Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 1:45 PM

Memorable meals or "So fine" dining

Unfortunately, given the loss of my job, I can't go out to fancy restaurants any more. But I enjoy reminiscing, and can get vicarious pleasure from other people's enjoyment. So, I thought I'd just plug a few of the best restaurants I've eaten in -- places where the food has really knocked my metaphorical socks off. This is both for my pleasure and hopefully that of my readers. If you have gone or go in the future to any of these places, please let me know; I'd love to hear if the food is still as good as I remember.

• Sepal in Watertown: Palestinian cuisine. They make the best lentil soup I've ever tasted, and serve a lamb maklouba (short-grain rice, lamb, browned cauliflower, and eggplant sealed in a crock, backed, and then turned upside down for serving so all the flavors meld together) that's to die for. We first discovered this restaurant a few years back at a Yom Kippur break-fast, and the food is positively divine. I suppose they're not too expensive to prevent us from going back there, but it's a bit hard for us to get to their location.
• Cafe St. Petersburg in Brookline Village: Russian cuisine: caviar, blinis, an amazing mushroom soup... I haven't had a bad dish at this restaurant. They've got more different types of vodkas than most bars have bottles of liquor. And it's a great place to savor a meal. Shortly after our honeymoon, when I was still on my sabbatical, Ian and I went there for a weekday lunch. I think we were there for two-and-a-half hours, but the food was well worth the time we spent.
• Julien in Boston: Ian and I went there for their special Valentine's Day 2001 dinner (followed by 4th row seats at Penn & Teller) I can't recall exactly what we ate, but never have I had a more sensual meal. Wow. [Oh wait, I'm suddenly remembering homemade gnocchi with truffles. I don't think I ever had genuine truffles (the mushrooms) before, but they were melt-in-your mouth divine!] It was an expensive meal, but worth every penny. I wish I could afford to go back.
• Helmand in Cambridge serves delicious Afghani food -- an ethnicity not served terribly often around here. I particularly love their Kaddo Borawni (Pan-fried then baked baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar and served on yogurt garlic sauce, topped with ground beef sauce (also available vegetarian)). Yum.
• The Top of the Hub in the Prudential Center may be expensive for meals (and the one time I had dinner there I wasn't overly impressed), but they've got a dessert that's hard to beat. Let me just quote from the 1998 Globe review that clued me into this little treat:
  To finish, order the plate of warm cookies, served with a dish of fresh chantilly cream. It makes my list as one of the top desserts in the city, and is large enough for the more altruistic-minded to share. To avoid the catastrophic service, I recommend slipping into the lounge, late at night, for aperitifs and cookies and a view.
  When Ian and I tried this dish in the spring, hopping up there late one night following a nearby production of Die Fledermaus, it was $12 for twelve fresh-baked cookies. Quite a good deal, and large enough for three or four people to share. (We took home leftovers.)
• Tiramisu in Philadelphia: This one is a non-local, but it's part of my must-visit list for trips to Philadelphia. Roman Jewish cuisine. Where many restaurants offer rolls or bread before the meal, this place has a homemade brick-oven matza that's so good I've actually asked for refills -- on matza! And one of their signature dishes is a garlic artichoke appetizer that should not be missed. And, just writing up this description, I'm missing it already.

I can think of a few other places worthy of mention. I love Scandinavian food, though I rarely get to partake. A few times when I was younger, I went to Aquavit in New York City. And I know that once a year (in June) Maison Robert offers a night of Scandinavian cuisine as a departure from its usual French fare.

For some good but more reasonable options, I strongly and proudly recommend several Melrose restaurants, including Pauli's (Italian), Turner's (seafood of the highest quality and quite creative preparation -- unbelievable desserts, too!) and Sushi Corner. At the latter, be sure to try their sweet potato roll. Ernie's, the diner down the street, also serves excellent food; basic, but really high quality. New Mother India in Waltham has overcome my former aversion to Indian food, and I especially adore their coconut soup (which is a reason for me to try their all-you-can-eat buffets). Also, many people claim that there are no good Mexican restaurants in the Boston area, but Ian and I recently discovered Three Amigos on Rte. 28 in Stoneham, which we like enough to keep returning to. And, though it's completely low-brow, Jumpin' Jack's in Scotia, NY, serves my Platonic ideal cheeseburger. And I'm not even going to start in on some of the excellent dishes cooked by friends and family.

Then, of course, there are the excellent restaurants that have closed their doors. Although I only dined once at Saro's European Kitchen in Waltham, it was definitely an experience to remember. It was basically a one-man show; the place only seated about 20 people, the six-item menu featured whatever the chef felt like cooking, and it was all extremely superb. [Here's just one newsgroup review.] If anyone knows what happened to the proprietor, Victor Bono, I'd love to know, because I'd gladly patronize any other restaurant he's cooking for.

And of course, none of this even touches on the fact that many of my favorite foods are of the homemade variety. So many of my friends and family are excellent cooks that I wouldn't even know where to begin. I suppose I can save that up for a separate post.

So, what sparked this article? I think in part it was due to a "Tidbit" review of a local high tea in the Boston Globe the other day. To wit:

Intrigue Cafe Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf. 617-439-7000.
Picture this: a comfy fireplace, plush sofas, a view of Boston's harbor, a pot of your favorite tea - and a three-decker plate of scones, muffins, tea sandwiches, and sweets. What better way to spend a winter afternoon? On our arrival, we were led to a table strewn with rose petals. A dish of fresh strawberries and clotted cream was whisked out to each of us, along with a glass of champagne. Were we in Wimbledon? Warm mini-scones of all sorts followed, along with breads: blueberry and cranberry, pumpkin-raisin, and banana walnut. The sandwich plate included smoked salmon and cavier, cucumber and sun-dried tomato and egg salad served on checkerboard rye. And the third plate, dessert: gingersnap biscotti, chocolate mousse cake, banana cake with cream cheese frosting, lemon cheesecake and walnut diamonds, all done in miniature. Wash it down from dozens of teas. High tea is $14.50 per adult, which includes all of the above except the champagne and strawberries. For the extras, go for the Harbor Tea, at $23.50 per person. Worth every penny, and every calorie. Tea is served 2:30-4 p.m. daily.

Sounds scrumptious. (I've heard wonderful things about the longstanding tradition of weekly teas held Wednesdays at the Boston Athenaeum. Since Ian and I are members, we really ought to attend one of these weeks...) And, well, thinking about "fresh strawberries and clotted cream" reminded me of the cookies with chantilly cream at Top of the Hub, which reminded me of other great meals. Gustatory memory is a wonderful thing, which I don't indulge in often enough. I may not be able to afford to dine at most of these places right now, but remembering the experience is a close experience.

Mmm... Now, I'm hungry.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:30 PM

<contented sigh>

Well, one class down, and one more class one evening a week until graduation in May.

One of my classmates and fellow geek (and a newfound friend, I hope) completed his Master's with this course. After class, he asked me out for a celebratory beer, which I gladly accepted. We had some pretty-decent cheese fries, and beers (well, he had beers, I ordered a cider instead) and a rollicking-fun conversation which ranged from history (Anglo-Saxon, Japanese, and Elizabethan) to Tolkein and SF/fantasy to gaming war stories (Meet Walter!). Really nice guy. I had a lot of fun. Even if I don't see him again at Simmons, I hope we manage to keep in touch. [Come to Monday gaming night! Come to Arisia. Come to Vericon. Come to Boskone. I challenge you to a game of Munchkin! And if that isn't a sufficient lure, then don't forget to check the library job postings...]

Unfortunately and to my dismay, I discovered when I got on the train that I didn't have enough cash for the fare. A very nice gentleman named Neil gallantly gave me a token, and we had a pleasant chat about various topics, including photography and his collection of (working!) antique cameras. Then, in Downtown Crossing station, I think the guy making balloon animals was flirting with me. I wish I had some cash for him, but I may try to go back to that T station because he was so friendly. It was a surprisingly social evening for me.

On my way home, I decided to treat myself to an old favorite video of mine: Foul Play, starring Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. Ian didn't care for the film and walked out about fifteen minutes into the flick. I find some portions embarrassing (some of the stereotypes are so broad they fall over into farce) but stil enjoyed it. I forgot the fact that Goldie Hawn's character is a librarian.

And now I'm relaxing before the computer, typing this and listening to the Harry Potter soundtrack (from the first movie, borrowed from the Simmons library). All-in-all, an exhausting but utterly satisfying day.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:00 AM

Oh, and more bad news about high stakes testing of high school students. As seen on Electrolite, the authors of an excerpt used in reading comprehension say that all three answers are correct, meaning that many more students who officially failed should've passed.

Aren't we glad we have rigorous quality control on these things, given how important they are to the well-being of students and schools?

And I still haven't seen anybody else pick up my earlier story that it's possible the "Leave No Child Behind" Act is actually designed to make schools fail in order to promote vouchers (see this just proves how terrible the public schools are!)

[You can tell class is nearly over; I'm finding more time to read and post about the news. Mind you, I was feeling much more optimistic about America while avoiding some of the political blogs. Maybe the problem with the general public and press isn't actually apathy, but rather a genuine feeling that ignorance is bliss.

Added slightly later:

Hmm. Just started thinking about the interesting dichotomy in popular expressions. "Ignorance is bliss" but "knowledge is power." What does that say about the possibility of having both aspects -- power and happiness -- in our society? And, which would you prefer? An interesting thought experiment.

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:45 AM

For those fellow former Brandesians with issues regarding squirrels, I just saw this news item: Squirrel causes flood that ruins gym floor, is electrocuted. Also, yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article about upcoming Super Bowl ads, including a series planned by Trident about what happened to that mysterious fifth dentist who didn't agree with the other four. Apparently, he's been mauled by squirrels. [The Corporate Library professor has been bringing in a copy of the WSJ each day for us to read. I really like it. Too bad it's not available more cheaply outside a library; I rather enjoyed the articles.]

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:10 PM

Oh, just a reminder: Starting tomorrow is the Brattle Theatre's Dashiell Hammett Weekend! All weekend, double-features of The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. It looks like we'll be going tomorrow evening (7:30 and 9:45 showings, if anyone cares to join us), but here's the full schedule of showings if you want to attend another time.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:55 PM

Well, once again, Republicans have demonstrated that they believe unemployment compensation is merely another welfare program, and those who collect are bums who don't want to work, rather than people actively trying to find jobs in a tough economy.

You may recall back in October, an aide to Senator Don Nickles called unemployment "handouts."

The House, Senate and President all finally approved continuing the existing unemployment coverage, but have gone no further for those whose coverage has expired. This means that people are still entitled to 39 weeks of unemployment, but they haven't extended deadlines for people who have been unemployed any longer. [To put that into perspective, I've been unemployed for 36 weeks now. You can read my journal to see how long (or short) that timespan actually is. And, given the economy, I know many people who have been looking for far longer than that.]

Democrats have been trying to pass further extensions for the long-term unemployed. [In the 1991 recession, unemployment benefits were extended to a period of nearly two years, because it took so long for people to find work.] Republicans have opposed such proposals.

Anyway, Tom Delay has been quoted as saying that Democrats "would have unlimited unemployment compensation so somebody could stay out of work for the rest of their lives."

Ugh.

I want to work again. So does everybody I know who's unemployed. We don't think of unemployment as a handout, we don't want to collect indefinitely, but we also don't want to end up homeless while we try to find another job. (No, my own straits are not quite so dire, but I'm still concerned about exhausting my financial resources in the process.) I was employed for ten-and-a-half years at Lotus/IBM before I lost my job. All that time, I and my employer put money away in the rainy day unemployment funds. Look outside your windows, Republicans. It's pouring out. And that's exactly what this money is for. Idiots.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:10 AM

Since I know that several of my classmates are finishing up their degree with this class and are looking for work, I thought I'd offer a few tips on good library jobhunting sites for the Boston area.

The best, by far, is MLIN. The Simmons jobline is your next bet. LibraryJobPostings.org has links to other regional job posting sites, for those looking outside Massachusetts. Oh, and you might want to list yourself with Wontawk, a recruiter specializing in library jobs in the Northeast.

After that, it's a good bet to read the Globe classifieds, at Searching Bostonworks. Monster.com hasn't proven to be as useful. A better bet is to look at the websites for the various professional organizations -- ALA, SLA, ASIS... whichever interests you. Many of them have job listing pages, although they're pretty sparse. Also, if you're targeting specific companies, it's worthwhile to directly bookmark their job pages for the latest in listings.

Oh, and if the job hunt gets you down and you're in need of a pick-me-up, Overdue is a daily comic strip about librarianship, Librarian.net is a blog with fun and intersting news links, Librarian Avengers and the Ode to librarians are good morale boosters.

Hope this helps and I wish us all luck in finding jobs soon in this economy.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:00 PM

Oh, this is for any Buffy fans who don't already read LiveJournal. The First Evil has her own LiveJournal. That's right, you can read all the latest plans for the apocalypse from her very lips... er, I mean, fingers. Take this entry, for example:

---

Subject: Thoughts on Pesky Minions: A New Plan

Have thought of brand-spanking-new plan to win back weaselly ex-minion, what's-his- name. Andrew. His pig-slaughtering skills may be way below par, but at least he doesn't growl a lot like my Ubervamp or bump into things all the time (why did I think it would be a good idea to sew up my Bringers' eyes? Why?)

Mostly quiet at the Fortress of Slayitude (gah! Residual geekiness from impersonating Warren Mears will not go away!) How many bedrooms do they have, anyway? Maybe I should stop killing the Potentials. With seven or eight women sharing one bathroom, surely they will eventually kill each other in Darwinian-type frenzy?

Come to think of it, their bathroom is movie-set huge. Maybe they all shower together.

Mm.

Note to self: surveillance cameras.

---

Ah well, enough procrastination. I've got a three-page paper to write for tomorrow analyzing why a particular corporate library went under. I already know more-or-less what I'm going to say, so I should be able to type it up in under an hour. Fun class, but busy, busy, busy.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:25 PM

Well, I just got a roll of Boopsie photos developed. Unfortunately, most of them came out too washed out. Cat with white fur on a white comforter just didn't work too well... In too many cases, her eyes went all glowy instead of their normal black. When I have a chance, I've selected several to add to my Pictures pages, but for now here's just one snapshot of my baby, just to show you what I've been oohing and aahing over for all these years:

Added ten minutes later:

Oh, heck. I can't resist. Here are a few more:

Posted by Lis Riba at 3:20 PM

Okay, according to my calendar, Easter will be April 20th of this year. So why are Cadbury eggs already on display!? I mean, I like eating them -- the creme eggs, the caramel eggs and the mini-malt-balls, but the holiday is over 100 days away!!! Can't the stores wait until after Valentine's Day, at least???

Did holiday retailing ever make sense? I don't remember it being this bad as a child. Have things gotten worse over the last decade, or is that just wishful (wistful?) thinking?

Meanwhile, for all those out there with librarian fetishes (c'mon, admit it!) today's New York Times has an article about an all-librarian pin-up calendar, "Easy Readers @ Your Library." [Thanks to Librarian.net -- I love your new slogan!]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I saw another hawk on Friday soaring over the new LSci building on the Simmons campus. I asked another woman in the parking lot if she could tell what kind of bird it was, since I wanted to make sure my identification wasn't just wishful thinking, and she said (unprompted by me) that it looked to her like a hawk. Cool.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:50 AM

I feel I ought to forewarn people. Posting may be sparse this week.

I finally got into Organization and Management of Corporate Libraries, and the class runs Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, plus whatever time will be required for homework.

I realize that sounds like a lot, but it's the short course week, so those 40 hours are the entire course. I've heard a lot of great things about the class and I'm really looking forward to it.

If you're looking for other things to read while I'm busy, check out the Koufax winners at PLA. Awards like best blog, best pro blogger, best writing, and so on. Might give some good ideas for other additions to your bookmark list...