Sorry, been busy meeting with old friends and the like. Did we decide on a meetup and a location?
Am I supposed to be organizing this? What do I do?
Help me Anne Laurie, you’re our only hope.
*** Update ***
Someone name a place. I literally have no idea where to go and never got the emails from Levenson or AL where they suggested where to go.
I am downtown and can be anywhere a cab can go. It’s you all who will probably have a harder time getting there.
Haven’t you all had a Boston meetup before or am I misremembering? Was that place ok?
Corner Stone
Bunch of Massholes.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
I’m right downtown every day, so I’m in. Where are you staying?
Keith P.
It was yesterday. Everyone was disappointed in you for not showing up.
Omnes Omnibus
75 Chestnut. 6:00 pm. Have fun, Massholes.
Gin & Tonic
You’re supposed to bake a cake.
ruemara
I think they went without you.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Omnes Omnibus:
Is that right? Great choice!!!
Pogonip
@Gin & Tonic: And to wear pants.
p.a.
gonna build snowmen on the common
SiubhanDuinne
Aren’t you the, like, FOUNDER AND BOSS of this blog?
Jeez, give us a few months’ advance notice if you ever plan to come to Atlanta.
(j/k, luv u JGC)
Omnes Omnibus
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: I was just pushing everyone to preppy heaven on a Friday night in the hope that it is crowded.
Keith P.
After seeing that Casey Affleck SNL skit, I’m hoping the meetup is at Dunkin Donuts.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
LOL. Preppy heaven would include Nantucket red and whale belts, but it’s still winter here.
efgoldman
Somebody please post some fucking genuine information before I go to bed?
Thank you
(I hope 75 Chestnut isn’t real – no parking. None. Nada. Zippo.)
Pricey, too. They don’t even put prices on their web menu
Mnemosyne
Pro tip: check the website of anyplace you’re considering and make sure they don’t have live music that night. We learned that the hard way.
jk
Do any Boston residents have a response to Michael Che’s statement that Boston is the most racist city he’s ever visited?
Anne Laurie
FUCK YOU, COLE.
Since you haven’t bothered to answer any messages over the last 36 hours, and I have no godsdamned idea where you’re actually squatting in Boston, you can pick a place your own self and let the rest of us know when to be there. I’ll show up if the storm doesn’t interfere.
But you owe the other people who responded to your original post an apology, especially the ones who rearranged their plans to accommodate you.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@jk:
I believe him. It doesn’t surprise me.
Bill E Pilgrim
This is one nutty hospital.
John Cole
@Anne Laurie: LOL.
I got one email from you to take Levenson’s suggestions since his wife is a foodie. Other than that I got nothing from anyone, including from Levenson.
I am in downtown but I imagine I can get a cab anywhere, so anywhere people want to meet tomorrow is fine and I WILL BE THERE.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne:
I know a great place, right at 85 and Piedmont
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Good god, why the fuck would you take me seriously on this? I mentioned on the least convenient places I knew of – plus the Beacon Hill preppy/yuppie vibe. Come the fuck on. OTOH, if I am in Boston, I might stop in.
Omnes Omnibus
@jk: I don’t and never have lived there, but do you have a point?
Villago Delenda Est
@Steve in the ATL: That place is smokin’ hot!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Well here’s my suggestion if downtown: the Barking Crab. Or the Silvertone Bar and Grill on Bromfield Street.
Villago Delenda Est
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: What does a crab bark sound like, I wonder?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@John Cole:
where are you staying? what part of the city?
Bill E Pilgrim
@Villago Delenda Est: I used to take the Barking train in London. Made me laugh every time.
p.a.
Well for me the place has to be a locally sourced , native specie restaurant, but then I like winter stored root vegetables and sea robin jerkey…
Do I get the Hillary gig?
seaboogie
Since I’m in CA and working tomorrow – am not attending. However, where is it that Levenson used to go to drink some fine whiskey/whisky instead of watching the last of the Presidential debates? Cambridge not far from Boston, and it would likely be on the quiet side and have and “our (BJ) place” kind of vibe to get ye olde convo started…
justawriter
hey cole,
Next time come to North Dakota. Most towns here only have one place to meet. Makes it much simpler.
Another Scott
Um, you’re all meeting at Cheers, aren’t you?
;-p
Cheers, (heh)
Scott.
(Who has never been there. We enjoyed the ShakeShack when we were there a year ago December.)
efgoldman
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Not to mention lime green pants with a little whale print.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Could also do a big sports bar scene on Causeway or Canal Street near the Gahden. Or if you’re over by Fenway, we can do Jillian’s or Boston Beer Works.
efgoldman
@Villago Delenda Est:
In Boston? Ahf.
Steve in the ATL
@efgoldman:
did you guys hack my webcam or something?
ribber
Ever since there was the rumor that the Barking Crab had a leaky septic pipe into the channel, near the intake for their lobster tank I’ve been very wary of it… Silvertone’s great, but might be hard finding room on a Friday night.
efgoldman
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Those of us who are (a) old and partially disabled and (b) coming in from far away (RI) really need a place with some semblance of parking.
Nope. Celtics are home tomorrow night. Those places are impossible on home game nights.
Gin & Tonic
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Not sure they’re related, but the Barking Crab is one of the worst tourist traps in Newport, RI.
p.a.
@Steve in the ATL: I may still have Lisa Birnbaum’s Complete Preppy Handbook somewhere. Of course it says lots that I needed it to understand.
CB in Natick
You’re going to have to make the decision, John. If I were you I’d call Levenson and see what he suggests. You basically have two choices, bars and restaurants. There’s Faneuil Hall market place. It’s a tourist trap but it has many bars and restaurants. It even has a rotunda where people can sit and eat their take out food. I never go there. So I’m clueless. But there is parking and public transportation. The same is true of Harvard Square which long ago lost it’s hipness. I kind of like Mary Chung’s chinese food in Central Square, but that’s not real big and could be crowded on a Friday night. I’m sorry, I just don’t go into town enough these days to pick a sure fire spot. A coffee shop, or desert place might work out.
Omnes Omnibus
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Some don’t go for garish. After all, Harvard’s crimson is somewhere between maroon and wound scab.
seaboogie
@justawriter:
That would be the much vaunted Olive Garden in Grand Forks, n’est-ce-pas?
Villago Delenda Est
@efgoldman: Internets won. We may proceed to tomorrow.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@efgoldman:
Convenient parking in Boston? In bad weather? Ugh. And getting into Boston at that time, on a Friday? That’s rough.
p.a.
@Gin & Tonic: Stiff competition, that.
Steve in the ATL
@p.a.: I did K through college at private schools, so I pretty much lived that book. Regional difference was ducks rather than whales, however. I probably have a couple of duck belts in my old armoire that I maybe can’t fit around my waist anymore.
Not sure the W&L belt I wear with shorts now is any better.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Gin & Tonic:
Admittedly I haven’t been out there in a couple of years, but the one here is touristy too but for a good reason. It has the best view of the city.
Gin & Tonic
@p.a.: And yet I stand by my assessment.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Frat?
SFAW
@John Cole:
Outstanding. That’s ALMOST as helpful as saying “I’m in Brooklyn or Manhattan, but I can get a cab”
Yes, I realize Boston is about one-quarter the size of NYC. It’s still somewhat larger than Manchinsburg, WV, so talking about “downtown” is not the most helpful thing you’ve ever written.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: we said “fraternity” but yes–Beta Theta Pi. I was a token Southerner in a lacrosse house.
ETA: not much else to do in Lexington, Virginia, so the school was 80% Greek!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@efgoldman:
Can you take the train to South Station or park there? There’s a killer East LA Mexican place there.
p.a.
@seaboogie: Where I go fishing in Maine many villages have 1 restaurant. It’s in the gas station. (There’s also usually a pizza parlor too.)
p.a.
@Steve in the ATL: I was underprivileged: day school not residence.
John Cole
@SFAW: I’m t the fucking parker house on School street. I don’t know why this fucking matters because I am one fucking person. The idea is for me THE ONE PERSON to go where the MOST people find easy. Fer fuck’s sake. Hence the I CAN TAKE A CAB ANYWHERE.
Jim Bales
Across the river, in Cambridge, Kendall Square tends to have parking. Options include Legal’s Seafood (park at the Marriott Hotel) or Cambridge Brewing Company (park in the garage at 1 Kendall Square). The Kendall Legal’s tends to be reasonably open for dinners and weekends. Cambridge Brewing will be more crowded on a Friday, I suspect.
Don’t know if I will be able to make it, sad to say. Will attend if I can, but may have family commitments.
Jim
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@John Cole:
You’re a 5 minute walk from where I work.
Gin & Tonic
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: There’s a really outstanding newish restaurant about a 100-yard walk from South Station called Townsman, run by a Beard-award winning chef who used to run a small place in PVD. Highly recommended. It’s on the corner of Essex and Kingston. Convenient to transit, and efg could take the train from South Attleboro. Everyone else can get there by T.
Great ambiance and not as expensive as it sounds.
seaboogie
@John Cole: You remind me of my late husband when he visited the coffee bar where I worked – I used to call him “Sunshine” then. His brother called him “Old Miserable”.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: DTD . Rugby house. Our Betas got voted off with one dissenting vote. Ours, once the last of the “bad” Betas graduated. The university let it restart. It restarted as a fascist group. Assholes.
SFAW
Public Service Announcement (since the Boston Cole Meetup Extravaganza seems to be doing its damnedest to become a clusterfuck):
The finals of the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild Drama Festival is going on at the Back Bay Events Center (NW corner of Berkeley and Stuart) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Festival is high school drama groups performing 45-minute plays. The evening session on Friday has performances at 6, 7, and 8 PM.
Unfortunately, it’s not free. But if Cole hasn’t decided where he wants to meet up by then, and you have a free hour or three, it’ll give you something to do while waiting for him to decide.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeah that’s totally doable. I commute out of South Station so that’s convenient for me too.
seaboogie
@John Cole: Also – may I reiterate – if Levenson’s fave bar is actually in Cambridge and has parking, it seems like a good option – especially if Thomas, Thomas is in the house wit ya.
SFAW
@John Cole:
Because we’re making the pilgrimage to you, laddie, not the other way around.
Well, OK, I guess coming to Boston was a pilgrimage of sorts, but still …
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve in the ATL:
Ooh, my late ex-husband taught me a VERY rude song about your fraternity!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@seaboogie:
It’s really hard to get over the river on a Friday late afternoon since they tore down the toll booths and narrowed the off ramp from the Pike.
SiubhanDuinne
@John Cole:
I can tell already, from hundreds of miles away, this is going to be a friendly, cordial, and amiable gathering.
Kropadope
Well, that was conclusive. Suppose I won’t know til tomorrow whether I’ll get the chance to meet our venerable bloghost.
ETA: I’ll be of little help, most of the places I know are in the burbs.
FlyingToaster
I think I’d go back to Anne Laurie’s suggestion from last night: Helmand in Cambridge (1st street between Kendall and Lechemere). There’s parking at the Cambridgeside Galleria, as well as meter (I hope it’s still free after 6) on-street parking on the side streets. It’s got delicious food and never used to be crowded on Friday nights. Unlike Mary Chungs :(
p.a.
@SiubhanDuinne: this thread may be more fun. keep poking the bear everyone, I’m of to snoozytime…
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne:
Do tell!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@FlyingToaster:
Delicious food – just hard to get to if you’re driving in and need to cross the river at that time of day.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
Well, I believe the official, oh-so-friendly New Yorker’s response is: “You got a (fuckin’) problem wid dat?” Not sure if Boston has a local variation.
efgoldman
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Could.
I was searching Cambridge and found this place. Parking and right on the Red line (Kendall Sq) don’t know anything about it. But reasonable prices for Boston/Cambridge, good beer selection, open late (which is hard to find), as far as I can tell, no music.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
The very idea that one frat might trash-talk another! Why, it’s unheard of!!!1!!2!
GTC
tomorrow will be rough for any kind of meetup. there’s the weather (which will eat the city) and the celtic’s game (which will extra eat any sitting space near north station).
https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/USMA0046:1:US
http://www.nba.com/celtics/schedule/
also if you think you can easily get between cambridge and boston in a snowstorm please readjust your knobs.
(i say this as someone who regularly commutes into north station.)
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@efgoldman:
Just remember how bad traffic is on Friday and getting over the river now that there’s a one lane off ramp off the Pike now where they took the toll booth down, and the Longfellow Bridge is still closed.
Kropadope
Oh, my pharmacist recommended Pho Hoa Seafood Palace in Dorchester. Haven’t been there yet, but if anyone is up for Vietnamese…
seaboogie
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Is Christ Christie governor of MA and I missed it?
Also, maybe this is the place to put this then: One of the Christie minions convicted in Bridgegate is named Bridget…and every time she signs her name…once she gets out of the clink, is going to seem like a cruel joke from the universe.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Lots of places to gather in Back Bay too – easy on easy off the Mass. Pike. Big parking garage on Clarendon street, right over the Back Bay train station.
Anne Laurie
Okay, Cole’s staying near the Common, down in the heart of impossible-to-park territory (even for those used to Boston driving).
I live out by the Rte. 93/95 interchange, and go into Boston maybe once a year for a concert or exhibition — never to eat. Depending on the weather tomorrow evening, I may not even be able to get in there (it’s an hour commute on an ordinary day).
Apart from The Townsman — if people want to walk from South Station — is there a place in the Fauneil Hall complex that wouldn’t be a zoo on a Friday evening?
The Spousal Unit optimistically suggests trying for a private room at Durgin Park, but I personally doubt that venerable institution’s suitability for food snobs.
Kropadope
@GTC:
From what I’m seeing of the weather forecasts, given how this winter has been, I wouldn’t make any confident predictions about tomorrow for good or bad.
Steve in the ATL
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: pffft. I’ll see your one lane off ramp off the Pike now where they took the toll booth down and closed Longfellow Bridge and raise you an entire interstate burned to the ground. Finally, Atlanta beats New England at something!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne:
WHAT?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Steve in the ATL:
yeah, that’s like … whoa.
MoxieM
@SFAW: Local variation would be along the lines of, “go fuck yaself, ya fuckin’ muthahfuckah.” Since you asked, mind. In the old days it would include a variation on “reetahd”, and other choice and nasty epithets. Yes, I was HS class of ’76 (Bicentennial!! ) at a local high school of note. Go Minutemen.
ribber
In the vein of offering suggestions and probably not going, lurker I be, I’m thinking largely of places that have room for a group on a Friday. So, German (weiner schnitzel?) : Jacob Wirth’s. Irish Pub near the Common: MJ O’Connors. chain brewpub: Rock Bottom. Irish pub near Gov’t Center: Kinsale (doh, Celtics, nevermind). Parking sucks everywhere. The Longfellow closure for Helmand just means you cross at the Museum of Science – crowded but serviceable.
John, now that I see you’re at the Parker House, Silvertone is literally around the corner in a basement. Not sure they have the size.
Kropadope
Fuck the snobs, with all due respect, some of us are on a budget.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Anne Laurie:
Faneuil Hall is getting close to the Garden crowds for the Celtics game – there’s probably spill over.
Anne Laurie
The first one (arranged by Lakhe) was in Waltham, west of Boston, at a place that’s since closed down.
Next one was at Levenson’s suggested bar in Cambridge… they had live music starting late in the afternoon, and it’ll be a madhouse on a Friday night.
Last one was at Su Chang’s in Peabody, which has great food, but it’s convenient for nobody except me & the Spousal Unit.
This ain’t West-by-Godless-Virginia. We’re a collection of little republics, like most metro areas, and it takes more than an hour’s notice for people to rearrange their schedules to get out of their separate neighborhoods.
You’re getting suggestions from locals who *do* know the area. Look at the websites, pick one, and stop being a baby.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: There were rumors of sheep in the basement of the UCLA Beta house. I walked by there on the way to my apartment, I sometimes heard noises. Just saying.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: WHAT?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
There’s a big parking garage at the Aquarium too. Legal Seafood is there, Chart House, Marriott Long Wharf, Tia’s. Several other places too a short walk across the Greenway.
Anne Laurie
Here’s the website for The Helmand. Which is in Cambridge (“across the river”) but across the street from a giant parking garage (Cambridge Galleria) and not *too* far from the Lechmere stop on the Green Line.
Not optimal for those of you in downtown Boston, I know, but the food was really good & it’s quiet!
FlyingToaster
@Anne Laurie:
Durgin Park’s food blows. Please don’t.
Back Bay. Lessee.
The Pour House, opposite the Hynes. Gets busy later but with snow and the Celtics, probably not so bad.
The Parish Cafe, down near the Public Garden.
I wish it were 20 years ago; I used to know all the good places on Boylston & Newbury.
NotMax
re: this thread: It’s like reading a play written as a collaboration by Eugene Ionesco and Harold Pinter.
:)²
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of the Delt house at Lawrence…
efgoldman
@Kropadope:
Not a bad idea; I hadn’t thought of Dot Ave, but it’s T accessible, there will be SOME parking, and Cole’s cab driver will be able to find it.
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
All wicked expensive.
efgoldman
@FlyingToaster:
We used to be regulars at Newbury Steak House, until the board of health closed them down.
What’s out by the Arsenal now? There used ti be a pretty good Greek place across the street.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: No, it was the Betas.
Kropadope
@NotMax:
And Balloon-Juice continues to be a wellspring of research topics.
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
South Shore MA meetup!!! You want parking? We got parking for days.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve in the ATL:
It’s one of those trendy open fire pit places, I’ll bet.
FlyingToaster
And John, if you’re still awake, if there’s less than 8 inches on the ground at 5pm, I’ll make it into town :) 4-wheel drive on the minivan, and I’ll follow a plow to somewhere I can park in the garage and T the rest of the way.
I don’t see how we get any accumulation if it’s 37 degrees all day. That’s normally rain and sleet and all the streets of Cambridge flooded.
Worse for me is that our school auction is Saturday night, and WarriorGirl’s violin graduation is Sunday. Jet stream, move back north, you bastard.
seaboogie
@SiubhanDuinne:
I see what you did there… ;-)
SFAW
@Kropadope:
Unfortunately, that’s ALL the South Shore’s got.
SiubhanDuinne
@Gin & Tonic:
My tired and elderly eyes read that as “great ambulance,” and I thought, Wow, John Cole meetups sound way more eventful than any I’ve ever attended.
FlyingToaster
@efgoldman: Aegean lost its lease, and that’s the brand new largest Dunks in the fucking universe. I kid you not. I’ll take pictures after WG’s assembly and send them to AG for posting.
The Branch Line and Casa de Pedro are the excellent but pricey restaurants in the Arsenal — well not the mall, but up at “Arsenal on the Charles”. And the parking garage. The mall is about to be torn to shreds and rebuilt a la Assembly Row in Somerville. Welcome to the Arsenal Project. Though it will have a parking garage, too. Poor Watertown mall, with Target, Best Buy, and the Registry, will seem very, um, short.
SFAW
@MoxieM:
Lexington? What a dump of a town. Not like Woooooo-burn.
Kropadope
@SFAW:
LMAO, c’mon there’s a couple decent non-chain restaurants down here. Still, probably better pickings in and around Boston.
SFAW
@Kropadope:
Yeah, I was just busting balls. I have no idea if there’s anything down that way (I’m more towards Worcester).
SiubhanDuinne
@SFAW:
He was ΠΚΦ. Ι’m not really sure what-all they did besides trash-talking other frats.
Kropadope
@SFAW: Haha, don’t worry, you weren’t far off.
FlyingToaster
@SFAW:
Aha! Someone who knows how to pronounce the local towns. Would you like a radio announcers job?
WarriorGirl and I have been making fun of the drive-time radio ads (clearly recorded in Atlanta or LA or Cleveland) that mention “Woe-burn” and “Bill-er-ica” or Heaven help us “Cope-ley Place”. Egads.
Kropadope
@FlyingToaster:
I’ve lived in this state my whole life and that appears to be about how I would pronounce Billerica (Woburn I got). Billerica’s out of my orbit, though, please enlighten me as to the appropriate pronunciation.
FlyingToaster
@Kropadope: Bill-Rick-Ah. Treble Cove Road.
WBZ 1030 am for morning drive time will teach you how to pronounce everything EastaWoostah.
efgoldman
@FlyingToaster:
Hey, I remember when Bradlee’s was at one end, and Stop & Shop at the other; Target had no significant presence in New England.
And we spent so much time (and money) in Ann & Hope across the street that I thought mrs efg must have her own shopping cart.
efgoldman
@FlyingToaster:
You could always tell the new reporters/air staff on the news: “Leeyo-minister”; “Worchester” “Lice-ester”
Kropadope
@FlyingToaster: I am well East of Worcester, how do I not know where this town is? Time to pull out the old atlas!!!
…
Oooohhhhhh, I see now. If I’m up there, I ain’t stopping ’til NH. Once, long ago, I went to a science fair at UMASS Lowell.
efgoldman
@FlyingToaster:
I was driving my daughter and SIL (he’s from North Carolina) home from Logan a few years ago; the X-way was stop and stop, as usual; I said to my daughter (grew up in Watertown and Belmont) “well, we made it to the gas tanks.” “What gas tanks” quoth he. So then she pointed out that big white thing on the left with Sister Corita’s painting on it. “Oooooh.”
FlyingToaster
@efgoldman: I furnished two apartments out of Ann&Hope. I stood in line behind Congressman Joe Kennedy and his two boys shopping for Halloween Candy there (the redhead is now Levenson’s congressman).
They’re tearing down the front extension (the street side of the lower half of the mall), and the bridge over to where Ann&Hope used to be. The parking lots will be replaced by multi-storey buildings and a garage.
Ann&Hope’s space is now a smallish Home Depot and a Golfsmith. The Bradlees is now a Marshalls. The steak house in the garage below Ann&Hope is now a Miller’s Ale House. There’s a Marriot Residence Inn where the car dealership used to be.
FlyingToaster
@Kropadope: Back in my consulting days (aka, before WarriorGirl), I could T into town, but I had to drive out to wherever the fuck clients were. Lowell, Marlboro, Maynard, Easton, Westford, Dover, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Hanover. So I’d put on ‘BZ and learn how not to sound like I was from Outer Buttfuck USA. I don’t sound like a native by any stretch, but at least I get the towns (and some neighborhoods) right.
Kropadope
@FlyingToaster: Hey, I’m a native and it’s still not easy. Like Methuen…I’ve always known it was there. I don’t even have a slightly educated guess as to how to pronounce it. Yet, I’m good on its neighbor, Haverhill. The various ‘cesters are the most notorious for people not knowing how to pronounce them, but accordingly that’s often the first group people learn.
CB in Natick
There’s a restaurant and two bars in the Parker House. Parker’s Bar and The Last Hurrah. I’ve never been to either of them, but at least John won’t get lost. The appetizer’s at Helmand are wonderful, and it is quiet. Jacob Wirth certainly has Boston character to it. Boston Beer Works over by Fenway Park won’t care if everyone makes a lot of noise.
Jane2
@justawriter: I vote for the Antelope bar just over the state line in MT.
lahke
Folks coming in from out of town can park at Alewife T station for 7 bucks and take the T in to town. Might be easier than trying to park downtown. Works for a Cambridge meetup also.
efgoldman
SOMEONE DECIDE ON A PLACE AND POST IT BY 400PM FRIDAY, WOULDJA’?
jesus!
Kropadope
@efgoldman:
Seconded. Even as it is, I’ll have a mad scramble getting anywhere after work at 8.
Sab
I am sitting in Ohio and know nothing, but I do know that John Cole is from WVirginia and also knows nothing about Boston so what the fuck is wrong with you New Englanders that you cant get together and give him a suggestion.
Sab
Not speaking well for our political future that you guys cannot manage a meet up with like minded people in your area.
Sab
I can promise that if John Cole wandered over the state line into our state we would not blow him off like Massachusetts did.
Ruckus
@FlyingToaster:
Now that sounds like Boston.
Ruckus
@Sab:
I’m from CA and even I know that if they didn’t give him a hard time, they be booted out of the state. It’s impolite for a masshole to be nice to out of towners until they’ve proven themselves.
lahke
So let’s make it the Parker House. Parking at the Common, or you can take the Red or Green lines into town–both of them have a stop nearby. Given the weather and that it’s a Friday, want to say 7 PM?
Sab
@Ruckus: Fine to be rude if that is important to your self image, but if so what the fuck is wrong with you people.You want like minded blog people to decide we aren’t so like minded because you guys are assholes.
Sab
This guy, blogging for years, comes into your state, reaches out to alleged supporters, and you guys cannot be bothered to respond because of some new England cultural sensitivity that requires you to be assholes to outsiders,WOW. Shorthand for that is New Englanders are utter assholes. I am not simply saying you are assholes. I am saying all the comment about this is so far away and there is no parking and it’s so- expensive and there are better suggestions because we are Boston insiders and we will whine but we won’t tell you where to gobecause if we did we wouldn’t be Boston insiders. Seriously, John, you want to hang out with these guys that cannot even locate a bar in their neighborhood to welcome you when you come in from several states away after organizing a blog that they have been following for years.? I am assuming that, like Trump these new Englanders are beyond embarrassment.
eschneider
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Wait, there’s good mexican food near South Station? Pray tell where?!?
eschneider
@lahke: Similarly, if coming from the south, park at Quincy Adams station, where I-93 and Rt 3 meet. There’s usually open parking there, unlike the more obvious choice of Braintree station.
eschneider
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Boston Beer Works over at Fenway should work. I’d also suggest Summer Shack in Alewife. Excellent seafood, T accessible (Red Line) and has parking for people who need/want to drive.
It looks like rain for tomorrow night, so I’ll come wherever we decide.
msdc
@Anne Laurie:
Gee, I can’t imagine why Cole is so reluctant to meet you in person.
Since you know the area so well, maybe you could be a good host and pick a suitable venue so the guy who’s visiting from out of town doesn’t have to do all the logistical work. But given the reception you’ve shown him here, I don’t know why he’d bother.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@eschneider:
It’s in South Station! Where Clarke’s used to be. Called Tavitas. East LA Mexican – I’ve heard good things, but, it is Boston.
DLew On Roids
This is like Paul Revere’s ride, only sad.
SFAW
@FlyingToaster:
Friggin’ blow-in.
It’s BRICK-uh.
Of course, I’m still trying to find glOW-kes-ter Island (“Emergency! [or “Egermency!”] Everybody to get from street!”)
SFAW
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
I thought you meant Chili’s, but I guess that’s in Chelsea (Culinary Capital of the Country)
SFAW
@Ruckus:
Feckin’ right.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@DLew On Roids:
LOL. Paul Revere didn’t have to herd a bunch of snarling jackals all with parking issues.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@lahke:
So here’s my deal – I work in the Financial District and need to catch a train back to my car, so I’m off at 5 and can meet up anytime after that somewhere downtown – I don’t want to hang around for 2 hours though and then have to catch a late train which is a pain in the ass because they really spread out timewise. If anyone else wants to meet up before 7 let me know.
SFAW
@Sab:
You must be new around here.
But thanks very much for registering your vitally important opinion. The Balloon Juice Executive Committee will convene a special meeting, its sole purpose being: address your vitally important opinion, and make whatever changes are necessary to make this blog a warmer, more welcoming venue for its bloghost. Because, FSM knows, busting the stones of a too-damn-young-to-be-a-curmudgeon-but-curmudgeonly-in-extremis-nonetheless bloghost is a behavior of which all of us — ALL OF US — should be ashamed.
Bless your heart.
SFAW
@FlyingToaster:
Mrs. SFAW and I were watching “Jeopardy!” a week or so ago, and when one of the contestants was announced, Johnny said the name of some town in MA — except we could not figure out what he was saying, even after rewinding and listening one or two more times. It was only when Alex Trebek said she was from “Woe-burn” that we could finally figure out her hometown. [At which point, I, being a good little doggie, said Wooo-burn (as a way to admonish Trebek — who acted as if I weren’t there!) ]
SP
Well, I went to bed early, woke up and read through 150 comments to find that no one has chosen a place.
I’m not enough of a regular to pick a place and say “this is it”, but I work in Kendall so I can either go to one of those or hop on the red line to get downtown.
If you want my assessment of KSq, as they’re trying to call it to make it hip:
Legals- might have a wait but has a fair number of tables
Firebrand Saints- only been there once, was fine but IIRC they have limited seating
Meadhall- great beers, too crowded on a Friday
CBC- good choice, might be a little crowded but not bad, a bit of a walk from T, should be able to park in cinema garage across the St.
Mamalehs- next to CBC, new kosher deli place, haven’t been there so don’t know how crowded
Smoke shop- next to CBC, decent barbecue, probably also crowded
Friendly toast- next to CBC, good food
State park- next to CBC, good bar but meh food
Flat Top Johnny’s- next to CBC, pool hall & bar.
Catalyst- more for business types so somewhat expensive
A4- Obama got lunch there last year, but it’s pretty small too.
Then there’s a string of new restaurants next to the river- Commonwealth, Kika tapas, Fuji, Glasshouse, Evoo, Za, Cafe ArtScience- I don’t know how full they all get on Friday but they’re all next to each other so you’ll probably find something (same goes for the “near CBC” cluster above.) ArtScience is expensive but good mixed drinks although they’re a little insane with the variety of cocktails. And if you keep walking past that then you’re at the above recommended Helmand in a few blocks.
Greg
I suggest Brandy Pete’s in Post Office Square. Right next to the POSq parking garage, food is good and not too expensive. Its a Boston landmark, been around since the 30’s at various locations. Also short walk from Downtown Crossing, and State Street T-Stops..
eschneider
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: I was hoping you didn’t mean there. It’s…not so good. I mean, it’s good -for the train station- :/
Downpuppy
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: On a Friday evening with the Celtics at home the only place that might have a chair would be the Kinsale in Center Plaza.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@eschneider:
Yes, I understand. It’s a drinking/kill time place mostly, but there’s a dearth of Mexican restaurants. I go to a little take out place on Water Street near me that’s delicious.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Greg:
I like that idea too. That works for me. I need to get to South Station.
FlyingToaster
@SFAW:
A) I flew in on a jet, thanks, fresh from my last qual and having gotten the score of my thesis. 30 years ago.
B) Tell that to the ‘BZ Traffic & Weather on the 3’s. I accept them as gospel; you’re just some random dude on the ‘net.
Tenar Arha
John, here’s one more from the peanut gallery.
I would not make a guest try to drive in downtown Boston on a Friday night, so if you are staying in town, weather & aged father permitting, I’ll go wherever is walking distance for you. Anyway, I hope that helps in the decision making.
Tenar Arha
@jk: He’s got a point. (We’re pretty racist just going by neighborhood geography. Then if you look at our suburban geography, even worse. Our crabgrass frontiers were restricted forevah).
maurinsky
@Sab:
Boston is a place where very well educated people who are used to being listened to live. So everyone likes to have their say, and everyone has strong opinions.
Boston is also difficult, so perhaps the people are shaped by the geography. Boston is where you get the following GPS instruction: “stay in the right lane to take a slight left.” I heard it with my own ears. You also can hear your GPS suggest all the different ways to go left: stay left, slight left, lean left, left, hard left, sharp left. This is what happens when you let cows design the roads.
Will check this again when I get out of work to see if any progress has been made.
lahke
AARRRGGGHHH!
So, Cole–when are you out of your meetings? Are you tired of Parker House food? Do you want us ordering room service from your room?
For the rest of us, are there objections to Parker House? Those of us on budgets, can we just get a salad without getting broke?
Parker House is central, one block from a parking garage and T stop for two subway lines, and that T stop is one stop away from two other subway lines. Let’s move the time to something that fits for those in the city, and the rest of us will show up whenever. If nobody objects or comes up with something definitive by 1:00 east coast time, I’m frigging booking a table.
SFAW
@FlyingToaster:
And yet, I — low-life tho’ I may be — have spent enough time among the denizens and natives of that esteemed town, that I actually have a clue about it. Burlington natives (as opposed to aging-yuppie-blow-ins living there since 1987) also call it that. But that might be done as an insult, since the Burlington/Billerica football rivalry was (and may still be) as fraught with something-something-mumble as the Wakefield/Melrose rivalry was/is.
The WBZ et al. stars probably also pronounce “Tewksbury” as if the first three letters sound like the number 2. Which is most assuredly NOT how the Tewksbury natives say it.
On the other hand, I could be completely full of shit. And aren’t you in Watertown, or Belmont, or someplace close to there?