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.
Yesterday the Parks Department crew were spring cleaning the Boston Public Garden lagoon before refilling it to welcome the Swan Boats on April 15th. The expected precipitation may help with the filling up process.
"Many drops make a bucket, many buckets make a pond, many ponds make a lake, and many lakes make an ocean." Percy Ross
About Photo Tales & Quotes: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Photo Tales & Quotes is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
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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.
Who made having friends over to your place for a meal, an afternoon, or an evening a major event? Was it Martha Stewart who decided that everything in your home must be upgraded to a state of designer perfection before you can entertain? Was it HGTV with House Hunters who turn up their snobby, little noses at any kitchen lacking granite and stainless steel? Was it the Facebook culture of one-upmanship?
We have this kind of setting when we rent a very nice vacation apartment. The rest of the time our home looks lived-in.
Get Over It!
Yes there are people who have perfect homes where they hold carefully planned, sit-down dinners and well-managed fundraisers for their favorite charities. However I’ll bet your friends would have more fun sitting on your living room floor playing with your dog and sharing a pulled-together meal of what everyone happened to have in their pantry or refrigerator.
Times they are a changin’. Kindness, warmth, and friendship are a currency in high demand. Most of us will gladly take those gifts over a house tour of perfection and a competitive meal designed to show off chef-level skills.
Leading the Way
One of the newest magazine success stories is Spoonful magazine which subheads itself as “A Guide to Food & Laughter.” Writing for Mother Nature Network, Robin Shreeves describes the publication as, “... inspiration for when people gather in my home and I practice my scruffy hospitality.”
This quick roof deck evening with friends came together with some appetizers and cheese from Trader Joe's and a bottle of wine that was in our wine rack!
What Is Scruffy Hospitality?
In a related article, Shreeves quotes the Rev. Jack King who explains, “Scruffy hospitality means you’re not waiting for everything in your house to be in order before you host and serve friends in your home. Scruffy hospitality means you hunger more for good conversation and serving a simple meal of what you have, not what you don’t have. Scruffy hospitality means you’re more interested in quality conversation than the impression your home or lawn makes. If we only share meals with friends when we’re excellent, we aren’t truly sharing life together.”
You can also take a walk together and pick up a lunch. The friends visiting from out of the area wanted lobster rolls, so we all went to Luke's Lobster and brought home a feast.
What’s more ...
Who cares who hosted the last time? We all remember when growing up there was one house that was a gathering place for most of the kids in the neighborhood. In most families there is one person who does most of the hosting. As long as everyone pitched in with food and helped out, no one seemed to mind.
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(Adapted for BostonZest from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns.)
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.
"Truth is the torch that gleams through the fog without dispelling it." Claude Adrien Helvétius
About Photo Tales & Quotes: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Photo Tales & Quotes is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
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!
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.
Recently Toronto enacted a few new laws that canine guardians will want to know about should you be traveling there with your dog.
"No person shall use a choke collar, choke chain, pronged collar or any similar device at any time on a dog" (this does not apply to martingale collars)
"... no person shall keep an animal tethered where a choke collar, choke chain, pronged collar or any similar device forms part of the tether.
"No person shall tether an animal unsupervised for longer than one hour."
Here's our pal Marley in a nice, wide martingale collar. These are designed for dogs who could pull out of a collar because they have a narrow head. She is also very well trained and walks politely beside us. In this photo, she's watching a squirrel.
Cheers for Toronto!
They are not alone in this action. If you plan to travel this summer with your dog, you should check to see if something still allowed in this area is illegal where you are visiting.
What You May Not Know About Choke/Prong Collars
Think about your dog’s anatomy and important body parts that are just under the skin on their neck. W. Jean Dodds, DVM, one of the leading experts on thyroid disease in dogs says, “The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ just in front of the larynx and trachea, and the mandibular salivary glands are found on the side of the face just below the ears. Thus, they can be easily injured by trauma and sudden pressure forces (like could occur from the slip ring and chain of metal collar, and a metal prong or hard braided leather collar). A harness or ‘gentle leader’ type collar is preferred these days, especially for strong dogs that like to pull and lunge out when on a standard collar and leash.”
Naturally, your leash should be short, strong, and always attached to the dog when you are not in a legal, off-leash recreation space. Since the training goal is to have your dog walk quietly by your side, there is no reason to use dangerous extendable leashes. We avoid walking near anyone who uses one since we’ve seen the damage they can do to dogs and people. Dogs on these devices are uncontrolled and unpredictable.
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
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.
Forget the Easter Eggs that are already on store shelves! Hunt down this edition of Edible Boston. It's full of the people, places, flavors, recipes, and products that you will want to add to your shopping list or make for dinner.
In her Letter from the Editor, managing editor Sarah Blackburn hits a welcome note when she writes, "Put your feet up, turn off the news and read about ice cream, bagels, a beer-making farm and a lesson in historical cooking at a living museum."
She continues to encourage us not only to "Eat Local," but also to join the Edible team and use the hashtag #EatLocalMA on social media.
We have Post-It notes marking pages with articles on making cheese at home, celebrating spring with a picnic, and recipes for using those wonderful first greens of spring.
Read with Shopping List in Hand
As much as we think we may know about the local food scene, our preview copy is already dog-eared to return to articles and advertisements for local food suppliers. We've learned to read this publication with my shopping list in hand.
Support the Talented Edible Boston Team
First, pick up a copy of Edible Boston at one of these locations. In fact, pick up two copies and share one with a food-loving friend or leave it where someone might discover it among lesser publications and become a new fan.
May we suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on facebook and, in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.
And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!
Words: Penny Cherubino Covershot & photos: Courtesy of Edible Boston
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.
Last week Penny noticed John Glover's sword moving in the wind.
Using a camera to take a closer look, we could see that the sword was slipping from its hilt. We sent the photo to the person at the Friends of the Public Garden who could check it and arrange a repair if needed. (Here is the contact page.)
Of course, this contact only works for the three parks where the sculpture is in the care of this organization. For artwork in other parts of the city, you should report your concerns to Boston 311.
Thanks to the many people who have donated to the Henry Lee Conservation Fund through the Friends. The public art on the Boston Common, Boston Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall have a very dedicated Collections Manager in Sara Hutt.
She had the conservators from Daedalus, Inc. out working on a repair quickly. Here they were assessing the damage, photographing it, and checking in with other members of the team to decide how to approach the restoration.
And, here is the restored sword in its proper position.
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 talked about the problem of people who buy service dog vests and certificates online to obtain some of the accommodations meant for real service dogs. This, of course, makes if even more difficult for those who actually need the assistance their service animal provides.
Then when you see a dog off-leash and are told that she is a service dog, you'll know that is very unlikely. When you see a dog wearing a service vest acting up, you'll have your doubts. And, perhaps, you'll speak up when an acquaintance tells you they are going to buy a vest and get a certificate.
The Globe article is actually about a piece of legislation filed this session in Massachusetts. As originally proposed, this says, “A person who violates this section commits a civil infraction, punishable by 30 hours of community service for an organization that serves individuals with disabilities, or for another entity or organization at the discretion of the court, to be completed in not more than 6 months and/or pay a fine no more than $500.”
We will be following this bill and trying to think of ways to address this problem.
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
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.
which subheads itself as “A Guide to Food & Laughter.” Writing for Mother Nature Network, Robin Shreeves describes the publication as, “... inspiration for when people gather in my home and I practice my scruffy hospitality.”
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from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.