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I love any excuse to get out and about in our neighborhood, so when I read about the Dorchester Bike & Brew Fest, despite the fact that I don’t do much biking, I knew I would have to at least stop by.

Dorchester bike

The festival took place on a gorgeous late summer night in Ashmont’s Peabody Square. With the street closed off to traffic, it was the perfect setting for people of all ages to mingle and for kids to run around without parents having to worry about traffic. Dorchester has a huge sense of community, and every time we go to local events, we run into people we know and meet some new friends as well.

Dorchester

The festival centered around bikes and local brews. There was plenty of information on biking in the area, and this cool mobile home took care of the brews. It was a pub-on-wheels for the night, and probably the most popular spot at the festival!

Dorchester Bike and Brew Many great aspects of the community were featured, including local leaders and the Boston Police ice cream  van, which is just a brilliant idea for creating positive experiences with police for kids from an early age. The area around the ice cream van was full of smiles!

Boston Police Ice Cream Truck  

There were a number of food trucks at the festival, but our noses kept bringing us back to Sheherazad where we tucked into fragrant Iraqi red chicken and a fried cauliflower wrap. . . some of the best food I have eaten lately!

sheherazad food truck

Iraqi red chicken

cauliflower wrap

Sitting on the sidewalk eating dinner with the setting sun, laughing neighbors, and live music as the backdrop, I was as happy as can be. It doesn’t take more than great people and simple, delicious food to make my day.

The Bike & Brew Fest was a great time, and while I know logistics can be complicated, I wish it was something that could happen a few times a year.

Tags: beer, bikes, Boston, community, Dorchester, dot, events, festivals, local beer

My hope is that when Labor Day passes and boat evenings are fewer (waahhhh) I will make more time to write and cook again and have more to share on the blog. For now, I am behind and still trying to enjoy a slower summer pace, so I bring you a roundup of some recent restaurant favorites!

Easily one of the best meals of the summer, and one I have taken forever to write about is an early summer dinner at SRV Boston. cocktails at SRV Boston

A group of us got together for cocktails, wine, and the tasting menu, and it was perfection. I think that, while there are so many Boston restaurants I want to try, I would choose SRV if I was asked right now my top choice for a night out.

SRV Boston tasting menu   meatballs        

buttered lobster roll

We’ve made visiting Art’s in Hull a priority, since it’s got such great Boston skyline and sea views, and it’s easy to get to by boat as well as by car. My favorite local little beach is also within walking distance, so a day in Hull is basically the best, I have, over the past few years, placed myself firmly in the buttered lobster roll camp, and there’s no turning back.

molinari's pasta

This gnocchi right here is some of the best I have ever had. It’s from Molinari’s, another addition to the Dorchester dining scene, and it is light, fluffy, heavenly, the stuff that my pasta cravings are made of.

nebo zucchini lasagna

We’ve made going to the Boston Calling block parties on Thursday nights part of our rotation, and one night we dined at Nebo, where I finally had the zucchini lasagna. It was so good, and then I tried to recreate it at home, and my own version was not-so-good. I’ve just really lost the cooking mojo.

lobster gnocchi

We celebrated our 10th anniversary on August 18 with a light dinner at Deuxave (an all time favorite) before the Billy Joel concert at Fenway Park and a boat date to Rainsford Island the next day.

Gloria Ferrer

Our afternoon spread included Gloria Ferrer bubbles (of course) and two different types of delicious prepared chicken salad from Willow Tree Farm. We tried both the Sriracha Chicken Salad and the Avocado Chicken Salad, and while we liked both, the sriracha was a clear favorite. It had a nice kick! I liked having these locally made salads available to grab and go for a boat or beach day. There are times we put a lot of thought and effort into the food we bring, and it was nice to have something easy and really good to bring along. Thank you to Willow Tree Farm for the samples! If you haven’t tried their chicken pot pies, you have to! They are awesome for having on hand in the freezer for late nights, the perfect comfort food.

willow tree farm chicken salad

IMG_8046

We rarely participate in Dine Out Boston, but we happened to find ourselves for a dinner date at dbar (another consistent favorite) and I had the three course menu, which included the most incredible chilled corn soup. dbar ALWAYS has amazing soup; I would go there just for that, but their brunch is also one of my favorites in the city.

 

spicy cucumber cocktailI spent a few days in Provincetown with friends, and when I returned, my husband kindly picked me up at the ferry. Since we were both starving, we popped into Rosa Mexicano for chips and guac and this outstanding spicy cucumber tequila cocktail. I have been all about cucumbers this summer (so hydrating!), and this cocktail was definitely one I would order again.

 

If you had to choose a night out in your city, which restaurant would be your top choice right now? Are you team butter or mayo for lobster rolls?

Tags: Boston, cocktails, Dining out, Food, food blog, food blogger, pasta, Restaurants

July is my favorite month of the year because it is full-on summer. It’s not August 1, when people start trying to rock boots and scarves and pumpkin beers in the 90 degree heat. It’s mostly not back-to-school time yet. While I do have to work in July, there is just something so free and “like a kid again” about it. I love the late sunsets, the bare feet, falling asleep in a bikini with salty hair after an epic day on the water. I love eating string beans and strawberries for breakfast right out of the garden, doing cartwheels in the grass, and snuggling up in the air conditioned dark bedroom to watch the Tour de France after a long hot day out. Yes, I love July. I feel like I have many versions of what my heaven would be: Ireland in March, Sonoma County anytime, and New England in July. Love.

Most of the below photos are from my Instagram, so apologies if you have already seen them. If this blog is anything, I want it to be a place to chronicle all of the joys in life, big and small.

Here’s how I spent my July. What are your favorite July moments?

 

Boston Harbor Boating

I’ve been boating and swimming as much as humanly possible, and I wish I could do more.

boating

Rainsford Island

When not out on the water, I’ve tried to get to the beach, both here in Massachusetts and in New Jersey. Beach blanket bubbly and blue seas make for the perfect summer Saturday.

Hull Beaches

 

Jersey Shore

And family trips to the Jersey Shore are basically a summer requirement.

Point Pleasant

When not on the boat or at the beach, we’ve spent plenty of time in our friends’ pool, a beautiful and fun oasis.

pool days

Summer foods have been consumed in abundance. We grill a couple of times a week at least.

grilling

 

We loved post-beach roasted oysters at Art’s in Hull.

oysters kohrs custard   And I ate my fill of Kohr’s custard in New Jersey.

watermelon margarita

I matched my margarita to my purse (by accident).

garden veggies

And have been absolutely obsessed with my garden. There’s still so much growing to do this season, but we have definitely enjoyed the harvest so far. I visit my garden at least once a day; it is so peaceful to breathe in the fresh greenery, and it makes my day to see new blossoms.

nasturtium

sunflower

Suja juice

On one of the hottest days, Suja paid me a visit with a case of cold juice! I loved the Suja can, and each of the delicious juices they brought. My favorite was the Uber Greens and the Probiotic Water, which was perfection after a sweaty run.

Suja

Blue Hills

From the Blue Hills to wandering Lower Mills to block parties on the Greenway, sunsets in the Seaport, and a Paul McCartney concert at Fenway, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed living in Boston during our favorite season. I just want to be outside whenever possible.

Boston Calling Block Party Boston Harbor Sunset

 

Paul McCartney

And finally, we closed July out with the Hull Harbor Illumination, one of my favorite annual events, where we somehow were able to wrangle together a big group of family members for dinner and to watch the illumination.

Hull Harbor Illumination I’m sad to see July go but thrilled to have seven (yes seven) actual weeks of summer left. It doesn’t end on Labor Day, my friends!

Tags: beaches, boating, boating in Boston, Boston, coastal living, New England, summer, Travel

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