Tag: massachusetts

I love Boston (despite Tom Brady)

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, baseball, Brewery, Football, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

As I sit here on the stationary bike, trying to burn off the 7.3 lbs I gained this weekend and sweat out my disappointment that tribe playoff baseball doesn’t exist this year, it is a challenge to describe how awesome Boston is. Cleveland will always have my heart but Boston has so much to offer. Easy to get around, clean, a lot to do no matter your interest. It’s New York without all the terrible aspects of New York. Only downside is they allow Tom Brady to live there.

Now, I have been to Boston before but this time I visited a bunch of new places and walked the whole freedom trail. Drinking a beer in the Green Dragon Tavern evokes a sensation knowing that some of the most important decisions and conversations in American history were had there.

And have I mentioned that Boston has such good beer. I’ve wanted to go to Trillium for years and finally made it. The variety of sours they have is splendid. The Sour Cherry Soak was my favorite there. Just around the corner from there was Hopsters. Another cool Boston brewery right in Seaport.

My favorite beer of the trip though was a can I had at Bell in Hand Tavern. Another revolutionary era bar. The 617 Title Town Hazy IPA from Lord Hobo Brewing Co. was so delicious. Perfect New England style IPA. I just wish it had a different name in stead of honoring all those damn championships. Have I mentioned I hate Tom Brady?

On the last day, we also visited the Fenway area. Boston Beerworks has a good IPA as well and the area was full of energy as the Pats played and the last Red Sox game of the year was about to start. To finish her off we grabbed food and drinks in the Bleacher Bar. This is a bar like no other as it’s located under the stadium and literally looks out to the field. During warmups the players can look right into the bar in outfield. I can only imagine a guy like Manny Ramirez slamming a beer out there. It’s an experience like no other and Boston is a town like no other (despite Tom Brady).

Beantown, Sam Adams, Merica

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

When traveling to a new city, it is hard to know what to expect. You create an image in your head of what the city looks like, what the food tastes like, how the place feels. However, when you get there that image can be completely wrong. This is not one of those times.

This weekend I visited Boston, Massachusetts, home to the Sox, Harvard and Tom Brady. While I may dislike (hate) Tom Brady, Harvard would probably (definitely) reject me, and the Sox have caused me some (lots) of heartache over the years, I have to say Boston is an amazing city. It is clean, vibrant and, besides the awful traffic, a city with lots to offer.

Of course in a new city I need to check out the breweries. We visited two, Harpoon Brewery and Boston Brewery also known as Samuel Adams. Both gave great tours. Harpoons tour included a 30 minute tasting with as many as you wanted. For  five bucks that cannot be beat. Plus, in their beer hall you have to try their pretzels. That is a game changer and my girlfriend, Olivia, agrees with me. Best pretzel we have had. Samuel Adams’ tour was extremely informative with a mini beer tasting class and three different beers all  for free with a small donation to a few charities being encouraged. Well worth it for the beer and tour. Then after we headed to Doyle’s nearby where they give you a free glass of Sam Adams’ specific glass designed for the perfect drink to take with a beer purchase.

In addition, to the breweries Boston is filled with great food, (the Mac and Cheese at Stephanie’s on Newbury is one of the best I’ve tried),  historic landmarks and beautiful parks (Good Will Hunting). Additionally, the old taverns such  as Bell in Hand and Warren Tavern take you back to the 1700s when men like Paul Revere frequented these places. Talk about drinking a beer for freedom. A city like this right on the water is a beautiful place, I just wish it had been a little warmer.

I think one of the most interesting things about the city is Uber Pool. Now I know other places have this, but it is not here in Cleveland yet and the concept is very interesting. Uber in itself is an app about trusting a stranger to give you a ride. In an age where we are more and more connected electronically but less and less connected personally, Uber Pool allows you to not only get a ride from a stranger but share a ride with one. Some of these rides are silent, but others such as the girl going in town for a grad school interview or the local with suggestions on things to do can create a connection sometimes lost among strangers. When we part we go on our way to never see each other again but for a few minutes you can  trust a stranger. Boston was great for that. It is a city that lived up to those expectations I had created in my head. When I first arrived, I tweeted that the city was in my top five I have visited after just a few hours and a follower of mine responded back that it would soon be in my top three. They were right.