Two Days in Boston

[superjohn]

Yeah, not sure what he means by big box. Ironically, @superjohn it reminds me of parts of Chicago, and yes it has changed dramatically in the last 2-3 years. It's certainly modern and includes lots of chain restaurants (but not all and most are local chains) from the World Trade north-west until you hit the brick buildings of the leather district. That's because none of it existed even 5-6 years ago except for the Moakley courthouse (and it's still pretty new). So yes, it is lacking in traditional character. South-east of the World Trade you've got an excellent concert venue, Harpoon brewery, some genuine commercial fishing piers, the cruise terminal, a cargo container port and then Castle Island. It's a bit more gritty and authentic. The leather district has character though. Lucky's Lounge is still there, a blues and jazz club that opened when I lived in Southie, so around 2001. It was the only thing there at the time.

Seaport is just branding. The whole area is "Southie" with whatever connotations that carries for people.

Which parts of Chicago does it remind you of?

 

[HooperScooper]

I stayed at Yotel, all the buildings across the street were ugly new blocks, I assumed they were big box stores (I'm wrong.) Granted I didn't spend much time in the Seaport because it didn't feel like a neighborhood.

And that in a nutshell is the problem with the Seaport area. It's just sterile and not like most of Boston. The City even admits they messed up by allowing all these high rises without much thought to how it all would mesh together. A lot of businesses have moved out there so maybe over time something good will happen. A couple of the real estate developers who built or are building new buildings are trying to do some interesting things so there's some hope. At least Trillium is out there so there's at least something interesting.

 

[superjohn]

And that in a nutshell is the problem with the Seaport area. It's just sterile and not like most of Boston. The City even admits they messed up by allowing all these high rises without much thought to how it all would mesh together. A lot of businesses have moved out there so maybe over time something good will happen. A couple of the real estate developers who built or are building new buildings are trying to do some interesting things so there's some hope. At least Trillium is out there so there's at least something interesting.

They're building something similar along the river right by where I live. A lot of people aren't happy about it and it's taking forever. My guess is it will look a lot like the Seaport but with more green spaces...

Watch "Exclusive look inside Lincoln Yards: Construction starts on Chicago's 'City Within A City'" on YouTube

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Real nice Monday.

Spent the afternoon wandering around the North End and Long Wharf before having dinner outside at Mamma Maria, which was one of the best meals I’ve had all year. We shared soft shell crab with fava beans, spinach and quinoa and I had halibut with mashed parsnips, hen of woods and a pesto-ish sauce. Picked up cannolis (underwhelming) and truffles (excellent) at Modern on the walk back to the hotel.

Thought about taking an Uber to the Sox game but it was 8 by the time we got to our hotel, so we picked up a bottle of wine and I’m watching the game now (go Tigers). I really like The Boxer. Cool quadrangle shape and small hotel feel despite its height (we’re on the 8th floor). Awesome location.

Tomorrow we’ll hit up ICA and the Boston Sail Loft for lunch.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

The last sentence couldn't be further from the truth - everyone in this city knows about Neptune Oyster. We just don't bother going there to wait in line for 4-5 hours.

Yogi Berra said it this way, "Nobody goes there. It's too crowded."

 

[Waquoit]

We got a cheap room on Travelzoo in the Seaport district a few months ago. Besides Trillium, there's nothing there for us. I go to museums often and that ICA is lacking. Maybe if No Name was still around.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I stayed at Yotel, all the buildings across the street were ugly new blocks, I assumed they were big box stores (I'm wrong.) Granted I didn't spend much time in the Seaport because it didn't feel like a neighborhood. Only places I remember going to there was the hotel roof bar when I arrived, even the bartender told us to only have a drink with him and to leave the Seaport to have a good time. Pastorale and the Barking Crab were the only other places I went to. Wasn't a fun start to the trip, I took multiple ubers to go out for breakfast my first morning and was shut out of every single place. Driver told me every white person in Boston goes brunching. Ended up waiting outside the Barking Crab for them to open.

Barking Crab is great. It’s old school. Was there long before anything else was in what is now the Seaport. It’s what you’d expect and hope to find there.

I don’t like what Boston is doing development wise. Too many high rises. Too much glass and steel. But the Seaport was a bunch of dilapidated surface parking lots. So this is an improvement, but it’s not a neighborhood. Never was as nobody lived there before either. Fidelity built the Seaport Hotel across from the World Trade (where I had my wedding reception). That was the first new development of any kind. Before the convention center.

The Seaport District: Boston's Generic City

That moment in the dimly lit room in Boston City Hall watching a principal from OMA present 88 Seaport, I recalled reading Rem Koolhaas’ Generic City just a few months earlier as an undergraduate in architecture school. Rem wrote the manifesto for neoliberal capital’s domination of the city and...

newyork.substack.com

 

[SixRings]

That's not the oldest bar in the country.

ya, not the oldest bar but their claim on their website is:

The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in Boston and the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the U.S. — the doors have always been open to diners since 1826.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Real nice Monday.

Spent the afternoon wandering around the North End and Long Wharf before having dinner outside at Mamma Maria, which was one of the best meals I’ve had all year. We shared soft shell crab with fava beans, spinach and quinoa and I had halibut with mashed parsnips, hen of woods and a pesto-ish sauce. Picked up cannolis (underwhelming) and truffles (excellent) at Modern on the walk back to the hotel.

View attachment 77067

Thought about taking an Uber to the Sox game but it was 8 by the time we got to our hotel, so we picked up a bottle of wine and I’m watching the game now (go Tigers). I really like The Boxer. Cool quadrangle shape and small hotel feel despite its height (we’re on the 8th floor). Awesome location.

Tomorrow we’ll hit up ICA and the Boston Sail Loft for lunch.

Nice. I lived in the Lewis Wharf bldg next to the Sail Loft for a few years.

I'll take the contrarian view on the seaport, although haven't been in a few years. I spent a lot of time at Legal Rooftop, Lawn on D, Harpoonfest, the pavilion and beer fests at the WTC in the earlier days of the development. Problem back then was all that was so far down. Then they opened Encore rooftop (albeit snooty), Drink, Empire, Lolita, King's, there was Lucky's and some other places on the Fort Point end. Then they filled in the middle with Trillium, Row 34 and the beer garden. It may not have all come together, but no shortage of imbibing to do. What I do think they missed is more roof decks overlooking the water. The lines at Legal and Encore got to be too ridiculous to bother. Not sure if that has improved. They should've but something like Coppersmith Hall on the water. Fun fact, I was the designing engineer for that.

 

[6xChamps]

ya, not the oldest bar but their claim on their website is:

The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in Boston and the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the U.S. — the doors have always been open to diners since 1826.

Bell in Hand (right next door) says they are the oldest continually running bar in America

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I always tell people to go to Lone Star for tacos but that’s technically out in Allston.

 

[Jay-Bone]

I always tell people to go to Lone Star for tacos but that’s technically out in Allston.

My cousin's cousin was the original chef there from Deep Ellum. CT born.

 

[HuskyDevil]

"Nice. I lived in the Lewis Wharf bldg next to the Sail Loft for a few years."

Nice...my father was one of the original owners of a unit in Union Wharf, was there for many years. We loved going up there to visit, tons of things to do.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Nice. I lived in the Lewis Wharf bldg next to the Sail Loft for a few years.

I'll take the contrarian view on the seaport, although haven't been in a few years. I spent a lot of time at Legal Rooftop, Lawn on D, Harpoonfest, the pavilion and beer fests at the WTC in the earlier days of the development. Problem back then was all that was so far down. Then they opened Encore rooftop (albeit snooty), Drink, Empire, Lolita, King's, there was Lucky's and some other places on the Fort Point end. Then they filled in the middle with Trillium, Row 34 and the beer garden. It may not have all come together, but no shortage of imbibing to do. What I do think they missed is more roof decks overlooking the water. The lines at Legal and Encore got to be too ridiculous to bother. Not sure if that has improved. They should've but something like Coppersmith Hall on the water. Fun fact, I was the designing engineer for that.

I'm not from Boston, but I guess I can see why some old school Bostonians scoff at the Seaport area, but overall, I really enjoyed my time there on Tuesday morning.

Sure, it's kinda flashy and big and contemporary, but the views from the Harbor are really pretty and for what it is, it seems like a really convenient area to live and work.

We started the morning with breakfast and coffee at Tatte, which nicely blended high-end coffee/pastries/breakfast take-out spot while still being a casual and pleasant hour to start the day. Coffee was very good without being too good (you know, the kind that doesn't taste like coffee anymore) and my runny egg and halloumi sandwich was amazing.

After breakfast, we still had some time to kill before ICA opened, so we sat at the end of Pier 4 where there is a small park with a great view of the harbor. I really liked the ICA and we spent a few more hours just hanging out by the water and ordering take out lunch before driving back home to CT (with a stop to Local Roots on the way home).

I do get the argument that the Seaport feels a bit anonymous, but it does remind me of recent harbor developments in Baltimore (the East Harbor waterfront near Little Italy and Fells Point) and Oslo (the Tjuholmen neighborhood in downtown that has views across the fjord to the Ajershus). When I think of a city like Oslo, one that is proud and conserving of their history, these modern, high-end neighborhoods do not replace the historic charm of the city, but rather provide a newer example of "progress" near the charming parts of the city. Does the waterfront of Baltimore take away from Fells Point? Not at all.

 

[mauconnfan]

Had a combo meeting/brew tour in Boston yesterday. Stayed at the Downtown Moxy, different type of hotel but very nice people working there. Started the bus tour by PF Chang’s went to the Mighty Squirrel in Waltham first (loved the Lotaria Lime), then lunch and beer tasting at Chelsea Station and finished at Democracy Brewing. Fun trip lots of beer and seltzers then dinner at Fire+Ice. Unique dining I would recommend it to everyone, open buffet in which you load up a bowl with noodles, meats, veggies and more then pick a sauce get in a circle and watch the many cooks throw your food down and cook, chop and get it back to you on a plate. Excellent dinner soup and salad bar as well very affordable until you order the margaritas lol. We then walked to Yvonne’s a very cool old Speakeasy which JFK was rumored to have a lot of fun back in the day. Then a couple more at the Beantown Pub, also fun little joint. Then on the way back to the hotel we went back to The Tam, an old little dive Irish pub liked it a lot. (It was our 2nd trip there as it was across the street from the hotel and we check it out prior to walking to Fire+Ice.

Beautiful day/night in Boston, Moxy easy on off 90.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Had a combo meeting/brew tour in Boston yesterday. Stayed at the Downtown Moxy, different type of hotel but very nice people working there. Started the bus tour by PF Chang’s went to the Mighty Squirrel in Waltham first (loved the Lotaria Lime), then lunch and beer tasting at Chelsea Station and finished at Democracy Brewing. Fun trip lots of beer and seltzers then dinner at Fire+Ice. Unique dining I would recommend it to everyone, open buffet in which you load up a bowl with noodles, meats, veggies and more then pick a sauce get in a circle and watch the many cooks throw your food down and cook, chop and get it back to you on a plate. Excellent dinner soup and salad bar as well very affordable until you order the margaritas lol. We then walked to Yvonne’s a very cool old Speakeasy which JFK was rumored to have a lot of fun back in the day. Then a couple more at the Beantown Pub, also fun little joint. Then on the way back to the hotel we went back to The Tam, an old little dive Irish pub liked it a lot. (It was our 2nd trip there as it was across the street from the hotel and we check it out prior to walking to Fire+Ice.

Beautiful day/night in Boston, Moxy easy on off 90.

Awesome. I used to go to the Tam a lot with my now wife and her Fidelity co-workers when we were dating. I agree with your take on Fire + Ice. Was going to go to Fire + Ice recently after going to the Immersive Klimt show nearby, but we were meeting my daughter and she wanted something closer to her.

 

[huskypantz]

Nothing wrong with this, but aren’t both Legal Sea Foods and Capital Grille chains?

Legal is Boston-born, I usually recommend to business travelers or family as it's very consistent and solid.

 

[Rocktheworld]

White Horse has Union Oyster by 150 years.

7 of the Oldest Drinking and Dining Spots in America

From a former house of a founding father to an Irish pub in New York, take a look at some of the oldest bars in America.

www.winemag.com

How do you not put Louis’s Lunch in New Haven (1895) on there

 

[8893]

How do you not put Louis’s Lunch in New Haven (1895) on there

Probably because they don't serve alcohol.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Probably because they don't serve alcohol.

Meh it said drinking and dining and it’s the place that claims to be the birthplace of the burger, appears grossly unchanged from the era, but hey

 

[8893]

Meh it said drinking and dining and it’s the place that claims to be the birthplace of the burger, appears grossly unchanged from the era, but hey

Yes, drinking and dining. It was published by a wine magazine and all the establishments listed serve alcohol.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Yes, drinking and dining. It was published by a wine magazine and all the establishments listed serve alcohol.

Omfg just let me make my reference lmao okay fine

 

[HuskyHawk]

Probably because they don't serve alcohol.

That's also not very old. Post Civil War? I had an anniversary dinner at The White Horse Tavern last year. Nice place.

How did they omit the Warren Tavern? 1780.

Welcome

www.warrentavern.com

 

[8893]

That's also not very old. Post Civil War? I had an anniversary dinner at The White Horse Tavern last year. Nice place.

How did they omit the Warren Tavern? 1780.

Welcome

www.warrentavern.com

Or the Griswold Inn in Essex, which has been open continuously since 1776:

You are being redirected...

griswoldinn.com