A long awaited return to visit Boston, Massachusetts
Our first two evenings were spent at the Lenox Hotel on Boylston Street in the Back Bay. This lovely small hotel, known as “the original boutique hotel” is located in the perfect place to dine and shop as it sits between Copley Plaza (the indoor upscale mall) and fashionable Newbury Street with numerous boutiques and cafés. A sobering reminder of the Boston Marathon Bombings was not far away at nearby Copley Square. (The memorial was removed on June 24th as the city tries to move on from this tragedy.)
The Lenox Hotel
Peter, the bellman, also had Bruins fever during the Stanley Cup finals
The Boston Marathon Bombing Memorial in Copley Square
A sobering tribute to that day
The first lunch in town had to include Clam Chowder, so a quick trip to Legal Sea Foods was in order.
Clam Chowdah
Our first evening’s dinner was with good friends and former colleagues in Cambridge where we dined at Catalyst Restaurant. The former executive chef of the now closed Aujourd’hui at the Four Seasons Hotel is the chef/owner of this seasonal, sustainable, and local farm inspired restaurant. WIlliam Kovel’s menu was creative and featured dishes representative of springtime in New England, such as the English Pea Ravioli, Lobster, Cippolini Onions, Lemon, and Mint dish that I ordered. We had an excellent meal and enjoyed visiting with friends we haven’t seen in years.
Two of the other main courses we enjoyed at Catalyst
After a full day exploring town, the second evening was a very happy reunion with my best friend, Eileen. As she said, when we get together, the years seem to melt away and it’s just like we had never been apart. Not having been in Boston for about five years, we had a wonderful time catching up over drinks at the newly remodeled Oak Room at The Fairmont Copley Plaza. The OAK Long Bar & Kitchen is very different from the old space; open and bright with the large bar as the focus of the room. While I missed the old Oak Bar, it was a refreshing change from the former dark and clubby piano bar that I remembered. We followed drinks with dinner at Sorellina, a delightfully elegant Italian restaurant in the Back Bay.
With my BFF Eileen
The new OAK Long Bar & Kitchen at the Fairmont Copley Plaza
The new space features a large bar and beautiful open kitchen
Spectacular pictures, from what sounds to have been a spectacular trip.
Fantastic!
And so glad you were reunited with your BFF, Eileen!
Wonderful and what stunning beautiful weather you had! Lucky! The photos are gorgeous and the food all looks amazing…. mmmm seafood and chowder! What a great time you guys had! Boston is a gorgeous city and I do want to get back (I never lived there, only visited) and your post makes me yearn even more. And it actually makes me want to get back to visit Philly where I lived and went to school!
What a great post! It really makes me miss Boston…especially the photo of the BPL where I studied AND then cavorted around Boylston and Newbury for food and material goodies 🙂 Beautiful photos..you truly captured the essence of the city!