Latest news with #Saltines
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Finding a bar for every taste is a tough task, but Somerville's Tall Order lives up to its name
Tall Order serves cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, and an eclectic menu. Will Faraci The pair had long been on the prowl for a standalone space close to Swisher's home near Union Square, which is indeed a tall order. But the effort paid off: They opened in March, enlisting Juan Pedrosa (The Glenville Stops, Yvonne's) to craft a menu that would complement their drinks. Advertisement 'We wanted a welcoming and approachable neighborhood cocktail bar. We have domestic and local craft beer on tap. We have Guinness on tap. We want to be the kind of place where you can stop in for a beer, have dinner out with your friends, have a more involved cocktail if that's what you're looking for, but also just a vodka soda or a High Noon,' Swisher says. Pickled mushrooms at Tall Order. Will Faraci The food : If you can't decide between onion dip, a massive scoop of pimento cheese with a side of Saltines, pickled button mushrooms, or steak tartare, this is your place. Get wild with crispy blocks of tofu glistening with honey and Gochujang (my recommendation), or play it safer with roasted cod over saffron rice, a dish that's simple enough to be spa-like. Swisher recommends the grilled broccoli with pecorino Romano and breadcrumbs, perhaps not a typical bar offering, but that's the point. Advertisement Bar snacks top out at $9 and are generously apportioned; share plates are $19 and under; entrees are in the $25 range. At Tall Order, low-ABV cocktails are creative and affordable. Will Faraci The drinks : 'We really just want to compose drinks that we think are tasty and compelling, from standard cocktails to low-ABV drinks to cocktails without any alcohol in them, in interesting flavor combinations,' Swisher says. That's the nice thing about this place: There are plenty of booze-free options, including a 1,2,3,4, which tastes like a citrus-fueled vanilla milkshake dolloped with a cloud of mango foam. The low-alcohol Little Panda is an aromatic elixir of vermouth, sherry, lime juice, and a quarter-ounce of Rhum Agricole, stirred up with an olive. 'It's really crisp and refreshing. It's got a lot of character, especially for a drink that's kind of on the lower-ABV side,' he says. Drinks are about $14. And there's also $5 Miller Lite, with casual (but prompt) service to match. The takeaway : A welcoming refuge when your date wants chips, dips, and beer, but you require an elegant bespoke cocktail accompanied by steak tartare or a proper plate of pork, peppers, and potatoes. Oh, and they take reservations. At Tall Order, larger dishes like pork and potatoes offset a long roster of bar snacks. Will Faraci Tall Order, 70 Beacon St., Somerville, 857-214-0678, Kara Baskin can be reached at
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teachers Are Vital — But Many Are Leaving the Profession
My dad used to whisper and remind me not to stare when we'd visit my maternal great-grandma. Even in my youngest years, I understood that Nan had a stub for a thumb because a machine had severed off a section when she took a job during World War II in one of our hometown factories. The way I heard it discussed back then, women worked only if they 'had' to. Nan's daughter, my Nana, had raised my mom and her four siblings while working full-time at one of the local dry cleaners. By my mom's eighteenth birthday, she had already been working for several years. Her after-school job in the hospital credit bureau was to help recovering patients in our rural community sort out their bills and put them on payment plans when they were struggling. This was arguably a less-carefree experience than that of her friends, who were cheerleading and cruising the fast-food places on the boulevard. But my school years became my exposure to a world in which women showed up to the careers they'd chosen, not only the jobs they needed. And so many of them were devoted to their work in education. When I started kindergarten, Miss Caracciolo was newly out of college and had spent the summer beforehand creating stuffed animals in the shape of each letter, to teach us the alphabet. In first grade, Mrs. Stephens led us in a project making homemade butter which we spread smoothly onto Saltines, a flavor I still savor. She praised my storytelling, my imagination further cultivated by the rich, sensory experiences she was introducing us to. Other teachers took us on outdoor excursions identifying types of trees, on adventures to the library where cellophane dust jackets crinkled beneath our fingers, down the hill to the church hall (where we took turns climbing inside the silver, igloo-shaped Star Dome to learn about astronomy), and once a year, near the holidays, through the neighborhood near the school at night, where we sang Christmas carols. I observed that my teachers were as enthralled to engage in life, in our community, as we children were. These women had moved beyond making ends meet. The more time, attention, and investment they poured into us, the more fulfilled they seemed. For the figures who dedicate their lives to preparing young people to enter a complicated world, the job is getting tougher. As I researched my new memoir, Show, Don't Tell: A Writer, Her Teacher, and the Power of Sharing Our Stories, I spoke with two dozen U.S. elementary and secondary educators. Working across every student population and major metropolitan areas, rural areas like my hometown, and many types of communities in between, they shared their reflections about today's teaching profession. One theme that emerged is that many are putting on bright faces despite their exhaustion. That's especially true this time of year — and especially this year. 'We're all exhausted by the Education Department politics and ready for summer,' one elementary teacher told me last week. When health, public assistance, and education services are cut, it's usually educators who absorb the brunt of a fast-changing, and often harsh, society. Data in 2022 from the National Education Association noted there's been a 50% decline in Americans entering the field of education, compared to 50 years ago. Some states have developed an expedited track to teaching licensure, and several major cities have established incentive programs to encourage professionals to enter what, throughout modern history, has been regarded as a vocation of the heart. Think of your favorite teacher: Can you imagine them in any other role? To be schooled by my teachers was to witness professional women who found joy in their jobs and purpose in the world, a world that they showed me was a safe place for females to thrive. Especially in communities that are still led by men — my hometown being proof that these certainly still exist — a teacher is often the first example a child sees of a woman making a living and feeling good about herself. I'd go on to learn for myself that to have a career is to know one's contributions have worth. Many teachers don't just point a child in that direction — they're often the first living example of what's possible beyond the bounds of what a child observes at home. We need to care for them — those whose unique turns of phrase our little ones come to parrot with fondness, those who preside over a classroom where children learn to work alongside others. And those whose own lives are made meaningful by serving young people who will, in most cases, never be able to thank them for all they've invested. A life dedicated to teaching is the humblest, but most-profound greatness any of us could aspire to. Kristine Gasbarre is a #1 New York Times bestselling writer and the author of SHOW, DON'T TELL: A Writer, Her Teacher, and the Power of Sharing Our Stories (Hachette/Worthy Books, 2025), and HOW TO LOVE AN AMERICAN MAN: A True Story (HarperCollins, 2011), as well as the lead editor for an internationally recognized magazine and website. The post Teachers Are Vital — But Many Are Leaving the Profession appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
New York Times
13-03-2025
- New York Times
The Last of the Winter Salads
I'm not someone who usually seeks out salads in my daily life, mostly because I fear they won't be filling enough and, in part, because I think the greens that fuel the salad industrial complex — romaine, little gem, iceberg, subpar arugula — are so, so boring. But when I'm playing Nikita the Restaurant Writer, I always order a salad. This is usually my last chance to enjoy something 'light' before the heaviness of the rest of the meal falls on me like a ton of delicious, buttery bricks. Which brings me to my point: In the course of my recent restaurant outings, I felt moved to declare that the best salads are winter salads. These depend on chicories, arriving in hues of purple, red, pink, green and yellow, and are dressed to the gods with citrus, vinaigrettes, nuts and any number of accouterments. A winter salad on its worst day is better than any Caesar or wedge on its best. So, I invite you to savor the last of the winter salads while there's still time — or at least seek out the most interesting salads possible the next time you're cosplaying a restaurant writer. Image A welcome showering of peanuts makes the confetti salad at Pitt's in Red Hook a crunchy delight. Credit... Heather Willensky for The New York Times The first winter salad that left a lasting impression on me came from the kitchen at Pitt's, Jeremy Salamon's three-month-old restaurant in Red Hook. Here, the salad is your last stop on the road to Sleepytown, because the menu is meat-forward and Southern-leaning (fried Saltines and gouda pimento cheese, pork chops, lamb rumps and the world's best pancake soufflé). The confetti salad ($17) is a tasty array of purple and yellow-green endive topped with a 'confetti' of diced green apples, Cheddar, biting red onions and pickled peppers tossed with a bracing vinaigrette. But the best part is the crunch of the roasted peanuts showered on the salad, a stunning reminder of the power of a toasty legume. It's everything a salad should be and then some. 347 Van Brunt Street (Wolcott Street) Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
