Boston for grownups. BostonZest is your guide for enjoying a full-flavored life in an unbeatable city. We'll show you that there is life in Boston beyond the "club kids" and students.
Whether you live in Boston, plan to visit Boston, or you are moving to Boston; we'll help you locate great food, fun events, and reliable resources.
This was Penny's favorite Jack-o-Lantern this year!
We hope all these Halloween decorations made it through the storm – or were taken in and return to be enjoyed by all of us city folks who don't have a space to decorate but enjoy seeing the craftmanship that others display.
One happy Ghost! Is that a bat mouth?
This powerful fence spiked a bunch of skulls!
Ed loved the surprised expression on this pumpkin's face!
This skull eats wrought iron!
A hipster pumpkin with pierced ears!
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This year, we're cooking and dining at home. But, our choice on past holidays has beenSel de la Terre on Boylston Street. Click here for our report on one of those meals. They do have a new chef but the standards set seem to be the same and we've enjoyed every meal there since the change.
Most places have special menus and sometimes set seatings for major holidays. Many will require a deposit or credit card number to place a reservation.
What Boston Area Restaurants Are Open on Thanksgiving?
Hotel restaurants are normally open on all holidays. In Boston, this includes some excellent choices including:
Our top recommendation for a lower cost option with good food would be Petit Robert in Boston.
More recommendations after this word on supporting BostonZest when you shop at Amazon. Here's a link to some of the best deals they have today. Once this link takes you to Amazon, we'll be credited for any shopping you do during this session.
Here are links to some Master lists of Boston restaurants open for Thanksgiving.
The reservation site, Open Table is maintaining a list of restaurants with Thanksgiving menus. Listings include a price and information on offerings beyond traditional holiday fare. Remember, there are many more restaurants open that day. Put a time and number of guests into the system to see exactly what is available.
Open Table even includes some places outside the city if you are meeting up with family and friends who live in the suburbs. And, they can help you find a place to enjoy the holiday meal if you'll be away for the long weekend.
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Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino Photography: istockphoto.com
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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Here's a run-down of what's open in Boston on Veterans' Day, information on Boston trash collection, parking meters, and MBTA schedules for Monday, November 12, 2012. This year, the city of Boston is celebrating the holiday on the Monday following the traditional date of November 11th. That means you can start planning a long weekend.
Be very careful about parking meters on Monday. *Please read the detailed note below.
We publish these reminders before each holiday to help you make the most of your time off!
Restaurants, bars: Open
Convenience stores: Open
Supermarkets: Open
Retail stores: Are allowed to open if the owners choose
Liquor stores: Open
City, Town, State and Federal offices and facilities are closed: This includes schools, libraries, and the Postal Service (express mail will be delivered). Only emergency services are available.
Financial Services: As the British would say, this is a Bank Holiday with most Banks closed. But, we are noticing that some banks are keeping some branches open so check with your own institution.
"City of Boston parking meters are free on Sundays and legal holidays
and no time limit is enforced. All other parking regulations,
including rush hour restrictions at meters, remain in effect. It is important to note that this applies only to the day that the actual holiday falls on, not to the day that offices may be closed in celebration of the holiday. For example, if New Year's Day is Saturday but offices are closed on Friday in recognition of the holiday, parking meters will be in operation on Friday but not on Saturday." Remember this holiday falls on Sunday but the city offices are closed on Monday.
Street Sweeping: City says, "Daytime street sweeping is suspended on city holidays, but nighttime sweeping schedules remain in effect. Constituents are advised to call 617-635-4500 for exact details."
More information on Boston Trash Schedules and MBTA after this ad.
Need a destination for a fall weekend? Here are a couple of books that might help you decide.Remember, Begin your Amazon purchases here to keep information like this flowing your way.
Boston Trash Collection: The City says:
"Monday, November 12 | 7am – Saturday, November 17, 2012 | 5pm
Delay trash and recycling pickup 1 day only if you live in Allston, Brighton, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain*, Mattapan, Roslindale, or West Roxbury.
*If you live in Jamaica Plain and your trash is picked up 2 times per week, do not delay."
The MBTA press release says that on Monday, November 12, 2012 all services will run on their regular weekday schedules.
For additional information on routes, schedules, and fares, "please call the MBTA Customer Service Center at 617-222-3200 or 1-800-392-6100 (hearing impaired TDD 617-222-5146)" or contact them at www.mbta.com.
And, if you have to work: Holiday Pay Information For Retail Establishments from the Secretary of State.
"Retail establishments which operate on New Year's Day, Columbus Day after 12 noon, or on November 11th after 1:00 p.m. are required to pay their employees time and one-half regardless of the number of employees on their payroll." http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cishol/holidx.htm
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A recent tweet from the Boston Emergency Medical Service read, “When folks w/pets call 911 for help put the animals in a room away from the patient if possible. It will speed our response.”
I retweeted the message to spread the word to more families with pets and then called Jennifer Mehigan, Director of Media Relations for the department. She told me what inspired that tweet. “Yesterday, after hearing an incident over the department radio where a crew was waiting on Animal Control to secure a dog before they could reach a patient,” she explained, “I felt it was necessary to remind people to put pets or animals in a secured room if at all possible.”
Plan for a 911 Call
If you or someone in your family has a medical emergency, call 911 first. Then, move your pets to a safe, secure location. “Of course if the owner is the patient and there’s no one else around that may not be possible,” Mehigan said.
It may be wise to rehearse for this situation, especially if you have a chronic condition that might cause 911 calls. It’s always easier if a dog or cat is used to a given situation. For a pet who is never confined and the first time it happens is in an emergency, it could be extremely frightening.
Let your animal experience staying in a dog crate or kitty carrier while you clean, have a worker in your home, a delivery, or are not feeling well. Then, should an emergency arise, it won’t be a strange happening for the pet. If you don’t have a crate, a bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen with a door or gate could work.
Ed and I are currently training our new puppy to, “Go to bed.” This is a command we’ve used with other dogs for everything from a broken glass on the kitchen floor to a delivery. It means she should go to her crate in our bedroom and wait for us.
When the first thought that you might need to call for help hits you, round up your pets and make them safe. If it’s a false alarm, they’ve had a dry run. If you follow through with the call, you’ve kept your animals safe and improved your own care.
Planning Could Save a Life
“It is a very intimate thing to enter a person’s home to help them, and our staff are trained to keep the patient comfortable and try to put them at ease,” Mehigan said. “Sometimes pets in a home become upset when our crews are there and it is difficult for the EMTs to focus on the patient. If our crews ever feel that an animal will cause issues at a scene, they are told to contact police and animal control to secure the animal.”
When that happens it delays patient care. If you are alone when you call 911, try to alert the dispatcher that you have a dog or cat who will be on the scene and whether that animal is secured. That will inform the ambulance crew of the need for possible assistance.
Whether big or small, young or old, friendly or fierce, your pet should be confined when emergency responders are asked to come into your home.
Finally, you will have prevented your pet from escaping when doors are held open to allow responders to enter and exit with equipment and stretchers. Planning is not only for your health, but also for the safety of your pets.
Note: This important message was first published in Penny's City Paws newspaper column.
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The front yards, flower boxes, and ivy-covered walls in Boston's historic neighborhoods offer another version of fall color. One last, brillant palate from gardeners throughout the city.
A big Thank You to all the Bostonians who put in the creativity and work to add beauty to our city.
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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.
All products featured on BostonZest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It's fall, garden clean-up time! And, getting out into the yard more will mean getting more out of your yard.
Next, comes figuring out how to get rid of all the leaves and yard waste. It's easy, at least in Boston. The city promises to scoop it up on your recycling day, as long as you follow some simple guidelines.
And, the other bonus? Your yard waste will be used to help all the community gardens thrive.
The City of Boston lists:
Fall 2012 Leaf and Yard Waste Collection Dates:
Monday, October 15th through Friday, November 30th
Words: Ed Cherubino Photo: City of Boston screen grab
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The bread itself has a fine texture and is filled with Swiss and Blue cheeses. It's delicious on it's own and if you are going to grill it, you should make sure the filling lives up to that standard.
To keep the quality outstanding, we grated a light coating of an aged cheddar onto both slices of the sandwich then thinly sliced some of Stillman's Farm, Cherokee purple heirloom tomatoes and piled those on each piece of bread. Finally, we added some shreds of Jamón Serrano to each pile.
To gild our masterpiece, we melted the fat from the jamon and added some butter before we began grilling the sandwiches in a hot skillet. Porky flavor carressed the bread inside and out.
Shredding the ham made sure we would get a bit in each bite. Sometimes when we've left thinly sliced meat whole, the slice has pulled out of all that gooey, grilled, goodness in the first bite. The shredding process also left the stripes of fat that inspired us to melt them with the butter.
The first bite put us in celebration mode so we cracked open a split of champagne to enjoy with our toasties! It seemed to fit with Pain D'Avignon's heritage!
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.
All products featured on BostonZest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
