May 2009
7 posts
2 tags
catching up in allston
the place: deep ellum, 447 cambridge st, allston the date: thursday, 05.07.09 the plan: dinner
d and I always say we’re going to have dinner. but I’m super busy and he has a tendency to double-book, so I wasn’t sure this plan was going to happen. however, right after work I found myself heading to deep ellum and there he was, right on time, standing outside. it was a nice...
4 tags
happy birthday in spanish
the place: tasca, 1612 comm ave, brighton the date: monday, 05.04.09 the plan: birthday dinner
tapas always seems like a great idea for a birthday dinner. small, shareable, reasonably priced. but, somehow, every time I’ve been to a tapas birthday dinner, it’s been a disaster. either you leave feeling still hungry or you leave feeling like you overpaid or you leave feeling...
2 tags
back again so soon?
the place: 28 degrees, 1 appleton st, south end the date: sunday, 05.03.09 the plan: impromptu cocktails
I know. I just implied I wasn’t going to be back at 28 degrees any time soon. but, I was sitting on the couch, catching up on the dvr, kind of casually bored when m called. she and le were at 28 degrees, did I want to join? twenty-five minutes later I hopped out of a cab on appleton...
4 tags
is that the ghost of michael douglas?
the place: eastern standard, 528 commonwealth ave, kenmore sq. the date: sunday, 05.03.09 the plan: pre-romcom brunch
the first time cspan ever came to visit me from indiana, it was july and she could not reconcile the idea of new england summer heat + new england lack of central air. I tried to explain that it’s not that hot that long and that all the buildings are very old, but she just...
4 tags
win, place, or show, but definitely drink
the place: drink, 348 congress st, fort point the date: saturday, 05.02.09 the plan: derby party
it is harder than you might think to find a good way to celebrate the kentucky derby in boston. ryan is from kentucky, and I have another good friend from louisville, so I’ve gotten used to celebrating the occasion with bourbon, hats (or talk of hats), arbitrary betting, and when possible, pie...
3 tags
2 tags
is the shuffleboard in the back?
the place: 28 degrees, 1 appleton st, south end the date: friday, 05.01.09 the plan: pre-show cocktails and apps
it’s not every day that you go to a restaurant (or anywhere, really) that is exactly what you expected it to be in almost every way. 28 degrees is a place I’d never been, but always felt I understood completely. it would be hip. it would be aggressively, almost excessively...
April 2009
6 posts
2 tags
not quite appropriately rated
the place: sibling rivalry, 525 tremont st, south end the date: wednesday, 04.29.09 the plan: post-meeting cocktails
you might be surprised to know that the board meetings of the boston ballet volunteers association can get a little testy from time to time. a lot of delightful ladies, very very committed to serving the ballet, all quite pleasant really. but, from time to time there are the...
2 tags
a little sad there was no stigmata
the place: church, 69 kilmarnock st, the fenway the date: 04.10.09 the plan: pre-show dinner
after multiple cocktails at eastern standard, ryan and I headed out for dinner. since we were seeing a show (the fantastic sarah borges) at church and I’d been wanting to try the food there, we figured it seemed like a convenient combination. and, it turned out, a tasty one.
drinks, of course: I...
2 tags
one great argument against the embargo
the place: eastern standard, 528 commonwealth ave, kenmore sq. the date: friday, 04.10.09 the plan: post work cocktails, maybe a snack
work is inexpressably frustrating these days, so practically every evening, I am desperate for a cocktail. so, though dinner and a show were on the agenda for later in the evening, I couldn’t turn down the offer of a drink to fill the hours in between. since...
2 tags
un cinq a sept, here in boston
the place: gaslight, 560 harrison ave, south end the date: wednesday, 04.08.09 the plan: cocktails and apps
my official acquitaine group communique (i.e., newsletter update) told me that gaslight was offering a selection of $6 cocktails during certain weekday hours in april along with some sort of appetizer. clearly, a happy hour was in order, so I snuck out of work a few minutes early, grabbed a...
3 tags
poetry and banana bread
the place: the parish cafe, 361 boylston st, back bay the date: saturday, 04.04.09 the plan: post-poetry lunch
in case you are unaware, april is national poetry month. (do yourself a favor and read a poem a day from this year and past years at http://april-is.tumblr.com/.) to celebrate, the boston public library holds a poetry festival featuring an all day long reading with many poets, both known...
2 tags
beef, brie, rum shown to improve aim and throwing...
the place: common ground, 83 harvard ave, allston the date: thursday, 04.02.09 the plan: dinner before darts
we needed to grab a quick dinner in allston before heading to the silouhette to play darts, drink pbr by the pitcher, and mingle with hipsters, so common ground was the obvious choice. a reliable standby, rarely too crowded, and generally speedy enough.
drinks, of course: mojito. it...
March 2009
18 posts
3 tags
no compromises to be seen
the place: craigie on main, 853 main street, cambridge the date: sunday, 03.29.09 the plan: brunch
oh, I have been waiting for this one. I never managed to make it to the much-beloved craigie street bistro despite ryan and several other friends being devotees. I’m very impressed by maws’s commitment to local and fresh— I think it’s the best option both for taste and for...
3 tags
so, vampire waiter, chatty musician waiter, and...
the place: union, 1357 washington st, south end the date: friday, 03.27.09 the plan: cocktails and dinner
I ended up at union twice in one week and am pretty much okay with that. it’s definitely designed to be a neighborhood-y place and while I don’t love the food, I do love the vibe of the place and think they have great cocktails and apps. I was running late and had one of those...
3 tags
there are only 4 reasons to have lunch with an ex
the place: rocca, 500 harrison ave, south end the date: thursday, 03.26.09 the plan: restaurant week dinner
in my life, I’ve had 3 main restaurant week buddies— ryan, sharon, & the ex. ryan was busy with his current bf in town, sharon has relocated to the opposite coast, and the ex is, well, ex. so, it seemed there were to be no restaurant week dinners on my agenda this year....
3 tags
of all the things you have to do today
the place: mr. crepe, 51 davis sq, davis sq. the date: wednesday, 03.25.09 the plan: quick dinner before a show
since mr. crepe opened in davis, replacing a beloved-by-others coffee shop, I’ve heard nothing but mixed reviews. m.st said she always enjoyed eating there, though, and there’s not an exceptional number of places to eat before a show in davis. well, actually, there’s...
4 tags
like the opposite of laser tag
the place: grendel’s den, 89 winthrop st., harvard sq. the date: tuesday, 03.24.09 the plan: easy dinner and drinks
I hadn’t been to grendel’s den, but I’d always been curious about it, so when it was suggested while trying to find something in the halfway point between allston and somerville that is harvard square (thanks to my favorite 66 bus), I figured “I like...
3 tags
kiss me hello the european way
the place: union, 1357 washington st, south end the date: monday, 03.23.09 the plan: dinner with an out-of-town visitor
ryan’s boyfriend was in town last week, which is a too-rare and very awesome occasion, so to celebrate, ryan planned what turned out to be a great night at union. I was at first a bit disappointed about the location, only because when he was planning it, I was suggesting...
2 tags
no, no, leo, I have to stay and finish my pizza
the place: regina pizza, 11 thacher st, north end the date: thursday, 03.19.09 the plan: pizza, obvs
a quick dinner with the girls in the north end was a great end to an unexpectedly stressful day. I ended up taking a nap right before and having to cab it over from allston, but as I got out of the cab and walked down the narrow little street, the sun was pushing out from behind clouds and...
4 tags
this is how princesses feel
the place: gaslight, 560 harrison ave, south end the date: wednesday, 03.18.09 the plan: cocktails, apps, and dessert
tuesday was, as they often are, an utter disaster of a day. and all day, I fixated on cocktails and beignets from gaslight as the thing that would fix the day, but I couldn’t fit a visit into my schedule. so on wednesday, I dragged m (fresh off the plane from the midwest and...
3 tags
after school snacks make the day better
the place: herrells, 155 brighton ave, allston the date: tuesday 03.17.09 the plan: coffee and a snack/early dinner
obviously I can’t write about every coffee I buy in the city because then this blog would need to be updated about six times a day and would be not only dull, but too much work. but. I also ate at herrells and I find that people are occasionally surprised to hear how good the...
2 tags
do you think we need a break from chicken?
the place: soul fire, 182 harvard ave, allston the date: monday, 03.16.09 the plan: all you can eat wings
wings, again. not much different to report than last week’s visit, other than that boys are kind of gross and it’s weird how they make eating into a competition. watching adam eat 28 wings may have been the most disgusting thing I’ve done in awhile.
wings and highlife, as...
4 tags
booze and snacks, a perfect combination
the place: deep ellum, 447 cambridge st, allston the date: sunday, 03.15.09 the plan: cocktails and fries
as already detailed, this was the weekend of the hangover, and by late sunday I was feeling pretty tired. but I couldn’t waste the gorgeous day, so ryan and I did some walking around before he had to head to the airport. I wanted a cocktail, ryan wanted fries, so we decided on deep...
5 tags
blood on the dance floor
the place: common ground, 83 harvard ave, allston the date: saturday, 03.14.09 the plan: dinner, cocktails, and dancing
before anything else, I would just like to note that common ground has one of the worst restaurant websites I’ve ever seen. and I don’t think they update it more than once a year. but, not the point.
I was wretchedly hungover (for further info: see previous post on...
3 tags
it has alcohol in the name
the place: bagel rising, 1243 comm ave, allston the date: saturday, 03.14.09 the plan: “breakfast” at 2pm
friday was brutal. there was an extended happy hour, then several high lifes, some unanticipated friend drama-rama and then after hours until 5am. I am too old to be drinking for eleven hours, but I do it more than occasionally. and since that’s the case, I am so glad that I...
3 tags
it's called happy hour, but all we do is complain
the place: sunset cantina, 916 comm ave, boston the date: friday, 03.13.09 the plan: post-work drinks with the co-workers
I’m documenting it all, so I’m writing about it, but it feels sort of unnecessary. the cantina is like the mcdonalds of my life. I don’t really like it, but it’s really convenient. I work on that block, all our post-work happy hours are there, including...
3 tags
no, really, it's just the spices making my eyes...
the place: bamboo, 1616 comm ave, brighton the date: wednesday, 03.11.09 the plan:awkward dinner date
my favorite thai place in boston closed years ago. I honestly don’t even remember the name, but it was on the corner of comm ave and agganis way where there’s now a qdoba. I can’t even talk about how tragical that is. so, I replaced that by fully embracing brown sugar in...
4 tags
the answer is always adam curry
the place: jj foley’s, 117 e. berkeley st., south end the date: tuesday, 03.10 the plan: dinner and trivia
this was my second time on a new trivia team that plays in the weekly stump game at jj foley’s. I felt much more comfortable after proving myself at least a little useful at the last game, so when ryan and I arrived and sat at the reserved table (they’re clearly the...
3 tags
chicken wing fun
the place: soul fire, 182 harvard ave, allston the date: monday, 03.09 the plan: all you can eat wings
the third monday installment of all you can eat wings at soul fire was a success. and this time I actually ordered the wings. over the last three weeks, I’ve somehow gone from “I don’t like wings” to “well, maybe I’ll try one…” to “wings,...
3 tags
all the girls waiting in the line for the bathroom
the place: mantra, 52 temple place boston the date: sunday, 03.08, 10:30ish the plan: industry night, cocktails for amy’s birthday
I’ve actually had dinner at mantra before and I had no inclination to go back. I hated the space, I didn’t like the food. but, a friend knows the guy who runs the industry night, so there was a vip table and it was an excuse to wear a dress, and it...
February 2009
1 post
4 tags
we want cupcakes
the place: buttery bar and bistro, 314 shawmut ave, south end the date: monday 02.09.09 the plan: dinner w/ the co-worker ladies
this was the (very rarely actually) monthly gathering of co-workers past and present this time consisting of myself, one of the senior project managers in my dept, and a former coworker for whom I was once-upon-a-time an admin. I’d been dying to try this place and...