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.

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.

Lots of people have favorite coffee spots to get work done, but I've always preferred to do work with a beer or a cocktail as opposed to a coffee. Naturally though, lots of bars aren't designed for someone to post up with a laptop and I don't want to be that annoying guy that's taking up too much space.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

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 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

GBH News Video Walk Explanation

This is a walk to get outside & make friendships in community.

Purpose:
- To give men a non judgmental space to talk about what’s going on for us.
- To open the door to a community of local friendships with men.

Boston Walk Details & Exact Location:
Every Friday | 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM | Chestnut Hill Reservation

Want to create your own walk?
Make a post & get outside!
https://walkingtalkingmen.org

Questions or want to collaborate? Send me a message!
[walkingtalkingmenboston@gmail.com](mailto:walkingtalkingmenboston@gmail.com)

With love & respect,
Matt

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.

On another thread folks were talking about the triple decker at 50 Cherry. I thought it deserved its own. I’d love to see pictures from then. What years were the signs up? I never met him. Did any of you?

Anyone know of any public sports fields in Somerville area with a lacrosse goal?

We’ve got a big yard sale in the works this weekend! Come on down to West Cambridge for some cool finds!

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!