BostonZest

Doing the Belvedere Bounce

 

Window washers bounce out and down the side of The Belvedere Condominiums on the Huntington Avenue side of the Prudential Center. 

The building's name caused some head scratching back in Austust of 2001 because the The Belvedere is actually on Belvidere Street.

A Boston Globe article, discussed the spelling issue.

Most modern dictionaries prefer the developers' choice of Belvedere with an "e," but older dictionaries list the "i" spelling. The word itself has Latin and Italian origins. "Bel" or "bella," in Italian, means beautiful. "Vedere" means to see or view. "Bellus" is beautiful, and "videre" means to see or view in Latin."

A spokesman for the developer was quoted as saying,

"The truth is, we looked it up in the dictionary. We've built our whole design and marketing concept around the meaning of the word Belvedere and thought that actually spelling the word correctly was pretty important."

Details:

Globe article is available through the Boston Public Library's electronic resources.

http://www.bpl.org/electronic/newspaper.asp

BELVIDERE VS. BELVEDERE; [THIRD Edition]

MICHAEL ROSENWALD. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Aug 4, 2001. pg. E.1

.

"Boston Food & Whine" Gets a Shiny New Look

Tammy, over at "Boston Food & Whine" announced a new look for her site this week. That makes it a perfect fit for our Friday links feature.

Click over and enjoy a fresh look at this fun take on the Boston food scene.

Tammy and her helpers have even added a shot of "food porn" as you can see from this sample photo from her front page.

(Photos by Tammy Schuetz Cook courtesy of Boston Food & Whine)

In January, Tammy discovered Russo's Market in Watertown and since then has been treating her readers to the inside scoop on exotic produce finds.

Here's a link to the initial post on the topic. It's filled with the fun and humor that those of us who know Tammy would expect. And, it brings back memories of my own first trip to Russo's.

http://www.bostonfoodandwhine.com/2009/01/13/russos-market-the-food-lovers-food-store-or-ive-died-and-gone-to-heaven/

Since then we've shared her adventures with Buddha hands, pineapple quince, pickles, prickly pears, and rambutan. Click through the past month's posts to enjoy her take on these foods.

Tammy's posts about Russo's make me want to follow her through the store photographing her as she makes each selection.

Hey, Tammy! Do you need an entourage for your next Russo's trip?

Details:

www.bostonfoodandwhine.com

A. Russo & Sons
560 Pleasant Street,Watertown MA 02472
www.russos.com

New Farmers' Market Coming to the Prudential Center

Plans are underway to hold a Thursday Farmers' Market on the Boylston Plaza between the Hynes Convention Center and the Prudential Center.

This would be in addition to the Tuesday and Friday markets held in Copley Square.

Cathy and David Gilson of Gilson Family Herb Enterprises are organizing the market.

In an interview, Cathy Gilson said they hope to serve all the people who work and live in the area around the Prudential Center.

She confirmed that plans are well underway and that applications are out to farmers who might want to sell at this location. By midsummer the space in the photo above should be filled with fresh food and happy shoppers like the second photo of the market at Copley Square.

New farmers' markets have been popping up all around Massachusetts according to Hannah Freedberg, Development and Outreach Director for The Federation of Mass Farmers Markets.

She said, "Five years ago there were less than 100 farmers markets in Massachusetts. This season we anticipate that about 200 markets will be running in cities and towns across the state."

The number of markets in the state has doubled in five years, thanks primarily to significantly increased consumer demand for farm-fresh products.

The Federation of Mass Farmers Markets is thrilled that increasing numbers of consumers are recognizing the great taste and superior freshness of locally grown food, as well as the significant civic, economic, and environmental benefits of buying from local producers."

That is good news for all of us who love local fresh food and value the people who grow it.

Details:

Mass Farmers Markets
(a 501c3 non-profit charitable organization)
240 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA 02452
www.massfarmersmarkets.org

Gilson Family Herb Enterprises, Ltd.   
368 Main Street, Groton MA

gilsonslyceum.com

 
 

Where is this Back Bay Door Panel

Clue: It is on Berkeley Street.

Click through to see the answer:

Park Street Westbound Headhouse Closure Coming March 6th

Flyers announcing the closure of the Westbound headhouse at the Park Street station are posted in Green and Red Line stations.

The small print on the signs read:
"Starting March 6th, 2009 Barletta Construction will be closing the westbound Park Street Headhouse that allows access to the Red Line and Green line westbound platform. The reason for the closure is the replace the Park Street Stairs. The Park Street westbound head house will be closed approximately five-weeks. During this time passengers will utilize the eastbound headhouse to access the station. The entranceway at the far west-end of the Park Street westbound platform will be available for your convenience as well. During construction there will be MBTA personnel at Park Street station to assist our customers to there appropriate destinations."

(The creative capitalization and word choice is the MBTA's. Someone did cross out "there" and write in "their" on the copy I photographed with my phone.)

This work was announced in August and was scheduled to begin in January. At the time The Metro reported, that the project would,

"... include demolishing and replacing the cast iron stairs and risers, which have become “severely corroded and cracked,” according to Charles O’Reilly, the MBTA’s assistant general manager of design and construction.
“This will cure a potential public safety hazard,” O’Reilly told the MBTA Board of Directors earlier this month."

This story was picked up by Universal Hub. There's a great conversation on the topic over there. (Including a betting pool on how long this job will actually take to complete.)

http://www.universalhub.com/node/23480

Support BostonZest.com by shopping at Amazon from here.

(Our Kindle 2 is on its way here and we'll soon let you know how it works to read the Globe on a Kindle the T.)

Details:

MBTA Project page

http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/default.asp?id=16597

Metro Story

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2008/08/25/00/3710-72/index.xml

Trident Booksellers & Cafe - A Great Place To Meet

If you need to meet a friend or acquaintance somewhere in Boston, we suggest Trident Booksellers & Cafe.

We've used this spot so often to spend time with friends or work on a project with a neighbor, that it gave us an idea for a new feature on BostonZest - "Meet Me At ..."

We like Trident because the magazines and books give the early arrival something to do while they wait. You don't have to sit sipping coffee and looking around expectantly.

When we recommended Trident in the past for their food, we said, "The food is good, the service (at the counter were we usually sit) is quick and the portions are generous. Best of all, like a good diner, you can have breakfast all day and all night..." Here's a link to that post: http://www.bostonzest.com/2008/08/trident-booksel.html

Beyond Food

They have free WI-FI. The music is usually background sound so you can hold a conversation. And, you won't be the only one sitting around with your computer or waiting for someone. Many people hang here. Weekend mornings are the one time you might avoid, then you may find a line waiting for tables or counter seats.

Trident is easy to find and easy to reach. It is located steps from the MBTA Hynes station on the Green line or the No. 1 Bus on Massachusetts Avenue.

Send Us Your Favorite Meeting Places

Right now, with so many people looking for jobs, we need places where we can connect with others and share whatever information we have. We hope this will be the first of many places we will recommend as meet-up spots.

We welcome your ideas for favorite places to meet up with friends and associates. Post the basic information in the comments to any of our "Meet me at..." posts or email us by clicking at the "Email Me" button near the top of the right column.

(Click any item below to go to the BostonZest Amazon store. We fill it with items we can recommend to our readers.)

 

(Photo credits:  ©2009 Penny Cherubino)

Details:
 
Trident Booksellers & Cafe
338 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02115
www.tridentbookscafe.com

Related post:
http://www.bostonzest.com/2008/08/trident-booksel.html

Other Opinions:

Here's what the ChowHounds say

Here's the Yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/trident-booksellers-and-cafe-boston

 

Daizy & Oliver Looking In from West Roxbury

(Photos © 2009  Tammy Schuetz)

Today's Sunday Dogs are Daizy (the brindle coated lovely on top) and Oliver (the fawn colored sweetheart below.) They live and play in West Roxbury and are occasionally featured on one of our favorite blogs, Boston Food and Whine.

Both dogs are what we call "Adorables" with generous gene pools. (We prefer the term Adorables to mutt or mixed breed.) Both were rescued and are fortunate to have wonderful people to care for them.

Tammy told us a bit about them.

"Mostly, Oliver and Daizy spend the bulk of their time playing in the backyard together, chasing our cat and barking at all the dogs that walk past our house!"

Their favorite places to enjoy the outdoors in West Roxbury

"Just like the rest of the city, there are little to no areas for us to let the dogs run off leash.

That said, we are lucky enough to live up on Bellevue Hill (highest point above sea level in the city of Boston), which abuts up against the Stony Brook Reservation. So literally... just about 50 yards from our front door, is a wooded area that the dogs love and where they can feel like they are "outside the city" but still well within the city limits.

The neighborhood of West Roxbury also has Millennium Park... which is a huge outdoor space that the dogs love; Billings Field, which is not officially an off-leash area, but has a large amount of space that is about 95% fenced in and Jamaica Pond and the Arboretum is a mere few miles down the road."

How they help with Boston Food and Whine

"Let's just say they get their fair share of leftovers.... but even better yet, they lick all my pots and pans before I put them in the dishwasher... thus alleviating the need of pre-rinsing!"

Details:

Boston Food and Whine
http://www.bostonfoodandwhine.blogspot.com/

Stony Brook Reservation

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/stony.htm

Jamaica Pond

http://www.jamaicapond.com/

http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/emerald/Jamaica_Pond.asp

Arnold Arboretum

http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/