Aaron "Doctor" B.'s Profile

Even though I've spend the past decade living within a town or two of the Thirsty Scholar, I didn't actually set foot inside until last month.  We were meeting up with some friends to watch Game 3 of the Celtics/Lakers series, and they picked the Scholar.

The beer selection isn't the best in the area (places are really stepping up their game), but it's by no means shabby.

Good atmosphere, plenty of TV's, moderate seating.  You can carry on a conversation at a reasonable level, which is key for my pub-going experience and unfortunately not the norm in many Boston bars.

Service was ... serviceable, but nothing to write home about.  Took them a while to get around to our table.  The food they brought was tasty, though, and I was glad to see them put together a solid set of nachos.  Not the over-the-top Sunset or Beer-Works style (which require you to be forklifted out afterwards), but just the right balance of toppings, cheese, and crunchy chips.  Not a single soggy chip.  You are truly a scholar of nachos.

In another city, I would have given them 5 stars, but this is Boston, and we have a few other Irish bars in the area for comparison.  The bar's set pretty high (pun intended).

Met up with some friends here recently -- they're from Belmont and had gave the place high marks, so we figured we'd give it a try.  Not too long of a wait, but the wait was outdoors, which would have been unfortunate in inclement weather.

Insomuch as they can, they buy their ingredients from local farms, which is incredible, inspirational, and earned them at least 3 stars right off the bat.  Restaurants in the area could learn a trick or two from these guys.

I was in a funky mood, so going against all my guy instincts, I opted for a "Californian" wrap instead of a pizza.  I guess I figured that if they were buying fresh local produce, what better way to taste it?  Definitely worth the gamble -- it was fantastic.

As a beer geek, I was also pleasantly surprised to see a small selection of microbrews on tap.  Thank you, Stone Hearth, for recognizing the awesome versatility of craft-brewed beer.

Anyhow, next time I go (and there *will* be a next time), I'm going to actually get a pizza.

Oh, how I wish it were possible to give negative stars.  If I could, I would.  I recently saw on Craigslist that the owners are selling the shop and all their inventory, and I have to say I couldn't be happier.

A quick story, if you'll indulge me: In late December, I stopped by the Everest Mini Mart looking for a Mountain Dew for me and my friend, so that we could enjoy them while playing video games (yes, we were reliving our "glory days").  As I was about to pull away, my friend turns to me and asks "do you remember Dew having a 'snow globe' effect"?  White powdery stuff was sitting on the bottom of both bottles and was being kicked up and floating around.  The bottles weren't opened, so clearly this was Pepsi's fault, not the poor mini-mart, right?  Wrong.  We brought the bottles back to try to exchange them for something else, and it was at this point that the wheels started coming off the cart.  Turns out that all the Mountain Dew bottles of all sizes had this issue (strike one).  Other sodas and beverages from other companies had the exact same problem (strike two).  The leading theory is that temperature control in the fridges was terrible and they froze the bottles, causing solid particulates to form and fall out of solution.  Finally, we took a look at the expiration date on the bottles of Dew -- early 2004 (strike three).  As it seemed we were over 3 years late, we asked for our money back and got the hell out of there.

Somehow, in my excitement about Mountain Dew, I missed the inch and a half of dust on their inventory.

RW Shattuck (aka ACE) was the first hardware store we visited in town, and the place we always return to.  They fit a surprising amount of stuff in a small space, but you never feel crowded or lost, and they always seem to have exactly what you're looking for.

The only reason I'm giving the place 4 stars as opposed to 5 is that occasionally certain members of the staff can be surly; I had one very negative experience with an unhelpful and cranky worker that I won't go into here.

If you live in town, don't drive out to the big guys -- Shattuck has everything you need at reasonable prices.

Small place, fast turnaround, great price on shirts, and the woman who runs the place is incredibly nice.  The only knock is that you have to pay in cash or by check, and the last time I actually carried a checkbook around with me was... never.

On the burger scale of White Castle/McDonalds to Bartleys/RF O'Sullivans, Krazy Karry's lands squarely in the middle.  The "order at the counter and eat wherever you want" atmosphere definitely seems more fast-food fare, but the burger quality is more what you'd find at a good seaside burger joint.  You're definitely not going to get the burger selection of the latter two places, but you can get a solid burger made with quality meat and a side of great onion rings at a reasonable price, and even a beer (they had a small kegerator with two types of Sam Adams on tap).

My wife and I went here with my mom when we first moved into town.

Mom (looking at her watch): "Looks like we're here a little early."
Me (looking around at the clientele): "Yeah, about 45 years too early."

Seriously though, if you're looking for a classic tasty dinner, Jimmy's is the place to be.  Excellent steak with a side of vegetables in a comfortable (if slightly stuffy) atmosphere.

I'm not much of a cyclist, but we stopped in here to get some equipment (helmets, a new seat, etc) and found the guys to be knowledgeable and friendly, if a little pushy.  I'll chalk it up to enthusiasm about bicycles.

Bob's a great, friendly guy and runs a good shop here.  They're a little heavy on the action-figures for my tastes, but they've got a solid set of back issues and their new issues section is well-laid-out.  They also have really laid-back policies on setting up a box, a lesson some of the larger shops could afford to learn.

I'll be honest: I like a simple gym.  I like to lift, I like to use cardio machines, and I wouldn't mind use of a locker to keep my stuff safe.  I don't need classes, sessions, trainers, or someone to hold my hand while I sweat my ass off.

Gold's is a functional gym, and that's all.  And that's all I need.

(But as the prior reviewer said, they'll screw you on the price.  Fight and fight hard.)