Category Archives: Travel

Giacomo’s & Mike’s Pastry

Posted on October 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

Two of my cousins went to MIT, and the third one is currently still enrolled there. When I asked about things to do in Boston, I got very mixed suggestions. One of the suggestions was pretty solid all across the board, Italian food at Giacomo’s on the North End.

The place is small like most places on the North End, so there’s a wait. A line forms outside the restaurant and people are willing to stand for up to a couple hours just to get into this restaurant. I wonder what happens when it starts to snow.

caprese salad-bufala mozarella,fresh tomato,basil and virgin oil

fried calamari

shrimp and lobster pasta.

half lobster & mussels pasta.

Giacomo’s is worth waiting for, because the wait isn’t about just standing around. You can have someone in your party walk half a block to Mike’s Pastry to pick up some treats.

They bake quite a few different treats in their shop.

This, however, is what they are known for, cannolis.

Delicious, cream-filled treats.

Here Michelle enjoys a cannoli with the line to Giacomo’s in the background.

While Mike’s Pastry makes a great pre dinner snack, just up the street past Mike’s is Modern Pastry. They are famous for their sfogliatelle. It’s a flaky, light pastry with filled witha  creamy filling. Unfortunately with as full as we were, these were readily handled before we could get any photos.

So if you’re ever in Boston, make this Italian meal tour on the North End. You won’t regret it.

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New Hampshire for Leaf Peeping

Posted on October 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

One of the things we wanted to do while on the East Coast was to see leaves of different colors. Yeah, that’s pretty lame but having lived within five miles of the Pacific Ocean my entire life, it was something I wanted to see. We almost saw it two years ago. This time we drove up to New Hampshire to Flume Gorge, and we almost saw it the leaves change this time too.

While our trip to New  York to see leaves was a week too late to see the leaves change, this trip was probably about a week too early. Some of the trees were starting to turn, but they weren’t quite there just yet. Still it was nice to get out and see some of what nature has to offer.

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Myers + Chang

Posted on October 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

Our first full day of Boston left us tired from walking the Freedom Trail and also from drinking beer. After retiring to our hotel for a quick nap, we headed to Myers + Chang.

If you had to guess, you would probably guess Chang, but you would be wrong. That’s not Chang. It’s Woo.

Place mats are local Chinese newspaper pages, and their menu looks like a takeout menu.

Honey Jack with ginger, topped with a lager. Very refreshing, and the ginger and the lager take out the sweetness from the Jack, which is way too overwhelming.

I really enjoy this beer. I found it at BevMo, but it’s $5 a bottle. No thanks.

taiwanese-style cool dan dan noodles, fresh peanut and chili sambal

wok-charred udon noodles, chicken, baby bok choy, oyster sauce

tiger’s tears (aka bang bang & olufsen beef), grilled steak, thai basil, lime, khao koor

braised pork belly buns, bao, brandy hoisin, house pickle

lemon-ginger mousse coupe, homemade fortune cookie

Myers + Chang  seems a little gimmicky with giant dragons painted on the windows, charging a luxury fee for Asian dishes when Chinatown is a mere two blocks away. This place is more than Asian food  at a premium though. It’s a delicious little joint for familiar foods with a slight twist. They don’t stray too far from the traditional tastes on most of their dishes, which makes it comfort food. The sauces are a little bit different, a little bit lighter, but overall it’s close to what I grew up eating with my parents.

If you feel like exploring a little more, they have  that too. Some of their own creations, like chicken and waffles made with a ginger-sesame waffle looked pretty good.

I’d stop into this place again if I was in town, and you should too.

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Harpoon Brewery

Posted on October 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

The middle of our Freedom Trail walk was highlighted by an awesome lunch at Neptune Oyster. That only kept us excited for a short while. After eating, we still hurried through our tour, because we had beer waiting for us.

It’s this way! This is the real trail to freedom!

The brewing schedule from the day before. Smells hoppy to me!

Some of the bottled offerings.

Their bar, where they educate people on their brews and get people drunk.

Michelle patiently waiting to get some brews.

Some more of their offerings.

Tasting some great beers.

Everyone crowded around to get their share.

The kettle closest to you is a steam jacketed kettle.

Michelle, learning the brewing process.

Cans from beers around the world.

Harpoon Brewery has a great set of brews that they offer, from their standard brews, their UFO’s (unfiltered offerings), to their Leviathan Series (big beers). It’s a shame that they don’t distribute west of the Mississippi River. Everyone should check this brewery out if they get the chance. Fortunately, I have my cousin shipping some beer I bought over to me. Now if I could just get him to actually ship it to me. I’m afraid it might all be consumed. Damn, college kids.

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Neptune Oyster

Posted on October 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

Remember when we planned our Freedom Trail tour around an eating spot? Most of my idea seem good up front, but then they tend to unravel as the lack of planning becomes apparently. Not this one. It was absolutely a brilliant plan, even in hindsight.

We found it. A little store front on a small street houses one of the best known seafood joints in the city.

Peering through the window. Oh, this is going to be good.

The raw bar menu on display on the mirror.

These little things are like oyster crackers. They’re hard in texture, probably great for clam chowder.

A great selection of beers.

Ordering from the raw bar.

Some oysters and clams from various local waterways.

A lobster roll. This is freaking incredible. The meat is in huge chunks, not shredded little bits mixed with imitation crab like you might find on the west coast.

I feel like I could spend a week in Boston just trying the different lobster rolls and clam chowder. Next time I may just do that.

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Freeeeeeeeeeeeedom!

Posted on October 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Since it was our first time in Boston, we had to follow the Freedom Trail around the city and get ourselves a little history lesson.

That’s enough history for one day. If I had to do that all over again, I probably would’ve done a guided tour to get more historical reference to what we were seeing, but let’s face it. We weren’t really that interested in the Freedom Trail. I planned the route around a lunch stop for seafood and a stop at a brewery. Yay, America!

 

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First Meal in Boston

Posted on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

After Chicago Michelle and I figured we were already half way across the country and decided to travel to the East Coast. Not wanting to do New York like we normally do, we decided on Boston. We got to our hotel pretty late, but being in The Back Bay, there were plenty of food options.

Boston is known for its New American style of food. There are places on practically every block serving this style of cuisine. We chose The Salty Pig for our first grub spot.

Prosciutto, Speck, Hard Gouda, Fig Jam, Chianti Jelly.

Mushroom Pizza, Topped with a Farm Egg.

Granted we were pretty hungry after travelling, but I really enjoyed this place. They’ve got a small rotation of beers that are pretty good, and their staff is super friendly, even after I brought up the Red Sox end of the regular season implosion.

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Can’t leave Chicago without getting diarrhea at least once.

Posted on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

Michelle’s first trip to White Castle.

Wow, laxatives by the case! Woot!

It takes about a dozen of these little burgers to get full. This was merely a snack.

The Double Cheeseburger.

Chicken Sandwich.

I never understood the insane need for In-N-Out that people get when they come back to the west coast, but I really don’t get why people like White Castle. They taste like the microwavable burgers I used to eat in junior high. Maybe it’s not going to make your innards evacuate, but they’re pretty mediocre. I guess the moral of the story is, stay off drugs. They make you do dumb things like want to go to White Castle.

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And then I went to Michigan

Posted on October 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

The reason we went to Chicago in the first place was because I had work in Michigan like I do almsot every year. I bid Michelle farewell and drove three hours west into the heart of Michigan.

At least the beds were comfy. Have you ever tried a Sleep Number Bed? It’s interesting. It sort of reminds me of a hospital bed but without having to have your butt showing out the back of your gown.

This is what I did for two days. It was school all over again.

It wasn’t all work though. 1964, The Beatles tribute band!

You can see that they’re pretty good. Ringo actually drums like Ringo and Paul is actually left handed.

There was one very bright spot to my visit to Michigan though. I found out that Bell’s Brewery is twenty miles outside of where I visit, and they have a second brand that resides in the city of Kalamazoo, MI where I stay every time I’m out there. Here I am with a taster. I think the tasting board is Lake Michigan or one of the other Great Lakes.

As you can see, they’re known for their stouts, and they are good at them. Their Two Hearted IPA and dry hopped lager Quinannan Falls are great beers too.

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Some Other Random Shots of Chicago

Posted on October 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Here I am underneath Marilyn Monroe’s giant crotch. As you can see, I am terrified.

Guess who’s an American Girl?

At The Second City for some laughs.

Look at us! We don’t get any of the Midwest jokes! Still funny.

The view from our table on the top of The Hancock Observatory.

What you’re looking at here is a load of crap. This is the view from the women’s restroom at the top of the Hancock Observatory. Michelle came out and told me, “You’ve got to see the view from the bathroom!” I went into the men’s restroom right next to the women’s restroom. I saw a tile wall. This is discrimination of the highest kind, the kind against me.

That was Chicago for me, and then I headed to Michigan for work.

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