In looking for the "go-to" restaurants in Boston, No. 9  Park came up a few times. Then, while watching Top Chef, it caught my ear that Stephanie Cmar was a sous chef at this restaurant. I made reservations at No. 9 Park for lunch, and prepped myself for the most expensive meal during my trip.

I was wearing jeans and didn't feel too out of place, but I would class it up more next time. They took our coats at the door and ushered us to a window table and placed some menus in front of us.

They had a holiday lunch prix-fixe menu with three courses for $45. Or you can order a la carte with appetizers at $15, entrees at $25, and desserts at $12. I went with the rohan duck leg confit with fried rock shrimp, macomber turnip and horseradish.



The rest of the menu had beef carpaccio and foie gras as appetizers. Other entrees included pork sausage ravioletti, scottish salmon, chicken schnitzel, hanger steak, and bouillabaisse. The menu draws on some French and Italian influences.

After we put in our order, we had a small selection of bread. One was an olive oil loaf and the other was focaccia with olives. I really really liked the focaccia, but that's no surprise. Probably my favorite bread right after ciabatta. Plus olives? Win. We even got more when we ran out.

With fancy white tablecloths and about a dozen different glasses to drink from, it's definitely a higher-end experience. Our server even had a little thing to clean up the crumbs from our table. Thing is the technical term - West Virginia roots showing here. Sorry.

Okay, main dish. I guess this is the sad realization that my palate is simply not sophisticated enough. OR people are willing to pay a lot of money for an OK dish because of the reputation. OR I'm just supposed to buy into this. But I wish I could say this is one of the best meals ever, but it was just kind of OK.

The duck dish was creative, and I totally appreciate that. But was it super flavorful? Eh. The horseradish was great. And I slathered it on everything for flavor. The shrimp were good, but a little too fried. And while the duck was nice, it wasn't anything super special. It was OK.

Kaitlynn's dish was the steak, and I did like it. Plus the walnut catsup added some more flavor, and I'm a big fan of both sweet potatoes and cabbage. It still didn't blow me out of the water. Maybe I was expecting more and got my hopes up. I do that.

While we didn't order dessert, we did receive two complementary last bites. One was a dark chocolate toffee, which I was a huge fan of. I'm not even into dark chocolate much, but this wasn't bad. And the other was a pistachio cookie-type thing. It wasn't bad.

There's always a chance they were having an off day. There's the (good) chance I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. But those are my thoughts on the place. It was OK. I like the thought. I like the creativity. Did the food blow my mind? No.

Check out their Facebook and Yelp.

Grade: C

There are two pastry shops in the North End of Boston that have this sort of rivalry. Maybe it's more of a debate. Mike's Pastry Shop and Modern Pastry Shop both serve up delicious pastries, especially cannolis. I've heard Mike's is the place where tourists go, but Modern is where the true local hangout. (Check out more on the rivalry here and here and here)

Our first stop was at Modern Pastry Shop. It was early, and it wasn't very busy. There was a steady stream of customers, but no lines. As soon as you walk in, there are glass cases filled with goodies. A sign on the wall shows that they make cannolis to order, and you can choose the filling, topping and shell. But it was so early. It was more of a breakfast pastry kind of day, especially because I knew I'd be having a cannoli later on that day at Mike's.


So instead, when I got to the counter, I asked for a Sfogliatella - which is a flakey pastry filled with ricotta, vanilla custard, semolina and cinnamon.





Yum yum yum. They gave it to me on a little plate, so I could eat there, and I took a seat over by the window to people watch.

The powdered sugar on top flew everywhere as I tried to cut through the layers of flakey pastry. Once I finally succeeded, it was full of a delicious, creamy, with a tad of spice, mixture.

It was huge. And super filling. And good in the best kind of way. I'm not super crazy about pastries, but this one had some love put into it.

Also a plus: the sassy ladies who were working there. I should totally move to Boston just so I can get away with my attitude.

Oh, and I did get to try Kaitlynn's cannoli. It's a good cannoli! 

Grade: A

On Christmas day, we pulled A Christmas Story and went to Chinatown for dinner. Nothing is open on Christmas day, but that didn't stop me from wanting to try a new place. Dumpling Cafe, it was.

This tiny restaurant was bumpin' on Christmas. I'm not sure if it's always like that or if it's due to others being in a situation similar to mine, but we had to put our names on a list and stand in a small, cramped waiting area before we could be seating. Our wait was easily a half hour or so. But we were just happy to be able to squeeze inside the small waiting area, which was enclosed, rather than wait outside.

When we were finally called, we sat at our table, and they seated another couple at the end of our table. Be prepared to get to know your dining companions well. It was a little odd, but there was one empty chair between us, so it really wasn't bad.

The Taiwanese restaurant has noodle dishes, lamb, frog, duck tongus, bass, pork shoulder, pork intestines, chicken dishes, and just all kinds of stuff. But their specialty is their dumplings, of course. And from numerous rave reviews, it was clear their xiao long bao was THE thing to get. AKA "mini juicy buns with pork" on their menu ($6.50).

I also ordered their mango shrimp as a main course. Before we got either of these, we were brought tea, which was tasty. I also ordered a water at that point so I would have enough to drink throughout my meal. You'd be smart to do the same. They don't come and check on you - they bring your food and your bill. If you need something in the meantime, good luck.

Soup dumplings came out first in their little basket. I watched the couple at the end of our table (see, this has benefits!) eat their soup dumplings because I know these bad boys contain super hot broth, and I'm not trying to be in pain. So, take the soup dumpling with your chopsticks, place it in the soup spoon, nibble a little hole to suck some of the broth out, then do your best attempt to get a well-rounded bite of all the ingredients. I spent most of the time trying to suck just the right amount of broth out before shoving the whole thing in my mouth.

I haven't had anything like this, so it's easy for me to say they were the best I've ever had. It amazes me that this tender and thin skin - but strong - contains this scalding broth. And inside is this perfectly balanced rich, salty, sweet, hearty broth with pork and other delicious spices. Oh, and they give you some soy sauce and ginger, so try that, too.

Kaitylnn ordered a fried dumpling, which was also delish. More familiar, but still delish.

Okay mango shrimp. Holy god. Holy. God. So good. I know it's simple, but when it's done right - it's just the perfect combo. Love the sweet mango sauce. Love the crunchy pea pods and cool slices of mango, fresh shrimp, bamboo shoots. So good. I wish this was a dish I could find easily here. Get both of these. I'm sure there are more adventurous dishes that could pan out  well. But if you want a damn good meal, this.













Grade: A

For dinner the first night, I was excited to try this place called Durgin-Park. On every "top 10" list of places to try in Boston for the first time, this place kept popping up. So I put it on my list to try. It's located at Faneuil Hall Marketplace (an area of Boston we kept coming back to). It's been a landmark since 1827 and has a long history. It's a really cool old building. I was excited for some New England-style food with seafood, chowder, broiled meats and boiled dinners.

Their special that day was a lobster roll, so I immediately knew I wanted it. Before our entrees came out, we were served a basket of cornbread. Everywhere in Boston does this, I came to learn.

My lobster roll was good! So good. It was my first time having a lobster roll, and it was fresh with hunks of juicey meat, celery and mayo all atop a toasted buttered roll. Light and tasty and buttery and goood. The fries were fine fries, and I'm not crazy about baked beans, but I tried them.
They were OK.

I ordered Indian pudding because I had never heard of it before. The waitress was a little sassy and told us we couldn't have dessert if we didn't finish dinner, but she brought it out anyway.

It's made up of cornmeal, milk, molasses, syrup, sugar, cinnamon, etc. And it tasted just like Coco Wheats. With ice cream on top, because who doesn't like ice cream?

Main entree was quite good. Everything else was OK.











Grade: B

I traveled to Boston to see my good friend, Kaitlynn, and her boyfriend, Josh, for Christmas. As most of my close friends know, I try to eat strictly local when traveling (if possible), so they had a handful of places they wanted to take me, and I had a handful of places I heard good good things about. I have a few short Boston reviews coming up,

Our first stop was the Boston Burger Company. They were on Zagat's list for the best burgers in Boston. The restaurant was located in Davis Square, with lots of other shops and diners. Boston Burger Co. itself is fairly small with only a dozen or so tables.

We had fried pickles for an appetizer: long strips covered in breading. Not bad. Not bad at all. It came with a ranchy-creamy sauce that was good.

They had a bunch of different burgers: ones that are Hawaiian-themed with pineapple, others with BBQ and onion rings, some with macaroni and cheese. I ordered the "Hot Mess." It seemed appropriate. It had sweet potato fries, American cheese, chopped pickles, jalapenos, bacon, red onion, shredded lettuce and thousand island dressing.


Overall, I thought this was OK. The dressing just kind of dominated everything. If there was more red onion or cheese, it would've been a bit more well-rounded. Homemade chips were good, slaw was average. But it was still a decent burger overall. Kaitlynn had the "Artery Clogger" burger, which was a deep fried, beer-battered burger topped with bacon, American cheese and BBQ sauce. It was pretty good - but far too heavy for me.

Josh had some fiery hot burger that melted his face off, essentially. Overall thoughts: pretty good burgers. I'm sure if I tried some of the other ones, I might find something a little bit more my style. They have a good bit to choose from. Maybe a little lighter on the dressing next time so some flavor of the actual burger and other ingredients comes through.


Grade: B