How to Pick Restaurants and Influence People

Boston has kidnapped my sister. 

Let's take a step back. When I was 9 and my sister was 7, my mother decided that we should both learn how to play the piano, but I didn't want to learn how to play the piano. So, for Christmas my sister got a piano and I asked for a gameboy and I got a gameboy. My sister is now attending the Boston Conservatory of Music where she is receiving a Masters in Music. Where am I? I am  here: living with my parents, ill-tempered, and non-musical. Yes. I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference. So, this summer I followed Hayley's path which is full of music notes and New England, but in my opinion doesn't have nearly enough gameboys.


Boston is a grand old town-easy to navigate and filled with clam chowder. When you visit Boston you must (absolutely must) visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Located near the Fenway, this stunning jewel box of a museum sits on the park and watches the world go by. You might never know from the its exterior that within this simple brownish-gray building is an Italian villa complete with hydrangeas, Boticellis, and tapestry upon tapestry. It's a dignified riot and who doesn't like one of those?

Basically, Isabella Stewart Gardner was a grand dame of Boston society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She collected art, but only art that she liked. Isabella liked art. She was a Red Sox fan. She loved to travel (on her desk, to this day, remains a jar of sand collected in Egypt). She was besties with John Singer Singer Sargent. Basically, anyone who was anyone who visited Boston was going to end up at Gardner's Backbay home/villa/Renaissance Palace. When she died, she willed her home as a museum with a big endowment, but the endowment will be withdrawn if anything in the collection is ever moved or changed. Yep, she was a bad-ass.


In fact, I will make this analogy:

Isabella Stewart Gardner is to Art as Chuck Norris is to Life 

hanging out with the stone lion museum guard

In 1990, the museum became even more well-known as the site of the largest unsolved art heist in U.S. history. You can read more about that debacle here.


Where was I? Food. Another wonderful thing about Boston is the food. Boston has great grub. The culinary highlight of the trip for me was definitely The Daily Catch in the North End. It's so tiny that it is more of "pin" hole in the wall. I had this killer fettucine alfredo with squid ink pasta. We also had the squid ink pasta with oil and chopped up calamari and heavenly butter. I died and went to heaven, but had to fly back down to tell you about this meal. 

going, going, gone

I have a very particular method for choosing restaurants when I travel. It might sound crazy, but food is a major part of the trip for me. Been on any main street in any major city lately? Notice how all the stores are the same (the Gap, the Gap, the Gap...baby Gap). Yes, there are lots of chain restaurants, but there will always been those one-of-a-kind-back-alley-paper-placemat-mom-and-pop-local-homegrown restaurants in any city you visit and they're where you eat your memories. 


Here is how I cross-reference and organize my food hunts:


1. Chowhound: This is a site for foodies, so it can be a little elitist. Perfect for finding hidden spots and "best of" lists.


2. TripAdvisor: Targeted towards tourists, but sometimes you just want to be a tourist. This site ranks restaurants based on popularity and classifies them according to "type" of diner.


3. Yelp: Everyone uses yelp. Everyone. But, that gives it a home court advantage. Locals write about their favorite haunts, but beware the overly used 3 star rating. This site also offers great help with hours, location and menus.


4. Individual restaurant sites: ALWAYS check out the menu. I repeat-ALWAYS check out the menu. Nothing is worse than finding out that a place is way out of your price range or worse still...is vegan (I kid, but only slightly).


5. Word of Mouth: Friends and families are great resources, but find your food "twins." These are people who like food that you like.


6. Follow your nose, follow the line: I was once on the tube in London and got off 5 stops early because I smelled something delicious wafting down the stairs. I discovered the world's best orange and chocolate cookie. The nose wins. Likewise, be an individualist, but when it comes to restaurants, follow the crowd (especially when it comes to street vendors).


Again, this method is not for everyone. It's time intensive and a little crazy, but also a little fun. Check one site, check two, ask friends, sniff frequently. Here are some of my favorite finds from my Boston eating-extravaganza.

Tasty Burger near the Fenway. Juicy burgers and neat atmosphere. 

Oatmeal "Hard" Yogurt from J.P. Licks. The best yogurt that I have ever had. It tastes just like a scoop of oatmeal cookie dough!

Clam chowder from Atlantic Fish Company on Boylston. It has the best bread. Fluffy. Gooey. Warm. Also, it just feels like Boston. The whole place is filled with dark wood and shiny surfaces, but it also won't break the bank (especially if you stick with the bread bowl).

I'm smiling because I am wearing my new blue dress I bought for the trip. This was also my last piece of clothing in my overpacked suitcase. Yep, I wore everything I brought...a first! Also, I'm smiling because I'm about to go to Legal Seafood. Legal is a chain, but it has award-winning chowder. Scrumptious!

We went to the Summer Shack (my best friend KD's suggestion) for the best crab cakes of my life!

What better way to close out our East Coast party than a trip to the grocery store for some midnight Boston Cream Pie and tabloid reading. Thank you Boston! Thank you KGB, Lo, Hayley, mom, and Susie. You were the best travel companions that a girl could ask for!