I originally wrote this post on April 23, 2013 following the Boston Marathon bombings. It was in honor of my beloved city, which was going through so much grief at the time. I felt compelled to support Boston and share about it, which I did by writing a round up of my favorite places that I recommend to friends whenever they visit Boston. I updated once in 2017, right after moving to Hong Kong. It's hard to believe it is already another SIX years since that post. Though a lot of my recommendations remain, the pandemic has unfortunately wiped away many restaurants, and thus it was time fo ..read more

The pandemic was a strange, unprecedented period of 18 months where we were essentially stuck on a tiny island (heh, Hong Kong), unable to leave and come back without stringent Covid tests and quarantine measures. The first time we finally traveled was in the fall of 2021, and that was to attend a long postponed family wedding on the west coast. As part of that extended first trip, we also visited Boston. Our first time back in Boston post-Covid was unique because we were able to stay for a much longer period than normal. In non pandemic times we would usually fly into Boston and stay for 1-2 ..read more

Old friends. New digs. Not quite the same, but much nostalgia remains. We walk in the door of Jinny’s Pizzeria in Newton. Paul, our favorite bartender from Bergamot (R.I.P. ?) walks up and says hello and gives us a huge hug. It’s been over two years, and the world is a new place. We marvel at Jinny’s Pizzeria, the new pizza joint opened by Chef Lydia Reichert (Paul’s ”better half” as he would say), Chef David Punch and and Shane Smythe (Sycamore, Big Little Diner). The next thing you know, Bryan‘s enjoying a new version of his old favorite cocktail (the Elisabetta), now in bottled form called ..read more

We had a freak warm spell a couple weeks ago.  It was seventy degrees in Boston and it really felt like the entire city was outside soaking in the sun.  Especially after we had all been literally soaked by inches and inches of rain just a few days before. On days like that I love love love sitting outside and enjoying a relaxing meal. Two Saturdays ago, I was able to do just that.  I sat outside my favorite lunch spot in Davis Square, soaking up the sun, and enjoying great conversation. So what exactly makes Dave's Fresh Pasta so cool? First of all, they make good s ..read more