Flat Black Coffee Company

Flat Black Coffee Company offers over twenty single-origin coffees from around the world. They micro-roast to ensure that your beans, brewed cup or espresso beverage contain the richest flavors of origin. Flat Black is Australian for Espresso; the company's original inspiration comes from a trip to Australia. From the website: Unbeknownst to most,  Australia produces some superb coffee, grown on the slopes of an extinct volcano in a unique microclimate on the eastern coast. Discovering this little-known coffee producing region inspired a desire to bring rare coffees such as this back to Boston.After a doctors appointment one morning I wandered in to the Financial District café location at 50 Broad Street. (The other two locations are in Dorchester - Lower Mills and Ashmont.) I was greeted by a modern space with angular paneled wood walls, bright blue industrial ceilings, large arched windows, clean table tops and red chairs. A chocolate croissant caught my eye, wrapped tightly to go, buttery and flaky with rich chunks of milk chocolate hidden inside the puff pastry walls. The coffee was rich and smooth with delicate bubbles frothing on the surface. I thoroughly enjoyed this cup and there is not much more to it than that.The baristas were very friendly which also served to win me over. It is always fun to discover a new place at random and leave feeling pleasantly surprised after the experience. 

*edited to note the only location now is Lower Mills Café in Dorchester*

Flat Black Coffee

1170 Washington St 

Dorchester, MA 02124

DOT Day

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

The DOT Day parade runs the length of Dorchester Avenue from Lower Mills to Savin Hill. 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.
Who doesn't love a good parade?I drank a variety of mixed drinks throughout the day and once I switched to beer I drank from the 12 pack of Harpoon Summer in never before seen cans!!
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. 

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.

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

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.