We came from outside the city so going to Jack’s was a major highlight and trophy to take back home.
Google seems to say that it’s relocated to 61 Dorchester Ave (and now also refills propane tanks which hopefully don’t explode). I think you can get much of this gear on Amazon now but it’s not nearly as fun or prized that way. Oh, the squirting ketchup bottle was a good one too!
Also I don’t think anyone’s mentioned it, but Durgin Park was a thing and having the entire staff sing happy bday to my dad in a wicked Masshole way was pretty glorious.
I loved Bel Canto and Upstairs at the Pudding, original location, too. And that reminds me that one of Ana’s early restaurants after that place in Concord (Aigo Bistro?) and before Casablanca was 8 Holyoke. It was outstanding.
After Rendezvous closed, Steve Johnson moved to Tiverton, RI, and opened The Red Dory. I spent years yearning to get there and the first few years, the menu was so close to the old Rendezvous menu. Then a few years ago he finally retired and the new owners have a mostly different menu, except they kept the classic Lemon Buttermilk Pudding that he served for years. I never made it to Red Dory and probably now never will.
Looks like he sold Red Dory in 2019 to a chef from the Back Eddy, another Chris S. restaurant in that area, Westport, MA.
I wish him a wonderful retirement!
I wish I’d been able to go to Rendezvous more often than I actually made it, but I sure got in some great tapas meals as often as I could and I tried for cassoulet a few times every year when it was the season. I was there on the last night; I think it was 2014.
Joseph’s on Newbury at Dartmouth and the old Locke Ober’s. Jimmy’s and Pier Four back in the day. The Charles on Chestnut St. .Nick’s on Warrenton. The 57. The original Legal in Inman Sq… Nothing cutting edge but sometimes you just want to go out for dinner where you know the menu.
More recent losses- Eastern Standard and Hammersley’s.
Anyone remember Jake Dixie’s Roadhouse in Waltham on Moody Street? That’s another spot I dearly miss. They shuttered because of family issues or family health issues, I can’t remember, it’s been like 15 years at least but boy that place was pretty neat and they made some dang good bbq ribs
oooh another great spot that made travel to the suburbs worth it from downtown. Blue Dragon wasn’t nearly as good and didn’t hit the same as Blue Ginger did
Ooops, somehow I missed that permanent vacation in Costa Rica possibility post for both Steve and Chris. That would be awesome for both of them! I remember talking with Steve about the Rendezvous bluefish cakes with fish he caught himself. As someone born in NC I’ve always adored Chris’s Eastern NC barbecue recipes and the inner beauty sauce, among many other recipes. We have a special cookbook shelf devoted to Chris.
The sadder point is that the last time I saw my first-year college roommate was at the ECG when she came back with her husband and children to Boston (her birthplace) just before she died of cancer at age 35. That space will always hold a lot of emotional weight with me for many reasons. She really, really wanted to try it and we all loved the experience.
On a happier note, your link reminded me to say that when I lived in East Arlington 20 years ago, we loved PJ Ryans. So glad to know that others do/did, too.
I went to that original Legal in Inman several times while in college 1973-1977. It was so awesome. I was from NC and my dad had business in Boston while I was in college and several times he took me to the original Pier 4 when he was here for work. I was blown away. Never went to L-O on his business account, or Cafe Budapest. Wow, has the restaurant scene changed here so much since then!
Costa Rica is pure speculation on my part, but I know they both liked to go there on fishing trips. Sorry to hear about your roommate. A reminder to embrace life, and those you love, every day.
Maybe the Amazo Effect, but I have fond memories of their Bloody Mary at the upstairs bar, listening to the player piano while waiting for our number to be called. And broiled scallops never tasted so sweet as in my memory of Legal in Inman.
I was from NC, college student in Cambridge 1973-1977. Drinking age was 18 then, but I don’t remember alcohol at Legal in Inman. I do remember watching in admiration people slurping on seemingly gallon containers of steamed mussels and clams, and I loved how they brought out the food when it was ready, while your companions waited for theirs at the communal tables. So different from the fish camps in NC during my youth, and yet somewhat comparable for the regional differences.
And then there was the Orson Welles movie theater not far away; destroyed by fire in 1986. As was the original Legal in 1980. Those were the days…
Oh yes, I remember that one at Bel Canto. Their whole wheat pizza dough and other dishes were apparently way ahead of their time. The calzones and garlic bread were also wonderful.
My favorites at the original Bertuccis, decades ago, was spinach, ricotta, and caramelized onion. And their clam pizza.
