Here are the flavors for Sunday November 27, 2011, 2PM. Flavors change during the day. Sometimes we have additional flavors in the back so you should ask if you don’t see that favorite flavor which prompted you to fly back to Cambridge from Paris, France. We don’t always have every flavor. But we try.

French Vanilla
Belgian Chocolate
Malted Vanilla
Butter Chocolate Chip
Cookie Dough
Maple Walnut
Coconut
Ginger Snap Molasses
Strawberry
Burnt Caramel
Gianduia (Chocolate Hazelnut)
Mango
B3
Khulfee
Blueberry Cheese Cake
Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip
Pumpkin Pie
Cocoa Fresh Mint
Lemon Espresso
Tiramisu
Salty Saffron
Earl Grey
Pink Grapefruit
Grape Nut Raisin
Fluffernutter
Hydrox Cookie
Espresso Chocolate Chip
Goat Cheese Brownie
Cinnamon Nutmeg

Mango Sorbet
Blackberry Coconut Sorbet

We have both hot fudge and Spicy Butterscotch Sauce.

This year two of our favorite groups are in convergence. Cambridge Housing Assistance provides emergency help to families in need. Their tasty annual wingding is Home Sweet Home and is altogether fabulous Cambridge Local First is a group of small businesses united to further the causes of economic democracy, small business and community building. Every year CLF gathers donations from member businesses and contributes and makes a large dontion to a local charity. This yesr Think Local Thank Local will be helping Cambridge Housing Assistance. We have a large version of the accompanying poster and that poster was created by Service Point, located at 1000 Mass. Avenue, across the street from where the Orson Welles was.

Mike and Patty’s in Bay Village.
Staff Meal wherever this truck is parked.
Cutty’s in Brookline Village
Biryani Park in Malden
Wang’s Dumplings in Somerville
Just the takeout part of La Verdad on Ipswich St.

I like smaller art museums and Bostonians are lucky to have several outstanding ones nearby. On Sunday I drove up Interstate 93 to Andover Mass and visited the remodeled and now reopened Addison Gallery of Phillips Academy. The Addison has a basement full of wooden ship models that my father visited as a boy, and while both of us always enjoy them, on this visit we focused on an exhibition of photographs by Paul Fusco. Fusco did a lot of work for Look magazine, which was a bi-weekly competitor to Life magazine. I liked Look a lot more. Look had better graphic design, better printing and a smaller group of photographers who worked best in color. This show consists of 20 rediscovered prints chosen from thousands of shots that Fusco took on the train that carried Robert F. Kennedy’s body to Washington, D.C. Because of Look’s biweekly schedule they were never printed because they were deemed old news. Great work that makes you think about many things.

The Addison also has a retrospective of 80 works drawn from its permanent collection, by artists who have previously been showed at the Gallery. Most of the work is very good. Not all of it is famous but a lot is including Winslow Homer and Jackson Pollock. But it is all very good, shown in handsome galleries. FREE.

My favorite show at the Addison was by the American fiber artist Sheila Hicks. After being born in Hastings, Nebraska Hicks had the good fortune or misfortune to leave the United States for Paris when Paris was being eclipsed as the center for modern art. This show is on tour and can be seen at the Mint Museum of Art and Craft in Charlotte, NC. This is not within driving range but if you’re in the Carolinas ….

http://www.bu.edu/today/2009/get-to-know-your-neighborhood-central-square/

More images of Central Square are in the slide show above.

Cambridge’s Central Square is a diverse neighborhood featuring an eclectic array of ethnic eateries and retail shops, as well as upscale restaurants and bars. Nearly demolished during the 1950s — officials planned to build an eight-lane highway through it — Central Square was spared, only to suffer from increasing crime and general decay throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

But the neighborhood experienced a renaissance during the last decade and today boasts a wide range of establishments, from cute cafés to trendy nightclubs. Still, Central Square retains a grittiness, an unpolished authenticity that no other square in Cambridge can match. It’s as close to a Manhattan scene as you’ll find in greater Boston — and that’s a compliment.

Check out the following places.

1369 Coffee House
1369 Cambridge St.
Across the street from the post office and city hall, 1369 Coffee House was serving Central Square’s caffeine addicts long before Starbucks opened down the street. This charming coffee shop’s first incarnation remains in Inman Square, and prides itself on specialty recipes, including chai tea blend and frozen mocha slide. The shop brews two dozen varieties of coffee from around the world, as well as over 25 fine loose-leaf teas. Homemade muffins and cookies are baked every morning, and local bakers provide scones, croissants, cakes, and shortbread. Lunch consists of homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, and quiche.

Andala Coffee House
286 Franklin St.
Andala Coffee House brings authentic tastes of the Old City of Jerusalem to Central Square. With more than 30 teas, Arabic coffees, and limited — but delicious — breakfast and lunch menus, Andala (which means nightingale in Arabic) is a cozy place to spend an afternoon curled up with a book or chatting with friends. The staff is friendly, and the gleaming hardwood floors, marble-top tables, and Persian rugs offer old-world elegance. For $20, patrons can enjoy a hookah on the front patio; tobacco flavors include apple, mango, and apricot.

Asmara Restaurant
739 Massachusetts Ave.
Opened in 1986, Asmara was Boston’s first Ethiopian restaurant. Named after the capital of Eritrea, a country in northeastern Africa that broke from Ethiopia in 1992, Asmara specializes in spicy African cuisine. Be sure to wash your hands before you come; there’s no silverware here. Diners scoop the food with pieces of injera — a spongy, sour, fermented flatbread made from rice flour and teff. Served at traditional mesobs, large table-like baskets, the meals are hearty and authentic. For a unique experience, try the zihla: cubes of raw tenderloin beef tips lightly fermented in pepper paste and served with spiced butter.

Artist & Craftsman Supply
580 Massachusetts Ave.
Walking down paint-spattered steps to the basement-level Artist & Craftsman Supply is like stepping into a rainbow. Artists will find a wide selection of paints, inks, brushes, pastels, charcoals, paper, and markers, as well as specialty items like oil paints imported from Barcelona that aren’t sold anywhere else in the United States. A custom framing area is in the back.

Buckaroo’s Mercantile
5 Brookline St.
According to its Web site, Buckaroo’s Mercantile has “everything you want and nothing you need.” After all, you don’t need that Our Lady of Guadalupe toilet seat — but you know you want it. Described as a pop culture superstore, Buckaroo’s has a huge inventory of kitschy caboodles, from pinup girl lampshades and Nancy Drew clocks to Jesus packaging tape and Hawaiian-print aprons. While some of the funky merchandise comes from large-scale wholesalers or flea markets, local artists make the T-shirts, jewelry, clocks, photo frames, and night-lights. So buy that vintage collector’s plate from the Grand Ole Opry. It will perfectly complement those retro robot potholders.

Cantab Lounge
738 Massachusetts Ave.
In 1957, Little Joe Cook recorded a minor R&B novelty called “Peanuts.” The song was a one-hit wonder, but Cook went on to become a Cambridge legend, jamming every weekend at Central Square’s Cantab Lounge. Cook is retired, but the unpretentious bar thrives, hosting live entertainment seven days a week. Come for cheap beer, and stay for Monday’s open-mic, Tuesday’s bluegrass jams, and Wednesday’s poetry slams.

Central Kitchen
567 Massachusetts Ave.
If you’re looking for a night on the town, and you don’t mind spending a little cash, stop by Central Kitchen. The food, best described as Mediterranean-inspired comfort fare, combines flavors from Spain and the south of France, and the menu, though small, changes constantly. The food’s artistic presentation is complemented by the dim atmosphere and candle-lit copper tables. Central Kitchen takes only a limited number of reservations, so arrive early on weekends. Entrees range from $21 to $27.

Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Ave.
Established in 2008, Central Square Theater is a collaboration between two nonprofits: Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railroad Theatre. Check out the 2009-2010 lineup, which includes the East Coast premieres of Harriet Jacobs, by Lydia R. Diamond, a College of Fine Arts assistant professor, and Not Enough Air, by Masha Obolensky (GRS’09), and the world premiere of From Orchids to Octopi, by Melinda Lopez (GRS’00). Tickets are $35 for general admission, $25 for seniors, and $20 for students. Student rush tickets are available for $15 on the day of the performance.

Cheapo Records
538 Massachusetts Ave.
A Central Square institution, Cheapo Records opened in 1948 and has survived the neighborhood’s decades of tumult. Employees estimate the store carries more than 100,000 vinyl LPs and about the same number of 45s, with hundreds of thousands more in storage. Many, new and used, are highly collectible. While the shop specializes in R&B, soul, and oldies, its inventory contains records from all artists and genres. Prices can be a bit steep ($10 to $15 per record), so be prepared to open your wallet. The store also sells CDs, DVDs, and cassette tapes.

Dance Complex
536 Massachusetts Ave.
Follow the beat of the drums to the Dance Complex. Established in 1991, the Dance Complex is heralded as one force that began Central Square’s restoration. The artist-run, volunteer-based center for dance has six studios and offers classes in Irish step, African, ballet, hip hop, flamenco, and tap.

Four Burgers
704 Massachusetts Ave.
Living up to the eatery’s name, the menu at Four Burgers is minimalist: four types of burgers, four sides, and four desserts. The burgers — beef, turkey, salmon, and black bean — are hormone-free and topped with fresh ingredients like chopped apples, cranberry chutney, and guacamole. Sides include crispy waffle fries and shoestring sweet potato fries, and the ice cream is from Richardson’s Dairy in Middleton.

Great Eastern Trading Co.
49 River St.
If you’re on the prowl for a prom dress circa 1980, or a ’60s-inspired distressed leather jacket, find Great Eastern Trading Co. Less than a 10-minute walk from the Red Line, this charming shop has a comprehensive collection of vintage clothing and costumes for men and women, as well as funky jewelry, sunglasses, wigs, hats, masquerade masks, silk Japanese kimonos, and cowboy duds. Owned by a former professional belly dancer, the store also boasts a colorful selection of belly-dancing costumes.

Green Street Grill
280 Green St.
Home of Cambridge’s oldest active liquor license, this fixture dates to the Great Depression. Reinvented and reinvigorated by owner Dylan Black in 2006, Green Street Grill is best known for sophisticated pub grub (try the spicy clam stew or the braised pork shoulder) and its talk-of-the-town cocktails (the variety is more extensive than most dinner menus). Caribbean flair and fare have come and gone and come back again over the years; the present kitchen is in fine, spicy shape.

Harvest Co-op
581 Massachusetts Ave.
A longtime supporter of sustainable agriculture, fair trade, and family farms, Harvest Co-op is a member-owned, board-run natural foods store that offers a huge selection of fruits and vegetables (local and organic when possible) and a huge bulk-food and spice section. Prices are reasonable, and members receive additional discounts. The Co-op parking lot is also home to the Central Square farmers market Mondays, through November 22. Merchants sell baked goods, plants, organic vegetables, fruits, meat, chocolate, soap, and more. Look for the vendor who dresses up like a tomato to attract customers.

The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub
472 Massachusetts Ave.
Opened in 1970 as a Lebanese restaurant, the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub is a fixture in Boston’s rock and roll music scene, and the original family retains an exemplary sense of community. With four venues, the Middle East showcases local and national acts. Downstairs houses the larger shows (tickets $10 to $25), while Upstairs hosts local bands and smaller touring acts (tickets $8 to $20). ZuZu (21+) has a separate kitchen, and The Corner contains a larger restaurant and a stage. The Middle East features at least one performance every night of the week.

Moody’s Falafel Palace
25 Central Square
Boston isn’t exactly known for late-night eats. Most restaurants aren’t open past 10 or 11 p.m., leaving hungry bar patrons wandering the streets after closing. Thanks to its delicious falafel — billed by ’hood success story Ben Affleck as the “best falafel ever” — as well as wraps, gyros, and baklava, Moody’s Falafel Palace has gained a reputation for tasty fare more than for its 3 a.m. closing Thursday through Saturday. Proof? Expect a line anytime.

Pandemonium Books & Games
4 Pleasant St.
A haven for sci-fi fans and gamers alike, Pandemonium Books & Games has been a Cambridge landmark for nearly 20 years. The first floor has a broad collection of new and used science fiction, fantasy, and horror books; the basement is the gaming section. The store hosts events, including Sunday night’s Pathfinder event, Monday’s Dungeons and Dragons tournaments and Thursday night’s Warhammer matches. For a calendar, click here.

Rangzen Tibet Restaurant
24 Pearl St.
Rangzen Tibet is a vegetarian’s dream. Nearly half the menu is meatless, the food flavorful and filling. Tibetan food is best described as light, savory fare that will leave you comfortably full, not stuffed. The atmosphere at Rangzen is tranquil, the staff friendly, the prices reasonable, and the food delicious.

River Gods
125 River St.
River Gods is a few blocks away from Central Square’s main thoroughfare. Fancifully cluttered — there’s a suit of armor, a pipe organ, Celtic crosses, and a life-size hanging mermaid — this tiny neighborhood Irish pub is a Cambridge gem. The food selection is as eclectic as the décor. You’ll find common bar fare — patrons rave about the fries and garlic aioli dipping sauce — along with vegan sushi, marinated Thai chicken skewers, fancy salads, and macaroni and cheese. If you arrive early, you can even sip your double chocolate stout sitting in a throne-like velvet chair.

Rodney’s Bookstore
698 Massachusetts Ave.
Don’t walk into Rodney’s Bookstore unless you have a good 30 minutes to browse its huge inventory. Open since 2000, this used bookstore features more than 100,000 titles, as well as posters, calendars, and cards. While its fiction section is small compared to that of megachains, its collection of art, architecture, and photography books is enormous, and its proximity to Harvard and MIT ensures a comprehensive selection of academic books. Prices vary, and patrons can sell their books for store credit only.

Teddy Shoes
548 Massachusetts Ave.
Like Cheapo Records, Teddy Shoes is a Central Square landmark. A family-owned business since 1957, the store prides itself on customer service and a promise: the shoe will fit. Best known for a vast selection of dancing shoes, it sells everything from ballet slippers and tango and tap shoes to boots, sneakers, and men’s dress shoes.

Toscanini’s Ice Cream and Coffee
899 Main St.
Cold, sweet, and creamy are appropriate adjectives for Toscanini’s Ice Cream and Coffee. A Central Square fixture since 1981, Toscanini’s is renowned for its uncommon flavors. While cucumber sorbet, Guinness, or Khulfee — an exotic blend of cardamom, almonds, and pistachio — might not be what you’re craving, sample each, just for kicks. Flavor selections vary daily, but old favorites such as cocoa pudding, burnt caramel, and gingersnap molasses are always available.

The Women’s Center
46 Pleasant St.
In 1971, a group of women seized an abandoned Harvard-owned building to protest racism, sexism, and domestic violence. This led to the establishment of the Women’s Center, a community center that provides crisis intervention and counseling for women of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Monthly workshops focus on topics such as diversity, health issues, personal empowerment, and economic literacy. Volunteer opportunities and internships are available.

Getting there: By subway: take the Green Line inbound; at Park Street, take the Red Line outbound toward Alewife and get off at Central Square Station. By bus: pick up the 47 bus at the BU Bridge and take to the end. By foot: walk across the BU Bridge heading into Cambridge. Continue one mile up Brookline Street to Central Square at Massachusetts Avenue.

Rachel Gibian and Nicole J. Levin of The Crimson write a good piece about cupping with Jaimie from Barismo.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/11/10/coffee-cupping-roasts/

Coffee Cupping
Exploring Roasts Around the Square
By Rachel Gibian and Nicole J. Levin, CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Published: Thursday, November 10, 2011
Coffee 2

pictureMonica C Nesselbush

With a metal spoon and the steady hands of a surgeon, Jaime Vanschyndel, general manager of Barismo, gently pushes aside the coffee grounds that have floated to the surface of the cup. He leans in close, his nose mere inches from the surface, and inhales. The verdict? Smoke, like “an ash tray that doesn’t get cleaned out,” he says. All we saw was mud.

At Hi Rise coffee house and bakery, one of many Cambridge area cafés supplied by Barismo, “a wholesale roastery with a kiosk in the front,” Vanschnydel is walking us through the subtle art of coffee cupping.

It doesn’t take much coffee savvy to grasp the process. By brewing identical quantities of beans in exactly the same way, anyone can begin to distinguish the subtle differences in aroma, sweetness, body, mid-tone and acidity that Vanschnydel describes in such evocative terms as “musty,” “acrid,” “toasty,” and “green apple jolly rancher.”

The process is this:

1. Brew eight grams of coffee and about five ounces of water, and let it sit for four minutes.

2. With the back of a spoon, break through the thin layer of coffee grounds floating on the surface—the crust—and smell the aroma.

3. After letting the coffee cool until it reaches room temperature, taste. The defects in the beans begin to appear as the cup cools.

The coffee bean haul for our taste test included an eclectic assortment of seven different bean varieties served around the Square.

The Clover coffee, otherwise known as “Sample A,” had the effect of a punch to the back of the throat, which Vanschnydel translated as a “bittery chocolated” taste. The second sample, from Crema Café, struck us as somewhat stale. The third, Illy, which is brewed in many locations around the Square including Finale, was by our definition bitter, and by Vanschnydel’s “chocolatey.” The fourth coffee sample was more complex; Vanschnydel used the words “berry,” “dark chocolate,” and “tangerine citrus” to describe it, and was able to correctly recognize this blend as his own, despite the double-blind nature of the taste test.

The Starbucks brew was rather bland—in cupping language, “it lacked body” and “was not developed.” Peet’s house blend evoked a similar response, which Vanschnydel described as “inoffensive.” By the final cup of coffee, the French Press house blend from Algiers, we did not need any help from our guide. The roast was so dark that it felt like arsenic.

Vanschnydel’s blind guesses at the origins of each sample were remarkably accurate. From the first whiff, he could already begin to distinguish between the samples that were blends of beans from different regions, as opposed to those of a single location.

Vanschnydel is a fervent proponent of the truly local, direct trade coffee. By ignoring the identity of the actual coffee farmers, typical house blends obscure the consumer from understanding unique regional aromas, which in turn leads to a cycle of coffee-ignorance. “Assuming customers don’t care [where their coffee comes from],” Vanschnydel points out, “you get customers that don’t care.”

In our case, it may be less a case of apathy then of coffee illiteracy. After all, when you’re drinking coffee as an excuse for frothy milk and flavored syrups, you don’t often look for a coffee bean that tastes like citrus or jolly rancher.

Edward Behr writes, edits, publishes and probably typesets his very personal magazine The Art of Eating. University of California Press has published The Art of Eating Cookbook: Essenial Recipes From the First 25 Years. After reading the book and talking about different recipes I’ve spent a few shifts experimenting with two simple dessert recipes. Behr has a recipe for what he calls Coffee Ice; I’d call it Coffee Granita. And actually when I made it with the assistance of two baristas here at Toscanini’s we made Espresso Granita, using Lucid from Arlington’s Barismo. Behr’s proportions are a bit different than others. A key difference is that he infuses a single vanilla bean in the hot coffee. Vanilla beans can have almost magical powers. In this case the single vanilla bean wasn’t as strong as I hoped and I’ll make the recipe again with two split vanilla beans. Coffee Ice or Coffee Granita is a wonderful thing, and easy to make almost anywhere.

I also made what Behr calls Melon Ice and I’d label Melon Granita. His recipe is very precise. Combining pureed melon, sugar syrup and white wine resulted in a subtle granita -or ice, if you will- that I thought might benefit from more wine or even additional sugar. But others thought it was too winey for their taste so maybe its just about right.

The book is handsome and always rewarding to read. Behr is equal parts knowledgeable and fussy.

We got a phone call purporting to be from Scott Ambrose Reilly, legendary holder of Toscanini’s only record: the most days in a row eating a banana split. We believe the call was authentic because the caller described himself as being at the beach. If you can imagine Joe DiMaggio bringing his own ball and bat then you will comprehend the majestic memory of Scott entering the store, shouting “I’m here! And I’ve brought my own banana!”

Breakfast@TheBigTable

We only do this the second weekend of every month.

Saturday and Sunday No 12/12 10 AM>2PM.

You can’t read, study or use computers during this time so that others may sit.

Turkey Hash Egg Benedict

on portugese muffin and siracha holindaise 9.25

Grilled Cheddar Cheese Sandwich with apple

on pain de mie and

virgin bloody mary with celery sorbet cube 6.75

add bacon 3.00

Creamy Egg Sandwich

scramble eggs on a toasted ciabatta roll. 5.75

add bacon 3.00

Fried Egg Sandwich

Crispy fried salami, chive cream cheese, green on 7 grian bread

5.75

French toast with NH maple syrup and whipped butter.

5.25

Grits Pancakes with country ham and red eye gravy

8.25

Grilled blueberry muffin with whipped butter.

3.25

Fresh Orange Juice.

2.50

Sa 730P Bang on A Can All Stars @ Kresge auditorium

Su 8P Tutti Celli @ Jordan Hall

French Vanilla
Belgian Chocolate
Burnt Caramel
Salty Caramel
Cocoa Pudding
Grape Nut
Cherries and Chocolate Chips
Cake Batter
Bananas Foster
Lemon
Hydrox Cookie
Butter Chocolate Chip
Green Tea
Ginger Snap Molasses
Mocha
Cookie Dough
B3
Almond Joy
Cardamom Coffee
Fresh Mint
Lemon Espresso
Earl Grey
Pink Grapefruit
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate No. 3
Buckeye
Goat Cheese Brownie
Guinness
Grape Nut Rum Raisin

Mango Sorbet
Strawberry Sorbet

We have both Spicy Butterscotch Sauce and Hot Fudge