BostonZest

Great Small Shops Around Boston: A Great Trip Advisor Conversation

Recently, a visitor coming to Boston from Texas asked the community over on Trip Advisor's Boston Forum for some suggestions for "Small or Unique Shops With Gifts or Jewelry." I'm making that conversation our "Friday Link," today.

The Society of Arts & Crafts on Newbury Street was one of my suggestions.

We would love to hear about the small, independent places you shop for special gifts. Add a comment here or, if you're shy about comments, send us an email and we'll add your thoughts as an update to this post.

We also love the gallery at the North Bennet Street School.

People coming to Boston turn to the local Trip Advisor community to answer all kinds of questions. The best part about joining conversations like this is that I always learn a lot. And, I can share some of the most informative discussions with our BostonZest readers.

Click over to the original conversation and you'll find a great list of places from a wonderful group of Boston locals and frequent visitors!

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

 Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

This Meatloaf Began at The Butcherie in Brookline

Yes, we know The Butcherie in Brookline is a kosher market. The meat in the loaf is veal and beef from their stock. The bacon on top, we already had on hand.

If Penny isn't going to grind her own meat, she's fussy about the quality and handling. The product from the Butcherie was treated with respect, formed into little crown shapes, and stocked in a single layer so that the ground meat wasn't pressed down. That makes it possible to keep the mixture from being overworked, and she thinks it helps create a lighter meatloaf.

When she bought this, Penny was out photographing some of her favorite places to shop for kosher, Russian, and Eastern European food for her "Fresh & Local" newspaper column. It was a good reminder to get back to some of the places that have provided good products in the past. The Butcherie is one of them.

 

Many of us have begun to buy kosher chicken in more mainstream markets. But, why not extend that quality control to the other meats that will be sold by kosher markets. It's also great to see items like lamb neck right in the meat case.  

They also sell kosher wine, cheese, grocery, deli, and party platters. Visit the next time you're in the area. Combine it with a trip to the Brookline Winter Farmers' Market (still going on), Brookline Summer Farmers' Market, or some great pizza at Otto Pizza, all nearby.

The Butcherie (Map & Reviews)

428 Harvard St, Brookline, MA

Phone: (617) 731-9888 

 

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Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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2012 Boston Area Holiday Markets & Other Places for Unique Gifts

Last week, over on the Trip Advisor Boston forum, a visitor asked about Christmas Markets. It made me think about the special Holiday Markets and events like CraftBoston that I could recommend to anyone thinking about a special shopping experience that will result in presenting unique, handcrafted, or at least carefully selected gifts for the holidays, or to stockpile for the rest of the year. 

Here are some of the events and places I recommend to avoid chains, keep the money local, and support hard working artists and artisans. 

The Downtown Crossing Holiday Market (next to Macy's) begins November 24th and operates daily.

Madeleine Ahlborn's Edge 2012 (mixed media and oil on canvas 6x6 feet)

The  Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts will hold their Annual Art Sale of student, alumni, and faculty work from November 29th to December 2nd. (The photo above of one of the pieces on offer is courtesy of the Museum School. )

The Somerville Holiday Market on December 2nd at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville MA.

The Society of Arts and Crafts' Craftboston Holiday Show is December 7, 8, 9 at the Cyclorama on Tremont street.

SOWA Holiday Market Saturday & Sunday, December 8 & 9, 2012. This is always a fun event and if you've attended in the past, you should note that they have a new location. This year's market will be held at the Ben Franklin Institute, 41 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA. 

Bazaar Bizarre Boston, Sunday December 16th, is in its 12th year. You'll find this collection of mostly New Engalnd artists and craftspeople at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama building on Tremont Street.

Holly Fair 2012 at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, December 15th & 16th, was added to the trip advisor list by ChristineP, and she has a reputation for knowing how to enjoy Boston. It's at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge. 

Places to Shop for the Holidays or Anytime!

 

Stop into the Society of Arts and Crafts shop on Newbury Street to find very fine handmade gifts. 

If you are in the North End, stop by the  North Bennet Street School Gallery for carefully crafted gifts from this school's skilled students and alumni. This neighborhood also has a nice collection of small shops and is a wonderful place to buy food gifts.

And, Beacon Hill, and Charles Street in particular, still has a wonderful collection of neighborhood shops where you can buy hand selected items in a warm, friendly place. The community has done a great job of protecting their neighborhood from chains so it's worth a visit.

Any more places or events you love to shop? Add them in the comments below or send us an email and we'll check it out for a possible update to this list.

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

 Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino plus contributions from the SOWA Holiday Market site and the Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts.  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Comfort Food from Angel Foods

When we return to the city from Provincetown, one of the things we miss the most is Angel Foods – our favorite, little, food shop in the East End.

Liz, the owner, has a great sense of what her customers are craving and she changes up the offerings with the season. On our most recent trip we really enjoyed her sheperd's pie. She filled a loaf pan with layers of meat, corn, peas, carrots, and mashed potatoes, then topped it off with some good cheese.

The shop has a small parking area, making it great for a quick stop on your way into town to stock up for your first meal. 

And, there are a few seats overlooking the harbor if you're walking around town and stop for a quick bite!

What's your favorite comfort food?

Do you have a favorite vacation spot food shop?

Here are more of our Provincetown favorite sites and places.

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

Details:

Angel Foods

467 Commercial St, Provincetown, MA 02657

www.angelfoods.com

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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TerraVino Wines: Places We Shop

We live a city lifestyle. Our shopping trips are more likely to take us to three or four small shops than to one big box store. Here in Boston, and on the road, we'll share our great shop finds with you. -The BostonZest Team!

Update: Alas we can't shop here any longer because the store closed a few months later.

Name: TerraVino Wines

Address: 234 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446 (Map & Reviews)

Phone: 617-232-1180 

Do you have a roster of small, well-curated shops where you find the best selections? Let us know in the comments below or send us an email. We're always ready to add new resources to our list.

   

(Click on any photo for a larger image)

Shop Description: Calm and soothing. You can see the thought that was put into designing the shop. What you may not see is that it is also very green– environmentally responsible that is! Here are the details about that aspect of this store.

People: Christopher and Rayna Carbone are the owners. Christopher (above) is a Certified Specialist of Wine. But, more important than the letters after his name is his ability to communicate his love of the wines he stocks to customers with any level of wine knowledge. He asks the right questions, tries to figure out what you like, what food you are matching, offers tastes, and refines his recommendations from there. 

  

What makes this shop special:  A very warm welcome. Great wine knowledge. A carefully curated selection. Plus, a great location right off the Green Line in Coolidge Corner. You know you'll be going there soon, for something, so stop by and explore this new shop while you're there. 

 

They say: "We believe in wines that are Real, honestly made, in the most Natural way. We offer wines that we truly believe in, allowing them to express their origins, the talent and commitment of the producers, and the inherent quality of the vintage. We put our dedication to work through our commitment only offering exceptional Natural wines that are sustainable, organic and biodynamic. "

We Say: Our first visit was like walking into a room filled with old friends. As we circled the selection, we took turns saying, "Look they carry...." followed by the name of a longtime favorite wine, producer, or importer.

Nice Touch: They have four reds and four whites available for tasting. This allows you to try wines that might be a bit out of your comfort zone and helps guide the staff to offer better recommendations for you.

Regulars say: Richard Auffrey, The Passionate Foodie said, "This is very much a hand sell store where customer service is key. Many of these wines will be unfamiliar to the average consumer, and even the avid wine lover is likely to find plenty of wines they have not tasted before. It is a very intriguing selection of wines, and there were plenty of wines which interested me."

Gretchen (@MoralBeast) and Urban Wine Dweller wrote: "The brilliant Thierry Triolet Champagne Brut from @terravinowines. Really great stuff. Perfect with sushi." Our thanks go to Gretchen for recommending TerraVino Wines.

Did you know? Another part of this couple's green and natural lifestyle is a gluten-free, vegetarian diet. 

Don't Miss: Their sparkling wine selection on the center table. Here's a Grower Champagne we bought from TerraVino. You know how we love sparkling wines! 

Phone: 617-232-1180 

Website: www.terravinowines.com

Twitter: @TerraVinoWines

Facebook: Terra Vino Wines

While you're in the neighborhood: Coolidge Corner is home to many great, local businesses, and a fabulous farmers' market on Thursday afternoons from mid-June to late October. 

Here are reports on a few of our favorite places in the area:

Michael's Deli

When Pigs Fly Bakery

Party Favors

Brookline Farmers' Market

While we love to support local shops, we also hope you'll support us when you shop on Amazon. When you click over to Amazon from one of our links, they put some change in our tip cup. It doesn't cost you anymore, but it helps keep BostonZest coming your way.

Fine wine glasses that are dishwasher safe? While Ed insists on washing our stems, I can't swear to it but the manufacture says that, the Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Forte Collection can go in the dishwasher. We do put our barware from the same line through the dishwaser all the time. How about this Stemless Snifter?

 

Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Holiday planning? Go to Party Favors in Brookline

Party Favors in Coolidge Corner makes party or holiday planning easy. It's the type of place that could say, "If we don't have it, you don't need it." But, they don't instead they declare themselves "a total celebration."

Today they were setting up their holiday displays, and they were ready to take orders for Thanksgiving dessert. The checkout counter offered samples of their delicious decorated cookies.

I stop by anytime I'm in the area. The have so many items that you'll never take them all in at one visit.

Very well known for their cakes and cupcakes, they offer a large menu of flavors, fillings, sizes, and decoration options. They receive rave reviews from folks with a super sweet tooth.

For Thanksgiving, they have a pie menu posted in the front window and on their website.

http://www.partyfavorsbrookline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=158&Itemid=139

They have a good size display of Chanukkah decoration, games and gifts and offer a range of cakes for the holiday.

I shop there for photography props, stocking stuffers, and little surprise gifts for friends.

Details:
Party Favors
1356 Beacon St.
Brookline, MA 02446

www.partyfavorsbrookline.com

Other Opinions:

 Party Favors has won so many Best of Boston awards that they've run out of space on their door.

Here's the yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/party-favors-brookline

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

 

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008 Penny  Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Perry's Wine and Liquors, Provincetown, MA

For the past few years, Perry's Wine & Liquors in the West End of Provincetown has been our place to find a fine selection of wines, some great cheeses and (when we arrive before it runs out) French bread from Connie's Bakery.

This is a tiny shop but don't be put off by the size of the place or number of items. Everything in their stock has earned it's place.

The owners are experienced in matching food and wine. They can suggest something from their stock, based on what you like. They edit their selection the way a sommelier in a fine restaurant sets up a wine list.

We don't go into a restaurant expecting to find every wine we've ever tasted. In fact, we're often disappointed to find a lot of well-known brand names. Where's the fun in that?

So, at Perry's we open ourselves to the adventure of allowing them to introduce us to a bold red from the Veneto to have with pasta or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that we've never tried with halibut.

They deliver orders of $100 or more for free. They also have wine tastings and given some advanced information, will try to find any wine you like.

Be sure to ask about their special value wines. They say:

"The West Ender Wines of the Week come from our featured selection of over 100 wines all under fifteen bucks. We call it the best bang for your buck aisle."

We've also realized that the good taste they show in wine can be extended to good taste around town. We always ask the owners for their take on Provincetown's restaurants, and where to find the best ingredients for our home cooking.

Perry's service is great, the spirit of the place lighthearted and the products outstanding.

And, we love the clever window signs that let us know whether they're open or out enjoying some relaxation of their own.

Details:

Perry's Wine & Liquors

One Tremont Street
(tri-corner of Commercial,
Tremont & Franklin across
from the Coast Guard station)

We often find parking (or one of us waits in the car) in a tiny parking lot a few hundred feet up Tremont Street. Just go straight instead of around the curve on Commercial Street and you'll see it.

www.perrysptown.com