Boston - It will knock your sox off

I'll been promising myself that I will actually visit other areas of the East Coast now that I live in NYC.  So far I've done a terrible job having only made it to Maine.  So, when the opportunity came up to take an overnight trip there for work I jumped at the chance.

It was my first time elbowing rush hour out of the way to score a cushy spot on the schmancy highspeed Acela train on a Monday afternoon.  The 3+ hour ride was passed comfortably even if the cafeteria food was pretty terrible and the wifi was spotty.  I jumped off at the Back Bay stop which was conveniently right across the street from my Marriott Hotel.  Unfortunately it took me twenty minutes to figure out how to GET to the hotel since it is essentially at one end of a shopping mall... strange.

After waiting twenty minutes for someone to realize there was no one at the check-in I got my room key.  My room was nice if fairly standard and after exploding my personal belongings all over the place I wandered downstairs to catch the Bears game at the Champions bar while waiting for my friend to finish up work.  The beer list was pretty solid! 

Photo Credit: Marriot Hotel Copley Place Website

I was starving by this point (since the train food had been so non-fantastic) so we hopped in a cab to Parish Cafe to eat "the best sandwiches ever."  So the concept of this place is pretty cool.  They select the top sandwiches from a bunch of other restaurants and serve them up on one menu.  So when I say the "best sandwiches" they legitimately are.  We tried...

Photo Credit: Parish Cafe Website

The Mistral (created by Mitchell Randall, Executive Chef – Mistral Bistro, Boston)
Garlic and rosemary marinated beef tenderloin grilled to medium rare, served on ciabatta with caramelized onions, chive mashed potatoes and melted Bel Paese cheese. Topped with seasoned arugula, a truffle aioli and crispy onions. Sided with Cape Cod potato chips.

The Coppa (created by: Jamie Bissonnette, Chef/Owner – Coppa & Toro, Boston)

A slow roasted pork belly sandwich on a sesame seeded bun topped with melted American cheese, Hellman’s mayonnaise, caramelized jalapeño peppers and onions, and raw jalapeño peppers. Sided with your choice of homemade potato salad or cole slaw.

 Both sandwiches were extremely delicious and VERY hearty.  Already three beers deep I definitely struggled to finish mine.  I highly recommend splitting unless you are SUPER hungry.  Oh, and apparently if you are a boss, like my friend, when you show up they give you your customized beer stein to drink from.  So jelly.

About fourteen sandwich pounds heavier, we waddled our way to the next stop ...Lolita.  This place is all kinds of naughty from the blood red lighting to the killer tequila drinks.  You can't go to a tequila bar that looks like the seventh level of Hell without ordering the Diablo - lunazul, combier, serrano chiles, blood oranges, pineapple and strawberry.  It was sweet, spicy, and downright satanic.  Pretty sure I had multiple before the rest of the party showed up and we moved on to shots.  Who knew Boston was so full of attractive, arrogant Canadians???  (sorry my friend needed a plug)

Photo Credit: Lolita Website

Sadly Boston lacks the late late night after parties of NYC thanks to bars closing down around 1-2am so the party ended shortly after and I mentally prepared myself for my 7am work wake up call.  Boston certainly knocked my sox off.  Can't wait to come back.