My 6 Best Meals of Boston

There’s something about Beantown that has always attracted me. As a lover of seafood, I knew I would probably be eating an excess of it in Boston on my first trip last month.

Starting with my first night at Grafton in Cambridge, I ordered the native cod, mussel and lobster stew.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I haven’t seen such shiny shells on mussels in a long time. It was very soul-satisfying but I knew more good things were in store for me.

I met up with the gay boyfriend the next day and told him about a sandwich shop not far from our hotel my friend had recommended. We set off to find Mike and Patty’s which they themselves describe as a neighborhood sandwich shop. They are indeed tiny with one table that can fit 4 and two seats by the front window.

I decided to get turkey reuben and I was so overjoyed because it was a great sandwich. Perfect bread, right amount of swiss and great turkey. My only wish was for more sauerkraut but I could probably eat a tub and not be satisfied. I did get a couple of pickles but they weren’t vinegar-y enough for me.

The next day, the gay boyfriend really wanted to go back to Mike and Patty’s but I knew we had another sandwich to conquer. The day after Halloween, I randomly watched Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and was determined to find this Sam La Grassa‘s they featured. I knew I needed to try their clam chowder and pastrami.

It’s no secret I love Langer’s in LA. They have the best pastrami I’ve ever tasted. But. Yes, but, Sam La Grassa’s can give them a run for their money.

Plus, they offer this sandwich called the Pastrami Traveler that was just great. I loved the Vermont cheddar, the tomatoes…wait, what about the pastrami? Tender, not too salty, perfectly lusciously fatty and just great to eat. Langer’s has better bread which is why I give them the edge.

However, the clam chowder was okay. I wish they had not chopped up the clams and if they did, only used the bellies. Some of the clam bits were too chewy or stringy. Still, if I’m ever in Boston again, I’m coming back for this pastrami!

Later that evening, I met up with a friend who took us to his favorite restaurant in the North End, Mare.

I am prone to ordering seafood soups and this one caught my eye with the lobster in it. Do you want to see it?

This crazy soup had that huge lobster in it with lots of claw and tail meat! Along with what seemed like 40 mussels and clams, shrimp, scallops and this magnificent spicy broth, it was my version of heaven.

It took me a good 45 minutes to work through that sucker. I wish I was having that soup right now. I loved it so much, I am thinking it’s not too much to fly to Boston just for that soup.

We met up with another friend at Franklin Cafe and there was a long wait for a table. We were starving by the time we started eating so I forgot to take pictures of the appetizers but I had these wonderful grilled (in shell) mussels. They had a nice smoky flavor to them. For my meal, I chose the miso cod which was good but somewhat cold when it arrived.

Franklin Cafe has a big bar scene. I tried several drinks that night but my favorite was Jack Rose (apple brandy, house-made grenadine, a little lime). Their really popular drink is the Boston Bog made with fresh cranberries.

Boston is known for Union House Oysters, one of the oldest restaurants in Boston but a friend of mine said to go to Neptune Oyster for really great oysters. For my appetizer, I had four of these sweet Island Creek oysters. Our server was so low-key, she didn’t mention until after I was done that these were her favorite oysters. They had a pretty good list of other oysters but I decided to get local oysters.

Neptune is also known for their lobster roll which I thought at $25 better be good.

I got it hot in which the lobster is poached in butter rather than cold where the lobster is more of a lobster salad with mayo.

I haven’t had a lobster roll before but I really enjoyed this one and now would like to try others to do a comparison. The lobster wasn’t overcooked and there was a hell of a lot of it. Of course, it was very rich with all that butter on a buttered roll.

By this point, the gay boyfriend was somewhat seafood-ed out so he had a burger.

I have to admit, it was a damn fine burger. After having a bite of it and a spoonful of the best clam chowder (Neptune makes it to order when you order it), I was wholly satisfied with most of my meals in Boston.

A foodie couldn’t have been happier.