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Best Urban & Fun Date Ideas: Boston Part III

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Welcome back to Urban Dating: Easy & fun date ideas from urban experts!
Here is the continued series from MC Slim JB.
After your first couple of dates have gone well, try something more adventurous! Here are some ideas:
Adventurous Date:  Drinks on the Waterfront, water taxi to dinner in Eastie, water taxi back to the Seaport, nightcap in Fort Point. Pick a night from Thursday to Sunday (my restaurant choice is closed Monday to Wednesday) when you anticipate clear weather.
If you want to start the evening on a swanky note, begin with a pop at the Alley Bar at Rowes Wharf, the new patio bar at the Boston Harbor Hotel. (Don’t confuse this with Downtown Crossing’s similarly-named Alley Bar, a gay hangout.) The specialty cocktail list at this breezy outdoor bar features refreshing, summery long drinks like the Alley Cat (vodka, mint syrup, lime and cilantro). If you’re in the mood for something more casual, have a quick one at Biddy Early’s Pub just across the Greenway at the edge of the Financial District, a dumpy, loud after-work joint with big, cheap drinks.
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Then walk to the dock behind the InterContinental Hotel a few doors down from the Boston Harbor Hotel and summon a City Water Taxi to Stop #11. Take it to the East Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina (Stop #68), and tell the captain you’re headed to KO Pies; you’ll get a nice discount off the fare. This short, romantic boat trip features absolutely stunning views of the Boston Waterfront.
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At the other end, walk through a real, working commercial shipyard to KO Pies at the Shipyard, a rare outpost of Australian cuisine in Boston. The food here is nothing an American will find challenging, just fresh and nice-priced snacks, salads, sandwiches. Be sure to get at least one Aussie pie, a small pot pie with a terrific pastry crust and fillings like curried chicken or beef stew, and maybe get a beer, too. These are best enjoyed at the outdoor picnic tables.
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Hail your return City Water Taxi, but this time, debark in the Seaport at Stop #8, at the Barking Crab. The Seaport is an undeniably hot dining and drinking destination these days, but most venues there are dull chains or tourist traps, middling and overpriced. You can do better: take a quick stroll down the Harborwalk, hugging the Fort Point Channel on your right (away from the Moakley Courthouse, toward South Station). Then take a left down Congress Street at the Boston Children’s Museum’s giant milk bottle and proceed a couple of blocks to Tavern Road. This hopping new gastropub has a cool industrial vibe, very good desserts (like housemade ice cream sundaes and cookies), and a fantastic bar program: just the place to put an exclamation point on your evening.
Adventurous Date Recommendation by MC Slim JB

 

Best Urban & Fun Date Ideas: Boston Part II

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Welcome back to Urban Dating: Easy & fun date ideas from urban experts!
Here is the continued series from MC Slim JB. If things went well on your first date, here’s some fun date ideas for a second one!
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Second Date: Drinks at The Hawthorne, dinner at Island Creek Oyster Bar, nightcap at Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks. A bit pricier of an evening out. Best to choose a night when the Red Sox aren’t playing at nearby Fenway Park.
I’m a craft-cocktail nerd, love the handful of bars in Boston that take their inspiration from the star bartenders of the pre-Prohibition period, carefully making serious, often complex drinks that are unusual to many modern drinkers but delicious. The Hawthorne is one of Boston’s best in this style, a charmingly decorated space (like a friend’s cool apartment) in the basement of Kenmore Square’s Hotel Commonwealth. Turn right through the unmarked door just inside the hotel’s main entrance, have the hosts seat you at a couch, table or the bar, and order something off the specialty cocktail menu and maybe one of their fine little bar snacks, like a fresh-baked soft pretzel or spicy whipped ricotta to spread on baguette rounds.
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Then head upstairs to Island Creek Oyster Bar, one of the city’s very best New England seafood restaurants. It features an astonishing raw bar and exceptional renditions of shore-food classics like fried clams and lobster rolls, as well as more sophisticated seafood dishes like lobster-roe noodles with lobster and short ribs.
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For a nightcap, you needn’t leave the hotel: just mosey over to Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks, a big, lively brasserie-style space. The bar programs at all three of these venues are managed by Boston bar superstar Jackson Cannon, so the cocktails, wines and beers at each are superb.
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Second Date Recommendation by MC Slim JB

Thanks MC Slim JB for your simple &  fun date ideas! Keep an eye out for more of our urban experts best date tips on our CMB Blog!
Check out more of MC Slim JB’s reviews on his blog & follow him on Twitter for updates @mcslimjb.

Best Urban & Fun Date Ideas in Boston: Part I

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Welcome back to Urban Dating: Easy & fun date ideas from urban experts!
Our recent posts have included Los Angeles and Chicago. Now we’re off to Boston with MC Slim JB, a witty food critic who gave us 3 different fun date ideas. Here’s the first one!
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Who: MC Slim JB, a long time Boston resident who was born in New England.
Why you should listen to him: MC Slim JB is a restaurant critic for several publications including the Boston Phoenix. He writes under the pen name MC Slim JB, an alias that reflects a long-ago youthful interest in old-school hip-hop.
Dating Advice from a Food Nerd: “From my dating days to married life, being a food geek who knows lots of good places to eat and drink has proven invaluable for cultivating romance. For a first or second date, I recommend meeting somewhere for a drink, followed by dinner. You want to keep it simple, have a conversation in a convivial setting, get to know each other. I also favor having an idea for a nightcap in your back pocket, so you can extend the evening if it’s going well without committing the faux pas of being a table camper at the restaurant.”
First Date: Drinks at Green Street, dinner at Mary Chung, nightcap at Brick & Mortar
Central Square is easy to get to, has cheap parking for someone driving in, and has tons of Cambridge’s famously casual, laid-back, youthfully hip atmosphere. The bar at Green Street (the restaurant) is always buzzing with an eclectic crowd, and the drinks menu reflects that audience, with great beers, inexpensive but quality wines by the glass, and a craft-cocktail ethos that will satisfy even serious cocktail geeks. (Ask for the “big list” for a dazzling selection of historical cocktails.)
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After a pop here, head around the corner to Mary Chung, a local Chinese institution, serving slightly Westernized versions of Sichuan and Hunan cuisine. It’s bare-bones, affordable and delicious. Standouts include suan la chow show (pork-filled steamed dumplings on top of bean sprouts in a fiery soy-based sauce), dun dun noodles (wheat noodles in a spicy sauce of ground pork – stir it up well before sharing), and Grandma’s pie (usually on the specials menu, a scallion pancake stuffed with minced bok choy). There’s also plenty of well-executed American-Chinese dishes like General Gau’s chicken and crab rangoon to satisfy more timid taste buds. Closed Tuesdays.
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For a nightcap, head across the street to Brick & Mortar, located upstairs through an unmarked door just to the left of Central Kitchen. This dimly-lit hideaway, with its sinuous copper-topped bar and vinyl album sides spun by the bartenders, features more great drinks for every taste, including some dangerously smooth chilled shots: try a Double Wide (Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola syrup).
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First Date Recommendation by MC Slim JB

  • Green Street, 280 Green Street, Cambridge, MA 617.876.1655
  • Mary Chung, 464 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 617.864.1991
  • Brick & Mortar, 569 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 617.491.5599

Thanks MC Slim JB for your simple & fun date ideas! Keep an eye out for more of our urban experts best date tips on our CMB Blog!
Check out more of MC Slim JB’s reviews on his blog & follow him on Twitter for updates @mcslimjb.

Best Urban & Fun Date Ideas: Chicago

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Welcome back to Urban Dating: Easy & fun date ideas from urban experts!
Our second stop is Chicago! We hit up food, drink and travel writer Amy Cavanaugh  for some easy and fun date ideas in Chicago that you and your Bagels can enjoy. These places you can enjoy all year round and are some of the best things to do in Chicago in the summer!
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Who: Amy Cavanaugh
Why you should listen to her: She is a freelance food, drink, and travel writer who regularly writes for Chicagoist, Serious Eats, and Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism bureau. She has also been recently published in the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Eater, The Brooklyn Rail, Time Out Chicago, and elsewhere.
Her Top Date Pick: Exploring her favorite Chicago neighborhood, Andersonville
3 Reasons Why You should try It:

  1. An abundance of great restaurants
  2. Centrally located on Clark Street
  3. Lots of fun, eclectic shops to peruse in

Insider Date Tip: Start with wine, end with beer, and in between, sample Southern fare and peruse some great stores.
Fun Date Idea #1: In Fine Spirits
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Where: 5418 N. Clark, Chicago, Il

  • Offers free tastings the first Friday of each month from 6-8pm
  • Offers choices of beer, wine or spirits
  • Free wine tasting each Saturday from 3-6pm

 
Fun Date Idea #2: Brimfield
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Where: 5219 N Clark St, Chicago, IL

  • Shop is filled with vintage housewares
  • You can look through plaid blankets, beautiful wooden furniture, taxidermy and bar accessories

 
Fun Date Idea #3: Big Jones
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Where: 5347 N Clark St  Chicago, IL

  • Amy’s favorite restaurant
  • Serves Southern dishes based on historical recipes
  • Chef Paul Fehribach uses sustainable & organic ingredients
  • You can order a pimento cheeseburger, sweet tea-brined pork loin or Appalachia cider pie

 
Fun Date Idea #4: Hopleaf
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Where: 5148 N Clark St  Chicago, IL

  • Best beer bar in Chicago
  • Huge draft list featuring craft & Belgian brews
  • Has a bootle list with more than 250 beers
  • Dark and cozy, perfect place to plan the next date

Check out more of Amy’s fun date ideas and food recommendations on her blog and follow her on Twitter for updates @AmyCavanaugh
We’ll be posting more fun date ideas in all our CMB cities, urban dating from the experts. So keep a look out on the CMB Blog!