Mothers and Other Lovely Things

It was so sad seeing everyone go this afternoon, but this weekend couldn’t have been more perfect. And, thank you guys for your sweet comments and congratulations:)

Yesterday, we strolled around the city and ducked into the Otherside cafe for lunch to seek shelter from the thunderstorms. Though we spent the afternoon eating cake, we somehow made room for a fabulous dinner in Boston’s North End. But first, I took the gang to the Liberty Hotel because I love the atmosphere and architecture of the building, which used to be a jail. We enjoyed cocktails in the bar, where there are still bars on the windows.

I had a mojito with blueberry puree. It was quite strong!

I have heard wonderful things about Carmen and I somehow managed to get a reservation for 7 in the petite space. It was sooo cozy and charming. I highly recommend it for a date.

  

My dad choose a couple of Italian reds, so I’m not actually sure what I drank, but it was great. In addition to a classic bread basket and some roasted sweet peppers, Matt and I split the short rib ravioli in a gorgonzola sauce as a appetizer. It was to-die-for and we sopped up the rich sauce with the bread. Mmmmm.

For the main event, my mom and I split the seafood risotto with scallops, bacon, and sweet pea puree.

The scallops were flawless. The risotto was great too, but it tasted pretty similar to others I’ve had.

But, Matt’s bowtie pasta in a black truffle goat cheese cream sauce was probably the winning entree of the evening. Needless to say, I was VERY impressed with both the service and the food at Carmen. I’ll be so sad to leave such an incredible little Italy in Boston.

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And for the grand finale of the weekend, we celebrated our wonderful mothers with brunch at the Union Bar and Grill in the South End.

SOOOO glad I asked for a bread basket – the cornbread and dried cherry muffins were the highlight of brunch.

I ordered probably the best cobb salad I’ve ever had. The chicken was spicy and the local blue cheese blew me away. I was a little hesitant about getting a salad with all the other delicious-sounding entrees, but I was so happy when I tasted it.

Once our families left, I took a glorious mid-afternoon nap and went to Whole Foods for a quick trip. This week is another short one because Matt and I are going to CALIFORNIA on Thursday!!!!!! Matt is in a wedding in Santa Monica, and I decided that life is too short to pass up an opportunity to go to the west coast. So, yeah, I need to get myself organized for this week.

I’m about to have one last piece of cake for dessert, and then I’m freezing the rest for a rainy day. Good night friends.