Minnesota - You betcha!

Minneapolis may be one of the top cities I've ever been to. Yeah - no kidding. Though obviously not as big as NY, as exciting as London, or as bustling as Tel Aviv, for a combined Twin Cities populuation that's roughly equivalent to Boston, it certainly offers a whole heck of a lot when you're there on business a couple of days.

I think that there's something about living in a harsh climate that makes people friendly, especially when the temps soar above 60 degrees. While a lot of them have no love for the East Coast (or the people who live there for that matter), for the most part they lived up to their "Minnesota Nice" stereo-type in a Rose Nyland sort of way.

Much like Montreal, the buildings downtown are linked through climate controlled corridors with shops and restaurants on either side. The shopping in the Cities alone is amazing, though a pit stop at the Mall of America in nearby Bloomington was obviously on the agenda. The Twins were in town this week and though I wasn't able to catch a game, I am sad to report that the MetroDome may be the ugliest, nastiest ball park in all of major league baseball. It looks like the Bridgewater Sports Dome BEFORE it collapsed. Rumor has it that there are plans to tear down and build a new stadium in the near future.

If you're looking for a Red Sox road trip, I would put Minneapolis at the top of your list. The street car transit system (called the T - circle around the "T" and all!) makes it fairly easy to get around and there's lot of water activities you can do on nearby Lake Minnetonka. While you will likely be shocked at how little you'll have to spend to entertain yourself, there is one caveat - the lack of direct routes from Boston will jack up your airfare.

At least someone prefers me....

I just got a call from the Coach store at the South Shore Plaza. Apparently I've dropped enough money in their store over the years to be considered a "preferred customer" and as such am entitled to 25% off their entire stock between now and the 30th. If you're jonesing for Coach, let me know and I'll meet you at the Plaza for the discount.

It's all taking a toll on me

Knickers are in a twist out in metro-west after the Turnpike Authority announced their intentions of raising the Mass Pike tolls during rush hour this week. Hey Framingham, you should've voted for Muffy while you had the chance.

I understand the frustration of Metro-west commuters who are stuck paying for a road that was paid for in full 2 decades ago. While I don't think that we should raise tolls on the Pike, I certainly don't think that we should eliminate them either. In fact, while we're doing all of these fancy road improvement projects, we should erect toll booths on Route 24 at 140 as well as on US Route 3 on the North Shore.

I seriously don't feel bad for people who live way outside the boundaries of greater Boston who get stuck paying a toll to get to and from work. NH doesn't have a problem forcing me to pay a toll to drive on the DW Highway so I don't see why we should give our brethern from southern NH to Worcester to Fall River a free ride on our dime.

Every medium-large company has an HR department that specificially calculates the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for a particular area. For example, someone working in Worcester/Springfield will likely get paid less than someone doing their same exact job in downtown Boston. COLA is calculated strictly on which zip code the business resides in - not on where that particular employee chooses to reside. In other words, someone can be making a Boston salary but living for a heck of a lot less in Nashua should they choose to do so.

So let me get this right you metro-west cry babies: you want to have your cake and eat it too. Rather than suck it up and buy a smaller home in greater Boston you choose to take your inflated Boston salary back to your large home in Fall River/NH/central MA. You contribute nothing to our community, clog our highways, refuse to give up your Boston salary in favor of a shorter commute, and then want to stick us with the bill. Not to mention that commuters from NH drive on our roads to collect their Boston salary and then don't even turn around to pay state income taxes to Massachusetts, yet folks out in Worcester do. How is THAT fair?

Let's face it: people don't commute to Boston from the corners of the earth to make LESS than what they would make by working closer to home. Those of us in greater Boston use our Boston COLA for what it was intended for: to off-set the cost of living and working in our community. We may have to live in smaller houses and cut back a bit more, but in the end this is a decision that we choose to make - everyone else can pay a toll in order to live out their lifestyle.

Happy Juneteenth

Earlier this week, Governor Deval Patrick made Massachusetts the 25th state on the country to officially commemorate the end of slavery.

On January 1, 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively ending slavery in the United States. As Union troops entered Confederate territory they enforced the executive order. While the Confederacy officially fell during January of 1865, the stretched Union army didn't make it to Texas until June of that year. On June 19, 1865 the Union army entered Galveston, Texas where General Gordon Granger publically announced the Proclamation. Reactions ranged from shock to celebration. The annual anniversary of Juneteenth has since spread from Galveston across the southern US all the way up to the Bay State.

Grilling and Chilling

I think that the greatest part of living in a suburban oasis such as Canton, is the fact that you are allowed to have grills on your first floor patio. Grilled food always tastes fantastic and the clean up work required is minimal. Sick of the same 'ol barbecued chicken/hot dogs/steak routine, I experimented with grilled pizza (it tastes very similar to Bertucci's). Places like Figs in Chestnut Hill charge an arm and a leg for grilled pizza but it's honestly not that hard to make at home. Here's how to do it:

Grilled Shrimp, Garlic, and Basil Pizza
For this recipe you will need:Pizza dough (you can find it pre-made at most supermarkets), tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella or shredded cheese blend, shrimp, garlic

Step One: Roll out a small amount of pizza dough thin - if it's too thick it won't cook properly. Keep in mind that if the diameter is greater than 6" that it may be kind of hard to work with. If 6" isn't enough pizza for you, make another pizza.

Step Two: Chop tomato, basil, garlic, cheese, and shrimp. Set aside

Step Three: Turn grill up to medium-high

Step Four: Brush the pizza dough with olive oil and set on grill

Step Five: Cook the dough just enough that it's done on the bottom and easy to remove from the grill (the top doesn't have to be cooked). Once you've achieved this, move it off the grill.

Step Six: Brush the cooked side of the dough with olive oil. Add your ingredients to this side.

Step Seven: Put your pizza back on the grill. Cover grill.

Once the cheese is melted and it looks cooked, it's probably ready to eat.

Confessions of an American Girl

Well, I just got back from my whirlwind tour of Rochester (say it with me: Raaahchester in Fran Drescher-mode), Syracuse, and Buffalo - oh my! Although Rochester is obviously a tourist mecca, I had to pull myself away from the city "made for living" to actually get some work done. The shopping is top notch: one can shop at either Kohls or JC Penney to get all of the latest upstate fashions. This includes, but is not limited to, short-sleeved suits, stretchy pants on women 60+, and white socks - the perfect middle America fashion accessory for every occassion!

In order to travel to Rochester from Logan direct, US Air sticks you in an SUV with wings and only flies about 100 feet off the ground. Planes are usually the pefect excuse to have a drink or two and read a magazine. I got stuck with a Jew for Jesus missionary (aka: Christians who will stomach gefilte fish and never pay retail) who insisted on telling me about his relationship with Jesus the entire time. Figures, right?

Buffalo was slightly better. In fact, I think the best part of Buffalo is the QEW, which is the most direct route towards civilization (Ontario). Unfortunately one cannot receive Sprint service while visiting our neighbors to the north, so I didn't quite make it to Toronto. I did get to check out Niagara Falls which is definitely worth seeing at some point in your lifetime.

I did have Buffalo Wings in Buffalo. Buffalo Wings were invented at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY - incidentally, the boneless version was invented at the Woburn, MA based 99 Restaurants Chain. Buffalo wings and Labatt Blue....mmmmmm... massive stomach cramping was obvioulsy completely inevitable.

I will finish this part of the update with saying one nice thing about Raaahchester: 100.5 FM The Drive is probably the greatest radio station I have ever listened to. It was if they took my entire MP3 player and aired it for all of greater Rochester to enjoy.

The infamous Robyn du Montreal turned the big 2-6 yesterday. You're getting up there, eh?? Don't worry - you'll never be as old as me!

Because I didn't consume nearly enough alcohol over the past week, I went into town last night to celebrate Fiona's birthday. Fiona - I hardly know you, but I had a wicked good time just the same. It make me feel like I'm not that old, though I hope that it's not a performance that I'll be repeating anytime soon.

Restaurant Review #2 - Stephanie's on Newbury

Restaurant: Stephanie's on Newbury
Address: 190 Newbury Street, Boston MA
Website: www.stephaniesonnewbury.com
Rating: B+

Wow - I can't believe that I didn't discover this restaurant sooner! USG and I were trolling around the Back Bay, trying to find somewhere to eat when we stumbled upon this hidden gem. Sure, I had heard of Stephanie's before, but with all of the wonderful restaurants to choose from in the Back Bay, it never dawned on me to give this place a shot.

The goal of the evening was to find a good restaurant with outdoor seating, which as you may know is not always the easiest task when the temp soars above 70. We had a 30 minute wait for patio seating, which wasn't unreasonable for Friday prime time.

The crowd at Stephanie's is mostly young urban professional and the cocktail and dinner menu certainly reflects that. They have a great selection of signature drinks, beer, and wine as well as a decent scotch selection. Drink and menu prices are reasonable for the upscale area and the service that we received was excellent.

We started with the tuna sashimi appetizer which was out of the world fantastic. In fact, the whole appetizer and salad section of the menu was rather impressive. However, selection for the main entrees was weak. While my ravioli was very good, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of options.

I am definitely eager to return to Stephanie's, though I'll probably just stick to drinks and apps. Parking is a bit tricky in the Back Bay so I would be very inclined to (gasp!) take the T into town. Stephanie's is conveniently located between Hynes and Arlington on the Green Line.