Exploring Kendall Square

It seems like every year Groupon offers deals for various outdoor skating rinks.  A few years ago we skated on the Frog Pond which was really fun, totally city, but completely crowded.  For someone not super confident on skates having to focus on staying upright while not crashing into people proved challenging.  Last year we tried skating at the Charles Hotel rink and that was a lot of fun.  This year I saw a deal for the Kendall Skating Rink, which is a bit bigger than the one at the Charles Hotel, so I bought it.

Unfortunately, it seems like the majority of this winter has either been snowy or frigid, making ice skating outside not really a desirable way to spend a day.  So when I saw the forecast for Sunday was going to reach almost 50 degrees I knew what we should do!  We headed over to the rink, which is way over by Fuji.  We drove, shhh don't tell anyone.  We had a pretty tight schedule so driving was a necessity.

The rink is oddly shaped, with a tight turn at one end.  Even with the nice weather the rink wasn't super crowded, and for whatever reason, I felt really stable on the skates.  I had a really fun time skating in circles.

After skating we decided to grab lunch before running the rest of our errands.  We contemplated lunch at Fuji, but having just eaten lunch at Sugar and Spice* yesterday, we kept on walking.  We were on our way to the Cosi, on the other side of the Kendall, when we passed by Za Restaurant.  I've been wanting to check this place out for a long time.  The restaurant has a great, casual vibe and gets 4 stars for presentation.  Check out this "Mexican Salad."  The pizza reminds me of a thicker crust Venus Pizza (a local pizza place in the town I grew up in.)

tasted just like a 7 layer dip

On our way back to the car we passed Tatte Bakery, which opened recently, and serves Stumptown Coffee. I wanted to stop in and get a coffee, but having just chugged down a soda, I thought better of it.  I'll have to go back sometime and get a Stumptown coffee for fun!


*Sugar and Spice is the sister restaurant to Spice and Rice which closed in Inman about a year ago.  I really miss Spice and Rice and was really excited to go to Sugar and Spice yesterday.  Everything was exactly as it had been at Spice and Rice. Yummy!!!  Definitely a reason to frequent Porter more often.