BOSTON

 

 

 

I am so behind in this blog it is ridiculous so I may as well use the winter months when I am stuck inside at home to revisit my Fall trips to wonderful destinations with great friends and great food.

Getting to Boston was no small feat. Remember that horrific storm that ravaged the Carolina coast in the Fall. It made travel cumbersome and provoked delays that impacted many traveling. This included me in a minuscule way as I sat on the runway texting my Charlotte friends telling them that there was a chance I was going to be stranded in their city and would they come rescue me from the airport. I was lucky enough to run like O.J. Simpson through the Charlotte airport and catch my connecting flight and the kind man who was about to lock the gate door to my connecting flight let me Erin, who sounded remarkably like Darth Vader after a multi-concourse run enter the almost departing flight to Boston.

I sat down huffing and puffing and was lucky enough to be seated with the nicest guy named Greg. He was sadly returning from Florida and his father’s funeral. He was part of a hard rock band called Steel Assasins. ( I think he is the 4th on right but not sure!)

We talked all the way from Charlotte to Boston, which was great because I was a bit nervous to go meet an old dear friend Stefan who I had not seen in 16 years who was planning (quite literally) our marriage and life. It was a little scary. Apparently, I had made a promise on a handshake that if we were not married at 50, we would get married. We reconnected and he told me I had three years to find an alternate husband or I would be getting married to him. After all, a promise is a promise. The fairy tale part of it was fun and the fact that he was German royalty and I would have a title was fun. But ya’ll remember me? I can travel to Russia and China alone, but put me with men and couple that with love and I become the wimpiest creature to roam the planet. Why does love scare me so? Who bloody knows!!!

I was greeted at the airport by my friend Noel and he and Heather’s three kids: Anna, Calvin and Hazel.

They took me home and Heather went so far beyond the call of duty. She remembered that I used to eat Trader Joe’s mango granola…so she had a box there for me. Not knowing I had gone gluten free and after she went through that much trouble to have it for me…I had to eat it. It would have been rude NOT to try it! Then…she made the most killer peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies that her kids called ROCKS. Rude not to eat those too! They were dynamite. I came home and tried to replicate them. Her cookies reminded me of LeVain’s cookies in style, size and taste, and I thought I did a good job with taste, but mine didn’t look like LeVain’s OR Heather’s in size. No rocks here! Not sure how to do THAT part of the recipe!

The weather in Boston was complete crap the first 24 hours. I was able to cuddle on the couch with their pooch, Oscar a combination of Chinese crested and weiner dog. My dog is half Chinese crested. Their dog, like my dog…a lover!

We watched two seasons of Sherlock Holmes. We ate, we talked, Heather made mocktails. Oscar and Hazel spent a lot of time in my lap.

It was a lot of fun!

 

The sun came out and I asked if we could go get cider donuts. Oh how I love and have such fond memories of cider donuts. There was a long line to get into Wilson Farms..

but once inside…heavenly…

The flowers, the fruits, the potato blaster for gets to shoot off potatoes, the hay maze, watching the cider donuts come off the conveyer belt, the donuts, the gourds, the hot apple cider.

I love the Boston sky…look out how blue it can be….

 

And just driving in New England that time of year is heavenly.

When I lived in Boston they were working on what seemed like the never-ending BIG DIG project. I wanted to see what it looked like now that it was complete…we did a quick drive by. I can’t wait for more time and better weather to walk in the parks above it. I couldn’t take pics to do it justice. You will just have to go see it yourself…

We drove through downtown Boston

Kendall Sq. has changed so much!! It has just flourished! Here’s a architectural treat in Kendall Square.

 

One day, we all went exploring in Harvard Sq. and then I went back on my own to explore some more and walk through the Harvard Yard.

I passed my old apartment building on Mt. Auburn Street. It was wrapped up and was being remodeled or may just a facelift. I most surely couldn’t have afforded it after its fix-up.

I loved the location of it. I was right in Harvard Square. I could walk to all the shops, restaurants. I could catch the T in 5 minutes or be on campus to get to my classes in ten minutes or less. But when I lived in that apartment building. Across the street was a CHILI’s restaurant. Now, it was being converted to a FLOUR.

Oh FLOUR how I love thee…thank goodness it was not there years ago or I would have weighed 500lbs.

FLOUR

I left Cambridge for Beacon Hill. I did two years in each town. I loved both for varying reasons. I probably loved Beacon Hill more for the accessibility. I took time to explore my old neighborhood there as well. I walked by my old street. Primus. I loved Primus. That is where I met Stefan. Charles Street, which is the main drag there is a completely different animal now. We didn’t have a quarter of the cute shops that are there now.

Then I walked The Public Garden, which was a park I felt safe walking in day and night. I would walk there when I was stressed out working on my thesis. It is where I got the idea and the setting for my children’s book, The Wish Giver.

One night while in Boston, my friend Jenny and I went to Chef Ming Tsai’s place in Wellesley. I even ran into a neighbor from Cincinnati at the restaurant. My friend Melinda who lives on the 6^th floor, and is also a foodie. Small world.

Jenny and I have been friends for over 20 years! I love Jenny!!! She is such a wonderful and special human being. I remember when she and her now ex-husband we used to meet up every 4-6 months and go try a new restaurant in Boston. I remember when they adopted their first child from Russia. I remember when she got pregnant with her second child. I lived with them for a month before moving to New York. I just think the world of Jenny so it was so fun that we had an evening to go eat and eat good food in Boston or in this case Wellesley.

I have been DYING to go try Chef Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger. I have seen him on television. I have been beyond curious. I think he is the sexiest Asian man I have ever laid eyes on in my life! I have that va va voom for him. If he had come to the table and said, “Do you…” I would have said yes! He could have been asking if I liked the meal or if I knew I had spinach in my teeth but I would have said yes, just in case he would have said do you want to run away with me. YES!! Yes, I would love it.

He has a reputation for being in his restaurant a lot. I find that impressive for a celebrity chef. He cares what happens and what transpires in his kitchen. I admire and respect that and him for it.

Jenny started with a pumpkin soup with granola, thyme-maple syrup and pickled shiso. I started with their well-known Bigeye Tuna Poke with crispy sushi rice cake and microgreen – tosaka salad. The presentation was better than the taste. I liked the taste and the crunch of everything but the fish.

 

We shared a Sake-Miso Marinated Sablefish more commonly known as Butterfish. That was melt in your mouth good.

My last night in town Heather and I went to Mr. Bartley’s so I could get a burger, fries and a shake. It is a Harvard/Cambridge institution.

I had a burger called “CAITLIN JENNER “YOU GO GIRL” with a fried egg, bacon & cheese with a side of sweet potato fries. I love their sweet potato fries.

Then we both got milkshakes to drink while we walked around Harvard Square. I can’t believe how the old memories of being there and living there flood back to me at every turn.

I drank too much milkshake and ended up with a terrible belly ache.

We went back to Heather’s watched television and then the next morning it was time to meet my old friend, Stefan, at FLOUR.

He checked out the girl sitting next to me and there was no chemistry there at all. Almost the opposite of chemistry and like that the fairy tale was done.

I bought a scone for the train trip.

He walked me to the train and off I went to my beloved New York and another adventure. I love trains…like Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory. I love to look out the window….

Until we meet again…

Enjoy! Eat, travel, laugh…often….

P.S.

Last night, January 2017, a handful of months after my visit to Boston, I went to see Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg’s PATRIOT’S DAY. I was moved to tears and sadness seeing this film. It impacted me deeply. I walked down so many of those Boston streets. As I said above I lived with my friend Jenny and Bill for a month before transitioning from Boston to New York, and they lived in Watertown. This is where the boy was found in the boat at the end of this travesty. I think Berg and Wahlberg captured the beauty of this city with their cinematography but also the heart and soul of it’s people. Every year, I would go to the Boston Marathon. Many years, I stood at the finish line. I could have easily been there that day. My friend Bill was in one of those restaurants near the site of the explosion that horrific Patriot’s Day. It breaks my heart that anyone can find that kind of terror acceptable on any level, for any reason. But it does demonstrate the strength and hope of Bostonians and makes me proud that for four years, I was one of them. My heart goes out to all those that tragic day. Patriot’s Day is a film not to be missed for so many reasons.

From Cincy to Beantown to Rhode Island

My board meeting in Manhattan was changed to September due to two years of board meetings occurring during blizzards. That makes the meeting and the visiting of the charities challenging and downright bitter cold. I asked if they were going to change the meeting to change it to be around the time of the US Open so I could go visit my tennis buddies. Well, this year that happened and next year it will not. It is being changed yet again!

My cousin called me and asked me to come to Rhode Island before the meeting and we could drive up there together. The foundation pays for the plane ticket and it was really pricey to go to Rhode Island so I flew to Boston and took the train out to Providence.

I loved the excuse to go visit my Boston friends. Love my Boston friends and my last two times in Boston; I have really loved the city and all the wonderful changes. It makes me think should I go back to Boston. I love my friends, sailing in the summers, and then I remember the long, bitter cold winters and standing on the “T” platform waiting for the subway as the wind whirled around me and the sun that sets at 3:30 pm and I thought…maybe not! But I love to visit.

My flight there via Philly where the airport had a food court under construction last year with big banners saying coming soon…and a year later the sucker was complete. Amazing. I flew with a woman that had come from Qatar and she had 4 kids and the baby in her arms…a boy was smacking her in the head and his sister and she did nothing. I remembered being in Morocco and Turkey and being told boys are raised differently. They can get away with anything and are taught they are better than women. I wanted to go to that child and say, “Stop hitting your mother and sister!” But you can’t…

I felt very hip when I arrived in Boston. I took the Logan Express bus for $5 to the Copley Plaza in town where I went to pick up a subway to Harvard Square. Of course, I could not find the downtown subway they are divided by one direction one side of the street and the other the other way…I forgot and had to have someone turn me around and point. Oh so hip!

I went to Harvard Square and went to Mr. Bartley’s for a Tom Brady burger, the best ever sweet potato French fries and a coffee milkshake.

Not sure if you can see this menu or not, but the burgers are usually named after Presidents with some exceptions. Brady being one for obvious reasons!

I sat outside and watched the people pass including my favorite homeless guy. I remember him because everyday on my way to wherever in Harvard Square he would say, “Hi Beautiful!” (Here is the view not my favorite homeless guy.)

Then I walked the Harvard Yard and back to the train station to the bus depot and I took the #74 bus to Heather and Noel’s. I went from the airport to their home ALL public transportation. I was happy and proud of myself.

As I walked up their street a neighbor passed me rolling my suitcase up the road and said, “Running away from home?”

I laughed and replied, “Kinda!”

I arrived at the house to see Heather, Hazel and Anna and Calvin. I got to play with Hazel and her box of beans. I love her box of beans.

Heather, Noel and I sat on their screened in porch and Heather made what she called “Fake” Chicken Piccata. It was delicious!

Here is Heather and Noel!

The next day I curled up on the couch with Anna (8) and Hazel (2) on each side of me. We watched a Winnie the Pooh video on my laptop. Then we sat at the dining room table and strung beads to make pretty necklaces and bracelets.

Then I went to meet my old and favorite boss Steve and the gal who replaced me Susan and we went to lunch at a new joint in Kendall Square, which is the hub for MIT! When I worked there there were only a handful of ordinary restaurants. The neighborhood has exploded! There were lots of restaurants, lots of new buildings and condos. It is amazing what they have accomplished. Here is a little tidbit interesting info. If Kennedy had not been shot, they were going to build the space station in that neighborhood near all those MIT techie, engineer, brainy, wonderful and amazing nerds, but Kennedy was killed and Johnson, a strong Texan took over and hence the space station went to Houston. Pretty interesting! I learned that writing an article for a local Cambridge paper years ago.

 

Well, Steve, Susan and I went to this restaurant called Fuji and they had this AMAZING Jasmine tea that I loved! I ordered a bento box the gourmet lunch, which consisted of lots of sushi. Happiness!

I left them and went to meet my friend Jim, the crusty old sailor, who taught me to sail. And my friend Kristen from New York, who is a Bostonian and she was in Boston so we got to hangout there. VERY FUN!

She went sailing with Jim, Tom and I. I even sailed a bit! Good wind!!! We sailed a Sonar, which is roughly 21ft. sail boat on the Charles River.

Then I took Kristen past my old street and apartment. We walked down Cedar Street, which you have most likely seen photographed with its beautiful brick sidewalks, gaslights and gorgeous brownstones and then we walked down Charles Street, which was never EVER as hip and cool when I lived there as it is now! Adorable.

I dragged Kristen through The Public Garden, my favorite park there.

Can you tell why that is one of my favorite parks!!!

 

And then I walked up Comm Ave. I did this walk a lot…..

I passed this stone.

 

Down Newbury Street…

We took the “T” (aka subway) back to Harvard Square and I dragged her to Pinocchio’s Pizza, a Harvard institution. It looks…RAW, but the pizza is so dang gone tooting good!!! You should have seen her face…she was impressed!

Then she took the T one direction and I got on a bus and went to Heather and Noel’s. I just love being able to rely on public transportation to get around. It is so nice and I get so much exercise walking all over the place!

On the bus I passed a place called Laundro-mutt…you take your dog there to give it a bath…

Back at Heather’s we sat on the couch eating her homemade sugar cookies and drinking milk. Such a nice evening and my first time EVER watching Project Runway!

Next morning, we took her daughter Anna to FLOUR.

Here is the link for FLOUR….

http://www.flourbakery.com/

Chef Bobby Flay did a throwdown competition with Joanne Chang the founder and owner of FLOUR and a Harvard graduate!!! And FLAY LOST to her!!! I had to try her sticky, sticky bun. I am not even a sticky bun person. Oh it was so good….Look at it…

Then I tasted Heather’s Cheddar & Scallion scone…sounded ordinary, looked ordinary but tasted EXTRAordinary!!!

I was not about to wrestle Anna for a bite of her sugar brioche, but look at this thing she was eating!!!

After we ate, we went and parked at Harvard Square and we walked down a lot of streets that I walked on for years, and things remained the same and things were very different. And a gazillion memories flooded my brain.

We took Anna to Burdick’s because I could not go to Boston in good conscious and not get one of their hot chocolates!

And Anna had to see the place and case of chocolates.

She looked in the window of the candies all lined up and I said, “Anna, this is MECCA!!!”

We walked the streets and she sang, “Can you feel the love tonight!” I think she made many people smile and think… “Well, I don’t know? Maybe? Should I?”

Then they dropped me off at my friend Jenny’s house to see her and her two kids. Max was asleep so it was just Jenny & Emelia.

We sat on her back porch and talked and caught up and said we wished we lived closer to one another.

Then she drove me to Heather’s!

I decided to give Heather a break to take a nap, veg out and I took Anna to the oldest pool in the United States of America! It was HUGE! It was freezing! I had a lot of kids that gathered around us and played together. I got a game going!

NO OTHER mother was in the FREEZING cold pool!!! Heather later said the mom’s don’t get in and they all thanked you because they probably thought you were a Nanny because none of the mom’s gets in!!!

Then Anna and I took a walk in town and came home and watched TANGLED! I had never seen it! Heather got to relax, which was good and needed. What are good friends for!!!

Anna was lovely. We had a nice time!

Then we ordered Chinese food and pork and cabbage dumplings with our entrees, a glass of red wine and Kristen came over and we ate, talked and had a nice time!

And at the end of the night I got a Scooby Doo Band-Aid for my boo boo. All in all a great day!

It was already Saturday morning and it was time to head out. I hated leaving Heather. I wanted to spend more time with Steve and visit with Kristen, but I had to get to Rhode Island and truth be told. I love the state of Rhode Island. It is picturesque and beautiful. If it wasn’t so flipping cold and if their sun didn’t set even earlier than Boston’s, it would be such a viable place to live.

But here are some pics of Rhode Island that explain my love…

I asked Heather which train station was easier for her. Back Bay or South Station and she said Back Bay because there is another FLOUR across the street. LOVE the way she thinks!

We went to FLOUR and this time, I had to try her chocolate brioche, because it is my favorite at LeVain’s in NY! I thought it was good and tasty but quite a different texture from LeVain’s and I like their texture better! But truthfully, they were so different. Here is FLOUR’s!

Then Heather, Anna and I walked up and down a cobblestone street. We hugged goodbye at the car. It was sad and hard to go!

I walked down to the train platform and as always I was flooded with memories of Boston. Every place I go, I have a tale. I love the trains. I love the East. This is where I belong, but I am a Midwesterner!

I hopped on the train to Providence. My cousin greeted me and we went to get Chinese food for lunch in Cranston and when you pronounce Cranston shrivel up your nose and eyes and that is the proper way to pronounce it.

We went to a joint called 4 Seasons and started with these Vietnamese spring rolls that we dipped in a peanut sauce and it made the spring rolls. I am not a fan of spring rolls Chinese or Vietnamese but that peanut sauce was so good it could have been eaten straight off the spoon!

Then I ordered my new favorite Chinese dish, which is Moo Shu Pork. I think I love it because it does what Peking Duck does, which is my all-time favorite. It combines, salty, savory and sweet flavors in one pancake and satisfies all my flavor sensations.

After lunch, we dropped off my stuff and went to explore Rhode Island. The state that can roughly fit into Texas 179 times! We went to Narragansett and Jamestown, we started to head into parts of Newport but with it being Labor Day weekend it was a mad house there!

We came home and I took a nap and then cuz Tony introduced me to FIVE GUYS burgers and it was yummy!

Then we went home and watched THE GRAND BUDHAPEST HOTEL. It was very fun and funky!!!

The next day after breakfast I went for a walk around Wickford. I decided I wanted to find my Sanibel friend Jean Robinson who I love!!!! I knew she lived around the corner from my cousin and I thought she said the 3^rd or 4^th house on the right, which meant John Updike’s house

–here is a pic of his house….

but I was too scared to ring a bell or show up unannounced so I was looking for Florida plates or bumper stickers.

I finally found a man in the yard doing yard work and I stopped to ask him if he knew where the Robinsons lived and he said follow me. I thought that is so nice of him to walk me there. Instead, he went to the backyard and yelled up to Jean! Of all the people I asked for directions, I asked her husband. Is that a hoot or what?

So, Jean came down and showed me around the house and then walked me to the Yacht Club at the end of the street.

I have always liked Jean and her hubby Paul was very nice.

 

I sadly was on a short time frame and had to go back to Cuz Tony’s and we went to this little breakfast joint called THE BREAKFAST NOOK. It was cute and very diner-like. The food was ordinary but the ambiance good. I ordered a spinach and cheese omelet that was big enough for 4! No joke! HUGE! I ate off it for 3 days!

Dinner was a combination of leftover Chinese food and other leftover meals. We settled in and watched a movie.

I run like crazy in Boston and NY, my cousin is a low key fella and so he moves at a much slower pace, which is hard for me, because I want to see and do everything and I want to walk ALL over the place. I lived in Providence many years ago and I loved walking everywhere. So, I want to walk, but this is good for me. It forces me to relax and I am sure I needed it. Hard to do, but good.

Cuz Tony has a WHOLE ritualistic routine. It starts with coffee, morning news shows and breakfast.

I walked for an hour and then joined the ritual!

Here is a view of his town called Wickford…at least from an architectural viewpoint.

 

 

Other things I noticed from my walks.

Then we went to explore! We went to Mystic CT, which I have always wanted to see and have always heard about it. And we drove by MYSTIC PIZZA, think Julia Roberts movie.

Beautiful and quaint town. We drove through there and then we drove through Essex, CT, which I could have moved to yesterday! Beautiful, quaint, old and charming town with beautiful, old, elegant homes. Then we went to old Saybrook for lunch! We went to a Mexican joint called G Rod Café and I had the most scrumptious enchiladas. The shell was crunchy! I loved it. Cuz T. said he knew a better place, but I thought G Rod’s was better!

The waitress was so concerned that he was not treating me right and she was upset that he suggested I not take my leftovers because of the warm weather and the long distance in the car. She was so upset by this to the point of it being uncomfortable and very awkward. So, I solved the problem by eating more! Oh well. The sacrifices one makes!

That night we went to a Rhode Island institution down by the water called Champlains for lobster rolls.

 

We sat outside overlooking the water at dusk. It was beautiful!!!

Then we went to the INSIDE SCOOP, which is this awesome rock, your socks off good ice cream and you know I am loyal to Graeter’s but this stuff rocks. Funny thing, my friend Mindy (who also lives in Cincy) and I were talking last summer about this great ice cream joint in Wickford, RI and low and behold…same joint….and even SAME fav. Flavor. Birds of a feather! Coffee ice cream with Oreos. OH YES!!!!

The line goes out the door in this cute, little joint!

Here are the flavors….

Then back to watch John Oliver. Hilarious Brit.

Last day in Rhode Island, we were going to go to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) museum and where my Cuz went to art school, but instead we drove around Brown, where I lived one summer and he showed me where he lived, I showed him where I lived.

He showed me the oldest example of Georgian architecture in this COUNTRY!!!!

Then I had to come home and work on my book for my meeting in NY!

We went to SONIA’S NEAR EAST DELI & MARKET back in CRANSTON and it was a Mediterranean joint with yummy gyros. I know a new obsession for me. The best is still Areti’s down at Findlay Market. They had awesome hummus and amazing grape leaves (dolmades) and I just love that food!

How can rice wrapped in a grape leaf saturated in oil taste so bloody good?

Really good hummus….

I needed a walk. I got lost! I called my mom and talked business and then came home and worked some more! I rather work in Rhode Island than NY, the next stop!

After lunch, we came home and I looked at Cuz T.’s new artwork. He does photography and then plays with the color till he reaches a point he likes. He has great pics he took from a trip to Europe last summer.

Then we started to watch Kelsey Grammer’s BOSS. Strong, powerful, dark, a bit depressing, but very well done.

Cuz T. decides that he wants me to try his favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a place called Tio Mateos. We both order enchiladas.

 

They are good but not as good as the ones from the day before that I ate at G Rod’s.

Then we went back to INSIDE SCOOP for more ice cream. I decided that I should try something else. You get two scoops and they said you could get something different so I tried mint chocolate chip, which was very good and cookie dough, which was equally as good!

We watched more episodes of BOSS, a Nathan Fillion (love him) movie. I couldn’t watch the whole thing because I can’t really stomach sci-fi. Then it was time to pack and get ready for the drive to NY in the morning.

The next morning we drove to Manhattan. It was a beautiful day for a four-hour drive. We hit traffic once till we arrived in the city and then it was HORRENDOUS! I got out at Cuz Tony’s hotel and walked to mine. And I was home. I was in New York and if you want to hear about NY. Turn in next week…

Until we meet again…

Enjoy! Eat, travel, laugh…often….