So, the next day, I decided to wake up early and start my morning with a run. It was beyond gorgeous weather outside, so it was the ideal day to explore the beautiful city of Boston. My favorite part of my run was through the public gardens. It was so serene and pretty that I never wanted to leave. I know what you’re thinking though. “This run has nothing to do with food. She said this was a food tour! Exercising is not a factor in pigging out!” Well, fair enough, kind reader. But, the point of this lovely anecdote is that I went back to the hotel after my run and promptly rewarded myself with devouring my cannoli as well as my dad’s Oreos and Cream cannoli from the previous night. There you go. Breakfast of champions.

After a college tour and a walk through the incredible Museum of Fine Art, we headed to Quincy Market for a late lunch. The Market was actually long hallway filled with countless booths serving everything from Thai to Italian food, and there was even a whole booth devoted to mac & cheese! I was slightly overwhelmed by my plethora of options, so I think I walked up and down the aisle about 3 times before figuring out what I wanted. Side note- If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a pretty indecisive person. Especially when it comes to food, because a good or bad meal can really change my whole day and this is not an exaggeration. Anyway, I finally decided to have a Lobster Roll from the booth called the Boston & Maine Fish Co. We ate outside on a bench because of the gorgeous weather, and it was the perfect atmosphere to eat a summer classic such as this one. The fresh chunks of lobster paired with the creamy mayo and buttery sauce made me feel like I was sitting on a dock somewhere and soaking up the sun. It was an ideal lunch.

After lunch, my whole family was tired and wanted to nap. I never nap, and I especially did not want to nap while I was in a city that was brand new to me with so much to do and to explore! So I grabbed my book and took a nice walk to the Au Bon Pain outside our hotel for a cup of iced coffee and headed back to the Gardens I went to earlier that morning. I sat in the shade for hours drinking my way too sugary and watery iced coffee (remind me never to get coffee from Au Bon Pain again) and read my book overlooking the lake and the gardens. It was beautiful. And despite my bad coffee, I had a really nice time.

           Finally, it was dinner time yet again– our last dinner of the trip. Before we went to Boston, my mom had asked one of her co-workers, who happened to be from Boston, for a few restaurant recommendations. The one place she said we must go to was called The Clink, a restaurant situated in a renovated jail within a hotel. Get it? The Clink? Like slang for jail but also the sound glasses make when you say cheers?? I was obviously blown away by this clever name. The restaurant and its menu sounded exciting, so we went. The decor of The Clink was modern and chic, but was broken up by the original jail cells. A very cool touch. The menu was a little expensive, but this was expected since it was such a nice restaurant. My parents, however, insisted we splurge and each get something from the price fixe menu which consisted of a choice of an appetizer, an entreé, and a dessert. For my appetizer, I chose the corn soup. I tend to use a lot of superlatives when I talk about food- “the best ___ ever”, “the most amazing ___ of all time”, etc. etc… But I kid you not when I say that this corn soup was by far THE BEST soup of all time. The best. Without a doubt. It was a creamy, rich, chowder-y/bisque-y soup laden with large chunks of King Crab and swirled with smoked paprika. I’m not even usually that in to soup, but I raved the whole night- heck, the whole week about how delicious that soup was, and I am still raving about it today. After that soup though, the rest of the meal fell a little flat for me in comparison. For my entrée, I ordered steak with a lobster butter corn purée and sautéed vegetables. When I ordered the steak, I asked for it medium rare, but it came to the table not only severely rare, but not hot at all. It came back warm and slightly more cooked, but there wasn’t too much of a clear difference. The steak itself was very good, but not great. It was tender and moist but not that tender and moist. The sauteéd vegetables were delicious though, especially the mushrooms. I have no idea what types of mushrooms they were but they were more bitter and nutty than most mushrooms, and they were the best part of the sauteed vegetable mix. The lobster butter corn pureé was phenomenal. This restaurant knows how to work some corn! It was similar to the soup in flavor, but it was a much thicker texture, and the salty little lobster butter breadcrumbs on top were the perfect garnish. Then, for dessert, I had a plum torte with candied ginger ice cream. The ice cream was nice, but the torte was a little blah. I think it had been sitting out for a while because it was dry and the crust was almost rock solid. It just wasn’t what I was expecting and didn’t meet my expectations. it’s okay though. The soup in the beginning made up for the lackluster end of the meal.

Well, that concludes my food journey through the lovely city of Boston! I had a really great time, ate a lot of amazing food, and saw some schools I loved! Quite a success.

Enjoy!  Love, The Perky Foodie