The Place: Boston, MA … Beer & Chowder!!
Summary: Gringo
G had a quick trip up to Boston and took full advantage of his time; exploring this very important city's sights, smells, sounds and most
importantly food!
The Eats: As a start Gringo G was based in
Waltham, MA outside of Boston for a few days and he seized the opportunity to
try out a few local eats and get out of his hotel.
First up was Naked
Fish which serves local fresh seafood with a Cuban twist. The food
was decent but nothing special, with the Haddock Sandwich the Gringo ordered
severely underwhelming ... with the reviews online the Gringo expected much
more.
Second was a nice dinner out at
Biagio
Ristorante which offered surprisingly upscale Italian fare. However,
the surprise of the night was the Portuguese Fisherman’s Stew which was filled
with large chunks of high class seafood, spicy sausage and spicy broth (the broth is the
best part when sopped up with the crunchy bread they served on the side). I
always wanted to try this but never got up to New England … this time
I did!
Lastly was a casual dinner at Green
Papaya a local Thai place. The food was decent, especially the nice
Satay of chicken and beef … but in the end it seemed just like a decent lunch
place for the nearby office complexes … as it was not outstanding.
Finally the Gringo got into
Boston proper for the weekend and what a weekend it was!
Haddock Sandwich from Naked Fish
Apps Biagio!
Portuguese Fisherman's Stew Biagio
Satay from Green Papaya
While walking around Copley
Square and the Boston Public Library on my way to the Museum of Fine Arts Gringo G stopped at Abe & Louie’s a renowned Boston chophouse. The
austere setting was very interesting and I different from most carnivorous
institutions outside of Europe and the USA. The service was top notch and the
all Prime Hamburger the Gringo enjoyed was washed down with a Harpoon IPA. Savory!
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Abe & Louie's
Dining Room A&L
Harpoon IPA with some wonderful salty bread!
A&L Prime Cheeseburger
Interesting Decor
After a nice few hours in the
MFA and a stroll around Fenway Park the Gringo G stopped in at the Citizen
Public House by Fenway and had a nice cold MA beer and some
ravishing deviled eggs (nice and spicy). If only the Gringo had been
accompanied by 9 other people he could have shared an entire roast pig with
them … the house specialty.
Deviled Eggs
Late that night some family
backup arrived and Gringo G stopped in at Atlantic Fish Co. for some
authentic New England style seafood. The Gringo’s dining partner enjoyed some
nice bacon-wrapped scallops (the bacon was really nice and crispy) and the
Gringo had a small cup of the house New England Clam Chowder which was nice and
rich as well as a massive Maine Lobster Roll which was decadent. The amount of lobster
and lobster flavor was almost an overload … a must try if you are anywhere in
New England.
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New England Clam Chowder
Maine Lobster Roll
Scallops with Bacon
The next morning for breakfast
the Gringo sauntered over from his nearby hotel to the South End Buttery and
enjoyed a quick but savory breakfast … with the highlight actually being the
Maple Bacon Scone that he took to go and ate hours later after a tour of Fenway
Park.
Maple Bacon Scone
Breakfast Sandwich
Bagel with Locks
For lunch the Gringo ate a
massive Kielbasa dog from Doghouse in Quincy Market. It
was alright and helped hold the Gringo’s hunger off for the much anticipated
dessert …
This was devoured after waiting
in a long line to get Canolis (amazing) in the North End institution Modern
Pastry, these nice little shells of goodness were so rich and creamy that the Gringo
really had to take his time savoring on each one.
\
The Dogs
Modern!!
\
Shells!
Canoli!
Wonderful Italian Pastries
After a nice stroll in the
Boston Public Garden a refreshing drink of fine Stone IPA (repping!!) was
enjoyed at MJ O’Connor’s … a nice little Irish Pub in Boston ... hitting up an Irish Pub in Boston was a major check of Gringo G's bucket list.
For dinner that night the
Gringo, upon a local’s recommendation, went to Giacomo’s (Back
Bay) which was a mixed experience. The service was average at best as, even
with a reservation, the Gringo had to wait almost 40 minutes before being
seated and at the table service was a bit slow as well. However, the food was
delicious and the portions enormous. The broccoli rabe was fine, the Nebiolo
wine priced well … the chicken parm and seafood pasta were both excellent and
came in enormous portions.
Brocoli Rabe
Veal Parm
Seafood Linguini
The morning after the feast at
Giacomo’s the Gringo took the first tour at Harpoon Brewery which
was interesting (although tour-wise the Gringo still prefers the Anchor Brewing
Tour in San Francisco) and included a very nice tasting. The beer and bar food
were spectacular and the staff very helpful when the Gringo needed to get a cab
to the airport.
Harpoon Taster
Grapefruit Beer ... delish!
At the airport (Terminal A past
security) the Gringo made one last stop … and it was an important one. He ate
the best Clam Chowder on the entire trip at Legal Seafood’s Test Kitchen which
was rich, creamy and absolutely delicious not to mention a wonderful last turn of a fantastic culinary adventure in New England’s biggest city!
CLAM CHOWDAHHHH!
The Lodging: The
Gringo stayed at The Chandler Inn in the Back Bay. The positives were an
exceptional location (within walking distance of most major attractions as well
as several T-Stops) in a nice neighborhood, pretty good service and a decent
price for Boston proper. The downside was the lack of hot water (they are in a
100+ year old building) which no decent hotel should have.
Things To Do:
Boston is packed with history and is one of the founding cities
of the USA.
Copley Square is aesthetically beautiful with the Boston Public Library
on one side and a nice church in the middle. There are just too many tourists
and at the night a lot of homeless people. The Library is gorgeous inside and
is worth at least walking through.
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Boston Public Library
The Museum of Fine Arts was stunning. The entry price is a
bit hefty but the Museum is immaculate and the exhibits are wide-ranging and
exquisite. The Gringo G enjoyed seeing a lot of the “American” art, colonial
art from the USA, that he saw in books growing up but never had a chance to see
in person. An absolute must if you are in Boston even for a day.
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The Fenway Park Tour was exciting and allowed the Gringo to
experience and feel, touch, walk around one of the most historical sports
attractions in the USA. You even get to go down on the field and see the old
scoreboard … wonderful tour and worth every penny and every minute.
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Fenway Park from the Green Monster
Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall was alright. It was just TOO packed with
tourists for the Gringo … literally it was wall-to-wall and the food was just
average.
The Boston Harbor nearby Quincy Market
offers a nice place to walk and a nice view of sailboats!
Boston Harbor
North End has some very nice architecture and very good Italian food … the
Gringo loved the Canolis at Modern. South End was a very nice
place for a walk as was Beacon Hill.
North End
The Boston Public Garden offers one of the best urban city
walks the Gringo has ever had. It is meticulously well-kept and is worth a walk
if in Boston.
In the end Boston was a wonderful new experience with exciting
eats and historical sights … definitely a check off the Gringo G’s long bucket
list.
Coming
Next: Mexican Tradition
Series Part I!
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