Liz Morningstar Picks Her Best Bostonians of All Time
We’re asking prominent locals who they think are the Best Bostonians of all time. Below, Liz Morningstar shares her picks. Play along by voting in our online game.
Photo by Ken Richardson for ‘Power Lunch’
Jim “Sam Adams” Koch
“Both Sam Adams and Koch are trailblazers who learned how to brew beer from an old family recipe. Sam Adams has been brewing for 30 years, and is credited with the creation of today’s craft beer industry. That might be debatable, but what isn’t up for debate: Jim’s brew is the largest to still be owned and operated right here in the U.S. of A., and their 60-plus beers are still innovating one of the oldest of professions.”
Julia Child
“The absolute coolest of all foodies. The Cambridge denizen brought cooking to kitchens—and living rooms—around the world, but it’s her irreverent love for eating and drinking that makes her the best.”
Fannie Farmer
“This—like all of mine—is a sleeper pick. Born in Boston in 1857, Farmer attended the famed Boston Cooking School and was credited as the first person to use standardized measurements in what would become know as the modern ‘cookbook.’ She laid the groundwork for making good cooking accessible to anyone.”
Tom Hussion
“Hussion was a little known bartender at Locke-Ober who is credited—somewhat debatably—with creating the most Boston of all cocktails, the Ward 8. The drink is a sweeter, rather delicious, version of the Whiskey Sour, and like most things here in Boston: it’s political.
Oliver Chase
“OK. It’s an acquired taste, but the NECCO wafer has history. Chase started making them and a whole slew of iconic candies right here in Boston in 1847. Two and a half tons went to Antartica, every solider in WWII got a pack weekly, they’ve even been to the moon. You may choose not to eat them, but can you imagine a Valentine’s Day without a handful of chalky, smelly, sometimes cheeky, conversation hearts?”
Juan Hurtado, Owner of Chacerero, 1995, and the Li Family, Owners of Mei Mei, Creators of the Double Awesome, 2011
“Creators of old and new, delicious, authentic, ethnic, creative street food. This is an aspirational view of history. I think history too often forgets the many creators of delicious, inexpensive, food to go. God, they are good.”
Whom would you choose? Help us pick the Best Bostonians of all time.
