Eating our way through Boston

No offense to Waterbury, CT, but it was a real treat to get to a place with some real food, public transit, and a little bit of culture. We were in Boston for our opening week of the tour! 

Our marquee at the Boston Opera House

With Emma in Jamaica Plain

I stayed the first part of the week with a good friend from high school, Emma. Emma lives in Jamaica Plain, a historic neighborhood of Boston. We walked around Jamaica Pond, where there were a lot of families and runners traveling the 1.5 mile path around the lake. Jamaica Plain was full of great restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and lots of health food stores and food co-ops! After being in Waterbury for ten days, it was nice to be in an area where people actually had access to healthy food. Jamaica Plain triva: Did you know that the country's first community theatre, Footlight Club, is located in Jamaica Plain? Well.. it is. The rest of the week I spent on the Cambridge side of Somerville with Nellie, another friend from high school. She lived in the Union Square area, a much nicer part of Somerville than the Holiday Inn where the cast was living.

Jamaica Pond

It was great to stay with friends in Boston not only because I got to spend time with them, but it also saved me quite a few dollars on the hotel. And I needed it, because all the money I would’ve spent on the hotel I spent on food. I still managed to not hit every restaurant on my list, so I still have some places to hit next time I’m there. One of the many negative things about waiting to blog is I can’t remember all the places I ate, so I’ll give you some highlights.

Breakfast. 

The Paramount

The Paramount in Beacon Hill, delicious pancakes, fresh OJ, and an interesting seating policy. Because of it’s popularity, they don’t allow anyone to sit at a table before they have their food and expect people to give up their table as soon as they finish eating. It certainly seemed to work, we got there thinking that we would never get a table but by the time we got our food some had opened up.

Leo's Place

The Neighborhood in Somerville. I've never wanted to have a love affair with cream of wheat until now. I may get desperate and end up calling and begging them for the recipe. Apparently other people agree, there seems to be quite a wait on weekends.

Bloc 11 in Somerville. Mainly a coffee shop, but a few food items, but their vegan double berry muffin was so amazing that I went back the next day for another, and I am not one to re-visit a place when I'm only in a city for a week. And they brewed Stumptown Coffee, score!

Leo's Place in Harvard Square. Clearly a local institution, a great diner that served breakfast all day, which a huge list of daily specials. The day we went they had nearly a dozen different kinds of stuffed french toast (which doesn't mean much for those of us with egg allergies, but very exciting for those without). They also specialized in gourmet root beer and had two coolers filled with what looked to be about 40-50 types of root beer.

Lunch/Dinner

Max and Dylans

Trident Book Store Cafe on Newbury. A great independent bookstore with an awesome cafe. Clearly very vegetarian friendly, but it seems almost everywhere in Boston is. Grab a corner table by a window and people-watch the shoppers.

Boston Chowda in Quincy Market. Quincy Market is a whole dining experience on it's own. I had heard rumors that this place had pretty killer lobster mac and cheese and the rumors were true (veg fail). They basically mixed their mac and cheese with their lobster bisque and baked it, but there weren't tiny chunks of lobster meat, I was pulling out full claw meat outta there!

Pho Pasteur

Max and Dylans in the Theatre District. I know, I know, mac and cheese twice in one week is a bit much, but this place had a great variety and the large amounts of spinach and artichokes in mine made me feel a little better..right? Plus it was right by the theatre, gave cast members a nice discount, and even had South Pacific appetizer and drink specials!

Pho Pasteur in Chinatown. The Boston Opera House is right on the edge of Chinatown. I went with Hsin, the young lady playing Liat, for my first pho experience. I could eat pho forever. Or at least for a while. At least until I get really good at using chop sticks. Still delicious with tofu and veggies instead of beef.

Clover

Clover in Harvard Square. Great vegetarian joint, mainly sandwiches. I got a chickpea fritter, lots of cabbage and various pickled veggies. Also a great beer selection, but since I was pre-show eating I stuck to a pumpkin soda. Local food that changes with the seasons, they grow their own herbs on the second level. They also have a handful of food trucks around the city.

Clover

Desserts and Sweets (Ok, I had a lot on my list of sweets to try. I generally do not eat like this in a normal week. Stop judging me)

Hot Chocolate at L. A. Burdick in Harvard Square. Really great chocolatier known for their hot chocolate. Basically shaved dark chocolate melted down with a little bit of milk. Heaven.

The Thinking Cup

Hot Chocolate at The Thinking Cup in the Theatre District. Yes, I'm writing about two hot chocolates, but I was already in the neighborhoods of both. I actually frequented Thinking Cup quite a bit, as it was conveniently located a block behind the stage door of the Opera House and they ALSO served Stumptown Coffee. My first time there I loved the shop so much I even got a coffee punch card (a bit ambitious, I only left Boston with 4 punches).

Ice Cream at J.P. Licks. About 10 locations across Boston, I was told this was the place to go in Boston for homemade ice cream and yogurt. I went to the Jamaica Plains location (and maybe the Newbury Street one too. Maybe). The oreo cakebatter ice cream was heaven. And they have little symbols next to their flavors to let you know if it contains egg or nuts, so I didn't have to be the annoying person who asks "Excuse me, does the coffee ice cream has egg in it? Can you check to see if there are walnuts in the rum raisin?"

Mike's Pastry

Cupcakes at Sweet. Really girly atmosphere, which I guess is what people come to expect with cupcakes now. We went to the downtown location and I got a red velvet and a pumpkin. Pumpkin won, but doesn't it always?

Canollis at Mike's Pastry in Little Italy. I was told it was the hands-down, must-eat canolli in Boston. The place was packed, with nearly a dozen different kind of canollis and a slew of other baked goods. Cash only and you had to fight your way to the front and be a little aggressive (or patient) to be served, but absolutely the best canolli I've had in my best. Large enough to be mistaken for a small burrito, I would recommend sharing with a friend.

And we did at least try to do some things besides eating (and performing). Wednesday morning after opening we walked the Freedom Trail (and tried to recreate some historic moments. I visited the Boston Public Library and the Public Gardens, and walked Newbury Street and visited Harvard and Harvard Square (a few times) in Cambridge. As far as neighborhoods and the city in general, I think if my career weren't centered in New York City, there's a strong chance that I would spend some serious time in Boston. Overall, the public transit was clean and prompt (even if the bus only came ever half an hour), but the T shutting down at 12:30 certainly cut most of our nights short. Access to healthy vegetarian food was a huge plus, it seemed like everywhere had veg options and there were vegetarian and vegan restaurants around every corner. I'd say it was easier to eat meatless in Boston than it was in New York.

Courtyard of Library

Boston Public Library

Public Gardens

Freedom Trail!

Our director, Sarna Lapine

And yes, besides touring around and eating, we did officially open the 2nd National Tour of South Pacific at the Boston Opera House. It was a stunning theatre in a beautiful area. We sold very well and had a great opening night party (NETworks even paid for our cabs home!).

Next Stop, Baltimore!