Becoming Bostonian to Perusing Princetonia

It looks like I'm destined to live in College Town, USA -- at least for the near future. The Tall Man and I traded Cambridge, Massachusetts ("Bostonia") for Princeton, New Jersey ("Princetonia"). It's been ten months so far, and in truth, I'm still getting used to it. I miss Boston. I miss our friends and the quirky campus culture. Princeton feels stuffy and elitist -- even to an Ivy Leaguer who just came from MIT (ironic?). Here, I have to drive a car everywhere here. I mean, I have to own a car! There aren't enough sidewalks to get to my local grocery store!

Cue the urbanite meltdown...

Marathon madness

What awesome weather on Monday for the Boston Marathon 2010! This is the first time I've gone out to see it, despite having a good friend run it last year (sorry, Bri). When I heard from Steph that she was going to see Zak run (both friends from our undergrad Christian Fellowship, InterVarsity), I figured I needed to seize the moment before it slipped through the fingers of busyness once again.

And what a sight it was! I might try to upload some of the video clips I took, since it was not only the sight of runners streaming by in front of me, but also the boisterous crowds lining the streets cheering and ringing noise makers. Just the atmosphere itself was electric with excitement, littered with "Go Bill!" or "Get 'em, Minnie Mouse!" (yes, some of the runners wore costumes). It was just amazing to see so many Bostonians out and encouraging one another.

So I figured that seeing Zak (#2344) would be a total crap shoot, but I tried for it anyways - and succeeded! Win!

Yes, he is in the red circle in the photo. After evaluating my photos afterwards, I thought, "oh...fail," but really, it was just cool to see someone I knew run by and be able to cheer super loudly for him personally. I actually wasn't close enough to the fence to see down the street, so I had asked a tall guy next to me to let me know if he saw a runner in bright orange shorts coming. I should have given him a tip for being a great informant.

Afterward, navigating the crowd was pure insanity. Every sidewalk was crammed full of people trying to move in both directions at once, and just crossing the street took several detours around blocked streets. I did get to walk past the finish line and see the runners, who before then were giving their all towards the finish line, walking at a s...l...o...w pace. 26.2 miles really wears on your body big time, so I didn't blame them. There were tables of Gatorade, water, and these heat shields as part of the wind down procession:

Eventually I made it to the family meet up area under "R" and found these people:

He ran a good race, even with a cold and blistered feet. Big respect and Columbia pride :)

Am I inspired to follow in his footsteps and run a marathon myself? Well....give me many years to warm up to that idea.

[bostonian #7] : MIT to food truck, or Plan B

(photo originally posted on the Clover Food Lab's website)

Some people deplore the portions, others the "weird" food selection, but I must say that the Clover food truck, located behind MIT Medical and the Kendall T stop, is one of my favorite eats in the area. So what if the line is a bit long? As you can see above, they've made a scientific chart giving customers an idea of average wait times. They were recently featured on TLC and on the MIT News website, which is a step for this young business (started just in 2008).

My friends and I have ventured over to this now-campus mainstay after studio and before classes countless times in the last semester, and it hasn't yet gotten old for us. The food truck, founded by MIT alums, focuses on freshly-made sandwiches and other delectabilities with an organic and sustainable bent. The menu varies slightly day to day, depending on available produce, but my favorites are mainstays: the chickpea fritter (aka overflowing fried falafel sandwich), rosemary fries, and hot mulled cider in the winter time.

Why love (or at least try to like) Clover:

• It's local.
• It's fresh.
• It's fun(ny - the staff is entertaining along with being friendly)
• They play good music.
• When the weather's cold, you can virtually get their without going outside - even all the way from Building 7
• They have fried sweet plantains at night with their expanded hours.

Clover has inspired some architecture friends and I by providing a Plan B: in case architecture doesn't work, we can open a food truck serving either dessert or a fusion of Chinese, Middle Eastern, and French foods. Now, that's sound career advice as a side dish to good fooding.

[bostonian #6] bpl's music to my ears

in my constant quest to find fun free things to do over the summer, today i stumbled upon a cool little concert series at the boston public library called concerts in the courtyard. every friday from 12:30-1:30 until the beginning of september, they have a different musical event involving local musicians and a variety of styles.

since copley is really not that far from my office, i strolled over to hear cellist javier caballero play. the concert was the best little respite from the day - the pieces ranged from soothing bach for solo cello to international folksongs to sultry tango with violin and viola - and the surrounding greenery and italianate arcades added to the peaceful atmosphere.

the courtyard would make a great place for lunch, and apparently a good crowd of people think so, too. i even saw a guy who brought the whole spread with him: jam jars, cutlery, loaf of bread and all. might have to head back sometime with a book and my brown bag.

i also had never checked out the farmer's market out in copley square during the day...but now i realize that open markets are one of my weaknesses. i came away with lemon verbena honey, a pint of fresh blueberries, and a couple heirloom tomatoes. cannot resist!

[bostonian #5] : green street grill

nat was gracious enough to be ok w/ this photo,
despite being caught in the middle of chewing. merci!

nat is frequently one of my faithful partners in crime when it comes to food explorations, and i was fortunate enough to be graced by her presence last weekend, when she came up for a "let's see everyone i know in boston" weekend spree. i had heard about green street through over-heard conversations - people said it was a good place to grab drinks. someone might have also mentioned it was good for food. so when i told nat i knew of a place "somewhere on green street" that could be tasty but had yet been explored, my dinner partner was a good sport. we went to investigate.

yes, green street grill was a good option. the ambiance was cool and borderline romantic with the dim lighting and christmas string accents - it was fine w/ a friend, but i could imagine it being the right atmosphere with the right person, too.

neither of us actually got drinks (too sleepy already from the day), but the food sounded good (aka flowery menu descriptions) and, in most cases, was. nat's burger was juicy and had homemade potato chips on the side. my arugula and grapefruit salad was on the bitter end and probably wasn't the best choice, but it still worked.

although we did talk about food (and aspirations to be a food writer or go to culinary school if it weren't so self indulgent), it was more of an overall catch-up conversation, which is always fun. nat and i have actually been pretty good about keeping up w/ one another over the years, meeting up in the most random of places (from her grandparents' apartment to a japanese stationary store in nyc) and always having a good time :]

and she entertains my idiosyncrasies like taking photos at dinner, which helps.

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green street grill
280 green street (off of magazine st.)

[bostonian #3] : pho pasteur

rice vermicelli w/ grilled pork + spring rolls - one of the favorites

vietnamese food is one of my favorites, probably because of the unabashed presence of meat alongside crisp veggies and mint. mmmm... so when i got to choose the dinner venue pre-harry potter on friday, i asked quyen for a vietnamese place in chinatown and got pho pasteur as my answer.

although people always seem to think of pho when thinking of vietnamese, i personally think vermicelli first - not sure why, but it's my dish of choice. this one was pretty good - tasty pork that was still tender (although burnt in some parts) and plenty of crisp bean sprouts, fresh mint, and julienned cucumbers (some were scored - awesome). the spring rolls were a bit densely stuffed with more pork than anything else, but they were still pretty good.

otto enjoying his monster bowl of pho - the size of his head!

my stomach was full w/o being overfull, perfect for a pre-movie meal. i still like le's over in harvard square a bit more, although this was a good option and the long line outside was a testiment to its name (or the # of positive reviews on yelp.com).

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pho pasteur
682 washington st.
(bet. beach aka la grange + kneeland aka stuart)

[bostonian #2] : boston's only democratic store

so i was eventually able to find a pair of women's steel toed boots, but definitely not until i had combed through internet sites and called stores all over the area, asking with increasing desperation about these boots i never knew i would ever need. my typical conversation with a hapless store clerk:

me: "excuse me, but does your story carry steel toed boots for women?"
clerk 1: "what?"
clerk 2: "oh no. no we don't. do not."
clerk 3: "we do online...?"
clerk 4: "no, but have you tried XYZ?"

the last response (thank you, EMS) was what lead me to hilton's tent city over near north station, an area above the haymarket that i have never explored. i can't say i saw much once in the neighborhood, but the store - a simple storefront on a small side street - was chock full, floor to ceiling, every corner filled with anything you would need - or didn't know you would need (hence the steel toe) for exploring the great outdoors. really, if i hadn't been in a rush to find this one item, i would've stayed longer and dreamed about the many camping trips yet unplanned in my mind. but i got to business, and although the women's boots ended up not fitting, i did find a small pair of men's that could be used for hiking and didn't remind me of oil rigs. the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, too, which made the trek more pleasant.

then the next day i was told we no longer needed steel toed boots.

ah well - at least i know where to find them in boston next time around. and if you're blessed with access to the suburbs and need to protect your feet on a construction site, you could find a pair at:

• walmart
• dick's sporting
• sears (call first)
• timberland (call first)

or search zappos.com or redwing.com first.

becoming bostonian #1: a different route

i'm not sure yet if this will become a constant feature i'll write on, but "becoming bostonian" seemed like a good way to label the little discoveries in this here (still) new city of mine. many of these will probably be all-too familiar to true residents, but hey - new to me is what counts. onward!

- - -


[courtesy of denig design associates]

today i decided to take a different route to work, to walk on foot rather than take the T one stop to back bay station. i had heard about the southwest corridor park just the other day from one of my coworkers, but never realized that one of the access points was directly across the street from the mass ave T stop. it was supposed to have been the southwest expressway, but thank God that never went through - stepping into it was like finding a peaceful, (non-yello) brick-lined oasis as a relief to crazed boston drivers.

the park itself stretches from back bay station all the way out to forest hills along the orange line. although you can still hear and feel the periodic rumble of the train underneath, it's still pretty quiet, with flowers and trees planted along the way. walking along it this morning felt like the first time i found the promenade plantee in paris - almost a secret route through the heart of town (cheesy i know...a "secret" thousands of other commuters, dog walkers, and bikers already know about). makes for an easy 4.7 mile bike ride or long walk on a weekend.

so, why did i take the T again?