Dini's Sea Grill in Boston: A Great Old School Seafood Restaurant

If you loved no frills Boston seafood restaurants, few were better than Dini's Sea Grill on Tremont St. So many state politicians ate there that their offices must have been empty at lunch time -- although that wasn't always the case. The Boston Globe once reported that former Massachusetts governor Edward King once "had $1,200 worth of lobster and crabmeat salad sandwiches delivered from Dini's to his office." (reference: https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8187359.html).

Dini's not only had a memorable, non-generic short and snappy name, but a real reputation for serving well above average seafood without a need to rip off the public with phony, inflated prices. Yes, Dini's might have only gotten one star from the Mobil Travel Guide, but the locals knew better. After all, so many of us Bostonians knew, and still know our seafood.

Opening in 1926 and closing in 1990, Dini's built a strong reputation on serving excellent schrod and variations of lobster dishes like Lobster Newburg. Although it didn't come from the sea, Dini's tartar sauce (yes, the rare tartar fish species...) always seemed to received high accolades. A lot of really old people seemed to love Dini's. Maybe they wouldn't look so old now, though. If Dini's were around today, I'd be going there all the time. It's really hard to find a straightforward fish restaurant nowadays, eh?

Match cover credit: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:9593v614w

Great Meteorologists on Channel 7 WNAC and WNEV TV in the 1970s

As a family, we almost always watched WBZ-TV Channel 4 for weather forecasts back in the 1970s -- it was almost as automatic as going to the Howard Johnson's restaurant chain on long road trips and Child World in Medford for the best toys.

With meteorologists like the old-fashioned, cerebral Don Kent and the energetic, smiling Bruce Schwoegler getting us through the legendary Blizzard of 1978 while giving accurate every day forecasts, our parents felt no real need to tune in anywhere else. Yes, we would occasionally watch Bob Copeland and Bob Ryan on WHDH and starting in 1972, WCVB Channel 5 -- tremendous weathermen, also -- but Channel 4 won the Nielsen ratings in our home.

Thinking back on meteorologists way back when, however, WNAC Channel 7 (which became WNEV in the late 70s) wasn't too shabby, either, and  in fact, looks better now than it did then. Harvey Leonard, with a full head of hair, started his career on Channel 7 in 1977. He was every bit as thorough then as he is now as chief meteorologist on WCVB, Channel 5. From 1971 to 1979,  Fred Ward, a PhD and MIT grad, brought a more mature, formal and somewhat dry approach to weather forecasting on television, although he was capable of fun moments like posting the word "COLLLDD!" on the weather map to emphasis the low temperatures. The late Stuart Saroka might have come across as sort of a modified hippie and on-air goofball, but make no mistake about it: he knew how to get a forecast right.

Why do the former Channel 7 meteorologists look better now than they did back in the 1970s? Well, it really had nothing to do with the meteorologists. Channels 4 and 5 offered more established news anchor, sports and reporting staffs along with high ratings and little turnover, so the whole packages led to more trust in who we were watching for the news. Yes, Channel 7 had some incredibly talented journalists like Chuck Scarborough, who went onto fame as a New York City and national anchor and reporter but the station just couldn't get any momentum going -- at least until the late 1970s when anchors Tom Ellis and Robin Young brought a viable alternative to TV news watching in Boston. For the record, WNAC did have high rankings briefly in the mid-70s when the Candlepins for Cash bowling show led into the 6 p.m. news, but they just couldn't sustain that energy.

So, you see, the Channel 7 meteorologists were ultimately fine weathermen that did their jobs as well as any in the area, but were associated with a less popular television station. Looking back on it, though, I wish I had given those meteorologists more of a chance. One wishes the forecast for a consistent Channel 7 newscast in the 1970s was as rock solid as the forecasts given by its meteorologists!

Remembering The Sizzleboard in Boston and the Mean Hippie Waitress

I remember the scene so well at the Sizzleboard in Boston's Kenmore Square. In awe of the selection of sandwiches, we couldn't make up our minds on what to eat.  That brief delay prompted this hippie waitress to yell at us for not moving the line. So much for the summer of love, man!

To her credit, she did apologize and I guess I should have, too, after walking around with one of the worst wiffles ( a buzz cut) in American history. That haircut made Johnny Unitas look like John Stamos.

Looking back at the Sizzleboard now that the emotional scar of a verbal lashing has left 45-plus years later, this was actually an excellent fast food stop -- especially for a ravenous appetite like mine that wanted to eat something before ordering more food at a Fenway Park Boston Red Sox game. The Sizzleboard really knew how to turn out a generously serving in the form of a sandwich without a hint of corporate fast food blandness.

The Sizzleboard definitely had some sizzle, including that waitress that sizzled after our indecisive moment!

Pleasure Island Amusement Park Memories

Today, Pleasure Island might be the name of a future TV reality show starring sassy, shallow people, but I remember the name best as a wonderful amusement park located in Wakefield, Mass.

Pleasure Island had a short life -- only in business from 1959 to 1969 -- but the memories can never be taken away.  This lively 100-acre park had all the amusement park bells and whistles that were requisite for finicky kids like me with enough rides, attractions, events and overall visual appeal to create those lifetime of memories. I loved the hokey actors that staged mock gunfights in the Western City, the Space Rocket, Moby Dick and Pirate Rides, the picnic area, the Animal Barn, reliving the frontier days on the Chisholm Trail, the merry-go-round, various boat and car rides, and the locomotive steaming through the premises. I recall a few good places to eat there. They had an entertainment center, too, and I read that performers like Ricky Nelson, the Three Stooges and Caesar Romero performed at the "Show Bowl," We never got to see them, as our bed time was something like right after supper.

I bring up Pleasure Island in conversation whenever I can, and people look at me like I'm nuts. No one seems to remember this place, except my brother-in-law, Bill. It's nice to know there's someone in this world that remembers Pleasure Island and was equally enthusiastic about this amazing amusement park.

A business park eventually replaced Pleasure Island. That's fine -- we need people working in our country -- but perhaps some day an entrepreneur familiar with the glory days of Pleasure Island can find some open space and bring back this wonderful amusement park for the younger generations.  Wouldn't that be nice?

Old School Boston Businesses That Still Exist Today

Many traditional, old-fashioned Boston area businesses that we loved in the 60s and 70s still exist today without much of a change in the way they do business. Here are some that come to mind...

Walpole Woodworkers in Walpole still sells those expertly crafted swing sets we bought in the 60s. Balich 5&10 in Arlington remains one of the last five and dimes in the area. Playtime in Arlington is no longer a toy store but the old school arts and crafts element is well intact and as impressive as ever. Sports Etc. in Arlington, still excels in the sporting goods category and with that superb customer service that has been a prioritization for all these years. The Old Mill restaurant in Westminster continues it magical Sunday morning brunch. The lovely pond, covered bridge, waterfall and the chance to feed the ducks bread are joyously timeless. Prince Pizzeria in Saugus still has that "Leaning Tower of Pizza" structure outside and delicious Italian-style pizza inside. Steve Castraberti has done a great job maintaining the excellence that his late, great father, Arthur, created through the years. Durgin Park restaurant keeps on going strong in Boston, although the waitresses are not nearly as rude as in the past. The Union Oyster House and Javeli's still thrive in Boston with, respectively, their seafood and old school Italian business specialties. The Maynard Outdoor Store in Maynard was a favorite back in the day and still is today with its fantastic mix of clothing, footwear, camping and sporting goods in a very old-fashioned, neighborhood store setting.

We'd love to hear from you on old school Boston area businesses that still remain today. What are some of your favorites?

A Memorable Moment in Boston during the Christmas Season

The Boston Common Christmas lights shone, "Merry Christmas Darling" by The Carpenters played on the radio and the new car smell in our Mercury Marquis station wagon lingered. Life sure felt good while waiting in the car while my dad ran into Eric Fuch's model railroad store to pick up a few items.

My dad was an avid Lionel railroad collector and Fuch's served as the "model" toy train store in the area. Eric Fuch's eventually expanded into the suburbs, but it wasn't the same. We loved the thrill of driving into Boston and getting in the Christmas spirit.

Although waiting in the car might seem like an odd way to enjoy the Christmas season, sometimes moments like these inexplicably stick in one's mind. Do you have any "smaller" moments from childhood in Boston that never went away?

Gus Saunders Yankee Kitchen Food Show on the Old WCOP 1150 AM Radio Boston

Does anyone remember Gus Saunder's Yankee Kitchen food show on the old WCOP 1150 AM radio, Boston? I have special memories of this entertaining, low-key show and getting to visit Gus with family at the former Rib Room at the Hotel Sonesta in Cambridge -- that's where he broadcast from live. Gus treated everyone like a beloved family member and his gentle style and overall civility is something we often see missing in a much more fast-paced, me-first world.

By the way, I think this was the intro song to the show, Bert Kaempfert's "That Happy Feeling" -- just listening to this song brings a big smile:

Thinking Back to The Falstaff Room at the Sheraton Boston

The most prominent feature of the Falstaff Room in the Sheraton Boston that I recall was that everything was red, including my dad's face once we received the bill. We were eating peanut butter sandwiches for the next week!  But I'll always remember that red decor -- sort like like the Piccadilly Pub with a bow tie.

More expensive than the restaurants we were used to dining at, The Falstaff Room indeed exuded sort of a semi upscale feel. The waiters were all dressed up and, incredibly, so many of them looked like John Oates from the group Hall and Oates (you know, the little guy with the mustache), as I recall.

It was nice dressing up on that Sunday morning, heading into Boston from suburbia, and feeling special. I don't remember anything about the food, thus revealing that a restaurant's atmosphere can sometimes trump anything off the menu. I remember, too, that the Prudential Building was the coolest place on earth with all that great outdoor landscaping and a whopping 30 stores.

We never went back to the Falstaff Room, but that one-time experience was memorable. That's why I'm writing about it 40 years later! That dark shopping arcade looks puny compared to today's "Shops at Prudential Center" (must be upscale, it has a preposition in its name!) with 75 or so stores and a really classy look.

Anyway, how nice it was being introduced to a fancy restaurant in the "Hub of the Universe"-- and listening to Casey Kasem's "American Top 40 on the way in -- and discovering that the Sheraton also had Kon Tiki Ports, one of the best Polynesian restaurants around! We'll write more about the Kon Tiki in a future article!