tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post2995247344884705160..comments2024-02-29T03:29:52.934-05:00Comments on A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago: Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02113168955236758821noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-5520332823385283932011-01-26T14:44:56.000-05:002011-01-26T14:44:56.000-05:00SOUTH HADLEY!!!!!!SOUTH HADLEY!!!!!!KRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-39077374288272091992011-01-24T23:17:09.000-05:002011-01-24T23:17:09.000-05:00I lived in Cambridge, North Cambridge, and souther...I lived in Cambridge, North Cambridge, and southern Arlington (right off Mass Ave in all cases) from '95-'00, moving down to DC in August 2000. I still miss aspects of Boston (including the aspect that Boston residents are hating right now), but there was no real way to do the work I wanted to do from outside DC... I also have very fond memories of the tapas place in the Porter/Davis area -- can't believe I've forgotten the name of that one too! Russnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-55972357466475764992011-01-24T21:52:29.000-05:002011-01-24T21:52:29.000-05:00Holyoke, Hadley, Northampton, Sunderland, Belchert...Holyoke, Hadley, Northampton, Sunderland, Belchertown ... any others?Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-71006096231987372562011-01-24T21:51:21.000-05:002011-01-24T21:51:21.000-05:00It sounds like we were all there at the same time ...It sounds like we were all there at the same time - I moved to Somerville in January '97, and was there until September '02 (though I did spend 2001 living near Central Square). I used to listen to Tim Gearan in Toad every week, and I mourn the passing of India Club.J. Bowmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-4722477429043882382011-01-24T21:47:33.000-05:002011-01-24T21:47:33.000-05:00The gloves are in Porter Square, which used to be ...The gloves are in Porter Square, which used to be (maybe still is) one of the longest escalators in the world. The musical instruments (the chimes are the best, but there's also a "gong" and a sheet you can rattle to make a thunder-like sound) are in Kendall Square, and there are levers on the walls of the station so you can operate them while waiting for a train.J. Bowmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-1066993813507538512011-01-24T18:48:06.000-05:002011-01-24T18:48:06.000-05:00Thanks so much for all the great ideas! We can...Thanks so much for all the great ideas! We can't wait to start putting together an itinerary and seeing how much of this we can fit in!kenedy janenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-85067897214597360142011-01-24T18:02:48.000-05:002011-01-24T18:02:48.000-05:00I just want to second the love for Orchard House, ...I just want to second the love for Orchard House, Walden Pond and the Isabella Stuart Gardner gallery, one of the truly great and underknown American museums. The new green belt on top of The Big Dig is pretty nice, too. Carrienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-4914120630665770582011-01-24T13:53:04.000-05:002011-01-24T13:53:04.000-05:00The Gardner Museum is fantastic. Don't miss i...The Gardner Museum is fantastic. Don't miss it. The building itself is quite beautiful and has the feel of walking into a rich eccentric art lover's home with the bonus of having been the victim of one of the great art heists which they love to talk about.mcmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-6020632041559063102011-01-24T12:31:33.000-05:002011-01-24T12:31:33.000-05:00I haven't been to Boston in a hella long time,...I haven't been to Boston in a hella long time, but I used to love going to Newbury Comics. No clue if it is (a) still there or (b) still cool.<br /><br />And I loved the T, especially some of the stops near MIT that have (had?) cool sculptures in them. I remember one long escalator with bronze gloves seeming to tumble down the center rail and pile up at the bottom, and another one that had huge chimes between the trains that made music when they passed. (Obviously made quite an impression - the last time I saw those would have been in 1991 or so.)<br /><br />Avoid driving in Boston.Marshanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-80839978627091151682011-01-24T11:49:50.000-05:002011-01-24T11:49:50.000-05:00Porter Exchange! Thank you, J. Bowman. Not that ...Porter Exchange! Thank you, J. Bowman. Not that I would ask anyone to rely on my memory at this point, but I am almost certain it was there in Fall 1999, as I'm fairly sure we ate there the day we moved in to our house that year.Carmichael Haroldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-19217974209287143182011-01-24T11:25:49.000-05:002011-01-24T11:25:49.000-05:00Yes -- the northernmost part of Porter Exchange. ...Yes -- the northernmost part of Porter Exchange. I think it was well gone by the time I left (in mid-2000).Russnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-55769606933151561512011-01-24T11:06:13.000-05:002011-01-24T11:06:13.000-05:00I don't think anyone's mentioned Walden Po...I don't think anyone's mentioned Walden Pond yet -- and actually, March is a better time of year IMHO because it's less crowded and there are no swimmers. It always strike me as OFF that people are allowed to swim in Walden Pond. You could easily wrap that around seeing Orchard House.<br /><br />There's a really striking Holocaust Memorial right near Faneuil Hall and the Union Oyster House that's worth seeing. Also, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Cambridge has some spectacular collections.<br /><br />I can't resist a few restaurant recommendations too, with the caveat that it's possible that these places aren't there because I haven't been back in a year or so. Lala Rokh is in Beacon Hill, and it's one of my favorites -- Persian food in a really lovely space with friendly owners. I also really love Maurizio's in the North End, and Les Zygomates downtown, which has French food with live jazz on weekends.Aimeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-27052758522475347822011-01-24T10:46:30.000-05:002011-01-24T10:46:30.000-05:00I was passing through the area recently, and while...I was passing through the area recently, and while I can't recommend anything in Boston itself, I can say that if you're driving up and need a place to eat, the Traveler's Book Shop (exit 74 off Route 84) is a real find. It's good, diner comfort food, but it's also a used bookshop, and you eat surrounded by books. And every person can leave with three free books! It's about an hour before you get to Boston, and totally worth it.Suenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-62968774580314935032011-01-24T10:04:17.000-05:002011-01-24T10:04:17.000-05:00I do not remember that place at all. Was it in the...I do not remember that place at all. Was it in the corner closest to the T stop? Because that restaurant changed at least twice just in the last eighteen months that I was there (2001-2002).<br />I did remember, by the way, that the building is called the Porter Exchange.J. Bowmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-11371308910039716952011-01-24T09:15:27.000-05:002011-01-24T09:15:27.000-05:00It's really stunning how much of 19th-century ...It's really stunning how much of 19th-century American literature was written or edited within a few square blocks in the Concord area -- not just Emerson and Alcott, but also Hawthorne and of course Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller, and even Melville spent some time there. (And all of them relied, more or less, on Emerson's largesse.) So, definitely a place to visit for literary geeks. Russnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-3201722032091462722011-01-24T09:09:27.000-05:002011-01-24T09:09:27.000-05:00As well you should!As well you should!Nicholas Carrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-88226780769666589622011-01-24T08:55:23.000-05:002011-01-24T08:55:23.000-05:00Oh yeah, Cottonwood Cafe <realizes> <blam...Oh yeah, Cottonwood Cafe <realizes> <blames></blames></realizes>Carmichael Haroldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-22819010539938319312011-01-24T08:41:47.000-05:002011-01-24T08:41:47.000-05:00I believe Russ means "The Pioneer Valley,&quo...I believe Russ means "The Pioneer Valley," as he would never exclude the fine towns nearby.KRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-2454857330154206782011-01-24T08:03:52.000-05:002011-01-24T08:03:52.000-05:00With some Facebook help, I've "remembered...With some Facebook help, I've "remembered" that it was the Cottonwood Cafe.Russnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-48327206051866886582011-01-23T22:28:22.000-05:002011-01-23T22:28:22.000-05:00Russ, was it Forest Cafe, or was that further down...Russ, was it Forest Cafe, or was that further down Mass Ave?Carmichael Haroldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-38755334270742952292011-01-23T22:23:42.000-05:002011-01-23T22:23:42.000-05:00I know the place you are talking about, and am hav...I know the place you are talking about, and am having brain damage trying to remember (I'm stuck on Anna's Taqueria and Christopher's, neither of which, while close, were there). The Command Center thing is particularly funny to me, because half of the reason that I spent so much time there is one of my closest friends had spent the prior 5 years in Japan and always wanted to go there because he said it reminded him of "home". Carmichael Haroldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-13015588890592389792011-01-23T21:58:11.000-05:002011-01-23T21:58:11.000-05:00CH, to this day my wife and I refer to that buildi...CH, to this day my wife and I refer to that building as "The Command Center," because I once joked that when the Japanese invasion began, that would be the base from which it sprang. (There used to be a good Tex-Mex-y place there, where I had my birthday dinner at least a few times. Anyone remember the name?) Russnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-1940842797976142792011-01-23T19:58:43.000-05:002011-01-23T19:58:43.000-05:00if you and your daughter happen to be Louisa May A...if you and your daughter happen to be Louisa May Alcott fans, don't miss Orchard House in Concord.Genevievenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-64585539039159984552011-01-23T19:35:15.000-05:002011-01-23T19:35:15.000-05:00A few other ideas:
Mapparium: a huge stained-glas...A few other ideas:<br /><br />Mapparium: a huge stained-glass globe you walk through the middle of, it's quick and cheap. Lots of fun accoustic trickery when inside too, since being inside the sphere creates funky echoes and voice-throwing effects. It's right near the Prudential Center if you like top-of-skyscraper observation decks.<br /><br />If she's into books, see if you can get on one of the guided tours of the Athenaeum; it's a private library with tons of rare stuff like Ben Franklin's personal library, etc.<br /><br />The MFA (art museum) is nice, and the brand-new Art of the Americas wing is *amazing*. You can kill alot more time here than at the ICA (contemporary art museum); the ICA is kind of isolated and only has an hour or two of art to see, tops.<br /><br />In terms of guided tours, the Ghosts and Gravestones tour is fantastic. Boston's kind of unique in that we have enough wacky history we don't need to invent ghost stories, so instead you get some of the fun macabre side of Boston while also seeing some famous gravestones along the way (Paul Revere, etc).<br /><br />Over at Harvard the Natural History Museum has this nutty and amazing collection of glass plant models; if she's into plants this would be mind-blowing; if she's not a green thumb considerably less so. If you're at Harvard anyway while here it might be worth the trip.<br /><br />Oh, and don't be afraid of taking the T. We like to whine and complain about our subway system, but it works pretty well and isn't laid out too poorly. Just know that the Green line is more of a trolley and slow as hell, and the Silver line is a pseudo-subway line; it's actually busses running in dedicated lanes.Nowheremannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953654.post-76443595993470375532011-01-23T19:21:38.000-05:002011-01-23T19:21:38.000-05:00I co-sign the Asian market area (it's in a mal...I co-sign the Asian market area (it's in a mall-type building on the right side of the street if you're headed north) just shy of Porter Square. I more or less subsisted on food from the stalls or Bao from the market when I lived a block from there for a couple of years. If the weather is a little chilly, the hot chocolate at Burdick's on Brattle Street (a couple blocks from the square) is also really good. Carmichael Haroldnoreply@blogger.com