24 Hours in Boston (Part 2)

The second half of our day was filled with food and booze.

After dropping off our bikes in Cambridge, we hopped on the T and headed to Beacon Hill.

BEACON HILL

Beacon Hill is a ritzy and cute little neighborhood, which is great for shopping and wandering.

SWEET CUPCAKES

For a little afternoon pick-me-up, we decided to grab a cupcake.

I went for the classic red velvet with a chocolate milk and H went for the lemon raspberry with Earl Grey tea.

The cakes were incredibly fluffy and moist and delicious.

Then, we biked our way over to the South End to enjoy some tapas for dinner.

Unfortunately for us, Toro had a 2.5 to 3 hour wait so we said, "Screw this!" (except maybe with language that was slightly more profane) and took to yelp for a tapas alternative.

We ended up biking a few blocks over to Barcelona.

Barcelona also had quite a wait, mostly due to a large party taking up half the restaurant, but the host told us we could take our chance at the bar. After a few minutes of hovering, we were able to snatch up two seats. We were ecstatic.

While H went for a classy glass of wine, I went for the Summer St. Sling cocktail, which was bright and citrusy and girly.

The incredibly attentive bartenders gave us some fresh bread with olive oil to start.

For our starter, we had the chef's selection of small bites, which was a combination of Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, olives, and ceviche mussels.

We also got two tapas plates, the first of which was white asparagus buried in crispy pancetta.

The second tapas plate we ordered was the hangar steak with truffle vinaigrette. The steak was perfectly medium rare and the truffle vinaigrette was incredibly fragrant and beautifully unctuous.

When my first cocktail ran dry, the bartender was quick to ask me if I needed another and I opted for a capirinha. It was bright and punchy and deliciously strong.

For our main, we shared a single portion of the paella with pork belly and chorizo. Yes, that giant thing is a single portion. Luckily for us, the staff had warned us that they were huge. The paella was deliciously spiced and seasoned, the pork belly was super tender, the black sausage was really meaty, and the chorizo added a delicious spiciness. The rice was al dente and the crispy bits around the edges were amazing.

I downed my capirinha with the paella so I decided that a third cocktail was in order. I went for the bourbon spice rack. It was incredibly fragrant with lots of cardamom (which is one of my favorite spices) and I can't wait to try and recreate this at home. It will be easy because I have a giant ice cube mold (because the ice is the important part; sarcasm).

For dessert, we got the crepas which were filled with whipped cream and salted dulce de leche. The crepas were really tender and the filling as delicious, even though the quantity was slightly overwhelming. H and I both agreed we would have enjoyed it better if they'd applied a thin layer of filling.

After dinner, we went for a nighttime bike ride around the South End and then visited H's alma mater, and then got a pint at the Punter's Pub before hopping back on the Commuter Train.

It was another successful biking trip and we had a great time. By the way, we were totally going to head out again on Sunday but the commuter train we had planned on taking (at 10:47 which was the earliest one) was canceled "due to a medical emergency" (no idea what that even means) and the next one wasn't for another two hours so we actually ended up going outlet shopping instead. It was a fun, albeit expensive, alternative but spending time with H is always fun so I didn't mind.

Thanks for reading! I'll be returning to Italy posts next week so come back for more Italian deliciousness.