June 11 2023
June 11, 2023
# 1610
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Cover Story
Bobby Eustace is typical of the North End in the day: friendly, hard-working, loyal, avoiding trouble, and dedicated to his trade. Then and now he carries himself with pride and confidence, knowing he’s selling quality products at affordable prices. He is the quintessential egalitarian believing that all individuals possess inherent worth and should be treated fairly and equally.
These qualities were not theoretical for us North Enders, but were unconsciously integrated into our every decision, every ‘hello’, every act. For example, on September 12, 1974, twenty years after the Supreme Court in Brown v Board of Education declared that racially separate schools or classrooms could never be equal, busing came to Boston. Where protests in other predominantly white neighborhoods in the city erupted into violence, when the buses carrying children of color rolled in, the North End, although virtually entirely of Italian heritage, went on with its day as if nothing significant was going on. Made you proud.
Although Bobby is the quintessence of the Italian personality, I begrudgingly acknowledge that, while Bobby’s mother was Italian, his father was Irish. For whatever that means. I suppose the first such unions were shocking and resisted by family and friends. But Italian-Irish soon became a not terribly uncommon combination, the ultimate illustration that Italians are true small-d democrats.
Polcari’s coffee is nine years away from celebrating its 100th birthday. Bobby has worked there for thirty-nine of them, since 2002, as owner. What is the attraction for him? So many.
Step into the store and you will immediately understand the dominant reason: the overwhelming smell of coffee, rich, bold, and enticing, a unique combination of earthiness and sweetness. The smell can be described as nutty, with hints of caramel, chocolate, or as floral or fruity, or as having a touch of smokiness.
But a small shop that is also crammed with herbs, spices, and teas can exude a delightful array of aromatic scents. From the herbs, you might find the fresh, earthy aroma of basil, thyme, rosemary, or the soothing, floral notes of lavender or chamomile. From the spices come the rich, aromatic scents of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, or cumin. These spices evoke a sense of comfort and make the air feel cozy and inviting. The shop's selection of teas fill the air with a variety of scents like the grassy aroma of green tea, the robust fragrance of black tea, and the floral and soothing scents of chamomile or jasmine teas.
All these aromas, bold and varied, crammed into a small store, produce a bouquet unique to Polcari’s coffee, like nowhere else. Just for the smells, Bobby would be dedicated to his job.
But, in addition to the attraction of the smells, the visuals provide a feast for the eyes. Shells cover every square inch of the walls. The shelves are stuffed with an inventory whose colors, sizes, and shapes make for art worthy of a museum.
The smells and visuals should be alluring enough to hold Bobby close to his shop. But there’s more: the customers. The shop’s fame is widespread, and people come from all over America in search of a pound of coffee from Polcari’s. They ask Bobby a million questions about the shop. From his enthusiasm, you’d never guess that Bobby’s responses to his customers’ prompts had been repeated ten thousand times before. Customers eager to engage and Bobby’s outgoing and kindly personality, therein lies the magic.
Would you like to say hello to Bobby?
Click here for a 19-second warm hello.
Polcari’s Coffe
105 Salem Street
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 227-0786
Takeout / Delivery
( est. 1932 )
Bobby4Coffee@gmail.com
polcariscoffee.com
HOURS
Mon – Fri: 11 AM – 5 PM
Sat: 10 AM – 5 PMSun: Closed
“Polcari’s Coffee still stands on Salem St. The grocery store still has its old-world flavor, which keeps us on North End tourist routes and stops. We provide fresh, rare spices to the chefs of the North End, as well as deli meats, candy, pasta, nuts, tea and of course, coffee.
“I am Bobby Eustace and I own and operate the store and am planning to take the store into its centennial anniversary. I have a great singing voice, but I’d rather sell you a pound of freshly roasted coffee.”
Artisanal shops as icons
I did a profile on him in middle school I think.
About ten years ago.
Hey guys,
I did a story on Polcari’s Coffee when I just a child.
Here it is:
When Boston’s North End natives consider which landmarks reflect the “old world flavor” of the vibrant neighborhood, Polcari’s Coffee on Salem Street customarily falls atop of their list. With the rest of the community continuously modernizing alongside the city itself, Polcari’s has steadfastly conserved the original ambiance of the North End.
At twenty years old, Anthony Polcari immigrated from Italy to the North End. The ultimate success story of Italian immigrants at the time, he saved his earnings “working as a pocket- maker at a local tailor’s shop” to pursue his dream, in 1932, opening up Polcari’s Coffee, eventually passing ownership down to his son, Ralph.
Ralph’s dear friend and employee, Bobby Eustace continues to preserve the legendary Polcari’s legacy. In appreciation for his over twenty five year employment, Ralph left Bobby with the store when he past away four years ago. “Ralph was a mentor, and like a father to me, and I miss him immensely,” Bobby said.
Bobby is known for his affable and cultivated attitude towards his store and its history. He gracefully and pleasantly greeted my unexpected visit and allowed me to interview him while simultaneously assisting incoming customers. He spoke about the store with great pride and when I asked about what is upcoming for the store’s future, he was thrilled to announce they are currently seeking a food take-out license to sell cups of coffee to go. “Not many people cook for themselves anymore,” Bobby said above Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, “I’m going to have big signs that feature the coffee of the day.”
Polcari’s customers are a blend of locals and tourists from all over the world who fascinate Bobby with their views and cultures as he fascinates them with his offerings. “I consider myself a museum keeper,” Bobby wrote on the Polcari website. And after over eight decades, Polcari’s Coffee continues to be an unwavering symbol of the original Italian-oriented North End.
Kat and the gang at age thirteen
Writing then, a story on Ralph and Bobby of Polcari’s Coffee
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Tucker’s Corner
I’ve got superhero fatigue. There’s so many movies, tv shows, etc. out there revolving around comic book characters that you can’t swing a dead cat and hit one. All that to say even though the subject matter of this new film again pulls viewers into the pages of comic book lore it does so with animation so absolutely lovely that the medium really becomes more important than anything happening in the story (which is also great). This is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Directed by Joaquim Dos Sanos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
I’m hard pressed to believe we’ll see anything else come out of Hollywood this year that offers the sheer visual splendor present in basically every scene of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. This movie feels like color suddenly bowled its way into a black and white world like the cowboys burst through the walls of a dance set at the end of Blazing Saddles. Simply by existing Spider-Verse makes the argument that all comic book adaptations should lean into the idea that they began as animation and go with that medium when adapting the story for the silver screen. Without the limits and laws of physical reality these stories can truly challenge our imaginations.
Hollywood produces plenty of animated films every year but the reason why Spider-Verse stands alone is that there’s truly nothing out there that looks anything like it. The animation is all done with computers but they purposefully meld this aesthetic with that of hand drawn animation to give it a singular look and feel. Not to mention this film’s use of color which takes viewers onto an end of the color and vibrancy spectrum rarely seen anywhere. Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons once coined the phrase “rubber-band reality”. Spider-Verse lives by this idea. One minute the action on screen resembles anime, characters striking hero poses almost outside of the film’s reality, the next we’re sitting with two Spider-people as they hang upside down at a skyscraper’s summit. The reality of it still impossible but the image is so clear and well rendered you believe it entirely.
The plot follows the same rubber-band theory as the visuals. No matter how Spider-Verse strays into gags and dimension hopping insanity, they always snap back to something, or someone relatable. The story focuses on Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino kid left to step into hero’s shoes when his dimension’s Spiderman is killed. Without the Spider suit on though Miles is a normal 15 year old with helicopter parents who has to navigate his teenage world all while trying to remain a good person despite his age appropriate insecurities. Voice actor Shameik Moore does a truly lovely job bringing Miles to life.
Add to Miles’s story that of Gwen Stacy voiced by the always amazing Hailee Steinfeld. Gwen a.k.a. Spider-Woman lives in her own dimension with its own animation style and the film spends its early scenes painting (almost literally through animation) her own personal issues as well as the added complexities that come with being an interdimensional crime fighter.
Both these Spider-people face The Spot, a science experiment gone wrong leading to his body being pockmarked by Dalmatian like wormholes. Punch him and your fist might end up hitting someone across the room instead. This ability to open portals across space (and eventually realities) allows for some of the film’s most exciting action and comedic sequences.
Spider-Verse does have more on its mine than visual excitement though. Partway through I realized I was watching a well put together critique of comic book storytelling, specifically shooting holes in the rulebook Spiderman comics have adhered to for decades. The first Spider-Verse film poked fun at the endlessly recycled conventions we all know from comic books. This sequel reaches for a larger point about the limitations of the medium and the dangers of letting your creativity be hemmed in by forcing yourself to work by any convention. What results is a story about Miles, his background, his ethnicity, and his rookie approach to being a hero, and how all those things are valuable precisely because they aren’t conventional.
Across the Spider-Verse is a delightful tightrope walk of a film. It’s irreverent but soulful, reality-bending but still committed to the emotional reality of its characters and appealing to super comic book geeks while remaining completely accessible to the more casual viewer. This film spins a lot of plates creatively and narratively and it does so with aplomb. It’s a tribute to the multitasking required of any friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
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Local Bits
Having dinner with my cousin Lauren on Monday.
She’s returning from ten days in France and Italy with her boyfriend,
I’m trying a new version of Lobster Savannah, cooking the lobster in the shell.
Lauren and Dom in Paris several years ago.
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Restaurant Review
We had lunch at the Palm on Friday. It was not memorable.
Striking dining room with ultra-high ceilings
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Writing
Working hard on the book on the North End.
Thinking a size of 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in color, about 200 pages.
Much of the book will be stories of the North End written in the vernacular by residents there in the 1950s through the 1970s. Submissions will close on July 15, hoping for the preparation for the printer to be completed by August 15.
Working title: Magical Realism: The North End.
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Travel
The plane tickets to Tuscany bought, my daughter is working on finding our hotel. She’s close.
As I am close to settling on the restaurants.
We have to book six nights.
Two are confirmed.
Two are too early to book.
Two have to be chosen.
We did book the only Guide Michelin 3-star restaurant
despite (on account of?) its being the most expensive restaurant in the city
or perhaps in any city
Promises to be a night to remember
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Food
My son Mino just celebrated his birthday and he writes me that he spent a lot of the day running in the woods and cooking.
When I asked what he cooked he sent this:
I love this sheet pan roast of broccolini, chick peas, red onions, bell peppers cherry tomatoes, lemon slices and feta or halloumi. Toss w olive oil, cumin, and red pepper and roast at 400 for 20 mins.
also roast salmon, baked pots and sweet pots, and strawberry pavlova. sort of over the top, but yummy!
Thought I’d share it and this photo of him,
This is Mino, age 2.
Not running through the woods nor cooking sheetpans
Always a delight
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Chuckles and Thoughts
George Carlin:
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because
he knows where all the bad girls live.
Good girls don’t
Good girls don’t
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Understanding Ageing
I spoke with my medical team about a prolonged discomfort ( I could say pain.,) in my hamstrings
Stretching is recommended. They gave me a short set of stretches to follow.
I asked Chat and she gave me a more simple set.
From the two, I extrapolated and even more simple set:
Sit on my easy chair, turn on the TV.
Pile my footstool with cushions.
Slowly raise my legs onto the cushions, my feet are higher than my legs so
the hammies are stretching.
Watch my favorite Korean drama.
It’s been two days.
Seems to be working.
An alternative to the stretching by footstool model.
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Social Life
I had several personal meetups, but zillions of emails as the book on the North End takes shape.
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts, including links.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
text to 617.852.7192
This from Tommy D on the Cirace family:
Hi Dom,
I enjoyed the Cirace story . very similar to mine as well. I have a interesting tidbit for you. One day I went into their store with Rita and I was talking with Jeff (whose father delivered wine to my Nonno back in th 50's), I saw on the pole in the middle of the store a framed small calendar used as an advertisement for their store back the 1960's. It has a photo of the Amalfi coast. I was stunned. It was exactly the same picture that my Nonno painted in oil! I told Jeff, I have that picture framed in my home! It's my Nonno's oil painting that I watched him paint when I was a kid. Now I know where he got his inspiration. Cirace's! I later came in and showed Jeff my Nonno's painting. It's been a while since that happened and I wonder if Jeff remembers.
My world keeps getting smaller and smaller because I am blessed with an incredibly large circle of friends and family.
Tommy
And this also from Tommy D, relating to Memorial Day. Lovely thoughts. We print the first verse wirth a link to the entire poem:
The Vietnam Memorial Wall,
Eric L. Marsh
Stand in front of the Vietnam Memorial Wall
Read the names of our fallen heroes one and all
Each name inscribed as a lasting memory
Of those brave souls who have passed on into history
For the rest of the poem, click here:
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Korean Drama
Mr. Queen (Korean: 철인왕후; Hanja: 哲仁王后) is a South Korean television series based on the Chinese web series Go Princess Go. Directed by Yoon Sung-sik, it stars Shin Hye-sun as Queen Cheorin and Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheoljong. The drama is about Queen Cheorin finding herself with the soul of a modern-day man inside her body, and King Cheoljong striving to be a king who helps his people. It aired on tvN every Saturday and Sunday at 21:00 (KST) from December 12, 2020, to February 14, 2021.
Despite its controversies, the series is the ninth highest rated drama in Korean cable television history, with the last episode reaching a nationwide rating of 17.371% and garnering more than 4 million in viewership. It also set a record for tvN by achieving the 5th highest rating in the network's history.[6]
Synopsis
In the modern age, Jang Bong-hwan (Choi Jin-hyuk) is a head chef who works at the Blue House. He is a womanizer with a free spirit, and one day gets in trouble when a Chinese delegate takes out a fish hook after biting into their food cooked by him. After a near-death experience one day, he finds himself in the body of So-yong as Queen Cheorin (Shin Hye-sun) in the Joseon period.
King Cheoljong (Kim Jung-hyun), the reigning monarch, is a gentle and easy-going person. However, he is a king as a figurehead, while the true power is wielded by the late King Sunjo's widow, Queen Sunwon (Bae Jong-ok). Bong-hwan goes on a mission to win Queen Sunwon's favor by cooking for her and try to get back to his body in modern Korea but Bong-hwan soon discovers that So-yong has a secret while the King is not what he seems, and has a dark and suspicious side to him.
This is a poster for Mr. Queen. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the Television, the publisher of the Television or the graphic artist.
The show “Mr. Queen” was the center of controversies after it received backlash from viewers for different issues. The author of the book the drama was based on, Go Princess Go, made negative comments about South Korea in a previous work1. Prior to the series’ premiere, ‘Mr. Queen’ became the cause of controversial debate online as some netizens accused the original novelist Xian Chen of being racist toward Koreans in the past. Netizens said that in another of his past works, Xian Chen repeatedly used derogatory slang language to mock Koreans2. Producers of “Mr. Queen” issued a public apology last month, saying they were not aware of the controversy over the Chinese writer, but debates criticizing the show have been continuing in online communities. The producers also apologized for a controversy over the distortion of Korean history and mockery of real-life royal figures3. Despite its controversies, the series is the ninth highest rated drama in Korean cable television history4.
*The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily on Wikipedia and ChatGPT to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Community Pictures with Captions are sent in by our followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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