Look at Us~ We're Brunchers Now

If you want to eat on a Saturday or a Sunday between the hours of noon and three in the city, you better be ok with brunch.  Brunch is a force to be reckoned with here in Cambridge.  Brunchers pretty much take over the squares on the weekends and it can actually be pretty hard to find a table.

Before leaving on my Pacific Northwest adventure (stay tuned for future posts on that awesome trip) JO and I wanted to have one last city date.  It was beautiful out, without any of the humidity that had plagued the past few days so a patio meal was a must.  We decided to go over to Dante, by the river, but they were completely full.  This wasn't a problem at all since ArtBar was just down the street, and they have a big patio that seems to always have a free table.

We grabbed a table, with a lovely city view, and enjoyed mimosas and omelettes.  I love the views of the Boston skyline that this part of the city offers.  It was a perfect way to cap the first three weeks of vacation!

Tile Shopping, Article 24, BKBeast Mode, and the 5th Element, Oh My!

Just how much can you do in one day?  JO and I decided to answer this question with an action packed day of one part adulting and three parts city winning!

First up, tile shopping...again!  I think we're getting closer and I think we've now visited every tile shop in Watertown (which, by the way there are a lot.)

You can work up quite a "thirst" shopping for tile so JO and I decided to stop by Article 24 in Brighton on the way home.  (Perhaps this was the real reason JO agreed to go tile shopping in the first place?)  We had gone here after our last tile adventure and really enjoyed it.  Low and behold, the bartender remembered us and we remembered their epic nachos!  Good nachos are hard to come by!

Then we ditched the car back at home and headed over to our rock gym for the BKBeast Mode finals.  We had no idea what this was going to be but it was free since we were members and also came with a free beer from Aeronaut, which is almost impossible to get into these days, so we figured we had to go just for the chance to drink one of their beers.  The event ended up being really fun with crazy feats of strength.

 We ended the evening by walking over to Harvard Square, through some beautiful neighborhoods, to catch The 5th Element at the Brattle.  I really had no interest in this movie but JO really wanted to go and he is always going to my stuff so I went.  You know what, it's really a great movie and I'm so glad we went.  The theater was also packed which made it even funner!

Overall, it was a super successful and fun city day!

Theory vs. Reality

In theory, I had planned on having a productive Wednesday a few weeks back.  I was going to go to the Square, go for a run, cook lunch, do some school stuff, and take care of some stuff around the house.

In reality, I did make it to the Square but after that any semblance of being productive disappeared.  The grocery store didn't happen which meant I couldn't cook dinner (funny how that works) so I "just had to" go to Desfina's for their amazing Greek Salad.  After all, vegetables are important, right?  After lunch I came home and thought about that school work and house work but a nap seemed like a better option.  Plus, I would have the whole evening to do that stuff since it was JO's turn to host Guy's Night Out (GNO) and I would need something to keep me busy during that chaos.

But again, reality had a different plan.  JO texted me to say that GNO was going to kick off at The Rising, instead of our place, and to ask if I wanted to join.  Why not?  It's the summer, right?  So off I went.  Every so often it can be fun to crash GNO!

Club Passim at Danehy Park

Obviously, you know by now that we love Club Passim.  Club Passim is great.  It's fully of amazing history, great music, and they really give back to the city.  During the summer, they run four different free concert series throughout the city~ Palmer Street, Kendall Square, Harvard Science Center, and Danehy Park.  JO and I decided to check out one of the shows at Danehy Park for a few reasons.  First, it was free and who doesn't love free events!  Second, I had heard good things about the band playing.  And third, it was in Danehy Park, which we had never heard of before and we love exploring new parts of the city.

Unfortunately, it was a bit humid on this particular Tuesday night but we decided to go forward with our plans anyways.  We decided to meet up at Alewife Station since JO would be coming from home.   We weren't sure about the parking situation at the park.  (Please note~ Danehy Park has plenty of parking in their lots.  Live and learn.) This meant we would be walking about 15 minuets from the station to the park in the humidity which wasn't a thrilling prospect.  Upon our arrival at the park we were both kind of shocked.  We were intrigued when we looked at the park on Google Maps but nothing could really have prepared us for the vastness of the park.  It's absolutely huge, clocking in at 50 acres of recreational space.  There are tons of shade trees and weeping willows, several full sized soccer fields, and plenty of baseball fields.  There are at least two really long walking paths plus dedicated bike lanes throughout the park.  Additionally, there's a big hill in the center that offers some cool views and also plenty of green space for running around or hosting concerts, like the show we were there for.

Club Passim did a nice job with this show and it was the perfect accompaniment to our picnic dinner.   After dinner, we decided to take a longer way back to Alewife, that conveniently took us pass Jose's Mexican Restaurant in North Cambridge.  This place is pretty well known in Cambridge and since we are rarely on this side of the city we "just had to" stop in.

It was definitely a fun night of exploring Cambridge!  Even though we've lived here for almost nine years, there's definitely more left to explore.  I definitely want to come back to this park again when the weather is nicer.  It would be a great place for a run!

A Summer Hike

JO and I have a pretty epic road trip in South Dakota and Colorado coming up in August.  The itinerary includes quite a lot of hiking but due to the rainy spring weather, we weren't able to get any hikes in.  Thankfully, the temps were pretty reasonable yesterday and we were able to hike Mt. Shaw.  
I really loved this hike.  The trail quality is fabulous, there was a pretty rigorous vertical section to wake up our legs, and the views were epic!

As much as I love the city life, I do love the chance to get out in nature and just get away from everything for a little while!  I'm hoping we are able to do a bunch of fall hiking to make up for the lack of spring hiking this year!

NKOTB at Fenway

I will pretty much go to any New Kids show they have.  I love reliving my youth, who doesn't?  Despite the rainy weather, the show was great!  It's funny how I can't remember JO's phone number to save my life, but I can remember all the lyrics to all of the New Kids songs from the 80s and 90s!

Aeronaut Allston Friday Nights at Zone 3

Guess what?  Lula Wiles played another local show and we went to it 😀 Shocking, I know.  Lula Wiles played the opening show at Aeronaut Allston Friday Nights at Zone 3.  Aeronaut, a brewery located just outside of Union Square and conveniently next door to our rock gym, organizes these musical events on Wednesdays and Fridays at Zone 3 in Allston.  Zone 3 is a shared use space created by Harvard to promote community in the area.  We had never been to one of these music events but I'm so glad we checked it out.  First, wouldn't want to miss a Lula Wiles show, but second, we found out what we had been missing out on.  We will definitely be coming back.

Aeronaut does a great job with these events.  They are rocking the edison string lights (see my recent post) and have some great food trucks, including my favorite, Roxy's!  The owner of Aeronaut was out and about, mingling with the crowd, filming the show, and generally loving life!  They've basically created an awesome outdoor beer garden!

Lula Wiles put on a great show, probably the best we've seen yet!  (to be fair~ we've seen two shows and both were great.)

I have a great video, but I can't share it because it's too big.  Check out the live feed from Aeronaut's FB page.

The 99ers~ World Cup Champs and Game Changers

On Friday night, JO and I headed over to Jordan Field for the Breakers game.  Legendary coach Tony DiCicco had recently passed away and there was a tribute planned for him at the game.  In case you don't know, Coach DiCicco led the USWNT to two World Cup Championships and Olympic Gold Medals.  He was the coach of the 1999 women's soccer team that won the World Cup in the United States and pretty much changed women's sports forever.

I had no idea so many of his players from that 1999 team were planning on being at the game.  When I saw them sitting pitch side I couldn't believe it.  Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers, Briana Scurry, and Brandi Chastain were all there.  These are women I idolized that summer in 1999.  These were the women that paved the way for women's professional soccer.  These were the women who gave today's soccer stars role models to look up to when they were young.  It kind of took my breath away and I got a bit teary seeing them all there.

Edison String Lights~ A Trend I Can Get Behind

Unlike Canada Goose jackets, rompers, and pink pants on men, edison string lights on a patio is a trend I can get behind.  See photographic evidence below!

Brass Union's patio is just a little more fun than that of the Independent's, and it's because of these edison lights strung overhead.

Ok!  This secret patio for the Hourly in Harvard Square would be awesome even without the lights, but those lights elevate the alley space into a real gem.  (p.s.~ I found this patio by accident, when I turned down Dunster Street to avoid the crowds.  I will be dining here as soon as possible!)

The patio in front of the new apartments on Western Ave look a whole lot hipper with these lights!

So, next time you're out and about, keep an eye out for those edison string lights!  They are everywhere and they are awesome!

Brass Union and Hops N Scotch

JO and I have been trying to be much better about our rock climbing.  We used to be so good about going twice a week, sometimes even three times a week but we definitely both slacked a bit this past year.  You know what's really motivating, walking home through Union Square after climbing because there are several lovely patios there, with tables just waiting to be filled by us.

Sure enough, after climbing last Thursday, we headed over to Brass Union for dinner.  On the walk over, we noted the amazing variety of places to eat in Union.  There's a diner, a Thai restaurant, hot pot cooking, Gracie's ice cream, two Mexican places, a sub shop, Brass Union, Independent, Casa B, and Bronwyn.  No wonder, Union recently won best neighborhood to bar hop in by the Improper.

Yet again, we were really impressed with both the food and the patio at Brass Union.  After dinner, the weather was still lovely so as we approached our apartment I suggested we extend the evening at Hops N Scotch when I noticed that there were two seats left at the windows.  I love the view from these windows.  You get to see the whole square.  We talked about how lucky we are to get to live in this neighborhood and had fun reminiscing about some of our favorite Inman memories.

Darwin's Ltd

No one really loves homework, especially when that homework has to get done over summer vacation.  I have to renew my teacher's licensee next year so I had to take a few classes this summer.  I figured homework would be a bit better if I headed somewhere to work on it.  I do love the sandwiches at Darwin's and that fact that you can pretty much live there so no need to rush.

Note to School Self, from Summer Self~ I need to do this more during the school year.  Maybe I wouldn't get so aggravated by the immense amounts of school work I do on the weekends, if I did some of that work at Longfellow's, Darwin's, or 1369.

Greetings from Cambridge this July 4th

Happy 4th of July from Cambridge!  

Newbury Street during the Day, Harvard Square at Night

Last Monday JO had a real crisis.  His phone had died rendering him pretty much helpless.  I mean, we went to the mall, decided to split up, and actually had to pick a time and location to meet back up.  How very retro, right?  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and I was hoping this phone thing wouldn't take too long so we could get out and enjoy the weather.  Unfortunately, we realized, after arriving at the mall, that the Apple store is still closed at the Galleria.

We took this minor setback as a chance to get out and do some shopping in Boston.  We hopped on the Green Line and headed over to the Apple Store on Boylston Street.  After about an hour, JO left with a shiny new phone, and we got down to the more important business of enjoying the city.  We headed over to Piattini Wine Cafe on Newbury Street.  I've blogged about my love of this place before (there are more, but I don't have time to dig through the archives.)  I have never been disappointed by this place.  It has a super cozy interior, for cold winter days, and a lovely patio for perfect summer days.  Additionally, I have never had a problem getting a spot on the patio, ever.  They have a large patio for Newbury Street and for whatever reason, they always seem to have at least one open table.  Plus, the food is tasty and very reasonably priced.  JO and I enjoyed a lovely patio lunch.

After lunch, we did a little shopping.  We stopped inside the newly opened Hogwarts store.  It was a really fun store!

Then, we went to Patagonia.  I loved that they had a postcard station for sharing your thoughts about our National Monuments, that are currently under attack because our country's leadership because they value money over nature.  We made sure to each fill out a postcard and thanks to Patagonia, they got sent to Secretary Zinke for us.

We even grabbed coffees and walked around the city (well, mine was a coffee and JO's was a Coolata, but close enough) thus fulfilling my city couple dream of drinking coffee while walking down city streets!

Eventually, we had to head home but since the weather was so beautiful, we felt the need to head out again for mojitos at the Legal's Outdoor Bar in Harvard Square!

After the mojitos, we decided to extend the evening by walking over the pedestrian bridge, one of my favorite things to do in Harvard Square!

More Fun in Kendall~ Sulmona and Glass House

Well, sure enough, that beautiful weather from the other day, was replaced by hot, humid weather.  I don't do well with this kind of weather.  I tend to shut down, and get what I call, the "summer funk."  I have all this free time, but Mother Nature is preventing me from enjoying it!  (I know, first world problems, right)  Denali feels the same way!

We had tickets to a soccer game yesterday, but we skipped the game because it was so hot.  I hated missing the game and was getting pretty annoyed with the weather.  JO quickly saved the day by suggesting we go to Sulmona!  Remember Sulmona, my new favorite restaurant in the city.  I love the food and the industrial, modern feel of the space.

This time, we chose to sit in the bar side, to see what that was like.  (In reality, the dining room and bar area are separated by a half wall but I wanted to check it out anyways.)  I liked the high tables which let you see out the windows.  I also loved getting a look at the bar, since last time it was so crowded.  The bar has plenty of seats and the bar itself is a great mix of mirror, subway tile, and wrought iron.

We started with the burrata and let me tell you, I'm already trying to figure out when we can go again just to get it.  Burrata is a magical thing.  Whoever decided to stuff mozarella cheese with ricotta cheese was a genius!  This dish was served with crunchy bread and marinated campari tomato quarters on a bed of basil pesto.  The cheese was deliciously creamy and paired perfectly with the bread but the big star of this dish (and that's not a knock on the burrata, it was delicious on it's own) were the tomatoes.  They were perfectly dressed in olive oil and the perfect match to the pesto.  I can't say enough good things about this dish!  

Once again, we both stuck to our pasta choices from the last visit.  Both were just as good as the last time!  I love the modern, industrial feel of this restaurant.  It's definitely not a restaurant we can go to all the time, because it is a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for here.  It's sophisticated without being snotty.  I feel like I could go in leggings and a tank top, after a run, or a fun summer dress, and it would be fine. 

After dinner, it was finally cool enough to walk around without feeling like you might melt, so we decided to walk towards the river.  The plan was to walk along the boardwalk, but we never made it, as we were distracted by the octopus sculpture (really, it's a neuron, but it really looks like an octopus, and it lights up at night) over  by where you can rent kayaks. 

After checking out the sculpture, we saw the outdoor bar at the Glass House.  Back in December I had wanted to check this place out, and then had forgotten about it.  The outdoor bar has room for eight, and overlooks the community space area.  We couldn't pass up the chance to sit outside so we grabbed the last two seats and enjoyed the evening.  There are no real views here, you're kind of trapped behind a few big buildings, but that was fine.  The Glass House is literally a "glass house" and makes for a fun backdrop.  

On our way home, we walked through the patio at Commonwealth, which was closed for the day.  We played a little corn hole and checked out the "truck" bar.  We're going to have to check this place out before summer is over.

We ended up walking home past The Smoke Shop and stopped to watch the live music from the courtyard.  We'll have to remember this.  

An evening that started off with the "summer funk" ended with some fun city finds!

A Perfect Summer Day

Wednesday was absolutely stunning.  The temps were in the mid-70s, the sun was shining, and there seemed to be a perfect breeze that lasted the entire day.  I knew I wanted to take advantage, since the lots of heat and humidity were headed our way later in the week.

I started my morning in Harvard Square, with coffee and a book.  It was just perfect.  I end up judging my summer by these quiet mornings spent in the Square.  They kind of fill up my soul.  I know that sounds dramatic, but I think it's actually right on target.  Those summer mornings, when I get to read a book I want to read, without a care in the world, are just so special.

After my morning coffee, I headed home to get ready for a run.  Usually, I have to run at the rock gym during the summer because me and running in the heat do not get along.  This was a rare opportunity to run outside during the summer, and I was taking advantage!  I ran through Kendall, down the Grand Junction path, and back home.  I love running through the city~ such a fun way to be out and about and feel healthy at the same time.

After lunch, I headed back to Kendall to take advantage of all the tables, and umbrellas, in the courtyard.  I grabbed a table, enjoyed the sights, and worked on some homework.  And then, just to make sure I wasn't doing too much homework, I read my own book for like another hour, because I wanted to keep enjoying the lovely weather.  I really enjoyed this courtyard, and will be back for sure, before the summer is over!

Later that night, I was right back in Kendall, to have dinner with a friend at State Park!  I've never had a problem getting a patio table in this area because there are four restaurants to pick from, all with pretty large patios.  I'm pretty sure everyone was out on Wednesday, because, seriously, it was the best day of the summer!  We ended up with a table in the "Green Room" at State Park, which featured lots of open windows so it was fine.  (side note- their burger is fabulous!)  It was a really fun night, and a perfect place to catch up with an old friend.