There is no secret that I love Boston. I loved this city before I even got to ever visit, which for the first time happened to be this month. I felt like I have already been to New England due to so many of my friends actually being from Beantown. I envisioned pretty downtown streets, lobster, loads of history, a semi-rivalry with England and of course iconic places like Fenway Park and the site of Paul Revere’s historic ride. Pretty much everything I imagined turned out to be correct, and I am happy to say I ate the most of my vacation thanks to my photographer friend and awesome tour guide extraordinaire– Erin Duffy!

There is nothing quite like traveling with a local, you are always going to get much more of an authentic experience and each day driving into town or around Concord where she lives, we sang cheesy songs and bonded over how great it was to be with someone who didn’t mind our mutual obnoxious picture-taking. I decided to write about food first since that’s usually a deciding factor if I like a place and the cuisine was right up this seafood-lover’s alley. As you can imagine New England cuisine is very seafood and dairy based, local favorites like clam chowder and lobster rolls made my list of must-haves along with a visit to the Italian North End for Boston cream pie at the famous Mike’s bakery.

Thankfully we walked a LOT which helped my delusion of burning off all of that fatty deliciousness, all in your head.. right?

Visiting the Quincy Market, part of Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a great stomping ground for trying various local foods and I highly recommend a stop here one of your first days. Erin brought me for a lobster roll which really is magic in a baguette. It might have been the most expensive sandwich  have ever had — think 18 bucks but wow, I would have this once a week if I live in Boston. I am drooling on my laptop just thinking about it…

Plus how could we forget about clam chowder – um I mean ‘chowdah’. I was dying for some of this rich creamy heaven and sure enough, it tasted like nectar of the seafood gods. Normally served in either a mug or a bowl with soda crackers on top. I recommend trying this multiple times during your visit, or if you are great at making it — come visit me in Florence! ;-). I also tried a really nice crab-cake wrap in Concord at the Main streets cafe.

Near Quincy market is the Farmers market known locally as Haymarket. Here you can find a bustling array of vendors selling fruits, veggies and fish. Italy isn’t the only place that appreciates markets!

I also wouldn’t forget about ethnic eateries. Being America — you have every culture at your doorstep, especially here. We went for sushi downtown and for a pretty decent price, we chowed down on some yummy tuna and salmon rolls. As a special treat, the day I left, we stopped in Boston’s Chinatown for some dim sum on Sunday, which apparently is a Duffy family tradition. All I have to say is bring your stomach and don’t ask what anything is — just try it! 

Besides the Boston cream pie, we also stopped for ice cream in a really cute place near Concord. The small portion was about the size of four large gelato’s but hey, when in… Rome? I also made Erin stop for a cupcake at Georgetown’s and my coconut cream concoction was as sweet as it looked. Ciao sugar high! 

If you liked the above photo’s by Erin Duffy, check out her site here — she’s very talented and this blog post wouldn’t have been the same without her unique perspective and local’s eye. Also let’s be honest, the girl can put away some pie and still look good. That’s a friend of mine right there! 

Some of the places we went to included:

• Mike’s Pastry, in the North end,  300 Hanover St  Boston, MA 02113. (617) 742-3050
• Georgetown Cupcake, 83 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
• China Pearl, 9 Tyler St Boston, MA 02111, (617) 426-4338.
• Main Streets Cafe {Concord}, 42 Main Street, Concord MA (866) 413-3981.
• Legal Harborside,  270 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210.