Dorchester Winter Farmers' Market!

The Winter Market was packed with Dorchesterites, shopping for vegetables, breads, and cakes. We were able to pick up some wonderful garlic and kale. We also saw plenty of grass-fed beef, collard greens, sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash, and radishes. It is amazing what they can grow locally during the always cold New England winter. Some standouts included Good Measure Bakery, Lawton Cheese and Meats, Silverbrook Farm, and Oakdale Farm. The Winter Farmers' Market runs Sundays 12-3 from January to March.

Dorchester Winter Farmers' Market
The Great Hall, Codman Square
6 Norfolk St., Dorchester
Located in Codman Square. Just northwest of the Ashmont T stop (Walk about 1/2 mile up Talbot Street).
dotcommcoop.wordpress.com

New Asian Resturant and Bar on Dot Ave.

We have been driving by this place in Savin Hill for over a year and it was always under construction. Originally, we heard it was going to be a sushi bar. Instead, they seem to serve Japanese shabu shabu with some other types of Asian cuisine. If they are up to our standards, we hope to review them soon...

For a review from boston.com, check out: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/boston/dorchester/gallery/van_shabu_restaurant/

(Photo courtesy of boston.com)

Peabody Square Tree Lighting 2011 - This Saturday (11/26) at 7:30

It is time again for the annual Peabody Square tree lighting. Head on down to the square (near the north end of Ashmont Station) before 7:30 on Saturday (11/26) to enjoy the treats and Santa in a trolley...

Dorchester Highlighted on Channel 5's Chronicle

In case you missed it, check out the video...

Segment 1


Segment 2


Segment 3


Segment 4

Bakery Coming to Lower Mills?

Although we do not have any hard evidence yet, the rumor floating around Dorchester is that a new bakery will be opening in the former site of Common Ground in Lower Mills. We walked by the other day and it certainly resembles a bakery... So stay tuned.

UPDATE: The Boston Globe reports that there will be a new bakery called Sweet Life Bakery and Café in the former Common Ground space sometime in October. It will serve baked good and have a lunch menu. We are excited!

(Photo courtesy of Cake and Commerce)

Be Sure to Watch Ashmont Grill on Food Network's Sugar High

Do you love the Sticky Toffee Pudding at the Ashmont Grill? Well, so does Food Network... Tune into Ashmont Grill's national television debut (along side such Boston establishments as Modern Pastry, Myers + Chang, and Daddy's Fried Dough Food Cart), which airs on the Food Network on August 26th at 10:30 pm. Ashmont Grill will be hosting a Sugar High premier party at the same time, and if you show up they will give you a free mini Sticky Toffee Pudding! Here is the link to the Sugar High show info: Ashmont Grill on Sugar High

Food Trucks Are Coming to Lower Dot!

Yesterday, the mayor announced that food trucks will rotate around 15 new permanent locations across the city, including a spot near Ashmont Station that will be open for lunch and dinner (with the location required to close by 9 pm). The food trucks are diverse in their cuisine, from Vietnamese bánh mỳ sandwiches to cupcakes to soul food to grilled cheese. A full list of vendors is available at the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Boston Food. There is also a website to track the food trucks that will soon be up and running and you could always go to the city of Boston's Food Truck Program website to learn more. When the first food trucks end up in our 'hood, we will be sure to review them! Happy eating Lower Dot...

UPDATE: You may have noticed that we recently changed the picture of the food truck on this post. A couple weeks ago, we were talking with the Bon Me food truck folks at their BU location and when asked if they would ever be coming to Dorchester, they told us "it is not likely" (in a somewhat condescending tone). We feel it is unnecessary to promote them any further.


(Bottom photo courtesy of City Rover.)

The Tour de Frances Comes to Dot!

Enjoy celebrating the French Revolution, by watching of the Tour de France at Dot-2-Dot Cafe on Bastille Day. On July 14th at 6:30 pm, DotBike will be teaming up with Ashmont Cycles to host a viewing party of the the 12th stage of the Tour. As usual, Dot-2-Dot will offer their fine menu for you to choose from and the organizers are asking for a small donation for beer and snacks. There will be trivia questions for giveaways presented by Pretty Things Beers.

Bastille Day Tour de France Viewing Party
Thursday July 14th 6:30pm
Dot-2-Dot Cafe
1739 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester
617.938.9342
Located on the edge of Melville Park just south of St. Mark's Parish on Dorchester Ave. Just southeast of the Shawmut T stop.

(Bottom photo courtesy of Sean Bender)

Dorchester Avenue Walk

Do you like walking? Do you like Dorchester? Then join Boston Complete Streets for a free walking tour of Dorchester Avenue from Fields Corner to Peabody Square with Mark Fenton, host of PBS's "America's Walking." Refreshments will be served and it is free and open to the public. RSVP to Patrick.Hoey@cityofboston.gov.

Annual Ashmont Hill Yard Sale Saturday!

The weather will hopefully brighten for one of the most amazing neighborhood yard sales in the country. You should head on over to Ashmont Hill from 9 am to 2 pm this Saturday (May 21st) and enjoy sifting through all the radical stuff people put on tables in their driveways. It features over 40 house and there are numerous stands selling food, from hot dogs and hamburgers to BBQ. You can really make it into a daylong activity!

For more information: www.ashmonthill.org

Located west of Peabody Square. Exit the northern end of the Ashmont T stop, walk up Dorchester Ave., and then turn left on Ashmont Street, follow signs to yard sales.

First Ever Dorchester Pub Crank!

Adding to the amazing bike affinity and hipness of Dorchester... We received an anonymous tip that the first ever Dorchester Pub Crank will be held Sunday May 15th, starting at 5 pm. After an extensive web-search for the term "pub crank" we are also claiming it to be the first ever pub crank in the world. Our understanding is that a pub crank is like a pub crawl, but the participants ride (responsibly) on bikes from one establishment to the next.

It begins at the Banshee (934 Dorchester Ave.), and then continues on to Savin Bar and Kitchen, Harp & Bard, dbar, Blaney Stone, Centre Bar, The Ledge, Tavolo, and concludes (probably pretty late) at the Ashmont Grill.

There are important rules that must be followed:
Participants are disqualified for:
a. Being hit by a car
b. Crashing
c. Not having at least 3 drinks

(Photo courtesy of Sean Bender - who to the best of our knowledge is not involved in the pub crank, we took this photo from the Internet)

Common Ground... Kaput?

The Dorchester Reporter said this week that Common Ground, that quirky restaurant in Lower Mills run by the religious group the Twelve Tribes, is permanently closed. Word is that the group is seeking another possible location somewhere in Dorchester. We hope it is true, because we are already missing their sandwiches. On the up side, it seems the spot is well-suited for a restaurant and we are hoping that another eatery replaces it soon. Our fingers are crossed for Japanese/Sushi, but we will certainly appreciate other cuisines as well.

For our review of Common Ground Cafe from 2006:
Common Ground Cafe

For the story in the Dorchester Reporter:
Lower Mills Eatery Common Ground Will Not Re-open

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Also, the problem has been resolved with our blog rating stars... We encourage you to peruse the blog for your favorite things in Lower Dot and rate away!

Sea Breeze Mexican Grill

The kitschy atmosphere (yes, that is a harpoon on the wall!) and friendly staff (yes, our waiter was awesome) is a wonderful complement to the tasty Mexican fare at Sea Breeze Mexican Grill. Erin had the Sea Breeze Enchiladas with the Mango Shake (Yum!). Chris had the beef burrito with a side of rice and beans. Both were generous portions and made us feel as if we were vacationing on the Mexican coast. You can even get guacamole made table side. It is run by a wonderful couple, who have a passion for Mexican cooking. This is a great addition to Lower Dot!

NOTE: Sea Breeze Mexican Grill is in the process of getting a take out license (yes, please!) and we encourage everyone to stop by and sign the petition.

Sea Breeze Mexican Grill
1782 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester
Located on Dorchester Avenue at the corner of Shepton Street. Just north of the Ashmont T stop and southeast of the Shawmut T stop.

Have you been to Sea Breeze Mexican Grill? Rate it below.

Dot Park Easter Egg Hunt 2011

The annual Dorchester Park Easter Egg Hunt is this Saturday (April 23, 2011) at 10 am at the tennis courts. It is great fun for children and families, and is free and open to the public.

For our blog entry from 2007:
Dorchester Park Easter Egg Hunt

Introducing Ashmont Cycles!

Do you like to bike? Have you an old cycle in the garage that needs a little TLC? Well today we walked by the future home of Ashmont Cycles in Peabody Square (next to Ashmont Grill). This will be Lower Dot's first full service bike shop and we are super excited. The word on the street is that it is opening on March 1st. DotBike's write up says that Ashmont Cycles will stock a full line of Fuji and Linus bicycles for every age and interest, as well as helmets, locks, mirrors and other accessories. They will also repair all makes and models of bicycles.

Ashmont Cycles
www.ashmontcycle.com/about.html



(Top photo courtesy of DotBike and bottom photo courtesy of MAPC and David Loutzenheiser)

The Dorchester Voter Guide - Phoenix Best of '11

By popular request, we have assembled a Dorchester voter guide for you:
Remember to vote: http://thephoenix.com/thebest/boston/vote/

The Dorchester Voter Guide - Phoenix Best of '11
Food and Drink
Bar, Gay (dbar)
Barbeque (Pit Stop)
Brunch (McKenna’s)
Coffee Shop, Local (Flat Black)
Food Truck (Speed’s Hot Dogs)
Ice Cream (IceCreamsmith)
Restaurant, Indian (Shanti)
Restaurant, Vietnamese (Pho Hoa)

City Life
Local Politician (Ayanna Pressley OR Marty Walsh)
Open Space (Franklin Park)
Place to Live (Dorchester)
Square (write-in campaign for Peabody Square)
Street (write-in campaign for Dorchester Ave.)

And while you are at it, vote for Dot chef, Chris Coombs (of DBar) for best new chef courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine: http://polldaddy.com/poll/4554875/

Best of Boston - Support Dot!

The Boston Phoenix has done a great job this year of recognizing Dorchester in its Best of Boston poll. Now let's show the rest of the city that Dot is a hip place to live. We encourage you to go on to the poll and vote all things Dorchester. We are also up for best place to live, so if you only vote for one thing, make it that! Go and vote: http://thephoenix.com/thebest/boston/vote/

The Peabody Square Moon with a Chef Hat!

A heart-warming and cute tribute to a wonderful neighbor! Read more here:
The Boston Phoenix post: Ashmont Moon Mystery: What about fried turkeys, now?
The Dorchester Reporter: Vince Droser, visionary builder and civic leader, dies suddenly
The Boston Globe post: Vince Droser; helped drive development in Boston

UPDATE: The hat has gone missing. A reward has been offered. Please read more here: Sleeping Moon tribute stolen. Help us try to find it

2nd Annual Dorchester-Milton Restaurant Week

The 2nd Annual Dorchester-Milton Restaurant Week will be held from January 17–31 (excluding Fridays and Saturdays), and will again include eight spots in Dorchester and Milton. These restaurants will offer a three course dinner for $30.10 per person. We encourage you to visit Abby Park, Ashmont Grill, Blarney Stone, dbar, 88 Wharf, Ledge, Tavolo, and 224 Boston Street and take advantage of this great deal (and remember to tip your server well!).

Check out our posting from last year:
Dorchester-Milton Restaurant Week

Become a Fan of Dorchester-Milton Restaurant Week on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dorchester-Milton-Restaurant-Week-2011/157138194337641

Or read this recent article about it in the Boston Globe:
8 Is Enough

Peabody Square Tree Lighting 2010

It was another amazing Peabody Square Tree Lighting ceremony. This eclectic mix of Dorchester neighbors gathered around a new attraction, the Peabody Square Moon Sculpture dressed in a amazingly fun Santa hat! It was a great night of carols and of course a visit from the Santa Trolley, while everyone enjoyed the refreshments from local businesses.

Mexican Restaurant Coming to Lower Dot

We drove by this sign on Dot Ave. today for a new Mexican restaurant north of Peabody Square. We are so excited, because there are no Mexican restaurants on our side of Dot. We hope to review them soon...

Sea Breeze Mexican Grill
1782 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester
Located on Dorchester Avenue at the corner of Shepton Street. Just north of the Ashmont T stop and southeast of the Shawmut T stop.

Peabody Square Tree Lighting 2010

On Saturday, Nov. 27th the annual Peabody Square Holiday Tree Lighting will be held around 7:30 pm. As usual Santa and Mrs. Clause will visit via a city tour trolley and holiday munchies will be provided by the Peabody Square Firehouse.

UPDATE: The festivities are scheduled begin at 7:00 and we recommend you arrive then to enjoy in all the activities!

See our post from last year: Peabody Square Tree Lighting

Dorchester Open Studios on October 23rd and 24th

Every year Dorchester Open Studios showcases the best artists in our neighborhood. This year it runs from noon to 5 on Saturday 10/23 and Sunday 10/24. Check out our blog entry from 2006 for a description: Dot Open Studios 2006

Help Save the Lower Mills Library! Part 2

As we had previously posted, the Trustees of the Boston Public Library are threatening to close the Lower Mills Branch. Where they should be finding ways to equally distribute the budget issues caused by the poor economy across the system, instead they are targeting a vibrant part of our community for closure. There will be an important public working session on Monday October 25 at 6:30 pm at the Lower Mills Branch (27 Richmond Street in Dorchester) and we encourage everyone to come and make their voice heard.

Peabody Square Sleeping Moon Dedication

Embracing Dorchester's growing art community, the new and improved Peabody Square will include a sculpture by local artist and Ashmont Hill resident Joseph Wheelwright. Come join the mayor and Boston City Singers in celebrating this new Dorchester monument (will it rival the giant Clapp pear in Edward Everett Square? Can anything rival that pear?). The ceremony starts at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, October 26th (DATE CHANGE) and will be held at Ashmont Station Plaza at the corner Ashmont Street and Dorchester Ave.

Boston.com connects to Dot

We were incredibly disappointed when the Boston Globe discontinued the City Weekly section (we must admit we even canceled our subscription over it - well that and their negative depiction of urban teachers, which is an important part of who we are). We use to love drinking a fresh brewed cup of coffee and looking over the pages describing what was going on in the other 'hoods of Beantown. However, deep down inside we have always rooted for the Globe to turn itself around. We know they have the potential and there is still nostalgia there. So we think this may be the first step...

Today, the Globe and their website boston.com have launched a new section focusing on the neighborhoods of Boston. Although not all neighborhoods are featured yet, we are excited they have realized that the suburbs are not all that makes the Boston area great. Of course, they have chosen Dorchester as one of their first neighborhoods to cover, because of its undeniable hipness and amazing diversity (and we also assume because the Globe offices are located right here in Dorchester). So check out their site and be sure to let the Globe know what you think of it.

Dorchester @ boston.com
Your Town @ boston.com

Mad Men Sundays at Tavolo

Do you love the stylized sets and witty dialogue of the television program Mad Men, which follows the world surrounding early 1960s Madison Avenue? Do you wish you could go somewhere hip, imbibe 1960s styled cocktails, and pretend you were in the program? If your answer to these two questions was yes, then you must watch the rest of season 4 on Sunday nights (10 pm) at Tavolo.

The bar has been pretty packed, so make sure you arrive a little early and be prepared to dine on recipes from 1960s housewife magazines. We particularly enjoyed the spinach and artichoke dip served with historically accurate Ritz crackers and the mini egg salad sandwiches. Chris enjoyed an old fashioned (which has been for some time his favorite drink) and Erin had obviously no qualms about the tasty gimlet. For our health, it is a good thing that we don't smoke as much as they did a half century ago, but to hold you over Tavolo sometimes supplies super fun candy cigarettes.

www.tavolopizza.com
1918 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester
617.822.1918
Located on Dochester Ave. just north of the intersection of Beale Street. Just west of the Ashmont T stop (near the southern entrance/exit).

Dorchester Declared Thriving by WGBH!

It has been almost two decades since WGBH discontinued its nightly program called The Ten O'Clock News focusing on urban Boston, so we were excited when Emily Rooney's Greater Boston decided to examine why neighborhoods like Dorchester are experiencing a surge in housing sales in the middle of tough times for real estate.

Overall, we were incredibly impressed by our spokesman and Dot resident Donna Latson Gittens as she explained to the world why Dot is the place to be: community, diversity, garages, and green space! Although we usually enjoy Emily Rooney's program, we were a bit intrigued by her negative view of Dorchester (despite admitting she has not really been here) that she struggled to overcome throughout the segment (perhaps this is the Back Bay effect?). We would have expected someone with her intellect to understand that urban violence is a problem that exists throughout the city and that Dorchester (a 10-15 minute subway ride) is closer to downtown than Wellesley (a 45 minute commuter rail ride). However, the program did do a great job of explaining why new groups (they described as "a third gay, a third young people, and a third old Boston Irish") are moving into the best neighborhood of Boston. We hope Emily Rooney and Greater Boston make Donna Latson Gittens a regular visitor to their program. Watch the segment here...

Calling All Dorchester Artists

The Dorchester Arts Collaborative (DAC) has an open call for participants in their 2010 Open Studios on October 23rd and 24th. Please consider registering for Open Studios. For more information, go to www.thedac.org and click on “Open Studios.” Registration before September 1st is only $40 and guarantees that your name and site location will be on the map and all collateral materials (registration after September 1st goes up to $65).

Don't Forget To Eat Your Vegetables

It is farmers' market time again in Dorchester. We highly recommend forgoing your trip to the supermarket when you can buy the freshest locally grown produce at one of the three farmers' markets in Lower Dot. With locations at Ashmont/Peabody Square (which has moved to its rightful place in the plaza at the northern entrance of the new station), Milton Lower Mills Wharf (just over the bridge from Dorchester - behind the store fronts on Adams Street), and Fields Corner (in the parking lot across the street from Town Field).

Here is the schedule:
Milton Lower Mills Wharf Farmer's Market: Thursday 1-6
Ashmont/Peabody Square Farmer's Market: Friday 3-7
Fields Corner Farmer's Market: Saturdays from 9-12.

Check out our blog entry on farmers' markets from four years ago: Milton Lower Mills Wharf Farmer's Market blog entry and this Dorchester Reporter story from last week: Cookouts, Fireworks, and Farmers' Markets.




(Top photo courtesy of Ashmont/Peabody Square Farmers' Market)