Brunch

I wanted to have brunch here last Sunday, but they were already reserved up through 2:30.  We went today. 

Here are my brunching partners.

On April 27 I went with Rosemary to the preview of Art in Bloom at the MFA.  I only took pictures of the arrangements I liked.  The hands-down winner was this green lady:

For my other photos, go here.

Harvard Square has a New Cup

I just noticed this cup above the Church St. Dunkin Donuts today.  This must be their answer to the Government Center teapot.

Birthday Dinner at Puritan & Co.

Rosemary treated me to dinner last night at Puritan & Co., a recent arrival on Cambridge St.  I had chicken; she had beef.  The food was pretty good, but the noise was a distraction and made it difficult to hear each other.

The space is one large, long room with a high ceiling.  I kept trying to figure out what kind of architectural modifications would cut the noise.  The music was too loud, and people trying to be heard by their neighbors made it worse.  It's a shame, because they have an interesting menu.

Afterwards, we went to 1369 for coffee.

I am now thoroughly 58.

A Cold & Fuzzy Evening

 Last night Sue, Diane, Mikel, and I went to visit Jane in the North End.  Jane gave us wine and snacks to warm us up.

Then we went to Regina's Pizza.  Nobody wanted her picture taken, so I took mine.

 The pizza was great.  We ate a lot.

These pictures were above our booth.

A good time was had by all on that chilly night.

Quiet Weekend

On Friday evening I joined Julie, Dave, and Sue for dinner at L'Impasto.   I had lasagne made with bechamal sauce.  It was awfully good and awfully rich.

On Saturday I watched Tabloid, which was much more interesting than I thought it would be.

Today there is a ribs festival on Cambridge St.  I took some snaps; but I ate no ribs.

From Planet to Galaxy

Last Friday some buddies and I ate at the newish Veggie Galaxy.  It is certainly fancier than Veggie Planet, of which this is an offshoot.

Julie was relaxed and out of focus.

 Dave was a bit sharper.  In the background, a woman signals.

 Dave's view of me is slanted.

 Laureen approves!

Next time I'm going to have the Eggs Benedict, which Julie says is very good.  My black-bean hamburger was just OK.  The chocolate cream pie, however, was fantastic.

Seven for Drinks Only

Last night seven of us went out to toast JB's 58th birthday.
First we went to First Printer.  Since we didn't want dinner, they said we could only sit at the bar.  We wanted a table, so we could all face each other.
Next we went to the Russell House Tavern.  Since we didn't want dinner, they said we could only sit at the bar.  We wanted a table, so we could all face each other.
Diane suggested that this was a "dry crawl" rather than a "pub crawl."
We didn't have all night: JB had said he needed to go home at 6 and clean the house and get groceries.
Steve suggested OM, which most of us had never been to.  At last we had a place to sit down.  We got an alcove of comfy benches and coffee tables hidden behind a bead curtain, just like in the movies!  We had 2 bottles of wine, and JB had a martini.  The vegetable dumplings we got were not enough to prevent inebriation.  We convinced JB that he didn't have to go home at 6.

Afterwards Julie and I went to Sue's house to wait for Dave and drink water.  Then when Dave came, he asked us how we spelled "dilemma."  I've always spelled it DILEMMA, but everybody else remembers spelling it DILEMNA.  Interesting.

New Year's Eve Brunch

I went to Cafe Luna this morning with some of my buddies.

 Julie and Dave,

 Lynn and Sue,

 and my special friend Mr. Banana-split French Toast.

 Sue passed along another novelty candle: a teapot with a maple-leaf raised design.

It was proudly designed in San Diego, CA, USA; but made in China.

So Thankful When I Don't Have to Cook

My neighbor Rosemary and I went out for our Thanksgiving meal to a little French restaurant in Harvard Square called Sandrines.  We had the Prix Fixe, which was a good deal.  Our waiter had moved to from Paris to Arizona, where they opened a restaurant.  But after 9/11, there was such a bad feeling towards anything French that they moved east.

So Hooray east!  Rosemary had a nice cuppa wine (not pictured).

I had a sidecar (not pictured).

The turkey and fixins' were nicely presented.

And the lemon and pumpkin tarts were pretty enough to eat.

The good food reminded Rosemary that she must go back to Paris.
Sandrines is a bit too expensive for everyday eating out.

Cats and Food

Juliet likes sleeping on top of the clothes-drying rack.  This is how she looks from underneath.

Yesterday I went with Sue, Julie, and Dave to True Bistro, a vegan place in Somerville.  Above, Julie and Dave look serious.

Sue's hand gestures are echoed by the gentleman at the next table.  How artistic is that!

A salad with farro, which tasted something like barley.  Nice presentation.

Wilted spinach, smoked tofu, pecans, cranberries, red onion, balsamic vinegar.  The smoked tofu had a meaty taste reminiscent of bacon.

Housemade spaghettini, smoked tofu, English peas, blanched almonds, cream sauce.  I liked this; Julie didn't love it.

Cornmeal-crusted oyster mushrooms, horseradish/dill aioli.  You can't go wrong with fried stuff!

Black bean and plantain torte, salsa verde and sour cream. (I think I got that right.)
I generally think of vegan diets as very restrictive, but the True Bistro makes great use of plant foods.  I could be vegan, if I could eat stuff like this every day.

Gorey Hallelujah!

Yesterday was commencement day, an extra holiday for me and my library buddies.  So Sue, Julie, Laureen, Lynn, and I decided to see the Gorey exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum.  I'd never been there before.

Sue, Laureen, Lynn, Julie

Inside, photography was strictly forbidden, so you will have to take my word that the exhibition was awesome, or buy the exhibition catalogue.  My favorite items were the envelopes young Gorey used to mail letters to his mother when he was an undergraduate at Harvard.  He decorated them with weird watercolor pictures.  He must have been well-known by the post office.

Next we visited the Granary Burying Ground, which is visible from Athenaeum windows.

 

Note that the woman buried on the left was named Silence.  Talk about Puritan names.

Next we backtracked and ate lunch at Zen Grille and Sushi Bar.  I had noodles;  I don't eat anything raw.  The sushi was very attractive.  Take a look at Julie's lunch.

Next we stopped to look at a Memorial Day installation on Boston Common.

Now go to Youtube to see our  our Swanboat ride.

Dinner at 10 Tables

This year me and several buddies had our holiday dinner at 10 Tables, which is in the space formerly occupied by the Craigie St. Bistro.  (The one time I ate at the C.S.B., I was underwhelmed.)  Sue brought us all some Christmas crackers.  These had valuable prizes inside, such as crowns!

I didn't get the salad, but I tasted Dave's and was impressed.  Lots of flavors, textures, and a subtle dressing.

I had Pork (crunchy on the outside; tender on the inside) while others had cod, pasta, or beef stew.  We were all thrilled with our food.  We ordered 2 desserts to share: TRADITIONAL BISTRO CREME CARAMEL and SAFFRON & HONEY POACHED PEAR WITH TAHITIAN VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM & CRUSHED CANDIED PISTACHIOS.

Outside, we stand in front of the restaurant, too stuffed to move.