On February 15, the colors of the former Soviet Bloc nation now known as Lithuania waved in the chilled winter wind.

On July 9, Argentina’s ‘Sun of May’ flew high, the summer sun shining through its lightly shaded bars

On September 29, above our own city hall, flew the colors of a nation that not hours before fired a volley of rubber bullets into protesters crying to maintain what little sovereignty they had left. 

Starting in February, Boston’s City Hall has been raising the flags of the different ethnic groups that make up Boston. This initiative by the city’s diversity office aims to “raise awareness in Greater Boston and beyond about the many countries and cultures around the world” and “foster diversity,” according to the city’s website.

On paper, it’s a great idea to recognize the city’s ever-growing diversity while also celebrating our unifying factor — the wicked accent and rouge socks that bring us together as Bostonians.

With Boston’s Chinese population numbering over 25,000 according to UMass Boston’s Institute of Asian American Studies, it would almost be weird if to exclude the Chinese flag. That being said, however, it does seem in bad taste considering the current political situation China finds itself in

Following the murder of Hong Kong national Poon Hiu-wing in Taiwan, an extradition agreement was proposed between Hong Kong and Taiwan. The would also allow China to extradite from Hong Kong. This sparked a lot of controversies as it would violate the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ agreement that ceded Hong Kong from England to China in 1997.

The 50-year agreement sought to gradually return Hong Kong to mainland China while also enabling Hongkongers to continue enjoying various democratic freedoms such as voting and the right to public assembly, that Chinese citizens are not afforded. The issue here is that if Chinese officials were able to extradite people from Hong Kong, they may violate and even completely do away with many of the rights protected under the deal, effectively annexing Hong Kong four decades early. 

While you won’t find a nation with a completely clean record, it is hypocritical for Boston of all cities, where we pride ourselves on rebelling against English tyranny, to be flying the colors of a nation that is using force to subdue protesters. Protestors have been actively resisting the Chinese government since March 31st, with no sign of stopping. With an ever-escalating situation that as of October 2nd, has been violently suppressed, it is important that we stand in solidarity for the free people of Hong Kong.

A siheyuan divided against itself cannot stand and as Bostonians, neither should we in support of a regime that is currently and quite overtly, oppressing its own people.

Boston’s North End is a European metropolitan center, known for its simple and delicious food. It is home to one of America’s finest pizza places, Galleria Umberto. It is a classic Italian pizzeria, with walls full of art, pizza trays flying everywhere, Italian accents floating around and, even better, locals! It is known for its pizza, calzones, panzerotti and an Italian favorite, arancini, otherwise known as a rice ball.

This is a famous restaurant accredited with many awards, including the James Beard’s “American Classic” award in 2018. It averages a rating of 4.6 on Yelp and 4.7 on TripAdvisor. The Phantom Gourmet named it in the top eight great restaurants in the North End in 2018. So today we will take a live tour to see what’s really going on behind the scenes and if Umberto’s lives up to its reputation.

When I go into the restaurant, I see a huge line full of tourists, businessmen, teens, kids and locals. However, when I walk into the pizza parlor, I sense a family kitchen vibe to it. The place is humming and crowded with people who are as eager as me to taste what the place has to offer. As I wait in line, I overhear locals rave about the food and its awards, only making the food sound more appetizing.

When I get to the front, I can see the cooks, who I find out are mostly siblings, urgently getting more food prepared. The man at the counter looks over and says in a heavy North End Italian accent, “Whaddya want?” I glance at the food which looks as delectable as it sounds and think to order. The man at the counter says, “Hey kid, listen, I can’t wait all day, couldya please tell me whatcha want?” I order two of the cheese pizzas, panzarotti, a calzone and two arancini. Immediately, the man grabs all the food with lightning hands and packages my items neatly into a box. He finishes it with a bow made out of string. Urgently, I go to find a seat, only to find out the tables are already all taken. I ask the second man if the place is always this crowded. He says that usually there are more people, and this was a slow day for them. The line is well out the door. Since I can’t sit at a table, I go to the nearest park, known as the Nazzaro, outside the building. It is an old bath house made many years back for the residents of the North End. It’ll do.

The pizza is soft and semi-doughy enough to soak up tomato sauce, which has a homemade look to it. The two complement each other beautifully.

There is a decent amount of oil, but most importantly the pizza tastes as if it were made directly from an Italian nunu (grandmother). Hot and clearly fresh out of the oven, it adds a home-y sense to the place only making it a better experience for me, or even those who do not know Italian culture as well.

Next I eat the panzarotti (one of my personal favorites) which looks evenly brown and is aromatic. In short, a panzarotti is like a humongous mozzarella stick, with gooey cheese in the center that comes out almost like in a commercial.

Nothing but excellence is what I have tasted so far.

Next I have the Italian classic — the rice ball, or as it’s known in Italian, Arancini (aran-chini). Any good Italian place should know what these are and also should be able to make them (assuming it is 100% Italian food). It is a deep fried ball made out of rice that has cheese and meat (optional) in it. They come in two ways at Umberto’s, (among many other variations) which is ground beef and peas and plain old cheese. The perfect arancini is light medium brown on the outside and light on the inside. It shouldn’t be too deep fried and it must have gooey cheese in the center. This is almost the case as I notice that the rushing of the plates at Galleria’s makes the dish a little too dark (not burnt) but enough to destroy the effect that is supposed to come out of a place of this status. However, if you didn’t know this, then they would still be perfectly delectable.

Next is the calzone (cal-zone-ey), which has spinach and cheese. This is only decent. My only concern of the food is that it's too overcooked for me and the cheese is too gooey; the spinach is slightly burnt on the edges.

The restaurant in my opinion is perfect for a family and also for college students. It has cheap prices for amazing food. It’s perfect for a person who is set on trying traditional Sicilian food and learning the culture. If you are a food critic like me, I think this is a place to go. Fun fact: the only way the place closes is when the food runs out, so they buy new ingredients and make this food everyday, nice and fresh.

Find Galleria Umberto at 289 Hanover St. in the North End, a short walk from Haymarket station on the orange line.

Open Monday through Saturday from 10:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Hot and ready. Grab and go, and don’t forget to pay!

At first glance, the hot food bar at Roche Bros, a supermarket chain with various locations across Boston, seemed to make my hunger grow. The steam rising from every food item was mouth. Watering. Trying new foods had never been this exciting. It was time to see if looks were the only thing their hot food bar had to offer. 

While there were a variety of meat dishes to choose from, I was disappointed that there was only one option for rice. One rice doesn’t fit all. To get a full scope of what Roche Bros food tasted like, I tried a little bit of everything. 

I said it was time to investigate if good looks were the only thing the food had to offer. I am ashamed to say that my statement was true, and I was met with nothing other than extreme disappointment and stomach pain. 

The rice, which looked nice and hot, was disgusting. It had absolutely no taste. My taste buds were screaming in anguish after consuming something so flavorless. 

The potatoes, however, were quite appetizing and frankly the most enjoyable thing I ate. The crunchy exterior, followed by a mouthful of softness had a perfect balance. There wasn’t too much seasoning to overwhelm you, and not too little to slowly kill your taste buds.
 
Now, to get into the various meats I had. First, was the orange chicken, which had a nice texture on the inside. It wasn’t too chewy or tough where your jaw would ache afterward. That being said, the orange taste it had was sickening, as if it were soaked in Tang overnight. They were quite literal when they said “orange chicken.” 

Next, I had the slow-roasted pulled pork. It left me with a sweet and salty after taste, where the salt part forces you to drink gallons of water. It overpowered the sweet taste that was enjoyable and conquered the spicy taste which was added to silence the salty taste. Yet again, my taste buds were paying for my bad decisions.
 
Moving on to the general tso chicken. It was lacking the ability to melt in my mouth, which would have been a plus given how beat up my taste buds were. The chicken looked like it was seasoned very well, but somehow there was no taste. It had a nice color, but sadly that color didn’t mean it was seasoned.
 
Next, I had the Jamaican jerk chicken. To a black person, this was uncultured. The seasoning was not present. The only thing that was there was fake hot sauce they used to add spice. It should taste like a blend of hot peppers soaked over time and mixed with authentic jerk seasoning from a local supermarket. But, cheers to inauthentic Caribbean food.
 
Lastly, I ate the barbeque ribs. The ribs were tender and cooked well, but the barbeque sauce threw away any chance of a good review. It tasted watered down along with being mixed with sugar. I didn’t even know that was possible upon coming here. 

This Roche Bros supermarket, located at Downtown Crossing was a disappointment. All in all, this was a tragic day for my tastebuds. Cheers to the only one that survived. 
No taste. No flavor. No authenticity. Don’t come here.

Roche Bros. Downtown Crossing is located at 8 Summer St. They are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.

Delicious Yogurt, rightfully named, is indeed delicious. With their varied flavor options — from the classic vanilla and chocolate to the ever-popular cake batter and sweet coconut — you are sure to find the perfect flavor for you. Don’t worry if you have dietary restrictions. Delicious Yogurt offers flavorful vegan, vegetarian and dairy-free selections.

Wondering what to do if you can’t decide which flavor to choose? Fortunately, Delicious Yogurt offers a cup divider that will ensure that you get the best of both worlds without them weirdly mixing together in a large cup. Adding in their countless options for toppings including multiple flavors of bursting boba, cookies, jellies, fruits and all different types of sweets, you get the perfect cup of heaven made just for you.

In addition to frozen yogurt, they also offer boba teas, iced teas, smoothies, coffee and hot tea. You can add their toppings into any drink only for a small extra price.

I am amazed at their various types of iced tea with flavors like mango, apple, passion fruit and more. Personally, mixing their pina-colada yogurt smoothie with pineapple chunks is one of my favorite combinations and I highly recommend it.

Uniquely, this is not a frozen yogurt chain, like Pinkberry or Sweet Frog. Delicious Yogurt is privately owned by Kenny Tran. Since opening in August 2014, it has become a staple of Roslindale Square. It’s affordable for both teens and adults, with discounts for veterans and the ability to pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cryptocurrency, cash or cards.

So if you are ever in the area of Roslindale Village Square, Delicious Yogurt is a great place to stop by. It is street, bike and wheelchair accessible. Located right in the Square right next to the DMV/ community center building, you can treat yourself and enjoy it at Adams Park across the street. Every time I go, I feel immersed in the scenery of the park and its wonderful sense of nature even though it is in the middle of  an urban neighborhood square. It also helps to be enjoying some wonderful frozen yogurt or a delectable drink while supporting a local business. Or, if you prefer to stay inside, they offer free wifi with every purchase. If you want to just stay home, they also deliver through Grubhub, Doordash, Seamless and UberEats.

Find Delicious Yogurt at 4206 Washington St, Roslindale, close to the 40 and 35 bus lines. Open every day from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. $5+ for a large yogurt cup. Available for delivery.