VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH: First Best of and Worst of Awards

John McSheffrey

Published Friday August 8, 2014 at 1:00 pm

This one should be fun. Annual 'Best of Awards' in magazines and newspapers have been popular features for years. They're fun, easy to read, and tend pay homage to local establishments and personalities that readers are familiar with. This past week, South Shore Living came out with their annual issue and a few Cohasset businesses were recognized, including two that I mentioned a few months ago: Olympus Grille and WorkStation.

PHOTO/ Wicked Local Photo John McSheffrey is a regular columnist for the Cohasset Mariner.

This one should be fun. Annual ‘Best of Awards’ in magazines and newspapers have been popular features for years. They’re fun, easy to read, and tend pay homage to local establishments and personalities that readers are familiar with. This past week, South Shore Living came out with their annual issue and a few Cohasset businesses were recognized, including two that I mentioned a few months ago: Olympus Grille and WorkStation.

While reading it, I got the idea of doing my own Best of’ list. “What the heck?” I thought, “it’s summertime and I need an article that’s easy to write. I will make my own list.” There was just one problem; in my mind, Best of lists have grown a bit boring. It was just a few years ago when Boston Magazine stirred the pot by augmenting their Best of list with a Worst of list as well. So with a tip of the cap to Boston Magazine (when it had an edge), I present to you the first Front Porch’s Annual Best of/Worst of Awards.

· Best Place to Bump into Someone – The Cohasset Recycling Transfer Station, otherwise known as the dump. The dump is the great equalizer. A person’s address or age doesn’t matter; they have stuff that needs to be thrown away and you’re bound to see someone you know – unless of course they have trash pick-up.

· Best Kept Secret In Town – The Whitney & Thayer Woods in the fall.

· Worst Part of the Whitney & Thayer Woods: Watch where you step because dog and horse owners tend to be a bit forgetful when picking up after their animals.

· Best View – A tie between looking out toward the ocean from the Cunningham Bridge and the view of Little Harbor as you head down Beach Street from the Common.

· Worst View – The backside of the Stop & Shop Plaza from the new homes at the Cook Estate isn’t the prettiest view in the world.

· Best Neighbor – Every winter there are stories of people helping each other out. Whether it is snow blowing a driveway or running errands, it seems the worse the weather, the more people step it up and look after one another.

· Worst Neighbor – All those folks who put their heads down or look the other way when a neighbor walks or drives by; seriously, it takes but 2 seconds to wave to someone.

· Best Shop for Kids – Easy to Find: When I say kids; I am really saying me and kids. I simply love getting lost (figuratively) in Buttonwood. With books and toys, Buttonwood is a treasure for all ages.

· Best Shops For Kids – Tucked Out of the Way – Platinum Spike and Cohasset Candy Company are hidden away in the building across from JJ’s Junction. Penny candy, trading cards, model trains and other items make these two stores a great take for kids.

· Best Bagel – Atlantic Bagel, the chosen hangout for so many and understandably why. Their bagels are great. Cinnamon sugar bagels seem to be the favorite in my house.

· Worst Bagel – Atlantic Bagel – but only when they’re out of cinnamon sugar bagels.

· Best Breakfast – Toast in Hull. There was a time in my life that I was “Norm” at O’Hara’s Pub in Newton, and today I am “Norm” at a breakfast place in Hull. Still trying to figure out how this happened, maybe it’s the pancakes or the maple turkey bacon or the great waitresses.

· Best Deli Counter – The Fruit Center deli counter is tops. Fresh breads, freshly sliced meats and an awesome staff have them winning this in a runaway.

· Best Asian Food Experience – I have to agree with SS Living, Wild Ginger in Norwell is my favorite. Great Thai food, incredibly nice people and amazingly clean, it’s well worth the trip over to Route 53.

· Worst Asian Food Experience– Been getting takeout from the same restaurant for the past seven years yet the people behind the counter rarely smile or show any appreciation for my business.

· Worst Overall Restaurant – The series of failures at the spot next to Dunkin’ Donuts has been truly disappointing. I still think a Bergson’s type establishment would excel there. By the way, does anyone miss Ko Ko Island? I bet they smiled at their repeat customers.

· Best Pizza – Mamma Mia’s in Hanover is our overall favorite, but if we’re staying local we’re ordering from Olympus Grille.

· Worst Pizza – Route 3A has at last count five pizza places to eat at and the Village has 0 (I’m counting Mangia’s as takeout). Growing up, I loved hanging at the local pizza shop. A couple of slices, an order of fries and a few rounds of Space Invaders, I think if one of the establishments on 3A moved to the Village, they’d be swamped with kids.

· Best Chocolate Chip Cookie – Sorry folks, you can’t buy one of these babies. The award goes to my wife Dianna’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. Don’t take my word for it; ask Sinead Sheehy or Ryan McElhinney.

· Best Cupcake – Maggie’s chocolate cupcake from Baked. Oh man, oh man, oh man.

· Best Ice Cream – I totally love the experience of going over to the Hornstra Farms in Norwell, but the Cohasset based Nona’s Ice Cream Truck wins this category.

· Worst Ice Cream – Seven years and counting and still no sign of an ice cream truck on Fairoaks.

· Worst Accident Waiting to Happen – I still shudder as I watch some cars pulling in and out of JJ’s on Route 3A.

· Worst Move by our Selectmen – The inactivity on the Halloween Tax Credit for Fairoaks Lane. C’mon people, I don’t want to be forced to buy the small candy bars this year.

· Worst Timing for Me – Every Thursday afternoon in the summer when the Farmers Market is in full swing, I’m supplementing my Mariner income with my real life job, so I rarely get down there. A Sunday Farmers Market perhaps?

· Best Mariner Columnist – Kevin McCarthy’s Political Perch is always informative, well thought out and simply a great read.

· Worst Mariner Columnist – You’re still reading this?

As always, thanks for reading, you all are the Best Mariner readers of 2014.

John McSheffrey has been part of the Cohasset community since 2007 and can be reached at jjmcs@aol.com.

