One of my friends swore they nearly got run down in front of Savenors by Julia Child driving away at speed 
I lived near Inman and always hoped to see Julia as I walked back and forth to Harvard Square.
I absolutely love this thread BTW!
2 Likes
Does anyone else remember the Turtle Cafe in Inman Sq? Probably before most HOâs time but it was a very special spot.
3 Likes
loved that place. and the peasant stock, which, if i recall correctly, was at the corner of cambridge street and beacon.
1 Like
George Wald the Nobel Laureate and his the biology professor wife Ruth Hubbard were both bookish looking people seen on bicycles frequently around Harvard Square when I was there 1973-77.
Nobel Laureates were thick on the ground then - Konrad Bloch, Ed Purcell, RB Woodward, âŚ
Within a few years, Walter Gilbert, Dudley HerschbachâŚ
E J Cory, Nico BloembergenâŚ
1 Like
Indeed.
Iâve had an association for many years with a local area research group that does stuff that, for whatever reason, âoutsidersâ find interesting. Weâd meet for lunch every day at one end of a long table discussing whatnot and people would join at the other end and listen to the conversation. At one point we steered away from our main interest(s) and the discussion turned to offering some honorary award. I suggested a name. Whatâs he done, I was asked. Well, I ventured, he has a Nobel. That doesnât mean much around here, I was told, with a gesture to one of our regular outsiders, an amiable guy who always listened intently. Al, there, has one.
After lunch I Iooked it up â âAlâ was Allan Cormack, and heâd co-invented the cat scan.
4 Likes
Not food related but saw the Tubes @ CBGBs in NYC around 76 or 77. White Punks on Dope was getting lots of Alternative radio play at the time and they put on a full-costume show which was awesome!
1 Like
Kirkland and Beacon. I did a very brief waitressing stint there.
2 Likes
Oh yes, another fablulously funky place. When did it close?
1 Like
Guilty pleasure department. Stopped at the Border Cafe in Burlington to see if it managed to keep the flame alive. Happy to report the menu is virtually intact, as is the kitschy decor and service model - chips and salsa the moment you sit, a runner brings trays bearing food to a folding stand but your server appears to transfer plates to the table. The blackened chicken fingers are still fiery, the accompanying sauce (blessedly on the side) still too sweet. The fajitas still generous portions and the overall presentation I try to emulate when I do fajitas at home. Margaritas are still weak but quaffable. The only thing they didnât have was was a crowd 5 deep lining the bar.
No oneâs idea of authentic, but I love the place.
5 Likes
Do they still have the Tejas chicken and the crawfish etouffee?
It appears they still have Tejas chicken.
1 Like
Man, we loved that place.
ETA: What?! There are a whole bunch!
1 Like
With all due respect, your post about Border Cafe made me laugh out loud just now and I shared it with B.
When I still worked in biotech, our dear head of Biochemistry was our cruise director for group lunches. He would invariably choose either Border Cafe HSq (basement space) or Maharajah. There would be a collective groan either way but we dutifully went as relatively cash-strapped researchers (plus, no one batted an eye when you ordered a drink or two or moreâŚin fact, it was encouraged [we took the T back to the office]). And grudgingly, I had ok food memories of Border, but B LOVES that place with a passion. When we moved out to the burbs, he was very happy that there was a Burlington location. We went a few times, and every time he suggested it, I groaned but went. We even went for lunch after B had a medical procedure after a night of fasting. For me, without the HSq veneer, it wasnât the same. And now, Iâve put the Border bug back in his ear. Donât be surprised if we go this weekend!
Iâve probably shared this story before, so apologies!l if I sound like a broken vinyl record.
5 Likes
Enjoy! I forgot to mention I tried the spicy margarita for the first time - quite good, but I think one suffices. And the guacamole is pretty darned good, freshly made and served in a very unassuming soup bowl.
3 Likes
Thanks to it being one of my daughterâs favorites, I knew its Church&alleyway location well â but only overground. Didnât even know there were these edgy people under-.
I, like, totally broke the law there in the fall of 2011. On my daughterâs first day at CRLS (the Cambridge High School), we decided Iâd take her to lunch at Border. I picked her up, we lunched, I dropped her off. It was weeks later that I was told that this was forbidden in the fine print of the High School Contract. There were police cars patrolling, the cops ready to arrest anybody removing a student from the immediate vicinity. I escaped that dragnet on the way out, and on the way in. Sometimes I donât know my own powers.
7 Likes
I revel in the fact that my dear Spring Onion still likes us and isnât embarrassed to be seen with us.
2 Likes
So youâre saying Hoffaâs just disappeared? Iâll let myself out.
2 Likes
