There Is Nothing Like This Dame

Came upon this sign while wandering around the Back Bay. It's on the fence in front of the townhouse that sits where Isabella Stewart Gardner's Beacon Street mansion once stood. She caused quite a stir when she decamped from here to the Venetian-inspired palazzo she built for herself and her art in the much more peaceful, yet marshy Fens. (Home today to the Gardner Museum.) What I hadn't realized was that Mrs. Jack, as she was know, had stipulated that her house number, 152, never be used on Beacon Street again! And you know what? It isn't! The townhouses go from 150 to 154. Talk about chuzpah! And power!
(Did you know her will stipulates that anyone named Isabella gets into the museum for free?)

Waiting for Her Ship To Come In

Boston's other opening day is this Saturday, April 16th, and workers at the Public Garden were getting the swan boats ready for the '11 season -- which will be the 135th! The only question is, with all the people who'll be lining up to say hello, when is the most peaceful time to take a ride?

Star of the Day

The saucer magnolias on Commonwealth Avenue are more abundant, but the star magnolias on the Farifield-to-Exeter block of Marlborough Street are in bloom right now and the fragrance is amazing. Relax and smell the magnolias! (And get ready for those Comm. Ave sweeties, which should be in full bloom later this week. (Weather permitting!)

Jeepers, Creepers, Don't You Love Those Peepers!

Spring Peeper, a photo by Norm Walsh on Flickr.

I love the sounds of spring and the way each new bird returning or passing through adds its voice to the dawn chorus. But the night chorus is also impressive. Just head to a wooded or grassy area near wetlands or vernal pools and listen. The sometimes deafening whistles and calls are the love songs of Spring peepers, tiny nocturnal frogs. Hearing them brings a smile to my face.

Crocus a Bloomin'

Cold, blustery day in Boston. But that doesn't stop these crocuses from glowing in a garden on the corner of Fairfield and Marlborough Streets.

Eggplant with Chocolate: Oh My!

Our friend Sam is in town, so we tried Erbaluce in Bay Village for the first time. Lovely! Amazing to be at a restaurant on a Friday night and be able to hear our conversations!

Food was splendid: we shared two pastas as appetizers: a mushroom lasagnette and fettucine with beets, beet greens, speck, and sage. Both were so delicious and unusual, I wish I'd had my own portion. But then, I wouldn't have had room for dinner -- or dessert. Rack of wild boar with wild grape musto was melt-in-your-mouth tender. The dessert? A traditional recipe from Amalfi:  white eggplant, which has been roasted, then wrapped around ricotta sweetened with honey, black currants, and white chocolate, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache and garnished with saffron marinated oranges. Bellisimo!

Wine and service couldn't have been better.

Erbaluce
69 Church Street (Bay Village) Boston, 02116
Tel. 617 426 6969 Fax 617 426 6909

Hours: Sun, Tues-Thurs 5-10pm Fri-Sat 5-11pm (closed monday)

Glass Flowers

Took some time out for a peaceful lunchtime visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History with my friend Blue Magruder, who is director of communications there. The justifiably famous glass flower collection is the perfect antidote to a damp and dreary March day. Everything in bloom from iris to rhodies to cacti. Did you know the flowers were created not for beauty, but to provide perfect specimens for the study of botany?