BostonZest

Look Down, History Below Your Feet

The sidewalks of Boston are not only a pathway to history but also contain historic coal vault covers with prism lights that were part of another time. 

  
Click on any small image to pop up a larger view.

A few are in great condition and may still let light into spaces below the sidewalk. Others are dangerous, with holes that could catch heels or puppy paws and ugly concrete, covering what was once a thing of craftsmanlike beauty. 

In the days before the electric light, these were important features. The sidewalk access meant that dirty coal deliveries did not have to come through the house. And, the beams admitted and intensified by prism lights allowed you to see in dark basement spaces.

We are just beginning our research on these and photographing as many as we can. If you'd like to share your photos of coal vault covers you can upload them to the BostonZest Photo Pool on Flickr.

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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 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.

Ancienne French Baguette from Clear Flour: A Best Bite

With a dedicated bread-a-holic in residence, we have tried all the recommended baguettes in the Greater Boston area. Our favorite is from Clear Flour Bread. While we pick up their regular baguette when we see it at Whole Foods or another shop, we will go out of our way to get their darker, richer Ancienne style.

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This bread deserves a slide show to flaunt its star power. Click on any thumbnail to open any photo in the space above. 

On their site, Clear Flour describes it as, "rustic french baguette with a very open texture & a fully caramelized crust for those seeking bold crunch and mildly sweet flavor." It's always the first item we order at the bakery or at their stand at the Brookline Farmers' Market.

Important tip: This bread is not available until after 1pm so plan your shopping trip with that in mind.

When the poster, doctorandchef, over on Boston's Chowhound board asked for the areas's best Parisian-style Baguette, Penny quickly nominated the Ancienne French and it won applause from the locals. (That conversation also discusses other wonderful, local, favorite baguettes.)

Some of the criteria doctorandchef requested were: 

"1) a crisp (yes, I want crisp!!) and light crust
2) proper reddish brown hue
3) open crumb structure with a creamy appearance
4) chewy texture
5) firm enough that when you break the baguette in half, it makes noise, yet soft enough that it doesn’t break apart completely
6) Smell of wheat..." 

We've tried to show these characteristics in the photos above. 

What's your favorite Boston area baguette? Have you tried the Ancienne from Clear Flour? If so, let us know what you think.

Related Posts:

Cherry Tart Season at Clear Flour Bakery: A Best Bite

Clear Flour Pain Meunier or Miller's Bread

Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming...

Brookline Farmers' Market - Thursday is Market Day

What's on your food lover's shopping list?

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

Say Hello to Poppy, Our New VP of Security & Morale!

At BostonZest every member of the team is important, especially the VP of Security & Morale. So after a long and thorough search, we’re excited to announce that Duchess Poppy Whitehead has accepted our offer to fill this vital position.



This lovely, little girl arrived one week ago today and immediately assumed her duties, lifting the spirits of everyone she meets. As with any new hire, there will be an extensive training period as we all get to know each other.



While at times exhausting, Poppy says she’s up for the challenge. This amazing Westy comes to us with a long list of talents. Besides being a cuddler, a kisser, and a belly-rub fan, at 14-weeks-old she’s already nosing around the timelines on Twitter.

Poppy flicking through our Twitter feed before nodding off for the night

On her second day here, Poppy mastered iPad scrolling with her nose! It’s really not all that surprising when you consider that she also watches TV, but admittedly hasn’t mastered the remote, yet.

Poppy is adapting to the city soundtrack– including an encounter with the blasting horn and blaring siren of a fire truck answering a call… didn’t even flinch!

Relaxing on the Weigh-In Table While Waiting for Her Vet to Arrive

Poppy’s also learning to walk on a lead, follow some basic house rules, and is beginning to get comfortable in her new digs. Plus, she’s making lots of new friends!



But, her biggest accomplishments have been melting our hearts and bringing back our laughter– something Poppy did the moment she climbed into our arms.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Two of the great things we have on hand for our new VP are these Reusable, washable piddle padsnormally used for human incontinence but also perfect for protecting furniture and floors from accidents that wee pups might have. And, here are our favorites: Wee-Wee Housebreaking Pads for Dogs, 150-Pack  

 

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

Parasols Are Poppin' up All Over...

Parasols, or sun umbrellas, are popping up all over Boston. This woman carries hers with grace and style on Newbury Street. They may not be trending as a fashion accessory quite yet, but they are a very smart way to protect your skin from harmful rays.

This woman was using hers to shield her book and computer screen.

Here's someone skipping home with a parasol in one hand and a bouquet in the other. 

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? If you're looking for Sun Umbrellas, Amazon has them. And, shopping there from here will help support this site!

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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 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.

Special Saturday Concerts July 28th in the Library Courtyard

The Boston Public Library Courtyard is the perfect place to enjoy some fine music. Tomorrow, there will be three, one hour-long concerts for you. We're making this series our Friday Link and turning over the keyboard to the concert organizers for details.

"Saturday, July 28, 11:00 am. – Amaryllis Chamber Ensemble
Since its inception in 2000, the Amaryllis Chamber Ensemble has presented diverse programs from the chamber music repertoire for wind and string instruments. Each member of the Amaryllis Chamber Ensemble brings a high level of musical artistry to the group, and they are quickly becoming known throughout the Boston area as outstanding musicians.

Saturday, July 28, 12:30 p.m. – The Brant Grieshaber Trio
A consummate band leader, soloist, and sideman, Brant Grieshaber performs all over New England, from the Maine Music Society to the Beantown Swing Orchestra, and from the Beehive to Johnny D's. He's shared the stage with jazz giants such as Grammy nominee Bill Frisell, James Carter, and Charlie Hunter.

Saturday, July 28, 2:00 p.m.  – Annie Sharkey
Annie Sharkey began her career in musical theater in New York City. She has been a vocalist in the Boston area for over 25 years in various venues, including Broadway, cabaret, top forty, original rock, an oldies show band, and as a vocalist for the Winiker Orchestras.

The Boston Public Library’s regular Friday afternoon concert series features music that ranges from jazz to classical and from folk to funk at 12:30 p.m., each week, through August 31. For more information, visit www.bpl.org/concerts."

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Boston Public Library, Copley Square (map)

700 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116 (617) 536-5400 bpl.org‎

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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 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.

Vella Dry Jack Cheese: an American Treasure

We are students of cheese and admit to having a mental list of cheese we want to try. Vella Dry Jack has been on that list since we saw it on Steve Jenkins list, "American Treasures: the best American Cheeses" in his book Cheese Primer. 

It is not widely available in this area. So when Penny saw it at Whole Foods on Cambridge Street, she grabbed a wedge. 

This cheese has a wonderful history and others have told the story well, so we'll just link to those reports.

First, there is the family's own history on the Vella Cheese website. And, Janet Fletcher wrote about it in the San Francisco Chronicle: Vella Dry Jack's dark brown coat makes an instant impression.

The process that created that brown rind you see above is one of the interesting notes mentioned by most people writing about Vella Dry Jack. To protect and preserve the wheels, cheesemakers rub them with a mixture of oil, pepper, and unsweetened cocoa during the aging process.  

This is a hard cheese with nutty, sweet, caramel tones. You can pick up a scent of chocolate, but not the flavor.

Dry Jack was originally sold during World War I as a substitute for Parmigiano-Reggiano. With the recent destruction of so much of the supply of Parmigiano by the earthquakes in Italy, we could find ourselves looking to California cheesemakers to create more of this rarer, dry version of Jack Cheese. 

Related Posts: 

One of our all time favorite cheeses was created by a cheesemaker from the Vella Family.

Rogue River Blue 

Rogue River Blue, Amercian Cheese Society Winner

And, here are other items from our Cheese Tray!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

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 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.

Food Tips for Shakespeare on the Common

This season's run of Shakesphere on the Common opens tonight and continues through August 12th. The food selection around the Boston Common has improved over the past couple of years. 

This lovely photo from a past performance is by Katherine Hala, here is her photostream.

Here are a few places where you can pick up a delicious supper to enjoy while you watch Coriolanus.

Clover Food Truck

A Clover Food Lab truck is now stationed at the restored Brewer Plaza. Ed loves their Chick Pea Fritter Sandwich and those rosemary fries are a must! See who else likes Clover here!

Clover's Chick Pea Fritter Sandwich (Photo by Penny Cherubino)

Bacco’s Wine and Cheese

On St. James Avenue near Arlington is Bacco’s Wine and Cheese– a great stop for a picnic supper. They have prepared sandwiches; their famous bento boxes containing an enticing selection of cheese, salumi, bread, and olives; or you can always choose what catches your eye on the counter.

A recent picnic from Bacco's. Photo: Penny Cherubino

Falafel King

In Downtown Crossing, right across from the Park Street MBTA station, you'll find the small, ethnic food court where Falafel King reigns supreme. We usually order the combo plate, but all the items we've tried have been great. 

The Thinking Cup

The Thinking Cup coffee shop across from the Common on Tremont Street is known for their great coffee but they also have a fine selection of sandwiches and pastries.

 

 

Another shot by Katherine Hala.

 

 

 

Savenor's 

If you are coming from Beacon Hill, consider a stop at Savenor's on Charles Street. Manager Diana Tovar says they have added a “Grab and Go” sandwich selection to their shop. It's also the perfect place to walk around and gather all the elements for a delicious picnic– fruit, cheese, desserts, and a few special treats.

Elsewhere on Charles Street, you could order take-out from Café Vanille, the Paramount, or Panificio. All three have great sandwiches and salads.

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

 

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photography: Katherine Hala, here is her photostream. Used under this creative commons license.

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.