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Christmas Eve 2012

A movie and dinner.  A perfect way to spend Christmas Eve with L and M.

The movie – Rust and Bone.  A Belgian-French film.  It’s a complex love story, tough but riveting.  It left us sitting in our seats for a few minutes because we had to digest what we’d just seen.  It’s not a kid’s movie.  Marion Cotillard plays a woman who trains killer whales and is involved in an accident at a marineland in Antibes, France in which she loses both legs. She has to learn how to deal with her new reality. Enter  a man she has previously met in a bar who’s a kick-boxer and struggling to find work and support a son.  Together they seem to find a common ground and  without giving anything away, this is the basic story.  It is directed by  Jacques Audiard  who also directed The Prophet, another complex movie that if you haven’t seen, you should. Continue reading “Christmas Eve 2012”

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A Tale of Two Restaurants

We were 2 at the Bar again this weekend.  Hitting two restaurants, one a repeat and one new, very new.

Friday night we made a repeat visit to AKA Bistro in Lincoln, MA.  We’d been there before and liked it.  It’s in an upscale Boston suburb in an old railroad station.  Modern with a communal table and small bar we had a reservation but decided to be 2 at the bar, of course. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Restaurants”

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Expect the Unexpected

It was a beautiful Saturday.  Perfect for walking Romeo and letting him splash around in the lake.  But as we were walking back towards the car, I tripped and fell.  By the time I got home, my ankle was double it’s normal size.  So, where did I spend a few unexpected hours on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?  At the emergency room.  It all turned out well.  Nothing fractured, just some soft tissue bruising; nothing some Advil and ice packs and a few glasses of wine can’t help along with staying off my feet for a while -right!

So, after relaxing a little we got in the car with L and M on our way into Boston for a little tapas and some great Spanish wine.  But the Mass Pike was bumper to bummer, Route 30 was bumper to bumper and we decided to rethink our plans.

L heard about a little bistro in Hudson, MA called Chloe Bistro.  I checked Open Table and they had a table for four available, so we headed to Hudson.

Yes, Hudson, MA.  A little town, not known for much but now trying to upscale their downtown.  Chloe Bistro is such an example.  It’s been in Hudson for about 10 years.  It was serendipity.

Twinkly lights welcomed us to a very cool hostess and a big bar.  Our table wasn’t quite ready so we settled in at the bar for some homemade fries and buffalo wings, some good wine and for Roy a Pernod.  A three piece jazz combo was playing, the lights were low, the wine was good and we were happy.

When our table was ready, we dug into the menu.  The restuarant calls itself an American bistro, but I’d call it more of a French bistro.  Roy and I shared a roasted caesar salad and a chicken and duck pot pie.  The gravy was rich and the topping was light and flaky.  L had lamb two ways, grilled chop and braised shank, and M also had the pot pie.  There’s always room for dessert so we shared a Ghirardelli chocolate crepe and pumpkin bread pudding.  We practically licked the plates.

As it turned out, we had a great night.  What made it great?  A great waitperson, a very cool hostess, a live 3 piece jazz combo and, oh yeah, the food!  Who needs Boston when there are great finds like this in the burbs.  Well it’s a little far for us to travel but will we go back?  Definitely!

See you at the bar….

 

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Back at the Bar

I must admit, I’ve been preoccupied; haven’t been blogging our comings and going at 2 at the bar.  Why?  We put a new floor in our “trophy slab” or the “happy house” as my mother-in-law calls it.   Yup, from the outside it’s just another house on the street.  But inside, it’s got a floor from Italy.  And that’s not wood you’re looking at-it’s porcelain.  We first it spotted at Kika Tapas and tracked down the distributor.  We took a chance and the chance we took turned out to be a slam dunk.

Continue reading “Back at the Bar”

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63

What is 63?  It’s how old I am.  Yup.  Hard to believe-it comes up quick.  Just yesterday I was celebrating my 20th birthday at Woodstock.  Today I’m 2 years away from Medicare!!  No shit!!  Luckily I can still rock n’ roll!!

It was an epic birthday week starting with the Springsteen concert on Tuesday night.  The events surrounding my birthday, August 17th were shrouded in secrecy.  I knew we were going somewhere with our pals J and M but didn’t know where.  So, when I got home from work I took Romeo for a swim which is my favorite thing to do and then got ready for the festivities! Continue reading “63”

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Two Reviews for the Price of One!

Before I get to the restaurant review, I’m going to give you a movie review.  Go see Searching for Sugar Man.  It’s a documentary about a musician from Detroit in the early ’70’s  whose name is Rodriguez, poised to be the next big thing a la Bob Dylan, putting out beautiful music but he never did become the next big thing.  Instead, he disappeared and became the biggest rock ‘n roll star in South Africa without his even knowing it.  A lot of legend surrounded him and I won’t give anything away but can tell you, that you’ll be applauding at the end of the movie, I promise.  Two thumbs up from 2 at the bar!

East by Northeast is a tiny storefront restaurant in the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, MA.  It’s got all the hype, it’s on everyone’s “Best Of” list and it was noted in the New York Times “36 hours in Cambridge” article.  All for good reason. It’s putting out big flavors.  It’s Chinese fusion; everything is locally sourced.  And, there’s no white rice so don’t ask for it!  It’s tapas-like, small plates meant to be shared.  Everything is made from scratch and that includes the most delicious noodles.  On our table were:

  • scallion pancake, roasted garlic chili sauce, pickled onions
  • smoked pork confit, mantou bread,cucumber,  plum sauce
  • crispy pork belly, mantou bread, pickled melon rinds, sweet bean paste
  • stuffed littleneck clams, bacon, black bean, herb relish
  • pork and zucchini shaomai, carrot puree, black vinegar reduction
  • Summer stew with marinated chicken, corn, squash, zucchini, xo sauce, house-made togarashi and the most beautiful hand-rolled short rice noodles that were like gnocchi
  • homemade thick cut noodle with pork ragout, napa cabbage, marinated radish, corn, chili vinegar

Does that sound good?  It was!  The food is delicious, the sauces are rich and it’s not terribly expensive.  But be prepared, if the restaurant is crowded, it’s really, really loud.  At the table with us our pals B and G and the four of us loved the restaurant (and the movie!)

We topped the evening off  with a walk down the street for ice cream from Christina’s which has some of the best ice cream around and that’s saying a lot for a city that takes it’s ice cream seriously.  We begged for them to please let us in because they were just closing up.  Lucky us, they did open their doors and we finished off the evening in ice cream heaven!

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Martha’s Vineyard

There’s something magical about getting on a ferry and leaving the mainland for an island.  We’ve done it all over the world and it never loses it’s appeal.  Last week we hopped the ferry  in Wood’s Hole, MA for Martha’s Vineyard with our pals J and M.

Martha’s Vineyard has a vibe.  It’s a little bohemian, it’s a little sophisticated,  it’s home to a number of celebs and it has hosted some Presidents.  You can stay in the action packed towns of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, or you can go for the more quiet appeal of West Tisbury, Menemsha or Chilmark.   We opted for West Tisbury. Continue reading “Martha’s Vineyard”

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Taranta – Peru Meets Italy

Peru meets Southern Italy and it works!  The name of the restaurant, Taranta.  It’s located in Boston’s North End on Hanover Street.  It’s owner/chef, Jose Duarte incorporates spices and foods native to Peru into an Italian menu.

We’ve never been and were looking forward to it.  Waiting for our friends G and B to arrive we ordered a bottle of Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino from Sardinia.  It seems that Vermentino is becoming popular and showing up more and more.  I hope so because it’s a perfect summer white and it always reminds us of of our trip to Sardinia!

Continue reading “Taranta – Peru Meets Italy”

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The Old and the New

Fan Pier.  Years in development, us skeptial Bostonians never thought it would happen.  But it did, it’s spectacular and a great place to be on a summer night in Boston with the skyline as a backdrop.  Take a walk along Fan Pier, go to the ICA, have dinner at any number of restaurants ranging from mexican to Legal Seafood, Del Friscos, Strega, Jerry Remy’s and Anthony’s Pier Four.  Yes, remember that one?  That’s where we started our July 3rd celebration. Continue reading “The Old and the New”