Shopping for Necessities in Boston

I'm sure my regular readers thought that I had finished writing about my summer trip to Boston. They were wrong, but this is the last one until I actually go there again. I promise. What and why am I going to write more about a trip that took place several months ago? I'm going to write about fun I had shopping at three stores in Boston, in part because the places where I shopped have some sort of web presence.

I loathe shopping for clothing. It is the most boring and potentially the most frustrating thing that one can do with one' s time. As a kid, I would always dread tagging along when my relatives or friends of relatives would go shopping in Burlington, NC, when that town was filled to the brim with outlet stores. I do, however, enjoy shopping for other things. I particularly like shopping for things on-line, because that completely avoids most of the annoyances of shopping in person. On the other hand, if you're using a Mac, as I was earlier tonight, and you're ordering from somewhere that completely clears out your shopping cart every time you try to checkout (after you enter in all your information), it's debatable which is the least annoying experience.

An art and crafts supply store is something you simply have to wander around in person, if you have the opportunity. The Pearl, in Cambridge, has a tremendous selection, with two huge floors of every imaginable pigment, paper and pen. I could have spent many more hours, if not days, wandering around. Fortunately for my wallet, we were scheduled to have dinner across the street after an hour or so.As many of you know, I have an unfortunate problem with earrings. Earrings are my primary vice, which costs me more money than any other. It's worse than dining out, because I need to eat. I do not need earrings. ...and yet, I do. The only good thing is that they don't take up much space at all.Over ten years ago, I discovered Geoclassics, in Faneuil Hall, in Boston, and I've gone back to the store every time I've been to the city since then. They have a marvelous selection of gemstone jewelry and also have a lot of nice mineral carvings. Unfortunately, their website doesn't have much of a selection compared to their stores. So, if you're in the Boston area and you either have a similar vice or need to buy a gift for someone who does, then I highly recommend that you stop by.Another store I knew I had to hit while I was in Boston was Levenger's, in Copley Place. Levenger's originated in Del Ray Beach, Florida, and I'd always wanted to go to one of their stores. I've been getting their catalogs for years and have coveted so many of their high-end office supplies. I like shopping for office supplies, regardless of their caliber, but there's something wonderful about shopping for nifty blank configurable notebooks and wallets. I've been particularly enamored of their Circa system for seven years or so. My dad, when he wasn't falling asleep in one of their chairs, followed me around asking incredulously, "Tell me again just how much you're paying per sheet of paper?" I explained that I didn't mind paying a little more to support their innovation. Shopping for things you don't really need on a regular basis requires dynamic rationalization skills.Immediately following my leaving the store, I bought myself a cute stuffed lobster. That made all of my purchases at Levenger's seem so much more reasonable.

Three More from the Road

While I was on my trip, I enjoyed going to several eating establishments other than Mary Chung's. Mary's is closed on Tuesdays, so we had no alternative but to look elsewhere that night.

After the day of visiting the New England Aquarium and shopping, and at my brother's recommendation, we went to Durgin Park. It was founded in 1826 and is one of the oldest restaurants in Boston. It has an excellent reputation for steaks, but I still don't eat beef and I realized that it was my last real opportunity to eat lobster. I was very impressed, because they did an excellent job cooking my 1 1/4 lb. creature. I barely used any melted butter and I've found that I enjoy it much more that way now. To me, the sign of a well prepared lobster is plenty of soft and tasty protein deposits, because if it's overcooked, they will be all dried out. It was just splendid and it was lovely eating outside along the main pathway through Faneuil Hall. Their apple pan dowdy was good, but I would have probably chosen something else given another opportunity.

Earlier in the visit, my brother, Karl, suggested that we all go to Basta Pasta Trattoria, which is one of the places that he and DC visit regularly. The chef/owner has apparently worked in several famous restaurants, but always dreamed of owning a neighborhood pizza joint. They have just a few tables and the dining is very informal, but it's a nice place to sit and enjoy handmade pasta dishes. I had pasta with chicken, walnuts and gorgonzola, which was delicious.

Most visitors to Cambridge quickly find out that the place to have ice cream and related desserts is Toscanini's. When I was in the area five years ago, I got to visit the original location, in Central Square, as well as one in the MIT Student Center, building W20. I was horrified, if not devastated, to find out that the one in W20 had been replaced by a Mexican place. The original Tosci's is not exactly wheelchair accessible. They have about four large and unusually shallow steps. With calorie-burning anxiety and the help of two strong male family members, it's still doable. Unfortunately, one of Tosci's freezers had malfunctioned and they'd lost half of their ice cream stock. I chose to have a vanilla ice cream soda with mint syrup, which was subtle, but very good.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

While we were in Boston, I decided to take YB's recommendation and go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which is just a hop skip and a jump from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Originally, I had planned to go both museums on the same day, but going to the MFA alway seems to take the majority of the day and we didn't want to rush it. That turned out to be a good decision, because the Isabella Steward Gardner museum deserved quite a bit of attention.

The museum, which is the house in which the wealthy art collector lived, is jam-packed full of artwork by artists such as Sargent, Zorn, Rubens, Titian and Botticelli. The house is still decorated as it was when Gardner died, in 1924, so the rooms are lit very dimly to preserve both the watercolors and the fabrics. One of the rooms has a cabinet like structure that allows people to view panels full of framed artwork as if they were pages in a book. There are far too many works to display on the walls alone. They had even more paintings, including a Monet, before a major heist in 1990.

I thought one of the most beautiful aspects of the museum was the central enclosed atrium, which is full of sculptures, palms, orchids, caryotas and hydrangeas. It just seemed extremely peaceful. The majority of the rooms of the house look out onto the atrium through glass or open windows. I actually think just the atrium alone would be worth visiting, even without the artwork in the rest of the museum.

While their elevator is old and small, it seems more modern than many of the ones on Duke's campus and it works fine. Some of the doorways on the upper floors are extremely narrow. I actually worried that my comparatively small chair was going to get stuck going through one of them on the third floor and I just barely made it through. Visitors with larger wheelchairs should definitely keep that in mind.

Another interesting characteristic is that almost none of the artwork is labeled. In a couple of the rooms with the more famous paintings, they have laminated cards indicating the artist of each of the paintings on each of the four walls. Those were extremely helpful. Later on, one of the docents recommended that we borrow a guidebook from the front desk. That was useful, but it was still difficult to identify some pieces based on their written descriptions of the everything in the room. I'm afraid that I practically detest audio tours, with rare exceptions, so I wasn't willing to use that option.

All in all, I thought it was a wonderful experience, which I would recommend highly.

Mouse of Fine Arts

One of the things I traditionally do when I'm visiting Boston is go to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. My trip in July was no exception. They actually seemed to have fewer Impressionist paintings from their usual enormous collection, but they still had many impressive ones. I would imagine that whenever there is a traveling exhibition of a single artist, such as Monet, that puts somewhat of a dent in the set of ones that are permanently on display around the world. One of the most spectacular and most memorable paintings is an enormous portrait of Monet's wife in a kimono. It's very detailed and yet unmistakably in Monet's style.

They also had a special exhibition of work by Edward Hopper. Hopper's Nighthawks has been parodied countless times, so it was wild seeing the original in person. I was actually very impressed with the rest of his repertoire. His experience as a professional illustrator shined throughout his career. He was an artist who knew how to paint light and volume. His series of lighthouses looked like the true cylindrical objects that they were, almost popping out of their canvases. It was nice to see paintings that had such a range of tonal value. I would highly recommend that anyone in the Boston area go see the exhibition, which runs through August 19th.

Following lunch in the downstairs cafeteria, I was also thoroughly entertained by a mouse in the museum's open atrium. The museum is about to undergo major renovations and expansion. One fellow patron was concerned that this atrium would be eliminated by a new wing, but it looked from the plans as if this lovely sitting and eating area will be spared.

Looking Through Different Lenses

I've discovered an interesting pastime. While I was in Boston, I went to the New England Aquarium, which I'd last visited about ten years ago. I attempted to take several pictures, all of which I've uploaded to flickr, good and bad. Ok, they are mostly bad, because it's dark inside, fish move fast and I hadn't even played with changing the ISO setting yet. The point is that not only can one compare one's photography and feel as if everyone in the world is more talented and has a more expensive and heavier camera, but one can also see what different experiences other people have had in exactly the same setting. The latter is what is fascinating.

You can take a look at my New England Aquarium photos. Then take a look at the beautiful ones other people have taken.

The next time you go to a public place that allows photography, whether you take your own or not, try searching on that location in flickr and see what others have seen there.

Three Cs

One of the coolest things about my trip to Boston was getting to meet a fellow blogger, Camilla, who writes one of my favorite blogs. Although her blog has changed its primary topic in the last seven months or so, it is filled with stunning photographs, mathematical creative endeavors and, of course, the occasional cooking adventure. Every now and then, I've had an additional treat of seeing my brother, her former housemate, in a photo or two, and have been relieved to see that he was still alive.

Camilla invited me and my dad to dinner to meet her, her husband, Monty, and her adorable son, Denton. She fixed an incredible dinner of roasted chicken that was culminated by a Yeasted Sugar Cake, with strawberries, plums and whipped cream. Plums and real whipped cream are two of my favorite things in the universe. Before I even left Boston, I had to order the Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone cookbook, which has the cake recipe. I'm sure I will give it a try soon.

The next day she and Denton showed us around Mt. Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge. Other than drive by shootings from the car, which I later painted, I'd never actually been to a cemetery before. Mt. Auburn Cemetery, which is 175 years old, is absolutely beautiful. It has gorgeous old trees and all the paths are paved, so it's a great place to walk around. I could have probably taken a few hundred more photos. We went there primarily with the purpose of birdwatching, but we didn't see any uncommon ones. Robins were particularly plentiful. I was also likely way too enthralled by looking at the trees.

Bull McCabe's Irish Pub

I was eager to go to Bull McCabe's Irish Pub last night, after guitar practice, because I'd read several, mostly positive, reviews since it opened. It has interesting decor and I think the fully stocked bookshelves add a lot.

It, however, doesn't have wheelchair accessible seating options and it looses quite a few points in my book because of that. There are picnic benches outside, which can be ok as long as the ends overhang some. Unfortunately, their benches aren't built that way. We sat there for a bit, before the bottom dropped out of a thunderstorm. By then, some of the indoor tables were free. Unfortunately, they were barely better, because they only have a few booths and they have supports at the ends of their tables.

I really liked my fish and chips, though. The fish was crispy, but not excessively so. The french fries were nice and crispy, too. The creamy coleslaw was a little too soupy, in my opinion, but I'm picky about coleslaw.

With the exception of a quesadilla, I was pleased to see that most of the items on the menu seemed appropriate for an Irish pub. This is in contrast to an Irish pub that I went to in Cambridge, the Asgard, which had more cosmopolitan fare. It seems wrong to order jambalaya or bruschetta in a pub, don't you think? Fortunately, visiting the Asgard was the pre-party after party for Oscelot's Open Source Day II, so I didn't let it bother me too much.

I Love Mary Chung's!

People who know me, particularly in person, know that I can go on and on about Mary Chung's Chinese Restaurant on Mass Ave. (near Central Square), in Cambridge. Anytime anyone gets within a 50 mile radius of it, I insist that they have to go. Two weeks ago, I actually managed to get my boss to go by actually driving him there. He did go willingly, I think. I ate there three out of the nine nights that I was in the Boston area.
I also insist that people order my favorite dish, Suan La Chow Show. It's a soup-appetizer dish, which contains pork dumplings in a tangy-spicy soy based sauce, with bean sprouts. Basically, once you eat the dumplings, the wait staff starts trying to take it away, so I don't think most people eat all of the liquid and sprouts. This dish is very hot, but it is absolutely delicious, in my opinion.

Among other things, we also had scallion pie, also known as scallion pancakes. I really like these.
We also had Lion's Head, which is a giant non-spicy pork meatball in a thin broth, with cabbage. It reminded us of krautrouladen, or cabbage rolls, a traditional German beef dish. Fortunately, it really was pork, since I still don't eat beef. It was incredibly good.

I'd remembered liking Dun Dun Noodles, but I hadn't remembered that they are spicy enough to spontaneously combust. We also had Orange Sauce Chicken and Velvet Chicken, which were mild and excellent. The fried peking ravioli, fondly referred to as "ravs", which are basically potstickers, are also a must.

Anyone who is willing to bring me back some Suan La Chow Show on a plane will forever hold a special place in my heart. Yes, I already want more.

Fun Driving in Boston

Now that I have some laundry started, it's time for me to write a little bit about my trip to Boston.

I can't remember whether I've mentioned this here before, but I really like driving in Boston. It's challenging, with its maniacal drivers, its overabundance of one-way streets and the occasional unlabeled intersection. Lanes are almost optional due to people's parking in them and many of the lanes aren't marked with lines at all. Someone once told me that that every car in Boston has a dent, so I'm always happy to be driving a pre-dented van. Boston drivers expect you to suddenly pull in front if them, because you can't get anywhere if you don't. Boston drivers, for the most part, are alert because of that. You have to think and react quickly.

I get the impression that over half the people in the Triangle aren't even paying attention to the fact that they are in a moving vehicle while they are talking on the phone, much less trying to drive it somewhere. My brother assures me that some Boston drivers don't pay attention either, but it's got to be the exception rather than the majority. On my morning commute from Hillsborough to Durham a lot of the drivers drive way below the speed limit, because they either don't have a clue or they are engrossed in their conversations. I'm not saying that my driving is perfect here, particularly when I'm talking to a passenger, but I do think I'm pretty alert, for the most part.

Now, it's not just that I like driving in the city. I've hated driving in D.C. every time I've been there. While many Boston drivers were polite and even waved to let me in, I've experienced many cases were drivers in D.C. were rude or made what I considered to be dangerous maneuvers. Of course, just a few experiences can color one's perceptions strongly, but I really get the sense that there is something pathological about driving in D.C. I was in stop and go traffic on the D.C. Beltline on Saturday and someone just stood on his or her horn when I was changing lanes. I was using my turn signal. I don't recall my being honked at once while I was in Boston.

One bit of excitement was when I was driving down Mass Ave., toward downtown Boston, and I had to go through a tight squeeze. I should have slowed down more, but my side mirror hit the mirror of a truck that was parked on the right. It knocked my mirror out and the small-domed wide angle mirror popped off of that. Driving without both mirrors would be impossible. The main mirror was just a pressure fit, but the smaller one had been put on with double sided tape. I noticed that we lucky enough to have this happen just across the street from a convenience store, City Convenience. My dad ran across the street, got some double sided tape and taped the small mirror back on. The driver of the truck could have complained about the slightest scratch, but he was very nice and just made sure that none of the flying parts belonged on his truck.

Boston is notorious for being a horrible place to drive, so I'm probably just deranged. I'm not sure my readers needed more convincing, though.

Happiness and Excitement

Happiness is returning home after 2 weeks and discovering that the coffee grounds that one left in the coffee pot have not molded.

That's right, the proverbial newspapers at the end of this blog's driveway have been building up for a reason. I've been in Boston, for both business and pleasure, and drove home last night. I have lots of highlights, food stories and photos to share...in good time.

One of the exciting events while I was gone was Blogger's enabling the easy routing of RSS traffic through Feedburner and discovering that I have not one or two subscribers, but more than twenty. I was stunned. Thank you all for reading!