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Thursday, November 2, 2006 - Roslindale Transcript - LINK

Head to Rozzie Square for holiday feast
                Roslindale Village may be the best place in Boston where a shopper can park their car and find within a block a veritable cornucopia of specialty food stores and flavors from all over the world. To prepare for your Thanksgiving feast, park in the public lot opposite Wallpaper City, then walk to this baker's dozen of unique shops, all in Roslindale Square.
                Droubi Bros. on South Street offers the best deals in Boston on small tubs of hard-to-find spices, such as cardamom, a staple in Middle Eastern coffee. When mixed with some kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, cardamom makes a great dry rub for grilled pork tenderloin or chicken thighs.
                The store also carries bunches of fresh herbs that are hard to find elsewhere. Take home some pita baked on the premises and stuff it with roasted lamb, yogurt, cucumbers, tomatoes and onion for a Mediterranean sandwich.
                If your memory of lamb is fatty old mutton cooked gray and smothered with medicinal-tasting mint jelly, you don't know what you're missing. There's nothing better than fresh lamb on the grill, marinated in a little soy sauce, red wine vinegar, mint leaves, rosemary and garlic. Quality Market on Corinth Street can bone and "butterfly" a leg of lamb to make it easy for grilling. Take the meat off the flame when it starts to turn firm to the touch.
                The other village butcher, Tony DiBenedictis at Tony's Market on Washington Street, makes his own sausage that can spice up bland stuffing. The Village Market on Corinth Street sells pecans and other nuts in bulk for stuffing and pies; pick up the turkey there, too. Fall, however, is a great time to try Tony's fresh veal or rabbit, which adds a meaty flavor to a rag?t's best ladled over pappardelle pasta.
                Next door, Romanos Taqueria offersmole poblano, the smooth sauce flavored with cinnamon that Mexicans pour on turkey. A few steps away, Roslindale Fish Market on Poplar Street attracts customers from all over the suburbs for its specialty Greek foods. A suburban friend of mine and her Greek husband went with me into the store to pick out phyllo dough and imported feta cheese to show me how to make spanikopita at home.
                Across the street, Vouros Bakery sells spanakopita by the slice or tray. Vouros can make small triangle puffs on request, with flaky pastry wrapped snugly around savory spinach and cheese. Vouros also sells a pastry calledmilfei - alternating layers of fluffy, sweet cream (real cream, not imitation vanilla pudding!) sandwiched between stacks of crispy, paper-thin pastry and dusted with powdered sugar on top. Vouros's milfei could very well be the best tasting desert in all of Boston.
    

    For an Asian variation of an appetizer wrapped in a crispy crust, Bangkok Café, on Poplar Street, makes Thai rolls, small finger-sized rolls filled with tender vegetables to dip in a tangy sauce. Next to Bangkok Café, John's Bakery bakes Italian rolls and pies to order.

The best rolls in town are a few doors up the sidewalk at Dianne's Bakery. Only Dianne's makes "all butter" dinner rolls - soft and flaky rolls that peel apart easily, revealing a perfectly moist interior with rich buttery flavor in every big bite. Or try the Parker House rolls baked together in a decorative round. Reserve your order in advance. Diane's rolls don't wait around.
        Boschetto's Bakery on Washington Street is the place for Italian-style cookies, cakes and breads.
        Fornax Bakery on Corinth Street brought artisan breads to Roslindale in 1997. Lunch customers keep coming back for the squash soup. Fornax's Fair Trade coffee, roasted by Canton-based Equal Exchange, is the best coffee you will find in the Parkway.
        Next to Fornax, Alex's Liquors has the bourbon that a cook will need to fold into whipped cream to top off pumpkin cheesecake. Across the street, Solera Wine can help you find something out of the ordinary for your special holiday meal. Shopkeeper Michael Sherlock pointed me to a dry riesling that makes a perfect accompaniment to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
        Around the corner from Solera, a new specialty cheese shop is preparing to open any day now on Birch Street, Dandelion's, the new florist on Birch Street, has flowers for the table. And Harrison Refrigeration, on Washington Street, delivers top-brand appliances at competitive prices, if you need a new fridge or microwave to hold or heat the leftovers.
        If you don't cook, wander the Square to choose one of seven popular restaurants. Or enlist the services of Gourmet Caterers on Washington Street, which happens to be Roslindale's largest employer, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. About the only thing missing from this culinary cluster of Boston is a cooking school and a kitchen supply store.
        Hungry yet? Remember to share some of the bounty with those less fortunate by donating food, money or time to the Roslindale Food Pantry. It operates out of Roslindale Congregational Church on Cummins Hwy, from 2-5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call the pantry at 617-325-9755.
        Roslindale resident Carter Wilkie is a volunteer board member of Roslindale Village Main Street.