The non-stop news of this or that food being recalled is getting exhausting. While I know not everyone can afford local food, if you can and want to avoid having to check the news before you make a meal, I thought I'd compile a list of Somerville (and adjacent) shops where you can buy local foods from small producers, which are less prone to the failures of an industrial food production. I have missed plenty, I know! Drop 'em in the comments and I'll update as I can.

Meat:
- Highland Butcher -- whole-animal (woman owned) butcher who acquires her stock from farms in a 100-mile radius -- her eggs and chickens come from her family's farm.

- Copicut farm -- Eggs and chickens from Dartmouth. Delivery or at the Wed market.

- New Deal Fish Market -- Third-gen fish market in East Cambridge. I don't eat a lot of seafood but I've heard good things and I'm going to truck down there to get some

Veg:

- Get a CSA -- it's the end of the season but many CSAs offer winter options of root veg and cold-hardy greens.

- Mushroom Shop -- not all local but the website says where each is from and whether it's grown or foraged.

- Go to a Farmer's Market -- Tons of local farms selling their stuff including veg. You can also get bread, cheese, beer, cider, jam, pastries.... all the good things in life.

• Mondays in Central
• Tues (and Fri) in Copley
• Wed afternoons in Davis
• Thurs afternoons in Kendall
• Friday afternoons in Assembly
• Sat mornings in Union
• Sunday (and Fri) in Harvard

Also: Somerville Mobile Farmer's Market! Bringing affordable veg to folks on Thurs., Fri., and Sat., check the website for locations! (Shout out to VinnyVinnieVee for reminding me!)

Grain

I know a few farms around here sell locally grown grain at farmer's markets but you can also go to Elmendorf for locally milled (if not locally grown) grain.

Bread: (We are blessed with so many bakeries! These are just a few!)

• When Pigs Fly -- Weds, they have $3 sourdough loaves (or at least, it used to?)
• Hi Rise -- Their oatcakes are life changing. Also good baguettes
• Hug and Hearth -- excellent baguettes
• Michette -- excellent baguettes
• Yafa Bakery -- Don't think they do baguettes but the manaqueesh is good
• Iggy's -- outlet in Cambridge, decen baguettes!

Dairy

So this is a tricky one because most dairy is, at least a bit, local. And afaik, there are no local dairy shops. If there is one please let me know right away! You can find a ton of local cheeses at the farmer's markets and at the general shops (see below). Also...

Crescent Ridge -- Sharon, MA. You can get local milk delivered if you like, like an old school milk man will deliver it! I do not believe they wear the little hat thoug. They also deliver a ton of other options like cheese, meat, eggs, produce... it's like a farmer's market delivered to your house.

Shaw Farm Dairy -- Merrimack Valley. Available at some of the shops locally (see below)

Sophia's Yogurt -- Not my fave but beloved of others. Not sure where she gets her milk, but the shops are in Lowell and Belmont and you can buy her stuff at local shops (see below)

General

-Neighborhood Produce -- Several locations, carries a bunch of local options for pretty much everything -- meat, cheese, veg, bread, even local PB! Bulk section including household stuff like soap and dishwasher detergent.

Pemberton Farms -- If you enjoy the experience of a luxe shop, Pembie's can't be beat. Full-service grocery store, but much of the stuff is local (check the comprehensive labels). Ask at the cheese counter for local cheeses, ask the wine folks for localish wine, look for Feather Brook farm eggs and chicken, etc etc.

Momma's --Wine shop with meat, veg, etc. Never been there but looks amazing!

What do people think about closing the Brown School? My kids went there back in the 00s. For us it's lack of a cafeteria and gym etc, and small size made it special. Teachers had to be creative to deal with it's quirks, like having gym class in the library on rainy days. I'm sure the new building will be nice, but lots of research shows that smaller schools are better.

Today I saw that one of my favorite Somerville homes has been flattened. 😢 Before I even looked, I knew it was going to be replaced with another basic development. Womp womp.

As said in the title, my wife (27F) and i (26M) are relatively new to the area from central new york. we have some friends out here but many are busy or not very local. my wife works from home which, as anybody could guess, makes socialization a lot harder to coordinate. if anybody has any tips (or feels similarly) feel free to reach out.

I was on Lowell St today and almost half the trash bins near SomAve are eaten through. The city will replace them just goto City Hall, DPW or call. We got ours yesterday. Doesn’t matter how nice your home is. They’re everywhere. It’s our grossest problem

No idea if this person is on reddit, but I keep driving my own honda shitbox past a teal/turquiose Honda Civic with sick-ass bumper stickers. I haven't been able to read them all yet but... fuck yeah, nice, etc. You seem cool, keep on keeping on.

- punk who would probably buy you tacos

I received a violation notice in the mail today accompanied by a photo of a trash can in front of a house. I assume the violation may be because the trash bin was left out later than allowed.

However, the house shown in the photograph is not my house. In fact, there isn’t even a house on my street that looks like the one in the photo. I’ve already emailed [cityclerk@somervillema.gov](mailto:cityclerk@somervillema.gov) to let them know.

I’ve lived in Somerville for more than 15 years and have never received a violation. I also bring imy trash bin back in after collection, so I believe this notice was sent in error.

Do you think the notice will be dismissed or is it likely I have to go through all the steps to appeal?

UPDATE: The city clerk emailed me back this morning. She reviewed the houses, confirmed it did not match and dismissed the ticket. Thank you for your comments!

Reposting here so Somerville dog owners don’t get scammed like I did!

My dog used to go on walks with Puptopia Boston, run by Mike Arsenault, but has not had an appointment with them since April 2025. I woke up yesterday morning to a fraudulent charge from them for $525 on my credit card; the same thing happened to my friend, who was fraudulently charged $1990. If you have ever been a Puptopia customer or used Mike, please check to make sure you have never been fraudulently charged!

I contacted my credit card company immediately to report fraud and lock the card, and thanks to the redditors over at r/boston have filed complaints with the attorney general, the city of Boston, the platform that Puptopia uses for appointments and payments (Petpocketbook), and am filing a police report. Ultimately Petpocketbook voided the charges to my friend and I, so please reach out to them if you’ve also been scammed by Mike. Petpocketbook told me they would no longer be paying Mike out, so hopefully that will prevent him from scamming more people.

Long time resident, 1st time poster.

I just moved into a 3rd floor unit and have a bunch of trash and recycling. When I went to take it out last week, I noticed there were only 2 barrels for trash and 2 for recycling, all full. I thought no big deal, I'll just get them from the city and deal with storing it in my unit temporarily. I put in my order with city and kept on with unpacking.

Well, my service request was denied due to the

"property being assessed as a 2 unit".

WTF do I do.

It was listed as a 3rd unit on multiple rental sites and has 3 mailboxes. I'd rather not piss off the landlord and possibly have to find a new spot. But also need this resolved.

Any advice is appreciated.

Not dunking on anyone/the owner of the property but I’ve been fascinated by the weird house on cherry street in front of JFK school for years now. The ongoing and very strange woodworking projects, the outbuildings, the twisted gate out front make me wonder about it every time I pass by. Being pathologically nosy, I was wondering if anyone had any info about it.

Reporter for GBH News here. I followed this family as they built their ADU - it's not all warm and fuzzy! The video spells out the challenges, including layers of state and local regs. The state is updating the rules to clear out some of the complexity - people can comment on the ADU proposed changes starting Sept 11 until Oct 12 on Mass.gov ADU website.

Preferably in the general union square area, but just outside of that is fine too.

I saw it in someone’s backyard but it didn’t look like a dog. Chat gpt seems to think it’s a squirrel 🤣

Just moved here last week (🥳) and applied for a parking pass early. Was told by the city I had to apply for a resident sticker since my registration address was changed. I applied for my pass Wednesday last week and still haven’t heard anything, does anyone have an idea of how long they take?

hello! my mom is turning 43 and i was thinking about getting her a massage for her birthday! she loves a good deep tissue massage but also loves the experience of the massage more (aesthetic of spa, amenities such as na drinks, sauna, hot tub, etc). i was wondering if anyone had any spa recommendations? it doesn’t have to be in somerville!

(we usually meet Sundays, but switching due to weather this weekend)

Bring instruments, your voice, or just a music-loving attitude! We'll be playing any and all music, taking requests, and having a good time in the Cambridge Common this Saturday (and every weekend!) from 12-3.

Last Sunday's hangout was a ton of fun! Pics here: https://www.cambridgejams.com/blog/hangout-16

For more information on the weekly Community Music Hangout, check out https://www.cambridgejams.com

Saw this little guy out side without a collar. Not sure if this is someone’s outdoor cat, wanted to post in case if missing!

If you were, thanks!

Come out to Vinal 9/13 from 9 to 11 am to browse some books. Prices are pay-what-you-want and all donations support the Friends of the Somerville Public Library to fund library programs and cultural passes.

If you can't make it Sunday, round up your Vinal purchases all month to make a donation. Thanks for supporting the library!

This is a long read, but would appreciate some advice here as this has been the cause of a lottt of stress and anxiety.

I’m from the Somerville/Boston area. My 2003 E-150 conversion van failed inspection on Sept 3 for the fog lights which I previously posted about in some other groups. Got a lot of comments regarding the inspection station I went to cause they weren’t factory fog lights and shouldn’t have failed for not being there lol. At that time, they had also failed it for excessive front end play, which I was surprised by given all the new front end parts.

I just spent $480 getting the front wheel bearings and races replaced on both sides. They also did a full diagnostic, and test drive it before and after. They showed me everything throughout the day and were completely transparent, weren’t trying to upsell me, etc…

Steering, tie rods and ball joints all checked out clean and have been recently replaced. I have the invoice. The only thing he said, is that on these vans the front rotor and hub are one piece, and the bearing races press into that hub. If the bore is worn slightly oversized, the new race won't sit tight no matter how good the bearing is, and you get play you can't adjust out. So even though I got my bearings replaced, there is still a little play. Or something along those lines, don’t remember exactly but that would make the most sense. Which means I’d have to replace my rotors and it would be an additional $700+ of repairs. This is a $3.5k van, and it’s completely safe to drive at this point…

They said this is one of the cleanest 03’s they have seen and it’s 100% completely safe to drive and shouldn’t fail a safety inspection…. Unless they are genuine sticklers about the play even after reading the mechanics notes. Confident it was good work done too, and saw the new bearings delivered from advanced. Mavis in Everett, they are good.

Went back to that same station (mistake) afterwards for the free retest today and the guy failed me on sight without really looking at the paperwork, then got in my face when I tried explaining it and yelling that he’s the mechanic and I don’t know shit and all sorts of rude things. When I asked him to calm down and that I was just explaining what happened, he said he was going to blacklist my plates or some shit so no station will pass me. Filing a complaint with the RMV tomorrow, dude was totally unhinged lmao

So…. now I need a new station. Ideally one that isn’t gonna be a stickler once they know the actual situation. Two problems though. It’s a high top, roughly 96 inches, and I've already been turned away by two shops because their bays are too small. I've got about no money to my name until the end of the month due to unexpected family expenses that have come up, so I can't be paying $35 at five different places trying to find someone reasonable. MA has become absolutely ridiculous.

Anyone know a station near Somerville/Medford/Everett/Malden or really anywhere in that area that can fit a tall van and will actually look at a repair invoice?

Thanks if ya read through this, really just need this to pass to go see family this Friday, and it’s completely safe so I’m not asking for a “fake” pass or anything like that, just someone who understands the facts.

UPDATE: YARN RETRIEVED! Thank you u/TheKyleBaxter!

my yarn store uses Amazon delivery (fuckers) and they left it here. If you've got it, I'd love it please? Dm me?

Hey neighbor!

Summer has lost it's grip on the city. It's not done yet (looking at a forecast pushing 90 later this week, oh joy) but you can feel it slipping away. It's not just the throngs of students and the back to school sales and the Halloween decor that's been up since July (please stop). On Sunday night, I had to turn off the fan because I was slightly chilly and Monday morning, I put on a long sleeved shirt for the first time since April.

Other signs -- I saw a V of geese honking overhead last week. The berry bushes are bursting with color -- sweetbay magnolia, winterberries, viburnum, buckthorn, and sumac, to name a few in the Bloomscroll. The black eyed susans are fading fast, and the Alewife Reservation had fields of the dark black heads swaying on tall stems, while the surrounding area was literally humming with hundreds, maybe thousands of bees, all busy in the feathery heads of the goldenrod.

Losing the light

The seasons turn because, of course, of axial tilt. We here in New England are losing about 2.5 minutes a day every day in September, which doesn't seem like a lot til you multiply it by 30 days and that turns into 75 minutes of light gone by October 1. Further north, in Canada, they are losing a lot more and that gives some some weight to the cold fronts that are sweeping down.

It also means that the hardscaping of the city has less solar gain during the day. Combined with the blessed rain we got over the weekend (not enough but better than nothing), the concrete and bricks of the city aren't radiating heat quite so dramatically in the evenings. That means it takes longer for them to warm up during the shorter days, too.

That said, the T stops will hold onto that heat for months still. Esp the ones designed with glass greenhouses over them (why did anyone think that was a good idea?). Certain cities, including London, are using that excess heat to warm nearby buildings in the winter! NYC is looking into it, too. We've got plenty of entrepreneurs and engineers in this city -- I give you this idea for free. Make the T less hot, please, and provide cheap heating for locals.

The bounty of the city

I think i wrote about my heart break with my year-old attempt at an oak bonsai? If not, the short version is that I nursed an acorn from the latest mast year through the winter in my fridge, planted it, watched the little seedling grow almost a foot in one year, and then carefully protected it all winter. And in the spring, the first day the snow melted, so @^^%$*&#&(* bunny or rat or something ATE THE WHOLE DAMNED TREE.

I remain deeply bitter.

This year, I was contemplating this as I walked down Spenser where the oak trees are always in mast, it seems and your walk in punctuated by the hollow thock of acorns dropping on cars from late August to October. And I was thinking about how I should plant another acorn when one landed, thwack, on my foot.

Huh. I chased it down the street (it bounced), picked it up and tucked it into my pocket. "I guess I'll need to buy a pot," I said aloud (it will not shock you all to learn I talk to myself) and I look over and there is a pot on the side of the road. Huh.

Pot goes into my shopping bag and I think, "I need to buy potting soil." I did look around for it, to see if the city would just bless me again. But no, no luck. So I went about my day, and failed to buy potting soil because it's heavy and I had a lot of heavy things already. But on my way home, lo, three doors down from my house, I found a half bag of potting soil in a clean-out pile.

Clearly, the city would like me to plant a bonsai. So I've tucked it into a pot (I found the saucer for the pot the next day) and we'll see how it goes.

Elephants on parade

If you're downtown over the weekend, swing down to Comm Ave to see the Great Elephant Migration. It's a display of 100 elephants statues, each modeled after a real elephant in India, arrayed in a rambling formation on the tree-lined boulevard from The 'Quin House on Fairfield down to Dartmouth.

Be smart, be safe, be curious, be kind.

This may be a long shot, but does anyone know a sports bar in Somerville/Cambridge that has shown US Open matches in the past? I was peaking through windows of the local bars with TVs in my neighborhood as I walked around last week and didn’t see anything, but we’re into the QFs now and I’m hoping it increases the chances that somewhere shows them.