Scout Cambridge May/June 2015 by Scout Magazines

MAY/JUNE 2015

NO. 14

FAMILY FEELS at Emma’s Pizza PLUS

YOUR GUIDE TO SUMMER FARMERS MARKETS & RAISING GENERATION Z

NOMINATE YOUR FAVORITES

MAY | JUNE 2015 ::: VOLUME 14 ::: SCOUTCAMBRIDGE.COM

contents 6 // EDITOR’S NOTE 8 // WINNERS & LOSERS This owl stopped the Department of Public Works in its tracks 10 // NEWS: YEAR’S FIRST CYCLIST DEATH A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY First cyclist death of the year highlights debate over safety regulations 12 // WHAT’S NEW? We fill you in on the latest opening, closings and changes 16 // RAISING GENERATION Z Child-rearing in the digital age 24 // SCOUT OUT: PART OF THE FAMILY AT EMMA’S PIZZA You’ll feel right at home

26 // SCOUT OUT: A GUIDE TO SUMMER FARMERS MARKETS You’ll never go a day without ‘em 28 // SCOUT OUT: LAUGHS IN THE ATTIC AT THE COMEDY STUDIO The hidden gem bringing you funny stuff for 19 years 30 // CALENDAR & SCOUT PICKS 34 // LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORIES 38 // SCOUT YOU

28 Photo, top: Rekha Murthy, mother of two, spoke to us about raising Generation Z. Photo, bottom: Rick Jenkins points to shellacked memories at The Comedy Studio. On the cover: General manager Lyndon Fuller (left) and head chef James Sklaver wield pizza paddles designed by Emma’s fans.

Editor’s Note

editor’s note

A Cambridge to Still be Discovered

PUBLISHER Holli Banks hbanks@scoutmagazines.com MANAGING EDITORS Emily Hopkins ehopkins@scoutmagazines.com Emily Cassel ecassel@scoutmagazines.com OFFICE MANAGER Melinda LaCourse mlacourse@scoutmagazines.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Nicolle Renick design@scoutmagazines.com renickdesign.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Laura Quincy Jones, J.M. Lindsay, Bill Shaner CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Chrissy Bulakites chrissybulakites.com COPY EDITOR Bill Shaner

The careers of these folks, including Louis C.K., Denis Leary and Dana Gould, can be traced back to The Comedy Studio.

By Emily Hopkins

t was a cold, nearly frigid April evening when I met Rick Jenkins, the man behind The Comedy Studio. He was dressed in a cream suit with a red tie and white sneakers. The suit, once worn by Jimmy Carson, is one of dozens of former Tonight Show host’s outfits Jenkins has purchased off eBay. And the sneakers? “I told my guidance counselor that I wanted a job where I could wear sneakers and get up at 10:30,” he says. “[He] threw me out of his office.” For the next hour, Jenkins regaled us with stories of countless fledgling careers. The likes of Louis C.K., Eugene Mirman, H. Jon Benjamin, David Cross, Brendon Small and so, so many others passed through if not got their start from the same stage where Jenkins was calmly sipping white wine. Before that day, I’d never been to The Comedy Studio, which is tucked away on the third floor of the Hong Kong restaurant in Harvard Square. It’s astounding the treasures you can still find in a place where you’ve lived for years. I think it will take a lifetime to truly turn every stone in Cambridge. We’ve got a few nuggets for you in this issue. In addition to The Comedy Studio (p. 28), we’ve also taken a look at Emma’s Pizza, who in addition to bringing us pizza for half a century has an unexpected collection of pizza paddles turned into art (p. 24). All of these places have stuck around for decades, making memories for the Cantabrigians who have come and left and those who have stuck it out. A little something for everyone.

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

WEB HOST Truly Good Design trulygooddesign.com IT SUPPORT FirstCall Computers firstcallcomputers.net BANKS PUBLICATIONS c/o Scout Cambridge 191 Highland Ave., Ste. 1A Somerville, MA 02143 FIND US ONLINE scoutcambridge.com twitter.com/scoutcambridge facebook.com/scoutcambridge Office Phone: 617-996-2283 For advertising inquiries please contact scout@scoutmagazines.com. CIRCULATION Scout Cambridge is direct-mailed bimonthly to every home and business in Cambridge, reaching more than 48,500 postal addresses. An additional 1,500 copies are available at key locations.

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

W&L WINNERS

LOSERS

CITY COUNCILOR DENNIS CARLONE On March 30, City Council adopted an ordinance that bans single-use plastic bags from Cambridge stores. The legislation has been in the works for about eight years, and it was largely thanks to Carlone’s dedication that it finally made it on the books. The ordinance makes Cambridge the largest city on the East Coast to enact such a ban, and Carlone says that he hopes the city can be a trendsetter for Massachusetts and the region.

HARVARD HOPEFULS The generation currently coming of age is suggested by some to be the smartest generation of all time, which means more kids are applying to Ivy League schools. Colleges like Harvard are turning away more students than ever. This year they accepted a record low of 5.3 percent of the 37,305 applicants to the class of 2019, down from 5.9 percent last year. That’s a lot of rejection letters.

THE SCREECH OWL The Department of Public Works was in the process of removing an unsafe tree at the corner of Huron Avenue and Larchwood Drive in April when this little dude brought everything to a halt. The owl was apparently nonplussed by the noisy goings on (workers had already removed the branches of the tree before they notice the bird). DPW will have to wait until the owl leaves its nest before removing the tree, something that could take months, which means this screech has the run of its street. CASHLESS TAXI CAB PASSENGERS You may never again find yourself scrambling to an ATM before hailing a Cambridge cab. Thanks to new regulations from the Cambridge License Commission, as of April 1, taxis are required to take credit card payment. While this probably won’t give cab drivers quite the edge they’d need to beat out Uber, it will certainly make it easier for Cambridge folks to get where they need to go.

THE DARKNESS WITHIN It seems that there’s an app for just about everything these days. Adding one more to the pile is MIT’s Robert Morris, developer of the experimental social medium Panopoly. The app asks what’s wrong and then helps walk the user through contextualising the reasons why they feel bad. The idea is to help sort out the issue by talking or texting it out. Take that, evil sadness in my soul! CAMBRIDGE CYCLISTS We’ll go into this in depth later in the issue (p. 10), but there’s one more thing we’d like to mention: the reconstruction of Pearl Street. Cyclists and activists have been fighting for more bike lanes and cycle tracks, and Cambridge has added miles of bike-specific road markings. But one of the plans for the Pearl Street reconstruction was scrapped recently after residents raised concerns about the loss of parking. The infrastructure of the reconstruction was the same in both plans, but one gave up over a hundred parkings spots during the daytime to better accommodate cycling traffic. Signage and markings will be considered for the street.

Someone rustle your jimmies or tickle your fancy? Let us know at scoutcambridge.com/contact-us, and we just might crown them a winner or loser. 8

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

SHOUT OUT! What’s your favorite pizza topping?

“Barbecue chicken–with the vinegary barbecue sauce.” - Aziz S.

“Spinach. Second choice, tomato basil.” - John G.

“Spinach!” - Mitski M.

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

news YEAR’S FIRST CYCLIST DEATH A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY By Bill Shaner

matte white ghost bike, adorned with flowers scattered over time by the city’s winds and replenished by friends paying respect, sits chained to a light pole on Putnam Avenue, just outside the Whole Foods Market. The bike is the year’s first addition to the dozens of cyclist memorials around Greater Boston. It commemorates the death of Marcia Deihl, a 65-year-old LGBT activist, musician and longstanding icon of her community’s defining eccentricities. “She got cheated. We all got cheated,” said Robyn Ochs, a close friend and fellow activist. Deihl was two years into retirement from a secretary position at Harvard University she held for about 30 years. The working world behind her, she pursued her music and art without hindrance for the first time since taking the job in the 1980s. “Her mother lived to be 102 years old. Marcia was totally expecting another 35 years of creative productivity,” Ochs said. “All of her friends were diminished by her loss.” At about 1:30 p.m. on March 11, a container truck struck Deihl as she rode away from the Whole Foods parking lot. Police pronounced her dead at the scene. The driver of the truck, a Medford man working for the Cambridge excavation company CJ Mabardy, remains unidentified. He stopped after the crash and cooperated with investigators, said Jeremy Warnick, spokesperson for the Cambridge Police Department. Though police have not pressed charges against the man, the District Attorney’s investigation remains open. The accident report, and any witness accounts therein, remain tucked away until authorities close the case. If past precedent is any indication, the driver won’t face charges, and trucks—the vehicles that account for one in four fatal cyclist crashes nationally—continue to drive through the city without requirement of safety equipment that can turn deadly collisions into scrapes. While fatal cyclist crashes in Cambridge are relatively uncommon—the last one was in 2011, and 2002 before that—cyclist deaths in Greater Boston at the hands of vehicles, especially trucks, have followed an exponential curve in the past several years. Between 2009 and 2012, there were 9 fatal crashes in Boston proper and 12 in the Greater Boston communities, according to Boston Police and Massachusetts Department of Transportation data. Nationwide, about half of fatal cyclist crashes are the result of side impact with a vehicle. In larger cities, like New York, half the fatal crashes stem from impact with trucks, said Alex Epstein, an expert on

truck safety measures. “Trucks are a small minority of vehicles on the road, but they’re grossly overrepresented in fatal crashes,” said Epstein. He is a passionate advocate for truck side guards: extensions of truck beds that drop the clearance between wheels to about a foot from the road, as opposed to three or four. The guards effectively prevent a cyclist or pedestrian from falling under the truck’s bed during a crash. Instead of rolling under the truck’s wheels, they’d bounce off, he said. “We want to turn fatalities into injuries and injuries into less severe injuries,” he said. Truck side guards have been adopted around the world as a safety measure that significantly reduces deadly crashes. In places like Brazil, China and England, they’ve been a requirement for decades. And as of last year, Boston proper requires all trucks driving through the city to have them. Cambridge has not implemented such regulations, but the City Council commissioned a study late last year that will eventually lead to implementation. with any luck, said Epstein, who is working on the study. At 7.1 percent, Cambridge has one of the highest percentages of bike commuters in the country. Though the city has a lower crash rate than surrounding communities, bike activists and city officials continue to push for legal and infrastructural means toward a safer city for cyclists. But, when a crash leads to injuries, especially fatal injuries, bike activists feel those on two wheels don’t have the legal recourse they deserve against those on four—or in Deihl’s case, eighteen. “If you think about it, someone driving a two ton vehicle should have

“When a vehicle hits a cyclist, even with fatal results, the driver almost always gets off the hook.”

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

Photo by Emily Cassel

greater responsibility than someone riding a bicycle, or a pedestrian,” said Pete Stidman, executive director of the Boston Cyclist’s Union. In 2013, a grand jury failed to indict a truck driver with 19 license suspensions who hit and killed cyclist Alexander Motsenigos and drove away from the Wellesley scene. When a vehicle hits a cyclist, even with fatal results, the driver almost always gets off the hook, said Joshua Zisson, a bike rights attorney. “In Massachusetts, the only way a driver would ever go to jail is if they were intoxicated,” said Zisson. “It’s the culture we live in.” He added that juries are not inclined to convict people if the crime is accidental, he said. The Wellesley authorities built a strong case—a “clear cut” case, according to Zisson—but it didn’t matter. “I know it’s incredibly frustrating for bicyclists,” he said. “It feels like we’re being forgotten, like our lives don’t matter as much.” Accidents are accidents, though. It’s not tax evasion—making an example via a jail sentence wouldn’t make for safer streets. It’s bigger than criminal cases and lawsuits, he said. The streets just need to be safer. The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike), an organization that aims to create a more bike-friendly state, filed two bills with the state legislature in January aimed at giving cyclists more weight. The Vulnerable Users Bill would group pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and others into one concise, heightened legal definition and place limitations on how fast and from how far away vehicles can pass them, a measure enforceable by fines. The Bike Lane Protection Bill would make idling or parking in bike lanes a ticket-worthy offense. Both bills reflect MassBike’s vision of “complete streets”—road infrastructure that “fairly and equitably” suits the various ways in which they’re used, and indicate cyclists’ growing political weight, said Lauren LeClaire, communications director for the organization. But stronger legal recourse for cyclists won’t create change in a

Courtesy of friends of Marcia Deihl

vacuum. Cyclists, cars and trucks still share the streets while some intersections and stretches of road have garnered reputations for serial bike crashes and fatalities. “The ultimate answer here is to separate bike traffic from car traffic,” said Stidman. Boston City Council’s decision in March to separate bike traffic on a stretch of Commonwealth Avenue marks a shift toward safer streets, but to get all the way there—to eradicate every high-crash location—is a long uphill battle. Jessica Mink, a co-founder of MassBike and bike activist for 36 years, understands that better than most. Creating bike accessibility takes patience and persistence, she said. She’s spent 20 years pushing for the Neponset River Bike Trail south of Boston, and it’s still coming to fruition. “The timescale it takes—it’s more than most people can think. It’s longer than young nonprofits, longer than politics,” she said. “It’s a never-ending battle. The more people we get working on it the better.” In the case of deaths like Deihl’s, “it’s hard, it’s really hard,” she said. There’s no clear-cut solution. Mink, a friend of Deihl’s who spoke at her Ghost Bike dedication ceremony, is two years younger, and has been riding in the city since she was 19. She said she averages an emergency room trip once every five years. Mink said there’s a Buddhist subtext to cycling in the city: “The world is a painful place, but you don’t have to suffer.” Perhaps Deihl felt the same borderline religious zeal, cruising streets in old clunkers with names like Buttermilk, Thouroughgood and Black Beauty, covered in paint and streamers. In 2007, Deihl, a prolific caller and letter writer, phoned into an NPR segment on bike rights, and, to the tune of the Woody Guthry classic, she sang a cappella in a plain and simple voice: “This lane is my lane, this lane’s a bike lane, if you don’t get off, I’ll ring your head off.”

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

what’s new?

LIQUID FUN CITYWIDE

GO OUTSIDE HURON VILLAGE

SIDEWALK BARBECUES

ormaggio Kitchen (244 Huron Ave.) has been supplying Cambridge and beyond with gourmet foods for decades. This summer, you can get a little taste of that at their sidewalk barbecue pop-up. Swing by the shop on a Saturday to pick up some pulled pork or lamb, beef brisket, Texas beef ribs and more. I would go on, but I am drooling on my keyboard. CITYWIDE

SIDEWALK POETRY

Department of Public Works? More like Department of Public Words. In March, the DPW announced their intention to work with the Arts Council and the public library to launch sidewalk poetry. For the project, which was inspired by a similar initiative that began in St. Paul, MN, in 2008, residents of Cambridge were invited to submit short poems to the Arts Council for review. The winning poems, which will be imprinted in the concrete of sidewalks around the city, were chosen after we went to press, but Julie Barry, Director of Community Arts, told us shortly after the submission deadline that they’d received more than 300 entries. Photo courtesy of Formaggio Kitchen

PROJUICE BUS

Somerville residents (and Scout fans!) Maribeth Macaisa and Paul Cunningham are rolling into town on the wheels of health and wellness. What once was a bland white bus has been transformed into a funky juicemobile thanks to the illustrations of Shelli Paroline Lamb. The pair will serve what Cunningham calls “blended produce drink,” a step away from smoothies that often include added sugar or dairy. The bus will also serve healthy snacks like kale chips or the “yetto-be-named beet/corn/cilantro/ jalapeno chips,” Macaisa’s favorite. As of our press date, Macaisa and Cunningham were finalizing Boston locations for the bus and hope to add shifts in Cambridge and Somerville soon. And they’re hiring! Email info@ bostonprojuice.com for more information. HARVARD SQUARE

LIQUITERIA

At one point we lamented the lack of fresh pressed juice options in Cambridge, but it seems that the universe has heard our whiny voices. Enter Liquiteria, opening soon where The Body Shop used to be (1440 Mass Ave.). Liquiteria has five stores in New York City, but the Cambridge store will be the first to take root outside of that mega metropolis.

THE WORLD WIDE WEB CITY SCHOOLS

NEW MOBILE APP

Cambridge Public Schools announced in March a new, free mobile app for parents and students. The app, which has been developed for both Android and iOS, will send the user emergency 12

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

notifications and give them easy access to information like lunch menus, bus schedules, calendars and more. CITYWIDE

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES NOW ONLINE

In March, the City Clerk’s office began posting City Council minutes online. The minutes were previously only available upon request. This is one more step

towards transparency for the city, which in 2013 began keeping more detailed records after the Attorney General found that the attention to detail in the council’s meeting minutes did not meet open government standards. THE INTERNET

OUR ONLINE CALENDAR

We’ve spent a lot of time in 2015 trying to make our web presence as up-to-date and useful to you

as possible, and we’re pleased to announce that the latest digital Scout component to get a makeover is our online calendar. The calendar has been completely revamped and is ready to accept submissions for your next community event—from cookoffs to book club meetings to crafting sessions and more. To submit an upcoming event for your business or organization, head to scoutcambridge.com.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Photo courtesy of Clover

CENTRAL SQUARE

24-HOUR CLOVER HFI

The Clover family just got a little bigger! Almost a year to the day after the folks at Clover announced that they would be taking up the space that once housed Hi-Fi Pizza, they’ve finally finished renovations and made it through the red tape to open their doors at 496 Mass. Ave. The newest addition to the ever-growing Clover family is the first 24-hour restaurant in Cambridge. Co-founder Ayr Muir said earlier in the spring that he was inspired by memories of having few to no choices for late night snacks as a student at MIT. In addition to the familiar fare, Clover HFI will feature a late night menu that starts at midnight. CENTRAL SQUARE

MORE FAMILYFRIENDLY SHOWS AT IMPROVBOSTON

It can be difficult and sometimes downright impossible to find an activity that will appeal to you while also being appropriate for your kids. In addition to

ImprovBoston’s “The Family Show,” which sells out almost every Saturday, the improv powerhouse (40 Prospect St.) has debuted All Access Improv. As the name might imply, the lineup will provide “highoctane, completely off-thecuff” comedy that’s accessible to everyone who has a sense of humor, whether they’re six or 66. Shows will start every Saturday at 6 p.m. and tickets range from $10-$16. KENDALL SQUARE

MEXICALI

The first day of spring might technically be in March, but April 1 is where it’s at for this seasonal, family-owned burrito joint. MexiCali (500 Technology Square and 350 Kendall St.) brings the tacos of San Francisco’s Mission District to the streets of Cambridge. They serve daily vegetable specials and, once the weather gets warmer, Mexican gazpacho. But what they’re really excited about is their new agua frescas—sweetened fruit drinks that will pair very nicely with the summer sun.

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

What’s New?

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME

FAREWELL, FRIEND INMAN SQUARE

ROSIE’S BAKERY

We unexpectedly had to say goodbye to Rosie’s Inman Square (243 Hampshire St.) after the supplier who baked their original recipes went out of business. The bakery’s owners were not able to find a new supplier with comparable prices and quality, so they too decided to shut down. Fans of Rosie’s need not despair: their South Station and Chestnut Hill locations are still open. ALEWIFE

CHEDDAR’S PIZZA

BRANDON ARMS AT CLUB PASSIM

After 25 years, this pizza place (201 Alewife Brook Pkwy.) is pumping out pies no more. According to a heartfelt letter posted on a window at the restaurant, the decision to close was a difficult one. Former owner Charles Pithis thanked his customers for the company and the memories and said that he hoped he was able to provide good food for his patrons over the past two decades.

f you find yourself at the center of the Venn diagram of “people who are sad Veggie Planet left Club Passim” and “people who were sad when Brandon Arms left Garden at the Cellar,” then you are in luck. In early March, the Club Passim kitchen (47 Palmer St.) reopened as The Kitchen at Club Passim, with Arms at the helm. The food is what he called “globally inspired New American cuisine.” For now, the restaurant is open for dinner for concertgoers starting an hour before showtime. Lunch service is not currently up and running, but they hope to start in the near future.

SCOUT CHECK

HARVARD SQUARE

space will not turn into an Irish pub or a bar.

Wherein we follow up on news that we’ve covered recently—in print or online.

After 18 years of serving French cuisine, Sandrine’s Bistro (8 Holyoke St.) closed for good on March 30. While at first there was a little confusion as to who would scoop up the property (the folks behind Back Bay’s La Voile were rumored to have made the purchase in December), it’s now confirmed that the owners of The Asgard and The Kinsale will take the spot. Co-owner Peter Sarmanian told Eater Boston that they are in the early planning stages, but the

INMAN SQUARE

Photo courtesy of Club Passim

CENTRAL SQUARE

SANDRINE’S CHANGES HANDS

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

PURITAN & CO. LAUNCHES MEAT MARKET

Among a number of other menu upgrades and changes, Chef Will Gilson has introduced a weekly meat market in the space adjoining Puritan & Co. (1166 Cambridge St.). The market will open Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. and will feature cheese, cured meats and a number of deli items, reports Boston magazine.

IN LIMBO

SALTS

Formerly located on MIT’s campus at 798 Main St., Salts is looking for a new space. The upscale French restaurant first closed in the beginning of 2014 after bad weather damaged the building. According to Licensing Board meeting minutes, owners Gebriel Bremer and Analia Verolo were surprised when MIT recently decided to forgo renovating and reopening the restaurant. Now, the team is on the prowl for a new spot to call home.

• BISQ (1071 Cambridge St.): As of press, this small plate restaurant specializing in charcuterie and wine was slated to open the last week of April. •L OYAL NINE (660 Cambridge St., East Cambridge): This colonial-inspired restaurant has opened with a limited menu soon to expand. Spot something new in your neighborhood that we didn’t mention here? Send us a tip: scout@scoutmagazines.com.

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Kids

Raising Generation Z

RAISING

GENERATION BY EMILY HOPKINS

hen we first sat down with area parents to talk about the challenges of raising Generation Z, we were thinking about all the factors that might give them anxiety: finding the right school, living in a good neighborhood, giving their children access to the best pediatric care—the kinds of things that influence your decision to live where you live. Along with these anxieties was something new, something wholly unique to this generation: how and when to introduce their children to the digital realm. The days of kids playing unsupervised down the street from their homes are largely over. Now, children are left to their own devices—literally, as screens have entered nearly every part of daily life. We talked to a few local families to see how they’re handling these new questions. We also caught up with parenting instructors at the Cambridge Center for Families and Parenting Journey to talk about other concerns for the parents of Cambridge and Somerville. 16

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

SEEKING BALANCE FOR THE

iGENERATION

ho, exactly, is Generation Z? my own folklore, but it’s instinct too.” We first started naming generations after World War II. Murthy’s two children are three years old and nine months old, The period of peace allowed Americans to resume their lives, which means one of them still gets no screentime. She says that the and for many that meant having children. The shear synchronicity of decision to limit their interaction with electronics so early in life is this generation’s births earned the name common to all of us: Baby important from both an emotional and neurological standpoint. In Boomers. Since then we’ve seen the cultural shift 2011, the American Association of Pediatrics released brought on by Generation X and the rise of the new guidelines about young children and screentime. Millennials. Now, we’re ushering in the next group, While they recommend limits on screentime for all Generation Z, the most technologically integrated age groups, they strongly advocate for restricting kids to walk the earth. The boundaries are a little screentime completely for kids under the age of two. fuzzy–this generational stuff isn’t an exact science– In a report they released with the guidelines, they “I get that some but the kids we’re talking about were born around found that electronic media can affect a child’s brain of what I feel the mid-2000s through today. development. This media can be entertaining, but Generation Z has many names, many of them even videos marketed as educational can’t compare to is probably just defined by the technological precedence into which playtime where children are encouraged to use their any historical they’ve been born. Monikers like iGeneration, Net imaginations and problem solve. Screentime can also Gen, Gen Wii and Gen Tech all set out to describe adversely affect sleeping habits and mood. So until anxiety about new a group of children whose lives are technologically their children are two years old, parents like Murthy integrated from birth, though few do it quite so well are keeping screens out of their children’s lives. After technology … as Digital Natives. The term was coined in a 2001 that? It gets a little trickier. I get that some paper by Marc Prensky, an education writer and “They have since become totally infatuated with consultant. The rest of us, those who came before anything with a screen,” says Jessica Alpert Silber, of this is my own Generation Z, are Digital Immigrants—we are coming who lives in Somerville. Her twins will be three this folklore, but it’s to this plane as foreigners and must learn the digital summer. Like Murthy, she kept screens away from her language. Digital Natives, on the other hand, are kids until they were two, at which point she and her instinct too.” fluent. Even so, just when to bring electronics into a husband slowly started introducing cartoons and other child’s life is a concern on the minds of many parents. media to their son and daughter. Alpert Silber and her “I know some people say, ‘This generation, husband try to keep their kids’ screentime to less than they’re born digital, they’ll never know any different, an hour a day and emphasize that it’s a privilege. But and therefore don’t worry so much, don’t have that she’s been approached while in public for letting her anxiety,’” says Rekha Murthy, a mother of two young kids play on her phone. children. Murthy is immersed in media. She oversees digital distribution “I had someone came up to me and say, ‘Oh, we had coloring books at PRX in Cambridge and completed her thesis at MIT’s Comparative in our day.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the modern day coloring book,’” Media Studies program. “I get that some of what I feel is probably just she says. any historical anxiety about new technology … I get that some of this is Before Alper Silber had children, though, she says she scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Kids

Raising Generation Z

underappreciated the value of having a screen for children to interact with. Things can get pretty hectic when you’re at a restaurant with twin toddlers. “I was that person that was like, ‘Come on people, how hard is it to converse and keep your kids calm?’ Well you know what? It’s really hard. I had no idea what I was talking about,” she says. The problem, of course, isn’t just how parents are letting their children use technology. The rest of us might be digital immigrants, but we live here nonetheless. With the proliferation of smartphones, computers, tablets and gaming consoles, we as a culture are suddenly facing a new set of habits. And we’re teaching those habits—good and bad—to the next generation. “You have the generation that didn’t grow up with this and are raising children who are now completely [surrounded by technology]. You have to set limits that you never had to before,” says Christine Doucet, Family Support Specialist at the Center for Families in Cambridge. At the center, they run a workshop on media and families to educate parents about healthy habits. “That is a challenge for parents: What does that mean? What kind of limit do you set? What is the effect of that?” “I had someone she asks. came up to me While that parents are trying to set limitations on how much and say, ‘Oh, time their children are spending with screens, some are looking at we had coloring their own habits and being critical of the way that they’re using books in our day.’ technology. Murthy, for example, And I was like, says she’s trying to train her brain for “slow Internet,” forcing herself ‘Yeah, this is to focus her attention on one thing, like reading a long article, in the modern day an effort to make her screen use coloring book.’” intentional. “I see it in myself—too much virtualization and the inability to entertain yourself with your mind and your imagination,” she says. That’s something that she wants her children to avoid. “So we do encourage [our oldest] to have a lot of space where she’s not being entertained but she’s entertaining herself.” Parents aren’t just passing down their habits. These days, our phones can have their own place at the dinner table. “You have the parent with the phone and they check each time [it goes off], or you have the parent who puts the phone [face down], and

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

Rekha Murthy, who is a mother of two, is worried about what her kids might find online. Photo by Emily Hopkins

then they check only one time. And you have the parents who have the phone in the bag,” says Doucet. “And the quality of the relationship with the children changes.” A study published last year found that parental use of cellphones during meals had an immediate effect on children. They termed use

of a device “absorption,” cataloguing the degree to which the use of a device maintained the parent’s attention, and to what degree. What they found is that higher levels of absorption (when caregivers used their phones continuously) led to an escalation in the child or children’s bid for attention. In one case, the study noted, a child tried to pull his

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Kids

Raising Generation Z

caregivers face away from a tablet. She pushed his hands away. “My hope is that eventually we will know how to use ... technology in a positive way,” says Doucet. “I think it is really something that will evolve with time.” Distraction and development aren’t the only two ways that technology affects the lives of Generation Z. More and more, children are occupying virtual space and learning about social interactions there. Over the past few decades, the physical spaces children occupy alone have become more and more limited. Add to that the jam-packed schedules that kids are now asked to maintain, and it’s easy to see why so much of a child’s life is now pushed online. While older generations might remember being left alone to wander their blocks and play with other neighborhood children, that concept is largely outdated. “One of the things that we’ve noticed that’s different is there isn’t a physical space for kids to necessarily see their friends in the afternoon or the evening, so when they’re texting or emailing or sending goofy photos, that’s actually a way of unsupervised interaction,” says Sara Zucker of Somerville, whose daughter Raphaella is 12. Zucker grew up in a rural Rhode Island town, where she says she’d finish her homework and then go out and play with the kids in the neighborhood, sans adult supervision. Something that to her was so natural at the time is unheard of now, except as the controversial “free-range parenting” style. “There are days The thought of letting a kid walk around the city alone is a tense where I’m praying one. No matter your philosophy on how much space to give children, that the Internet from a cultural standpoint, we have collapses before collectively adopted this anxiety over children’s safety, even if it’s [my daughter is] subconscious. But increasingly, children are hanging out in virtual old enough for it spaces, not physical ones. This is brand new territory. to be an issue.” “I think professionals don’t even know yet how to speak about that,” says Doucet. “It’s just the beginning now. I mean, really. That generation.” While most of us learned about healthy social interactions through in-person trial and error, children are now testing these waters in the oft-impersonal space of the Internet. A bully who does their worst to you on the playground can at least see the hurt on your face. If kids are no longer able to associate their actions to an emotional response, it’s up to parents to figure out how to fill that gap. Except that adults don’t necessarily have this whole Internet thing figured out either. “There are days where I’m praying that the Internet collapses before [my daughter is] old enough for it to be an issue,” says Murthy. “[The] psychological energy that would be required to constantly maintain vigilance on your own emotional reactions to the things you encounter online, I feel like that’s too much to ask of so many people. And that’s where I feel like I want to really restrain my children’s exposure until they really are old enough to navigate it.” There’s a lot still to learn about the full effects a technologically integrated society will have on our brains and social lives. We’re on a new frontier, and Generation Z is at the front of it, swiping and Snapchatting their way through childhood. But as the adults–the digital immigrants– fret over the future, nostalgic for a past that was a little less backlit, our digital natives are setting out to be smarter than any generation that came before. Now it’s up to us to try and keep up. 20 May | June 2015

scoutcambridge.com

WHAT THE

EXPERTS SAY By Emily Hopkins Photos courtesy of Parenting Journey

very year, we learn more about the ins and outs of good parenting. To be brief: It’s a tough job, and many people often face it with limited resources and support. That’s where Parenting Journey in Somerville and the Cambridge Center for Families come in. They help teach parents good parenting skills and provide them with the information they need to parent successfully. Scout sat down with Maury Peterson and Noel Twigg from Parenting Journey and Christine Doucet from Cambridge Center for Families to ask a few questions about their work and what it takes to be a parent these days. HOW DO YOU HELP PARENTS? PETERSON: [Our programs] are really focused on you as an individual first, as a human being and secondly as a parent … It’s really an opportunity for you to first start as an individual and self-reflect on how you were parented because how you were parented is going to affect how you parent your own children. You kind of walk back through how you were parented–what was the good, the bad, the ugly. What did you inherit, what did you receive from your mom and dad or maybe what didn’t you receive, and help people kind of unpack that bag, and process, and bring it forward to present day of how are those experiences impacting your parenting now? If your mother was a screamer when she got stressed, when you’re under stress, whether you like it or not, you’re probably going to scream … But you can break that cycle if you decide that you don’t want to do that with your own children. And we can help you work through some of those processes to choose a different path.

DOUCET: We are a family center and we provide services to families living in Cambridge that have children ages zero to eight years old. And it’s universal services, meaning that the only criteria is that you live in Cambridge … What we see is, parents want to find education. They know that it’s important, so they want to find ways. … Parenting education comes from feeling supported. Parenting is very difficult, and it’s not just by reading a book or going on the web—it’s going to give you information, but it’s not going to [give you] the strategy. We do, for example, parenting education for 11 weeks, because they really have time to explore and change … We provide playgroups where we bring toys and activities … And we provide this to help families interact, play with their children and also to meet other families and create their own support. So that’s community building. WHAT CHALLENGES DO PARENTS FACE TODAY, SPECIFIC TO CAMBRIDGE OR SOMERVILLE? PETERSON: Boston and Somerville seems like its a transient population, people are from all over the place, so their extended family may not be nearby, so you might not have those family supports that you need. It’s an opportunity in a small group to realize, you know, I’m not the only one that’s, you know, I’m exhausted, I can’t sleep, the baby’s screaming at the top of her lungs all the time, or my three year old this or that. And then you’re in a group saying, I’m not the only one. And you’re in a group sharing those experiences. TWIGG: We also work with a lot of immigrants from other countries, and they have very unique challenges in that, parents are raising kids in a culture that is completely different than the one they grew up in. Often the disciplinary techniques are different, perhaps the child speaks English better than the parent at this point. scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

GET YOUR KIDS UNPLUGGED AND OUTSIDE THIS SUMMER: CAMP K-LO

This program gets down to the basics of summer fun with swim lessons, sports and arts and crafts. Grades JK-4 Sessions from July 6 - August 21 Cost: $170-$200/session, $25 registration fee Contact: Shirley Santos, ssantos@ cambridgema.gov

ELM STREET SUMMER CAMP EXPERIENCE COWEMOKI SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

Cambridge Community Center This full-day summer program features a variety of indoor and outdoor activities including a number of athletics, cooking, music and gardening as well as field trips to the New England Aquarium, Castle Island and more. Grades K-8 Sessions run June 29 - August 21 Cost: $350/session, $200/week, $50/day plus $25 registration fee (financial assistance available) Contact: enrollment@cambridgecc.org

Each week has a different theme at this camp, which allows campers to explore their imaginations and socialize creatively. Grades 1-5 July 6 - August 21 Cost: $170-$200/week Contact: Wade Lindhorst, 617.349.6307

CAMP RAINBOW

This camp is for kids with special needs and features a number of activities, including sports, swimming and field trips. Age 6-22 June 29 - August 14 Cost: $10/week for half day, $50/week for full day Contact: Brittaney Courier or Mari Watson, 617.349.6228

CAMP SEAFARING

For this day-long camp, the focus is all things nautical. Cultural field trips, sports, swimming lessons and more are based around pirates, mermaids and sea critters. Grades 1-5 June 29 - August 14 Cost: $200/week Contact: Mary Ellen Breen, mbreen@cambridgema.gov

CITY EXPLORERS

Campers will explore the city and get to know its parks, art and history. Ages 7-13 June 6 - August 21 Cost: $80/week. $25 registration fee (financial assistance available) Contact: Jessica Pegg, jpegg@cambridgema.gov

ARTS IN THE PARK

Get your kids out in your neighborhood for crafts, chalk drawings, music and more. All ages (kids must be accompanied by an adult) Dates vary based on neighborhood. You’ll find events in Area 4, Cambridgeport, East Cambridge, Mid-Cambridge and Riverside. Visit cambridgema.gov for full schedule.

DOUCET: There is the reality of living in Cambridge, and I think living in the United States, where childcare is very expensive, so you definitely need to work ... The two parents need to work or maybe you have to take an extra shift, and at the same time you have to spend time with your children ... So this is all that balancing that parents have to do, and I think that is different than the generation that came before. Cambridge is very diverse, and we often think that Cambridge is more middle class, but there are families in Cambridge that are barely able to provide. So they have different type of challenges. And still, these parents, they want to be good parents, and they hear about all of these things, and that’s another stress to have. And they might have other things in their lives that [make it] hard. They might have other priorities. And yes the cost of living in Cambridge, that adds to it. WHAT PARTICULAR CHALLENGES ARE UNIQUE OR MORE PRONOUNCED IN FOR PARENTS OF GENERATION Z?

OUTBACK SUMMER PROGRAM

Kids will participate in arts, sports, drama, science and more in this programs spacious backyard. Ages K and 1-6 Sessions run July 6 - August 28 Cost: $330/week Contact: registration@agassiz.org

PETERSON: I think it’s really that whole work-life balance thing. It’s kind of, you have to be Super Woman, right? You have to be Super Woman. A lot of people want to continue to work, and you want to be a great employee, and you want to continue to do what you were doing before you started to have kids, and then you also want to be a great mom and

how you balance all of that. And I think also the role of dads might have changed over time, you have more parity in terms of roles. Dads are more involved these days, and they’re willing to take on a bigger role of household duties and taking care of a child. When I was a kid, if I was left alone with my father, he was babysitting. Oh, dad’s babysitting. I think that there is a better balance now for those couples that are together. But I’m always kind of in awe of women and what they’re able to accomplish. Really. It’s amazing. DOUCET: We were talking for example of the generation of Facebook … You know some people call it Fakebook because you post happy pictures. You don’t ever see a picture of the tantrum, a picture where you are like crying, and so you might have an idea, “Oh my friend, they are doing so good, I’m bad, I’m bad” … There was a mother in one of my playgroups who was saying that … one of her friends had another baby, and she said, “I was looking at the picture and I was saying to my husband, look at that! Their house, they look so neat, and our house is so messy, and what are we doing wrong.” And he was saying, “Stop looking at Facebook!” So that’s another thing where everything is public but it’s not really real. So that’s another thing where you compare all the time. Another unique problem that you didn’t have before. DO YOU SEE A COMMON TREND FROM PARENTS OF THINGS THEY EXPERIENCED FROM THEIR PARENT’S GENERATION? TWIGG: I think that one of the interesting things about the group setting is that no matter what your background or where you came from, how much money you make, where you grew up, whether it was here or in another country, the group members I think across the board find some sort of commonality. PETERSON: Right, and I always say that everyone comes from a dysfunctional family, it’s just a matter of degree. And so I think that some people are more successful with dealing with issues that come up. I think that the one thing that has changed is that people are much more open to ask for help. I think that in my mother’s generation they just had to suck it up and do it. And now I think people … want to learn. Asking for help is a sign of strength, right? Not a sign of weakness, which I think in the past maybe that was kind of how things were. Find out more about Parenting Journey at parentingjourney.org and Cambridge Center for Families by calling 617.349.6385. scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Scout Out

Food

Scout Out!

Manager Lyndon Fuller and head chef James Sklaver wield pizza paddles designed by Emma’s fans throughout the years

Part of the Family at Emma’s Pizza By Emily Cassel Photos by Emily Cassel

f it’s lunchtime in Cambridge, there’s a good chance you’ll find Lyndon Fuller dropping off pizza at area establishments like Savenor’s Market and Turnstyle Cycle. Fuller isn’t your average delivery guy—in fact, he’s not a delivery guy at all. He’s the manager of Emma’s Pizza (40 Hampshire St.), and these pizzas are on the house. The surprise lunch dropoffs have become a part of his routine, and he gets genuine joy out of sharing Emma’s pies with other locals. “We like to be really neighborly,” Fuller says. “We’re very honored that the neighborhood has taken to us so well, and that’s our thank you for being part of it.” Emma’s has been a community staple for more than 54 years, but that community hasn’t always been Kendall Square. The restaurant was founded at Revere Beach in 1962 and later moved to Huron Village. Hampshire Street has been its home for the last 14 years. How has this pizzeria been able to survive for more than five decades in the notoriously fickle restaurant business? For one, the staff is always looking toward the future. Emma’s has historically resisted offering delivery, citing the environmental impact of fossil fuels, but they recently enlisted a fleet of bike couriers to drop off pies. They’re looking into food trucks, and new head chef James Sklaver is working on a gluten-free menu that will include inventive options like a habanero chicken salad.

“We’re kind of in a renaissance right now,” Fuller says. “It’s an exciting time.” But while Emma’s is exploring 21st-century trends like gluten-free options and food trucks, their commitment to tradition is as strong as ever. Photos of previous Emma’s owners and staffers line the shop’s front wall, and when asked about the restaurant’s history, Fuller ducks into a back room and returns with a black-and-white photo— safely preserved in a plastic bag—of the old Huron Avenue location. The kitchen just honored beloved local establishments—both current favorites, like T.T. The Bear’s and the Middle East, and those long gone, like ManRay nightclub—by naming each pizza on the menu after community staples. Even Fuller’s surprise visits to deliver pro bono pizzas seem like something from a bygone, “Cheers”-type era, when friends and relatives would pop by without warning just to say hello. “It really is a big family,” Fuller notes. “When guests come in off the street, it’s like this is their dining room. They’re part of the family as well.” The restaurant does have a familial feel, right down to its decor: the walls are covered with pizza paddles designed and painted by neighbors, community members and Emma’s fans. Designer Matt Heller is a friend of Emma’s current owner, Jeffrey Weingast, and years ago he designed a few just for fun. The idea took off, and the restaurant now has dozens of paddles—so many, in fact, that some must be kept in storage and subbed in to the rotation. Recently, a group visiting

Picking Pizzas with Lyndon Fuller

Fuller shows off a black-and-white photo of the shop’s former location in Huron Village

Cambridge from Alberta, Canada stopped by the shop with a paddle they painted together before their trip. These little works of art make the shop a comfortable, homey place, as if the walls are the fridge and these are children’s drawings (that is, if the kids had a real eye for design and knew how to operate a laser cutter). Proclamations about how the restaurant runs like a family might sound even cheesier than the pizza itself, but at Emma’s, it rings true. Some of the cooks and members of the waitstaff have been with the shop for more than 14 years, proof of the closeness of this group. While discussing how the customers are a big part of what makes Emma’s feel so close-knit, Fuller pulls out his phone like a proud father and begins scrolling through hundreds of photos of the shop. Here’s a picture of the couple who stopped by Emma’s immediately after saying their

ith 25 different varieties of ‘za on the menu, it can be tricky to choose just one. Even manager Lyndon Fuller struggles to select a single favorite: “My favorite pies are the half and halfs,” he says. Fuller is fond of combining The Hasty Pudding, which is topped with baby spinach, roasted sweet potato, caramelized onion, garlic, rosemary sauce mozzarella and goat cheese, with a “beast of meat” like The Biotech, which has two types of sausage, two types of bacon, pepperoni, grilled chicken and mozzarella. But he’s also known to pair Chomsky’s Chicken—bold, spicy buffalo chicken, gorgonzola cheese, raw celery and light mozzarella—with the “calming tones and freshness” of The Middle East, which is topped with baby spinach, kalamata olives, garlic, olive oil, feta and mozzarella. He says that many of the shop’s regulars like to go half Peoples Republic (crispy smoked bacon, scallions, gorgonzola, house roasted tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and light mozzarella) and half The Brattle (Italian sweet sausage, caramelized onions, traditional sauce and mozzarella). The combination is simple, and it really lets the key ingredients stand out. But if you do stop by Emma’s for a pie, don’t limit yourself to these options. “The best [combinations], in my opinion, are when a family or a couple gather around the table and create their own,” Fuller says.

Proclamations about how the restaurant runs like a family might sound even cheesier than the pizza itself, but at Emma’s, it rings true. marriage vows at City Hall; there’s a snapshot Chef Sklaver teaching a group of young kids how to make their own dough. Reconciling the restaurant’s rich history with the modern age can be challenging. “We’re here to deliver Emma’s,” their website proclaims, “both as it was intended, and sometimes not so much.” But with their roots in the past and an eye toward the future, Emma’s will likely be serving the Cambridge community for years to come. “This isn’t a job for me,” Fuller says. “Pizza is a passion. We really want to emphasize that the pie is love.” scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Scout Out Commerce

7 DAYS OF FARMERS MARKETS By Laura Quincy Jones

TUESDAY

‘T

HARVARD UNIVERSITY FARMERS MARKET

is the season for an abundance of farm fresh produce, and with the saturation of markets setting up shop in the area, not a day will go by without a chance to get your fix.

MONDAY CENTRAL SQUARE FARMERS MARKET g

hen: Mondays from 12-6 W p.m., May 18-November 23 Where: The parking lot behind H-Mart in Central Square, at the corner of Norfolk and Bishop Allen Streets SNAP Accepted: SNAP/EBT benefits are accepted, often doubled! Vendors Include: Kimball Fruit Farm, Dick’s Market Garden, Hutchins Organic, Union Square Donuts, Valicenti Organico, Hi-Rise Bread Company, Flats Mentor Farm, Copicut Farms, C&C Lobster Company, Farmer Al, Parker Farms Elevator Pitch: This large, no-frills market has been providing great food to a diverse community for about 20 years. They’re excited to have matching SNAP benefits set up this year. Market Manager Peter Ward says: “People are happy at the farmers market—they’re smiling! There’s a sense of anticipation about good food— people are thinking about what they’re going to make for dinner with a friend, talking to a farmer about a new variety of tomato, curious about what’s in season now.” May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

hen: Tuesdays from 12-6 p.m., W June 9 through September 29 & 11 a.m.-4 p.m. from October 6 through November 24 Where: Located in the Science Center Plaza at the intersection of Oxford & Kirkland Streets SNAP Accepted: SNAP/EBT benefits are accepted, often doubled! Vendors Include: Langwater Farm Organic Produce, Lanni Orchards, Ward’s Berry Farm, E.L. Silvia Produce, Plato’s Organic Harvest, Flats Mentor, Danish Pastry House, When Pigs Fly Bakery, 7ate9 Bakery, Q’s Nuts, Mariposa Bakery, Warren Farm & Sugarhouse, Samira’s Homemade Dips & Spreads, C&C Lobster, Ruggles Hill Creamery Goat Cheese, Union Square Donuts, Valicenti Organico Pastas & Sauces, Stow Greenhouses Flowers, Soluna Garden Farm Herbs, El Recreo Estate’s Coffee, Langwater Farm, Mei Mei Street Kitchen Prepared Lunches, West River Creamery, Vermont Gourmet Candy, Good Roots Farm, Corn & Co Popcorn, Six Foods LLC, Food from Insects (really!), Alex’s Ugly Sauce Elevator Pitch: This large, festive market offers a wide selection of produce and handcrafted foods as well as food trucks, chef demos, live music, and community education tables nearly every week Market Manager Margiana Petersen-Rockney says: “In its tenth anniversary year we hope the Harvard Market will

Photo by Jason Hamner

continue to bring together the community, provide fun educational programming and support the local economy. We hope to raise enough funds to match SNAP/EBT credit again.” You can donate to support them through Crowdrise.com.

WEDNESDAY CAMBRIDGE/KENDALL CENTER FARMERS MARKET g

hen: Wednesdays 11 a.m.-6 W p.m., May 13 through October 28 Where: Located in front of the Marriott hotel on Main Street in Kendall Square Vendors Include: Yummy Mummy Brownies, Swiss Bakers, Springbrook Farm veggies & baked goods, Q’s Nuts, When Pigs Fly bread, Hickory Nut Farm, Goodies, Herb Lyceum, Chica de Gallo, Westport Rivers Elevator Pitch: Neighborhood artisans stop by each week with local art and craft work. Market Co-Manager Cathy Gilson of Gilson Herbs says: “We love that shoppers get to see and taste the seasonality of produce, and understand how weather can affect the growing season.”

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

THURSDAY KENDALL SQUARE FARMERS MARKET g

hen: Thursdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., W June 4 through October 8 Where: 350 Kendall St. in Kendall Square Vendors Include: Chicken and Rice Guys, Fazenda Coffee, Mother Juice, Kendall Flower Shop Elevator Pitch: Some new “grab and go” lunch options will be available this year, along with local artisan crafts, handmade goods and special events. Market Manager Rachel Gross says: “There is something naturally therapeutic about being in the open air surrounded by a buzz of energy during your lunch break.”

SATURDAY CAMBRIDGEPORT SUMMER FARMERS MARKET g

FRIDAY & SUNDAY g

CHARLES SQUARE MARKET g

hen: Fridays 12-6 p.m. and W Sundays 10 a.m.-3 p.m., midMay through late November Where: Located on the Charles Hotel Plaza at the intersection of Eliot and Bennett Streets in Harvard Square Vendors Include: Grateful Farm, Hi-Rise Bread, Kimball Fruit Farm, Stillman’s Farm, Taza Chocolate, Gold Meadow Farms, Formaggio Kitchen, Busa Farm Elevator Pitch: The Charles Square Market is on the smaller side, but you’d be hardpressed to find another market that’s so efficient with its space. Fresh fruits and veggies, quality meats, seafood, bread and sweet snacks—what more could you ask for?

hen: Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., W June 6 through October 31 Where: The Morse School parking lot on Magazine Street at Memorial Drive Vendors Include: Kimball Fruit Farm, Stillman Quality Meats, Flats Mentor Farm, Valicenti Organico, Clear Flour Bread Elevator Pitch: At this small, low-key, family-oriented market, neighbors meet and buy from vendors they know by name. Occasional live music and reliable parking make it welcoming. Market Manager Kate Stillman of Stillman Quality Meats says: “This is my favorite no-stress market on Saturday mornings. My kids play here, they ride around on bikes, there are people who have been shopping from me for 22 years—we have lots of good conversations about food.

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Scout Out

Comedy

Laughs in the Attic at The Comedy Studio by J.M. Lindsay

“N

obody’s here by accident,” says Cambridgeport resident Rick Jenkins, the owner, manager and frequent host at The Comedy Studio, located on the third floor of Harvard Square’s Hong Kong Restaurant. “Nobody ever walked by and thought to themselves, ‘I wonder what’s in the attic of that Chinese restaurant.’” He’s told that joke onstage countless times but it always gets a good laugh because it’s true: In its 19 year history, The Comedy Studio has never advertised. And yet, the house is packed almost every night. Much of the club’s success has to do with his booking process. Jenkins will often put a show together that features a few comics with national television credits, as well as a performer trying comedy for the first time. The influx of new blood certainly brings a variety of people through the doors, but perhaps more importantly, Jenkins says a bill in which fledgling comedians are mixed with stand-up veterans makes for a better show. “It’s really about the excitement and the sincerity,” says Jenkins. “A new comic on the same stage, in front of the same audience, as a comic who has already made the leap to professional ... that’s special.” Norwood native and occasional “Late Night with Craig Ferguson” guest Dan Boulger agrees: “I think it’s a good experience for the newer comedians. It makes you realize that it doesn’t matter who’s in the room, or who’s been on before you. It’s just you and a microphone.” Like many Boston comics, Boulger started his comedy career at the Studio. “It was 2004 and I was 18. In August 2006, I was comic-inresidence, which was convenient because the Boston Comedy Festival was the next month, and I ended up winning it.” The studio’s comic-in-residence is a rotating title given to the comedian who opens every show in a given month. Jenkins awards it to performers in whom he sees great potential, and it is seen as a sort of rite of passage among stand-ups in the area. The development of new comedic talent is important, says Jenkins, because “now there’s a lot less money in comedy, so everyone who’s doing it is doing it because they love it. The arts in general have many more do-it-yourself shows.” Jenkins’s DIY attitude towards comedy is what helped get the club started in 1996. “I never quit stand-up comedy. I just stopped getting hired,” he says. So when the Hong Kong Restaurant, a popular hangout for comics at the time, wanted an event to attract customers to their newly renovated third floor, Jenkins and fellow comic Thom Broan pitched the idea of a weekly comedy show. “Mostly, I just wanted a place to get on stage once a week,” Jenkins recalls. “The fact that it became a full-time room is the surprise.” Timing also helped. When Jenkins first moved to Boston from Buffalo, 28

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

Jenkins points to a table covered with some of the famous faces, including Louis C.K., Denis Leary and Janeane Garofalo, who have graced the Comedy Studio stage over the years. Photo by Emily Cassel.

NY, in the 1980s, there were as many as four comedy clubs in a two-block area. As the legendary comedy “boom” of the era wound down, many clubs began closing their doors. So through “time and attrition,” as Jenkins puts it, the Studio became the club in the Boston area. Jenkins’s commitment didn’t hurt, either. “I don’t know a lot of people that are more committed to stand-up comedy than Rick,” says Boulger. “He’s been there six nights a week for over 15 years. Very few people have as good attendance records at their jobs as he does.” As to whether seeing and managing comedy six nights a week ever gets old? “You never get sick of it if it’s good,” says Jenkins. The Comedy Studio is located at 1238 Massachusetts Ave., on the third floor of the Hong Kong Restaurant. Shows are Tuesday through Sunday at 8 p.m.

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Calendar

calendar Arts

May 12 - 31

Daily until May 10

Work in Progress 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Free for Cambridge residents Harvard Art Museums 32 Quincy St. This exhibit features a selection of artist Rebecca Horn’s multiples, photographs and early films.

Until August 16

Photographing Places: The Photographers of Places Journal, 1987-2009 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $5-$10 MIT Museum 265 Mass Ave. Places, founded by faculty at MIT and UC Berkeley in 1983, would go on to be a leading journal of contemporary architecture. Come check out the work they’ve published throughout the years.

Tuesday - Saturday until May 29 Grupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-Cuba 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Free The Cooper Gallery 102 Mt. Auburn St. Featuring art from 1978 to 1983 that articulates Cuban culture with African and Afro-Caribbean influences.

May 9-10

Cambridge Arts Open Studios 12 - 6 p.m., Free Various locations Artists all over Cambridge will be opening their studio doors to show you their work and workspace.

The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville 7:30 p.m., $25 Loeb Drama Center 64 Brattle St. A flood takes out the entire human race save two men who find a connection through song and dance.

May 20

Cantab Features poet Anthony Ragler 8 p.m. (open mic), 10 p.m. (performance), $3 Cantab Lounge 738 Mass Ave. This 21-year-old writer and father placed second at the 2014 National Poetry Slam.

June 25

The Comedy of Errors 7 p.m., Kendall Square Cinema 1 Kendall Square Catch this final showing of the Globe On Screen series, which features Shakespearean performances filmed earlier this year.

Books May 12

Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You 7 p.m., Free Porter Square Books 25 White St. Ng will talk about her debut novel about a Chinese-American family living in 1970s Ohio.

May 16

Joanna Rakoff in Conversation with Sacha Pfeiffer 7 p.m., Free Harvard Book Store 1256 Mass Ave. Join WBUR’s Sacha Pfeiffer in conversation with Cambridge writer Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year, a memoir about the literary world of New York City in the late nineties.

May 21

Jon Fine and Clint Conley discuss Your Band Sucks 8 p.m., Free LilyPad 1353 Cambridge St. Fine, who is the executive editor of Inc. magazine, and Conley of the band Mission of Burma will discuss Fine’s memoir about the three decades he spent in America’s indie underground.

May 31

Show and Tell for Grown-Ups 5 p.m., Free Porter Square Books 25 White St. We’re all surrounded by artifacts that have special meaning. Come share those stories.

June 23

Maria Speck, author of Simply Ancient Grains 7 p.m., Free Porter Square Books 25 White St. Black rice and red quinoa got your head spinning? Let award-winning food journalist Maria Speck sort it out for you.

Scout picks

30 May | June 2015

scoutcambridge.com

BOOKS | May 21

GrubStreet Launch Lab: The Myth of Solid Ground 7 p.m., Free Harvard Book Store 1256 Mass Ave. Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet are teaming up to bring you three authors whose works explore “just how fragile the foundation of ordinary life can be.” Journalist Stephanie Kegan (author of Golden State), Clark University lecturer Robin McLean (Reptile House) and Sylvia True (The Wednesday Group) will be teaming up to talk about their books. GrubStreet’s Launch Lab is meant to help give writers the resources and expertise to effectively share their writing.

Music Mondays

Bluegrass Mondays 9:30 p.m., No cover Atwood’s Tavern 877 Cambridge St. Featuring Sean Staples, Eric Royer, Dave Westner and Jimmy Ryan.

Tuesdays

Zuesday 10 p.m., $3 Zuzu 474 Mass Ave. Join DJ Leah and BLK.Adonis for this weekly queer dance party. All are welcome, as long as they’re 21+.

Tuesdays

Open Mic 7 p.m., $5 Club Passim 47 Palmer St. Sign up at 6, sing at 7. Or read a story. Or recite a poem. It’s up to you, really.

Thursdays

The Chicken Slacks 9:30 p.m., $6 Cantab Lounge 738 Mass Ave. Every Thursday since 2005, The Chicken Slacks have played Cantab Lounge. So like, don’t feel bad if you can’t make it this week. You’ll have other opportunities.

May 21

IAN, Palehound, Harmoos, Tredici Bacci 8 p.m., $10 Middle East Upstairs 472-480 Mass Ave.

MUSIC | June 13

Red Line Roots Summer Celebration 6 p.m., $16-$18 Club Passim 47 Palmer St. Recognizing the wealth of local and regional talent and relative lack of local coverage, the Red Line music blog aims to support the Americana and folk musicians in the area. This year they’ll be hosting a romp of a celebration at Club Passim, featuring Jay Psaros, Ian Fitzgerald, Krista Baroni and John Faraone. Don’t miss it!

Calendar

Photo courtesy of Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House

EVENTS | June 18

10th Anniversary Sweet Soul Supper 5:30 p.m. (VIP), 6:30 p.m. (general), $40-$120 Morss Hall, Walker Memorial Building, MIT Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House provides a number of services to Cambridge residents in need–after school programming, mothers’ groups, elderly support groups and a food pantry that serves over 4,000 Cambridge residents. Join them for their biggest annual fundraiser, which will feature Caribbean food, live music, a silent auction and an awards ceremony for exemplary community members and children. Find out more at margaretfullerhouse.org.

Tunes from Boston to LA.

May 28

LVL UP, GREYS, Choke Up 7:30 p.m., $10 Middle East Upstairs 472-480 Mass Ave. Into sad slow tunes? Into high paced, high energy rock? You’ll get a little bit of both at this show.

May 30

Karl Jenkins: The Peacemakers 8 p.m., $15-$25 This latest work of composer Karl Jenkins, which features words by Gandhi, Martin Luther King,

Jr., Anne Frank and more, will be performed by the Worcester Children’s Chorus and led by Music Director Pamela Mindell.

Kids & Family Second Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Parent Child Book Groups 6 – 7 p.m., Free Cambridge Public Library 449 Broadway

Calendar

Scout picks 4

Photo courtesy of Cambridge Arts Council

EVENTS | June 6

Cambridge Arts River Festival 12 - 5 p.m., Free Central Square Last year, this annual festival moved away from it’s namesake “river” to Central Square, and that’s where they’ll return. The festival is free and all ages, and features a variety of entertainment–jazz, indie rock, folk, poetry, performance art– alongside more than a hundred vendors. Talk about summer fun!

EVENTS | Through June 7

Museum Highlights Tour Starting at 12:30 p.m. (Fridays), 1 and 2 p.m. (weekend) Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 11 Divinity Avenue Let a Harvard student be your guide through the tides of human history. You’ll visit will take you through exhibits like Wiyohpiyata: Lakota Images of the Contested West, Arts of War: Artistry in Weapons across Cultures, and Digging Veritas, which takes a look at the archaeology of colonial Harvard. Tours are for college-aged visitors or older, and conversation is encouraged, as guides are looking for visitor reflections. Make a reservation by calling 617.495.3216.

No grades and no wrong answers – just a fun, safe space where parents and their kids can discuss books together. Registration required.

family-friendly program to their roster. The cast will compete for your laughter in a fast-paced, jampacked show.

New Parent Coffee Hour 10:30 a.m., Free Stellabella Toys 1360 Cambridge St. Grab some free coffee and muffins, bring your baby out into the world and chat with other new parents of babies six months and younger.

3rd Annual Fun Run 11 a.m., $10-$35 Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 80 Gerrys Landing Rd. Put on your running shoes and grab your kids for this annual fundraising run/walk to support the Family Cooperative. Field activities for young kids will also be available.

Fridays

Storytime 10:30 a.m., Free The Curious George Store 1 JFK St. Join the staff for their weekly storytime.

Saturdays

All Access Improv 6 p.m., $10-$16 ImprovBoston 40 Prospect St. ImprovBoston is adding another

May | June 2015 scoutcambridge.com

May 16

Events May 2

Point to Point Camp 4:30 p.m., Free MIT Media Lab 75 Amherst St.

This “unconference” will feature skillshares, panel talks, trainings and more about how to keep our data safe and our government transparent.

May 10

Dinner, Art and Music feat. #WhatIMake Project 6 p.m., $7 (free with dish to pass) The Democracy Center 45 Mt Auburn St. Miranda’s Hearth hosts a monthly potluck for folks to share what they make. Learn about design, art and plain old hard work.

May 15-18

Area premiere of I Am Big Bird Various times, $8-$11 Brattle Theatre 40 Brattle St. This heartwarming documentary tells the story of the man who has brought Sesame Street’s Big Bird to life for decades.

Photo by Mahesh

May 15

Sustainable Business Conference 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., $25-$120 Washburn Auditorium & Sherill Library 89 Brattle St. Some of the regions best government official, small business leaders and academics will come together for this conference green economy. More info at sbnmass.org.

June 19-21

Smash It Dead Fest Various times, admission TBA The Democracy Center 45 Mt Auburn St. Three days of punk and hardcore bands and workshops. Proceeds benefit the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.

SEE FULL LISTINGS AT SCOUTCAMBRIDGE.COM/ CALENDAR

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

FOOD & DRINK

AMERICAN

ASIAN

BRAZILIAN

34 May | June 2015

scoutcambridge.com

GASTROPUB

FOOD & DRINK

BURGERS

ITALIAN CAFE

CATERING

scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

REAL ESTATE

SALES

36 May | June 2015

RENTALS

scoutcambridge.com

ACUPUNCTURE & MASSAGE

GOODS & SERVICES

CHILDREN’S SPECIALTY

PHOTO EDITING

CLOTHING

SALON & SPA

PAWN

WINE & BEER

AUTO SALES

LEGAL SERVICES

John’s Auto Sales 181 Somerville Ave 617-628-5511 johnsautosales.com see ad page XX

New Leaf Legal, LLC 649 Mass Ave info@newleaflegal.com Newleaflegal.com Pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. scoutcambridge.com May | June 2015

Scout You

Kayla and Axel walk Muzzy in Harvard Square

A busker plays blues guitar in Brattle Square

Chaenda serves customers from a Bon Me food truck on Harvard campus

Josh and John eat Tasty Burger in Harvard Square

Peter smokes a cigar outside Crema in Harvard Square

38 May | June 2015

scoutcambridge.com

Photos by Chrissy Bulakites

Arjun plays pinball at State Park in Kendall Square

May | June 2015 Scout Cambridge 191 Highland Ave, Suite 1A Somerville, MA 02143