Changes in the 'hood

We bid adieu to the Dewey Square Farmers' Market this wet afternoon. But not before scoring some great swag:

• How about corn-on-the-cob for popping, on-the-cob in the micro. How fun is that?
• Last of the heirloom tomatoes, Brandywine and Purple Cherokee.
• Beautiful beets (ask me about my beet, orange, ginger, pomegranate salad...)
• Crisp and sweet apples. Perfect for Mrs.Fisher's Apple Torte.
• A bright, deep red tomato sauce from heirloom tomatoes & red peppers.
• Great big, sweet Bolero Carrots to make you swoon.

And all those yummy things we passed by, the last of the Cavolo Nero, "cheese peppers" perfect for stuffing, pickles, jams, sugar pumpkins. Well, it gives us something to look forward to next Spring.

And from the "Coming Soon" department:

The Hotel Intercontinental is opening bit by bit...The telephone sales staff claims it "fronts the beautiful Rose Kennedy Greenway" until you tell them you live on the less-than-beautiful Rose Kennedy Greenway construction pit. Then they backpedal a bit and mention the beautiful plans. Well, they haven't lost me yet.

On a recent day we walked past this beautiful mirrored glass luxury tower on the very same day they picked to say "hello new neighbor" in their very own, Intercontinental way. Remember the old SNL skit with Christopher Walken as "the Contintental?" Well, all they were missing was one smoking jacket and a set of erotic Hummels...

I couldn't make this up: they had a waiter, a housekeeper (both in uniform) standing there, presumably to show us the nice crisply uniformed staff we could expect. In between was the lovely local anchor, Frances Rivera, "gettin' her drink on" as we say, in the passenger seat of a brand new car parked behind the free shoe-shine station.

I suppose this was their "continental" way of showing us the Interncontinental lifestyle. Hot babe in the fast car, full staff waiting on me. Guess I'm not their target audience. Do you think the car comes with the corner condos?

The presence or fantasy of uniformed staff does less for me than the display announcing three restaurants off to the side, on an easel. I hovered, read and anticipated my flute of champagne. Alas, none was forthcoming. Still, there is hope. We are told that three "concept restaurants" are opening soon. Rumour has it the first one has actually already opened but since your favorite local gourmet food-writer neighbor didn't hear any news of even a soft-opening, it couldn't be so, could it? (sniff, sniff.)

Still, they manage to excite me with the promise of full service and late hours, and three distinct restaurants from which to choose:

• Miel - French for Honey - which claims to be Boston's "first authentic brasserie" (for the record: their words, not mine). Miel promises to be "full-service, 24 hours." I will undoubtedly have an opportunity to check that claim and report back. It will be Provencal-themed.
• Rumba - will include a private champagne bar celebrating our seafaring town's long history with Rum and the rum trade. Having just recently discovered the joys of rum and rhum (we're talking here about hand-crafted, aged libations here, not the swill coeds mix with their diet soda) I'll be happy to review this spot, as soon as it comes online.
• SUSHI-TEQ - a high-concept innovation pairing sushi and tequilas from around the world. What would Morimoto say?

Come to think of it, with these three options right in the hotel, I should probably just move in.