Boston Restaurant Roundup: Part 1 {Downtown Boston}

May 23, 2014May 22, 20149 Comments

It’s no surprise that I love to go out to lunch or dinner or even just for drinks, right? I love trying new places or foods or drinks and then sharing that information with all of you who read this little blog. I especially love when you guys ask me for restaurant recommendations, so I thought that I would make it a little easier for you and give you my Boston Restaurant Roundup so you can have access to all my favorite restaurants in a few different posts. I originally wanted to put everything in one post, but as I started to list out the various restaurants I’ve been to, I realized I’ve been to A LOT of different places all around Boston. Putting them into one post would’ve just been too long, so here is your first installment of my “Boston Restaurant Roundup”, which includes restaurants in Downtown Boston (Fanuel Hall, Financial District and Downtown Crossing).

Faneuil Hall/Financial District

Anthem– I have talked about Anthem a number of times on here, so it’s no surprise that it’s the first place I list. They are located right in the heart of Faneuil Hall, have a good wine and cocktail menu and a terrific food menu. It’s great for outdoor dining in the summer and the bar area is great for indoor people watching in the winter/colder months. If you go, you MUST, I repeat, MUST get the fondue! It is the absolute best.

Granary Tavern– This is another place with a similar vibe to Anthem. I have to say that the prices are a little better and I like their wines more, so sometimes we choose this place over Anthem. It’s located on Atlantic Ave, so it’s still close to shopping and bar hopping. They’ve got some terrific salads and pizza’s and a great outdoor patio area for summer dining.

Sakurabana– If you’re looking for Sushi in this area, I definitely suggest Sakurabana. The fish has always been really fresh and colorful and they have brown rice options. This is a really popular lunch place, and although it’s never busy for dinner, it’s wroth a trip. I think I’ve been there 3 times in the past 2 months. If you have a gluten allergy or intolerance, they accommodate that, too!

Society on High– I went here for after work drinks and loved the atmosphere. They had a great bar area and lots of high-top tables to sit at around the bar. They also had an absolutely delicious Sauvignon Blanc that I may or may not have had 3 glasses of… on a Tuesday! 😉 We ended up getting some apps and really loved the fish tacos and shrimp cocktail. I’ve been trying to get back there ever since.

Downtown Crossing

Stoddards– I haven’t eaten here, but my sister, Amy and I had a girls night there a few months ago and loved the bar area. We ended up downstairs, but they have an area upstairs, too. I’ve heard that the food is good, I just haven’t had a chance to get back there to try it.
49 Social– Danielle, Amy and I went across the street from Stoddards for dinner at 49 Social. While this is a little more of an ‘upscale” place compared to Stoddards, it wasn’t TOO stuffy. We tried to sit at the bar area since it was certainly more casual there, but they were full so we had to go upstairs. The regular menu looked wonderful, but we were more in the mood for munchy food and asked if we could order from the bar menu- no problem at all! Everything we had was absolutely delicious- I highly recommend trying this place.
Sip– I recently went with my friend Lisa and we enjoyed countless drinks and a few food dishes and left there completely satisfied. I still dream about the tacos and mushroom pizza with truffle oil. The fact that you can choose what size glass of wine you want is also a really fun thing- it gives you a chance to do a tasting “flight” of various wines. The prices are also very reasonable.

Gem– This triples as a great dinner spot, lively after dinner drink spot and a great post dinner drink spot. Trust me on this- I’ve done all three 😉 We did dinner first (a while ago as one of our girls nights) and loved it. We shared a salad and a flatbread and lots of wine (they have a heavy pour!). Recently, we went for after dinner drinks and loved the scene. It’s certainly not a “casual” atmosphere (more clubby than casual Boston bars), but if you’re looking for a time to get dressed up, it’s a great place to go!

So, there you have it! Your first installment of my “Boston Restaurant Roundup”. Next up will be Southie/Seaport District and East Boston. There are lots of good places in those locations!

Questions for you: Have you been to any of these places? Did I miss any/are there any that I should try? I’m always looking to expand my restaurant repertoire, so share your favorites in the comments section!

Weekending: Quiet night in, Spring Wine Fest, Girls day out

March 25, 2014March 23, 20147 Comments

I love when I have weekends that are a mix of relaxation and fun events- they’re the best right? This past weekend was one of those weekends and it was just what I needed after a busy week, as well as what I needed to prepare for a busy week this week.

Friday night, I headed into the city after I finished work to go to Lindsay’s class at Recycle. I had never been to the studio on Newbury Street, but I was a huge fan!

Working out on a Friday afternoon was a nice treat!

The rest of my Friday night included wine, a healthy dinner and serious couch lounging, which was exactly what I needed/wanted.

Spring Wine Fest

A few months ago, my friend Jessi sent out an email telling us about a Spring Wine Fest that she has gone to for a number of years. The tickets at the time were only $19, so clearly that was a no-brainer on my part; sign me up! Drinking wine on a Saturday afternoon with my girlfriends (after teaching an awesome kickboxing class) is probably one of my favorite things do to.

We had a blast walking around and trying lots of different wines from various wineries. Some of my favorites were Kim Crawford, Wild Horse, Estancia and Simi, although there were so many others that were great, too. I liked going during the day because even though it was still pretty busy (we basically would get a sample then drink it while waiting in another line), there was still room to move and mingle and hang out. They had lots of free food samples, which is key at a wine tasting event 😉

The lighting in the Cyclorama was amazing- these photos came out so great! Doesn’t hurt that I have pretty friends, either 😉

After a few tastings we were feeling silly enough to jump over to the photo booth. I die a little every time I look at these pictures…

Look at my head in that second one- it makes no sense!

Our tasting ended at 2:30, so we walked over to Gaslight for a much needed late lunch. I had a Bellini to start and then switched to wine after.

My sister met us for lunch and she and I shared the Croque Madame and scrambled eggs with a Truffle Oil sauce. Holy yum!

After lunch, our large group broke up and some went home and others went to The Playwright for a Boston Marathon fundraiser. I was so happy that my friend Meaghan was able to join us!

Needless to say, after a day of drinking, I was happily home, fed and in bed by 9:30 😉

Sunday was a standard Sunday that consisted of laundry, grocery shopping, visiting my sister, packing and lots of blogging/workout planning. It’s always a little stressful right before I leave for a trip (even if it’s short) because I have to get my blog posts prepped for the time I’m going to be away and I have to make sure that I’m packed correctly (in other words, it takes time to pack smartly vs. just throwing stuff into a suitcase.). I have to say, though, one thing that was really nice was the fact that I didn’t need to cook a big meal or prep for the week. It’s sad how much easier my day felt without that task!

Here’s to a good week!

Questions for you: Do you like to workout on Fridays? What’s your ideal Saturday consist of? Have you ever been to the Wine Fest in the South End?

Weekending: Lots of dining out {again}, girl time, date night & finally taking time to breathe

March 18, 2014March 16, 201414 Comments

This past weekend was another whirl-wind, but it was all super fun stuff so I can’t really complain 🙂

On Friday, my upstairs neighbor, Lisa, and I went into the city for drinks and dinner at Sip Wine Bar.

I had been once before, but not in a few years, so I was excited to go back! We had to wait a bit for seats at the bar to open up, but that was fine, we had cocktails and lots of catching up to do to pass the time.

I love Sip because you can have a “sip” of wine, a half glass, whole glass or bottle. After my bubbly, I did a white wine sampler.

Yummy 🙂 We shared the Ahi Tuna Tacos and the Mushroom Flatbread, both of which were delicious! Seriously, I don’t know if it was the truffle oil on the pizza or what, but I could’ve eaten the whole thing on my own.

Thanks for such a fun night, Lisa!

After my going to Pursuit on Saturday morning, I met up with some college friends for lunch at Margarita’s in Medford. Sheila and I were both craving Mexican, so it was the perfect place to go… my wine headache needed chips and salsa. Like, needed them. A margarita didn’t hurt, either 😉

When I got home, I whipped up a batch of the most delicious gluten free, dairy free oatmeal chocolate coconut pecan no-bake bars!

Saturday night was date night! We went to Eastern Standard, which is one of my favorite restaurants/bars in Boston. I got all dolled up and even wore contacts- it’s so weird when I don’t wear glasses. I feel like I don’t look like myself at all!

We scored seats at the bar and enjoyed some cocktails before finally ordering some food. We ordered some shrimp cocktail to start, and I wound up getting the cheese burger. Say, what?! Yeah, I was just graving red meat, but not in the form of steak, so the burger was a great option- it was so good.

Such a fun night! Sorry I missed you, Steph and Alice 😦

Sunday morning started with much needed yoga, followed by a day to myself. Between my crazy weekends and week days, I really, REALLY needed/wanted a day to myself to catch up on life. Yoga, grocery shopping, meal prep, blogging, workout prep, cleaning and laundry… may not sound that exciting, but it was perfect for me!

And that about sums it up! This past weekend was a better balance of fun things and relaxing things- I needed that.

Questions for you: Have you been to Sip or Eastern Standard? What was something fun that you did over the weekend? Truffle oil- are you a sucker for it like I am?

This Week: Workouts, Snow Frustration & Things I’m Looking Forward To

February 17, 2014February 16, 20145 Comments

Thank you all so much for your kind words and great suggestions on my 1 year anniversary post. You have no idea how much it means to me… seriously! You guys are the best!! There’s still more time to enter the giveaway, so head on over and enter to win it!

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Good morning! How was your weekend? Mine was ok. Friday night I had a blast getting drinks and apps with my sister and my upstairs neighbor, Lisa. It ended up being an eventful night, but very fun! Saturday was full of fitness and baking since my evening plans got cancelled because of the snow and Sunday was quiet and low key because I was super uncomfortable from a weird skin breakout on top of my Chilblains. Yeah. Wasn’t fun at all.

I’ve got to say, though, the snow has really been cramping my style and my plans. I love the snow and I love winter, but I hate the stress that it adds: worrying about whether or not classes will be cancelled, worrying about parking, getting disappointed because plans end up being cancelled because of the weather… it’s just getting old! Anyone else feel this way? What’s the thing about winter/snow storms that stresses you out the most or makes you the most upset?

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I subbed a kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC. It was a big group AND no one left… that’s a personal record for me at that gym 😉 Before teaching I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes of abs.
Tuesday- I went to the Muscle Mix class at the gym in my building. We used the Reebok core boards which was a fun treat! It was the same sub as last week (who was awkward) and she was still crazy this week. She also kept telling us to “suck in our guts” and to not let them hang over out pants. I found that offensive and just not really appropriate. I understand the point she’s trying to make, but I think she could approach it differently. Thoughts?
Wednesday- I ran a quick 3 miles on the treadmill (and changed the incline from 1-5%, which upped the intensity) and then taught UXF Burn.
Thursday- The BSC cancelled ALL classes, which has never happened in the time I’ve worked there. Literally. Even in the blizzard last year they didn’t cancel classes. It was such a shocker!! On the one hand, I was happy that I didn’t have to deal with getting there and getting home, but on the other hand I was sad to miss out on my double 😦 I ended up doing 30 minutes of kickboxing and 30 minutes of strength in my apartment. Perfect.
Friday- Rest! I did 10 minutes of yoga to stretch out and wished I had 60 minutes to stretch. It felt so good!
Saturday- Big day of fitness. I taught kickboxing in the morning (sorry to the front row if my sweat smelled like wine… whoops!), which ended up being a pretty intense cardio class. Later in the day, I went to a blogger event at Flywheel. Boy were my legs beat by the end of that!!
Sunday- Rest. I wasn’t planning on resting, but my Chilblains came out in full force from Friday night to Sunday. It’s terrible and I need to go back to the dermatologist. My fingers were so painful it hurt to bend them… and it spread to my toes. I know I could have it much worse, but I was pretty miserable yesterday, to say the least. I cleaned, grocery shopped, food prepped and caught up on blogging instead. Sometimes rest like that is just necessary.

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- I’m not sure what I’ll do today… I might have even gotten my workout in by the time this blog post goes up!
Tuesday- If I don’t go to the Muscle Mix class (I have a call right before it so I may not be able to make it), I’ll lift after work probably.
Wednesday- Treadmill run and then teaching UXF Burn.
Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing. At least my workouts are already made 😉
Friday- I’d love to get in 30 minutes of at home yoga!
Saturday- I have no idea! I’m not teaching and don’t have any other plans. Maybe I’ll go to Recycle studio or BodyPump or Core Fusion. I love open weekend days 🙂
Sunday- Again, no idea. Apparently my week is very open in terms of workouts…. I like that!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Hmmm… I’m looking forward to getting a chance to have flexibility with my workouts this week. Hopefully I’ll be able to try out new classes or workouts. My Valentine’s plans last weekend ended up being cancelled because of the weather, so hopefully they’ll get rescheduled this week. Other than that, I’m feeling really blah. I’m trying not to let this whole Chilblains stuff bother me, but it is. It’s just painful and frustrating and it makes me nervous. I know I could be facing things much worse than I am, but it just seems like I can’t win lately. Literally, I feel like it’s been one thing after another in the past 2 weeks and it’s really starting to get to me. I need to get back to the doctors ASAP, because on top of the Chilblains, I also have some weird bumps all over my body… almost like bug bites. I don’t think I have bed bugs (I looked) and I changed my sheets, but they’re getting worse. My skin hates me and I’m looking forward to the day when it’s back to normal.

So, sorry about my womp womp attitude, but I just don’t like when my body isn’t working correctly. It makes me nervous, but hopefully after seeing the doctor I’ll feel better.

Questions for you: Has the snow interrupted your workout plans? Have you ever been offended by something an instructor has said? What are you looking forward to this week?

Weekending: Relaxing, Spontaneous Girls Night, Sunday Dinner

January 28, 2014January 26, 20145 Comments

I wasn’t sure what my weekend was going to entail going into it, which is very unlike me! For once, I went entirely with the flow and sans plans. It was quite nice, might I add!

Friday was weird since I went into the office. Luckily, we can wear jeans on Friday’s now. Since I was dressed and had my hair done, I had wanted to get drinks after work, but no one was around and by the time I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was go back out in the cold so I just stayed in.

Saturday morning I took a class at Recycle studio with my friend Lindsay which was the best way to start my day!

We grabbed coffee (tea for me) at Starbucks after class and it was really interesting to hear how she got into teaching at Recycle. It makes me want to do it, but it was a huge time investment and I don’t know if my schedule allows for that right now. By the time I got home, I was starvinggggg, so I quickly whipped up this delicious quesadilla.

Ground turkey, mushrooms, kale and cheese. It.was.perfect.

I was able to spend the rest of the afternoon catching up on a LOT of blogging. I don’t often have a solid chunk of time to do that, but I wish I did because I was so productive.

I met my sister and Amy at Stoddard’s in Downtown Crossing for a drink before our dinner reservations at 49 Social. It worked out perfectly because they are literally across the street from each other. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably remember that the “Shapleigh” girls like to get together for girls nights. Rachel was out of town, so it was just the 3 of us this time.

49 Social was really, really good! I didn’t take any pictures of the food, but we got hummus, a Duck Confit Quesadilla, a burger and some asparagus and everything was absolutely delicious. We always like to get things from the bar menu or appetizer section since we all like to share, so it was perfect. Danielle and I shared a bottle of this sauvignon blanc which was quite tasty.

For once, I didn’t want to go home after dinner. We were having so much fun that we decided to keep it going and have “one more” at Gem as it was nearby. Well, “one more” ended up being “three more” without even really realizing it! I absolutely love nights that turn out like this. We were all just living in the moment and enjoying being out together, so we kept it going.

We met the young man in the photo above when Danielle was showing off her stellar dance moves. He was visiting from Australia and I’m not sure he really knew how to handle us. It was hilarious.

Anyway! Sunday was productive, but also flew by. I went grocery shopping and then next thing I knew, it was time to head into the city for a class at Exhale Spa. When I got home, I got cookin’ in the kitchen. I made garlic and cheese mashed cauliflower, roasted veggies and marinated chicken. It was simple, but healthy and really good. The flavors were spot on.