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Part of Ernie Torgersen's job is to make Maverick Square beautiful. Although the East Boston area has improved since Torgersen, now 45, grew up here, he still has his work cut out for him. As executive director of the East Boston Main Streets program, he is quick to report the square's successful revitalization projects and frank about which areas need the most attention. "Now that I work here, I love it," he says. "Growing up, I was afraid to come down here." Torgersen gives me a tour of the square, located on the MBTA's Blue Line and home to immigrants from Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. There is no shortage of places to eat. One standout is Taco Mex (65 Maverick Square, 617-569-2838), where we grab a meal and I work on a burrito the size of a guinea pig. Later we stop at a favorite of Torgersen's, the crowded Taqueria Cancun (192 Sumner Street, 617-567-4449), where the menu includes mojarra frita, or deep-fried tilapia, and Salvadoran enchiladas. La Sultana Bakery (40 Maverick Square, 617-568-9999), he tells me, is one of several places in the square where the employees don't speak much English. "You can just point," he says, motioning to a big white cake behind the glass display case. Next door is Eddie C's (34 Maverick Square, 617-567-9395), a bar that Torgersen begrudgingly calls "sort of a landmark." "They have people there in the morning and throughout the night," he says. On a Tuesday afternoon, the group within is all high spirits, and the dark atmosphere and flowing brew suggest a Saturday night. When we step outside, Torgersen imagines another makeover. "Eddie C's, instead of being a dive bar, could turn into a lunch or dinner place," he says. "But it's not going to happen." Just outside the square, the Brazilian Soccer House (10 Meridian Street, 617-569-1164) looks like an unassuming little sports shop. Torgersen says the store, offering soccer jerseys and equipment, does a huge import/export business. "They deal to tons of pro teams worldwide, and they're a very successful business for this little corner, dumpy thing," he says. "You just can't judge a book by its cover."
Patrick Gerard Healy Back |
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