27 minute read
Boston uncommon
BY JEREMY WAYNE PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES BAIGRIE
TRAVEL WANDERS There is an ‘on-off’ simplicity of design to The Whitney, Boston’s new 65-room luxury hotel, handily situated at the corner of Charles and Cambridge streets, where Beacon Hill brushes the Charles River. Take the light switches: They go on, they go off. No degree in electronics, no expertise in wiring needed. I love that. Ditto the drapes. You pull them this way, they close. Pull them the other way, they open. Design has always been a doubleedged sword, where style and innovation are often at odds with ease and comfort, and design and technology are not always a partnership for good.
For my part, I have enough problems grasping the technology in my own, relatively tech-light home, where I have had years to absorb it (the TV remote, for instances,) so I certainly don’t want to have to learn new tech-tricks merely for an overnight stay.
Functionality in design can be a pleasurable thing and it becomes even more so when married with great aesthetics. It’s this combination at the end of the day, or even the beginning — as I check into the hotel on a mid-winter day, shimmering with glorious, electric blue Boston light — that The Whitney offers in spades.
At the hotel entrance on Charles Street, where pulling up in a car or cab is always straightforward, my car is whisked away instantly by the valet. I will be happy not to see it again until my moment of departure, but I note the modest overnight parking fee includes in-and-out privileges. (Do you hear that, New York? In-and-out privileges. How very unManhattan.) The doorman, concierge and valet, working well as a team, all know my
name within minutes of my arrival and nobody can do enough for me.
In the hotel’s Peregrine restaurant, with its open layout straight out of HGTV and which makes it an integral part of the first floor, there is a laidback feel that is unmistakably Boston. Nobody cares what labels you wear here (although Newbury Street is a stone’s throw away) and lumberjack shirts for men and flats (or sneakers) rather than heels for women are the look du jour. The coat check is not a room or space but rather wall-hooks, since no one in Boston is too fancy to hang up their own North Face.
Outlets under the table for phones and laptops are a sensible, practical feature for Generation Z, which has more interest in photographing its food and staying connected in restaurants than actually eating or drinking anything. Except here at Peregrine, you’d be crazy to miss out on the food. Developed by Joshua Lewin and Katrina Jazayeri, the duo behind Somerville’s award-winning Juliet, the new restaurant offers locally sourced cuisine influenced by Sardinia and Sicily, as well as the neighboring influences of Corsica and Catalonia. “Barcelona is Spain’s answer to Sardinia,” our waitress informs us, when I inquire about the cross-culture, and she is not entirely wrong. Dishes I tried and would return for include hearty mussels and clams and roast chicken with saffron rosemary sauce, although a ‘Catalonian’ cheesecake lacked any real clout. Nevertheless, on a Monday night in winter when you would have thought most of Beacon Hill would have been nuzzled in beside a blazing fire with a copy of Henry James in their left hand and a hot toddy in their right, Peregrine was absolutely humming.
A design theme — broadly Mediterranean — touches all aspects of this hotel. There are Spanish potato chips in the minibars and Moroccan, zellij-style tiles in the elevator, along with panels of deep blue paisley behind glass. The elevator is so big incidentally, you could throw a substantial cocktail party inside and still have room for half a dozen hotel guests and their bags. A small pantry on each floor provides light refreshments, free of charge.
Back in my guest room, I love the fresh cut flowers, the Frette linens and the gray herringbone throws, along with a clutch
The Whitney, Boston, exterior. Bicycle at The Whitney, Boston. Elevator tile detail.
of interesting bedside books, including a copy of ‘Stolen.’ (The slim volume shows all the works of art taken in the notorious 1990 theft at the city’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, as well as the pictureless frames that have been famously left hanging empty on the walls.) In the bathroom, the white subway tiles are a counterpoint to the gloriously rich ones in the elevator, while the Grown Alchemist products — the hip new brand coming out of Australia — show that The Whitney, for all its old-money, Beacon Hill address, is definitely on-trend.
Outside the hotel, central Boston is on your doorstep, most landmarks and shops no more than a 15-minute walk away. Guests can also take a bike out for the day, while for the more adventurous, The Whitney on The Water program lets you rent a sailboat or yacht to cruise the Charles River. The Whitney being a petfriendly place, you could even bring Rex to stay and have him sail with you — at the helm, naturally.
In Beantown, a touch of style never goes amiss.
For more, visit whitneyhotelboston. com.
‘I DO,’ AGAIN
BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM
TRAVEL WANDERS I just had a vow-renewal celebration ceremony — with my beloved husband, Bill — to celebrate 20 years of marriage. Now, we’ve had vow renewals several times in our years together, and it’s a great idea. (More on that in a minute).
We wanted our 20th to be something special. So we booked a week in an Over-the-Water Bungalow at Sandals South Coast, a beautiful resort in Jamaica, where the wedding team coddled us left, right and center as we got ready to ReTie the Knot.
Why get married again in a vow renewal? We’re not the first ones to tell you that being married — and staying happily married — can be hard. The divorce rate is almost 70% last time I checked. Marriage takes compromise, sacrifice and a dedication to be committed to both of you as a team. We’re lucky — before we married, we completed couples’ therapy based on the work of Harville Hendrix, who frequently was a guest on Oprah’s former TV show. Hendrix wrote a book, “Getting The Love You Want” and another, “Keeping the Love You Find,” which explains probably the two most important things everyone should know about marriage. A great deal of the struggles that can develop between couples unconsciously originates from emotional wounds suffered in childhood. Having a “conscious marriage,” and stretching and growing to meet your partner’s needs, winds up being, ironically, the thing you need to do for yourself, to create wholeness within yourself. That book changed my life and I recommend it to everyone who wants to have a happy relationship.
The beauty of a vow renewal, I believe, is that it reminds you of why you married your partner in the first place. And it also provides a reminder that you continually need to nurture the relationship in important ways, in order to maintain a happy union. It can certainly fan the flames of passion.
It was twice-as-nice to re-tie the knot at Sandals South Coast — about one and 1/2 hours from Montego Bay, in the town of Whitehouse and the parish of Westmoreland. Indeed, the resort hosts about 500 weddings and vow renewals annually. It’s easy to see why. Sandals South Coast is a luxury all-inclusive resort, which means that all of your meals, alcohol and watersports are included — at no extra cost. After you check in and place your wallet in the safe — your credit cards stay there and are not up-charged. And every room there has an ocean view. It’s essentially five-star service in an idyllic physical and geographical environment. The resort wedding team at Sandals South Coast — Rita Johnson and Rochelle Barnes — met with us, several days in advance of our vow renewal, to attend to all the arrangements so that getting re-hitched would go off without a hitch. Pink-andwhite rose bouquet — check. Sparkling cider and ginger beer for the toast — check. Wedding dress ironed — check.
On our big day, we happily posed by the pink golf cart known as the “wedding chariot” as we made our way to the Over-theWater Serenity Wedding Chapel onsite. The boardwalk all along Still in love: Debbi K. and William D. Kickham. Courtesy Debbi K. Kickham.
the way was decorated with white flowers and offered a stunning backdrop to the ocean surrounding us. The wedding chapel also has a glass floor, so that you can literally “walk on water” to get to your minister.
I wore a flowing Greek-goddess type of dress and Bill wore an light-green polo shirt and white linen trousers.
Rev. Joseph Campbell welcomed us with beautiful words explaining that marriage is a serious commitment that must be looked and entered into soberly. Bill and I also rewrote our marriage vows. Bill said that I was God’s gift to him, and that he grows and changes every day of our marriage to give me a happy childhood within our adult lives. I vowed to continue also to give him the same and to savor every day of our journey together. Our day had all the special characteristics you would find at a marriage ceremony — special cake (carrot), beautiful music (we danced to our song, “Some Enchanted Evening,” from “South Pacific”), and a delicious meal. We had a cocktail party (bring on the coconut shrimp, my favorite) and, later that evening, had a fabulous celebratory dinner in Eleanor’s (one of nine restaurants on the resort), where we were well taken care of by the maître d’, Sir Earl. His charm and graciousness flowed like the Caribbean Sea, as he enthusiastically enveloped us in his hospitality.
Later, we returned to our Over-the-Water Bungalow. We had previously only stayed in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora, and to have this delightful option in the Caribbean was a thrill. “Some guests never leave their Over-the-Water Bungalow the entire time they are here,” says Sandals South Coast General Manager Adrian Whitehead. The Over-the-Water Bungalows are so popular, that they average a 97% occupancy rate throughout the year (not just high season, during winter). What’s not to love? From the moment you wake up in your comfy bed, you walk a few steps and you can jump right into the ocean. “There’s one pair of butlers for every two bungalows, plus a night butler,” Whitehead told us. And they are there to cater to your every need.
So when you see my butler on your way out — can you do me a favor? Order me a plate of grilled shrimp for lunch. For more about Debbi, visit Debbikickham.com.
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A PEPPERY DELIGHT
BY RAJNI MENON
String green peppercorns are in abundance in Kerala, with some of the best green peppercorns coming from the coastal, Malabar region. They grow on vines and are dried and used to make different sauces. My recipe is a flavorful sea bass fry using green peppercorns. This is a popular dish in an area called Kozhikode. It’s usually made with sardines but most fishes can be used for this dish. The sea bass is smothered with a green peppercorn paste and then shallow-fried. This dish goes well with hot steamed rice or mashed potatoes.
For more, visit creativerajni.com.
Photograph by Aditya Menon.
SEA BASS WITH STRING GREEN PEPPERCORNS
INGREDIENTS: 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped 20 curry leaves crushed 2 sea bass fillets 3 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons whole green pepper 2 shallots, peeled 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons coconut oil 2 tablespoons water DIRECTIONS: 1. In a food processor, mix curry leaves,
cilantro leaves, lemon juice, water, garlic, green pepper, salt and shallots to make a rough, slightly thick paste. 2. Rub this paste over the fish steaks on both sides and marinate them for half an hour. 3. Place coconut oil in a nonstick pan on
medium heat, then add in the marinated fish to sear it well. Lower the flame and cover to cook the fish for about 3 minutes. 4. Open the lid after 3 min to flip onto the other side. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes covered. 5. Place the fish over a bed of mashed potatoes or rice.
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A WARM KONNICHIWA TO MIKU
BY JEREMY WAYNE
FOOD & SPIRITS WONDERFUL DINING There’s a nice play on classic cocktails at Miku Sushi, the swish new Japanese restaurant that opened last May on Greenwich Avenue, where Manhattans are mixed with Suntory and mizuna (Japanese mustard greens), and an avant-garde Old Fashioned — if that is not an oxymoron — has Bombay Sapphire gin bedding down with peach bitters. Using prime Japanese ingredients and with a natural flair for Japanese style, the cocktails speak as much to the invention and creativity of Miku’s bartenders as to the restaurant’s authenticity.
A sister restaurant to Kumo in Scarsdale, Miku is helmed by boyish owner K, who co-owns the fish distribution company in Queens that supplies the restaurants. This allows him the pick of the catch, ensuring that down the line some of the freshest and most sought-after fish in the world will arrive on your plate.
“Do you have a, er, last name?” I ask K, after settling down with a lychee Mojito mocktail, served ice cold, with a speared lychee, maraschino cherry, mint leaf and edible flower for decoration, which makes liquor redundant and could have me renouncing white rum forever (almost). “People just call me ‘K’,” says K, and I decide not to press the point, although I subsequently learn he is K. Dong. Originally from China, K has lived in Italy as well as Taiwan, where he met his wife. We shoot the breeze a little about Taiwan, which I was fortunate to visit a couple of years ago, and agree it has one of the most vibrant food scenes in Asia. “Travel is my passion,” says K, beaming.
The long and wide room features brick walls, a long, gleaming sushi bar and five semicircular booths for larger parties at the rear of the restaurant. Ceiling lights like medieval monarchs’ crowns sit high above diners’ heads and the quilted sea green upholstery adds a subliminal fish-eye, or wink, at the ocean. The menu reinforces this, with glorious fish and shellfish. A rock shrimp tempura, comes to the table piping hot in a light, golden tempura, the tempura more of a vest than an overcoat, served with a hot and sweet spicy mayo. There is wonderfully juicy Chilean sea bass, sitting on baby batons of asparagus, luxuriating in a rich,
reduced miso sauce, the bass almost meaty in texture. And I could down Miku’s cold water California oysters, which come sitting on a bed of shaved ice and are topped with ponzu — the sauce’s slight sweetness cut by the mollusc’s essential brininess — until the cows came home and, even when they did and were safely back in their barns, I would still be asking Miku’s server for more.
White wine or sake would make good accompaniments to all of the above. Forty dollars will buy you a respectable bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio at Miku and sake starts at $25 for a 300 ml carafe.
For purists, three sushi chefs behind the Yoshimasaemblazoned sushi counter work diligently through service, producing sushi and sashimi platters of epic size, variety and freshness. Yellowtail, red snapper, eel and scallop all vie for your attention, along with the various classes of tuna (toro and maguro.) Salmon is so creamy, so ambrosial, so artery-cloggingly rich, I daresay it should come with a health warning.
To these glorious sashimi slivers you might add Clockwise from above, Sushi Chef Steve Chen with a lighthouse roll at Miku. Chef Steve Chen (left) and Miku owner K. Dong. Photographs by Sarah Bamford. Rock shrimp tempura at Miku. Photograph by Jeremy Wayne.
those insistent, almost crunchy baby beads of flying fish roe, which the Japanese call tobiko, or plum pearls of salmon roe, which you instinctively burst, like Joy’s grape, against your palate, to borrow a line from Keats. Uni, or sea urchin, is another Miku delicacy, which (along with scallops,) is served live. But the restaurant is out of it today, which only sharpens my intention to return.
Miku’s demographic, K is keen to point out, is distinct from Kumo. In the Greenwich restaurant, hedge-funders and an international “ladies who lunch’ set, crowd in at lunchtime, some for the many noodle dishes on offer — including, stir-fried udon or soba — with many taking advantage of the ramen lunch special (at a relatively modest $17.50). The background sound of four European languages I distinctively hear on my visit give the restaurant a sophisticated vibe. Evenings and especially weekends, meanwhile, see lots of families with children. “And the kids don’t just eat California rolls,” says, K, almost proudly. “They want everything.” Having read the runes just right — or so it seems to me — he is rightly proud of the restaurants he has created.
Staffers are patient and well trained, explaining the often-perplexing array of dishes and Japanese culinary terms with admirable patience. They undergo an exacting training before getting to serve on the restaurant floor, with the result that service has an almost balletic quality to it, silent and unobtrusive, with dishes brought and removed without you even noticing, as if by sleight of hand. While not an inexpensive outing, Miku is an intensely satisfying one, culturally almost as much as gastronomically. Miku also operates an outreach program in the community (the nonprofit partner for March is the Alzheimer’s Association,) so when K tells me he has plans to start a reservation-only omakase (chef-chosen) dinner soon, as well as to open another restaurant in Westchester, I can only say, “bring it on.”
Miku is at 68 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich. For more, visit mikugreenwich.com
ALL IN THE FAMILY
BY DOUG PAULDING
FOOD & SPIRITS WINE & DINE The Hahn Family Wines, crafted in the Santa Lucia Highlands and California’s Central Coast, came to be from the collaborative efforts and imaginations of Nicolaus and Gaby Hahn, a couple who as minors fled the hostilities in Europe leading up to World War II with their respective parents.
Nicolaus, from Switzerland, eventually worked in London, Paris and New York. Gaby earned law degrees in Germany and France. They both thought the United States would be a better place to settle down with a business plan and start a family.
In 1979, they purchased Smith & Hook vineyard. In 1980, they produced their first wine. A decade later they
bought Doctor’s Vineyard followed by Lone Oak Vineyard in 1992. In 2001, they decided to focus certain plots and then replanted many acres to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Today, they have 1,100 acres of estate vineyards, planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but also to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre — bringing to market over 5 million bottles a year. Philip Hahn, Nicolaus and Gaby’s son, is now chairman of Hahn Family Wines. His sister Caroline received her doctor of veterinary medicine degree, specializing in horses. She helps to educate people through guided tastings of Hahn Family Wines. Both of them grew up in the vineyards and lived and learned of the vines and the juice. I recently got an opportunity to dine with Philip, and director of winemaking Paul Clifton, while tasting several of their wines. The takeaway message through their entire inventory is fresh fruit flavors and unmanipulated, honest wines at a great price.
Clifton told me, “All of our wines show balanced oak, for people who don’t like big oak bombs.” Paul Clifton, director of winemaking, Hahn Family Wines. Courtesy hahnwines.com.
The Santa Lucia Highlands and the adjacent Arroyo Seco, where most of Hahn Family Wines’ grapes are grown, are both perfect for growing their grape selections. It’s cooler than the Russian River Valley and a touch warmer than Burgundy, giving ample time for ripening. The altitude, the soils, the predictable winds all contribute to nuanced and flavorful grapes at harvest to bring to the winery. In the early 1980s, Nicolaus and some of his neighbor winemakers petitioned the state for protected AVA (American Viticultural Area) status as a wine-producing region, which was finally granted in 1987.
The Hahn Family vineyards are farmed certified sustainable — which indicates safe and eco-friendly practices, including using certain good predators to eat or repel bad ones, reducing water and power usage and carefully monitoring the vineyards to fix any problems early.
We began with the 2017 Hahn SLH (Santa Lucia Highlands) Chardonnay, which was oak-aged for 10 months in selected barrels. It showed fresh citrus of mostly pleasant lemon, with notes of peach and pear and a lovely restrained oak, giving the wine an extra dimension in the mouth. It retails for $25 and will never disappoint.
Our next wine was a 2017 Hahn SLH Pinot Noir — tasting of fresh red cherries, strawberry and finely ground white pepper, with a good tannic structure to draw out the taste and mouth feel. The oak presence was there but quietly supporting the fruit flavors. Winemaker Paul said, “We make the best wine we can to represent the AVA.” Retailing in stores or on the Hahn Family Wines website at $30, you will be satisfied. Philip then poured for us a small plot Pinot Noir from the Lone Oak Vineyard, 2016 Hahn SLH Orchestral PN. This 5-acre plot was planted with multiple Pinot clones similar to what you would find in Burgundy. This wine threw off big aromatics of fresh red fruit, cinnamon, black pepper and other spices. Again the oak was present but well integrated, which enhanced the sensory perception and not so much the flavor. At $90 this might be a special-occasion wine for many of us, but well worth it.
Our next three wines were from the Lucienne collection and the ridges of the Santa Lucia Highlands. The first was a Lucienne 2017 Chardonnay from the Smith Vineyard. This is a classic and well-made Chardonnay ($40), with muted lemon and a balanced, drinkable loveliness. Then we tasted the Lucienne 2017 Pinot Noir from the Smith Vineyard, showing red cherry and raspberry with a soft spiciness of cinnamon and allspice. And lastly we tasted the Lucienne 2017 Pinot Noir from Doctor’s Vineyard — again showing red fruit with an integrated darker fruit presence and a balanced acidity, with hints of spice and leather. The Smith and the Doctor’s Vineyard Pinots both retail for $50 and are a true pleasure and well worth the price. We also tasted the 2016 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon and the S & H Proprietary Red Wine Blend, featuring Merlot, Petite Sirah, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of these wines offer darker fruit flavors balanced with restrained oak influence. At $25 each, they are both a steal. Any of the wines we tasted, by the glass or by the bottle, will improve your day.
Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.
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DON’T LET DIY BECOME ‘DO IT TO YOURSELF’
BY ALEJANDRO BADIA M.D.
It’s spring, and thoughts turn to improving and updating your home. Doing it on your own can save money and provide a sense of achievement. But plan those projects carefully, because do-it-yourself (DIY) often becomes “do-it-to-yourself.” For orthopedic physicians, DIY season usually means another round of treating lacerations, fractures and joint dislocations, along with strains and tears to tendons and ligaments — injuries especially affecting hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Statistics from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System indicate more than a third of annual home-project mishaps involve hands and fingers; another 6% affect wrists and shoulders.
In a report published several years ago in the journal Hand, scientists determined that more than 45 percent of upper extremity injuries in general occur at home, with finger and hand lacerations, abrasions and fractures; wrist fractures; shoulder sprains; and lower-arm fractures having the highest incidence rates. Of course, totals in the report only include injuries that drove patients to seek hospital treatment. Patients who opted to self-treat at home — or who visited an urgent care center or their own physicians when complications developed — are not counted in the study. Serious hand and finger puncture wounds and deep cuts top the DIY-emergency list. That’s not surprising, considering nails, screws, tacks and bolts, which are forcibly applied to wood, metal and other materials, are the reported culprits in almost 30 percent of home-improvement injuries. Falls from ladders, resulting in elbow, arm, shoulder and wrist sprains and fractures, as well as head injuries, account for another 11 percent; power saws, more than 8 percent, including finger amputations; and hammers, nearly 7 percent.
Instinctively, we outstretch arms and HEALTH & FITNESS WELL
The first rule of DIY home repair — safety and health are paramount.
the palms of our hands to break a fall. But doing so can cause wrist strains and fractures, especially a break in the scaphoid bone, one of eight bones that compose the wrist; injuries to the phalanges or finger bones; fractures of the bones in the hand (metacarpals); and thumb sprains — not to mention possible dislocation and sprains of elbow and shoulder joints caused by the jolt of hitting the ground.
WE NEED OUR HANDS (AND EVERY OTHER BODY PART) Aristotle said, “The hand is the tool of tools.” Our hands and wrists are amazing anatomical structures. They make us unique in the animal kingdom, owing to the presence of a thumb and flexibility of the carpometacarpal joints of our smallest fingers — “pinky” and ring finger -- which can move across the palm of the hand, meet the thumb and create incredible grasping and gripping strength.
That’s why hand injuries — even injuries to just the thumb — can prove debilitating and life-altering. Think how many everyday activities — like holding eating utensils, changing light bulbs or writing with pen or pencil — would be exceedingly difficult to perform without use of a thumb, especially on the dominant hand. (Not to mention the ubiquitous texting.)
Unprotected hands, of course, are not only what’s at risk in DIY projects. Falling directly onto the shoulder, can dislocate the joint, tear the labrum — the joint’s supporting cartilage — and damage the rotator cuff, which stabilizes and helps control shoulder-joint rotation. A fall may also fracture the collarbone or cause a proximal humerus bone fracture in the upper arm.
ALL ABOUT PREVENTION Bottom line: Orthopedic injuries happen even to the most experienced do-ityourselfer, but risks can be reduced by taking a few precautionary steps: • Wear gloves appropriate to the job to protect hands. • Follow the 4-1 rule for ladder placement. Pull the bottom of a ladder one foot away from the wall for every four feet of ladder height. And don’t lean out to the side when standing on the ladder. If you are too far away, spend the extra two minutes to climb down and move the ladder. • Read — and adhere — to instructions for power tools. Position yourself properly when using these tools. • Respect large gasoline- and batterypowered maintenance equipment, including lawnmowers and snowblowers. Completely disengage them — disconnect the spark plug wire — before making any adjustments to them. • Keep the work area clean and well lit.
Ensure the surrounding environment is free of hindrances, including children and pets. • Don’t get overconfident. Don’t rush to complete a job. • And, even though this is an orthopedic column, don’t forget your eyes. Wear goggles to protect them from any filaments or splinters that might fly up in your face.
Should an orthopedic injury occur, avoid going to the hospital emergency room, unless the mishap causes significant bleeding, major amputation or a large, severe open bone fracture, or involves an open bone fracture in which the ends of the broken bone break the skin. Contact an orthopedic physician specialist, instead. Orthopedic walk-in centers are beginning to crop up in many communities and are your best bet for accessibility, efficiency and expertise. The specialist can make a diagnosis much more quickly, with superior treatment of the problem at much less cost and with fewer tests than primary care or hospital ER physicians.
Alejandro Badia, M.D., FACS, is a hand and upper-limb surgeon and founder of the Florida-based Badia Hand to Shoulder Center and OrthoNOW, a walk-in orthopedic care clinic in Miami. For more, visit drbadia.com and orthonowcare.com.
C E L E B R A T I N G L I F E , L O V E , & T H E P O W E R O F F L O W E R S S I N C E 1 9 2 5
