A 48-Hour "Foodie Crawl" Through Boston

Last week Laurie and I took our annual escape from the Florida summer to New England to relax and enjoy some cooler, less humid weather. Our first stop was Boston, hometown to our nephew Christopher and his beautiful wife Eugenia. Given that we are all foodies, they had something special up their sleeves for our visit. Read on to hear more about our “foodie crawl” through Boston!

View of the Boston skyline from our hotel

Meet our Boston hosts for our visit to this historic city – our nephew Christopher and his wife Eugenia! They were kind enough to serve as our local tour guides so we could experience the absolute best of what Boston has to offer. And by that, I mean the absolute best food, wine, and spirits that Boston has to offer!

Our hosts for the weekend!

I have been to Boston on multiple occasions in the past, always work-related trips focused on recruiting at MIT and Harvard. I rarely ventured out from the universities and hotels I stayed at since most of my trips were quick 1–2-day visits which left little time to explore this amazing city.

So, Laurie and I wanted to experience the Boston Christopher and Eugenia love so much and told them we would welcome the opportunity to visit some of their favorite food haunts. Well, to these two, that ended up being the ultimate challenge to pull together a culinary-inspired itinerary for us focused on the best food Boston has to offer. The only constraint? We were only in town for 48-hours, so the timeline was short – not a concern for these two!

During those 48 hours, we ate some of the best food we have ever eaten and were able to enjoy it all with two of our favorite humans in the world!! Not counting sleeping time, our foodie crawl through Boston lasted about 30 hours, and included seven different culinary experiences. That means we re-fueled about once every four hours during our waking time in Boston – it was epic!!

We arrived on a Friday and began our adventure with sub sandwiches from Monica’s Mercato and Salumeria, makers of the best Italian sub in Boston. We tried the classic Italian and Italian steak tip subs, and they were both amazing! Accompanied by a beautiful caprese salad and a homemade watermelon libation, we were off to a great start!

Monica’s Mercato in the North End

A few of hours later, we reconvened for happy hour which included a wonderful cheese plate and a tasty Empress gin, raspberry jam, mint, and tonic cocktail (kind of like a high-end G&T)! Then it was off to Union Square for a Peruvian dinner at Celeste.

Pre-dinner happy hour noshing!

Celeste was amazing! We enjoyed an authentic al fresco experience with beautiful pisco sours (which include pisco (a Peruvian brandy), simple syrup, lemon juice, egg white, and bitters) and creative dishes that showcased some of the best Peruvian food we have ever eaten!

Pisco Sour at Celeste

Causas de avocado and tomato (potato terrine) at Celeste

Exhausted and stuffed, we collapsed into bed to refresh and re-energize for the next day’s adventures! Which began with a ride to Saltie Girl Seafood Restaurant in the Back Bay. Laurie and I ordered the lobster roll of course (that’s what they are famous for) as well as their burger that includes fried lobster (does it get any better than that?!). Everything was over the top, in a great way, and absolutely delicious!

Lobster roll (Maine style!) at the Saltie Girl

We then walked off our lunch by touring the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common. After a quick train ride to the North End, we stopped by Bova’s bakery to pick up some homemade Sicilian Cannoli’s, Lobster Tails (cream filled puff pastries), and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. Back at home base, we did a tasting of four different Cannoli’s – Original, Chocolate Chip, Espresso, and Salted Caramel – and all of them were fantastic!

Bova’s Bakery

Our tasting of Cannoli’s from Bova

After a recovery power nap, we reconvened for sparkling wine and then a quick walk to Geppetto in Cambridge for dinner. This Italian-inspired eatery had a beautiful modern dining room and authentic Italian dishes, each with a twist! The fried mozzarella was the hit of the evening, but the mortadella bruschetta, endive Caesar and baby greens salads, the porcini lasagna, the rigatoni Bolognese, and the pork Milanese saltimbocca were amazing as well. We capped off the evening with a glass of homemade limoncello, the perfect end to a perfect day!

Fried Mozzarella at Geppetto

Endive Caesar Salad at Geppetto

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast at Bambara Kitchen and Bar and then headed up to Vermont for our four-night stay at the Twin Farms Inn – more about that food and wine extravaganza in next week’s blog post. Until then, you should definitely consider visiting Boston and enjoying its vibrant food scene if you haven’t already. It’s absolutely the best when you have your own local tour guides like Laurie and I did – we’ll definitely be back for more!!

Dinner at Geppetto with Christopher and Eugenia