Ashes to Ashes, Fun to Funky

While doing some research the other day, yr humble correspondent stumbled upon this 2002 press release commemorating the 75th anniversary of the infamous Sacco & Vanzetti trial. Apparently, & much to the surprise & amusement of yr humble correspondent, the cremated ashes of Mr Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are kept in the Rare Books Department of the Boston Public Library.

Amazing what one can find in libraries these days, what what?

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Image: The Bottles of Jacob Wirth
Speaking of fine dining: on this day in 1868, the Jacob Wirth Restaurant opened for business at 60 Eliot Street. Much congratulations & a very happy 137th, Mr. Wirth!

Hidden Beacon Hill

Nestled in the basement of 37 Bowdoin Street, on the north slope of Beacon Hill, is a restaurant named Grotto. Yr humble correspondent has for a while now desired to write up a review of this adorable & obscure establishment, for truly it is one of his favorite places to dine.


Oft-overlooked due to its small size and somewhat out-of-the-way location, Grotto is one of those "local secrets" that make neighborhoods in Boston feel so distinctly Old World. One could be an old hand at the labyrinth of Beacon Hill's hidden gardens & alleyways & still overlook Grotto, which is indeed most unfortunate for the place is decidedly fabulous.

One enters Grotto by descending a set of stone steps into the basement of an otherwise nondescript apartment building. Inside, one is confronted with a warm and comfortable environment, designed in a sort of Bohemian theme, with plenty of mirrors & artwork (all done by local artists, of course) & swaths of silk hanging from the ceiling & over the windows. The whole place is bathed in red, from the exposed piping to the ambient lighting, but is well-balanced so as to not seem too extravagent or over-the-top. Cute accents, such red daisies at each table and dessert menus wrapped up like scrolls, complete the feel of the place & make one forget they are half underground.


Grotto is open for both lunch and dinner (closing for a few hours between the two) & is a bit expensive, though well worth the price. A full dinner for two, with drinks, generally costs between $80 and a $100, while lunch can range anywhere from $40 to $60. Again, yr humble correspondent cannot stress enough that the experience is well worth the bill, for, in addition to the lovely atmosphere, the food is delicious, unique, prompt in arrival and served in good portions. The cocktails are reasonably priced, and are all masterfully mixed. In addition, one is almost gauranteed a quiet experience, as Grotto is hardly ever busy & is capable of seating only about a two dozen guests.

The service is more-or-less impeccable. Never once has yr humble correspondet had a negative waitstaff experience at Grotto. Everyone is unfailingly polite, readily at beck & call without seeming overbearing & friendly without seeming superficial or forced.

Again, yr humble correspondent cannot recommend Grotto enough & must insist every one of his dear readers take someone special there this spring or summmer. It is a quick jaunt from the Park Street, Bowdoin or Government Center T Stations, making it ideal for an after-work rendevouz or a Friday night date.

Boston Starbucks: The Smallest Starbucks

Located at 12 Winter Street, in Downtown Crossing, the Smallest Starbucks is, in the opinion of yr humble correspondent, the smallest Starbucks in Boston. It is roughly rectangular in shape & scarcely large enough to accomodate the counter behind which the baristas work, let alone the cream & sugar stations & the two tables that, somehow, have been crammed into the establishment's tiny bay windows.

The Smallest Starbucks, befitting its location in the heart of a retail zone, caters to all types. Tourists are most common during the spring and summer months & in the morning one can usually anticipate a long line of office workers about to start the usual nine-to-five grind. The occasional law student from Suffolk is not unusual, either.

All in all, the Smallest Starbucks would scarcely warrant notice from yr humble correspondent, or from any of my loyal readers, save for the fact that it is the optimal people-watching spot in Downtown Crossing. If one is able to manage a seat in the aforementioned tiny bay windows — which are often occupied — than one should prepare for a full day's worth of hilarity. The sort of people that linger around Downtown Crossing are, it is widely known, not of the most "typical" sort, after all, & observing their "fashion sense" & activities has most effectively killed many of yr humble correspondent's summer afternoons. For this reason, yr humble correspondent gives the Smallest Starbucks an acceptable A-.

Boston Starbucks: The SMS

We are honored today to have the illustrious Mr D— advance the cause of the Guide to Boston's Starbucks by providing Bostonia with a guest review of one such establishment! A resounding huzzah to Mr D—, what what?


Image: Mr D—
The Strip Mall Starbucks is located, unsurprisingly, in a small strip mall along Somerville Avenue, a few blocks before the Porter Square T station. It shares the space with a laundromat, a dry cleaners, and a cell phone store; there is a Cumberland Farms with concomitant gas pumps just next door. 711 Somerville Avenue is not a location that invites much walk-in traffic.

Accordingly, customers of the SMS can be classified into two groups. There are, first, the morning commuters, who crowd the registers between the hours of 7 and 9 AM. One would be wise to expect a ten minute wait at the SMS in the morning; while the baristas are cheerful and efficient (of which more later), they are still yet only human.

Second, later at night, those who make use of the laundromat's services sometimes stop by for a latte or such. This is hampered to some degree by the relatively early closing hours — while the laundromat is open past midnight, the SMS closes well before 9 PM. Still, even when the inviting door is locked, the wireless connection continues to beam out into the night and into the laundromat next door.

On the weekends, the usually sufficient seating becomes crowded and even full. It is not a spacious Starbucks but it is a comfortable one, with several tables, a pair of easy chairs, and a counter buried deep inside the store. While I object to the positioning of the counter — a Starbucks counter should allow for easy people watching, and this one does no such thing — I have no complaints about the other aspects of the interior. They have done well with the limited space permitted by the location.

The staff is friendly but not too friendly, and they perform with admirable precision. My impression is that most of the baristas have a lengthy tenure at this location, and that their daily tasks have become second nature. Regular customers will be identified, and if you steadily order the same drink, they'll start getting it ready before you're even in the door.

I would grade the SMS as a strong B+.

God Save the King!

Sincerest apologies, dear readers, for the lack of posting. Yr humble correspondent came down with a bizarre sort of illness last week, and is only just recently recovered (well, mostly recovered).

However, in honor of this past Saturday's marriage between Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles (now the Duchess of Cornwall), yr humble correspondent would like to direct his readership to this account of the October 18, 1860 visit to Boston by another Prince of Wales (later crowned Edward VII).

Oh, and on a wholly unrelated note: yr humble correspondent returned to work this morning to discover that the EI,CL Starbucks is undergoing extensive remodeling! One must wonder if this has anything to do with yr humble correspondent's writings on the matter.

Doubtful, yes. But a man can dream, can he not?

Found Near Wood Island

...and they never saw Mr. Johnson again.