The Upper Crust, 20 Charles St, Boston, MA
The Upper Crust Pepperoni Pizza: Signature Crust, Housemade Pizza Sauce, Shredded Mozzarella, and Pepperoni.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Game 7, May 29, 2023 – TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Game 7, May 29, 2023 – TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston, Massachusetts
Photograph by Rachel Ellner
I’ve come to realize that many of us have been bequeathed a cherished family recipe. Be it simple or elaborate to prepare, it’s a dish so fiendishly delicious that it is the unmistakable star of the family meal, whether celebrating triumphs, comforting woes, or keeping family traditions alive. Withholding such heirloom recipes from the world seems almost cruel. Hence, I am championing the family recipe. I will entice the people in my universe to share favourite, nostalgia-infused family recipes, and I will give one of them centre stage in this very space on a monthly basis. In the end, we are all family, and these recipes represent the legacies of our shared passions. This month’s post is written by my good friend Rachel Ellner, a lifestyle reporter working out of Boston and New York City. Enjoy!
I used to tell my mother that the back seat of the boat I take into the afterlife will be filled with her pot roast. Like the wealthiest of ancient Egyptians, I’ll also take my favorite cats, husbands, servants and pottery. But I’m not going anywhere without the tantalizing taste of her roast beef thoroughly drenched in wine gravy. I assume that mashed potatoes, the standard pot-roast accompaniment, are available anywhere.
The response from my mother? “Make sure it’s a brisket.”
My mother was well aware of the popularity of her pot roast. When I was a child, she would allow us a few minutes of talking through stuffed mouthfuls before shushing us.
“I want everyone to be quiet and concentrate on how good this tastes,” she’d say. And we obediently complied.
We could all use a little less sugar in our diet. Some need to lower sugar intake for health benefits, and others are baking for their children, who should be discouraged from worshipping sugar. I, for one, am not ready to totally ditch the sweet stuff. Thankfully there’s Joanne Chang, of Flour Bakery + Cafés in the Boston area. In her latest book, Baking with Less Sugar, she has completely reformulated Flour favourites with much less or zero refined white sugar.
The book’s five chapters tackle 60-plus recipes using minimal or no refined sugar. You’ll find the famous Flour banana bread made with only six tablespoons of refined sugar. Using natural sugar alternatives such as honey, maple syrup, chocolate, and fruit, make for more complex flavours and bring deeper, more interesting elements to the desserts. Keith’s Super-Snappy Gingersnaps derive some of their spicy snap from the bite of molasses, and a carrot layer cake is sweetened with apple juice. An entire chapter is devoted to chocolate, most intense when not tempered by the addition of sugar.
There is some inexplicable and subconscious comfort in being around good friends. Especially ones that are full of generosity, good humour and affability. Friends who will honour your birthday with a night centered around your favourite team even when it is not theirs.
Recently, I was feted with a Boston-themed soiree by these friends of mine and treated to a meal of staggering proportions, a ‘Best of New England’ menu accessorized with Red Sox napkins, balloons, plates and cups. The crab salad was fresh, fragrant, zingy, crunchy with equal parts sweet and creamy. The chowdah was the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had plenty. The broth was clean and allowed the palate to fully access all the flavours of the ingredients with the corn and the chives providing a boost of flavour. The risotto was decadent and flawless. Hefty chunks of perfectly cooked lobster surrounded by tender rice in the most tasty of broths accented by a side of fresh greens.
To travel to Boston is to be transported into a world juxtaposed between modern and historic. Gleaming contemporary architecture sit by centuries-old brick structures. Monuments to fallen heroes live side-by-side with Hubway bikes. It is a city that has carefully preserved its history yet is undaunted by the future. Always striving to move forward yet never forgetting where it’s been.
Much the same can be said for its cuisine. Classic dinning establishments are revered all the while new innovative eateries are championed. The art of good eating is a vital component of Boston. On my latest jaunt, I acted as if I had been suddenly dropped into the epicenter of this vibrant city and I set off on a little culinary adventurism. Determined to discover old as well as new heroes.
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| 229 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA |
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| Margherita |
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| Butternut Squash, Ricotta and Cranberry |
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| Spinach, White Bean and Roasted Garlic |
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| Mashed Potato, Bacon and Scallion |
I stayed at one of the most historical hotels in all of America and I can’t recommend it enough. Opened in 1855 by Harvey D. Parker and located on School Street near the corner of Tremont, not far from the seat of the Massachusetts state government, the Omni Parker House Hotel has long been a rendezvous for politicians.
The hotel was home to the Saturday Club, also referred to as the Saturday Night Club, which consisted of literary dignitaries such as Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Sr. Charles Dickens resided in the Parker House for two years in his own apartments and first recited and performed “A Christmas Carol” at the Saturday Club at the Parker House. The Parker House currently holds possession of Charles Dickens lock and key to his apartment door and also his mirror.
The Parker House perfected the Boston cream pie, which is more of a cake than a pie. Created by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian at Boston’s Parker House Hotel in 1856, this pudding and cake combination comprises two layers of sponge cake filled with vanilla flavored custard or crème pâtissière. The cake is topped with a chocolate ganache.
The joint effort of a former Californian and a Boston chef, Dorado brings authentic Mexican to Boston’s Brookline area. Dorado tacos are the real deal. Made with soft homemade tortillas, they’re stuffed with your choice of grilled sirloin steak, marinated chicken or perfectly charred veggies. I went for the fish taco ensenada. Beer-battered Atlantic whitefish, cabbage, salsa fresca, pickled onions and Baja crema. Its the crunch of the fish and all those flavours that make this tacos irresistible. I’m still thinking about it weeks later. I also tried the house-made chorizo taco with guacamole and salsa fresca which was equally as delicious and flavourful. And for less than six dollars for two gourmet tacos, how could you go wrong?
Now that Shake Shack is in town, there’s really no reason to go anywhere else for burgers and fries. Located in historic Cambridge, Mass., the Harvard Square Shack’s menu features all the Shake Shack classics (I had the ShackBurger) along with the MInT Chocolate concrete (chocolate custard, mint marshmallow sauce and chocolate truffle cookie dough), the Crimson Red Velvet (vanilla frozen custard blended with a slice of crimson red velvet cake from South End Buttery Bakery) and the Lobstah Shell concrete (Vanilla custard, lobstah tail pastry shell from Boston’s North End, strawberry puree and ricotta cream). Good times in the Commonwealth!
In May of 2014, Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe announced that it was closing at the end of June, ending its 87-year run. Though I had never been to Charlie’s, I decided to pay my respects.
Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe has won numerous awards over the years (most notably for its turkey hash), culminating in the reception of a James Beard Award in 2005.
I’m glad I went. Throngs of people came and went to wish the owner good luck. Asked what he was going to do when the shoppe is closed, he was overhead saying, “I’m going to sleep in.” Very well deserved, I say.
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| Senator Edward Kennedy |
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| The famous house speciality, Turkey Hash |
Seafood is essential to Boston’s very being. Living near the ocean affords you to have plenty of digs brimming with the catch of the day. But only one place turns fresh-from-the-ocean fare into a history lesson: Ye Olde Union Oyster House.
JFK ate here. Already, I’m sold on the place. The American president and icon (and personal hero of mine) loved to feast in privacy in the upstairs dining room. His favorite booth “The Kennedy Booth” has since been dedicated in his memory.
Billed as the oldest restaurant in Boston and the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the U.S., the doors have been open to diners since 1826. The building itself was built around 1704 and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. Before it became a restaurant, a dress goods business occupied the property. In 1771, printer Isaiah Thomas published his newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy, from the second floor. The restaurant originally opened as the Atwood & Bacon Oyster House on August 3, 1826.
During the revolution the Adams, Hancock, and Quincy wives, often sat in their stalls of the dress goods business sewing and mending clothes for the colonists. In 1796 Louis Philippe, king of France from 1830 to 1848, lived in exile on the second floor. He earned his living by teaching French to many of Boston’s fashionable young ladies. America’s first waitress, Rose Carey, worked there starting in the early 1920s. Her picture is on the wall on the stairway up to the second floor. The toothpick was said to have been popularized in America starting at the Oyster House.
Along with great history comes good food. Take a seat at the raw oyster bar on the main floor or try the dinning room which serves up rich and creamy clam chowder, sweet scallops and live Maine lobsters as well as poultry, baked beans, steak and chops.
As popular with locals as it with tourists, the Union Oyster House is ripe with history and awash in seafood standards. It’s a mandatory stop to complete your authentic New England experience.
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| 41 Union St, Boston, MA 02108, United States |
Clover is my go-to place for breakfast when I am in Boston. And the Harvard Square location is my favorite. It doesn’t matter where I am staying in the city, HSQ Clover is where I need to go for breakfast. It’s fast food done right. It’s vegetarian. There are no freezers. They cut up the food as close as they can to when we’re going to eat (e.g., tomatoes are cut when you order). Everything is done in an open kitchen visible to the customers. 100% of what they hand us is compostable. The menu changes daily. If you can’t already tell, I’m nuts about this place. You should definitely check it out when you’re in town.
On this occasion, I had the oatmeal with fruit compote with a hibiscus green tea. If you’re in for lunch, I highly recommend the chickpea fritter.
This enormous mural installation was posted in Harvard Square near the Coop in order to bring attention to homelessness. 60 3-by-4.5 foot photographs and one 15-by-17 foot photograph cover the entire Palmer Street building in Harvard Square. The installation, called “I am…. More Than Just Homeless,” is a dramatic testament to the strength, resilience, and survival skills of these vulnerable youth. Anthony Pira partnered with Youth On Fire, a drop-in center for homeless youth ages 17-24 in Harvard Square, to present the images in this second public art installation in collaboration with the Outside In Project national campaign “Creating Art to End Homelessness.”
I had heard about this place that served the best lobster sandwiches in New England. Not lobster “rolls,” but “sandwiches.” I took the T to Central Square and then walked for what seemed liked decades. It didn’t help that I wasn’t familiar with the area and that in typical Boston fashion, squares turned into circles, streets were in illogical order and signs were often missing. Definitely not a place you would suddenly stumble upon. Did I mention that it was also raining? Finally, FINALLY, I arrived at my destination, Alive & Kicking Lobsters.
By the time I arrived, I was parched, starving, and I JUST WANTED SOME FREAKING LOBSTERS!!!! And that’s exactly what I got. A generous portion of lobster smushed between two slices of warm and toasty bread. And for $13.95, the price was right. Oh yeah. They even have their own line of drinks. Ginger Ale, Birch Beer, Iced Tea, Root Beer, Lemonade, Diet Root Beer, Cream Soda, Black Cherry, Raspberry Lime, Grape Soda, Water, Sarsaparrilla. I had the orange soda. Quite refreshing after such a long trek. I would definitely recommend this place. But suggest using a GPS to find your way.
I visited Boston on Memorial Day weekend. Volunteers planted an estimated 30,000 flags representing the service men and women from Massachusetts who have died in the line of duty since World War I. The sea of flags were quite stunning yet very sobering.
Another sad moment was when I visited the Boston Bombings makeshift memorial near Trinity Church. Although right in the middle of a busy city, the site was eerily silent. Not much more to say other than I do hope that my favorite city recovers from this tragic event. Its people are so kind, resilient and truly Boston Strong.
Visiting my friend and going to Fenway are the chief reasons why I come to Boston. The concourse at the ballpark has a wide variety of offerings but I like to stay with the tried and true. Fenway Franks and peanuts. This is baseball after all!
What a find! A Red Sox sandwhich container!!!!
Joanne Chang is a Boston celebrity. An honors graduate of Harvard with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics, Joanne left a career as a management consultant to enter the world of professional cooking. In 2000, she opened Flour, a bakery and café, in Boston’s South End. Flour features breakfast pastries, breads, cakes, cookies, and tarts as well as sandwiches, soups, and salads.
Flour has been featured in Gourmet, Food&Wine, Bon Appetit, the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Lucky Magazine, Inc. Magazine, and Boston Magazine and has received numerous Best of Boston awards. Flour was also featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network in which Joanne’s sticky buns won over Chef Flay’s. I visited the newly opened Back Bay location and feasted on the lemon-raspberry cake (lemon pound cake brushed with lemon syrup, filled with lemon curd, crushed raspberries and buttercream). Ms. Chang has built an empire in Boston and certainly does not need endorsement from little ole me, nevertheless I urge you to visit Flour as soon as you can and you’ll see why in 2012 it was voted as Best Bakery and received runner-up status for Best Reason to Cheat on Your Diet. Although I would have given it first place!
lemon-raspberry cake (nf)
Pizza is always on my mind. I had heard about Otto’s greatness but in all my visits to Boston, I had never feasted upon “the pie” for myself. I chose to remedy this situation. I picked the Coolidge Corner location and dined on suggestions from the server. Margherita and Baby spinach, chicken and asiago. Delish. Otto is noted for combining unique toppings. Try the Butternut Squash, Ricotta and Cranberry or the Apple, Bacon and Red Onion or maybe even the Mashed Potato, Bacon and Scallion. Opt for pizza topped with three-cheese tortellini or maybe even pulled-pork and mango. With these wonderful creative pies, it’s easy to see why Otto was recently chosen by the Boston Globe as one of the 10 best pizza shops in New England.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I visited for the first time, the Christian Science Center. Check out my pics from a beautiful sunny day in Boston 😉
New England native Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets.” Although I can’t be absolutely certain, I suspect that he could have been rhapsodizing about Boston, a city that he and I both share a great affection for.
Boston is like a second home to me. I love its people, its buildings and I love riding the T. Boston is where I sleep the best. It’s where I’m happiest and feel safest. It’s where my beloved Red Sox play and best of all, it’s where I have the coolest dinning experiences. Check out some of the haunts I frequented during my latest visit.
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After months away from the city, I crave pizza. And I always run to Upper Crust, a pizzeria offering a Neapolitan-style, thin crust pizza. There are various locations throughout the greater Boston area. The Beacon Hill restautrant has community tables, where customers share the dining space. Over the years, it has been awarded the titles of “Best Gourmet Pizza” and “Boston’s Best Pizza”from local media. And it’s my personal favourite.
My next stop was John F. Kennedy’s first home out in Brookline. It was the first day of tours after being closed for winter. JFK lived in the Beals street house from birth through his toddler years. The first floor contains the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The dining room is set up as it was for a typical meal in the Kennedy household. You’ll notice the kids’ table on the left. The tour guide noted that the dining room is where Papa Joseph would quiz the kids on current events. They were expected to be able to debate and discuss, even at a young age. This is where it all began!
The tour guide played us a recording of family matriarch Rose Kennedy narrating the goings-on in the kitchen. The kitchen is set up as it would have been around 1917.
After the tour, I headed to Kupel’s bakery to pick up some bagels and some iced tea. Kupel’s is listed by epicurious.com as one of the best bagel shops in America. I have to agree. The bagels were soft and chewy. IMHO, they were the best bagels I have ever tasted.
While walking up Harvard Ave. in Brookline, I spotted Dorado’s. I remembered it being listed as one of the best taco restaurants in Boston. This place serves high-quality, authentic mexican food. I ordered shrimp tacos (chipotle marinated and beer battered shrimp, jicama, pineapple salsa, Baja crema). Simply amazing and delicious. They crunchiness of the battered shrimp and jicama combined with the freshness of the pineapple salsa and the tang of Baja crema made this a perfect taco. When you’re in Boston next, skip the many Mexican chain restaurants and head to Dorado’s. Next time I am there, I want to try the cemitas, a popular sandwich from the south-central Mexican state of Puebla.
This post is part of a weekly series celebrating the extraordinary legacy of Julia Child leading up to what would have been her 100th birthday on August 15, 2012.
When I visit Boston I stay in Cambridge, about a ten-minute walk from where Julia Child used to live. I’ve visited her house a few times. That is, I’ve seen where she used to live. Since Julia’s house is a private residence, I didn’t dare knock on the door and ask for a tour. Though I was tempted.
Julia and her husband Paul moved into 103 Irving Street in 1961. The 6,000 square foot home had 5 bedrooms and 4-1/2 baths. The neighbourhood is lined with turn-of-the-century houses and is just blocks from Harvard Square. According to Elizabeth Bolton of Centers & Squares, this neck of the woods is long popular; with Harvard professors—among them, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, who lived one block over on Francis Avenue, Cambridge’s “Professor’s Row.” The house is directly across the street from the birthplace of poet e.e. cummings and is two houses down from the home of 19th-century philosopher and psychologist William James.
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| 103 Irving Street in 2010 |
Julia described the kitchen as “the most loved and most used room in the house.” That kitchen was the set for her cooking shows for several years, until she retired to California for the last few years of her life and the house was sold.
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| Julia Child, photographed in her Cambridge, Massachusetts, kitchen, June 29, 1970. By Arnold Newman/Getty Images. |
Architectural Digest published photos of Julia’s home in 1979. Here’s what it looked liked then:
The house was sold in 2001 to a developer and redesigned with six newly installed, central air conditioning, central vac and a new kitchen. The new kitchen, IMHO, is sterile and devoid of any charm or personality. I have this fantasy that I will one day buy the house and restore the kitchen to its former glory. The newly renovated house was sold in 2004 for $3,755,000. In 2008, Boston.com ran an article about the house being up for sale for $4.35 million. I guess I need to start playing the lottery to make my fantasy come true.
Thankfully the kitchen was not demolished. It was donated to the Smithsonian and the kitchen in its entirety was removed from the house and sent to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in 2001, where it resides today.
Is there anything more associated with baseball than hot dogs? Cracker Jacks have their place but there’s nothing like having a hot dog at the ballpark while watching your favourite team play. Have you ever been to Fenway and tried the Fenway Franks? BEST. HOTDOG. EVER. IMHO. Perfect flavouring, boiled then grilled and served on a New England style bun. Nothing like it.
Here’s a short video from Boston.com on the making of Fenway Franks. If you live in the New England region, you can also get them at your local grocery store. Since I’m 7.5 hours out of Boston, (Ottawa, Canada) I’ll have to wait for my yearly visits to Fenway.
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| I like my doggs with ketchup and relish. |
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| Here’s where I was sitting. Great view! |
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| Dustin Pedroia is my favourite player. |
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| A cool pic from Fenway |
