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Another day, another 'best of Boston' list that excludes most of the city
By adamg on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 11:13am
Third Decade critiques the Improper Bostonian's attempt at licking advertisers a best-of list, which, like most of the other ones, pretty much considers everything beyond the Fenway and on the other side of the Harbor to be terra incognita.
I'd take a look myself, but the Improper still seems to think it's 1994 and that a giant animated GIF of its cover is all anybody really needs online.
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Comments
Thanks for letting me know!
I heard about the list release yesterday and was going to check out their site to see who was on it... now I know not to bother, thanks! :-) -Christine
What's the list worth, anyway?
So many places in Boston have those "Best of" awards hanging around that I've grown to discount them as utterly meaningless.
Best of Boston
I'm paging though the Improper's "Best of Boston" issue. It includes spots in Brookline, Somerville, Cambridge, Belmont, Peabody, Wellesley, Charleston, Wrentham, and so on. So what's the problem?
None of those are in Boston except Charlestown
Did you spot anything in Roxbury, Mattapan, Roslindale, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, Brighton?
I'd go look myself, but there aren't any Improper boxes in my immediate neighborhood.
I know it can be hard to believe, but there's a lot more to Boston than the places well-off white people shop at.
Guess what buddy. Most
Guess what buddy. Most places in those areas are dumps. You may think they are great but they are not. Get over yourself.
You're a troll and an idiot.
I wonder what that makes me for feeding you? Ah well.
Rock-Solid Truth
Get over yourself.
Always, without fail, said by someone who needs to.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
worst anon of the week
... so far (crossing fingers)
I picked it up
I picked it up yesterday--there were a couple things in Brighton and Dorchester, but most outlying neighborhoods weren't treated very well. Also, they seem to reward the same places every year.
The only place you listed
The only place you listed that is in Boston, is Charlestown. How are those places "Best of BOSTON" if they aren't even located Boston? That's the problem.
Nightlife/entertainment magazine for the Boston metro area
For their target audience (i.e., their advertisers' target audience), this is going to include a couple neighborhoods in Cambridge and not include large swaths of Boston proper.
Hey, they *did* say "improper." :)
Improper Suburbian?
Maybe it's time to rename the mag.
The 2009 Improper Best-Of is decent of its kind
Historically, I haven't been a fan of the Improper's annual best-of list, as it's usually too full of suspect choices, lulus that make you certain they're collecting graft from advertisers. But the 2009 edition is pretty good from a restaurant perspective: I don't see a whole lot of Phantom Gourmet-like whoring to sponsors. They get a lot right, and even when I disagree with their choices for "best", I don't think they're ridiculously far off.
It's true that there's not enough emphasis on cheap-eats kind of places, and that many worthy neighborhoods get largely overlooked; this is a problem with many publications' coverage of Boston restaurants. I know I don't spend as much time as I should writing about restaurants in Roxbury, Dorchester, Roslindale, and West Roxbury, but I'm working on it.
Is Southie in this issue anywhere?
I'll have to pick up an issue and see. Of course, we don't have the variety of restaurants here as in other neighborhoods, although we are getting some down by the convention center. Most of the magazines don't seem to acknowledge Southie exists at all -- strange given the rise in the young professionals around here, the target demo for these things. I think Joseph's Bakery was recognized by the Improper last year or the year before; well deserved, one of the best kept secrets in the city outside of Southie -- great deserts, great deli, fresh sandwiches. The place was packed today because of the weather and, I suspect, of people coming back from the Tall Ships.
And is there any place better to get some exercise and people watch than a walk around Castle Island/Carson Beach? (Just don't swim there today -- red flag warnings are up.)
Sure, Jack, here's your short list of.....
...much better places to get some exercise and people watch than Castle Island/Carson Beach:
Jamaica Pond
the Arboreteum
the Middlesex Fells,
Fresh Pond
the Esplanade
etc...