Restaurant Recap: Boston to New Jersey

Some people travel to see art. Some people travel to see architecture. Some people travel to meet new people. Some people travel to sit on warm sand and catch those summer rays. I mostly travel for food.

I enjoy all of the above, but my days revolve around what I'm going to eat. I remember watching a interview with Bradley Cooper, the famous actor from movies like American Hustle, The Silver Linings Playbook, and The Hangover, and said he is the type to discuss what's for lunch while eating breakfast. I'm the same way. Already thinking about what is for dinner while putting the lunch dishes away

I'm constantly doing google searches like "best Irish breakfast near me." I scour the yelp reviews like I'm sifting for gold. I'll even do a youtube search like "Seafood in Boston", just to see if there are any  restaurants I may have missed. 

Here are a few restaurants I tried in the last week. 

1. Giacomo's

Famous Italian restaurant with various locations in Boston. I went to the Back Bay location because it is near my apartment. You have to make a reservation. The restaurant is small. I went on a cold, rainy Monday in June and the place was full with people waiting in line. Thankfully I made a reservation for one and they sat me near the door. 

The ambiance is nice. It can get a little crowd by the door, but the staff did a great job of keeping people in or out. 

Now to the food. I heard about this place on twitter. Dave Portnoy, the creator of Barstool Sports-- which is a blog I read, tweeted a few times about the goat cheese gnocchi at Giacomo's. So the goat cheese gnocchi is what I ordered. The gnocchi was fantastic, the salad was good, and the bread was that nice hard on the outside soft on the inside.  Italian is my favorite type of food. The portions were plenty of food, I even took some home for lunch the next day. The valet parker caught me rubbing my belly and asked if I was full, I couldn't even be embarrassed he caught me because it was so good of course I would rub my belly like a little child. Giacomo's hit the spot. I'll definitely be going back to try the other dishes. 

Remember to make a reservation, also its cash only.

Wait, I almost forgot about the dessert. Like I said, I was already stuffed, but I'm not going to pass up a dessert opportunity at a new restaurant. That's like buying a ticket to a playoff game and leaving before overtime starts just because you are tired.

I ordered a chocolate cake filled with a chocolate truffle and served with whipped cream. The cake, drizzled in chocolate sauce, was moist and delicious. The whipped cream will make your toes curl. I'm usually not a whipped cream guy, but this cream was like a smooth cloud. The waitress told me the desserts aren't made in house but ordered from Vermont... either way it was worth it. I finished the whole thing. My mother was in town a couple weeks later on her birthday, I ordered this cake to go and my entire family all tried a bite and it is just as good the second time.

2. The Clam Box 

A famous fried clam restaurant in Quincy, MA. Its about a 30 minute drive south of Boston. The restaurant sits right across the street from a beautiful beach. With patio seating and wide windows you can see a good view of the islands in the distance and the Boston skyline. 

I ordered fried clam bellies and fried oysters. The serving size was big. I like raw oysters, but I am not a fan of the fried clams and oysters. They serve their fried seafood with fries, and its just too much fried food for one meal. It did taste very fresh but I got overwhelmed after a couple bites. It would be great to share, but don't get the fried seafood by yourself. 

Some of the people in front of me ordered hamburgers, hotdogs and sandwiches. I would be interested in trying some of their other food. 

3. Holsten's 

I spent the weekend in New Jersey because I had a job interview on Monday. While in New Jersey there were three things I really wanted to see: My ancestor's headstone in Oldwick New Jersey, the stone pony in Asbury Park, and Holsten's--the famous diner from the suspenseful and controversial Sopranos Finale. 

The inside looks a little different from the sopranos show, but it is still recognizable. Holsten's is famous for their ice cream but they have a full menu offering normal things you'd find in a diner: Burgers, sandwiches, breakfast. 

I was tempted to try the breakfast with Taylor ham--something a local friend of mine has told me about. I was in the mood for lunch food and went with the burger. It was very simple and tasted fresh and homemade. I ordered a side of onion rings because according to Tony Soprano they are the best in the state. They were good onion rings. 

I ordered a coconut ice cream with chocolate chips--sort of like a mound bar. The ice cream was delicious, tasting super creamy and homemade. The sign outside says they are famous for their chocolate and ice cream, and I can see why. They have many different and interesting flavors that you don't see everyday.

update: I went back another day and tried the breakfast with Taylor ham. It was simple and perfect. The Taylor ham didn't taste as greasy as I was expecting. For the price it was a great breakfast. 

Knee Jerk Reactions to Cities from Salt Lake to Boston

In my last post I wrote about some do's and don'ts of making the cross country trip. If you're like me, you will decide whether you like a city or anything usually off of knee jerk reactions in the first few moments.

Here were my knee jerk reactions to every city I stayed in.

Cheyenne--I'm pretty sure I just saw the entire town on the drive in. After walking around it seems to be full of cowboys and depressed junkies.

Omaha--Definitely clean and not too big or small. These little parks on every corner are really nice. Seems to be full of a lot of young people... not the most beautiful but a lot of cute 6's (you know the people who aren't models but are definitely cute.)

Des Moines-- I think I'll skip it. Just drive to the Field of dreams and on to Chicago.

Chicago-- smells like dookie and parking is way too expensive.

Pittsburgh--Driving through the tunnel and finally seeing Pittsburgh is like those beautiful aerial shots in movies. The two rivers look really cool. Seem like Omaha, just slightly better looking people.

Philadelphia-- Instantly started humming "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen. The Reading Terminal Market alone is worth going back. I also got tricked into a photo shoot at the Rocky steps by a homeless guy. I gave him 5 bucks.

New York--Too overwhelming... so much do too and so little time. Maybe the hardest city to walk next to Vegas. Why did it take me 30 minutes to get to that restaurant?--it is right down the street on maps.

Boston--The biggest city with the smallest home town feel. You can still hear the birds chirp.

Do's and Don'ts of The Cross Country Drive.

On Saturday May 20th I left the small town of Highland City in Utah County, Utah to drive across the country to Boston. Not exactly coast to coast, but still a long drive. I broke up the trip so that I only had to drive about 7 hours or less per day. I stopped in Cheyenne, Omaha, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and finally arrived in Boston.

A couple things I wished I would have done:

Fly to Omaha, rent a car there and then drive to the other cities. Then you aren't technically driving across country, but thats alright because Cheyenne is pretty forgettable.

Book your hotels in advance. I know some people tell you don't book them until the night of. And that is nice because you are more flexible. But then you have to book hotels when you get to a new city. I would rather relax in the hotel or go see something than scour the web for cheap deals.

Just pay... You are gong to pay for parking, Ubers, cabs, food, etc. Know you are going to have to pay more than you expected. If you plan well I guess you can know your budget down to a cent. I went with no plans and tried to save money at the beginning. By the end I would rather pay for parking than be far away from things.

Here is list of the cities and why I liked, loved, or hated them. I'll include hotel recommendations or places to steer clear of.

Cheyenne--Not a huge fan. Not very a very beautiful drive and not a very beautiful city. There was a cool restaurant that had self serving beer taps and good sliders called Accomplice Beer Company. I stayed at the Historic Plains Hotel which I do not recommend. I didn't sleep at all because I could hear people yelling outside and the train going by. Selfie with one of the huge boots in Cheyenne... If a huge boot is the only attraction, might want to keep driving.

Omaha--I loved this small city. It was clean and had beautiful little structures built around the river on almost every block. I walked around the Heartland Park of America and then went to the Old Town to eat. It looked like there were lots of young people out and about. If you are renting a car I would recommend skipping Cheyenne and just flying into Omaha to rent a car and then drive the rest of the way. I would also recommend the New Victorian Inn and Suite. The hotel is 16 minutes from downtown, but very clean and comfortable.

 Chicago--I hear Chicago is so great....But I didn't really enjoy it too much. To be fair it was rainy and I didn't pick the greatest hotel. The city is so big and spread out that there is no way to get a hotel close to everything. I didn't want to take an hour on public transit so I drove downtown (which only took 20 minutes. The problem was it was about 45 bucks just to park for an hour and a half. Super expensive. Maybe I'm just not a Chicago guy, after all I'm thin crust over deep dish pizza.

Pittsburgh--I drove past Wrigley field because I didn't get to see it at night. I was kind of disappointed. I will have to go back and walk around, maybe catch a game. I drove down through Illinois, over across Indiana and Ohio. I took the route with no tolls.. stupid move. I didn't take into account that driving and extra hour or two will just cost me more gas. So I would say spend the money on the toll routs. The drive was pretty boring. I was wishing I would have just stopped in Indianapolis or another city along the way. Once you get past West Virginia and into Pennsylvania, the drive turns into gorgeous green hills and old town nestled in them.

I stayed at the Hampton Inn Pittsburgh/Greentree. It is another clean hotel that I would recommend. They even have a free shuttle that takes you downtown. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city. Lots of young and old people out and a bout to go to bars to watch the hockey game. I will definitely be going back to Pittsburgh. Try and get a sandwich with fries in them. There is also a monastery turned into a bar. I met someone at a bar who was really nice but just wanted to talk politics. I can think of better conversations to be had at a bar.




Philadelphia--Not wanting to make the mistake of staying far away from downtown, I just threw down the extra cash and stayed at Club Quarters hotel. This was a more upscale hotel than I would usually stay. They even had free water bottles with filtered water by each elevator. Philadelphia is a  nice city. It was very busy with all types of people. I saw a lot of people walking around in suits. I met a really nice guy at a bar who said most people in Philly are "dicks." I didn't notice. He took me to another bar and ended up getting in an argument about something with someone else. Definitely go to the Reading Terminal Market and get one of these little donuts. Apple pie filled. Toe curling.

New York--The Big apple just towers over you. The drive was rather quick. Traffic wasn't as bad as expected. I stayed at a Hampton in Times Square--again just wanted to pony up the money and stay close. In Philly I paid about 35 bucks for 24 hours of parking. In New York I paid 90 dollars for 48 hours. You could rent cars and just drop them off in each city to avoid parking fees. I enjoyed staying in Times Square. But New York is like Chicago in that it is so spread out. So you will have to take an uber or subway to get to some destinations. There are millions of restaurants and cool things to see. I really liked The Met (if you are into art) and other restaurants and places to grab a drink. Just do a yelp search to see what is near you. I'd also recommend a show, obviously. Nothing beats the pageantry of seeing a show on Broadway. I chose to go see School of Rock. I got a ticket for 39 bucks, but it was partial view. The partial view didn't bother me because the only things I missed were in the very back or one corner of the stage. The show rocked. I got chills at least five times.

Boston-After New York I finally made the drive to Boston. I was exhausted. I feel like I hadn't stopped in a week. I was either driving, walking around a city, or looking at hotels for the next city. I got a little place in the Back Bay to stay for the month. I love how the Back Bay is next to a bigger city but still has a quiet, smaller town feel.