Culinary Tour of Boston

This weekend, my husband and two other couples spent a long weekend in Boston. We've been there twice before, but I really love the city, so we decided to go back. So now, I will take you on a very small culinary tour of Boston. Warning: this tour is not for "serious" foodies. We ate where the locals suggested, and spent most of the weekend doing touristy things. These restaurants are by no means the creme de la creme.

Day 1

We didn't eat our first meal in Boston until Friday night because it took 7 hours to get there. Yes, 7 hours. We only live in NJ, but the traffic was awful. We stayed in Cambridge, so in the afternoon, we took a brief tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery while we waited for our other friends to arrive.

That night, we ate at Asgard Irish Pub. Sorry, I have no pictures for you - but I had the Irish Dip and my husband The Asgard burger. Both were very delicious. Another member of our party had the Irish Stout Pie and he loved it. Overall, it was an A. They would have gotten an A+, if it weren't for the drunk woman who almost passed out and threw up on us. (BTW - she wasn't dining at the restaurant, just a passer-by).

The rest of the night was spent barhopping in Cambridge. We ended up at a cute place called Tavern in the Square. Also recommended to us was Miracle of Science Bar and Grill, but that was more of a grill than a bar.

Day 2 - Sightseeing

On Saturday we went sightseeing in Boston. The weather really cooperated with us, too. All week, it said it was going to rain, so we all prepared for the worst. The storm held out until Sunday, though.

Saturday started out with a "quick" breakfast at Mariposa Cafe in Cambridge. The food here was good, it just took FOREVER, and the cafe had no customer service whatsoever. My bagel/egg sandwich was incorrect (no cheese, please!) and it was like a chore for them to correct it. It also took almost an hour to deliver three orders of waffles. When we asked, they simply replied, "oh, we only have one waffle iron, i guess she should have told you". Now, I know making waffles with one iron is tough, but no way would it take me an hour to produce three orders, and I DON'T EVEN OWN A RESTAURANT!! I had a mint mocha with my egg sandwich, and it was delicious. If you go there, I recommend getting your coffee product to go.




DO NOT ORDER THE WAFFLES!!!


Okay, now that breakfast was done, we headed into Boston. For most of the day, we did the Freedom Trail, which takes you around famous historical spots in Boston, all conveniently connected with a red line painted on the sidewalk. Here are some highlights:


City Hall


A memorial to Paul Revere


The Old North Church


Samuel Adams in front of Faneuil Hall


Petting Horses

We stopped at this point to have lunch. We ate at a place called the Black Rose outside of Faneuil Hall. I don't have any pictures of the food because it was really nothing to write home about - my hubby and I split a grilled chicken sandwich. Here are some pics of the interior though.








Back to sightseeing. We headed towards the Harbor next. It was such a beautiful day out, we spent some time just sitting and enjoying the soft breeze.


Near the Harbor


On the Harbor

After the harbor we went to Newbury Street, which is Boston's shopping district. We went in some stores that were way overpriced and browsed. Oh! We also caught a wine tasting at one of the liquor stores. I found a wine I liked but didn't write it down. All I know is it's a rose, it's from Oregon, and the label looks like an American Flag. Let me know if you know this wine!

To kill some time, we stopped at Whiskey's a bar on Boylston Street, which runs parallel to Newbury. If we were hungry, we would have chowed down on their $0.15 wing special, but we just had some beers instead.




After the drink, it was time to go to dinner. We had a reservation in the North End (Boston's Little Italy) at a restaurant called Al Dente. We waited an hour anyway, and were kind of annoyed, but all bad thoughts left our heads after we dined on the most amazing food.

My husband and I split an appetizer of spinach crepes. They were filled with spinach (not pesto) and ricotta and in the most divine cream sauce. I used my bread to soak most of it up. Hey! I earned it, with all the walking we did all day!


Best. Appetizer. Ever.

For our meals, I had tri-color tortellini in arrabiata sauce and hubby had steamed clams over linguine.







After that delicious meal, we were too full to really do anything. We went to a bar near the harbor and had a couple beers, then turned in for the night.

Day 3 - Harvard

Our last day in Boston, and here comes the rain. Not regular rain though, that misty rain you can't hide from under an umbrella. Since we were going to a museum and then driving home, it wasn't that big of a deal, though.

This morning, we tried a breakfast cafe across the street from Mariposa. It was called Luna Cafe and the food was a little slice of heaven. The staff were very friendly, and even though we had a big group, very accommodating. I love going to little places where the owners actually care if someone gets a good meal. I would highly recommend eating here if you're ever in Cambridge. They have something for everyone. They're also open at night.


Orange Marmalade French Toast


Blueberry Pancakes


After breakfast, we went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. We spent about 3 hours there and then packed in the car to head home. What a weekend!