Spring has Sprung!

Spring decided to make an early appearance here in Cambridge this weekend. Yesterday temps were in the 60s with lots of sunshine and today was in the 70s. Of course, in most situations, nice weather means an immediate trip to the Square. However, during March Madness I'm caught in a dilemma... enjoying fresh air vs. watching lots of basketball on tv.

Luckily for me, Harvard Square actually provides an answer to this very problem. It's called Charlie's Kitchen Beer Garden. Normally I get agitated because it's so hard to get a table at this place. Yesterday, I took great delight in the fact that we couldn't get a table. It forced us to take seats at the bar, in front of the flat screen tv and watch the end of the first round games. I'm already a huge March Madness fan but this added a whole new dimension to my favorite part of the year.

After the games were over we headed over to Fire & Ice for some improv grilling before heading back to Inman. We weren't ready for the night to be over so we stopped in at the People's Republik.

I woke up Saturday with one mission in mind. I wanted to go to the Square, sit outside, and enjoy a glass of wine. Nice and simple. I was pretty sure everyone wanted to do the same exact thing, so I wasn't deterred when we couldn't get on the roof deck at Daedalus. We happily took the table by the huge bay windows and enjoyed a relaxing lunch.

After lunch we continued on our urban scavenger hunt to find outdoor seating. I have to laugh whenever I think about outdoor dining. On the South Shore, where I used to live, outdoor dining is not something to covet. Outdoor dining was created to allow smokers to smoke during meals. On the other hand, in the city outdoor dining is the jackpot of summer lunches and dinners. In Harvard Square alone Daedalus, The Grafton, Pamplona, Algier's, Border Cafe, Charlie's Kitchen, The Red House, Grendels Den, Upstairs on the Square, Small Plates, Shay's, Bertucci's, Crema Cafe, Conga, Legal Seafoods, Noir, and OM offer outdoor seating. Trata and Tory Row offer bay window and floor to ceiling window tables. Even with all of those options, outdoor seating is at a premium.

We took a walk past Charlie's Kitchen but it was ridiculously crowded so we decided to try out O M Restaurant & Lounge. I'm so glad we did! They have a great outdoor seating area and a great menu. We proceeded to spend the next hour and a half relaxing in the sun! Mission accomplished!

One of the "hard" parts about living where we live is that there are so many places to try there isn't always time to go to our favorites. That being said, I'm thrilled we've been to Daedalus and Charlie's Kitchen twice in three weeks.

Tomorrow is sure to be a busy day. The UConn women begin their quest for a second straight National Championship and undefeated season and we hit up Ivy Restaurant for dinner.