Yablo Does Boston

[Yablonowitz]

Hi folks,

I am sitting in our small but elegant room in the Omni Parker House in downtown Boston. Yes, you read that right. A white, redneck Montana boy and his wife are actually in Bean Town, pretending to fit in with blue-blooded uppercrust old historic New Englanders. Quite comical.

First of all, I have to ask Justin why they hell there aren't any fucking Cinnebuns (or even Cinnebits) in the fucking Denver airport? I had to settle for some dried out, unheated piece of shit cinnamon roll that I was barely able choke down for $4.

Arrival into Boston was uneventful. I made the mistake of watching the pilot episode of Journeyman on the plane, a new NBC drama about a guy who goes back in time so he can help save people. The premise seemed interesting at first (before I realized there was a purpose to his time travel trips) but it just got worse as it went and less interesting and unique since they chose to make it an episodic show and there are no mysteries left hanging between shows.

The first thing I noticed about Boston is that there is a Dunkin' Doughnuts on every block. I'm barely exaggerating. I'm going to have to see what the fuss is about and grab a doughnut tomorrow. Never been to a Dunkin' Doughnuts before.

We took the blueline from the airport to Government Center and walked to our hotel. According to the promotional information supplied by the hotel, this is the longest, continually operating hotel in the US.

JFK announced his candidacy here and also had his bacherlor party here. Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne and Longfellow met here routinely for their "Saturday Club."

While it's now owned by the Omni Hotel chain, it feels very old and ornate, a better hotel I can't imagine and the price was pretty fair.

Anyway, we walked around downtown for a bit and then ate at a nice little pub called Emmitt's.

The misses and I will be heading to the north side tomorrow evening for dinner and will decide where to go in the day by random methodology.

[tessalasset]

Really? It's the longest hotel in the U.S.?

[gaypalmsprings]

Say hello to Mr. Adams for me

[RotationSlimWang]

Stop by Dunkin' Donuts and order a coffee "light and sweet." God I miss that shit.

[mob roulette]

YEAH. D Donuts! YO. Keepin it real up in the field. I used to get my coffee there every morning yo. I highly recommend. Yo, Greg, don't change man, DON'T CHANGE. Spoonie Luv digs anniversaries. Esp yours player. Play on player. Play on.

Really man. Happy Anniversary.

[mob roulette]

And yo, it's "extra extra". What is this light and sweet shit? Maybe in Revere.

[RotationSlimWang]

Revere? What the fuck is Revere? Extra sweet and extra light would be more--I wouldn't order that unless you have a serious vendetta against coffee flavor. And I say that as someone who usually disgusts my company with how much cream and sugar I put in coffee.

[mob roulette]

Ahem.

Actually I think we're talking about the same thing, Randy. I've just never heard it ordered like that. I'm pretty sure that almost no one drinks it black in Boston though. That's like...sacrilege.

If I said "honey dip", would you know what I was referring to? I'm just trying to pinpoint our neighborhoods down here by dialect.

[dorkfish]

I was hoping that you were announcing your latest cover album.

[ewiggy]

Spoonie Luv digs anniversaries.

whether or not it was intentional, you've just nicknamed yourself.

[RotationSlimWang]

Sorry Spoonie, can't say that I've heard of a honey dip. Sounds like a sexual euphemism to tell the truth. But I never spent any time in Mass., just in Jersey, where the lingo was pretty limited to light/sweet/extra light/extra sweet.

[pewter14]

Lived in Boston for 30 years ... I must post this ...

*** WARNING ****

DO NOT ORDER YOUR COFFEE "SWEET" AT DUNKIN DONUTS!!!

If you do, your teeth will rot within 5 minutes.

If you go in and say ... "Can I get a large regular" ... that is a large coffee, no flavoring (like Hazelnut, Frech Vanilla ... just coffee flavored coffee) and it will come with cream and sugar ... and Dunkies puts in enough cream and sugar for most at the outset!

If it's hot, get the ice coffee there ... man, that hits the spot on a 90 degree humid day.

As for Sam Adams ... man you can get that anywhere ... go with a Harpoon, the IPA can be found most anywhere and man is it hoppy (a good thing) ... their other beers are great (visit their brewery on Northern Ave in South Boston, I worked down the street from there, my liver is glad I don't anymore). Other local brews that are good ... Long Trail, Tremont Ale and Smutty Nose.

If you need any more tips, let me know.

[RotationSlimWang]

They automatically put a scoop of sugar and a dose of cream in any regular coffee? That's fucked up.

[captncrzy]

After dinner in the North End, make sure you go to one of the all-night Italian bakeries down there and get a fresh homemade cannoli for dessert. Oh, and if you're into baseball, Fenway Park does tours for the public just about every day (except game days).

[pewter14]

After dinner in the North End, make sure you go to one of the all-night Italian bakeries down there and get a fresh homemade cannoli for dessert. Oh, and if you're into baseball, Fenway Park does tours for the public just about every day (except game days).

Cafe Vittoria is the hot spot and is really good, it's on Hanover St which is the main drag in the North End (Italian part of town) ...

In the North End ... Cibo on Hanover is a great restaurant .... as is 5 North Square.

(edit, yes, it is Vittoria, not Victoria)

[pewter14]

They automatically put a scoop of sugar and a dose of cream in any regular coffee? That's fucked up.

... and every single one of us loves it.

We don't care that not one place makes coffee the same way ... it's like a little surpise. hee hee hee

[thinnerair]

i like Boston. I met a girl in school years ago. We went to this house party and fell asleep together, woke up and decided to take a train up to Boston from NYC. It was Valentine's Day weekend so I figured why the fuck not? We stole a few bottles of wine and she found some pain killers and we made our way up. When we got there, all of the hotels in Boston were booked due to some big debate being held by one of the universities, so we had to take our wine and pills to Cambridge. We pooled our money together and found a room in the only hotel with an availability. We had a great night and woke up to find out that we had only paid for one night and didn't have enough loot for the rest of the weekend. Thankfully our train trip back was paid for. We loafed around, caught some great sights and spent our last night sleeping in the mall near Copley Square...near that huge waterfall inside the mall. We woke up (got kicked out by the cleaning crew) and went over to the train station. While the girl slept, I watched a guy get robbed in the station.

This student was sleeping on the floor on his knapsack, and this other guy laid next to him and quietly shuffled through his bag with a long thin knife.
The dude woke up and realized his shit was missing.
At first I wanted to do something, but I froze (me and the chick had gotten incredibly sick while walking around in disgusting February weather with minimal layers and she had gone between falling asleep for a while and running to puke...oh yeah. we ate at houlihans. dont eat there.) and the dude had a knife so I really didnt know what to do. Later I saw him talking to a security guard and realized that they might be sorta buddies.

The look on that student's face when he realized he had been jacked while he was sleeping was one of the most depressing things I have ever seen.

we went back to new york, she went bat shit crazy and i was convinced she had clipped my brake lines on my car.

the end.

[thinnerair]

oh...and wear a Yankees hat somewhere near Fenway.

[bballarl]

If you want to be touristy and lame like I was the one time I was in Boston, walk the Freedom Trail or whatever the fuck it's called.

[thinnerair]

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/arti...ls_on_the_bus/

[J~$$$]

Happy anniversary? I would have hit up a real bean town and gone south of the border, but alas way to go bro. Dunkin dounuts is shit btw.

[pewter14]

If you want to be touristy and lame like I was the one time I was in Boston, walk the Freedom Trail or whatever the fuck it's called.

or, take a Duck Tour ... it's one of those old war land and water crafts filled with about 20 people ... they go though Boston, cross the Charles River and do a little mini tour in Cambridge as well. I've heard good things.

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

[fatbastard]

Dunkin' Doughnuts is the best coffee in the world (besides the coffee shack on the big island). Two words Legal Seafood.

[mountmccabe]

Dammit, Greg.

[pewter14]

Dunkin' Doughnuts is the best coffee in the world (besides the coffee shack on the big island).

It's Dunkin' Donuts ... not "ough" ... funny ... as most towns in Massachusetts have recently gone back to the old english spelling for their towns (Foxborough, Northborough, Tyngsborough, etc)

Two words Legal Seafood.

For the ultimate irony, go to the one on Atlantic Ave as the windows look out towards the New England Aquarium.

[tessalasset]

I took the duck tour. The only cool part about it is you can volunteer to steer it when it gets in the water. You should go to Cheers and then walk across the street into the park where Make Way for Ducklings was written. Also definitely hang out in Cambridge a little bit, and the Harvard Square area. I don't know Boston all that well at all, but those places were neat. I saw Maroon 5 at Bill's Bar, too. That was a nice little joint. By Fenway Park, I believe.

[Stefinitely Maybe]

[QUOTE=Yablonowitz;297662]
I made the mistake of watching the pilot episode of Journeyman on the plane, a new NBC drama about a guy who goes back in time so he can help save people. The premise seemed interesting at first (before I realized there was a purpose to his time travel trips) but it just got worse as it went and less interesting and unique since they chose to make it an episodic show and there are no mysteries left hanging between shows.
[QUOTE]

Could someone please tell me how this show differs from Quantum Leap? Because, from this description, it sounds EXACTLY THE SAME.

[Jenniehoo]

Less visible leg hair?

[Stefinitely Maybe]

Oh boy.

[Yablonowitz]

OK - wife's in the shower, and I remembered a few things I failed to mention last night:

We saw Samuel Adams' gravestone last night. They have a large historic graveyard right near us. We're also right next to Boston Common. We may walk the historic trail. We may not.

We also walked through the theatre district and I think I may have seen James Laraquette talking on his cell phone. One of you people with nothing to do: could you check to see if he's in Boston at the moment, working on a play or something? Thanks.

I'm going to have to warn the misses about the coffee here since she doesn't like sweetened coffee. Too bad, cuz I do.

We're going to avoid any organized tour at all. My wife is embarrassed enough that I'm going to buy a Boston hoodie while I'm here. I had to promise her I wouldn't wear it until we got home. We like to blend.

We bought a 7 day pass for the T lines, so we're good to go anywhere.

Pewter - Any local dining suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Later dudes.