Boston eats

Before going to Boston, Crystal for Expat Bostonians kindly shared a long list of things to do and places to eat in Boston.  We did make it to most of her recommendations given that we were only in Boston for about 4 days.  Wished I had more time to eat our way around Boston but I think we did fairly well:

Everyone told us that we have to have oysters and lobsters in Boston so that’s what we did when we arrived in Boston.  For seafood that’s fresh and won’t burn a hole in your pocket, Legal Sea Foods is the place to go!  According to Crystal, if you like seafood, this is a local tradition.

The oysters were so fresh and good that on top of the dozen that we ordered, we added more of our favourites in the next order.

And the highlight of the meal?  Fresh steamed lobsters!  Portion was huge so we ordered 2 of these babies to be shared among 4 people.  It made for a very fulfilling meal I’d say.

I’ve been warned by Crystal that I should not leave Boston without making a trip to Finale Desserterie & Bakery.  She also recommended that I should have the Molten Chocolate Cake paired along with a glass of Moscato and to thank her after that.  So  in the 3 odd days that we were in Boston, I became obsessed with hunting down Finale.  My concierge was actually amazed when I specifically asked for Finale for it’s a place where locals go to most of the time.

I guess unfortunately for us, we arrived at Finale during tea-time and couldn’t order anything from the menu.  Since we were there, I made it a point for the group to order some cakes to be shared.  After all, I couldn’t make a wasted trip to this place.

I call this the Death-by-Chocolate Cake.. sinfully good and rich.  Best shared with friends if you are not a big dessert person.

And for the mens’ victory dinner after the Boston Marathon, we headed to Ruth’s Chris Steak House to get a bite of the yummy steak.  Lighting was really dim at the place so I couldn’t get a clear shot of our steak.  Again, be warned that portions for the steak run quite large so if you are a relatively small-eater, you could always order one steak and ask the server to portion it into two for you and a friend.  Be sure to order a couple of sides to share if you are doing that.

While dining, we saw a couple of people proudly wearing their Boston Marathon finisher’s medal.  Puzzled, we asked our server what the significance was (actually we also wanted to know if there was going to be some privileges for the runners).  Turned out, there was nothing of that sort, our server laughed and said that the runners are probably proud to wear their medal for completing such a grueling race.  Fair enough.  But as we finished our dinner, our server placed two congratulatory dessert for the Man and his friend compliments from the restaurant.  I thought that was a really sweet gesture.  It’s no wonder why people are proud to wear their finishers’ medals.  They get the star treatment for that day! 

Another must-go according to Crystal is Mike’s Pastry.  She wrote this:

Mike’s Pastry is on Hanover street–Line is always out the door, and it’s worth the wait, no matter how long.  I need a moment just thinking about their cannoli. it is also the reason I consent to eating Italian.   http://www.mikespastry.com/  This place is famous for a reason.  You really need to go there even if you throw the rest of my list out.

Does making to the door of the place count?

Well, she’s right.  The queue was extremely long.  It was the ‘out of the restaurant’ type of long.  With 2 men having to rest early and prep for the all-important race the next day, no one was interested in queuing.  So I had no choice but to give this a miss.  Well, I know Y from lil’Snooze will be heading to Boston soon. If you do get your hands on the cannoli, please tell me what I missed!

Lastly, if you are visiting Boston and are pressed for time, then perhaps a trip down to Quincy Market might be ideal for you.  We were there two days in a row simply because it was such a fun place to head to and the food choices that you can get there?  You’ll be spoilt for choice.

There you have it – my little guide on eating around Boston thanks to Crystal!!  If you do make it to any of these places, do give a shout-out and let me know how you find them.

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