Birthday Weekend: 2 delicious Boston Restaurants

I Love Birthday Week!

Who doesn't love birthdays?! They're full of excitement and joy all around, and somehow never seem to have a dull moment. I was lucky enough to have wonderfully extraordinary people help me celebrate this year! I was taken to 2 different restaurants I've been dying to try for months! I'm thrilled to say, they did NOT disappoint! Before I move on, a big THANK YOU to these two people who made this week so special.

 

 

Sam's @ Louis

• located on the waterfront
• gorgeous harbor views
• a modern/diner feel inside
• creativity on all aspects of the restaurant (food menu, drink menu, chalkboard walls!)
• great wait staff: friendly and exciting

 

This restaurant was absolutely worth the 6 month wait that I have been trying to go to this location. **Lesson Learned. Make Reservations a day in advance!
 

Drink special with flowers :)

Right when you walk in, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. And that is exactly what we did! We first ordered drinks, mine the drink special (which I could not even pronounce) was delicious. It was a martini with aperol and other liquors. It came complete with flowers in the drinks. How perfect for celebrating a birthday! And let me say it was delicious. They also have a craft beer list (all bottle, no tap), as well as wines.

 

 

We decided to skip appetizers this time, which was perfectly okay with me since my falafel dish definitely filled me up. This was surprising, as it didn't look to large. I received 2 falafel patties over a bed of arugula and cucumbers. It had a crème sauce drizzled on the top with a spicy red sauce around the plate to compliment the flavors. This dish was fantastic! I'm not a vegetarian but do like non meat dishes every now and then, and I'm so happy I chose this. It was a bit spicy but tasted so good, I couldn't stop! If you so happened to have a bite of everything put together, all of the flavors really come out. The crème and spicy sauce counteract with each other so one is not to spicy and the other is not to heavy. Order this!!

 

We also skipped dessert as we were getting ice cream at my hometowns ice cream spot: Bedford Farms (FAVORITE PLACE EVER). But the waiter was very courteous about it and let us sit and talk as long as we wanted without rushing to bring the check.

 

The one thing I would have liked to see improved is the beginning bread and butter. Pretty plain, nothing special. I could take whipped butter from my fridge and do the same. Otherwise, try this place out! You won't be disappointed.

 

Eastern Standard

• Reservations are a must a few days in advance!
• Large drink menu; they get very creative here
• Raw Bar
• Small entrees, but they are the perfect size
• The wait staff, again, is very nice and open to helping with suggestions
• Inside: gives an older Boston vibe, with dim lights, almost like it was right before the 1st recession

Here we received the typical bread, but it came with pickled veggies. I LOVED this and couldn't get enough. Again, we skipped appetizers and went straight for the meal. I decided on the hake [note: unfortunately, I do not have a picture of this]. This was decent but came with an overly spicy sauce that made it a little tough to continue eating the entire plate. It was absolutely tasty, however. Looks like I need to work on my spicy tolerance! The plate was the perfect size, once again. Not overly filling but didn't leave me hungry.
 

A mix between a mojito and martini

 

The waitress, upon carding me for my beverage (I still look 16...), noticed it was my birthday! I have never seen a waitress so excited before! This made the night very special. She took the liberty upon herself to present me with a Happy Birthday chocolate mousse, one of there delectable desserts! I was blown away, we hadn't even mentioned anything about my birthday! And let me just mention... This was SO GOOD!! We ate the entire thing without even thinking twice.

 

Overall, another gem for the birthday weekend! I told you guys, I was amazingly lucky. I almost feel spoiled here!

 

Comment Below!

Any Restaurant gems you suggest? Where is your favorite place to eat or where is that one place you have been dying to go?!

 

 

Spooky World- Nightmare New England

Spooky World!

This past weekend I was lucky enough join Blog and Tweet Boston on an adventure at Spooky World- Nightmare New England in Litchfield, NH. It is located just outside Manchester, NH in a field behind a "fun park" set back in the woods, and quite frankly, in the middle of no where New Hampshire. Perfect! The field is just as creepy as you would expect, dark and gloomy, with just the right amount of mud on the ground to make it as though you aren't behind a tiny mini-golf area. To make matters even more exciting, it happened to be raining this night (which was fantastic for lines, as there was none. Rumor has it these lines tend to get up to an hour long with no VIP pass [a pass similar to a "fast pass" at Disney]). The crew at Spooky World was kind enough to provide us with ponchos!

Fashion Statement!

 



Spooky World is complete with 5 haunted houses/areas, paintball, fire pit, a beer tent, and a concession area. The haunted houses closest to the main entrance seem to be more fun to make you laugh, and the farther back you go, the scarier things get. To start it off, you immediately hop in the line for a Freak Show 3D house that is pretty "trippy" There are black lights, bright colors and of course, you must wear 3D glasses. The glasses are tough to keep on, but they kept me laughing.

 

Enough of the silliness! Let's get to the good part. Make sure you don't miss the Colony, the line is a bit hidden between paintball and the back haunted house. The best haunted area here! I was consistently on my toes and grabbing my boyfriends jacket. You are outside walking through mini houses during this thrilling tour. A guide helps you out to make sure you go the correct way, but don't worry, he doesn't make you feel safe whatsoever! Try to get to this area alone, it'll only make it more exciting and keep your heart beating! Look for the sign shown below! Ps. I hope you like chainsaws!

 



The last house I'll give some hints about, is directly in the back and the most visible attraction here as its the classic haunted house look. This house creeks, has secret spots where the actors hide, and overall a great crew working it. The laughs and cackles are on point. You'll go through a tour of the little children wanting to play on to the kitchen areas, where...well you can assume they want to serve you some body part meal. You'll find yourself peaking around corners to check out the next room before you enter!

 

 

The concessions had your typical carnival food, but always tasty. You'll find an array of turkey legs, hot dogs, sausages, fries, chicken fingers, fried dough, candy apples, popcorn, etc. Don't expect any salads here! Just go right on in and take a huge bite of those candy apples...they're just as tasty as you remember...

...As long as you know how to attack it!

The night is definitely worth the while, but if it's busy I highly recommend splurging for the VIP passes. Otherwise, you will be stuck in snake-like lines for quite a long time. With all that said, check it out! It is a great fall night activity for all ages. I'll leave you with some actors getting painted ready to take on the night to scare all of you! Happy scaring!

 

#sameatsnewengland

twitter: SameatsNE

Boston Brunchers and New Balance

Being apart of the running world exposes me to so many different aspects of the world. Surprises come across us everyday, and I am just lucky enough to occasionally be apart of the great ones. On a typical working Sunday over in Chestnut Hill at a new running shop called True Runner, a group of bloggers had set up a time to come check out the store and go on a walk around the area where the store is located.

Now, being with New Balance, this is a dream come true. A bunch of people who would absolutely love to test out a new model AND write about it...because they want to?! Well yes, of course, I would love to be apart of this. Luckily, I had my demo shoes of New Balance's new 880v4 model with me and offered them up to any of these Boston Bruncher's to try out on there walk. Most of them jumped at the opportunity! After the walk, the ladies who tested the shoes out were just RAVING. The shoes were so comfortable, with amazing cushioning in the heel. Some may not have been to keen on the shoe, but hey, not every shoe is going to be your cup of tea. It was just there preference, nothing bad about the shoe. I was thrilled, everyone was so excited, and loved what I had to offer. A success of a day in my book! Not only that but they got to check out this great running store, for those who walk and run of all levels and get the word out about the True Runner shop right outside the city.

These talented bloggers really inspired me to take my little instagram blog (SamEatsNewEngland) to the next level. I love finding the little hidden gems of great food cafes, but why not do more? Why not write about them instead of just showing the world? Why not write about my running adventures or these great little surprises that creep up on me here and there? Why not join this awesome group of bloggers and explore more of the city?

Well guess what? That is exactly what I am doing, and I'm sharing that with you.

So go check out those New Balance 880v4's, maybe even at the True Runner in your area, or at that little specialty running store. It's not my words of comfort, but these ladies who walked around in them for an hour. While you're at it, I'm going to go find a great sandwich shop.

Happy Tuesday!

They're just too pretty not to show off. 

The best breakfast sandwich to date

First, let me just start with. 

WHOA!!!!! 

This breakfast sandwich has to be by far the most delicious breakfast sandwich I ever laid my eyes on... And eat. In one word: deliciousness. 

 

On an early morning before visiting an REI to teach them about some fantastic new New Balance shoes (the fresh foam 980, go check me out people they are like a cloud on your feet) I was jn desperate need of finding a great coffee shop. 

I had come across a few, but sometimes I tend to get picky. So finally, I decided on SoNo bakery and cafe. This can actually get extremely confusing since everything in the South Norwalk area is called SoNo before the pizza or cafe. 

Regardless, I walked into this cute little shop full of homemade bread and pastries. Despite the delicious look of all the croissants, even a whole wheat croissant, I changed up there original egg sandwich (croissant with scrambled egg, cheddar, and bacon) to a homemade English muffin with just egg and cheese. 

This english muffin. Homemade was already a plus, however they had grilled it instead of toasting and there were hints of sea salt at the top and it was definitely slightly oversized. 

The eggs. They were scrambled which isn't too typical for an egg sandwich. But once tasted. So light and fluffy and just perfectly cooked. And dripping with melted cheese on top  

This combo. I couldn't believe. I'm still raving about it and it was 3 weeks ago. I usually never go back to places twice in areas father away because I love trying new shops. But there is no doubt in my mind I will be back and probably purchasing some of the English muffins to go. 

100% the best egg sandwich I have ever had in my life. And that's quite a few. 

The start of the Journey

Beginning in May, I had a great opportunity to travel around Southern New England for my job. As a tech rep for New Balance, I am constantly on a road in areas I would have never found myself. I was told upon taking this job that I would be seeing an infamous amount of Chipotle and fast food, and to start liking it. Well, for those who may know me, that was never going to happen. Chain restaurants. They just aren't for me. It's not exciting to walk in and eat the same thing everyday, or see the same things on the menu. I wanted culture, local shops and cafes, and to find little hidden gems in all areas I travel, and although repeating areas I visit, to always find somewhere new. Therefore, I created one outside of work goal for myself while on the road:

I will not eat at chain restaurants.

I'm happy to say 3 months later, that I still have yet to do so. As you will find on this blog, I have found many little cafes and sandwiches shops that have changed my view on what a delicious lunch may be. It's an exciting ride, especially when there is just that one sandwich, or meal that just blows you away.

So here's to all things running and New Balance, with some tasty treats along the way!

Enjoy!