Boston Anniversary Trip Pt 1

Today, the wife and I celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. Well, not really. It was actually weeks ago, but we are in Boston this weekend celebrating. Since Boston is such an amazing city, I won’t bore you with the details, historical data, etc... Straight to the food!

The first stop on our city binge tour was Legal Sea Foods. I have heard a lot about this place online and on TV. Legal Sea Foods is a Massachusetts original. And from what I hear, I HAD to try the crab cakes. Whoever made that recommendation, Thank you.

We were sat on the outdoor patio overlooking Boston Harbor. Our order: 2 Stella Artois, crab cakes, calamari Rhode Island style, cup of clam chowder, and a cup of lobster bisque.

Starting with the bisque, it was good. Not my favorite and a tad expensive. $7 for a cup. The lobster was fresh and buttery, however I think my wife got the main big piece in her “taste” of my bisque. And when I threatened to season mine with the “table pepper”, our waiter whisked away the shaker and insisted on fresh ground pepper. He was right.


The clam chowder, as they gloat on their menu, has been served at the last seven presidential inaugurations. If you know anything about clam chowda, you know the best if from New England (If that offends anyone, you haven’t had true New England clam chowder). And it was presidential indeed. The creamy broth was thick and rich. The potatoes cooked to perfection, and the clams cut into pieces big enough to taste but small enough to not squeak against your teeth while you eat the.

The Rhode Island calamari was a new twist to me. Served crispy fried (some sort of breading or batter lightly coated it) with a garlicky butter (or oil) and delicious hot cherry peppers and banana peppers. I’m not sure words could do this calamari justice. It was, by far, the best I have ever had.


And, the same goes for the crab cake. It actually wasn’t much of a “cake”, but more like a deliciously assembled tiny mountain of goodness on my plate. The crab chucks were big and tasty. It was cooked to perfection. Light and flaky and just enough resistance against your teeth to know you were eating some crab. The other ingredients were taste but light, and did not take away from the freshness of the crab. Many places use too much mayo, mustard, or Old Bay seasoning, but not Legal Sea Foods. The have balanced their seasonings to perfection. Now, I’m like Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers; I love crab cakes. And these now officially top my list. In my mind, people in Maryland now have some stiff competition.


Afterwords, we strolled through Quincy Market. There is TONS of good food here, and I have gorged myself within these walls several times. The two must haves of Quincy Market, IMO, are the fresh cut fries (which used to be better in my childhood) and the $2.50 draft beers at the Black Horse Tavern. Next, off to Sunset Grill & Tap. Home to 380 microbrews and 112 beers on tap. Yup, that’s not a typo.