April 2015 - Neighborhood View

MALDEN CHEFS: David Stein and Stock Pot Malden

April 27, 2015 paintedtulip88 0

Long-time Malden resident, David Stein, is as warm and colorful as his red-flowered pants. We spoke at the Polka Dot Commissary on Pearl Street where he described his life as a chef, entrepreneur, musician and partial owner of Stock Pot Malden. In 1976, David Stein was washing dishes in Mystic Seaport at Howard Johnson’s on the highway. “I liked the line cooks,” he remembers. “They were cool.” A year later he was working at his first cooking job, part-time, in the cafeteria where he attended college. He moved to Indiana and in the late 1970s, to the San Francisco bay area around the time when Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse, the first farm to market restaurant, and the California New American cuisine movement began to take off. By this time he had been a line cook in a steak restaurant while playing music with his wife, both semi-professional musicians, and had cooked at a few other jobs. He realized his passion for both cooking and music and that working as a cook allowed him to play the […]

Mayor Gary Christenson weighs in on ‘toughest winter ever’

April 24, 2015 whitedec 0

“Toughest winter ever,” said Mayor Gary Christenson, referring to the winter that would not quit. The snow started January 24 and kept on every weekend after that through the entire month of February and on into March. The snowfall kept getting higher, the temperatures lower and it felt like winter was just beginning instead of almost being on its way out. No doubt about it, it was a brutal. Mayor Gary Christenson of Malden along with Robert Knox, director of public works, broke it down for me. Having had 21 years with the DPW, Knox had pretty much seen it all. “There’s plenty of prep in advance of winter,” Knox shared. “Having made it this far and almost through January, the expectation was for a normal winter.” Knox explained that realistically the city is equipped t o handle a foot of snow. In the past, with at least a foot on the ground and more to follow, the DPW would try to start snow removal sooner rather than later. Historically, past storms were follow by […]

Warren Thorburn reflects on his Malden summer job from 1945

April 22, 2015 sharonsantillo 0

This is the time of year teenagers start thinking about summer jobs. What kind of jobs were available to teens in Malden seventy years ago? Warren Thorburn was just fifteen years old in the summer of 1945 when he took a job as a telegram delivery boy for the Malden office of Western Union. WWII in the Pacific was still raging, families were using ration stamps for food items and gasoline and the United States was just recovering from the Great Depression. There was no reliable or affordable long distance phone service then, and the only way to send a message quickly over any distance was by telegram using a system of electrical impulses and Morse Code. A base price of 10 words, and higher prices for additional words, kept most messages short not unlike texts and tweets today. Western Union had ads in all the big magazines of the day, such as Life and Look, urging people to send greetings or money by telegram. Warren lived with his family near Teele Square in Somerville. […]

Malden Reads’ pop up serves up venue’s last dance

April 21, 2015 kyliegailgarcia 0

Have you ever heard of a pop-up restaurant? Well, Chef David Stein and the Malden Reads committee have. In fact, they recently pulled one off. The idea of a pop-up restaurant is to take an old, unused space and turn it into a spot to drink and dine, hang out and maybe even dance for one night only. David Stein, who has worked closely with Malden Reads for the past several years, conceived of the notion that Malden could experience this phenomenon for itself, and last Friday, April 17, the idea became a reality at the former location of My Honey Fitz on Pleasant Street. Over 90 guests turned up to enjoy a meal of chicken “Scarborough Fair,” vegetable lasagna, slow-roasted brisket and much more as they danced and dined to the music of Soulshine, Stein’s bluesy new band. To check out what it takes to set up a pop-up restaurant, watch this Neighborhood View exclusive video featuring reporter Kylie Garcia, David Stein and the Malden Reads committee.

J&R Restaurant and Bakery welcomes Malden Reads diners

April 13, 2015 neighbormedia 0

Malden Reads is pleased to announce the fourth edition of the Malden Eats Community Dining series. We invite you to share a convivial meal, at the same time exploring themes related this year’s Malden Reads selection, “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan. You do not need to have read the book to attend. On Tuesday, April 14 at 7 p.m., join fellow Maldonians for an evening of Caribbean-themed food with authentic Haitian cuisine and tropical soft drinks at 188 Salem St. in Malden. Jean Jose, who opened J&R Restaurant and Bakery last December, says the cuisine will be pulled from their menu, so expect “sos kabrit,” or goat sauce and “cochon frites” or fried pork. For vegetarians, there’s stewed okra and malanga fritters. “Jean gained invaluable experience in the food industry working at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston for more than 25 years,” reports a City of Malden press release. Jose owns two other businesses in Malden including J&R Enterprises Convenience Store at 200 Salem St. and J&R Beauty Supply at 183 Salem […]

Poetry and visual art collide for ‘Lines Connecting Lines’ exhibit

April 7, 2015 kyliegailgarcia 0

What happens when you hand an artist a poem and ask them to make a visual representation of it? “Lines Connecting Lines,” the new art exhibit at MATV, ventures to find out. Officially launched March 26, the exhibit will run through the end of April. It features the work of local poets paired with artistic interpretations made by local visual artists. “This is very inspiring because you ask 10 artists a question and you come up with 10 different answers, like anybody else. It’s the way you render it and the way that you want to visualize it,” poet and visual artist, Jason Parris Fitz-Gerald shared. Curated by Lisa L. Sears and partially funded by the Malden Cultural Council, the purpose of the exhibit is to encourage art in the Malden community. What they may not have expected is the many connections, old and new, that the exhibit has sparked. Check out the video below to find out who reconnected with an old childhood friend and hear other serendipitous stories resulting from this community art project.

Malden Reads pop-up restaurant and music club

April 1, 2015 neighbormedia 0

Just one night. That’s how long this restaurant and music club in downtown Malden will be open. Malden Reads is coordinating a “pop-up restaurant” as part of their 2015 One City, One Book program. On Friday, April 17 from 6:30 – 11:30 p.m., the former home of Fizz Ed and (previously) My Honey Fitz at 142 Pleasant St. will be transformed into a one night dinner venue with entertainment. The pop-up dinner will be coordinated and prepared by local chef David Stein, who will work with Malden’s own Heritage Truck Catering Company from Stock Pot Malden (previously Brother Trucker) to provide a dinner buffet from from 6:45-8:15 p.m. From 8:30-11:30 p.m., the venue will transform into a music club boasting roots rock, blues, funk and R&B from the local band Soulshine, also featuring David Stein and his wife Sue on vocals. Stein was inspired by the Malden Reads 2015 featured selection “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan. In the book, there’s a scene with a temporary restaurant called POP-UP PIE, which plays a role […]