Dottie Hottie

The Dottie Hottie recently heard a clever little abbreviation. “SoDo.” That’s South Dorchester to all you kool kats. A fellow Dottie was saying how much she loved Dorchester (who can blame her?) and that she likes to tell others exactly where she lives, but non-Dotties might not know where Ashmont Hill is, so she settles for SoDo.

And that got DH thinking.

It’s great to have our nuanced pride about the ‘hood, isn’t it? But how microscopic should we get in honing in on a ‘hood? I mean, this site is dedicated to the love of Dorchester, which is a neighborhood of the City of Boston. Do we do the city a disservice by allocating our energies toward only one ‘hood? The DH thinks not because the Dot is often the redheaded stepchild of neighborhoods in terms of the way it is portrayed and generally thought about by the populace. I can’t believe I just typed the word “populace.”

Perhaps we should work to be a more united Boston, but first let’s start by being a united Dorchester. We can take pride in our little Dottie pockets, but let us not forget that from Adams Village to Uphams Corner, we are better by working together, to be perfectly Mr. Rogers about it all.

Before the Landmark Orchestra performed last night (in its rain location of St. Greg’s auditorium where we all wanted to bust out the Bingo afterward), all the dignitaries took the mike to announce what we Dotties already know:

Dorchester Park is Amazing!

But, wait, there’s more!

The park will now be on the National Register of Historic Places. And Mayor Meninooooooo was there to unveil the fancy plaque to much applause. And to say “Dawchestahh Pahhk” at least fourteen times to the satisfaction of the Dottie Hottie and Dottie Biker.

The Orchestra was fantastic last evening, as was MID who managed not to have a meltdown even after the third movement of the first symphony.

Five best attributes of Flat Black Coffee Shop (the original):

5. The ceiling? Is blue.

4. Everybody enjoys the mod red hightop chairs

3. The Rolls Royce of coffee grinders lives behind this door.

2. You can read the New Yorker whilst caffeinating.

1. The coffee ain’t bad either. (Dottie Hottie’s poison: Iced vanilla decaf latte.)

Gentlemen, the bar is open.

Ladies, it’s happy hour for you, too.

Only this bar serves chic haircuts and skincare. And the only shots they’re doing are shots of hair spray to your hair.

Welcome to The Beauty Bar, a unisex salon in Neponset Circle. The salon is new to the area, but owner Dyan LaRosa is no newbie to cosmetology, or to the Dot. LaRosa formerly owned a salon in Southie, where she was lopping off locks for 17 years. But now she’s back in her own ‘hood of residence (although she is quick to point out that she is not OFD - Originally From Dorchester) where she has opened doors to a salon that could easily be mistaken for Charlotte York’s parlor. And where she can keep her 13 year-old daughter on her radar screen

LaRosa and her staff are all extremely down-to-earth, which LaRosa says is important to her in welcoming old clients and new to the salon.

“People can get intimidated by a new place,” said LaRosa, “Even going into a coffee shop, you might think everyone knows everyone else in there.”

Perhaps you’re already faithful to your Dottie salon, but consider stopping by The Beauty Bar - perhaps it will become the place where everybody knows your name….

LaRosa behind the bar…

Jill ready to tend the lower bar

The Beauty Bar
393 Neponset Ave.
Dorchester, MA 02122
617.825.0085
www.beautybarboston.com

Today the Dottie Hottie was hot, heat index notwithstanding. The Dottie Hottie was sooo stinking hot. Hot in the head.

There was DH, driving down the street at speed limit with MID in the backseat, when a neighbor pulled right out in front of DH. The neighbor was DEFINITELY driving with cellphone held to ear in one hand. DH laid on the horn seeing as PRECIOUS CARGO ON BOARD.

Then, the unlawful driver raised the other hand off of steering wheel. The Dottie Hottie is no mathematician but 1 hand on phone + 1 hand raised in air = 0 hands on steering wheel.

Good thing the passenger in the neighbor’s backseat had a spare hand. A spare hand to give the Dottie Hottie the bird!

Oh the ignorance. The Dottie Hottie would once again like to plead with fellow Dotties. Let us elevate the code of driving conduct in the Dot to that of a civilized nation. And let this be a reminder that flipping the bird, especially to a non-offending driver, is just not hot.

You may have unintentionally landed on their blog when searching for The Ashmont Grill. Or googling “Dorchester Day.” They are the Lower Dotties and their blog, LowerDot.com is pretty fantastic.

Chris and Erin are their names, those sharp, good-humored, Dot-lovin’ specsters. They love to eat at Dorchester establishments and then blog about ‘em. They are particularly enthusiastic about Lower Mills, and are always encouraging friends to consider buying some real estate in the Dot.

Three other things you may not know about the Lower Dotties:

They’re married
They teach
They’ve done business with the Catholic church. Huzzah!

To the Dottie Hottie, their hot little domain represents a new wave of Dottie pride, that of the transplant.  So maybe they weren’t born with a hockey stick in their hands, nor were they riding the Red Line with their student T pass in high school.  But they’ve got much love for the Dot and they make this neighborhood a better, more diverse, and certainly a hipper ‘hood.

A fellow Dottie hottie recently griped that people here drive like they are in the Third World. Or on the Autobahn with a truck sans muffler. Or without a shred of respect.

Drive down Dot Ave. any day of the week at rush hour and you will experience it, too. Traffic lights are merely a suggestion. Stop signs are for wusses. Dot Ave. is straight like the lines of Casey Affleck’s adidas pants, but you would think it was really serpentine with the way people hatch it up at 5 p.m. Want some plantains?

Sure there are more cars and bikers (like our very own Dottie Biker) sharing the road than when Dot was its own little mini-hub. Sure updates to traffic flow are needed and appear to be pending in places like Peabody Square and around Freeport Rd. But this doesn’t mean we need to drive like we’ve lost our dang minds and sense of decency.

If we proud Dotties strive to elevate the profile of our neighborhood, we have got to show a little ’spect for our Dottie brother. Drive safely out there, and hey, Johnny Law, we could use a little enforcement up and down Dot Ave. Thanks.

Sometimes, on a steamy summer night, the spirit compels you to amble down to Fields Corner to roil about with the street denizens, neon light pollution, and never-ending construction and, because all that will surely cause you to work up an appetite, mosey on in to Osaka Shabu to cook your own boiling hot dinner. Don’t ask questions. For around $12, the contrary instincts that tell you it’s wrong to go to a restaurant and have to labor at your own table will be shushed for some shabu. The Dottie Hottie recommends the A5 Beef. One of the owners, surely a Dottie hottie, is from Hong Kong. Be sure to thank her. Tse Tse.

Labor of food lust…

Ah, the charming light pollution of Fields Corner…

Dottie Hottie.  This is the site I created to capture the spirit of life in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and to foster a sounding board for change (where needed, natch).  Because the love of one’s neighborhood is a reason to get up in the morning.  And civic engagement is hot.  

Visit, and visit often.  Comment when you can.