All stories about "Boston"

Hawk Attacks Schoolgirl at Fenway Park (Are Yankees Fans to Blame?)

In what some may argue is yet another aspect of the Curse of the Bambino, a schoolgirl was attacked by a hawk at Fenway Park. The red-tailed hawk, which has taken in many a game from behind home plate, lost its longtime ballpark home as a result of the incident. Seated some 40 feet from the hawk's nest (which had a single egg inside), the girl, who had attended the Red Sox game with her Bristol, Connecticut, middle school, was cut on her eyebrow by the hawk's extended talons. The girl was taken to the hospital, and the hawk's nest moved by the Boston Animal Rescue League. No word on the hawk's whereabouts. Video of the hawk from earlier this week after the jump.

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Boston
• Hudson: Sophisticated home furnishings store opens a second location -- now in Wellesley. Its eclectic stock includes cowhide rugs, chandeliers, and vintage accessories.

Chicago
• GuiseChic: Part boutique, part salon, this new Lincoln Park shop caters to both men and women; the only prerequisite is good taste (stock includes Helmut Lang and Earnest Sewn).

Dallas
• Duncan Quinn: Stylish, handmade menswear from New York via London is now available in Victory Park.

London
• Few and Far: New girly-girl retail paradise by Priscilla Carluccio (Terence Conran's sister) stocks limited edition jewelry, clothing, gifts, and even chocolate cake by the slice.

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The NY Times' Frank

The NY Times' Frank Bruni has finished his coast-to-coast tour of new restaurants and is reporting back with his findings. Excluding New York, which Bruni doesn't include because it's his regular beat, cities with restaurants that rated include Washington DC, New Orleans, San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Boston, Seattle, and Napa, CA. The restaurants are all new (opened at least after January 1, 2006) and, apparently, all delicious. [NY Times]

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Atlanta
• Stella: Attention pizza lovers with a macabre streak: new Grant Park trattoria features simple Italian fare and patio dining with views of Oakland cemetery.

Boston
• Citrio: Newton Highlands catering company opens a café and provisions shop for gourmands.
• Privus: The owner of Irish pub Kells branches out with a Japanese sushi restaurant in Allston.

Bhutan
• Taj Tashi: Now open in Timphu, the Taj features 66 suites with a Bhutanese restaurant, spa, golf course.

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Popular Science has ranked America's

Popular Science has ranked America's 50 Greenest Cities, according to over 30 categories that include air quality, electricity use, and transportation habits. While the top two picks--Portland and San Francisco--are far from shockers, more surprising is the fact that Boston, Chicago and Austin all made the top ten. [via]

Latest & Greatest

Atlanta
• Drewlewis: This new duplex loft/boutique stocks garments by Vena Cava, Rag & Bone, and Charlotte Ronson.

Boston
• Brix: A wine shop in the South End featuring $75 wine six-packs and a private tasting room.
• Concepts: Browse limited edition sneakers, skateboards, snowboards, and apparel at this new Cambridge shop, then head downstairs to admire your purchases in a VIP lounge.
• Grezzo: There's 100% organic, raw, vegan food and fine dining atmosphere aplenty in this new North End eatery.

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Latest & Greatest

Atlanta
• Amore: New restaurant in Plaza Midtown serves Mediterranean fare and 25 types of pizzas from its wood-burning oven; a separate lounge and bar space accommodates a late-night crowd.

Boston
• Vee Vee: 20-seat Jamaica Plain bistro focuses on seafood and vegetarian-friendly food with a selection of craft beers to wash it all down.

Chicago
• Sixteen: Enjoy views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River from a 16th-floor fine dining restaurant inside the new Trump Tower.

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The Latest in Luxe Hotel Trends: Find a Prison, Vamp It Up

The latest in bizarre theme-hotel news is the opening of a new, French luxury hotel housed in a former prison. Now you can sleep soundly in the same place countless murderers and rapists have laid their troubled head. Well, not exactly. The 13th-century asylum turned 700-cell prison has been shut since 2003. Located in Avignon, the notorious Sainte-Anne prison has since become a tourist attraction in its own right. Too expensive to maintain, the "place of horror is to become now a place for luxury clientele." Certain renovations will have to take place first, as it seems developers aren't exactly going for cell block-chic. Tant pis. Of course, this isn't the first time a former prison has caught the eye of aspiring hoteliers ... or booze hounds, for that matter.

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Bacon Bloody Mary Photo Roundup

Yesterday the Chicago Menupages blog published this incredible gallery of bacon Bloody Marys from across the country. I first heard of the brunch concoction when researching the much buzzed-about Chicago restaurant Sepia, and it's one of their most popular creations. However, this photos prove that great minds think alike, or at least that restaurateurs know a good idea when they see one, especially when pork is involved.

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Latest & Greatest

Boston
• Grand: New shop for home furnishings, apparel, and gifts now open in Somerville.

Las Vegas
• Ago: This new Tuscan restaurant, backed by Robert DeNiro, is now open at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
• Hawaiian Tropic Zone: Another addition to the new Hard Rock, this bar/restaurant/club had a grand opening party this weekend.

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Running up to the Super

Running up to the Super Bowl, Menupages' Boston blog is pitting Boston and New York's culinary prowess against one another. They battled it out over sandwiches, pizza, and ice cream yesterday and bread, BBQ, and hot dogs this morning. It's been a tough contest so far, and one can only suspect bias on the Boston blogger's part, but right now NYC is in the lead. [Menupages]

As predicted by the Boston

As predicted by the Boston Globe earlier today, authorities have reached a settlement with the Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff consortium that oversaw the incredibly shoddy design and construction of the Big Dig. Though numerous flaws and failures routinely flood the tunnel system with 2 million gallons of leaked water per month -- not to mention the single death caused by collapsing concrete -- the consortium overtly admits no wrongdoing in the settlement, despite paying out close to $450 million collectively. [AP]

Sad: Massachusetts' beloved American Sanitary

Sad: Massachusetts' beloved American Sanitary Plumbing Museum (a.k.a The Toilet Museum), with its collection of 19th-century toilets, sinks, and tubs, will close its doors this spring after 20 years in Worcester. Luckily the company inheriting the collection from the aging museum owner say they will open a new toilet museum in Watertown, just outside Boston. [via]

If you enjoyed our graph

If you enjoyed our graph of historical subway fare hikes, check out this more scientific and extremely thorough analysis of the fare structure for all the major public transit systems in the US. Nerd Alert: It's really pretty fascinating if you care about stats and/or transit in any way. [Goodspeed Update]

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Atlanta

• Café Circa: New restaurant featuring island-inspired fare and live performances opens downtown.
• Cuerno: New midtown restaurant by the owners of neighboring Beleza serves food and drink with a Spanish flair.

Boston
• Pie Bakery and Cafe: Pastry shop in Newton Center welcomes patrons with sweets, open kitchen views, and free wifi.

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A new strain of flesh-eating

A new strain of flesh-eating MRSA bacteria has cropped causing "abscesses and infection in the buttocks and genital area[s]" of gay men in San Francisco and Boston. The New York Times reports that the bacteria is resistant to at least four types of antibiotics. Worst of all, although the infection is "most easily" transmitted during sex it seems that condoms can do little to stop it since it can also be caught "through casual skin-to-skin contact and touching contaminated surfaces." A UC study found that in the Castro, San Francisco's gay mecca, residents are over six times more likely to "catch" the bacteria than in the city's other neighborhoods. The study warns that the most effective method of protecting yourself against this flesh-eating menace is "scrubbing with soap and water ." Comforting! [NYT]

Why I Hate Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week is coming up in New York starting January 21, and already the internets are abuzz with guides of where to go, press releases with special menus fill my inbox, and friends are asking where to make reservations. However, after being excited and then inevitably disappointed year after year, I've learned my lesson about this clusterfuck. The premise of the whole thing, for those of you who haven't been paying attention these last 16 years, is that during the week normally expensive restaurants in the city serve a set menu for $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner, giving regular diners the chance to try out all the places they normally can't afford. The success of the New York scheme/promotion/culinary shitshow (originally only held during the summer, a sluggish time for a restaurant) inspired similar events in Brooklyn, DC, Boston, Denver, Montreal, and San Francisco. It generates a pile of cash for the over 200 participating restaurants, gives the industry something to crow about, and gooses the local economy. And in theory, it brings in diners who will return again to pay full price. For the most part though, it's the customers who get screwed by Restaurant Week(s), and here's why.

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