my employee review this morning was as boring as my job

[juils]

I just received this e-mail from the friend whose pad I'm crashing for my Boston trip over Memorial Day weekend:

Hey Juliana,

I'm so excited about your upcoming visit! Any ideas on where you want to explore? I've been thinking about yelp-tastic places we can hit up, and I thought I'd share a couple Boston gems. I have been to any of them, but heard

Comments

[shamrocandroll]

I've been to Neptune Oyster and Alibi. Both are good... both are somewhat pricey. If you like oysters and don't mind priciness, I'd recommend Union Oyster House. They're America's oldest restaurant!!!, located in the historic Faneuil Hall area. Talk about cool (and edible) history!

http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/

And the North End has amaaaaaazing Italian food! Two of my favorites are Pagliuca's and G'Vanni's. Both are tiny, so be sure to make reservations! I think they tiny North End restaurants are the best ones!

And if you're looking for swag... if you go to Whiskey Park for drinks, you may spot a celebrity or two! It's where they all go out when they're in town! :)

[juils]

Haha. I'm starting to get the feeling we'll be doing more of the pricy stuff (which is okay, since it's vacation). Here's what Ellen's co-worker had to say:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://www.splash150kneeland.com/

Atmosphere: somewhat pretentious
Food: glorified gourmet dive bar cuisine
Attire: short dress, tall heels

http://www.libertyhotel.com/food_and_drink/alibi_room.html

Atmosphere: common celebrity sighting
Food: Go right across into scampo if you're hungry
Attire: young classy

http://drinkfortpoint.com/

Atmosphere: classy chill lounge
Food: amazing but $$$
Attire: dressy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Do you know anything about those?

There are so many places to hit that it's making my head spin. How do you cram Boston into four days?

[shamrocandroll]

I've been to the Liberty Hotel. It's nice. Very pricey cocktails.

The 5 years that I lived in Boston, I was in college... so the pricey places were not frequented by me, haha. I know all the bars to go to to get the most bang for your uck though! If you run out of money and need stuff to do, let me know! :)

Oh, and Bell in Hand, which is America's oldest tavern and right next to Union Oyster House, is one of my favorite places to go out! It's not overly expensive, and it's sooooo much fun! They have a DJ and dance floor upstairs, usually a really good cover band downstairs, and then a third bar to just chill at if you don't want to deal with loud music. I love it there. It might be my favorite bar in Boston!

[juils]

So, I didn't make it to Union Oyster, but I did make it to Neptune Oyster, and holy crap was their lobster roll delicious! And I absolutely loved the North End. I also managed to hit The Friendly Toast, Drink, Lucky's, Regal Beagle, and Lower Depths.

I obviously have to come back and try out everything I didn't try out this time! I loved Boston. LOVED IT. I'm actually thinking of moving -- I already applied to a job at my friend Ellen's company. Fingers crossed :).

[bessie_glass]

I liked the atmosphere of Union Oyster House (and LOVED that they were the oldest restaurant!!) but I don't like oysters so I can't vouch for anything. Jonathan recommends the she-crab soup from there.

Two restaurants I will recommend:

Cinderella's -- we happened upon it and ended up eating lunch twice there during our 4-day visit, the calzones were that good.

Trident Bookstore & Cafe -- so so soooo good, yumyumyummmm.

Also, this might be too touristy for ya, but we really enjoyed renting bikes and cycling the Freedom Trail -- the North End was hard to navigate (narrow side walks, bricks out of place), but totally worth it.

Have fun!

[juils]

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I didn't get to do a lot of the stuff I wanted to because I stayed up late and slept in late a bunch of times, but when (not if) I return, biking the freedom trail sounds fantastic. So do the calzones. And she-crab soup. Is it possible to eat an entire city? I'm willing to try.

[bessie_glass]

Will you be in town Saturday?

[juils]

I'll be in Jersey.