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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sunday Brunch

Brunch might be my favorite meal to enjoy out and about in this town. Partly because you can find cheap eats in an otherwise very pricy environment (Masa on Tremont is my favorite) partly because I can justify the big meal because it's one of only two, and partly because Bostonians do brunch so very well.

The South End is the place to be of a Saturday or Sunday late morning/early afternoon. The socialites of the city are dressed down but not dressed poorly. Boat shoes and khakis replace suits. Sandals replace stillettos, and everyone's hair is let down. So, it's casual, but it's still Boston, it still has class.

Whether it be french, spanish or classic American, eggs taste better when enjoyed with linens. Grapefruit juice seems fresher in a champagne glass and a freshly baked cinnamon roll smells sweeter with the clinking of other patrons' silverware and the bustle of the sidewalk playing in the background. Brunch in this town is decadent and boisterous. The twenty and thirty somethings recap their previous night's excursions. The forty and fifty somethings recap the previous week on the stock market. The sixty and seventy somethings enjoy private conversations in corner booths but all come for good food, great conversation and a fabulous environment.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Trendy Bar Trend


I think of myself as a fairly sociable individual and in a town like mine this means hitting up the "trendy bars" for birthdays, cocktail hours and the occassional last minute suggestion. Oh the trendy bar phenomenon. I don't know who thought up taking a five dollar martini, splashing something pink in it, adding an exotic garnish of unknown origin and charging fifteen bucks for it but they're a genius and I wish I'd thought of it first. Women and men alike flock to the martini bar, the hotel bar, the newest of the new establishments to over pay and over dress at, mostly, over rated locations. And the only saving grace that keeps your bank account somewhat in check is the insufferably long wait to get back to the bar, at which point you must expell all the charms you can muster to catch the tender's attention.

I must admit I do so love to get "gussied up" and the lavish expense at what are admittedly some pretty snazzy digs seems a good enough reason to don a cocktail dress with some killer heals and a few shiny baubles. Still, as the evening unfolds my dogs start to bark, my wallet starts to empty and I begin to forget why we opted for swank over simplicity. As I tally the many local watering holes I'd prefer at the moment I can't help but wonder if the whole scene isn't just a little bit foolish. Best case scenario I'll have some good stories for the years to come, big picture I think it's all part of the ride of the urban twenty-something and I take it with a grain of salt, preferrably on the rim of a cocktail glass!
P.S. The photo is one of myself and some very fun-loving co-workers at Alibi, one of the trendiest of trendy bars found in Beantown.