re flying out of Boston in increasing numbers, thanks to four new airlines.
In January, 1.8 million travelers passed through the airport, an 11.1 percent rise from the previous January - the first doubledigit growth at Logan since December 2004. Passenger numbers started picking up in July, after falling in all but one of the previous 20 months.
“The numbers seem to be heading in the right direction every month,’’ said Phillip Orlandella, airport spokesman.
The airport has not bounced back to the passenger numbers it had in January 2007 (1.93 million), but it’s doing better than the nation as a whole. About 0.4 percent fewer passengers traveled on US airlines in January than in the previous January, according to the Air Transport Association. Logan finished 2009 down about 2.3 percent from the year before; nationwide, the drop in passenger volume was 6 percent last year.
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire ended 2009 with 14.4 percent less traffic than the year before; T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island had a 7.7 percent slide. Last month, T.F. Green reported a 12.2 percent decline; Manchester has not released its January numbers.
The uptick at Logan is largely attributed to the four low-cost carriers that launched service from Boston last year: Virgin America, Sun Country Airlines, Porter Airlines, and Southwest Airlines - ratcheting up the competition and driving down fares. Logan now has seven airlines it considers low-cost, a marked change from eight years ago, when Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways were the only discount carriers in the market. The biggest of the bunch, JetBlue Airways, has more flights and destinations out of Logan than any other airline.
The rising passenger numbers reflect the fact that affordable airlines have been flocking to Boston, said Daniel Kasper, at the Cambridge office of LECG, an economics and financial consulting firm. “It largely reflects a reshuffling of traffic in New England,’’ Kasper said.
And new airlines are always on the radar. Air Canada, for example, is planning to increase its service out of Logan by 24 percent this year.
Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
House of Blues sells record number of tickets in first year
Boston.com
The Boston Globe
Hub’s new House of Blues takes a place on top of the world
By James Reed, Globe Staff | February 24, 2010
A month before the new House of Blues opened on Lansdowne Street last year, concert impresario Don Law made a lofty prediction. As president of the New England division of Live Nation, which owns the House of Blues chain, Law said the venue could book as many as 300 shows its inaugural year, making it far busier than the space’s previous clubs, Avalon and Axis.
He came close - it hosted nearly 250 shows - but he did not foresee the latest news: Boston’s House of Blues sold more tickets last year than any other club in the world.
According to Pollstar, the concert industry’s trade publication, the House of Blues sold 314,597 tickets in 2009, restoring luster to the city’s diminished nightlife scene since Avalon and Axis closed in 2007 and outdrawing well-established venues in New York (Hammerstein Ballroom), San Francisco (the Fillmore), and Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club).
“Part of it is that location has been successful for 40 years, going back to the Tea Party,’’ Law said of the No. 1 ranking, which is even more impressive considering that the House of Blues - which debuted Feb. 19, 2009 - was not open the entire year.
The Pollstar report, which gauged ticket sales only, does not mean the House of Blues was the world’s most profitable club. Still, it is an impressive feat for the music hall, whose tiny charter location (capacity: around 150) opened in Harvard Square in 1992 and shuttered 11 years later. The new House of Blues, which can accommodate 2,400 people and scale down to 1,000 for smaller shows, is the largest of 12 franchises.
Live Nation did not release ticket sales figures for Avalon but did note that it typically placed in the top 15 on Pollstar’s chart. The publication defines a club as a live-entertainment venue with a general-admission floor, meaning that places such as the Orpheum Theatre and TD Garden do not compete with the House of Blues in the year-end tally. The Paradise Rock Club, one of the three other New England clubs to place in Pollstar’s top 100, landed at No. 53 with 72,289 tickets sold.
Boston is an unusual concert market, because it does not have many midsize venues. Booking agents often face a question of whether an act can sell 500 tickets or 2,500, because there is not much in between. (Beyond that, an act normally graduates to the Orpheum, Agganis Arena, or TD Garden.) The Middle East Downstairs holds 575 and the Paradise Rock Club 650. But if a band can sell 1,000 tickets, it will likely end up at the House of Blues, which gives the club more leverage than it would have in another city. And because Live Nation also books some of the area’s other key venues - including the Paradise, the Orpheum, and Comcast Center - it presents a ferocious challenge to smaller promoters who can’t match the company’s price for talent.
Another reason for the House of Blues’ success was the broad appeal of musicians who played there in 2009, from popular metal bands (Mastodon) to R&B legends (Al Green) to world-music acts (Gipsy Kings). It helped that one of the club’s chief competitors, The Roxy, largely dropped its concert programming last year before closing. (It is tentatively scheduled to reopen next month as Royale.)
“It’s a diverse place to see a show,’’ says Ken Casey, whose band, Dropkick Murphys, has a long history playing whatever venue has been at 15 Lansdowne St., including Avalon’s last show in 2007. “You can go down on the floor, and it’ll still be a punk show as raucous as Avalon ever was, but then you can go up to the seats in the balconies, too.’’
The notion of past and present still looms large in the debate on which is better, Avalon or the House of Blues.
“If you’re going there for Avalon nostalgia, I don’t think you’ll get it,’’ says Chris Harris, whose production company has been booking Epic Saturdays, the venue’s only dance night, since October. Already the gay dance party is attracting crowds of 1,000, which doesn’t match Avalon’s numbers but suggests the market was hungry for the return of that club’s popular dance nights.
Three young women who attended the new House of Blues’ first-anniversary party last week said the club’s open floor makes it better than a theater with seating for the shows they enjoy - alternative rock bands such as Taking Back Sunday and the Gaslight Anthem. “If I go to see music, I want to feel it and get up and dance,’’ said Aliza Arevolin, 24. “If you try that at the Orpheum, they’ll tell you to sit down.’’
Still, they’re not completely satisfied. “I liked Avalon better,’’ said Erin Hayes, 24, who’s been to the House of Blues five or six times in the past year. “It was more intimate. When you went to Avalon, you were seeing a show. When you come to House of Blues, it feels like a chain.’’
“Yeah, and what’s up with the décor?’’ asked her friend Melinda Rossi, 25, referring to the colorful folk art adorning the walls. “It’s like Starbucks decorated it.’’
Elsewhere in the crowd, Ralph Maselli, 49, was on his second visit to the club. He was a big fan of the original House of Blues in Harvard Square but never stepped inside Avalon. He said the new incarnation brings in a wide range of acts he wants to see, such as reggae stars Toots & the Maytals. “Boston’s music scene needs a place like this,’’ he said.
Law suspected that long ago, but he is still surprised by how his latest crown jewel is faring in an economic downturn. “Opening a new venue can take a while, sometimes up to a year,’’ Law said. “The House of Blues didn’t take any time. This thing started off like a rocket ship and just never slowed down.’’
James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
The Boston Globe
Hub’s new House of Blues takes a place on top of the world
By James Reed, Globe Staff | February 24, 2010
A month before the new House of Blues opened on Lansdowne Street last year, concert impresario Don Law made a lofty prediction. As president of the New England division of Live Nation, which owns the House of Blues chain, Law said the venue could book as many as 300 shows its inaugural year, making it far busier than the space’s previous clubs, Avalon and Axis.
He came close - it hosted nearly 250 shows - but he did not foresee the latest news: Boston’s House of Blues sold more tickets last year than any other club in the world.
According to Pollstar, the concert industry’s trade publication, the House of Blues sold 314,597 tickets in 2009, restoring luster to the city’s diminished nightlife scene since Avalon and Axis closed in 2007 and outdrawing well-established venues in New York (Hammerstein Ballroom), San Francisco (the Fillmore), and Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club).
“Part of it is that location has been successful for 40 years, going back to the Tea Party,’’ Law said of the No. 1 ranking, which is even more impressive considering that the House of Blues - which debuted Feb. 19, 2009 - was not open the entire year.
The Pollstar report, which gauged ticket sales only, does not mean the House of Blues was the world’s most profitable club. Still, it is an impressive feat for the music hall, whose tiny charter location (capacity: around 150) opened in Harvard Square in 1992 and shuttered 11 years later. The new House of Blues, which can accommodate 2,400 people and scale down to 1,000 for smaller shows, is the largest of 12 franchises.
Live Nation did not release ticket sales figures for Avalon but did note that it typically placed in the top 15 on Pollstar’s chart. The publication defines a club as a live-entertainment venue with a general-admission floor, meaning that places such as the Orpheum Theatre and TD Garden do not compete with the House of Blues in the year-end tally. The Paradise Rock Club, one of the three other New England clubs to place in Pollstar’s top 100, landed at No. 53 with 72,289 tickets sold.
Boston is an unusual concert market, because it does not have many midsize venues. Booking agents often face a question of whether an act can sell 500 tickets or 2,500, because there is not much in between. (Beyond that, an act normally graduates to the Orpheum, Agganis Arena, or TD Garden.) The Middle East Downstairs holds 575 and the Paradise Rock Club 650. But if a band can sell 1,000 tickets, it will likely end up at the House of Blues, which gives the club more leverage than it would have in another city. And because Live Nation also books some of the area’s other key venues - including the Paradise, the Orpheum, and Comcast Center - it presents a ferocious challenge to smaller promoters who can’t match the company’s price for talent.
Another reason for the House of Blues’ success was the broad appeal of musicians who played there in 2009, from popular metal bands (Mastodon) to R&B legends (Al Green) to world-music acts (Gipsy Kings). It helped that one of the club’s chief competitors, The Roxy, largely dropped its concert programming last year before closing. (It is tentatively scheduled to reopen next month as Royale.)
“It’s a diverse place to see a show,’’ says Ken Casey, whose band, Dropkick Murphys, has a long history playing whatever venue has been at 15 Lansdowne St., including Avalon’s last show in 2007. “You can go down on the floor, and it’ll still be a punk show as raucous as Avalon ever was, but then you can go up to the seats in the balconies, too.’’
The notion of past and present still looms large in the debate on which is better, Avalon or the House of Blues.
“If you’re going there for Avalon nostalgia, I don’t think you’ll get it,’’ says Chris Harris, whose production company has been booking Epic Saturdays, the venue’s only dance night, since October. Already the gay dance party is attracting crowds of 1,000, which doesn’t match Avalon’s numbers but suggests the market was hungry for the return of that club’s popular dance nights.
Three young women who attended the new House of Blues’ first-anniversary party last week said the club’s open floor makes it better than a theater with seating for the shows they enjoy - alternative rock bands such as Taking Back Sunday and the Gaslight Anthem. “If I go to see music, I want to feel it and get up and dance,’’ said Aliza Arevolin, 24. “If you try that at the Orpheum, they’ll tell you to sit down.’’
Still, they’re not completely satisfied. “I liked Avalon better,’’ said Erin Hayes, 24, who’s been to the House of Blues five or six times in the past year. “It was more intimate. When you went to Avalon, you were seeing a show. When you come to House of Blues, it feels like a chain.’’
“Yeah, and what’s up with the décor?’’ asked her friend Melinda Rossi, 25, referring to the colorful folk art adorning the walls. “It’s like Starbucks decorated it.’’
Elsewhere in the crowd, Ralph Maselli, 49, was on his second visit to the club. He was a big fan of the original House of Blues in Harvard Square but never stepped inside Avalon. He said the new incarnation brings in a wide range of acts he wants to see, such as reggae stars Toots & the Maytals. “Boston’s music scene needs a place like this,’’ he said.
Law suspected that long ago, but he is still surprised by how his latest crown jewel is faring in an economic downturn. “Opening a new venue can take a while, sometimes up to a year,’’ Law said. “The House of Blues didn’t take any time. This thing started off like a rocket ship and just never slowed down.’’
James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Segway company, residents clash in North End
With Segway fleet cruising, ways of life collide in North End
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | February 23, 2010
The North End has long been defined by its Old World charm, with narrow streets and crooked brick sidewalks harkening to the days of buggies and the clomp-clomp-clomp of horses.
But now the neighborhood where Paul Revere launched his famous midnight ride has a decidedly 21st century problem: A booming Segway business called Boston Gliders has roiled tempers, as an increasing number of the upright, two-wheeled contraptions zoom down lanes that once teemed with mule carts.
Unhappy residents accuse the company of hogging pedestrian space and using sidewalks on Commercial Street and the nearby Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway to teach the equivalent of Segway driver’s education. At its core, though, the dispute is about more than longtime residents bristling at a newfangled gadget; it is an age-old dispute over what it means to be a good neighbor.
“I know that not everybody loves me,’’ said Allan Danley, 38, who lives across from the Segway business on Commercial Street he runs with his girlfriend. “Am I a good neighbor? I am a good neighbor. Based on what they say? Probably not.’’
The grievances against Danley have come to a head because he applied for a city license to serve coffee or juice when he moves his business one door down to a larger space. The license required Danley and his girlfriend, Eastera Phou, to present their plans to two community groups, giving residents a platform to air their complaints.
“He’s been really abrasive and rude to people,’’ said Stephen M. Passacantilli, the president of the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council. “We just want mutual respect for each other. That’s why it’s called a neighborhood.’’
One resident leading the charge is Francine Gannon, who has lived in the building across from the Segway shop for more than 30 years. At a recent residents’ association meeting, Gannon’s voice trembled slightly with anger as she outlined why she was “adamantly opposed’’ to the coffee-and-juice license, fearing it would open a “Pandora’s box,’’ by which she means food service.
“Our neighbor has not been a very good neighbor from the moment he arrived, I’m sad to say,’’ Gannon said as she clutched a file folder brimming with papers about Segways.
Danley stood before the crowd of more than 50 and gave as good as he got, telling the group that if the city rejects his request, Boston Gliders will go forward with its plan to offer drinks to its customers, relying instead on vending machines or other methods that don’t require a license.
“The fact is the Segways are here,’’ Danley said. “Like Paul Revere is coming - the Segways are coming. The Segways are here. They are running. They are not going away.’’
One thing that has particularly irritated neighbors is Danley’s van, a white vehicle decorated with company graphics and outfitted with a hydraulic lift for Segways. The van has commercial plates but is often parked in a residential zone, a practice that is legal. The vehicle has a North End resident sticker that Danley obtained because he lives there, too. But people have left scores of handwritten notes under the windshield, Danley said, demanding that the van be moved.
The Boston Licensing Board will make the ultimate decision about the coffee-and-juice license, and an answer could come this week. The decision, though, will not address the larger question about Segways, and Boston Gliders has already taken reservations stretching into October.
Segways have been around for about a decade, the brainchild of Dean Kamen, who founded the company in Bedford, N.H. They have 19-inch rubber tires, a foot platform, and a waist-high handle bar that allows riders to steer by leaning. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the contraptions go a maximum of 12 1/2 miles per hour, roughly four times the speed of the average walker.
Massachusetts law does not address Segways, which means there is no clear guidance about whether the machines can be used on streets or in pedestrian areas. That leaves regulation up to local governments, and Boston has not ruled whether Segways can rumble down sidewalks, much less go on tours like the “adventures’’ run by Danley’s company.
“Right now there are no regulations that prohibit him from doing that,’’ said Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin, who said he believes Segways do not belong on sidewalks.
The Segway bug bit Danley after injuries from a car crash in 2007 forced him to rely on a cane. He first saw one glide by on a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
The Lowell native first opened a tour office on Salem Street in August 2008 with one Segway. The company expanded quickly, opening branches in the past few years in Charlestown, at Faneuil Hall, and in Florida (in Orlando and Key West). Another local tour outlet is expected to open soon near the CambridgeSide Galleria. The main office of Boston Gliders moved to 73 Commercial St., in the brick Mercantile Wharf Building, last year, but it is now moving next door to a larger space because Danley’s Segway fleet has grown to nearly 30.
In warmer weather, 120 to 150 people a day go on guided Segway tours led by “adventure captains,’’ Danley said, with each customer paying $60 for an hour or $85 for two hours. Groups are limited to six and the company confiscates cameras and cellphones, he said, so riders are not distracted along the route.
Residents talk about ducking out of the way of unsteady Segways operators and other close calls. Danley is quick to point out that there have been no significant crashes or safety issues, saying that last year they had more than 8,000 riders and only three encountered problems that caused minor bumps and bruises. Segways have just as much right, Danley said, to share the sidewalk as pedestrians or other wheeled devices.
“Do you know how many times I’ve been run down by a jogger in this city?’’ Danley said in an interview. “Do you know how many times I’ve been hit by a stroller?’’
Passacantilli acknowledges that “the concept is really cool.’’
“But when I see six or seven at a time driving up Hanover Street,’’ he said, “I have a problem.’’
Andrew Ryan can be reached at aryan@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | February 23, 2010
The North End has long been defined by its Old World charm, with narrow streets and crooked brick sidewalks harkening to the days of buggies and the clomp-clomp-clomp of horses.
But now the neighborhood where Paul Revere launched his famous midnight ride has a decidedly 21st century problem: A booming Segway business called Boston Gliders has roiled tempers, as an increasing number of the upright, two-wheeled contraptions zoom down lanes that once teemed with mule carts.
Unhappy residents accuse the company of hogging pedestrian space and using sidewalks on Commercial Street and the nearby Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway to teach the equivalent of Segway driver’s education. At its core, though, the dispute is about more than longtime residents bristling at a newfangled gadget; it is an age-old dispute over what it means to be a good neighbor.
“I know that not everybody loves me,’’ said Allan Danley, 38, who lives across from the Segway business on Commercial Street he runs with his girlfriend. “Am I a good neighbor? I am a good neighbor. Based on what they say? Probably not.’’
The grievances against Danley have come to a head because he applied for a city license to serve coffee or juice when he moves his business one door down to a larger space. The license required Danley and his girlfriend, Eastera Phou, to present their plans to two community groups, giving residents a platform to air their complaints.
“He’s been really abrasive and rude to people,’’ said Stephen M. Passacantilli, the president of the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council. “We just want mutual respect for each other. That’s why it’s called a neighborhood.’’
One resident leading the charge is Francine Gannon, who has lived in the building across from the Segway shop for more than 30 years. At a recent residents’ association meeting, Gannon’s voice trembled slightly with anger as she outlined why she was “adamantly opposed’’ to the coffee-and-juice license, fearing it would open a “Pandora’s box,’’ by which she means food service.
“Our neighbor has not been a very good neighbor from the moment he arrived, I’m sad to say,’’ Gannon said as she clutched a file folder brimming with papers about Segways.
Danley stood before the crowd of more than 50 and gave as good as he got, telling the group that if the city rejects his request, Boston Gliders will go forward with its plan to offer drinks to its customers, relying instead on vending machines or other methods that don’t require a license.
“The fact is the Segways are here,’’ Danley said. “Like Paul Revere is coming - the Segways are coming. The Segways are here. They are running. They are not going away.’’
One thing that has particularly irritated neighbors is Danley’s van, a white vehicle decorated with company graphics and outfitted with a hydraulic lift for Segways. The van has commercial plates but is often parked in a residential zone, a practice that is legal. The vehicle has a North End resident sticker that Danley obtained because he lives there, too. But people have left scores of handwritten notes under the windshield, Danley said, demanding that the van be moved.
The Boston Licensing Board will make the ultimate decision about the coffee-and-juice license, and an answer could come this week. The decision, though, will not address the larger question about Segways, and Boston Gliders has already taken reservations stretching into October.
Segways have been around for about a decade, the brainchild of Dean Kamen, who founded the company in Bedford, N.H. They have 19-inch rubber tires, a foot platform, and a waist-high handle bar that allows riders to steer by leaning. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the contraptions go a maximum of 12 1/2 miles per hour, roughly four times the speed of the average walker.
Massachusetts law does not address Segways, which means there is no clear guidance about whether the machines can be used on streets or in pedestrian areas. That leaves regulation up to local governments, and Boston has not ruled whether Segways can rumble down sidewalks, much less go on tours like the “adventures’’ run by Danley’s company.
“Right now there are no regulations that prohibit him from doing that,’’ said Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin, who said he believes Segways do not belong on sidewalks.
The Segway bug bit Danley after injuries from a car crash in 2007 forced him to rely on a cane. He first saw one glide by on a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
The Lowell native first opened a tour office on Salem Street in August 2008 with one Segway. The company expanded quickly, opening branches in the past few years in Charlestown, at Faneuil Hall, and in Florida (in Orlando and Key West). Another local tour outlet is expected to open soon near the CambridgeSide Galleria. The main office of Boston Gliders moved to 73 Commercial St., in the brick Mercantile Wharf Building, last year, but it is now moving next door to a larger space because Danley’s Segway fleet has grown to nearly 30.
In warmer weather, 120 to 150 people a day go on guided Segway tours led by “adventure captains,’’ Danley said, with each customer paying $60 for an hour or $85 for two hours. Groups are limited to six and the company confiscates cameras and cellphones, he said, so riders are not distracted along the route.
Residents talk about ducking out of the way of unsteady Segways operators and other close calls. Danley is quick to point out that there have been no significant crashes or safety issues, saying that last year they had more than 8,000 riders and only three encountered problems that caused minor bumps and bruises. Segways have just as much right, Danley said, to share the sidewalk as pedestrians or other wheeled devices.
“Do you know how many times I’ve been run down by a jogger in this city?’’ Danley said in an interview. “Do you know how many times I’ve been hit by a stroller?’’
Passacantilli acknowledges that “the concept is really cool.’’
“But when I see six or seven at a time driving up Hanover Street,’’ he said, “I have a problem.’’
Andrew Ryan can be reached at aryan@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Boston hotel and restaurant owner in dispute with East Boston tenants
Tenants lash out at Hub business owner
By Donna Goodison | Tuesday, February 23, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
A housing-rights group is targeting Hub real estate developer and business owner Paul Roiff for attempting to evict tenants from a multi-family East Boston home that he bought last year.
City Life/Vida Urbana staged pickets at Roiff’s upscale XV Beacon Hotel and Teatro and Mistral restaurants last week to put public pressure on him to stop court-eviction proceedings and negotiate with the immigrant tenants.
Roiff purchased the triple-decker at 22 Princeton St. for $135,000 at a foreclosure auction last July and subsequently served the tenants - a group of men on one floor and parents with a 3-year-old daughter on another - with eviction notices.
“We’re going to defend tenants against no-fault evictions no matter who the owner is,” tenant organizer Dominic DeSiata said. “There seems to be an attitude coming from Roiff that these people are looking for a free ride - that they’re delinquents. They paid rent before the foreclosure, and they’re willing to pay rent now also. But what they’ve been asking for from the beginning is to negotiate a fair rental agreement.”
But Robert Russo, Roiff’s attorney, said the tenants haven’t paid rent since July. He said they were served with eviction notices in October only after three months of attempts to reach them. The tenants were paying $750 a month to the former owner, he said.
“Nobody responded,” Russo said. “This was not just sending notices. This was going down there and knocking on doors with a Spanish interpreter. My question is what’s a property owner supposed to do when the occupants don’t cooperate?”
DeSiata says it’s his “understanding” that back rent is being held in escrow because of cockroaches, mice, rotted ceilings and mold in the units.
Roiff plans to keep the building as a rental property, said Russo. A Boston Housing Court jury would decide whether the occupants were “bona fide” tenants paying fair-market-value rent with agreements at the time of foreclosure.
Russo said he’s willing to negotiate with tenants but won’t stop eviction proceedings unless an agreement is reached before the next court date in April.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1234817
By Donna Goodison | Tuesday, February 23, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
A housing-rights group is targeting Hub real estate developer and business owner Paul Roiff for attempting to evict tenants from a multi-family East Boston home that he bought last year.
City Life/Vida Urbana staged pickets at Roiff’s upscale XV Beacon Hotel and Teatro and Mistral restaurants last week to put public pressure on him to stop court-eviction proceedings and negotiate with the immigrant tenants.
Roiff purchased the triple-decker at 22 Princeton St. for $135,000 at a foreclosure auction last July and subsequently served the tenants - a group of men on one floor and parents with a 3-year-old daughter on another - with eviction notices.
“We’re going to defend tenants against no-fault evictions no matter who the owner is,” tenant organizer Dominic DeSiata said. “There seems to be an attitude coming from Roiff that these people are looking for a free ride - that they’re delinquents. They paid rent before the foreclosure, and they’re willing to pay rent now also. But what they’ve been asking for from the beginning is to negotiate a fair rental agreement.”
But Robert Russo, Roiff’s attorney, said the tenants haven’t paid rent since July. He said they were served with eviction notices in October only after three months of attempts to reach them. The tenants were paying $750 a month to the former owner, he said.
“Nobody responded,” Russo said. “This was not just sending notices. This was going down there and knocking on doors with a Spanish interpreter. My question is what’s a property owner supposed to do when the occupants don’t cooperate?”
DeSiata says it’s his “understanding” that back rent is being held in escrow because of cockroaches, mice, rotted ceilings and mold in the units.
Roiff plans to keep the building as a rental property, said Russo. A Boston Housing Court jury would decide whether the occupants were “bona fide” tenants paying fair-market-value rent with agreements at the time of foreclosure.
Russo said he’s willing to negotiate with tenants but won’t stop eviction proceedings unless an agreement is reached before the next court date in April.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1234817
Monday, February 22, 2010
Cityside Tickets to go national
Boston company sees cable ads as ‘ticket’ to success
By Donna Goodison | Monday, February 22, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
CitySide is going nationwide.
The Boston ticket reseller begins a national television advertising campaign tomorrow. Over the next three weeks, CitySide Tickets Inc. will run three versions of a 30-second commercial more than 500 times on national cable news channels including Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
The hope is the TV commercials will yield hundreds of telephone calls per day from people interested in using CitySide to buy and sell their tickets to concerts, sports contests, theatrical productions and other sought-after events.
“Our long-term strategy is to really have a national ticket presence,” said Michael McCarthy, the company’s investor relations director. “The company’s goals are to expand in other markets - New York, California and Florida - and possibly expand our presence in the Boston area as well. We believe those markets are extreme for a ticket presence, and there could be a big windfall.”
Chief Executive Michael DeAmicis started CitySide Tickets in 2002 after working as a ticket scalper.
“I started selling tickets on the street, and I thought I could take it to the next level,” said DeAmicis, 39, who grew up in South Boston and now lives in Quincy.
“I decided about eight years ago to get a license and try to make a run at (it), as opposed to buying and selling to a small amount of people,” he said.
The company - which employs five people but brings on two more workers during the summer - has a Commonwealth Avenue storefront in Kenmore Square, just around the corner from Fenway Park [map].
“Seventy-five percent of the people who go to (Red Sox [team stats]) baseball games walk by our office,” DeAmicis said.
CitySide declined to disclose the cost of its TV ad campaign, which it expects to be seen by some 8 million viewers.
The company is in negotiations to buy another undisclosed ticket broker and expects that, down the line, after a few years’ growth, it could become an acquisition target as well.
“It’s a big industry,” said DeAmicis, acknowledging larger rivals including Boston’s Ace Ticket and StubHub. “Our goal is to get a lot bigger and be able to compete with them.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1234509
By Donna Goodison | Monday, February 22, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
CitySide is going nationwide.
The Boston ticket reseller begins a national television advertising campaign tomorrow. Over the next three weeks, CitySide Tickets Inc. will run three versions of a 30-second commercial more than 500 times on national cable news channels including Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
The hope is the TV commercials will yield hundreds of telephone calls per day from people interested in using CitySide to buy and sell their tickets to concerts, sports contests, theatrical productions and other sought-after events.
“Our long-term strategy is to really have a national ticket presence,” said Michael McCarthy, the company’s investor relations director. “The company’s goals are to expand in other markets - New York, California and Florida - and possibly expand our presence in the Boston area as well. We believe those markets are extreme for a ticket presence, and there could be a big windfall.”
Chief Executive Michael DeAmicis started CitySide Tickets in 2002 after working as a ticket scalper.
“I started selling tickets on the street, and I thought I could take it to the next level,” said DeAmicis, 39, who grew up in South Boston and now lives in Quincy.
“I decided about eight years ago to get a license and try to make a run at (it), as opposed to buying and selling to a small amount of people,” he said.
The company - which employs five people but brings on two more workers during the summer - has a Commonwealth Avenue storefront in Kenmore Square, just around the corner from Fenway Park [map].
“Seventy-five percent of the people who go to (Red Sox [team stats]) baseball games walk by our office,” DeAmicis said.
CitySide declined to disclose the cost of its TV ad campaign, which it expects to be seen by some 8 million viewers.
The company is in negotiations to buy another undisclosed ticket broker and expects that, down the line, after a few years’ growth, it could become an acquisition target as well.
“It’s a big industry,” said DeAmicis, acknowledging larger rivals including Boston’s Ace Ticket and StubHub. “Our goal is to get a lot bigger and be able to compete with them.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1234509
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Bisuteki review
Bisuteki Tokyo drifts
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, February 19, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
BISUTEKI TOKYO: C+
Abandon gastronomic snobbery, ye who dine at Bisuteki Tokyo, the recently reopened teppanyaki restaurant at the Marriott Courtyard Boston Cambridge hotel on Memorial Drive. Who won’t enjoy watching supper prepared before your eyes by a garrulous, knife-spinning, spatula-juggling chef who flips pieces of shrimp into patrons’ mouths and catches eggshells in his toque?
Sure, it’s dinner theater at its kitschiest, but admit it, it’s fun.
In the early 1970s, the original Bisuteki debuted at this location, then a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge. Today, after a three-year hiatus and under new ownership and the Marriott imprimatur, the grills are back in business.
Bisuteki Tokyo faithfully replicates the Japanese steakhouse formula that its predecessor pioneered - affordable, multicourse, prix fixe meals of meat, poultry, seafood, tofu and vegetables, cooked on large griddles at communal tables.
Bowing to contemporary tastes, there’s now a sushi bar in the center of the room. You can order ubiquitous sushi offerings such as vinegary tako su ($6.95) octopus salad and shrimp tempura-avocado-cucumber-tobiko-spicy mayo “crazy” maki ($7.50), competently rolled.
While hotel guests are likely attracted to thesushi, locals come for the teppanyaki. It’s a cheaper and shorter trip than Walt Disney World, when you’re looking to placate your inner child. And speaking of children, there are lots of them and they eat for free on Sundays (with some restrictions).
Here’s what you get as part of an all-inclusive teppanyaki dinner: a bowl of bland chicken soup; a salad of crisp iceberg lettuce, cucumber, carrots, tomato and red cabbage under gloppy ginger dressing; steamed white rice or hibachi-grilled chef’s special fried rice ($1.50 additional), soy-flavored and speckled with scallions, onions and scrambled egg.
Also from the grill: Three griddled shrimp, spritzed with teriyaki sauce; a fresh vegetable medley of zucchini, broccoli, onions, carrots and mushrooms; and bean sprouts, seasoned with soy.
And a protein or proteins of your choosing. Perhaps filet mignon and shrimp ($27.95), chicken and scallop ($24.95), twin lobster tails ($28.95) or tofu ($14.95). Dip everything into saccharine-sweet ginger sauce or semispicy mustard.
When the chef is paying attention, things are cooked perfectly. The filet is rare as I requested, the shrimp and scallops, juicy. The tofu is nicely glazed with teriyaki and soy. But the chicken and lobster tails are overly dry.
Desserts (strawberry cheesecake, ice creams) cost extra.
“I could eat here every night,” said my friend Richard, who has one of the best palates I know. What he means is that the food at Bisuteki Tokyo is so unobtrusively basic, comparatively healthy and literally hot off the grill - and there’s so much of it at such reasonable prices - that one could dine here regularly with few regrets.
Richard also liked the assortment of classic - and cheap - retro tropical drinks. Such as the rum and Curacao Pineapple Passion ($5.95) served in a ceramic pineapple; or a high-octane Head Hunter ($5.95) in a faux coconut. There’s also sake and anonymously produced varietal wines by the glass.
What Richard didn’t dig was the collective nature of the experience - the close-quarters seating that engenders a forced bonhomie among tablemates. One night, the lady on my right splashed me with her sake beer bomb.
Bisuteki Tokyo’s extreme makeover with its wooden slat walls, granite countertops and ichibana flower arrangements includes powerful ventilation fans - so guests don’t go home smelling like stir-fry.
Then again, when the teppanyaki chef constructs a Mount Fuji mound ofonion rings, douses it with oil, then vodka and, finally, sets it ablaze to create an erupting onion volcano that threatens to singe your eyelashes, do you really care how you smell afterward?
777 Memorial Drive, Cambridge. 617-497-8888; bisutekicambridge.com.
Price: $20-$40
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun, noon-10 p.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Free lot
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1233828
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, February 19, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
BISUTEKI TOKYO: C+
Abandon gastronomic snobbery, ye who dine at Bisuteki Tokyo, the recently reopened teppanyaki restaurant at the Marriott Courtyard Boston Cambridge hotel on Memorial Drive. Who won’t enjoy watching supper prepared before your eyes by a garrulous, knife-spinning, spatula-juggling chef who flips pieces of shrimp into patrons’ mouths and catches eggshells in his toque?
Sure, it’s dinner theater at its kitschiest, but admit it, it’s fun.
In the early 1970s, the original Bisuteki debuted at this location, then a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge. Today, after a three-year hiatus and under new ownership and the Marriott imprimatur, the grills are back in business.
Bisuteki Tokyo faithfully replicates the Japanese steakhouse formula that its predecessor pioneered - affordable, multicourse, prix fixe meals of meat, poultry, seafood, tofu and vegetables, cooked on large griddles at communal tables.
Bowing to contemporary tastes, there’s now a sushi bar in the center of the room. You can order ubiquitous sushi offerings such as vinegary tako su ($6.95) octopus salad and shrimp tempura-avocado-cucumber-tobiko-spicy mayo “crazy” maki ($7.50), competently rolled.
While hotel guests are likely attracted to thesushi, locals come for the teppanyaki. It’s a cheaper and shorter trip than Walt Disney World, when you’re looking to placate your inner child. And speaking of children, there are lots of them and they eat for free on Sundays (with some restrictions).
Here’s what you get as part of an all-inclusive teppanyaki dinner: a bowl of bland chicken soup; a salad of crisp iceberg lettuce, cucumber, carrots, tomato and red cabbage under gloppy ginger dressing; steamed white rice or hibachi-grilled chef’s special fried rice ($1.50 additional), soy-flavored and speckled with scallions, onions and scrambled egg.
Also from the grill: Three griddled shrimp, spritzed with teriyaki sauce; a fresh vegetable medley of zucchini, broccoli, onions, carrots and mushrooms; and bean sprouts, seasoned with soy.
And a protein or proteins of your choosing. Perhaps filet mignon and shrimp ($27.95), chicken and scallop ($24.95), twin lobster tails ($28.95) or tofu ($14.95). Dip everything into saccharine-sweet ginger sauce or semispicy mustard.
When the chef is paying attention, things are cooked perfectly. The filet is rare as I requested, the shrimp and scallops, juicy. The tofu is nicely glazed with teriyaki and soy. But the chicken and lobster tails are overly dry.
Desserts (strawberry cheesecake, ice creams) cost extra.
“I could eat here every night,” said my friend Richard, who has one of the best palates I know. What he means is that the food at Bisuteki Tokyo is so unobtrusively basic, comparatively healthy and literally hot off the grill - and there’s so much of it at such reasonable prices - that one could dine here regularly with few regrets.
Richard also liked the assortment of classic - and cheap - retro tropical drinks. Such as the rum and Curacao Pineapple Passion ($5.95) served in a ceramic pineapple; or a high-octane Head Hunter ($5.95) in a faux coconut. There’s also sake and anonymously produced varietal wines by the glass.
What Richard didn’t dig was the collective nature of the experience - the close-quarters seating that engenders a forced bonhomie among tablemates. One night, the lady on my right splashed me with her sake beer bomb.
Bisuteki Tokyo’s extreme makeover with its wooden slat walls, granite countertops and ichibana flower arrangements includes powerful ventilation fans - so guests don’t go home smelling like stir-fry.
Then again, when the teppanyaki chef constructs a Mount Fuji mound ofonion rings, douses it with oil, then vodka and, finally, sets it ablaze to create an erupting onion volcano that threatens to singe your eyelashes, do you really care how you smell afterward?
777 Memorial Drive, Cambridge. 617-497-8888; bisutekicambridge.com.
Price: $20-$40
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun, noon-10 p.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Free lot
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1233828
The Kells to be replaced by Tavern in the Square
Boston Restaurant Talk
The Kells in Allston to be Replaced by Tavern in the Square
A popular restaurant, bar, and entertainment spot in Allston is apparently going to be shutting its doors, with a growing local chain of neighborhood restaurants looking to move into its space. According to the Phantom Gourmet, The Kells, a nightspot on Brighton Avenue in the heart of Allston Village that has been featuring dancing, DJs and live music since the early 1990s, is being replaced by Tavern in the Square, a dining spot and bar with three locations in the Boston area that features mostly American fare and pub grub.
Tavern in the Square first opened in the Central Square section of Cambridge about five years ago and has since opened other locations in the Porter Square neighborhood of Cambridge and in downtown Salem. Their menus feature such items as nachos, fried pickles, crab cakes, burgers, burritos, quesadillas, meatloaf, pasta primavera, turkey tips, and a variety of sandwiches and wraps. Tavern in the Square also offers a number of handcrafted beers.
The address for The Kells (and, eventually, the new Tavern in the Square) is 161 Brighton Avenue (just west of the Harvard Avenue intersection).
Thanks to Boston Tweet for helping with a bit of the information in this article.
http://bostonrestaurants.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_bostonrestaurants_archive.html
The Kells in Allston to be Replaced by Tavern in the Square
A popular restaurant, bar, and entertainment spot in Allston is apparently going to be shutting its doors, with a growing local chain of neighborhood restaurants looking to move into its space. According to the Phantom Gourmet, The Kells, a nightspot on Brighton Avenue in the heart of Allston Village that has been featuring dancing, DJs and live music since the early 1990s, is being replaced by Tavern in the Square, a dining spot and bar with three locations in the Boston area that features mostly American fare and pub grub.
Tavern in the Square first opened in the Central Square section of Cambridge about five years ago and has since opened other locations in the Porter Square neighborhood of Cambridge and in downtown Salem. Their menus feature such items as nachos, fried pickles, crab cakes, burgers, burritos, quesadillas, meatloaf, pasta primavera, turkey tips, and a variety of sandwiches and wraps. Tavern in the Square also offers a number of handcrafted beers.
The address for The Kells (and, eventually, the new Tavern in the Square) is 161 Brighton Avenue (just west of the Harvard Avenue intersection).
Thanks to Boston Tweet for helping with a bit of the information in this article.
http://bostonrestaurants.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_bostonrestaurants_archive.html
Barbeque smell forces Roadhouse owner to change concepts
Owner: Brookline’s Roadhouse ‘had to go’
Photos
MATTHEW HEALEY
The Roadhouse, shown here before it opened in 2008, closed Sunday after less than two years.
By Neal Simpson/staff writer
Wicked Local Brookline
Posted Feb 14, 2010 @ 11:29 PM
Last update Feb 16, 2010 @ 07:01 PM
Brookline —
The Roadhouse Restaurant, a short-lived barbecue venture by Publick House owner David Ciccolo, has closed its doors after fewer than two years in business.
Ciccolo shut the restaurant down Sunday night after dinner and was back with a construction crew by Monday morning, busily readying the space for a new venture he’s calling American Craft. The restaurant will serve up “artisanal American cuisine” and could be open as soon as next Monday, Feb. 22.
Ciccolo insisted that American Craft will be a completely new restaurant, not another iteration of the problem-plagued Roadhouse.
“People are going to have the feel of whole new restaurant when they walk in here,” he said. “The Roadhouse had to go.”
Opened in September 2008, The Roadhouse was eagerly awaited by beer and barbecue enthusiasts alike, but never seemed to draw the crowds seen nightly at the Publick House, Ciccolo’s Belgian-themed gastro pub located less than a block away.
From the start, Ciccolo set out to offer “good authentic barbecue” and an extensive collection of American craft beer at The Roadhouse. At the heart of the enormous restaurant, the restauranteur had installed a custom-built pit smoker measuring 8 feet by 6 feet and weighing 4,500 pounds — so big, he had to take out a second lease to make room for it.
But The Roadhouse got off to a rocky start, and Ciccolo acknowledges that the quality of the food coming out of the kitchen was not up to his standards, something he blames on a “bad chef” who was eventually replaced. Overall, though, Ciccolo said the barbecue concept was working.
Then in the spring of 2009, neighbors began to complain about odors coming from the restaurant’s smoker and, after several meetings with neighbors and town officials, Ciccolo agreed to shut it down. For The Roadhouse, losing the smoker was “last nail in the coffin,” Ciccolo said.
“When the smoker was shut down, that sorta nixes your barbecue concept,” he said.
With the smoker gone, Ciccolo and his chef scrambled to come up with a new menu, cutting all smoked meats from the menu and bringing out a new selection of Creole and Mexican-inspired dishes, includes shrimp étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo and blackened salmon.
But Ciccolo said the menu was developed “out of desperation,” and was only meant to keep the doors open long enough to develop a new concept for the restaurant. Though the restaurant will only be closed for a week, Ciccolo said he has been working on plans for the new venture over the last six weeks.
With American Craft, Ciccolo has completely abandoned the Southern-inspired menu while retaining the extensive collection of craft American beers offered at The Roadhouse. A sample menu posted on beeradvocate.com includes braised lamb shank, roasted trout and rigatoni with meatballs, as well as a selection of burgers, sandwiches and salads. The restaurant will also feature a rotating menu of daily “blue plate” specials, including meatloaf, American chop suey and chicken pot pie.
Construction crews are also working to give the restaurant a new feel, painting the walls and putting up a Victorian-style wallpaper. Ciccolo said the new restaurant will have a “turn-of-the century feel.”
“We have a solid concept with a solid business plan,” he said. We’re not just turning the page and hoping it works.”
American Craft will also have a new culinary neighbor soon. Ciccolo said the owner of another new restaurant has just signed the lease for the storefront that currently houses his unused meat smoker.
Neal Simpson can be reached at nsimpson@cnc.com.
Photos
MATTHEW HEALEY
The Roadhouse, shown here before it opened in 2008, closed Sunday after less than two years.
By Neal Simpson/staff writer
Wicked Local Brookline
Posted Feb 14, 2010 @ 11:29 PM
Last update Feb 16, 2010 @ 07:01 PM
Brookline —
The Roadhouse Restaurant, a short-lived barbecue venture by Publick House owner David Ciccolo, has closed its doors after fewer than two years in business.
Ciccolo shut the restaurant down Sunday night after dinner and was back with a construction crew by Monday morning, busily readying the space for a new venture he’s calling American Craft. The restaurant will serve up “artisanal American cuisine” and could be open as soon as next Monday, Feb. 22.
Ciccolo insisted that American Craft will be a completely new restaurant, not another iteration of the problem-plagued Roadhouse.
“People are going to have the feel of whole new restaurant when they walk in here,” he said. “The Roadhouse had to go.”
Opened in September 2008, The Roadhouse was eagerly awaited by beer and barbecue enthusiasts alike, but never seemed to draw the crowds seen nightly at the Publick House, Ciccolo’s Belgian-themed gastro pub located less than a block away.
From the start, Ciccolo set out to offer “good authentic barbecue” and an extensive collection of American craft beer at The Roadhouse. At the heart of the enormous restaurant, the restauranteur had installed a custom-built pit smoker measuring 8 feet by 6 feet and weighing 4,500 pounds — so big, he had to take out a second lease to make room for it.
But The Roadhouse got off to a rocky start, and Ciccolo acknowledges that the quality of the food coming out of the kitchen was not up to his standards, something he blames on a “bad chef” who was eventually replaced. Overall, though, Ciccolo said the barbecue concept was working.
Then in the spring of 2009, neighbors began to complain about odors coming from the restaurant’s smoker and, after several meetings with neighbors and town officials, Ciccolo agreed to shut it down. For The Roadhouse, losing the smoker was “last nail in the coffin,” Ciccolo said.
“When the smoker was shut down, that sorta nixes your barbecue concept,” he said.
With the smoker gone, Ciccolo and his chef scrambled to come up with a new menu, cutting all smoked meats from the menu and bringing out a new selection of Creole and Mexican-inspired dishes, includes shrimp étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo and blackened salmon.
But Ciccolo said the menu was developed “out of desperation,” and was only meant to keep the doors open long enough to develop a new concept for the restaurant. Though the restaurant will only be closed for a week, Ciccolo said he has been working on plans for the new venture over the last six weeks.
With American Craft, Ciccolo has completely abandoned the Southern-inspired menu while retaining the extensive collection of craft American beers offered at The Roadhouse. A sample menu posted on beeradvocate.com includes braised lamb shank, roasted trout and rigatoni with meatballs, as well as a selection of burgers, sandwiches and salads. The restaurant will also feature a rotating menu of daily “blue plate” specials, including meatloaf, American chop suey and chicken pot pie.
Construction crews are also working to give the restaurant a new feel, painting the walls and putting up a Victorian-style wallpaper. Ciccolo said the new restaurant will have a “turn-of-the century feel.”
“We have a solid concept with a solid business plan,” he said. We’re not just turning the page and hoping it works.”
American Craft will also have a new culinary neighbor soon. Ciccolo said the owner of another new restaurant has just signed the lease for the storefront that currently houses his unused meat smoker.
Neal Simpson can be reached at nsimpson@cnc.com.
Chez Jacky to replace Zocalo in Brighton
Restaurants
Chez Jacky to open in Brighton
Posted by Devra First February 17, 2010 03:26 PM
Coming soon, to the 1414 Comm. Ave. spot that's been Zocalo, is a new bistro from Petit Robert folks Jacky Robert (left) and Loic LeGarrec. Chez Jacky's main courses will be $14.75. It will be very casual, with food served family-style. There will be an array of craft beers and wines by the glass, and outdoor seating during the warmer months.
The Petit Robert Bistros Kenmore and Columbus both opened April 1, so that's what they're shooting for as opening day.
The menu is still being finalized, but for dinner one might see appetizers ($6.75) such as onion soup, charcuterie, and mussels; entrees like tripe Provencal, roasted chicken, and pork roast with lentil stew (currently there's no steak frites, but we'll see how long that lasts); and desserts ($4.50) including profiteroles, iles flottantes, and chocolate pain perdu.
Chez Jacky will also offer lunch -- salade nicoise ($7.95), a croque monsieur ($5.75), spaghetti with two French meatballs (I'm not sure what these are, but the menu states "they are BIG" -- $9.75), and more. Yes, they will offer the burger dog from Petit Robert ($6.50).
In short, it sounds like Petit Robert for the student set. I envision lots of meeting cute, and future stories for the kids about falling in love over a plate of coq au vin.
I also think Loic LeGarrec deserves to have something named after him here -- if not a restaurant, maybe a dish? Quiche Loic?
The Boston Globe
Chez Jacky to open in Brighton
Posted by Devra First February 17, 2010 03:26 PM
Coming soon, to the 1414 Comm. Ave. spot that's been Zocalo, is a new bistro from Petit Robert folks Jacky Robert (left) and Loic LeGarrec. Chez Jacky's main courses will be $14.75. It will be very casual, with food served family-style. There will be an array of craft beers and wines by the glass, and outdoor seating during the warmer months.
The Petit Robert Bistros Kenmore and Columbus both opened April 1, so that's what they're shooting for as opening day.
The menu is still being finalized, but for dinner one might see appetizers ($6.75) such as onion soup, charcuterie, and mussels; entrees like tripe Provencal, roasted chicken, and pork roast with lentil stew (currently there's no steak frites, but we'll see how long that lasts); and desserts ($4.50) including profiteroles, iles flottantes, and chocolate pain perdu.
Chez Jacky will also offer lunch -- salade nicoise ($7.95), a croque monsieur ($5.75), spaghetti with two French meatballs (I'm not sure what these are, but the menu states "they are BIG" -- $9.75), and more. Yes, they will offer the burger dog from Petit Robert ($6.50).
In short, it sounds like Petit Robert for the student set. I envision lots of meeting cute, and future stories for the kids about falling in love over a plate of coq au vin.
I also think Loic LeGarrec deserves to have something named after him here -- if not a restaurant, maybe a dish? Quiche Loic?
The Boston Globe
Bergamot to replace EVOO in Somerville; American Craft to open in Brookline
News: Bergamot, American Craft, Ashmont Grill
Posted by Devra First February 16, 2010 11:26 AM
If all goes according to plan, Mid-March will see the opening of Bergamot, a new restaurant from chef Keith Pooler (Scampo, Harvest) and GM Servio Garcia (Craigie on Main, Casablanca). It will be located in the former EVOO space, 118 Beacon St., Somerville.
They promise "progressive American cuisine and a warm neighborhood setting." That means dishes such as sunchoke bisque with lobster, green beans, and olives; herb-marinated poached cod with favas, radishes, greens, and lemon confit vinaigrette; pea green salad with peas, ham, pecorino, pea shoots, and truffle vinaigrette; and slow-cooked lamb shoulder with caramelized spring onions, black trumpet mushrooms, barley, and stinging nettle sauce. Entrees will be $19-$27, appetizers $9-$14.
Bergamot has a full liquor license and will be offering old-school cocktails as well as new creations.
EVOO, of course, is moving to Kendall Square. It will be located in the Watermark Building at 350 Third St., along with a branch of sister pizzeria Za.
Meanwhile, in Brookline, barbecue joint Roadhouse is no more. It's been repurposed as American Craft, from the same owners, the folks behind the Publick House. It's at 1700 Beacon St. and ought to open Monday.
There will still be plenty of great beer, as well as a menu that features appetizers such as pulled duck hash and hand-cut chive fries, salads and soups, sandwiches such as a steak dip and a Reuben, and entrees including stout-braised short ribs, oven-roasted trout, and grilled tofu steak. You can also build your own burger (beef, turkey, or veggie).
The chef is Corey French, who has cooked at Vintage Lounge, Mill's Tavern in Providence, and more.
Also, over at Ashmont Grill, chef-owner Chris Douglass is cooking again. He'll be making dinner every night. When his South End restaurant Icarus closed, it was the end of an era. Presumably, he is now looking to have some fun. This should be good. On the menu: the likes of Navajo Stew (hominy, beans, chilies, and fry bread), braised lamb over pappardelle with dried cherries and gremolata, macaroni and smoked blue cheese, apricot-chipotle-glazed spare ribs and hush puppies, and cider-glazed pork belly with baked beans, brown bread, and apple slaw. Prices seem to be in the $15-$17 range.
Posted by Devra First February 16, 2010 11:26 AM
If all goes according to plan, Mid-March will see the opening of Bergamot, a new restaurant from chef Keith Pooler (Scampo, Harvest) and GM Servio Garcia (Craigie on Main, Casablanca). It will be located in the former EVOO space, 118 Beacon St., Somerville.
They promise "progressive American cuisine and a warm neighborhood setting." That means dishes such as sunchoke bisque with lobster, green beans, and olives; herb-marinated poached cod with favas, radishes, greens, and lemon confit vinaigrette; pea green salad with peas, ham, pecorino, pea shoots, and truffle vinaigrette; and slow-cooked lamb shoulder with caramelized spring onions, black trumpet mushrooms, barley, and stinging nettle sauce. Entrees will be $19-$27, appetizers $9-$14.
Bergamot has a full liquor license and will be offering old-school cocktails as well as new creations.
EVOO, of course, is moving to Kendall Square. It will be located in the Watermark Building at 350 Third St., along with a branch of sister pizzeria Za.
Meanwhile, in Brookline, barbecue joint Roadhouse is no more. It's been repurposed as American Craft, from the same owners, the folks behind the Publick House. It's at 1700 Beacon St. and ought to open Monday.
There will still be plenty of great beer, as well as a menu that features appetizers such as pulled duck hash and hand-cut chive fries, salads and soups, sandwiches such as a steak dip and a Reuben, and entrees including stout-braised short ribs, oven-roasted trout, and grilled tofu steak. You can also build your own burger (beef, turkey, or veggie).
The chef is Corey French, who has cooked at Vintage Lounge, Mill's Tavern in Providence, and more.
Also, over at Ashmont Grill, chef-owner Chris Douglass is cooking again. He'll be making dinner every night. When his South End restaurant Icarus closed, it was the end of an era. Presumably, he is now looking to have some fun. This should be good. On the menu: the likes of Navajo Stew (hominy, beans, chilies, and fry bread), braised lamb over pappardelle with dried cherries and gremolata, macaroni and smoked blue cheese, apricot-chipotle-glazed spare ribs and hush puppies, and cider-glazed pork belly with baked beans, brown bread, and apple slaw. Prices seem to be in the $15-$17 range.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
How to complain to your hotel
USA TOday - February 17, 2010
How to complain to your hotel? An insider shares his top strategies
07:45 AM
Whether you're a whiner known for ranting at front-desk clerks - or you're too timid to express dissatisfaction even though your hotel might want to know about the problem, you'll enjoy reading Daniel Edward Craig's tips about how to complain to your hotel.
Craig - the hotelier-blogger, not the James Bond actor - decided to blog about the subject because he's often cornered at parties to vent about random problems they've encountered at their hotels. He used to manage the upscale, boutique Opus Hotels in Vancouver and Montreal. Craig writes that he often walks away from these conversations thinking that they would've had a better chance resolving the problem if only they knew how things work behind the scenes.
So, here are Craig's tips, based on his humorous commentary he wrote on Opus Hotels' blog.
1. To complain or not? Don't feel ashamed: Complain. Craig says that hotels want to know if a customer isn't happy because that gives them the chance to win them over - and gain their loyalty. It could prompt the hotel to turn things around for you, he writes. Travelers should also avoid being disappointed by obvious things like a lack of ocean views by checking their hotel's online reviews first.
2. Talk to the right person. "Talk to someone who can fix the problem," Craig writes. Don't vent to random strangers, which can increase your sense of victimization. For minor issues, speak to the front desk. For bigger problems, ask for the duty manager. "If tears and family heirlooms are involved," he writes, "contact the general manager."
3. Be polite. We all know it pays to be polite, right? Well, it's true. Hotel staffers "will go to great lengths to appease guests, but it's kind of hard if you're throwing furniture or lunging at our throat," Craig writes. Also, he urges VIP-types to stifle the urge to proclaim your importance.
4. Be sure before you accuse. Craig's seen it before: A customer calls the hotel manager, frantic, saying that the housekeeper stole their tiara (or whatever). "Invariably, the item turns up," he writes. One time, in the case of a missing iPod, he ran a report on the guest's key card and found it had been used by multiple visitors the previous night. Once he reminded the guest, she stopped complaining.
5. Ask for what you want. Ask for the compensation you think you deserve, and be reasonable in your request. "In today's economy, hotels aren't particularly enthusiastic about doling out freebies if we're not at fault. If we messed up, however, the matter should be resolved to your satisfaction," Craig writes.
6. Complain up. If you have a problem after checkout, send an email to the hotel's manager, who can copy it to other departments and possibly fix the problem quickly, he writes. If you're not satisfied, forward the message to hotel ownership or the management company. "These individuals loathe complaints and will get to the bottom of things fast," Craig writes. You can also dispute erroneous charges with your credit card company.
I've already heard from several readers who've had success resolving hotel-related complaints, and I'll share them with you tomorrow. But I'd like to hear from you, whether you had a small or large issue at a Sheraton, a Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott, Omni or a boutique hotel.
Readers: What's your best - or worst - hotel complaint story? Did you get what you wanted? Try to include details such as your problem, the hotel name and location, and dates.
How to complain to your hotel? An insider shares his top strategies
07:45 AM
Whether you're a whiner known for ranting at front-desk clerks - or you're too timid to express dissatisfaction even though your hotel might want to know about the problem, you'll enjoy reading Daniel Edward Craig's tips about how to complain to your hotel.
Craig - the hotelier-blogger, not the James Bond actor - decided to blog about the subject because he's often cornered at parties to vent about random problems they've encountered at their hotels. He used to manage the upscale, boutique Opus Hotels in Vancouver and Montreal. Craig writes that he often walks away from these conversations thinking that they would've had a better chance resolving the problem if only they knew how things work behind the scenes.
So, here are Craig's tips, based on his humorous commentary he wrote on Opus Hotels' blog.
1. To complain or not? Don't feel ashamed: Complain. Craig says that hotels want to know if a customer isn't happy because that gives them the chance to win them over - and gain their loyalty. It could prompt the hotel to turn things around for you, he writes. Travelers should also avoid being disappointed by obvious things like a lack of ocean views by checking their hotel's online reviews first.
2. Talk to the right person. "Talk to someone who can fix the problem," Craig writes. Don't vent to random strangers, which can increase your sense of victimization. For minor issues, speak to the front desk. For bigger problems, ask for the duty manager. "If tears and family heirlooms are involved," he writes, "contact the general manager."
3. Be polite. We all know it pays to be polite, right? Well, it's true. Hotel staffers "will go to great lengths to appease guests, but it's kind of hard if you're throwing furniture or lunging at our throat," Craig writes. Also, he urges VIP-types to stifle the urge to proclaim your importance.
4. Be sure before you accuse. Craig's seen it before: A customer calls the hotel manager, frantic, saying that the housekeeper stole their tiara (or whatever). "Invariably, the item turns up," he writes. One time, in the case of a missing iPod, he ran a report on the guest's key card and found it had been used by multiple visitors the previous night. Once he reminded the guest, she stopped complaining.
5. Ask for what you want. Ask for the compensation you think you deserve, and be reasonable in your request. "In today's economy, hotels aren't particularly enthusiastic about doling out freebies if we're not at fault. If we messed up, however, the matter should be resolved to your satisfaction," Craig writes.
6. Complain up. If you have a problem after checkout, send an email to the hotel's manager, who can copy it to other departments and possibly fix the problem quickly, he writes. If you're not satisfied, forward the message to hotel ownership or the management company. "These individuals loathe complaints and will get to the bottom of things fast," Craig writes. You can also dispute erroneous charges with your credit card company.
I've already heard from several readers who've had success resolving hotel-related complaints, and I'll share them with you tomorrow. But I'd like to hear from you, whether you had a small or large issue at a Sheraton, a Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott, Omni or a boutique hotel.
Readers: What's your best - or worst - hotel complaint story? Did you get what you wanted? Try to include details such as your problem, the hotel name and location, and dates.
Restaurant industry nights gaining popularity
Industry standard
Restaurants create a scene for workers to eat, drink, and mingle with a star-struck public
By Devra First, Globe Staff | February 17, 2010
SOMERVILLE - It’s a typical brunch scene at Trina’s Starlite Lounge. Groups of friends are crowded into booths, consuming plates of huevos rancheros and drinking coffee. At the bar, groggy-eyed diners wake up with slightly stiffer eye-openers. Everyone is relaxed, enjoying a day off. But the weekend is over. It’s Monday, and this is Trina’s Industry Brunch, designed for people in the restaurant business.
“We could never go to brunch ourselves because we all worked,’’ says Josh Childs, co-owner of Trina’s, which introduced the brunch last month. “A lot of service people have Monday off. It’s a thank you to our industry friends.’’
Events targeted at industry workers have cropped up all over town. In November, Franklin Southie cohosted a Fernet Branca Industry Night with the website drinkboston.com, showcasing the Italian digestif that is a cult favorite among chefs, bartenders, and the people who love them. It grew into a monthly series that takes place on the second Thursday of each month at the South Boston restaurant; subsequent events have featured such beverages as St-Germain, Chartreuse, and Leblon Cachaca.
At the new Kings Dedham, Tuesday Industry Night means free bowling, skee-bowling, and shuffleboard after 9 p.m. for anyone who brings a pay stub or business card from the restaurant, bar, or hotel where he or she works. Kings Back Bay has a similar deal on Mondays, featuring bowling and pool. (Yes, there is an industry bowling league.)
Last week, the North End restaurant Nebo introduced Industry Every Nights. Show proof of employment and you’ll get a handy little plastic card that entitles you to 15 percent off all food after 9 p.m.
Industry nights are nothing new; Kings Back Bay’s event has been around since 2005, for example. But the rate at which they’re appearing is. In addition to being gestures of collegial good will, they are good business.
Restaurants want to fill seats, and industry nights are another way to do so - the off-hour cousins of midweek prix fixe menus, wine dinners, and trivia nights. After 9 on a weeknight - or between noon and 4 on a Monday, the hours of Trina’s brunch - restaurants aren’t exactly jam-packed. Why not fill them? And if it’s with your friends, so much the better. Discounts and freebies can be easily offset by a thirsty post-shift crowd.
“The thing for me is I’m going to be open till 2 in the morning anyway,’’ says Nebo co-owner Carla Pallotta. “Why not? It gets the excitement going. Of course, you hope everything brings a little extra money. It never hurts. But more, we were thinking of something nice we could do.’’
The events can help bring guests to a new location, as with Franklin Southie, which is a little more than a year old. Its South End sibling, the Franklin Cafe, is a popular late-night haunt. Both locations serve their full menus until 1:30 a.m.
“These nights are insanely busy,’’ says bar manager Joy Richard. “It’s been great. We’re trying to build business in Southie. It’s not heavy on industry folks - it’s more office and after-work people. We wanted to bring that location into the minds of people who already go to the South End location. When they get off their restaurant jobs, they can come over.’’
In addition to eating and drinking later than the 9-to-5 crowd, restaurant workers are naturally interested in what’s going on at other restaurants, and they spread the word. “Having more people in the industry gets your name out there more, because they’re people who talk about food,’’ Pallotta says. “They come and they tell their friends. And if your food is good, they’re loyal.’’
But industry nights are not always aimed at the industry. In an age where chefs have attained rock star status, they can serve as a subtle form of marketing. A restaurant that’s perceived as a chef or bartender hangout - so worthy it’s where the pros eat and drink - gains instant cachet.
David Michalski is a cultural studies librarian at the University of California-Davis, and founder of the Critical Studies in Food and Culture research group. “There’s been a move toward seeing food as being, you could say more hip, but being more expressive,’’ he says. “It’s become an art form. You see these people going to an industry night, it would be like meeting the artist. It has some of the glamour of that.’’
Scott Shoer, general manager of Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro, concurs. “Given the state of the economy, and with all the specials and lower-priced menu options, I feel like it’s done more to create a vibe in your restaurant than geared at actual industry people,’’ he says. “You don’t care if they’re in the industry or not, you just want to get them into your restaurant. That’s the god’s honest truth.’’
Tastings, located at Patriot Place in Foxborough, debuted a Wednesday industry night earlier this year, but with nearby bars such as Bar Louie and CBS Scene as competition, they soon canceled it. “It wasn’t really our thing,’’ Shoer says. “It did OK, but at the end of the day, where do we best allocate our time? We focus on dinner, which is what we do best.’’
Richard dropped the term “industry night’’ for last week’s cachaca event, though “it’s still sort of implied,’’ she says. “The term has become kind of generic. I don’t think that’s what many of them are anymore. The appeal to people that aren’t in the industry is that it’s kind of a secret thing, a cool, insider’s view or whatever. I think it has a lot to do with celebrity chefs and the Food Network, and the whole ‘startender’ thing, which is the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever heard.’’
The Monday brunch at Trina’s Starlite Lounge draws about 75 percent restaurant workers, Childs says, but all are welcome. It’s busiest on Monday holidays, when everyone is off.
“There’s an allure,’’ he says. “You’re in the know about something that’s fun and off the beaten track. You’re part of that community even if you don’t work in it. The restaurant business has become such an intrinsic part of our lives. Everyone is much more aware of food and beverage service. There’s definitely some sexiness to it.’’
He pauses and laughs. “Probably that sexiness comes from people who don’t work in the industry,’’ he says. “There’s nothing sexy about me cleaning the toilet at the end of the night.’’
Real or imagined, sexiness sells.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Restaurants create a scene for workers to eat, drink, and mingle with a star-struck public
By Devra First, Globe Staff | February 17, 2010
SOMERVILLE - It’s a typical brunch scene at Trina’s Starlite Lounge. Groups of friends are crowded into booths, consuming plates of huevos rancheros and drinking coffee. At the bar, groggy-eyed diners wake up with slightly stiffer eye-openers. Everyone is relaxed, enjoying a day off. But the weekend is over. It’s Monday, and this is Trina’s Industry Brunch, designed for people in the restaurant business.
“We could never go to brunch ourselves because we all worked,’’ says Josh Childs, co-owner of Trina’s, which introduced the brunch last month. “A lot of service people have Monday off. It’s a thank you to our industry friends.’’
Events targeted at industry workers have cropped up all over town. In November, Franklin Southie cohosted a Fernet Branca Industry Night with the website drinkboston.com, showcasing the Italian digestif that is a cult favorite among chefs, bartenders, and the people who love them. It grew into a monthly series that takes place on the second Thursday of each month at the South Boston restaurant; subsequent events have featured such beverages as St-Germain, Chartreuse, and Leblon Cachaca.
At the new Kings Dedham, Tuesday Industry Night means free bowling, skee-bowling, and shuffleboard after 9 p.m. for anyone who brings a pay stub or business card from the restaurant, bar, or hotel where he or she works. Kings Back Bay has a similar deal on Mondays, featuring bowling and pool. (Yes, there is an industry bowling league.)
Last week, the North End restaurant Nebo introduced Industry Every Nights. Show proof of employment and you’ll get a handy little plastic card that entitles you to 15 percent off all food after 9 p.m.
Industry nights are nothing new; Kings Back Bay’s event has been around since 2005, for example. But the rate at which they’re appearing is. In addition to being gestures of collegial good will, they are good business.
Restaurants want to fill seats, and industry nights are another way to do so - the off-hour cousins of midweek prix fixe menus, wine dinners, and trivia nights. After 9 on a weeknight - or between noon and 4 on a Monday, the hours of Trina’s brunch - restaurants aren’t exactly jam-packed. Why not fill them? And if it’s with your friends, so much the better. Discounts and freebies can be easily offset by a thirsty post-shift crowd.
“The thing for me is I’m going to be open till 2 in the morning anyway,’’ says Nebo co-owner Carla Pallotta. “Why not? It gets the excitement going. Of course, you hope everything brings a little extra money. It never hurts. But more, we were thinking of something nice we could do.’’
The events can help bring guests to a new location, as with Franklin Southie, which is a little more than a year old. Its South End sibling, the Franklin Cafe, is a popular late-night haunt. Both locations serve their full menus until 1:30 a.m.
“These nights are insanely busy,’’ says bar manager Joy Richard. “It’s been great. We’re trying to build business in Southie. It’s not heavy on industry folks - it’s more office and after-work people. We wanted to bring that location into the minds of people who already go to the South End location. When they get off their restaurant jobs, they can come over.’’
In addition to eating and drinking later than the 9-to-5 crowd, restaurant workers are naturally interested in what’s going on at other restaurants, and they spread the word. “Having more people in the industry gets your name out there more, because they’re people who talk about food,’’ Pallotta says. “They come and they tell their friends. And if your food is good, they’re loyal.’’
But industry nights are not always aimed at the industry. In an age where chefs have attained rock star status, they can serve as a subtle form of marketing. A restaurant that’s perceived as a chef or bartender hangout - so worthy it’s where the pros eat and drink - gains instant cachet.
David Michalski is a cultural studies librarian at the University of California-Davis, and founder of the Critical Studies in Food and Culture research group. “There’s been a move toward seeing food as being, you could say more hip, but being more expressive,’’ he says. “It’s become an art form. You see these people going to an industry night, it would be like meeting the artist. It has some of the glamour of that.’’
Scott Shoer, general manager of Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro, concurs. “Given the state of the economy, and with all the specials and lower-priced menu options, I feel like it’s done more to create a vibe in your restaurant than geared at actual industry people,’’ he says. “You don’t care if they’re in the industry or not, you just want to get them into your restaurant. That’s the god’s honest truth.’’
Tastings, located at Patriot Place in Foxborough, debuted a Wednesday industry night earlier this year, but with nearby bars such as Bar Louie and CBS Scene as competition, they soon canceled it. “It wasn’t really our thing,’’ Shoer says. “It did OK, but at the end of the day, where do we best allocate our time? We focus on dinner, which is what we do best.’’
Richard dropped the term “industry night’’ for last week’s cachaca event, though “it’s still sort of implied,’’ she says. “The term has become kind of generic. I don’t think that’s what many of them are anymore. The appeal to people that aren’t in the industry is that it’s kind of a secret thing, a cool, insider’s view or whatever. I think it has a lot to do with celebrity chefs and the Food Network, and the whole ‘startender’ thing, which is the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever heard.’’
The Monday brunch at Trina’s Starlite Lounge draws about 75 percent restaurant workers, Childs says, but all are welcome. It’s busiest on Monday holidays, when everyone is off.
“There’s an allure,’’ he says. “You’re in the know about something that’s fun and off the beaten track. You’re part of that community even if you don’t work in it. The restaurant business has become such an intrinsic part of our lives. Everyone is much more aware of food and beverage service. There’s definitely some sexiness to it.’’
He pauses and laughs. “Probably that sexiness comes from people who don’t work in the industry,’’ he says. “There’s nothing sexy about me cleaning the toilet at the end of the night.’’
Real or imagined, sexiness sells.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Parish Cafe South End review
CHEAP EATS
Parish in progress
By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff | February 17, 2010
The space that co-owner Sean Simmons and partners Gordon Wilcox and Peter Culpo renovated and turned into Parish Cafe South End is strikingly good looking. In its spot on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Tremont Street, the room at lunch is flooded with light. You can imagine tables spilling out onto the street from big garage roll-up doors when the weather warms. Servers are so friendly that we have to shake hands one night and introduce ourselves to the bartender (in the second it takes to put down our beers, we manage to blurt out pseudonyms).
This second location of the popular Boylston Street cafe opened at the first of the year and there are missteps. Parish is known for celebrating sandwiches from chefs around town. They come many ways on all kinds of bread. Simmons’s own specialty, the meatloaf club ($12.75), consists of slabs of firm meatloaf on thick slices of “Texas toast’’ with strips of bacon and chipotle mayonnaise. Accompanying it is a mound of mashed and gravy, which you definitely don’t need with this much bread. It’s not a great meatloaf.
Corn cakes ($9) have no taste; chicken and corn chowder ($3.75) is unappealingly thick; black bean chili ($3.75), which is quite good, is barely lukewarm; cottony French bread with the soup is dreadful. A salad called “the Harrington’’ ($8.75) - chopped romaine, cucumbers, olives, and feta, served with grilled pita - borders on inedibly salty.
We try again. The tide starts to change. An egg sandwich Lyonnaise ($9.75), created by Tony Maws of Craigie on Main, has two over-easy eggs whose yolks spill onto crisp bacon, lots of thinly sliced red onions, frisee, and mustard aioli. The potato salad has been portioned with an ice cream scoop (I’m omitting the exclamation mark here), and it’s stone cold, but warms up by the end of the meal.
We go yet again. Third time’s the charm. Rare grilled tuna on a Nicoise salad ($12.75, pictured) is beautiful, lightly sauced fresh fish with wasabi aioli, garnished with hard-cooked eggs that have bright yellow centers. A lemony dressing on the greens and slender beans is just right.
Steak and blue ($15.75), created by Lydia Shire, Locke-Ober chef and owner, layers very rare, beautiful slices of beef tenderloin with blue cheese and marinated onions. A red cabbage slaw on the plate makes this presentation stunning and delicious all around.
Servers step in and help one another to make sure you’re never looking around wondering where yours is. The place has a nice feel and warmth, as if poised to become a neighborhood hangout. Which it will. Local hospital workers will walk over for lunch or drinks after work, the kitchen will fix some details, and all the menu items will be showpieces.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Parish in progress
By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff | February 17, 2010
The space that co-owner Sean Simmons and partners Gordon Wilcox and Peter Culpo renovated and turned into Parish Cafe South End is strikingly good looking. In its spot on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Tremont Street, the room at lunch is flooded with light. You can imagine tables spilling out onto the street from big garage roll-up doors when the weather warms. Servers are so friendly that we have to shake hands one night and introduce ourselves to the bartender (in the second it takes to put down our beers, we manage to blurt out pseudonyms).
This second location of the popular Boylston Street cafe opened at the first of the year and there are missteps. Parish is known for celebrating sandwiches from chefs around town. They come many ways on all kinds of bread. Simmons’s own specialty, the meatloaf club ($12.75), consists of slabs of firm meatloaf on thick slices of “Texas toast’’ with strips of bacon and chipotle mayonnaise. Accompanying it is a mound of mashed and gravy, which you definitely don’t need with this much bread. It’s not a great meatloaf.
Corn cakes ($9) have no taste; chicken and corn chowder ($3.75) is unappealingly thick; black bean chili ($3.75), which is quite good, is barely lukewarm; cottony French bread with the soup is dreadful. A salad called “the Harrington’’ ($8.75) - chopped romaine, cucumbers, olives, and feta, served with grilled pita - borders on inedibly salty.
We try again. The tide starts to change. An egg sandwich Lyonnaise ($9.75), created by Tony Maws of Craigie on Main, has two over-easy eggs whose yolks spill onto crisp bacon, lots of thinly sliced red onions, frisee, and mustard aioli. The potato salad has been portioned with an ice cream scoop (I’m omitting the exclamation mark here), and it’s stone cold, but warms up by the end of the meal.
We go yet again. Third time’s the charm. Rare grilled tuna on a Nicoise salad ($12.75, pictured) is beautiful, lightly sauced fresh fish with wasabi aioli, garnished with hard-cooked eggs that have bright yellow centers. A lemony dressing on the greens and slender beans is just right.
Steak and blue ($15.75), created by Lydia Shire, Locke-Ober chef and owner, layers very rare, beautiful slices of beef tenderloin with blue cheese and marinated onions. A red cabbage slaw on the plate makes this presentation stunning and delicious all around.
Servers step in and help one another to make sure you’re never looking around wondering where yours is. The place has a nice feel and warmth, as if poised to become a neighborhood hangout. Which it will. Local hospital workers will walk over for lunch or drinks after work, the kitchen will fix some details, and all the menu items will be showpieces.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Fish Market review
DINING OUT
Fresh, and on a roll
Fish Market’s innovative creations take a new-school approach to sushi
By Devra First, Globe Staff | February 17, 2010
A clean well-lighted place. It’s the phrase that comes to mind entering Fish Market, an Allston sushi bar that opened in April. It’s bright, spotless, the walls lined with horizontal strips of light wood over white paint. There’s not much adornment beyond the mod-botanical curtain panel hanging at the back of the room and a TV that seems to play whatever happens to be on. Fish Market does a lot with a little - a few well-placed plants and light fixtures plus cushy spring-green chairs add up to a look that is modern, crisp, and cute.
I do mean a little. Fish Market rivals Oishii in Chestnut Hill for being the smallest sushi bar in the Boston area. It clocks in at a grand 19 seats. The similarity is more than superficial. Fish Market is run by Oishii alums Kin Chan and Jacky Poon, boyhood friends who grew up together in Quincy. (Chan’s family runs Winsor Dim Sum Cafe in Chinatown.) Both 27, they’ve known each other since they were 11 and have been working together almost as long.
They stand behind the tiny sushi bar, smart in their white coats, slicing fluke and sea bass, delicately applying roe, rolling maki. The Oishii influence is clear in their food, down to the occasional light searing of fish. They make beautiful traditional sushi, the knife work careful and precise. Equally, they embrace the new-school approach of elaborate, multi-ingredient rolls. This is something that, as a diner, you generally either appreciate or you don’t. As a rule, I am not happy if someone puts mayonnaise, sweet potatoes, jalapenos, and four or five different kinds of fish into my maki. It’s slapstick. But many of Fish Market’s creations are genuinely innovative. They taste or look surprising, in a real way. The flavors are clear, not muddied, as often happens with maki-gone-wild. The chefs appear to be playing with tastes and textures to enhance and illuminate the ingredients, not just for the sake of doing so.
Take the avocado ball, something Chan later tells me he is particularly proud of. It is bright green and perfectly spherical, like some sort of alien egg. Break through its skin, made up of thin, overlapping slices of avocado, and you find a salad of tuna, white tuna, and wasabi roe, bound together with gently lemony mayonnaise. It’s a visual punch line, but the bright flavors are anything but gimmicky.
Also more than a novelty act is the truffling tuna, bright red slices of fish draped on a white plate, topped with black roe, chives, and a sauce made from butter infused with the flavor of truffles. Ditto the rich baked spicy scallop maki, an avocado roll topped with scallop and spicy mayonnaise, then cooked - sushi meets seafood Newburg. And the flaming maki: Something that looks so crazy has no right to be so good. It’s a roll of salad greens, sweet omelet, cucumber, and other vegetables, tossed with a gingery sauce, wrapped in rice, and rolled in fried, shredded sweet potato. Fish Market is the rare sushi bar that offers real excitement for vegetarians.
Many of the plates here feature a pink berry, perched on top like a pom-pom. It’s a bayberry, imported from Japan; like pickled ginger, it’s meant to cleanse your palate. The fish is impeccably fresh, and the chefs often have unusual selections. A recent visit yields live uni from Maine, still quivering in its spiked shell. Its clean, pure taste is a revelation. Sweet Maine shrimp appear as well, set simply on pats of rice, then topped with their own frothy, grayish roe (and a bit of shell in one case). Alongside, there are their heads, which have been deep-fried for gnawing. It’s a portrait of Maine shrimp in two textures, and it captures their essence.
Scallops, too, come from Maine, and they are silken, sweet, and luxurious. Get them as sashimi - nothing should adulterate this pleasure. Chan says he tries to use many New England ingredients, even though many claim the best seafood comes from Japan. The faster they can get it to the restaurant, the fresher it is, he says. The all-important sushi rice doesn’t quite live up to what’s topping it. It should be a perfect, vinegary pillow, but on one occasion it’s slightly tough and dry.
The cooked dishes here are not as strong as the sashimi and sushi. They feel rote; the sense of experimentation is gone. Offerings such as chicken yaki udon and Kobe beef shumai - both bland - show up because they’re expected to. That said, nabeyaki udon, the traditional Japanese soup with fat noodles, shrimp tempura, and egg, is very satisfying. It’s brought to you by friendly, chatty, helpful servers.
For dessert, you’ll find ice cream encased in mochi - good but similar to the stuff you can buy boxed at Trader Joe’s - and the usual red bean and green tea ice creams. There’s sesame, too, not quite as common. You can get your ice cream fried, as well, if that’s your bag. What you can’t get is a drink, beyond green tea, soda, or juice. Fish Market doesn’t have a liquor license.
Fish Market is the Ikea of sushi bars. It offers a well-designed product for less; a person can get happily full here for under $30. Says Chan, “My dream is to serve really good and fresh sushi at a very reasonable price so everyone can try it. Some restaurants have fancy decor and very professional service, but the price is not for everyone.’’
Here, you won’t miss the frills.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Fresh, and on a roll
Fish Market’s innovative creations take a new-school approach to sushi
By Devra First, Globe Staff | February 17, 2010
A clean well-lighted place. It’s the phrase that comes to mind entering Fish Market, an Allston sushi bar that opened in April. It’s bright, spotless, the walls lined with horizontal strips of light wood over white paint. There’s not much adornment beyond the mod-botanical curtain panel hanging at the back of the room and a TV that seems to play whatever happens to be on. Fish Market does a lot with a little - a few well-placed plants and light fixtures plus cushy spring-green chairs add up to a look that is modern, crisp, and cute.
I do mean a little. Fish Market rivals Oishii in Chestnut Hill for being the smallest sushi bar in the Boston area. It clocks in at a grand 19 seats. The similarity is more than superficial. Fish Market is run by Oishii alums Kin Chan and Jacky Poon, boyhood friends who grew up together in Quincy. (Chan’s family runs Winsor Dim Sum Cafe in Chinatown.) Both 27, they’ve known each other since they were 11 and have been working together almost as long.
They stand behind the tiny sushi bar, smart in their white coats, slicing fluke and sea bass, delicately applying roe, rolling maki. The Oishii influence is clear in their food, down to the occasional light searing of fish. They make beautiful traditional sushi, the knife work careful and precise. Equally, they embrace the new-school approach of elaborate, multi-ingredient rolls. This is something that, as a diner, you generally either appreciate or you don’t. As a rule, I am not happy if someone puts mayonnaise, sweet potatoes, jalapenos, and four or five different kinds of fish into my maki. It’s slapstick. But many of Fish Market’s creations are genuinely innovative. They taste or look surprising, in a real way. The flavors are clear, not muddied, as often happens with maki-gone-wild. The chefs appear to be playing with tastes and textures to enhance and illuminate the ingredients, not just for the sake of doing so.
Take the avocado ball, something Chan later tells me he is particularly proud of. It is bright green and perfectly spherical, like some sort of alien egg. Break through its skin, made up of thin, overlapping slices of avocado, and you find a salad of tuna, white tuna, and wasabi roe, bound together with gently lemony mayonnaise. It’s a visual punch line, but the bright flavors are anything but gimmicky.
Also more than a novelty act is the truffling tuna, bright red slices of fish draped on a white plate, topped with black roe, chives, and a sauce made from butter infused with the flavor of truffles. Ditto the rich baked spicy scallop maki, an avocado roll topped with scallop and spicy mayonnaise, then cooked - sushi meets seafood Newburg. And the flaming maki: Something that looks so crazy has no right to be so good. It’s a roll of salad greens, sweet omelet, cucumber, and other vegetables, tossed with a gingery sauce, wrapped in rice, and rolled in fried, shredded sweet potato. Fish Market is the rare sushi bar that offers real excitement for vegetarians.
Many of the plates here feature a pink berry, perched on top like a pom-pom. It’s a bayberry, imported from Japan; like pickled ginger, it’s meant to cleanse your palate. The fish is impeccably fresh, and the chefs often have unusual selections. A recent visit yields live uni from Maine, still quivering in its spiked shell. Its clean, pure taste is a revelation. Sweet Maine shrimp appear as well, set simply on pats of rice, then topped with their own frothy, grayish roe (and a bit of shell in one case). Alongside, there are their heads, which have been deep-fried for gnawing. It’s a portrait of Maine shrimp in two textures, and it captures their essence.
Scallops, too, come from Maine, and they are silken, sweet, and luxurious. Get them as sashimi - nothing should adulterate this pleasure. Chan says he tries to use many New England ingredients, even though many claim the best seafood comes from Japan. The faster they can get it to the restaurant, the fresher it is, he says. The all-important sushi rice doesn’t quite live up to what’s topping it. It should be a perfect, vinegary pillow, but on one occasion it’s slightly tough and dry.
The cooked dishes here are not as strong as the sashimi and sushi. They feel rote; the sense of experimentation is gone. Offerings such as chicken yaki udon and Kobe beef shumai - both bland - show up because they’re expected to. That said, nabeyaki udon, the traditional Japanese soup with fat noodles, shrimp tempura, and egg, is very satisfying. It’s brought to you by friendly, chatty, helpful servers.
For dessert, you’ll find ice cream encased in mochi - good but similar to the stuff you can buy boxed at Trader Joe’s - and the usual red bean and green tea ice creams. There’s sesame, too, not quite as common. You can get your ice cream fried, as well, if that’s your bag. What you can’t get is a drink, beyond green tea, soda, or juice. Fish Market doesn’t have a liquor license.
Fish Market is the Ikea of sushi bars. It offers a well-designed product for less; a person can get happily full here for under $30. Says Chan, “My dream is to serve really good and fresh sushi at a very reasonable price so everyone can try it. Some restaurants have fancy decor and very professional service, but the price is not for everyone.’’
Here, you won’t miss the frills.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Logan Airport Terminal C getting major makeover
Oldest of Logan’s terminals getting major makeover
By Associated Press | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
BOSTON - Logan International Airport’s Terminal C is poised to get a major makeover.
The Massachusetts Port Authority board of directors is slated to take a final vote Thursday on a $55 million project. It will not only give the terminal and its signature soaring ceiling new lighting and ventilation, but also a unified security checkpoint.
That means United and JetBlue [JBLU] passengers - who now pass through separate checkpoints on each of the terminal’s two piers - will pass through a single area that allows them to go to either pier without being screened again.
The change will be especially beneficial to JetBlue, which has become Logan’s biggest carrier and is starting to add gates on the United pier.
Passengers will also have more concession options inside the security zone.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233463
By Associated Press | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
BOSTON - Logan International Airport’s Terminal C is poised to get a major makeover.
The Massachusetts Port Authority board of directors is slated to take a final vote Thursday on a $55 million project. It will not only give the terminal and its signature soaring ceiling new lighting and ventilation, but also a unified security checkpoint.
That means United and JetBlue [JBLU] passengers - who now pass through separate checkpoints on each of the terminal’s two piers - will pass through a single area that allows them to go to either pier without being screened again.
The change will be especially beneficial to JetBlue, which has become Logan’s biggest carrier and is starting to add gates on the United pier.
Passengers will also have more concession options inside the security zone.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233463
Southwest to add nonstop flights from Boston to Philly
Southwest plans flights to Philly
By Staff and wire reports | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Southwest Airlines will take off in June with five new daily non-stop flights between Boston and Philadelphia in a bid for business travelers who use US Airways.
“We are thrilled that Southwest loves Boston and is continuing to grow here,” said Edward Freni, aviaton director for the Massachusetts Port Authority, operator of Logan International Airport.
Southwest will offer introductory one-way fares of $59. Tickets must be purchased by April 18 for travel from June 27 to Aug. 13.
Southwest is working with Massport to add a third gate at Logan’s Terminal E to support the new service this summer. Jets from Boston will fly into Southwest’s recently completed $45 million terminal at Philadelphia International Airport.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233371
By Staff and wire reports | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Southwest Airlines will take off in June with five new daily non-stop flights between Boston and Philadelphia in a bid for business travelers who use US Airways.
“We are thrilled that Southwest loves Boston and is continuing to grow here,” said Edward Freni, aviaton director for the Massachusetts Port Authority, operator of Logan International Airport.
Southwest will offer introductory one-way fares of $59. Tickets must be purchased by April 18 for travel from June 27 to Aug. 13.
Southwest is working with Massport to add a third gate at Logan’s Terminal E to support the new service this summer. Jets from Boston will fly into Southwest’s recently completed $45 million terminal at Philadelphia International Airport.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233371
Film tax credit helps hotels & restaurants, says Massachusetts House Speaker
Robert DeLeo: Film tax credit plays role in job growth
By Thomas Grillo | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo said it may not be the right time to edit the film-industry tax credit.
“I’m very concerned that we’re sending mixed signals to businesses,” he said. “We are talking about increasing jobs, and here we have a credit that puts our residents to work.”
Last month, Gov. Deval Patrick filed a $28.2 billion spending plan that would cap the film tax credit at $50 million - down from around $125 million - to help close a budget shortfall on Beacon Hill.
Proponents of the credit say it has brought more than $1 billion in economic activity to the commonwealth by creating incentives to local investment by Hollywood production companies.
In an interview yesterday with Herald editors and reporters, DeLeo said lots of folks would be unemployed if it weren’t for the tax break.
“Local hotel and motel owners, merchants who rent furniture and restaurants are part and parcel of the film tax credit,” he said.
The Winthrop Democrat acknowledged that cuts in the state’s budget will have to be made based on the fiscal crisis.
“I’ve vowed not to raise taxes, so we will have to make some cuts - but I will tell you that the film tax credit is a good investment,” he said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233366
By Thomas Grillo | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo said it may not be the right time to edit the film-industry tax credit.
“I’m very concerned that we’re sending mixed signals to businesses,” he said. “We are talking about increasing jobs, and here we have a credit that puts our residents to work.”
Last month, Gov. Deval Patrick filed a $28.2 billion spending plan that would cap the film tax credit at $50 million - down from around $125 million - to help close a budget shortfall on Beacon Hill.
Proponents of the credit say it has brought more than $1 billion in economic activity to the commonwealth by creating incentives to local investment by Hollywood production companies.
In an interview yesterday with Herald editors and reporters, DeLeo said lots of folks would be unemployed if it weren’t for the tax break.
“Local hotel and motel owners, merchants who rent furniture and restaurants are part and parcel of the film tax credit,” he said.
The Winthrop Democrat acknowledged that cuts in the state’s budget will have to be made based on the fiscal crisis.
“I’ve vowed not to raise taxes, so we will have to make some cuts - but I will tell you that the film tax credit is a good investment,” he said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233366
Copley Place owner makes bid for bankrupt Faneuil Hall owner
Mall giant bids $10B for bankrupt rival, Faneuil Hall lease
Simon says: ‘Sell’
By Thomas Grillo | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Faneuil Hall merchants, who have not always been happy with how the Boston shopping mecca has been managed, expressed concern about a possible change in control.
Simon Property Group, the mall giant with 14 Massachusetts properties, launched a $10 billion hostile bid for General Growth Properties, the bankrupt operator of Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
“The shop owners are worried that any new owner understand Faneuil Hall’s vision and why it was given a generous 99-year lease,” said Carol Troxell of the Faneuil Hall Merchants Association.
Troxell, who runs several food shops including Maggie’s Sweets, said the long-term lease was meant to provide a home for small, local entrepreneurs in New England. But Faneuil Hall has been flooded with national chains.
Last year, after Chicago-based General Growth filed for bankruptcy, the merchants created “Friends of Faneuil Hall” and started raising money in a bid to take control of the operation. Troxell said yesterday that the group now has $30 million in pledges.
The city of Boston, which owns the property and leases Faneuil Hall Marketplace’s three retail buildings, has criticized General Growth’s maintenance record.
John Palmieri, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, said whoever operates the property must preserve its character.
“They would need to maintain a healthy mix of retailers and do the improvements to continue to be attractive to the public,” he said.
The takeover bid by Indianapolis-based Simon, the nation’s largest shopping mall owner, would allow No. 2 General Growth to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
But General Growth called the offer too low and said it will invite others to make bids as it considers options for emerging from bankruptcy.
“Given what this is going to give Simon, they can afford to pay more,” said William Acheson, equity analyst at New York-based Benchmark Co. “They will have a lock on the best malls in the best markets in Boston, New York and some of the bigger California cities.”
General Growth filed the biggest real-estate bankruptcy in U.S. history in April after buckling under the weight of billions in accumulated debt during a massive expansion effort fueled by cheap credit.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233364
Simon says: ‘Sell’
By Thomas Grillo | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Faneuil Hall merchants, who have not always been happy with how the Boston shopping mecca has been managed, expressed concern about a possible change in control.
Simon Property Group, the mall giant with 14 Massachusetts properties, launched a $10 billion hostile bid for General Growth Properties, the bankrupt operator of Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
“The shop owners are worried that any new owner understand Faneuil Hall’s vision and why it was given a generous 99-year lease,” said Carol Troxell of the Faneuil Hall Merchants Association.
Troxell, who runs several food shops including Maggie’s Sweets, said the long-term lease was meant to provide a home for small, local entrepreneurs in New England. But Faneuil Hall has been flooded with national chains.
Last year, after Chicago-based General Growth filed for bankruptcy, the merchants created “Friends of Faneuil Hall” and started raising money in a bid to take control of the operation. Troxell said yesterday that the group now has $30 million in pledges.
The city of Boston, which owns the property and leases Faneuil Hall Marketplace’s three retail buildings, has criticized General Growth’s maintenance record.
John Palmieri, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, said whoever operates the property must preserve its character.
“They would need to maintain a healthy mix of retailers and do the improvements to continue to be attractive to the public,” he said.
The takeover bid by Indianapolis-based Simon, the nation’s largest shopping mall owner, would allow No. 2 General Growth to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
But General Growth called the offer too low and said it will invite others to make bids as it considers options for emerging from bankruptcy.
“Given what this is going to give Simon, they can afford to pay more,” said William Acheson, equity analyst at New York-based Benchmark Co. “They will have a lock on the best malls in the best markets in Boston, New York and some of the bigger California cities.”
General Growth filed the biggest real-estate bankruptcy in U.S. history in April after buckling under the weight of billions in accumulated debt during a massive expansion effort fueled by cheap credit.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1233364
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Lyons Group eyes new restaurant at old Vinny T's site
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay should allow Patrick Lyons to do whatever he wants to do with this space so it doesn't remain empty. The fact that they want to spend money to revitalize this dining spot during tough economic times should be reason enough. If Vinny T's has a 2am license they should be allowed to stay open until then. There's no one living on Boylston Street on that block, unless you count all of the well to do people at the Mandarin! Live music at this spot would be awesome, for the local residents and also for the people staying at nearby hotels! Adam
Lyons Group’s owner eyes club at Vinny T’s site
By Donna Goodison | Saturday, February 13, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
Restaurant and nightclub king Patrick Lyons is planning a second eatery on Boston’s Boylston Street.
Lyons wants to take over the former 240-capacity Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant to open the Back Bay Social Club, according to documents filed with the city.
The Lyons Group owner already is partnering with chef Jasper White on Towne, a 10,000-square-foot restaurant that’s under development just down the street at the Hynes Convention Center.
Lyons, whose operations include Kings, Game On!, Bleacher Bar, Lansdowne Pub, Sonsie, Scampo, Alibi and stakes in White’s Summer Shacks, did not return calls yesterday.
He has yet to give a full briefing on his latest plan to the powerful Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, whose backing typically is critical to gain city approvals.
“The thing that will be the center of our concern will be the review of the conditions for the alcohol license, because that’s where we try to agree on what the hours of operation will be,” said James Hill, chairman of NABB’s licensing and business-use committee. “(Lyons) knows us and he knows the things we hold dear.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1232525
Lyons Group’s owner eyes club at Vinny T’s site
By Donna Goodison | Saturday, February 13, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
Restaurant and nightclub king Patrick Lyons is planning a second eatery on Boston’s Boylston Street.
Lyons wants to take over the former 240-capacity Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant to open the Back Bay Social Club, according to documents filed with the city.
The Lyons Group owner already is partnering with chef Jasper White on Towne, a 10,000-square-foot restaurant that’s under development just down the street at the Hynes Convention Center.
Lyons, whose operations include Kings, Game On!, Bleacher Bar, Lansdowne Pub, Sonsie, Scampo, Alibi and stakes in White’s Summer Shacks, did not return calls yesterday.
He has yet to give a full briefing on his latest plan to the powerful Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, whose backing typically is critical to gain city approvals.
“The thing that will be the center of our concern will be the review of the conditions for the alcohol license, because that’s where we try to agree on what the hours of operation will be,” said James Hill, chairman of NABB’s licensing and business-use committee. “(Lyons) knows us and he knows the things we hold dear.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1232525
MGH plans musuem to open for 200th anniversary
Making medical history
MGH plans museum for its birthday
By Jay Fitzgerald | Saturday, February 13, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Healthcare
As small businesses strain under the weight of rising health-care costs, Massachusetts General Hospital is looking to build a new 8,000-square-foot museum to help celebrate its 200th anniversary next year.
MGH, part of the massive Partners HealthCare System, is taking preliminary steps toward hiring an interim museum director, meeting with neighborhood groups, briefing city officials and raising private funds for a museum that would house medical artifacts, archive documents and education facilities.
The final go-ahead hasn’t been given yet, as MGH tries to raise an unspecified amount of money for the Cambridge Street project.
But construction could start late this year and be finished by the end of 2011, when MGH plans to celebrate its bicentennial.
“We’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” said Robert Seger, a senior administration director at MGH’s department of urology and head of MGH’s “history program.”
The project comes at a sensitive time within the health-care industry, as leaders in Washington and on Beacon Hill debate reforms and how to control rising medical costs. Earlier this week, Gov. Deval Patrick vowed to slap caps on medical expenses and insurance rates as a way to contain skyrocketing health-care costs.
But Seger said the hospital would “absolutely not” be using patient revenue for the project. “It wouldn’t be right,” he said, emphasizing MGH is trying to raise funds via charitable donations for the museum.
John Achatz, former chairman of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said his group has long wanted MGH to build along Cambridge Street to give the north side more life. The museum would fill a vacant gap, he said.
The mostly glass-covered museum would be tucked near the new Yawkey Center, in front of a parking garage and wrapped around the red-brick, 19th-century Resident’s Physician House.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1232524
MGH plans museum for its birthday
By Jay Fitzgerald | Saturday, February 13, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Healthcare
As small businesses strain under the weight of rising health-care costs, Massachusetts General Hospital is looking to build a new 8,000-square-foot museum to help celebrate its 200th anniversary next year.
MGH, part of the massive Partners HealthCare System, is taking preliminary steps toward hiring an interim museum director, meeting with neighborhood groups, briefing city officials and raising private funds for a museum that would house medical artifacts, archive documents and education facilities.
The final go-ahead hasn’t been given yet, as MGH tries to raise an unspecified amount of money for the Cambridge Street project.
But construction could start late this year and be finished by the end of 2011, when MGH plans to celebrate its bicentennial.
“We’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” said Robert Seger, a senior administration director at MGH’s department of urology and head of MGH’s “history program.”
The project comes at a sensitive time within the health-care industry, as leaders in Washington and on Beacon Hill debate reforms and how to control rising medical costs. Earlier this week, Gov. Deval Patrick vowed to slap caps on medical expenses and insurance rates as a way to contain skyrocketing health-care costs.
But Seger said the hospital would “absolutely not” be using patient revenue for the project. “It wouldn’t be right,” he said, emphasizing MGH is trying to raise funds via charitable donations for the museum.
John Achatz, former chairman of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said his group has long wanted MGH to build along Cambridge Street to give the north side more life. The museum would fill a vacant gap, he said.
The mostly glass-covered museum would be tucked near the new Yawkey Center, in front of a parking garage and wrapped around the red-brick, 19th-century Resident’s Physician House.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1232524
Friday, February 12, 2010
Anthem to replace Plaza III at Faneuil Hall; New Jasper White restuarant at Hynes to be called Towne; Parish Cafe owners to open 2nd South End spot
Faneuil Hall to get its own Anthem
Also, chocolatier sweet on Southie
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, February 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining News
The Briar Group plans to resurrect a new version of Anthem at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
The restaurant would replace Plaza III - The Kansas City Steakhouse, which has operated in the South Market building of the Boston tourist mecca since 1997.
“There’s just a few loose ends and hopefully we’ll have them wrapped up shortly, but our plan is to bring Anthem back to life,” said Austin O’Connor Jr., the Briar Group’s CEO.
The Brighton company closed the first Anthem, which served fancy new American comfort food, in 2007, after nearly four years on Portland Street near North Station.
“We loved Anthem and the concept itself, but the area just didn’t catch up,” he said. “I expected more development to happen within the area at a quicker pace.”
O’Connor hopes to open the new Anthem in May with a menu that includes more sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and lots of New England flavors, with entrees in the mid- to high-$20s. The space, which can accommodate several hundred diners on two levels, will sport an urban look and a warmer greenhouse space.
The chef will come from one of the Briar Group’s other restaurants. The company also operates City Table at the Lenox Hotel, two City Bar locations, Ned Devine’s and Parris at Faneuil Hall, and the Harp, Green Briar, M.J. O’Connor’s and Solas Irish pubs.
Chocoholics can satiate their fixes at Blue Marble Chocolate Cafe in South Boston come March.
Jen Turner’s new chocolate cafe at 258 West Broadway will have an entirely sweet menu. Homemade chocolates, hot and cold chocolate drinks, tea and fair-trade coffee sold in two-cup, French-press pots will be complemented by crepes, fondues and other desserts.
“All of our chocolates are going to be made in-house by me and a couple of girls that I have hired,” said Turner, a South Boston resident and Cambridge School of Culinary Arts grad.
Turner also will make special-order chocolate favors, tortes and dessert trays. She plans to use all-natural ingredients - organic when possible - and is working to get her kitchen green-certified.
The cafe’s name, which refers to Earth’s resemblance to a blue marble, reflects Turner’s desire for a global theme.
“I have always been fascinated with other countries, languages and cultures,” she said. “I am hoping to impart a bit of that into my business with world music, (the) decor and, of course, by infusing different flavors of the world into our chocolates.”
The cafe’s 16 seats will include two old pews from Southie’s shuttered St. Augustine’s Church.
“I just really like the idea of opening something in my own neighborhood,” Turner said. “A lot of South Boston is being renovated, and I would like to be a part of that.”
Towne is the new name for the chef Jasper White-Lyons Group restaurant slated to open at the Hynes Convention Center.
Gordon Wilcox just opened a second Parish Cafe last month in the South End, but he’s already on to his next project.
Wilcox is negotiating for another South End space for Persia, a mid- to high-end eatery serving Mediterranean food with French and Middle Eastern influences.
The chef will be Brian Poe, who last year partnered with Wilcox’s 20-year-old Rattlesnake on Boylston Street to open Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake.
“It’s a food that we both care a lot about and it’s just fun to work with,” said Wilcox, who hopes to open the 100-seat restaurant in the next six months.
Persia will be the eighth restaurant for Wilcox, joining the original Parish Cafe on Boylston Street, the Lower Depths, Flash’s and two Bukowski Taverns. “It’s a good time to be getting locations,” he said. “It’s a buyer’s market.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/general/view.bg?articleid=1232346
Also, chocolatier sweet on Southie
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, February 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining News
The Briar Group plans to resurrect a new version of Anthem at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
The restaurant would replace Plaza III - The Kansas City Steakhouse, which has operated in the South Market building of the Boston tourist mecca since 1997.
“There’s just a few loose ends and hopefully we’ll have them wrapped up shortly, but our plan is to bring Anthem back to life,” said Austin O’Connor Jr., the Briar Group’s CEO.
The Brighton company closed the first Anthem, which served fancy new American comfort food, in 2007, after nearly four years on Portland Street near North Station.
“We loved Anthem and the concept itself, but the area just didn’t catch up,” he said. “I expected more development to happen within the area at a quicker pace.”
O’Connor hopes to open the new Anthem in May with a menu that includes more sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and lots of New England flavors, with entrees in the mid- to high-$20s. The space, which can accommodate several hundred diners on two levels, will sport an urban look and a warmer greenhouse space.
The chef will come from one of the Briar Group’s other restaurants. The company also operates City Table at the Lenox Hotel, two City Bar locations, Ned Devine’s and Parris at Faneuil Hall, and the Harp, Green Briar, M.J. O’Connor’s and Solas Irish pubs.
Chocoholics can satiate their fixes at Blue Marble Chocolate Cafe in South Boston come March.
Jen Turner’s new chocolate cafe at 258 West Broadway will have an entirely sweet menu. Homemade chocolates, hot and cold chocolate drinks, tea and fair-trade coffee sold in two-cup, French-press pots will be complemented by crepes, fondues and other desserts.
“All of our chocolates are going to be made in-house by me and a couple of girls that I have hired,” said Turner, a South Boston resident and Cambridge School of Culinary Arts grad.
Turner also will make special-order chocolate favors, tortes and dessert trays. She plans to use all-natural ingredients - organic when possible - and is working to get her kitchen green-certified.
The cafe’s name, which refers to Earth’s resemblance to a blue marble, reflects Turner’s desire for a global theme.
“I have always been fascinated with other countries, languages and cultures,” she said. “I am hoping to impart a bit of that into my business with world music, (the) decor and, of course, by infusing different flavors of the world into our chocolates.”
The cafe’s 16 seats will include two old pews from Southie’s shuttered St. Augustine’s Church.
“I just really like the idea of opening something in my own neighborhood,” Turner said. “A lot of South Boston is being renovated, and I would like to be a part of that.”
Towne is the new name for the chef Jasper White-Lyons Group restaurant slated to open at the Hynes Convention Center.
Gordon Wilcox just opened a second Parish Cafe last month in the South End, but he’s already on to his next project.
Wilcox is negotiating for another South End space for Persia, a mid- to high-end eatery serving Mediterranean food with French and Middle Eastern influences.
The chef will be Brian Poe, who last year partnered with Wilcox’s 20-year-old Rattlesnake on Boylston Street to open Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake.
“It’s a food that we both care a lot about and it’s just fun to work with,” said Wilcox, who hopes to open the 100-seat restaurant in the next six months.
Persia will be the eighth restaurant for Wilcox, joining the original Parish Cafe on Boylston Street, the Lower Depths, Flash’s and two Bukowski Taverns. “It’s a good time to be getting locations,” he said. “It’s a buyer’s market.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/general/view.bg?articleid=1232346
Lucca Back Bay review
Lucca Back Bay: Chow bella
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, February 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
LUCCA BACK BAY: B-
I often wonder why restaurateurs dissatisfied with business don’t close, redecorate and reopen under a new name. The better to awaken public interest and get critics in for another go-round.
The strategy is working for Lucca Back Bay. The former Sasso has sassed up its interior, cut prices, introduced a $37 three-course prix fixe menu and hired Hub front-of-the-house legend Rita D’Angelo (Galleria Italiana, Bricco) to greet you.
Chef Anthony Mazzotta is finally getting his props. The Norwood native spent several years working at the French Laundry and Per Se before returning to Boston to take over the Sasso kitchen two years ago. He is a talent to watch.
Lucca Back Bay purports to be an Italian restaurant but it isn’t authentically Italian. And I’m not referring to the lack of a separate pasta course or because the waiter offeredgrated cheese with the shrimp tagliatelle (a culinary faux pas in Italy).
Don’t get me wrong. Mazzotta knows his way around cucina Italiana. Just taste his calamari ($13), sauteed with roasted cauliflower, tomatoes, cipollini onions and a hint of crushed red pepper. Or dense and meaty wild-boar polpette ($11) meatballs - they’re excellent napped with chunky tomato sauce.
I even begrudgingly like the “contemporary” insalata di Cesare ($11) - a minimalist assemblage of romaine wedges, white anchovies, pickled shallots, parmesan dressing and deviled egg. No, it’s not a real Caesar salad. But it sure is good.
It’s when Mazzotta strays away from such simplicity, which is at the heart of the very best Italian cooking, that his food falters.
Did he really need to add that superfluous chunk of taleggio to the zuppa dinavona parsnip soup ($11) with its crumbly bacon fritter? Why adulterate the soup’s wonderfully intense parsnip flavors?
And what’s with the too-salty chicken rillettes that garnishes the pollo ($26) pan-roasted chicken? The chicken is extraordinary, with crisp skin and moist, buttery flesh. As accompaniments, sauteed mustard greens, Yorkshire pudding-esque herbed semolina dumpling and rosemary chicken jus would surely have sufficed.
A more judicious hand would have eased off the olive oil in the tagliatelle ($22). The lemony noodles, topped with shrimp, are too oily. Similarly, papardelle Bolognese ($22) drowns in sauce. It’s sweeter than usual, with more tomatoes than meat. It’s ultimately winning, but half as much Bolognese would have allowed the homemade pasta to share center stage.
Hurrah for arista ($26) pan-roasted pork chop. Perfectly pink, topped with apples, melted gorgonzola and bread crumbs, it’s marvelous with roasted root vegetables and sauteed spinach, though I might have forgone the veal demi-glace drizzle around the plate.
Lucca Back Bay has an award-winning wine list. With the tagliatelle and chicken, try a slightly effervescent, green-apple-accented 2008 Gagliardo “Fallegro” Favorito ($32). With the Bolognese and pork, a smoky, black-cherry 2007 Morgante Nero d’Avola ($40) is superb.
Desserts ($10) are fab. You’ll swoon for toasted pound cake with passion fruit panna cotta and penuche sauce. Or the icy delights of frozen mochaccino chocolate parfait with tart orange marmalade and coffee creme Anglais.
Service is smart and admirably attentive.
The restaurant’s recent makeover - credit artist Chris Pothier for the dramatic column murals inspired by da Vinci’s Madonna on the Rocks - looks great.
Lucca Back Bay isn’t inexpensive; save a few bucks by eating at the bar or opt for the prix fixe menu.
On one of my two visits, my old pal D’Angelo was working and sent out gratis cups of chilied hot chocolate at the end of the meal. It was awfully good.
116 Huntington Ave. 617-247-2400; luccabackbay.com.
Price: More than $40
Hours: 5 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: Three-course, $37 prix fixe menu
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Valet, nearby lots
CHRISTOPHER EVAN
SMAKEOVER: Lucca Back Bay is reinvigorated.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1232269
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, February 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
LUCCA BACK BAY: B-
I often wonder why restaurateurs dissatisfied with business don’t close, redecorate and reopen under a new name. The better to awaken public interest and get critics in for another go-round.
The strategy is working for Lucca Back Bay. The former Sasso has sassed up its interior, cut prices, introduced a $37 three-course prix fixe menu and hired Hub front-of-the-house legend Rita D’Angelo (Galleria Italiana, Bricco) to greet you.
Chef Anthony Mazzotta is finally getting his props. The Norwood native spent several years working at the French Laundry and Per Se before returning to Boston to take over the Sasso kitchen two years ago. He is a talent to watch.
Lucca Back Bay purports to be an Italian restaurant but it isn’t authentically Italian. And I’m not referring to the lack of a separate pasta course or because the waiter offeredgrated cheese with the shrimp tagliatelle (a culinary faux pas in Italy).
Don’t get me wrong. Mazzotta knows his way around cucina Italiana. Just taste his calamari ($13), sauteed with roasted cauliflower, tomatoes, cipollini onions and a hint of crushed red pepper. Or dense and meaty wild-boar polpette ($11) meatballs - they’re excellent napped with chunky tomato sauce.
I even begrudgingly like the “contemporary” insalata di Cesare ($11) - a minimalist assemblage of romaine wedges, white anchovies, pickled shallots, parmesan dressing and deviled egg. No, it’s not a real Caesar salad. But it sure is good.
It’s when Mazzotta strays away from such simplicity, which is at the heart of the very best Italian cooking, that his food falters.
Did he really need to add that superfluous chunk of taleggio to the zuppa dinavona parsnip soup ($11) with its crumbly bacon fritter? Why adulterate the soup’s wonderfully intense parsnip flavors?
And what’s with the too-salty chicken rillettes that garnishes the pollo ($26) pan-roasted chicken? The chicken is extraordinary, with crisp skin and moist, buttery flesh. As accompaniments, sauteed mustard greens, Yorkshire pudding-esque herbed semolina dumpling and rosemary chicken jus would surely have sufficed.
A more judicious hand would have eased off the olive oil in the tagliatelle ($22). The lemony noodles, topped with shrimp, are too oily. Similarly, papardelle Bolognese ($22) drowns in sauce. It’s sweeter than usual, with more tomatoes than meat. It’s ultimately winning, but half as much Bolognese would have allowed the homemade pasta to share center stage.
Hurrah for arista ($26) pan-roasted pork chop. Perfectly pink, topped with apples, melted gorgonzola and bread crumbs, it’s marvelous with roasted root vegetables and sauteed spinach, though I might have forgone the veal demi-glace drizzle around the plate.
Lucca Back Bay has an award-winning wine list. With the tagliatelle and chicken, try a slightly effervescent, green-apple-accented 2008 Gagliardo “Fallegro” Favorito ($32). With the Bolognese and pork, a smoky, black-cherry 2007 Morgante Nero d’Avola ($40) is superb.
Desserts ($10) are fab. You’ll swoon for toasted pound cake with passion fruit panna cotta and penuche sauce. Or the icy delights of frozen mochaccino chocolate parfait with tart orange marmalade and coffee creme Anglais.
Service is smart and admirably attentive.
The restaurant’s recent makeover - credit artist Chris Pothier for the dramatic column murals inspired by da Vinci’s Madonna on the Rocks - looks great.
Lucca Back Bay isn’t inexpensive; save a few bucks by eating at the bar or opt for the prix fixe menu.
On one of my two visits, my old pal D’Angelo was working and sent out gratis cups of chilied hot chocolate at the end of the meal. It was awfully good.
116 Huntington Ave. 617-247-2400; luccabackbay.com.
Price: More than $40
Hours: 5 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: Three-course, $37 prix fixe menu
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Valet, nearby lots
CHRISTOPHER EVAN
SMAKEOVER: Lucca Back Bay is reinvigorated.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1232269
New convention center concessionaire contract approved despite union objections
Union eyes food tips
Wants cut of sales at convention centers
By Jay Fitzgerald | Friday, February 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
A union now in a bitter labor fight with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is looking for a piece of the lucrative food-business action at the city’s two convention facilities.
As expected, the MCCA approved a controversial new concessionaire contract with a Chicago firm, over the objections of members of Unite Here Local 26 who turned out in force at yesterday’s MCCA meeting.
The union has previously said the future of its members’ jobs and their contract with the current concessionaire, Aramark Corp., is at stake.
But the union acknowledged yesterday its real beef is how the planned June 1 switch to Levy Restaurants has disrupted a tentative deal with Aramark to give union members a cut of gross food-and-beverage receipts at the Hynes Auditorium and the new South Boston convention center. Under the tentative deal, hundreds of workers would get paid far less per hour in exchange for up to 15 percent in “gratuity fees” automatically built into food-and-beverage charges paid by convention goers.
Janice Loux, head of Local 26, said the tipping agreement would provide workers with another way to get paid, rather than relying on the flat per-hour wages they’re now compensated for. She compared the system with how hotel and restaurant workers are paid.
But the “cost neutral” arrangement would be tied to mandatory gratuity charges tacked onto food bills at the centers - and that’s potentially big bucks for workers. The Levy Restaurant contract with the MCCA is valued at about $250 million over 10 years.
Jim Rooney, executive director at the MCCA, said he has no objection to union members getting a cut of receipts, in the guise of mandatory tips, as long as it doesn’t cost the MCCA money.
In approving the new Levy contract, the MCCA’s board tacked on two caveats: that Levy agree to Aramark’s old union contract with Unite Here and that any agreement on gratuities is reviewed by a third party, Rooney said.
Loux said those two amendments prove that the MCCA is improperly interfering with collective-bargaining issues.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1232348
Wants cut of sales at convention centers
By Jay Fitzgerald | Friday, February 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
A union now in a bitter labor fight with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is looking for a piece of the lucrative food-business action at the city’s two convention facilities.
As expected, the MCCA approved a controversial new concessionaire contract with a Chicago firm, over the objections of members of Unite Here Local 26 who turned out in force at yesterday’s MCCA meeting.
The union has previously said the future of its members’ jobs and their contract with the current concessionaire, Aramark Corp., is at stake.
But the union acknowledged yesterday its real beef is how the planned June 1 switch to Levy Restaurants has disrupted a tentative deal with Aramark to give union members a cut of gross food-and-beverage receipts at the Hynes Auditorium and the new South Boston convention center. Under the tentative deal, hundreds of workers would get paid far less per hour in exchange for up to 15 percent in “gratuity fees” automatically built into food-and-beverage charges paid by convention goers.
Janice Loux, head of Local 26, said the tipping agreement would provide workers with another way to get paid, rather than relying on the flat per-hour wages they’re now compensated for. She compared the system with how hotel and restaurant workers are paid.
But the “cost neutral” arrangement would be tied to mandatory gratuity charges tacked onto food bills at the centers - and that’s potentially big bucks for workers. The Levy Restaurant contract with the MCCA is valued at about $250 million over 10 years.
Jim Rooney, executive director at the MCCA, said he has no objection to union members getting a cut of receipts, in the guise of mandatory tips, as long as it doesn’t cost the MCCA money.
In approving the new Levy contract, the MCCA’s board tacked on two caveats: that Levy agree to Aramark’s old union contract with Unite Here and that any agreement on gratuities is reviewed by a third party, Rooney said.
Loux said those two amendments prove that the MCCA is improperly interfering with collective-bargaining issues.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1232348
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