While it’s no industry secret
that more Massachusetts homes sell in the spring than in other seasons, our fall/winter market is still a wonderful time to buy! Other real estate markets may experience volatility in times of economic change. Fortunately for us, regardless of what goes on with the national economy, our local market remains well insulated from economic fluctuations for the foreseeable future. This is due to: • Finite inventory, due to older housing stock and lack of developable land. This is being addressed by proposed zoning changes in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, but significant impact on housing inventory is still years away; • Strong local economy anchored by stable industries and jobs—including high tech, medical, and universities; • Steady rental market, which gives sellers another option to hold on to property and rent; • Low interest rates, which are attractive to buyers as well as to sellers who refinance and hold property; • Demographic shifts to urban areas for both new buyers and downsizing Baby Boomers; • Public transit (not perfect, but available and expanding through the new GLX line) that supports urban commuters; • World-renowned hospitals, and • Broad range of cultural attractions—theater, music, art, lectures, museums, sports—for all ages. All of these factors keep the demand to live here high while the housing stock remains fairly level. Since we all have to pay to live somewhere, it makes sense to own in a real estate market that offers stability and long-term growth. We are always here to guide you through the process, and we offer a variety of free classes to prepare you to buy, sell, or maintain your home. Best Real Estate Agency
Listings 35 Curtis Avenue, Somerville Large Teele Square single family home with a mature wildflower garden and a 4-bay garage. It has 6 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and many original features including French doors and a warming cupboard tucked into the chimney breast.
348 Norfolk Street, Cambridge $1,795,000
Beautifully renovated, condo-quality, owner occupied 3-family between Inman Sq. and East Cambridge. First floor unit has open concept living, 1 bedroom, and 1 bath on the first level and finished lower level with study, media room, and laundry room. Second floor has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, private w/d in basement, rented for $2,700/mo through 8/31/20. Top floor has 3 beds, 1 bath, private w/d in back hall and is rented for $3,000/ mo through 5/31/20. Rear patio and small front yard. Unit 1 delivered vacant. Residents with cars registered at this address are entitled to free parking in City-owned lot across the street.
Free Classes an overview of the buying process
Wednesday, December 4th or Wednesday, January 22nd
6:30 – 7:45 pm
If you’re considering buying your first home and want to understand what’s in store, this is a quick and helpful overview. Led by our agents and a loan officer from a local bank, it includes a 45-min presentation and 1/2 hour Q&A session. Handouts and refreshments provided.
for homeowners contemplating a move
There is great value to be had in this 2-bedroom, 1 bath condo with open floorplan, private balcony, and a parking space—all steps from Magoun Square restaurants, Trum Field, and the community path. Walkable to 2 Red Line Subways (Porter and Davis) now and 3 GLX stations in the near future.
Beautiful 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom condo with in-unit laundry, 2 parking spaces, private yard, central air, and large basement storage area. Walk to the shops, cinema, and eateries on Mass. Ave. as well as the bike path and the Red Line station at Alewife.
$449,000
19 Putnam Street, Somerville
$569,000
$850,000
Lovely Union Square attached single family on 3 levels with 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, office with skylights, fenced yard, unfinished basement. Walk to all the delights of Union Square and 2 future GLX stations. Steps to the dog park, Nunziato Field, Community Growing Center, and Prospect Hill park.
Tuesday, January 14th
6:30 – 7:45 pm
If trying to figure out the logistics of selling your home and buying a new one makes your head spin, this workshop will help make the process & your choices understandable. This workshop, led by our agents and a loan officer from a local bank, includes a 45-min presentation and 1/2 hour Q&A session. Handouts and refreshments provided.
Basic Home Maintenance:
preparing your home for winter Wednesday, December 11th
6:30 – 7:45 pm
Do you worry about pipes bursting? Ice dams? Clogged gutters? Broken downspouts? Heat loss? Damage from broken tree limbs? Heating system failure? Routine maintenance is the best way to prevent damage to your most important investment: your home. Come to this class to get a checklist and explanation of the things you need to do to maintain your home—and sanity.
To reserve space in any class, please email Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com. Admission is free, but we appreciate donations of canned goods for the Somerville Homeless Coalition.
Art Show 87 Wallace Street, Somerville
156 Ivy Street, Brookline
A Victorian single-family gem in the heart of Davis Square awaits your reimagining. This grand home features 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms on 3 floors, detached garage, and yard on one of the most beloved streets in Davis Square.
This stunning historic Early Gothic Revival (c. 1851) single family sits on 8/10 acre and abuts conservation land in the Cottage Farm neighborhood, yet it is within walking distance of Fenway Park and Cambridge. The house offers 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, 3 studies, library, dining room, living room, 5 fireplaces, finished basement with media room, high ceilings, central air, beautiful architectural details, and 3-car garage with electric car outlet. Walk to Green Line B, C, and D trains as well as major hospitals and BU campus.
$1,189,000
$5,595,000
JF LYNCH: SOOT AND STARS
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.943.9581 cell/text Jennifer@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Lynn C. Graham
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.216.5244 cell/text Lynn@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Brendon Edwards
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.895.6267 cell/text Brendon@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 315.382.2507 cell/text Seth@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Sarasvati Lynn
How to Buy and Sell at the Same Time: 144 Palmer Street Unit 1, Arlington
Jennifer Rose
Seth Kangley
First Time Home Buyers:
301 Lowell Street Unit 14, Somerville
President, Realtor ® 617.513.1967 cell/text Thalia@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
$1,099,000
Best Real Estate Agent
Listings
Thalia Tringo
Former Somerville resident JF Lynch exhibits new works in charcoal and assemblage. Feel free to drop in to see the show whenever we are in the office through December.
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.702.4751 cell/text Sarasvati@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Adaria Brooks
Executive Assistant to the President, Realtor ® 617.308.0064 cell/text Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
About our company... We are dedicated to representing our buyer and seller clients with integrity and professionalism. We are also commi ed to giving back to our community. Our agents donate $250 to a non-profit in honor of each transaction and Thalia Tringo & Associates Real Estate Inc. also gives $250 to a pre-selected group of local charities for each transaction. Visit our office, 128 Willow Avenue, on the bike path in Davis Square, Somerville.
NOVEMBER 12, 2O19 - JANUARY 12, 2020 ::: VOLUME 60 ::: SCOUTSOMERVILLE.COM
contents 6 // EDITOR’S NOTE 8 // WINNERS & LOSERS Somerville took a stance on the activism front in September, with SPS allowing students to skip class to attend the Global Climate Strike, while the city is suffering from noisy speedbumps with GLX construction. 8 // CALENDAR
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
20
16 // AFTER THE LEAVES FALL Snowed in? Not this year. Local organizations offer guidance for staying active after the leaves fall.
34 // REDUCE, REUSE, AND WRAP Local experts weigh in on how to wrap presents while keeping your carbon footprint low.
18 // REDEFINING ‘THE HOLIDAYS’ The term “holidays” doesn’t only mean Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah for these Somervillians.
36 // EATING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE SEASON From traditional New England fare like Christmas Goose to the best cheese to buy for a holiday party, enjoy this seasonal food tour of Somerville.
20 // GIFT GUIDE We help you help Somerville with our annual gift guide, made up of local Somerville shopping spots.
10 // WHAT’S NEW? Nibble Kitchen and Koshari Mama have opened up in Bow Market, the bibimbap-focused eatery Perillas has closed, a new design
for Davis Square was proposed to the city, and three new marijuana dispensaries were approved. 14 // NEWS: SLEEPLESS IN SOMERVILLE Somervillians are still losing sleep over the noise resulting from planes leaving Logan Airport, and they are done being silent about it. 38 // DO-GOODERS, KEY PLAYERS, AND GAME CHANGERS: TUFTS HILLEL This organization helps students feel at home during the Jewish holidays, a time where many feel displaced in the Christmasloving city of greater Boston.
“
38
For me, it was about making spaces for people to connect with their Judaism without feeling overwhelmed by it.”
For a lot of people, shopping in Somerville’s locally owned stores has become a holiday tradition. If it isn’t a tradition yet for you, it’s one well worth starting. It’s an experience completely unlike going to a mall and buying whatever the chain stores have on offer. When you shop local, it’s a chance to pick out more thoughtful, personal and unique items and to discover more about what our fabulous city has to offer. Not only will you love what you find, the trip through our city squares is a good time too. Yes, you can actually have fun when you do your holiday shopping. I hope to see you out there. Happy holidays to all.”
Doodle Pants $20, Diaper Lab
A Field Guide to Color Watercolor Workbook $27.95, Magpie
Photo, top: The Winter Warmer sampler from Taza Chocolate. Photo courtesy of Taza Chocolate. Photo, bottom: Rabbi Jordan Braunig of the Tufts Hillel. Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz. Cover illustration by Stefan Mallette. IG: @stefs_stuff. Gift Guide items (top to bottom): Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley, p. 21; Fluff Mugs, p. 32; Doodle Pants, see inset; Somerville Coasters, p. 21; A Field Guide to Color Watercolor Workbook, see inset; Crochet Dolls, p. 28; Somerville is for Lovers T-shirts, p. 32
– MAYOR JOE CURTATONE PAID FOR BY THE COMMITTEE TO ELECT JOE CURTATONE
EDITOR’S NOTE
R
ight as the leaves are changing colors and painting the ground shades of orange, Scout is also experiencing some shifts of its own. Former editor Reena Karasin said her farewells in late summer and was succeeded by interim editor-in-chief Eric Francis. About a month ago, I officially joined the team once again. Diligent Scout readers may recognize my name from the past year, during which I was an intern and then a freelancer for both the Somerville and Cambridge magazines. Writing for Scout helped me realize my passion for local news, which led me to move to a town in Alaska with a year-round Photo by Melinda Fakuade. population of about 400 people to write at a community newspaper. I was in the one-room office of The Skagway News when I accepted the offer to come back to Scout as the managing editor. As I’m settling back into the greater Boston area, I’m enthusiastic about what I’ve gotten to read, edit, and report in this month’s Scout. Our annual holiday gift guide (p. 20) has certainly kept me out and about—something I am very grateful for, considering that the holiday season in New England doesn’t get old. Neither do the smiling faces of the local business owners whom I got to speak to as we picked out the best gifts for your loved ones. Eric’s seasonal food stories have made me hungry on more than one occasion (p. 36), while Scout fellow Abbie Gruskin’s feature on the effects of airplane noise on the lives of residents (p. 14) immediately reignited my interest in the local news of Somerville. Not only that, but this issue also explores what the term “the holidays” really means to the city (p. 18), how to wrap gifts sustainably (p. 32), and how to stay active after the leaves fall (p. 16). I would like to thank Eric and Abbie for their diligent and fun reporting, as well as our new intern Elie Levine for the work she’s contributed so far. In addition, I need to extend my gratitude to publisher Holli Banks and art director Nicolle Renick for their patience in teaching me the ropes, Reena for inspiring me and preparing me so well for the “real world” during my internship, staff photographers Adrianne Mathiowetz and Sasha Pedro for their beautiful work, and Stefan Mallette for the wonderful cover. And, of course, to you—for picking up the magazine, reaching out with ideas, and reminding us why we need to do our best work. To say I’m excited to see how we all grow as a team, and how Scout grows as a publication, would be an understatement.
Lilly Milman Lilly Milman, Managing Editor lmilman@scoutmagazines.com
6 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
ELECTJACK
PUBLISHER Holli Banks hbanks@scoutmagazines.com MANAGING EDITOR Lilly Milman lmilman@scoutmagazines.com ART DIRECTOR Nicolle Renick design@scoutmagazines.com renickdesign.com EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Eric J. Francis efrancis@scoutmagazines.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jerry Allien jallien@scoutmagazines.com
ON DATYH! I T C E L E BER 5 NOVEM OPEN POLLS- 8PM 7AM to the polls, e For a rid17-838-7077 call 6 tion Day. on Elec
CONNOLLY CITY COUNCILOR AT LARGE
MY PRIORITIES AS A SOMERVILLE CITY COUNCILOR AT LARGE
SCOUT FELLOW Abbie Gruskin agruskin@scoutmagazines.com
KEEPING SOMERVILLE SAFE
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Adrianne Mathiowetz
Keeping Police, Fire, and Emergency Responders at their maximum efficiency. Supporting fair City Labor Union agreements, and fair compensation and respect for non-union City staffers.
EDITORIAL INTERN Elie Levine
FIXING DAVIS SQ. NOW
Somerville is City with an annual budget over over a quarter of a BILLION dollars, yet City officials can’t find $750K to FIX the distressed, and decaying Davis Sq., the Square that put Somerville on the map? See www.DavisNow.org for more information about what is needed. How about fixing and maintaining our Streets, Roads, and Bike Lanes? I’ll work with each Ward Councilor to prioritize the most needed and neglected streets and roadways.
CONTRIBUTING WRITER Maximiliano Reyes CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Sasha Pedro CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR Stefan Mallette
ZEROING IN ON ZONING
Getting the long-overdue Citywide Zoning update DONE, and updating the Building Permit and Inspection process which is now painfully slow: Building permits should not take months to be issued.
COPY EDITOR Abigail Michaud
HOUSING
Adding more housing of all types; Somerville needs to get Union Sq. residents and Master Developer united and development plans for four hundred housing units (20% affordable) underway and ready for the Green Line station.
BANKS PUBLICATIONS 519 Somerville Ave, #314 Somerville, MA 02143
SUPPORTING HOME AND PROPERTY OWNERS
FIND US ONLINE scoutsomerville.com somervillescout
Standing up for Somerville home owners and taxpayers property rights for fair condo and cooperative housing options, especially for one to four unit homes and apartments.
scoutsomerville scoutmags
Office Phone: 617-996-2283
HUMAN SERVICES
Improving City liaison and support services for non-profit providers for Domestic Violence Prevention (Respond) The Somerville Homeless Coalition, and mental health and substance abuse/treatment programs, especially for Veterans.
Advertising inquiries? Please contact hbanks@scoutmagazines.com. GET A COPY Scout Somerville is available for free at more than 220 drop spots throughout the city (and just beyond its borders). Additionally, thousands of Somerville homes receive a copy of each edition in their mailbox, hitting every neighborhood in the city throughout the year... sometimes twice! You can sign up for home delivery by visiting scoutsomerville.com/shop.
Finally, experience matters. In order to be progressive, you actually have
to achieve progress.Working with others, I have been part of much progress in Somerville, and I am ready, with your support, to do it again.
Connolly4CouncilorAtLarge.com @JackConnolly4CouncilorAtLarge
@CitizenConnolly
@jackconnolly4councilor
PLEASE CONSIDER JACK CONNOLLY FOR ONE OF YOUR FOUR VOTES FOR SOMERVILLE COUNCILOR AT LARGE ON ELECTION DAY NOV.5TH, 7AM-8PM Paid for by the Committee to Elect Jack Connolly
W&L
WINNERS
LOSERS
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS Somerville’s delegation is backing a state bill that would allow locals unable to present proof of citizenship to receive a driver’s license if they “meet all other qualifications for licensure,” reports the Somerville Journal. Ben Echevarria, executive director of The Welcome Project, which originally proposed the idea last year, told the Journal the bill “would increase [immigrants’] ability to work, to run errands, and make daily lives better for all.” Despite opponents’ claims that the bill would allow undocumented immigrants to flee crime scenes for fear of deportation, it has seen support from the local community—a majority of the over 400 people who attended a hearing in September voiced support.
SLEEP GLX construction has locals losing sleep. Nighttime construction on new Green Line tracks along the Fitchburg and Lowell Commuter Rail lines in Somerville and Medford began early this September, according to the Somerville Patch. It’s predicted to carry on at the Washington Street overpass of the East Somerville Station “for the foreseeable future,” according to the Mass.gov website. Overnight construction also started at Lechmere Station, Gilman Square Station, Ball Square Station, and College Avenue Station. The city is directing light away from residential buildings in an attempt to help locals sleep during the night, but construction and heavy machinery might make nighttime noise unavoidable.
TEEN CLIMATE ACTIVISTS Teen climate activists in the city took to the streets with the okay from SPS, which supported students attending the Global Climate Strike at the end of September by allowing them to skip school with approval from their parents, according to the Somerville Journal. “We believe that regular attendance at school plays a critical role in a student’s academic success,” Superintendent Marry Skipper wrote in a statement. “However we also recognize that valuable learning can occur through responsible advocacy, youth leadership, and civic engagement.” Somerville High School’s absences were double compared to the week before the strike, and the school brought environmental learning into the classroom for those who stayed behind. ERIC DIVEN Local woodworker and furniture designer Eric Diven is making his mark this winter with a piece on display in Pennsylvania for the annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition at the Wharton Esherick Museum. Diven’s work, titled “Springtime in Bronze,” will be on display through the end of the year and was “an experimental foray into the world of lighting.” In addition to making the cut for the juried show, Diven’s piece has already garnered the Members’ Choice award, which was determined by a vote among attendees of the show’s opening.
MYSTIC AVENUE Mystic Avenue is in need of serious rethinking. Mayor Joseph Curtatone teamed up with the city’s mobility division this October to host a community meeting that addressed two fatal crashes on Mystic, also known as State Route 38, according to the City of Somerville website. The crashes happened within a month of each other and were both deemed hit-andruns, according to the Somerville Patch. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has also been working with city officials to develop new designs for the “complex series of intersections and highway ramps” between Interstate 93, Route 38, and Route 28. Representatives of the department were not present at the community meeting. UNFINISHED PROJECTS Just because construction on Beacon Street came to a close doesn’t mean the project’s over. In September, residents sent a letter to the mayor, city staff, and state representatives asking for the completion of the nine-year project, according to the Somerville Journal. Local resident Chris Dwan wrote the letter asking the city to focus its attention on the street. “When we’ve seen city staff engaged on a daily basis on Beacon, conditions and quality have improved,” Dwan told the Journal. “When they have been absent, things have slipped.” Residents are seeking “100-percent completion of the project,” enforcement of traffic laws for drivers and bicyclists, and a remedy for the trees that were removed in 2017 as part of the project.
CALENDAR NOVEMBER 23-24 | ART
BRICKBOTTOM & JOY STREET OPEN STUDIOS 12 to 6 p.m.; Free 1 Fitchburg St., Somerville Join Brickbottom and Joy Street as they present their annual open studios event, an all-access pass to some of the most exciting art being made in Somerville. Explore twoand three-dimensional art as well as pop-up performances and interactive experiences, and ask your favorite artists any and all questions about the process while beefing up your collection. Photo courtesy of Jeanne Jepson.
8 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
DR. KATIE TALMO received her DMD from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 2010. Upon graduation, she joined her father, Paul Talmo, in his practice located in the historic English Tudor house at 180 Highland Avenue on the
NOVEMBER 28 | FITNESS
corner of Highland Avenue and Benton Road. Dr. Talmo graduated first in her class
GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE 5K 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; $30 371 Summer St., Somerville Register for the 23rd annual Thanksgiving race that begins and ends in Davis Square by November 27 for an experience you won’t forget—all while making it home in time for Mom’s famous pumpkin pie. The turkey trot is followed by an after-party at the Burren—the 2019 Scout’s Honored winner for best “late-night haunt.”
from Tufts and continues to be involved in her alma mater where she teaches parttime as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care.
Her patient-centered treatment philosophy focuses on prevention and conservative treatment modalities. She is a member of the American Dental Association and the Massachusetts Dental Society and is a fellow of the International College of Dentists. She is engaged in the community, serving as the Advisory Committee Chair to Somerville High School’s Dental Assisting Program. Dr. Talmo also travels to the Dominican Republic to provide dental care as part of a global
DECEMBER 7 | SHOPPING
ALL SHE WROTE BOOKS POP-UP 2 to 5 p.m.; Free 257 Washington St., Somerville Treat yourself at Somerville’s unique Juliet restaurant, known for its gratuity-free dining, while also enriching your mind at the All She Wrote Books pop-up—a Somerville-based new and used pop-up bookstore that features women, queer, and non-binary writers of all genres. Photo courtesy of All She Wrote Books.
outreach mission project. Schedule an appointment to visit Dr. Talmo in her newly renovated office space.
BEST DENTIST
• FAMILY AND COSMETIC DENTISTRY • TEETH WHITENING • CROWN AND BRIDGE WORK • RESTORATION OF DENTAL IMPLANTS • VENEERS • CLEAR ORTHODONTIC ALIGNERS
Someone rustle your jimmies or tickle your fancy?
Let us know at scoutsomerville.com/contact-us, and we just might crown them a winner or loser.
YOUR DENTAL HEALTH IS PART OF YOUR OVERALL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.
2019 WINNER
2018 WINNER
2017 WINNER
2016 WINNER
2015 NOMINEE
2014 WINNER
—BY ABBIE GRUSKIN
DR. KAT I E TA L M O, D.M .D. • 6 1 7 .8 6 4 .6 1 1 1 • 1 8 0 HIGHLAND AVENUE
WHAT’S NEW
BY ABBIE GRUSKIN
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ART BEAT
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CITY ARTS COUNCIL’S THREE MURALS FOR SOMERVILLE STREET ART PROJECT COMPLETED
Somerville Arts Council’s first muralist Pascal completed his mural on 2 Highland Avenue this September as part of the group’s 2019 Somerville Street Art Project, according to the Arts Council’s Instagram. Pascal, who hails from Haiti, joined two other muralists at the end of August for a meet-and-greet and panel to discuss the project. The two other murals that rounded out the project were created by Sneha Shrestha at 47B Webster and Calo Rosa at 52 Broadway.
SHIFTING SUBSTANCE REGULATIONS
NEW DESIGN FOR DAVIS SQUARE PROPOSED TO CITY PLANNING BOARD CITY HOLDS MEETING ON NEW CENTRAL HILL CAMPUS PLAN The Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development paired up with Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen at the end of September and invited locals to discuss the Phase 1 plan for the Central Hill Campus, according to The Somerville Times. Proposed plans include renovating the Central Hill Playground and installing a memorial walk in addition to 10 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
T
he city planning board convened at the end of September to discuss a new 111-page Davis Square Neighborhood Plan with residents, according to the Somerville Journal. The document proposes redesigns of streets, buildings, public space usage, and traffic related challenges, all as part of a process that began in 2013.
the Korean and Vietnam War Memorial, along with a new Service Memorial.
CLARENDON HILL WILL SOON BE REVAMPED A new 591-unit housing development is coming to Clarendon Hill, and will include 216 public-housing units, 80 moderate-income affordable housing units, and 295 marketrate units, according to the Somerville Journal. The zoning
approval process is projected to wrap up by the end of the year, after which current residents will relocate, with the offer of a public housing unit in the development once it has been completed.
CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO TRANSFER LAND TO US2
The Union Square Neighborhood Council (USNC) ratified its community benefits agreement with developer US2 at the end of September after a
year of meetings, according to the Somerville Journal. “The unanimity of the ratification vote is a testament to the work of the USNC board and negotiating committee to unite the Union Square community around a common purpose,” USNC member Ben Bradlow told the Journal, explaining the development in the long negotiations between USNC and US2 as a win for community activism.
Davis Square rendering courtesy of City of Somerville. ArtBeat photo courtesy of Somerville Arts Council.
CITY APPROVES THREE NEW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES Recreational marijuana shops are coming to the city. This September, the Marijuana Advisory Committee selected three adult-use marijuana dispensaries to open in Somerville: Union Leaf in 71 Union Square, New England Select Harvest in 378-380 Highland Ave., and East Coast Remedies in 76-82 Central St., according to the Somerville Journal. The selection process began with 15 applicants in the first round and prioritized minority-owned businesses. Moving forward, the three selected businesses will need to obtain a series of licenses and permits in addition to
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each of their community host agreements, which have already been signed by acting mayor Katjana Ballantyne.
CITY BEGINS ALCOHOL COMPLIANCE CHECK THAT WILL PROCEED THROUGH OCT. 2020
The Somerville Police Department is cracking down on underage alcohol purchases. This October, Somerville Prevention Services members teamed up with police officers to begin conducting alcohol compliance checks at all city liquor stores, according to the Somerville Patch. The checks will continue through October 2020 with the intent of “limiting youth access to alcohol,” Prevention Services Manager Matthew Mitchell told the outlet in a statement.
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scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season
11
WHAT’S NEW
FOOD & DRINK PORTER SQUARE
MANOA POKE SHOP
P
Best Co-working
oke fans, you’re in luck. After COMING MOVED closing at the SOON start of 2019 due to financial difficulties, Manoa Poke Shop reopened in its original space at 300 Beacon St. near Porter Square at the end of September, according to Eater Boston. Though the restaurant’s hours are still in flux, it continues to offer poke, fried chicken, and other Polynesian foods.
Space
Is working from home too ruff ? Join our coworking community:
www.industrylab.com and Founder Jose Barriga of Cambridge Food Lab has yet to announce an opening date. BOW MARKET
KOSHARI MAMA
Koshari Mama is new to the Bow Market scene since the beginning of November, offering EgyptianCOMING food andMOVED vegan SOON plates including koshari—a dish that mixes lentils, rice, pasta, chickpeas, and fried onions—according to Eater Boston. Koshari Mama signed on for a one year lease in its new Bow Market space, and is open Wednesday through Sunday. BOW MARKET
PERILLAS
Perillas, a Bow Market eatery specializing in bibimbap, said its final farewells at the end COMING of September when it closed to SOON make room for the next tenant, Koshari Mama. Perillas still offers catering, and owner James Choi is looking for a permanent location in the area to open shop once again. UNION SQUARE
HEN CHICKEN RICE
COMING SOON
Look no further for authentic Thai food than Hen Chicken Rice, which will be opening in Union Square between the end of November and beginning of December, according to 12 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
co-founder Annie Natnicha Suwimol. Suwimol says the restaurant will serve four different versions of “Khao-ManGai,” or broiled chicken on rice, with sauces ranging from Thai MOVED chili sauce to peanut sauce. Hen Chicken Rice will be the first restaurant in the greater Boston area to offer the Thai specialty! LAFAYETTE SQUARE
907 MAIN
COMING SOON
Boutique hotel MOVED 907 Main will be making an entrance in the beginning of 2020, complete with two new restaurants—The Dial and The Blue Owl—a French bakery named Praliné, and a Toscanini’s ice cream shop, according to The
Cambridge Day. The five-story hotel will boast 67 rooms and architecture and design “inspired by Margaret Fuller and the Transcendentalists movement,” Nauset Construction, which has been working on the project, told the Day. WINTER HILL
DEEP CUTS DELI AND BREWERY
COMING SOON
MOVED Deep Cuts Deli, a Boston area
pop-up, is doing something different—the sandwich shop is pairing up with an in-house beer maker to open Deep Cuts Deli and Brewery in Winter Hill next year, according to Boston Magazine. Their first collaboration with Bone
Up Brewing Co. started in September, and Jeff Wetzel, co-founder of the brewery BearMoose, joined the Deep Cuts team for the deli and brewery collaboration moving forward. TEELE SQUARE
GREEN MAMA
COMING SOON
Why make your own avocado toast when you could MOVED enjoy it at Green Mama? Green Mama, an “avocado-centric” restaurant with an entirely vegetarian menu, launched an investment campaign at the end of September to fund their prospective opening in Teele Square, according to Eater Boston. The campaign ran through mid-October
Manoa Poke Shop photo courtesy of Manoa Poke. Koshari Mama photo courtesy of Koshari Mama. Nibble Kitchen photo courtesy of Nibble Kitchen.
BOW MARKET
NIBBLE KITCHEN
Nibble Kitchen opened in Bow Market late this September after much COMING to Eater anticipation, according MOVED SOON MOVED
Boston. The pop-up restaurant features a rotating menu of cuisine from around the world. Each Nibble Kitchen meal is different from the next—from Bolivian plates with quinoa, cheese fritters, and mango sauce, to Bangladeshi rolls with Brazillian blackeyed pea fritters. On top of the delicious food, Nibble Kitchen is also offering cooking classes and dinner parties. TEELE SQUARE
SABUR
Sabur, which brought Balkan food to the greater Boston area, closed after nearly 20 years COMING in its Teele Square location, MOVED SOON according to the Somerville Patch. The restaurant closed in the spring for renovations, but construction has yet to be completed and the Balkan restaurant won’t be making a return.
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scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 13
NEWS
SLEEPLESS IN SOMERVILLE: COMPLAINTS ABOUT AIRPLANE NOISE SKYROCKET, STIR UP COMMUNITY VOICES BY ABBIE GRUSKIN | PHOTO BY ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ
I
ncreased jet noise is plaguing city residents, who voiced their opposition to Logan Airport flight paths over Somerville in a City Council meeting this September. The cumulative number of city complaints about airplane noise collected by the Massachusetts Port Authority (MassPort)— which owns and operates Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—has skyrocketed from 71 by August 2012 to 12,927 through August 2019. The fight against noise pollution is well on its way in the city and beyond, according to Tara Ten Eyck, the city’s representative to the 33L Municipal Working Group. “People are angry their quality of life has been completely diminished and they want something to change,” Ten Eyck explains. “Several people spoke about it as a public health issue.” The City Council meeting drew a smaller crowd than anticipated, considering the 14 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
recent complaints from the local community, according to Wig Zamore, Somerville’s Chair of the MassPort CAC Environment and Health committee. The impact of transportationrelated noise pollution isn’t new to Somerville. Three grassroots organizations formed nearly 20 years ago to address MBTA construction and traffic, according to Zamore, and community efforts to balance land usage, transportation, public health, and traffic pollution have persisted. More recently in the last six years, though, changes to flight paths from one of Logan International Airport’s six runways have sparked increased community uproar for the consequently changing noise impacts experienced by different and larger communities. Specifically, the addition of runway 14/32 in 2006, which doubled departures from Logan Airport’s 33L runway, paired with new flight paths introduced in 2013 sparked rising numbers of complaints from the local
community, according to Zamore. Since the flight path changes, jets departing from Logan runway 33L began travelling through East Boston, Chelsea, Everett, and Somerville before branching off toward either Cambridge, Belmont, Arlington, or Medford. The effect of increased noise is not unique to Somerville, and is an almost constant annoyance, says Cambridge resident Robert O’Neil. O’Neil says that jets pass over his house and neighborhood sometimes as frequently as every minute-and-a-half for days and nights on end. “It does impact my life anywhere from interrupting conversations to working in my backyard, interacting with my neighbors,” O’Neil says. “I work from home, so it has a significant impact on my ability to concentrate on my work and even have phone calls. I think the most significant issue is the constant repetition for very extended durations of time, anywhere from a few hours to a few days and from early morning to very late.”
The impact of airplane noise on the ground does not directly correlate with the mapped flight courses, according to Zamore. Instead, jet noise diffuses along those lines in many directions. And Zamore believes that the community’s sensitivity to noise pollution may be increasing. “People sometimes look at flight tracks and misinterpret that the noise goes straight down from the flight track, which it doesn’t,” Zamore explains. “As you move away from Logan Airport, even if every plane takes exactly the same track, there’s a very wide band of almost equal noise on the ground.” Residents in Somerville and the surrounding cities are not just facing noise pollution from shifting airplane paths, though, according to Zamore. Noise from highway traffic and construction is causing just as much, if not more, harm to the local community. Zamore believes the noise pollution is greatest in lower socio-economic neighborhoods. “The traffic noise in
Somerville, especially along the highway corridors, is much louder on an annual average than any of the jet noise,” Zamore says. “The traffic air and noise pollution is having much more health effect in Somerville. There are people dying from premature cardiovascular disease. “It absolutely relates to class. There’s a reason that Eastern Somerville has the most highway pollution per-square-mile and the most diesel pollution persquare-mile of any community in Massachusetts. And the reason is it’s a rental population and it’s got a very large immigrant population. They’re too busy with other stressors to mobilize the political power to overcome that.” Zamore explains that southeastern Somerville—an area with a highly concentrated population of low-income families and immigrants—has been hit particularly hard with high levels of noise and air pollution from traffic. Somerville is home to the most vehicle miles traveled persquare-mile in the Boston area
trucks and ships and lies more closely under Logan runway 33L departures. “Transportation is our biggest environmental problem and the hardest pollution source to separate from the daily lives of citizens,” Zamore explains. “Nevertheless, environmental justice populations bear the greatest burden and wealthier communities are often the most protected.” Moving forward, many locals are calling for a solution that redirects the current flight paths from Logan runway 33L. Ten Eyck is of the opinion that overhead noise from airplanes should be distributed equitably among neighboring communities that benefit from easy access to Logan Airport, and both she and O’Neil agree that the issue would be best resolved with a regional outlook. “It’s not a Somerville issue or a Medford issue or a Cambridge issue,” O’Neil explains. “My personal objective would be not to shift this concentrated noise
“Transportation is our biggest environmental problem and the hardest pollution source to separate from the daily lives of citizens.” – Wig Zamore (over 200,000) and the most diesel commuter trains per-square-mile per day, all centered around the southeastern side of the city. Zamore also believes that highway I93 should not have been built after the Clean Air Act of 1970, explaining that leaded gasoline has a particularly devastating impact on the surrounding communities. “The effects of leaded gasoline break my heart,” Zamore says. “For many of those most exposed, leaded gas took away a lifetime of intelligence, emotional stability and quality of life.” Chelsea has even more lowincome and immigrant families per-square-mile than Somerville, according to Zamore, and comes in second to the city in vehicle miles travelled per-square-mile per day. It also hosts more large
onto somebody else to give myself relief. I want to try to see a way to disperse those flights over a larger geographical area so that the burden of that noise problem is shared by more, and also therefore is less of a burden for everybody.” Zamore, on the other hand, believes that moving Logan offshore would provide the most relief. In hopes of reaching a solution in the near future, MassPort and the Federal Aviation Administration have asked residents from affected cities to weigh in on several proposed “flight dispersion concepts” from MIT’s International Center for Air Transportation RNAV Study. Many locals, like Eyck and O’Neil, believe that collaboration among the impacted cities could strengthen their efforts.
When your mind has a mind of it’s own.
Bliss Brain
scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 15
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
Active After the Leaves Fall
BY ERIC J. FRANCIS
L
et’s face it: There’s something to be said for staying in when the snow starts piling up and the air takes on a deep-freeze quality. You can be warm and snug, and also do things that you enjoy. The trick is, you don’t have to stay in at home. GETTING COZY CRAFTING SERIES AT THE LIBRARY Hygge Happiness “This is our third year offering our Getting Cozy series, which is a hygga-inspired program,” says Lilly Sundell-Thomas, the library’s deputy director. “We offer hot cider and usually some light snacks, and every month we have a different crafting opportunity.” Hygge is a philosophy originating in Denmark and Norway that emphasizes coziness, which sounds like just the ticket for a winter day. Sundell-Thomas says they see anywhere from 20 to 40 people coming together for these programs. “You don’t have to register— just drop in and do a craft with your neighbors,” she says.
16 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
BOARD GAMES AT KNIGHT MOVES Game Night Out Indeed, good company is a sovereign remedy to cabin fever. And if you like yours with a side of recreational competition, Knight Moves Café on Broadway has you covered with a library of a thousand board games. “Plus we have the people who can help you choose one and teach you how to play it,” says owner Devon Trevelyan. “Being somewhere cozy with a warm drink that’s not your home is a luxury people really like—you don’t have to fix anything and you don’t have to clean up.” NIBBLE KITCHEN Cook Something Up If board games aren’t your cup of tea, you can enjoy one while learning to cook multicultural foods in the Somerville Arts Council’s Nibble Kitchen in Bow Market. Rachel Strutt, the council’s cultural director, says they’re thrilled to finally have a brick-and-mortar home for their cooking classes, which will start up again early next year. “It’s an opportunity for the public to take Mexican, Peruvian, Indian, Venezuelan, Ethiopian classes,” she says. “The thing we’re trying to do here is invite people from different cultures and start them talking.” The classes, which will run about $50 per person, include not only the teaching of techniques but a sit-down meal afterward where students will get to know each other. Strutt says the council
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plans to tie the lessons in with their international market tours of Union Square, and they’re definitely going to tailor their menus to the weather. For instance, Chef Sandra Suarez from Bolivia will be adding warm quinoa bowls in the cold months, along with the aforementioned hot tea. RUNNING Just Two Minutes As for the folks for whom winter may just be the hardest on—recreational runners, or people who just want to put in a few miles for the sake of their health—there might be a way to trick yourself into stepping out on even the coldest of mornings. “What I would suggest for the people who really struggle with the motivation to get out is to just tell yourself that you’re going for a two-minute run,” says Dave Spandorfer, a cofounder of Somerville-based running clothes
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company Janji. “You’re going to suffer through those two minutes and, after that, you know you’re going to keep running!” KEEPING THE KIDS BUSY Run, Jump, Climb, Swing Have the kids got cabin fever? Rather than turning them loose inside the house, turn them over to the folks at Parkour Generations. While they won’t have your kids jumping across gaps between buildings, Evitt says they will teach them how to climb, jump, and run safely. “We teach ‘parkour vision’— you’re learning to see the world and navigate around the world.” You can start your kids as young as ages 4 to 6, and Parkour Generations offers drop-in classes, season passes to a specific class, or monthly memberships to all classes. Plus, there are outdoor classes at city parks year-round, regardless of weather. Photo courtesy of Nibble Kitchen.
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CELEBRATING THE SEASON
REDEFINING ‘THE HOLIDAYS’ BY MAXIMILIANO REYES
A
t some point, people started referring to the nebulous stretch of time between the end of November and early January as “the holidays.” Dwelling in the spacious interior of that period is a number of celebrations that get top billing in the United States: Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, and the king of them all: Christmas. These months are marked by festive lights, hokey television specials, and inflatable representations of characters and iconography associated with the season. But for plenty of people in Cambridge and Somerville, the period between late November and early December doesn’t bear any special meaning. For them, Dec. 25 is Dec. 25 and nothing more. For Jewish people, the “holidays” usually refer to the time around Rosh Hashanah—a celebration of the new year according to the Jewish calendar—and Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and prayer that is considered the most important and holiest holiday. Yom Kippur is trailed by another string of holidays, starting with Sukkot and followed by Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Linda Kasten, a biostatician who lives and works in Cambridge, grew up in a community with only a small Jewish population, and can take some pleasure in the decorations and lights thrown up in the winter time. But she still takes issue with the use of the term “holidays,” because in many ways, it doesn’t acknowledge the fact that many of the most important holidays observed by Jews have passed by the time December rolls around. “You can say the Christmas season. That’s what it should be,” she says. “And many Jews would prefer people call things 18 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
a ‘Christmas party’ instead of a ‘holiday party.’” Brian Eisenstein, also of Cambridge, is in a similar boat. At first, he liked the use of the term “holidays” and the greeting “happy holidays.” But then he started to realize it implied the season was equally important for everyone—something he doesn’t believe is true. Eisenstein says that as far prominence goes, Hanukkah is more comparable to Fat Tuesday in the Christian tradition than it is to Christmas. He says that Passover and the fall holidays are more important for him and other practicing Jews. He also feels as if using the greeting was “imposing something” on others. His solution is to offer holidayspecific greetings only if he knows what, if anything, someone is celebrating during the season. And unlike Kasten, Eisenstein doesn’t really get much out of the displays. “I just basically grumble, grumble, grumble and move on,” he says. Cynthia Graber, a journalist and the host of the podcast
Gastropod, lives in Somerville. Graber, who is Jewish, says she takes issue with how overexposed and oversaturated Christmas can be. “I don’t mind Christmas happening on Christmas. It’s a holiday. People should enjoy their holiday,” she says. “I just mind it taking three months.” She also notes that she tends to steer clear of her dentist in Cambridge during December to escape an endless barrage of Christmas carols. “That said, I think one that of the things I love about [Somerville] is that it is so diverse,” she says. “And there’s— to me—a real acceptance of how wonderful that diversity is. So I think I could easily see it here, more than in other places that I’ve traveled.” Graber thinks it’s unlikely people will ever recognize that Christmas is a holiday with religious roots that some people like herself will simply never want to participate in. But she did say that if people anywhere were to get that, it would be in Somerville. Mohammed Anwar, a car dealership employee who lives in
Cambridge, is Muslim. He says that he does not celebrate Christmas, but that a holiday is any day that is spent with one’s family. “So to me, a holiday—any holiday—is a day that you spend time with your family, your community,” Anwar says. “A holiday is a day where you all sit together and enjoy [yourselves]. Any day you do that is a holiday, regardless of how you do that.” Anwar says that Christmas represents another opportunity for his family members to reunite outside of the summer, when students are out of school, and important Muslim holidays like Ramadan and Eid Al-Adha. Anwar says Cambridge does a good job of recognizing religious holidays and observances equally. Kasten says the same, and that she believes the city has become more inclusive since she first moved here 35 years ago. Cambridge and Somerville both have winter breaks scheduled around the end of December for school. In the 2019-2020 school year, Cambridge students had Oct. 9 off for Yom Kippur. Meanwhile, the Somerville school calendar indicated that staff members would “do their best” not to schedule “one-time events, field trips, athletic competitions, auditions, tests, [and] quizzes” for those days, and that “long-term assignments” would not be due on those days. According to a statement from Somerville, the city hosts both a Christmas tree lighting and a Menorah lighting, as well as tours focused on secular light displays. “Throughout the year, we try to be mindful of major religious holidays and avoid scheduling meetings or events on those days,” the statement says. “We are also always open to suggestions from the community for appropriate ways to publicly celebrate additional holidays.”
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scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 19
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
Holiday Gift Guide
2. Somerville Coasters
iner a t r e t En FOR THE
2019
Know someone who hates water rings just about as much as they love Somerville? Have we got the gift for you. Available in a variety of designs, shapes, and sizes, these coasters protect your coffee table while showcasing Somerville pride. $5, 4GoodVibes
3. I’m Just Here For The Drinks by Sother Teague
4. Custom Cocktail Set
Entertainers need the educational gift every now and then too, right? Learn more about over 100 cocktails in this handy guide, and then throw the party that dreams are made of shortly after. $24.99, The Boston Shaker
Your friend is one of a kind, so why shouldn’t their cocktail set be? Head down to The Boston Shaker, where someone can help you make the perfect set. $20 to $100, The Boston Shaker
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FO
TravR TeHEl er
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1. Wooden Lantern
No, this isn’t a fantasy—your centerpiece dreams have actually come true. These unique wooden lanterns, which come with the glass insert and candle included, answer the age-old question: How do I create the perfect mood lighting? $85, Ross Ozer at Artisan’s Asylum
5. Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley
2
Get excited to go to work by designating Lucy Knisley’s New York Times bestselling graphic novel Kid Gloves as your official commute book. The memoir explores motherhood, fertility, and reproductive health in a way that is simultaneously moving and informative. $19.99, Hub Comics
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6. The Carry-On Cocktail Kit
Recapture a touch of glamour from the golden age of air travel with these nifty tins that come with everything you need for cocktails except the booze—which the airline will happily sell you! You can have Champagne cocktails over Las Vegas, gin and tonic whilst London-bound, or a hot toddy on a cold winter’s flight. Each kit makes two, so you can share! $24, Magpie
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7. Travel Packing & Planning List
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
for the
ENTERTAINER
TRAVELER
FOODIE
GEEKS & GAMERS
PET-LOVER
ENVIRONMENTALIST
MAKER
TRENDSETTER
HOMEBODY
ACTIVIST
LOCAL ENTHUSIAST
RUGRATS
CYCLIST
20 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
The organizer you never knew you needed, this packing and planning list is here to keep you in check. Never forget your passport or hastily buy toothpaste at the airport ever again! $10, Magpie scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 21
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
10. Handmade Chocolate Boxes
FOR THE
Foodie 8. Pizza Tea Towel
Drying dishes has never been so fun! The pizza tea towel is a kitschy ode to one of everyone’s favorite foods. Pizza box not included. $18, Homeslice
9. Taza Chocolate Winter Warmer Sampler
It’s beginning to taste a lot like Christmas… This holiday sampler from Somerville’s own stone ground chocolate factory is a steal, including each of the store’s chocolate discs: Cacao Puro, Chipotle Chili, Cinnamon, Coffee, Guajillo Chili, 85% Super Dark, Salted Almond, and Vanilla. $21, Taza Chocolate
FOR THE Geeks & Gamer s
There’s no time like the holidays to let out your sweet tooth. Indulge a confectionary connoisseur with these unique handcrafted truffle sets, available in a variety of sizes and packaged in gorgeous pastel-colored boxes. $22 to $43, Gate Commes Des Filles
11. Curated Gift Baskets Taste test a little bit of everything New England has to offer with these locally sourced, highly curated gift baskets. The baskets come in three sizes with a focus on a variety of locations, some drawing from New England as a whole while others hone in on one place, like Vermont or Somerville. $35 to $85, In Season Food Shop
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This gift may rely on the luck of the draw, but everyone’s a winner with these classic comic choices. You can’t go wrong with these grab bags, especially if you like a surprise. $10, Comicaze
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12. Cold Brew Coffee Jug
Coffee lovers swear by it, baristas say it’s less acidic, and some stores even offer it on draft. That’s right, we’re talking about the iced coffee of the future: cold brew. Say goodbye to the breaking-down Mr. Coffee machine and bring this special drink home with the cold brew coffee jug. $48.50, MEMTea
13. Vintage Comic Book Grab Bag
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Taza Winter Warmer Sampler photo courtesy of Taza Chocolate.
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
FOR THE
FOR THE
er Pet-Lov
Maker 14
21. Jotter Pens Set
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This six-pack of rainbow-colored gel pens will add a little color to whoever receives them, and also some motivation. Each fine-tipped pen comes with a catchphrase on the side, like “All I do is win.” $12, Tiny Turns Paperie
14. Black Cat with Poppies Apron
Some say black cats are bad luck, but we say this apron is too cute not to flaunt. Pay tribute to your furry friend by wearing her likeness while prepping her favorite meal. $17.99, Stinky’s Kittens & Doggies Too
What should you do when the going gets tough? Dream even bigger. This embroidery, made right in-store at Bow Market, is a necessary decoration for anyone looking to pursue the arts and is a perfect accent for a wide-eyed artist’s wall. $26, Homeslice
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15. Pet Teepee
Never learned how to tie a tie? No longer a problem. Replace the stress of crafting the perfect Windsor with one of these unique pieces by Wood Neckwear. $50 to $65, Wood Neckwear at Artisan’s Asylum
24. Sculpture to Wear Jewelry
Jewelry doesn’t have to be just an accent—it can anchor the whole outfit, especially when it’s a one-of-a-kind handcrafted art piece by Ilana Krepchin. Make every look unique with one of her statement pieces and watch your fashion-forward friends turn green with envy. $40 to $100, Ilana Krepchin at Artisan’s Asylum
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25. Blue Q Socks
25 19 18
FOR THE
talist n e m n Enviro
17. Stretching Cat Mug
24 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
23. Wooden Bowtie
21
16. Holiday Dog Cookies
This understated stretching cat mug, made by Raindrop Ceramics (local to Somerville!), is exactly what you need for curling up with your kitten and drinking a nice cup of tea. $35, Homeslice
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22. Dream Big Embroidery
It’s basically a proven fact that pets love hiding and having their own spaces. Give Spot a private place to play this holiday season, and then just wait for the adorable adventures that ensue inside his home away from home. $79.99, Stinky’s Kittens & Doggies Too
Don’t leave Fido out of this year’s holiday celebrations! Your favorite pet-lover is most likely already thinking about how to treat their beloved pooch anyway, so appeal to both man and man’s best friend with these pup-friendly cookies. $13.99, Petwell Supply
TrenFdORsTHE etter
18. Sprout Pencils
Perfect for stocking stuffers, these MIT-designed pencils are actually two gifts in one! Write or draw to your heart’s content, and then stick the end of the pencil into some soil and watch your new plant grow. $2.50, Magpie
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20. Plant Earrings
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They’re in your face and on your feet: Blue Q socks offer crazy patterns, sarcastic humor, and memorable messaging in the soft, cozy medium of combed-cotton. Whether you want to celebrate your Crazy Cat Dude or help someone get some peace and quiet (“Go Away, I’m Introverting”), there’s a sock for every attitude. $10, Davis Squared
26. Forestbound Bags
These handmade earrings, made at an eco-boutique right in Somerville, are for the environmentally conscious trendsetter. No two pairs are exactly the same color because the material is sourced from a manufacturer, which provides 9000Things with “defect” sheets of acrylic that would otherwise be thrown away—reduce, reuse, recycle! $42, 9000Things
Designer and self-professed history nerd Alice Saunders of Somerville scours flea markets and military shows for vintage textiles—duffel bags, work jackets, feedsacks, and so forth—which she repurposes into unique totes. They’re a little bit of history that you can carry with you every day. $99 to $450, Queen of Swords
Petwell Dog Cookies photo courtesy of Petwell. Forestbound bag courtesy of Forestbound.
scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 25
19. Reusable Swig Bottle
This sleek Swig bottle is the sustainable solution for anti-plastic movers and shakers. Not only does it keep drinks cold for up to 24 hours or hot for up to 12, but it’s also dishwasher safe and designed with a non-slip base. $32, Davis Squared
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
A Guide to Holiday Dining at Assembly Row
FOR THE
dy o b e m Ho
H
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27. Tea Infuser
Turn any mug into a tea infuser with this handy and easy-to-use device. Make this gift extra special by picking up a couple of ounces of loose-leaf tea for maximum coziness. $20.75, MEMTea
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28. Pizza Candle
Pizza is next to godliness, right? This devotional candle comes with original artwork by Somerville resident Sarah Dudek, who also has a station at the Artisan’s Asylum. $16, Tiny Turns Paperie
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29. Wild Yonder Botanicals Bath Salts
Sometimes the best gift is the gift of self-indulgence. Fill someone’s stocking with relaxation—or invigoration—by giving them some Mandarin Magic Very Special Eye-Opening Blend (with mandarin oils, honey, jasmine, and cocoa) or Bad Moon Rising (with organic jojoba and oils of pine, norwood, and patchouli). $5, Magpie
30
30. Foot Remedy Set
Turn girls’ night into an event to remember by staying in and bringing self-care all the way down from your head to your toes. This set, including a spearmint-and-chamomilescented cream and ultra-soft night socks, is the gift no one knew they needed. $18, Davis Squared
26 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
31. Girl Power Embroidery Kit FOR THE
t Activis
This embroidery kit, featuring a design of Frida Kahlo, has us in stitches. Other kits feature designs of the female reproductive system, and all scream empowerment. $30, Magpie
31
oliday shopping can feel like running a marathon, especially in a city like Somerville where there are so many great stores to choose from and they’re all in a different spot. If you’re short on time and your gift-shopping stamina is at an alltime low, there’s still hope for you to have a great shopping trip yet. Not only is Assembly Row packed with a long list of stores to choose from, but there’s also no shortage of tastes and treats to help keep your energy levels high. Even better—there are also endless to-go options that make delicious dining at home easy. Turn the chore of holiday shopping into an experience the whole family will remember by stopping by some of these Scout-approved restaurants, conveniently located right in Assembly:
meets a wide selection of craft beers, cocktails, wine, and even food. The outdoor space is a heated patio complete with fire pits that will keep you cozy while sipping on a Swarm and Fuzzy—a new holiday cocktail that is River’s
Dining
Dessert
SMOKE SHOP BBQ — ASSEMBLY LINE PARK We all know the leftover turkey sandwiches are one of the best parts of Thanksgiving, but Smoke Shop has upped the ante and is rivaling Mom’s homemade feast. The classic Smoked Turkey Sandwich now comes with cranberry mayo and cornbread stuffing. Grab a quick bite from the chef-owned, award winning BBQ joint and experience a full range of fall flavors. Like what you see? Smoke Shop also has a Thanksgiving catering menu. Email by Nov. 24 to order a whole smoked turkey, pork loin ham, briskets, casseroles, mashed potatoes, and more to make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier than ever before.
Drinks
RIVER BAR — THE POINT PARK Step things up at River Bar, where an eclectic and lively atmosphere River Bar photo by Brian Samuels.
BLACK CAT POPPIES GIFTWARE 100% cotton twill apron with adjustable straps. Glass set in a gift box of 4 glasses. (Hand wash only.) 100% cotton, machine washable bar towel also available.
KITTY FORTUNE COOKIES Blame It On The Dog & Catch The Mouse You can’t read a cat’s palm. We tried. Stuffed with organic catnip. PET TEEPEE Comes in array of designs and colors. Perfect for cat and small dog to lay their head and hideaway.
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FREE DELIVERY in Somerville area. $15 minimum 110 Bristol Road • 617-623-0265 • stinkyskittens-doggiestoo.com
take on a hot toddy made with rye whiskey, amaro, honey, and citrus. Or, if you’re still hungry, order a plate of their Deviled Eggs Two Ways, another new menu addition that will feature a rotating selection of flavor combinations, beginning with smoked salmon and bacon potatoes. MIKE’S PASTRY — LEVEL 1, BLOCK 11, NEAR SOUTH ENTRANCE While technically not a Somerville staple, Mike’s Pastry is a Boston favorite when it comes to dessert and there’s nothing wrong with bringing a little bit of the North End to the ‘Ville— especially not when it tastes this good. While Mike’s carries ricotta pies in its three locations year round, during the Thanksgiving season in November they add all of the classic flavors to their repertoire—pecan, pumpkin, apple, cherry, you name it. They also whip out pumpkin spice cannolis and cheesecake. Come Christmastime, the patisserie really begins to shine. “Christmas is a big Italian pastry holiday,” James Caterino, manager of the Somerville store says. They add holiday struffoli to the menu for Christmas and Easter, which is so popular that they tend to run out right around Dec. 24 and 25.
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WWW.QSNUTS.COM scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 27
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
FAMILY RECIPES WITH MODERN TWISTS.
SERVING SOMERVILLE HAND-CRAFTED LATIN AMERICAN CUISINE MADE WITH THE FRESHEST INGREDIENTS
FOR THE
ts Rugra
LET US CATER YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY!
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We can create, prepare and deliver a delicious custom order for 8 - 200 people.
32. Lil’ Mib Voice Recording Box
This may look like a kid’s toy, but this voice recording box is perfect for all ages. Record a sweet good night message for your little one, a secret message for your significant other, or watch a young DJ be born by showing them the different playback features. $65, Magpie Kids
POPULAR CATERING ORDERS: 32
Best Tacos
33. My Fabulous Storyteller
This immersive storytelling device gives a new twist to story time. Download audiobooks online, plug in some headphones, and never worry about keeping your munchkins entertained during a long car ride. The gallery of hundreds of stories is even available in eight languages. $69.90, Magpie Kids
FOR T
CycliHsE t 37. Somerville Bike Path Illustration
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35. Urban Baby Bonnets Mittens
These adorable baby blue mittens may be more of a gift for mom and dad than for their little one, because they’re never going to have to worry about another lost glove again. Phew! $29.99, Diaper Lab
BURRITOS FOR 10 $80: Served with a side of Chips and Salsa
PERNIL MEAL FOR 20 $200: Slow Roasted Pork, Rice, Beans and Plantains
505 Medford St. Somerville • 617-776-2049
Best Tacos
Best Restaurant in Magoun Square
ORDER ONLINE on our website: laposadasomerville.com
A HOT SPOT FULL OF HOT SPOTS YOUR GO-TO SPOT FOR EVERYTHING HOLIDAY
ALL IN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD.
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—————————————— » 40+ SHOPS « —————————————— 36
Banana Republic Factory Store
36. Snow and Sand Castle Tools
These molds are ideal for year-round fun—specifically made to build either sand- or snow-castles, this travelfriendly and compact set will have your tyke building like a pro, no matter what climate they’re spending the holidays in. $19.99, Diaper Lab 28 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
TACO BAR FOR 15 $140: 2 Tacos, Rice and Beans and 1 Churro per person
Pay homage to the Somerville Community Bike Path—the nearly mile-long stretch, a reprieve from busy Davis Square—with this nostalgic illustration by Somervillebased illustrator Kat Maus. Prints are available at her web store as well as at Davis Squared and 4GoodVibes. $25, KatMausHaus.com
34. Crochet Dolls
There’s nothing quite like cozying up with a new stuffed animal on Christmas morning, and these handmade crochet characters are the perfect complement to any toy collection. Available in a variety of styles, shapes, and sizes, there’s someone for everyone to snuggle this year. Starting at $10, 4GoodVibes
NOW OFFERING GIFT CARDS
20+ DINING OPTIONS
ENTERTAINMENT
FITROW
Levi’s
Earl’s Kitchen + Bar
AMC Assembly Row 12
barre n9ne studio
LEGOLAND® Discovery Center
Club Pilates
Brooks Brothers Factory Store
LOFT Outlet
La Cucina Italian Eatery
Nike Factory Store
MidiCi
Carter’s
OshKosh B’Gosh
Mike’s Pastry
Lucky Strike Social
Columbia Factory Store
Polo Ralph Lauren
Papagayo Mexican Kitchen + Tequila Bar
Muse Paintbar
J. Crew Factory
Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Le Creuset
The PUMA store
The Smoke Shop BBQ
*coming soon
WWW. WWW. ASSEMBLYROW.COM ASSEMBLYROW.COM
Somerville Poster photo courtesy of Kathryn Maus.
Cyclebar Orangetheory Fitness Squeeze Juice Bar TITLE Boxing Club
FREE PARKING FOR 3 HOURS
scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 29
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
Scouting Out the
Perfect Gift Card BY LILLY MILMAN
P
icture this: You’re standing in a checkout line after a long day of work, Michael Bublé is blasting through the speakers, and you realize that you forgot to pick up a holiday gift for the nephew you’ll be seeing at tomorrow’s Christmas party. Your eyes drift over to a rack of gift cards. Maybe he’d prefer to buy something for himself, you think halfheartedly. There’ll be other holidays and birthdays to get something special. You just don’t have time this year and you only dropped by the store to buy milk, after all … Stop right there. Gift cards have earned a reputation as being a lazy gift giver’s best friend, but it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s all about where you’re buying from—gift cards actually open up a world of experiences, if you’re willing to just do a little digging. While anyone can enjoy a prepaid Visa or Starbucks gift card, they lack the personal flair that marks a good gift. That’s why we’ve come up with a list of thoughtful and inventive gift card ideas that show you care, while still saving you hours of shopping at the mall.
Urban Axes 2 UNION SQUARE, (857) 997-0025, WWW.URBANAXES.COM Whether you’re blowing off steam, practicing your aim, or just looking for something new to try, Urban Axes is the place to go. Kick back with some brews while licensed professionals help you sharpen your skills in hour-long sessions. This gift card is perfect for the quirky hobbyist who is always looking for the next best thing. Gift cards are sold in increments of $20, $25, $50, $100, and $200 and can be used on axe-throwing activities or merchandise. Sessions cost $25 per hour and must be booked in advance. 30 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
Artisan’s Asylum
The Slutcracker at Somerville Theatre 55 DAVIS SQUARE, (617) 625-5700, IJUDGE@FEITHEATRES.COM, WWW.SOMERVILLETHEATRE.COM With performances occurring throughout the holiday season, including on Christmas Eve, The Slutcracker is the show to see for anyone who likes to push the envelope. Not for the faint-of-heart (or the kids), The Slutcracker is an adult burlesque version of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet featuring local performers specializing in hula hoops, burlesque, ballet and more. Buy tickets for your friends who need to get out of the house (and maybe offer to babysit), or the ones who get out too much, for a show that will leave them blushing and begging for more. The standard ticket price is $30 and can be purchased online.
Taza Chocolate Factory 561 WINDSOR STREET, (617) 623 0804, INFO@TAZACHOCOLATE.COM, TAZACHOCOLATE.COM Ideal for the sweet tooth, the local history buff, and especially the Somerville family, a tour of the Taza Chocolate Factory includes a talk about stone ground chocolate and a tasting at the facility. The 45-minute tour is recommended for anyone above the age of 10. Take it to the next level by purchasing your favorite chocolate-lover a slot in Cacao 101: The Sensory Panel Experience, a two-hour class about direct trade cacao sourcing and ingredient inspection. Seats are limited and must be booked online in advance. A public tour of the facility costs $8 per person and can be booked online. The Cacao 101 class will be held on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. and costs $35 per person. It can also be booked online.
10 TYLER STREET, (617) 284-6878 , GENERAL-INFO@ARTISANSASYLUM. COM, WWW.ARTISANSASYLUM.COM For the creatives in your life, a gift card to a class at the Artisan’s Asylum is a perfect fit. Whether you’re buying a day pass or studio space for the artists who just need a workspace and little push to finally finish that project they’ve been talking about, or an Intro to Metalsmithing class for the Game of Thrones enthusiast, the Artisan’s Asylum has a little something for everyone looking to get their hands dirty. Gift cards are offered in any amount. Classes can range from $25 to $345, plus materials.
Brooklyn Boulders
FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS
everything, GIVE THE GIFT OF nothing “I ALWAYS THINK NOTHING IS HAPPENING. THEN I STEP OUT AND MY SHOULDERS AREN’T EARRINGS ANYMORE AND I WALK DOWN THE STREET LIKE THE CHILLEST HIPPIE TO GROOVE OUT AT WOODSTOCK”
12A TYLER STREET, (617) 623-6700, SOMERVILLE.CNF@BROOKLYNBOULDERS.COM, BROOKLYNBOULDERS.COM It’s hard to get yourself to the gym, especially in those cold New England winters, but Brooklyn Boulders may just provide the extra level of excitement needed to stay active. The indoor rockclimbing gym is equipped with certified instructors ready to teach everyone how to get up the
wall, with or without ropes, from beginners with no experience to experts looking to lead climbs. Gift cards can be purchased in increments of $50, $75, $100, $200, and more. Classes range from $45 to $149, not including gear rental, based on skill level.
515 MEDFORD ST (MAGOUN SQUARE) • 844-44-FLOAT
FLOATBOSTON.COM/GIFT
scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 31
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
40. Somerville is for Lovers T-shirts
FOR THE
siast u h t n E Local
Who can argue with this message? And even if you can, you have options: a shirt proclaiming all of Somerville’s squares by name, or one displaying the Davis Square’s rather … um … esoteric street layout. And all proceeds from shirt sales go to support the Homeless Coalition. $20 (cash only), Davis Squared
38. It’ll Be Alright by Liz Bolduc Sux Liz Bolduc Sux is a staple of the local Somerville comic and zine scene. They’re on a mission to communicate their emotional experience in a healthy and visually inspiring way, and they’re succeeding. Support local art by checking out their work in the “Spotlight” section! $6 to $10, Hub Comics
41. Scout Somerville Subscription
Stay in the know without ever leaving home by subscribing to this hyperlocal guide to all things Somerville. $24 for a one-year subscription, Scout Magazines Storenvy
39. Fluff Mugs
You had me at fluff… music to any Somervillian’s ears! $25, 4GoodVibes
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GET THE
s d o o G Artisan’s Asylum 10 Tyler Street (617) 284-6878
Davis Squared
Petwell Supply
Diaper Lab
Queen of Swords
Gate Comme Des Files
Stinky’s Kittens & Doggies Too
Homeslice
Taza Chocolate
Hub Comics
The Boston Shaker
1 Bow Market Way (617) 764-5872
1 Bow Market Way homesliceshop@gmail.com 19 Bow Street (617) 718-0987
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95 Elm Street (617) 764-4110
MEM Tea Imports
409 Highland Avenue (617) 666-6700
In Season Food Shop
1 Bow Market Way (617) 764-3387
Kat Maus Haus
196 Elm Street (617) 627-9500
201B Highland Avenue (617) 741-3104 17 Hawkins Street (617) 718-0373
110 Bristol Road (617) 623-0265
561 Windsor Street (617) 284-2232
NOCA Block for all your Holiday Shopping & Dining 2200 BLOCK OF NORTH CAMBRIDGE
Now through 1/1/20. Some vintage wines excluded.
Tiny Turns Paperie
Newly Expanded Wine and Beer Inventory
4GoodVibes
483 Somerville Avenue (617) 764-0234
Magpie
9000Things
(617) 628-2379
MIKESONDAVIS.COM
Best Liquor Store
Best Liquor Store
NO ONE RE-GIFTS LIQUOR
Friendly Knowledgeable Staff Family Owned and Run Free Parking in Rear
1 Bow Market Way
168 BROADWAY, EAST SOMERVILLE
32 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
9 DAVIS SQUARE
when you buy any 12 bottles of wine or champagne.
JOE’SLIQUORS
1 Bow Market Way
PLUS: • TRIVIA TUESDAY • MUSIC BINGO THURSDAY
15% OFF
69 Holland Street (617) 718-2999
katmaushaus.com kat@katmaushaus.com 416 Highland Avenue (617) 623-3330
Lunch at Mike’s More Local Holiday Shopping Dinner and Drinks at Mike’s
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM MIKE’S!
Magpie Kids
Comicaze
407 Highland Avenue (617) 666-2664
200 Elm Street (617) 764-0192
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Local Holiday Shopping
(617) 776-1234
15 MCGRATH HIGHWAY, SOMERVILLE 233 ALEWIFE BROOK PARKWAY, CAMBRIDGE 2153 MYSTIC VALLEY PARKWAY, MEDFORD 48 BROADWAY, MALDEN
We deliver through the Drizly and Minibar Apps! NO PANTS REQUIRED!
scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 33
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
, E C U D RE
T
P A R W , E S U E R
he flavors of Greece can be found in Davis Square at Opa Greek Yeeros. Traditional dishes are served up daily by George and his crew with ingredients imported straight from Greece to ensure the authenticity and quality of every item on the menu.
and
BY ELIE LEVINE | PHOTO BY SASHA PEDRO
T
his holiday season, think before you buy reams of wasteful gift wrap. Step up your gift-wrapping game with sustainable tricks that won’t cost you tons of money or end up in the trash. Scout caught up with Sarah Levy, founder of the Cambridge store Cleenland, which sells low-waste home goods; Amy Lou Stein, owner of arts-and-crafts store Craftwork Somerville; and Samantha Putoš, founder of Bee Balm, a Medford-based lip-balm company with products available at Cleenland. They shared their ideas for ways to package gifts that won’t hurt your wallet or the environment.
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34 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
DON’T WRAP YOUR GIFTS. “This is not a popular opinion, but the most sustainable way to wrap gifts is to not wrap them,” Levy says. If your gift is already pretty, it shouldn’t need to be concealed. REGIFT YOUR WRAP. Save packaging from all your purchases. When Putoš receives gifts or buys items online, she’s constantly on the lookout for ways to repurpose the packaging. Tear plastic packaging into vertical strips and use it to make ribbons. Save ribbon and twine from gifts you receive and use them to attach small knick-knacks to gifts. Hair straighteners are great tools for uncrimping reused ribbons, Levy explains. Putoš saved packaging from sustainable toilet-paper company Who Gives A Crap and used it to wrap gifts. She also recommends wrapping presents with plain kraft paper and covering it with the red and green netting used to package Christmas trees. MAKE THE WRAPPING PART OF THE GIFT. “When you’re talking about sustainable wrapping, one of the options is to have the wrapping itself be something that can be gifted or used,” Putoš says. She recommends Japanese Furoshiki-style gift wrapping, which utilizes beautiful, functional tea towels and linens as a gift’s wrapping.
Yes! We can cater your event!
From roasted chicken and lamb to stuffed grape leaves and cheese platters, our comprehensive catering menu will wow your guests at any event.
It’s not only the menu that is steeped in tradition; Opa is a family affair. George’s mother has owned and run Sophia’s Greek Pantry for over 15 years and now she keeps Opa stocked with homemade fresh Greek yogurt, delicious desserts and pastries. Check out our
378 Highland Ave Somerville, MA 617-718-2900 www.opayeeros.com hours 11-9 daily
Delivery available through Grub Hub and UBER Eats
Best Greek Food
NEW MENU
now with gluten-free items and
ORDER ONLINE at opayeeros.com
FREE DELIVERY with minimum $15 order
GET CREATIVE. Rather than using reams of paper gift wrap, cover your items in other ways, placing stocking stuffers into jars or modest brown paper bags. Fabric pouches also work well. Stein suggests layering yarn over wrapping paper to create a unique, homespun effect. Old T-shirts stitched at the top work well, too, she says. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NATURE. Pick up pinecones on your walks outside, Levy recommends. They look festive and seasonal and will jazz up any gift. Decorate them with glitter glue for extra flair. USE NEWSPRINT AND MAGAZINES. Levy recommends picking up newspapers in a foreign language, since headlines in English might be distracting. Character-covered newsprint will add novelty to your gift, and daily newspapers are thrown away anyway. Putoš holds onto colorful magazine spreads to reuse as wrap. As a plus, newspapers and magazines are not intensive to manufacture. Stein suggests embellishing newsprint with stamps and doodles with metallic pen. REPURPOSE WHAT YOU ALREADY OWN. Unusable materials you’d throw out anyway can make great gift wrap. Fabric is different since it’s an intensive fabric to manufacture, Levy explains. She says that it’s best to donate still-wearable clothing, like a worn-out sweater. “If someone else can wear that sweater, that’s a better use of the sweater than cutting it up to make gift wrap,” she says. But if an item of clothing is ripped or otherwise useless, feel free to wrap a gift with it. Don’t underestimate the odds and ends you already own—Putoš said she once received a great gift in a box made of Legos. ASK YOUR FRIENDS. Yarn is convenient for wrapping gifts and making pom-poms, but if you’re out of materials, don’t stress. “Everyone has extra stuff,” Stein says. “Don’t be shy, ask your friends.” She also suggests meeting up with friends to reduce, reuse, and wrap together. scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 35
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
Please consider shopping with these and other Scout sponsors.
REAL ESTATE DIRECTORY TEAM JEN & LYNN
Thalia Tringo & Associates Real Estate Lynn 617-216-5244, Jen 617-943-9581 TeamJenandLynn@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Bringing our expertise and good humor to help you find a perfect home or say good-bye to your old one.
Prices are already up quite a bit over 2013, which was the strongest market in years. More inventory has started to appear, but it is still not enough to satisfy demand. Consequently, prices should continue to rise in 2014.
Our New Listings
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS DINNERS PAST:
STINKY’S KITTENS & DOGGIES TOO
110 Bristol Rd., Somerville, 617-623-0265 stinkyskittens-doggiestoo.com Organic, all-natural & eco-friendly products. Delivery available. Grooming and in-home cat & exotic pet sitting.
IRENE BREMIS THE IBREMIS TEAM
HARVARD BOOK STORE
CHARLES CHERNEY REALTOR AT COMPASS
PORTER SQUARE BOOKS
THALIA TRINGO & ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE
CAMBRIDGE NATURALS
617-905-5232, irenebremis.com irenebremis@gmail.com Real Estate Consulting, Listing, Marketing, Sales & Rental Specialist. iBremis Realty, Inc. powered by LAER.
Please call us for more information on the market, or to get a sense of the current value of your home. ~Thalia, Todd, Niké, Jennifer, and Lynn
SHOPPING DIRECTORY
1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge 617-661-1515, harvard.com Locally owned, independently run landmark with extraordinary selection of new, used and remaindered books.
RESTAURANT DIRECTORY LEONE’S SUB AND PIZZA
292 Broadway, Somerville 617-776-2511, leonessubandpizza.com Pizza and subs fit for a king since 1954. Now being delivered by Dash!
MIKE’S FOOD & SPIRITS
9 Davis Square, Somerville 617-628-2379, mikesondavis.com Pizza, Pasta, Seafood, Burgers and more! Dine in our casual dining room open to Davis Square or watch a game at the bar!
~ $1,495,000
This is a very rare opportunity to own a single family home with garage on one of the largest lots in Davis Square . The Victorian-era house has 4 bedrooms and one and a half baths on two levels. The detached garage
WHERE HAS THE GOOSE GONE?
the Morrison Ave. and Grove St., is the very large, open, level yard. Owned by the same family since 1955, this unspoiled home is ready for a new family to make their own updates and memories.
~ $519,000
Jennifer Rose
Residential Sales Specialist, ealtor R ® cell/text Jennifer@ThaliaTringoRe alEstate .com
Lovely Agassiz 2 bedroom/2 bath condo with private porch on a pleasant side street between Harvard and Porter Squares. Near great shops, restaurants, and Harvard campus.
~ $349,000
BY ERIC J. FRANCIS | PHOTO BY ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ
Roomy Ten Hills 2 bedroom/1 bath condo with charming details, reonvated kitchen, parking, and storage.
~ $229,000
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat … —traditional nursery rhyme
T
he Christmas goose. It’s mentioned in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” depicted (in its yet-to-beplucked form) in the Norman Rockwell painting “Christmas Goose/Muggelton’s Stagecoach,” and was a mainstay of the holiday table in England from the time of Elizabeth I into the Victorian era (where poor families could join “goose clubs” and make small payments throughout the year in order to afford one). But these days, the goose has lost its place on the menu, supplanted by turkeys, hams, and any number of other centerpiece dishes. It has, says one local butcher, gone out of style. “People ask for it—not all the time, but sometimes you have people that would like to do something different,” says Ariel 36 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
Lynn C. Gr aham
Residential Sales Specialist, ealtor R ® cell/text Lynn@ThaliaTringoRe alEstate .com
CambridgeRealEstate.com 617-733-8937, cc@compass.com Helping You Buy the Right Home and Sell for the Best Price in Cambridge and Somerville, MA.
25 White St., Cambridge 617-491-2220, portersquarebooks.com Porter Square Books is your fiercely independent source for great books, magazines, fun gifts and more.
OPA GREEK YEEROS
378 Highland Ave., Somerville 617-718-2900, opayeeros.com Authentic Greek cuisine and a lively atmosphere. Expanding soon!
Near Medford Sq., this 1 bedroom/ 1 1/2 bath condo
Martinez, who’s been a butcher at McKinnon’s Meat Market for 14 years. “It’s not something we sell all the time.” Its fall from grace would seem to be reflected in the offerings of Somerville restaurants; a survey of menus from a variety of establishments didn’t turn up a hint of goose. And if any are planning to offer it as part of a special Christmas dinner, well, they must be keeping it a secret. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to cook your own holiday goose, you’ll need to plan ahead; Martinez says they’ll need a week or maybe two to get one in, as it will probably have to come from an out-of-state farm. The last goose he remembers selling was in the 10- to 12-pound range and probably would have fed eight people, depending on the size of their appetites. But be aware, it’s not going to be like cooking a slightly smaller turkey. “The turkey is large and tender piece of meat,” says
Martinez. “The goose, you’ve got to cook it so long because it’s not as tender.” They’re fatty, like duck (in a GQ article from a few years back, James Beard Award-winning food writer Hank Shaw called them “the pigs of the air”), and that can be both rewarding and challenging to the cook. And there are some people in the area who seek it out. “We sell about 200 over the holiday season,” says Christopher Walker, general manager of Savenor’s Market in Cambridge. And those customers don’t fall into any particular group or demographic, he says. They’re all over the spectrum, and he suspects one reason is because it’s so much easier to find new recipes these days, from the internet to Bon Appetit to the New York Times. “I think people get tired of traditional things,” Walker says. “The goose used to be traditional, but it fell out of favor and now it’s the new turkey.” His customers sometimes
even replace their Thanksgiving turkey with a goose, but most Coming Soon of them are sold for Christmas. Walker also cites the goose’s layer of fat as one of its charms, keeping the meat moist and flavorful as it renders out (and worth saving to roast potatoes or other vegetables in). For his part, Martinez says he likes goose when it’s cooked well, and that usually means the low-and-slow approach. “At the end, some people put a little wine on the top and that makes a difference,” he adds. But, he notes, he has never cooked one himself. And while he’s sometimes enjoyed goose that has been prepared by others, it doesn’t always work out that way. So, as this year’s holidays roll around, the Martinez family is far more likely to turn to the new champions of the table. “We’ll cook a little turkey, a little pork loin, a little roast beef,” he says. “We kind of mix and match, you know.” is in an elevator building with parking.
In the heart of Davis Sq., this 2 bedroom/1 bath condo in a brick building has a parking space. Equidistant from Davis and Porter Squares, this 3 bedroom/1.5 bath condo on two levels has in-unit laundry, 2 porches, private yard, and exclusive driveway for 3 cars. Renovated 1 bedroom/1 bath near Prospect Hill with central air, in-unit laundry, private porch, and shared yard.
617-616-5091, thaliatringorealestate.com
Our agents strive to make your experience of buying and selling as smooth as possible. From start to finish, we are here to help you. Free classes.
SERVICES DIRECTORY THE LAW OFFICES OF JONAS JACOBSON
872 Mass. Ave. #1, Cambridge 617-230-2779, jonasjacobson.com If you have a property issue, Jonas is the man to call: owners, neighbors, developers, landlords, tenants.
Porter Square, Cambridge 617-492-4452, cambridgenaturals.com A curated selection of natural wellness goods including supplements, body care, bulk herbs & organic groceries.
HEALTH & WELLNESS DIRECTORY
LA POSADA RESTAURANT
505 Medford St., Somerville 617-776-2049, laposadasomerville.com Somerville’s spot for delicious, hand-crafted Latin American cuisine.
MASS AVE DINER
906 Mass. Ave., Cambridge 617-864-5301, massavediner.com Since 2010 Serving Killer Brunch and Diner Fare. Now Open Late and Serving Craft Beer and Wine!
DR. KATIE TALMO, D.M.D.
180 Highland Ave., Somerville 617-864-6111 Dr. Talmo provides a personalize approach to dental care. Come enjoy a comfortable dental experience in her newly renovated office space.
BLISS BRAIN
64 Union Square, Somerville 617-821-5560, bliss-brain.com Learn how to utilize your brain’s natural neuroplastic abilities to create the life you strive for through NeuroSculpting and meditation. scoutsomerville.com | Celebrating the Season 37
DO-GOODERS, KEY PLAYERS & GAME CHANGERS
DO-GOODERS, KEY PLAYERS, AND GAME CHANGERS
TUFTS HILLEL’S INITIATIVE FOR INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY BUILDING
BY ELIE LEVINE
A
s Christmas approaches, strings of holiday lights illuminate trees, winter festivals bring cheer to Somerville and Cambridge, and religious minorities in the city find their own light and warmth. Only 4 percent of Boston’s adults are Jewish, according to data from Pew Research Center. It’s no surprise that Jewish students may feel alienated by the city’s strong Christmas spirit. At Tufts University, they’re searching for a place to connect to themselves, to their religious identities, and to each other. For more than five years, Rabbi Jordan Braunig has been working to help more Jewish students at Tufts University feel at home. His Initiative for Innovative Community Building within Tufts Hillel, Tufts’ Jewish student organization, brings together a group of 20 student fellows each year to build an intentional Jewish community. The program mandates that fellows grab coffee with 30 Jewish students each year, initiating casual conversations known as “engagements.” Topics in these conversations range from roommate troubles, homesickness, and plans after senior year, but also may touch on deeper issues, like family, individuality, and Jewish identity. Braunig hopes that throughout the year, 600 Jewish students will be engaged through the program. The goal is to help students gain a deeper understanding of their own Judaism, Braunig says. “The notion is to decentralize Jewish life on campus, to create more spaces for people to engage meaningfully with Jewish identity, tradition, their own journey, and also to gain a sense of … authorship, self-ownership 38 Celebrating the Season | scoutsomerville.com
of their story,” he says. Removed from parental influence, college students must make their own decisions about their religious practice. “There are some elements of Jewish life that feel very pediatric,” Braunig explains. “It’s all about what you do for your children, but it has very little to do with you. What better time in your life to actually figure out what this means to you as when you’re 18 to 22?” The team of 20 fellows is split into two cohorts that each meet weekly. Braunig says these meetings give fellows a space to process their own Jewish lives and build relationships within smaller groups as they reflect on their work on campus. Dani Musoff, who participated in the program her sophomore year and returned this year as a senior fellow, says cohort meetings are the highlight of her week. “Getting to be there for people, but also having a space for yourself—the program does that in a special way,” Musoff says. Becca Gertler participated with Musoff two years ago and returned as a senior because she missed the emotional and spiritual fulfillment the program gave her. “Freshman year, talking about Judaism was not a part of my daily life, and it became so sophomore year by having cohort and engaging with people,” she says. “It was very nice to have that community, even if we’re not talking about Jewish things.” Another component of the fellowship are initiatives: programs born out of the fellows’ conversations. Fellows may recognize that a group of Jewish students are missing something in their Jewish lives on campus and work to create it. Examples include a
RABBI JORDAN BRAUNIG Hanukkah party at Tamper, a local cafe; a traditional Passover seder in a student’s off-campus house; and student-organized holiday dinners—not only for Hanukkah, but for the important Jewish holidays that happen each autumn. Musoff says that the fellowship helped her understand that Jewish community exists beyond Tufts Hillel’s building on campus. Throughout her time as a fellow, she’s grown more comfortable with attending programming inside the building. “I think it’s really amazing that we provide a chance to build a Jewish community outside of that physical building,” she says. Nina Kravetz graduated in 2019. She participated in the program as a sophomore and rejoined her senior year as a senior fellow. For Kravetz, the program provided a chance to practice and improve a basic
skill with everyday applications: conversation. Braunig trains each year’s group of fellows in reflective listening, urging them to practice conversational skills within cohort meetings. “We practiced making the transition from a shallow conversation to a deeper conversation,” Kravetz says. Gertler adds that fellows’ outreach to Jews on campus— beyond normative Hillel programming—is an important aspect of the program. “For me, it was about making spaces for people to connect with their Judaism without feeling overwhelmed by it,” Gertler explains. In a city and school where it may be difficult to embrace spirituality, Hillel’s Community Building Fellowship provides a sense of community for Jewish students who need it.
Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz.
‘Tis the Season to Get Cooking Whether you wish to pursue a culinary career or master your craft for home entertaining, our extensive programs in culinary and pastry arts will provide the springboard for your culinary ambitions. Impress your family and friends with your skills this holiday season and take the steps to make 2018 your year of culinary exploration.
PROFESSIONAL CHEF’S AND PASTRY PROGRAMS
Accepting applications for our January programs through December 22, 2017. • 4 Unique Programs: 16-week Culinary Certificate Program, 37-week Professional Chef’s Program, 16-week Certificate Pastry Program, and 37-week Professional Pastry Program • Talented instructors share their diverse experiences and deep knowledge during intimate classroom settings with no more than 12 students per instructor • Four commercial-grade, fully stocked kitchens host our classroom laboratories and seminars, providing ample space to work and learn • Lifelong placement services provide career guidance and support for all graduates within our expansive and ever growing CSCA network
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RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS
For you: From technique-driven series to more social date nights, you’re sure to find the culinary adventure you crave within our class offerings. Visit our online class calendar to book. For them: Culinary classes make the perfect gift! Surprise your sweetie, sibling, parent, or BFF with a CSCA gift certificate, redeemable online toward any Recreational class.
PRIVATE AND CORPORATE EVENTS
Tired of the same old holiday party? Bring your co-workers to CSCA for an interactive, team-building cooking event. We host personalized events for corporate retreats, bachelor and bachelorette parties, birthdays, and family celebrations in our professional kitchens.
www.CambridgeCulinary.com 2020 MASSACHUSETTS AVE | CAMBRIDGE, MA 02140 | 617.354.2020
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@CambridgeCulinary