Ohh, bummer!
He did so much to shape Boston’s dining scene for the better.
RIP
Fond memories of the Bostonian Hotel and Jasper’s.
Unable to breach the Globe paywall, how old was he?
I think 70.
Born in 1954, opened Jasper’s in 1983.
My former brother-in-law worked as a security guard for the building while in grad school and Jasper used to feed him. My ex-BIL said he was the nicest guy on top of being a great chef.
Oh my! I ate at the Summer Shack once early on and had his pan-roasted lobster that he brought from Jasper’s…simply amazing!
(Can’t read with a subscription…is there a gift link?)
The Globe doesn’t have gift links, unfortunately.
Just went to check BDC and yeah, not there yet. Thx.
Back then the truly excellent dining options were a lot more limited. You would walk in to Jasper’s dining room on any given night and see multiple bold-faced names.
Too bad. 69 is disturbingly young. He was visiting random tables once in the early days of the Alewife Summer Shack. I beamed at him welcomingly, but for some reason he turned away and hastily went to the next table.
Maybe the menu and Sharpie that were in your hands scared him? 
ETA: We’re gonna go for an early dinner tonight. I’ve always been too frugal (ie cheap) to get the pan-roasted lobster. I’ll report back.
Me too. Eat a second for me (and happy today).
(post deleted by author)
I never really warmed up to Summer Shack. Ate there maybe half a dozen times over the years (none in the last 10) and found it consistently mediocre to good, never great.
Speaking of great, the first absolutely superb dining out experience that I can ever recall having in Boston was at Jasper’s, in the latter part of the 1980’s. Sadly, I never dined there again.
I’d broadly agree with that, but I’d say mediocre+ to good. You could count on not getting a bad meal there, but I agree also count on not getting anything spectacular. Their oysters were generally decent, and always well-shucked (sadly, not something you can say of every place) and their grilled fish (especially blue-) respectable. I wasn’t a fan of their clam chowder.
Still, there was something appealing about that huge cavern of a space, the lively atmosphere, and the broad mix of people you saw there. Part of the joy of eating out is the atmosphere and we, at least, liked how we felt at SS.
Man, SS was packed! We went, we ate, and we are already home in our PJs. It was wicked busy (convergence of Mother’s Day/Sunday/Jasper White fans?) Whatever the case, we showed up at our 6 pm reservation, sat at a high top in the bar area facing the Bruins game, had the awesome bartender whom we’ve been served by many times before (he was covering the bar, bar tables, and a few other tables) and he confided to us that he had put in way too many hours over the last 3 days but was still kickin’ it. Food was fine, almost beside the point. We didn’t get the pan-roasted lobster (thinking when the kitchen is so taxed, keep it simple, silly). Corn dog/fries/chocolate milk/ chocolate ice cream for Spring Onion; RI calamari for the table; daily special “Bouillabaisse” for me (way too skimpy on seafood but tasty broth); Cobb salad for B (he also thought his was too small). And you know what? We didn’t care one whit. We left happy.
Then we arrive to our car (Mini Cooper) to find another Mini following the proper Rule #1 (head-to-rear; ours is the dark grey one). SO was impressed.
There is a lovely Sheryl Julian appreciation in the Globe. I am really sad they don’t do gift links.
