Archive for March, 2007

Looking forward to Parking Meters

Sunday, March 25th, 2007

I never thought I would say such a thing, but living in the fabulous neighborhood of Roslindale, I have to say a few parking meters would improve the square tremendously. Today, as on most days, the municipal parking lot was almost empty while the square was packed with cars, some of them illegally parked in clearly marked No Parking areas and one car parked in a crosswalk. There is even rumors that the “lack of parking” that some people feel in Roslindale is directly related to the fact that business owners in the square park right outside their own businesses!

According to the minutes of the February 13th BRA Advisory Group meeting in Roslindale, the suggestion of parking meters was received favorably. I would welcome those meters with open arms. There is no lack of parking in Roslindale, but there may be a lack of turnover. If you can walk to the square, like I do, it’s the nicest way to visit this very pedestrian-friendly Village. Parking in the municipal lot behind the Roslindale Medical and Dental Center is the next best thing. For everyone else who wants to park in the square on South Street, Birch, Corinth, Belgrade or Poplar there should be meters.

A Plug for Yelp

Sunday, March 25th, 2007

I never really knew much about Yelp.com but, but in writing my last post, I wanted links for the stores I mentions but could not find a website for any of them. The first link for Village Market was the Yelp review, and when I looked through the reviews for the other business, the yelp reviews seemed accurate enough to use them as links too.

Village Market — Not For Jews

Sunday, March 25th, 2007

A number of months ago, I emailed Village Market in Roslindale asking if they would carry Cheryl Ann’s Challah on Fridays. I never got a response. This past Friday I went there hoping for some matzah meal to make Matzah Ball soup, but they had none. In fact, with only one week until Passover, I could not find a single Passover item. When I asked an employee where the Passover foods were, he had no idea what I was talking about. He called someone on the phone and then took me to a section that had sugar free and some some other diet foods — definitely NOT Passover food. I said I would be sending in a complaint email to the store and he told me he was the owner and would try to get some Passover foods. (He’s the young guy with bright red hair.)

If he really is the owner, he needs to learn something about a segment of his customer base that I believe is growing in Roslindale. I’ve noticed that Village Market is doing it’s best to compete with HI-LO in Jamaica Plain, but as for us Jews, we’ll need to keep driving outside the square to get OUR ethnic foods.

Salute’s New Menu: From Excellent to Run-of-the-Mill

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

Before they changed the menu, I considered Salute was one of the great new Roslindale restaurants. The prices were less than Delfino’s and the pizza was better than Sophia’s Grotto. A number of months ago, we enjoyed the Mozzarella e Pomodoro pizza, a crisp traditional crust with big chunks of fresh mozzerella and a sauce that took me back to my four-month sojourn in Italy over 10 years ago. The lasagne special I enjoyed that night was made with handmade noodles served in a bowl with just the right amount of cheese and sauce — delicious! I commented then how great it was and said they should put it on the regular menu. They told me they were changing their menu and that the lasagne would be on it.

Tonight we couldn’t have been more disappointed. The bread was cold, the pizza crust was now a soft, perfectly round, plate size pizza with American style sauce and cheese. (We could have done better at Romano’s down the street). And the lasagne, despite our previous server’s promise, was not the same one. It was an American style lasagne that anyone could have made at home. (I would have made sure it was cooked all the way through as well.)
To their credit, the salad was excellent, and our server took the lasagne off the bill since I wasn’t happy with it.

Rumor has it that they may be moving to a third chef (and menu?). If so, I’d say, bring back the old pizzas and that fabulous lasagne. And while you’re at it, add some more vegetarian pastas. There are many more vegetarians in Roslindale than most restauranteers would like to believe. Meat may sell, but a good vegetarian restaurant will garner a tremendously loyal following.

Falling short of goals

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

Before I comment, I want to point out that I’m one of the very lucky at-home parents with a daughter who takes three-hour naps every day, like clockwork. However, within that three hour period I try to do the following: update my blog, take an hour long stationary bike ride, prep for dinner, write in my journal, read, catch up on email, prepare for one of the meetings or classes I chair or teach, and (if there’s still time) nap. Today I’ve prepped for dinner and had lunch. I have one hour left. I haven’t written in my journal in days and the bike is calling, but so is the couch for a nice nap. The rain is falling hard outside the window and I think the couch has won. ZZZZZZZZZZ……


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