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Winter has arrived….

Winter’s arrived.  We couldn’t escape it.  That first snow is beautiful and when I walked Romeo at 7A yesterday morning with the snow falling it was so peaceful; no noise, not even a bird (that’s one of my homemade birdhouses).  I like to look for critter tracks and there were lots of them.  Poor Romeo’s paws hurt from the salt on the road so I had to soak them when we got home.  Yes, those of you who know Romeo might not think so but Romeo is a wuss! Continue reading “Winter has arrived….”

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Dinner at Home – What A Concept!

Saturday night – we haven’t had dinner at home on a Saturday in forever.  Don’t get me wrong.  We eat at home every night during the week.  My chef de cuisine, Roy always has dinner waiting when I get home from a long day at work.  Saturday we like to go out as you know.  But there are extenuating circumstances to staying home tonight, namely the PATRIOTS!!  I can’t miss this game – we all want to see Tim Tebow’d into the dirt (sounds a little aggressive, right??).

So what’s for dinner at the pop-up restaurant called Chez Podell?  Lobster!  But first we have to do a little shopping.

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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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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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Boston – Saturday Night in the North End…

For us, going to the North End on Saturday night in August is a ritual.  For those of you who have never been, Boston’s North End is all Italian, like being in a neighborhood in some Italian city with lots of tourists! In August, on weekends, the North End is all about feasts.  There’s one every weekend.  There’s lots of energy, people, lines outside restaurants, cafes, beach chairs set up in the street with people taking in the scene and always a carnival on some chosen street. It’s hard to pick a restaurant and to get into the good ones you need a reservation.  We’ve made a couple of reservations and decide to try something new.

Tonight we’re four at a table instead of 2 at the bar!  We’re with a couple of our pals, John and Malu and we’re going to Gennaro in North Square.  We’re seated upstairs in a comfy banquette overlooking the square.  It’s quiet so we can have a conversation.  We haven’t seen our friends in a while.  Malu just spent a month at Kripalu and is now a certified yoga instructor.

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A sunny sunday…

We’re on the road again.  It’s a beautiful, hot summer Sunday and we’re on our way to Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA.  So is everyone else.  The beach is packed, blanket to blanket, it’s colorful and the surf is rough.  If you’ve never been to Horseneck Beach, it’s a long, white sandy beach on the south coast  of Massachusetts.  Unlike other state beaches it has beautiful new facilities and lots of parking.  And the best part is it only costs $7 to park, unlike the state beaches on the North Shore.

But the really best part of Horseneck Beach is that it is only 2 minutes from one of our favorite summer restaurants, The Back Eddy.  It’s a summer ritual with us.  Horseneck Beach and The Back Eddy. The Back Eddy is open and airy and has a great casual vibe; if you’re lucky enough to be on a boat, you can dock right at the restaurant.  AND,  it has a great bar.  We sat down, the women’s world cup final soccer game was on and we ordered a couple of beers.

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