Misc
MasterChef Auditions in Boston – 10/19/19
The folks over at MasterChef contacted us this week and asked us to pass along info relating to their upcoming casting. Auditions will be taking place in Boston on October 19th.
Anyone interested must pre-register first. The audition pre-registration link is: https://masterchefcasting.com/how-to-apply/
Cheers -C.I.B.
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Crawl In Worcester
Recently we took a trip to Newburyport thanks to the $10 Commuter Rail pass. This time we decided to head out west to Worcester.
First stop was Volturno Pizza which was a short walk from Union Station. It was recommended by a friend as a close lunch option. This was a big, open space and the pizza we had was very tasty, as were our cocktails.
We then headed up the street to Valentinos which is known for their bar snacks and cocktails. We were still stuffed from lunch but couldn’t pass up the Big Mac meatballs. Service was a bit slow but they were worth every bite. We were there at an off time, though, so the chef might have been on a break. We would definitely go back.
Next up was Lock 50 where we enjoyed our drinks on their art strewn patio. They had fun drinks and the patio was a fun place to hang.
Next door was the new Maddi’s. This place has a great beer list and fun cocktails. We particularly liked the options of boozy iced coffees. If you go, say hi to Alex, a good friend of Crawl in Boston!
Across the street we ventured to Whiskey On Water, featuring over 300 whiskeys. The service was basically nonexistent here, sadly. We’ve heard there are great servers here, but badly we didn’t get to see it.
We had time for one more spot and was recommended a bar about 10 minutes away. On our route, we passed a haunted house.
The Hangover Pub featured many bacon dishes and drinks. We had the candied bacon and bacon fat fries and both were delicious! We would love to go back and try more on the menu.
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Crawl In Newburyport
We decided to take advantage of the MBTA $10 weekend pass as Saturday was just beautiful. We hadn’t been to Newburyport in years so decided on that destination. The trip from North Station took just over an hour. Once we arrived at the station, we were surprised to find no taxi stands and a requested Uber was 17 minutes away. The walk would have been around 25 minutes according to Google Maps.
Luckily there’s a Mexican bar, Metzy’s Cantina, right outside the station. So a quick margarita did the trick as we waited for the Uber to arrive.
We got dropped off a Brick & Ash for a quick snack and drink. Unfortunately service left a bit to be desired. The food was good, but despite there being very few other patrons, it took almost an hour to receive our order.
Now a little behind schedule, we headed across the street for some cocktails at The Poynt. Once more, we were surprised by the service, but the drinks were good.
It was time for a snack. So we headed over to Brine for a selection of caviar and oysters. The service was, again, a little slow, but at this point we realized that perhaps Newburyport is just a little slower going than Boston. But the oysters were great, and we enjoyed sampling the caviar flight, which was a good deal.
Next we headed next door to The Paddle Inn. They had a fun selection of tiki inspired drinks. We met a very delightful bartender with whom we swapped stories about visiting Mexico.
We were starting to get low on time. We rushed across the street for margaritas at the very lively Agave. Mr. Mobray recommends the Pink Cadillac margarita.
Next was Port Tavern. A nice space with a local tavern vibe, this place was fondly recommended and we can see why this would be a local favorite. They had good cocktails and and nice beer selection. 
We still had some time left before our train was leaving back to Boston. So we ran over to the famous Michael’s Harborside. Unfortunately they were having a private party upstairs and downstairs was packed so we didn’t get anything here. They do have an awesome patio which usually has a bar, but apparently we were a little too early in the season and it wasn’t set up. 
So we grabbed an Uber (10 minute wait this time) and headed back to Metzy’s next to the train station to have our last drinks of the day. Overall, this is a great day trip from Boston with lots of great options. The service may be a little slower than usual, but it’s a beautiful town with great places to go.
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National Doughnut Day
It’s National Doughnut Day. Plenty of specials to be had in Boston today.
Tickets for the Boston Donut Fest on July 28th go on sale today at noon.
Have a great weekend
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This Weekend: Liam’s Lucky Charms and Roars and Pours
Today is World MS Day. Help us spread awareness to the invisible side of MS and it’s unseen impact on quality of life. #ThisIsMS
Want to do more? Sign up for the Liam’s Lucky Charms Cornhole Tournament this Saturday. Proceeds fund MS research.
Raise a toast to Franklin Park Zoo’s annual wine and beer tasting event! Throughout the evening, guests have the opportunity to sample wines while strolling among the animals in the Zoo’s signature Tropical Forest Pavilion. Here, guests can see western lowland gorillas, pygmy hippo, ring-tailed-lemurs, a giant anteater and many other fascinating species.
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Bounce
This summer, you can bounce in the largest inflatable castle this world has to offer.
The Big Bounce America, which holds the Guinness World record for largest inflatable castle, will stop in Revere this July. Inside, the castle includes ball pits, a basketball court, climbing towers, confetti blasts, and a jumbo slide, all centered around a DJ spinning tunes and “nightclub quality sound and lights,” according to a press release.
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Kentucky Derby in Boston 2019
Here’s a listing of some Boston area Kentucky Derby events this Saturday
10th Annual Kentucky Derby Party at Drink
2019 Kentucky Derby Party at Sterling’s
Charlesmark Lounge 7th Annual Kentucky Derby Party
Derby and Bourbon Release Party at Short Path Distillery
Derby Day at Island Creek Oyster Bar
Derby Party with The Smoke Shop BBQ & Woodford Reserve
Getting Down and Derby at Southern Proper
The Great American Derby Party at Publico
Kentucky Derby en Caribe Day Party at La Fabrica Central
Kentucky Derby Hats & Bow Ties at Revere Rooftop
Kentucky Derby Party at Fin Point Oyster Bar
Kentucky Derby Party at the Lansdowne Pub
Kentucky Derby Party at Loretta’s Last Call
Kentucky Derby Roof Deck Party at Cunard Tavern
Kentucky Derby Screening at Bantam
Kentucky Derby Viewing Party at Back Bay Social Club
Kentucky Derby Viewing Party at Explorateur
Maker’s Mark Waterfront Derby Party at ReelHouse
May the Horse be with You at Democracy Brewing
Patio Opening Derby Party at the Bowery Bar
Run for the Rosés Derby Party at Taste
Run For The Roses Kentucky Derby Party at Stephanie’s
Talk DERBY To Me at Clerys Boston
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Cabernet Cranberry Blueberry Sauce
Last year for Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving, I experimented with a Vanilla Bourbon Cranberry Sauce. This year I tried my hand at a Cabernet Cranberry Blueberry Sauce. I found the original recipe here but made a couple of small changes after doing a few batches.
Ingredients:
One 8-ounce bag fresh cranberries
8-ounces frozen blueberries
3/4 cups of Cabernet Sauvignon or your favorite red wine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Combine all the ingredients in a large kettle. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring intermittently. Make sure kettle has room for sauce to at least triple in volume. The juices from the berries release and as the mixture boils rapidly, it will foam and a too-small pot will easily overflow.
Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until reduced and thickened slightly, and most of the cranberries have burst. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.
Transfer to heat-safe jars or containers with lids. Allow sauce to cool at room temperature before refrigerating. Sauce will keep airtight in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.
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Burnin’ by Ray pop up
We certainly know how to party of Crawl in Boston, but we also believe in moderation, so we also do some healthy things too! We recently went to the Burnin’ by Ray popup in the Seaport. The classes are a mix of weights and motor-less cardio. You switch between stations and do 40 seconds of cardio, 20 seconds of rest (or really, to get to the weights) and 40 seconds of a weight exercise. You do each of these stations four times before moving to the next cardio machine/move, for twelve rounds. You can go at your own pace, but the instructors are there to motivate you and help with your form on the weighted moves. In the popup, they have treadmills, air bikes, and ski machines for cardio, but the original location in Belmont has lots of different kinds of machines.
They are offering four free classes at the popup, ahead of the actual studio space opening in August. The pop up space is a little bare bones for now, but it’s still a great way to try out the workout. We recommend checking it out!
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Crawl In Amsterdam
In January, we took advantage of cheap flight prices to check out some cities in Europe. Here’s our roundup of places to check out when in Amsterdam.
We did a 48 hour hop on/hop off tour, which included both bus and boat. This was a good way to get around, but note that traffic can get BAD, so you may be sitting on the bus for awhile. The boat seems like a more efficient way to get around, and the canals are fun to tour. Bikes are obviously huge in Amsterdam and you can rent them, but we opted not to. Be careful when you’re walking, bike lines are not always clearly marked, and they don’t stop!
Stops on the HOHO tour:
Brouwerij’T Ij: This is a brewery located in Amsterdam’s biggest windmill. This is a really cool place to visit, as it combines cool history and architecture with really great beers! From here, you can take a quick walk to Dapper Markt, which is a fun outdoor market with food an clothing. Don’t miss the pancakes! Another fun stop is the Vondelpark, where the famous Amsterdam sign is. Did you even really go to Amsterdam if you don’t ‘gram yourself in front of this sign?
One of the stops on the tour was Gassan Diamonds. Here is a free tour of the diamond factory that the tour guides push hard. We were about to get off the tour and check it out, but luckily we talked to some people who did the tour. It’s apparently a BIG sales pitch, and not worth your time, unless you’re in the market for diamonds. Don’t bother.
Another stop is the Anne Frank House. A big tip, if you want to tour the house, get your tickets as soon as you book your trip. We tried to get our tickets a few weeks before and it was already sold out. We got to see the outside, but plan ahead if you want to go in.
Here’s a rundown of our favorite cocktail bars. We were lucky to meet a friendly bartender at the first stop who gave us a great recommendation list.
The Tailor: This is a fairly new hotel bar. The bartenders were great and the drinks were good. Not as inventive as some of the places further down the list, but we never would have found those places without the help of the bartender here.
House Bar: This is another hotel bar, but it doesn’t feel like it. The drinks here are crazy inventive. Each page is themed on Amsterdam history and how the cocktails are inspired by it. One of the drinks we had here came topped with an “oyster” with a white chocolate pearl filled with lychee syrup, which complimented the drink. Very unique!
Porem: Another interesting cocktail bar. It’s hard to find from the outside. The drink list was smaller but the staff was so nice and friendly. The host was excited to talk about Boston once he found out that was where we were from. He was asking us about Drink, even though he’s never been.
Tales and Spirits: GO EARLY. This place fills up fast and has some of the most innovative cocktails I’ve seen. One of our drinks was chocolate inspired and came in a chocolate box. Another was a flaming cocktail that was so fun and delicious. Don’t miss this place.
Flying Dutchmen: When we were there, this place had only been open a few weeks. Another place where the staff was SO nice and friendly. We were the first ones in, so we had a great conversation with the owner and bartender who made us feel at home. They let us behind the bar for a picture when we left, and made a call to get us into Tales and Spirits. Their cocktails are also story related, and well made.
We did eat occasionally, and here are our favorites:
Cannibale Royale: This was our favorite dinner. Don’t let the name scare you! This place is known for its steaks and burgers. It gets crowded too, so try to make a reservation. We were lucky to get seats at the bar.
Greenwoods: This is a tiny café (they have an ample outdoor patio, but it wasn’t opened in January when we were there) with a line. It was worth the wait. They specialize in English breakfasts and it was delicious. Good coffee and tea options to start a day of sightseeing.
Restaurant Lucius: This was a nice seafood restaurant. They have a 2 or 3 course dinner option, or you can order a la carte. The food was fresh and well prepared.
All in all, Amsterdam was a great city to visit. It was beautiful, and the people there are so kind. One of the best parts of the trip was just talking to people. They loved to tell us about their city, but also seemed equally interested in us and our travels.
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