Is there a finer name of an establishment on Blue Hill?
The Dottie Hottie noticed this new signage for a barber shop close to Harambee Park and couldn’t get over the cleverness. What do you all think? Is this question rhetorical or does it compel you to ask yourself, sincerely, am I getting mine?
Apologies for the radio silence here at DottieHottie.com. The DH family was welcoming a new member over the past month, and new babies with all of their neeeeeediness sure do get in the way of maintaining one’s rep in the blogosphere, ya know?
Anyway. In the interim, the Dottie Hottie has been busy about the neighborhood, taking walks with the newbie and showing him What It All Means to be Originally from Dorchester (OFD).
One place we have visited twice now is Pho Hoa, in its bright, zen new home in the T. Le Building on Dot Ave. Pho Hoa is a terrific lunch destination what with speedy service, free parking (lot in the back), affordable prices, delicious (read: non-rubbery chicken) pho and vermicelli dishes, and…
the mystery fruit drink!
That’s right. You already got up and did the Sunday Times Crossword. You thought all the puzzles were done for the day, eh? Well, here’s a new one for you. Help the Dottie Hottie crack the code that is the Honeydew Melon Smoothie at Pho Hoa.
Episode the First: The Dottie Hottie’s inaugural lunch visit to Pho Hoa. Orders the honeydew melon smoothie with pearls. Smoothie is not delivered with the rest of meal. The Dottie Hottie inquires as to its whereabouts. Smoothie is delivered. Only, it is peach colored. The very creamy light orange color of…cantaloupe, no? So the Dottie Hottie inquires again of the waitstaff. Is this honeydew? Yes, says waiter the first. But the Dottie Hottie is not satisfied. Asks waiter the second. Is this honeydew–because it appears to be cantaloupe? Yes, says waiter the second. Sometimes, honeydew melon is orange-ish.
IS THIS TRUE? Polling you, fellow Dotties. Can you corroborate this story? Are honeydew melons sometimes orange in tinge?
Episode the second: The Dottie Hottie visited Pho Hoa and ordered a honeydew melon smoothie WHICH ONCE AGAIN WAS NOT DELIVERED WITH THE MEAL BUT HAD TO BE REQUESTED AGAIN AND AGAIN FROM VARIOUS WAITSTAFF BY JOVE WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO, ISN’T THERE AN iPHONE APP TO REMEDY THIS INCONGRUITY???? the smoothie looked like this:
image from divya-dilse.blogspot.com
Your input graciously solicited on this inconsistency in fruit coloration….
(To Be Continued….)
Pho Hoa
http://www.phohoa.com/
1356 Dorchester Ave.,
Dorchester, MA 02122-2912
Tel: (617) 287-9746
A recent thread on DotParents (on bigtent.com) generated some discussion on how wifi-tastic Dorchester can be if you know where to go. Here are a few places in the Dorchester vicinity that the Dottie Hottie recommends for freelancers, students, and for the minions out there that need defibrillation if they cannot access dottiehottie.com at all times.
- Dot2Dot cafe (bring headphones) - free wifi, good coffee
- Sugar Bowl on Dot Ave. (also has wifi) - there’s an anteroom off the main cafe area where you’ll find a lot of other laptoppers
- Lower Mills Library - always very quiet during the week but can’t speak for evenings or weekends.
- Both Dorchester Flat Black locations have free wifi but don’t allow a lot of room to spread out and are pretty high traffic (read: not quiet)
- Bruegger’s @ E. Milton Sq. has free wifi - probably fairly quiet on a Sat. or Sun. morning
- The new library in Milton appears to have free wifi, coffee and huge tables to spread out as well as private desks. There are rumors that Dot residents can get cards here too….
- Panera Bread just over the bridge on Hancock St. in Quincy - free wifi, pretty big tables - crowded during lunch but not too bad in late afternoon
- JP Licks in JP - open late
The Hahhp and Bahhhd got a facelift. We’re all excited about the new polished look as it elevates Dorchester Ave. to the classy Main Street we all know it is capable of becoming (or restoring once more).
If you haven’t wandered into the new! improved! H&B, let the Dottie Hottie recommend Sunday or Monday evenings for a buffalo wing smorgasbord. The wings - which come in an array of flavors including honey buffalo, buffalo, and barbecue - are a mere $.50/piece on Sunday and Monday nights. They’re not only cheap, but they’re quite meaty and mos def delicious. The Dottie Hottie has been in search of an establishment to offer wings at a reasonable price that would make Buffalo proud. But Boston bars, it seems, are wont to charge much too much for the pint and the poultry. The Harp & Bard gets the recipe just right.
Those with kiddies, here’s a tip - go ’round about 6p on Monday evenings and have the run of the place. If your child is anything like MID (who thinks booths are made for being obnoxious and peeking over at the connecting booth), this time is to your advantage 
1099 Dorchester Ave
(between Doris St & Savin Hill Ave)
Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 265-2893
The Dottie Hottie enthusiastically joins forces with fellow Dot bloggers to share all that there is to adore about this here hottest ‘hood of Boston! Yes we can! ADORE-chester!
If you have been reading this blog for any period of time, you know the Dottie Hottie is already convinced. There is MUCH to adore about Dorchester. This site was created with this ambition in mind: To let the world, or at least Greater Boston know there is a real vitality to this neighborhood. There is beauty and authenticity. You can go ahead and read the headlines; they don’t betray a truth that violence and crime spike where poverty pervades. We are not Boston’s richest neighborhood, but we possess our own riches, and the following are the Dottie Hottie’s favorite five:
1.) Neponset Bike Trail: I wish I could bottle the smell of the sooty railroad tracks, the view of the deep blue Neponset River, the glee of babies in strollers and friendly smiles of parents jogging behind them. I feel a palpable blessing riding my bike on this path with my child MID. Every pedal forward is a gift my city gives me on this well-paved path along a beautiful waterway. Brings new meaning to the word recreation.
2.) Flat Black Coffee Company: The tasty coffee is only transcended by the friendly service. The convenient locations (at Ashmont and Lower Mills) are only transcended by their proximity to Wainwright Bank and Dot Park. Their commitment to Dot is only transcended by their commitment to the fair trade coffee industry in the Third World. Flat Black takes much of the money that I should deposit into that ATM at aforementioned Wainwright. And that is fine with me.
3.) The Dorchester Reporter: If you live in Dot, you really should subscribe. It’s a quality community newspaper, family founded and owned, and you get all the neighborhood bulletins and a bit of blarney to boot.
4.) Sunday Brunch on the patio at Ashmont Grill: It’s such a shame this savory experience is only seasonal, but the Dottie Hottie awaits Patio Season at the AG all winter long. The patio is a true oasis, removed from the din of Peabody Square, all one can hear are the clink of bellini glasses and the kind service. Take a leisurely skim of the Sunday paper while you wait for your brunch to arrive. Every egg dish is scrumptious. Every table is privy to a beautiful sight, be it a humming fountain, a floral vine climbing the stone wall. If only you could take a Sunday nap on a sun-drenched chaise lounge, this place might be a thin slice of Paradise.
5.) The Fields Corner Post Office: It might be the most unlikely of places to adore, but the diversity and authenticity of Dorchester seem to be so perfectly captured by this little microcosm of a place. Where else are we all on equal footing? You could be homeless, jobless, or living in tremendous opulence. You can all pick up your mail here. You might enter in a wheelchair, with a stroller, or with a cane. With the new ramp, your entrance is so much the smoother. And chances are good, some good person of Dorchester will open the door for you. Enough cannot be said of the good postal workers here, too. Always patient, always efficient, always good-humored, they are the salt of Dorchester, and for $.41 on the dollar, they deliver every piece of mail I send without fail. Huzzah!
And you? What do you ADORE about Dorchester?
You know you’ve passed it on Dot Ave. The suspicious green exterior. The window displays with the hodge podge of trinkets and trucker hats. And then you’ve probably scoffed at the signage: “Super 99 Cent Plus.”
What’s the plus?
And what’s so super about it?
You know you’ve been curious. But did you have the courage to enter beyond yon doors?
The Dottie Hottie investigated. And lo, a manifest destiny of chatchkes of all shapes and sizes was unearthed!
The store is actually very clean and organized. Yet, you could spend hours in it, trolling for itty bitty buddhas, birthday balloons, and a new belt buckle.
They even had a Michael Jackson Thriller belt buckle to boot! Thirteen dollah bills, y’all!
We managed to purchase a whole bevy of birthday products (kiddie whistle toys, streamers, balloons, forks, etc.) for $13. My arms were literally brimming with stuff and the sum total was less than I had spent at Lambert’s for some apple cider and grapes.
The store is staffed by some charming young Vietnamese chaps. Totally helpful with the Mylar balloon selection and while the MJ belt buckle was exciting, it’s fair to say the Super 99 Plus staff is what the “plus” is all about — they’re the icing, for shizz.
***
Super 99 Cent Plus
1759 Dorchester Ave
Dorchester Ctr, MA 02124-2535
(617) 282-5460
One big Dottie Hottie Huzzah to the recipient of St. Mark’s Area Main Streets’ small business of the year award: Dot 2 Dot’s Karen Henry-Garrett. The award is well-deserved considering Karen’s devotion to the community and determination in building her business from the ground up (in the face of much adversity, see also: theft). If you haven’t checked out the pancakes or the Dottie Hottie’s favorite flapjack treats, do yourself a favor and connect the dots on down to Dot2Dot. I can’t promise you Karen will be wearing a fetching hat like the one she’s featured wearing here, but the cooking will not disappoint!
- photo credit to St. Mark’s Area Main Streets
Until this month, Dorchesterites who desired to sell or purchase used clothing (not on the interweb) had to leave the Dot for Quincy, Newton, and even places on the South Shore where consignment shops flourish. But not anymore. Two (!!) consignment shops are rocking the block around Pope’s Hill/Adams St. these days, and the Dottie Hottie is pumped for some resale therapy.
The Dottie Hottie, being a good little recessionista, is set to unload a whole bunch of nice name-brand fashions that ::sigh:: just ain’t gonnn fit no mo’.
After surveying the racks at the new Hidden Jules, I think some of DH’s duds aren’t even *nice* enough for the shop. Proprietor Julie Malcolm has a keen eye for the haute couture. Her shop on Adams St. looks like an adorable French boutique with a generous supply of women’s and children’s clothes (think: polka dot tites for $1!!??) and a growing inventory of men’s wear, too.
Hidden Jules
Proprietor: Julie Malcolm
hiddenjules1123@gmail.com
671 Adams St.
Dorchester, MA
617.379.3388
***
Over on Neponset St., Repeat Boutique has a sign that indicates the grand opening will occur on May 23. The Dottie Hottie couldn’t help but take a peak in the windows and, at first blush, is certainly impressed by the ambience.
Info. forthcoming on Repeat Boutique
And you? Share your reviews of Dot’s newest resale shops here!
Lovely little video feature on dBar as a rare dining/dancing spot in Boston, specifically Dot. The Dottie Hottie appreciates how Billy Costa does not preface the feature with a diss on the ‘hood but rather a fond appreciation of this pocket of Boston life.
On Sunday, March 15, you can do one of two things.
You can bundle up and join the bawdy drunk masses in Southie for the parade, fighting for your rightful cubit of space to gawk at bagpipin’ men in skirts, freezing your cheeks off.
Or.
You can go to Flat Black at Ashmont for a sweet and savory Coffee Odyssey, featuring coffees of the world and delectable pastries from Boston’s own Sel de la Terre. Learn, Linger, Love. Tickets ($15 each - the price of your T pass and 1 pint of ale if you head to the parade) can be purchased at Flat Black locations downtown and at Ashmont. And if you volunteer to relieve manager Sarah from her kangaroo suit wearing duties, they may offer you a deal, but no promises.
Also, be sure to become their groupie on Facebook!