best summer ideas in Boston Archives

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!

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.

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.

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.

Second Date Recommendation by MC Slim JB

The Hawthorne, 500A Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 617.532.9150
Island Creek Oyster Bar, 500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 617.532.5300
Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks, 528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 617.532.9100

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.

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!

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.)

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.

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).

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

Posts

Best Urban & Fun Date Ideas: Boston Part II

Best Urban & Fun Date Ideas in Boston: Part I

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