Fasting for one more weekend

We're NOT doing Breakfast@TheBigTable this New Year's weekend. We will
sleep late and visit friends in other parts of Cambridge. Chef Thalia
has gone back through time to west-central Penna., where "Penna." is
still the usual abbreviation for the Keystone State. We resume
Breakfast@TheBigTable on Sa Ja 6 and Su Ja 7. The menu will continue
to change with the seasons but perennials like the Creamy Egg Sandwich
and Lemon Curds will always remain on the menu. Happy New Year.

Questions for the end of the year

Political akido? Part of akido is using the force and energy of your
attacker against him. 2006 ends with several surprising examples. The
Democrats have managed to turn the moralizing of some Republicans into
an advantage by emphasizing hypocrisy. So the only people currently
vulnerable to charges of moral turpitude are Republicans. The Mark
Foley scandal vividly demonstrated this. The end of the election focus
on Foley was the final nail in the coffin for Congressional
Republicans. But this pales besides the mystic martial arts skills
used by President Bush. To listen to NPR you would have thought that
the Iraqi Study Group was presenting something close to a bill of
impeachment, but the report's muddy conventional thinking was
translated into "a surge" that would increase troops. How did that
happen? It may or may not be the correct action but the President has
emerged undamaged despite his usual absence of rhetorical skills.
Nothing like this has been seen since Chow Yun Fat's fight on the train
in God of Gamblers.

What's with the fans of Boston Harbor? When the dull-as-can-be and
very expensive Federal Courthouse was built everyone praised its views
of Boston Harbor. Now that the new Institute of Contemporary Art is
plotzed down next to Anthony's Pier 4 everyone is again singing the
praises of harbor views. When Mayor Menino announces his strange plan
to move Silly Hall to the same neighborhood everyone agreed that
anything built there will also enjoy great harbor views. Boston Harbor
is a pretty dull-looking place, on a par with Tallin, Estonia. There
is a good view of the city from East Boston, another from the top of
the Mystic Bridge and the view from Castle Island of the Outer Harbor
is striking. But there are no good views of anything from the new
South Boston waterfront, or whatever anyone wants to call it.

This is another example of mass delusion, lead -as usual- by The Globe.
And The Globe often invokes design ideals when they are noticeable by
their absence. The new buildings of the South Boston waterfront look
like the edge of downtown Atlanta. On the nicest of days a reasonable
reaction is to leave the area quickly, going east to the older parts of
Southie or west to the Ft. Point Channel area. There are no trees and
the street plan is a very confusing mess of unusually broad
boulevards. Everything is too far apart.

The extension of the Esplanade will glide by the new Suffolk County
Jail, which lacks any punitive drama that the old jail might have
possessed. The new jail looks like a particularly unfriendly Holiday
Inn Express.

There was a period when Bob Campbell was praising Lane Frenchman for
their planning acumen. Its difficult to understand what he was talking
about when you look at the Tip O'Neil Building next to the new Garden,
or the two towers across from Symphony Hall and Horticulture Hall. In
fact has there ever been a worse response to two handsome, important
buildings? And since the old elevated rail lines have been removed
from the North Station area the O'Neil Building is now visible to all,
looking a lot like a US Embassy in an unfriendly Islamic country.

Mike Krodel has left the building, sort of.

After nine years we closed our Harvard Square store on Sunday, De 17.
Harvard Real Estate is renovating the building. The project may take
six months and it may take longer than that. We hope to return, to
that location if possible. The wonderful neon sculpture by A&M Sina
has returned to their studio in Brookline. Stereo whiz Kevin Brown has
retrieved his customized sound system and Adam Simha's handsome blue
chairs are now at 899 Main Street in Central Square. In the meantime
Mike Krodel, the red-headed, dread-locked barista of love has also
migrated down the street to our first store at 899 Main St.

The Harvard Square store got an effusive review from The Unofficial
Guide to Life at Harvard.
"Hands down the best coffee in the Square --the ice cream is a closer
fight. Bailey's Irish Cream, Gingersnap Molasses, Fresh Mint, Burnt
Caramel, Vienna Finger Cookie and Cake Batter are just a smattering of
the many enticing choices on the rotating menu. One small scoop is
slightly pricey at $3.25, so it's better to share a pint ($5.25) with
your roomies. And though the prices have gone up, the cups have grown
larger, and their java (small $1.75) is still a status symbol
recognized in any English section. Mike (with the red dreads) makes
the best lattes."

Great moments in ice cream

Toscanini's owner celebrates his published memoir

By Danielle Dreilinger, Globe Correspondent  |  December 17, 2006

Nothing energizes a book party like an open bar, no matter how the
booze is served.

Last month, chattering Cantabri gians slurped free Rum Raisin and other
frozen flavors to celebrate the Amazon.com publication of Gus
Rancatore's short memoir "Ice Cream Man: 25 Years at Toscanini's."

The work is just a taste, to drum up interest in a longer book he and
author Helen Epstein are writing that describes the changing world of
Central Square.

In that world, said his customer-fans, Rancatore, 56 , is the host of a
sundae salon.

"People just love listening to him," said Sue Bell, 23, who huddled
over a newspaper alongside other less-sociable regulars during the book
party at Toscanini's in Central Square. Bell, who lives upstairs, says
she stops in twice a day.

Said scooper Martin Gonzalez of Allston, 20, "He's here all day [but]
the number-one thing people say when they see him is, 'Gus, you're
never here!' " Rancatore opened a Harvard Square branch in 1997 , but
the original location on the MIT side of Central Square is his home
base.

Rancatore chose the storefront for its affordable rent, foot traffic,
multicultural population, and -- most important -- its proximity to
MIT.

"Students eat more ice cream than anyone else," he writes in the
memoir. Still, "you could not have called it picturesque." If he left
for home after midnight, he made sure the streets were empty first.

Those MIT students have treated the store well.

Rancatore still uses an ice cream machine built by "two superconductor
students offended by the noise and clunkiness of our equipment," he
writes.

At the party, he reminisced about three students who used to come in
barefoot in the '80s (don't tell the Health Department). When asked why
he remembered them -- one became a programmer, he says, and two math
teachers -- he said: "Of course you talk to somebody who is barefoot in
Cambridge!"

Although the square's fortunes have gone up since 1981, and the store's
menu has expanded to include coffee and even a weekend brunch,
Rancatore still sees the area as a colorful collection of this, that,
and everything.

He compares his yet-to-be-completed opus to "Tales of the City" by
Armistead Maupin. And he still often ends the day by talking with his
employees around the store's large wooden table.

Rancatore rules them with a velvet-wrapped scoop. When he hired Crystal
Kelley , 24, in 2003, his only rule was "not to bring any drugs,
knives, or guns," she said.

He encourages new flavors, which have included truffle fungus,
scrambled-egg-and-bacon, and Coffee Ice Cream Sandwich -- a concoction
Gonzalez calls "a meta ice cream; an ice cream of an ice cream."

The brainiac touch is characteristic. Although Rancatore never
graduated from college, ice cream hasn't turned his mind soft.

"I think you should be open to all sorts of ideas," he says.

"My information is so narrow compared to him," said Boston University
anthropology professor Merry White, 65. At the party, she pointed out
three of Rancatore's friends: a neon artist, a physics professor, and a
country singer.

Rancatore visits White's class every year to talk about ice cream as
identity. Naturally, he brings along his own personal ID card -- and
spoons for all. 

From our German language editions: Eis essen und Energie sparen

SPIEGEL ONLINE - 04. Dezember 2006, 06:19
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/reise/fernweh/0,1518,452019,00.html
ALLTAG IN MASSACHUSETTS

Eis essen und Energie sparen

New York, Grand Canyon, Kalifornien - diese Höhepunkte bestimmen häufig
das touristische Bild der USA. Dabei kann der ganz normale
amerikanische Alltag viel spannender sein. Henryk M. Broder war auf
Spurensuche in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Helen Epstein und Patrick Mehr sind typische Amerikaner. Sie wurde 1947
in Prag geboren und kam mit ihren Eltern, zwei Holocaust-Überlebenden,
ein Jahr später in die USA. Auch in New York wurde bei den Epsteins zu
Hause weiter Tschechisch gesprochen. Er wurde 1954 in Paris geboren,
als Sohn rumänischer Juden, die nach Frankreich emigriert waren.
Patrick besuchte die Eliteschule Ecole Polytechnique und würde heute
noch im Industrieministerium arbeiten, wenn er 1981 nicht Helen bei
einem Single-Treffen in Davos kennengelernt hätte.

Lexington: Ganz normale Amerikaner

Ein Jahr darauf brach er seine Zelte in Paris ab und zog nach Boston.
Heute leben Helen und Patrick in Lexington im Bundesstaat
Massachusetts, der "Wiege der amerikanischen Revolution", wo alles am
18. April 1775 begann, als Paul Revere aus Boston angeritten kam, um
Sam Adams, John Hancock und die übrigen Kolonisten vor den anrückenden
britischen Truppen zu warnen. "Paul Revere's Ride" von Henry Longfellow
ist das Hohelied der Revolution, das amerikanische Kinder schon
aufsagen können, noch bevor sie Lesen und Schreiben gelernt haben.

Wenn es so etwas wie einen spirituellen Kern der USA gibt, dann ist es
das kleine Lexington bei Boston mit seinen knapp 33.000 Einwohnern, wo
jedes Jahr am dritten Montag im April der "Patriot's Day" gefeiert und
das Gefecht von "Battle Green" als Spektakel reanimiert wird. Noch in
den fünfziger Jahren war Lexington eine typische WASP-Town, bewohnt von
weißen angelsächsischen Protestanten und einigen jüdischen Familien.
Heute kommt ein Viertel der Einwohner aus Asien: Es sind Japaner,
Chinesen, Inder und Pakistaner.

Viel mehr als nur eine Eisdiele

Aber Helen und Patrick sind nicht wegen der Geschichte nach Lexington
gezogen, sondern weil die Stadt für ihre guten "Public Schools" bekannt
ist. Inzwischen haben ihre beiden Söhne, Sam und Daniel, die High
School beendet und kommen nur noch in den Semesterferien nach Hause.
Also haben Helen und Patrick viel Zeit für andere Aktivitäten. Helen,
die schon Ende der siebziger Jahre mit ihrem ersten Buch ("The Children
of the Holocaust") bekannt wurde, schreibt jetzt Kurzgeschichten für
amazon.com. Ihr erster Text heißt "Ice Cream Man" ("Eisverkäufer") und
steht seit vier Wochen online.

Es ist die Geschichte von Gus Rancatore, der vor genau 25 Jahren eine
Eisdiele in Cambridge aufgemacht hat: "Toscanini's". Gus, Jahrgang
1950, ist ebenso ein typischer Amerikaner wie Helen und Patrick,
vielleicht einen Tick mehr: Seine Großeltern kamen Ende des 19.
Jahrhunderts nach Amerika, er wurde in Staten Island/New York geboren
und wuchs in New Jersey auf, wo er eine katholische Klosterschule
besuchte. Heute ist "Toscanini's" mehr als eine Eisdiele, es ist eine
Institution, weil Gus eine "kulturelle Agenda" hat.

Bot er anfangs ein Dutzend klassische Eissorten an, sind es heute mehr
als 400, darunter viele "Exoten", die man sonst nur in Asien bekommt,
wie das "Fünf-Gewürze-Eis". Denn "Toscanini's" liegt auf halbem Wege
zwischen Harvard und dem Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
und viele Studenten der beiden Elite-Hochschulen kommen aus Asien.

Gus selbst hat auch einen multikulturellen Migrationshintergrund. Die
Mutter ist irisch, der Vater italienisch. Wären nicht beide zufällig
katholisch gewesen, hätten sie nur wenig gemeinsam gehabt. In der
Familie gab es täglich einen regelrechten Kulturkampf, über das Essen
auf dem Tisch, die Musik im Radio und die Frage, wie man die Kinder
erzieht.

An der Basis der amerikanischen Demokratie

Gus' Vater Joe heute 84-jährig, ist ein wenig schwerhörig, aber wenn er
sich mit einer jüngeren Frau unterhält, versteht er jedes Wort. Er hat
noch vor ein paar Jahren gearbeitet, zuletzt managte er eine kleine
Kleiderfabrik mit 75 Mitarbeitern. "I was always in the rag business",
sagt er mit einem breiten Grinsen, denn "rag" bedeutet so viel wie
"Lumpen". Auch seine fünf Kinder sind alle etwas geworden. Gus, Joe und
Mimi machen in Eiscreme, Diane ist Bibliothekarin und Conny im
Finanzgeschäft. "Wir lieben es zu arbeiten", sagt Conny, "Arbeit ist
unsere Leidenschaft."

Den 25. Geburtstag von "Toscanini's" feiern sie mit ihren Freunden und
Unmengen von Ice Cream. An der Wand hängt ein Ausdruck der
amazon-Geschichte von Helen Epstein. Für Gus ist das so etwas wie eine
späte Promotion. "Well done, Gus", sagen seine Freunde, "we love you!"
Während Helen eine Eissorte nach der anderen ausprobiert, macht sich
Patrick auf den Weg zu einem Town Meeting, einer Kommunalversammlung in
der Cary-Hall. Städte wie Boston haben einen Stadtrat und einen
Bürgermeister, Orte wie Lexington eine Versammlung und anstelle eines
hauptamtlichen Bürgermeisters fünf "Selectmen", die gemeinsam und
ehrenamtlich die Gemeinde führen, dazu Komitees für Finanzen, Schulen,
Feste, Sozialwesen usw. In den Kleinstädten ist der Anteil der Bürger,
die aktiv an der Politik teilnehmen, viel höher als in den großen
Metropolen. Wenn man erleben will, wie die amerikanische Demokratie an
der Basis funktioniert, muss man nur ein Town Meeting besuchen.

Patrick ist einer von 189 Town Meeting Members, er wurde schon zweimal
in die Versammlung gewählt. Sein Spezialgebiet ist Energie und die
Frage, wie man Kosten für Energie reduzieren könnte. Er fährt, ebenso
wie Helen, einen Toyota Prius, das erste serienmäßige Auto mit
Hybrid-Antrieb. Ginge es nach ihm, würden Autos wie der Hummer verboten
oder mit extrem hohen Steuern belegt.

Er macht einfach weiter

Energie steht nicht auf der Tagesordnung der Versammlung, es geht vor
allem um eine Erhöhung des Schulbudgets im laufenden Jahr von
62.346.492 Dollar auf 63.419.500 Dollar. Bevor die Versammlung die
Erhöhung um über einer Million Dollar, die vom Finanzkomitee
beschlossen wurde, genehmigt, möchten die Mitglieder der Versammlung
wissen, wofür das Geld ausgegeben werden soll. Tom Diaz, der
Vorsitzende des Schulkomitees, erklärt, wie es zu der Situation
gekommen ist und warum sie im Frühjahr, als das Budget beschlossen
wurde, nicht absehbar war. Es geht sehr gesittet zu in der Versammlung,
nur wem "Madame Moderator" das Wort erteilt hat, darf etwas sagen.

Patrick hat eine Frage und stellt sich hinter das Mikrofon im
Mittelgang. "Mr. Mehr, please", sagt die Moderatorin. "Thank you, Madam
Moderator", sagt Patrick. Er möchte wissen, warum das Schul- und das
Finanzkomitee den Schuletat erhöhen wollen, statt die Energiekosten
durch entsprechende Umbauten der Gebäude zu senken, was kurzfristig die
Ausgaben zwar erhöhen, sie aber langfristig reduzieren würde. "Mr.
Mehr, das ist nicht unser Thema!" erwidert Madame Moderator, ohne zu
warten, bis Patrick seine Frage beendet hat.

Er setzt nur kurz aus - und wiederholt seine Frage.

"Mr. Mehr, ich habe eben gesagt, Energie ist nicht unser Thema!" ruft
Madame Moderator, schon erheblich lauter.

Patrick macht einfach weiter.

"Mr. Mehr, ich rufe Sie zur Ordnung!" Nach dem dritten Ordnungsruf gibt
Patrick auf. Zehn Minuten später wird die "Etatanpassung" von der
Versammlung mit großer Mehrheit angenommen. Die dafür sind, rufen
"aye!", die dagegen sind, "no!" Es kommt nur selten vor, dass einzeln
abgestimmt werden muss.

Am späten Abend treffen sich Helen und Patrick wieder zu Hause. Wie war
deine Versammlung? fragt Helen. "Really exciting", sagt Patrick,
"ziemlich aufregend". "Meine auch", sagt Helen, "das Eis war
großartig."

Zum Thema in SPIEGEL ONLINE:
Henryk M. Broder: Reisetagebuch US- Ostküste
http://www.spiegel.de/reise/0,1518,k- 7022,00.html
Straßenkünstler in Cambridge: Mit Puppen gegen Uncle Scam (28.11.2006)
http://www.spiegel.de/reise/fernweh/0,1518,451179,00.html

Diner in Cambridge: "Champagner und Hummerschwänze, bitte!"
(27.11.2006)
http://www.spiegel.de/reise/fernweh/0,1518,450865,00.html

Reisespeisen: Austern auf ex (16.11.2006)
http://www.spiegel.de/reise/fernweh/0,1518,448858,00.html

Zum Thema im Internet:
Text "Ice Cream Man"
http://www.amazon.com/Ice- Cream- Man- Years-
Toscaninis/dp/B000JLTS8U/sr=11- 1/qid=1164840111/ref=sr_11_1/002-
1437446- 5584838

From our loyal and clear-eyed chief political correspondent

Al Gore. Mr. Vice President. Mr. President, if not for the meddling of
the Supreme Court. Mr. iMac Keynote Slide Show. Mr. Pants-on-Fire
Climate Change.

Let's get that up front. Me and Al Gore, baby.

The location:
Mitchell Gold Furniture store in Boston. The opening reception for
Tipper Gore's photography show.
http://www.mitchellgold.com/photography.asp

The invitation:
Thanks to Doug Brown via Dee Elms via Andrew Terrat (partner in
Mitchell Gold Boston; business partner to Dee; co-Burning Man cohort)

The scene:
Doug, Dee and I, along a few others are gathered in the store near the
open bar (of course). Tipper is in the far corner surrounded by
admirers. Over Doug's shoulder I see Al Gore approaching us. He is
wearing a black suit with a black shirt, casually unbuttoned at the
top. He walks towards our group. Crosses the invisible boundary of our
circle and extends a hand.

I shake his hand and introduce myself, as do the others. Dee
compliments his wife's photography collection. Gore puts a hand to his
chest, in a gesture of love and pride, and thanks her. I decide to
speak.

(I will have to paraphrase - since it's all such a dizzying blur in my
memory)

I ask him if, like his wife, he has a creative outlet . . . besides
Power Point. Gore makes a comment about Keynote (the superior Mac
software). I second the excellence of Keynote over Power Point. He says
he used to paint, but no longer has long enough stretches of time to
devote to painting. I begin to ask what medium he painted in, but we're
interrupted by one of Gore's friends. They greet effusively and hug.
Gore apologizes (twice) for interrupting his conversation with us and
then leaves with his friends.

Much later, Doug - my most excellent wingman in all situations -
accompanies me as we worm our way over to the fluttering crowd around
Gore (moneyed white men, starry-eyed women dressed to the nines, and
actual Gore friends). I want a photo and realize I don't need an excuse
for approaching him. It's not like Gore will remember that I'm the nut
who sidled up to him for a photo. Still, I don't want to seem TOO
ridiculous. Luckily, someone beats me to the title of Ridiculous Woman
of the Evening. She introduces herself to Gore and asks if she can give
him a hug. He seems a bit startled but acquiesces. She lunges into a
full-contact body hug. I am relieved. I step forward and say "Mr.
Gore. I'm a huge fan. Would you mind if my friend took a photo of us?"
He poses. Doug, at the ready, shoots. We skedaddle.

Other worthy notes:
The crowd is stylishly dressed, much more so than the crowd last
Saturday night at the member opening at the ICA. The large contingent
of gay men are particularly well turned out.

John Kerry arrives. Someone wonders aloud if Deval Patrick will show
up. Doug notes that Patrick is a winner, while Gore and Kerry--not so
much. Later Doug will say he needs to leave because there is just too
much Democratic failure in one place.

Tipper Gore looks fabulous. She speaks briefly to the crowd about her
work and refers to her husband as the "Democratic standard bearer in
2000" and John (please don't run) Kerry as the "Democratic standard
bearer in 2004," which is a much more politic description than Doug's.

Tipper charmingly says that "She went to bed with a recovering
politician and woke up with a movie star."

Tipper later shows up with a small entourage of Mitchell Gold people at
the restaurant (28 degrees) where Doug, Dee and I are having dinner a
few tables over. She does not use the restroom, which is lucky for her,
because the wall separating the restrooms from the hallway is
translucent. No kidding.

—Gore report filed by Sari.

An optimist's guide to the season,

We have probably passed one of my favorite days of the year but I'm not
sure exactly when that specific day occurs this year. Somewhere around
December 10 Boston experiences its earliest sunset. The days continue
to shorten because the sun rises later and later in the morning until
December 21, when the winter solstice occurs. Then you can break out
the Mannheim Steamroller albums and also avoid those people who try to
diminish Christmas by pointing out the pagan origins of its calendar
date.

Unseasonably warm weather is good for business but if it is dark when
people get out of work they go home. It doesn't matter if its fifty
degrees or thirty degrees. If its light out they are much more likely
to do something besides return to their burrow. So the tide has now
turned and the afternoon light will remain a few seconds longer. A
good part of the city's population is beginning to leave for the
holidays. Harvard students come back for reading period and then leave
again. Many MIT students return for Independent Activity Period in
January but the spring semester doesn't formally begin until February
6,2007. Harvard's spring semester begins January 31, 2007. Then its
St. Patrick's Day, Groundhog Day, the packing of the Red Sox luggage
for spring training in Florida, and late winter storms. Eventually
spring comes, even to Central Square. The City of Cambridge begins
monthly street cleaning on April 1.

Greg Case's cookbook

Greg Case has worked at many famous restaurants. His G. Case Baking
company in Somerville produced wonderful baked goods for Toscanini's.
Since closing that bakery he has written One Cake, One Hundred
Desserts. Corby Kummer named it one of 2006's best cookbooks, in
his annual roundup in the New Yortk Times Book Review. Greg's book is
from Morrow, costs $29.95 and is available at many places including the
Harvard Book Store.

Another good day

We have probably passed one of my favorite days of the year but I'm not
sure exactly when that specific day occurs this year. Somewhere around
December 10 Boston experiences its earliest sunset. The days continue
to shorten because the sun rises later and later in the morning until
December 21, when the winter solstice occurs. Then you can break out
the Mannheim Steamroller albums and also avoid those people who try to
diminish Christmas by pointing out the pagan origins of its calendar
date.

Unseasonably warm weather is good for business but if it is dark when
people get out of work they go home. It doesn't matter if its fifty
degrees or thirty degrees. If its light out they are much more likely
to do something besides return to their burrow. So the tide has now
turned and the afternoon light will remain a few seconds longer. A
good part of the city's population is beginning to leave for the
holidays. Harvard students come back for reading period and then leave
again. Many MIT students return for Independent Activity Period in
January but the spring semester doesn't formally begin until February
6,2007. Harvard's spring semester begins January 31, 2007. Then its
St. Patrick's Day, Groundhog Day, the packing of the Red Sox luggage
for spring training in Florida, and late winter storms. Eventually
spring comes, even to Central Square. The City of Cambridge begins
monthly street cleaning on April 1.

Breakfast@TheBigTable

Breakfast@TheBigTable
Every Sa & Su morning. 10:00AM to 2:00PM.

Thalia did not remain in Vermont after Thanksgiving and has returned to
Central Square, where the air is cleaner and the livestock exist
without subsidies. The menu has been tweaked but the lemon curd
remains, as does the Cruncy Monsieur sandwich.

From the kitchen: we cook everything to order so we ask for your
patience.
Gingerbread pancakes with poached pears, caramel sauce and
marscapone whipped cream 7.75
Creamy Egg Sandwich on toasted ciabatta 5.25
Fried Egg Sandwich with rouille (spicy mayonaisse) 5.25
Coffee French Toast with a little vanilla ice cream and espresso syrup
7.75
International House of Brioche Toast with lemon curd 3.
Brioche French Toast with whipped butter and Vermont syrup 4.95
Crunchy Monsieur ham and cheese sandwich 7.25
Side o' Applewood bacon 3.75

From the LittleTable, please pay at the cash register after serving
yourself.
Cup of Fruit salad 5.75
Thalia's Yogurt with honey 1.95 (3.25 with granola)
Hard-boiled egg .50
Petsi Pies muffin and scones 2. and 2.75
Iggy's croissant 1.50
Iggy's chocolate croissant or almond croissant 2.75
California Clementine 1.
Orange Juice 1.75
Orange Limoncello Granita 3.75
French Press coffees from Batdorf & Bronson and George Howell 3.75
Chai Cofffee with Indian Herbs
Pot of MEM tea 2.25

Credit cards are accepted, as always. Join our rewards and Full Cup
programs.
Give us your email address and possibly win a Free Breakfast.
De 2 06

Lost in the Amazon with Ice Cream Man

The url that takes you directly to that very special portion of
Amazon.com is so long that this blog will not print it. Try cutting
and pasting these lines into your web-browser. Ahh, the challenges of
the internet.
http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Cream-Man-
Years-Toscaninis/dp/B000JLTS8U/sr=11-
1/qid=1165697291/ref=sr_11_1/103-8165378-7962202

or, through the miracle of www.tinyurl.com try this
tinyurl.com/yjjnkm

Fun while flacking Ice Cream Man in Boston's Weekly Dig

Ice Cream Man is an Amazon Short that describes 25 years of hijinks in
Central Square, selling ice cream. It is written by Helen Epstein and
me, and you can download a copy for .49, half the cost of an iTune. It
is an attempt to meld together Lake Wobegon, Tales of the City and the
old Gasoline Alley comic strip.

This is a too long url. You can try to copy and paste it to your
browser
http://amazon.com/amazon-shorts-digital-shorts/b/
ref=sd_allcatpop_sh/103-8165378-7962202?%5Fencoding=UTF8&node=13993911

or try
tinyurl.com/yjjnkm

Gus Rancatore, Co-author of Ice Cream Man

Defend Yourself!
by Justin Becker
Issue 8.49
Wed, December 06, 2006

After a quarter-century of running Boston's best ice cream store, Gus
Rancatore turned to the most logical person to help him write his
memoir on the biz: Helen Epstein, an author of a book about the
Holocaust. Apparently, there are more connections between ice cream and
Germany than meets the eye.
 
SO YOU STARTED TOSCANINI'S WITH YOUR EX-GIRLFRIEND'S NEW BOYFRIEND.
THAT'S WEIRD.
He was a very nice guy and became, I kid you not, a vaginal surgeon.
 
THAT'S SIMILAR TO RUNNING AN ICE CREAM STORE.
There are probably some superficial similarities. Both of us are trying
to make you feel better. He's doing it for people who have chronic or
traumatic situations, and our customers are, at worst, suffering from
existential angst. There's a friend of mine who says "If a customer has
a completely terrible day, he or she should still think 'Well, my car
got stolen, I lost my job, but I still got a nice ice cream cone." We
give people little bits of sugar and cream, and ideally, they're
happier than when they came in.

AFTER A LOT OF BAD DAYS, WON'T THEY HAVE A REALLY BAD DAY WHEN THEY
REALIZE HOW FAT THEY ARE NOW?
Well, we make small portions of ice cream and encourage our customers
to eat small portions, which is my contribution to dietary common
sense. I think you're better off eating a small amount of better ice
cream than a big pail of really bad stuff. In fact, I tell people it
was an East German training secret that part of their athletic success
was small amounts of appropriately wonderful ice cream. It's a shame
that that great country is gone. The little cars and everything.

IN THE BOOK, IT SAYS YOU FIRED A WORKER WHO DESCRIBED THE WOMEN WHO
MAKE CAKES AS "CAKE BITCHES." WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?
I did it because he was a chump. People who go to Hampshire College
should not put on airs that they served time in California prisons or
grew up in really tough neighborhoods. It was just really offensive
having this chubby kid, son of two faculty members, pretending to be
some Black Panther.
 
WOULD "VALUED EMPLOYEE BITCHES" HAVE BEEN OK?
It was the "bitches" part. We're not taking shit like that from
Hampshire College graduates. You have to draw the line someplace, and I
draw it around the Happy Valley.
 
IT'S NO EAST GERMANY.