While I took two weeks off (for the first time ever!) to visit Boston, my friend Kaitlynn still had to work for a portion of my visit. So, while I went to all ends of the city exploring, I made time to come back and join her for lunch near her workplace. For our Monday lunch, we headed to Boston Beer Works.

It was pretty empty when we arrived, which was nice. I first looked over the beer menu, which is large. They had a few seasonals, in addition to their "trademarks" and specialty beers. I had a hard time deciding. Pumpkin works? Boston Red ale? Oh, Bunker Hill Blueberry - that's the one!

Something light with fruity notes was so perfect for lunch. For my meal, I figured a burger would be a smart way to go. Beer and burgers = heaven. I went with the Beer Works Classic Burger, which came with lettuce, tomato, and I added cheddar cheese.

This was a solid burger - not the best burger (there's a lot of competition in that arena). But, it was a solid, flavorful burger. The bread could have been a touch fluffier - I felt like it may have been going stale, and the meat could have used a bit more herbs/spices. But I'm truly splitting hairs here. It was better than average - but not the best ever. Solid B territory.




Grade: B

I went to a lot of breweries while in Boston during this past trip (which you'll read all about), and it reminded me that I also had gone to Sam Adams, but I never wrote about it. So, these photos are a couple years old at this point, but I wanted to put them on here just for funsies.

The coolest thing about this tour is that it's free AND you get free beer. Yes, please.

We took a tour around the facility, learned a little bit about the history and had a good bit of beer at the end.

Max Brenner is known for incredible chocolate. Like, really decadent, indulgent chocolate desserts.

Max Brenner has two chocolate bars located in New Jersey and Maryland, and an additional three locations - Boston, New York and Philadelphia - also have the Max Brenner restaurant.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we found quite a lengthy wait. This was no surprise at this point ... everywhere in Boston you have to wait. Fortunately, the chocolate store is right in front, so I perused the chocolate offerings. Praline cream mixed with caramelized pecan? Yes, please.

When we were seated, it was fairly uncomfortable, to be honest. We were squeezed on this end when I was kind of hanging out in the walkway and would be brushed each time someone walked around that way - which was often. But, I tried to squeeze in as close as I could and hope I wasn't in the way too much.


For my meal, I ordered the Really-Cheesy Crispy Chicken Mac & Cheese. The waffle sandwiches and pizza also looked tasty, but it's hard to pass up a macaroni and cheese. This was pretty good. It is a huge portion, which is nice, and the additional sauce and tomatoes on the side was necessary to punch up the flavor a bit. As long as you got a nice combo of each ingredient in each bite, it was good.

Then, of course, it was dessert time. Kaitlynn went with a crepe of some sort, and I went for the "S'more Concoction," which had milk chocolate mousse, topped with grahama crackers and marshmallow fluff and white chocolate. It was served with a flask of warm toffee sauce, caramelized bananas and a single graham cracker covered in milk chocolate and toasted marshmallows.

Decadent is one word that sums this all up. Sooo good. That giant bowl in the upper right corner is just milk chocolate mouse, marshmallow fluff and graham cracker. Spoonful after spoonful after spoonful ... a possible coma later, my tummy was very, very happy.

Grade: A

What kind of food is Boston known for? Well, it of course has the New England influence with clam chowder, fish and chips, baked beans, lobster (& lobster rolls!), and clams. But think about it ... BOSTON cream pie!

A Boston cream pie is a cake filled with custard/cream and then frosted with chocolate. Not so much of a pie and more of a cake. It was created at the Parker House Hotel (now called Omni Parker House and Parker's Restaurant), which is also the home of Parker House Rolls and Boston Scrod.

Owners of the Parker House Hotel in Boston state that the Boston cream pie was first created at the hotel by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian in 1856.[3] The cake he created, called "Parker House Chocolate Cream Pie", consisted of two layers of French butter sponge cake filled with crème pâtissière and brushed with a rum syrup, its side coated with crème pâtissière overlain with toasted sliced almonds, and the top coated with chocolate fondant.[4] (SOURCE)

The Boston cream pie is the official dessert of Massachusetts. We went to the Omni Parker House to get a taste of the original Boston cream pie. While you can dine in the restaurant, you can also just get a small cake in their actual gift shop.  That was all we needed. We got two forks and sat at the one small dining area and dug in.

This was quite tasty. I don't think a Boston cream pie is what I would originally go after if it were listed on a menu, but when one puts the time and effort into each individual detail - it all really comes together quite nicely.

Grade: A

My newfound love for public markets in the past year or two just keeps growing. The Boston Public Market is a bustling, community-centered market where you can purchase everything from craft beer to handcrafted chocolates.

Kaitlynn patiently followed me around as I gazed, wide-eyed, at vendor after vendor. Fresh meats, cheeses, sauces and jams, fruits, pasta, artisan products, herbs, flowers ... you name it, they got it.

I spent most of my time perusing Hopsters, looking at the local beer. I, unfortunately, didn't purchase any from this location - only because we still had a few more miles to walk this day, and I didn't feel like lugging that around.

However, chocolate is easy to carry (and consume!). Sweet Lydia's had so many tasty treats I had a hard time deciding. They have these artisan s'mores - coconut, raspberry, peanut butter, caramel. Good god. They have flavored marshmallows - apple cider, pumpkin spice, anything you can think of.

I had a hard time deciding between this fancy s'more or chocolate caramels, but, let's be honest, I can't pass up salted caramels if I tried. And thank god I didn't, because these were SO GOOD. SO GOOD.

Grade: A