measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- College days, now gone by It's the end of an era. Kenmore Square is officially no more in Boston. First, it was Narcissus (*cough* Narsyphillis). Then Nemo's Pizza. Then the Rathskeller. Then a fire burned down the building that housed CD Spins and the Indian restaurant I loved. Then Strawberries music. Then IHOP and the entire block it resided upon was torn down. And now Deli-Haus is no more. I found this out yesterday morning when Erich and I were trying to figure out a breakfast-ey place to go to that wouldn't require him to lose his coveted parking spot. We went to Kenmore. And there was a print-out sign on the door saying goodbye as of December 29th. I'm crushed. Completely crushed. Kenmore Square was infamous for its less than clean atmosphere. Grimy sidewalks. Homeless people everywhere, gaining a quarter from random passersby as they walked. During baseball season, Kenmore gets flooded with the fans taking the T to the Red Sox game. After midnight, the square becomes flooded with bar hoppers and Landsdowne Street dance clubbers trying to find a cab ride home. College students flooded IHOP, Nemos, and Deli-Haus because all three were open well after midnight for those post-dining hall snacks and dinners. They're all gone. Well, except Fenway Park and the Landsdowne Street clubs. And talks have circulated to get rid of those, too. This is not the Boston I went to college in. *sigh* I guess it had to happen. The "yuppification" of Harvard Square has now moved into the other areas of the city. What gave Harvard Square its character is now gone. All that stuff you see in Good Will Hunting? Gone. No bar, no 31 Flavors... nothing. The German restaurant piping music into the street... gone. The greasy hamburger place... gone. It's been replaced with the "can't you find this stuff everywhere else?!?" stores such as Abercrombie & Fitch. It's another mall. It's nothing special. No longer a tourist attraction. Sure, Harvard Yard is nice. But that takes only a bit of time to walk through, and since you need a student ID to enter most of the buildings, it's really not something that will keep a person at Harvard Square for a few hours. And doesn't draw the locals back several times. Other than Pandy and the House of Blues, I have no reason to go up there anymore. Kenmore Square is starting to be the same way. Sure, there's the BU Bookstore, but my alumni discount expired in December, and unless I need a new hockey jersey, there's no reason for me to deal with that place anymore. Burrito Max and maybe an occasional trip to Nuggets record store is the only reason to go. No Deli-Haus. Grrrr.... Deli-Haus was the most unique place in Kenmore. It was a grease-pit of a restaurant in the basement. I doubt it was possible to actually scrub that place clean without gutting it-- the grease from the grill was everywhere. But there was a large variety of food that was good and cheap, and that's why everyone went. You sat in booths that more than likely had ripped seat covers... maybe some duct tape to patch them back together, but more likely not. Each table still had one of the 50's jukebox selectors-- with modern music. At any given time, it was possible to see both men in tuxedos and kids with technicolor hair and more metal in their faces than could be imagined. It was one of those infamous college hangout restaurants-- the hole in the basement that everyone came to in order to have a cigarette, late night breakfast, and get away from life over a malt or a Guiness float. (yes, you did read that right). It's a shame I never tried one.... 11:39 a.m. - 8 April 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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