Dottie Hottie

“We’re going out in Dorchester tonight.  Yup.  Gonna save a barn!”

Not your standard script for the babysitter, is it?

Well, on Friday, September 24th, it could be…

and even if you can’t make it, here’s why you should be supporting the Dorchester Historical Society’s Save Our Barn campaign:

One of only a few remaining barns in Boston, the Dorchester Historical Society’s Clapp Family barn is a rare artifact.

Dorchester was once a farming community (case ya didn’t know) and from these farms were fed Bostonia during the occupation of the city by British troops at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. According to DHS, “Fruits developed in Dorchester include the Downer cherry, the Dorchester blackberry, the President Wilder strawberry and the pride of the Society, Clapp’s Favorite Pear.”

The barn symbolizes Dorchester’s past, and the Clapp family is “a premier examplar of that history with its creation of the Clap Favorite Pear in the 1830s.”

To learn more or to purchase a ticket to the gala, go here.

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

If you love living in Dorchester, then you have at least one valentine to share the day with on Sunday (2/14). The following are just a few Dorchester deals that have come across the Dottie Hottie’s desk. Show the love to your sweetie, or, if nothing else, show the love to your ‘hood.

Dot 2 Dot Cafe’s Jazz Brunch (live music from 12 - 2 p.m.)

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Cedar Grove Gardens is offering the “Great Value Deal“:
- a dozen great NON-RED but premium 30-40cm roses
- delivered in a clear vase
- $35.00 +tax to local addresses
- Deal good thru Friday the 12th

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dbar - 4 Course Prix Fixe Menu all weekend long

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Franklin Park Zoo. Love is in the air (along with the smell of the gorillas wafting through…)
Bring a Valentine to the Zoo or make one there for your favorite animal. The animal who receives the most will be crowned “Zoo Sweetheart 2010.” One lucky winner will be chosen among his or her “valentines” to receive a Behind-the-Scenes tour of the Zoo for the whole family.

Due to the pending expansion of the Dottie Hottie family, certain members of our household have been compulsively ordering take-out. At least one member of the household has, and that member may or may not now have a new “usual” at King Do Baguette and Pastry. If a take-out order has been placed more than once to King-Do in the span of a week, is it safe to say that one is a “regular” of King-Do? That one is an afficionado? A groupie? AN OUTRIGHT ADDICT TO THE HONEYDEW MELON SMOOTHIE?

Just wondering. That honeydew melon smoothie really is delicious.

As is the tofu/vegetable entree, the beef bahn-me baguette sandwich, and the tofu spring rolls. The chicken used in this cuisine is suspect. Rubbery and a little as though it has been sitting out. Avoid the poultry product says the Dottie Hottie, and you will be fine.

Another great thing about King-Do, in addition to its 7 day delivery service (10 a.m. - 11 p.m.!!!) and affordability, is that you can now order it entirely online through GrubHub which fiiiiiiiinally expanded its territory to Dorchester after what felt like an ice age of being, well, iced.

So beam that order up and watch this bag come presto-chango to a Dot door near you.

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?

• The Dot Matrix
• Dot Boston
• The Dorchester Think Tank
• Lower Mills
• Local Spice
• Candeliera Silva
• Social Butterfly Experiment
• dotmass
• Greening of Dorchester

The tears were starting to well up in the Dottie Hottie’s eyes this morning, listening to NPR’s coverage of this week’s ceremony changing the name of Dorchester’s Joseph O’Hearn School to the William Henderson School. The story was scored by children singing “Hero” - that Mariah Carey song that the Dottie Hottie otherwise finds irksome. But somehow the sweet voices of the children made it so appropriate.

If you haven’t heard of the remarkable school that is the O’Hearn, with the remarkable man that is its principal Henderson, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? For 20 years, Henderson has been a driving force in making the school a more inclusive, loving place, particularly for differently abled children.

The school will now honor Henderson’s work - which the Dottie Hottie would also recognize as a ministry in public schools - by changing the school’s name. As Henderson plans to retire this year, the administration, teachers, and students all have an incredibly…oh there goes the Dottie Hottie crying again…they have an incredible legacy to continue.

Here’s the Globe’s coverage for more on the Henderson School.

Once upon a time on a holiday weekend, the Dottie Hottie went to a Pho restaurant at Fields Corner. DH was accompanied by the DottieBiker and MID, as well as two friends, one Caucasian, the other Chinese. They were followed by a large party of presumably Vietnamese people, since they were speaking Vietnamese to the hostess at the restaurant.

The hostess proceeded to arrange a table for the Vietnamese party first. The Dottie Hottie party was confused since they, the Dottie Hotties, had arrived first. The Dottie Hottie party would have to wait. The hostess then showed them to their table, but the Dottie Hottie party was left to find its own high chair for MID. No big deal, but it is nice when a restaurant takes notice of this and shows customers where they can find the high chair (preferably one without the safety buckle busted, as was this one).

The Vietnamese family was then given drink and their orders taken.

The Dottie Hottie party was given menus and tea, and then was plainly ignored. The Vietnamese family was brought their food. The Dottie Hottie party was ignored further. Phone orders were taken. Other customers were seated. Still, the Dottie Hottie party - which, again, had a baby in it - was ignored. No eye contact was made by the wait staff walking by the Dottie Hottie party to serve other customers, all of whom were presumably Vietnamese, as well.

Finally, the Dottie Hottie politely asked the server walking by, “Excuse me?”

It was only then that the orders were taken. The food arrived moments later, and while the food was delicious and very affordable, it left something of a bad taste in the Dottie Hottie’s mouth. It’s hard to say what was really at play here, but it felt like discrimination. And if that is the case, is a shame that discrimination transpires here even in Dorchester where our multiculturalism is one of our best assets. Discrimination has a terrible aftertaste.

The Dottie Hottie has yet to formally endorse any contenders for the mayor’s seat in the election upcoming.  However, the Dottie Hottie does have a thing for Koreans and more Korean-Americans in office may lead to the following:  MORE KOREAN BARBECUE IN BOSTON.  The Dottie Hottie would be certain to get behind a movement for more K-barbie in Beantown!

Word from Ed M., the coordinator of volunteers with City Councilor Sam Yoon’s campaign for mayor is that campaign headquarters have officially opened at 1411 Dorchester Ave.  That’s at Field’s Corner right across from Autozone.  The Dottie Hottie saw the campaigners canvassing the Corner this past weekend, holding up signage and donning Yoon T’s with pride.  The Dottie Hottie wishes them the best and encourages you to get involved in the race, whomever you may choose to support.

Committee to Elect Sam Yoon
PO Box 51824
Boston, MA 02205

Campaign Office:
1411 Dorchester Ave.
Boston, MA  02122
Phone: 617-825-0309
sam@samyoon.com

There isn’t much time to read the sign as you’re making the hazardous turn from Dorchester Avenue onto Hancock Street, but the sign says:

If you can manage to find parking (which is tight on-street no matter the hour or day) or perhaps you walk there like a good Dottie, inside this little Guatemalan restaurante you will find a warm, fairly clean, non-pretentious family atmosphere where the decorations are completely incongruous, the menus are a little bit of an unprofessional patchwork, but where the food is plentiful, super affordable, and absolutely delicious.

The Dottie Hottie family enjoyed flautas, tamales, enchiladas, a bean soup, and the most extraordinary plantains on earth. Guatemalan plantains come with a dipping sauce that is part sour cream, part heavy whipping cream and it is the perfect savory mix to the sugary soft banana treat. The platters were all enormous and very reasonably priced.

Throughout the meal, there were several customers coming in for take-out orders. To note, though, delivery is free, and breakfast (desayuno) is served all day.

The Dottie Hottie left with a to-go box still bursting with food. Total tab including tip for 2 adults and 1 child was $30. We cannot wait to return. Let us know if we can meet you there. Hasta luego.

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Antojitos y Panaderia Chapina
Mon-Sun 9a-9p
Free Delivery
299 Hancock St
Dorchester, MA 02125
617/288.3201

Big Dottie Hottie huzzahs to the good samaritan in the Fields Corner post office last week. The Dottie Hottie received a package that was too hefty to cart along with MID in a stroller. The post office was soon to close and the package contained some important items of a timely quality. Moreover, the post office was going to send the package back if the Dottie Hottie did not claim it and soon. At that moment, some kindly Dottie volunteered to carry that hulking package back to the Dottie Hottie vehicle. The Dottie Hottie was so grateful, and hopes that man has the happiest of holidays!