Slay:Boston, Food Coma in the Cradle of Liberty

I finally got the chance to travel to Boston Massachusetts and boy was it calorically productive. I didn’t really get a chance to explore the city (because I was there for work) but I made my free time count. This post is going to be a mini one, but packed with all sorts of gluttonous power.

When I landed at Logan international airport, my California sensibilities froze from the frigid East Coast weather. It rained, but instead of water… it was ice! I looked up at the solid white puffs falling from the sky and wondered what foreign land I ended up in. Admittedly, everything that I know about Boston comes from hours and hours of playing Fallout 4; so there weren’t as many super mutants or buildings destroyed by nuclear war as I assumed. When I got the feeling back in my fingers, I explored the Freedom trail and the culinary delights it had to offer, with some

Faneuil Hall Marketplace & Boston Public Market

If you ever decide to go to Boston, rest assured that you will never go hungry because there is food all over the place. Downtown Boston is a museum of American history, you could walk down a random street and end up at a historic landmark. Faneuil Hall has been in operation since 1742 hosting the Nation’s most influential and historical figures. If you are someone interested in history or genealogy research (like what Genealogy Bank does), you might find this place to be a gold mine. You can find the three main buildings making up the Faneuil Hall Marketplace next to it. Be sure to check out all the shops in the North and South Markets. You’ll be able to find something to eat in the foodstalls at the Quincy Market, which boasts a huge selection of restaurants ranging from Mediterranean to New England cuisine. As there are so many places to eat, many tourists will just search online for restaurants and go to the one listed at the top of the search. A lot of restaurant owners would be surprised to hear how many people do this. Due to that, it’s important for a restaurant owner in this area to consider using SEO services to help them rank higher, bringing in more customers. To learn about how important SEO is from a business perspective, it might be worth visiting https://victoriousseo.com/blog/how-does-seo-work/. Hopefully, that will help some restaurant owners to increase their sales and their customers.

The Boston Public Market is more like a farmer’s market with a handful of food options. Sit on their picnic tables and enjoy some coffee or pick up some artisan meats and cheeses for later. I went while they were having a food trivia night and there was a good crowd there. It’s a bit more quiet than the Quincy Market, so I sat down and enjoyed a sea salt bourbon caramel donut from Union Square donuts.

Sea Salt Bourbon Caramel and Vietnamese Coffee. Absolutely delicious.

America’s oldest continuous running restaurant

41 Union St
Boston, MA 02108

When you walk up to the Ye Olde Union Oyster House you can almost imagine walking the streets 200 years in the past. The building itself was built in the early 1700’s and has been running as a restaurant since 1826. The wooden interiors and unpretentious surroundings make for a casual and comfortable dining experience. You can find all manner of New England cuisine here, shucked oysters, lobsters, and everything in between. I already had plans for dinner, so I just went with a a bowl of clam chowder.

Clam Chowder from Ye Olde Union Oyster Bar in Boston — served with cornbread!

Neptune Oyster

63 Salem St # 1
Boston, MA 02113

Along one of the many streets that makes up Boston’s Little Italy is a 21 seat seafood restaurant called Neptune Oyster. The restaurant was full with ten people waiting, Neptune’s is an incredibly intimate space but it was too cold for anyone to wait outside. Eating alone has it’s perks in this situation, I was able to score one open seat at the bar.

Hot Lobster Roll

I was tightly squeezed between a local and a guy traveling from Portugal. I was told by several people that the Lobster roll was a must, so I ordered it, hot, with melted butter:

The sandwich cost $31, it’s the most I’ve ever paid for a sandwich before, but It was worth it. The portions are very generous and the hot butter dripped down my hand, making a delicious mess. Lobster has never been my favorite food, but this was really an exceptional sandwich. I finished off my meal with some sweet kumamoto oysters (as if my bill wasn’t high enough already) and mignonette.

Neptune Oyster menu — (click on menu to enlarge)

Sam LaGrassa’s

44 Province St
Boston, MA 02108

Seafood in Boston is obviously a must, but every once in awhile you have to go back on land and enjoy some pastrami. Sam LaGrassa’s house made Rumanian pastrami is a local favorite, so do yourself a favor and try not to fight the lines at noon. I showed up at 11:30 and 15 minutes later the line was out the door.

Chipotle Pastrami

Sam LaGrassa’s famous Rumanian pastrami was a little more subtle than expected. It has all the familiar spices and flavors that I expect from really good pastrami, just slightly downplayed. I think a lot of is has to do with the spicy and sweet chipotle honey mustard and slaw. The Italian sesame roll is incredibly thin and grilled to the point where it was crispy all throughout; this sandwich is hot and it get’s messy, so be forewarned.

Rumanian Pastrami, Honey Chipotle mustard, slaw, and swiss cheese on a grilled sesame Italian roll — Rumanian Pastrami, Honey Chipotle mustard, slaw, and swiss cheese on
a grilled sesame Italian roll

Every time I eat pastrami, I can’t help but compare it to my favorite place in L.A., Langer’s Deli. LaGrassa’s pastrami is very good and their bread is better, but I prefer the thick cut pastrami from Langer’s more. Both sandwiches are pretty expensive, but you do get better value for money at LaGrassa’s.

So my free day in Boston was truly a productive one. I ate too much, spent too much, and loved every second of it. Boston is a wonderland for history and food buffs and I really want to get back there again soon. There’s so much to learn and so much to eat that I can’t help but think that I could spend a month there and still have things to write about.

Thanks again Boston. I’ll see you soon.

-Vy