X-No-Archive: Yes >>Uh, Barry.....Kupels is right down the street and their bagels are the only >>edible ones in Coolidge Corner. > >"Right down the street" is a bit of an exagerration, they're several >blocks from Coolidge Corner; I wouldn't consider Kupels to be in >Coolidge Corner which to me ends down at Zaftig's/Barnes&Noble. Well, THEY consider it Coolidge Corner. And so do the maps. :-) > >I think Kupel's bagels are getting marginal, very bready, Einstein >Bros may have been about as good. And they're having a huge amount of >trouble getting any counter help, beyond what I'd consider just a >minor annoyance. Like the kid the other day, there were 9 inch fresh >pies with a big sign (Fresh Pies! $5.99 [whatever]), I asked what kind >of pies they were, he didn't know. He didn't seem to know how to find >out. He didn't seem to find that odd. Eventually on my prodding he >probed the pies a bit and guessed "apple?" like it was a pop >quiz. Also some customers were getting baker's dozens of bagels, and >some 12, when I asked which it was the two at the counter didn't seem >to find it an interesting question to resolve and just shrugged, like >I was asking if it was going to rain later today. Ok, poor counter >help I can put up with, but this was pretty amazing. Kupels has ALWAYS had bad counter help. I think some of it might be that everyone appears to be from a different continent than their coworkers, so language might be an issue. :-) But they have great ruggelah, and their Challah used to be good. Not as good as Cheryl Ann's in West Roxbury. But good and kosher, too. > >>Einsteins is a horrid national chain, only >>slightly better than (gag) Noah's Fake Brooklyn Undercooked and Tasteless >here >>in California. > >Well, to each his own, bagel quality in Boston is so bad I find a >Dunkin Donuts bagel not all that bad, comparatively. > Oh my. Evidentally you've never been led to the Ultimate Bagel in Newton Highlands. Yes, the location is ridiculous. It is on Needham St, across from International Bikes, near the Winchester intersection. But the bagels could bring tears to your eyes. Oh....the thought of them DOES bring tears to my eyes. The onion bagels melt in your mouth they are so good. The sisel...the pumpernickel, the marble...and the bazillion other yuppie flavors I wouldn't dare to mention. This is bagel heaven. This is the ONLY place as good as new york. You MUST MUST MUST try it. I actually ORDER people coming to visit us in the bay area to go there first, get 2 dozen, and bring them right to the airport. These are good bagels. >>I think you're negating one reason why the restaurant business in Coolidge >>Corner is changing, and that's the fact that the community as a whole has >>become more Frum. As the community changes, and Kashrut becomes more of an >>issue, the old standbys just aren't going to make it because the people who >>frequent the neighborhood won't support them. Look at the small Kosher >>restaurants like Rami's. Been there for quite some time, serves great >falafel, >>and the clientel is completely loyal. > >I don't know the word "Frum", but from context I assume it means more >observant (of kashrut.) > Yes, frum means people that observe Kashrut. >This wouldn't explain the success of Bottega Fiorentina and Noble >House. Nope, frum doesn't mean that this has become a mecca for Chassidim, but it does mean that the kosher establishments get good business, and the other restaurants in the neighborhood have a harder time being neighborhood joints. They can still succeed. Look at Annies Taqueria, a bastion of treif doing great business. But also look at Vittorios Pizza, which IS kosher. Which one is more crowded on a sunday evening? > >Rami's is the only kosher restaurant in Coolidge Corner proper, right? Oh no. When I was last in Boston, 6 months ago, there were at least 8 restaurants in the immediate area that were Kosher. There is a listing in the Jewish Advocate weekly telling which are Kosher establishments. You may not even know which are and which are not, but there are PLENTY of Kosher restaurants in the area. >Maybe that Manhattan Sandwich shop on Winchester is also. I don't know about that one. > >>As the neighborhood changes, so does the food available. I still mourn Jack >and >>Marions, but heck...they're not coming back to make me a sandwich. And >Jack's >>Pick-a-Chick was the best place in town to get chicken soup, but that's long >>gone as well. And the Butcherie...who would of thunk that they'd actually >widen >>the isles and clean up the store? And in my lifetime! > >Well now you're back over 20 years (Butcherie excepted.) Yup, and things aren't the same. :-) > >I'll claim that all three of those are not only good neighborhood >restaurants, but they're worth making a trip across town for. Interestingly, many of the restaurants that are Kosher do a landmark business because they're Kosher and people can finally have a place to go eat, so they don't even care it it's good. When you're stuck at home, anything out tastes good. :-) > >Not sure what you're referring to "down the block". There was that >interesting but short-lived restaurant near Buddha's Delight, I forget >the name (maybe "Galilee" or something like that), which had a very >sophisticated, european menu. The food was pretty good but the service >and ambience was a step above a soup kitchen! It was interesting, but >very peculiar, gone now. But that's the only interesting restaurant I >can think of in that region (call it "North Coolidge Corner") >recently. Do you think the people who run Ruth's Kitchen will ever >learn how to cook? The few times I've tried it the food simply makes >me think "incredibly amateurish". Again, it ain't great, but it IS Kosher! I've been known to run in for something just because we have no food for dinner, knowing that it won't be great. I also do that at the Butcherie, but the food there IS pretty good. The cabbage soup is great, the stuffed cabbage is wonderful. > >One exception is Wulf's Fish, tho that isn't a restaurant, it's a >fresh fish market from the old school. I like the place and on >occasion they have something truly interesting like some huge rainbow >trout (huge for rainbow trout) which they happily filletted for me and >I "meuniered", mmm-mm. They'll also do special orders, like if you >find yourself in need of several lbs of high-quality dover or grey >sole fillets or whatever. Wulfs is wonderful fish. No doubt about it. And it is like stepping back in time when you go in there right before a Jewish holiday. Marjorie > >-- > -Barry Shein Isn't weather relative?
Boston, MA