bloggers

You are currently browsing articles tagged bloggers.

We brunched and brunched. And then brunched some more. Because that is precisely what Boston Brunchers do. For the January Boston Brunchers brunch, the brunchers paired up with the Langham Hotel for a contest. Each of the lucky Boston food blogger winners won a seat at the Langham Hotel’s luxurious City Brunch. A detailed menu can be found here.

Where to begin?

Cafe Fleuri at the Langham Hotel

Immediately after arriving in the beautiful lobby of the Langham Hotel in Boston’s Financial District, I heard the sounds of live jazz music making their way down the stairs from Café Fleuri. I met up with fellow brunchers Daisy, Megan, Emily, Melissa, Justin, Renee, and Lara near the bottom of the stairs. Did we know what we were in for? There was only one way to find out.

Sunday Brunch at The Langham Hotel

As we ascended the stairs, smells of roast coffee filled the air, and Langham Hotel brunch cocktail menus provided stronger options like the Hot in the City Bloody Mary.

Langham Hotel Brunch Cocktails

I went the Venetian route with a peach bellini, bubbles and sweet peach the aperitif I needed to prep me for an indulgent brunch Odyssey.

peach bellini

And so the journey began. Round and round the room we went first just snapping photos and marveling at the wonders before us.

jazz brunch at the Langham Hotel

From the fresh and healthy granola parfait

brunch granola parfaits

And around to bright, summery fruits and a world of cheese

brunch buffet fruit brunch buffet cheese

A taste of Italy in summertime with a caprese salad

caprese salad at the brunch buffet caprese salad at the brunch buffet

And an elegant beef carpaccio

beef carpaccio

Sweet visions tried to disarm us around every corner.

Boston brunch cupcakes cupcakes at the brunch buffet

And treats from the sea beckoned brunchers to sail away to Neptune’s lair.

shrimp martinis at the brunch buffet

Langham Hotel raw bar

The temptations were many.

brunch cannolis

The colors downright mesmerizing, almost hypnotizing

eggs at brunch

Though dared, I could not face my fear of the chocolate fountain (after an unfortunate incident involving a chocolate fountain and a piece of pineapple getting stuck at a conference years back).

chocolate fountain

So I made my way from the brunch wonderland to the safety of my table and my fellow brunchers.

Round 1- shrimp cocktail, crab salad, bean and tomato salad, and a tasty egg

Boston brunch

I caught Daisy as she bravely juggled multiple plates on her own return from the brunch buffet wilds.

brunch at the Langham Hotel

Round 2- roasted beets, Lake’s End goat cheese, Marcona Almond

Also known as my favorite dish of the day

beets and goat cheese

Also a favorite, Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon and chive hollandaise

Eggs Benedict

Megan and I wondered at how, with so many eggs to make, the chef managed to cook these to sunny, runny perfection.

Eggs Benedict

Just when it seemed it couldn’t get any better, and seemingly out of nowhere, a beignet fairy visited our table, depositing warm, sweet, cinnamon-y, beignets for all.

Cinnamon Sugar Beignet

But still we weren’t done! Still lured by the East Coast Catches, I delighted in briny oysters, a bite of sushi, and perhaps the best smoked salmon in all the land, smoked and maple cured in-house.

raw bar smoked salmon, oysters, sushi
oysters oyster

There was room for just one more. . . one more plate that is. Beguiled by sweets on every table, I could not escape without a few bites, chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate croissant bread pudding.

chocolate covered strawberries chocolate croissant bread pudding

For as much ground as I covered, I didn’t visit nearly all of the corners of the beautiful brunch universe that the Langham Hotel has put together.

Truly a paradise for all of the senses, our brunch journey brought together brunchers from Somerville to Dorchester and beyond all with one mission, to brunch until we couldn’t brunch any more. And we did.

Boston brunch Boston Brunchers

Everyone at the Langham Hotel was wonderful and welcoming, and I can’t thank them enough for so generously hosting us. My brunch was provided compliments of the Langham, but that aside, I would absolutely recommend their City Brunch, especially for a special occasion like a shower or reunion.

After looking at my Langham brunch photos, the mister and I decided that an overnight stay-cation at the hotel, followed by City Brunch, might just be the perfect late-winter pick-me-up. Stay tuned!

What is your favorite brunch item? Do you go for salty/savory or sweet?

Cafe Fleuri on Urbanspoon

Tags: best brunch, bloggers, Boston, Boston brunch, Boston Brunchers, brunch, brunch in Boston, city brunch, Dining out, events, Langham Hotel, Restaurants, Sunday brunch

Sometimes the best way to spend a bank holiday is wandering around aimlessly and catching up with good friends. That is exactly how I spent this past Monday afternoon.

With the Boston Food Bloggers launch party Monday evening, a few friends (and favorite Boston bloggers) and I decided to make a day of it, starting with lunch at Sel de la Terre at Boston’s Long Wharf. I ended up a little late for lunch and arrived just in time for dessert. Alicia, Daisy, and Megan had already ordered the dessert sampler, which offered a beautiful bite of each of the desserts on the menu.

dessert sampler Sel de la Terre

We were also given complimentary cookies as we were getting ready to leave. These chocolate swirl cookies from Sel de la Terre’s own bakery were soft, chocolatey, and delicious.

image

Once we finished up at Sel de la Terre, we headed to the Boston Harbor Hotel for some tea or perhaps a cocktail. I love the Boston Harbor Hotel with its gorgeous views, beautiful décor, and swanky but comfy lounge. They are running the Boston Wine Festival right now, and they offer an incredible lineup. I want to attend one of the dinners!

The Boston Harbor Hotel is also where I got ready for my wedding and spent our wedding night. Though the bar was closed, I stopped for a second to relive some really happy memories Smile

Boston Harbor Hotel

It was back to the drawing board to find our next destination. We wanted something that was cozy and close as the high was 18 degrees that day. RumBa at the Intercontinental Hotel seemed like the perfect location.

Boston Bloggers

RumBa was empty, and we made a beeline for a table for four right next to a roaring fire.

RumBa at the Intercontinental Hotel

RumBa at the Intercontinental Hotel

The warmth of the fire was most welcome, and the leather seats were tres comfortable. I loved each and every detail in RumBa, especially the vintage Louis Vuitton trunk that was our table.

Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunk Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunk Rumba at the Intercontinental

RumBa has a massive selection of rums from around the world, along with a fun cocktail list and some great wines by the glass.

RumBa Rum Selection

Before we ordered, there were, of course, the obligatory menu photos. I love being out with other bloggers!

Intercontinental Hotel Boston

Ever the bubbly lover, I easily decided on Marquis de la Tour Brut. With lots of tiny bubbles and flavors of green apple and biscuit, sipping this by the fire felt truly luxurious. It was incredibly relaxing!

Marquis de la Tour RumBa Bar Menu

We stayed at RumBa for quite awhile, enjoying the fire and chatting. Before we left, I caught this image of a ghostly Daisy. She must have been walking super fast! Smile

Intercontinental Boston RumBa

It was a little too early to head to the blogger bash, so after a short cab ride to the South End, we wandered again in search of warmth. I caught a couple of photos along the way. It was close to 5:00, and the light was just beautiful. As much as winter gets to me, the evening light is just beautiful.

South End Boston Boston in winter

Union Bar & Grille was just opening up, and since I had such a great dinner experience there over the summer, we decided to have a drink while we waited for the blogger event, just a few doors down, to get started.

Union Bar & Grille Boston

We found four seats at the empty bar and proceeded to make friends with the friendly bartender, Justin. The cocktail menu was full of tempting offerings, but I decided on the Honeysuckle, a mix of Irish whiskey, honey reserve bourbon, orange juice, and sparkling apple cider. It was delish!

Union Bar & Grille Boston

Justin was kind enough to take a photo of us, then commandeered my camera to take a few shots of his own.

Union Boston Beer

Union DOES have some great beers on draught.

Union Bar Boston

Union Boston Cocktail

He has a pretty good eye, don’t ya think?

Our adventure day may have lacked the outside time that we planned on due to the frigid temperatures, but it was a ton of fun, and I can not wait to do it again! My recent employment highs and lows have made life a little stressful; an entire day outing with friends was the perfect antidote!

How would you spend your perfect day off?

Union Bar and Grille on Urbanspoon

Rumba on Urbanspoon

Tags: bloggers, Boston, Boston Food Bloggers, cocktails, RumBa, Sel de la Terre, Union Boston

It was the moment we Boston food bloggers had been waiting for, the official launch of the Boston Food Bloggers website. Last night, many, many Boston food bloggers gathered together at The Gallows in the South End for food, drinks, to meet new blog friends and to catch up with old ones.

I arrived at The Gallows after a fun day with Alicia, Daisy, Megan, and later, Michelle who joined us after work. Even though it was just after 6:00, there was a line out the door, eager bloggers ready to get in out of the cold and into the party.

South End Gallows

The Gallows is a fairly small space, dimly lit, great for a party but not great for photos. In keeping with its macabre name, The Gallows is decorated with ravens and bats and other things, like this creepy old costume in the ladies room.

South End Gallows

Tables were dotted with jars of lemons, carrots, celery, potatoes, and leeks. Fun décor, and more than a few of us wondered if they were take-homes Winking smile

South End Gallows

Friendly servers from The Gallows passed trays of Pretty Things Jack d’Or. I have to comment that even in such a crowded space, the restaurant staff seemed really happy and welcoming and were constantly round the room passing the beer, in addition to burgers and other treats.

Pretty Things Jack d'Or

I ate about a million handfuls of the Bacon Caramel Chex Mix, just one of the menu items making The Gallows a local favorite.

South End Gallows bacon caramel chex mix

I also enjoyed a cone of poutine, fries with rich gravy and cheese curds. They were messy, but delicious. As a fry-lover, I approve!

South End Gallows poutine

I spent just over an hour mingling in the packed room. In addition to the friends I arrived with, I got to talk with lots of other great bloggers and saw many others from across the room. There are so many wonderful people who blog in Boston and never enough time to talk to them all!

The gift bag from the Boston Food Blogger party was off the hook! I am still going through it in awe. In addition to fig spread from Whole Foods, a whole bag of Pretzel Crisps, and biscotti there are all sorts of vouchers for free stuff at local restaurants like Island Creek Oyster Bar, Acquitaine, and Union Bar and Grille, and Wagamama. There are also all sorts of great discounts.  I am going to make a handy list of all of the great offers in the bag; that way when we are going out I will know what great offers and discounts to take advantage of. I tend to forget about coupons before they expire but not this time!

Boston Food Blogger launch party

Everyone behind the Boston Food Bloggers launch, especially its founder, Rachel, and the folks from Urban Spoon did an amazing job planning an event that, I think, made us all feel a little like celebrities. As we discussed on our way out, after all of the work we put into our blogs, it is really cool that someone took the time to put together something so special for all of us.

I am already looking forward to more blogger get-togethers. So much food, fun, and camaraderie! Also, I have updated my About page with some exciting information about my steps into the world of being a Marketing Consultant. I would love if you could check it out, provide feedback, and spread the word!

The Gallows on Urbanspoon

Tags: beer, bloggers, Boston, Boston Food Bloggers, Boston Food Blogs, events, Food, food blogger, food blogging events, Pretty Things, South End, The Gallows

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera