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When up in Boston Adrienne and I got a sandwich to share at a cafe in Harvard Square. It was much better than I expected, given the ingrediants (and I ordered it!): sweet potato, apple, cheese, onion, walnuts and a maple vinagrette. We liked it enough to try to re-create it, so Adrienne did just that, but as a salad:

We forgot the walnuts, but it was quite good. Only thing we might change is to cut the individual pieces smaller, so the flavors meld better in the mouth. Short recipe and whole dinner pic after the jump. (more…)

Adrienne had a conference (at Google headquarters, no less) in Boston on Thursday, so I took a bus up and met her Friday morning for a short weekend vacation. Before we get to the pics, here’s a quick recap:

Friday afternoon we focused on Cambridge (where we were staying) and Harvard University. Saw and met the Car Talk guys. At the time Adrienne claimed it was the highlight of the weekend, but I think she’s changed her mind. We had some great Afghan food for dinner, and ended up watching some TV in the hotel to finish the night (hey – we never get to do that!).

Saturday we finagled a way to store our bags with Amtrak at the train/bus station (there are no lockers there!): we bought a cheap Amtrak ticket, and then could store our stuff for free with Amtrak, then later got a refund on the ticket. That way we were less-encumbered throughout the day. We headed through the financial district to Boston Commons, where we saw a trombone quartet busking after grabbing a breakfast bagel sandwich. That’s a first! Then through the Commons (really just a big park) to Beacon Hill, where streets are narrow and brick-paved. Adrienne loved the character of it. Almost like you’re stepping back in time. Wikipedia tells me it’s the most prestigious and expensive neighborhood to live in (average salary of a resident is more than $1.5 million), and I don’t doubt it! This becomes Adrienne’s favorite of the vacation.

We loosely follow the freedom trail through downtown and see the many old buildings still in use. Some are re-purposed: the Old City Hall, originally the first public school in the US, is now a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Parts of Boston feel like Portland, OR to the both of us, with brick-lined public squares and smaller, more intimate blocks than NYC or Chicago. Navigating through Boston is trickier than the grid-layout of most modern cities. We pass over the controversial Big Dig to the North End, where Paul Revere’s house still stands, as do the remains of the heavy Italian influence there: lots of great-looking restaurants, pastry shops, etc.

We make our way back around the outskirts of Beacon Hill to Back Bay. With it’s wider sidewalks, commerce-heavy streets and different architecture, it’s more reminiscent of Chicago to me. Or maybe even Montreal, really. It’s a cloudy fall day, but not too cool, so it’s nice to be able to comfortably walk around and enjoy the fall colors.

Soon enough it’s time to have a quick dinner before making out way back to the bus station to catch our 6:30pm bus back to NYC. We get in town early, about 10:15 or so. A nice little getaway.

Follow the jump for the pics! (more…)

We celebrated with a visit to the local ice cream parlor – open ’til December 7th or the first snow, according to the sign in the window. Adrienne got a cinammon ice cream sundae with apple topping. She seemed to enjoy it.

Check out Focus! for a couple more pics from the evening’s walk.

I worked all day Saturday, so it was nice to have a lazy Sunday morning:

Later we headed into the city to do some shopping. Which makes one need some nourishment:

That’s my Jamba Juice, an Aloha Pineapple. We’d never had Tastidlite, so we gave it a try. Dunno that we’ll be going back.

On our way to Trader Joes for a wine run, we stopped at Whole Foods to see if they still had any honeycrisps, and Adrienne was excited that they did:

From Washington State, no less. So much for buying locally…

Eventually we got home and whipped up some dinner, steelhead trout with white asparagus. I’m not sure I’m a white asparagus fan. Live and learn, I guess.

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Nice to have a relaxing Sunday. Too bad it’s back to work tomorrow!

Adrienne’s been at the new gig a couple weeks now, and tonight on the way to dinner we had time for a short tour. Here’s a pic out of one of the windows on her 34th-floor office that she shares:

Her office is just a couple short blocks from Grand Central. A couple more pics of the insides after the jump. (more…)