You can tell that Covid-19 has grounded the Maninflight. Trying to travel overseas is a minefield, you never know what country will ban Americans on a whim. Traveling within America is not without its challenges as well. Knowing that people won’t leave the country hotels here in the U.S., have jacked up their rates. So, in my struggles to find a decent place to visit, I discovered that Boston, MA was offering great deals this past Memorial Day. As a native New Yorker, I was hesitant, I haven’t visited Boston since I was a kid. Let’s face it, they are our mortal enemy in most sporting events. So, when I found a decent deal to go there, I asked myself “is Boston Worth Visiting”? I assumed no.
After returning from a trip with some of the worst weather I ever traveled in, my mind has been changed a bit. I need to hold my nose when I say this, but if I am being objective, the answer to the question is Boston worth visiting is (sigh) yes.
It’s not New York, but these days that might be a good thing. True, I would rather be stuck on a flight from Japan to Atlanta with 100 babies carrying Super Covid (and no Diaper changing station) than be in an elevator with a Red Sox fan, but overall the city is interesting and a lot of fun. Once again, I just feel dirty making that statement. Let me breakdown what I liked and disliked about the city as well as my reasoning as to why the answer to the question “is Boston worth visiting?” is yes. Here I make my case.
What I Liked: The History
When traveling the world, I always forget that the United States has its share of interesting history. True, you won’t be uncovering a thousand-year-old city in the U.S., but the history of this country is exciting to some of us more nerdy travelers. Boston might be the most historically packed city in the country (even edging out Washington DC). What I like is they make it easy for you, with a yellow (well not really yellow) brick path that takes you through the city. The Freedom trail is 2.5 miles long and wraps around the city, to some of the more historical sites, ending at bunker hill. If you love history, it is a great way to lose a half a day. To make matters better, it takes you directly through Little Italy, so you can stop and get a quick bite.
The city seems to have history in every corner. Our hotel, the Omni Parker House, was the birthplace of the Boston cream pie. It was also where JFK proposed to his wife. One drawback is that Boston is so historical it almost feels fake. Maybe it is the guys dressed in revolutionary war gear, but I felt like I was on a movie set. It is crazy that so many important events happened in this city. The point is that if the history of this country (I live in the U.S.A) intrigues you there may be no better place that Boston.
Is Boston Worth Visiting for Food?
AH yes, shoving things into my face, the real reason I jet set across the planet. So, the question remains, is Boston worth visiting for eating alone… I would say a strong maybe. Let me upgrade that to a weak yes. The city does a lot of things New York does, some worse, some better. I will quickly jump on to my soap box for a second…Dear Boston your taste in the Cannoli is worse than your taste in baseball teams. I heard all these great things about Mike’s Pastry, Bova, and Modern yet all had the same subpar premade cannoli. I don’t care if Clinton loved Mikes, he is from Arkansas not Palermo, Sicily.
OK, now that I got that out of the way, there are a lot of things to eat in Boston. Starting with the lobster roll. I only had two lobster rolls this trip, one good, one great. Let me skip to my favorite place, James Hook Company, this eatery was outstanding. The portions were huge, they gave me what felt like a small city of fresh lobsters on my bun, and their prices were comparable to other spots. We were lucky enough to get into this restaurant right before we left, and it was worth almost missing our flight. Clam chowder as expected is also top notch, not a huge chowder guy, but I liked theirs. Tastes fine, too much of it hits me like I just ate some taco bell made from dead racoon. Meaning, my stomach gets upset.
Little Italy/Chinatown
A surprise for me was just how much I liked Boston’s Little Italy and China Town. Starting with Little Italy, dare I say it is better than New York’s. A younger me would call that blasphemy, but we need to face the fact that New York’s Little Italy is dying. We did not have a bad meal in Boston’s Little Italy, although we did hit the same restaurant, three times (among others) in a row. That would be Limoncello, the type of place I miss now that I live in Charlotte.
As for Chinatown, it too was a pleasant surprise, offering some quality eateries. I did not explore this area nearly enough, hitting only two spots. One a very good Sushi place and one a dumpling spot that had both good and fair dumplings. Still better than anything I get in Charlotte, hell at least they serve them hot (not fresh out of the freezer).
Overall Boston is worth visiting for those who like to eat. As a side please don’t ask me about the Boston cream pie… It is a sore subject. When your hotel and the inventor of this pie runs out, well it just wasn’t in the cards. Bastards did it on purpose.
Is Boston Worth Visiting for the Atmosphere?
Boston was easy on the eyes, mind you we stayed fairly close to the tourist areas, still it was not nearly as bad as some of the other cities these days. Although there is something magical about watching a homeless guy take a poo in front of me while high on crack (like New York), not seeing that was a good change of pace. The city was clean, more so than most. I didn’t notice any trash, boarded windows and best of all I felt safe. Once again, I was in the tourist area and it was 40 degrees and rainy, still I never felt like I should be running home.
Boston just has an old feel to it. Maybe a lot of it is schtick, but I really think when you break it down it just is well preserved. The statues all still had their heads, which is more than I can say for Denver. Old cemeteries, historic buildings, just made it a nice place to walk around. Add to that the Boston Harbor, and the city had a very pleasant feel to it. So yes, Boston is worth visiting for its atmosphere.
What I liked the most about Boston compared to other big cities was that it was just cleaner. Less graffiti, fewer overflowing trash cans, and as mentioned, less people taking bathroom breaks on the street. It feels like every city I come across is getting worse, but Boston was still untouched. Even though I stayed in a condensed area, I found it refreshingly clean. Surprising that Red Sox fans actually call this place their home. I am sure Paul Revere is ecstatic that he wasn’t torn to pieces.
Some Things I Didn’t Like: A Few Too Many Tourist Traps in Boston
There are places in every city that are a “must go”, especially when thinking of food. Some may call them tourist traps, but many times they live up to the hype that surrounds them. Whether it is Cafe’ Du Monde in New Orleans, or Katz Deli in New York they earn their reputation.
Unfortunately, many of the “iconic” places in Boston were all hat and no saddle. Let me start with the Union Oyster House, a good looking yet incredibly mediocre restaurant. Come to this place to see John Kennedy’s favorite booth and eat some decent corn bread but do not expect much. There is a line out the door every day to get into this place and I just want to yell to people to “run”. The Chowder was the biggest disappointment, it was lukewarm and bland. If you want better Clam Chowder go to the Boston Sail loft.
A second great disappointment were the cannoli’s (as mentioned in my earlier rant, but I need to repeat it). I tried all three of the “best”, Mike’s Pastry, Modern and Bova, I have had better in Detroit. Of course, my favorite ones are in Sicily, but that isn’t fair to anyone. Mike’s and Bova had premade cannoli’s, I thought for sure they made them fresh, but no. It is like people have never had a cannoli before. I am not sure about Modern Pastry; the guy did disappear in the back before handing it to me so it could have been fresh. Still, it was not memorable. It was pretty good, but that is as far as I will go.
The Quincy Market was also a bit of a letdown to me. I hate when I see premade food just lining the shelves. My lobster rolls are to be made fresh (I want to hear them screaming in the back), not looking like it was on the boat with Moses. Yes, these places cater to tourists and that’s what these places do. I don’t have to like it. There is just so many better areas to eat, why waste your hunger and money?
Living through a Monsoon
This is in no way Boston’s fault, but I felt like fate was punishing me for visiting the city. Five days before visiting the weather on Memorial Day was scheduled to be 73 and sunny. Then looking at the weather every day it got worse and worse. I was lucky enough to be in Boston when it was 45 degrees and pouring rain on Memorial Day. It says something about a city when you get 100% washed out, but still have a good time. Maybe it was the company or the fact that I have hardly traveled since “the bug” hit us, but I still really enjoyed my stay. That was until I got caught up in a crowd of Celtic fans after playing the Nets… Ugg I would rather play naked twister with Amy Schumer
Overall: It’s Worth Visiting
I am not moving their anytime soon, but if you like history or just a change of pace give Boston a try. The flight and accommodations aren’t expensive, and it has a lot of areas to explore. The food is pretty good (but that is expensive), and there is a ton to do. So is Boston worth visiting, a New Yorker reluctantly says, yes.
