Unknown it will also be a matter of what actually has availability. I think we are looking at a Weds evening. Friday evening is a Sox game if it doesn’t get rained out. Not sure if it is worth looking for something around the area or if there are well recommended Fenway eats. I mean don’t tell me fenway franks. I can get a ballpark dog anywhere including Kayem brands down here.
If it helps matters at all our closest T stop is Coolidge Corner. Anyways, my spouse sent me links to two places that are in Cambridge for our anniversary since we will be in that area apparently. 1. Season To Taste (?) and 2. The Hourly? I told her that Oleana keeps popping up. However now I know that Cambridge will be the scene for the actual anniversary day so that narrows things down to location at this point and time. I will post something a bit more concrete with where we may be on which days. Which may help.
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I have never heard of the Hourly Oyster House (I had to look it up). Not saying it isn’t good, it’s just unknown to me. Personally if I were looking for seafood in Cambridge I’d head for Row 34 in Kendall Sq
I went eons ago. Twas fine but didn’t strike me as a particularly special occasion kind of place.
I think Season To Taste might be better for your anniversary dinner? I haven’t been to their new space but we have gotten takeout holiday meals from them and even took a knife class with the owners again eons ago. Good peeps.
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Celebratory places in Cambridge? Oleana, Guilia, Tallulah, Bar Enza, Harvest, Pammys are all places that I’ve had good meals at that could fall into that category
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Food inside Fenway is mediocre, eat elsewhere.
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Thanks for the Savenor news. Although not food related, Coolidge Corner is a good location. It’s home to the Booksmith and the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Fenway Park is about a half hour walk away.
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We love Season to Taste, both in its former format/location and the new one, which has a much larger menu and slightly more casual vibe. Without knowing much about you all, I’d say that it would be a great anniversary dinner and, to the extent that your kiddo will be with you, has more options for a finicky palate than Oleana.
I loved living in Coolidge Corner. Lots of small, mostly independent shops, interesting restaurants and cafes, and Clear Flour Bakery!
We would never do that walk only because family members would not be up for it. I saw the Booksmith Indy book store. The theatre looks cool and there is a showing of Spirited Away and one of National Treasure. The current offerings for present day movies probably not what we would be looking at for a family.
Someone also recommended a place in that area called Rami’s? And apparently the Butcherie there just had some antisemitic attacks.
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So here are the plans as they currently stand
Sunday will probably be our day around Boston Common and maybe the Tea Party ship. A lot of what we will do and for how long will depend on the temperature
Monday we have booked tickets at the aquarium, maybe boston harbor walk and maybe the mad house that is Quincy Market/Fan. Hall neither of which I care about as their isn’t anything to really see there but people and maybe a busker. Lastly a Ducks Tour (maybe if we are in that area we do Constitution or the other naval ship)
Next day is The Science Museum as well as Sports Museum (TD Gardens)
Wednesday I convinced my family to try a whale watching tour (over a harbor cruise) and some time later that day we HAVE to take the kid to PuttShack which I believe is in the Seaport Area… maybe we can walk to castle island and tour the fort and grab sullivans though there is a legal right there as well.
Thurs is going to spent at the Zoo, Harvard Square/MIT area before we take in the free time at the ICA.
Last day there we will plan to walk the freedom trail (no stops or house tours) and do the Sox/Blue Jays game that evening. It’s calling for potential rain showers but hope those don’t do anything.
Now personally I could give two poops about the Zoo or Science Museum. We have been to several Science Museums from Ben Franklin in Philly to the all the museums in NYC and our own. The Zoo well I mean are the animals going to be massively different than what you can see in Bronx, DC or NC Zoos? Considering that NC has the largest zoo this half of the US. Same for the aquarium. We just went to the aquarium in Atlanta this time last year. I mean I like sea related things and it is dark and indoors and may just be me… but I’d rather check out things that I couldn’t see in just any place. Maybe if we go to Harvard we can check out the Peabody Ethnology museum. I do not think the Map/Giant Earth thing in the Christian Science place will be very interesting. I thought the family might like doing some of the Olmstead parks or Emerald Necklace or crossing over to the Esplanade but that hasn’t come up yet. Or maybe Mount Auburn Cemetery walk about. Maybe the Isabella Gardner Museum? I had tried to convince my family to may go out to Gloucester and see Hammond Castle or a re-enactment. If America’s Test Kitchen actually films out of the Boston Design Center that could be an interesting thing to visit even if we aren’t in the audience…
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I’m sorry that it is going to be so hot for your visit especially Sun/Mon/Tues. it will limit your ability to walk a lot so take it easy and maybe adjust your schedule. BTW I’m 100% behind you about the zoo and aquarium. I’d do a hard pass on them
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Oh we did the midwest this time last year. The days were 100+ I was still ready to hike short distances in Zion and Grand Canyon. The others not so much. I don’t know how safe boston is for a solo traveller nor which places you want to avoid. But I’m not beyond takng myself back out of the wife and kid would rather lounge at the hotel.
You haven’t mentioned anywhere in Boston that I would consider unsafe for a solo traveler to visit.
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Madrid, you and I are buddies.
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We lived in Asheboro, home of the NC Zoo, when I was in high school. The Boston area zoos are old and kind of depressing compared to the natural habitats of the NC zoo and I am not a fan of the aquarium, which is to me much less interesting than the newer aquariums. The penguins are adorable, however. I’ve been to Hammond Castle with several kids, including my own when he was younger, and they all loved it.
At Harvard the art museum is a gem and it’s free. Many find the glass flowers at the Harvard Natural History Museum (separate from the Peabody Museum) interesting.
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Faneuil Hall itself is a museum and historical site that is much more interesting than the tourist trap shops of Quincy Market. Eat elsewhere. The nearby Union Oyster House is interesting historically and is fine for a drink but the food is also tourist trap quality like Quincy Market.
The Coolidge Corner Theater right in Coolidge corner is a beautiful building showing films that can be of interest and could be a respite from the heat. Maybe Clear Flour Bakery in CC has already been mentioned (possibly by me)…it is a truly excellent bakery and has a small cafe.
Good points. I’d skip the Aquarium. I actually enjoy the Franklin Park Zoo but it’s not worth the detour. Castle Island is a bit of a hike from the Seaport. Sullivan’s isn’t particularly special. Hammond Castle excursion could eat up a full day. Not to mention traffic.
Boston is a great city to visit. Just don’t try to see and do everything in a week.
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I find it interesting how well recommended many places serving baked goods, coffee, ice cream, etc. are. Those spots abound in Boston and environs. People talking about food options in Austin would be highly unlikely to mention them. We would probably gush about Tex-Mex, barbecue, a vast array of food trucks, and maybe burgers, followed by the ever emerging higher end experiences. When I visit my brother in Somerville, I am surprised by how many small bakeries and the like he mentions, followed by niche places serving largely vegetarian fare and various less dominant national cuisines. The days of fried seafood and baked beans are clearly fading from the city’s memory. We certainly have the full spectrum of coffee, ice cream, bakeries, and niche vegetarian and ethnic foods in Austin, and most folks have a favorite (or several), but they are much less central to our food culture. Boston and Austin, despite rhyming, seem to be about 180 degrees apart on food.
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Good seafood still is the core of what Boston does very well in its food scene, but I do think the more health-conscious natives and visitors know that it can’t be fried all the time. You will find plenty of fried seafood at beach shacks, and many restaurants do have a few favorites on the menu (but for a much higher price). In this case, OP wanted something more “New England/Boston” and sounds focused on certain areas, which I think has steered the conversation in a different direction. If you want excellent seafood - and price and location are not limited - you’ll find a lot of options locally. If you really want the New England experience - take the train or hop in a car and definitely go up to the shores and look for the seafood shacks. Excellent fried seafood, lobster and clam bakes, and good ol’ scrod to be had.
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