Cherry Blossoms + Boston

Since this was our first spring in D.C., coincidentally it was also our first time seeing the the cherry blossoms!  In the early 1900's, the mayor of Tokyo gifted our capital with over 3,000 cherry trees. Each year, tons (an I mean MILLIONS) of people head into our Nation's Capital to see this lovely sight.

Now these pictures may look very peaceful and beautiful, but I had to maneuver myself like a magician in order to get shots that did not include the MASSES of people.  We literally could not move because the entire mall and tidal basin were filled with a sea of tourists.  After living here, I am slowly learning (the hard way) that there are many times to avoid the city.  This being one of them.

I'm not saying it wasn't a gorgeous sight to see.  The sheer impact of all of these pink and white blossoms is breathtaking. I just learned that next year, I am going to go see them on a weekday around 5:30 in the morning.

Can you see the frustration?  I think the words that came out of his mouth were, "I can't believe you dragged me here in this crowd of people to see a bunch of trees."

A few weeks back I made a quick trip up to Boston to visit some clients. It was my first time there and I fell head over heels in love with this city.  If I had a few extra million dollars, I would buy an apartment right off Newbury Street and spend as much time as possible in this extraordinary city. A girl can dream, right?!

Here are just a few pictures that I snapped.  My meetings ended a bit early and my flight didn't take off until later that evening.  So, what do you do when you only have a few hours of free time to see as much of a city as possible?  Well... you hop on a double decker tour bus of course!  This was my first time doing that and I am sold.  The bus took me all over Boston, and Cambridge as well.  I hopped off and walked around the Harvard campus, which was such an idyllic little town.

Here are a few pictures and cell phone snaps that cover most of my Boston trip.  My time there was way too short and I hope to go back many more times in years to come!

Now, let's get to the good stuff... food!  Here are a few places that I ate and what I had.

+  No. 9 Park
This restaurant was on the fancier end, but it was crazy good.  Since cooking is my thing, I love restaurants that wow me with technique and have me wondering, "How the hell did they make this?!?!".   This is one of those places.

I was a single diner and sat at the bar by myself.  Most restaurants will send over something extra for us single diners (they feel bad for us, lol) and No. 9 Park made me feel wonderfully welcome.  In this instance, they sent over a small sashimi appetizer which was delightful. For my main course, I had the chicken.  This is not your normal piece of chicken.  It was perfectly tender with the crispiest skin ever.  Served over wild mushrooms, topped with a castelvetrano olive relish, along with a side of creamy polenta and poached egg, this was one of the best meals I've had in a long time.

I passed on dessert, but they still gave me a tiny trio of miniature confections.

Chicken from No. 9 Park

+ Stoddard's Food and Ale
It is so fun when I am traveling and find out that a good friend is also in the same city.  To my surprise, a good friend of ours from Florida was also in Boston as well!  We decided to meet a Stoddard's Food and Ale since it was conveniently located in between our hotels.

This place is really charming and featured a huge list of unique beers and gastropub-esque food.  Plus, I was finally able to try my first Scotch Egg!  A Scotch Egg is a soft boiled egg, wrapped in a thin layer of sausage, breaded, then fried to a crisp and served with a side of mustard.  It was everything I hoped it would be!  

I then finished out the meal with some chicken pot pie and you want to know what they served as a garnish on top?  Fried. Chicken. Skin.  I kid you not.  Sorry to you vegetarians out there, but it was awesome.

The infamous Scotch Egg

Teeters and I; Good friends and good times!  

LOVED this mural!

Harvard campus

That's me... on my tour bus :) 

+ Legal Sea Foods
For lunch, I took some clients out to Legal Sea Foods.  Their office was right around the corned and it was their recommendation.... and what a great one it was!  The inside was very stylishly designed and the food & service were great!

I had the Korean Rice Bowl, which was filled with sauteed shitake mushrooms, carrots, seaweed cucumbers, kimchi, tuna, and an egg yolk.  I want to try to recreate this dish because it was crazy good!

Korean Rice Bowl at Legal Sea Foods

And here is my last shot.  Boston, you have my heart!