Belle Isle Seafood 1267 Saratoga St. East Boston $16.99 Perched next to the bridge to Winthrop, at the very edge of East Boston, Belle Isle Seafood has a strong claim on the title of best lobster roll in the city. The first thing anybody mentions about the place is that it's a shack. In fact, the word "shack" hardly does it justice. It's more like an outpost. The building is directly on the water,......

-- Wellesley might be the hottest new place to encounter a prostitute, but Brighton's brothels continue to service customers who take the Green Line or the 57 bus. Boston police are tackling online sex rings as a part of "Operation Rubout," an effort to wipe out prostitution in Allston and Brighton that began in 2005. The newest thing in the neighborhood? The emerging market in transexual encounters. There are some things you still can't get......

Star Simpson, the 20-year-old MIT student who was arrested last September for wearing a sweatshirt adorned with an LED panel to Logan Airport, will not receive jail time. East Boston District Judge Paul Mahoney dismissed the charge of possession of a hoax device, a felony, and assigned Simpson to pre-trial probation for the charge of disorderly conduct, reports the Herald. Simpson was arrested when airport authorities thought her sweatshirt was a bomb, and the case......

Being as it's Cinco de Mayo, everyone in the city is going to be trying to grab some Mexican food and cervezas tonight. Most of the options are less than ideal, however. For truly great and authentic Mexican (no beer yet, though, but they're working on it), head to Angela's Cafe in East Boston. Angela's is a small storefront that focuses on food from the Puebla region of Mexico, but it also offers American......

The Commonwealth's Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi has long been seen as the biggest obstacle in the way of Governor Deval Patrick's plan to build three luxury casinos in the Bay State. DiMasi lived up to that reputation yesterday by delivering a blistering attack against the governor's projections for how many jobs the initiative would create. A Globe piece made clear on Sunday that Patrick's numbers are lazy at best, and exceedingly misleading......

--Leading off with a happy story: officers in East Boston responded to a car where a woman was in labor. After her water broke in their presence, the police helped deliver the baby, put the baby in a blanket, checked that the baby was breathing properly, and then made sure the family arrived safely at Mass General Hospital. Somebody deserves a raise. [BPD News] --Authorities are investigating a string of robberies targeting illegal immigrants......

-- Four Salem High School students have pleaded not guilty to charges that they raped a teen girl in a Lynn home late Friday night. The four boys, three 17 year-olds and one 18 year-old, were arraigned Tuesday on charges of aggravated rape. The alleged victim reported the incident to police Saturday morning. [Globe; Herald] -- Derek Boisvert, a 25 year-old convicted child rapist who appeared on the Massachusetts' 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender List......

--The biggest crime at the gas station is usually related to the price of petroleum. But police in the South End found two men fighting yesterday at a Mobil after an alleged carjacking. The victim claims that his car was stolen when he went to pay for his gas. After chasing the alleged suspect, he was punched by the man and the two engaged in fisticuffs until the BPD arrived. [BPD News] --A 38-year-old......

--Dr. Judah Folkman, who found a new way of fighting cancer by cutting off blood supply to tumors, died yesterday. [Boston Globe] --After one meeting ended unsuccessfully, the Cambridge City Council decided that Denise Simmons would be mayor. [Cambridge Chronicle] --The judge in a Florida case involving former FBI agent/Friend-of-Whitey-Bulger John J. Connolly has recused herself. [Boston Herald] --Coyote ugly: An injured coyote was spotted and rounded up last night in the North End.......

Update: The Glock-toter will be arraigned this morning in East Boston District Court. The DA's Office said his case was "admittedly banal" compared to all the other cases going on. The Transportation Security Administration is patting Logan Airport flyers on the back for not having weapons on them when they go through airport security. The TSA announced that the number of problem items collected by staff has dropped by nearly 60 percent, the Globe reports.......

Movies The rule is unspoken, but obvious. No T-shirts or sweats when you watch Lagerfeld Confidential, a documentary on the life of the legendary glamourpuss. Museum of Fine Arts, from today until January 17, $9. All showtimes from the MFA. Music Reconsider the ukulele with "Viva La Revel-UKE-tion!," in which the East Boston Make-Out Club Band and others pay musical tribute to the laid-back instrument. Club Passim, 26 Church Street, Cambridge, 8:00 pm, $10.......

Matt Viser at the Globe did a report today on how a few South Boston residents are hogging parking spots with chairs, trash barrels, and whatever is laying around. The city of Boston explicitly states that a person can save his or her spot for 48 hours after a storm. After that, it becomes hogging. 48 hours seems perfectly reasonable. Maybe even three days if the storm is bad. But anyone unwilling to give......

When it snows in Boston, the rule is clear--you don't park in a spot that another person has shoveled out. The Mayor's Office backs this up: Any Space-savers in on-street parking spaces that have been cleared should be removed 48 hours after a snow storm has ended. WHDH reported on an East Boston resident who found out the hard way what happens if you park in a spot that has been shoveled out and is......

--After the panic, let's think about the fun aspects of winter--sleighs, end-of-year parties, presents, twinkling lights, and the general atmosphere of coziness. --This just in: The Patriots win, and the world learns that referees are sensitive about snowballs. More from the Redux tomorrow. --In Massachusetts' ongoing effort to get as far ahead of the political primary process as possible, the Globe has endorsed Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee and John McCain as the......

Snow emergencies have been declared in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville. Here's the dirt on parking and getting around: --T alerts: This should come as no surprise, but all T lines are experiencing delays of 30 minutes or more. The MBTA website has been blinking in and out, but we did get an alert that the Silver Line Routes 742 (SL2) and 743 (SL3) are being diverted and that all buses are "omitting 88 Black......

--Yesterday evening, a woman was caught driving in East Boston Memorial Park--on a pedestrian path. The BPD Blotter writer, obviously thrilled to be back on the job after the recent technical difficulties, adds, "As the name of the path suggests, it is designed and designated for pedestrian traffic only." Yes, she was allegedly drunk. And in a Big Lebowski move, she showed officers a Liquor ID card when asked for license and registration. She was......

--An off-duty firefighter was stabbed early this morning in East Boston, possibly for racist reasons. According to WBZ, a firefighter was at Chivas Restaurant last night when he said a group of Hispanic men "they did not want any 'Gringos' at the restaurant and he should leave." Later on, the same men followed him as he drove to the Saratoga Street fire station, and they stabbed him in the chest. His injuries are non-life-threatening. The......

Ukulele Noir Nave Gallery, Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, 155 Powderhouse Blvd, Somerville Saturday, November 17, 2007 8-10 pm, $10 Bostonist never thought we'd hear the words "ukulele" and "noir" used together, but now it's happened. And it sounds pretty rad. Tonight's installment of Ukulele Noir, an assortment of skilled ukulele players, will feature Craig Robertson, Melvern Taylor and the Fabulous Meltones, Uncle Shoe, and the East Boston Make Out Club Band. All will strum tiny......

--The DA's office announced earlier this week that it will expand its "Gun Court," which speeds up prosecution of gun-related crimes. Only cases from Dorchester, Roxbury, the South End, and parts of downtown were accelerated to gun court, but now cases from South Boston, East Boston, and Charlestown will go there as well. The DA's office press release touted its success rate: "Gun Court prosecutors have secured convictions in 85.1% of the viable cases handled......

--A Worcester doctor found himself in an awkward position when he was caught soliciting a hooker who turned out to be a cop. Dr. Peter Rice said he was "gathering information" for his research, which sounds like the lamest excuse ever. As outlandish as it sounds, we looked it up, and Dr. Rice really does study infectious diseases at UMass Memorial. We are also endlessly amused that the entire incident took place on--ahem--Tainter Street. As......

This rounds up the best of local blogs. Now that we're doing "Bite Size News," "Series of Tubes" will repeat those links, too. --Matt O'Malley, who has run for city councilor himself, analyzes the votes in the Boston City Council election and finds out what may have gone wrong for Felix Arroyo and right for John Connolly. [O'Malley on the Web] --Brace yourselves! Bobby Brown will perform at the Boston Music Awards on December 1.......

--Masshole victory! The Big Dig tunnels will get wireless antennas! Now drivers can be even more distracted! [Boston Globe] --Wolfe Styke, the MIT student who was stabbed multiple times by an ex, has been released from the hospital. His ex, Wellesley student Anna Tang, will be held in jail until her next court appearance on December 3. [Boston Globe] --A commuter train struck and killed a man walking on the tracks in Lynn yesterday......

--Don't eat the yellow pills: "Mixing cough syrup, Vicodin or Lipitor with cat litter is the new advice on getting rid of unused medications. Preferably used cat litter." [WCVB] --Another BPD (pardon us, ex-BPD) officer has pled guilty to protecting shipments of cocaine. Unfortunately for him, the people shipping the cocaine were undercover FBI. [Boston Globe] --A boiler explosion in Salem sends three people to the hospital. [WCVB] --A huge sinkhole in the middle of......

--Needham went into lockdown yesterday when 78-year-old Robert J. Moore was murdered in his home, prompting a manhunt and a standoff with a suspicious man at Stone Hearth Pizza. However, the guy at the pizza shop wasn't the killer. He was just acting nervous. During the standoff, a State Police K-9 unit was busy arresting William Dunn, 41, of Norwood, who had fled to a marsh. The Globe writes that Norwood Dunn was at the......

--Did carrying around a bunch of mail-order catalogs and dodging dogs all day make an East Boston postal worker snap? Noelle Lacorte, 26, of Revere, was driving her mail truck yesterday morning when she almost ran over a police officer working a detail. The police took offense, and she took off. Here's what happened next, according to the Herald: “The officer observed the operator on her cell phone with a cigarette in one hand and......

--Since Red Sox fans have a reason to party this year, Mayor Thomas Menino is already stepping in to settle them down. He met with bar and restaurant owners to discuss when to cut off the sloppy drunks. He also said he doesn't want any live cameras in bars. No live cameras? What would a nationally televised game be without a cutaway to the fans who couldn't afford tickets but who still want to celebrate?......

--After his picture was splashed all over the TV and Internets, the guy who allegedly stabbed two people at Park Street Station after the Red Sox Rally Monday night has been arraigned on two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. Christopher Casey, 22, of Dorchester, was rounded up by T police last night. Bail was set at $25,000. --How about this for a reversal? You'd think law enforcement......

--Sure, people like to collect knickknacks. Salt-and-pepper shakers, Beanie Babies, comic books, parking meters. Yeah, parking meters, 123 of 'em, in fact. Thomas Gannon of Cambridge had cut the meters off poles all over Cambridge and Somerville. Police stumbled upon them when visiting Gannon for other reasons on Monday night. Master of understatement and Cambridge PD spokesman Frank Pasquarello said, "This does seem to be odd." Indeed. --Police arrested 17-year-old Derek Lodie, of Revere, for......

Carlo Basile, the man who was officially Democrat but fell somewhere between elephant and donkey, will be the new State Representative for East Boston. He won handily with 46% of the vote. The Hubster noted that turnout was 4,495. In the Boston City Council elections, Chuck Turner breezed to victory in District 7 (Roxbury) with 75.73% of the vote. Carlos Henriquez was second place with only 16.26% of the vote, so they will face off......

If you're in East Boston, it's time to vote for State Representative of the First Suffolk district, the seat vacated by Anthony Petruccelli when he won a State Senate spot. Here are the candidates, all Democrats: Carlo Basile - Basile is officially a Democrat, but he is more of a moderate - or an undercover elephant - in that he endorsed Romney in the past and worked for Kerry Healey's failed attempt to be governor.......