Trish "the Dish" F.'s Profile

It's a bit of a trek for me to get over to Doyle's. Commute-wise it's a combo of bus/walk or bus/train/walk, so I've only gone for events during brunch on the weekends. The food is bar/diner standard. Nothing too fancy, eggs/homefries/bread/muffins. I've always been with a large group and the waitresses have graciously handled us without rolling their eyes or any bit of sass (I'm used to that being a Jersey girl).

What I dig about Doyle's is that they're definitely supportive of the community. They lend their back room to Boston Media Makers (http://bostonmediamake...) and Mass Mouth (http://massmouth.ning....). Last BMM event I went to, folks even took up a collection to get wifi in the joint. That's some neighborly love! Watch out for it next time you're in.

Weird to read my review from a year ago because now I go to NERD a lot and have even helped host events in the space. I've also moved onward and upward and checked out the 10th and 11th floor (amazing views of Boston/Cambridge). NERD is just a few minutes walk from the Kendall Square T stop and if it's lovely out and you're in Boston, take a walk over the Longfellow Bridge. It's about a minute from the Cambridge end.

The staff are great and they're incredibly supportive of the local tech scene and startups. If you are hosting an event, know that you can't wheel anything through the lobby, so you'll need to let Microsoft know in advance and they'll give you access to the loading dock in the back.

And yes. I have figured out the glass doors.

I've been eating Naked Pizza since they first sprang up in Coolidge Corner and I'll be honest, it's gotten consistently better. Their crust didn't always hold up to their awesome toppings, but I think they've hit their stride and I haven't had a soggy slice in awhile.

If you're ordering delivery and don't have cash for a tip, head to Foodler instead of their website. Sadly you can't add a tip for delivery on the NP site. I usually steer towards the Smokehouse (hickory-smoked bbq sauce, onion, chicken) or the Superbiotic (artichoke, spinach, bell pepper, mushroom, garlic, red onion, cilantro).  
They also have gluten-free crust, but it's only available for medium pizzas. I've tried it with a GF friend of mine and we both dug it. They said it was their fave GF pizza in the area.

They don't have tables but there is some counter space if you want to stand and eat. Follow Naked Pizza on Twitter or Facebook to catch some deals that they usually run around games or even the weather. They also have deals for when you check in on Foursquare.

The lines can be long. Like out the door long. And if it's a crappy day outside, everyone will be getting grilled sandwiches and it might take awhile to get your food. But if lunch is the most important meal to your day, Flour can't be beat. Do yourself a favor and follow owner Joanne Changs's motto: "Make life sweeter... eat dessert first!" Order yourself some sweets to eat while you're waiting for your food. My favorite desserts?

Cookie: tie
Homemade Oreo - the lovecookie of an Oreo (hard cookie part) and a whoopie pie (super creamy inside)
Chunky Lola - chocolate, coconut, pecans, oats... oh my
Pie: Boston Cream - has coffee in it, so it's a lil different from the standard (and it's more delicious)
And of course there's the sticky bun...

Their breakfast sandwich (on brioche) is totally decadent for the morning. Oh and get their brioche au chocolat if you're feeling like a shot of sweet. Drink-wise, I usually opt for their homemade raspberry seltzer (my happy place). At lunch I gravitate towards their specials. Their quiches (comes with a side salad), stuffed bread (comes with a side salad), pizzas, special sandwiches, and soups (comes with a piece of bread) change daily. Check the website before you head in... they also display them on a small board on the side wall and on the wall above the baked goods. From their sandwich standards, the roast beef with crispy onion strings and grilled portobello are my tried and true standbys. I've also taken home quarts of their stews for dinner that they keep in the front case. Super hearty and great for a full meal. There are always vegan/vegetarian/nut-free options, but they're a little light on the gluten-free.

The staff is friendly and they've got hustle but most of the items do take some time since they're made to order. If you're headin' in for some sweets and you want a quick lunch, soups are your best bet. Also since it's by the Children's Museum, it can be hard to find a seat for 2 or more, but I don't come here for a seat, I come here for the awesome food.

See ya there!

Punjab Palace is still one of my favorite Indian places in the city. I feel like their food is made with love. Haven't been into the restaurant in awhile, but I'm pretty regular with the delivery (via Foodler). I usually go for the veggie samosas, lamb coconut korma, and palak paneer (in the same fam as saag paneer).

FYI - Lunch is about $5 cheaper than their dinner options if you're on a budget.

What an amazing, amazing part of our community. I've both volunteered and had a chance to enjoy this lovely cafe and I just adore what they do.

As a volunteer, I've done helped make cookies, decorated them, cleaned out the kitchen, and done dishes. We even prepped the cafe for a wedding/reception last summer! Because they run on a pretty meager budget (and strive to keep the prices affordable for the area), they have volunteers help on days when they don't have enough staff. They also provide job training to those folks who are having difficulty finding jobs due to obstacles from their past.

The food is affordable and they have delicious sandwiches, salads, soups, and specials. The meal portions are large and most everything is made from scratch. You can definitely taste the love. I could probably eat about 20 of their ginormous gooey chocolate chip cookies in one sitting.

During the year (especially the summer), they have different food events, soup-offs... dinner and a movie... etc. They always have amazing local art on the walls. And to top it off, they go for the green by using biodegradable wares, recycling, and buying local ingredients when they can.

The cafe is a short walk from Dudley Station and there are also a few buses and the silver line that go past. They've also got lotsa parking. Go, go, go!

If you don't have time to be a Big Sister, you can still stop by the office to volunteer. It's funny, even when I worked in an office, I still loved to come by and help out when I could.

Recently we were in and did some organizing and even some crafty decorating stuff too. If they've got an event coming up, they may have you do some of the nitty gritty stuff (organizing name tags/certificates/programs) but every little bit counts. If you've ever worked in a non-profit (or office for that matter), you know that even taking time to shred paper can be a big task (especially when it gets jammed) when you've got a lot of other things on your plate.

Everyone there has always been lovely to the volunteers. And as an added bonus, the office is very convenient to the green line (Hynes Convention Center) and the 1 bus.

Why WOULDN'T you want to visit Sleepytime Dr.? For serious.

I'm not a huge fan of tea but even I enjoyed this tour. While waiting for it to begin you can hang out in the front lobby and have as much tea as you want. There are also some pretty cool looking teapots and things made out of tea packets. Tours run every 45 minutes including a 15 minute video before the beginning of the tour. It's pretty interesting to hear how Celestial Seasonings first started. Kinda makes you want to start a business out of your basement. Then there's the tour through the factory. Backslash, if you're allergic to mint (is anyone?) DON'T go on this tour. They take you into a mint room and a lot of people cried. Unintentional of course. I thought the guide was pretty funny but I sorta like a hokey sense of humor. Definitely a family friendly destination if you're in the Boulder area.

PS - For bonus laughs, bring your friends with gnarly beards so that you can witness them being forced to wear a beard net in the factory.

Besides some people sipping on the Android hatorade, I didn't mind this Super Shuttle at all. Lemme splain.

So like many of my trips, I usually forget a ticket of some sort. This time, it was my Super Shuttle confirmation. I was kinda freaking out the entire time I was on the plane because I had booked through Orbitz and I thought it was going to be a big to do to retrieve my shuttle ticket. Of course it was. Apparently there's an iPhone app, but when I dared to show my shuttle confirmation on my Droid, they would have nothing of it. "You'll have to call Orbitz and then Orbitz will have to fax the confirmation sheet to us." I know that some places don't have phone apps for Droid, I get it...but e-mail? No e-mail and insisting on fax? Anyhoo, Orbitz was baller as usual and totally hooked me up within 10 minutes. Once SS confirmed my reservation it probably took less than 10 minutes for a driver to come over and grab a bunch of us (I was doing group ride).

The driver was super friendly. Like in a treated me like his own daughter, telling me to stay out of alleyways but to have fun on 6th Street just not too late at night kinda way. I was traveling alone so he was giving me some tips on how to not get robbed. It was kind of sweet and slightly sexist (yeah I'm a northerner). He had just moved from the midwest and Austin was a wild ride for him. For a n00b though, he did have the skinny on bars and BBQ, so that was pretty awesome.

On the way back to the airport I actually had the same driver and he was wicked excited to have a chance to catch up with me. He was right on time down to the minute and got me to the airport earlier than anticipated.

I think some Super Shuttle drivers get some flack for being late when it's really the riders that are running late. Give these dudes/dudettes a break!

Where do I even begin?

I think I might have been one of the few people there not from the South. And I don't mean that in any way except this is much more of a local festival than I thought. What can I say? I like visiting different cities every year to check out the food and the live music scene.  

Will I come back? Not sure. Having gone to Bumbershoot and Bonnaroo, this festival is definitely a big kahuna. There were over 70,000 people this year. I'm pretty sure they oversold because in past years, the weather has been awful and I'm sure they were afraid people wouldn't show up. This year it was bright and sunny and I'm pretty sure I brushed arms with every sweaty music lover in attendance. That's a whole lotta sweat.

Compared to other music festivals, the food is on the awesome side. I love that they're mostly local and not some traveling, nameless vendors that run off of cart. No offense to y'all, I too love me some funnel cake at the appropriate time and place, but it's nice to go with local vendors. For lunch, get a sausage sandwich from The Best Wurst with all the fixins or some fish and chips from Bess' Bistro. For second lunch (yeah I said it), get some New York buttered salt potatoes from The Best Wurst or truffled mac n cheese or nachos from Tim's Love Shack. For dinner grab a bucket of chicken from Olivia's because dang, you've been walking around all day and the cooler air will lessen your chances of overheating when biting into that hot skin. To really cool off order an ice cream shake from Amy's (mint, duh). I was also in hella like with Maine Root's prickly pear cactus pink lemonade. Of course there's also a fair trade farmer's market where you can pick up some yummy goodies. PS - If you see pie listed, don't think... just act. That slice of pie may not be there later. I learned the hard way.  

The bathrooms actually weren't that bad then again I've gone to Bonnaroo and slept on a farm field with a bunch of hippies who didn't mind walking in the mud. Some may say I'm slightly desensitized.

I liked the festival's attempt to be green. If you don't mind carrying a trash bag around and picking up recyclables, you can score some free festival merchandise. They also had people filling up water bottles for free. The fest tallies how many bottles everyone has saved by bringing refillable containers. Pretty rad.

Bring some cash for the local shops and artists that are selling t-shirts, jewelry, hats, crafts and more. I picked up a rocking drum set tee from Storyville. If I wasn't trying to avoid checking bags at the airport, I totally would have bought a whole lotta stuff in the arts area.

This festival seemed to be more kid friendly seeing as that there's an entire section devoted to em! haha I didn't hang out there much for fear of being a creepster, but they were selling Alex's Lemonade (a non-profit raising money for pediatric cancer) so try and stop by that booth.

No real beefs with this fest except the lack of lights at night. There are NONE except on the stages and near the exits. And come on, MIA and Deadmau are only so bright. Expect to get bruised, scraped, and stepped on in the evenings... but if you've done your duty as a concert lover, your legs will be too numb from standing for 10 hours anyway so you shouldn't feel a thing. Oh and they definitely need more shade tents. The field is wide open space and there are only so many tall folk you can hide behind because of the lack of trees.

Keys to survival: A charged phone (trying to find friends in a crowd of 70,000? Don't do it.), sunscreen, bandana/hat, sunglasses, ca$h (don't get stuck with the lines and charges from the ATMs on site), Nalgene-esque something or other, non-fancy camera (they'll take away the big honking ones if you haven't been cleared), and a good frigging attitude. You get to breathe in and experience a music festival! Also keep your eyes on the interwebs for after parties and other celebrations. This year I found out on Twitter that Mates of State were having a free show at Mohawk. Word.