As usual, holiday songs have been hammering into our consciousness the day after Thanksgiving. Personally, I am not too much a fan of holiday songs... I like them in minute doses. So, this is for all those peeps who share the same sentiment with me regarding the holiday music. Here is a little musical treat. I promise this will put a smile on your faces and make you all warm & fuzzy :) Check it out!
I hope listening to this song will transport you to a warm beach town. Enjoy!
As many of you may have heard, the NHL's Winter Classic will be held this New Year's Day in Fenway Park, with the Flyers facing off with the Bruins.
Tickets for the actual game are obviously quite difficult to obtain. It may be just as difficult to get the tickets that are available to Boston residents for free skating on that rink on Jan 3 and Jan 10.
The boston.com post about this.
And the official press release
Tickets can be obtained this Saturday morning.
Aristo Cafe has recently opened downtown at 92 State Street.
Hours are Monday - Saturday 7am to 6pm. The hopes are to add Sunday hours in the future. Coffee, baked goods, and lunch items are served. Breakfast sandwiches will be available starting this Thursday.
This is the old Finagle-a-Bagel location on Merchants Row, which sadly closed earlier this year (Sandra, Iris, and Lulu are deeply missed).
For more information, call them at (617) 391-0478 or stop by for a visit. Hopefully we'll get a review for you in a couple of days once they have a chance to settle in more.
The Beacon Hill Holiday Stroll starts tonight at 5pm ... with a Christmas tree lighting at 7pm at Charles and Mt. Vernon streets.
Stroll through the neighborhood shops and restaurants tonight looking for items on your holiday shopping list or for just a bite to eat. There will be a Santa, carolers, and other winter merriment.
Tuesday, November 8 is primary day in Massachusetts. So ... remember to vote!
This primary will determine which candidates will run for the US Senate seat that was held by Senator Ted Kennedy (held in the interim by Sen. Paul Kirk).
The Democratic candidates are:
Congressman Michael Capuano
Attorney General Martha Coakley
Alan Khazei
Steve Pagliuca
The Republican candidates are:
State Sen. Scott Brown
Jack E. Robinson
The winners of each party will face off in the special election on January 19, 2010.
For more information, please visit the Secretary of State's website.
Ice skating novices and aficionados should jot down Thursday November 19th on their calendar as the day the Frog Pond reopens for the season.
Opening night will feature special events.
Follow the jump for hours and prices.
Hours:
Sun - Thurs: 10 am to 9 pm (Monday close at 4 pm)
Fri - Sat: 10 am to 10 pm
Special hours on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Prices:
13 and Under: Free Admission, Skate rental $5
Over 14: $4 Admission, Skate rental $8
Press release
Wednesday November 11 is Veterans Day.
A parade in Boston will start at 1 pm to honor our veterans and current armed service members. The parade starts at Beacon and Charles St (NW corner of the Boston Common), heads down Charles St to Boylston St. and then Tremont St. The parade ends with speeches at City Hall Plaza.
Tuesday, November 3 is election day in Boston.
On the ballot are positions for Mayor, City Councilors-at-Large and District City Councilors. Here is a list of candidates on the ballot.
The race that has garnered the most attention is for Mayor between 4-term Mayor Thomas Menino and City Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty. Based on the four way primary that whittled the candidates down to two, Menino should win this pretty easily. If, however, Flaherty gets the combined non-Menino votes from the primary then this election could be incredibly exciting.
Having the Boston municipal elections in an "off year" (no national or state-wide elections) allows these races to be the sole focus for voters, which is good. Historically though there has been low turnout that likely benefits incumbents, which could be bad. In any case, vote on Tuesday and have your say!
This Tuesday in Boston there will be a primary election for mayor, reducing the number of candidates from four to two before November's mayoral election.
The candidates are:
Michael Flaherty
Kevin McCrea
Tom Menino
Sam Yoon
To see if you are registered to vote, please visit this
city website.
Pick up a labeled artichoke right now at Liberty Square in Downtown Boston, and redeem it for a free sandwich from Pressed Sandwiches.
Liberty Sq is around Batterymarch St and Water St.
This falls into the gimmicky bucket, but a good deal is a good deal. The Copley Square Hotel is celebrating its 118 birthday and is offering rooms from $18 to $118 per night through the fall. This is how it works:
On July 14th, starting at 1:18 pm and lasting 118 minutes (until 3:16 pm) you can try and reserve a room at this boutique hotel for a stay between July 14 and September 24. There's 5 rooms at each of those rates for each of those nights, so beef up your internet bandwidth and mouse clicking skills between now and the 14th and try to reserve one.
For more information visit their birthday website: http://www.copleysquarehotel.com/birthday/
All of us at Boston On The Go would love to hear from you folks! You might notice that we have added a new feature on the right hand side bar, "please leave us a voice mail!". By using this widget, you can leave us a voice mail! Give us some feedback and/or any type of event/place news that you think is worth putting on our blog. Hope to hear from you soon.
To read more about how to leave us a voice mail using the Google Voice widget on the right side bar, please click on the below link.
So, you want to leave us a voice mail?! Here is the step by step procedures:
1. Click on the Google Voice icon ("Call Me" icon) on the right side bar under "Please leave us a voice mail!"
2. Enter your name and phone number (if you don't want us to know your phone number then check the "keep number private")
3. Click on "connect" button
4. Whichever phone number you entered above will ring
5. Answer the phone. It will be ringing for a bit then it will go to Boston On The Go's voice mail. Follow the instructions to leave a voice mail for us!
If you leave us a voice mail regarding a specific events and/or place, we will try to post them on the blog!
We hope to hear from you soon!
The Federal, located on Cambridge St in Beacon Hill, is now open. While we haven't had a chance to eat there yet, we did swing by and pick up a menu (see below).
The Federal is at 204 Cambridge St (the former Venice Cafe location) and bills itself as 'Gourmet Sandwiches and Pizza'. From looking at their menu their sandwich options do look quite tasty (with Boar's Head meat). While the hours (Sun-Wed 11am to 12am; Thu-Sat 11am to 2am) are not quite as conducive to the post drinking crowd as Venice Cafe's old hours, it is great to have another dining option added to the Beacon Hill mix (other late late night options currently include: Shangri La, Felcaro's Pizzeria, and 7-11).
The sushi options downtown just increased by one with the opening of Exotic Sushi and Tapas. Signs for this restaurant covered windows at the downtown location and at a location next to the Lowes Boston Common theater for many months.
Exotic Sushi and Tapas is located at 184 High St and just recently opened (so the usual disclaimers about trying a new restaurant in its first couple of weeks still apply here).
I have not had a chance to walk by the Boston Common location to see if that one has opened. If anyone has information about that location, please let us know through comments!
On beautiful days like today, there's always a desire to grab some adult beverages outdoors after work. With Puma City having left town, it's time to return to the old favorites.
Hopefully there's enough options in downtown Boston that I won't be fighting you guys off in the future for that last outside table. If you have your own favorite spots, please let us know through comments!!
Click on the 'read more' link for the list ... see you out painting the town red.
In order of this blogger's favorite to least favorite places:
The Living Room
The Intercontinental Hotel
Houstons
Bond (at the Langham, patio is brand NEW, opens on Tuesday May 26!)
Brandy Pete's
The Times
Faneuil Hall places (Ames Plow, McCormick & Schmick's, Salty Dog)
The Kinsale
The Landing
Tias
Note: Some of these places require the purchase of food to be seated outside
What's a Literary Death Match? Well, their website describes it: "marries the literary and performative aspects of Def Poetry Jam, rapier-witted quips of American Idol’s judging (without any meanness), and the ridiculousness and hilarity of Double Dare."
When: Thursday, May 21st at 8pm
Where: Paradise Lounge
Cost: $10
For more details, visit the website for
Opium's Literary Death Match.
This Tuesday is a special election for the 3rd Suffolk District State Representative. This primary election is to determine the final candidates that will vie to replace former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi. Candidates include ...
Democrats:
Aaron Michlewitz
Susan M. Passoni
Lucy Rivera
Brian V. Ross
Republicans:
David Trumbull
To determine if you live in this district and are able to vote, check the state's website.
Taza Chocolate is based in Somerville? It absolutely is and this weekend they have an Open House at their factory.
Taza produces great chocolate (their Stone Ground is highly recommended) using only organic ingredients. Saturday, May 2 from 10 am to 6 pm. 561 Windsor St, Somerville, MA. Admission is free
From April 25 to May 3, the Cambridge Science Festival will be taking place at locations throughout Cambridge. Most events are FREE (!!!) and are geared to people of all ages.
Some events have limited space and require pre-registration, like the May 2 talk by astronaut Sally Ride, and events at the Science Museum require standard admission costs.
Check out the schedule and find some great events for the weekend!
Let's see... You went out last night and had a few more pints than you wished you had and in a usual fashion, you went out for brunch with your mates hung over. All of a sudden, you think to yourself, "All this drinking... my liver might explode".
7th Annual Independent Film Festival Boston is kicking off this week from April 22nd - 28th, 2009. Festival films will be shown across Boston (Somerville Theatre, Brattle Theatre, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, and Coolidge Corner Theatre). There will be feature films, shorts, and documentaries as well as panel discussions. Check out the festival schedule here. There are few films that I am interested in seeing this year such as 500 Days of Summer, The Brothers Bloom and Boob. Yes, one of the shorts is titled “Boob”.
Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures
There's always a danger in going to restaurants within their first couple weeks of opening, and Sip Cafe is no different (hopefully).
After the Women's World Cup Soccer tournament in 1999, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) launched in the United States, which included the Boston Breakers playing at Boston University's Nickerson Field. Unfortunately the league was not profitable and ended play in 2003.
But starting this Saturday, April 11th, professional women's soccer has returned to Boston! The Boston Breakers are back and playing in the Women's Professional Soccer League. Games this time will be played at Harvard Stadium and tickets are still available, so get in on the action.
This weekend is the Craft Boston fair at the World Trade Center in the Seaport area. This show features artists from across the country selling their works of arts and crafts. Most items are of high quality and prices often reflect this. There are also, however, many affordable items for sale. Photos of some of the items available can be viewed through their website.
As of Friday afternoon, their website is having issues so details have been included below:
Hours:
Friday March 27, 2009 10-7
Saturday March 28, 2009 10-6
Sunday March 29, 2009 11-5
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and free for children under 12. Tickets allow for readmission throughout the weekend.
Signs are posted at the pavilion in Post Office Square for Sip Cafe, indicating that it will be opening on April 13.
For the past year Z-Square in the Park was at the location and prior to them was Milk Street Cafe.
The London Harness store on Franklin St. in Downtown Crossing is sadly closing due to the tough economic times. They are having a closing sale with discounts on all items. The London Harness locations in Hingham and Wellesley are staying open.
London Harness has always been a great place to pick up various luggage and travel items, the indestructible umbrella, or an old wooden chess set. Visit them one final time before they close after 92 years at that location.
If you're looking to go to a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, below are a couple of great options (some of these have been around for awhile, so it may not be new info for you).
If you're under 40, the BSO has <40 = $20 offer. A maximum of two tickets per show can be purchased, these types of tickets are limited, and proof of age is required, but it's a great way to spend a night at the Symphony.
The other great option is going to an Open Rehearsal - either during the day or the evening. Tickets are $19 and seats are on a first-come first-serve basis. Open Rehearsals are a great way to hear beautiful music and see the musicians interact as they perfect their craft.
The BSO has other programs for classical music aficionados and novices alike. Check out their website for more information.
The old State Street Bank Building (225 Franklin St) has started taking off the wrap from its lobby renovation project.
New to the building is a glass extension to the lobby, a new glass enclosed structure above the fifth floor roof, and an Equinox gym.
Across Franklin St, another one of Equity Office's properties, One Post Office Square, has been undergoing a similar glass lobby extension with a similar white marble overhaul. No information yet though on who might be occupying some of that new lobby space.
And lastly, somewhere in the process, Clipper Hair Styling has moved from a large beautiful space at 225 Franklin to a smaller location in One Post Office Square.
Downtown is getting overrun with Boloco stores. At the old Kabloom location on School St in Downtown Crossing, a new Boloco is being constructed at a rapid pace.
On the weekends downtown Boston (like most downtowns) has a very dead feel to it with all the office buildings and work week restaurants boarded up for the weekend, so let's hope, unlike the other downtown Bolocos, this one will be open all week.
Follow-up: As you can see in the comments, there is a response from the CEO and co-founder of Boloco and so this is in hopes of answering his question. I actually love the smoothies from them and enjoy the occasional burrito as well. I am incredibly surprised though that there is that much burrito demand for them to have so many stores downtown - but apparently there is. The main concern, however, is what happens to downtown when stores and restaurants are not open on weekends. It seems without places to go, people won't come downtown, but without people coming to downtown there's no demand for restaurants to be open. Alas, an endless cycle. Sounds like the new store will be open on weekends so that is a definite plus.
Boston on the Go had the opportunity to swing by Bond Restaurant and Lounge at the Langham Hotel last Friday. We did not make it to the DJ hours, however, so a more extensive review will have to be posted at a later date. Our impression thus far:
It was definitely a crowded after-work scene with a lot of attractive young professionals gracing the couches and the bar area. While the average age is probably under 30, there is a good mix of ages and everyone should feel comfortable there. The music was not overpowering (at least pre-DJ hours), which allowed for relaxed conversations and a general buzz was in the air from all the different conversations mixing.
The menu is pretty much all appetizers, but priced under $20. Mixed drinks are in the $15 dollar range, while beer (bottles only) are in the $5 to $6 range. There is a complimentary coat check.
The biggest downside is definitely the long line at the bar ... quite a few of their drinks involve a blender which slows down service. Also, the bar area is also not overly large, causing the bar crowd to spill over between the couches.
The beautiful building the Langham is in is not overly evident while at Bond, but the decor and design provide for a really nice atmosphere. Overall it was definitely a great experience and is a nice lounge spot downtown.
If you make it to the DJ hours before we do, please let us know what you think!
Bond restaurant and lounge has finally opened up at the Langham Hotel (Pearl and Franklin St). Featuring a menu with items under 20 dollars and a DJ on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights after 10 pm, the Langham Hotel is clearly trying to get rid of its stuffy (and expensive) image - once we get a chance to go for after-work dinner and drinks, we'll let you know if they've succeeded.
As a side note, the Langham building used to be the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston and is beautiful from the outside and absolutely incredible from the inside.
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