No goose sale at Shaw's

I was at the Shaw's Supermarket at Harbor Point (hard to reach off Morrisey Blvd. by car but a short walk from the JFK/UMASS station) and noticed some frozen geese shrink-wrapped in plastic for sale. Don't quote me to the manager if you go looking, but goose is selling for $9.95 a pound. Those are some expensive birds. I checked the tag on the smallest one and the cost was $44.00. A feast fit for a king perhaps, but not this one.

There were six geese at the end of the open topped freezer display. They were wrapped in white packaging, as decorative as one could expect for a bulk poultry display. Next to the geese were four similarly sized bird carcasses wrapped in yellow with the word 'capon' prominently printed in red letters across their breasts. A capon is a castrated rooster which, like veal, is known for its abundant, tender meat. Retail price: $3.49 per pound.

X-mas is a few weeks away and I'm not really in the market for a main course to serve at the holiday feast. I am going to my mother's and I'm not going to carry a cooked bird in the trunk of my car for three and a half hours across the breadth of Massachusetts. I didn't compare the prices of these exotic viands to turkey or even regular chicken. I don't expect Shaw's to move a lot of goose this year and I don't think capons are a part of traditional Dorchester Yuletide festivities. That said, Shaw's is offering the option should you be so inclined. Check your bank balance first and weigh your chances of being laid off in January. If things look good, at least give the capon a try. It may be a memorable meal.

Fresh turkey, expertly dressed

The Dorchester Market is more popularly known as Gene & Paul's Fresh Meats. Apparently, someone in the 1970's (Gene and Paul, perhaps?) thought the store's name needed an update and the 7-Up company was happy to subsidize the bill for a new sign. The offical name, Dorchester Market, is still prominently displayed on the Dot Ave side of the building, printed on corrugated vinyl and power stapled to the wall.

The building seems to have been built circa 1870, which was a boom time for Dorchester real estate. This is described in the wonderful book "Streetcar Suburbs," a detailed account of Boston's expansive development before the turn of the last century.

The market brags of being Dorchester's first butcher shop. It is your usual neighborhood grocery, with a small fresh produce section, a few cramped, but well-stocked, aisles of canned goods and prepared foods, and a small freezer section. What separates Dorchester Market from the rest is, as the neon sign hints, the butcher counter in the back overflowing with fresh cuts of meat. Men sporting blood-stained aprons are happy to take your order and happy to prepare
your meat as you desire.

The butchers are currently taking orders for dressed turkeys for the holidays. They are also taking orders for roast beefs, hams, lambs and ducks as well. Given forwarning, they may be able to locate a Christmas goose. 617-282-6609.

Pour the nog in your noggin!

Autumn has broken and the holiday season dawned. There's a chill in the air and whatever pumpkins are left on front stoops have been officially frosted. It is time to warm up around the fireplace or the space heater. Hello, holiday season! It's time for some artery-clogging consumption.


B&A Bargain Store is an unprepossessing though tidy grocery located at 1098 Dorchester Avenue a few blocks from the Savin Hill T station. Egg nog went on sale this weekend, available in 64 rich, glorious ounces prepared exclusively by the Hood Dairy Company according to their special, proprietary recipe that has been the delight and comfort of generations. If the label says Hood, its got to be good.

Since the words went up on this sign, this niche of Dorchester has been humming with the news about the fresh supply of eggnog that's rolled in. At 10:30 PM on Sunday, a gaggle of patrons at Tom English's Tavern a little north on Dot Ave were talking up the arrival of this holiday beverage. A middle aged man wearing a Bruins shirt and a Red Sox cap said, "I've get to get down there tomorrow. Then I'm going across the street to Best Liquors for a bottle of rum. Thank god it's winter!"

It's good cheer for all when the egg nog is flowing. People are happy the holiday season has officially arrived.

Odwalla Bars

Odwalla bars, billed as organic food that is good for you, probably live up to their billing. We have become fans. They are on sale "every day" for $1.50 each at Stop & Shop. If you have a Shaw's in your vicinity, they cost $1.25. We are partial to the "Salty and Sweet" nut bars, but they come in a variety of flavors, mostly revolving around fruit and chocolate as such things are wont to do.

For a little more than the price of a candy bar, you can eat something that is of similar size and caloric content, but with a little roughage and more vitamins. It comes in colorful, snappy packaging and the marketing is light-hearted and guilt-free. We took the Silver Line to the Logan International Airport around Christmas time and one of the stations was decked out in Odwalla finery. We recall this past autumn when Boston buses were wrapped in Odwalla advertising. Instead of the abstract bird that is the company's mascot, the buses featured a happy, little man made of fruit slices. He made me smile during my morning commute. Where is he now?