That’s Show Biz!

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Got a call on Thursday from a popular network television show that’s going to be doing a piece on Roslindale as a great destination for first-time home buyers – something we’ve known for ages!

I’m scrambling to get two properties ready to film – we weren’t planning to put them on the market for a few weeks so I’m meeting with stagers and contractors so we can do the tour on Monday – yes, tomorrow.  It’s worth running around like crazy to show off a couple of great listings AND talk about one of my favorite subjects: Roslindale!

I’ll let you know when the show’s going to be on the air.

I once heard a broker describe this time of year as having listings “stacked in the hangar.”  At this writing, inventory is still quite low and people are waiting to pounce.  A few weeks from now you’ll be seeing for sale signs everywhere.

Don’t confuse eagerness with foolishness:  buyers are being super-selective and, unless they’re foreclosure/short-sale shoppers, want a home in move-in condition.  That includes heating and electrical systems, not just the paint on the walls.

And…keep an eye out for the upcoming Neighborhoods Issue of Boston Magazine – Roslindale will be featured!

West Roxbury

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What’s On in West Roxbury

West Roxbury has plenty going on, and plenty of ways to find out what’s going on.

West Roxbury–On the page and online

West Roxbury’s Main Streets’ site is a terrific source for meetings, events and retail updates.

West Roxbury Neighbors for Neighbors is a social networking site for news, networking, and community activism.

For breaking news, AOL’s West Roxbury Patch is a great blog to subscribe to or add to your RSS feeds.

Boston.com’s Your Town has a great West Roxbury site that offers news, events and discussions.

For the official buzz on West Roxbury and links to all the city resources you might need, check out the West Roxbury page on the City of Boston site.

Universal Hub is a Boston community news and info site with a West Roxbury page.

You should catch The Transcript in print every Thursday or else read it online.

The West Roxbury – Roslindale Bulletin is published on Thursdays as well and tends to fill in gaps other sources might leave. You can subscribe to it online for $12 a year.

West Roxbury–Straight from the horse’s mouth

The Real Deal, historically the location for Steve Slyne’s Deli–which was THE gathering place in West Rox.–is a fabulous place to hang out, get a real good slice of pizza or a sandwich, and find out who said what and when they said it.

Roaming the Wild West (Roxbury)

With as many personalities as its main street — West Roxbury is no longer the bedroom community of Boston! This vital commercial center, with Roche Bros. Plaza as its anchor and Shaw’s Plaza at its crown, serves shoppers from the immediate neighborhoods and well beyond.

Eat your Heart Out (on Centre Street)
Elegant American fare in a candle-lit dining room is found at West on Centre.

Just across the street, Himalayan Bistro and Thai Spice wake up everyone’s tastebuds.

Stop and cleanse the palate at the only Starbuck’s in the area, then move on up Centre Street to Phuket, authentic Thai gourmet, The Real Deal pizza and sandwich eatery snugged up to Sugar Bakery, and “The Rox”–the former home of Auntie Bea’s–for an updated diner experience you really deserve.

Bargains Galore!

For shoppers and lovers of a good bargain, your choices are myriad. Here are a few of my faves:
Pazzo Books, where you can trade your books for credit on someone else’s.

Boomerangs–a great store for gently-used items run by and benefitting the fabulous AIDS Action Committee–more fun to shop than Barney’s!

Mr. Sweeper–one of the few places left in Boston to buy a vacuum cleaner and get it repaired–and they have a terrific array of sewing machines for the novice and the expert stitcher!

Jamaica Plain

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It’s All Happening in Jamaica Plain

In a community as eclectic and dynamic as this, it’s not easy to stay on top of everything that’s going on, but here are a few suggestions to keep you at least on the cusp of all the hottest:

In Print and Online

JP Neighbors for Neighbors is a local networking site that’s inspiring all kinds of action in JP. The site currently has 173 subgroups—by micro-neighborhood and by interests—that you can join for online chat or in-person kibitzing.

JP Patch, a micro site owned by AOL, has up-to-the-minute minutiae that you really need to know!

The Jamaica Plain Gazette is a much-respected biweekly–delivered FREE to every home in JP–that serves the community with passion and pride. Also available online.

The JP Centre/South site is dedicated to the Centre/South Street business district.

The Boston Bulletin is a free newspaper with some good coverage of JP—pick it up at local stores and banks. Online subscriptions cost $12 a year.

The City of Boston has lots of info about JP and links to city resources for you official types.

Boston.com’s Your Town has a great JP page that offers news, events and discussions.

Universal Hub is a Boston community news and info site with a JP page.

Get Your JP News In Line

Do as I do: grab a seat at City Feed and Supply—the newer location at the corner of Green and Centre. You can listen in or insert yourself into any number of conversations to find out who’s doing what and pissing off whom.

Or walk across the street for dessert to JP Licks and continue your fat-finding–er–fact-finding foray!

JP Food, Fun, and Festivities

What can you say about a street that runs from Bangkok to Bogota, and does it seamlessly with such a great sense of fun!

Food

JP’s Centre Street has it all:

Start out in Korea at JP Seafood where locals have been enjoying the finest sushi and other traditional dishes for almost two decades.

Amble over to Wonder Spice Cafe for Thai and pan-Asian delights
Visit Bukhara for fragrant and warming Indian cuisine

You won’t get stung at the Purple Cactus, where they’ve got Ameri-Mex at its best–I will sit and beg for their turkey chili!

As you leave the center of Centre, stop in at Centre Street Café, for a romantic dinner featuring updated American with a Central-American accent, or a boisterous weekend brunch.

Grab home-made ice cream at JP Licks, a true community mecca housed in the former fire house, where you get a free sundae on your birthday–the only good thing about getting older!

Just before Centre Street forks (pun intended!) to the right, be welcomed at Tres Gatos, JP’s first and only Tapas restaurant with a book & music store.

You can perch yourself at Canary Square, a recent arrival with elegant nouveau-pub fare.

Continue on to El Oriental de Cuba, “La Esquina del Sabor,” for Cuban sandwiches and other authentic platos.

Visit Tacos El Charro for the ultra-authentic Mex–accompanied by Mariachi music!–or stroll past it to find other fabulous Hispanic eateries to fill your belly all the way to Columbus Ave.

Fun and Festivals

JP has so many annual festivities there are too many to mention, but here are a few of my faves.
The JP Wake Up the Earth Festival is a joyous event held on the first Saturday of each May. The Festival began in 1979, when local neighbors and activists joined together to stop a major highway from being built through JP, and is now run by Spontaneous Celebrations with the help of many, many volunteers. This multi-generational celebration of arts and the power of community includes a parade, music, food and lots of the social activism for which JP is known.

Spontaneous Celebrations also holds an annual Halloween Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade. Thousands of children and adults parade around the pond at dusk, carrying hand-made lanterns that cast a beautiful, mysterious light in the darkness.

Roslindale

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How to Catch the Buzz in Roslindale

There’s so much going on in Roslindale, it’s a good thing we’ve got terrific local media to keep us on top of it all!

Media

Rozzie residents, business owners and property owners all work with Roslindale Village Main Street to keep our wonderful neighborhood business district going. The Main Street website will keep you posted on all the great things they’re doing, as well as other community meetings and news.

Stay up-to-the-minute with Neighbors for Neighbors Roslindale, a social networking site for news, networking, and community activism.

The Roslindale Transcript has been in print for decades and is published every Thursday. You can subscribe to get it mailed to you ($49/year), buy it at local stores, or catch it online.

The West Roxbury – Roslindale Bulletin, a more recent weekly, is fast becoming a favorite. The print version comes out on Thursdays and it’s free!

To get the official read on Roslindale and links to city resources, check out the Rozzie page on the City of Boston site.

Boston.com’s Your Town has a great Roslindale site that offers news, events and discussions.

Universal Hub is a Boston community news and info site with a Roslindale page.

For the Real Scoop…

A Fun Day at the Roslindale Farmer's Market

Do what I often do: Walk down Corinth Street and stop in at Travel by Judie (42 Corinth Street). Judie’s been a cornerstone of the commercial district for eons, and not just because she can really book you a mean vacation. Her shop is THE hub of what’s happening now. Stop in to catch up on what’s REALLY happening in town — and tell her Linda sent you!

Sweet Shopping and Fine Dining in Roslindale

A mere 6 miles from downtown Boston, Roslindale’s dining and shopping destinations will take you on a trip around the world! I’ve never eaten better in my life!

For fine examples of classic American bakeries, visit:

Outside Dining on Birch Streeet

Diane’s Bakery on Adams Park, where kids still scream for beautifully-decorated gingerpeople.

The new Sugar Baking Company and Restaurant on Washington Street.

Fornax Bread Bakery, where you can order up a hearty, from “scratch” breakfast or lunch, as well as sample some true artisanal breads.

For dining:

Delfino Ristorante is Northern Italian at its finest.

Sophia’s Grotto is THE source for crisp, delicate pizza and creative Italian fare.

Birch Street Bistro offers elegant entrees and desserts from the four corners of the globe.

Shopping for yourself or for gifts?

Visit the Joanne Rossman store, with the great tagline — the “Purveyor of the unnecessary & the irresistible” – I dare you to resist.

Birch Street House and Garden and the other fine shops on Birch.

Color Wheel Collection, just over on Washington Street, for superb home accessories and kids’ wear.

For the cook:

Roslindale Fish Market, for the freshest fish in Boston, plus seven varieties of Feta cheese and as many types of olives.

Bob’s Pita Bakery, for the bread and everything to wrap in it.

The Boston Cheese Cellar — a generous slice of Paris, right in our own backyard, with hundreds of fresh, fragrant cheeses and other gourmet delights.

Solera, for the perfect wine to accompany it all.