Monday, August 27, 2007

The end of summer in Central Square.

First the foreign students and the athletes arrive. Then the first
year students. There are fewer parking spaces. MIT starts early and
we're in that happy period when packets of new arrivals zip around the
02139 internet, discovering Hi Fi Pizza and Economy Hardware. The
comic element includes the short-lived, but long-planned back to school
outfits. A number of the affluent East Asian female students dress up
for the first few days until the pointlessness of it settles in. A lot
of the new MIT guys have Space Camp t-shirts. It is a real place in
Huntsville, Alabama run by NASA. And there are also Nebraska Young
Scholar shirts and other goodies from weekend programs and summer
schools. The arrogant few wear austere shirts that say "Science." You
are supposed to know that "Science" means Bronx High School of. I once
saw a kid wearing a Science varsity jacket. On his sleeve it said
"Math Team." I was afraid.

If you've been out of town then you should know Toscanini's is open
from 8AM to 11 PM. Every day. On Saturday and Sunday we serve
Thalia's Large Breakfast, but not this weekend. Because of the Labor
Day holiday we're going to Rhode Island to visit Dunkin Donut
prototypes. One of my favorite chefs is Stan Frankenthaler and he is
DD's very own Ferran Adria. New things are supposed to be coming our
way and you can visit a few stores and see the future.

The last time I checked DD's coffee cost more than Starbucks, and
wasn't as good. And while the new owners are planning to make billions
Dunkin' Donuts doesn't let you tip their workers. Maybe the investment
groups are just going to divide all the money they get and share it
with all those hourly workers.

You can get Toscanini's delivered if you call Cinderella's Pizza. 617
576-0280. The number of flavors they have is limited but their drivers
are heroic. We also sell to Nantucket Ice Cream on Straight Wharf, and
The Nut House in Provincetown. Provincetown also has the very nice
Angel Food and they sell our pints. We sell to most Whole Foods in New
England, including Portland, Maine. We sell to both Formaggio's. We
sell to Serene Chocolate near Harvard Square and we sell to Serenade
Chocolate in South Station. We sell to the two Biscuits and buy our
weekday baked goods from their main store at the intersection of Beacon
Street and Washington Street.

This is Sam Mehr's last week before returning to Rochester NY. He
studies at Eastman. He just made a wicked good Spicy Plum Sorbet.
Martin Gonzalez is not going back to Berklee. He's working on several
ice creams with pistachio nuts and a better Cinnamon. David Dow has
spent most of August playing with bourbon and black pepper. The
results have been good.

I spent part of the summer hang-gliding. It was a good vacation.