East Coast Tour: Pt 2 Boston

After a great time in NYC, my mom and I were off to Boston.  We headed to Penn Station and took a train up.  When we arrived we were greeted by crazy thunder and lightening!  Turns out there were actually tornados on the more western side of Massachusetts!  We were staying in Beacon Hill and had a quick dinner at a Japanese restaurant near our hotel and got to bed early since the next day we would be doing the Freedom Trail! 

For those of you who have never been to Boston, the Freedom trail is a 2.5 mile trail that weaves through Boston and takes you to many historic sites such as Paul Revere’s home, the site of the first school, where the Boston Massacre occurred and many more.  It’s a fun tourist activity, we even saw Sarah Palin at Paul Revere’s house, minutes before she made her on air media gaff.  (I guess someone wasn’t paying attention during the tour?)      

When in Boston, there are of course Pubs- even along the Freedom Trail!  The Pub on the right, The Bell In Hand Tavern is actually the FIRST Tavern in the US!  Using that as a selling point, I convinced mom to go in for an afternoon drink with me. 

Also along the Freedom Trail is Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall.   Faneuil Hall was originally a place where farmers, fishermen and merchants all came to trade.  Today with the inclusion of Quincy Market and North/South Market it’s a hub for shopping, dining and drinking!  My mom and I stopped for lunch here and had a “Clam Chowda Match Off”.  I went with the chowder from Boston Chowda and mom went with Fisherman’s Net.  Boston Chowda won hands down, the amount of clams, the fresh seafood flavor and the seasonings made it the clear winner!  From there we took a Duck Tour of Boston, which was so much fun and a nice way to see everything without walking everywhere! 

                     

I had asked several people what to do and where to eat in Boston.  Everyone had the same answers: Legal Seafood, Lobster Rolls and Mike’s Pastry for Cannoli’s.  DONE!

Clam Chowder and a Lobster Roll at Legal Seafood!  Both were amazing!  The lobster was so sweet and on that nice buttery bun, with the squeeze of lemon adding a bit of brightness.  My first lobster roll, but definitely not my last! 

Up in the Italian district we stopped by at Mike’s Pastry.  They have tons of different types of Cannoli’s at Mike’s Pastry!  And check out that Lobstertail!  I so wanted one, but I had my eye set on the Boston Cream Puff. 

A chocolate chip cannoli for my mom and a Boston Pie Cream Puff for me!  I am not a super fan of the Cannoli, and this cream puff lured me instead.  Mom was nice enough to let me have a bite, and they ARE super good.  I can see why they are famous! 

The one place I had on my list was Flour Bakery, by Joanne Chang.  You may have seen or heard about this cookbook, it was on the Amazon top 10 list forever!  My mom and headed out to Cambridge to check it out and have an amazing lunch! 

We split a Caprese salad and the Chicken Jicama Avocado Sandwich.  Such simple items but both extremely well executed.  Can I talk about that bread for a minute?  How could it be so dense and chewy but fluffy at the same time.  That bread was perfection and I wanted to buy a loaf just to carry with me. 

You didn’t think that I could visit a bakery without getting some sweets too right?  After all their slogan is “make life sweeter eat dessert first!”  You may have seen Joanne go up against Bobby Flay for title of Best Sticky Bun in America.  Just by looking at that pic, can you tell who won?  Do I need to even tell you that the bun was crazy delish?  I had also wanted to try her homemade oreo, pop tart and lemon ginger scone.  Unfortunately they only had the scone the day we went…. I’ll have to save the other two for another time I guess!

Wait one more stop before we leave Boston! 

Yup the Sam Adams Brewery.  I highly recommend this if you are in Boston, it’s a fun little tour and explanation of the brewing process.  And the best part?  You get to taste 3 beers in their beer garden and get a cute little tasting cup as well!  Bye Boston- now on to the last stop, Washington DC!  Let’s follow the “Make Way for Ducklings” to the DC area!