Players 2012

may 22, 2012 - june 4, 2012

www.stuffboston.com

players

our annual celebration of boston’s industry heroes

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may 22, 2012 – june 4, 2012

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GET ...this or that 19 ...seen 20 ...close 22 ...cultured 24 ...pretty 26 ...out 28 STYLE 32

FEATURE

players 35

FEED

35 Karmaloop kingpin Greg Selkoe kicked back with some pals during our photo shoot. He and fashion designer Daniela Corte (cover) are among the MVPs you’ll meet in “Players” on page 35. Photo: Natasha Moustache

Letter from the Editor

Every year, the team at STUFF compiles our Players issue, featuring a roster of talented locals who have grabbed our attention — and the city’s — within the last year. As anyone who assembles these topdog-type lists can tell you, it’s a difficult process. (There are lots of smart, innovative folks in the Hub, after all.) So we strive to spotlight the <12> 5.22.12

boldfaced names that, for a variety of reasons, stayed at top of mind and tip of tongue over the last 12 months.

They’re the folks responsible for launching high-profile new ventures and bringing established sectors of the city’s social scene to new heights.

Far easier than explaining what makes a player, though, is explaining what doesn’t. Throughout the year, we receive long lists of suggestions from various sources.

Most are worthy nominees who, for some reason or another, just aren’t a good fit for a given year. But there are a few recurring red flags that immediately alert us to improbable selections. For future reference, here are the top five tip-offs to unlikely Players material.

Your email signature rivals Beowulf in length. If we can’t pronounce your list of professional titles without coming up for air, we

food coma 59 5 courses 60 stuff it 61 liquid 62 RESIDE 64 SEX 66 FLASH 68 gregg rinaldi’S STUFF 74

begin to wonder exactly how many of them are legit. Look, the STUFF team is expert at multitasking. But if you bill yourself as a freelance fashion consultant slash journalist slash PR expert slash astronaut slash unicorn, you only manage to convince us that you’re lying slash unemployed.

You nominated yourself. Say those three words aloud. Repeat them. Once more. See? That’s how awkward we felt too.

Your proudest accomplishments are described in the future tense.

Look, we’re really excited about your big upcoming restaurant. And we’re pumped for your in-the-works reality show. And your plans to establish the first lunar colony are incredibly impressive. But while we always look to include players with huge news on the horizon, it’s important to ensure that some accomplishments have already come to pass.

You address your pitch to Stuff@night. Thanks for reaching out, “in-the-know industry maven.”

Please forward your message to 2008, when this was last accurate.

Your reputation precedes you — poorly. We generally don’t let “likability” cloud our judgment when evaluating accomplishment.

(A trendsetting restaurant run by an asshole is still a trendsetting restaurant.) But when you’re being considered for a personality-driven piece, it helps to have a good, um, personality. Just as only “new money” flaunts its wealth, unlikable egos and arrogant airs don’t project player status — quite the opposite.

Take your craft seriously, but never yourself. To us, that’s how true players win the game.

Scott Kearnan Editorial Director @TheWriteStuffSK

Boston prudential center, 800 Boylston st. call 617.262.8500, Visit saKs.coM/Boston or Find us on FaceBooK, tWitter, itunes and saKspoV.coM

Where can you pile on the charm?

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HOT CATCH

h o t GETTING HOT OUT

There are two ways to handle a 30th birthday. Option A: hang your head, drown your sorrows, and bawl over photos from younger, spryer days. Option B: throw the most fierce, fabulous bash Boston has ever seen. Thankfully, the latter option was chosen by Boston Pride, the LGBT community’s annual citywide celebration, running from June 1 through June 10. The 2012 theme is “Celebrating 30 Years of the Worldwide Pride Movement,” a tribute to InterPride, the nowinternational association of Pride organizers that was founded right here in the Hub in 1982. This year’s Boston Pride lineup is packed with parades, block parties, and club shows featuring guest DJs, drag performers, and pop stars. So to keep it all straight — as in, organized — download the free Boston Pride App to your mobile. Available on iTunes, it’s a handy compendium of events and updates, plus a way to upload photos and connect with attendees. This innovative, first-in-the-nation Pride app proves you can teach even an old dog new, um, tricks. (To scope the schedule the old-fashioned way, on an Internet browser, visit bostonpride.org.)

In the dating pool, being called a “one-ina-million catch” is quite the compliment.

But in the ocean? A calico lobster wouldn’t hear it that way. Those elusive crustaceans are exponentially more unique: the odds of catching one are a staggering one in 30 million. But one such yellow-mottled specimen turned up this month at the Cambridge location of Jasper White’s Summer Shack (149 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, 617.520.9500). The Shack team carefully tended to the rare critter, christened “Calvin” and kept in his own tank with unsecured claws so he could feast on some squid. Then he visited Boston’s New England Aquarium, which helped him find a permanent home at the Biomes Center, a Rhode Island marine-education center. Stop looking so hungry — this shellfish is off the market.

HOT AND COLD

Bostonians are used to sudden changes in temperature. (Only in New England could we conceivably start the day in snow boots and end it in espadrilles.) But while Mother Nature’s mood swings can wreak havoc on our skin, the purposeful climate change in the Thermal Ice Facial ($185) at The Spa @ Equinox (131 Dartmouth Street, Boston, 617.578.8918; 225 Franklin Street, Boston, 617.426.2140) actually does wonders for it. The new 50-minute treatment employs a self-heating, seaweed-based mask laden with more than 60 trace elements and vitamins, and its shifting temperature allows for maximum pore penetration. It’s first applied as a cold paste (ooh!), which then warms up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit to increase facial blood flow and aid in detoxification (ah!). Finally, it cools back down into a hardened mask that, when removed, reveals supple, nourished, dewy skin. It’s relaxing enough to chill us out, but effective enough to leave us looking hot.

HOT AND HORRIFYING

We’ve always known that the suburbs can be a terrifying place. (A 10-minute drive to a Starbucks?

Deliver us!) And now filmmaker Adam Green has a hit on his hands with Holliston, a horrorcomedy TV series named after, and set in, his hometown, located about 40 minutes outside of Boston. (It’s also the hometown of Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, who recently screamed for joy after selling his business to Facebook for a cool billion dollars.) Green is a longtime genre nut with several scary flicks under his belt, like Frozen, a 2010 Sundance Film Festival shocker about a ski trip gone awry. Now with Holliston, he’s behind the first original series to be produced by the cable channel FEARnet. Premiered in April, the campy comedy follows two post-college buds who run a late-night show, The Movie Crypt, out of a Boston cable-access station. (Think Wayne’s World meets Creature Double Feature.) Packed with cameos by B-movie “celebs,” the inaugural outing was successful enough to earn the show a renewal for season two. To catch up on what you may have missed, look for season-one episodes on iTunes and FEARnet.

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lobster photo by Chris Lanoue

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GET

SEEN

Close

cultured

GETthis...

When it comes to games of chance, impressions matter.

The art of winning is all about appearances — keeping a killer poker face, recognizing a rival’s bluff from a mile away. So when you whip out the same set of Bicycle cards you once used to challenge babysitters to games of Go Fish, it’s not exactly the intimidating sign of a seasoned card shark. Want to show you mean big-money business?

Pick up these golden playing cards ($18) from PATCH NYC (46 Waltham Street, Boston, 917.292.2640). Sure, the shiny cards are a little ostentatious, but at the very least, they’ll keep you looking fabulously over the top — even when the chips are down.

or that...

Of course, you don’t need a group game to play like a big shot. To challenge yourself to an outsized solo act, take on Keith Haring: Double Retrospect ($300), the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle. In the box, it weighs a whopping 42 pounds. (It even comes with its own hand truck for transport.) And once completed, it cobbles together 32 separate works from the late, great pop artist Keith Haring, creating a masterpiece that measures 17 feet long and six feet wide. Find it at Eureka! (1349 Beacon Street, Brookline, 617.738.7352), which is, we suspect, exactly what you’ll scream when the damn thing finally comes together.

photos by janice checchio

— Meghan Kavanaugh 5.22.12 <19>

GETSEEN …at the Revere Hotel Boston Common Grand Opening

Lauren Balsbaugh, teacher

Lauren anchored tough accessories with great-fitting jeans and a breezy blouse. She wore J Brand jeans, an H&M top, a Rick Owens jacket, a custom Chrome Hearts bag, and Alexander McQueen heels.

She describes her look as easy with bold makeup. Her makeup bag even reads, “My lipstick is redder than your lipstick.” Love it.

For work, she walks on the conservative side and usually opts for flats. “The kids call heels my ‘tippy toes.’”

STUFFY:

Guida Marcucci, fashion blogger at lovemyoutfit.com We love a girl who can pull off the bright-denim trend while keeping her own style intact.

Guida tempered lemon-yellow jeans by ASOS with an American Apparel top and blazer, Tiffany jewelry, and a bag from Lord & Taylor.

She calls her look “spunky.” Case in point: she never wears boring old blue jeans. “My jeans must be plaid, colored, or stonewashed.”

Marla Mullen-Sanford, real-estate entrepreneur That jacket? Those shoes? How could we not talk to her? Her look was the perfect combination of ladylike and badass.

She wore a simple Chanel dress with a Zara jacket, Camilla Skovgaard heels, a DKNY clutch, and vintage bracelets.

“Fashion is about fooling people,” she says, reflecting on her ability to combine high design with fastfashion pieces. “Style doesn’t have a dollar sign.”

Chase Pennington, hairstylist at James Joseph Salon Well hello, Southern gentleman.

This recent Texas transplant floored us with his Rugby blazer, 7 for All Mankind jeans, and Calvin Klein loafers.

He updated menswear basics — the blazer, tailored pants, a leather shoe — to make them fresh and modern. He appreciates the simple shapes of the classics.

He says Boston’s collective look oozes positive energy. (We’ll take it!

Thanks, Chase.) “People here care about what they look like and take the time to dress up.”

Self-Centered Portraits

It’s a well-known fact: you haven’t really “made it” unless the paparazzi are hounding your every move. And sometimes they’re actually the ticket to celebrity status. After all, was it Paris Hilton’s immense talent that skyrocketed her to fame? Hardly. As we’ve learned from the celebutante and her cohorts, fame can be achieved by almost anyone with little shame and a lot of willingness to flash pearly whites (and, potentially, crotch) for the camera. So if you’re interested in catapulting yourself to a spot among the tabloid stars, you might want to take advantage of the Paparazzi for Hire package offered by Boston-based photographer Danny Kim of Visceral Photography (visceral-photography.com). Here’s how it works: you provide Kim your itinerary for a day, and he (and, often, an assistant) will follow your every move, staying out of sight and using a telephoto lens to snap candid shots of you lunching, walking your dog, and getting your regular wax. (Okay, maybe some activities can be left off the itinerary.) Once he’s done, you get a DVD with 50 to 100 of the best shots. It doesn’t come cheap: expect to pay $2,000 to $4,000 for the service. (Contact Kim for a quote.) But if you’re looking to convince the world of your fame, it’s a lot cheaper than hiring a publicist. Of course, you could just make a sex tape — but for that kind of camera work, we’re afraid you’re on your own.

<20> 5.22.12

— Meghan Kavanaugh GET SEEN PHOTOS BY melissa ostrow; text by erin souza

Discover what lies beneath the surface.

descentwboston.com

GETclose ...with Avicii The Bruins may be off the ice, but this summer TD Garden (100 Legends Way, Boston, 617.624.1050) will welcome an act who knows how to score a hat trick. Swedish-born house star Avicii marks three major milestones this year. First, he closed out the second day of Miami’s epic Ultra Music Festival in a year of record-breaking attendance.

Second, his LE7ELS tour has made him the first electronic artist to headline an all-arena tour of North America. And when it comes to the Garden on Friday, June 15, it will be the first time that the 20,000-seat arena hosts a DJ headliner. (Tickets are $27–$72 at ticketmaster.com.) Funny enough, these distinctions belong to a relative wunderkind within the EDM movement: Avicii is just 22 years old, and he released his first single only two years ago. But a lot has happened since then.

Dance music blew up, as did his crossover single, “Levels,” and Avicii emerged as the genre’s nextgeneration superstar. We grabbed him for a quick chat.

When you play TD Garden, it will be the first time a DJ headlines a concert there. How does that make you feel? Amazing, obviously! This world tour has been something I’ve never done before. It’s something people haven’t seen before.

It still feels unreal.

Does it surprise you that some American cities are just getting their first taste of an arenascale DJ show? Yeah, but it has everything to do with how fast EDM is blowing up. I think David Guetta opened a lot of doors. When he started collaborating with pop artists, it opened up the music to the mainstream that hadn’t really discovered it. From there on, I think it was a lot of thanks to social networks. It’s so fast and easy to spread music nowadays. Those have been the biggest factors.

Who would be your dream collaborator from the pop world? My dream collaborator would have to be Chris Martin from Coldplay. I think it would sound so cool! He has such a unique voice, and I would love for him to play the piano on it too.

I think we would fit perfectly into something totally great.

What DJs have inspired you? And who do you think is an up-and-coming DJ to watch? The DJs I’ve looked up to are a lot of Swedish house producers, like Swedish House Mafia and Eric Prydz. I’ve gotten to meet all of them, or at least a bunch of them, and they’re my friends now.

It’s very cool. . . . And for those to watch, I’d say Alesso from Sweden. He’s doing something really great.

Madonna surprised the crowd by introducing you at Ultra. But she got a lot of flack for her “Has anyone seen Molly?” comments. [Molly is a nickname for MDMA.] What did you think about that? She’s a musical icon. It was an honor to have her introduce me at the show. I never took it seriously when I first heard it. I didn’t take it seriously then, and I still don’t take it seriously. I never saw the reason to get so disturbed by it. But people are going to always be watching what she says. It’s hard for her to make a joke — it’s hard for <22> 5.22.12

her to say anything.

Are you a big partier yourself? I know a lot of DJs prefer to stay out of the clubs when they’re not actually working. No, I’m not like that. I really like to go out. [Laughs] Recently though, I don’t really have a day off at all. I have, like, 300 shows a year, so when the time comes to have a day off, I’ll force myself to relax.

What’s next? Is there a full-length album in the works? My next single is “Silhouettes.” I’ve been playing it for about a year, and it’s slowly getting

out there and finally going to get released. An artist album is not something I have the time for at the moment. I would love to do one, personally — we just need to find the time for that. We have so much material. But we’re always choosing new tracks to release.

That makes sense. EDM lends itself to a singles market. You’re right. When it comes to an artist album, there’s really no need to do it other than for yourself.

— Scott Kearnan

ALWAYS ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. ©2012 Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A., Stella Artois® Beer, Imported by Import Brands Alliance, St. Louis, MO

GETCULTURED Move It Along

Wander through the urban jungle of Cambridge on most days, and you’ll probably see a pretty benign biosphere, with a few grad students here, some skinny-jean-clad hipsters there. But in recent weeks, you also may have glimpsed some significantly wilder specimens on the street — a herd of elephants clomping by Kendall Square Cinema, say, or a single lion crouched outside East Coast Grill. Thankfully, there hasn’t been a security breach at Franklin Park Zoo. These safari-like sights are part of “Move Me,” a “popup public art project” in which unassuming white cars and vans are wrapped with paintings of wild animals.

“Move Me” is the creation of local artist Roberta Paul, former Allston Skirt Gallery curator Beth Kantrowitz, and the Cambridge Arts Council.

It was inspired by Paul’s travels to the Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, where she was moved by the freedom enjoyed by its diverse, commingling wildlife. Their lack of confines heightened Paul’s sense of the real and metaphoric boundaries we two-legged animals experience, especially in city life: even in a progressive place like Cambridge, when you squeeze 100,000-plus people (many of whom are immigrants) into less than seven square miles of space, self-imposed social and ethnic isolation can occur. So the intent of Paul’s project and her painted animals’ multi-week migration through Cambridge can be summed up with two

words: breaking barriers. Like the wildlife she first saw in the Serengeti, these creature-clad vehicles roam without respect to boundaries, hopefully inspiring Cantabrigians to do the same.

However, if you’d like to see the entire menagerie gathered in one place, visit the CAC Gallery (344 Broadway, Cambridge, 617.349.4380)

by June 15 to see Paul’s work presented in a more conventional exhibit, which includes an audio-visual component featuring interviews with Cambridge residents who share their own stories of immigration and cultural adjustment. To learn more, visit watch-me-move.com.

— Miles Howard

The Language of Love

What’s the key to kindling romance and keeping it aflame? (Hint: Jäger bombs is incorrect.) The answer we’re looking for here, class, is communication. The way we relate through language is usually the clincher (or deal-breaker) of relationships. And it’s the subject of Love Person, a multilingual play that raises provocative questions about how communication — or a lack thereof — affects romantic connections.

Loosely adapted from four Sanskrit poems on different stages of love, the play was written by Swedish-raised BulgarianIndian playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil. The work won the 2009 Stavis Playwriting Award, earned a Pulitzer nomination, and garnered a lot of buzz, in no small part due to its ambitious use of four modes of communication: English, American Sign Language, Sanskrit, and email. (Don’t worry — translations are projected for the audience to read.) Exploring the chance correspondences and relationships between a deaf woman, her lesbian partner, a visiting professor of Sanskrit, and his love interest, Kapil weaves a four-person tapestry that transcends tongues and illustrates the ways in which language can create new passions or destroy existing ones.

It’s a tale that seems likely to resonate with anyone who’s scaled a language barrier, gotten lost in translation, or even helped a tech-challenged parent send a cat video to friends and relatives — in short, just about everyone. So check out the play’s Boston premiere when Company One stages Love Person at the BCA Plaza Theatre (539 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.426.5000) from May 25 through June 23. Get tickets ($18–$38) at companyone.org.

— M.H.

<24> 5.22.12

GETpretty Sleeping Beauty

After a long day at the office (or a few too many post-work drinks), we’ve been known to conk out on a pillow while still wearing a full face of makeup. (Sweet dreams for us, but a nightmare to our dermatologists.) It happens to the best of us, so in anticipation of your next hard day’s night, we rounded up a few passing-out-appropriate products — from foundation that’s gentle on the skin to lipstick that won’t look smudged when your morning commute is actually a walk of shame. Shh. We won’t tell.

— Renata Certo-Ware

B. A.

C.

D.

<26> 5.22.12

A. A contact lens case and an inconveniently sized bottle of solution aren’t exactly must-have accessories, and they won’t fit into most selfrespecting evening bags. So consider investing in Air Optix Night & Day Aqua contact lenses. Made of soft, flexible silicone hydrogel, these babies are so breathable you can pass out at a friend’s house and still see the bedside clock in the morning. It’s $254 for a one-year supply at South End Eye (681 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.391.0088).

B. It’s hard to look sultry when you’ve got lipstick on your teeth, so apply Sephora Cream Lip Stain ($12), an especially long-lasting option with a luscious feel. (It features avocado oil for a texture that is first creamy, then silky.)

It’s available in eight shades, but we’re partial to Always Red. It’s bright and bold, but this stay-put stain won’t leave you looking like you spent the night at a Vampire Diaries convention. Grab it at Sephora (800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.4200).

C. To look your most tantalizing for a wild night out, you need a pair of big, fake . . . eyelashes! (Where did you think we were going with that?) So while you’re at Sephora, you should also pick up Make Up For Ever’s Janet false lashes ($16). These batting beauties deliver high-drama impact, and the nononsense adhesive glue ensures you won’t wake up to find them stuck to

the headboard. The best part: they’re reusable, so you can break them out night after night.

D. Jane Iredale refers to her eponymous line of makeup as “skincare makeup.” Why? The Massachusettsbased line is made with all-natural ingredients — essentially crushed-up minerals, like light-reflecting mica and zinc, which is actually thought to improve skin’s health and appearance.

Free of common irritants like oil, talc, chemical dyes, and parabens, which can aggravate sensitive skin and cause breakouts, they also contain a slew of skin-boosting ingredients that sound like the stuff of a nuttycrunchy smoothie bar: plankton, algae, pomegranate, and pine-bark extracts. So while we’d never suggest sleeping in makeup if you can help it, you can feel comparatively less guilty passing out in Iredale’s PurePressed base ($52). Formulated without the synthetic preservatives typically seen in liquid foundations, this lightweight powder goes on evenly and lets your skin breathe. Also check out her Eye Steppes mineral eye shadow ($56).

With its palette of five eye-popping colors (with stripper-approved names like Ice, Mittens, and Zhivago), you won’t want to kick this line out of bed.

Order online at janeiredale.com, where you can also find a list of local brickand-mortar carriers, like Stilisti (138 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.262.2234). makeup photos by ian justice

840 SUMMER ST SOUTH BOSTON | 617.268.2500 | www.SHagBOSTON.cOM PHOTOgRaPHY BY www.SaNDYPOIRIER.cOM

GETOUT show at Royale (279 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.338.7699).

Advance tickets are already sold out, but there’ll be some held at the door, so get there early.

things get dicey (pun intended).

Grab tickets ($15) for Saturday’s 8 p.m. performance and check out the complete schedule at bostonconservatory.edu.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23

SUNDAY, MAY 27

When you’ve already sung with Frank Sinatra on the White House lawn by age nine, it’s hard to imagine another career-topping moment. But for Nikka Costa, performing alongside the king crooner himself was only the beginning. For more than a decade, the sultry siren has specialized in swinging, new-fashioned soul and blues hits like “Everybody Got Their Something” and “Like a Feather.” But on her latest album, PRO*WHOA!, Costa takes a walk on the electric side, favoring both pop melodies and a harder, edgier rock sound. Listen up when she plays an 8 p.m. show at Johnny D’s (17 Holland Street, Somerville, 617.776.2004). Get tickets ($15–$20) at ticketfly.com.

Coming-of-age stories usually veer toward the trite and selfaffirming. So where can cynical 20- and 30-somethings turn when confronted by the disappointments and disillusionments that actually accompany adulthood? Generation Y, check out Avenue Q. Featuring a cast of live actors and Sesame Street–style puppets, the hilarious musical follows a young grad named Princeton as he navigates newfound maturity in squalid NYC lodgings chock-full of life-changing neighbors, including a closeted Republican banker and an Internetporn addict. This incarnation of the long-running Broadway hit is being produced and performed at the Lyric Stage Company (140 Clarendon Street, Boston, 617.585.5678) from May 11 through June 17. Find tickets ($27–$60) for today’s 3 p.m. show and the full schedule at lyricstage.com.

FRIDAY, MAY 25

THURSDAY, MAY 24 Come the holiday season, The Nutcracker is a tried-and-true tradition.

But there’s nothing standard about the surreal mash-up Nutcracker Turbo (and Other Love Stories), which is running from May 20 through May 26 at the Loeb Drama Center (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.547.8300), fresh off a sold-out premiere in Moscow. Drawing on two tales by Romantic author E.T.A. Hoffmann, “The Sandman” and “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice,” the dance-theater piece explores the relationship between Nathaniel and Clara — which takes a turn for the worse when he seeks treatment for chronic night terrors and she becomes involved in an eerie online world of nutcrackers and mice.

Find tickets ($15) at americanrepertorytheater.org.

TUESDAY, MAY 22 Every industry has its kingpins.

And in the pulsing trance-music scene, it’s Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren who rules the dance floor.

He’s the lauded producer of sonic juggernauts like “Sail” and “Blue Fear,” the mastermind behind the <28> 5.22.12

EDM world’s influential A State of Trance radio show, and a yearsrunning top dog on DJ Mag’s Top 100 list. He also headlines worldfamous festivals — most recently, March’s Ultra Music Festival in Miami — but now he’ll bring his emotive beats to Boston for a 9 p.m.

It’s always a testament to your talent when you get a ringing endorsement from a veteran within your vocation. So when comedian Chris Rock referred to Laff Mobb as “a motherfuckin’ movement,” we perked up and started paying attention to the uproarious “urban comedy” collective, curated by Def Comedy Jam producer Bob Sumner. Coming off the debut of their successful Showtime series, Laff Mobb Presents, the group is now bringing their show on the road, riffing on everything from office culture to pop culture. We endorse checking out their 7:30 p.m. show at the Wilbur Theatre (246 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.248.9700). Grab tickets ($25) at ticketmaster.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 26 Food ethics are increasingly in the spotlight — quite literally in the case Guerilla Opera’s latest production.

So if the factory-farming system strikes you as something out of a (Greek) tragedy, check out Bovinus Rex, a new opera being staged at the Boston Conservatory (8 The Fenway, Boston, 617.536.6340) from May 24 through May 27. Loosely inspired by Oedipus Rex, the dark comedy centers on a cattle farmer whose self-made machinery can quickly butcher an entire herd.

When his activist daughter infiltrates the farm to sabotage his plans,

MONDAY, MAY 28 If the modern Occupy movement ever decides it needs an anthem, it might want to look to The Mob. The British anarcho-punk band raged against societal woes of the late 1970s, delivering distortionsmothered melodies and mournful vocals on outings like “Witch Hunt” and “No Doves Fly Here” — which sound like what might have happened had the Psychedelic Furs never discovered the flanged synthesizer. Now, after a nearly three-decade hiatus, they’re back together and heading to Great Scott (1222 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617.566.9014) for a 9 p.m. show. Get tickets ($12) at greatscottboston.com.

TUESDAY, MAY 29 Most of us have experienced that nightmarish, nerve-frying moment when we approach the object of our desire and for some inexplicable reason start babbling like a socially awkward brook. So we’ve got to hand it to Justin Halpern. The bestselling author of Sh*t My Dad Says endured sundry schoolyard crushes gone down in flames, lost his virginity while working as a Hooters dishwasher, and yet lived continued on p30

GETOUT continued FROM p28

to tell the trauma (eloquently and hilariously) in his new book, I Suck at Girls. He’ll share his experiences with the opposite sex at a 7 p.m. reading at Brookline Booksmith (279 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617.566.6660). Admission is free, but get there early.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30

SATURDAY, JUNE 2 Ever since the Who’s 2010 Super Bowl “performance,” we’ve been waiting for someone to liberate rock-opera numbers from Pete Townsend’s wind-milling arms. And that’s why we can’t wait to witness Over the Line, a rousing rock musical at Spontaneous Celebrations (45 Danforth Street, Jamaica Plain, 617.524.6373).

Featuring live guitars, keys, and glockenspiels from the Grass Gypsys and special guests, along with jumbo-sized puppets, the show tells a JP-set tale of political activism and indoctrination before erupting into a raging dance party. Originally performed last February, the show is back for two performances, the first at 6 p.m. and the second at 9 p.m. For tickets ($10), visit brownpapertickets.com.

®

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If you’ve been to Central Square lately, chances are you’ve already sampled chef Patricia Yeo’s Indian flatbreads and Berkshirepork potstickers at the panAsian-inspired Moksa. But just beyond the dining room, a pulsing party scene awaits in the adjacent nightclub, Naga (450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 617.661.4900). Part of its newly launched party series is Mmmmove Wednesdays, designed to put some bump into hump day. The weekly fixture has DJs and producers bringing bass, beats, and fun. (Recent guests have included UK electro wizard Addison Groove and Boston’s own Wheez-ie.) The cover varies,

but each night runs from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 31 We’ve spent years trying to erase memories of a sandal-clad Brad Pitt butchering his lines in Troy.

(Unsurprisingly, Oscar never came calling. But, uh, a Teen Choice Award is a consolation prize, right?) Fortunately, now Boston’s Whistler in the Dark company is returning the tale of siege to its epic roots with Trojan Women.

Translated from the original tragedy

by Euripides, director Benjamin Evett’s new production takes place after the fall of Troy, chronicling the city’s women as they attempt to survive the squalor of refugee camps. The show runs from May 18 through June 2 at the Factory Theatre (791 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.817.6600). Find tickets ($10–$20) for tonight’s 7:30 p.m. show and the full schedule at brownpapertickets.com.

FRIDAY, JUNE 1 From Venice’s famed Carnival to Berlusconi’s bunga-bunga

GETOUT live entertainment, and gourmet bites from chef Filippo La Mantia of Rome’s Hotel Majestic, paired with hand-picked Tuscan wines from Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi.

The party starts at 7 p.m., and proceeds will help fund Italianlanguage programs in local schools and the development of a new Italian Cultural Center.

Reserve your spot ($250) at italianissimo.eventbrite.com.

SUNDAY, JUNE 3

the clean bashes, Italian parties are the stuff of legend. So we’re psyched that Louis (60 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617.262.6100) has teamed up with the Consulate General of Italy for Italianissimo!, a party

that promises to bring a little bit of la dolce vita to Boston. On the eve of the country’s National Day, this spring celebration of all things Italian will feature exclusive fashions from Louis,

Today, it’s tough to hear the words “Greek Festival” without picturing Natty Ice–swilling bros fistpumping to Swedish House Mafia in a primeval-smelling basement.

But before Kappa Sig, there came the actual country, whose rich culture is set to be celebrated at the 2012 Arlington Greek Festival.

Hosted at Saint Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox Church (4 Appleton Street, Arlington, 781.646.0705), the three-day annual fest brings thousands of revelers of all nationalities for live Greek music, regional wines and beer, church tours, dancing, and

even spit-roasted pigs and lambs.

You can also shop for tasty Greek foods and souvenirs in the festival’s Agora marketplace. Admission is free, and Sunday’s events run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

MONDAY, JUNE 4 New Zealand may be known for its recent Elvish and Orcish exports (thanks, Peter Jackson), but the islands also gave the world one of indie-rock history’s best-kept secrets: The Clean. Founded in 1978, the band has been cited as a sonic influence by latter-day legends like Pavement and Yo La Tengo. It’s easy to hear why. The Clean’s gang choruses, clanging guitars, and Casio-toned keyboard riffs are the stuff of lo-fi bedrock, lending songs like “Tally Ho” and “Beatnik” timely bite. They’ll soon dust off their axes for a 9 p.m. show at Brighton Music Hall (158 Brighton Avenue, Allston, 617.779.0140). Grab tickets ($15) at ticketmaster.com.

— Miles Howard

For more event picks, sign up for our email list at stuffboston.com/subscribe.

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tyle

Use Your Head

If you treat headwear as just a tool for disguising bed head, you’re missing out on the chance to top off your look with a stylish statement piece. So put some real thought into your dome décor, and choose the right hat, turban, or headband to convey a sense of mystery, power, or ladylike grace. We gathered a few options that scream, “It’s summer and I’m coming out of hibernation!” But though they boast bold embellishments, they also nod to the classic elegance of fearless fashionistas in eras past. So pick your preference — whether you’re heading to the Derby, the Vineyard, or a Southie backyard barbecue. (Okay, you might want to stick to the Sox cap for that one.)

Clockwise from top left: Le Coq Rouge fascinator, $40 at Maxine in Trousers (maxineintrousers.com, 917.734.1445); wide-brimmed Kentucky Derby hat, $175 at Goorin Bros. (130 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.247.4287); blue sinamay headband with pink veiling, $155 at GALVIN-ized Headwear (450 Harrison Avenue, #67, Boston, 617.426.4885); silk turban, $58 at Maxine in Trousers; blue pillbox hat with vintage flowers, $250 at GALVIN-ized Headwear <32> 5.22.12

— Lauryn Joseph

Photos by Ian Justice Styled by Renata Certo-Ware Model: Amanda George of Maggie Inc.

118 NEWBURY STREET, 2FL BOSTON, MA 02116 617.262.8118 WWW.SALONEVAMICHELLE.COM

2012

PLAYERS with appearances by:

michael schlow • josh bhatti • patrick lee • clinton sparks • diane paulus jay calderin • SIMON MAIS • LAURA KINSMAN • AGGELOS PANAGOPOULOS • BRYAN BARBIERI • Christine sullivan mcmahon • EVA MUSTAFAI • MICHELLE LEE • mike dreese • alexei beratis • jamie walsh • MATT SCHRAGE • MARC SHEEHAN Daniela corte • soul clap • tom o’keefe • robert casey • todd english patricia yeo • mark grzelak • greg selkoe • dina selkoe • jeff london • kevin long • Rich Villani • MICHELE MESSINO • MICHELLE MCCORMACK • amanda palmer

LIVE IN BOSTON

By Miles Howard, Scott Kearnan, Luke O’Neil, and Erin Souza

Boston’s dining, style, nightlife, and entertainment scenes couldn’t thrive without the talents of an eclectic cast of characters. So each spring, our Players issue shines a spotlight on locals who’ve spent the last year commanding center stage. Our 2012 lineup is no different: we found two dozen must-know names, from established bigwigs to rising stars, who keep their industries humming in perfect harmony. Players, play on.

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Schlow has a special place in the pantheon of Boston’s celebrity chefs. A Hub-based talent with real national clout, he’s continuously whetted our appetites for each new project since arriving here from New York in 1995. First came his acclaimed modern French restaurant, Radius, followed by the Italian spots Via Matta and Alta Strada. In 2011, he opened his Latin-leaning Tico. And just this month, he threw open the doors at Happy’s Bar & Kitchen, located around the corner from Fenway (an interesting choice for a proud, Brooklyn-born Yankees fan). The spot is imbued with a playful whimsy and a vaguely vintage vibe; picture eccentric touches like mosaics of flattened beer caps and retro-colored armchairs where you nearly expect to see James Dean chowing down. But the food is hardly old-fashioned. Schlow’s International Nondenominational Bipartisan Chicken Soup (yes, you read that right) offers a funky update on a comfort-food classic, combining savory house-made chicken stock with matzo balls, Sardinian fregula pasta, and basmati rice. Then there are the never-frozen TV Dinners du Jour, gourmet takes on Swanson-style favorites like Salisbury steak, served in porcelain trays. Cool, a little kitschy, and backed by major culinary skill? Sounds like Schlow found another recipe for success.

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photo by natasha moustache

If you’ve noticed a serious spike in eclectic artists like Grouplove, Modeselektor, and Bombay Bicycle Club playing Boston shows lately, you can thank Josh Bhatti for the welcome diversification of the music scene.

He’s the principal talent buyer for Bowery Boston, a local offshoot of the Bowery Presents, the acclaimed New York concertpromotion group. By juggling tour calendars, tracking down talent agents, and keeping one finger on the pulse of new musical movements, Bhatti brings fresh, fun acts to a host of hot venues. Bowery Boston books all the concerts at Royale and also presents shows at the Middle East, Great Scott, T.T. the Bear’s Place, the Somerville Theatre, the Wang, and the Berklee Performance Center. And now Bhatti is looking to add another notch to his Bowery belt: an upcoming Harvard Square concert hall, the Sinclair, modeled after NYC’s Music Hall of Williamsburg. Slated to open this fall, the 10,000-square-foot space is expected to hold more than 500 concertgoers and, according to Bhatti, will boast a pricier audio system than most club owners would opt for. “We want every patron to have the greatest experience possible,” says Bhatti. “And that includes the artists themselves.” Players: it takes one to know one.

Usually, we wouldn’t describe ourselves as advocates for aggressive colonization, but we’ll gladly make an exception for Patrick Lee. The successful restaurateur has spent more than a decade carving out an edible empire in Harvard Square. Lee’s journey began in 1996, when he and his brother helped open Grafton Street Pub & Grill. Since then, his résumé has read like a hungry Harvardian’s weekend schedule. The Grafton Group portfolio he shares with three other principals now includes Grafton Street, Russell House Tavern, Temple Bar, and the latest project, Park, which opened in April in the former location of Redline. Divided into four distinct spaces (the main dining room, the den, the classroom, and the back room), it’s heavy on the cozy interior flourishes — think leather sofas, rustic woods, and lots of vintage curios. It’s even heavier on the gourmet comfort food, like bar steak with Gruyère-bacon roasted potato skins, sourdough onion rings, and roasted-mushroom risotto, not to mention an eye-popping assortment of craft beers, wines, and original cocktails. But according to Lee, the essence of Park lies in its emphasis on group dining (the joint can accommodate gatherings of up to 40 people). He certainly knows a thing or two about managing groups, and we raise a glass to Lee’s growing Harvard-area empire. continued on p38 top photo by natasha moustache; bottom photo by michael diskin

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photos by michael diskin

When Paulus became the ART’s artistic director in 2008, it was amid sky-high expectations that she would breathe new life into a sometimes-staid organization. Not only did she live up to the hype, but four years later she keeps the buzz going strong by staging exotic, perplexing, and powerful productions that prove avant-garde approaches can be commercially viable in the Hub. And the past year has been a banner one for Paulus. Tod Machover’s robotic opera, Death and the Powers, which has its US premiere at the ART under Paulus’s direction, became a Pulitzer finalist. Paulus brought her production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, a new adaptation of the 1935 opera powerhouse, to a successful run on Broadway after its Cambridge premiere. (It just scored 10 Tony Award nominations, and Time magazine named the show its number-two pick among the best theatrical productions of 2011.) And this month, she was honored at the 2012 Drama League Awards alongside Rosie O’Donnell and Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken. A look at her upcoming calendar shows she has no intention of slowing down. She’s directing Cirque du Soleil’s new touring show, Amaluna, now playing in Montreal. And she’ll kick off the ART’s next season with the world premiere of Marie Antoinette, a timely satire about everyone’s favorite poster child for the one percent. But first, she’ll bring Shakespeare-gone-disco extravaganza The Donkey Show, her first production for the ART and now a staple of Boston’s theater scene, to a summer engagement in the East Coast capital of glitz: Miami. Please, hurry back.

The shows must go on.

Bostonians often experience “little-brother syndrome” when they look to NYC, and that’s especially apparent in the fashion industry: kvetching about our city’s style (or lack thereof) is rote water-cooler chatter. So we commend Calderin for a career not spent complaining about what we lack, but celebrating — and expanding — what we have. The director of creative marketing at Boston’s School of Fashion Design, where he also instructs, Calderin took it upon himself to promote the Hub’s haute side by founding Boston Fashion Week in 1995. The annual showcase of local design talent has evolved since then, but never as dramatically as it did last year, when Calderin replicated New York’s model by consolidating the citywide fashion shows at a central runway location: “The TENT” at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Despite a few skeptics, the approach succeeded in giving BFW a polished and professional new look. It’ll be back for this fall’s Fashion Week, which will expand to 10 days (September 27 to October 6) and debut “The MART,” a chance for retail buyers and designers to connect and do business. Calderin’s education and advocacy work on behalf of Boston’s style scene extends far beyond Fashion Week, but its recent reinvention merited special props — and pushed fashion forward. continued on p40

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In Boston, hotels are hotspots. Over the last few years, we’ve swooned over many an opening, from the Liberty to the Ames to the W. But only a few months ago, the late Radisson Hotel of Boston’s Theater District had about as much sex appeal as — well, a Radisson.

(As in: zilch.) Now, after a change in ownership and a massive renovation, a crack team has transformed the property into the far-more-fetching Revere Hotel.

At the helm is general manager Simon Mais, formerly of NYC’s haute Hudson. Hailing from LA’s famed Mondrian is director of events Laura Kinsman, who focuses on bringing parties and performances to the hotel’s event spaces, including Theatre 1, located inside the former Stuart Street Playhouse, and the massive raw venue Space 57. Leading the nightlife scene is Aggelos Panagopoulos, a veteran of Saint and Sonsie who’s serving as general manager of the Emerald Lounge, where night owls can sip inventive cocktails and dance to DJ-driven beats in an Ozinspired atmosphere. (Think green-glowing lights, tornado-shaped pillars, and cocktail waitresses wearing ruby-red stilettos.) And PR director Bryan Barbieri enhances Revere’s rep by building buzz, as with April’s stomach-plunging Vertical Fashion Show, a grand-opening fete that sent models strutting down the side of the building. With a debut like that, we can’t wait for the one-year anniversary.

Blond and beautiful, McMahon is hardly the kind of Donegal-capped bruiser one might expect to find working elbow to tattooed elbow with Boston’s beloved Celtic punks, the Dropkick Murphys. But since 2009, she’s excelled as the executive director of the Claddagh Fund, founded by Dropkick front man Ken Casey to raise money for deserving Boston nonprofits devoted to youth advocacy, veterans’ support, and addiction recovery. McMahon envisions and executes attentiongrabbing and, often, athletics-oriented community throw-downs that spread the word and garner major greenbacks for the fund. Within the past year alone, there was summer’s VIP-filled karaoke showdown before a rotten-tomato-chucking crowd, fall’s celebrity golf tournament featuring famous putters like puck master Bobby Orr, and this month’s celebrity hockey match with Bruins alums, Dropkick band members, and other special-guest players. Next up, on May 24 at House of Blues, is Pro Boxing: Boston vs. NY, a showdown between boxer Danny O’Connor and a soonto-be-announced New York rival. If overseeing all those benevolent acts of brawn weren’t enough, McMahon is also the founding principal of her own communityrelations consulting group, Wharf Partners. Those are some heavyweight accomplishments, but it’s no luck of the Irish — McMahon has put in plenty of hard work. continued on p42

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top photo by natasha moustache; bottom photo by michael diskin

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The name of their Newbury Street salon, Eva Michelle, might sound like that of a cast member of Glee, but don’t be fooled: stylists Eva Mustafai and Michelle Lee are far from naive teenyboppers. These two are veterans of the venerable James Joseph Salon (Lee is the former director of education, and Mustafai a former stylist and educator). Together, they bring more than 20 years of combined experience in the business to their new Newbury Street spot, which opened in October. Granted, being part of a stellar ensemble cast doesn’t necessarily guarantee independent success.

(Remember Seinfeld? Sure. Remember The Michael Richards Show? Exactly.) But Mustafai and Lee are already earning lots of local love (you’ve caught their work in our fashion spreads before), nods in national beauty beacons like Nylon and American Salon, and work on the runways at New York Fashion Week. And if they were on Glee, they’d get high marks for range: they can do everything from a suburban mom’s bob to a teased and tousled up-do. If their fast-track growth is any indication, we’ll be hearing about these style mavens’ expanding reach for years to come. Play on, ladies.

Compared to modern tech triumphs like Facebook, Newbury Comics’ startup story is pretty lo-fi: in 1978, cofounders Mike Dreese and John Brusger, then roommates at MIT, started selling comic books out of a converted Back Bay apartment with an initial investment of $2,000. Since then, Newbury Comics has become a New England–wide empire with nearly 30 stores, around $75 million in annual revenue, and an iconic logo that has adorned every college dorm room. That’s enough to enshrine Dreese, who’s still overseeing the operations, in the Hub’s hall of fame. But what’s really impressing us right now is the (literally) pay-it-forward approach of the recently launched Wicked Good Angels Fund, designed to support startups that demonstrate innovation and good intentions. “You want to see good people succeed,” explains Dreese. “People who are excited and have their whole heart and soul in something.” The first few investees have included a software company that aids in energy-efficient building design (Ekotrope) and a company that helps seniors in assisted housing attain computer and internet literacy (Connected Living). Investments have ranged from $100,000 to $200,000, but the Comics cofounders can also provide invaluable guidance to newbies. After all, their company has regularly evolved to meet changing market demands, first pushing comics, then CDs and DVDs. Going forward, they’ll revamp retail spaces to focus on street fashion. (Expect the Harvard Square store to get a major renovation soon.) In startups, nothing ventured means nothing gained; we’re glad to see one of the city’s most successful entrepreneurial players giving a little, too. continued on p44

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top photo by natasha moustache; bottom photo by michael diskin

327 Newbury St., Boston MA 02115 sonsieboston.com

continued FROM p42

Alexei Beratis and Jamie Walsh are already fixtures on the local beverage scene: the former is a veteran bartender and now a partner at Inspired Beverage Inc., a company that provides consulting services for major spirit brands, and the latter serves as bar manager at Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale. But they aren’t content to simply sing the praises of Boston’s boozy arts from behind the bar — they want to put our city’s rich cocktail culture on the national map. So this fall, they founded the nonprofit Greater Boston Beverage Society, which will host its inaugural Boston Cocktail Summit on October 4–6. “Calling ourselves a ‘Beverage Society’ is a cheeky nod to the club traditions of the 18th and 19th century,” Walsh says. “Ours is a blend of a professional- and social-networking organization united by our combined love for drinking in Boston and our goal of bringing this city its own cocktail festival.” The citywide event will show off what Boston has to offer, much in the same way the venerable Tales of the Cocktail festival does for New Orleans. “We believe that some of the top bartenders on the planet live and work right here in Boston, and the Boston Cocktail Summit will illustrate just that,” Walsh says. “We want this to be as inclusive a celebration of the Boston cocktail scene as possible, highlighting those among us who are on the cutting edge of mixology trends and those who are simply the most hospitable and charming bartenders to ever serve you a drink.” Cheers to that.

Last year, over a round of whiskeys, a few friends cooked up a passion project that’s now earning serious buzz in the Boston dining scene: Brasstacks, the latest — and, some are saying, greatest — entry in a growing roster of underground supper clubs. The response isn’t surprising, considering the founders’ pedigrees. Schrage is general manager of the Hawthorne, Kenmore’s sleek craft-cocktailing den; Sheehan is meat chef de partie at Menton, Fort Point’s temple to haute cuisine. Alongside Drew Davis (formerly of Menton and now working at NYC’s Má Pêche), they throw decadent pop-up dinner parties at hush-hush venues for invite-only crowds. How do they do it? First, they identify a hook.

“Do we want to highlight a whole animal?” Schrage asks.

“Vegetable cookery? Local anadromous fish species or a unique beverage focus?” After they articulate a vision, they compile a small but eclectic guest list, drawing from requests on their Facebook page. Then they hit the road to scour New England for the best locally produced ingredients. “For our Maine Lamb Supper, we drove up to Portland to meet with a gentleman who had been a farmer and shepherd for over 30 years,” recalls Schrage. “After touring his farm and drinking tea in his home, Marc drove to the slaughterhouse and picked up what turned out to be the best lamb he’d ever eaten, from the biggest man he’d ever seen.” The team hopes to bring a Brasstacks dinner to the Hawthorne this summer, and there are plans to eventually establish a brick-and-mortar spot.

Where? Shh! We’ll never tell. continued on p46

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top photo by natasha moustache; bottom photo by michael diskin

P A N

A S I A N

I Z A K A Y A

Chef Patricia Yeo & Beverage Director Noon Inthasuwan

450 MASS. AVE. CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139

|

MOKSARESTAURANT.COM

|

(617) 661-4900

CENTRAL SQUARE, CAMBRIDGE Drinks and Dancing Mon - Sat Available for events (Cocktails up to 300 or Sit-down dinners up to 125)

nagacambridge.com

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Corte has been a mainstay in the Boston fashion world for more than a decade. But it’s not just her fierce, feminine designs that make her such a force to be reckoned with. It’s not just her recognizable presence on the social scene, marked by a perfectly petite frame (maintained with 5 a.m. workouts — the discipline!) and a larger-than-life smile. And it’s not just the way she took the city’s collective style up a notch this year by proving that, yes, a local designer can open a studio and store on Newbury Street — selling everything from ladylike tailored looks to sexy fruitprinted bikinis that had us squealing during Boston Fashion Week — without sacrificing an ounce of authenticity. (This Argentinean dynamo spreads the love, too, featuring other designers from her native country and a Boston-based footwear brand in her shop.) Any one of these things alone might make Corte a woman to watch. But combining creativity, social presence, and business acumen into a powerful ensemble? Now that’s what makes a player.

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photo by natasha moustache

There’s never a shortage of homegrown musical talent breaking out of Boston. And the past few years have been a particularly fertile time in the danceable realm, with the likes of Passion Pit and Hot Pink Delorean leading the charge. But this year belonged to the DJ and production duo Soul Clap, who spent years building a local fan base before exploding on the international scene. They finally released their debut album, EFUNK, a blend of throwback ’90s grooves, R&B, hip-hop, and house that dropped in April. (Sample it at soundcloud.com/soulclap). It’s been a long time coming: Eli Goldstein and Charles Levine first met here in high school, when Boston’s electronicmusic scene was in its early stages. “Back then not many people were DJing,” Levine says. “There weren’t that many house DJs, but we knew from early on that we always had a very similar objective.” Now EDM is more mainstream than ever, but these guys still stand out: they’ve released a high-profile string of mixes for industry tastemakers and played packed houses across Europe and in their newly adopted headquarters of Miami, where they recently landed a winter residency. We can’t blame them for flying south for the winter; we just hope they bring those banging beats back to the Bay State soon.

For most of us, workweek hours spent on Facebook and Twitter are a distraction from our jobs. (“I’ll finish that financials report . . . right after I update my status.”) But Tom O’Keefe, better known as @BostonTweet, has actually turned a strong social-media presence into his job. With more than 50,000 followers on Twitter, he’s a one-man source of news on dining, nightlife, and other city-life staples (not to mention the darling of Hub publicists eager to spread the word about their clients). O’Keefe first stumbled upon Twitter in November of 2008, when he found himself in the midst of a fruitless job hunt after stints with some unsuccessful, poorly marketed startups.

Struck by Twitter’s potential as a low-cost marketing tool suited for tough economic times, he began tweeting relentlessly, filling in followers on everything from the length of bar lines to concert ticket presales to upcoming fundraisers for local nonprofits. As Twitter grew, so did O’Keefe’s audience — and his number of clients, eager to take advantage of his online cachet. By 2012, he’d left his job as a regional buyer for Groupon to operate @BostonTweet full-time, giving local businesses a digital leg up (and followers a heads-up) by promoting events and specials. For turning a 21st-century hobby into his livelihood, we consider O’Keefe one major #player. continued on p48 bottom photo by natasha moustache

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The fashion industry is filled with shortcut-seeking wannabes, from amateur photogs who think an Instagram account makes them pro to so-called stylists who think having an opinion is the same as having expertise. So we love stories of players like Casey (as he’s mononymously known in the industry) who build big careers out of real hard work. When just a college sophomore, Casey offered himself up as an unpaid intern at Maggie Inc., one of Boston’s few major modeling agencies, to learn the business from its eponymous founder. By senior year, he had shifted all of his classes to a night schedule to work as a booker full-time. But in 2004, Casey was unexpectedly thrust into a leadership role while Maggie Trichon fought a battle with cancer. “I was 24 and had no idea what I was doing,” he says. “For the first eight months of it, we lied. We kept the doors closed and pretended she was still there. She had such a huge presence in the industry, and I was scared to death.” But Casey took what he had absorbed from his mentor, learned plenty more on the fly, and faked it ’til he made it — big.

When Trichon fully retired in late 2011, she immediately handed him the reins. With his ambition, smarts, and snappy sense of humor, he’s sure to spur the company to new heights.

Not many guys could take off and keep us waiting around for two years. But ever since the May 2010 fire that shuttered Charlestown’s Olives, chow hounds have been murmuring about its impending return.

It’s only natural: after all, Olives was English’s first restaurant, where diners first fell in love with his food. Since then, of course, his reputation has taken some hits. Critics have argued that as his empire of restaurants expanded, the quality diminished.

Detractors have said that the growing glow of the celebrity-chef spotlight — which has led to cookbooks, TV shows, and Hollywood partnerships — threatened to overshadow his talent. And the backlash in Boston felt particularly strong while Olives was closed for seemingly interminable renovations that had Hub dwellers playing the jilted lover, jealously watching an old flame pursue affairs elsewhere. (One local publication even penned a public “breakup letter” to the chef.) But a few weeks ago, Olives finally had an under-the-radar soft opening, with locals ordering up English’s eats once more. For now, the jury’s out on whether it’s a return to fine form, but one thing’s for certain: though he can be a divisive personality, only with English could a restaurant more than two decades old still yield one of the most anticipated openings of the year.

continued on p50

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top photo by natasha moustache

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Even the strongest players can’t bat a thousand every season. After arriving from New York in 2009 with an already-solid reputation, Yeo flexed her muscle by transforming the South End’s Banq into Ginger Park.

But when Yeo moved to Cambridge’s OM in early 2011, aiming to revitalize the nightspot’s menu, some called the result more of a miss than a hit. But that didn’t dampen anticipation for her new pan-Asian izakaya, Moksa, which opened its doors in March.

The Central Square spot isn’t just turning out creative plates, but stretching our idea of what a chef-driven restaurant can look like: Yeo has opened Moksa’s kitchen for cooking classes, the back of the restaurant boasts the cavernous, beat-bumping nightclub Naga, and longstanding stand-up outfit Nick’s Comedy Stop started a Friday and Saturday residency in the restaurant in May. Granted, Moksa’s multiple personalities could detract focus from the food. (And local gossip has it that Yeo has also been tapped for a major TV opportunity, which can bring significant distractions along with great exposure.) But even if there are an awful lot of balls in the air, Yeo’s ambition and inventiveness could make her the player to knock them out of the park.

It takes talent to carve a name for yourself within an already-well-known enterprise. But over the last five years, Grzelak has become one to watch within one of the Hub’s most recognized hospitality groups. In 2007, he started working with the Lyons Group, which boasts one of the city’s most covetable rosters of restaurants and nightspots. (If they build it, Bostonians come.) Grzelak honed his GM skills at one of its portfolio’s crown jewels, Sonsie, a stalwart of the Newbury Street social scene since the mid-’90s. With its 2010 opening, he expanded his reach by taking on a role in operations at Back Bay Social Club, a Boylston Street spot for cocktails and patio dining that has eradicated the memory of the Vinny T’s that preceded it. And most recently, Grzelak has added Mass Ave Tavern to his list of projects, helping to give the upscale Back Bay a casual neighborhood hit (picture ravenous crowds devouring pub food over board games) where a previous approach — the small-platecentric 94 Mass Ave — didn’t quite root. For Grzelak, establishing a welcoming vibe is paramount at all the properties he oversees: “In all our venues, we’re looking to make everyone feel at home,” he says. That explains why we so often turn to his spots as places to hang our hats — or at least raise our drinks. continued on p52

<50> 5.22.12

photos by michael diskin

continued FROM p50

Their love story is as sweet as their success: in 2000, Dina Selkoe was studying law while her then-boyfriend, Greg, struggled to launch an online fashion retailer out of his parents’ Jamaica Plain basement. (Online shopping? Like that’ll last…) Some might have dropped a risk-taking Romeo in favor of a fellow legal eagle. But Dina was dedicated to helping Greg build his business from the get-go, and the Selkoes, married in 2002, are now among Boston’s most successful (and sexiest) power couples. Karmaloop has become a major streetwear retailer and lifestyle brand that employs more than 200 people and is expected to earn $200 million in revenue in 2012. It’s also grown to include Karmaloop Europe, Karmaloop TV, and ventures like Boylston Trading Co., launched last year as Karmaloop’s slightly fancier, menswear-focused cousin. (Next up? Expect Karmaloop China to debut later this year.) The brand’s success hinges on Greg’s uncanny ability to articulate the style and sensibility of a generation — but he’s quick to credit Dina, now Karmaloop’s creative director, as key to its growth and a constant source of support, ideas, and inspiration. Now the Selkoes are inspiring even greater growth in Boston’s creative economy via their recently launched nonprofit, the Future Boston Alliance, which promotes infrastructural innovations and cultural collaborations intended to help Boston retain promising young players — many of whom study at our top schools but eventually take their talents to other cities. “We already have all this brilliance here,” says Greg. “We just need to keep it here.” <52> 5.22.12

continued on p54

40th Year anniversarY Help Us Celebrate!

newburY street League

40th anniversarY gaLa thursdaY June 14th. 6-10 PM Mandarin OrientaL, bOstOn. Join us for an evening of fun, fashion, and a fabulous taste of Newbury street from our member restaurants, complimentary wine and beer, fantastic silent auction experience packages, live music by sweet tooth and the sugarbabies, and more! tickets: $100.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss this event... it will be a night to remember!

To purchase tickets go to: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3443775425 platinum sponsor The Rotenberg Family In Memory of Newbury Street League Founder Fay Rotenberg

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continued FROM p52

Showing Kim Kardashian, Busta Rhymes, and other high-rolling celebs the best of Boston sounds like a daunting job — but it’s London’s calling. The VIP host for 6one7 Productions first cut his teeth in Boston’s party scene as an event DJ; then he rose to the realm of event promotions at Matrix (the club that once inhabited the current site of Guilt). Now he orchestrates weekly bashes at Rumor, District, Julep Bar, Venu, and Cure with an eye for assembling VIP guest lists and arranging the necessary amenities for each night’s “big names.” But even though he’s a local nightlife fixture, there are always new thrills that keep London’s work interesting. “Once the doors open, this job is in no way typical,” he says. “I’ve worn the Celtics NBA Championship ring and had the Stanley Cup come to Gypsy Bar one day after the Bruins won it.” Still, despite the perks of his position, London is happiest when his guests leave a venue saucer-eyed and spent. “The most satisfying thing is the thank-yous from clients,” says London. “Even if it’s just for the hangover!”

Big Night Entertainment Group brothers Ed and Joe Kane have received much of the spotlight for the group’s successes over the years. But as the team behind nightspots like the Estate continues to expand its portfolio in dining-centric directions, BNEG principal and executive chef Kevin Long is seeing his profile rise. He was already the culinary captain behind Hingham’s Tosca and the Foxwoods spots Shrine, Scorpion Bar, and High Rollers, but the past year has seen especially big developments — even by Big Night standards.

Come next month, Long will have overseen the opening of three Boston restaurants. First came last summer’s unveiling of Back Bay Asian-fusion showplace Red Lantern. In March, Downtown Crossing received the sparkling American brasserie GEM. Next on tap is Empire, a waterfront spot slated to open in June with a menu that combines traditional ingredients and dishes from the Far East with Western cooking techniques.

Long describes Empire as “grand and over the top” in its exotic décor, portion sizes, and big, bold flavors. We’d expect nothing less from Big Night’s big personality — and player. continued on p56

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photos by natasha moustache

Enjoy an IcE cold MIllEr lItE tonIght at:

come down to jose McIntyre’s for great Food, great Music, great People and the great taste of Miller lite!

200 Stuart Street | EmeraldUltraLounge.com

jose McIntyre’s - 160 Milk Street, Boston (617) 451-9460 - www.josemcintyresboston.com

continued FROM p54

Boston’s a natural beauty, of course, but we also salute those who strive behind the scenes to show our city in its best light. As executive director of the Newbury Street League, Messino is the point person who promotes the thoroughfare — and its boutiques, art galleries, bars, and restaurants — as a trendsetting destination. Clearly, her work is working.

Though Newbury Street has experienced ups and downs, in recent years it’s proven to be on a solid, stylish path; once-darkened storefronts have been replaced by retailers from larger markets that chose Newbury as the spot to finally open a Boston outpost.

(Scoop NYC, Ted Baker, Jack Wills, Pinkyotto — shall we go on?) And in 2011, Messino worked with league members to close Newbury Street to traffic for the first time in 15 years, throwing a street-wide bash as part of Boston’s first full-scale participation in Fashion’s Night Out, the global initiative founded

by Vogue. Though the Hub had held a few isolated FNO events in the past, last year’s effort reached new heights thanks to the involvement of co-producers McCormack and Villani. The Boston natives garnered years of fashion-industry experience in NYC before moving back here, bringing with them a vision for FNO that attracted major sponsors, many more stores and events, and newfound legitimacy. FNO returns this year on September 6. You better work — they have.

From her days as one half of the punk-cabaret duo the Dresden Dolls to her ambitious solo work, Palmer has long been one of Boston’s patron saints of subversion — a songwriter, social activist, and performance artist who has successfully straddled a fine line between commercial success and art-community credibility. But we were blown away by the most recent testament to her clout in the music industry: a kickass Kickstarter campaign to fund the release of her upcoming album. Its goal was to raise $100,000 in 31 days, yet the crowd-sourcing site was deluged with donations in May, raising more than $250,000 on the first day alone. By the end of the first week, she had raised more than half a million dollars — the most raised by any music project in Kickstarter’s history.

Palmer sweetened the pot by offering everything from autographed albums to private performances, depending on donation amounts. But the support is a testament to the excitement over the album, slated for a September release. In select markets, its world tour will be accompanied by a visual art exhibit, featuring commissioned works by 30 artists (including Shepard Fairey and DJ Spooky) who created pieces inspired by the album. Look for it locally on August 2–4 at the Middle East in Cambridge, which is also hosting her concert on August 2. We’d estimate the expected crowds, but we have a feeling that, as per usual, Palmer will defy our expectations. <56> 5.22.12

top photo by natasha moustache

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5 COURSES

STUFF IT

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foodcoma

Grilled Lamb Chops Tonnato at Nix’s Mate Hotel restaurants are a useful mainstay of urban life, offering convenient meeting places for a drink or a bite. A few even offer extraordinary food: think Clio and Uni, L’Espalier, and Island Creek Oyster Bar. But far more common are the utilitarian places catering to business travelers, where the most popular menu item is a turkey BLT delivered via room service; these spots serve more as guest amenities than dining destinations for locals. In that light, it’s a pleasant surprise that the Hilton Boston Downtown/Financial District hired respected chef David Nevins to helm its brand-new Nix’s Mate (89 Broad Street, Boston, 617.348.1234).

The Hilton team probably expected Nevins to bring the same seafood finesse that won him acclaim at Neptune Oyster, and they would not be disappointed. Salt-cod fritters ($12) on excellent pork-rib-flavored baked beans neatly meld two old New England influences: the Portuguese fisherman’s staple of salt cod with the frugal Yankee’s supper of cod cakes and beans. Nevins evokes other echoes of the North End in polpette vongole ($11), wonderful little veal-pork meatballs with a red sauce with whole littlenecks, in linguine with clams in white sauce ($22), and in a fierce bucatini amatriciana ($21) loaded with fennel-seasoned pork sausage, garlic, rapini, and chili flakes. Nevins fanatics might recognize some dishes from his bygone Connecticut restaurant Osetra, like the odd-but-delicious PHOTO BY joel veak

appetizer that is chunks of fried Maine lobster ($16) in caramel sauce with cheddar, scallions, and chilies. Neptune fans might further recall Nevins’s sandwich gloss on vitello tonnato, the Italian classic of veal in tuna sauce.

At Nix’s, he riffs on the same idea with lamb chops tonnato ($34), a saddlecut double loin chop grilled medium-rare, flecked with sliced grapes, and accompanied by rosemary roasted potatoes and a salad of thin-shaved asparagus. The thin, creamy tuna sauce adds a subtle brininess that perks up an otherwise ordinary entrée without verging into weirdness.

Still, this is a mid-priced chain hotel, so Nevins also has to serve up Buffalo wings ($9), steak frites ($27), and a cheeseburger ($14). It also means that the dining room is scaled to be one-third empty most of the time, so guests never have to wait for a table. Not only can that feel kind of lifeless, it means your server may not be the most hospitable, seasoned professional (the good ones flock to busier places). Better to get a seat in the bar or lounge, where the bartenders are more attentive and happy to see you, and where the raucous after-work Financial District crowd keeps the atmosphere hopping. Here’s hoping chef Nevins sticks around — it’s not often the FiDi gets a menu this interesting in such an unprepossessing setting.

— MC Slim JB

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207 Endicot t St Bo sto n Nort h End, MA

6 1 7- 5 2 3 - 5 9 5 9 w w w. m a s s i m i n o s b o s t o n . c o m

COURSES with:

Joe Cassinelli of Posto and The Painted Burro

It’s not often that you encounter a chef-owner who is as passionate about choosing the best fish (haddock or pollock?) for his tacos as he is about ensuring his servers remember to say “hello” and “goodbye” to guests. Nor is it every day that a local chef talks about the Davis Square dining scene without smothering a smirk. If that corner of Somerville does have a burgeoning scene, Joe Cassinelli is one of the key players. In a very short span, he opened two jam-packed, rave-reviewed casual restaurants: Posto (187 Elm Street, Somerville, 617.625.0600), an upscale Neapolitan-style pizzeria, and The Painted Burro (219 Elm Street, Somerville, 617.776.0005), a sustainable twist on authentic Mexican. Clearly, Cassinelli is a guy to watch.

Which do you love more, the cooking or the business? I always saw myself as starting a restaurant company. Don’t get me wrong: I am passionate about cooking, and I’ve got a pretty good pedigree for a local chef. I graduated from the CIA, opened Mistral, Stella, and Teatro with Jamie Mammano, and worked in the Bay Area. But I always wanted to build my own business, concept by concept. I love the business; I love food-cost analysis, the financials, the construction, and the design. . . .

And I love building a environment where people can work, eat, be entertained — and be happy they came.

Why Posto? Why the Painted Burro? I’m Italian and I had an idea for authentic, certified Neapolitan pizza made with the best flour, the best ingredients. I was looking at spaces for four years before Posto came up.

And I wasn’t sure about this space, either. My wife convinced me that it might be a good place for my Posto pizzeria concept. And then the space for the Painted Burro came up. My original focus was on building a restaurant company of affordable, no-white-tablecloth, chef-driven concepts, using only top-line ingredients and featuring great design that would appeal to 21- to 25-year-olds, but never speak down to them. It’s funny. Most of our customers are women, and possibly older than 25.

We get the Italian. But where did the Painted Burro’s recipes come from? Truthfully, some of the recipes come from my staff. We have lots of Latin American cooks in the kitchen, and they tasted some of the recipes.

And some of them said, “My mother makes it much better than that.” One of the guys brought in his mother’s recipe, and it was just beautiful. I said, “Put it on the menu and don’t change a thing.”

Why Somerville? I couldn’t afford the Boston dining scene. It was that simple. And I live in Somerville. It is really hard to raise money for a restaurant. I did it all on savings. Even though I had perfect credit — pristine credit — the banks wouldn’t touch me. They are scared of the restaurant business. The banks only want to lend you money when you don’t need it. When I was opening my second restaurant, the Painted Burro, the bank came to me and said, “We like you. When you’ve raised all the money, we’ll give you the last 10 percent.” Thanks a lot!

Is it really so hard to find good servers in Boston? Yes, it is! Great service staff is the scarcest commodity in the food business. Look, I just want people to say hello and goodbye, to acknowledge the customer. I want servers to make eye contact as soon as people sit down. I hate it when I go to a bar and want to order a drink and I can’t get the bartender to acknowledge me. Just let me know that I’m not on an island by myself.

— Louisa Kasdon

Louisa Kasdon can be reached at louisa@louisakasdon.com. <60> 5.22.12

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STUFFIT

Like mini mad scientists, some of us grew up blowing off our eyebrows with childhood chemistry sets. (“Oh, that scar? Got it in a bar fight,” we boast now. Right.) Others, the fledgling foodies, conducted edible experiments with kitchen ingredients. You might think that Kosta Diamantopoulos was one of those kids; after all, the co-owner of Inman Square’s All Star Sandwich Bar, alongside his brother Johnny, has long specialized in packing diverse flavors and curious combos between standard slices of bread.

(Mojo-braised pork, orangecranberry relish — stuff like that.)

But while Diamantopoulos did spend his early years working in a kitchen, it was a pretty conventional culinary upbringing. “When I was growing up, my folks ran their own pizza restaurant, a very traditional operation, where I often helped out,” he says. “My siblings and I like to say we have 50 percent blood and 50 percent pizza sauce in our veins.”

The brothers’ latest venture, All Star Pizza Bar (1238 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, 617.547.0836),

gives their parents’ traditional approach to pizza the nowtrademark All Star spin, with touches of eccentricity. The colorful counter, complete with pizza-munching portraits of Darth Vader, the Alien monster, and other sci-fi icons, gets the funky ambience flowing.

And the menu will bring us back for more, with each pizza boasting a zesty blend of mozzarella, cheddar, Romano, Asiago, and provolone cheeses, stacked with a wide array of toppings. The deconstructed Chile Relleno ($19.95) comes smothered with farm-style tomatillo salsa, sweet corn, organic chorizo, roasted poblano peppers, and fresh cilantro, while the Buffalo Duck Confit ($20.95) perfectly balances a spicy crust with juicy duck meat, pickled celery, and crumbled blue cheese. But the Atomic Meatloaf Pizza ($18.95) was our favorite: a beefy monster festooned with caramelized onions and searing “Inner Beauty” hot sauce. An explosive combination — and we even kept our eyebrows.

— Miles Howard PHOTO BY joel veak

Masa Brings Southwestern to the North Shore The pioneers of Southwestern cuisine in Boston take Masa Restaurant to Woburn. Chef-Owner Philip Aviles and Managing Partner Mohamad El Zein opened Masa Southwest Bar and Grill in Woburn after years of cultivating the award-winning Masa Boston location into a city/ neighborhood institution. Located next to the Whole Foods in Winchester, Masa Southwest Bar and Grill is the sister of the city location with more parking and seating. A similar design to the city location, Masa in Woburn has a long copper bar, rustic décor with cream accents, and half-wall separations between the bar and the dining room. Many of the patrons have said, “It feels like we’re in the city when we walk in,” and that’s exactly the feel that Aviles and El Zein wanted this location to have.

Part of an upscale shopping plaza, Masa in Woburn has ventured into lunch service on Monday through Friday with signature dishes like the Spicy Tuna Tartare with Soy Ginger Cilantro Vinaigrette and Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with Pineapple Salsa. The menus and specials emulate the city location, serving some of our classics such as the Habanero Watermelon Margarita and the Scallops with Barbecue Duck!

Since Masa Southwest Bar and Grill opened, it has garnered numerous mentions by local newspapers and magazines such as Northshore Magazine, The Winchester Star, and The Woburn Advocate, in addition to a few TV show appearances on TV Diner and The Phantom Gourmet.

Recently Masa was rated as one of the top 100 restaurants in the nation for brunch. Come down and check out our award-winning brunch, served in each of our two locations every Saturday and Sunday. Check out the new location on our website at www.masarestaurant.com. this is an advertorial

5.22.12 <61>

liquid

The American Craft Beer Fest

The fifth-annual fest will take over the Seaport World Trade Center (200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston) on June 1 and 2. It promises to be a beer-geek nirvana, with representatives from 120 breweries and more than 540 beers to sample (though it’s probably not a good idea to try them all). About 15,000 attendees are expected, and the fest may sell out, so order advance tickets ($45) at beeradvocate.com/acbf or chance it for $50 at the door.

Aging Gracefully

Once upon a time, beer didn’t get a ton of respect. But now the masses are more aware of the almost-infinite varieties and styles available, and connoisseurs (the technical term, I believe, is “beer geeks”) have started treating brews the way oenophiles treat wine. Of course, one of the biggest compliments you can pay to a wine is to not drink it — at least, not immediately. And though the average drinker may not realize it, you can age beer, too.

Aging (or “cellaring”) beer is still relatively uncharted territory, says Todd Alström of BeerAdvocate magazine, which hosts its fifth annual American Craft Beer Fest in Boston in June. Brewers have been blending aged beers with fresh ones for centuries, but recent years have seen an increase in interest among some amateur enthusiasts. “It’s like an extra hobby,” says Alström. “A niche within a niche.”

Since it’s a new idea for many, there’s an air of uncertainty to it. That’s part of the fun. “It is all experimental,” says Alström. No one knows exactly how beers are going to turn out months or years down the road.

Of course, there are a few ways to control the process. You’d need to devote your life to the study of beer to capture all of the nuances, but according to Alström, here are the basic variables to consider when aging beer: temperature, light, and the angle of storage. Experts disagree on the angle issue, but Alström recommends storing all beers upright (rather than tilted like a wine bottle). Temperature-wise, 50–55 degrees generally makes for good conditions.

Okay, but what about those of us without an actual cellar? No problem.

A dedicated fridge works, as could any cool, dry, dark space. (Think about how excited you’ll be if you forget about your experiment and find it a year <62> 5.22.12

later when you finally get around to cleaning out the closet.)

When your beers are stored under the right conditions, the maturation process takes over and oxidization changes the beer over time. (In other words, as more oxygen interacts with the beer, various science mumbojumbo happens, and the flavors evolve.) You might end up with something a lot smoother, or something with sherry notes to it. The aging process might mellow out a high-alcohol beer. It might just ruin the beer. It all depends on what you choose to age in the first place “In theory, you can age any beer,” Alström says. “Whether or not it’s going to come out good is another story.”

Sure, it’s an inexact science, but there are some characteristics that suggest a strong candidate for aging. Higher-alcohol beers tend to work well, since alcohol acts as a natural preservative. Bottle-conditioned beers — beers with live yeast inside the bottle — are another good option, as the yeast will continue to consume residual sugar over time and allow for more interesting variations. And darker beers are also particularly well-suited for aging, says Alström, who points to styles like Russian imperial stouts, American double stouts, sours, and Belgian lambics. On the other hand, super-hoppy beers (like a double IPA) don’t benefit much from aging. “The whole purpose of the beer is that it’s hop-forward,” explains Alström. “The hops will dull down over time, or sometimes you’ll end up with funky, off flavors.”

That unpredictability is partly why the idea of aging beer remains a bit controversial — many beer geeks simply think beer is meant to be enjoyed fresh, while others are excited about the possibilities of aging. Here’s a compromise: open one now, and save one for later. Much, much later, that is.

— Luke O’Neil

Got an idea for Liquid? Email lukeoneil47@gmail.com.

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At Home with Matthew Curtis The Restaurateur keeps it simple — and stylish — in his home kitchen

If you’ve been inside one of his restaurants, you already have a good sense of Matthew Curtis’s taste in interiors. Middlesex Lounge, Tory Row, Cambridge 1, Miracle of Science, and Audubon Circle all share a minimalist look that juxtaposes naturalistic materials (think unstained wood walls and slate tabletops) with industrial elements like exposed ductwork and metallic pendant lights. They’re sleek, simple, and unfussy. So it should come as no surprise that co-owner Curtis’s home kitchen is an extension of that aesthetic. His Cambridge pad has a “simple, clean” style, says the restaurateur. While some of us tend to take a more-ismore approach to décor, Curtis sees value in negative space and the “absence of information.” We stopped by to learn how smart things can look when you don’t overthink.

— Scott Kearnan

<64> 5.22.12

A. Before heeding the call of the hospitality industry, Curtis once considered pursuing a career as an architect. But he left his home renovations to the pros, turning to South End firm Stern McCafferty soon after he moved in five years ago. “It started with the fact that the kitchen seemed old-fashioned,” says Curtis, who eventually gave the entire house an overhaul. The idea was to keep the space from ever feeling dated again. “I avoid trends,” says Curtis. “That’s why a space like Miracle of Science, which opened 20 years ago, still looks relevant today.” These simple stools, of the same style as those found at the restaurant, exemplify that timeless vibe.

B. The kitchen gleams with lots of stainless steel: “I like equipment to read like equipment, hardware to look like hardware,” says Curtis. No wood veneers over the refrigerator door here. And who’d want to cover up top-notch appliances like this Miele steam oven, where Curtis loves to cook fish, or the warming drawer below it, where he tends to reheat his morning coffee? But his wellequipped kitchen lacks one common gadget: a microwave. Curtis doesn’t keep one, preferring to cook with traditional methods.

C. When your style is on the Spartan side, every piece of décor counts. So make sure the main fixtures are of unmistakable quality — and unmistakably yours. The kitchen island is one of several custom pieces by Brighton’s Bill Bancroft Furniture Design. The warm tone of the European beech wood nicely complements the hickory floors. And Curtis always keeps it topped with a simple vessel of fresh flowers. (Notice he sticks to a single variety and color.)

D. The clean lines and lack of clutter make the room feel airy. (So do the glass doors, which lead to a furnished patio.) But Curtis still finds space for some (neatly arranged!) personal effects, like this collection of cookbooks reflecting many types of cuisine. It could be a challenge to stow away all the necessary ingredients, but he got creative with his cabinet space. Inspired by his sailing experience, he commissioned a shallow, four-inch-deep pantry closet, similar to those found in the hull of a ship. “Even smaller spaces can be comfortable when used efficiently,” says Curtis. Smart, simple, and to the point. We like his style. phoTo by melissa ostrow

Summer comes early to the MFA.

A P R I L 2 8 – J U LY 2 9, 2 012

This exhibition was organized by the Albertina, Vienna, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Sponsored by United Technologies Corporation.

Additional support from the Shelly and Michael Kassen Fund.

Alex Katz, Gray Day (detail), 1992. Screenprint. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. Art © Alex Katz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

Media sponsor is STUFF Magazine.

sex

Suddenly Sadist

75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 617.357.4810 • www.davios.com <66> 5.22.12

Bend over, America, and get ready to take it. Spanking has finally received the official sanction of desperate housewives the world over!

Thanks to the trendy erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels, by now you have likely read dozens of articles explaining what the letters “BDSM” mean — as if you’re in sexual ESL. (If you still somehow are, the acronym stands for “bondage and discipline,” “dominance and submission,” and “sadism and masochism.”) You’ve probably seen network-television specials on “sexuality,” featuring graphic graphics of deviant things like red lipstick (gasp!) and thigh-highs (cover your eyes!). And you’ve likely been treated to mortifying expository exchanges between news anchors who seem so incredulous about it all, you’d think they still believe in the stork.

I’m all for sexual experimentation. But I loathe sexual trends, almost as much as I hate hypocrites: those who were quick to condemn BDSM behavior as sick or weird or deviant — until some menopausal British troll cranked out a bestseller that convinced them they should be tied up and kept by a rich dude with a throbbing penis. (For the record, no, I haven’t read the book, nor will I after reading a published account of its two dozen “steamiest scenes.” Really?)

How quickly you naysayers turn this once-outré behavior into the subject of brunch banter once it’s gained mainstream appeal via Barnes & Noble. I want Oprah or Kate Middleton to come out endorsing scat just to see how many lemmings get shat on in the name of sexual conformity.

What irks me even more is how much of the commentary on this phenomenon paints women as desperate to be dominated, as though we feeble creatures are so fatigued by our struggle for equality and power that we just can’t wait to get home and beg you to act out our rape fantasies.

The current dialogue on these depictions largely ignores two things: one, that submission is its own form of power, and two, that much of the domination in the BDSM world is done by women.

In my years in this profession,

I’ve seen some interesting stuff in the BDSM scene — intricate and beautiful rope work, antique OB/GYN chairs turned into sex seats, gas-mask breath play. Some aspects of it intrigue me, and others do nothing for me. But what always impressed me was the air of artfulness and professionalism around it — the fact that a good dom could wail on some guy’s ass without hurting him. So maybe I’m just annoyed that these sexual perfectionists are seeing their craft watered down to “mommy porn” by a bunch of Johnnies-cum-lately.

Yes, I’m happy that all the hard-working folks in the BDSM world will see a slight spike in business as bachelorettes now abandon their drunken bus parties and drag shows in favor of group flogging lessons. But wait till the first idiot kills his wife by forgetting that she’s in the closet with a gag in her mouth. The tide will turn, and the world of BDSM will once again be painted as a dangerous territory run by queers and people who work at the Renaissance fair.

With Gay Pride celebrations just around the corner, I want you all to think back to the days when you recoiled in horror at the sight of whip-wielding lesbians and men in studded collars. (Perhaps some of you still do.) Now suburban moms are hog-tied to the bed, and the gay community is shackled with wedding bands and bound by convention. How sad that it took you all so long to explore your sadistic sides — and how much sadder that we’ve allowed society to so quickly whip us into shape.

— Jeannie Greeley

Jeannie Greeley is a freelance writer who is one shade of gay. She can be reached at jeannieg@comcast.net.

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mlb friends with benefits gala at the state room

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1. Shea and Daniel Rose; 2. Albie Lopez and Wes Chamberlain; 3. Polina Shebalina and Yuliya Tremaskina; 4. Lauren Bayliss, Shannon Oliver, and Erica Durham; 5. Alina and Jim Apteker and Arthur Winn; 6. John and Danielle Duane; 7. Steve Partaledis and Kaitrin Beard; 8. Alex Ochoa, Jerry Royster, and Brian McRae; 9. Bobby Valentine; 10. Tom and Sandy Cullen, Ray and Christiane Bourque; 11. Molly Forbes, Larry Green, John Olinger, and Alison Melo.

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photos by erica magliaro

It starts in the LIVING ROOM. Where will it end ?

622 Cambridge Street | Cambridge, MA 02141 (617) 876-8227 www.newdealfishmarket.com

Boston’s #1 Fish Market dj until 2:00am thursday–saturday kitchen open until midnight daily, friday & saturday until 1:00am 101 atlantic avenue • 617.723.5101 thelivingroomboston.com <68> 5.22.12

Try Us Once & You’ll Get Hooked!

Check us out on Facebook.com: New Deal Fish Market Inc.

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revere hotel boston common’s grand opening

1. Rich Villani and Kennie Bent; 2. Nicole Rueda Watts, Nicole Russo, and Elaine Driscoll; 3. Marilyn Riseman and Salvatore DeGeorge; 4. Jenny Johnson and Dominic Amenta; 5. Marcella Sacco and Nathan Fletcher; 6. Bianca de la Garza and Jess K. Williams; 7. Julie and Jill Miller; 8. Kelli and Kacie Corbelle; 9. Gen Maryash and Austyn Ellese Mayfield; 10. Mark Taylor, Tatiana Zimkus, and Claudia Snow; 11. Nicole Reis, Matt Reis, Mary Pat Durkin, and Dondi Kingsbury.

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Tap The Rockies TonighT aT: Allston Catch all your favorite sports action at the Joshua Tree!

Enjoy Ice Cold $2 Coors Light drafts with the game!

The Joshua Tree • 1316 Comm Ave, Allston 617.566.6699 • www.joshuatreeallston.com 5.22.12 <69>

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on the verge: Boston at the winter garden 1. Missy Modell, Michelle Gilbert, and Karen Segall; 2. Heather and Donica White; 3. Angela and Jim Alex; 4. Kathryn Hamilton, Asia Barnes, and Casey Sullivan; 5. Selina Mazzola and Chris Kaine; 6. Gabriel Sarango and Muyinza Kasirye; 7. Maria Tucker and Kimberly Howe; 8. Abdi Ali, Claire Millar, and Marie Wu; 9. Clinton Sparks; 10. Jeni Ni, Katie Lemay, Kinesha Goldson, and Kylar Loya; 11. Alexa Nicholls, Danny Rossman, and Devyn DiFronzo.

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Where Imagination meets Creativity and Taste!

www.essencefinecatering.com 781-558-2643 <70> 5.22.12

.com Life is a Game, Are You a Player?

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share our strength’s taste of the nation at the hynes convention center

1. Gordon Hamersley and Jody Adams; 2. Penn Clarke and Meredith Kelly; 3. Trinh Le and Quinn Nguyen; 4. Kevin Holforty and Kevin Atchue; 5. Lucy and Logan Ramseyer; 6. Michael Bergin and Justin Urso; 7. Zac Przysiecki and Jess Cickay; 8. Rachel Linthwaite and Kate Vandeveld; 9. Emily Nixon and Heather McHugh; 10. Chad Arnholt, Joy Richard, Ryan Byrne, and Brian Reyelt; 11. Gina Kevane, Katie Francisconi, and Heather Gantkin.

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PHOTOS BY melissa ostrow

Come TasTe The RoCkies TonighT aT

Union Street features one of Boston’s Best Patios!

Plus check out their new MENU with over 100 Items!

And of Course, Coors Light always served Rocky Mountain Cold!

Union Street • 107r Union St, Newton Centre 617.964.6684 • www.unionst.com <72> 5.22.12

Gregg Rinaldi’s STUFF Real or imagined, a perceived rivalry often pits Boston against New York — especially when it comes to baseball. (Okay, that rivalry is most definitely real.) So we were somewhat surprised to discover that Del Frisco’s general manager Gregg Rinaldi, an NYC native, is both a former professional baseball player and a self-described New England nut. You can tell from this collection of New England sports caps, seen here on his appropriately named children: Boston, Providence, and Haven. Yes, Rinaldi is so in love with the region, he named his kids after New England cities. (And his dog’s name is Brady, after you-know-who.) We caught up with the Seaport steakhouse’s GM to discuss his love of the Hub and the hospitality world.

Why did you decide to name your kids after New England cities? The thing is, I’ve been a Patriots fan my whole life, even when I was still living in New York. When my wife and I met, we’d often come up and visit the Cape, explore downtown Boston, and that really fueled our love of the area. So one day, my wife looks at me and says, “How do you feel about the name Boston?” And that was it: there were no others on our list. By the time we had our third child, New England names had become a motif.

That’s a radical gesture from a former New Yorker. Had you visited New England much before meeting your wife? When I was six, my parents brought us to Boston, and I loved it. That generated my interest in the sports teams and future trips. And over time, I’ve come to realize that the hospitality in Boston is second to none. Growing up in NYC, you often hear that Northerners are rude and blunt, so I was surprised. Since moving here, it’s just blown me away: people have welcomed us to the city with open hands and been incredibly friendly.

Your caps also nod to your long history with baseball. Tell us about that. I’ve played baseball my whole life. I was drafted by the Toronto Blue <74> 5.22.12

Jays when I was in high school and then drafted out of Louisburg College by the Pittsburgh Pirates. I loved playing professionally, but it ended in 1994. I blew out my elbow and needed surgery to repair ligament damage and bone spurs. I used to throw between 94 and 98 mph, and any surgery will hinder velocity. I realized my career was over.

What happened next? I went back to NYC and thought, “Well, this city is great, but it’s very expensive. I’ll try something else.” So I got in my car, drove across country, with the intention of going to California, but I ended up in Las Vegas and stayed there till 2004. I finished my education at University of Nevada Las Vegas and served as general manager at Spago in Caesars Palace. It was a total plunge into the hospitality industry, and I haven’t looked back.

Did your career as an athlete enhance your skills as a general manager? Absolutely. My current position allows me to fulfill everything that I ever wanted in baseball. By nature, managers are competitive with each other. You strive to provide the best service, which fulfills my competitive side. On top of that, I’m a numbers junkie, and I was able to satisfy that fix with the financial end of my work. But the most important thing that I can do is provide a memorable experience for my guests and my staff, as well. We try to treat every night like a party and encourage people to return.

Del Frisco’s just had its one-year anniversary. Any plans for 2012– 2013? We’ve got a brand-new lunch menu coming out soon. We’re very excited for our second summer due to the expansion of the Seaport Convention Center. And with Vertex Pharmaceuticals setting up shop next door this year, we’re looking forward to meeting new people and heightened activity in the area.

— Miles Howard

PHOTO BY natalia boltukhova