YumYum Panda

Amanda and I took advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and went to Boston to visit some friends.  As with any of our other vacations,our itinerary revolved around our stomachs =)  We went to the North End to enjoy some amazing Italian food,Boston Inner Harbor for their fresh seafood,and! even squeezed in a brewery tour. (We did visit the Quincy Market but were turned off by the tourists.) Mike’s Pastry jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-46-352′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});Located in Boston’s North End,this was at the top of our list of Bostonian restaurants to visit. The line (read:pushy mob) at the place was ridiculous,not to mention that it went out the door. But it was so worth it. The pastries were INCREDIBLE!  The Chocolate Chip Canoli…a decadent chocolate-dipped canoli filled with cream and sprinkled with chocolate chips. Cream was nice and light and paired well with the supersweet chocolate.  I had the La Sfogliatella (Lobstertail) which was 1) huge,could’ve fed a family of four,2) had a nice flaky outer shell,and 3) stuffed with same delicious cream as the canoli. Aside from that,Mike’s Pastry also sells authentic Italian cookies and confections so we are definitely coming back to try some of these! Hint:There are two lines in here:one to order at the Pastry counter and the other to order coffee+gelato at the Cookie counter on the right. Do yourself a favor and get a coffee but also kindly submit your pastries order to the barista –you’ll get your pastries a loot quicker. Giacomo’s [Gallery not found] Giacomo’s is a teeny-tiny restaurant also in North End and also verrry popular,so expect an hour-plus wait. For their linguine entrees they have five different sauces:Pesto,Fra Diavolo (spicy red),Red,Giacomo (lobster-based),or Scampi but you can also get a blend of these. I chose to blend the Fra Diavolo and Giacomo sauces with my Frutti di Mare:shrimp,scallops,calamari,clams and mussels ($19). Amanda had the Giacomo sauce with her Mussels &Calamari ($14). There wasn’t a notable difference between our sauces but our dishes were still superb! Piping hot from the kitchen,perfectly cooked seafood,tasty sauces,and custom-sprinkled with cheese by the waiter. And the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo red wine we had was excellent with all of our food ($20 for bottle). Despite the wait,I would come back to this restaurant again in a heartbeat. The food,price,and coziness more than make up for it.  And if you’re still on the fence,it’s only a block away from Mike’s Pastry…Yankee Lobster Co jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-45-352′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});Marked by the giant lobster statue outside its doors,this place is out on the Boston waterfront near the Harpoon Brewery. They have a Lobster lunch special,which is a whole lobster with coleslaw and fries for just $15! How could you possible say no? The meal was nice and hot,served with a freshly-cooked lobster,container of clarified butter,slaw,and lots of fries. The lobster was huge,tasty,and succulent. We also had a small bowl of their lobster bisque on the side and it was absolutely amazing:creamy,enticingly red-orange,and filled with chunks of lobster meat ($4.25). If you’re not looking for a meal,you can also buy their fresh seafood to take home,which I’m assuming they get fresh off the boats.  One of their specials was 20 lbs of Lobster for $99! Harpoon Brewery jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-44-352′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});The brewery sits right on the harbor by the Yankee Lobster Co.  If you plan on visiting,go early in the morning to reserve your spots.  We snagged the last tickets to the last tour of the day only because the bus driver was nice enough to drop us off right in front of the brewery! For $5,you get a tour of the brewery facility from the hops to the bottling,a souvenir sampling glass,and twenty minutes of open bar at the conclusion of the tour.  The open bar includes several hard-to-fine brews like their Leviathan series,and their most popular like their Harpoon IPA and UFO Hefeweizen.  If you really like their beer,get a Growler:a ginormous gallon jug which you can fill with any beer they’ve got on tap for cheap. Amanda and I aren’t the biggest beer drinkers but it was still a fun experience regardless!