To adequately inform the citizenry, I needed to perform a series of carefully calibrated, variable controlled tests. As a man of science (and OCD) these experiments were conducted with the utmost scientific standards in mind to ensure the most objective results possible for me to relay to the waiting, watching citizens back home.

The results were astounding.

By midday on Sunday, the snow was just starting to taper off. Biting gusts still sluiced through the streets; snow fell sideways. Despite two layers of gloves, my hands stung, then quickly went numb.

Spurning the roads, I made my way to Stanley Ringer Park in Allston. The park was empty save for myself and two people and their dogs.

Here the experiments began.

First, I conducted a simple test of the snow’s resistance versus that of normal ground. After gauging wind direction and velocity—and compensating for my uphill trajectory—I set off at a sprint toward the enclosed playground atop the park’s giant hill. Though onlookers—had there been any nearby—would have assumed my smile was one of glee, it was not; it was, in fact, one of the many carefully calibrated tools necessary to gather my data, a tool whose function is so obvious that there is no need for me to reiterate its use here.

Several times I stumbled somewhat and, to cushion my fall, spun onto my back and rolled a bit in the snow. At this point in the experiment, there was much more smiling, again, solely for scientific purposes.

This completed, I entered the playground for the next round of experiments. A snow covered slide was rapidly mounted and, after a brief calibration of my tools, analyzed. From this I gathered that, while the slick snow only marginally aided in my speed of descent, it exponentially increased the degree of fun felt by sliding. Moat of the latter observation I attributed to the massive snowbank into which I slid; the pile was large enough to swallow my legs up to my waist.

The next experiment involved extricating myself from that snowbank without allowing snow to slip down my pants.  That effort, while well intentioned, was doomed from the start.

Continuing my selfless exploration of the snowstorm, I trudged on through the sparsely wooded section atop the hill. Snow swirled like a swarm of white insects, billowing over untrammeled paths. For a few minutes, the bombastic nature of the earlier tests was forgotten amid this serene seclusion.

As I returned home, further experiments—all of them incredibly beneficial to the general populace and, I must say, conducted with a truly selfless, generous motive—were performed to round out my research.

Among those findings, I discovered that the snow was no good for snowballs; too particulate, it packed poorly and dissipated midair before reaching its target. Also, I found that stopping at a supermarket solely for hot cocoa mix and eggnog was a perfect remedy for lingering chills.

My research completed, it was time to get indoors and analyze my findings. An anxious city, buried in snow and plagued by trepidation, awaited my news—and the news was good.

Boston's Polish Triangle

The Polish Triangle is an area of Boston that starts on the border of South Boston and Dorchester and extends into the Edward Everett Square portion of Dorchester. Bordered by Columbia Road, Boston Street and Dorchester Avenue, the Polish Triangle became an officially recognized part of the city on October 18, 2008. Traditionally it was home to a large majority of Polish-Americans, though it is now more diverse than ever. It’s also the home of your favorite Boston blogger (yours truly of course).

Inside the triangle are a sprinkling of Polish restaurants, markets, businesses, and households. But, as mentioned above, the Triangle has become much more diverse over the past ten years and is also home to many non-Polish businesses and restaurants. Here’s five of my favorite eateries inside the Polish Triangle.

Cafe Polonia

A block from the Andrew Square T station, Cafe Polonia delivers authenticity along with its convenience. Kielbasa (Polish sausage), potato pancakes, borsch, pierogies and more tasty meals from Poland are served with real Polish beer. Keep in mind the alcohol percentage will be a bit higher on these than the average American brew. Go with a Polish plate to get a sampling of kielbasa, pierogies, and cabbage.

611 Dorchester Ave, Boston MA 02127 (617) 269-0110

Real Tacos

Wow, I’ve eaten here so many times I’ve likely put a few kids through college by now. As the name says, these tacos are real!

Beyond tacos, this Guatemalan eatery has bomb burritos, perhaps the best in Boston, delicious quesadillas and an amazing guacamole dip. Very reasonably priced, this place is often patronized by the police. That means it’s good, really good.

860 Dorchester Avenue Boston MA 02124 (617) 282-3135

Sugar Bowl Cafe

Across the street from Real Tacos is a wifi-enabled coffee and ice-cream shop. The coffee is great, if a bit pricey, the staff is super friendly, and the space is very relaxed and often filled with people working away on laptops or discussing plans. Yes, sometimes you have to do a double check to make sure the Sugar Bowl Cafe is in Dorchester. They also serve tasty sandwiches, including breakfast all day long! Yeah, breakfast!

857 Dorchester Avenue Boston MA 02124 (617)-265-9000

The Avenue Grille

Aaah, the Avenue Grille. It’s mentioned here as it was one of the first of the new, higher quality restaurants to open inside the Polish Triangle. It paved the way for more restaurants to come in, and for that it’ll always hold a special spot in this Triangler’s memory. But time (and multiple ownership changes) have not been kind to The Avenue Grille.

When they first opened, their burgers quickly become known across the neighborhood. Big, fat, juicy, mouth-watering, hand-made patties that were grilled to perfection, served on fresh buns with fresh toppings. The Avenue burger was topped with grilled peppers and onions and so good I’d easily pay $20 today for one of those burgers.

Unfortunately, over time as the restaurant changed hands, it’s quality diminished, all the way to today’s iteration, which is just another pizza/sub shop. The menu used to be custom printed on fine paper, now it’s just another glossy take-out menu. I’ve included it here for historical purposes, and to give an ode to the place that started it all, but would not recommend visiting there today, except for nostalgic reasons. Put another way, I used to bring dates here, now it’s more of a greasy hangover cure.

865 Dorchester Avenue Boston MA 02124 (617) 288-8000

DJ’s Market

Not quite a restaurant, this place has been around for forever. When you first walk in, it’s easy to dismiss this place as just another convenience store, but walk to the back and you’ll quickly find out that’s not the case. They have a full deli counter in the back that makes excellent, affordable sandwiches. For a great tasty value, try the small kielbasa sandwich for under $4, yup that’s right, under $4!

120 Boston St Boston, MA 02125 (617) 436-9766

Easy to miss, The Daily Grill is located on the Huntington Avenue side of the Prudential Center. Its outside looks like one of your typical restaurants, something similar to a Bennigan’s. When we walked in we were waiting in line behind a family who seemingly had been waiting for too long. The host did not show up for another five minutes upon our arrival.

The restaurant is decorated with framed black and white pictures and also looks as if they are somewhat attempting to have the style of a New York City steakhouse. Given the name of the restaurant, I did not expect it to be as “high end” as they were seemingly attempting to be. The restaurant’s menu, Found Here, is definitely over priced given the style of food. It’s definitely not a Hispanic restaurant and definitely not an Italian restaurant, but still they are charging a whopping $16.95 for Chicken Parmigiana and $13.95 for a Chicken Quesadilla.

In comparison to other restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen, it took a little longer than usual for the server to greet us and take our order. There were only about eight other tables being served at the time, yet there was a lot of staff walking around not looking busy. Quick to bring out the first round of Diet Cokes, she did not return to refill our beverages until our entrees had already been served. As an appetizer we ordered the Spinach Artichoke Dip, which is served with Crostini. The Crostini had a soggy taste in the center of it and tasted as if it were stale. The dip itself was good, thus it was disappointing the Crostini was not.

In good timing the entrees were served. Each of us ordered the Daily Grill Cheeseburger Classic, $13.95, found on the “DG Favorites” portion of their menu. The burger itself came with one very thin slice of cheese and a side of fries. I replaced my fries with mashed potatoes, which were served cold. The burger did not come with ketchup, thus we needed to wait an extra six minutes for our waitress (or any other server) to check on us. The burger itself was fine.

The manager came over to inquire about our meals. I responded honestly, discussing the poor service and the cool food. He thus took care of our burgers and returned with appetizer coupons, a very nice gesture. The coupons, however, were for calamari, which I’m not much of a fan of, and my friend does not eat seafood. If a restaurant is giving out coupons in order to compensate for a bad experience, it better be something more general than calamari.

Overall, the restaurant is overpriced, has poor service and a strange atmosphere. The Daily Grill is definitely a trap for wandering tourists in the area. As a local, I can definitely say, I won’t be going back.

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Gabby Gabriel is a contributing video blogger and writer for DirectoryofBoston.com.

Check out her website at: GabbyGabriel.com