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 When she died, she willed her home as a museum with a big endowment, but the endowment will be withdrawn if anything in the collection is ever moved or changed.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! 

Sweating Everything

Yeesh. I argued with myself about posting today. I've actually been having a really hard time lately with the whole "what the heck am I doing with my life" query hanging over my head. My birthday's coming up and I've been doing so much introspection that I may have given myself a philosophical x-ray. I'll be walking along and then bam - mini panic attacks - like little stress inducing comets in my mind. "Who am I?" "What do I want?" "Is everyone on Facebook either going to grad school, engaged, married, pregnant, gainfully employed or all of the above?" Looking around, it just seems like the whole world has it much more together than I do. But, I am really lucky to have wonderful friends and family who stick around and listen to this crazy woman called me. They remind me to stop looking at walls while mumbling.

Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way- pictures of pancakes and purple pants. We (Mom, Aunt, Sister, Cousin, Friend, me) spent several days in New York. Now, I'm from California, born and bred, so I don't do "weather." Might I ask: what the bloody heaping heck is up with East coast humidity? It's like the entire city of New York turns into a sweat lodge come July. We decided to go on one of those double decker bus tours, which normally are great, but not when it's not 110 degrees in the shade. I have never sweat so much in my life. It felt like I was filming an underwater documentary about thermal vents. I wore these light lavendar shorts that were made in this flimsy-silk-like fabric. Yup. Good choice. At one point, I stood up and it looked like I had been sitting in a vat of grape jelly. I literally thought "Did I just pee on myself? And if so, will that cool me down?" Oh, the joys of sweat.

Battery Park: finally, we felt a breeze. Then, lower east side with some of the best grafitti I've ever seen. I love how Lo looks like an Ralph Lauren model, KGB is bringing it with her rockstar good looks, and I am wearing my purse like a codpiece so that I can cover my giant grape-esque sweat stains. Chic.

Then off to the Clinton Street Baking Co. Witness the strawberry rhubarb lemonade that saved our dehydrated lives. This place is adorable, teensy, and quite frankly perfect. Not only did I get the best pancakes of my life, but I also discovered the wonders of "maple butter." You take maple syrup and you mix it with butter and you get "butter maple syrup." I will never be the same again. Mom got this incredible carrot ginger soup and Aunt Susie got french toast that wouldn't quit. Un-be-lievable food. Just wow. Just...no words...joy.

While walking through Greenwich Village I spotted this sign. Great, now I want jam...and butter syrup...

Rice Pudding Pizza

We ate some delicious food and tried on some gorgeous vintage wear while in New York. 

 Best vintage store ever? Easily Amarcord Vintage Fashion in Soho. I picked up a YSL skirt that I am still not brave enough to wear (I'm working up to it). Hayley bought a necklace by Givenchy that is so beautiful she plans on leaving it in her will to her future imaginary children. 

Funny story, my mom was recognized by a celebrity. While we were in Amarcord, Matthew Modine (of Married to the Mob fame) entered the store to ask if they carried prom dresses. They said yes and he exited to make a phone call. I was like, "That's Matthew Modine, ya'all" and they knew it to be so.

While we were leaving, Matthew Modine tapped my mom on the shoulder and asked, "I'm sorry. Have we met?" She blew him off. At first I totally thought he was trying to pick her up, which on second thought, I'm pretty sure he wasn't. Although, my mom does get hit on a lot. Me not at all. I'm ill tempered and squinty, but my mom is a lovely vivacious woman, so there you go. Anyhoo, my mom was recognized by a celebrity.

 Lombardi's pizza was gooey and delightful. We got two types of pizza: margherita and white. Both were crispy and fresh out of the oven.

 This trip weren't for no faint of heart sissy eaters. We stopped by Rice to Riches for some post-pizza rice pudding. They have the best spoons, one of which I kept and packed in my luggage. I really liked the spoon.

We rounded out the evening with some sky scraping sandwiches at Junior's in Times Square and then a walk to Rockerfeller Plaza. Loooooved Junior's, mostly for the ambiance, but the food was pretty solid as well. If you go try the egg cream (don't worry no egg in it) and the cheesecake and the red devil food cake and the black out cheesecake and well...just try everything.

Ruptured Crepuscular Pandas

Believe it or not, I actually finally at-long-last made it to New York. Some of my favorite people in the world were there to greet me: my mom, sister Hayley, dear friend KGB, little cousin Lo and aunt Susie.


Where to first? The Central Park Zoo. I did not want to go. It was hot and zoos kind of freak me out. They remind me of what I think a strip club would feel like, only without the free waffles and with more pandas. But I went because my sister freakin' loves zoo. She has a zoo fetish. Whatever city we're in, she's looking for zoos, usually in cities that really shouldn't have zoos. I'm talking the two of us paying twenty bucks to watch a pair of penguins sit in a kiddy pool, those kinds of zoos. But, I went to the Central Park Zoo and had a pretty great time.

Highlight of the zoo trip was easily the red panda which is both adorable and lazy: a killer combination.

Turns out that red pandas are also crepuscular...

I now know that I am officially crepuscular. Speaking of crepuscular, time for lunch! We took a quick ramble through the upper east side all the way to the delicious Shake Shack. SOOOOO GOOOOOD!

We were all starving so the wait felt like for-e-ver. But so worth it. When the buzzer went off I felt like I had won the food lottery.

They serve you the grub on a great big metal cookie sheet. No flimsy plastic trays for this buffet. Love. I got the classic shake burger with cheese. Hayley got a Chicago dog and Mom got the shroom burger. Now this might just have been the hunger talking, but this place was A-MAZing. Everything was delicious, especially the black and white shake we ordered for dessert. Nothing says happiness like a chocolate shake with lots of marshmallow fluff.

Let us take a moment to gaze upon these fries. Crunchy and delectable and gone so fast.

As we walked towards the Met, filled with shake shack, we passed this sign. I can safely say I have no idea what it means, but the irony is not lost on me. Hail the ruptured crepuscular panda.

The Great Steppenwolf Cheese Massacre

On our second day of Chicago-ness, Hayley and I opted for some fried chicken, skyscrapers, cheese, and a wee bit of theatre (spelled with a -re). I was staying in the Lakeview District of Chicago, which is pretty goshdarn adorable and even has its own mosaic tile welcome wall-mat. So lets start here.

Time to suit up.

Hayley's look = Steel-Eyed Ballerina

My look = Hardworking 1st Baseman

We journeyed to a restaurant called Crisp which I had discovered the week before by following nice smells in the area. Our meal was the culinary highlight of our trip. Take the best chicken strips you've ever had, then cover them with the most delicious soy sauce concoction you could ever imagine. Of course, we also had to get in on some rice and veggie action. We paired our entree with diet A&Ws. The flavors melded very well. Seriously, if you are ever in the Lakeview area, GO to Crisp. 

 So happy!

So full!

In the afternoon, we signed up for an Architectural Boat Tour. It was the best 2 hour nap ever. Just kidding. I don't know what it is about boats, but they make me feel like a sleepy baby in a hammock. I should mention that by this point I had been in Chicago for a week, but had yet to go into the downtown area. Did you know they have skyscrapers there? In fact, Chicago is the birthplace of the skyscraper. Wow. Those suckers are tall. 

The skyscrapers actually made me feel very small and insignificant and structurally unsound. Skycrapers: the supermodels of architecture. Speaking of large buildings, deep-dish pizza. We took a walk down Michigan Ave and found ourselves at Giardano's world famous pizza. 

Oh, sweet slice of pizza

scene of the crime

We then high-tailed it to Steppenwolf Theatre where we saw the quietly gorgeous Middletown by Will Eno. The play takes place in a small-town where a new comer Mary forms a friendship with a handyman named John. It talks about connection, loneliness, and our inability to see how breathtaking life really is. I would call it "Our Town" for an isolated generation and a damn fine piece of theatre. To quote the play, "Some of the dust on my shoes is from outer space. Most of the rest is dead human skin. Infinity, asteroids, and your great-great grandmother. All that struggle and science and stale candy in every little speck. You look at it and you think dirt. That's not even half the story."

All told, a simply loverly way to spend a day in Chicago.

I pretend to be a stepping wolf.