Saturday, August 4, 2018

Slow Saturday Special: Breaking Bread at Bertucci's

"It’s the rolls. It has always been the rolls" by Devra First Globe Staff  May 31, 2018

It was the rolls. It has always been the rolls.

When the Northborough-based chain Bertucci's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, the Internet filled with lament: People’s childhoods, spent gorging on Bertucci’s rolls, were now over, they said. They could not survive without the rolls. They made plans to stockpile them. (Easy, tiger: 29 Massachusetts locations remain open.) They fretted that they had eaten so many free rolls they, personally, might be responsible for the chain’s slide into insolvency.

Shades of Necco.

SeeBertucci’s was a brick oven juggernaut, but its fire has dimmed with bankruptcy filing

You can always share.

I hate to break it to you. Objectively speaking, the rolls are not that good.

The country is in a weird moment. With bread, I mean. America is suddenly so intolerant. Of gluten, I mean. Half the population has decided “carbs” are evil. But also our bread is better than ever. Bakers have embraced Old World methods. It is possible to find loaves of tangy, chewy sourdough with gorgeous, crackling crusts at your local supermarket. Whole-grain, artisanal breads have taken over the country — dark ryes, whole wheats. The dominance of white flour is threatened. In these uncertain times, Bertucci’s rolls can be a comfort. They have a middle-of-the-road crumb, a middle-of-the-road structure. No one feels alienated by a Bertucci’s roll. If Bertucci’s rolls were NFL players, they would definitely stand for the national anthem.

What's the policy now?

But on a recent night at the West Roxbury branch, it seems like the rest of the world is at Bertucci’s. You’d never guess the outfit was in trouble.....

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RelatedBertucci’s has been bought by Planet Hollywood owner

Don't worry, the rolls and pizzas will remain the same.

Oh, look, you got sauce on your shirt.

Gotta use the bathroom:

"Man arraigned on charges of illegally recording patrons of Brookline restaurant’s bathroom" by Emily Sweeney and John R. Ellement Globe Staff  June 08, 2018

BROOKLINE — The owner of a kosher Chinese restaurant stayed out of public view Friday as he was arraigned for allegedly secretly recording patrons as they used the bathroom at his restaurant.

Tze Ping Chung, 63, of Weston was arraigned Friday in Brookline District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of photographing sexual or intimate parts without consent.

Chung was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the Taam China restaurant in Brookline and from the primary victim identified thus far — a waitress at the restaurant who Brookline police said was recorded “dozens of times and possibly more” while she used the toilet.

The waitress, who ended a relationship with Chung six years ago, told investigators she did not know she was being recorded in the restroom of the restaurant. The video files were allegedly found on Chung’s iPad and iPhone, which were seized by Weston police as they investigated allegations that he sexually assaulted a girl who is “known to him,” according to police reports.

According to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office, Chung sexually assaulted the girl “multiple times beginning in 2012.” The victim also allegedly “found images of herself in her bathroom” taken between 2014 and 2017.

Chung has pleaded not guilty in that case, has posted $100,000 cash bail, and is required to wear a GPS monitoring device, according to court records.

In court Friday, Chung’s defense attorney, Frank Santisi, said Chung lived in Weston since 2004 but has moved out of the home. Chung is married and the father of three children, he said in court.

Chung has operated the restaurant in Brookline for 20 years and continues to financially support his family, Santisi said.

In the Brookline case, Chung was also ordered to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and bail was set at $7,500 cash. He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on July 17.

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Sorry, kitchen is closed and won't be reopening (they wanted to keep his mouth and your eyes shut to what evil exists in the world).