I have a crush on Bill Buford. For those of you who don’t know his work, he is a writer of sterling pedigree — staff positions at Granta, and The New Yorker — and the man can indeed write. He writes the way I wish I did and the way I wish all the writers […]
boston
New England
Weekend Warrior
I spent twelve years living within 40 minutes to my favorite places to ski, and could sneak out for some midweek afternoon turns, so I never considered myself to be a weekend warrior where I had to cram all my outdoor pursuits into the weekend. After the last two weekends, though, it’s official. I’ve become […]
Drivers rolling down Boston’s Boylston Street are sometimes surprised to see — amid the concrete and high-rises — a splash of lush green, a pergola covered in purple blossoms, and bright-red rows of tomatoes, heavy on the vine. This seven-acre plot is The Richard D. Parker Memorial Victory Gardens, better known as Fenway Gardens.The names […]
Magazine
Pairings for Jan/Feb
The clues: First: On April 12, 1934, New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Observatory weather station recorded a surface wind speed of 231 miles per hour — a record that stands today, securing the summit’s reputation for experiencing weather as severe as any on Earth. Second: Since 1952, the New Hampshire primary has been seen as not […]
You might be asking, “Which Oliver Wendell Holmes?” Holmes Sr. (1809-1894), the famous Boston physician and man of letters? Or his son, Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), the even more famous Bostonian who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years? The answer is “Both.” Holmes Sr. built this 15-room “cottage,” as summer mansions were called […]
Magazine
Swindle in Swanton, VT
When John Byors said he’d put Swanton, Vermont’s fabled red marble back on the map, people believed his promise of the riches that lay ahead.
Main Dishes
Chinese New Year Recipes From Joanne Chang
During Chinese New Year, dragon dancers, elaborate parades, and fireworks light up the sky. Celebrate with these Chinese New Year recipes.
Organic — it’s a word we’re all familiar with. Or are we? In America’s quest to “go green,” the word organic has been plastered on everything from cheese curls to shampoo, burgers to baby clothes. To most folks, it’s shorthand for “all natural/no pesticides/hormone free.” But once upon a time, organic was used to describe […]
Magazine
Grab This
Fashionistas know winter brings a whole new selection of season-appropriate fabrics. Boston-based designers Kelly Smith and Chris Grimley match high-quality German felts with Knoll interior textiles in their handbags, which are sewn locally. These cushy accessories carry laptops, cameras, and digital music players stylishly yet carefully, without overtly advertising the valuable items within. Pictured here […]
When it came time to build a fireplace, Roger Wells told his mason that he wanted a Rumford Fireplace — the single best fireplace design to come along in the last 200-plus years. Count Rumford, born Benjamin Thompson in 1753 in Woburn, Massachusetts, was a physicist and genius inventor, a Tory who fled Boston with […]
Also read Sandy Wells’s 10 tips for antiques collectors. Drive just under a mile off interstate 89 near the town of New London, New Hampshire, and you’ll suddenly come upon the hamlet of North Sutton, with its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it white clapboard general store and Baptist church. Drawn by the sweet calm of tree-lined Kezar Lake, you […]
Connecticut
The Maritime Aquarium in South Norwalk, CT
Beat the winter chill at the Maritime Aquarium in South Norwalk, CT, the best aquarium you may never have heard of.