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A New Year

Well, here I am; it’s the first morning of 2012.  What am I doing?  I’m hungry believe it or not!  We need bagels so the car is warming up and Romeo and I are going to go to Einsteins to pick up some fresh warm bagels.  Then I can begin my day!

Last night for the first time since we can remember, we spent New Year’s Eve by ourselves, sort of.  Us and 1,000,000 people in Boston,  mostly there for First Night.

Our New Year’s Eve festivities began in Kenmore Square at Hawthorne Bar.  We got there at 4:52.  It opens at 5.  Island Creek Oyster Bar was open and busy so I said let’s go there but Roy had his mind set on the Hawthorne Bar.  He had a plan. I needed to argue about it on the steps of the Hotel Commonwealth for a minute and then we looked at a photo exhibit in the hotel which by the way is outstanding and by the time we were finished the bar was open.  We were the first people there!  The staff was busy stocking the bar, straightening their bow ties and getting themselves geared up for the big night. We ordered two Kir Royales.

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Christmas Weekend 2011

It’s been a busy holiday weekend spent with good friends and that always includes food and drink.

Friday night we were at Blue in Needham.  The night began with a Champagne toast followed by some good food; risotto with lobster, caesar salad, fried calamari, tuna tartare, a Bolognese, lobster mac and cheese and a burger were some of the dishes on our table. Oh yes, and an awesome brownie sundae and butterscotch pudding. Everyone enjoyed.  The restaurant’s a good neighborhood spot. Continue reading “Christmas Weekend 2011”

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jambalaya

Roy had a hankering for jambalaya.  There’s no jambalya here in the burbs; actually there’s not much of anything here in the burbs if you like good food, so we decided to go to Darryl’s Corner Bar on Columbus Avenue.

Darryl’s used to be Bob the Chef’s.  We’d go there way back in the 70’s for some of their famous Glorifried Chicken.  There wasn’t really anything like it at the time. Bob the Chef’s sat at the far edge of the South End, on the “other side of the tracks”. Bob would greet you in his captain’s hat and say “God Bless” when you left. The waitresses had been there for a million years.  Bob was shot there one night and then one day the restaurant was no more. Darryl Settles bought it, yupified it and tried to keep the same recipes; it was good but not Bob’s and for whatever reason, he sold it. It’s been reincarnated a few times and then Darryl bought it back.  It  doesn’t look anything like it used to. It’s all exposed brick, nice ambient lighting and a great bar!

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Blogworthy!

We weren’t 2 at the bar but 4 at a table at another blogworthy restaurant.  L’Andana in Burlington.  It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and although we shouldn’t have been able to eat another bite, we had to wine and dine my 92 year old mother and her friend who come to Boston every year for Thanksgiving.  We went to L’Andana because we didn’t want to deal with the hassle of parking in the North End and we wanted a nice Italian dining experience.  The owner/chef of L’Andana also owns Mistral, Moo, Sorrellina and Teatro in Boston.

L’Andana delivered on all fronts.  Free valet parking to start.  Can’t beat that.  The restaurant is well designed, spacious with high soaring ceilings and it is quiet – something hard to find in restaurants these days.  The tables were spaced remarkably far apart and you can’t hear the conversation of the table next to you.  I love that!

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Back at the Bar

Well we’re 2 at the bar again. It’s interesting that the Sunday Boston Globe Magazine’s cover story from a few weeks ago was called “Eat At The Bar”.  We must be on to something!!

I’ve been published!  My response to the Boston Globe Magazine’s article “Caribbean on the Fly” was ridiculous and so I responded.  It’s the first time I’ve ever done something like that and last Sunday there’s my letter to the editor!

For those of you reading our travel adventures, unfortunately there’s no big trips until February when we’ll go to Mexico – Mexico City and Zihautanejo on the Pacific coast.  There’ll be lots to write about then.  We’ve been to Mexico so many times.  It’s where Roy and I were married almost 25 years ago and I have a love-hate relationship with it.  There are things that bother me, especially the stray dogs everywhere.  But it’s full of color and great folk art which is reflected all over our house; and, oh yeah, the food’s good!  So stay tuned; we’ll be ready for it.  Until then, we’re 2 at the bar in Boston.  We’ve been to some great restaurants and we’re always up to something.

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All the Young (old) Dudes – A Night with Ian Hunter!

Look at that man – does he look like 72??  It’s Ian Hunter and we love him.  Roy introduced me to him back in the 70’s (seems like yesterday).  We’ve seen him a number of times over the years but not in a long time.  So when we heard he was coming to Boston we didn’t waste any time in buying tickets.

He came to The Paradise a few weeks ago, a rock club with a long history of showcasing some great music.  Elvis Costello played his first date in the US at the Paradise.  Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Mink Deville, Lou Reed; I could go on and on and we were there to see them all.

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The Proper Shave…Turkish Style

Well, I couldn’t end my Turkey stories without telling you about the shave.

Roy wanted a real Turkish shave and he hadn’t shaved for a few days so that he could properly enjoy one.  We asked Captain Mehmet who the best barber was in Kalkan and he told us.  So on our last night we went into town.  We hadn’t really explored Kalkan because we’d been so busy.  That’s not usual for us.  We love towns but on this trip there was too much to do.

We found Elit Barber on a busy street with music blasting and lit up like a carnival.  Like I told you before, Turkish towns are alive.  We asked for the barber and were told he was not in the shop but would come right away.  Mind you, it was 10PM but not a problem apparently.

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The Fish Market

Chapter 5 – The Fish Market

We wanted fish.  Well I wanted fish; Roy’s allergic but he loves seafood.  We were told the only place to go was The Fish Market in Fethiye.  So after spending the day by the pool at Villa Mandarin, we hopped in the car for a drive.  Fethiye is the largest town in the area,  a small city actually and we wanted to see it and explore a little.  Once we took the exit we were immediately lost.  Being Sunday nothing was open but we found a gas station and were able to get directions.  Everyone knows the Fish Market.  We drove to the waterfront and parked the car.  The promenade along the harbor is beautiful and since it’s Sunday people are walking, talking and having leisurely lunches at restaurants dotted along the way.  There are lots of boats docked; fishing boats and gulet boats available for charter.  Fethiye is a point of departure for the famous gulet trips.  We had to ask people where the fish market was and finally found it.  Not where we thought it would be, along the water, but on a side street a few blocks in.

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Cruising the Turquoise Coast

Chapter 4…A Day on The Hazal

On our “must do” list while in Kalkan was to spend a day cruising the Turquoise Coast. Kalkan is a hub for cruising.  When we arrived at the Villa Mahal, we asked the staff to arrange for a private boat. “Not a problem, be at the dock tomorrow between 10-10:15AM”.

We didn’t know quite what to expect in the way of a boat.  Kalkan’s a busy little harbor and we saw boats of every size and type coming and going.  So there we were waiting at the dock and out of the distance came the Hazal.  It pulled up and we boarded for a day that would be one of the best experiences of our trip and by the end of the day Captain Mehmet and his first mate would be like family.

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