Out and About in the South End

Last weekend we had an errand to run in the South End so obviously we stayed out and had dinner and drinks!

We tried out the South End Buttery for dinner.  The Buttery features a cafe and market upstairs and a dining room downstairs.  The downstairs features a room lined with exposed stone.  There is seating for about thirty people.  The tables are close together so if you like a lot of room this place isn't for you. The menu has lots of comfort food and I'm pretty sure butter is the number one ingredient. 

We started with the burrata (delicious) and then I got the chicken pot pie, an unusual choice for me, but I really wanted comfort food.  It was quite good.  It was pretty much a chicken stew and the puff pastry top was scrumptious!  JO got the lobster mac and cheese.  As you can see, it was just lovely!

After dinner we decided to get drinks before going home.  We headed over to Frenchie.  

Remember Colette, the amazing new Porter Square restaurant I was raving about?  Frenchie is owned by the same people.   Frenchie's is in the garden level of a brownstone.  The walls are painted white brick and there's a good sized bar on the right.  The showstopper is the glass enclosed room in the back draped in exquisite wallpaper.  Since we weren't getting food, we opted for seats at the bar but I would love to come back and check out that room another time.

We enjoyed two glasses of wine and a delicious dessert!  It was the perfect way to recover from a crazy week!

Valentine's Day

(I'm back!  It's been a while.  We went on an awesome vacation to the Southwest and Palm Springs and then returned back to reality and lots of life stuff to figure out!  I finally have a few minutes to catch up on the blog so here goes nothing!)

Valentine's Day night also happened to be the start of February vacation for me!  Originally we had planned on skipping our usual Valentine's Day tradition in favor of packing and trying to get some sleep before our 5:00 am flight.  Thankfully, we came to our senses and kept up with one of our favorite traditions we have!

Each year we head to the Brattle Theater to watch Casablanca on the big screen!  (Fun fact~ our first date was at the Brattle to watch a black and white movie.)  Of course we need to grab dinner and drinks beforehand 😏

We decided to go to Longfellow's, the new bar that opened above the Brattle.  (Fun fact~ our first Valentine's Day dinner was at the bar that previously occupied that space.)  We had gone here a few weeks prior, when it opened, and really enjoyed it.  It's a beautiful, cozy space and seemed like a perfect place for Valentine's Day dinner. 

Longfellow's features small plates to share.  We ordered four, the Cesar salad, the deviled eggs, pigs in a blanket, and the chicken torta.  I'm going to be honest, I didn't love the food!  Each plate was really well crafted and featured a unique spin on classic dishes.  That being said, the flavors were almost too intense.  After a few delicious bites I found the flavors too powerful, and a little off putting.  JO, on the other hand, really enjoyed the food so it might have just been me. 

After dinner we headed over to the Brattle and enjoyed the best movie ever made!  Seriously, if you have never seen Casablanca you're really missing out!

Colette~ A Little Slice of Palm Springs in Porter Square

2019 hasn't gotten off to a great start.  My dad had a pretty significant mixup with his medicine, our roof leaked, I lost my voice, and had a never ending cold that turned into another bout with strep throat!  To say I'm already fed up with this year is an understatement.

Yesterday we tried to right the ship.  We went down to UConn where my Huskies scored 115 points (I'm ignoring the fact that they gave up 75 points.)  When we got I suggested that we go to Sugar and Spice for dinner.  While we were eating JO mentioned that we might go to Colette, which had just opened up next door at the Porter Square Hotel.  (I had secretly been planning this all along!)

So decked out in all of our Husky gear, including my new UConn earrings, we headed over to the new restaurant by the owners of acclaimed Frenchie's in the South End!

Can you be in love with a restaurant because I am!  I love everything that is happening here!  The art deco 1920s Palm Springs vibe is amazing!  I love beautiful restaurants and this one is definitely beautiful!  Check out their Instagram for lots of interior pictures.  I loved all of the bright colors, over the top wallpaper, mix and match vintage chairs, and beautiful light fixtures. 

We grabbed two seats at the marble bar and ordered two glasses of sparkling rose!  Later, JO tried the Colette Mule and said it was really good!  (It was made with brandy not vodka.)

We sampled the dessert.  These fluffy donuts with dipping sauce were to die for!  They were light and fluffy and covered in the most delicious crushed sugar. 

If we lived in Porter Square we would live at this bar!  It was a great warm up for our Palm Springs vacation next week! 

BBII @ Home

By now I'm sure you know how much I love going to the ballet so when I got an email from Boston Ballet about the BBII @ Home performance I quickly ordered a ticket.

BBII is the Boston Ballet's second company and the @home performance is performed at the Boston Ballet's School of Ballet and featured a new piece and several classic pieces performed by the second company.  I was super excited to get to go inside the ballet school and see such an intimate performance.

It was so neat to get to see the practice spaces and even the call sheets for the dancers.  The studio the performance was held in was beautiful.  When the lights went out and the city buildings came into focus in these giant windows it was magical.  (I want to live in the apartments across the street- I would watch the dancing every day.)

I've never gotten to sit so close to the dancers before.  You could hear every breath, every shoe push on the floor.  I was just getting over being sick again and I almost skipped the performance.  I'm glad I didn't.  It was such a neat experience and definitely filled my ballet void between the Nutcracker and Full On Forsythe in March.

Zachariah Hickman at Club Passim

JO and I have a new policy.  If Zachariah Hickman is playing a show at Club Passim we will be there.  Since, we had so much fun at his campfire show at Passim a few months ago we decided to get tickets to his "Let's Get Weird" show last week.

I can't think of a more fitting title for this show.  From weird instruments, to weird pairings, to a weird mix of covers and jazz, this show pretty much had it all.  

This is my monthly plug~ go see a show at Passim.  You won't be disappointed...and many of the shows do not feature dragon sousaphones if that's not your jam!  But if they are, go to a Zachariah Hickman show!

The Fridge Speaks the Truth

If you don't follow the Fridge at Trina's Starlite Lounge, you really should.  I mean, this is pretty accurate, right?

January had me at my Wit's End

January really sucked!  There's no other way to put it.  There was a lot of stuff to deal with my dad, with our leaking roof, with school, and to top it off my Huskies lost two games.  I also lost my voice and then caught a second cold on top of that!!! 😱

On Friday night all I wanted to do is eat Spaghetti O's and sit on the couch.  I had fit the sneezy stage of my cold and I was pretty miserable.  JO convinced me that Spaghetti O's weren't the way to go.   We headed over to Casa Portugal.  The waitress just asked us if we wanted our usual meal!  They really don't even need to give us menus anymore.

After dinner we decided to continue the evening at Wit's End!  We don't go to this place enough.  The bar area really is great.  It's open, with high ceilings, and great window views of Inman.  Here's hoping February is better than January!