Back out on the street, passing cannoli-eating, patois-speaking, masses on the sidewalks, I made my way past three favorite eateries: Neptune Oyster, L’Osteria, and Monica’s looking for this cafe I really like, which has wide windows that open to the street and a ceiling covered in football (euro, not american) flags. It’s called, Cafe Paradiso. I guess tourists like it but so do I. 

By then I was getting a little hungry, so I stopped into a Gigi Gelateria. What a tourist trap. I say SKIP IT, mostly due to their extremely rude staff. After being ignored for a good five minutes, I asked if, having never been there before, I could taste a flavor. I tasted the chocolate hazelnut ( not great, not very flavorful). Could I try the mint chip? No! Only one taste per customer, he said. Excuse me? I said. Only ONE taste per customer, he said. What, did he think I was just trying my darndest to get as much free gelato as possible and that an effective way to do it was by the quarter-teaspoonful? So, not wanting to get stuck with a six-dollar cup of something that was as equally gross as the one flavor I tasted, I left without buying anything. Good sales tactic, guy–way to reel in the new customers!

So then I moved on to the tourist trap next door, Vittorio, which I love because they have excellent cappucino and I take everyone there who comes to town to visit me. However, on my latest visit, I got an annoying waitress. I understand that you only get paid $2, waitress, i have been there. But believe me that is more than I am getting paid now. So, just let me enjoy my Cappuccino in peace, ‘k? After delivering the check, she told me that she was closing out, could I please pay now? I was in the act of getting out my wallet, so I am not sure what she thought I was doing instead…so as I am taking the money out, I lay it on the table, and was just fishing for the tip when she came up and grabbed the check and the cash I had already laid out, and walked away. All of you out there who are waitstaff–rule of thumb is, let the customer put down ALL their money first, THEN take the bill away. Poor girl thought I probably stiffed her on the tip. Well, after my negative gelato experience, I wasn’t about to run after her with my two dollars. 

So that is the North End for you. Full of pushy people and overrun by tourists and the shopclerks who hate them. But if you are willing to be brave, and maybe stop and say a little prayer, it can be worth it for the day out. (Especially if Ben Affleck is there shooting his newest movie….)

One of the first things I did on moving into town was to look for some good Twitter people to follow. Its an easy way for me to see whats going on around town.

Here are a few of the Boston-related Twitter accounts I’ve been following. Suggest more in the comments.

1. @BostonTweet You can tweet things to @BostonTweet and have them show up on bostontweet.com, which is nifty. Apparently that guy eats and pub crawls for a living or something. Good heads up on concerts, events, and chances to snag tix to things.

2. @EvilBostonTweet Remember that episode of Star Trek where Kirk gets split into his good and evil halfs? Yeah. This is pretty much what you think it is. By which I mean hilarious.

3. @Boston_Police Nothing contributes to a sense of well being than a constant stream of Tweeted police blotter stuff. “SHOTS FIRED: 20 Charlotte St., Dorchester, 2 suspects in custody, 2 firearms recovered.” See? You feel better. I knew it.

4. @AmalieBenjamin Boston Globe reporter for all things Red Sox. I know her from her appearances on NESN before games, bringing the knowledge while other female correspondents seemed to bring mostly…umm…something else. You know.

Obviously I’m just getting started. Tell me what I’m missing.

The first and biggest is COMMENTS! Registration is no longer required to post a comment on any post. Of course if you already have an account you can still login to ensure your comments are attributed to you, but those who don’t can now post a comment without any long term commitment. Also, on the right you can see some of the recent comments so you’ll always know what the active discussions are. This was the most requested thing we’ve heard from people since our last redesign and we’re excited to see where it leads.

The next change is also something that was heavily requested, and that is a change to the ADS on the sites. You’ll immediately notice fewer of them, but what might not be as obvious is those smaller square ones to the right are specific to this city only and are being sold for a flat rate for a period of time rather than a confusing CPM/traffic/network model. Depending on the city, these range from $7-$175 for a full week. If you purchase one, during that time your ad will be the only one in that spot and will show on every page. We set these up both to make it easier for smaller local businesses to get their ads on our site, and also to help us bring in ads that relate better to our local audiences. Also, keeping these sites online is expensive and every little bit helps.

There are a bunch of other things we changed but we’ll leave those to you to investigate and take advantage of. Hope you like it, and we look forward to seeing you in the comments!!

Love,
The folks at MBHQ

As my friend put it,” What a great city we live in! We just saw an amazing show that was as good as a concert anywhere else, for 12 bucks!”

I concur. 

I thought the Middle East Downstairs was surprisingly atmospheric and, well, hip! It had columns, stained glass windows, good lighting, and a floor reminiscent of a roller-derby or jitterbug days. It has a lived in, well-worn sort of feel that makes you want to relax, have a PBR, and get into the music, maybe while dressed in plaid or something from American Apparel. It helped that it was packed with hipsters, art-school types, and young, creative people with outfits and haircuts I will probably be trying to emulate in days to come.  The acoustics were good, though not great. Once it was packed with people it  was better, but some of the less experienced bands, who don’t realize how important sound adjustments are to their sound (duh) just crank up the volume so that even if you screamed someone a foot away still couldn’t hear you ( I tried it). 

The music itself was great though–a really good show. I would definitely go again. Though next I will be hitting up the Middle East Upstairs, which is not in fact, the Middle East itself, where there is always music inside the picture window, and it is not above the Middle East,  but is down two doors at the other Middle East and at the back by the bathrooms and up the stairs above Zuzu…why they don’t just give the places completely different names is beyond me, but then, that might kill the eclectic treasure-hunt quality of establishments that Boston has refined so well….

photo credit: Mean Creek at the Middle East. www.jessicahutfless.com

At first glance of some test addresses thrown in to Google Maps, I notice the time schedule. What’s the next bus/train to come by? What time will you arrive, given the transfer over to the red line? Miss that one, and how late will you be? This is the future, people! Put those accordion folded bits of paper in the trash where they belong, and pull out your high tech portable communication device of choice.

Go, play.

Here’s what I think you can expect from me:

1. Wonderment. Just about every place we visit we’ll be seeing for the first time, so expect a bit of awe and wonder in my posts. I’ll do my best to flesh that out with more descriptions, but my focus will likely tend towards “things that are awesome.”

2. Family. We have 3 kids, and we’ll be living in a tiny apartment. Most places we visit leave a strong impression based on how family-friendly they are. Do the men’s rooms have diaper changing facilities, or just the women’s?

3. Baseball. I know there are plenty of other places to get sports news, but I’ll probably mention the Sox.

4. Personalities. This is not our first time moving to a new city, but I never tire of local flavor. Expect to hear something about the interesting guy next to me on the subway, or see some camera-phone pictures of action on the street.

Sound good? Sound horrible? Say hello in the comments, tell me what makes this blog great.

Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe

I was partaking in my favorite procrastination pasttime…surfing the web…when I came across this post in a blog sponsored by Boston.com/The Boston Globe. The hilarious thing about this article is not the content, but the comments that follow it. 

This is one of my favorites:

Well, Flynne, not everybody who reads the reporting in the Globe lives in Brookline…shocking, I know…so not all of us who have to deal with wild turkeys are doing so while walking around Coolidge Corner. So, those of us who do not live in Brookline (and there are QUITE a few of us…again, I know this is shocking) actually DO appreciate the “ingenious” garden hose suggestion.

Brookline is not the center of the universe. Imagine that.

There is some serious hatred of Brookline and Newton residents. I mean, I think Brookline and some of its residents are really annoying and self-righteous in many ways, but I don’t feel the hatred like some of these people. I do have to say, however, I found myself laughing more often than not. If you are a sensitive Brookline resident that can’t take a joke, then don’t read the comments. For everyone else, make sure you scroll down. It’s hilarious!

Tara Donovan’s breathtaking work is on display.

"Untitled (Plastic Cups)"

I can’t say enough about how much I loved this exhibition: http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/exhibit/donovan/

Bring your friends.  Bring your enemies.  This exhibit is awesome.