As soon as I stepped into the airport last week, I took my healthy living and diet and exercise routines and promptly gave them the finger, kicked them to the curb, and forgot all about them. Which I was totally and fully okay with.
It's vacation! If there's ever a time to indulge and gorge on carbs and seafood and then wash it all down with a glass (or three) of something sparkling (but not sparkling water, no no no), it's vacation.
But what -- specifically -- did I eat while I was gone? I don't know if you genuinely care about this list, but I care about recording it, so I can look back fondly one day and remember how I inhaled a pound of lobster and a pound of cake back-to-back and enjoyed every delicious minute of it.
Boston: North End
This part of town, centered around Hanover Street, is primarily Italian. We literally just chose a restaurant out of the hundreds of Italian restaurants dotting the streets. The one we chose was Cantina Italiana and I got the pizzetta con pollo while Mike got the antipasto platter and the tortellini off the specials menu. We both got huge glasses of Peroni and then another glass to share because it was that tasty.
We ended the day with pastries from Mike's Pastry, and we got a huge assortment to share with Jonna and Adam when we arrived at their house later that day.
Boston: Quincy Market
I wasn't sure what to expect when we walked into Quincy Market, a sprawling building filled with food stands and carts (and a million people), but the vibe in this place was great. I just got a grilled chicken sandwich -- nothing too special -- because the lines were overwhelming me but Mike got a bowl of chowder, from Boston Chowda Co. that changed his life. From that moment on, he took it as his mission to try every bowl of chowder in New England. He nearly succeeded too.
(As you know if you follow him on Facebook.)
Boston: Seafood
We hit up two great spots for seafood in/around Boston and you should too, if you ever visit. First, Legal Sea Foods was our one "fancy" dinner, where we threw our budget out the window and ordered what we genuinely wanted. I got the seafood casserole with a side of jalapeno cheddar polenta and Mike got the cioppino, something he's still talking about. It was all delicious.
We also ate dinner at the Barking Crab, a laid back joint right on the water. The beers were cheap and the atmosphere was fun. You do have to squish together at a table with strangers, if your party's a weird size or the place is packed, but it wasn't a big deal. I got the lobster roll -- my first! -- and it was packed with fresh lobster. Felt like a great deal.
Salem
We ate at Victoria's Station, right on the water at Pickering Wharf, and Mike and I both ordered a sandwich of our own and then split it. He got the blue crab salad sandwich, and I got the roast prime rib au jus sandwich.
Cambridge
We had drinks and appetizers with my editor, Leah, who lives in Cambridge. (She's not my editor although I always say that. She's not editing my great American novel, but she's the editor to my marketer at my day job.) She took us to her local favorite, River Gods, and while the food was great (the table split the dip sampler and I got the warm brie and a seasonal pumpkin soup) and the house wine good, we pissed off our waitress right off the bat and she had me anxious too much of our time there. Still, it's an eclectic, different, fun place.
Portsmouth
We spent two days of our trip in Maine and drove down to Portsmouth one afternoon to try and get on a harbor cruise, which was canceled last minute because of low turn-out. Bummer. But we had about an hour to kill before seeing The Social Network, so we stopped in Portsmouth Brewery, a recommendation from TwoBusy. I wish we had saved this place for a full meal because the menu is fantastic and though we just had a couple beers and a salad/soup combo to share, I was so impressed. I got the caesar salad, one of my all-time favorite dishes, but a dish you can mess up super easily, but this was one of the best I've ever had.
I also loved the beer glasses and wish I had stopped in the adjoining store to pick up some.
Kennebunkport, Maine
We randomly picked this town, and I can't even recall our method of selection now, but it was picture-perfect. I was just so delighted with it and we want to take Kyle back one day, when it's warmer and we can whale watch and stroll on beaches without needing a coat.
We ate at Federal Jack's twice, which says a lot about how much we loved it since we were only in town two nights. The first, we split a three-lobster dinner that was a mere $20. I also had the most amazing dessert I can ever remember having -- a pumpkin apple spice cake with hot caramel sauce and cinnamon ice cream -- but it seems everything we got was off the specials menu, so you can't even see a picture or description. The second night, we just went for dessert, so I could get the cake again.
We also stopped in H&B Provisions to get champagne and beer for our cottage. If you're ever in town, I recommend doing the same!
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My scale screamed at me for hours when we got back and I've been in the gym ever since because, as I said to Mike mid-way through the trip: "I feel jigglier than when we left." But? It was worth every bite.