The Boston Globe
Biotech conference says it is too big for Hub to host
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | October 30, 2010
A prestigious international conference on biotechnology has opted not to return to Boston in 2015, citing a lack of hotel rooms and meeting space in the city.
Organizers of the BIO conference, which brings together the industry’s top companies and scientists, said it is still coming to Boston in 2012, but that future visits may be impossible unless the city expands its convention center. Organizers chose Philadelphia over Boston for the 2015 event because that city is already expanding its convention facilities.
“Boston just doesn’t have enough exhibit space,’’ said Robbi Lycett, vice president of conferences for BIO. The loss of BIO’s future business would be a huge blow to a region that prides itself on being a hub of the life sciences industry and would deprive Boston of millions of dollars in business. BIO’s conferences typically draw 20,000 attendees, who would spend at hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions.
“If we can’t host the conference, we lose the opportunity to bring the industry’s leaders to our stage,’’ said Robert Coughlin, chief executive of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a business association.
The news of BIO’s reservations goes to the heart of a debate over expanding the six-year-old Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. A panel of 25 public officials and business leaders is examining the size and scope of a possible expansion. So far, the panel has floated a plan to nearly double the size of the facility, to more than 1 million square feet, at a cost of nearly $1 billion. The group is expected to release final recommendations early next year.
“BIO’s concerns speak to all the reasons why we’re talking about the need for expansion and additional hotel rooms,’’ said James Rooney, executive director of the state agency that operates the convention center. He said the shortage of exhibit space and hotel rooms has already caused the South Boston convention center to turn away or lose out on hosting dozens of events, at a cost of $480 million in projected economic activity.
Skeptics, however, said that by some measures, the convention center still has not met projections for economic activity at its current size, and so does not deserve additional investment. Jim Stergios, director of the Pioneer Institute, a public policy research group, said the convention authority initially projected its business would generate more than 650,000 hotel room stays per year; instead it has produced only around 300,000.
“They’re asking us to just trust them on this when they failed the first time around,’’ Stergios said. “They’ve done a good job managing what they’ve been given, but this was probably something that shouldn’t have been built in the first place.’’
Rooney said bookings have fallen short, in part because the size of the center’s main exhibition hall was reduced by 80,000 square feet during construction. “The Pioneer Institute projected that this would be a white elephant and that Boston could never succeed as a convention city and we have generated over $3 billion in economic activity,’’ Rooney said.
Opened in 2004, the convention center has steadily grown, with attendance at events at more than 540,000 last year, up from 200,000 in 2005. But Rooney said the facility is now operating at maximum capacity and cannot host the largest conferences unless it expands.
He said the panel is considering expanding the amount of exhibit space to between 800,000 square feet and 1 million square feet, and building a second large hotel.
Any expansion would need approval and funding from the state Legislature and governor.
Lycett, the BIO conference planner, said Boston’s lack of exhibit space is its biggest problem. Her conference needs about 650,000 square feet for its main floor and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom for keynote speeches and other large events. The Boston facility now offers a 516,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a 40,000-square-foot ballroom.
Another problem is hotel rooms. Boston offers only about 1,700 rooms within walking distance of the convention center, requiring large conferences to shuttle attendees from hotels across the city. When the BIO conference was last in Boston in 2007, it spent $1 million on transportation.
“Attendees don’t like sitting in rush-hour traffic for 40 or 50 minutes to get to a meeting,’’ Lycett said.
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Boston Party trolley cited by police for capacity, other issues
Boston.com
Allston Brighton
"Party bus" crammed with 90 people cited by Boston police
Posted by Your Town October 29, 2010 06:13 PM
By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent
A "party bus" packed with 90 young people came to a grinding halt in Allston last week when police cited the operators for a variety of violations including allowing underage passengers aboard, open alcohol containers, loud music, displaying emergency vehicle lights without a permit and overcrowding by three times its capacity, according to city police.
Police said officers watched the bus, with music blaring and lights flashing, make multiple stops – at times blocking traffic – to pick up and drop off dancing passengers last Friday along Commonwealth Avenue.
The bus picked up a large number of partiers in the Boston College area, before heading inbound on Commonwealth Avenue at a slow, 10 mile-per-hour clip, and often occupying both of the busy roadway’s lanes, according to a police report.
The name of the driver and the bus company were redacted in a report released today.
In general, party buses charge a group fee to transport passengers from bar to bar, so party-goers don't get behind the wheel of their own cars.
The red, black and white trolley bus's windows were painted and covered and it had “hockey type” markings and blue lights along its exterior, while a hanging disco ball and blue, red and white flashing lights inside – visible through the windshield – made it “appear as though this bus was a piece of emergency apparatus, such as a fire truck with engaged emergency lights,” a police report said.
When detectives in an unmarked vehicle turned on their own blue lights and sirens, other nearby drivers moved out of their way. The bus driver, however, did not pull over for five blocks, “presumably because the operator could not hear the multi-tone sirens and could not distinguish between our emergency lights and his own,” the report said.
At the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Gorham Street, the driver was asked to turn off the “deafening” music and police asked if he had checked passengers’ identification. The driver repeatedly said all on board were of legal drinking age, according to the report.
Other detectives, who police said were familiar with the driver from a prior encounter elsewhere in the city, then arrived.
As police checked the passengers’ IDs, they counted 90 people on the bus, which has a capacity of 30 people. Most were holding open containers and drinking, while surrounded by a tub of beer cans and ice, five bottles of wine and champagne and a mixture of full and empty beer cans littered on the bus’ seats and floor.
Two underage Boston College students attempted to crouch down and sneak off the front of the bus past officers. They were picked up by campus police.
Citations were issued for the bus's steady, exterior blue lights and for operating blue and red flashing lights inside without a permit; obstructing traffic, running idle over five minutes; open alcohol containers; impeded operation as the driver’s hearing and visibility were impaired by the bus’ situation; loud music; obstructed windows; and being over capacity.
License premise violations were also issued for overcrowding, transporting over 20 gallons of alcohol, failure to properly check IDs allowing minors onboard a bus with open alcohol containers, no supervision system, and excessive noise.
Allston Brighton
"Party bus" crammed with 90 people cited by Boston police
Posted by Your Town October 29, 2010 06:13 PM
By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent
A "party bus" packed with 90 young people came to a grinding halt in Allston last week when police cited the operators for a variety of violations including allowing underage passengers aboard, open alcohol containers, loud music, displaying emergency vehicle lights without a permit and overcrowding by three times its capacity, according to city police.
Police said officers watched the bus, with music blaring and lights flashing, make multiple stops – at times blocking traffic – to pick up and drop off dancing passengers last Friday along Commonwealth Avenue.
The bus picked up a large number of partiers in the Boston College area, before heading inbound on Commonwealth Avenue at a slow, 10 mile-per-hour clip, and often occupying both of the busy roadway’s lanes, according to a police report.
The name of the driver and the bus company were redacted in a report released today.
In general, party buses charge a group fee to transport passengers from bar to bar, so party-goers don't get behind the wheel of their own cars.
The red, black and white trolley bus's windows were painted and covered and it had “hockey type” markings and blue lights along its exterior, while a hanging disco ball and blue, red and white flashing lights inside – visible through the windshield – made it “appear as though this bus was a piece of emergency apparatus, such as a fire truck with engaged emergency lights,” a police report said.
When detectives in an unmarked vehicle turned on their own blue lights and sirens, other nearby drivers moved out of their way. The bus driver, however, did not pull over for five blocks, “presumably because the operator could not hear the multi-tone sirens and could not distinguish between our emergency lights and his own,” the report said.
At the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Gorham Street, the driver was asked to turn off the “deafening” music and police asked if he had checked passengers’ identification. The driver repeatedly said all on board were of legal drinking age, according to the report.
Other detectives, who police said were familiar with the driver from a prior encounter elsewhere in the city, then arrived.
As police checked the passengers’ IDs, they counted 90 people on the bus, which has a capacity of 30 people. Most were holding open containers and drinking, while surrounded by a tub of beer cans and ice, five bottles of wine and champagne and a mixture of full and empty beer cans littered on the bus’ seats and floor.
Two underage Boston College students attempted to crouch down and sneak off the front of the bus past officers. They were picked up by campus police.
Citations were issued for the bus's steady, exterior blue lights and for operating blue and red flashing lights inside without a permit; obstructing traffic, running idle over five minutes; open alcohol containers; impeded operation as the driver’s hearing and visibility were impaired by the bus’ situation; loud music; obstructed windows; and being over capacity.
License premise violations were also issued for overcrowding, transporting over 20 gallons of alcohol, failure to properly check IDs allowing minors onboard a bus with open alcohol containers, no supervision system, and excessive noise.
MBTA finishes Copley station renovation
Universal Hub
Copley Square Green Line MBTA stop is done!
By JohnAKeith - 10/29/10 - 5:28 pm
The MBTA had its grand-opening ceremony today to announce the completion of the Copley Square renovation project.
There are two entrances to this Green Line station - outbound is at the corners of Boylston and Dartmouth streets while inbound is near the corner across the street, next to the Boston Public Library, Central Branch.
All token gates are open, the escalator (up) on the outbound side works, and both inbound and outbound now have elevators.
Copley Square Green Line MBTA stop is done!
By JohnAKeith - 10/29/10 - 5:28 pm
The MBTA had its grand-opening ceremony today to announce the completion of the Copley Square renovation project.
There are two entrances to this Green Line station - outbound is at the corners of Boylston and Dartmouth streets while inbound is near the corner across the street, next to the Boston Public Library, Central Branch.
All token gates are open, the escalator (up) on the outbound side works, and both inbound and outbound now have elevators.
Boston's first "pop-up" restaurant to debut November 12th and 13th at Mohr & McPherson
Boston Herald Fork Lift Blog
Boston’s First Pop-Up Restaurant - Exclusive Offer for Fork Lift Readers
We’ve had food trucks and pop-up shops, flash mobs and even a pop-up museum, but next month, a handful of Boston diners will take part in what organizers are billing as “Boston’s first pop-up restaurant.”
“It’s a restaurant-style experience in non-restaurant style venues,” said Aaron Cohen, who along with chef Will Gilson of Cambridge’s Garden at the Cellar is organizing a two-evening pop-up restaurant inside the South End antique dealer, Mohr + McPherson.
Tickets for the dinners (Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m.) are $60, with a processing fee of $4.29. The evening includes a five-course dinner and guests will be seated at the store’s luxurious dining tables.
We’ve got a sneak peek at the menu - and a special deal exclusive to the Boston Herald and Fork Lift readers.
Be the first to buy two tickets and leave us a comment on this post, and you’ll get an exclusive meet and greet, and tour of the temporary kitchen, with Chef Gilson before the dinner.
Read on below the jump for the menu
Course one: black truffle and pistachio sausage with parsnip puree and turnips
Course two: marinated and grilled squir salad with bitter greens and sherry vinaigrette
Course three: roasted squash soup with brown butter, marjoram and smoked pepper
Main course: local cod wrapped in speck with thyme-infused potatoes and romeso sauce
Dessert: honey and lavender panna cotta with almond crumble and luxardo foam
The collaboration between Gilson and Cohen is the start of something new on the Boston culinary scene. Reached by phone today, Cohen said he and Gilson have formed a partnership called Eat, which will bring unique dining experiences to the area. This pop-up restaurant is the first of many, he hopes.
“Food causes these really strong memories in people and when you have them, the environment isn’t the primary thing you remember it’s the food,” he said. “We wanted to ask, ‘What if the environment is what you remember too?’”
But of course, with Gilson, the environment won’t be the only thing that sticks after the evening ends. “Don’t get me wrong,” Cohen said. “The food is going to be phenomenal.”
You may recognize Cohen’s name from his Twitter handle, EatBoston. He’s organized sell-out events such gems as October’s Boston Lobster Party and April’s Bacon and Beer fest. His events have raised $43,000 this year alone for area community service organizations, with the majority of the funds going to Community Servings, Lovin’ Spoonfuls and Share Our Strength.
Boston’s First Pop-Up Restaurant - Exclusive Offer for Fork Lift Readers
We’ve had food trucks and pop-up shops, flash mobs and even a pop-up museum, but next month, a handful of Boston diners will take part in what organizers are billing as “Boston’s first pop-up restaurant.”
“It’s a restaurant-style experience in non-restaurant style venues,” said Aaron Cohen, who along with chef Will Gilson of Cambridge’s Garden at the Cellar is organizing a two-evening pop-up restaurant inside the South End antique dealer, Mohr + McPherson.
Tickets for the dinners (Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m.) are $60, with a processing fee of $4.29. The evening includes a five-course dinner and guests will be seated at the store’s luxurious dining tables.
We’ve got a sneak peek at the menu - and a special deal exclusive to the Boston Herald and Fork Lift readers.
Be the first to buy two tickets and leave us a comment on this post, and you’ll get an exclusive meet and greet, and tour of the temporary kitchen, with Chef Gilson before the dinner.
Read on below the jump for the menu
Course one: black truffle and pistachio sausage with parsnip puree and turnips
Course two: marinated and grilled squir salad with bitter greens and sherry vinaigrette
Course three: roasted squash soup with brown butter, marjoram and smoked pepper
Main course: local cod wrapped in speck with thyme-infused potatoes and romeso sauce
Dessert: honey and lavender panna cotta with almond crumble and luxardo foam
The collaboration between Gilson and Cohen is the start of something new on the Boston culinary scene. Reached by phone today, Cohen said he and Gilson have formed a partnership called Eat, which will bring unique dining experiences to the area. This pop-up restaurant is the first of many, he hopes.
“Food causes these really strong memories in people and when you have them, the environment isn’t the primary thing you remember it’s the food,” he said. “We wanted to ask, ‘What if the environment is what you remember too?’”
But of course, with Gilson, the environment won’t be the only thing that sticks after the evening ends. “Don’t get me wrong,” Cohen said. “The food is going to be phenomenal.”
You may recognize Cohen’s name from his Twitter handle, EatBoston. He’s organized sell-out events such gems as October’s Boston Lobster Party and April’s Bacon and Beer fest. His events have raised $43,000 this year alone for area community service organizations, with the majority of the funds going to Community Servings, Lovin’ Spoonfuls and Share Our Strength.
Met Back Bay is now open
Boston.com
Restaurants
Met Back Bay opens today
Posted by Devra First October 27, 2010 02:46 PM
The newest installment in the Metropolitan Club/Met Bar & Grill franchise officially starts serving today. Met Back Bay is located on the corner of Dartmouth and Newbury streets in a renovated brick townhouse.
Starters include raw bar items, an array of hot and cold salads (Roman cauliflower with citrus oil and capers; the "Chinatown," with crispy duck, 16 vegetables, Marcona almonds, and Asian goddess dressing), appetizers such as lobster cheddar dip and roasted bone marrow, and beef, tuna, or salmon tartare prepared tableside. For entrees, you'll find the likes of soft scrambled eggs with cheddar and mini bone-in tenderloins, curried spot prawns, dry-aged meatballs with grilled artichokes and polenta, lobster pot pie, and steaks. Dessert brings sticky toffee pudding, apple cider doughnuts, and more.
There's also a 13-seat ham and cheese bar featuring local cheese and house-made prosciutto bacon and sausage, as well as hams from small farms in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. The cocktail list highlights classics like the Aviation as well as riffs like the ginger Negroni. There is also a private membership room called Townhouse, where members pay $2,500 for a debit card to be used toward food and drinks.
There are several seating areas, in addition to the ham and cheese bar -- the living room, with huge windows overlooking Newbury Street; the library, where bartenders will chip ice off the old block and squeeze fresh juices for mixing to order; the Met Bar game room, where you can watch the game and have a snack (I know -- I was hoping for board games and such); and the terrace, a gas-heated outdoor space. It sounds ginormous!
The press release says: "MET Back Bay is [restaurateur Kathy] Trustman's homage to the city she loves -- the quintessential Boston eatery where you can enjoy luscious homemade pastries at breakfast, classic chopped salads at noon, signature fish and meat entrees in the evening and simple scrambled eggs at midnight." It sure would be nice to have a vibrant, convivial spot serving round-the-clock in this location.
Restaurants
Met Back Bay opens today
Posted by Devra First October 27, 2010 02:46 PM
The newest installment in the Metropolitan Club/Met Bar & Grill franchise officially starts serving today. Met Back Bay is located on the corner of Dartmouth and Newbury streets in a renovated brick townhouse.
Starters include raw bar items, an array of hot and cold salads (Roman cauliflower with citrus oil and capers; the "Chinatown," with crispy duck, 16 vegetables, Marcona almonds, and Asian goddess dressing), appetizers such as lobster cheddar dip and roasted bone marrow, and beef, tuna, or salmon tartare prepared tableside. For entrees, you'll find the likes of soft scrambled eggs with cheddar and mini bone-in tenderloins, curried spot prawns, dry-aged meatballs with grilled artichokes and polenta, lobster pot pie, and steaks. Dessert brings sticky toffee pudding, apple cider doughnuts, and more.
There's also a 13-seat ham and cheese bar featuring local cheese and house-made prosciutto bacon and sausage, as well as hams from small farms in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. The cocktail list highlights classics like the Aviation as well as riffs like the ginger Negroni. There is also a private membership room called Townhouse, where members pay $2,500 for a debit card to be used toward food and drinks.
There are several seating areas, in addition to the ham and cheese bar -- the living room, with huge windows overlooking Newbury Street; the library, where bartenders will chip ice off the old block and squeeze fresh juices for mixing to order; the Met Bar game room, where you can watch the game and have a snack (I know -- I was hoping for board games and such); and the terrace, a gas-heated outdoor space. It sounds ginormous!
The press release says: "MET Back Bay is [restaurateur Kathy] Trustman's homage to the city she loves -- the quintessential Boston eatery where you can enjoy luscious homemade pastries at breakfast, classic chopped salads at noon, signature fish and meat entrees in the evening and simple scrambled eggs at midnight." It sure would be nice to have a vibrant, convivial spot serving round-the-clock in this location.
Towne Stove and Spirits review
The Boston Herald
Go to Towne
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, October 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
TOWNE STOVE AND SPIRITS: B
Towne Stove and Spirits is the new collaboration between legendary Hub chefs Lydia Shire and Jasper White, bankrolled by former nightclub-king-turned-restaurant-mogul Patrick Lyons. It’s a two-story, multidining room, 300-seat behemoth that occupies the northeast corner of Hynes convention center. Longtime Shire associate Mario Capone is executive chef.
White is internationally known for his expertise with seafood, especially lobster. But other than a mini lobster menu, with items such as lobster pop-overs ($10) and tempura ($16), his influence seems negligible. Indeed, the lobster menu was inexplicably never mentioned on either of my visits.
Not that I missed it. I was too busy drooling over the lengthy selection of unabashedly rich, internationally inspired dishes that are Shire’s trademark. Make no mistake - from its Kool-Aid-red railings to $4 surcharge for a second basket of bread, Towne is a Lydian experience. Even the mural in the downstairs dining room is from her landmark 1990s eatery Biba.
Shire is a prodigious talent who never settles for one stick of butter when she can use two. Now in her fourth decade of professional cooking, she remains as excitingly creative as ever.
At Towne there is almost too much to choose from: flaky paratha bread ($8) topped with curried cauliflower, with a ramekin of curried lentils for dipping. And broiled oysters ($16) with a scrambled eggy chiu chow oyster pancake of eggs, scallions, fish sauce and chopped oysters.
Cracker-thin lobster and corn pizza ($26) with dollops of honeyed ricotta is a delicious update of the signature lobster pizza served at Biba. Unfortunately, it needs salt.
A salad of avocado, cubed pork belly, cracklings, pea shoots and radish ($13) is Shire at her best: the fatty unctuousness of the avocado and pork offset by the tangy tartness of the dressed tendrils and radish.
Peking chicken and potpie ($31) is Shire at her most unrestrained. The unadulterated richness of the moist chicken and sugary, crisp skin is accentuated by a pastry shell filled with daikon, Chinese sausage and cream. All that’s missing is a garnish of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Half a grilled duck ($28) basted with cane syrup rests on a bed of mashed parsnips, surrounded by huckleberry-dappled jus speckled with orange oil. A subtler hand might have left off either the huckleberries or the orange oil.
Surely no one will complain about the melted butter liberally drizzled over the grilled swordfish pup steak ($29). The juicy fish is excellent with a trio of grilled littlenecks and parmesan-intense clam risotto.
A cylinder of cod loin ($27) wrapped in potato strings is strewn with tiny fingernail clams and presented in a pool of clam chowder with thick tartar sauce for dunking. How delightful to see classic New England ingredients so inventively reimagined.
Accompany dinner with something from Towne’s long and affordable wine and beer lists, or a craft cocktail. A 2008 Hermann Wiemer Dry Gewurztraminer ($38) is fab with fish. Water is served in 400 ml. calibrated laboratory beakers.
Desserts can be as effusive as what precedes them. Sugary, warm chocolate kouign amann cake ($10) with jarred Italian cherries comes with both cherry gelato and whipped cream. There’s even whipped cream with the mascarpone and blueberry-filled meringue Pavlova ($10). The latter was underwhelming.
Service is surprisingly attentive for a restaurant this size.
Towne is a brightly colored, boisterous place that epitomizes the very essence of the fancifully capitalized exhortation: “EAT Drink! LaugH talk” that was emblazoned on the dinner plates at Biba.
With most entrees priced near $30, Towne Stove and Spirits is not an inexpensive evening out. All the more reason the menu shouldn’t be hawking garden tomatoes, fresh-picked lima beans and summer sorbets in mid-October.
900 Boylston St., (Back Bay). 617-247-0400; towneboston.com
Price: More than $40
Hours: Lunch: Mon-Fri, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Sun.-Wed., 5-10 p.m., Thu.-Sat., 5-11 p.m. Brunch: Sat. & Sun., 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.; Bar: Nightly, 2 a.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Valet, validated at Prudential Garage, on street
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1292224
Go to Towne
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, October 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
TOWNE STOVE AND SPIRITS: B
Towne Stove and Spirits is the new collaboration between legendary Hub chefs Lydia Shire and Jasper White, bankrolled by former nightclub-king-turned-restaurant-mogul Patrick Lyons. It’s a two-story, multidining room, 300-seat behemoth that occupies the northeast corner of Hynes convention center. Longtime Shire associate Mario Capone is executive chef.
White is internationally known for his expertise with seafood, especially lobster. But other than a mini lobster menu, with items such as lobster pop-overs ($10) and tempura ($16), his influence seems negligible. Indeed, the lobster menu was inexplicably never mentioned on either of my visits.
Not that I missed it. I was too busy drooling over the lengthy selection of unabashedly rich, internationally inspired dishes that are Shire’s trademark. Make no mistake - from its Kool-Aid-red railings to $4 surcharge for a second basket of bread, Towne is a Lydian experience. Even the mural in the downstairs dining room is from her landmark 1990s eatery Biba.
Shire is a prodigious talent who never settles for one stick of butter when she can use two. Now in her fourth decade of professional cooking, she remains as excitingly creative as ever.
At Towne there is almost too much to choose from: flaky paratha bread ($8) topped with curried cauliflower, with a ramekin of curried lentils for dipping. And broiled oysters ($16) with a scrambled eggy chiu chow oyster pancake of eggs, scallions, fish sauce and chopped oysters.
Cracker-thin lobster and corn pizza ($26) with dollops of honeyed ricotta is a delicious update of the signature lobster pizza served at Biba. Unfortunately, it needs salt.
A salad of avocado, cubed pork belly, cracklings, pea shoots and radish ($13) is Shire at her best: the fatty unctuousness of the avocado and pork offset by the tangy tartness of the dressed tendrils and radish.
Peking chicken and potpie ($31) is Shire at her most unrestrained. The unadulterated richness of the moist chicken and sugary, crisp skin is accentuated by a pastry shell filled with daikon, Chinese sausage and cream. All that’s missing is a garnish of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Half a grilled duck ($28) basted with cane syrup rests on a bed of mashed parsnips, surrounded by huckleberry-dappled jus speckled with orange oil. A subtler hand might have left off either the huckleberries or the orange oil.
Surely no one will complain about the melted butter liberally drizzled over the grilled swordfish pup steak ($29). The juicy fish is excellent with a trio of grilled littlenecks and parmesan-intense clam risotto.
A cylinder of cod loin ($27) wrapped in potato strings is strewn with tiny fingernail clams and presented in a pool of clam chowder with thick tartar sauce for dunking. How delightful to see classic New England ingredients so inventively reimagined.
Accompany dinner with something from Towne’s long and affordable wine and beer lists, or a craft cocktail. A 2008 Hermann Wiemer Dry Gewurztraminer ($38) is fab with fish. Water is served in 400 ml. calibrated laboratory beakers.
Desserts can be as effusive as what precedes them. Sugary, warm chocolate kouign amann cake ($10) with jarred Italian cherries comes with both cherry gelato and whipped cream. There’s even whipped cream with the mascarpone and blueberry-filled meringue Pavlova ($10). The latter was underwhelming.
Service is surprisingly attentive for a restaurant this size.
Towne is a brightly colored, boisterous place that epitomizes the very essence of the fancifully capitalized exhortation: “EAT Drink! LaugH talk” that was emblazoned on the dinner plates at Biba.
With most entrees priced near $30, Towne Stove and Spirits is not an inexpensive evening out. All the more reason the menu shouldn’t be hawking garden tomatoes, fresh-picked lima beans and summer sorbets in mid-October.
900 Boylston St., (Back Bay). 617-247-0400; towneboston.com
Price: More than $40
Hours: Lunch: Mon-Fri, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Sun.-Wed., 5-10 p.m., Thu.-Sat., 5-11 p.m. Brunch: Sat. & Sun., 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.; Bar: Nightly, 2 a.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Valet, validated at Prudential Garage, on street
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1292224
TextMyFood tested at Charlies Kitchen; Vox Populi to close
The Boston Herald
Cambridge eatery takes text orders
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, October 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
A Zagat Survey released Wednesday revealed 63 percent of 153,000 avid diners polled believe it’s rude and inappropriate to use cell phones to text, e-mail, tweet or talk while at restaurants.
But a Cambridge start-up is betting that the proliferation of texting anywhere and everywhere, particularly among the younger generation, can help restaurants improve what was the top irritant for an even greater number of the survey respondents: service.
For $300 a month, the TextMyFood system allows restaurant customers to text their waiter when he’s not in sight to request another round of beer, a new fork, the check, whatever.
The messages are relayed to a computer display by the servers’ wait station, along with how many minutes have passed since a request was made. Customers are sent a return text that their message has been received, although there may be a lag between when it’s actually read by a server.
“It helps a restaurant balance lax service with over-attentive, annoying service,” TextMyFood co-founder Bob Nilsson said. “It provides a safety valve. But it doesn’t replace human interaction.”
Charlie’s Kitchen in Cambridge has been testing the service since April at 15 tables. From Sunday through Wednesday this week, it received 34 texts.
Manager Jaap Overgaag was contemplating how to take advantage of all the customers he saw texting, just a week or two before Nilsson walked through the door.
Overgaag sees the number of texts received by each waiter as a gauge of their performance.
“The more messages you get, my philosophy is, the worse the service,” he said. “Whenever I see a message, I say, ‘Let’s get on it.’ Last Friday I saw a text - I don’t know if it was done jokingly or seriously - saying, ‘Can I have a beer and a smile please at table 5?’ ”
TextMyFood filters four-letter words from saucy texts. Charlie’s waiters have received a few inappropriate ones, including “You’re kind of hot.”
Customers also can opt to receive promotional texts from participating restaurants.
Overgaag concedes that seeing or hearing fellow diners on their mobiles is annoying to some.
“We have another restaurant, the Red House next door, where they do not allow cell phones in the dining room,” he said. “But, in today’s society, where people usually use cell phones to communicate with each other, you can either go against it or go with it.”
• • •
December will mark the 10th and final year of Vox Populi.
Joe Quattrocchi is selling the Boylston Street restaurant and bar, which is expected to remain open only through the first of the year.
“With the recession and the economy, and with other people opening up new places and putting a lot of money into them, we either had to reinvest or take this course,” said Quattrocchi, who ran Back Bay Brewing Co. at the same location from 1995-2000.
Boston Nightlife Ventures, which owns The Tap, The Federal and Noche in Boston, plans to take over the space, but CEO Euz Azevedo declined comment.
Azevedo had a deal this summer to buy Felt, a Downtown Crossing nightclub that he planned to revamp into Sin. But he withdrew the bid after encountering heavy neighborhood opposition to keeping a nightclub there because of past problems with fights at Felt.
• • •
Say goodbye to another Southie landmark - or at least an offshoot of one once famous for its fried clams.
In 2004, after a 30-year gap, Dick Kelly brought his family’s Kelly’s Landing back to Southie as the Original Kelly’s Landing on L Street. It’s a few minutes’ walk from the waterfront location started by his grandparents, Larry and Maizie, who had operated it with their 14 kids - including Dick’s late father - from 1927-1974.
But Kelly, who also had a Kelly’s Landing in Quincy from 1998-2005 and is about to turn 70, has decided to pack it in this weekend.
“It’s just time to retire, and the economy is pushing us a little faster,” he said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1292300
Cambridge eatery takes text orders
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, October 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
A Zagat Survey released Wednesday revealed 63 percent of 153,000 avid diners polled believe it’s rude and inappropriate to use cell phones to text, e-mail, tweet or talk while at restaurants.
But a Cambridge start-up is betting that the proliferation of texting anywhere and everywhere, particularly among the younger generation, can help restaurants improve what was the top irritant for an even greater number of the survey respondents: service.
For $300 a month, the TextMyFood system allows restaurant customers to text their waiter when he’s not in sight to request another round of beer, a new fork, the check, whatever.
The messages are relayed to a computer display by the servers’ wait station, along with how many minutes have passed since a request was made. Customers are sent a return text that their message has been received, although there may be a lag between when it’s actually read by a server.
“It helps a restaurant balance lax service with over-attentive, annoying service,” TextMyFood co-founder Bob Nilsson said. “It provides a safety valve. But it doesn’t replace human interaction.”
Charlie’s Kitchen in Cambridge has been testing the service since April at 15 tables. From Sunday through Wednesday this week, it received 34 texts.
Manager Jaap Overgaag was contemplating how to take advantage of all the customers he saw texting, just a week or two before Nilsson walked through the door.
Overgaag sees the number of texts received by each waiter as a gauge of their performance.
“The more messages you get, my philosophy is, the worse the service,” he said. “Whenever I see a message, I say, ‘Let’s get on it.’ Last Friday I saw a text - I don’t know if it was done jokingly or seriously - saying, ‘Can I have a beer and a smile please at table 5?’ ”
TextMyFood filters four-letter words from saucy texts. Charlie’s waiters have received a few inappropriate ones, including “You’re kind of hot.”
Customers also can opt to receive promotional texts from participating restaurants.
Overgaag concedes that seeing or hearing fellow diners on their mobiles is annoying to some.
“We have another restaurant, the Red House next door, where they do not allow cell phones in the dining room,” he said. “But, in today’s society, where people usually use cell phones to communicate with each other, you can either go against it or go with it.”
• • •
December will mark the 10th and final year of Vox Populi.
Joe Quattrocchi is selling the Boylston Street restaurant and bar, which is expected to remain open only through the first of the year.
“With the recession and the economy, and with other people opening up new places and putting a lot of money into them, we either had to reinvest or take this course,” said Quattrocchi, who ran Back Bay Brewing Co. at the same location from 1995-2000.
Boston Nightlife Ventures, which owns The Tap, The Federal and Noche in Boston, plans to take over the space, but CEO Euz Azevedo declined comment.
Azevedo had a deal this summer to buy Felt, a Downtown Crossing nightclub that he planned to revamp into Sin. But he withdrew the bid after encountering heavy neighborhood opposition to keeping a nightclub there because of past problems with fights at Felt.
• • •
Say goodbye to another Southie landmark - or at least an offshoot of one once famous for its fried clams.
In 2004, after a 30-year gap, Dick Kelly brought his family’s Kelly’s Landing back to Southie as the Original Kelly’s Landing on L Street. It’s a few minutes’ walk from the waterfront location started by his grandparents, Larry and Maizie, who had operated it with their 14 kids - including Dick’s late father - from 1927-1974.
But Kelly, who also had a Kelly’s Landing in Quincy from 1998-2005 and is about to turn 70, has decided to pack it in this weekend.
“It’s just time to retire, and the economy is pushing us a little faster,” he said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1292300
First Night adds three new venues to lineup
HubArts.com
Joel Brown
October 28, 2010
First Night adds Symphony Hall, college venues
Image001 Movin' on up! First Night adds three new spaces to its schedule this year. No performers have been announced yet, but First Night has added Symphony Hall and two new renovated venues downtown, Suffolk University's Modern Theatre and Emerson College's Paramount Mainstage. It won't be the Pops at Symphony Hall; word is something very cool is in the works. In addition, First Night's New Year's Eve festivities will return to the Berklee Performance Center, which will once again host an alumni concert broadcast by WGBH and NPR's national "Talk of the Nation" show. This year's First Night button, by painter Scott Listfield of Somerville, will be unveiled in mid-November. All First Night outdoor events are free, but the $18 button is the ticket for admission to all indoor events. Buttons will be available after Thanksgiving.
Posted at 10:12 AM
Joel Brown
October 28, 2010
First Night adds Symphony Hall, college venues
Image001 Movin' on up! First Night adds three new spaces to its schedule this year. No performers have been announced yet, but First Night has added Symphony Hall and two new renovated venues downtown, Suffolk University's Modern Theatre and Emerson College's Paramount Mainstage. It won't be the Pops at Symphony Hall; word is something very cool is in the works. In addition, First Night's New Year's Eve festivities will return to the Berklee Performance Center, which will once again host an alumni concert broadcast by WGBH and NPR's national "Talk of the Nation" show. This year's First Night button, by painter Scott Listfield of Somerville, will be unveiled in mid-November. All First Night outdoor events are free, but the $18 button is the ticket for admission to all indoor events. Buttons will be available after Thanksgiving.
Posted at 10:12 AM
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Logan to launch bag self tag pilot program
‘Tag your own’ luggage plans
Logan to launch pilot
By Donna Goodison | Wednesday, October 27, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Logan International Airport will lead the nation in testing a “tag your own bag” program designed to speed passenger check-ins.
Air Canada and American Airlines [AMR] are expected to launch the pilot program - tailored to satisfy U.S. Transportation Security Administration concerns - next month.
Passengers will be able to use a kiosk to print their own baggage routing tags along with their boarding passes. But, unlike in other countries, passengers still will be required to check in with a ticket-counter agent instead of simply dropping off their bags at a designated location, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Air Canada and the TSA declined comment on how the program was altered to meet TSA security requirements, saying details are still being finalized. But a source said passengers will have to get their IDs checked by a ticket-counter agent who will “activate” the baggage tags and place their luggage on conveyor belts.
American Airlines would only confirm that the program will be launched at Logan.
The International Air Transport Association, a trade group representing 230 airlines, is leading the “bags ready-to-go” program under its Fast Travel initiative.
The United States is lagging on self-tagging, IATA spokesman Steve Lott said. Thirty-two airlines around the world already offer the service, most in Europe, and some have kiosks with built-in scanners to verify passports and IDs.
“The TSA wanted to make sure that there were no security risks about somebody dropping something bad on a security belt and walking away,” Lott said.
Air Canada piloted self-tagging three years ago and now offers it at eight major Canadian airports and in London and Paris, allowing passengers to drop off their bags at special desks to avoid lines.
“We find customers like self-service options, as it lets them control the speed and time at which they do things,” spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1291789
Logan to launch pilot
By Donna Goodison | Wednesday, October 27, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Logan International Airport will lead the nation in testing a “tag your own bag” program designed to speed passenger check-ins.
Air Canada and American Airlines [AMR] are expected to launch the pilot program - tailored to satisfy U.S. Transportation Security Administration concerns - next month.
Passengers will be able to use a kiosk to print their own baggage routing tags along with their boarding passes. But, unlike in other countries, passengers still will be required to check in with a ticket-counter agent instead of simply dropping off their bags at a designated location, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Air Canada and the TSA declined comment on how the program was altered to meet TSA security requirements, saying details are still being finalized. But a source said passengers will have to get their IDs checked by a ticket-counter agent who will “activate” the baggage tags and place their luggage on conveyor belts.
American Airlines would only confirm that the program will be launched at Logan.
The International Air Transport Association, a trade group representing 230 airlines, is leading the “bags ready-to-go” program under its Fast Travel initiative.
The United States is lagging on self-tagging, IATA spokesman Steve Lott said. Thirty-two airlines around the world already offer the service, most in Europe, and some have kiosks with built-in scanners to verify passports and IDs.
“The TSA wanted to make sure that there were no security risks about somebody dropping something bad on a security belt and walking away,” Lott said.
Air Canada piloted self-tagging three years ago and now offers it at eight major Canadian airports and in London and Paris, allowing passengers to drop off their bags at special desks to avoid lines.
“We find customers like self-service options, as it lets them control the speed and time at which they do things,” spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1291789
Hotel executive, ex-dry cleaning head team to lease food trucks to city's top chefs
The Boston Globe
G FORCE |TODD SAUNDERS
Meals on wheels
The hotel honcho and his chef partner want to outfit and lease food trucks to Boston’s best cooks
By Bridget Samburg | October 27, 2010
Q. You and your business partner, Ron Sarni, former president of Sarni Cleaners, started Food Truck Nation. Why this business?
A. We both have a passion for food and love bringing people together. No outlet does it better than a food truck. Ron is a professional chef and I make a mean grilled cheese.
Q. You’ve traveled around the country to other cities to get a sense of what’s out there. How is that influencing what you do?
A. We have an opportunity to take advantage of the good and bad around the country. We’re going to lead the movement here.
Q. Food Truck Nation will be leasing trucks otherwise too expensive for chefs. What is the reaction so far?
A. The top-name chefs want trucks. It’s another location for them. It’s like a rolling billboard.
Q. You’ve started with your own Grilled Cheese Nation truck, which has been at the SoWa Open Market on Sundays and at other festivals. A more permanent location is in the works. What’s your most popular sandwich?
A. A lot of people go with the Boston Common (Iggy’s organic pain de mie bread, Vermont aged cheddar, and a bit of butter). But In Gouda We Trust (smoked gouda, mushrooms, caramelized onions, on Iggy’s organic dark rye) and Brie Me Up (brie, local Asian pear, Iggy’s organic wheat pain de mie) are a close second and third. When people bite into these they are blown away.
Q. Sounds heavy on the local ingredients.
A. It’s going to be fresh, flavorful, with as many local components as possible. All the breads are local, almost all of the cheeses are. The vast majority of what we’re using is local and we’d like to keep it that way.
Q. You said you have a second truck rolling into town in a few weeks. Can you say who will be leasing that one?
A. Will Gilson of Garden at the Cellar. He’s a rising star. There will be others too. The biggest challenge will be to get the trucks made fast enough.
Bridget Samburg can be reached at bsamburg@comcast.net.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
G FORCE |TODD SAUNDERS
Meals on wheels
The hotel honcho and his chef partner want to outfit and lease food trucks to Boston’s best cooks
By Bridget Samburg | October 27, 2010
Q. You and your business partner, Ron Sarni, former president of Sarni Cleaners, started Food Truck Nation. Why this business?
A. We both have a passion for food and love bringing people together. No outlet does it better than a food truck. Ron is a professional chef and I make a mean grilled cheese.
Q. You’ve traveled around the country to other cities to get a sense of what’s out there. How is that influencing what you do?
A. We have an opportunity to take advantage of the good and bad around the country. We’re going to lead the movement here.
Q. Food Truck Nation will be leasing trucks otherwise too expensive for chefs. What is the reaction so far?
A. The top-name chefs want trucks. It’s another location for them. It’s like a rolling billboard.
Q. You’ve started with your own Grilled Cheese Nation truck, which has been at the SoWa Open Market on Sundays and at other festivals. A more permanent location is in the works. What’s your most popular sandwich?
A. A lot of people go with the Boston Common (Iggy’s organic pain de mie bread, Vermont aged cheddar, and a bit of butter). But In Gouda We Trust (smoked gouda, mushrooms, caramelized onions, on Iggy’s organic dark rye) and Brie Me Up (brie, local Asian pear, Iggy’s organic wheat pain de mie) are a close second and third. When people bite into these they are blown away.
Q. Sounds heavy on the local ingredients.
A. It’s going to be fresh, flavorful, with as many local components as possible. All the breads are local, almost all of the cheeses are. The vast majority of what we’re using is local and we’d like to keep it that way.
Q. You said you have a second truck rolling into town in a few weeks. Can you say who will be leasing that one?
A. Will Gilson of Garden at the Cellar. He’s a rising star. There will be others too. The biggest challenge will be to get the trucks made fast enough.
Bridget Samburg can be reached at bsamburg@comcast.net.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Noche review
The Boston Globe
DINING OUT
Much too little shines at Noche
Tartare, sashimi, tempura are bright spots on a tepid menu
By Devra First, Globe Staff | October 27, 2010
More. That’s what I want from Noche. More flavor. More spice. More freshness. More finesse. The South End restaurant, located in the former Icarus space, has a Spanish name. Chef Reginald Collier comes to Boston from Miami. You can’t blame a guest for expecting some sort of Latin accent. Aside from the basket of plantain chips that starts each meal instead of bread, Noche might as well be called Night. (It does serve until 1:30 a.m.)
Instead, the menu is Pan-Asian-Cal-Mediterro-American. It’s a jumble. Tempura, goat cheese, and jalapenos are the most commonly recurring components. At least it’s not local-seasonal or upscale-comfort. It doesn’t look like any other menu in town.
Appetizers rely heavily on seafood. Collier was previously chef at a place called Doraku Sushi, and tartare, sashimi, and tempura are all here. These are some of Noche’s stronger dishes. Crispy tempura sea bass is nicely fried, the fish paired with red onion, cherry tomatoes, and shaved jalapeno. The flavors are bright, the textures several different kinds of crisp. The jalapeno slices are hard to come by, and more of them would make the dish better.
Bluefin tuna tartare joins with avocado relish, tobiko, and ponzu sauce, tortilla chips protruding like sails. The fish isn’t the most flavorful, but these ingredients are always going to taste just fine together. If you’re leery of eating bluefin tuna, brace yourself for Chilean sea bass coming in the entree round, served with bean sprouts and mushrooms. The future of both species is troubled. What responsibility should a restaurant bear for serving sustainable fish? Each establishment must answer that for itself, and responses raise questions of their own. (For one: If you aren’t concerned about the long-term viability of the food you serve, does that mean you don’t expect to be in business long?)
Description and presentation don’t always match at Noche. When we order braised short ribs, we expect succulent chunks of meat. We get a small serving of flattened strips, more like beef jerky in appearance, coated in a red sauce that tastes like ketchup spiked with cumin.
When we order jalapenos with spicy chorizo and goat cheese, we envision generous slices of chorizo. We get cheese-filled slices of jalapeno sprinkled with tiny bits of chorizo. The peppers are shriveled around the edges and barely spicy; the chorizo is bland.
Tiger shrimp are tiny — maybe they’re cubs. They’re terribly overcooked, hard and rubbery, served with crescents of onion tempura and a thick, orange spicy mayonnaise.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to picture. “Roasted Statler chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto, Parmesan, peppercorn, Boursin cheese, herb infused rice, broccoli sauté, mustard sauce’’ sounds like something concocted by a stoner raiding the pantry late at night. It turns out to be a simple dish of stuffed chicken with plain broccoli and Minute-esque rice.
A vegetarian entree involving cannellini features a pile of undercooked, plain beans topped with a bit of roasted tomato, spinach, and fried potato strings.
Ingredients don’t always taste or look their best. Lamb chops have the mildest flavor, paired with apple chutney and potatoes; more-assertive meat would turn this into a nice dish. Bolognese is made with tender, savory veal cheek, but it appears to have been sitting under a heat lamp. Scallops are crusted in coriander, which doesn’t hide the faint ammonia whiff they give off. They’re served with caper butter that lacks pungency and off-season asparagus. Other issues aside, there are only three scallops, albeit large ones, in a dish that costs $25. It would leave a hungry person wanting, or at least ordering a $7 side of manchego whipped potatoes.
For dessert, chocolate symphony cake tastes prefabricated. It comes with a toasted marshmallow, a cute touch. Warm French toast cake with chocolate ganache is eggy and sweet, made eccentric by a sprinkling of paprika and a sprig of thyme planted upright in its surface like a flag.
Noche has a good neighborhood bar scene — it’s friendly, the cucumber gimlets are refreshing, the servers are sweethearts. Men who wear suits for work sit next to men who wear suits for fashion, dates nibble on each other, and everyone has a good time. In the dark bar area, dangling lights twinkle, reflected in mirrored walls; the game plays on large twin TVs. Pop goes the dining room, with white leather chairs, geometric-patterned ceilings, and walls covered in round mirrors. Another wall is decorated with a chart of the moon in its different phases. Icarus flew too close to the sun; the decor here is appropriately nocturnal. Noche looks like the nightspot it wants to be.
There are dishes on the menu that hint at the nightspot it still could become: a pork chop with black beans and rice and jicama slaw, guava flan, churros with dulce de leche. These aren’t necessarily well executed, but they take the right tone: fun, bold, with personality. The ever-busy Orinoco, a few blocks away, proves Bostonians can handle these things. There’s no need to be timid.
If Noche wants to capture our taste buds, we’re going to need more. More flavor, more spice, more freshness, and more finesse.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
DINING OUT
Much too little shines at Noche
Tartare, sashimi, tempura are bright spots on a tepid menu
By Devra First, Globe Staff | October 27, 2010
More. That’s what I want from Noche. More flavor. More spice. More freshness. More finesse. The South End restaurant, located in the former Icarus space, has a Spanish name. Chef Reginald Collier comes to Boston from Miami. You can’t blame a guest for expecting some sort of Latin accent. Aside from the basket of plantain chips that starts each meal instead of bread, Noche might as well be called Night. (It does serve until 1:30 a.m.)
Instead, the menu is Pan-Asian-Cal-Mediterro-American. It’s a jumble. Tempura, goat cheese, and jalapenos are the most commonly recurring components. At least it’s not local-seasonal or upscale-comfort. It doesn’t look like any other menu in town.
Appetizers rely heavily on seafood. Collier was previously chef at a place called Doraku Sushi, and tartare, sashimi, and tempura are all here. These are some of Noche’s stronger dishes. Crispy tempura sea bass is nicely fried, the fish paired with red onion, cherry tomatoes, and shaved jalapeno. The flavors are bright, the textures several different kinds of crisp. The jalapeno slices are hard to come by, and more of them would make the dish better.
Bluefin tuna tartare joins with avocado relish, tobiko, and ponzu sauce, tortilla chips protruding like sails. The fish isn’t the most flavorful, but these ingredients are always going to taste just fine together. If you’re leery of eating bluefin tuna, brace yourself for Chilean sea bass coming in the entree round, served with bean sprouts and mushrooms. The future of both species is troubled. What responsibility should a restaurant bear for serving sustainable fish? Each establishment must answer that for itself, and responses raise questions of their own. (For one: If you aren’t concerned about the long-term viability of the food you serve, does that mean you don’t expect to be in business long?)
Description and presentation don’t always match at Noche. When we order braised short ribs, we expect succulent chunks of meat. We get a small serving of flattened strips, more like beef jerky in appearance, coated in a red sauce that tastes like ketchup spiked with cumin.
When we order jalapenos with spicy chorizo and goat cheese, we envision generous slices of chorizo. We get cheese-filled slices of jalapeno sprinkled with tiny bits of chorizo. The peppers are shriveled around the edges and barely spicy; the chorizo is bland.
Tiger shrimp are tiny — maybe they’re cubs. They’re terribly overcooked, hard and rubbery, served with crescents of onion tempura and a thick, orange spicy mayonnaise.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to picture. “Roasted Statler chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto, Parmesan, peppercorn, Boursin cheese, herb infused rice, broccoli sauté, mustard sauce’’ sounds like something concocted by a stoner raiding the pantry late at night. It turns out to be a simple dish of stuffed chicken with plain broccoli and Minute-esque rice.
A vegetarian entree involving cannellini features a pile of undercooked, plain beans topped with a bit of roasted tomato, spinach, and fried potato strings.
Ingredients don’t always taste or look their best. Lamb chops have the mildest flavor, paired with apple chutney and potatoes; more-assertive meat would turn this into a nice dish. Bolognese is made with tender, savory veal cheek, but it appears to have been sitting under a heat lamp. Scallops are crusted in coriander, which doesn’t hide the faint ammonia whiff they give off. They’re served with caper butter that lacks pungency and off-season asparagus. Other issues aside, there are only three scallops, albeit large ones, in a dish that costs $25. It would leave a hungry person wanting, or at least ordering a $7 side of manchego whipped potatoes.
For dessert, chocolate symphony cake tastes prefabricated. It comes with a toasted marshmallow, a cute touch. Warm French toast cake with chocolate ganache is eggy and sweet, made eccentric by a sprinkling of paprika and a sprig of thyme planted upright in its surface like a flag.
Noche has a good neighborhood bar scene — it’s friendly, the cucumber gimlets are refreshing, the servers are sweethearts. Men who wear suits for work sit next to men who wear suits for fashion, dates nibble on each other, and everyone has a good time. In the dark bar area, dangling lights twinkle, reflected in mirrored walls; the game plays on large twin TVs. Pop goes the dining room, with white leather chairs, geometric-patterned ceilings, and walls covered in round mirrors. Another wall is decorated with a chart of the moon in its different phases. Icarus flew too close to the sun; the decor here is appropriately nocturnal. Noche looks like the nightspot it wants to be.
There are dishes on the menu that hint at the nightspot it still could become: a pork chop with black beans and rice and jicama slaw, guava flan, churros with dulce de leche. These aren’t necessarily well executed, but they take the right tone: fun, bold, with personality. The ever-busy Orinoco, a few blocks away, proves Bostonians can handle these things. There’s no need to be timid.
If Noche wants to capture our taste buds, we’re going to need more. More flavor, more spice, more freshness, and more finesse.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Red Sox announce 2011 ticket prices
Boston.com
Red Sox announce ticket prices for 2011
Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff October 26, 2010 02:29 PM
The good news: Ticket prices for Red Sox games will be unchanged for 70 percent of Fenway Park in 2011.
The bad news: Tickets for some prime sections will go up as much as 5.8 percent.
The details on the increases are:
Infield grandstands (Sections 13-27): Increases from $47 to $50 for season tickets and $52 to $55 for single-game.
Loge boxes (103-155): Increases from $90 to $94 for season tickets and $95 to $99 for single-game.
Field boxes (17-70): Increases from $125 to $130 for season tickets and $130 to $135 for single-game.
Other details from the team release:
* Spring training prices will be unchanged.
* The Christmas At Fenway event will be on Saturday, Dec. 11. That's your first chance to purchase seats.
Red Sox announce ticket prices for 2011
Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff October 26, 2010 02:29 PM
The good news: Ticket prices for Red Sox games will be unchanged for 70 percent of Fenway Park in 2011.
The bad news: Tickets for some prime sections will go up as much as 5.8 percent.
The details on the increases are:
Infield grandstands (Sections 13-27): Increases from $47 to $50 for season tickets and $52 to $55 for single-game.
Loge boxes (103-155): Increases from $90 to $94 for season tickets and $95 to $99 for single-game.
Field boxes (17-70): Increases from $125 to $130 for season tickets and $130 to $135 for single-game.
Other details from the team release:
* Spring training prices will be unchanged.
* The Christmas At Fenway event will be on Saturday, Dec. 11. That's your first chance to purchase seats.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Pizzeria Regina in Allston to open on Wednesday
Boston.com
Allston Brighton
Allston Regina Pizzeria, formerly Sports Depot, to open Wednesday
Posted by Matt Rocheleau October 26, 2010 11:14 AM
By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent
The Allston building that housed the Sports Depot bar and restaurant for 22 years, will reopen Wednesday as a Regina Pizzeria.
Officially dubbed Regina Pizzeria at the Depot, the 330-seat space at 353 Cambridge St. will look to attract former Sports Depot patrons, as well as newcomers and fans of the local pizza chain, said Christina Chmura, president of the pizza company's media relations firm.
The restaurant will feature a full, 32-seat, sports-themed bar - complete with big screen TVs. Its food menu will include original favorites along with some new additions, said Chmura, of East Coast Associates in Beverly
The interior design, full bar concept and food menu will resemble the chain's Medford location -- the only other Regina Pizzeria with a full bar, she said.
The pizzeria will offer entrées, like brick-oven pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and calzones, along with appetizers, salads and a separate bar menu. The location will also feature Curbside To Go and delivery through an outside company, Dining In.
There is no grand opening planned for Wednesday; the restaurant will simply open its doors at 3:30 p.m., Chmura said. Regular business hours will be from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
The restaurant began its hiring process in late September, according to its Twitter account.
The acclaimed pizza chain, founded by the Polcari family, opened its first spot in the North End nearly 85 years ago. The Allston space will join 21 other Regina Pizzeria and Polacari locations currently open in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and owned by chain's owners, Boston Restaurants Associates based in Lynn.
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
Allston Brighton
Allston Regina Pizzeria, formerly Sports Depot, to open Wednesday
Posted by Matt Rocheleau October 26, 2010 11:14 AM
By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent
The Allston building that housed the Sports Depot bar and restaurant for 22 years, will reopen Wednesday as a Regina Pizzeria.
Officially dubbed Regina Pizzeria at the Depot, the 330-seat space at 353 Cambridge St. will look to attract former Sports Depot patrons, as well as newcomers and fans of the local pizza chain, said Christina Chmura, president of the pizza company's media relations firm.
The restaurant will feature a full, 32-seat, sports-themed bar - complete with big screen TVs. Its food menu will include original favorites along with some new additions, said Chmura, of East Coast Associates in Beverly
The interior design, full bar concept and food menu will resemble the chain's Medford location -- the only other Regina Pizzeria with a full bar, she said.
The pizzeria will offer entrées, like brick-oven pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and calzones, along with appetizers, salads and a separate bar menu. The location will also feature Curbside To Go and delivery through an outside company, Dining In.
There is no grand opening planned for Wednesday; the restaurant will simply open its doors at 3:30 p.m., Chmura said. Regular business hours will be from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
The restaurant began its hiring process in late September, according to its Twitter account.
The acclaimed pizza chain, founded by the Polcari family, opened its first spot in the North End nearly 85 years ago. The Allston space will join 21 other Regina Pizzeria and Polacari locations currently open in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and owned by chain's owners, Boston Restaurants Associates based in Lynn.
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
Hotels may work together to sue TripAdvisor
Hotels pool data for possible battle with TripAdvisor
By Susan Stellin, New York Times | October 26, 2010
NEW YORK — The 35 million hotel reviews posted on TripAdvisor reveal everything from snooty staff to filthy toilets, and sometimes the reviewer’s overly picky standards.
But those comments can cross the line between honest criticism and unsubstantiated, inflammatory claims, with potentially damaging consequences for some hotels.
Although TripAdvisor allows property owners to post responses to the reviews, some hoteliers argue that is not enough to address the problem. As TripAdvisor’s influence grows, smaller hotels, in particular, want the site to monitor comments more actively and take action when managers express concerns.
These escalating tensions reveal how the free-for-all of online customer feedback differs from an era of professional reviewers operating under clearer guidelines. The new reality leaves many businesses feeling powerless.
“The world of the Internet and particularly social media has pretty much outstripped ethical guidelines, and some legal ones as well,’’ said Chris Emmins, a founder of KwikChex, a British reputation management company that is seeking to organize a lawsuit against Newton, Mass.-based TripAdvisor on behalf of its clients.
Emmins said that more than 800 businesses had inquired about participating in the case, but he expected that only a few dozen would meet the criteria the company hoped to test, including the legality of reviews that accuse hotel staff of theft, assault, or discrimination.
In the United States, the Communications Decency Act generally protects sites like TripAdvisor from being held liable for information posted by third parties. Some hoteliers say TripAdvisor has gone beyond the neutral role of host through actions like sending e-mail highlighting “hotel horror stories.’’
Other complaints are that TripAdvisor is unwilling to remove questionable reviews from the site, declines to retire older reviews (even when a property is under new management), and screens owners’ responses more vigorously than members’ comments.
Jon Grabowski, an owner of 24grille in the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, sued TripAdvisor last year, after the site failed to remove or investigate an anonymous review claiming that his business partner had entertained a prostitute in the restaurant.
“All we asked is that, because it could not be backed up by any fact, that it be removed from the website,’’ he said.
Although the lawsuit was dropped because it seemed that TripAdvisor was not liable for members’ comments, the review was eventually removed, Grabowski said. But it left him and his partner frustrated by the lack of accountability for a comment that was clearly out of bounds.
Adam Medros, a vice president at TripAdvisor, said he could not comment on cases involving litigation, but he pointed out that hotel owners had the option to post a response to any review that appeared on the site.
“We encourage every property to do this, because at the end of the day, travel is never a perfect experience,’’ Medros said. “I’ve certainly heard from more than one user that they’re willing to pass over a bad review when the owner addresses it.’’
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
By Susan Stellin, New York Times | October 26, 2010
NEW YORK — The 35 million hotel reviews posted on TripAdvisor reveal everything from snooty staff to filthy toilets, and sometimes the reviewer’s overly picky standards.
But those comments can cross the line between honest criticism and unsubstantiated, inflammatory claims, with potentially damaging consequences for some hotels.
Although TripAdvisor allows property owners to post responses to the reviews, some hoteliers argue that is not enough to address the problem. As TripAdvisor’s influence grows, smaller hotels, in particular, want the site to monitor comments more actively and take action when managers express concerns.
These escalating tensions reveal how the free-for-all of online customer feedback differs from an era of professional reviewers operating under clearer guidelines. The new reality leaves many businesses feeling powerless.
“The world of the Internet and particularly social media has pretty much outstripped ethical guidelines, and some legal ones as well,’’ said Chris Emmins, a founder of KwikChex, a British reputation management company that is seeking to organize a lawsuit against Newton, Mass.-based TripAdvisor on behalf of its clients.
Emmins said that more than 800 businesses had inquired about participating in the case, but he expected that only a few dozen would meet the criteria the company hoped to test, including the legality of reviews that accuse hotel staff of theft, assault, or discrimination.
In the United States, the Communications Decency Act generally protects sites like TripAdvisor from being held liable for information posted by third parties. Some hoteliers say TripAdvisor has gone beyond the neutral role of host through actions like sending e-mail highlighting “hotel horror stories.’’
Other complaints are that TripAdvisor is unwilling to remove questionable reviews from the site, declines to retire older reviews (even when a property is under new management), and screens owners’ responses more vigorously than members’ comments.
Jon Grabowski, an owner of 24grille in the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, sued TripAdvisor last year, after the site failed to remove or investigate an anonymous review claiming that his business partner had entertained a prostitute in the restaurant.
“All we asked is that, because it could not be backed up by any fact, that it be removed from the website,’’ he said.
Although the lawsuit was dropped because it seemed that TripAdvisor was not liable for members’ comments, the review was eventually removed, Grabowski said. But it left him and his partner frustrated by the lack of accountability for a comment that was clearly out of bounds.
Adam Medros, a vice president at TripAdvisor, said he could not comment on cases involving litigation, but he pointed out that hotel owners had the option to post a response to any review that appeared on the site.
“We encourage every property to do this, because at the end of the day, travel is never a perfect experience,’’ Medros said. “I’ve certainly heard from more than one user that they’re willing to pass over a bad review when the owner addresses it.’’
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Dave & Buster's looks to open in Burlington
GrubStreet Boston
Dave & Buster's Strikes Again
10/25/10 at 5:30 PM
Dave & Buster's Strikes Again
Even though construction has yet to begin, approval of a 35,000-square-foot Braintree Dave & Buster's location — remember the one that would lure "out of town drug dealers"? — was granted a few weeks ago. It only took seven public hearings and eight months! In the end, a representative for the company assured the board that there "are protections in place for the community." (Gamer riff-raff beware!) Well now the Dallas-based chain is looking to add yet another Massachusetts location.
According to the Globe, Dave & Buster's took out an application in June for a Burlington location, said to be near the Burlington Mall, on a 12-acre plot that once housed a Dodge dealership. Discussions for the 660-seat gaming restaurant are slated to begin sometime in November. With North Shore and South Shore strongholds in place, Dave & Buster's could begin taking over Jillian's turf.
By: Meredith Smith
Read more: Dave & Buster's Strikes Again -- Grub Street Boston http://boston.grubstreet.com/2010/10/dave_busters.html#ixzz13TXeyXvN
Dave & Buster's Strikes Again
10/25/10 at 5:30 PM
Dave & Buster's Strikes Again
Even though construction has yet to begin, approval of a 35,000-square-foot Braintree Dave & Buster's location — remember the one that would lure "out of town drug dealers"? — was granted a few weeks ago. It only took seven public hearings and eight months! In the end, a representative for the company assured the board that there "are protections in place for the community." (Gamer riff-raff beware!) Well now the Dallas-based chain is looking to add yet another Massachusetts location.
According to the Globe, Dave & Buster's took out an application in June for a Burlington location, said to be near the Burlington Mall, on a 12-acre plot that once housed a Dodge dealership. Discussions for the 660-seat gaming restaurant are slated to begin sometime in November. With North Shore and South Shore strongholds in place, Dave & Buster's could begin taking over Jillian's turf.
By: Meredith Smith
Read more: Dave & Buster's Strikes Again -- Grub Street Boston http://boston.grubstreet.com/2010/10/dave_busters.html#ixzz13TXeyXvN
BCEC gets Kosher vending machines
These sound even better than the ones at Fenway Park - Adam
Universal Hub
Knish noshing at the convention center
By adamg - 10/25/10 - 12:42 pm
Good news for people who keep kosher or just like the idea of easy access to a knish:
Hot Nosh Boston, LLC is proud to announce that our Kosher Automated Food Diners can now be found at our newest location the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The diners are located in the food court area and are available for use 24 hours a day. The menu will include Knishes, Onion Rings, Pizza, Baked Ziti Parm, Pizza Pockets and Mozzarella Sticks. The knishes, onion rings and vegetable cutlets are designated Pareve but are made on dairy equipment and should only be eaten before or after meat.
Universal Hub
Knish noshing at the convention center
By adamg - 10/25/10 - 12:42 pm
Good news for people who keep kosher or just like the idea of easy access to a knish:
Hot Nosh Boston, LLC is proud to announce that our Kosher Automated Food Diners can now be found at our newest location the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The diners are located in the food court area and are available for use 24 hours a day. The menu will include Knishes, Onion Rings, Pizza, Baked Ziti Parm, Pizza Pockets and Mozzarella Sticks. The knishes, onion rings and vegetable cutlets are designated Pareve but are made on dairy equipment and should only be eaten before or after meat.
Grilled cheese take out spot opens at South Station
The Boston Globe
Comfort food at South Station: grilled cheese
By Alexandria McMahon, Globe Correspondent | October 26, 2010
A new restaurant is serving the ultimate at-home comfort food: a grilled cheese sandwich. Cheeseboy: Grilled Cheese to Go opened in South Station yesterday, offering commuters sandwiches from a menu of four breads, five cheeses, and a dozen meat and vegetable toppings.
The restaurant is opening at a time when grilled cheese sandwiches are being eaten less outside of the home. Grilled cheese consumption in restaurants is down 11 percent for the year ending in June, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Rosemont, Ill. By contrast, in June of 2009, consumption was up 13 percent from the same period a year ago.
“We don’t order much in restaurants,’’ said Bonnie Riggs, an NPD analyst who explains that Cheeseboy’s biggest competitor will be at-home preparation. “We want our grilled cheese at home.’’
Despite the decline, Cheeseboy founder Michael Inwald said there is a market for America’s beloved grilled cheese sandwich, which he calls “a part of national culture.’’ He said consumers are turned off by restaurants that offer gourmet cheese sandwiches at a high cost, but they will like the affordability of his menu. For instance, a Cheeseboy “Cheddar Delight’’ sandwich, with cheddar cheese on rye bread, is $3.79. By comparison, the average price of a grilled cheese sandwich in full-service restaurants is $6.58, according to Technomic Inc., a research firm in Chicago.
“The concept of grilled cheese is oftentimes sit down, but their price point is high, and they are trying the gourmet angle,’’ said Inwald, 29, a New York native who avoided the high overhead costs of sit-down restaurants with a to-go concept. “Ultimately, grilled cheese is a comfort food that shouldn’t be too expensive.’’
Susannah Osborn, 62, of Wenham agrees. She ordered a cheddar on Italian bread yesterday, en route to catching a train to New York City.
“I devoured my grilled cheese,’’ Osborn said. “It was next to the ones my mom used to make when I was little. Probably the best one I have ever had.’’
Still, some analysts say specialty to-go menus like Cheeseboy’s pose a challenge for a developing brand. After all, the percent of all restaurant orders that include a grilled cheese sandwich is 0.3 percent compared with 15.4 percent for hamburgers, according to NPD.
Additionally, there’s plenty of competition, including fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Subway that offer $1 or $5 menu items. And Dante of Cambridge holds “Grilled Cheese Tuesdays,’’ offering half sandwiches for $2 in its lounge and bar, and Petit Robert Bistro’s restaurants in Boston and Needham offer croque monsieur, the French grilled cheese with ham, for $6.75.
“These concepts get too successful, then others add the items to their menus,’’ said Ron Paul, president and chief executive of Technomic, noting grilled cheese is a menu selection, not an entire concept.
Paul said the viability of the brand depends on the location. South Station is consistent with the “grab-and-go’’ style menu, but like any high-traffic area, food vendors succeed at the will of the consumer. “It is the same thing in any food court, the consumer decides what they want,’’ he said.
Indeed, Cheeseboy will have to contend with other food vendors at South Station, which include McDonald’s, Cosi, and Au Bon Pain. “We believe we are one of the stronger brands there,’’ said Ed Frechett, vice president of marketing at the Au Bon Pain chain in Boston. Still, “We welcome new ideas. It will bring more people.’’
Inwald said he dreamed up the grilled cheese restaurant concept after friends and family were impressed with the quality of his homemade version. Last year, he took a leave of absence from earning his MBA at Yale University and invested $20,000 of his own money to test his sandwiches at fairs.
Inwald then got additional funding from a private investor and polished the Cheeseboy menu in the first restaurant pilot at Connecticut Post Mall, which opened in November of last year in Milford, Conn.
Cheddar, American, light Swiss, Muenster, and provolone make up the menu, along with Italian, rye, multigrain, and wheat bread. Customers can add vegetables and meats to their grilled cheese, including ham, bacon, pickles, and jalapeños. The selections were expanded with the help of feedback and suggestions from the pilot.
Inwald declined to give sales figures from the pilot, but said: “We found out there is demand for my particular grilled cheese.’’
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Comfort food at South Station: grilled cheese
By Alexandria McMahon, Globe Correspondent | October 26, 2010
A new restaurant is serving the ultimate at-home comfort food: a grilled cheese sandwich. Cheeseboy: Grilled Cheese to Go opened in South Station yesterday, offering commuters sandwiches from a menu of four breads, five cheeses, and a dozen meat and vegetable toppings.
The restaurant is opening at a time when grilled cheese sandwiches are being eaten less outside of the home. Grilled cheese consumption in restaurants is down 11 percent for the year ending in June, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Rosemont, Ill. By contrast, in June of 2009, consumption was up 13 percent from the same period a year ago.
“We don’t order much in restaurants,’’ said Bonnie Riggs, an NPD analyst who explains that Cheeseboy’s biggest competitor will be at-home preparation. “We want our grilled cheese at home.’’
Despite the decline, Cheeseboy founder Michael Inwald said there is a market for America’s beloved grilled cheese sandwich, which he calls “a part of national culture.’’ He said consumers are turned off by restaurants that offer gourmet cheese sandwiches at a high cost, but they will like the affordability of his menu. For instance, a Cheeseboy “Cheddar Delight’’ sandwich, with cheddar cheese on rye bread, is $3.79. By comparison, the average price of a grilled cheese sandwich in full-service restaurants is $6.58, according to Technomic Inc., a research firm in Chicago.
“The concept of grilled cheese is oftentimes sit down, but their price point is high, and they are trying the gourmet angle,’’ said Inwald, 29, a New York native who avoided the high overhead costs of sit-down restaurants with a to-go concept. “Ultimately, grilled cheese is a comfort food that shouldn’t be too expensive.’’
Susannah Osborn, 62, of Wenham agrees. She ordered a cheddar on Italian bread yesterday, en route to catching a train to New York City.
“I devoured my grilled cheese,’’ Osborn said. “It was next to the ones my mom used to make when I was little. Probably the best one I have ever had.’’
Still, some analysts say specialty to-go menus like Cheeseboy’s pose a challenge for a developing brand. After all, the percent of all restaurant orders that include a grilled cheese sandwich is 0.3 percent compared with 15.4 percent for hamburgers, according to NPD.
Additionally, there’s plenty of competition, including fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Subway that offer $1 or $5 menu items. And Dante of Cambridge holds “Grilled Cheese Tuesdays,’’ offering half sandwiches for $2 in its lounge and bar, and Petit Robert Bistro’s restaurants in Boston and Needham offer croque monsieur, the French grilled cheese with ham, for $6.75.
“These concepts get too successful, then others add the items to their menus,’’ said Ron Paul, president and chief executive of Technomic, noting grilled cheese is a menu selection, not an entire concept.
Paul said the viability of the brand depends on the location. South Station is consistent with the “grab-and-go’’ style menu, but like any high-traffic area, food vendors succeed at the will of the consumer. “It is the same thing in any food court, the consumer decides what they want,’’ he said.
Indeed, Cheeseboy will have to contend with other food vendors at South Station, which include McDonald’s, Cosi, and Au Bon Pain. “We believe we are one of the stronger brands there,’’ said Ed Frechett, vice president of marketing at the Au Bon Pain chain in Boston. Still, “We welcome new ideas. It will bring more people.’’
Inwald said he dreamed up the grilled cheese restaurant concept after friends and family were impressed with the quality of his homemade version. Last year, he took a leave of absence from earning his MBA at Yale University and invested $20,000 of his own money to test his sandwiches at fairs.
Inwald then got additional funding from a private investor and polished the Cheeseboy menu in the first restaurant pilot at Connecticut Post Mall, which opened in November of last year in Milford, Conn.
Cheddar, American, light Swiss, Muenster, and provolone make up the menu, along with Italian, rye, multigrain, and wheat bread. Customers can add vegetables and meats to their grilled cheese, including ham, bacon, pickles, and jalapeños. The selections were expanded with the help of feedback and suggestions from the pilot.
Inwald declined to give sales figures from the pilot, but said: “We found out there is demand for my particular grilled cheese.’’
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Friday, October 22, 2010
Boston Pedicabs marks five year anniversary
South End Patch
Business
Boston Pedicab: The Real 'Green Taxi'
Founder Ben Morris reflects on five years of success.
By Bennett Wilson October 21, 2010
Over the past five years, Bostonians have grown accustomed to the bright-colored pedicabs slowly flooding the downtown area. The drivers, leg muscles bulging, cheerfully offer rides to just about anywhere, although if you're going to Fenway Park, so much the better.
It's all gone according to plan for Boston Pedicab founder and CEO Ben Morris, who opened the now-thriving business on St. Patrick's Day in 2005. At his South End headquarters on West Concord Street, shining pedicabs can be seen lined up throughout the day, moving advertisements for local and national businesses.
"It's been very well-accepted here," said Morris.
Running all day and all night throughout the season, Boston Pedicab has about 250,000 passengers per year – 150,000 of those people are travelling to or from Fenway Park. At the height of the season, the company employs about 70 drivers, most of whom are college and graduate students, musicians and schoolteachers.
Not Just a Taxi
But the genius of the company lies in the novelty of it.
"Nothing's competition, frankly," said Morris.
The business provides short rides from place to place and gives tours to people who don't want to pay for expensive bus or trolley tickets. Customers are told to "pay as you please" and there are no meters involved. Boston Pedicab maintains and insures the equipment, and, just like a taxi business, drivers lease the pedicabs and work for their tips.
Breaking New Ground
When Boston Pedicab first hit the streets in 2005, the city itself didn't quite know what to make of it, Morris admitted.
"We wrote the rules for the regulation," Morris said, adding that he approached lawmakers and law enforcers before helping to draft the city's pedicab policies. His business wants regulations to ensure the safety of the driver and the clientele, he said.
Growing a Company
Morris was a student at Northeastern University when he started the company, which was inspired by a pedicab service in San Diego. As he juggled school and his budding business, Morris opened up shop in the South End with five bicycles.
Five years later, the company has expanded across the country with branches in Newport, RI, San Francisco, CA, Washington D.C. and Ft. Lauderdale. Each business operates under the mother company, USA Pedicab.
With summer now a distant memory, Boston residents will see less and less of the bicycle cabs, but have no fear: Come springtime, pedicabs will re-emerge to provide would-be pedestrians with unique transportation to their next destination.
Business
Boston Pedicab: The Real 'Green Taxi'
Founder Ben Morris reflects on five years of success.
By Bennett Wilson October 21, 2010
Over the past five years, Bostonians have grown accustomed to the bright-colored pedicabs slowly flooding the downtown area. The drivers, leg muscles bulging, cheerfully offer rides to just about anywhere, although if you're going to Fenway Park, so much the better.
It's all gone according to plan for Boston Pedicab founder and CEO Ben Morris, who opened the now-thriving business on St. Patrick's Day in 2005. At his South End headquarters on West Concord Street, shining pedicabs can be seen lined up throughout the day, moving advertisements for local and national businesses.
"It's been very well-accepted here," said Morris.
Running all day and all night throughout the season, Boston Pedicab has about 250,000 passengers per year – 150,000 of those people are travelling to or from Fenway Park. At the height of the season, the company employs about 70 drivers, most of whom are college and graduate students, musicians and schoolteachers.
Not Just a Taxi
But the genius of the company lies in the novelty of it.
"Nothing's competition, frankly," said Morris.
The business provides short rides from place to place and gives tours to people who don't want to pay for expensive bus or trolley tickets. Customers are told to "pay as you please" and there are no meters involved. Boston Pedicab maintains and insures the equipment, and, just like a taxi business, drivers lease the pedicabs and work for their tips.
Breaking New Ground
When Boston Pedicab first hit the streets in 2005, the city itself didn't quite know what to make of it, Morris admitted.
"We wrote the rules for the regulation," Morris said, adding that he approached lawmakers and law enforcers before helping to draft the city's pedicab policies. His business wants regulations to ensure the safety of the driver and the clientele, he said.
Growing a Company
Morris was a student at Northeastern University when he started the company, which was inspired by a pedicab service in San Diego. As he juggled school and his budding business, Morris opened up shop in the South End with five bicycles.
Five years later, the company has expanded across the country with branches in Newport, RI, San Francisco, CA, Washington D.C. and Ft. Lauderdale. Each business operates under the mother company, USA Pedicab.
With summer now a distant memory, Boston residents will see less and less of the bicycle cabs, but have no fear: Come springtime, pedicabs will re-emerge to provide would-be pedestrians with unique transportation to their next destination.
Boloco seeks Copley Square location
Universal Hub
Boloco: The Dunkin' Donuts of the new millennium?
By adamg - 10/22/10 - 11:33 am
Stellar Restaurant Group, parent company of the local burrito chain, goes before the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 9 for permission to change a retail shop at 569 Boylston St. into a restaurant.
The Boylston Street location would be ideal for people who feel they can't walk to the existing Bolocos on Newbury Street by Fairfield Street, Boylston Street by Mass. Ave. or Park Plaza by Charles Street.
A couple of months ago, Stellar announced it had raised $5.5 million in equity funding to build up to six new Bolocos across New England.
Boloco: The Dunkin' Donuts of the new millennium?
By adamg - 10/22/10 - 11:33 am
Stellar Restaurant Group, parent company of the local burrito chain, goes before the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 9 for permission to change a retail shop at 569 Boylston St. into a restaurant.
The Boylston Street location would be ideal for people who feel they can't walk to the existing Bolocos on Newbury Street by Fairfield Street, Boylston Street by Mass. Ave. or Park Plaza by Charles Street.
A couple of months ago, Stellar announced it had raised $5.5 million in equity funding to build up to six new Bolocos across New England.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Indictment handed down in Lansdowne Pub death
Boston.com
Man indicted for manslaughter in death from flying glass in bar
Posted by Mike Bello October 21, 2010 03:42 PM
By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent
A South Boston man was indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday in a bizarre incident inside a Boston pub in August that left a New York man dead after he was hit in the neck with flying shards of glass, the district attorney’s office said.
Hector Guardiola, 25, faces one count of manslaughter and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the death of Michael DiMaria, 23, of Hicksville, N.Y., on Aug. 14, according to the Suffolk district attorney’s office.
He was held on $100,000 bail.
DiMaria was one of three people struck by flying shards of glass after Guardiola allegedly threw a heavy beer mug at a different man after the two had argued inside The Lansdowne Pub, according to the district attorney’s office. The glass missed the man and broke into pieces, hitting DiMaria in the neck and cutting through his jugular vein.
The two others suffered head and shoulder injuries.
DiMaria, a recent graduate of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., who worked for a Wall Street firm, was visiting friends in Boston at the time.
Guardiola is expected to be arraigned Nov. 10 in Suffolk Superior Court.
Man indicted for manslaughter in death from flying glass in bar
Posted by Mike Bello October 21, 2010 03:42 PM
By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent
A South Boston man was indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday in a bizarre incident inside a Boston pub in August that left a New York man dead after he was hit in the neck with flying shards of glass, the district attorney’s office said.
Hector Guardiola, 25, faces one count of manslaughter and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the death of Michael DiMaria, 23, of Hicksville, N.Y., on Aug. 14, according to the Suffolk district attorney’s office.
He was held on $100,000 bail.
DiMaria was one of three people struck by flying shards of glass after Guardiola allegedly threw a heavy beer mug at a different man after the two had argued inside The Lansdowne Pub, according to the district attorney’s office. The glass missed the man and broke into pieces, hitting DiMaria in the neck and cutting through his jugular vein.
The two others suffered head and shoulder injuries.
DiMaria, a recent graduate of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., who worked for a Wall Street firm, was visiting friends in Boston at the time.
Guardiola is expected to be arraigned Nov. 10 in Suffolk Superior Court.
Hotel planned for Fort Point Channel neighborhood
The Boston Globe
AROUND THE REGION
Fort Point Channel hotel planned
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | October 21, 2010
A Boston developer wants to build an extended-stay hotel in the city’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood, which would continue the gradual transformation of the former industrial district. Norwich Partners LLC of Boston wants to convert a 110-year-old building at 368 Congress St. into a 120-room hotel with stores, according to an application the firm submitted to the city of Boston. The firm is buying the building from Berkeley Investments, which previously won approval to build offices on the property. Terms of the purchase are not yet public.
Norwich said the $45 million project will involve a complete renovation of the former Boston Wharf Co. warehouse, known as the Stillings Building, and will advance efforts to turn Congress Street into an active retail corridor. Several new cafes and restaurants have opened on the street in recent years, including a bar and two restaurants by prominent chef Barbara Lynch.
The Norwich Partners project still needs approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The firm hopes to begin construction next year.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
AROUND THE REGION
Fort Point Channel hotel planned
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | October 21, 2010
A Boston developer wants to build an extended-stay hotel in the city’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood, which would continue the gradual transformation of the former industrial district. Norwich Partners LLC of Boston wants to convert a 110-year-old building at 368 Congress St. into a 120-room hotel with stores, according to an application the firm submitted to the city of Boston. The firm is buying the building from Berkeley Investments, which previously won approval to build offices on the property. Terms of the purchase are not yet public.
Norwich said the $45 million project will involve a complete renovation of the former Boston Wharf Co. warehouse, known as the Stillings Building, and will advance efforts to turn Congress Street into an active retail corridor. Several new cafes and restaurants have opened on the street in recent years, including a bar and two restaurants by prominent chef Barbara Lynch.
The Norwich Partners project still needs approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The firm hopes to begin construction next year.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Craft Beer Cellar looks to open in November in Belmont Center
Craft Beer Cellar will be located across the street from Il Casale, the sister restaurant to Dante's of Cambridge.
Belmont selectmen OK liquor license for craft beer store
By Christian Schiavone/cschiavo@cnc.com
Belmont Citizen-Herald
Posted Aug 16, 2010 @ 10:05 PM
Belmont, Mass. —
Two Belmont women won local approval to receive the town’s last available retail beer and wine license, a major benchmark in their plans to open a craft beer store in Belmont Center.
Following a hearing that lasted fewer than 10 minutes, the Board of Selectmen voted on Aug. 16 to approve Suzanne Schalow and Kate Baker’s application for a license to open Craft Beer Cellar at 51 Leonard St.
Schalow and Baker, who currently work at Cambridge Common and Lizard Lounge outside Harvard Square, said they were happy the board was so quick to approve their request.
“We finally have our answer, so we’re stoked and ready to move forward,” said Schalow. “We’ve been excited.”
Schalow and Baker plan to carry a wide selection of craft beers from small, independent brewers.
The liquor license hearing was postponed twice because of scheduling problems. Such hearings are often lengthy and involve detailed discussions of the applicant’s qualifications and ability to stick to the rules when it comes to selling alcohol to minors.
But Ralph Jones, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and Selectman Mark Paolillo, quickly signed off on the application, ending weeks of anticipation for Schalow and Baker.
“Welcome to Belmont Center,” said Jones.
Selectman Angelo Firenze is out of the country and did not attend the meeting.
Vintages on Leonard Street and the Spirited Gourmet in Cushing Square took the first two beer and wine retail licenses in 2007.
Schalow and Baker submitted more than 40 pages of paperwork, including a floor plan, proof of insurance and letters of support from the owners of Cambridge Common and Lizard Lounge and Precinct 1 Town Meeting member Darrell King.
The Health Department, town treasurer and Community Development Department also said they had no objections to the proposal.
Schalow and Baker’s application must still be approved by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission before they can open their doors. They said they hope to open on Nov. 1.
They will also have to get a Health Department inspection to sell beer related foods, such as barbeque sauces.
Several residents also turned out to support the application.
Wayne and Kana Mesard, who are neighbors of Schalow and Baker, said they were expecting more controversy at the meeting, but were pleased with the idea of a specialty beer store in town.
“I haven’t seen anything go this smoothly in Belmont,” said Wayne Mesard. “We do want to see Belmont Center do well after seeing one failed boutique after another.”
Copyright 2010 Belmont Citizen-Herald. Some rights reserved
Belmont selectmen OK liquor license for craft beer store
By Christian Schiavone/cschiavo@cnc.com
Belmont Citizen-Herald
Posted Aug 16, 2010 @ 10:05 PM
Belmont, Mass. —
Two Belmont women won local approval to receive the town’s last available retail beer and wine license, a major benchmark in their plans to open a craft beer store in Belmont Center.
Following a hearing that lasted fewer than 10 minutes, the Board of Selectmen voted on Aug. 16 to approve Suzanne Schalow and Kate Baker’s application for a license to open Craft Beer Cellar at 51 Leonard St.
Schalow and Baker, who currently work at Cambridge Common and Lizard Lounge outside Harvard Square, said they were happy the board was so quick to approve their request.
“We finally have our answer, so we’re stoked and ready to move forward,” said Schalow. “We’ve been excited.”
Schalow and Baker plan to carry a wide selection of craft beers from small, independent brewers.
The liquor license hearing was postponed twice because of scheduling problems. Such hearings are often lengthy and involve detailed discussions of the applicant’s qualifications and ability to stick to the rules when it comes to selling alcohol to minors.
But Ralph Jones, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and Selectman Mark Paolillo, quickly signed off on the application, ending weeks of anticipation for Schalow and Baker.
“Welcome to Belmont Center,” said Jones.
Selectman Angelo Firenze is out of the country and did not attend the meeting.
Vintages on Leonard Street and the Spirited Gourmet in Cushing Square took the first two beer and wine retail licenses in 2007.
Schalow and Baker submitted more than 40 pages of paperwork, including a floor plan, proof of insurance and letters of support from the owners of Cambridge Common and Lizard Lounge and Precinct 1 Town Meeting member Darrell King.
The Health Department, town treasurer and Community Development Department also said they had no objections to the proposal.
Schalow and Baker’s application must still be approved by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission before they can open their doors. They said they hope to open on Nov. 1.
They will also have to get a Health Department inspection to sell beer related foods, such as barbeque sauces.
Several residents also turned out to support the application.
Wayne and Kana Mesard, who are neighbors of Schalow and Baker, said they were expecting more controversy at the meeting, but were pleased with the idea of a specialty beer store in town.
“I haven’t seen anything go this smoothly in Belmont,” said Wayne Mesard. “We do want to see Belmont Center do well after seeing one failed boutique after another.”
Copyright 2010 Belmont Citizen-Herald. Some rights reserved
Pasta Beach to open soon at Rowes Wharf
Urban Daddy
Published October 19, 2010
The Italian Job
Pizza and Pasta on Rowes Wharf. We believe it was the great Italian philosopher Paulie Walnuts who once opined, “We taught the world how to eat.”
So today, we’d like to prepare you for your next tutorial. On the water...
Behold, your first look at Pasta Beach, the grand homage to Italy’s greatest boon (next to wine, mobsters and Monica Bellucci), tentatively opening this weekend.
Think of it as your new way to get a downtown taste of how the Northern Italians eat (sans the transatlantic flight)—and there are a few ways to go about it.
Before work, you can fuel up on espresso over some pastries, eggs and prosciutto crepes at the imported Italian marble bar (just like at Starbucks... only not at all like at Starbucks). Then midday, there’s plenty of grab-and-go soups, salads and sandwiches (caprese, prosciutto di parma) on fresh-baked focaccia bread for mini power lunches.
But if you really want to do as the Torinos, you’ll want to come in with your Annabella Sciorra look-alike, sit down with a bottle of wine (they’ve got Northern Italian, Chilean and French) and dive fork-first into any of the 18 pastas (gnocchi, tagliata, straciata) or 20 Neapolitan-style pizzas.
And because we know you’re a stickler for authenticity, you’ll be happy to know that all the chefs have literally been imported from the motherland.
And only one of them is named Boyardee.
Note: Pasta Beach, slated to soft-open this weekend (call first), 617-439-6900
Published October 19, 2010
The Italian Job
Pizza and Pasta on Rowes Wharf. We believe it was the great Italian philosopher Paulie Walnuts who once opined, “We taught the world how to eat.”
So today, we’d like to prepare you for your next tutorial. On the water...
Behold, your first look at Pasta Beach, the grand homage to Italy’s greatest boon (next to wine, mobsters and Monica Bellucci), tentatively opening this weekend.
Think of it as your new way to get a downtown taste of how the Northern Italians eat (sans the transatlantic flight)—and there are a few ways to go about it.
Before work, you can fuel up on espresso over some pastries, eggs and prosciutto crepes at the imported Italian marble bar (just like at Starbucks... only not at all like at Starbucks). Then midday, there’s plenty of grab-and-go soups, salads and sandwiches (caprese, prosciutto di parma) on fresh-baked focaccia bread for mini power lunches.
But if you really want to do as the Torinos, you’ll want to come in with your Annabella Sciorra look-alike, sit down with a bottle of wine (they’ve got Northern Italian, Chilean and French) and dive fork-first into any of the 18 pastas (gnocchi, tagliata, straciata) or 20 Neapolitan-style pizzas.
And because we know you’re a stickler for authenticity, you’ll be happy to know that all the chefs have literally been imported from the motherland.
And only one of them is named Boyardee.
Note: Pasta Beach, slated to soft-open this weekend (call first), 617-439-6900
Red Sox seek city approval shorten right field for expanded bullpens
Red Sox eye shorter Fenway Park right field for bullpen upgrade
By Thomas Grillo | Tuesday, October 19, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
There will be big changes to the Red Sox [team stats] bullpen next year, but not necessarily the kind Boston fans are counting on.
The team is seeking approval from the Boston Landmarks Commission to widen Fenway Park [map]’s bullpen by about 9 feet - a double-edged alteration that should make hitting home runs to right field that much easier.
The change - part of an offseason ballpark renovation plan announced today - would shorten the distance from home plate to the bullpen fence from the current 380 feet to about 371 feet.
Historic Fenway’s bullpen was added in 1940, stretching into the playing field to make it easier for lefty Ted Williams to swing for the fences, according to historians.
The Sox are now widening the bullpen space to improve the safety of pitchers warming up.
Red Sox officials declined comment about the bullpen plan before today’s annual announcement of Fenway improvements, a media event that focused on the installation of new high-definition video displays.
After the event, Sox chief Larry Lucchino said the bullpen widening came at the request of pitchers and the bullpen pitching coach.
“Our bullpens are old and substandard compared to the new state-of-the-art bullpens,” Lucchino told the Herald in an interview. “There are issues about bullpen safety.”
Lucchino downplayed the change in Fenway’s dimensions and the potential effect on home run stats.
“It’s not as though it’s never happened before,” he said. “But we don’t want to talk about it while it’s still pending.”
The Boston Landmarks Commission is set to review the bullpen and other Fenway upgrades at its Oct. 26 meeting.
Plans filed with the city show new bullpen shelters and a new equipment door opening into the triangle, which will have a slightly sharper angle. The space between each team’s pair of home plates would increase to 12 feet from 9 feet - giving pitchers and catchers more elbow room, so to speak.
The Sox’ plans show the right-field corner beyond Pesky’s Pole will also be shorter - allowing more rows of box seats to be installed - but the wall height and curve will stay the same.
The team also plans to repair wooden seats in the right-field grandstand section and fix crumbling concrete on the concourse, stairs and seating aisles. The job is similar in scope to the improvements made last season to the left-field section of Fenway, which opened in 1912.
The Herald reported the Fenway scoreboard upgrade plan in July. The $10 million project includes a massive HD screen that will replace the JumboTron above the bleachers.
The work at Fenway represents the 10th and final year of major offseason improvements - totaling about $285 million - as the team prepares to celebrate the ballpark’s 100th anniversary in 2012. Read about all the Fenway improvements here.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1289995
By Thomas Grillo | Tuesday, October 19, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
There will be big changes to the Red Sox [team stats] bullpen next year, but not necessarily the kind Boston fans are counting on.
The team is seeking approval from the Boston Landmarks Commission to widen Fenway Park [map]’s bullpen by about 9 feet - a double-edged alteration that should make hitting home runs to right field that much easier.
The change - part of an offseason ballpark renovation plan announced today - would shorten the distance from home plate to the bullpen fence from the current 380 feet to about 371 feet.
Historic Fenway’s bullpen was added in 1940, stretching into the playing field to make it easier for lefty Ted Williams to swing for the fences, according to historians.
The Sox are now widening the bullpen space to improve the safety of pitchers warming up.
Red Sox officials declined comment about the bullpen plan before today’s annual announcement of Fenway improvements, a media event that focused on the installation of new high-definition video displays.
After the event, Sox chief Larry Lucchino said the bullpen widening came at the request of pitchers and the bullpen pitching coach.
“Our bullpens are old and substandard compared to the new state-of-the-art bullpens,” Lucchino told the Herald in an interview. “There are issues about bullpen safety.”
Lucchino downplayed the change in Fenway’s dimensions and the potential effect on home run stats.
“It’s not as though it’s never happened before,” he said. “But we don’t want to talk about it while it’s still pending.”
The Boston Landmarks Commission is set to review the bullpen and other Fenway upgrades at its Oct. 26 meeting.
Plans filed with the city show new bullpen shelters and a new equipment door opening into the triangle, which will have a slightly sharper angle. The space between each team’s pair of home plates would increase to 12 feet from 9 feet - giving pitchers and catchers more elbow room, so to speak.
The Sox’ plans show the right-field corner beyond Pesky’s Pole will also be shorter - allowing more rows of box seats to be installed - but the wall height and curve will stay the same.
The team also plans to repair wooden seats in the right-field grandstand section and fix crumbling concrete on the concourse, stairs and seating aisles. The job is similar in scope to the improvements made last season to the left-field section of Fenway, which opened in 1912.
The Herald reported the Fenway scoreboard upgrade plan in July. The $10 million project includes a massive HD screen that will replace the JumboTron above the bleachers.
The work at Fenway represents the 10th and final year of major offseason improvements - totaling about $285 million - as the team prepares to celebrate the ballpark’s 100th anniversary in 2012. Read about all the Fenway improvements here.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1289995
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
New Boston-NYC bus service to begin next week
The Boston Globe
AROUND THE REGION
Bus lines to NYC get new competitor
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | October 8, 2010
A new bus line is merging into the already crowded Boston-to-New York lane. Beginning Oct. 27, World Wide Bus will leave from the MBTA’s Alewife Station in Cambridge, travel to Riverside Station in Newton, and drop off passengers near Penn Station in New York.
The new line, part of the Brooklyn-based bus service World Wide Tours, will leave four times a day during the week and eight times a day on weekends.
Six other bus companies operate out of South Station.
Like much of its competition, World Wide Bus will offer free wireless Internet access.
“We see a big demand,’’ said Michael Shub, president of World Wide Tours. “We figure we can join the club.’’
Introductory fares on World Wide Bus are $10 each way, rising on Nov. 18 to $15 each way on weekdays and $20 on weekends.
Reservations can be made beginning Oct. 18 by phone or at www.worldwidebus.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
AROUND THE REGION
Bus lines to NYC get new competitor
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | October 8, 2010
A new bus line is merging into the already crowded Boston-to-New York lane. Beginning Oct. 27, World Wide Bus will leave from the MBTA’s Alewife Station in Cambridge, travel to Riverside Station in Newton, and drop off passengers near Penn Station in New York.
The new line, part of the Brooklyn-based bus service World Wide Tours, will leave four times a day during the week and eight times a day on weekends.
Six other bus companies operate out of South Station.
Like much of its competition, World Wide Bus will offer free wireless Internet access.
“We see a big demand,’’ said Michael Shub, president of World Wide Tours. “We figure we can join the club.’’
Introductory fares on World Wide Bus are $10 each way, rising on Nov. 18 to $15 each way on weekdays and $20 on weekends.
Reservations can be made beginning Oct. 18 by phone or at www.worldwidebus.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Work begins on Peterborough Street restaurant row building
Universal Hub
Can it be? Work begins to replace destroyed restaurant row in the Fenway
By adamg - 10/18/10 - 3:04 pm
Actual progress on Peterborough Street today: A small team of workers began removing debris behind the mural-covered plywood to allow for more serious construction of a new building that will house up to nine restaurants.
84-100 Peterborough Trust, which owns the property, says it already has lease commitments from El Pelon, Thornton's Bar & Grill and Rod Dee Thai to return to the block, which went up in flames in January, 2009. An unnnamed Japanese grill and sushi bar also wants to move in, the trust said in a statement.
The owners hope to have a new building up within six months.
Can it be? Work begins to replace destroyed restaurant row in the Fenway
By adamg - 10/18/10 - 3:04 pm
Actual progress on Peterborough Street today: A small team of workers began removing debris behind the mural-covered plywood to allow for more serious construction of a new building that will house up to nine restaurants.
84-100 Peterborough Trust, which owns the property, says it already has lease commitments from El Pelon, Thornton's Bar & Grill and Rod Dee Thai to return to the block, which went up in flames in January, 2009. An unnnamed Japanese grill and sushi bar also wants to move in, the trust said in a statement.
The owners hope to have a new building up within six months.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Flour Bakery owner honored by Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
South End News
Sweet success
by Kate Vander Wiede
MySouthEnd.com Contributor
Friday Oct 15, 2010
Flour owner and chef celebrated for her unwavering entrepreneurship
Flour Bakery and Café is often recognized for its sweets - chunky lola cookies, soft and sweet banana bread, and those famous sticky buns. But one thing, one person really, that may go unnoticed more often than not, is the woman behind Flour’s tasty treats and total success - executive chef Joanne Chang.
On Thursday afternoon in the Colonnade Hotel, this changed, as Chang was awarded the 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, chosen from nearly 40 businesses that applied for the honor.
During the Chamber’s five-month review process, Chang was under the microscope. Through two rounds of intensive applications and site visits from the selection committee, each facet of the Flour business was tested. To win, Chang had to show Flour had experienced strong financial performance, growth, adaptability, a commitment to the business community and to its employees, as well as social and corporate responsibility.
The winners, selection committee chair Sarah Lincoln said at the luncheon, "personified these attributes and values."
Chang’s success shouldn’t be much of a surprise to South End residents. Though we’re home to the original Flour, which opened in 2000, Chang has been busy opening equally successful look-a-likes in Fort Point in 2007 and in Cambridge this spring. Since Fort Point opened, the Flour business has seen a 24% increase in annual revenue. And in the midst of all that, Chang opened the successful South End restaurant, Myers + Chang, three years ago with her husband Christopher Myers.
Accepting her award on Thursday, Chang said her first year at Flour in 2000 was no indication that things would go as smoothly as they have.
"That first year was extremely difficult," she recalled. "I called my friend Christopher, who is now my husband, one or twice a week, usually in tears, with some problem or issue. At month ten, I told my mom and dad I though I’d made a huge mistake."
But as Chang began to build her business, and her team, success followed.
"It’s because of [my team] that Flour continues to grow and flourish," Chang noted, mentioning eight-year employee and general manager Aaron Constable, who South Enders can often find overseeing the staff and daily operations, and nine-year executive pastry chef Nicole Rhode, who has a hand in every tasty treat out of the kitchen.
While her staff’s dedication has made Flour a success, Chang’s dedication to her staff and the community has been just as important.
Every two weeks, staff receive company newsletters and personalized notes along with their paychecks. One cookie platter a week is donated to neighborhood organizations, and employees and Chang are often seen helping out at neighborhood charity events and organizations. A portion of Flour’s annual revenue also goes straight to charity.
While many factors have played an important role in Flour’s success, Chang took time to thank those who have supported behind the scenes - her parents and husband.
"I think I was the only person in the world to ever have a curfew for the library," Chang reminisced on stage, drawing laughter from her audience. She noted that her parents, who had flown in from Dallas, Texas for the celebration, had always pushed her to enjoy life, and through her time at Flour, had offered invaluable advice and encouragement.
"They taught me to try the best that you can and to always be happy with it, because the best is all you can do," Chang said.
To Myers, her husband, Chang offered the highest praise.
"He has the uncanny ability to make what seems impossible, possible," she said. " ... He never accepts mediocrity, never accepts indifference or stagnation. And he never lets me either."
After the luncheon, during which Cedar’s Mediterranean Food was given the Business Excellence Award and Sagamore Plumbing and Heating was recognized as the 2010 Small Business of the Year, Myer’s said he was proud of his wife.
"It’s wonderful to see her getting this," he said. "What she does better than anybody, as far as I know, is love and appreciate everyone who works for her. And I think that is the secret to her success."
Full disclosure: Before becoming the managing editor of the South End News, Kate Vander Wiede worked for six months as a part-time employee at Flour Bakery and Café.
Sweet success
by Kate Vander Wiede
MySouthEnd.com Contributor
Friday Oct 15, 2010
Flour owner and chef celebrated for her unwavering entrepreneurship
Flour Bakery and Café is often recognized for its sweets - chunky lola cookies, soft and sweet banana bread, and those famous sticky buns. But one thing, one person really, that may go unnoticed more often than not, is the woman behind Flour’s tasty treats and total success - executive chef Joanne Chang.
On Thursday afternoon in the Colonnade Hotel, this changed, as Chang was awarded the 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, chosen from nearly 40 businesses that applied for the honor.
During the Chamber’s five-month review process, Chang was under the microscope. Through two rounds of intensive applications and site visits from the selection committee, each facet of the Flour business was tested. To win, Chang had to show Flour had experienced strong financial performance, growth, adaptability, a commitment to the business community and to its employees, as well as social and corporate responsibility.
The winners, selection committee chair Sarah Lincoln said at the luncheon, "personified these attributes and values."
Chang’s success shouldn’t be much of a surprise to South End residents. Though we’re home to the original Flour, which opened in 2000, Chang has been busy opening equally successful look-a-likes in Fort Point in 2007 and in Cambridge this spring. Since Fort Point opened, the Flour business has seen a 24% increase in annual revenue. And in the midst of all that, Chang opened the successful South End restaurant, Myers + Chang, three years ago with her husband Christopher Myers.
Accepting her award on Thursday, Chang said her first year at Flour in 2000 was no indication that things would go as smoothly as they have.
"That first year was extremely difficult," she recalled. "I called my friend Christopher, who is now my husband, one or twice a week, usually in tears, with some problem or issue. At month ten, I told my mom and dad I though I’d made a huge mistake."
But as Chang began to build her business, and her team, success followed.
"It’s because of [my team] that Flour continues to grow and flourish," Chang noted, mentioning eight-year employee and general manager Aaron Constable, who South Enders can often find overseeing the staff and daily operations, and nine-year executive pastry chef Nicole Rhode, who has a hand in every tasty treat out of the kitchen.
While her staff’s dedication has made Flour a success, Chang’s dedication to her staff and the community has been just as important.
Every two weeks, staff receive company newsletters and personalized notes along with their paychecks. One cookie platter a week is donated to neighborhood organizations, and employees and Chang are often seen helping out at neighborhood charity events and organizations. A portion of Flour’s annual revenue also goes straight to charity.
While many factors have played an important role in Flour’s success, Chang took time to thank those who have supported behind the scenes - her parents and husband.
"I think I was the only person in the world to ever have a curfew for the library," Chang reminisced on stage, drawing laughter from her audience. She noted that her parents, who had flown in from Dallas, Texas for the celebration, had always pushed her to enjoy life, and through her time at Flour, had offered invaluable advice and encouragement.
"They taught me to try the best that you can and to always be happy with it, because the best is all you can do," Chang said.
To Myers, her husband, Chang offered the highest praise.
"He has the uncanny ability to make what seems impossible, possible," she said. " ... He never accepts mediocrity, never accepts indifference or stagnation. And he never lets me either."
After the luncheon, during which Cedar’s Mediterranean Food was given the Business Excellence Award and Sagamore Plumbing and Heating was recognized as the 2010 Small Business of the Year, Myer’s said he was proud of his wife.
"It’s wonderful to see her getting this," he said. "What she does better than anybody, as far as I know, is love and appreciate everyone who works for her. And I think that is the secret to her success."
Full disclosure: Before becoming the managing editor of the South End News, Kate Vander Wiede worked for six months as a part-time employee at Flour Bakery and Café.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Asian restaurant to open next year in former Bertucci's space on Stanhope St.
Grub Street Boston
Big Theme-y Asian Restaurant Headed to Back Bay
10/15/10 at 2:01 PM
Big Night Entertainment Group, which oversees Shrine Asian Kitchen, The Scorpion Bar and the just-opened High Rollers Luxury Lanes and Lounge, all located at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, have announced plans for an Asian themed restaurant in Boston’s Back Bay. The Boston-based company operates Back Bay nightclub The Estate , but this is the first downtown dining venue for Big Night, which also heads Hingham's Tosca. The plan is to turn the former Bertucci's space on Stanhope Street into a stylish Asian restaurant. The menu will be overseen by Big Night chef Kevin Long (Tosca, Shrine, The Scorpion Bar, High Rollers), and will include traditional and inventive sushi and, of course, cocktails to match. Stylized theme joints have worked at Foxwoods, so Big Night is on if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it mode. No opening date has been announced, but early 2011 is a good bet.
By: Linda Clarke
http://boston.grubstreet.com/2010/10/big_restaurant_headed.html#ixzz12U7XJkhq
Big Theme-y Asian Restaurant Headed to Back Bay
10/15/10 at 2:01 PM
Big Night Entertainment Group, which oversees Shrine Asian Kitchen, The Scorpion Bar and the just-opened High Rollers Luxury Lanes and Lounge, all located at Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, have announced plans for an Asian themed restaurant in Boston’s Back Bay. The Boston-based company operates Back Bay nightclub The Estate , but this is the first downtown dining venue for Big Night, which also heads Hingham's Tosca. The plan is to turn the former Bertucci's space on Stanhope Street into a stylish Asian restaurant. The menu will be overseen by Big Night chef Kevin Long (Tosca, Shrine, The Scorpion Bar, High Rollers), and will include traditional and inventive sushi and, of course, cocktails to match. Stylized theme joints have worked at Foxwoods, so Big Night is on if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it mode. No opening date has been announced, but early 2011 is a good bet.
By: Linda Clarke
http://boston.grubstreet.com/2010/10/big_restaurant_headed.html#ixzz12U7XJkhq
Vapiano review
The Boston Herald
Customize your meal at Vapiano
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, October 15, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
VAPIANO: B
Casual, affordable dining is flavorful and fun at Vapiano, the new Italian restaurant in the Transportation Building in Park Square.
Boston is the first American stop for the German-based chain, which has locations around the world and an ambitious expansion program for the United States. The concept is serve-yourself, made-to-order pizzas, pastas and panini in a slick urbane setting.
Entering Vapiano, you’re handed a plastic chip card, which you use to purchase your meal from multiple food stations arranged around the circumference of the room. Peruse the menu, decide what you want, walk over to that station, place your order and swipe your card over a payment tower. Your bill will be totaled when you leave.
Nothing costs more than $12.95 (although a lost chip card will run you 50 bucks).
Because there are no waiters, you can linger as long as you want. Dishes arrive when you decide to order them. Everything is prepared a la minute. Ingredients couldn’t be any fresher.
“Everything here is homemade, except for the bread,” boasted one of the many cooks. Indeed, all 10 varieties of pasta (from spaghetti to whole wheat fusilli) are made on premises; there’s an herb terrarium next to the pizza station filled with basil, mint and rosemary plants.
The pizza crust is rolled to order and Neapolitan thin. We enjoyed the rucola ($9.95) pie of savory tomato sauce and melted mozzarella topped with arugula leaves and lots of shaved parmesan. It was tough to stop eating it.
Carpaccio ($9.95) of paper-thin beef is garnished with arugula, slivered mushrooms, shaved parmesan and a drizzling of thick, lemony Cipriani sauce. It’s an homage to Harry’s Bar in Venice, where carpaccio was purportedly invented by Giuseppe Cipriani.
The verdure panino ($9.95) can be a filling vegetarian entree, or, cut into wedges, an appetizer to share. It’s two, thick slabs of sourdough, layered with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, mozzarella and pesto, then toasted, cheese melty warm, in a sandwich press.
A Caesar salad side ($2.50) is straightforwardly satisfying with anchovy oomph.
Interestingly, all the pasta dishes are cooked - from scratch - in a wok. You can either watch the battery of chefs make your dinner, or take a pager that will alert you when your food is ready. Bring everything back to your table on metal trays.
The ravioli con carne ($11.95) stuffed with Vapiano’s excellent Bolognese sauce was delicious in a zucchini-carrot-tomato sauce. But the scampi pasta ($12.95) of shrimp, vegetables and marinara was underseasoned and we didn’t get the pasta shape we’d requested.
We were happier with the tacchino piccante ($12.95) of chicken breast, bok choy and red and yellow bell peppers in spicy-sweet orange chili sauce. The carbonara ($11.95) is a nice interpretation of a classic - pasta, cream, egg yolk, pancetta, sauteed onion and grated cheese.
The wine list is short, but smart and moderately priced. Most martinis cost $9.95.
Desserts are small, refrigerated and inexpensive. Try custardy panna cotta ($2.50) under pureed strawberries. Or crema di fragola ($3) of whipped mascarpone and strawberries dusted with cocoa.
With its sleek furniture, cool lighting, gas fireplace and live tree growing in the center, Vapiano is a chic-looking spot. The staff is effusively friendly, if slow to bus dirty plates. And what’s with the tip box at every station when you can tack on a gratuity when you settle your bill?
On the front of each chip card is emblazoned this motto: “Chi va piano, va sano e valontano.” That’s Italian for “Those who relax, live long and healthy.” Everyone can get behind that sentiment.
191 Stuart St.
(Transportation Building)
857-445-0236
vapianointernational.com
Price: Under $20
Hours: Mon.-Wed., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Thurs., 11 a.m.-midnight; Fri. & Sat., 11-
1 a.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Validated at 200 Stuart St. (Radisson) Garage
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1288824
Customize your meal at Vapiano
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, October 15, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
VAPIANO: B
Casual, affordable dining is flavorful and fun at Vapiano, the new Italian restaurant in the Transportation Building in Park Square.
Boston is the first American stop for the German-based chain, which has locations around the world and an ambitious expansion program for the United States. The concept is serve-yourself, made-to-order pizzas, pastas and panini in a slick urbane setting.
Entering Vapiano, you’re handed a plastic chip card, which you use to purchase your meal from multiple food stations arranged around the circumference of the room. Peruse the menu, decide what you want, walk over to that station, place your order and swipe your card over a payment tower. Your bill will be totaled when you leave.
Nothing costs more than $12.95 (although a lost chip card will run you 50 bucks).
Because there are no waiters, you can linger as long as you want. Dishes arrive when you decide to order them. Everything is prepared a la minute. Ingredients couldn’t be any fresher.
“Everything here is homemade, except for the bread,” boasted one of the many cooks. Indeed, all 10 varieties of pasta (from spaghetti to whole wheat fusilli) are made on premises; there’s an herb terrarium next to the pizza station filled with basil, mint and rosemary plants.
The pizza crust is rolled to order and Neapolitan thin. We enjoyed the rucola ($9.95) pie of savory tomato sauce and melted mozzarella topped with arugula leaves and lots of shaved parmesan. It was tough to stop eating it.
Carpaccio ($9.95) of paper-thin beef is garnished with arugula, slivered mushrooms, shaved parmesan and a drizzling of thick, lemony Cipriani sauce. It’s an homage to Harry’s Bar in Venice, where carpaccio was purportedly invented by Giuseppe Cipriani.
The verdure panino ($9.95) can be a filling vegetarian entree, or, cut into wedges, an appetizer to share. It’s two, thick slabs of sourdough, layered with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, mozzarella and pesto, then toasted, cheese melty warm, in a sandwich press.
A Caesar salad side ($2.50) is straightforwardly satisfying with anchovy oomph.
Interestingly, all the pasta dishes are cooked - from scratch - in a wok. You can either watch the battery of chefs make your dinner, or take a pager that will alert you when your food is ready. Bring everything back to your table on metal trays.
The ravioli con carne ($11.95) stuffed with Vapiano’s excellent Bolognese sauce was delicious in a zucchini-carrot-tomato sauce. But the scampi pasta ($12.95) of shrimp, vegetables and marinara was underseasoned and we didn’t get the pasta shape we’d requested.
We were happier with the tacchino piccante ($12.95) of chicken breast, bok choy and red and yellow bell peppers in spicy-sweet orange chili sauce. The carbonara ($11.95) is a nice interpretation of a classic - pasta, cream, egg yolk, pancetta, sauteed onion and grated cheese.
The wine list is short, but smart and moderately priced. Most martinis cost $9.95.
Desserts are small, refrigerated and inexpensive. Try custardy panna cotta ($2.50) under pureed strawberries. Or crema di fragola ($3) of whipped mascarpone and strawberries dusted with cocoa.
With its sleek furniture, cool lighting, gas fireplace and live tree growing in the center, Vapiano is a chic-looking spot. The staff is effusively friendly, if slow to bus dirty plates. And what’s with the tip box at every station when you can tack on a gratuity when you settle your bill?
On the front of each chip card is emblazoned this motto: “Chi va piano, va sano e valontano.” That’s Italian for “Those who relax, live long and healthy.” Everyone can get behind that sentiment.
191 Stuart St.
(Transportation Building)
857-445-0236
vapianointernational.com
Price: Under $20
Hours: Mon.-Wed., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Thurs., 11 a.m.-midnight; Fri. & Sat., 11-
1 a.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Bar: Full
Credit: All
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: Validated at 200 Stuart St. (Radisson) Garage
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1288824
Australian takeout spot coming to South Boston; Michael Schlow taking over Cottonwood space
Aussies bring meat pies to Southie
Take-out, catering for A Street
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, October 15, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
An Australian ex-pat who doesn’t get home as often as she’d like is bringing the food of Oz to Southie.
Kara Butterfield and chef and fellow Aussie Samuel Jackson will open KO Catering and Pies in the former A Street space of St. Alphonzo’s Kitchen later this month.
“It’s Australian-inspired cuisine, and the focus is on bringing the Australian meat pie to the Boston market,” said Butterfield, a Sydney native who’s lived here for seven years. “It’s something that always comes up in conversations when you meet any Australian new to Boston.”
Located around the corner from West Broadway, KO plans to serve “brekky,” lunch and dinner.
Australian meat pies typically are sold as take-away food for the working class, according to Butterfield. KO’s “classic” is made of minced beef, onion and spices.
“The idea is you can eat them with one hand,” Butterfield said. “They’re an alternative to eating a hamburger or a slice of pizza.”
Dishes such as chicken schnitzel burger and spicy shrimp on the Barbie are on the “Aussie favourites” section of the restaurant’s menu.
For brekky, there’ll be homemade Aussie-style granola, grilled sourdough with Vegemite (the Australian spread made from yeast products), herbed potato rosti with bacon and slow-roasted tomato topped with a fried egg, and sweet corn fritters with bacon, avocado and arugula.
Aussie sweets will include lamingtons (a sweet sponge cake covered in chocolate and sprinkled with coconut), Anzac cookies (a Down Under version of the oatmeal cookie that was baked for World War I soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce.
With just a few seats, KO will focus on takeout, catering and selling a grocery line of Australian products, including the granola, sauces and condiments used at the restaurant. Permitting also is under way to launch a mobile KO food truck that will be parked nearby.
KO has a boxing koala mascot of the same name - one that’s a bit of an inside joke among Australians, Butterfield explained.
“It means ‘Ken Oath,’ and that’s a term that’s giving to anything that is quality and great, which also can be referenced to having a great meal,” she said. “It also refers to a ‘knockout,’ and we think our food tastes like a knockout.”
Back in June, Boston chef Michael Schlow went to great pains to dispel rumors that he was taking over the former Cottonwood Cafe space on Berkeley Street, saying there was neither a deal nor negotiations.
Perhaps it was all in the wording - “I do not have a signed lease with them right now,” he said at the time - because Schlow is taking over the space, about a block away from his Via Matta restaurant in the Heritage on the Garden building.
Tico, the name Costa Ricans use to refer to “a local,” is expected to open early next year.
“I’m really excited about this new project,” Schlow said by way of his New York publicist. “It’s going to be a very casual, lively space. . . . The food at Tico will be American at its core, but gently influenced by my travels to Spain, Mexico and South America.”
Lunch will include first courses, “innovative” tacos, salads, sandwiches, burgers and entrees, while the after-work menu will feature tapas-style small plates for sharing as part of a more “whimsical and creative” menu for snacks or dinner.
David Manfredi, of Boston’s Elkus Manfredi Architects, is designing the space.
Schlow also owns Radius in Boston’s Financial District and the Alta Strada restaurants in Wellesley and the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1288923
Take-out, catering for A Street
By Donna Goodison / Turning the Tables | Friday, October 15, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
An Australian ex-pat who doesn’t get home as often as she’d like is bringing the food of Oz to Southie.
Kara Butterfield and chef and fellow Aussie Samuel Jackson will open KO Catering and Pies in the former A Street space of St. Alphonzo’s Kitchen later this month.
“It’s Australian-inspired cuisine, and the focus is on bringing the Australian meat pie to the Boston market,” said Butterfield, a Sydney native who’s lived here for seven years. “It’s something that always comes up in conversations when you meet any Australian new to Boston.”
Located around the corner from West Broadway, KO plans to serve “brekky,” lunch and dinner.
Australian meat pies typically are sold as take-away food for the working class, according to Butterfield. KO’s “classic” is made of minced beef, onion and spices.
“The idea is you can eat them with one hand,” Butterfield said. “They’re an alternative to eating a hamburger or a slice of pizza.”
Dishes such as chicken schnitzel burger and spicy shrimp on the Barbie are on the “Aussie favourites” section of the restaurant’s menu.
For brekky, there’ll be homemade Aussie-style granola, grilled sourdough with Vegemite (the Australian spread made from yeast products), herbed potato rosti with bacon and slow-roasted tomato topped with a fried egg, and sweet corn fritters with bacon, avocado and arugula.
Aussie sweets will include lamingtons (a sweet sponge cake covered in chocolate and sprinkled with coconut), Anzac cookies (a Down Under version of the oatmeal cookie that was baked for World War I soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce.
With just a few seats, KO will focus on takeout, catering and selling a grocery line of Australian products, including the granola, sauces and condiments used at the restaurant. Permitting also is under way to launch a mobile KO food truck that will be parked nearby.
KO has a boxing koala mascot of the same name - one that’s a bit of an inside joke among Australians, Butterfield explained.
“It means ‘Ken Oath,’ and that’s a term that’s giving to anything that is quality and great, which also can be referenced to having a great meal,” she said. “It also refers to a ‘knockout,’ and we think our food tastes like a knockout.”
Back in June, Boston chef Michael Schlow went to great pains to dispel rumors that he was taking over the former Cottonwood Cafe space on Berkeley Street, saying there was neither a deal nor negotiations.
Perhaps it was all in the wording - “I do not have a signed lease with them right now,” he said at the time - because Schlow is taking over the space, about a block away from his Via Matta restaurant in the Heritage on the Garden building.
Tico, the name Costa Ricans use to refer to “a local,” is expected to open early next year.
“I’m really excited about this new project,” Schlow said by way of his New York publicist. “It’s going to be a very casual, lively space. . . . The food at Tico will be American at its core, but gently influenced by my travels to Spain, Mexico and South America.”
Lunch will include first courses, “innovative” tacos, salads, sandwiches, burgers and entrees, while the after-work menu will feature tapas-style small plates for sharing as part of a more “whimsical and creative” menu for snacks or dinner.
David Manfredi, of Boston’s Elkus Manfredi Architects, is designing the space.
Schlow also owns Radius in Boston’s Financial District and the Alta Strada restaurants in Wellesley and the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1288923
Red Sox ownership group completes deal to buy Liverpool FC
Boston.com
It's official: John Henry acquires Liverpool
Posted by Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff October 15, 2010 10:56 AM
The sale of the Liverpool FC soccer team to a group led by Red Sox owner John Henry has been completed, according to Globe reporter Stan Grossfeld, who is in the law offices in London where the deal has been arranged.
"Champagne has been popped," Grossfeld said.
"I am proud and humbled," Henry wasquoted by London's Telegraph newspaper on its web site. "We have a lot of work to do [but] we are here to win."
Henry also told the Telegraph that New England Sports Ventures is not participating in a leveraged buy-out.
"I can guarantee that," Henry said.
Today's events became possible once former Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett withdrew a court action in Texas that attempted to block the sale. A London court said the Texas court did not have authority in the matter.
Hicks and Gillett instead now plan to pursue a lawsuit for damages, claiming their removal as owners of Liverpool has been "an extraordinary swindle."
"A cloud has been lifted from this football club," Liverpool FC manager Roy Hodgson told the Telegraph. "For this long drawn-out court battle to take place and Liverpool's name to be on the television screens and in the newspapers every day for anything other than positive reasons has been a bad time."
It's official: John Henry acquires Liverpool
Posted by Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff October 15, 2010 10:56 AM
The sale of the Liverpool FC soccer team to a group led by Red Sox owner John Henry has been completed, according to Globe reporter Stan Grossfeld, who is in the law offices in London where the deal has been arranged.
"Champagne has been popped," Grossfeld said.
"I am proud and humbled," Henry wasquoted by London's Telegraph newspaper on its web site. "We have a lot of work to do [but] we are here to win."
Henry also told the Telegraph that New England Sports Ventures is not participating in a leveraged buy-out.
"I can guarantee that," Henry said.
Today's events became possible once former Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett withdrew a court action in Texas that attempted to block the sale. A London court said the Texas court did not have authority in the matter.
Hicks and Gillett instead now plan to pursue a lawsuit for damages, claiming their removal as owners of Liverpool has been "an extraordinary swindle."
"A cloud has been lifted from this football club," Liverpool FC manager Roy Hodgson told the Telegraph. "For this long drawn-out court battle to take place and Liverpool's name to be on the television screens and in the newspapers every day for anything other than positive reasons has been a bad time."
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Met Back Bay to open October 18th
Zagat Buzz
Boston Edition
Oct 13, 2010
Sneak Peek at Met Back Bay
Having taken over and completely restored a historic 1877 brick townhouse, which used to house Joseph’s Bar & Grill, owner Kathy Trustman will open Met Back Bay on October 18. It will be the fourth location of the expanding Metropolitan Club empire.
The space will feature four different dining areas, including The Living Room, a dining room overlooking Newbury Street and adorned with contemporary Venetian glass chandeliers; The Library, a clubby place for oversized drinks; Met Bar Game Room, a casual bar serving up bar bites and Red Sox games; and The Terrace, a heated outdoor dining area in a garden setting. There will also be an exclusive private dining venue adjacent to the restaurant, Townhouse, which can accommodate up to 80 guests.
As for the menu, expect classic American fare like oysters Rockefeller and clams casino, as well as prime steaks, large signature salads and burgers (279 Dartmouth St.; 617-267-0691).
Boston Edition
Oct 13, 2010
Sneak Peek at Met Back Bay
Having taken over and completely restored a historic 1877 brick townhouse, which used to house Joseph’s Bar & Grill, owner Kathy Trustman will open Met Back Bay on October 18. It will be the fourth location of the expanding Metropolitan Club empire.
The space will feature four different dining areas, including The Living Room, a dining room overlooking Newbury Street and adorned with contemporary Venetian glass chandeliers; The Library, a clubby place for oversized drinks; Met Bar Game Room, a casual bar serving up bar bites and Red Sox games; and The Terrace, a heated outdoor dining area in a garden setting. There will also be an exclusive private dining venue adjacent to the restaurant, Townhouse, which can accommodate up to 80 guests.
As for the menu, expect classic American fare like oysters Rockefeller and clams casino, as well as prime steaks, large signature salads and burgers (279 Dartmouth St.; 617-267-0691).
Geoffreys Cafe opens in Back Bay
Boston.com
Back Bay
Geoffrey's Cafe returning to Back Bay roots
Posted October 13, 2010 11:49 AM
A passer-by reading the closing notice posted outside Geoffrey's Trement Street location in December 2001. It then moved to Roslindale.
By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent
Geoffrey's Café, an eatery featuring disco brunches and doughnut muffins, will return to the Back Bay on Wednesday with the grand opening of a Berkeley Street location.
The restaurant has jumped around the city since it opened on Boylston Street in 1991. According to the restaurant's website, owner Michael Aplin closed the Back Bay location in 1994 to focus on a second restaurant on Tremont Street, in the South End. In 2007, the restaurant relocated to Roslindale Village.
Now the restaurant will return to its Back Bay roots, with a second location on 142 Berkeley St. "We’re so happy to be back where it all began," a voice-mail message tells callers.
In 2008, Boston Magazine named “Best of Boston” for neighborhood brunch.
According to posts on the café’s Facebook page, the grand opening is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday. Geoffrey’s will be open for lunch and dinner daily, as well as a “disco brunch” on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The blog Boston Restaurant Talk and the Boston Herald first reported the reopening.
Back Bay
Geoffrey's Cafe returning to Back Bay roots
Posted October 13, 2010 11:49 AM
A passer-by reading the closing notice posted outside Geoffrey's Trement Street location in December 2001. It then moved to Roslindale.
By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent
Geoffrey's Café, an eatery featuring disco brunches and doughnut muffins, will return to the Back Bay on Wednesday with the grand opening of a Berkeley Street location.
The restaurant has jumped around the city since it opened on Boylston Street in 1991. According to the restaurant's website, owner Michael Aplin closed the Back Bay location in 1994 to focus on a second restaurant on Tremont Street, in the South End. In 2007, the restaurant relocated to Roslindale Village.
Now the restaurant will return to its Back Bay roots, with a second location on 142 Berkeley St. "We’re so happy to be back where it all began," a voice-mail message tells callers.
In 2008, Boston Magazine named “Best of Boston” for neighborhood brunch.
According to posts on the café’s Facebook page, the grand opening is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday. Geoffrey’s will be open for lunch and dinner daily, as well as a “disco brunch” on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The blog Boston Restaurant Talk and the Boston Herald first reported the reopening.
What makes a good hamburger - form or function?
The Boston Globe
DINING OUT
A burger is only a burger - except when it's a steak
Prime cuts, fancy fixings, house-made buns turn this favorite into a luxury
By Devra First, Globe Staff | October 13, 2010
Expensive hamburgers are nothing new. Daniel Boulud famously broke the $20 mark with his foie gras and truffle-stuffed behemoth at New York’s DB Bistro Moderne in 2001, and chefs have come up with countless high-ticket iterations since. Boston has seen its share of pricy patties over the years — Bristol Lounge’s $21 burger, Radius’s $19 version. But of late the species has begun to proliferate. Back Bay Social Club and Towne Stove and Spirits, both of which opened this summer, serve $21 burgers. The Butcher Shop, KO Prime, and Craigie on Main offer $18 burgers. In fact, Craigie on Main may be largely responsible for the phenomenon. The burger served at the restaurant’s bar has received so much attention it broke the glass ceiling for burgers. Now all patties expect equal pay.
Why does a $20 burger cost $20? Chefs cite the quality of the meat, the custom blend, the perfect bun, the love and time and attention lavished on this humble sandwich.
Case study: Back Bay Social Club. Its burger was months in the making. Executive chef Timothy Raines and William Kinnealey, of meat wholesaler William & Co., worked closely together to find the magic formula. They went on burger-eating expeditions to New York, where they sampled the versions at Minetta Tavern, the Breslin, and other spots known for their burgers. Many of these patties are made from special blends of meat created by New York wholesaler Pat LaFrieda, which makes its Black Label blend from dry-aged beef. Raines and Kinnealey wanted to do something similar.
Back in Boston, they went to Kinnealey’s Newmarket Square facility. “We walked through the dry-age room, picking up things we thought would grind really well,’’ Raines says by phone. “We tried at least 20 different varieties, with more of this, less of that, different percentages. We also messed around with different coarseness of grind.’’ The exact details of the final blend are a secret, but Raines shares the basics: Back Bay Social Club’s burger is made entirely from dry-aged beef. The biggest percentage of it is prime rib, with added short rib, flank, and skirt for texture.
The meat is ground for the restaurant each morning and delivered every afternoon. They sear the patties to medium-rare on a flat-top griddle that goes to 600 degrees, using plenty of clarified butter, to get a good crust on both sides of the burger.
Then, the toppings. “You’ve got to have onions, you’ve got to have cheese, but what do you put with beef that’s this good?’’ Raines says. In answer, the chefs created “smothered’’ onions. They take a 25-pound bag of white onions, peel them and shave them thin, and cook them for more than four hours. Those 25 pounds reduce to about seven cups, Raines says. “They’re way past caramelized. It’s almost like a marmalade.’’ For the cheese, they crumble a bit of cave-aged Vermont cheddar on top of the burger and slide it under a salamander to melt. They started off baking the buns in-house, then outsourced their recipe to a local bakery. They’re straightforward, extremely tender, made from a dough that contains plenty of milk.
It’s a lot of effort for a burger, and the beef goes for more than $10 a pound. “For a 10-ounce patty with cheese, onions, buns, and fries, out the door, it’s a big cost,’’ Raines says. The end result tastes fantastic. It’s thick, juicy, with a rich, mellow flavor that’s complemented by the jammy onions and sharp cheese. The bun stands up to the patty without being too assertive. It’s neutral. It doesn’t distract. The meat has heft and texture and chew. When you bite it, it bites back. It’s a burger that just might be worth $21, if you feel OK about paying $21 for a burger.
“It’s an affordable luxury for people,’’ Raines says. “If you can feel like you are plunking down $20 to have the best burger, it feels worth it. It’s something you feel like you’re giving yourself — a realistic indulgence.’’ Because you’re worth it.
Still, such price tags raise questions: At what point does a burger stop being a burger and become a steak in a bun? What is a burger? The answer differs, depending on which of two camps you fall into: form or function.
The form camp believes that a patty of ground meat between two pieces of bread is a burger, plain and simple. What kind of meat, which toppings, what sort of bread, what size price tag — none of this matters to its essential burger-ness.
The function camp believes that a burger is — inherently — an inexpensive meal.
Food historian Andrew F. Smith is among them. The author of “Hamburger: A Global History’’ explains that burgers got their start as street food — without forks, knives, and plates, vendors had to put the beef between bread. To Smith’s knowledge, the first written record of the burger as we know it appears in the Chicago Tribune in 1893, around the time of the World’s Fair. Smith believes visitors may have sampled the hamburger at or around the fair, accounting for the sandwich’s popularity and quick spread. Just a few years later, it had already reached Hawaii.
“A burger has got to be low cost,’’ he says. “It’s got to have lots of fat. I expect something really juicy. It’s not complex at all. All these attempts to make it haute cuisine seem to me to be rather foolish. I frequently sample burgers in the $20 to $30 range. I enjoy them and am delighted to consume them. But to me, that’s not what a burger is all about.’’ His favorites include Five Guys and, on the West Coast, In-N-Out Burger.
Dave Dubois is also a function guy. The Franklin Cafe cofounder opened Tasty Burger in early September. The Fenway burger joint sells its basic burger for $4. Versions topped with the likes of jalapeno and cheddar-cheese sauce, or pineapple and grilled onion, go for a bit more. There are hot dogs, fries, onion rings, and shakes. And at the takeout window, you can obtain a sack of five cheeseburgers for $21. Yes, the same price as one burger at Back Bay Social Club. (Tasty Burgers’ patties weigh in at 5 ounces each, however.)
“I believe it’s every chef’s fantasy to have a burger joint,’’ Dubois says. (He may be right. Todd English has been threatening to open one for years.) “We kind of had this idea — it’ll be great, we can eat burgers, drink shakes, and hang out. It’ll be fun — our little burger joint. Next thing I know, the volume is incredible, and everybody is super-opinionated about burgers. I just stepped into a world I had no idea about. I read some of the reviews and blogs online, and I feel like writing back, ‘Crazy person, it’s a fast-food burger. Relax.’ ’’
He takes his inspiration from a local source: the late, lamented Tim’s Tavern, which offered what was widely considered to be the best burger in the city before it closed several years ago. Like Tim’s before it, Tasty Burger charbroils its patties. The meat was ground fresh daily at Tim’s, so Tasty Burger puts a 36-hour time limit on the beef after grinding. Tim’s burger was chuck, and after tinkering with several recipes, the folks at Tasty Burger settled on a chuck-heavy patty with a bit of brisket and short rib thrown into the mix.
It goes on a Martin’s bun, selected for its generous sprinkling of sesame seeds, along with iceberg lettuce and tomato. Those who want pickles and onions can request them.
“We weren’t trying to be a gourmet burger in any way,’’ Dubois says. “We just thought of it as a cool, handmade fast-food burger. You know what the truth is? We’re not taking it that seriously. To us, it’s a really fun thing. The pool is free, the jukebox is digital, the beer is ice-cold, and the burgers are yummy.’’
If there’s one man qualified to comment on the state of burgers locally, it’s Richard Chudy, a personal chef who runs Boston Burger Blog (tagline: “The Perfect Burger . . . it’s out there’’). He and his friend Nick DiSciscio (title: Burger Guru) are steadily making their way through each and every burger in the city in search of the best. They also hope to start a food truck business, selling burgers of their own.
Chudy says he’s a purist. He wants a simple, perfect burger: beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bun. “That whole $20 phenomenon, I’m not in love with that trend,’’ he says. “But I think it’s here to stay in some form. Essentially, we’re taking great cuts of steak and turning them into a burger. I’d rather have the steak.’’
Plenty of restaurants make great burgers for less. Some of his favorites include the burgers at Highland Kitchen ($9.95), Miracle of Science ($9), and Toro ($8, lunch only). His least favorite may be at Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill, where the Remy Burger is served on fried dough. “I hate Jerry Remy’s burger,’’ he says. “I make no apologies. Fried dough with a burger is just disgusting to me.’’
So what’s his favorite burger of them all?
The one at Craigie on Main. “Burgers are supposed to be a food for the people,’’ Chudy says. “Everyone should be able to afford them. I have a hard time justifying spending that much. But the Craigie burger is worth it.’’
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
DINING OUT
A burger is only a burger - except when it's a steak
Prime cuts, fancy fixings, house-made buns turn this favorite into a luxury
By Devra First, Globe Staff | October 13, 2010
Expensive hamburgers are nothing new. Daniel Boulud famously broke the $20 mark with his foie gras and truffle-stuffed behemoth at New York’s DB Bistro Moderne in 2001, and chefs have come up with countless high-ticket iterations since. Boston has seen its share of pricy patties over the years — Bristol Lounge’s $21 burger, Radius’s $19 version. But of late the species has begun to proliferate. Back Bay Social Club and Towne Stove and Spirits, both of which opened this summer, serve $21 burgers. The Butcher Shop, KO Prime, and Craigie on Main offer $18 burgers. In fact, Craigie on Main may be largely responsible for the phenomenon. The burger served at the restaurant’s bar has received so much attention it broke the glass ceiling for burgers. Now all patties expect equal pay.
Why does a $20 burger cost $20? Chefs cite the quality of the meat, the custom blend, the perfect bun, the love and time and attention lavished on this humble sandwich.
Case study: Back Bay Social Club. Its burger was months in the making. Executive chef Timothy Raines and William Kinnealey, of meat wholesaler William & Co., worked closely together to find the magic formula. They went on burger-eating expeditions to New York, where they sampled the versions at Minetta Tavern, the Breslin, and other spots known for their burgers. Many of these patties are made from special blends of meat created by New York wholesaler Pat LaFrieda, which makes its Black Label blend from dry-aged beef. Raines and Kinnealey wanted to do something similar.
Back in Boston, they went to Kinnealey’s Newmarket Square facility. “We walked through the dry-age room, picking up things we thought would grind really well,’’ Raines says by phone. “We tried at least 20 different varieties, with more of this, less of that, different percentages. We also messed around with different coarseness of grind.’’ The exact details of the final blend are a secret, but Raines shares the basics: Back Bay Social Club’s burger is made entirely from dry-aged beef. The biggest percentage of it is prime rib, with added short rib, flank, and skirt for texture.
The meat is ground for the restaurant each morning and delivered every afternoon. They sear the patties to medium-rare on a flat-top griddle that goes to 600 degrees, using plenty of clarified butter, to get a good crust on both sides of the burger.
Then, the toppings. “You’ve got to have onions, you’ve got to have cheese, but what do you put with beef that’s this good?’’ Raines says. In answer, the chefs created “smothered’’ onions. They take a 25-pound bag of white onions, peel them and shave them thin, and cook them for more than four hours. Those 25 pounds reduce to about seven cups, Raines says. “They’re way past caramelized. It’s almost like a marmalade.’’ For the cheese, they crumble a bit of cave-aged Vermont cheddar on top of the burger and slide it under a salamander to melt. They started off baking the buns in-house, then outsourced their recipe to a local bakery. They’re straightforward, extremely tender, made from a dough that contains plenty of milk.
It’s a lot of effort for a burger, and the beef goes for more than $10 a pound. “For a 10-ounce patty with cheese, onions, buns, and fries, out the door, it’s a big cost,’’ Raines says. The end result tastes fantastic. It’s thick, juicy, with a rich, mellow flavor that’s complemented by the jammy onions and sharp cheese. The bun stands up to the patty without being too assertive. It’s neutral. It doesn’t distract. The meat has heft and texture and chew. When you bite it, it bites back. It’s a burger that just might be worth $21, if you feel OK about paying $21 for a burger.
“It’s an affordable luxury for people,’’ Raines says. “If you can feel like you are plunking down $20 to have the best burger, it feels worth it. It’s something you feel like you’re giving yourself — a realistic indulgence.’’ Because you’re worth it.
Still, such price tags raise questions: At what point does a burger stop being a burger and become a steak in a bun? What is a burger? The answer differs, depending on which of two camps you fall into: form or function.
The form camp believes that a patty of ground meat between two pieces of bread is a burger, plain and simple. What kind of meat, which toppings, what sort of bread, what size price tag — none of this matters to its essential burger-ness.
The function camp believes that a burger is — inherently — an inexpensive meal.
Food historian Andrew F. Smith is among them. The author of “Hamburger: A Global History’’ explains that burgers got their start as street food — without forks, knives, and plates, vendors had to put the beef between bread. To Smith’s knowledge, the first written record of the burger as we know it appears in the Chicago Tribune in 1893, around the time of the World’s Fair. Smith believes visitors may have sampled the hamburger at or around the fair, accounting for the sandwich’s popularity and quick spread. Just a few years later, it had already reached Hawaii.
“A burger has got to be low cost,’’ he says. “It’s got to have lots of fat. I expect something really juicy. It’s not complex at all. All these attempts to make it haute cuisine seem to me to be rather foolish. I frequently sample burgers in the $20 to $30 range. I enjoy them and am delighted to consume them. But to me, that’s not what a burger is all about.’’ His favorites include Five Guys and, on the West Coast, In-N-Out Burger.
Dave Dubois is also a function guy. The Franklin Cafe cofounder opened Tasty Burger in early September. The Fenway burger joint sells its basic burger for $4. Versions topped with the likes of jalapeno and cheddar-cheese sauce, or pineapple and grilled onion, go for a bit more. There are hot dogs, fries, onion rings, and shakes. And at the takeout window, you can obtain a sack of five cheeseburgers for $21. Yes, the same price as one burger at Back Bay Social Club. (Tasty Burgers’ patties weigh in at 5 ounces each, however.)
“I believe it’s every chef’s fantasy to have a burger joint,’’ Dubois says. (He may be right. Todd English has been threatening to open one for years.) “We kind of had this idea — it’ll be great, we can eat burgers, drink shakes, and hang out. It’ll be fun — our little burger joint. Next thing I know, the volume is incredible, and everybody is super-opinionated about burgers. I just stepped into a world I had no idea about. I read some of the reviews and blogs online, and I feel like writing back, ‘Crazy person, it’s a fast-food burger. Relax.’ ’’
He takes his inspiration from a local source: the late, lamented Tim’s Tavern, which offered what was widely considered to be the best burger in the city before it closed several years ago. Like Tim’s before it, Tasty Burger charbroils its patties. The meat was ground fresh daily at Tim’s, so Tasty Burger puts a 36-hour time limit on the beef after grinding. Tim’s burger was chuck, and after tinkering with several recipes, the folks at Tasty Burger settled on a chuck-heavy patty with a bit of brisket and short rib thrown into the mix.
It goes on a Martin’s bun, selected for its generous sprinkling of sesame seeds, along with iceberg lettuce and tomato. Those who want pickles and onions can request them.
“We weren’t trying to be a gourmet burger in any way,’’ Dubois says. “We just thought of it as a cool, handmade fast-food burger. You know what the truth is? We’re not taking it that seriously. To us, it’s a really fun thing. The pool is free, the jukebox is digital, the beer is ice-cold, and the burgers are yummy.’’
If there’s one man qualified to comment on the state of burgers locally, it’s Richard Chudy, a personal chef who runs Boston Burger Blog (tagline: “The Perfect Burger . . . it’s out there’’). He and his friend Nick DiSciscio (title: Burger Guru) are steadily making their way through each and every burger in the city in search of the best. They also hope to start a food truck business, selling burgers of their own.
Chudy says he’s a purist. He wants a simple, perfect burger: beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bun. “That whole $20 phenomenon, I’m not in love with that trend,’’ he says. “But I think it’s here to stay in some form. Essentially, we’re taking great cuts of steak and turning them into a burger. I’d rather have the steak.’’
Plenty of restaurants make great burgers for less. Some of his favorites include the burgers at Highland Kitchen ($9.95), Miracle of Science ($9), and Toro ($8, lunch only). His least favorite may be at Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill, where the Remy Burger is served on fried dough. “I hate Jerry Remy’s burger,’’ he says. “I make no apologies. Fried dough with a burger is just disgusting to me.’’
So what’s his favorite burger of them all?
The one at Craigie on Main. “Burgers are supposed to be a food for the people,’’ Chudy says. “Everyone should be able to afford them. I have a hard time justifying spending that much. But the Craigie burger is worth it.’’
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Il Giardino Cafe closed
Il Giardino Cafe on 132 Brookline Avenue near Fenway Park has closed. A sign on the door indicates that they are closed because they were unable to get a new lease from their landlord. Il Giardino was a staple in the Fenway neighborbood attracting scores of medical workers, office workers, and ballpark workers to name just a few. Their fresh subs, pasta dishes and pizza will be missed by many. Maybe the Red Sox can help them find a new place to operate out of? - Adam
Harvard Square to see six new restaurants by year's end
The Harvard Crimson via Universal Hub
New Restaurants to Open by Year’s End
By Katherine M. Savarese, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A welcome addition for undergraduates already tired of eating in the dining halls, six new restaurants are scheduled to open in Harvard Square by the end of December—offering students options ranging from Belgian waffles to vegetarian fast food.
Addressing rumors surrounding the vacant space at 1380 Mass. Ave.—formerly Alpha Omega Jewelers–Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said that both a Starbucks and a Pinkberry will open side by side in that location in the spring. However, according to Cambridge Commissioner of Inspectional Services Ranjit Singanayagam, Starbucks has yet to receive approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals; the company is scheduled to have a hearing before the BZA on Dec. 2. As for Pinkberry, “There’s talk of a frozen yogurt store opening up next door,” Singanayagam said.
Other establishments scheduled to debut in the near future include Bull BBQ—a Korean barbeque restaurant—which will occupy the space formerly home to Shilla Sushi at 57 JFK Street by the end of October or early November, according to Jillson.
Initially stymied by the scarcity of beer and wine licenses for sale, Bull BBQ has now obtained the proper permit and awaits approval by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, Jillson said.
“We anticipate that the license will be approved and they will be opening hopefully by Head of the Charles weekend,” she added.
For students seeking healthier fare, Clover Food Lab—a permanent incarnation of the popular MIT food truck—will offer “local, just-cut” and, whenever possible, organic fast food in a restaurant setting, according to its website. With their space at 7 Holyoke St. currently under construction, Clover has obtained a beer and wine license and is scheduled to open the first week of November, Jillson said.
Although the former site of Herrell’s Ice Cream has stood vacant since last fall, 13-15 Dunster St. will soon host the First Printer Restaurant, Bar and Grill.
While the restaurant’s sign formerly stated that First Printer would open in the spring of this year, Jillson stressed that the owners plan to begin serving by late fall, taking their time to attend to all the details.
“They want it to be very special because it’s a historic location,” she said.
Catering to anyone with a sweet tooth, Zinneken’s, set to open by the end of the year, will occupy the space at 95 Winthrop St. and offer made-to-order Belgian waffles with a variety of toppings, Jillson reported.
Rounding out the list are Enzo’s Pizzeria—taking over the former Finagle A Bagel space—and Al’s Harvard Square Cafe, a sandwich shop to open in the Holyoke Center across from Oggi, which are both scheduled to open in December, according to Jillson. Both establishments have obtained their building permits and are now under renovation.
—Staff writer Katherine M. Savarese can be reached at savarese@fas.harvard.edu.
New Restaurants to Open by Year’s End
By Katherine M. Savarese, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A welcome addition for undergraduates already tired of eating in the dining halls, six new restaurants are scheduled to open in Harvard Square by the end of December—offering students options ranging from Belgian waffles to vegetarian fast food.
Addressing rumors surrounding the vacant space at 1380 Mass. Ave.—formerly Alpha Omega Jewelers–Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said that both a Starbucks and a Pinkberry will open side by side in that location in the spring. However, according to Cambridge Commissioner of Inspectional Services Ranjit Singanayagam, Starbucks has yet to receive approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals; the company is scheduled to have a hearing before the BZA on Dec. 2. As for Pinkberry, “There’s talk of a frozen yogurt store opening up next door,” Singanayagam said.
Other establishments scheduled to debut in the near future include Bull BBQ—a Korean barbeque restaurant—which will occupy the space formerly home to Shilla Sushi at 57 JFK Street by the end of October or early November, according to Jillson.
Initially stymied by the scarcity of beer and wine licenses for sale, Bull BBQ has now obtained the proper permit and awaits approval by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, Jillson said.
“We anticipate that the license will be approved and they will be opening hopefully by Head of the Charles weekend,” she added.
For students seeking healthier fare, Clover Food Lab—a permanent incarnation of the popular MIT food truck—will offer “local, just-cut” and, whenever possible, organic fast food in a restaurant setting, according to its website. With their space at 7 Holyoke St. currently under construction, Clover has obtained a beer and wine license and is scheduled to open the first week of November, Jillson said.
Although the former site of Herrell’s Ice Cream has stood vacant since last fall, 13-15 Dunster St. will soon host the First Printer Restaurant, Bar and Grill.
While the restaurant’s sign formerly stated that First Printer would open in the spring of this year, Jillson stressed that the owners plan to begin serving by late fall, taking their time to attend to all the details.
“They want it to be very special because it’s a historic location,” she said.
Catering to anyone with a sweet tooth, Zinneken’s, set to open by the end of the year, will occupy the space at 95 Winthrop St. and offer made-to-order Belgian waffles with a variety of toppings, Jillson reported.
Rounding out the list are Enzo’s Pizzeria—taking over the former Finagle A Bagel space—and Al’s Harvard Square Cafe, a sandwich shop to open in the Holyoke Center across from Oggi, which are both scheduled to open in December, according to Jillson. Both establishments have obtained their building permits and are now under renovation.
—Staff writer Katherine M. Savarese can be reached at savarese@fas.harvard.edu.
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