Somebody left a salad out on the curb, with no bowl around it

[sovay]

So one of the nicest surprises at Readercon this year had nothing to do with the convention itself: it was my discovery of Clover Food Lab.

If you have been to the Burlington Marriott at any time in the last . . . ever . . . you will remember that it is not exactly close to anything but the Burlington Mall and is functionally inaccessible except by car or the 350 bus, which is actually a mobile antechamber of Hell. Therefore, not starving at Readercon depends on (a) your ability to tolerate the hotel restaurants, which as of the past year's renovations have consolidated into an business-trendy, ear-shattering bar and grill that had its own DJ and held an '80's dance night on the Saturday of the convention (b) having time in your schedule to order in from one of the nearby restaurants, of which there is not a dearth if you can get far enough away from the hotel (c) knowing a friend with a car. Saturday afternoon before the Miscellany, sairaali, gaudior, rushthatspeaks, derspatchel and I were all going out for dinner: my cousins had collected my husband in Somerville and were meeting Saira and me at the hotel. This was a flawless plan until we realized we had no idea where we were going—we needed somewhere quick, inexpensive, edible, and at least partly vegetarian. Pick . . . one? We were on our way to the Burlington Mall to try to scrounge our respective meals from the food court and other installations when a miraculous oasis appeared in the desert of food options: a tiny strip mall containing the aforementioned Clover, a b. good, and SlowBones BBQ. And seriously, it was like manna. Rob tried SlowBones and came back with pulled pork on naan with some spicy sauce that was not fooling around. Gaudior, Rush, and Saira returned from b. good with an array of burgers, including vegan, that apparently lived up to the chain's name. And I walked into Clover with a combination of curiosity and skepticism, having seen the Harvard Square location open and written it off as a Kubrickian art installation (seriously, the space is cavernous and the lighting on both levels is all wrong; it put me off before I could even look at the menu), and they were one of the nicest random food experiences I've had in a long time.

I had to sing at the Miscellany in a couple of hours. Anything with cheese or milk was right out. Clover's menu varies daily; I had never looked at their selection before; I said as much to the counterperson. I needed something dairy-free, I have no allergies to gluten, lots of protein would be favorite. Help? And they went through every item on the menu with me (they are vegetarian by default, vegan by option, I have no idea of their kosher status) until we settled on the egg and eggplant sandwich: a wheat pita stuffed with hummus, cucumber and tomato salad, a sliced hardboiled egg, tahini, and an extremely large round of lightly fried eggplant.¹ It was delicious. It was huge. It had no structural integrity whatsoever. I did not care: I ate it happily; it did not make me ill; and in fact I just ordered the same tonight from the Harvard Square location, which remains a terrible use of space and lighting and takes orders on the same model as an Apple store, but makes really fantastic food. Also, basil lemonade. Tastes exactly the way you think it would, only less sweet. Very fresh basil. Would buy again from seller.

Would also buy again from Zinneken's (Belgian Waffles Made by Actual Belgians). Rob and I ended up there after dinner and a visit to Rodney's in Central Square. The Liège waffle is ridiculous, sweet and chewy and not at all as heavy as the fried dough it resembles by description; I was not surprised to see when I got home that the batter was an outgrowth of brioche. Put some whipped cream and some dark chocolate on top of a piping-hot Liège waffle and you do not need to contemplate dessert for another twenty-four hours, except to speculate faintly on the toppings you will try when you come back. The concept of putting Speculoos on a waffle perplexes and intrigues me. They have Brussels waffles, too, and I will probably try one just for the sake of comparison, but seriously: caramelized pearl sugar. I had no idea. Next time with whipped cream and strawberries, in honor of the World's Fair.

Basically, today was great. Rush-That-Speaks helped us take the cats to the vet for their last round of shots, after which she doesn't need to see them again for a year; I helped Rush chop an endless pound of currants for black cake, for which the various chopped fruits are now marinating in Manischewitz and dark rum for a month; I met Rob in Harvard Square and dinner was as previously described. Rodney's netted me a first edition of W.L. White's They Were Expendable (1942), just hanging out on the shelf of dollar books. I had already picked up Maurice Dekobra's The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (1925) while waiting for Rob at the Harvard Coop and Andrea Hairston's Redwood and Wildfire (2009) arrived in the mail just before we left the house. A lot of books happened to me today. I am not displeased.² And some news in the mail which I will announce when I can.

I don't feel like I can be secure in happiness, right now. But I can enjoy the hell out of it when it happens.

1. Apparently that's actually a sabich. Man, I wish Clover put mango pickle on theirs. I wonder if I can make that happen.

2. While I am listing books, my Readercon haul was composed of Michael Cisco's Member (2013), which is fun to ask for out loud; Pink Narcissus Press' Queer Fish: Volume 2 (2012), containing strange_selkie's Vermeer porn "Camera Obscura: Two Ghosts"; and Peter Dickinson's A Summer in the Twenties (1981), a present for my mother which I expect to read some time I drop by the house—she introduced me to his mysteries. Also the broadside of shweta_narayan's poem "Nettle-Stung," illustrated by the author and hand-printed by Kitabiyat Press: it is the reward for preordering the print version of Saira Ali and Julia Rios' In Other Words. It is gorgeous and thorny, unavailable any other way. The anthology is an extraordinary cross-section of contemporary writers of color, fiction and poetry both, and all proceeds go to Con or Bust. Ignore the fact that this advice is in a footnote and buy one!

Comments

[ckd]

There's also a Clover storefront in Kendall (by Legal Sea Foods), which is IMO better arranged physically than the Harvard Square location. Worth visiting to compare, at least.

Also, if I'm at a con where there's an 80s dance night anywhere nearby it should be DJed by John Scalzi.

[sovay]

There's also a Clover storefront in Kendall (by Legal Sea Foods), which is IMO better arranged physically than the Harvard Square location. Worth visiting to compare, at least.

The one in Burlington looked like a relatively normal sandwich shop! Still the same sparse aesthetic—too much metal and light—but it had a counter across which I could place my order and receive food items in return. I didn't go inside the one in Central, but they didn't have the cavernous problem. The thing that interests me is that menus apparently vary daily across locations, which doesn't really mean that I'm going to stalk their locations on Twitter until I find out which one has tempeh and camp out by their door, but it's still an unusual model for a chain.

Also, if I'm at a con where there's an 80s dance night anywhere nearby it should be DJed by John Scalzi.

It is possible there were Readercon attendees who enjoyed the dance night. Mostly I found it painfully loud and very annoying, especially if you were trying to have a conversation after the Miscellany. The lobby is basically uninhabitable after the renovations unless you want to hang out at the bar, which I assume was the point.

[ckd]

The lobby is basically uninhabitable after the renovations unless you want to hang out at the bar, which I assume was the point.
And the bar is uninhabitable when there's loud music. Bah.

I, too, miss the old lobby of multiple couch zones.

The dances at Detcon1 were in 42 Degrees North, a part of the hotel apparently designed for dance functions (weddings, etc) as one prime function. It wasn't the main bar, which was off the lobby; it was far enough away from other things to make it not interfere with conversations unless you were in or immediately outside the room.

It also wasn't brain-meltingly loud; I was in front of one of the speakers for a fair bit of the time, and I was generally comfortable with the sound level even there.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

There are no more couch zones?!?
The days of Elizabeth bear doing drunken yoga by the front desk are gone forever?

[sovay]

There are no more couch zones?!?

There are some chairs? Next to the bar? Which is really loud? Okay, I know that last picture doesn't look especially loud, but imagine there's a DJ where the photographer is standing. Which there pretty much was at night. Also, if they've heard of sound baffling, they sure don't use it.

(The lobby from the opposite direction now looks like this.)

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous!

You mean you hadn't found Zinneken's before?

Nine

[sovay]

You mean you hadn't found Zinneken's before?

I'd seen them for months; I hadn't gone in. I don't actually want to eat waffles all that often!

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

After one of those, you'd need to hibernate. Or estivate. And what about the spring and fall?

So happy for your happiness. May it light and linger.

Nine

[genarti]

I am taking so many mental notes here. Clover sounds excellent, and I will brace myself for the Harvard Square location's design! (I'm not in Harvard Square often enough to have noticed it yet, but that's certainly the nearest of the options.) And I only rarely want hedonistic waffle concoctions, but when I want them they ae delicious.

I wish Pinewoods (the dance camp I go to every year) and Readercon didn't conflict. But the one time I did make it I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and it sounds like you had a good con, for which huzzah! Except for the hotel renovations which sound quite annoying.

[sovay]

Clover sounds excellent, and I will brace myself for the Harvard Square location's design!

I am sure their lighting is ecologically friendly, but I found it personally inimical. The food is totally worth it, though. I want to go back for the panelle: it is apparently a kind of Sicilian chickpea polenta, fried. Why would anyone not want to eat that? Oh, well, more for me.

hedonistic waffle concoctions

I believe that is precisely the purpose for which Zinneken's exists. Enjoy, at whatever future date you want hedonistic waffles!

But the one time I did make it I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and it sounds like you had a good con, for which huzzah! Except for the hotel renovations which sound quite annoying.

The hotel pretty clearly wants us out. Just so long as we don't move to the hell-ziggurat recently vacated by Arisia, I'm starting to feel I wouldn't mind.

[kate_nepveu]

Yay for a great day.

[sovay]

Yay for a great day.

Thank you. It was unexpected and I enjoyed it!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Basil lemonade sounds like something I'd like to try making.

Andrea Hairston resides in western Mass! I didn't realize this. The other day the Springfield Public Library was tweeting readings by local authors, and she was one, and it made me happy to see these two worlds of mine overapping …. This random thought brought to you courtesy of the fact that you mentioned purchasing Redwood and Wildfire.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

She professes at Smith, so she's a neighbor(ish) of yours.

Nine

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Lucky Smith students :-)

[negothick.livejournal.com]

Please see my essay in the Readercon Program Book, "The Good Witch of Northampton."

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I can no longer locate the program book--does it exist online?

[sovay]

Basil lemonade sounds like something I'd like to try making.

If it comes out a startling chartreuse, you've done it correctly.

The other day the Springfield Public Library was tweeting readings by local authors, and she was one, and it made me happy to see these two worlds of mine overapping …. This random thought brought to you courtesy of the fact that you mentioned purchasing Redwood and Wildfire.

You can pick up a copy in person! That's incredibly cool.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I've only been to the Harvard Square Clover, but despite their silly setup I have liked them ever since getting an oatmeal with apple-cinnamon jam the morning after I arrived.

[sovay]

I've only been to the Harvard Square Clover, but despite their silly setup I have liked them ever since getting an oatmeal with apple-cinnamon jam the morning after I arrived.

I can see how that would favorably dispose a person.

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

Hooray for happy! And lemonade!

[sovay]

Hooray for happy! And lemonade!

I do enjoy both of these things!

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

BLACK CAKE!

[sovay]

BLACK CAKE!

Birthday cake. It's going to be epic.

[gwynnega]

Hooray for good food and books!

[sovay]

Hooray for good food and books!

Thank you! They are both things I like.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

Dude, I figured you'd already tried Clover or I would have gushed about it to you long before now. I'm a huge fan of the BBQ Seitan, which is also structurally unsound but delicious.

The Clover food truck at the Park Street MBTA station usually has a good selection of stuff, too, and I've had good luck with the one in the median strip of Atlantic Ave, outside the South Station escalators.

[sovay]

Dude, I figured you'd already tried Clover or I would have gushed about it to you long before now.

Alas, I was turned off by their decor. Good to know about the seitan—I am going to have to resist automatically ordering the egg and eggplant every time I go in. The panelle really intrigues me, though. Deep-fried chickpea polenta? WELL, THEN.

(Are the zucchini fritters any good?)

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

Never had those, only because I am sick of zucchini in general. But if anyone could make it taste interesting, it's Clover.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

I'm glad for the great things.

Sabiches* are awesome. I used to like the ones from a place near NYU, on one of the streets off of University Place. Theirs was falafel and hummus with several varieties of tasty salad type stuff, including a kind of coleslaw, chopped cold eggplant mixed with something delicious, and I don't even know what else. I would have had them for lunch pretty often even if it hadn't been that I could get a nice discount and a free drink by displaying my student ID.

*That's the plural in the linked article, but it feels wrong to me for what I suspect is no good reason other than that on some level English plurals often feel wrong to me.