Boston on the Go: August 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

Marliave Opens

Cafe Marliave, the 4th oldest restaurant in town, has reopened under the management of the Grotto (Beacon Hill) to the new name of Marliave. Located at 10 Bosworth Street in Downtown Crossing, the revived restaurant will have two levels, the upstairs featuring classic American cuisine such as butter-poached lobster and beef wellington, and downstairs will be a throw back to the late 1800s, where it will serve cocktails and modern takes on the old, old school dishes one would find at Marliave back in its hay day. All dishes will be made with fresh, locally farmed produce and meat. Click here for the restaurant's website.

Hug it Out - Entourage Party

Whether you like to look at the boys or can identify with them, we all have a soft spot for the Entourage crew. And who better yet of the cast to hang out with than...Lloyd! Head over to McFadden's in downtown this weekend and kick off the new season of Entourage Hollywood style.

Photo courtesy of hbo.com.

Let's Make Out

No, not really make out. But that is the name of one song by the hot band called, "Does it Offend You, Yeah?" who are playing at the Great Scott in Allston on Sunday night. And you can't use the excuse "I have to work tomorrow" this weekend. The ticket is $12. And in these times, if that is still a little steep for you, download the single you've been hearing on FNX - "Dawn of the Dead", cause it kinda does makes you want to make out...ok, or at least rock out. :)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

All-Day Electronic Festival

Marina Bay Beach Club is hosting an all day electronic festival aka "Shake that Shit" on Saturday, August 30th. Check out NYC and beyond's finest for what is sure to be a hot and heavy event. For more information on who will be there (Junior Sanchez, for one), click here. Prices are $20 online.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

New Places to Eat

Nico - 417 Hanover Street, North End
Estragon - 700 Harrison Ave, South End
Circle: Plates & Lounge, 604 Columbus Ave, South End (October 2008)
Roadside BBQ, Beacon Street, Washington Sq. Brookline
Erbaluce, Bay Village, (Opened October 2008)
King Do Baguette & Pastry, Dorchester Ave at Hancock, Dorchester
Franklin Cafe, 150 Dorchester Ave, South Boston (November 2008)
South End Buttery, Buttery Bar Bistro, 314 Shawmut Ave, South End
Max & Dylan's Kitchen & Bar, 15 West Street, Downtown Crossing
Sofra Bakery & Cafe, 1 Belmont Street, Cambridge
Ecco, East Boston

Review of Sofra

Sofra, the new venue by Ana Sortun of Oleana fame, is a great addition to the Fresh Pond/North Cambridge area. Located at One Belmont Street (at the corner of Belmont and Mt. Auburn near the Watertown line), Sofra features a little bit of what every bakery and cafe should have - there are fresh veggies (heirloom tomatoes were the rage) from Siena Farms, and there were also some great bread spreads for take out, such as the potato, garlic and almond spread I picked up. Sofra offers Rao's coffee and a mix of Middle Eastern sandwiches such as shawarmas, stuffed flatbreads and a delicious looking hummus bar. The best has to be the sweets though, with a delicious looking chocolate hazelnut baklava with cocoa honey and what will become famous - the "earthquake bars" which are what a a brownie should taste like (it's amazing I bought only one). Prices are quite reasonable, nothing on the menu is above $10. I will also add that Sofra will be adding a patio area on the side of the cafe. Click here for Sofra's website.

Starbucks News

So, I'm assuming my hip readers have heard of all the deals Starbucks has been doing recently. For example, if you buy a grande drink (preferably iced, I believe) before 2:00pm any day, save your receipt and bring it back after 2:00pm and get your next iced grande drink for only $2.00. Which is cheap in Starbucks culture. With that, the chain is bringing a new coffee machine into the market. Click here for the Globe article about the new Clover machines...cause it may mean more mulah for your morning coffee.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Not your average Friday night

As mentioned in the Globe's Sidekick today, head over to Diablo Glass & Metal Studio for their Glass Friday events. The studio is located in Roxbury, right near the JP line and near the Jackson Square T stop. I've worked with this organization before, trying to promote their classes, and this one definitely seems fun - i.e., it includes wine! :) So when you are looking for something to do Friday night, check this out. By the way, there is also this wine goblet making course too. Tres chic.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Some more business bites

So Passport Boutique on Brattle Street has officially opened at 43 Brattle Street in Harvard Square. The store features a variety of up and coming designers. Click here for the website.
Between Tis-tik, American Apparel, the new Tannery, Passport and Mint Jelp, you can do some fun shopping ladies (and gents) in the little Brattle Square and Church Street area. Don't forget to stop by Upper Crust for a snack. :)

The old West Street Grille in Downtown Crossing (15 West Street) has been boarded up for awhile...but fear not, a new kitchen & bar called Nax & Dylans is going into the location. Internet folks have said that the new place is from the Charlestown Tavern on the Water folks and the food is to be "hip American casual food" or as I like to say, a salad and a a burger will be on the menu.

Banq in the South End is now offering brunch Saturday and Sundays. Brunch will be offered from 11:00am-2:30pm.

Lastly, I am going to recommend checking out the Bleacher Bar on Lansdowne. If you haven't been able to go to a game this season (aka, like me) or ambivalent about the season (aka, like me) then check out this new bar that is open all season. You get the feeling of being in Fenway whenever you'd like. Nice.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Green Tomato 2 - Opening Soon

Where is the first one? That was my thought when I heard and saw the second one. The first one is in Reading, and the second one is opening where the old Bolocco was on Elm Street in Davis Square. According to Daily Candy, it's supposed to open this weekend, but after a drive by this morning, I would say Sunday over Saturday. :) The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and will have both indoor and outdoor seating like previous establishments. Click here for the restaurant's website.

New Beacon Hill Rumors

Looks like there will be no Boloco opening up in Beacon Hill after all.

Newest rumors on the Hill though are that b.good, the "healthy burger" restaurant will be opening up in the old Paris Creperie location on Cambridge Street near the Red Line overpass. Since the days of the Creperie, the Spotted Apron was briefly in business at that location (their still hanging signage is almost the only proof that they ever existed).

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Images of the Ninth Ward - Photo Exhibit

It's interesting that this photo exhibit is opening as President Bush heads down to New Orleans for his 11th trip down there since Katrina. With that, check out this interesting exhibit that features "quiet images of the homes, churches, and other buildings that were destroyed by Katrina accompanied by haunting views of ordinary objects left behind by the ward's former residents." Like the piano ravaged by water, left. The exhibit is at the Panopticon Gallery located in the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square. The Gallery is open: Tue - Fri: 10 am - 6 pm, Sat: 11 am - 5 pm, Sun & Mon: closed. The exhibit is up until September 29th, with an opening reception on September 18th from 5-7pm.

Photo copyrighted by Johnathan Rosenthal, courtsey of the Panopticon Gallery.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Party Like it's NYE?

Yes folks a favorite Boston On the Go haunt, The Savant Project in Mission Hill, is hosting a NYE in August. Buy tickets for this dinner and wine pairing event on Saturday, August 23rd - the menu looks delish and is cheaper than Restaurant Week. Tickets are $25.09. For more info, click here.

Sofra Opens in Cambridge

I blogged about this before, but my dear fans of Oleana, Ana Sortun has opened Sofra Bakery in Cambridge. As in, you can go stop by today. Staying true to her Mediterranean background, you can savor a Turkish breakfast or grab flat bread sandwiches. Yum. Sofra's hours are: Monday-Friday, 7:00am-7:00pm, Saturday 8:00am-6:00pm and Sunday 8:00am-2:00pm and is located at 1 Belmont Street (Fresh Pond area). Daily Candy heard that next door a wine store is also opening, so talk about a 2 in 1 stop.

Photo courtsey of Daily Candy.

Do a little dance, make a little love and meet a blogger tonight

Ok, so maybe I cannot guarantee you will get a little somethin', somethin', but apparently over at Bella Luna in JP (above the Milky Way on Centre Street) there is a blogger meet and network tonight. In addition to that, I'd like to add that Tuesdays at Bella Luna are Tapas Night, and all tapas are $8 below. I would love to say to my fellow bloggers that you would see this face behind the name, but I got some kayaking to do.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Friday Fashion and Dance Party Event in Davis Square

I love how all these local artists are coming together and making these great events...it's like being in New York without having to see Yankee hats. It's awesome. With that, head over to the VFW in Davis Square tomorrow (Friday) night (it's past Rosebud, near Wings) for a fashion meets dance party extravaganza fabulously named "Paradosaurus Wreck." Click here for event info. The basics: $10 at the door, and 21+ and it starts 9:00pm. Look sharp and be ready to rock.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Iron Chef - JP Style!

Maybe you don't want to invest in Restaurant Week, but you still want to be on the scene. Well, next week is for you, folks. JP Centre/South Main Streets is hosting Iron Chef JP from August 18-24th. Participants include: The Alchemist, Ten Tables, Bon Savor, JP Licks, Blue Frog, Centre Street Cafe, JP Seafood, Vee Vee's, Fiore's , and James's Gate. You know, JP's good stuff.

Go participate, vote and most of all, enjoy! Click here for the event's website.

Photo courtsey of JP Centre/South Main Streets.

IKEA Food Feast

Sadly my knowledge of Swedish cuisine only consists of a dinner that a co-worker made 8 years ago and the Swedish meatballs that I've had at IKEA. After next Wednesday, my knowledge of Swedish cuisine will still, sadly, be from those two sources.

The IKEA in Stoughton will be having an all-you-can eat crayfish party on August 20th from 6pm to 9pm. Their (in)famous meatballs will also be making an appearance.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

City Feed Opens New Location in JP

JP favorite City Feed and Supply opens a new location on Centre Street. Daily Candy reports that the new spot has 4,000 sq ft of space (with some outdoor seating) and serves breakfast, sandwiches and soups and desserts from local favorite Sel de la Terre and produce from Allandale Farm in Brookline. How awesomely local.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Day trip: Manchester, NH edition 2

Little gem for the baseball fans. In a utter random coincidence, hotel that I am staying in Machester, NH is actually connected to a minor league baseball park!!

The stadium of the Fisher Cats is connected to Hilton Garden Inn - Manchester Downtown and what's brilliant about the whole thing is that the hotel has a restaurant/bar called "The Patio" that spans the whole outfield.

You can grab a pint, gobble down some grub and watch the ball game (and may catch a home run ball) at your hotel!

Shame that there was no home game this weekend. But, Machester, NH being only 1 hour away from Boston, it is a very tempting to drive up for those who loves to watch baseball.

Day trip: Manchester, NH edition 1

Until this weekend, Manchester NH mostly conjured up some miserable memories for me. Mainly because I got stuck driving in a snow storm and took me about 3 hours to get back to Boston (Yes, I was cursing the entire time).

However, those memories have been wiped clean when I came back to Manchester NH this weekend.

It's a great little city with some extraordinary stuff to see such as old Millyard buildings, brilliant minor league ballpark, great art museum and of course restaurants and pubs.

This post is about Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH. This museum has just undergone a major renovation that beautifully blends the old building with modern architecture. It has a decent collection of contemporary and modern artists (Jasper Jones, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse to name a few).

If you are popping by Manchester, NH for whatever reason, please swing by Currier Museum of Art.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Do you have that car in red?

Apparently, this late summer the theme is auto exhibits. At both the MFA and the Larz Anderson Museum (in Brookline) there are two interesting auto exhibits. At the MFA, there is the 1950s and 1960s "Dream Car" Model-rama. The show features model cars built as entries in a college scholarship competition run by General Moters from 1937 to 1968. The exhibit is free with museum admission.

At Larz Anderson, you can see the real deal, not a model. Passion, Design Performance: The Art of Italian Style features cars and fashion. This exhibit goes until April 2009, so you got a little bit of time. :) The exhibit is free with admission, but take note that the auto museum is open Tuesday-Sunday.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Tavolo Opens in Dorchester

Fans of Ashmont Grill, I told you there was a new Italian restaurant opening up by owner Chris Douglass! Tavolo opened and all meals are under $15. Click here for the website. Tavolo is located at 1918 Dorchester Ave.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Follow BostonOnTheGo via Twitter!

Yes, it is true. We here at BostonOnTheGo is finally getting in on
web 2.0 shinanigins (or tom foolery, if you will) by adding Twitter to
our site!

Follow @bostononthego via twitter:)

(You can also click on the little bird on the side as well)

MA Tax Holiday

If you are planning to make a big purchase in MA soon, STOP! (or at least drive up to sales tax free NH to make it)

The weekend of August 16th and 17th will be a Tax Holiday in Massachusetts.

This means that the 5% sales tax will be waived for most items bought in MA, provided it is under $2,500 and not an item classified as tobacco products, restaurant meals, utilities, or cars/boats.

State and Country Fairs

We don't want to prematurely end summer, but a sure sign of fall fast approaching is the state and county fairs that are upcoming. As a kid there would always be field trips to the State Fair, and in the grades when one wasn't scheduled, my parents would take us kids there.

So this post comes to you with fond memories of midway rides and games, boring agricultural exhibits, fried dough, turkey legs, and the stuffed animal that was occasionally won:

August 15th - 24th
The Marshfield Fair
Marshfield, MA

September 12th - 28th
Eastern States Exposition (The Big E)
West Springfield, MA

September 28th - October 5th
F ryeburg Fair
Fryeburg, ME

October 3rd - 13th
Topsfield Fair
Topsfield, MA

Three events for the weekend

Besides getting your freak on and starting it off at last night's art event at Via Matta (which btw, for a free drink and pizza was rockin', I just wish there was more art for viewing); here are three events for the weekend.

1. Shop South End's Sidewalk Sale. Looking for that unique top or shoe? A house gift for that upcoming wedding? Here is the place. Rumor has it that you can get up to 75% off at places such as: Diseno (Harrison Ave.), Aunt Sadie's (Union Park), Leokadia (Tremont St.), Lekker (Washington St.) and more. Daily recommends grabbing lunch at Gaslight or Union, but I will say Flour Bakery, Myers & Chang and Union for brunch (if you go Sunday). The Sidewalk Sale runs Friday-Sunday.

2. Movie Night @ Grand in Somerville. First off, I have drooled in the windows of this new home furnishings (and more) store, but it's always closed when I'm in Union Square! So go tomorrow night (grab a snack at Bloc 11 around the corner) and go watch...GOONIES! One of the best cheesy movies EVER! The event goes from 7:00pm-10:00pm on Friday night. PS- Bring your own chair.

3. Sangria Sundays @ Zocolo Cosina Mexicana (in Brighton). The restaurant is featuring (for the rest of the summer) $12 blood orange, pomegranate, and mango sangria. Fun!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

New Spots in Davis Square

So, Snappy Sushi isn't so new to Davis, but it's new enough for me to let you know that it's a nice addition to the Square. The sea urchin sushi was smooth (in a good way) and for the prices (specialty sushi are six pieces for $8.95) it is definitely worth it. The original location is on Newbury Street, but check this one out, too. Good for a bite after the movies and a walk through the Museum of Bad Art at the Somerville Theater.

On my walk back to the car, I also noticed an adorable shop that opened up on College Ave called Artifaktori. Filled with arts, antiques and vintage gear, it's a nice addition to the Davis Square shopping scene. Artifaktori is located at 22A College Ave. Ladies, the fellas who work there were pretty cute!

Free Drinks and Art? Sweet.

Check out this event at Via Matta tomorrow!

Get Your Freak On

I know, you all saw American's Best Dance Crew (ABDC if you are host Mario Lopez) last week when they paid homage to Missy Elliot and are just dying to get on the dance floor, right? Well, as Montell Jordan once said, "This is how we do it." Ok, not as good as a JT "Rock Your Body" reference, but it works.

So this Friday (August 8th) here are some local places to get jiggy with it.

#1: Milky Way Lounge & Lanes, Jamaica Plain
FREE SUMMER SOUL DANCE PARTY
w/ DJ John Funke(veteran of ZuZu's Soul-Le-Lu-Jah host of WMBR's Backwoods program on every Saturday morning @ 10am)
9:00 / 21+ / FREE
Photo courtsey of www.milkywayjp.com

#2: Middlesex Lounge - 315 Mass Ave, Central Square
DJ Supreme One spins. $5 after 9pm

#3 The Pill @ Great Scott in Allston
Theme: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (dance crazed seattle electro-pop)
$5 before 11:00pm

#4 Samba session at the ICA
Learn moves and dance! Hollah! $12 (which is museum admission). Starts @ 6pm

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