Even though I’ve only been to Boston a few times, I’ve always felt an affinity towards the city, even the idea of it. Boston seems so romantic, with its rich history and the thought of it bubbling with some of our country’s most brilliant young minds. So when I had the opportunity to spend a few days there over Thanksgiving weekend, I was very excited to visit after 7 years!
One of the loveliest aspects of Boston is that despite being tremendously cosmopolitan and rife with culture, it has the warmth and feel of a not-so-big city (population about 600k!).
Now onto the good stuff..the eats! Before I get to the actual food, I want to touch on an interesting topic: when you’re in a new city, how do you pick a place to eat? Do you like to visit the most popular places or venture off the beaten path? And who do you trust more for recommendations – friends or Internet strangers (ie Yelp) ? Over the years, I’ve found it harder and harder to rely on sites like Yelp. How can you trust the opinion of somebody you know nothing about? Personally, I find Yelp to generally be a good indicator of what to avoid – the over trendy, overloaded joints with a line around the block – no thank you! Ask those whose taste you trust, rely on Yelp judiciously and use your own judgement (or nose) to guide you the rest of the way.
We were generally pretty successful with our stomachs in Boston, the highlight being a very cheap but very tasty dinner at a vegan Thai restaurant called My Thai Vegan Cafe. Nestled on the 2nd floor of a shabby building in Chinatown, My Thai is kitschy, unpretentious and an amazing value for super tasty food.
Vegan Pad See Ew @ My Thai Vegan Cafe in Boston
The next stop, Trattoria di Monica, was on the other end of the dining spectrum. A tiny, trendy eatery with a line of reservation-holding patrons wrapped around the block, Trattoria di Monica was not what it appeared to be. So overcrowded that the server told both us and our neighbors the specials simultaneously (“charming”), it was awkward to say the least. And while the fried artichokes were decent, the homemade pasta was served in one giant clump the plate – now I’m no Italian grandmother but I’m pretty sure that’s disappointing for a place that touts its homemade pasta!
Fork and Knife outside Trattoria di Monica Boston
As always, dining is a roll of the dice, and even the best of restaurants have off days. Onwards and upwards! The next day, searching for a place to fuel up at before visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, brought us to Koy, a Korean fusion restaurant just off of Quincy Market. A sizzling bowl of rice, tofu, vegetables and an egg was the perfect lunch – oh and don’t forget the extra kimchi and gochujang!
Vegetarian Bibimbap at Koy Boston
It was a lovely weekend, and somewhere between the New England Aquarium and the heart of Chinatown, I reconfirmed my love of Boston. Can’t wait to be back!
p.s. Here are a couple bonus clips from the aquarium!
Looks like a fun trip! Believe it not, I never research places to eat! Sometimes I get recommendations from friends, but mostly use follow my nose! Sometimes, literally… if I can smell the food cooking before I enter, I don’t enter. And if a place reeks of garlic, I won’t go there, either. Regardless of my garlic allergy, if a place smells that much of garlic, I have found they use too much in every dish, and it all begins to taste he same. If I can smell fish, it’s another death knell for that restaurant. Picky, aren’t I? ? Your comment about Trattoria do Monica makes me think it was overly noisy in there, too. Right? I did love the fork and knife embedded in the sidewalk, though! Your Korean and Thai meals looked great!
Ahu, just made the spinach with lentils and it is delicious! and easy to make.