Boston: Wasting Time Until Giacomo's

:: Been a little busy lately but finishing up the last few posts for Boston! ::

Last full day in Boston, we were determined to check out one of the popular Italian restaurants.  A lot in North End do not take reservation so we decided to check out the Giacomo's in South End because they actually accept reservation!  The Giacomo's in North End is probably one of the best Italian restaurant in Boston, and from the reviews, it's South End brother is just as good.

We wanted to grab brunch, but since we woke up late, we didn't get to eat until around 1pm with the wait at the small North Street Grille.

North Street Grille

229 North St 

Between Langdon Pl & Sun Court St

North End

Boston, MA 02113

northstreetgrille.com

One of the highest rated spot for brunch. Waiting outside for a table.  Place is really small.  

We decided to get a pticher of mimosa.

Jadosn and I both got the Lobster Benedict.  I usually don't go for benedict's, but I've yet to eat lobster in Boston so I went for it.

Lobster Benedict with light hollandaise.

Lobster chunks and the poached egg.

I wish I can poach eggs like this hahah.

I paid $3.00 for the pancakes add on.  Legit maple syrup.  Didn't care too much for the pancakes.

Diana's Lobster & Asparagus Omelette.

Lobster chunks + asparagus + hollandaise.

It was good, but not sure if I'd wait an hour for it the next time.  Or maybe I'm just not a brunch person still.  

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We really didn't have any plan for the rest of the day until Giacomo's, so we decided to check out the touristy Faneuil Hall Marketplace.  It's essentially a few historical buildings converted into a nice outdoor shopping mall.  It also serves as a visitor center for the popular Freedom Trail.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace

4 S Market Bldg 

Financial District

Boston, MA 02109 

faneuilhallmarketplace.com

Quite a few buildings makes up Faneuil Hall Marketplace.  Quincy Market is the building that hosts all the food vendors though!


Had to stop by Boston Chowda Co., another award winning clam chowder spot.  Better than Pike Place Chowder???


"Soup & other Great Stuff"


Clam chowder was good, but I still think Pike Place Chowder has it beat.  Jadson got the lobster bisque, so I got to try a bit of it.  Very sweet.


The Boston Chipyard.  They sell mini-sze cookies.  Couldn't resist... I have a weakness, especially with warm cookies.


Around $6-7 for a bag of cookies.  Pretty pricey for 12 small cookies, but at least I got to mix & match!  Pumpkin chocolate chip was the most interesting!

There were also a lot of souvenir shops, as well as some big name retail stores like Abercrombie.  People weren't lying when they said it is very touristy.  Seemed like almost everybody there were from out of town.  There's also some street performers.

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Before we headed off to the South End, we decided to stop by Boston Commons, and wanted to make a stop and check out where the area of the recent bombings.  Once we got there, we saw plenty of people around the quick makeshift memorial area, and there was this silence around the area, whether people were paying their respect or just going through.  Plenty of TV station vans around as well.

Stopped by Thinking Cup for iced latte before we headed towards the site.


Area near the bombings.


Pretty amazing I must say.  Lots of people leaving flowers, notes, and everything Boston related.


Lots of marathon runners left their shoes here as well to show support.


One of the bomb sites.


You can see the damaged it caused to the building next to it with the boarded up windows.


Boston Strong.

I must say, didn't really know what to expect before I got there, and once I did, really didn't know what to think.  I must've stood at one of the remembrance area for about 10 minutes just reading what people wrote.  It was also a bit surreal to see the boarded up windows, because it really is a reminder that it did happen and that I was no longer sitting behind a TV or a monitor looking at this from afar.

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After the visit, we made our way towards Giacomo's, one of Boston's most popular Italian restaurant.  Good thing we made reservations too cause the place was packed on a Sunday.

Giacomo's 

431 Columbus Ave

Between Pembroke St & Holyoke St

Back Bay, South End

Boston, MA 02116

giacomosblog-boston.blogspot.com

Outside of Giacomo's.


Very small, and somewhat cluttered.


One of the best thing about Giacomo's is that their bottles are extremely affordable.  I believe this was less than $40.


Had to start with some Fried Calamari. Love the fresh seafood Boston has to offer.


Caprese! Tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

We really wanted to get the Zuppa di Pesce, which was this huge pasta dish with clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, calamari, and a WHOLE lobster over linguine, for $55.  BUT they ran out of lobster so it was a no go...  C'mon... how the hell did a restaurant in Boston run out of lobster??? :[  We were all very disappointed since we wanted that meal to be our lobster feasting meal.  In the end, we went for the Frutti di Mare with the Fra Diavolo sauce.  It had mussels, calamari, clams, scallops, and shrimp.


Ok, it was still tasty, but still, not lobster :[

I wanted the Squid Ink Parpadelle Putanesca with swordfish and tuna since I love squid ink, and it definitely did not disappoint!

Putanesca is a slightly tangy tomato sauce with capers and it goes really well with the parpadelle.  I love fresh parpadelle, especially when made with squid ink.


"I'm okay with anything as long as it isn't an almond dessert."  Guess which dessert they chose?   Freaking Almond Amaretto.  It's good but I just don't like the taste of... almond dessert flavor, like almond tofu.  I like real almonds :P

Seriously so sad that we didn't get to eat lobster, especially we saved up the lobster feast for this dinner too.

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A trip wouldn't be complete without visiting a high rise with a view, and for Boston, we decided to check out the Top of the Hub, located high up in the Prudential Tower.

Top of the Hub

800 Boylston St Ste 52

Between Fairfield St & Gloucester St

Back Bay

Boston, MA 02199 

topofthehub.net

If you've ever been to the Chicago's Skydeck, located at the top of the Willis/Sears Tower, then Top of the Hub will seem very similar.  Definitely not as crowded though!


We wanted to sit in the lounge since they are lined along the glass windows with a great view.  $24 minimum, which was easily achieved wit two drinks.


View from our seat!


Also the front for the live jazz band!


Black Barrel Cider.


Boston's Bully Boy Smash.  Bully Boy White Whiskey, lemon, mint, and cane sugar for the cocktail. Bully Boy Whiskey is actually a small distillery in Boston! Pretty cool.


Diana's Strawberry Basil Lemonade.


Valrhona Warm Chocolate Cake for dessert.  Since I didn't really get a proper dessert (Jadson & Diana did most of the damage of the almond dessert), I wanted something and went with the super rich molten chocolate cake with chocolate toffee crunch ice cream and cherry sauce.


 The best part is probably opening up the chocolate cake and watching the chocolate lava slowly oozing out. Dayum it was chocolatey!

After that we went back to the hotels and prepped for our half day in Boston before my flight out and before Diana & Jadson continue their East Coast swing to NYC!

Saint Louis: Half & Half and Budweiser Brewery Tour

No, Saint Louis' Half & Half is not the same as Los Angeles' infamous milk tea spot, but it is an extremely popular place for breakfast & brunch.  Located in the Clayton neighborhood, we drove for a little over 15 minutes from Central West End and ended up waiting over 40 minutes for 2 spots to open.

While waiting, many people will stop by the cafe bar and order a cup of joe first.  You can tell they take coffee seriously as they do serve single pour here, and they even use Intelligentsia's beans!  It's a hipster-esque spot, mixing the newer trendy coffee culture with a menu featuring some Southern influence!

Half & Half

8135 Maryland Ave 

Clayton

Saint Louis, MO 63105 

halfandhalfstl.com

Outside of the restaurant.

People waiting around inside the restaurant.

The cafe.  Of course a guy with a mustache would be doing the single pour hahah.

Went for a cafe latte.  I've tried espresso drinks made with Intelligentsia's bean a few times now, whether at restaurants or at the their own cafe, I always get this sour flavor.  Don't know if that is a characteristics of their bean, but I do know I don't really prefer it :P

Menu.  Pretty simple, with the usual pancakes, French toast, and savory breakfast dishes, but of course with their own spin on it.

Opened last year, but already very popular!

My Sausage Biscuit, with house-made sausage, country biscuit, cheddar, scrambled eggs, and potatoes.

That home-made sausage is right on, and the scrambled eggs is held together by the gooey cheddar.  What really makes good is that super biscuit of theirs.  I don't know how they do it, but it's crunchy, fluffy, and buttery.

When the waitress asked if I wanted a side of their sausage gravy, I was like "Hell yes!"  I dip the sandwich and the potatoes in it.  Damn sausage gravy is awesome.

Diana's Chorizo & Avocado Eggs Benedict with chorizo, lots of avocado, and chorizo on an English muffin, then topped with hollandaise.

To be honest, this is very Californian with the avocado haha.  Nice thick hollandaise.

Hiding underneath the hollandaise and avocado is the super flavorful chorizo.  I like how they toasted the English muffins too!

Doughnuts dusted with citrus & cinnamon sugar.  They actually placed this under "starters" but they forgot our order so we had it after.  It is essentially a mini churro.  Nice touch with the citrus.

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I also got to check out the Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour.  Budweiser calls Saint Louis its home and I couldn't pass up the chance to try to fresh Budweiser from the draft to see if it is better than usual.

Few things: tour is free and there is a free tasting right after!  Free beer!

Budweiser Brewery Tour

12th St & Lynch St 

Soulard

Saint Louis, MO 63118

budweisertours.com

Tour center in the Soulard neighborhood!

Famous Anheuser Busch logo.

They had a crazy Christmas tree set up in the lobby.

   

Variety of displays about where they are located and the history of Anheuser Busch.

One of the restored delivery trucks.

of course Budweiser is known for the Clydesdales in the commercials and they are kept on site!

The two that were allowed out.

Few others inside the stable.  It must be the cleanest stable I've ever set foot in.  Amazing how well they take care of the horses.

All over the complex you can see an intricate system of pipes connecting buildings.  That is how they transfer all the liquids from one to another.

Beechwood aging cellar.  They have a bunch of these gigantic tanks for the aging process of the beer.  It is also very very cold in there haha.

The guides describing the brewing process to us.

Mash tanks.  This area is VERY warm.  They heat the mixture to breakdown the sugars so the mixture turns into wort.

Historic Brewhouse.  

Another historic site.  It was an old school house, then converted into an office.

Bottling facility.

Bottling.  Nothing was going on when we went though.

Sample time!!!

The beers on draft.

I went for a Stella Artois just because I am a fan.  They actually don't brew Stella on-site since Stella is brewed in Belgium.  Still, Stella on draft is very good.  Diana went for the Shocktop Lemon Shandy.  Very refreshing.  We still can't find it anywhere though.

Wild Black.  We wanted to try Wild Blue but they ran out so we went for the blackberry verison.  Tastes good and ABV is surprisingly high so you can easily get drunk before you realize haha.

Of course I had to try a Budweiser, brewed fresh.  Generally not a huge Bud fan and... still not a fan of Bud haha.  People always so it's always better at the source and it is better than the Bud from the can, but it might also be all mental.

Cool spot just to check out how one of the most iconic beers in the world is made.  Even better that it is free and that there's free beer!  We did buy stuff from the merchandise & gift store so the tour did its job haha.

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I heard from some people that I had to try the Gooey Butter Cake that Saint Louis is known for.  Thought it was gonna be an easy find, but we actually had to search around for it and finally found some at the Straub's Market, which is sorta like Bistro Farms.

There were a few options at Straub's but I went for Ann & Allen German Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake.


Thoughts on the gooey butter cake?  It is sweet and freaking buttery and it is gooey in a way, probably from all the fat.  Funny thing is, one of Ann & Allen's gooey butter cake's main ingredient is actually vegetable shortening rather than butter.  I actually like the edges a lot more where it is crunchy and the chocolate & coconut flakes to add more flavor to it, cause I doubt I can eat over 4 bites of the original version.

With the gooey butter cake, that was the end of my trips to Saint Louis.  The best part about the two trips was definitely the BBQ.  Visiting Anheuser Busch is a distant second!  I am still thinking about the BBQ I've had even though it's already been over a month.  Not joking, I seriously crave it and I always get sad when I know it will be a loooong while before I get to have BBQ that good again.

Till the next time, Saint Louis.