A Week in Boston – Part 2

During our week in Boston, we stayed in a Hyatt Summerfield Suites hotel in suburban Waltham. Intended primarily as longer stay, executive accommodation for the many high tech firms in the area, we shared a two-bedroom, two-bath suite with another couple. The rate for a two-bed suite isn't that much more than for a one-bed, but sharing effectively cut our room rate in half. Our suite also had a full kitchen and living area. Parking, wi-fi, breakfast, and a light evening meal Monday through Thursday were all complimentary. The hotel also had a pool, spa, fitness room and business center. A complimentary hotel shuttle operated in a six-mile radius. It's a great choice for families or groups of friends like us.

We got even greater value by taking advantage of a little-known offer available at Costco. Members can purchase $100 worth of Hyatt check (sic) certificates for $80, effectively taking 20% off their rate. You simply use them like cash when you check out. There was a Costco a few minutes away and I called ahead to make sure there were some in stock (stores sometimes run out). I know it sounds almost too good to be true, but it's for real.

And remember: no matter which hotel you stay at, check to see if it's part of a chain. If so, go online and sign up for the loyalty program. It doesn't matter if you'll never stay there again; in your member profile you can set your earnings preference to earn points in the airline miles plan of your choice instead of the hotel's plan.

We stayed in Waltham because hotel rates in Boston, especially in summer, are very expensive. By sharing a two-bedroom suite and using the check certificates, we saved at least 75% off the price of a room in a downtown hotel. But we still had to get downtown.

Fortunately, Boston has an extensive and inexpensive transit system, the MBTA, or "T". A week-long pass cost only $15. We drove to the nearby station, parked for $5.75 a day, and took a 35-minute ride into the city. Inconvenient, yes, but our group of four couples saved literally thousands on the cost of accommodation.

And when I got home, I got a piece of good news. You may recall my writing on March 31 about for-a-fee U.S. dollar credit cards available from Canadian banks, which save you the 2.5% "foreign currency conversion fee" you're charged if you use your Canadian credit card in the U.S. I mentioned that BMO waived the $25 annual fee the first year for my card, but the good news in the mail when I got home was that if I spend $1,000 per year (no problem there), the fee will be waived every year from now on. So, to summarize: get the card and save 2.5%; spend $1,000 per year and it's free.

Cheaping out when you travel robs you of most of its pleasure, but finding ways to save money lets you travel more and leaves you with more money for the things you enjoy.

A Week in Boston -- Part 1

Nothing turns out exactly the way you plan.

I'm just back from a week in Boston. Some of the things I did, I hadn't planned on, and I didn't do some of the things I was looking forward to, but it was an interesting and enjoyable time anyway.

For example, I hadn't planned on being hit by a cyclist while crossing the street (he was running a red light on the curb side of a van). No serious damage, just shaken up and a bruised forearm.

I didn't get to the Boston Brewing Company, home of Sam Adams Boston Lager. Sam Adams brews were available everywhere -- the Sam's Summer Ale was especially tasty as a lunch-time beer -- so a long subway ride to the brewery just didn't seem worth it. I've seen plenty of breweries. I didn't eat at Cheers either, but I did make it to the gift shop in the Quincy Market for a few souvenirs.

I did get to Watch City Brewing in Waltham, though. No bacon-flavoured beer, but plenty of other weird and wonderfully flavoured brews made on site and great food. Recommended. And everywhere we ate, there were locally brewed beers of high quality. I tried as many as I could.

For me, the most memorable parts of a holiday are often the things you didn't know about until you stumbled upon them. Most memorable taste was the scallops at Legal Seafood in Boston. Grilled simply, they were still the slightest bit translucent on the inside -- perfection. And most memorable meal was lunch on the rooftop deck at 7th Wave in Rockport on Cape Ann, an hour north of Boston. A breeze off the ocean on a hot day, a view of the harbour, and a new sandwich discovery -- how come no one thought of this before? -- the smoked salmon BLT.

Most over-rated restaurant was Giacomo's on Hanover Street in the North End's Little Italy. TripAdvisor rates it #4 of nearly 2,000 Boston restaurants and #1 for Italian food. It's small and crowded and the line forms before the doors open at 5:00. The prices are reasonable, especially for wine, and while the food is good (not great), the atmosphere is more fast food than fine dining. Cash only, no desserts. Go across the street to Mike's Pastries.

There was also a Red Sox game, a day-long bus tour of the city, the Common, Freedom Trail, the Aquarium, the Market, and Harvard. Probably my favourite day, the day spent touring the campus and some of the museums reminded me that learning and scholarship still do matter in a world that sometimes seems dominated by reality TV and Shakespalin.

Next post, I'll write about our accommodations, getting around Boston, and some ways we found to make our holiday more affordable.

What Do They Drink in Boston?

We're on our way to Boston in a few days for a week's holiday. I've never been there before, and I have one burning question: what do you suppose they drink there?

Boston, of course, is home to the original tea partiers. But they didn't drink the tea. Quite the opposite: they threw it into the harbour, and I like to think their revolutionary zeal was primed with a libation or two before they headed out for the evening's festivities.

I suspect they know a thing or two about cocktails in Boston, because the two-piece glass and metal shaker preferred by professional bartenders is known as a Boston Shaker (the other style of shaker you frequently see with the screw-on cap and strainer is called a cobbler shaker).

Consulting a few cocktail books produces a good omen: there are several cocktails with Boston in their names. The Boston Cocktail (gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice, and grenadine) is perhaps a bit sweet for the heat of July. The Boston Cooler sounds more like it though: white rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda in a tall glass with lots of ice. And there are Boston versions of those old classics the Sidecar and the Sour. But like the Boston Cocktail, perhaps better saved for cooler days or evenings.

They obviously know their beer in Boston: Samuel Adams Boston Lager was one of the beers that began the American craft beer renaissance a quarter century ago. Named for a signer of the American Declaration of Independence, it's on my Top 10 Great Beers of the World list. The company that brews it, the Boston Beer Company, makes a range of seasonal and specialty brews. And a trivia note: Pawtucket Patriot Ale, the beer quaffed by Peter Griffin and his pals on Family Guy is said to have been inspired by Samuel Adams, though an episode of the show features a Willie Wonka-like Pawtucket Pat and a brewery run by Chumbawumbas.

We're not actually staying in Boston, but rather in Waltham, about 20 kilometres up the Charles River. Known as the "Watch City", it was a centre of clock and watch making for a century beginning in the mid-1800's. Like me, you may have a vague memory of having seen the name Waltham on a clock somewhere. Today, Waltham boasts the Watch City Brewing Company, a brewpub with an adventurous streak. The latest video on their website features a tasting of their Bacon Cask Beer. You can click on the link to find out how they make it and how it tastes. Needless to say, Watch City Brewing is on my "must do" list in Waltham.

And of course, no trip to Boston would be complete without a visit to that iconic saloon where everybody knows your name, Cheers. Actually the Bull and Finch, it's on all the tours, so I'm looking forward to bellying up to the bar just like Norm and Cliff did. And just like Norm, when asked what I'd say to a beer, I'll reply, "Daddy wuvs you!"

Adding Some Mojo to Your Mojito

The Mojito is one of those older cocktails that has become very popular of late, turning up on drinks menus everywhere. It's a long drink, a combination of rum, lime juice, sugar, and mint. It does require a little extra effort, as you'll see, but it's well worth it.

It originated in Cuba, where, before refrigeration, the addition of mint lent a cooling sensation to the mixture of rum, lime juice, and sugar, basically the recipe for British Navy Grog (hence the term "limeys" for British sailors). The same effect is credited for the presence of mint in the American Mint Julep, and some authorities (American?) believe the Mojito was inspired by the Julep. The availability of ice and soda water gave the drink its present form, and while Hemingway preferred the Daiquiris at La Floridita, he drank his Mojitos at La Bodeguita.

You'll need to make some simple syrup to start. Since sugar is difficult to dissolve in cocktails, bartenders use simple syrup. It's easy to make: heat equal parts water and white sugar (say 1 cup of each) until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool, and store in a clean glass bottle in the fridge. It'll keep a week or two.

In your cocktail shaker, combine 2 ounces of white rum (Bacardi is a good choice, but a real Cuban rum, like Havana Club, will make your Mojito taste closer to the original), 1 ounce of freshly-squeezed lime juice, and 1 ounce of simple syrup. Then add a sprig of mint, one with, say, 4 or 5 leaves.

About the mint. Many people have it growing in their gardens, and if it's a variety you like the taste of, it'll work fine. But if you're trying to replicate an authentic Hemingway hangover, there is a Cuban variety specifically for Mojitos. It's available at Richter's Herbs in Goodwood and is called, ahem, Mojito Mint. Or you can ask me for some. Like all mint, it grows profusely and spreads rapidly.

Muddle these ingredients in the bottom of the shaker. To muddle means to mash fruit or herbs to extract their juice and/or flavour. You can buy a muddler in kitchen stores; it looks like a pestle in a mortar and pestle, same idea. Or simply use the back of a wooden spoon.

Now add some ice, about half a cup. Shake until chilled and pour over ice in a Collins glass. Top with a few ounces of club soda and garnish with a second sprig of mint. Sip through a straw and imagine old Havana.

That's the basic Mojito, but of course there are variations if you want to add some mojo to your Mojito. If you have some fresh or frozen raspberries, muddle a few of them in there too for a Raspberry Mojito. Or use one of the many varieties of flavoured rums.

One variation, and it was actually my introduction to the Mojito in Key West a few years ago, is the Vanilla Mojito. It's made with Cruzan Vanilla Rum, of course, but also without the addition of the splash of soda at the end. Use about a cup of ice in your shaker and after shaking until very well chilled, strain into a martini glass. More like a Mint Daiquiri really, I've seen this variation in a few places. You could, of course, make this style of Mojito with any variety of rum, but if using a sweetened flavoured rum, reduce or omit the simple syrup.

¡Viva Cuba!