Boston Eats: Bergamot

My lovely guest took me out to Bergamot for their seven course chef's tasting, and what a treat!  On a very food-centric corner in Somerville, Bergamot is a small restaurant with an open kitchen at the back.  (they're next to Kirkland Tap and Trotter, the Wine and Cheese Cask, and Dali)

Sadly, like most fancy restaurants, they love the whole dark and moody atmosphere, which means that pictures don't turn out at all, and that it's hard to see your food.  I'm not asking for fluorescent lighting, but sheesh.  Cut a girl a break. 

But - the meal, from the bread and lime-chive butter to the spring garlic soup to the perfectly cooked salmon to the fennel ice cream, was a memorable and delicious experience.  Highly recommended. 

Boston Eats: Brunch at Commonwealth

Kendall Square has really transitioned into a food destination in the past five years...from Area Four to Catalyst to Voltage to Tatte, there are plenty of new places to check out. 

Commonwealth is a new one for me, it's right off of Cambridge street next to Za.  We snagged a seat next to the windows in the front, and it ended up being such a nice light-filled experience (much of the rest of the restaurant is sadly much darker)

Want to guess what I ordered?  A gym membership was included. 

Must start with oysters. 

Pulled pork and buttermilk pancakes, then the biscuits and fried chicken and sausage gravy and eggs and bacon.  I only finished half of it. 

Yup, I bet you're jealous.

They've got an excellent urban farm thing going on. 

Boston Eats: Scholar's Bar

Before the ballet, we had hoped to grab burgers, fried pickles and beer at JM Curley's, but they were all filled up, so we had to find another spot. 

But luckily, Scholar's Bar was just a short walk away.  While it was definitely busy with the Friday night crowd, we were able to get a table, and thank the stars they had fried pickles.  I'm certainly not normally a fried food person, but it's hard not to make an exception for fried pickles.  For a burger and fries, a flatbread pizza, two orders of glazed carrots, beet salad, tuna tartare, fried pickles, two orders of bacon bourbon brussels sprouts, apple pie a la mode and a cocktail each, it was the perfect amount for five girls - no leftovers, and it cost an even $30 with tip.  Perfect. 

Boston Ballet: Cinderella

The newest show by the Boston Ballet was Cinderella, and goodness, it was lovely! 

A retelling scored by Sergei Prokofiev, this version has the step-sisters as silly comedic relief (played by men),  Napoleon and Wellington make an appearance at the ball, and Cinderella's father is still alive.  Disney, it is not. 

Happy to be up in the nosebleeds with our $20 rush tickets!

Hmm, I think my love of chandeliers is showing....

Boston Eats: Late Night Ramen at Uni

A lovely lady had her belated wedding reception downtown this past weekend, and wow, so much fun!

Ladies of the lab (and Jeff?)

Of course, late nights downtown (obviously) mean late night ramen at Uni!  Be warned, they've transitioned to a midnight start time, the patrons paying top dollar at Clio were getting a bit tired of drunk riffraff.  But, if you're stuck waiting, I can heartily recommend sitting at the bar, they know their stuff.  And if you're polite and well-behaved, they'll give you a booth in the upper restaurant and have you first on the list for a steaming bowl of noodles.  

Shisito peppers and bonito flakes (erhmygodsogood).  9/10 are just a pleasant tingle, but that 1/10 will make your mouth burn, it's like pepper roulette. 

Pork bun!

While we were there, the clock turned over to midnight, and Jim joined the land of 28-year olds.  I don't know of many better ways to start a year than with ramen. 

The Media Lab

BE had part of their interview weekend at the new addition of the Media Lab at MIT---they're the media darlings of campus, always doing something seemingly impossible, from helping a victim of the Boston Marathon bombings dance again to making trillion-frame-per-second video to making cell phones capable of doing eye tests in third world countries. 

I would argue that incredible things are happening all over campus, even if the results aren't quite as immediate as having an amputee dance across a stage. 

But, however jealous I am of their publicity team, their building is awe-inspiring.  Airy, welcoming, full of collaboration, it's the perfect place to be if you're interested in technology design for human interaction. 

The Silk Pavilion...combining 3D printing and silk worms.  Yeah, I bet you wish you thought of it, too. 

The view from the sixth floor is gorgeous.

Dim Sum Study Break

One of my favorite study breaks is a trip off campus to Chinatown for some Cantonese deliciousness...the best part is, the more people you have, the better it is!  Hei La Moon is my personal favorite, but there are lots of other options around Chinatown.  They're unfortunately not vegetarian- or allergen-friendly, there's shellfish in pretty much everything.

Starting at the bottom right, we have wrapped meat and rice, then going clockwise there's tripe, phoenix talons (chicken feet), short ribs, hot tea, fried pork buns, more wrapped meat, and then in the middle is (my favorite) scallion and chive shrimp fried dumplings.

All smiles, so much deliciousness to be had!

The arch!

They ran out (!!!) of sweet pineapple buns at Hei La Moon, so of course we had to go buy some at the store across the street.  For 80 cents.  So worth it. 

Fondue and Articles Club!

Articles Club has continued to be a success here in Cambridge...once a month, a group of girls meets at someone's house and we discuss a long-form article.  Food, wine, good conversation, it's lovely. 

This month's hot topic: the economics and math of dating.

Podcast from NPR's Planet Money - Dear Economist, I need a date

Wired Article - How a Math Genius Hacked OK Cupid to Find Love

Wired Infographic - How to Create an Online Dating Profile

New book trailer (4 min video):  "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned from Online Dating" - by Stanford professor Paul Oyer

We even ended up on my online profile, which proved to be a hour of hilarity. 

And....I made fondue!  It was with the Guggisberg cheese, but it kind of broke a bit.  (having to perfect a melted cheese recipe, twist my arm...)

Why yes, I did order vintage fondue forks.  I believe #yolo is appropriate here? 

Chelsea High School Science Fair

MIT Biological Engineering sent several volunteers to Chelsea High School to judge their annual science fair...and let me tell you, fire tornadoes and bubbles, still very much a thing.

Learning about luminol chemistry.

The Charles River...still frozen?

All of Boston was talking about how late the Charles has stayed frozen - it even delayed the opening of the Duck Tours!  On the 10th, the river was still very much glassy and frozen, but by the 16th, water was starting to peek through...spring is coming, however reluctantly.

March 10th, 2014

March 10th, 2014

March 16th, 2014

March 16th, 2014

28

I'm getting old.  The end.

The flowers are from my family back home, such nice pops of color to cheer things up!

Boston - Winter into Spring

For a Minnesota girl, Boston can be a strange place.  Green grass during winter, not enough snow, and premature spring.  This winter was especially strange...

February 21, 2014  (the green stripe of grass is from the steam tunnels that heat all of dorm row)

March 2, 2014

March 2, 2014

And then there's the gross parts of winter - the mud turned frozen, the ugly brown patches...

Eww.  

I'm sorry, but snow is so much better than frozen mud.

March 7, 2014

But time marches on towards spring!

A Tampa Wedding - The Reception!

The mother of the bride is an incredibly talented photographer, and these photos were all taken with her camera by her hand.  She very generously agreed to burn me a CD of the photos from the wedding, and they're really so great!  Such good memories of a whirlwind weekend!

Based in the Hudson Valley, NY area, you can find out more about Chosen Moments Photography on the web and on facebook. 

The calla lilies are just so gorgeous and sculptural. 

The sword!

There was not a dry eye in the house after their dance...

Off to the honeymoon!

A Tampa Wedding - In Uniform

The mother of the bride is an incredibly talented photographer, and these photos were all taken with her camera by her hand.  She very generously agreed to burn me a CD of the photos from the wedding, and they're really so great!  Such good memories of a whirlwind weekend!

Based in the Hudson Valley, NY area, you can find out more about Chosen Moments Photography on the web and on facebook. 

I had to hold the groom's hat for a few pictures, and shenanigans ensued, of the best kind. 

A Tampa Wedding - First Look!

The mother of the bride is an incredibly talented photographer, and these photos were all taken with her camera by her hand.  She very generously agreed to burn me a CD of the photos from the wedding, and they're really so great!  Such good memories of a whirlwind weekend!

Based in the Hudson Valley, NY area, you can find out more about Chosen Moments Photography on the web and on facebook. 

I believe we were gushing about men in uniform. 

Right?  Cause my goodness, what a handsome young man.

These were my absolute favorite pictures.  The moss, the smiles, perfection.

A Tampa Wedding - Getting Ready

The mother of the bride is an incredibly talented photographer, and these photos were all taken with her camera by her hand.  She very generously agreed to burn me a CD of the photos from the wedding, and they're really so great!  Such good memories of a whirlwind weekend! 

Based in the Hudson Valley, NY area, you can find out more about Chosen Moments Photography on the web and on facebook.