DOT Day

The annual celebration of Dorchester's settlement in 1630 takes place on the first Sunday of June. Dorchester, the largest neighborhood in the city of Boston, is commonly know to the locals as DOT.

The DOT Day parade runs the length of Dorchester Avenue from Lower Mills to Savin Hill. (Dorchester is comprised of a bunch of smaller squares and neighborhoods, Lower Mills and Savin Hill being two of them.) My friend Marc grew up in Dorchester, where his parents still live off Dorchester Ave. On this day they open their home to family, friends, and neighbors to celebrate DOT and eat lots of yummy Italian food.
Upon arrival, via the Red Line to JFK/Umass stop I began my day with a true Italian sub on scali bread with the freshest deli meats including pepperoni, salami, mortadella (bologna) and capicola (hot ham), topped with provolone cheese, pickles, onions and roasted red peppers. I apologize, the first spread of the day missed the camera. But the crew members in attendance did not. Who doesn't love a good parade?

I drank a variety of mixed drinks throughout the day:
1) Smirnoff Raspberry with tonic.
2) Kettle One with tonic and a splash of cranberry.
3) Kettle One with Pineapple and a splash of tonic.
It's fun to switch the drinks up. Especially when your hosts provide an exceptional variety of liquor and mixers! Once I switched to beer I drank from the 12 pack of Harpoon Summer in never before seen cans. (But that was much later, post parade.)
The parade began as most do: Policemen in patrol cars, on foot, on motorcycles, and in SWAT mobiles.
Marc bought us all Pop Pops. (Bang snaps?!) Hours of entertainment ensued.

The beautiful Clydesdale Horses

Elmo entertained the kiddies

Dot Day special!

I think my favorite float of the day was from local restaurant Tavolo. The giant bottle of wine and bowl of spaghetti and meatballs were awesome!
After the parade, back at the house, we ate the real thing.
Marc's Mom made a Bolognese sauce. It was thick and flavorful with chunks of beef and veggies.

We also had pad thai noodles and spring rolls.

All of the food was amazing.
We spent some time on the porch.
I'm loving life. And Harpoon Beer. IN A CAN.Dessert!

Someone brought Pistachio cake. Adam and I brought Red Velvet cupcakes from Modern Pastry.

My mess of a plate.

We watched the first half of the C's game and headed home at halftime. (Awesome game, way to go boys!)

I love traditions! Another DOT day under my belt gives me an appreciation for the hood that often gets a bad rap. Thank you Colucci Fam for welcoming us into your home and treating us to a day full of good eats, good drink, and good fun.