Boston- Day 2

Our day started off a little slow... our long travel day combined with our drinking that night caused us to crash hard. But once we were up and around we checked out of the hotel, got in the car and went in search for breakfast. We used the Yelp app and found a place near the hotel with great reviews, but we couldn't find parking so we went on to the next place. We got a bit lost which was frustrating because it was hard to navigate around the one way streets. I found another restaurant to eat at, but we drove around for 20 minutes looking for parking. We decided to give up and head over to the Samuel Adams brewery when we finally found parking. We had to walk about 6 blocks but I was happy to. I love walking around areas that I am unfamiliar with.

We found Mike and Patty's which is a little corner bistro with 6 chairs and 2 tables to sit at while eating. This place was TINY. After eating at the little diner yesterday and the small Italian restaurant the night before, I think we were destined to only eat at tiny places while visiting Boston :)
There were 4 employees working behind that little counter, and both Mike and Patty were in attendance. Mike worked the stove top while the others took orders, worked on cold sandwiches and served people. Most people that came in, got their order to go. They had a little table outside, but it was to chilly to sit out there. We were lucky and scored one of the tables.

I totally regret the food that I ordered, not that what I ordered tasted bad but that there were way more interesting things on the menu. I blame a slight hangover and being frustrated from not being able to find parking.

I should have ordered:

green madame.* an open-faced croque with gruyere, collard greens and dijon crème fraîche, broiled. on pain de mie. topped with a fried egg and served with a small green salad. $9.25. add ham, plus $1.

I ordered:

two eggs.* with bacon, home fries and toast. $8

The eggs were cooked perfectly (over medium) and the bacon was crispy! I really enjoyed my breakfast, I just wish I was a little more adventurous that morning. The OJ that we got was fresh and so delicious.

They had an odd assortment of condiments. They had 4 different types of hot sauces and a bottle of HP. We eyed the bottle of HP sauce and tried to figure it out, but we gave up and asked the crew behind the counter (at this point we were the only people in there). Mike said it was a British brown sauce that was similar to A1 sauce. I searched the Internet and found that people use it like a ketchup sauce. I tried a little with my eggs and potato's and it wasn't a life altering experience but it was different.

Internet Definition:

HP Sauce is a condiment: a popular brown sauce by HP Foods but now produced by H.J. Heinz in Elst, the Netherlands. It has a malt vinegar base blended with fruit and spices, and is usually eaten as an adjunct to hot or cold food, or used as an ingredient in soups or stews. ...

After our breakfast we walked around a bit before we headed back to the car. We came across this little door which had steep stairs down to the walkway. Can you imagine having to use it every day?

After our little walk, we headed to Samuel Adams to do the Brewery tour. The tour is free, but they do have limited space.

During our tour we got to try barley. The barley below is what they use for their Chocolate Bock (which we didn't get to try). But the barley kind of tastes like Grape Nuts.

We also got to smell the hops and learn about where they come from and the different types across the world.

As we were talking through, we saw this guy and recognized him from the commercials.

This particular brewery is used for creating new beers, supplying some of Boston as well as for the tour tastings. They have two other breweries, one was in Pa and I can't remember where the other is.

This is Jamie, she was our guide. She was knowledgeable and quite funny. While tasting the beer, she went over the 5 steps that they use to determine if a beer is good. Do I remember the 5 steps? No but I remember the basics... different ways to drink the beer to reach all areas of your pallet, smelling the beer and what to look for in a beer (the finger test).

This is the Boston Brick Red beer which is described as a traditional European style ale with a distinctive caramel flavor from pale and caramel malts. It was a really tasty beer but it will probably be the last time I taste it... it is only available on draft in Boston.

After the tour we took a trolly over to Doyles Bar for a beer and some food. The driver was crazy, cranked up the music, and would stop and accelerate quickly which got the trolly rocking.

We were told that this bar has been in a few movies, one of them is Mystic River.

We ordered clam chowder and fish and chips. I'm not a big connoisseur of clam chowder, but this chowder was quite tasty.

I was a big fan of the fish and chips. I don't know what type of fish they used, but it was delicate and flaky.

Good Bye Boston.... We had a wonderful time! On to Philly!