A Cold Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day we were still dealing with the Polar Vortex.  Back at Christmas time I was having trouble picking out an outfit for a 70 degree Christmas Eve and now on Valentine's Day I was struggling with an outfit for a -30 degree Valentine's Day date.

Our first stop was The Brattle Theater.  It's been our Valentine's Day tradition to watch Casablanca at the Brattle.  This year they couldn't show Casablanca so they showed The Princess Bride.  The show was completely sold out and it was fun to see the movie on the big screen.

After the movie we headed over to the Sheraton to have dinner at Nubar.  It's only an eight minute walk but it was rough.  Nubar was pretty crowded so it was a good thing we had a reservation.  I love everything about Nubar because it's filled with great memories for us and the food is so good!

Just as we were getting ready to eat dessert the fire alarm went off.  JO and I were the only ones who got up to evacuate.  Maybe it's the teacher in me, but if the alarm goes off you get out.  Eventually the manager made everyone leave.  I'm so glad they let us get our jackets first.  We were only outside for about five minutes and it was freezing, but it was the right thing to do.  It made for a good story.  Ten years ago The Brattle was evacuated while we were watching Casablanca so it was extra funny for us.

After dinner we headed home to get ready for the Parlor Prom.  Our friends at Parlor Sports had decorated the place in perfect 80s prom fashion complete with make your own Valentine's craft table and photo booth.  The people at Parlor Sports are absolute class acts and made the freezing walk there and back totally worth it.

The Polar Vortex Takes Over

Remember how a few weeks ago it was in the mid-60s and I didn't have to wear a jacket.  Well that all went South when the big, bad Polar Vortex took over.  The PV settled over New England this past weekend and sent temps plunging to -30 with the wind chill.  It was dangerously cold...but that didn't stop us.

This is what I looked like when I went to get coffee in the morning:

On Saturday, after being particularly lazy since I was on vacation, I was feeling a little stir crazy.  I hate it being vacation and us not taking advantage but it was so cold!  We thought about going to Hops N Scotch because it was so close but then we found out about it's awful new menu and we decided to pass.  JO suggested we go back to The Rising Bar and I agreed.  It wasn't too far and was worth a second chance.

We bundled up in all our winter gear and walked as fast as we could.  We decided to sit in the bar area this time.  They seated us by the window, which seemed odd on such a cold night, but they have great windows and we weren't cold at all.  The atmosphere in the bar is so much better than in the dining room.  Our table also gave us a view of lots of crazy driving.  The hostess was right when she seated us and told us we would probably see an accident.  During dinner I asked for the Husky game to be put on the tv and they mentioned that I could call ahead and have the games put on for me.  That's pretty awesome in my book considering we will probably need a back up for Parlor Sports during March Madness, what with our no cable lifestyle and Parlor Sports' popularity.

We sampled a variety of dishes:  the wedge salad with shrimp, hummas plate, and the night's special duck croque madame (which JO loved.)  The hummus was delicious and the bacon on the wedge salad was excellent.

This place is a great addition to the Square and it was so fun to get out and about in our neighborhood despite the frigid temps.  I don't think we could have traveled much further, but luckily we didn't have too :-)

Surprise Snow Days- Part 2

In a crazy turn of events, a non-storm on Monday turned into a big storm overnight.  One snow day became two snow days and life was great.  I was getting over a cold and hadn't been able to enjoy as much #SnowWinInInman as I had wanted so this was a second chance (and bonus- my school work was all done.)

The day started with Monday brunch at Trina's!  I have always wanted to do this, and I've been craving a good brunch lately.  Trina's brunch is pretty famous around here- poptart of the day, pint sized mimosas, and a captain crunch French toast.  We had to go twice because it was too crowded the first time we stopped in.

Later that night we headed over to Parlor Sports to watch my UConn Huskies take on #2 South Carolina.  This was pretty much the biggest game of the season and of course I wanted to watch it at Parlor Sports.  We had to compete with The Bachelor crowd but I secured a tv and had a blast cheering my Huskies on to a resounding win!

The storm was perfect- enough to cause a snow day, small enough to require only minimal shoveling (like less than 10 minutes) and was followed by a couple of 40 degree days to melt it all away!

Surprise- Snow Days! Part 1

During lunch on Thursday I checked the weather forecast.  Snow was expected on Friday, not much at all, but enough to make my morning commute horrible.  When I checked the forecast something crazy had happened, the 1-3 inches had changed to 4-7 inches.  Could we be getting a snow day?  Everyone was talking about it and by the end of the day the forecast went up to 5-8 inches.  I definitely needed a snow day and I was suffering from a bad case of the "snow giddies."  I brought everything home I would need for the weekend and left sub plans just in case we had school and I couldn't get there in time.

I had some work to do Thursday night but I just couldn't focus.  I wanted to celebrate a snow day so badly.  When Parlor Sports posted their chalkboard picture of the day I knew we had to stop in.

I had so much fun celebrating a potential snow day but was dismayed to go to sleep without the "call."  The call came the next morning and we had our first official snow day!

Bar Louis and Citizen's- A Fenway Outing

Recently, we headed over to the Fenway area to celebrate a friend's birthday.  We met up at Bar Louis for dinner.  After checking out the restaurant's website I was expecting something along the lines of a Friday's or Beerworks.  There's nothing wrong with that kind of a place but I was pleasantly surprised when we walked in and it was more sophisticated than TGIF.

The lay out is really great.  There is a large, rectangular bar floating in the middle.  Dining booths and tables are scattered around the bar, with generous space in between, especially for a city restaurant.  The decor features a mix of modern and Asian touches, think- bamboo and black wood trim.  We were a large party and our waitress did an excellent job of keeping up with us.  No one was ever without a drink and the food was nicely spaced between apps and main meals.  The menu had a lot of variety and is perfect for large parties.

After dinner, we headed over to Citizen's Pub.  I was hoping we might try Hojoko, a place I've been wanting to visit for a while, but I was also recovering from a cold so it wouldn't have been quite as much fun.  Citizen's is a nice bar right near Fenway Park.  It's definitely a hang out for thirty somethings which was nice.  No "dumb" twenties to deal with.  It was fun to get out and enjoy the city with some great friends.

An Early Spring?

A few Sundays back it was in the mid-60s, sunny, and delightful out.  It was so nice out that JO and I skipped working on the weekend to take advantage.  We've both been pretty busy, working a lot of extra hours on the weekend.  We could've easily worked through this great weather but I'm glad we didn't.

We decided to take a walk to Kendall Square.  It was so nice out that I didn't even wear a jacket.   We didn't plan ahead because finding a place that's open in the afternoon on a Sunday is tougher than it should be.  We tried Meadhall and the Kendall Hotel but both were closed.  We finally ended up at Legal's Seafood.  We sat at the bar, had drinks, and ate steamed clams, because that's how we celebrate spring.

After the awful winter we had last year I feel like we deserve to not wear jackets in January.

Club Passim- Take 2

JO and I had so much fun at Club Passim we decided to go again.  There was a solo show featuring one of the singers, Kate Delmhorst, from the show we had gone to so we grabbed tickets before they sold out.  (Note- Club Passim sells out quickly for most shows.)

We had dinner at John Harvard's before the show.  John Harvard's never disappoints and is always full of happy memories for us.  We wrapped up dinner and made our way over to Club Passim.  It was already pretty crowded.  Club Passim sells tickets for specific tables, but not specific seats at those tables.  Next time we go we'll get there a little earlier so we don't get stuck with the seat facing the back.

Zach Trojano opened up for Kate and he was so good that we bought both of his cds, even though JO has sworn off most physical media, excluding retro video games.  Kate Delmhorst was phenomenal.  She is the perfect act for such an intimate venue.  Her voice is captivating and her songs are really deep.  She hadn't performed a solo show in a few years and you could tell she was enjoying herself.  I ended up taking her CD home too.

I'm so glad we discovered Club Passim.  Live music is part of what makes Cambridge great.  I loved that we could go out to this show and still be home before 11:00.  We definitely have to take advantage of more of the cultural parts of our city.

The Rising Bar

Inman Square has a new neighborhood bar, The Rising Bar.  JO and I headed over for their soft opening and were seated in the dining room.  We ordered a few appetizers but they had some problems with their gas lines and it took quite a while for anything to make it's way out of the kitchen.  The dining room was a bit claustrophobic and I was exhausted and hungry so I didn't love the first impression.  That being said, JO made me check out the bar side and I liked what I saw.  It was airy and open, featured some beautiful woodwork, and multiple tvs for sports watching.  There was potential there for sure.

Point Break Live- Yes, Really

Back on New Year's Eve, our friend told us about "Point Break Live" at The Sinclair.  How could we pass something like that up?

It was crazy, odd, and hysterically funny all at once.  I don't need to see it again but I'm glad I went :-)

Guilia

A while back a friend at work asked me how I liked Giulia, an Italian restaurant in Porter Square.  I was embarrassed (well just city embarrassed) to say that I hadn't been.  Giulia consistently gets rave reviews and makes top ten lists yet I hadn't been there yet.  When she told me it takes about a month to get a reservation it got me hooked.  When I got home I checked out the menu and I was hooked.

JO and I were finally able to get a reservation for a Monday in the middle on January.  It was the perfect way to start a long week of school, with something to look forward to.  It was a frigid night but we decided to brave the ten minute walk from Porter Station.  Giulia is located in the "dead zone" between Porter and Inman.  It's a long, somewhat narrow restaurant with one wall taken up by the bar and the other by tables with bench seating along the wall, and chairs on the other.  The wall behind the bar is brick.  Each table had a different table runner in a rustic pattern.  Although the restaurant exudes fine dining the experience was quite relaxed and the prices weren't unreasonable.  Our waiter was friendly, informative, and knowledgable.  They did have a lot of expensive truffle deals going on but they never pushed them on us.

We got a few appetizers and both were delicious.  My favorite was the burrata and toast.  For dinner JO and I both tried the pastas.  The pastas were perfectly cooked and seasoned.  Mine featured pancetta and onions and JO got the papperdelle with boar.  For dessert we got the panna cotta with three ingredients I don't love:  thai basil, pineapple, and black pepper.  Despite the ingredients I would order that again.  It was delicious and all the ingredients made sense.

Despite the frigid temps we decided to just walk home because it's only about a 25 minute walk and much less hassle than the T can be.  I always forget how close Porter Square is.  I always feel like it's some other world.  I feel like we'll be visiting Porter more often to eat at Giulia.

Henrietta's Table and Club Passim

Each fall, my dad goes camping with his best friend's on Three Mile Island, in Lake Winnepesaukee.  I went often as a child and young adult and the last few years JO and I have gone.  It's definitely a special place so when I saw this flier in our neighborhood I quickly spread the word to the TMI gang.

 Within a few days twelve of us had tickets to the show.  Before dinner we met up for dinner at Henrietta's Table at the Charles Hotel.  Although the restaurant was nothing to write home about it did feature some nice, old fashioned New England fare and offered our large party some great service.  I wish I liked the restaurant more because they had an awesome wheat beer that is only sold there.

After dinner we made our way over to Club Passim.  JO's mom has been on our case for a long time for not having been here before.  This is such a neat place.  There are lots of small, round tables that seat four.  Dinner and drinks are served throughout the show.  The room is pretty small so it makes for a very intimate show.  The ensemble music was so amazing and it was so fun to hear the artists reference the island.  My guess is we were the only ones in the room who visited the island.

After the show JO and I headed home, leaving my dad and his friends in the Square to enjoy the rest of the night.  We were two of the four only non-retired folks and we had to get up for work the next day.  I was so happy for my dad but a lot jealous too :-)

Cafe ArtScience

One of my vacation goals was to go to Cafe ArtScience but our busy schedule didn't lend itself to trekking over to Kendall Square.  JO and I had stumbled on this place during the great "December thaw" when we walked to the Liberty Hotel and back.  It was too late that night to stop in so the first weekend after vacation we made it a point to get there.

Cafe ArtScience is on the other side of Kendall Square so it was a bit of a walk, but so worth it.  The space is really modern, with hexagon paneling above the bar and on the wall of the private dining area.  The bar is white, with a large area behind the bar (since the drink making is a focal point here) and perfect dim lighting that is just enough that you don't feel blind but low enough to make you relaxed.

Sitting at the bar is essential here.  Watching the crazy cocktails get made is half the fun of visiting.  The menu features ingredients that are grilled in front of you or foamed or crushed.  I wish they had their cocktail menu on line because I can't remember the names of the drinks I tried.  One featured gin and prosecco and the other was a "burnt" tequila beverage.  Both were delicious, perfectly crafted, and beautifully presented.

We also tried a dessert item that featured salted caramel ice cream, yogurt, and mint whipped cream with toasted nuts.  It was almost too interesting to eat.

My only complaint with this place is that one wall, essentially a giant glass window, looks out on a company's lobby.  It's nothing bad, but it's nothing great either.  I definitely want to go back some night and try some appetizers and more crafty cocktails.

The kittens weren't thrilled that we spent the night out... without them.

Trivia at Hops 'N Scotch

The first day back at school after the holiday break had me almost in tears.  I'm pretty sure it was a toxic combination of a 5:15 a.m. wake up call, the copier being broken, and the fact that my children had forgotten how to multiply and divide.  I was in a rotten mood when I got home and JO picked up on it immediately and suggested we go out for dinner.

We ended up at Hops 'N Scotch for two reasons- one, it's literally across the street from us and two, we hadn't been in a while and wanted to make sure we were supporting this great new addition to the square.  I quite enjoyed the new menu item- the Cobb Salad.  We ended up staying for trivia and I'm so glad we did.  We had a lot of fun and it was a great way to remind myself that I can still have fun when school is in session.  We did miss out on a victory when JO didn't think my answer to the last question was right.  Mind you, the question was about rock climbing clothing and I was wearing the better sweater from the company- Patagonia.

We haven't been back to Hops 'N Scotch since but we thought about going there this past weekend.  To our dismay they have completely changed the menu and made it way too fancy/strange for a neighborhood bar.  The only "classics" on the menu are a burger and a Caesar's salad.  I'm pretty disappointed because I had a lot of fun at trivia and would've enjoyed going back but I can't imagine snacking on vichyssoise or grilled trevisano.