Restaurants

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A brief encounter with spring and a not-so-pleasant encounter with my dentist brought me out and about on Newbury Street earlier in the week.

(Edited to add that I love my dentist. I also love seltzer water and wine and salsa and all sorts of acidic foods and drinks, which have not been super supportive of my teeth enamel. Be careful!)

Newbury Street is a favorite for warm weather wandering, and when my appointment ended at 5:45, it seemed like the right thing to stick around and enjoy the energy.

My husband thought the same thing, and after he miraculously found parking right on the street, we went for a stroll before heading into La Voile for dinner.

(Their website has music, which I absolutely hate. That’s unfortunate.)

La Voile Boston

We sat at the beautiful zinc bar and ordered cocktails to start off a long and leisurely dinner; we were there for a few hours. My cocktail, La Detente, was delicious and the perfect choice on a slightly chilly evening. The smoky Pig’s Nose scotch, Gran Classico Quinquina, and orange warmed me right up and had just the right amount of smokiness and kick. I would definitely order this again.

French Onion Soup

We decided to share French Onion Soup, a beet salad, charcuterie, and mussels for a little taste of a variety of different dishes, and it ended up being the right choice.

First of all, the soup was to.die.for. The broth was so rich and savory, and the gooey cheese and bread were heavenly. It was *almost* as good as my mom’s and made me realize I need more French Onion Soup in my life.  So good.

beet salad

The salad was a needed addition to our diets. We’ve been trying to eat more vegetables, and since we both love beets, this was a great option. Moules frites are always a good choice, especially when a creamy lemon curry option is available, and the frites are perfectly golden, hot, and crisp. I loved dunking frites into the flavorful curry.

moules frites

The charcuterie was one of the best I’ve had, with a truffle pate and a garlicky sausage and pickled onions, all just delicious.

charcuterie

kir royale

While we were finishing up, our server brought us each a complimentary Kir Royale. It turns out they needed us to move to accommodate a larger party, which given that it was Red Sox opening day, we would have been happy to do. It was a nice touch though, to have them offer us something before even asking. I love a Kir Royale!

espresso Settled into new seats and perfectly happy, we decided to stay for espresso and dessert, a chocolate fondant that was gooey and warm, paired with vanilla ice cream. Again, a simple, flawless plate.

chocolate fondant We could have stayed all night, but Monday dates are a rare treat, and we needed to get home to work. We looked longingly at La Voile’s patio as we left, vowing to return on a warmer night for much longer.

La Voile Patio

La Voile was an exceptional dining experience and perfect for a date night. Service and food were both excellent, I loved their wine list and cozy space, and am happy to have another Boston date night favorite on the list.

Tags: Boston, date night, dessert, Dining out, Restaurants, wine

Take me back to Puerto Rico, please. I have had enough of rainy spring and am well ready for summery temperatures and sunshine again!

For  Puerto Rico travel blog posts check these out:

Outdoor adventures in Puerto Rico

Luquillo, Puerto Rico is paradise

Colorful Old San Juan

 

Boardriders in Luquillo was one of the highlights of our stay trip to Puerto Rico. Its laid back surfer vibe, great music, and gorgeous ocean views made it so good that we went three times, once for dinner, once for drinks, and once for brunch. Being there made my shoulders drop and the more relaxed, less anxiety-laden me come back for just a little bit. I miss that girl.

Boardriders Luquillo Boardriders Boardriders had a pretty extensive menu of bar-type food featuring great local ingredients, along with rum cocktails to spare. I kept it simple for the most part with a Cuba Libre or three while listening to the crashing waves.

cuba libre

We enjoyed simple but incredibly delicious dishes like shrimp tacos and spicy tuna bites. Food just tastes better at the ocean!

shrimp tacos tuna bites

On our first night there, the moon was so amazing that all of the patrons in the restaurant got up to admire it. It was a special kind of moment seeing people from all over come together, wowed by the power of nature. There was late night dancing, at least on my part!

moonlight in Luquillo

Brunch at Boardriders was extra special because it started with passionfruit mimosas and overlooked that view. Breezes kept us cool, and hearty breakfast sandwiches and burritos fueled us for our next round of swimming (after 30 minutes, of course).

mimosas Boardriders is really a must visit in Luquillo, and I suggest you visit on your first night to help set the tone of a relaxed beach bum vacation.

Tags: Food, Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Restaurants, rum, Travel, travel blogger

It’s been a while since I have shared a bunch of random favorite things, and I have been collecting photos for just that purpose. Look at these crazy leggings. . . they are actually one of my recent favorites, picked up on super sale at American Eagle on Martin Luther King Day weekend. They’re comfy and bright, and I love wearing them around the house with an oversized sweater and slipper booties while I work, because I can quickly go straight into workout mode if I get a break in my work day.

barre and yoga

I’ve been working with Barre & Soul yoga and barre studios, and as part of my work with them, I get to take classes. Their virtual classes are amazing; you get a Skype call right on your computer and take the class from home. The instructor can see you, and you can see her, so there’s plenty of motivation and form correcting. I love starting my day with one of their Vinyasa yoga classes, and their 11:00 am Cardio Barre on Sundays kicks my butt.

dorchester ymca

On the workout front, we’ve also joined the YMCA in Dorchester, which is a really impressive facility that is incredibly reasonable. It’s $53/month for both of us! It has a pool, classes, spinning, a great fitness facility, sauna, steam room, etc. I can’t believe I used to pay $95 a month for just myself at a downtown gym!  I want to get more into a schedule with classes at the Y, mixing in a few Barre & Soul classes in, along with a few runs per week.

hand and stone massageIn addition to the Y, we also became members at Hand and Stone Massage. A monthly payment of $49.95 includes a massage and some really great discounts. I find that massages really help me physically and mentally, and now it will be guaranteed that I go for one every month. I will definitely look forward to that day!

On the food front, we’ve been eating a lot of delicious things. Too many. I haven’t done very well on the healthy eating front. If abs are made in the kitchen, mine are made of brioche and Nutella these days.

nutella french toast

Nutella and Bacon French Toast at the Plate in Milton. . . do I need to say more?

polenta

We love The Townshend in Quincy, and on a very cold Friday night, we had a cozy date at the bar, complete with an incredible polenta and wild boar ragu. I think this would be on my top 10 comfort foods list.

fireplace dinners with wine

The Daily Table continues to be a favorite spot for finding great ingredients. The above tuna steak was perfection with veggies and a sesame/ginger marinade that I threw together. Dinners picnic-style by the fire are also my favorite; they’re cozy and romantic and turn every night into a date night.

chicken parmesan in a skillet

My chicken parm is another date night at home favorite. I love skillet meals that start out on the stovetop and then finish in the oven. This one isn’t breaded; my homemade tomato sauce smothers pan-fried chicken, and fresh mozzarella and basil top it off. Another top comfort food for the winter!

I recently also finally got to the brick-and-mortar location of Mei Mei Street Kitchen, and it was incredible. I loved the spiked Fire Cider cocktail and this charred cabbage salad, which was crunchy and cozy and tangy, delicious.

mei mei street kitchen

I can’t finish this post without a mention that this past week I lost one of my favorites of all time, our cat Smuckers. Since the day we adopted her over 11 years ago, she was a constant companion and source of laughs, a cat-dog in her behavior, loving, full of purrs, but only for me and Eric. Anyone else she would try to kill.

IMG_0027 She had a larger-than-life presence, and it was hard to watch that slip away Friday night, but we loved her so much we knew we had to let her go. Smuckers was adopted from the MSPCA, and I can’t stress enough how incredibly grateful rescue animals are to be yours. A little piece of my heart is missing these days, but I’m also just trying to be grateful that we had her in our lives.

xoxo

Tags: Boston, Brookline, exercise, Food, Restaurants, workouts, yoga

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