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BOSTON
A W H E R E G U E ST B O O K PHOTO CREDIT GOTHAM BOOK 5.5/9PT
PHOTO CREDIT GOTHAM BOOK 5.5/9PT
WELCOME TO BOSTON
WHERE GUEST B OOK
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CONTENTS 12
FIRST LOOK With so much to see in the city you can start your journey here—from park to street to world-class museum.
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BOSTON LUMINESCENT Wondrous cityscapes are frozen in time when a talented and patient photographer captures the soul and skyline of Boston at peak magnificence. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG DUBOIS
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GRAND CANVAS The history and upheld traditions of the elegant tall ships that brought wealth to the city and were once as common as island ferries in Boston Harbor. BY ALEX OLIVEIRA
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MIGHTY JOE Legendary guitar-slinger Joe Perry chats about the roots of Aerosmith, the thrill of playing live and the pleasure of a leisurely stroll down Newbury Street. BY JIM SULLIVAN
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A SHAW THING How Boston-raised Frankie Shaw exchanged her childhood hoop dreams for a golden career as writer, showrunner and star in Hollywood. BY JIM SULLIVAN
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REFINED TASTES Where to find the pioneering restaurant owner/chefs who drive and redefine Boston’s cutting-edge restaurant scene. BY MAT SCHAFFER
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ALL ABOUT TOWN From Back Bay to the Theater District, Boston’s neighborhoods have character and charm.
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PARTING SHOT
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ON THE COVER: BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN AND CITY SKYLINE AT NIGHT, ©JORGE SALCEDO/SHUTTERSTOCK INSIDE COVER: THE BOSTON SKYLINE FROM FORT POINT ©JON BILOUS/SHUTTERSTOCK
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WHAT’S YOUR PLEASURE?
WHERE BOSTON 45 Newbury St., Suite 506, Boston, MA 02116 617.476.2646 www.wheretraveler.com
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Awaken your senses and be transported. GARDNERMUSEUM.ORG
The museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, administrated by the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture.
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BOSTON EDITORIAL EDITOR Mike Hodgkinson ART DIRECTOR Veronica Montesdeoca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Alex Oliveira, Mat Schaffer, Jim Sullivan CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Greg DuBois CIRCULATION CIRCULATION MANAGER Sarah Dale
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The lobster
is
everything it’s cracked up to be.
www.legalseafoods.com
CONTRIBUTORS Greg DuBois
Boston Luminescent, page 18
Raised in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, photographer Greg DuBois moved to Boston in 2009. He’s a classically trained fine artist who spent more than a decade creating paintings using unconventional methods, and he has also worked extensively with digital video and a 35mm film camera. His passion for photography “quickly grew to an undeniable force” and Greg now considers the medium “a perfect outlet” and “the culmination of my artistic career.” His incredible photo essay on the city truly bears out that claim.
Alex Oliveira
Grand Canvas, page 26
Although Oliveira was raised here and there along the east coast, every summer his family returned to the same community on Martha’s Vineyard, an experience woven into his life and writing. When he’s not at the keyboard penning tales of Boston and New England, Oliveira prefers to have a squash racquet or jib sheet in his hands, while singing along with Van Morrison or Bruce Springsteen. Here, he writes about the spectacular tall ships that once filled, and occasionally migrate back to, Boston Harbor.
the Boston dining scene for Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado, Food & Wine, Metropolitan Home, Food Illustrated, Boston Common, and the Improper Bostonian, as well as epicurious.com. He is the co-author of Chef Daniel Bruce’s “Simply New England” cookbook.
Jim Sullivan
Mighty Joe, page 30 and A Shaw Thing, page 34
Jim Sullivan wrote for the Boston Globe for 26 years, mostly covering pop culture and music. He currently writes for WBUR’s ARTery website, and the Cape Cod Times, among others, and hosts the video podcast show Boston Rock/Talk. This year he returns to Where Guest Book with features on two Bostonconnected artists from different generations: Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and actor/writer Frankie Shaw. Sullivan once lived only a few blocks from Aerosmith’s apartment in Allston and currently resides only a few blocks from where Shaw grew up in Brookline.
Mat Schaffer
Refined Tastes, page 38
Schaffer is one of Boston’s most accomplished food and drink writers, and the perfect choice to profile the chef-owners who have redefined Boston’s dining scene. He has reviewed restaurants for Boston magazine, the Boston Herald, and the Boston Globe, and written about 8
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From the top: Greg DuBois, Jim Sullivan, Alex Oliveira
2017SWM-TripPlanner.qxp_Layout 1 6/6/17 4:59 PM Page 1
Start with...
Salem’s Most Visited Museum
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19 1/2 Washington Square North • Salem, Massachusetts 01970 Open Year Round • Shop at our museum store onsite or online!
978.744.1692 • salemwitchmuseum.com
Make us a part of your next visit to New England!
Boston’s only Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Tasting Bar Experience European shopping in the Heart of Boston 253 Newbury Street (857) 277-0007 www.bostonoliveoilcompany.com
2 West Street (Corner of Washington), Downtown Boston 617.670.0320 // backdeckboston.com facebook.com/BackDeckBoston
25 West Street near Boston Common
617.426.1222 www.fajitasandritas.com
FIRST LOOK The places, sights and experiences of Boston captured in stunning images.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Graced with a new Renzo Piano-designed wing in 2012, and originally built in the style of a 15th-century Venetian palace, the Gardner was created by its eponymous collector and philanthropist in 1903. Home to more than 2,500 art objects by masters such as Rembrandt, Botticelli, Raphael and Matisse, the museum is a trove of important works. 25 Evans Way, 617.566.1401 12
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FIRST LOOK
Opened in 2006, the spectacular ICA building—designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro “from the sky down” and “from the ground up”— dominates the Seaport District skyline with a cantilevered upper section that seems to float in the air right up to the water’s edge. The overall effect is to create a perfect place to enjoy contemporary art in all media: There are permanent collections of 21st-century sculpture, painting, video, photography and drawing. 25 Harbor Shore Drive, 617.478.3100
Newbury Street
Boston’s Back Bay is a destination for high fashion heavyweights, with its cluster of couture houses—such as Hermès and Bottega Veneta at The Heritage on the Garden—and others, including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Salvatore Ferragamo at Copley Place. Newbury Street fills in the gaps with Chanel, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Cartier on its first block alone; also find here art galleries (Galerie d’Orsay pictured), clothiers, booksellers, gourmet food purveyors, jewelers, antiques shops and gift boutiques. Back Bay 14
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(PREVIOUS PAGE) COURTESY ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM; (THIS PAGE, FROM TOP) ©DANITO JO; ©BENJAMIN FLYTHE
Institute of Contemporary Art
©JORGE SALCEDO/SHUTTERSTOCK
Harvard University
Founded in 1636, Harvard University is not only the nation’s oldest higher learning institution but is also a notable hub for the arts. The elite school’s fascinating and eclectic network of galleries includes Harvard Art Museums and the popular Harvard Museum of Natural History. Not to mention the accomplished American Repertory Theater and zany Hasty Pudding Theatricals, which keep theatergoers coming back for more. Harvard Square, Cambridge WHERE GUEST B OOK
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Boston Public Market
Opened in early 2015, this is one of the only locally sourced markets of its kind in the country. Everything sold at this year-round market by its 35-plus vendors is produced in New England. Local farmers and fishermen offer a huge range of delights, including organic produce; meat, poultry, and eggs; cheese and dairy; fish and shellfish; bread and baked goods; flowers; and plenty of specialty foods. 100 Hanover St., 617.973.4909
New England Aquarium Boston Harborwalk
More than 40 miles long, connecting East Boston and Dorchester in an almost unbroken stretch, Boston Harborwalk is a wonderful public walking path that traces the coastline around piers, wharves, buildings, beaches and shore, uniting Boston’s neighborhoods with its harbor. Charlestown, North End, Waterfront, Seaport and South Boston districts 16
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By far one of Boston’s most popular attractions, New England Aquarium offers a sub-aquatic look at marine creatures from across the world. Its four-story, 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank recreates a tropical Atlantic coral reef, while the wonderfully handson Shark and Ray Touch Tank has cownose rays and epaulette sharks swimming circles through a saltwater mangrove habitat. 1 Central Wharf, 617.973.5200
(THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) ©FILIPPOBACCI/ISTOCK ; ©MELISSA DIPALMA; ©KEITH ELLENBOGEN; (OPPOSITE) ©JORGE SALCEDO/SHUTTERSTOCK
FIRST LOOK
Public Garden
Created two centuries after Boston Common (America’s first park) in 1837, the Public Garden is the country’s oldest public botanical garden and remains a delightful place to enjoy quiet times among monuments, fountains and a quaint bridge. Its beloved Swan Boats have glided around the serpentine lagoon for over a century. Twentyfour acres showcase classic Victorian garden technique. Charles Street South to Arlington Street, between Beacon and Boylston
BOSTON LUMINESCENT The Hub achieves transcendence when light embraces the city PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG DUBOIS
When photographer Greg DuBois told us he had spent his childhood in the Sonoran Desert, we weren’t in the least bit surprised. His affinity for light and landscape, whether he’s scoping out a remote location or overlooking the waterways and skylines of a great city such as Boston, is innate and clear to see. Color and emotion become inseparable in his work, and the patience behind his process is woven into every sunrise and sunset: here is an artist who understands that Boston bares its soul only occasionally, like the desert flower opening up after a rare downpour. DuBois has camped overnight on the islands of Boston Harbor in search of moments that can disappear in the blink of an eye or the click of shutter. For this very reason he has forged a close bond with the Hub of the Universe. “I love taking photographs in Boston,” he says, “because the city is always changing with the seasons and new construction. Boston presents unique conditions and subject matter to capture, and for that I’m grateful. Its vibe is an equal mix of big city and small town.” 20
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Opposite page: The Tobin Bridge rests on the colors of fall. This page: MIT Stata Center, Cambridge. Previous page: The Charles River from MIT Sailing Pavilion.
Opposite page: Zakim Bridge pierces the sunrise. This page (top to bottom): The city seen from Lovells Island; Back Bay and Harvard Bridge from Cambridge.
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This page: City skyline and derelict pilings from East Boston.
GRAND CANVAS Time runs backwards when tall ships return to Boston harbor BY ALEXANDER OLIVEIRA
There was a time when Boston Harbor sprouted a bizarre forest of trees taller than any found on land in New England. Rather than leaves or evergreen needles, these floating trees seemed to grow massive squares of pale fabric, with tufts of color fluttering over their tops. Before steam, coal, oil and gasoline, it was wind that powered the commerce of Boston, filling the harbor with the masts and sails of towering tall ships. Once as commonplace in Boston Harbor as today’s traffic on Commonwealth Avenue, they have now all but vanished. However, if you were in Boston in June 2017 and wandered down to the waterfront, you’d have been greeted by the bygone floating forest of masts, with sails in full bloom. Every few years the Rendezvous Tall Ships Regatta, a 7,000-mile tall ship ‘tour d’Atlantic,’ makes a stop in Boston during an event known as Sail Boston, filling the harbor with the commanding presence of up to 50 tall ships from across the globe. Sail Boston consists of a proper peacock-feathered parade of boats: 300 foot behemoths in full dress (signal flags stretching from bowsprit to masts to stern), broadside cannon salutes, and crews showing off their sea legs with perilous performances along narrow topsail yards. 26
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Barbary War and the War of 1812, before being relegated to a naval training post after a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes— entitled “Old Ironsides”—saved her from the scrap yard. Since 1907, the Constitution has resided in the Charlestown Navy Yard, floating as a museum ship where visitors can experience what life aboard a naval tall ship would have looked like throughout the 19th century. Sails do occur, though are infrequent (she led the Sail Boston parade in 2017), but the immersive experience of a USS Constitution tour remains one of the most effective time traveling devices in Boston. If you really want to look up into the rigging and see sails full of wind, take a walk over the waterfront where the Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships is happy to oblige. Nestled between the New England Aquarium and the Boston Marriott Long Wharf are two schooners modeled after classic tall ship designs—the 125-foot Liberty Clipper and the 67-foot Liberty Star. These ships are a passport back to the time when sails once crowded Boston Harbor.
Opposite (left to right): Boston throws USS Constitution into relief; Sail Boston ’17. This page: “Boston Harbor Sunset” by Fitz Henry Lane. Previous: Sagres II at Sail Boston ’17.
(PREVIOUS) ©MAURITIUS IMAGES GMBH/ALAMY; (ABOVE) ©LACMA
During the fleet’s week-long stay in the harbor, many of the boats dock along the waterfront where visitors can climb aboard for a tour of the vessels’ decks, or embark on a sail around the harbor islands. To set foot on these boats, from the depths of their holds to the crew quarters, galleys and cabins, and to peer up into the tangle of rigging wrapped about the trunk-hewn masts that rise from the deck, is a rare opportunity to experience first-hand the complexity and vastness of the ships that once dominated world commerce and revealed the farthest reaches of the globe to explorers. While the Rendezvous Tall Ships Regatta and Sail Boston are not annual spectacles, there are several accessible tall ships that call Boston Harbor home throughout the summer. One of the most notable of these is the mighty USS Constitution, known lovingly throughout American history as “Old Ironsides.” Named by George Washington, the USS Constitution remains the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. Constructed in the North End shipyards and first launched in 1797, “Old Ironsides” saw combat in the First
(LEFT TO RIGHT) ©US NAVY/MATT CHABE; COURTESY SAIL BOSTON
Don’t expect costumed actors armed with cutlasses and history lessons though—instead, there’s a proficient, suntanned and lighthearted crew. While on the water, visitors are invited to help raise the sails and be as involved in the sailing as they wish. There is a full bar onboard and, dependent on the wind, sights will include Fort Independence, “Old Ironsides” and unparalleled views of Boston from the water. Both ships are available for private event charters: the Liberty Clipper can accommodate 110 guests and the Star, 39. When the vessels dock for the night the Liberty schooners convert into one of the most unique—and best priced—lodging experiences in the city. In the vein of a hostel, for $60 travelers can spend the night onboard in a shared cabin, or for $120 they can book a private cabin with two bunks. The Liberty tall ships are about as authentic an historic sailing experience as you can find today. What could better emulate the bygone day of the tall ship than sailing with
actual contemporary sailors who have exchanged regular office jobs for a life hauling line on classically rigged schooners? It is a wonder to hear Captain Noah call an order from the stern, listen as it is relayed forward in repeated calls, then watch the barefooted crewmen seamlessly bound across the deck, unhitching line from belaying pins and hauling in unison: “Two six HEAVE!” Doug, the first mate, says that one of the best parts of his job is forever becoming a part of people’s experience with the city: “In the time these boats have been sailing, you couldn’t hope to count the number of visitors who have come and gone on these decks.” The tall ships, he said, not only preserve what is already history in Boston, but also create new experiences and memories for those who pass through. “There’s nothing quite like having somebody six-feet tall walk up and say ‘Hey I remember you,’ and the last time you saw them they were four-foot flat, holding their mother’s hand.” WHERE GUEST B OOK
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MIGHTY JOE Local hero—and global rock legend—Joe Perry waxes lyrical about Boston and live rock ‘n’ roll
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson sang it back in 1976: “You’re never too old to rock ‘n’ roll if you’re too young to die.” That would be Joe Perry’s story. The Aerosmith guitar slinger/songwriter may be in his late 60s but there’s no madatory retirement age in rock ‘n’ roll and if there was Perry would blow by it. Consider: Perry still co-leads Aerosmith with singer Steven Tyler, a band that’s sold over 150 million records worldwide. Not all of Perry’s eggs are in the Aerosmith basket, however. He is also an essential part of the Alice Cooper-fronted band the Hollywood Vampires, a side project/hard rock outfit dedicated to playing classic songs by rockers who’ve met untimely ends. In spring 2018, Perry released his fourth solo album, “Sweetzerland Manifesto.” For that disc, steeped in blues-rock, he recruited singers Robin Zander (of Cheap Trick), David Johansen, Terry Reid, Chris Robinson (of Black Crowes) and Gary Cherone (of Extreme). Perry, along with Cherone, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford and several others, did a series of club dates following the album’s release.
Perry has no illusions about the solo career taking off or taking over. “It was strictly about making music and having fun,” he says about the album, on the phone from the Sarasota condo he shares with his wife, Billie. “No pressure, no expectation about getting on the radio. If it was anything, I just pictured playing the songs live because they’d be a lot of fun to play. I like to think of it as a classic rock record, only we recorded it last year instead of years ago.” Asked about motivation, Perry says, “Going back to a four-track back in the ‘70s, I’ve always loved recording. That’s probably one of my favorite things to do, hobby-wise. And I’m always interested in the newest technology, as well as holding on to the old way of recording and trying to meld those things together. As it turned out, this record came out from 30 or 40 ideas I recorded up at Johnny Depp’s studio and I started editing it down.” (Depp also plays guitar with the Hollywood Vampires). It all started for Perry—and Aerosmith—in late 1970. Along with Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer he came down from New Hampshire and settled in Boston in a now-famous Commonwealth Avenue
©ROSS HALFIN
BY JIM SULLIVAN
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apartment, at #1325. “We grew up in an era that was based around going to see rock ‘n’ roll bands play live,” Perry says, looking back on the Boston that was then. “There were a lot more bands and a lot more places to play rock ‘n’ roll. There’s still clubs—you can still go and listen to all kinds of music—but it’s tough if you want to play in a rock ‘n’ roll band. But, hey, things still rise to the top.” That relocation to Boston is something Perry calls “a really happy coincidence, for me anyway. When I wanted to have a band, it was the nearest big city, a perfect place for us to be. Being a college town, there were a lot of opportunities to play. The frat houses, the clubs, spreading out into the suburbs—that gave us a really good platform. I think overall the creativity and the vibe of the city is really special. It’s probably the smallest world-class city that I know of. And it’s always retained that.” Perry has a home in Duxbury but doesn’t spend that much time in the area. He’s mostly in L.A. or on the road. But he does enjoy coming back, something that was obvious at his April 2018 show at Boston’s House of Blues, where the band played a raucous set and were joined by Hamilton for an encore of “Sweet Emotion.” If you ask Perry what his hometown is, he’ll answer “Boston.” “There are certain things that, because of the physical layout of the town, haven’t changed much,” he says. “I still get that feeling when I go back. Alan Bilzerian—he has a worldclass clothing boutique—is still down there on Newbury Street and the walk down Newbury Street is always a rush. Walking around Harvard Square always feels the same. Every September, you can’t get around any of the streets because of all the U-Haul trailers: that’s one of the things that makes Boston Boston. I still love it. I couldn’t imagine, really, living anywhere else.” People still refer to Perry and Tyler as the “the bad boys from Boston,” a phrase made popular in the ’70s, as Aerosmith was emerging. The label is not something Perry wants to dodge, necessarily, but there’s another band he’d like to acknowledge. “The ‘bad boys from Boston,’ that was the J. Geils Band, long before they hung that one on us,” he says. “I always thought it was kind of [wrong] when 32
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the press started calling us that because as far as I was concerned J. Geils were—and still are—one of the best live bands I’d ever seen, hands down. You couldn’t see more excitement than at a J. Geils show. When they were at their peak, forget it. There were a couple of bands, like Sly and the Family Stone, that knew how to work an audience, but J. Geils was king of the heap as far as I was concerned.”
(THIS PAGE) ©THE AARON PERRY; (OPPOSITE PAGE) ©ROSS HALFIN
Opposite page: Perry doing what he loves. This page: All the right moves for a veteran guitar-slinger.
Perry credits the J. Geils Band with jump-starting Aerosmith’s career. “They helped shape what we were doing and helped us realize how playing live was everything, from the way we arrange our songs to building our set. Aerosmith has had a lot of well-documented highs and lows, but one of the best highs was that first period, getting signed and releasing that first album, feeling you’re about to take off. “No doubt,” says Perry. “The summer right before it really broke [in 1973], we were an entity, but we were still having trouble making ends meet, paying the rent—but we always managed. Right around that time, every time we’d go out and play some club and there’d be 30 people there and next time there’d be 60 there—that’s probably one of the best times in any bands career, when you start to feel that. “I remember being at a gig—I think it was Shrewsbury, some high school—and we had just come back from a trip through Ohio, playing clubs and colleges. It was after the first record was out. It was a 2000-seat place and it was packed. It was like, ‘Wow, what happened here?’ Last time, we played in Boston, we were still calling up all our friends to say ‘Come
and see us.’ All of a sudden, people were standing outside waiting to get in. I remember that gig so specifically. Our manager at the time walked in and said, ‘Boys, we came to play!’ and he had this wad of one-dollar bills. “We weren’t in it for the money or the ride-around in limos or anything like that; we just wanted to not have to worry about the rent so we could keep doing it. To this day, it’s really about that. The money just gives you the freedom to do what we do. But that was it—that day it felt like something switched, something changed.” As to Aerosmith’s future, well in 2016, there was talk of the band starting a farewell tour. But they pulled back on that. “We couldn’t really put our minds around it,” Perry laughs. “It sounded good on paper two months before the tour got underway, but as soon as it started, we said it ain’t gonna happen. We really softened the edges on that one. I’m sure there will be a time when there will be a last gig, but I can’t see it right now. “Our 50th anniversary is in 2020. That, to me, is where my heart is, so that’s what we’ll be celebrating. That’s what we’ll be gearing up for.” WHERE GUEST B OOK
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Q&A
A SHAW THING Rising Hollywood star Frankie Shaw chats about her Boston roots and the success of “SMILF” INTERVIEWED BY JIM SULLIVAN
You can take the girl out of Boston, as the local saying goes, but you can’t take Boston out of the girl. Fast-rising actor Frankie Shaw, 31, lives in Los Angeles these days, but her edgy hit Showtime series “SMILF” is set in South Boston. It’s a spot the young Frankie knew well. Besides, her cell phone still has a 617 area code. The first, eight-episode season, which was nominated for two Golden Globe awards, was shot in Hollywood, with exteriors done in Boston. But for season two, the cast and crew returned to Boston full-time. Shaw conceived the series— it came out of a 2014 short film that won a Sundance award in 2015—and she writes or co-writes
everything. She directed three of the first season’s episodes. Shaw plays Bridgette Bird, a young single mother not unlike herself at one time. Bridgette, a tutor/nanny, basketball player and wannabe actor, is a smart woman who sometimes makes bad choices. She has a somewhat unchecked libido. She has a young son, Larry, (as does Frankie) and she has an estranged boyfriend/ baby-daddy Rafi (Miguel Gomez) and a contentious/loving relationship with her mother, Tutu (Rosie O’Donnell). “SMILF,” pitched somewhere between comedy and drama, certainly has its discomforting moments in the manner of “Louie,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Broad City” and “Better Things.”
Rachel Francis Shaw was actually raised, mostly, in Brookline, with her mother and half-brother. (Her parents split when she was four years old.) But her roots are in South Boston. “I think there’s this confusion because if you hear I grew up in Brookline and I’m writing about Southie, there is always a question of authenticity,” says Shaw, on the phone from L.A. “But I don’t feel that at all. It really, truly is me. It’s a misconception at this point. “I go back to see my aunt who lives in Southie and stay at her place. That’s where my mom grew up and my grandma lives. We were not there, but everyone else was there. Every Friday my mom dropped me off at my
grandma’s house on East 4th street where my aunt and cousin lived on the upstairs and my grandma lived downstairs. Every weekend I was there. That’s the connection. I only had one side of my family in my life and they all lived in Southie. And they were generations of South Boston.” Shaw moved to L.A. after college, discovered she was pregnant and had a son, Isaac, with actor Mark Webber. She married Zach Strauss, the executive story editor on “SMILF,” in 2016. Let’s start with Brookline.
My old hood! I love Brookline. I loved my street, Winthrop Road, and there’s this park, Schick Park, where I really learned how to play basketball. We’d always
Actor, producer, writer, director and former basketball hopeful, Frankie Shaw.
at Roxbury City College. My mom was a single mom and she wasn’t home a lot so it was what I did to pass the time. I’d always been a very singular, focused person, so that was the thing. I got a little distracted later on in high school by being a teenager, but for most of my childhood I was focused on basketball. When I got to college [Barnard], I was going to try and play, but I was in New York City and I was exposed to so many new things. I’d already spent a lot of my life playing basketball and it was time to discover other things. So, the dream kind of died there. But there was a time when I was going to go play in college. Do you consider yourself as someone split between Southie
Opposite page: Frankie Shaw as Bridgette Bird, with Alexandra and Anna Reimer as Larry. This page: Bridgette has a supermarket moment.
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have pickup games going on. My bedroom window faced the street and I could hear when my friends were walking up to the park ’cause they’d bounce the basketball outside my window and I’d come down. It was where I really learned how to play. There would always be different guys and I would always be the only girl. I learned how to fit in an environment where there weren’t a lot of other women and I would spend
hours playing at that park. It was a really fun and safe childhood. I could be alone and just go to the park and have this sort of latchkey kid existence.
Yeah. It also plays on the character—that outsider feeling. I was sort of an outsider in Brookline and I was sort of an outsider in Southie. My mom is Irish-Catholic and she decided to raise me Jewish. I was the only one to go to a good school so [in Southie] they would make fun of me. When I then became an actor it was like, “Where’s yah Oscah?” Like you were trying to punch
Bridgette’s basketball life is
above your weight?
part of “SMILF” too. How good
One thing is I’m the youngest of everyone. I was always the quiet one. I feel like I could slip by without being noticed in my family dynamic so on one hand that worked well and there was
where you??
It was really my life. I went to Dave Cowens’ and Dee Brown’s basketball camp. I went to Malcolm Wynn’s basketball camp
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and Brookline?
that whole other side that was a little bit of a surprise.
Maria. I’m sure we’ll do a lot more fun Boston things. I’ll get to go to some Red Sox games.
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What do you enjoy doing when
courage or working through fear about, but there’s a sort of “brutal honesty”—the rawness— in the art I’m drawn to. It’s part of what’s natural to me as a storyteller. I think I get excited about the show because I get to guide it into some of the darker elements or explore topics that I am currently obsessively reading about or talking about with my peers. I think the show is a natural extension of that.
things that were either situations or dynamics or politics that we wanted to explore.
you come back here?
Are you a shopper? Will we spot
Oh, I mean, I love Castle Island so I love going running around Castle Island. That’s my number one thing. I love the Brookline Booksmith. I’ll go and get all of my Christmas presents and then they’ll ship me a big box back.
you on Newbury Street buying
Any nightclubbing?
“SMILF” mixes comedy and
No, I’m the most homebody person. My family, we like to go to Amrheins in Southie, the oldest bar in South Boston. I love Capo in Southie, which is new and part of the gentrification, but it has good food. I really like to go to the North End. There’s one restaurant that I love, Mamma
drama in sometimes risqué ways.
How does the show walk the line
Do you have any trepidation
between truth and fiction?
I like that “SMILF” is not just all
about that?
I think it’s nice to remain anonymous within the art. I feel like I can say it’s loosely based off my life but there are a lot of things, either plot or emotional, that are very true. And then there are completely fictionalized
Bridgette. Every character has a
$1000 handbags?
No, I’m really not. I’m more of the athlete type. When I have to go to events, I rely on someone else to help me figure out [what to wear].
I think there are certain things as a writer I’m interested in exploring and it’s something I don’t necessarily have to be pushed to do. I have other areas that maybe take a little bit more
You have so much responsibility with “SMILF”: showrunner, writer, actor, director. How do you handle all that?
I honestly feel best when I have a million things to do. When I don’t have much to do, that’s when you’ll see me in a darker place. It’s definitely harder to feel aimless than to try to manage 100 things.
complicated life and arc.
My intention for season two— now that we’ve established the world and Bridgette—is let’s dig down deeper into these very diverse supporting characters that are around her. It’s limited real estate, with these 28-to-30minute episodes, and we have all these wonderful characters. I’m sort of nicknaming season two “SMILF—The Bad Year,” although, it’s always a bad year with these people and it’s always a struggle. It’s this journey of identity. Each of these characters will have a loss of some kind, where they question how they see themselves in the world and how the world views them. There’s going to be a death: a few deaths actually. So, it will be a darker season. Tell me there will still be comedy.
Oh, I feel like it’s going to hit the comedy even harder. WHERE GUEST B OOK
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XX W H E R E G U E ST B O O K PHOTO CREDIT GOTHAM BOOK 5.5/9PT
REFINED TASTES Local chef-owners shake up the Boston restaurant scene
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BY MAT SCHAFFER
The restaurant business is just that: a business. Which is why many restaurateurs play it safe with dishes that fill seats and make customers happy. Caesar salad, charcuterie, oysters on the half shell, pasta Bolognese: These are staples at many Boston restaurants. “It’s low hanging fruit, it’s something that everybody is going to eat, and it’s going to cast a wide net,” explains former chef Ed Doyle, now of Cambridge-based restaurant consultants RealFood Consulting. “I look at menus, and it’s almost like there’s a checklist of stuff that you have to have, before you get to the things that you want to put on the menu. Part of that is driven by trend and part is driven by a lack of confidence in what you do.” In stark contrast, there are restaurants that dare to be different, helmed by chefs who redraw gastronomic boundaries in the pursuit of culinary excellence. Whether it’s creative “locavorism” (using locally produced ingredients), an overriding aesthetic, modern traditionalism, mastery of an international cuisine, or a kitchen predicated on playfulness, five such chef-driven restaurants inspire the Boston dining scene. Michael Scelfo’s sophomore venture, Waypoint (1030 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617.864.2300), couples
imagination with uncompromising commitment to seasonality and locally sourced ingredients, resulting in super fresh, unexpected food combinations that make your mouth pop. The ocean kisses almost everything on the menu. Scelfo’s offerings have included spaghetti (well, technically, spaccatelli) and octopus meatballs, chopped clam and smoked white fish topped pizzas, chicken fried oysters and citrus grilled prawns with cilantro raita. Even the bread is on board, in the form of squid ink batard served with smoked seaweed butter. It’s been over a decade since Tim and Nancy Cushman opened o ya (9 East St., 617.654.9900), a Zen-like Japanese restaurant in an old firehouse, a few blocks away from South Station, but the influence of their picture perfect, ingredient-centric small plates is ongoing. Cushman’s carefully constructed dishes—black sea bass tartare, torched local swordfish belly, avocado tempura, roasted beet sashimi, kushiyaki of strip loin with maple soy—are like a gallery of miniature paintings, each lovelier than the next. Tim plays at chef, while Nancy is the city’s first sake sommelier; both understand that we eat with our eyes as much as our palates.
Opposite page: a spectacular twist on the half-shell at o ya.
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chef Cassie Piuma uses New England foodstuffs to create riffs on Near Eastern classics.
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Where does tradition fit into the modern kitchen? Chef/partners Michael Lombardi and Kevin O’Donnell refuse to cut culinary corners at their Venetian bacaro SRV (Serene Republic of Venice) (569 Columbus Ave., 617.536.9500). They mill the flour to make their own pastas. Risotto is cooked to order. Polenta is slow simmered, the old fashioned way. More importantly, Lombardi and O’Donnell enthusiastically embrace the Italian gastronomic ethos that less is more. From whipped baccalà mantecato and tender pork and beef polpette meatballs to snail-shaped lumache pasta tossed with snails, shrimp, mussels, and vermouth, and a stew of striped bass in savory broth, these guys leave their egos in the kitchen and let the ingredients take center stage. Perhaps reincarnation can explain chefs who master a foreign cuisine so thoroughly that they make it their own. Ana Sortun (Oleana) acolyte Cassie Piuma follows in her mentor’s footsteps at Sarma (249 Pearl St., Somerville, 617.764.4464), Somerville’s Winter Hill neighborhood hotspot, which dishes up Eastern Mediterranean meze small plates designed to be shared. With ingenuity and intuition, precision and passion, Piuma uses New England foodstuffs to create riffs on Near Eastern classics—crab and red lentil kibbe, scallop grape leaves, kohlrabi fritters,
lamb kofta sliders, brisket shawarma, shrimp tagine. It’s what a Turkish “usta sef ” (master chef ) might make if she (or he) lived in Boston. And then there’s something exhilaratingly liberating when chefs have both the cheekiness and the checkbook to do whatever they want, naysayers be damned. Enter James Beard award-winning chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette and what they do at Central Square’s Little Donkey (505 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617.945.1008) with a menu that’s defiantly global gaga featuring small plates that travel from New Jersey to New Delhi and other parts unknown: matzo ball ramen, halibut biryani, lamb bacon BLT lettuce wraps, Istanbul meat ravioli, and snapper nachos. It’s an ever-changing gustatory adventure that boasts more hits than misses. But for many restaurateurs, adventurousness doesn’t come easy. In the highly competitive Boston food world, steamed mussels, steak frites, Margherita pizza, and a burger on the menu can pay the rent. “Different for the sake of different is no reason to be different,” cautions consultant Doyle. “You need to be confident in the fact that you can do something different, and that you can take people a little outside their safety zone.”
(LEFT) BRIAN SAMUELS; (RIGHT, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) ©GALDONES PHOTOGRAPHY; ©MORGAN IONE YEAGER; ©DAVID MA; ©BRIAN SAMUELS; ©GALDONES PHOTOGRAPHY
With ingenuity and intuition
Opposite page: Refined spin on sushi at o ya. This page (clockwise from top): Whole branzino at Waypoint; color and flavor in harmony at SRV; ownerchef Jamie Bissonnette; the small bite elevated at o ya; Waypoint’s chopped clam pizza.
ALL ABOUT TOWN With trappings both colonial and modern, Boston’s neighborhoods are each different and all wonderful
ALLSTON & BRIGHTON Capped at each end by Boston College and Boston University, Allston and Brighton are basically student villages, studded with a wide range of offbeat shops, from vinyl record stores to vintage boutiques. Some of the city’s best specialty restaurants can be found here, and, of course, bars and pubs are stumbled upon at every turn.
BACK BAY Elegant and tidy, the Back Bay is one posh place to spend some leisure time. Upmarket, one-off specialty stores on Newbury Street and tony designer boutiques in Copley Place provide ample options for lavish shoppers. Outdoor green spaces like the Public Garden and the Charles River Esplanade offer serene spots to sit or play. Architecture from different eras make for a stunning show—think Copley Square’s Trinity Church contrasted with the city’s tallest skyscraper.
BEACON HILL Travelers conjure images of this charming, brick-faced neighborhood when they think “Boston.” Violet-tinted windowpanes, iron boot scrapers and cobblestone streets create a quaint mystique that is rich 42
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BROOKLINE Just west of Boston and a quick T ride away, Brookline is a largely residential town where leafy streets, apartments and estates peacefully coexist, harkening back to its 19th-century description (by writer Andrew Jackson Downing) as “inexpressibly charming” and “a kind of landscape garden.” Explore a smattering of tourist destinations like the John F. Kennedy birthplace, or visit bustling Coolidge Corner for independently owned shops, a cool, art-house cinema and a variety of restaurants, taverns and delis.
CAMBRIDGE Cambridge is a city in its own right, located across the Charles River from Boston. A variety of squares cluster along Massachusetts Avenue or nearby, and each has its own personality, from geek-chic, modern Kendall Square to alterna-smart Harvard Square, home to the venerable university and its yard, book stores galore, edgy entertainment, world-class museums and a ton of restaurants.
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Boston
in history, as well as just plain rich. For centuries, Beacon Hill has been known for blue-blood residents, from Henry Cabot Lodge to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Shoppers stroll Charles Street, popping in at independently owned boutiques and lunching at quiet cafes. The Hill is also home to the Black Heritage Trail and the Massachusetts State House.
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CHARLESTOWN Follow The Freedom Trail to its finish line at the Bunker Hill Monument, and you’ll find yourself in Charlestown. Marked by Federal-style architecture and gas lanterns, this place north of the North End was actually settled by the English before they settled the Shawmut Peninsula (Boston proper). A prominent destination is Charlestown Navy Yard where the still-commissioned, oak-hulled USS Constitution warship is berthed.
CHINATOWN Tucked between the Theater District and the Financial District, this enclave may be diminutive, but there is no limit on the abundance of authentic culinary delights prepared by its residents. Bánh mì, dim sum, bubble tea—find it here. Asian food fans can select among Cantonese, Taiwanese and Shanghainese, Thai, Malaysian, Japanese and Vietnamese specialties at the many family-owned cafés, bakeries, and restaurants.
DOWNTOWN Travelers find themselves at the historic heart of Boston here. The Freedom Trail begins at Boston Common, the nation’s first and
(This page, left to right) Ray and Maria Stata Center, Cambridge; Acorn Street, Beacon Hill; The Public Garden. (Previous page) The Waterfront.
oldest public park, and continues past sights like the Granary Burying Ground, Old South Meeting House and Old State House. Nearby, the Washington Street corridor, known as Downtown Crossing, was once a beacon of department store shopping; it is currently being revitalized with new hotels, residences and retail ventures.
In charming, brick-faced Beacon Hill, violet-tinted windowpanes, iron boot scrapers and cobblestone streets create a quaint mystique that is rich in history, as well as just plain rich.
FENWAY People hear “Fenway” and immediately conjur up visions of the MLB’s MVD (Most Valuable Diamond), Fenway Park. But actually, this neighborhood is named for its former life as fens: low-laying marshland that was later filled during the 19th century. Attractions include the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and a portion of Frederick Law Olmsted’s wonderful Emerald Necklace park system. Music clubs, bars and restaurants congregate in Kenmore Square and along Lansdowne and Boylston streets, and cater to college students and music fans. WHERE GUEST B OOK
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ALL ABOUT TOWN
FINANCIAL DISTRICT The Financial District is as calm after dark as it is buzzing with the comings, goings and business dealings of suited workers during the day. Travelers in the area head to destinations like Faneuil Hall Marketplace, New England Aquarium and Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. In fair weather, a stretch of Boston Harbor waterfront offers wharf after wharf—aka launching pads for adventures by sea.
(Left to right) The Financial District rises above the Waterfront; The North End section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
connection to nature via the riverwalk, home to swallows, cormorants and the occasional bald eagle.
JAMAICA PLAIN Jamaica Plain, called “JP” colloquially, is a prime example of a “streetcar suburb,” and its blend of cultures permeates the local businesses and restaurants. Local Irish landmark Doyle’s Cafe has been operating since 1882 and has been “endorsed” by countless former politicians including Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Kevin White. JP also offers tremendous natural beauty at Jamaica Pond and parkland within the Emerald Necklace chain. LOWER MILLS Set astride the Neponset River at the border of Milton and Boston, south of downtown, Lower Mills offers plenty of charm and a sweet historical connection: Back in the day, the neighborhood was well known for its Baker’s chocolate factory, which dated to 1765. Current dining options are outstanding—from artisanal Steel & Rye to first-rate gastro-pub Lower Mills Tavern—and locals take advantage of a convenient 44
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sector that is awash in Italian heritage, although it has not always been this way. It was the city’s original colonial neighborhood, back when Thomas Hutchinson and Paul Revere lived here. Revere’s home still stands in North Square, and Old North Church is where the revolutionary lanterns were hung. As for its 20th-century legacy, the North End is home to dozens of Italian restaurants, mom-and-pop shops and jovial saints’ festivals.
SEAPORT DISTRICT & FORT POINT If Boston has a neighborhood that’s on the rise, the Seaport is it. Three characteristics predominate: art, food and water views. There’s a robust creative community of artists and artisans. Restaurants—from big brands to tasty, chef-driven places—make up a growing dining scene. Amazing panoramas of the skyline set the mood along the HarborWalk and at landmarks like the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston.
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NORTH END Red sauce bubbles in kitchens throughout this very old
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SOUTH BOSTON Compared to Beacon Hill or the North End, South Boston is mega-sized. The neighborhood sits directly to the south and east of downtown and includes sub ’hoods such as the Seaport District, Telegraph Hill, West Broadway and City Point. A scenic stretch of Boston Harbor coastline contrasts with triple-deckers, churches and gritty watering holes. Over the last decade, affluent young professionals have infiltrated South Boston, scooping up renovated waterfront multi-families and new luxury condos. But, there’s also a healthy mix of lifers—Southie is famously Irish and blue collar.
SOUTH END Arts and culture thrive in the South End. Many artists live and work in the neighborhood, particularly in SoWa (south of Washington Street), where dilapidated mills have been/are being reworked to house 46
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(Left to right) Dorchester Heights in South Boston; Paramount Theatre on Washington St., in the Theater District.
art galleries and studios, apartments, small design businesses and restaurants. Brick rowhouses populate tiny, tree-lined streets. In fact, the South End is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as the largest intact Victorian row house district in the country. Residents are a mix of creative types, yuppie families, LGBTQs and a small but vibrant Latino community. Restaurants are a big draw and reservations are often hard to come by. The neighborhood attracts art lovers and others looking for design inspiration, and the gay culture means some restaurant bars and a few devoted clubs bring in LGBTQs from around the city.
THEATER DISTRICT Judging by its name, there should be no mystery to the history of this diminutive but oft-visited neighborhood—it’s where many of Boston’s theaters reside along Tremont and Washington streets. The Boch Center’s Wang Theater hosts international headliners, while the Shubert focuses on local companies. The Emerson/Cutler Majestic and the Paramount cater to ArtsEmerson, while most Broadway tours pass through the gorgeous Opera House. And there’s more at The Modern, The Wilbur and The Charles Playhouse.
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SOMERVILLE Arty, eclectic and demographically diverse, Somerville is its own city, bordering Boston and Cambridge. Davis Square is a popular destination—an intriguing array of creatively diverse coffee shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and live music clubs has sprung up here in relative profusion. The independent and historic Somerville Theater screens movies and also hosts international performers. Highlights in Union Square include excellent Indian food, several hip bars and The Tango Society of Boston.
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Thomas Dunlay “Autumn on the Esplanade� o/c, 25 x 30 in.
Light and Color BORDERING THE HARBOR AND THE ROSE KENNEDY GREENWAY IN THE NORTH END, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PARK IS A PUBLIC SPACE FOR ALL SEASONS—IN WINTER, ILLUMINATED TRELLISES OFFER A SPECTACULAR LIGHT SHOW BUT DURING THE WARMER MONTHS THE FLOWERS TAKE OVER. 48
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