The Goodrums

Fellow Ags

Texas A&M Club of New England
As you already know, a great resource when scoping out a new place is the local A&M club. The club has made a lot of good improvements (like the new website) and routinely gets together to watch the Ags play (usually at a sports bar in Fenway). Check their website for recommendations on local events and dining, news about the next meeting or game watching, and other good information.


Transportation

The “T”
This is the first thing you should learn about visiting Boston; how to get around. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA, or the “T” as Bostonians call it) operates a network of subways, buses, ferries, and rail lines in the Boston area. Other than walking, this is the best way to get around Boston. You will find the city is much more walkable than it appears on the map, but for longer trips (say into Cambridge) it is nice to know where to catch the T. The MBTA website has all the information you need for riding the T; even better, they just redesigned their website to make it easier to use and have included awesome new street maps that overlay the T onto a Google map of Boston (VERY useful).


Attractions

Freedom Trail
This is probably the one thing all tourists do in Boston, but it is worth it. Not only do you get to see some great landmarks in U.S. history, but you manage to see a great deal of Boston while doing it. The trail itself is free, but some building tours have admission fees (usually below $5.00/adult). You can avoid some of the crowd by starting earlier (9:00 am) but most of the buildings don’t open for tours until 10:00am. Wear comfortable walking shoes and plan to take a break for lunch somewhere; you can spend a good part of a day on this alone.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/bost/freedom_trail.htm


The ICA
If you like art, the Institute of Contemporary Art makes for a good morning or afternoon. The ICA just opened in a new location mid-December and seems to be generating a lot of interest. Personally, I thought the building itself is worth going to see. Admission is $12/adult, but Target sponsors free Thursday nights from 5:00 – 9:00 pm.


Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group has regularly scheduled shows at The Charles Playhouse in the theatre district. There is a busboard that reads something like “If you haven’t seen Blue Man, you haven’t seen Boston.” I don’t know if that’s 100% true, but it is definitely a show worth seeing while here. The tickets are between $48/adult and $58/adult. If you feel daring, you can sit in the poncho section.


Fenway
One of the things I’ve been told to do in Boston is take a tour of Fenway. We’re not huge baseball fans so we haven’t done this yet, but supposedly it’s good even if you’re not. If you’re here during baseball season, then going to a game may be more exciting (albeit more expensive too). Tours run hourly between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm and are $12/adult; I’m told game tickets can be a small fortune.


Harvard
Harvard is another common tourist destination (although you notice more internationals here than Americans), but is kind of a must see while here. There’s not much more to do than walk around campus and scope out the buildings, but it’s still nice to see. The campus has some nice architecture and Harvard Yard is supposed to be one of those “just right” places (I didn’t think it was that special myself), plus Harvard Square is a cool place to hang out, just don’t drive there.


MIT
Most people don’t care to visit MIT, but if you’re going to see Harvard then you could check out MIT. MIT is famous for its dome (seen from the Charles River) but if you like architecture, I would highly recommend checking out the MIT Stata Center, designed by Frank Gehry.

Copley Square
Copley Square is a small public square in front of the Boston Public Library. There’s not a whole lot of stuff to do, but it’s kind of neat and there is a nice church there (I don’t remember the name). Copley Square is in Back Bay and from there you can visit several places that might be of interest in the area.


Boston Common
Boston Common is probably Boston’s most well known public park. Boston Common is part of what is known as The Emerald Necklace, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The Emerald Necklace is a system of connected green spaces that begins at Boston Common and winds through Boston ending at Franklin Park. The park is bisected by Charles Street; the east side is the park side and the west side is the garden side. The park side includes tennis courts, a gazebo, Frog Pond (they have ice skating in the winter), and lots of open green space for dogs, sports, kites, etc. The Freedom trail visitor center is on this side right off Tremont St. The garden side has, as you would imagine, gardens. It is a nice place to walk or sit and read a book or something. The garden side has a few monuments and Swan lake, where you can ride the Swan boats.


Commonwealth Ave. and Newbury St.
These streets run parallel to each other beginning at Boston Common and running well into Back Bay. Commonwealth is basically residential but the Commonwealth Mall (park) runs right down the middle (it’s actually part of The Emerald Necklace and connects Boston Common to Back Bay Fens) with benches and monuments. This is a great place to take a quiet walk on a nice afternoon and affords you the opportunity to see some nice architecture (homes and churches). Newbury is one block over and is almost the exact opposite. Newbury is lined with all sorts of small boutique shops and attracts a great deal of pedestrian traffic; both tourists and locals. This can be a fun place to window shop, or to actually shop, and there are several small cafes and restaurants scattered among the shops.


Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill is now a small, quaint, very high-end neighborhood just north of Boston Common. It has a great quiet atmosphere and can be a fun place to explore on foot (the streets are a little narrow for exploring by car). Charles Street is lined with several antique shops and various restaurants (including The Paramount). It is pretty amazing how much you can escape the feel of the city while wandering through the neighborhood. Just be ready for a small workout, it’s called Beacon Hill for a reason.


The North End
The North End is a historic neighborhood (The Freedom Trail will take you to Paul Revere’s House here) and now a very Italian neighborhood. If you like Italian, this is the place for you; there are countless restaurants and cafes to check out and try. Everyone has their opinion about which restaurants are the best, but I think that the truth is they’re probably all good. To me one of the best parts about The North End is its authenticity; there are times when it seems you could just as well be in Italy as in Boston.


Food

The Paramount
This is a small restaurant on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. It’s a couple of blocks north on Charles from Boston Common. They have great breakfasts. They probably have good lunch and dinner, but we’ve only been for breakfast. I highly recommend the waffle with fruit (they bring in and chop fresh fruit each morning), it is awesome. I do not recommend putting syrup on the waffle; it’s nowhere near as good as the fruit. The omelettes are also very good and don’t forget the potatoes (the potatoes get better as the morning goes on; they pile them on the griddle at opening and they slowly cook through the morning). Just be sure not to try and save a seat when you arrive, it’s against the rules that you can read on the wall.


Cottonwood Café
Cottonwood Café is a southwestern restaurant located near the theater district (St. James and Berkeley). We recently found this place (in the playbill for Blue Man Group) and it has become one of our favorites. It’s worth going to just for the chili and the margaritas. The other items we’ve tried were good too; but again, chili and margaritas.


Pizzeria Regina
Very good pizza. The crust is great. Their cheese pizza is really good and I don’t even like cheese pizza. I had a Sicilian Pepperoni in South Station and it was awesome. Pizzeria Regina has several locations around Boston. The original is located in the North End and usually has a line down the sidewalk, but it moves pretty fast and is worth waiting. You can search for other locations (for a quick piece to go) on their website.


Finale
Finale specializes in dessert (The host/hostess says “Enjoy your dessert” when seating you) but they also have good “appetizers” in case you didn’t eat before you came. I tried the White Pizza and it was great. After your appetizer comes the hard part; deciding which dessert to get. Finale makes a very unique Boston Cream Pie (presentation) and awesome vanilla Crème Brulee (read, the best crème brulee I’ve ever had). The Park Plaza location is convenient to Boston Common (about a block south), the Theater District, and Cottonwood Café (for dessert after chili and margaritas).


The Parker Restaurant/Bar
The restaurant and the bar are located in The Omni Parker House Hotel on the corner of Tremont and School Streets. While in Boston we set out to find the best Boston Cream Pie. The Parker Restaurant is the place that Boston Cream Pie was created, and perhaps it is no surprise that theirs was the best. Now, we never really had a bad Boston Cream Pie (that’s like a bad Cheesecake, does it exist?) of all we tried, but the Parker Restaurant was the best. Apparently, they serve other things too but we don’t know much about them; however, the honey roasted peanuts in the bar were good.


Trattoria Il Panino
Trattoria Il Panino is one of those famous North End Italian restaurants. It was recommend by the New England A&M Club so we tried it. Excellent recommendation. As I said before, I’m pretty sure all of the places in The North End are good; we just tried this one. The restaurant is very small, but the atmosphere was great. Everything that we had was very good and there was a lot more that we wanted to try. We were there for lunch and it wasn’t too crowded, but there may be a wait for dinner.


Modern Pastry
Modern Pastry is also located in The North End on Hanover Street and is surprisingly, a pastry shop. This was another quality recommendation by the New England A&M Club. Unfortunately, we only visited once, but we wish we could go back. They make all sorts of Italian (and other) pastries to enjoy, but cannoli are the hot item. The Chocolate Dipped (with Ricotta) cannoli are great. They make pretty good cupcakes too.


Mike’s Pastry
Mike’s Pastry is another North End pastry shop on Hanover. You can usually find it by the mass of people crowded in the entry. Mike’s is somewhat larger than Modern Pastry and they have a somewhat larger selection of various pastries. A lot of people say that Mike’s is a tourist trap, which may be partly true (there are a lot of tourists there), but I still thought they were good. I also noted that there seem to be plenty of locals there too, so who knows. Just like Modern Pastry, cannoli are the hot item at Mike’s. I would recommend the Ricotta Chocolate Chip (the popular favorite given the supply) or the very good Ricotta Florentine (that was our favorite at Mike’s). Mike’s also had good Boston Cream Pie. I would recommend going during non meal-times to avoid large lines.


Rosie’s Bakery
Rosie’s is a great place to stop for a snack while in South Station (after grabbing a slice at Pizzeria Regina). There are a couple of locations around Boston, but I’ve only been to the one in South Station. They have a variety of typical bakery goods to choose from. They make mini Boston Cream Pies that are kind of fun, but depending on who you are, they may be more than enough for one person.


Figaro’s
Figaro’s is a deli located in what is known as Boston’s historical Leather District (otherwise known as around the corner from my office). This is a good place to grab a sandwich for lunch, but you better know what you want before getting to the front of the line (think “soup nazi” from Seinfeld). The sandwiches here are good; just don’t expect them to be healthy.


Penang
Penang is a Malaysian restaurant (actually a small chain) with a location in Chinatown (also around the corner from my office). The cuisine is not limited to Malaysian only, but also includes various Asian dishes. This is probably not the place to go if you are conservative about what you eat (actually, that pretty much applies to all of the places in Chinatown). I tried the Chow Kueh Teow and it was pretty good, although I did not expect the squid to include tentacles (or to be purple). I’m told that the Durian Shake can be quite the experience too. My recommendation is to look over the menu online and see if it interests you before paying Penang a visit.


Sorriso
Sorriso is a seemingly small but rather large Italian restaurant also located in Boston’s historical Leather District (right next to the office). We went here for lunch on my last day of work and it was good. I do not know what the pasta is like, but they have good Panini and the pizza is supposed to be good too. Sorriso is a good place to grab lunch if you are in the Leather District or in South Station and want something different than Pizzeria Regina and Rosie’s. (Right now their website is not working, but the link below should still be correct).