five boston greats

Hi, Boston! How've you been?!

If you're in need of some local inspiration, or happen to be planning a trip to the city this summer, these are a few spots where I've been eating and drinking the last couple months for group dinners and date nights, ladies evenings and bar hopping - it's all here! 

Highball is a vintage cocktail lounge with a playful edge; the drink program is serious while the rest of the scene evokes a childhood nostalgia. There's a room full of old school board games, (think Candy Land, Trouble, Guess Who), a menu board with brightly colored magnet letters, and anything from a rubber duck to a plastic bendy straw could end up in your drink.

The bar bites focused menu may be small but dishes deliver big time. The Tater Tot Nachos ($11) mean business. A tower of crispy tots comes in a mini cast iron pan piled with chunky guacamole, black olives, pickled red onions and dollops of crème fraiche. A heavenly melted cheese sauce pools at the bottom, so make sure to take advantage and dig all the way in. The Crab Rangoon Spring Rolls ($9) are also a really satisfying choice. I'm drinking an Epiphany ($11) with plymouth gin, bianco vermouth, agave, lime, cucumbers and pomello soda in a super cute retro glass. 

Highball Lounge | Beacon Hill
90 Tremont Steet
Boston, MA 02108
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An impromptu Friday night date at Eastern Standard turned into a group dinner (we ran into a few friends, who are meeting other friends) next thing you know, we're all slurping a couple dozen Oysters ($2.75 ea) and perfectly shaken, always strong cocktails are flowing. Combining gin, st Germain, lime, peychauds and parsely, The Thaw ($13) was a bright, herbal ode to springs arrival. In the Calypso ($10) vodka, celery and lemon keep things tart and fresh. The Friday Special: Saffron Fettucine with Shellfish ($26) proved to be an outstanding entrée. The pasta dish arrives with mussels and generous chunks of sweet, plump lobster meat, fava beans and cherry tomatoes all laced with green garlic and a terrific uni butter. Wow.

Eastern Standard | Kenmore Square

528 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston, MA 02215  
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A few weeks later, ES's sibling-neighbor Island Creek Oyster Bar plays host to a crew of 17 ladies to celebrate Tracy's bachelorette party. We started with oysters and cocktails (and a trend in this post emerges, but it must be said!) The cocktail menu keeps you guessing and I have fun interpreting - Juniper = Gin, Agave = tequila, The Spice Island = rum based. The Salt Washed ($13) it is, with juniper, tarragon and celery. Lately, I'm all about celery and herb based libations. This one is an awesome pairing with some briny Island Creeks.

The first course presents a baby arugula salad in a light dijon vinaigrette and a gorgeous Salmon Tartare shared family style, along with individual cups of Clam Chowder. Their chowder is something to marvel at, featuring hand dug clams, house cured bacon and buttermilk biscuit crackers. The entrée pictured is the Pan Seared Gloucester Halibut atop a spring vegetable chowder and ICOB Bacon, paired with a bottle of the Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Bianco ($38) a mineraly, slightly effervescent, food friendly Basque white wine. Desserts are divine, we share caramel milk chocolate pot de cremes and lime-coconut crème donuts with mango jam. (We paid $85 for the prix fix meal, inclusive of tip - arranged ahead of time.) For one of the freshest seafood and raw bar selections in Boston, featuring inventively prepared New England classics, Island Creek is one not to miss!

ICOB | Kenmore Square

500 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston, MA 02215   

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 The youngest sibling of the former two restaurants, Row 34, located across town in Fort Point Channel is the self described workingman's oyster bar. The lively industrial space was the perfect spot for Friday after-work drinks and to celebrate a friends new job. Our bartender provided superior service; he was friendly, attentive (always noticed a newcomer) and kept the cold beers and impeccably shucked oysters and clams flowing. With a wide selection of craft brewed and funky European choices on draft and in the bottle, the beer menu (plus that raw bar!) is reason alone to make this place a destination.

 Row 34 | Fort Point

383 Congress St
Fort Point, MA 02210 

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Oh, Shōjō. I adore you, but, what an incredibly confusing experience with the hostess(es). I rarely rant, but here goes....

• We arrive and hostess #1 affirmatively tells us the wait will be 45 minutes and takes my cell number. 
• The bar is packed so we head out and just as we are ordering a beer five minutes down the street, hostess #1 calls back and we are told our table is ready. (It has been five minutes. So from 45 to 5. What?!) 
• On our walk back, hostess #2 calls me again. (um, why are they calling me again?! So confused.) I assure her we will be right there!!
• Upon arrival, hostess #1 explains our table is not ready, it will be 20 more minutes. What is going on here ladies!? Do we stay? Do we go? 
• In that moment two seats open up at the tiny bar, so we stay. 
• Before we even order drinks, not a minute later, hostess #2 appears with menus to seat us. What?!? Meanwhile, the table she appears to want to lead us towards has been open the entire time. 
• As we are now comfortably seated at the bar, we tell her no thanks to the table. This was all super annoying!

I still want to recommend Shōjō despite the hostesses antics. They were apologetic, and we're over it because we've been here before and know their creative take on Asian food and drinks are worth it. Everything has always been really freakin GOOD.

They focus on small plates, so plan on ordering a bunch to share. We devoured the Crispy Shrimp Bao ($9) with charred shishito and yuzu aioli, the Tiger Ribs ($9) with thai basil, shallots and peanuts and a bowl of Kimchi Fried Rice ($12) with a sunny egg. Cocktails are superbly done, like my Sum Ting Wong ($12) with ocho, campari, lime and rhubarb shrub. They have a unrivaled Asian craft beer and spirit list and then there's also a solid selection of the one's you know - Sapporo on draft and Singha (Thai), Asahi (Japan) and TsingTao (China) bottles. Service from the bartender is perfectly normal and attentive. Despite being really crowded, I still feel like this place flies under the radar. They take reservations for parties of 10 or more, otherwise, you'll just have to try your luck with a table.

    

Shōjō | Chinatown

9A Tyler Street

Boston, MA 02111 

Westside Market | Cleveland

I've been gushing about Cleveland for a solid month now and still there is more! 

The group was given a lot of time early one morning to spend at the historic Westside Market. I could not have been happier to explore all the food stalls, perusing and snapping photographs at my leisure. If you can believe it, what you see here is just a small depiction of the 100 or so family run vendor stalls selling everything from meat, breads, dairy and seafood to nuts, spices, olive oils, perogies and pastries. There's even a Parisian street style creperie Crêpes de Luxe where I purchased a savory ham, egg and gruyere crêpe. Located conveniently next to it is a gourmet coffee roaster stall City Roast Coffee where a frothy cappuccino was in order. With my breakfast treats I ventured upstairs to hang out on the balcony overlooking the grand yellow brick and white subway tiled space, the morning sunlight streaming through the high windows. I also managed to take home some phenomenal homemade pastas from the Ohio City Pasta stall - pappardelle and two fettuccine: rye and lemon pepper. (Our luxury bus had a built in cooler and our hotel rooms were equipped with a full fridge! The pasta was still fantastic by the time I got it home to Boston.) If I lived in Cleveland, I'd be grocery shopping here regularly.

Westside Market is the cities oldest continually operating public market, opened in 1912 to serve the growing immigrant population. 100+ years later they continue to offer a friendly, culturally diverse shopping experience.

Hours: Mon & Wed: 7am-4pm / Fri & Sat: 7am-6pm

Westside Market

Ohio City

1979 W 25th St,

Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Villa Francesca

Just off of Hanover Street as you round the first corner onto onto Richmond, Ristorante Villa-Francesca sits beaming proudly along the Freedom Trail. A boat-shaped raw bar in the window is surrounded by pretty plants and hanging flower pots. 

I've visited for drinks, but never a meal. I was delighted to attend a dinner with bloggers and experience what this well established North End spot had to offer. I arrived and was lead downstairs to wine cellar. Here I was greeted with a glass of Prosecco and freshly shucked oysters. After a good hour of mingling, we sat down to dinner. The appetizer course began with an impressive Antipasti Dela Casa.
The house antipasti platter included: prosciutto, salami and provolone alongside a caprese salad, finished with a chiffonade of fresh basil and a dusting of cracked pepper. I especially adored the presentation of salami pyramids. Next we enjoyed the Fettuccine Con Gamberi - the homemade pasta was excellent, with perfectly cooked shrimp in a vibrant tomato basil and cream sauce.

Villa Francesca was packed tonight! It was the first Monday of Restaurant Week. The atmosphere upstairs is just as inviting as the wine cellar we were dining in. Hardwood floors, exposed brick archways, elegant wine racks and a chic marble bar are all part of the bustling scene. For the main course, we had our choice of two entrees. 

Sogliola Alla Meditteranea - Fillet of Sole prepared with extra virgin olive oil, a touch of butter, lots of fresh basil and a sprinkle of fresh tomato, served with roasted potatoes and escarole with cannellini beans.

Pollo Monte - Chicken layered with Eggplant and mozzarella, topped with artichoke in a white wine sauce, served with roasted potatoes and spinach. Megan ordered the Pollo, I ordered the Sogliola, and we shared. Both were delicious! 

For dessert, our waitress filled fresh baked cannoli shells table side and topped them with chocolate chips, walnuts and powdered sugar.

Heaven on a plate.

And heaven (espresso) in a tiny mug.

I had an absolute blast dining with these guys!! Thanks so much Villa Franchesca for your generous hospitality.
Another North End gem discovered. My walks home past Ristorante Villa Francesca will forever be filled with fond memories of this night.

Ristorante Villa-Francesca

150 Richmond Street

Boston, MA 02109

this meal was complimentary, all opinions are my own