Since I created my Instagram and started investing time and energy into blogging, restaurants have become a central component in all of my visits with my friends. My food adventures make for a great time exploring where I live, but an even better time exploring other cities as well. Most recently I went east to Boston and ate my way through the whole Back Bay.
I’m starting this post off with something that is not food related, but a must visit in Boston and certainly one of the highlights of the weekend. I’ve been a fan of Downeast Cider for a few years now so I was very excited to take a visit to the cider house. I can’t decide if the best part about visiting Downeast is the completely free tastings (you get 5 tickets to taste for free upon entering) or the unique flavors and blends only available on tap at the cider house. Available right now is roasted joe, a cider infused with coffee and bourbon. It smells just like a fresh cup of coffee, but looks just like a cider and is certainly worth the try. When I say unique, I mean unique.
After filling up on cider, we headed to Back Bay for a snack at Eataly. I had been wanting to check out the popular store and restaurant for a while now and was not disappointed. It was certainly overwhelming with people moving in every direction and so many options to choose from, I opted for a make your own cannoli. Eataly is a unique experience that I recommend, but I would advise a visit during off peak times.
In college, the friends I was visiting and myself went to New Orleans, so it was only natural for us to eat dinner at Buttermilk and Bourbon. We started the meal off with hurricanes, immediately flashing back to Bourbon Street. For the meal we shared a few small plates including mac and cheese with cheetos on top, buttermilk fried pickles, chicken wings with white BBQ sauce (something I never knew existed), and of course beignets for dessert. While it’s never easy to recreate delicious restaurant meals, I’ve already started incorporating cheetos into my own mac and cheese recipe.
After dinner we walked around the corner to Lolita’s for a very strong pitcher of margarita and an extremely large amount of cotton candy. Although the only “food” we ate at Lolita’s was pure sugar, the tacos at the table next to me sure did look good.
After a night at Lolita’s, brunch at The Sinclair in Cambridge could be classified as both delicious and life saving. A waffle flight, with both sweet and savory options was exactly what I needed. Fried chicken, banana nut, and berries and creme all on one plate was truly an indecisive persons dream brunch.
Later in the day we ventured toward the Fenway/Kenmore area for dinner, but our meal at Citizen’s Public House wasn’t the intended dinner destination. The plan was to dine at Cheeky Monkey Brewing Co. right outside of Fenway Park, but after a $20 uber ride and finding out the original option was reserved for a private party, we quickly walked a few blocks and relocated to Citizen’s. As fate would have it though, a table beside the fireplace and table full of shared appetizers was the perfect fit for us that evening.
On a cold Boston night there was only one place left to go after dinner, and that was Max Brenner. At first thought hot chocolate and fondue were the obvious choices, but I ultimately settled on the chocolate chip cookie skillet with vanilla ice cream on top. There were two of us sharing the cookie, but it’s large enough for at least a group of four. It tasted so good, and I didn’t want to let one ounce of chocolate go to waste, but eventually we had to give up.
While I was in Boston, I was visiting a friend who broke the very exciting news to me that she is officially training for the 2018 Boston Marathon. She will be running on behalf of #TeamChallengeALS. The money raised by the runners will benefit care service programs for patients and families living with the disease and support research funding to find a cure. If you are interested in supporting this cause, please click here.
How do you decide where to eat on vacation? Let me know in the comments and as always don’t forget to follow along on Instagram!