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Visiting Boston this weekend

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Pete D

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I'm coming up to Boston this weekend with a friend of mine, primarily to go to Fenway (we have real good tickets on Sat night and bleacher seats in Sunday), but we want to go out and do some tourist stuff as well, so I was hoping to get some input from the natives.

We're not entirely sure what we are doing for transportation. He wants to drive up, but the parking at the hotel is not particularly cheap ($39/night). So we are thinking about maybe driving to a commuter rail station and taking one of those in, although it appears our options on Sunday will be pretty limited for trains outbound. The bus is another option, although he isn't particularly keen on that. I'd figure I'd pick the brains here a bit, see what you guys thought.

We're staying at the Intercontinental, downtown. Are there any decent bars/pubs/restaurants around there?

I think we are planning on going to the Sam Adams brewery on Saturday, during the day. Any other suggestions for something to do then?

That's it for now, although I might think of more later.
 
What day do you arrive and when do you leave?

Mike and I did the Sam Adams tour earlier this year. It's delicious. :cool:
It's very easy to get to. Follow the instructions on the website. It's a short walk from the T stop.

A good trick is to be at the back of the tour line so you sit at the end of the table, furthest from the bar. They pass a pitcher of the sampling beer down the tables. People at the front are timid when they pour themselves a glass, for fear the people at the end of the table won't get any. Turns out the people at the end get more than enough. Drink up me-hearties, yo ho.
You're gonna love Kogen (if they serve it).

I've never done the bar scene in Boston, so I can't help you there.
 
Cool.

if you haven't looked into it already, here's a link to info on mbta parking at the commuter rail stops
http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/parking

I'm not sure which rail stop you should park at though.
Hopefully some of the locals chime in with info on that.
The link above at least tells you the daily parking rates for each.
 
The T garage at Quincy Adams, off the Red line, is 5 bucks a day, as is the one at Alewife. Stashing the car there might work.

I've lived in Mass for years, and am not a big fan of Boston. Part of this comes from not liking crowds (I've lived in Montana, too). Being from the western part of the Island, you may not have a problem with that.

However, if you fancy a less densely populated area, you could shoot up to Salem, MA and hit the Pickering Wharf area. That's a fun place to be on a summer day -- plenty of good restaurants and bars around. You could also take the commuter rail train right up to Salem if you like -- no worries about driving and getting lost.

If you decide to stay within Boston, either the orange or green lines will take you over to Haymarket, where you can eat and drink generously at the many establishments there. There's even a "replica" of the bar on the show Cheers, if you're ready for a real tourist trap. Hey, even I went once. A McCormick and Schmick's is centrally located right at the end of the markets if seafood's your bag.

Personally, I'd grab a burger at one of the plain Jane bars nearby and then throw back a few cold ones and shoot some pool. One good thing about drinking in the middle of the day: it can help you avoid crowds.
 
There is just something about midday beers. The colder the better.

Playing golf this past Monday, we broke out the Busch cans, thus proving to anyone who might have happened by, that we were high rollers. :cool:
 
Yeah, I enjoy reading your posts. I swear you are the go to guy for suggestions on where to get some good eats. A little of topic but, what are your favorite places in Durham, NH? I've kind of worn out this area. We did Wing and Things recently, and the wings were decent. To avoid downtown, we usually go to Pizza Spinners near the Lee traffic circle. Occasionally we head up Rt.125 from the circle to Captain Hutches for some decent seafood.

Elky, screw you for being able to go home for lunch!!!

Sorry, to hijack. I would suggest a stroll down Hanover St. in the north end (near Quincy market), and be sure to hit some of the side streets and listen to the locals talking/yelling at each other!! Oh and pick up a canoli at Mike's Pastries and go next door to Vitoria's Cafe for a coffee to go with the canoli.
 
Cobra said:
Yeah, I enjoy reading your posts. I swear you are the go to guy for suggestions on where to get some good eats. A little of topic but, what are your favorite places in Durham, NH?...Occasionally, we head up Rt.125 from the circle to Captain Hutches for some decent seafood...be sure to hit some of the side streets and listen to the locals talking/yelling at each other!! Oh and pick up a canoli at Mike's Pastries and go next door to Vitoria's Cafe for a coffee to go with the canoli.
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Thank you. :cool:

I used to hit up Wildcat Pizza in Durham every now and again. Pretty good spot. I'd probably cruise into Portsmouth, though, if I were that close -- the choices open up fast. The Rusty Hammer is casual joint with a good bar and more burgers than you can shake a stick at. I still don't remember anything on the menu for more than $6 bucks. They also have a smoking section, which, of course, I enjoy. :cool:

A few blocks away from the water, you'll find a low-key steakhouse called The Library. Its called this because, well, its in a library. There are books there, but I didn't read any because I was too busy quaffing Tanqueray and tonics (I recommend you sit in the bar). They have an oustanding selection of vodkas from all over the world. Lots of obscure brands share shelf space with ones you've been familiar with since, say, the age of five. Well, maybe only five if you're from the country of origin of most of the vodkas. Steak was good too. I even ran into a friend there that I hadn't seen in years. She promptly ushered me outside onto the front steps so that she could to talk to me while banging out a one-hitter. I did not partake, though I'm sure her disguise was impeccable, as the device was painted to look like a cigarette.

Inside, on the way to the men's john, I found a framed history of the building, which was a hotel for most of its existence, and catered to various social strata during this tenure, giving shelter and nourishment to everyone from shirt lifters to the Duke of Earl, depending on the ownership at the time.

In regard to scenic route 125 (at least its scenic through Haverhill and Plaistow) there's a LongHorn steakhouse on the east side of the street in Plaistow, just over the NH border. Its a chain, but it never feels like one, the food is always good and the beer always cold. Get the ribeye, rare. Don't miss the sweet potato with butter and cinnamon.

Also, in the spirit of this thread, I know plenty of people that rave about Mike's pastries, and though I've never been there myself, I'm sure its a good suggestion. Yelling -- also good. Example: "What the f***?!!! The Red Sawx ah wicked pissah!!! I walhked to a game, 'cos I couldn't get paahkin' for the cah!!! You're a Yankees fan!? What the f***?"
 
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Don't drive into Boston. Just .. don't. Especially on Red Sox evenings.

I echo LauraSVT .. if you don't do the commuter rail, parking at the end of one of the T lines is probably most convenient. The T costs $2/ride, or $1.70/ride if you have a plastic CharlieCard, and parking at Alewife is $5/day (I used to do it daily). Beware that it does not run all night, so watch out if you go bar hopping too far away! It closes officially between 1am and 5 or 6am, but the "last train" runs earlier (as early as 12:15 from each end).

I've heard good things about Mike's Pastries at the North End, I need to check it out before I move in a few weeks. (strongly dislike living here)
 
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Rouar said:
Don't drive into Boston. Just .. don't. Especially on Red Sox evenings.

I echo LauraSVT .. if you don't do the commuter rail, parking at the end of one of the T lines is probably most convenient. The T costs $2/ride, or $1.70/ride if you have a plastic CharlieCard, and parking at Alewife is $5/day (I used to do it daily). Beware that it does not run all night, so watch out if you go bar hopping too far away! It closes officially between 1am and 5 or 6am, but the "last train" runs earlier (as early as 12:15 from each end).

I've heard good things about Mike's Pastries at the North End, I need to check it out before I move in a few weeks. (strongly dislike living here)
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I drove in Boston once before, when I was there in December. Navigating was a little tricky, as Boston doesn't seem to have the grid system we have in NYC, but aside from that it was fine, no complaints about the traffic or the drivers.
 
Well, after a PM from Kim, I decided I'd put up a post to tell everyone how it went.

We didn't into Boston until about 10pm on Friday, because of Traffic. We took the red line in from Quincy Adams as LauraSVT suggested, which worked out great by the way. Checked into our hotel, which was pretty slick, and went up to Quincy market for a bite to eat and some beers. Closed down the bar/restaurant that we went to and strolled back to the hotel. Hit up the hotel bar, although there wasn't much going on, so we turned in.

Saturday, first real thing we did was head out to the Sam Adams brewery which was fairly mobbed so it took awhile to get in and through the tour. We stayed towards the back (As per Kim's suggestion) and sat at a 6 person table, which was nice because we always got out own pitcher and ended up with about 2 glasses of each beer. Ran back to the hotel to get our tickets and change for the game. Had a few beers before, and many during the game. Our seats were sick, so it ended up being such an amazing experience at Fenway. Left the game fairly tanked and hit up one of the local bars there. Proceeded to get totally wasted (yaking in the bathroom once, during the process) and try to take some girls home, which didn't exactly pan out. Although we weren't exactly bringing out our A game either. Stumbled out, caught a cab back to the hotel and passed out.

Woke up pretty hung over on Sunday, checked out of the hotel, dropped off our bags and grabbed a bite to eat before the Sunday game. On the way to the game, someone decided to steal our tickets to the game right out of my pocket on the T. They were print-at-home(s) so they were hanging out a bit, but since they are on regular printer paper, I guess the guy took a chance by nabbing them and got lucky. We initially thought they might have fallen out so we looked around the car, got out and double backed etc. but with no luck. So we decided, to check out the ticket office at Fenway to see if they could reprint them, or help out in some way. Since I bought the tickets off of eBay, they weren't in my name, and consequently they couldn't do anything for us. Feeling dejected we headed back to the subway, deciding to leave early. On the way to the T there were a bunch of scalpers. One guy was holding print-at-home(s), folded in half just like mine. So on a whim I decided to ask the guy about them. Well it turns out they were in the same section as ours (I didn't ask what row, but I knew they were the same ones). It was the guy that stole the tickets. Not really knowing what to do, my friend and I just walked away. We were thinking about getting the cops, but since the tickets weren't in my name (or his) it would have been my word against his, and possession is 9/10 of the law, so I am sure the police wouldn't have cared.

We just ended up leaving with our tails between our legs. We decided later on that we should have confronted the guy and said that we wanted them back or we would get the cops (after all he wouldn't know it wasn't my name on them), but that was way after the fact. We headed back to the hotel, got our bags, grabbed the red line to the car and headed home.

Conclusion: Overall, it was a great weekend, and we decided that we were going to do the trip at least once a year. It was almost ironic that all that crap happened with the tickets. I am always so cautious in New York about not getting pick pocketed, or mugged or anything, but the one time I act like a stupid tourist when I am out of town I get screwed. Next year maybe I will bring my man purse (it is actually a messenger bag) and put the tickets in there!
 
I love that you ralphed in the bathroom and then attempted to scam chicks.

Her: "What's that smell?"
You: "Just a new flavor of Binaca. Let's go."
Her: "I'd love to, but I have shampoo my dog after getting a permanent in the septic tank of a slaughterhouse."

I hear you on the pickpocket affair. Sometimes its just easier to leave it alone and cut your losses. Hindsight may make it seem otherwise, but you probably did well just leaving it alone. I see you availed yourselves completely of the bars I was talking about, and added stumbling to the recipe through your own creative license. Glad you enjoyed yourselves in Boston. :cool:
 
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