Boston

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Damn it's good to be married to a globe hopper like CP..   I just found out a few minutes ago that I'm going to Boston with her on November 6th...   though I lived in Newport, RI for a couple years while I was in the Suck, it was 43 years ago and my trips to Boston were MUCH different than they would be today..

Anyone have any details about Boston go-to places ?

We only have 2 full days there, but I'll have a bunch of walking around time while Deanne is working during the day.

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[GabrielsDad]

So many great places in Boston.  Lived there 10 years ago, and it has really changed...

On a recent trip, we had a really good meal at Craigie on Main.  http://www.craigieonmain.com/  Admittedly a bit pricey, but the octopus was fantastic.

Cool breakfast spot:  http://www.thefriendlytoast.net/

Don't know anything about it, but this place just made Esquire's best new list:  http://www.mentonboston.com/

Finally, had a pretty solid dinner here a few years ago:  http://www.hamersleysbistro.com/home/

[geonuc]

Not exactly Boston, but I'm drinking a pint of Fullers ESB and contemplating shepards pie at the British Beer Company pub in Walpole, Mass.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Not exactly Boston, but I'm drinking a pint of Fullers ESB and contemplating shepards pie at the British Beer Company pub in Walpole, Mass.  

Do it..  I loved driving up through the couple of states when I lived there and sampling the Portuguese foods at some of the local restaurants.  We had a few favorite places in Narragansett and Fall River, RI that were easy and comforting.  Big plates of food, plenty of clams or snails as appetizers and the delicious semi-Italian pizza's and flatbreads baked on premises.  The snails were served as were the clams in a small bucket with a big bowl of drawn butter and plenty of the house-made bread.  I think they were called periwinkles or something? they came with an ornate hat-pin to remove them from the shell, they were oh-so-delicious in those times.  

The pasta and seafood houses were very, very different in the 60's than they are now.

I can't wait to go to that coast and give my bride a REAL lobster roll with the real stuff.

Heck, I may rent a car to get out of the Boston area for one day and cruise those coast roads in memory of times past?

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[geonuc]

Do it. Yes.

Shepard's pie it is and it's excellent.

I also contemplated the Red Wing Diner for their legendary fried clams, but I have important business tomorrow and don't want my tummy upset from too much oil.


shepards pie at BBC Walpole Mass by geonuc, on Flickr

[ugacook]

If you have a car, you have to go to Revere Beach (not far from Logan Airport) to Kelly's Roast Beef, but not for the roast beef, go for the huge lobster rolls (pretty much all lobster - big chunks with no filler and hardly any mayo) and the whole-belly fried clams - yum!!  There are other Kelly's locations, but the one on Revere Beach has the best atmosphere by far. Take your food across the street and eat at the beach with the seagulls!  A bit pricy, but well worth it.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

If you have a car, you have to go to Revere Beach (not far from Logan Airport) to Kelly's Roast Beef, but not for the roast beef, go for the huge lobster rolls (pretty much all lobster - big chunks with no filler and hardly any mayo) and the whole-belly fried clams - yum!!  There are other Kelly's locations, but the one on Revere Beach has the best atmosphere by far. Take your food across the street and eat at the beach with the seagulls!  A bit pricy, but well worth it.

Now that's what I'm talkin about.. thanks..

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

We will be arriving in Boston on Sat. morning and picking up a car to drive directly (the long way) to Newport, RI. to stay overnight there, we will awaken in the city of my Navy hangouts and go driving around and show CP (Deanne) the places I fished, the places I ate and the huge apartment at 23 Catherine Street in the house next to the Clement C. Moore house, where "'Twas the Night Before Christmas) was written.  (there is some controversy about this poem now, but at the time we were there this was a big deal house, with historians and tours and all)...

I will try and find a few of the hideaway places that served Navy personnel some comp'd meals, and of course go to at least one place in Fall River where we always went for little necks.  I'm sure that it has changed, but Ocean Ave has to be somewhat the same and "first beach" and "second beach" still have to be there on the rocky shores of that one time ultra-rich area.  

I want to see the Marble house again, the Breakers, the other grand homes that were always in peril of the sea on that gorgeous ocean drive along the shore. I used to fish on second beach and bring home some kind of fish to eat each time I went.

Of course fish stories are just stories, but I kept us fed with both fish and clams on the days I spent on the water.  Those were leaner times back then, and though my wife then had a job in a hotel, we scrimped and saved money every month as a result of that fish surplus that I could wrestle away from the sea.  At that time we could buy chicken lobsters from our paper-boy for $3.00 each, and sometimes if he had too many we would get two nice, small lobsters for $3.00. Those were the good-old-days..

I am anxious to go back and see the changes and see what I do remember of that grand spit of our country where I served our country in the Navy.  I am going to take my Navy ID card (it has my security level on it), and see if I can get on to the base to show CP the ships and the base. I hope I have time to do the things I have planned. ?

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Too Cool.  We WILL turn our car in Sunday and will be riding the local transportation while in the Boston Area.

GG>-  $15.00 for 7 days.    I'll wear it out..

Day/Week LinkPass    $9.00 for 1 day
$15.00 for 7 days
Unlimited travel on Subway, Local Bus, Inner Harbor Ferry, and Commuter Rail Zone 1A.
7-Day Pass valid for 7 days from the date and time of purchase.

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Damn it's good to be married to a globe hopper like CP..   I just found out a few minutes ago that I'm going to Boston with her on November 6th...   though I lived in Newport, RI for a couple years while I was in the Suck, it was 43 years ago and my trips to Boston were MUCH different than they would be today..

Anyone have any details about Boston go-to places ?

We only have 2 full days there, but I'll have a bunch of walking around time while Deanne is working during the day.

Though it seems like Italian is the go-to cuisine in Boston there seems to be a flourishing Asian population with several cuisines available?   

We only have a few days, what cuisine should we focus on?   Italian or Asian ?  or some-other ?

In Fall River, we WILL get our Portuguese fix with the seafood there.  I hope to find an on-the-pier restaurant in Newport, like I remember in 1966.  If I don't, I'll still find a cute place to be entertained by lunch service..

Newport seems to be like it was, a mix of easy food and serious food, in line with the tourists and the purists, and still serving the Navy with places for young troops to have a filling dinner.   I'll have to get there and ask around?  I'll get a haircut or something and talk about the "good stuff"....

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[CodePoet]

Too nasty of a day to do much exploring..   I did find a beer store, and a Whole Food Market real close to the hotel.



We are going to Harvard Gardens (sort of a neighborhood bar) tonight as a result of it being Monday night and because it is close.


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[CodePoet]

GG logged in as CP

And now it is late Tuesday and we leave for home sweet home tomorrow...

Today I had lunch at Yankee Lobster Co. and it was terrific, I had the fried clam bellies, they were well battered and fresh and took me back to the time when I ate more fried foods and lived in New England.  Honestly the basket of clams were totally as much as I could eat, I left most of my fairly ordinary fries but did eat the very fresh tasting slaw.  That along with a Harpoon IPA was a fantastic connection to the old style New England that seemed to be missing in NewPort, RI..  (pictures later).

http://www.yankeelobstercompany.com/

There was a reception at the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel for CP's crowd so I snuck in there to eat some fairly interesting small bites and drink some free drinks.  They brought out some beef shortribs that were touted as being Asian, but had no Asian flavors.  When I asked about the preparation, one of the young chefs said it was mainly fennel seed and anise seed with demi-glace. The shrimp tray was way good, the pasta service was hotel ordinary looking but being done on the spot. Hey, I shouldn't be reviewing free food at my wife's reception so I'll not go on about it.  It was okay.

After that we went to a basement bar named "Drink", there was barely a sign, we were lured there from some Boston folks, it was interesting, sortof like a basement version of Leon's Full Service with interesting apps and small plates and highly unusual mixed drinks.  I had a Stone Levitatation and the other folks had various mixed concoctions that were obviously delicious.  There are probably a few bars in Atlanta that are like this, but I don't go to bars much?

http://www.yelp.com/biz/drink-boston-2

I have pictures in the camera and am anxious to get South out of this cold, dark, blustery time here.  Should our stay have been in better weather, I would have hit China town and roamed around the Italian section just North of town.  It's sometime like what they say about fishing "you should have been here last week"...

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Does anyone have any current data on Boston?   I will be doing a tag-along with my wife in the next few months and would love some current info...

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Well here it is November again, and we just flew back from Boston.  I took good notes, and some pictures..  I should fill this in over the next few days... 

Let me say one word.. 

Scampo   ( a wonderful place to dine )

Let's start off with a bunch of pictures on Flickr, more explanations will come later..

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjM4ZYgE


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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

MwS>-  Here are a list of the winners..   and one loser in Boston during our recent trip...

MwS>- I may break out a separate thread for Scampo in Boston, it was just that good..


http://thetiptaproom.com/

http://rabias.com/

http://www.neptuneoyster.com/

http://theboxerboston.com/dining/

don't go to
http://www.nonamerestaurant.com/#Menu

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/4/53279/restaurant/South-Boston/No-Name-Restaurant-Boston


http://yankeelobstercompany.com/

http://www.libertyhotel.com/index.html

http://scampoboston.com/

http://www.mcgannsirishpub.com/