Night in Boston, MA
An impromptu trip to Boston leads us to the Intercontinental Hotel, located on Fort Point Channel.
It's Tuesday morning and Bob and I do what we usually do in the morning: ask each other about our respective schedules for the day and talk about dinner plans. Apparently his day is full of meetings and we decide to do dinner at home. Great. We have a plan.
In the early morning I also usually read the news while I sip my coffee. I see on Boston.com that the Intercontinental Hotel Boston is ranked one of the top 25 luxury hotels in the United States. Well hey. So I drop Bob a note saying we should stay there on our next trip to Boston. He responds with "Book a room for tonight, we're going to Boston". A whole 45 minutes have passed since we discussed our plan for the night, which was stay home and cook dinner. I now lose communication with him for 2 hours, as he is probably in a meeting. I have so many questions, but ultimately I just book a room. Turns out there is a business dinner tonight and a meeting Wednesday morning, so we are going to Boston. I am learning to be fluid. Follow Ann follow Bob. It's on.
A little slideshow of the Intercontinental Hotel on Atlantic Ave. in Boston including public spaces and the RumBa, which has a LOT of different types of rum from around the world. All pirates take notice.
The Intercontinental is on Atlantic Ave. in Boston, never a bad location. We check in and almost immediately head to dinner at Boston Chops Downtown Crossing, a quick walk from the hotel. We meet 5 other business associates there and are promptly whisked to a round table. Apparently one of the associates knows the owner very well and this turns out to be valuable.
The interior of Boston Chops, Downtown Crossing (there is another location in South Boston) including dining area and function rooms. Formerly a bank dating back to the late 1800’s, a mosaic and the vault still exist. Great example of exceptional interior design.
The menu at Boston Chops is much like a steak-house, but with a few twists. We order drinks and wine, then this thing shows up, compliments of the chef. The drinks arrive and we get into it.
A seafood tower, compliments of the chef, at Boston Chops. It pays to have somebody know the owner!
Next to arrive at the table, as served with every meal there, is a light and fluffy popover with whipped salted butter. These, too, disappear. One of my favorite guilty pleasures.
I love a popover, and this one is exceptional. Gone in 10 minutes, more or less. I talk a lot, less time for chewing.
It's now time to order and there are a few appetizers around the table. Bob orders a Caesar salad, I order some Roasted Bone Marrow with grilled bread and bacon-onion jam for sharing, and the chef sends us a ridiculous stack of onion rings. This keeps us busy for a while. Everything has been delicious so far!
A ridiculous stack of onion rings (yum), roasted bone marrow with a light salad, grilled bread and bacon-onion jam, plus Bob’s Caesar salad. It has all been delicious so far, with great presentation.
And now for the entrees. This is a steak place, and many of us order steak. Bob gets a bone-in sirloin, someone else gets a bone-in filet, and frankly I can't keep track of everyone's orders because as I previously mentioned, I talk a lot. I order the steak frites, which is basically steak with arugula salad and fries. The cut I choose is an 8 oz. Wagyu Bavette. A bavette is a thin-sliced sirloin (I had to ask, I did not know). The steak and salad come, and then a woman comes with a large copper kettle of freshly-fried potatoes, and they are exceptional. I share mine. Here are some of the entree photos, because yes, I make complete strangers take pictures of their meals.
A whole lot of red meat, a variety of sauces, some table side-tossed frites and arugula salad at Boston Chops.
Did I mention there are a whole lot of side dishes? Well, there are a whole lot of side dishes! Eggplant rolatini, spicy broccoli, bacon roasted brussels sprouts, herbed mushrooms plus the onin rings that refuse to die. I am full before we start, but we all manage to put a good dent into everything. It is washed down with some fantastic red wine.
A ridiculous amount of sides to go with large slabs of beef. I have no idea where all this food came from, but there are a lot of us, including an Italian guy and a generous chef, so I guess that explains it.
Well, no-one is in the mood for dessert, but we get two warm chocolate cakes, because chocolate. They are picked at, and yes, they are delicious!
Warm Chocolate Cake with dark chocolate sauce and black peppercorn ice cream. It was all that.
Dinner is over and we are walking back to the hotel to aid in digestion if nothing else. Bob has a long meeting in the morning, so I get until 1:00pm to amuse myself. It is going to be the first day of spring, sunny but a bit chilly. Sounds like a good day to walk around town. Check in soon for details on my sunny spring day in Boston! And thanks for following Ann.
Our walk back to the Intercontinental takes us by South Station, all lit up in a patriotic fashion. It’s a beautiful building.