BLOGGING FEARLESSLY: The Owner's Box ... After Dark, Ep. 54

Welcome to BLOGGING FEARLESSLY!

This blog has been resurrected now that its author has retired from a 41-year career of award-winning sportswriting at The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, Mass.

I sincerely hope you'll find this latest hosting of "Blogging Fearlessly" to be more useful, more entertaining and a frequent destination for you on the World Wide Web. Also be sure to listen to my podcast, "The Owner's Box," at hawkmano.libsyn.com, and watch its video cousin, "The Owner's Box After Dark," available on YouTube.

Some of my older posts are available if you scroll down far enough. But since I no longer have to guard my comments from the prying and prudish eyes of editors, I may be tempted to rip the world a new one here. Oh, joy!

--MARK FARINELLA

The Java Watch

I LOVE COFFEE. I am still a coffeeholic, even worse than before. So here, I will attempt to rate at least one cup of coffee I have each day -- except in the summer, when I almost exclusively drink iced tea.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024: Been a while since I stopped here! Well, I've made a tentative transition back to iced lattes for the time being; at this time of year in New England, you don't really know if it's going to be hot coffee weather or not. I've also made a transition of sorts in my Starbucks dining practices, as I have discovered their hot ham-and-Swiss baguette sandwiches and I just love them. They're a little more substantial than the ham-and-Swiss croissant, and there's a touch of Dijon mustard evident in every bite. Good job, Seattle. RATING: 4.8 CUPS.

RATING SYSTEM

One cup = Last Dunkin' pot of the day.

Two cups = My Sicilian grandmother's open-pot brew.

Three cups = Your basic average cup.

Four cups = Expected Starbucks quality.

Five cups = Extraordinary brew, made with care.

Dining Fearlessly: Vinny Marino's Brickhouse Cafe

<b>Dining Fearlessly:</b> Vinny Marino's Brickhouse Cafe

VINNY MARINO'S BRICKHOUSE CAFE, 107 Bridge St., Dedham MA 02026. Phone: (781) 326-1980.

The pandemic really ruined dining out for a lot of us, and only now am I starting to venture out of my bunker and rekindle relationships with restaurants I used to love. One of those is Vinny Marino's Brickhouse Cafe in Dedham, just a stone's throw from the Boston city line on Mass. Route 109. Now, understand, as a single guy that hates to cook and clean up afterward, I have spent most of my life going to restaurants of all sorts -- from the high-end eateries in NFL cities all over this country during my many years as a pro football reporter, to the little dives and chains that we often regard as our homes away from home. The Brickhouse Cafe (not named for the late Jack Brickhouse, the long-time TV and radio voice of the Chicago Cubs) almost defies description. It's just barely a notch above hole-in-the-wall status, with a paucity of on-site parking and a tiny seating area -- only about 20 tables in all (there's also a small function room that can be reserved) and a three-sided bar that can seat maybe another 25 diners if you don't mind bumping elbows with your neighbor. That's why they highly recommend reservations, although it's not entirely impossible to get served with a small wait. But believe me when I tell you, they serve among the best Italian food I've ever had, and any perceived inconvenience will be erased with your first bite. I was first introduced to this restaurant about 10 years ago by a female friend, but as its clientele has increased considerably in the years that followed (as has her disdain for large crowds in small spaces), we gravitated away from the Brickhouse for a while. I returned two weeks ago to make sure it was still there and was greatly satisfied, so I returned more recently with Alex Salachi, my broadcast partner on Mansfield Cable Access basketball telecasts, for another try. We had a brief wait, but as long as the beverages were available, it was relatively painless. We were eventually seated at one of the high-top tables in the bar area, and we placed our orders -- veal parmesan with linguini for me, veal piccata with linguini and a Caesar salad for Alex. Total for the meals and two drinks each was $90, including gratuity. My veal was a very generous portion, perfectly prepared with a tasty San Marzano sauce and a generous helping of mozzarella cheese, and it all tasted nothing short of spectacular. And I noticed that Alex's piccata disappeared very quickly -- in all, a very filling and satisfying meal. The aesthetics are like a neighborhood bar that's been there forever (this iteration opened in 2005, but I suspect it was a bar in another life, too), with memorabilia from local boxers on display and the necessary large-screen TVs for viewing whatever Boston team is still alive. Waitstaff was attentive and friendly, and efficient because they have to move people in and out at a fast pace. But we never felt hurried. Noise levels are surprisingly low, too, because everybody is stuffing their faces. The Brickhouse Cafe may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a familiar-feeling place with a superb feed awaiting you.

Click on the accompanying photo to see the menu.

Hours: Monday-Friday dinner 4-9 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday dinner 3-9 p.m. Parking is in short supply, but available in a parking lot across the street or in the lot of a former fire station, the next building to the north. Reservations definitely recommended.

Monday, March 25, 2024

The Owner's Box ... After Dark, Ep. 54

Lisa Downs, left, joined me on the resumption of my video podcast. What a surprise!

It took me almost 2½ full years to do it, and maybe if I had been a little more curious about what was actually stored inside my computer, I could have shaved a considerable amount of time off that, but we've finally finished my first video podcast (knows with pride as "The Owner's Box ... After Dark") since it unwittingly winked off the interwebs in September 2021.

This is Episode 54, and it's almost 73 minutes long (don't worry, future ones will be shorter). The first third of it features me making excuses for the lengthy disappearance of the format, while the second and third segments are devoted almost completely to high school basketball -- first a review of the seasons of the King Philip boys and girls and the Mansfield boys and girls, including some nifty highlight video, then a long and loving look at the Division 3 state championship girls' basketball team from Foxboro High.

Joining me as guests in the episode are my broadcast partner on North TV and Mansfield Cable Access, Alex Salachi, and a frequent and welcome guest on all my podcasts, Foxboro coach Lisa Downs.

Clink on the link below to view the podcast, and I promise, there will be more to come!

BLOGGING FEARLESSLY

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Here's the current episode of The Owner's Box (Audio No. 53):

The Java Watch

Dining Fearlessly: Vinny Marino's Brickhouse Cafe

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Monday, March 25, 2024

The Owner's Box ... After Dark, Ep. 54

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