You Never Know What You'll See in the Neighborhood

Last Friday, on the way home from the rock gym, JO and I were feeling kind of blah.  With the impending cold, rainy weather of the weekend and the heatwave afterwards our city options seemed a bit limited.

As we passed Parlor Sports we heard some really loud music.  We chalked it up to a party at Parlor Sports but as we walked further away we realized the music was coming from somewhere else.  When we turned the corner we stumbled upon a small Portuguese Festival.  Everyone seemed so happy and it was such a fun reminder of everything that is great about living in the city!

The Harvard Square Turkey

I finally caught a glimpse of the elusive Harvard Square Turkey.  He's been spotted walking down JFK Street and looking in the bookstore window but I saw him in Harvard Yard.

Lord Hobo Doesn't Live Up to it's Name

With a name like Lord Hobo you'd think the bar would offer affordable beer and food.  Not the case with Lord Hobo.  JO and I went here last week when we were feeling a bit lazy and skipped the rock gym.

We got two seats at one of the communal tables in the back and started perusing the beer menu.  At one point I had to ask JO if I was looking at the wine menu.  The cheapest beer was $8 and there were lots of beers listed for $15 or more.  I grabbed and $8 Allagash White and started looking at the food menu.  The food was equally high priced and rather fancy for a bar.  Everything we got was tasty and well prepared but way too expensive.  

A few new spaces have opened up in our neighborhood and they would be perfect for restaurants.  I'm really hopeful that we'll get some places that skew more Parlor Sports and less Lord Hobo.  If I'm going to pay Lord Hobo prices I would much rather do it at Puritan and Company on a delicious, farm to table meal than souped up bar food.

On Saturdays we Rural Hike, On Sundays we Urban Hike

On Saturday we hiked close to 8.5 miles in the White Mountains National Forest.  On Sunday we spontaneously urban hiked 9.5 miles, from the SoWa Market in the South End, back to Inman, via Newbury Street for some shopping.

I had recently shared this article from ThrillList, with JO, entitled "Actually Cool Things to Do When Someone Visits Boston."  I shared it because visiting Inman Square is on the list but what caught JO's eye was the SoWa Market.  We'd never been, and he had actually never heard of it, so we decided to check it out.

SoWa was pretty cool.  It's an outdoor craft market with food trucks and music.  It's kind of neat how the big apartment buildings there, InkBlock and Sienna, are basically creating a community for their renters.  There's a cafe, a Whole Foods, a Pete's Coffee, and the buildings sponsor the Market.  It definitely makes the area more desirable, as there isn't too much around in terms of restaurants and shops.

After checking out the market, we decided to grab some lunch from the food trucks.  It was hard to pick between Bon Me, Roxy's Grilled Cheese,  a Mediterranean  themed truck, and even more.  We decided to sample the grilled cheeses and they were delicious.  Guacamole on a grilled cheese is perfection!

After lunch we walked through the South End.  We've never really explored the South End before so it was neat to check out a new neighborhood.  I'm a sucker for the brownstones, cute parks, and secret gardens.

We stumbled upon Five Horses Tavern, a few streets behind the Prudential Center, with lots of open patio tables.  We grabbed some drinks and delicious donut holes!

After our snack we headed over to Newbury Street to take advantage of a sale at Patagonia (JO was jealous of my Nano Puff yesterday).  At this point we were nearly to the Mass Ave bridge so we decided to keep walking home.

I always love the views from the Mass Ave Bridge and it was fun to see the fireworks barge all set up for tomorrow's show.

When we got home, we rejoiced in the fact that we had walked more than nine miles the day after an 8.5 mile hike!  Cheers to the city and not feeling old!

Hiking Mt. Moosilauke

In a shocking turn of events, Mother Nature cooperated and JO and I were able to go on a pretty major hike in New Hampshire.  I'm glad JO checked the weather while we were packing our bags.  It was about 40 degrees on the summit with 40 mph winds.  It was down right freezing.  I found myself wearing gloves, a hat, earmuffs, a Better Sweater, and a Nano Puff jacket in July!

The hike was intense (at least for me), 8.4 miles and 3,000+ miles vertical.  The hike was pretty steep, with the exception of the traverse to the final peek.  It was a pretty awesome feeling having been able to accomplish such a lengthy, challenging hike.  

It's the Simple Things

On Friday night, JO and I were looking to get a quick dinner before going to bed early.  We had a big hike planned for Saturday and we wanted to make sure we were properly fueled and rested.  JO was craving a burger so we thought about going to WuBurger but at the last minute we switched it up and headed over to Parlor Sports.

I have raved about Parlor Sports over and over and over on this blog and we hadn't been in since March Madness.  Parlor Sports is like an great friend, you can go months without talking or visiting and when you do finally meet up you pick up just where you left off!  I loved hearing, "You guys want your regular order."  It's definitely like the Cheers of Inman.

I'm not the only one that thinks Parlor Sports is awesome.  This place recently won best Sports Bar in Boston Magazine and our favorite bartender, Jon O. was recently nominated as best bartender in the city by Scout Magazine.  To say this place is fabulous is an understatement.  I also love their chalkboard messages!

After dinner we headed home and came upon this really cool bike repair station that was a product of Cambridge's Participatory Budgeting Project.  For the last two years, Cambridge has been setting aside around $500,000 for projects proposed by, and voted on by, citizens of Cambridge.

The Smoke Shop

Yes!!!!  The Smoke Shop, the new BBQ place that took over the Tommy Doyle's space in Kendall, finally opened.  JO and I happened to be looking for a place to eat on Monday night when a tweet about the opening came up on my feed!  We quickly mobilized and headed over and were lucky to get two spots at the bar.

They have completely redone the space.  The outdoor patio area is now an enclosed bar with floor to ceiling windows that open up to give you that inside/outside feel.  The bar is pretty big, I'd say enough seating for twenty or so people.  The color scheme is black and white with stainless steel and red accents.  I'm disappointed in the loss of the huge patio area, although they will have several outdoor tables, but that's the only thing I'm disappointed about.

The menu is standard BBQ featuring plates and sandwiches.  You can also pick your sides from about eight choices and there are several appetizers.  The beer selection is quite good, as well.  The bartender was friendly, and prompt.  He did seem a little confused by the beer JO chose but I think that was just opening night confusion and not a sign of any kind of problem.

We ordered a rib plate with two sides and I loved how it was presented on a silver cafeteria tray.  Bonus points for the red and white checked placemat.  Let me tell you, I'm not a huge BBQ fan but I loved, loved, loved everything.  The ribs were sweet and tender.  The mac and cheese was delicious, with just a hint of a kick from the pimento pepper and the beans were smokey and bacony.

I can't say enough good things about this place and I can't wait to go back!