Adam and I recently returned from our trip to Boston, NY, Philly and Washington D.C. Over the next few weeks I will share what we did in each city as well as share a recipe of one of my favorite dishes from each place. My favorite recipe from this trip to Boston was the Lobster Mac and Cheese from The Bostonia Public House.
History
- The Freedom Trail This is a 2.5 mile long trail (one way) a good walk to burn off some of the amazing food you will find in Boston. Along the Freedom trail you will find a cemetery that includes the graves of Mother Goose, Sam Adams, John Hancock, Ben Franklin’s parents and Paul Revere, the site where the Declaration of Independence was read, the site of the Boston Massacre and the USS Constitution.
The site of the reading of the Declaration of Independence - Old Town Trolley Tour takes you to all of the historical sites in Boston if you don’t want to walk and narrates the history along the way with interesting facts. You are allowed to hop on & hop off at each of the stops so you can enjoy each site. The tour included admission to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum and Boston Harbor Cruise, which unfortunately we didn’t have time for!! I highly recommend you do the tour on the first day you are in Boston so you get an idea of where everything is and what you want to do.
- Fenway Park We went to a game (vs our home team the Rays!) in the oldest baseball stadium in the US! You can take tours of the stadium if you don’t want to go to a game or if the Red Sox are out of town.
Fenway Park
Food
- Tia’s on Boston’s waterfront. I recommend the New England Clam Chowder in a bread bowl.
- The Bostonia I shared the BPH Burger with Vermont cheddar cheese and the Lobster Mac & cheese with my sister. I loved the mac & cheese so much that I decided to recreate it for this post!
The Lobster Mac and Cheese from The Bostonia Public House - Cheers We didn’t go to the original Cheers location, but it was still a cool experience. I had Sam’s turkey sandwich, which was very good and was served on a pretzel bun.
- Faneuil Hall Marketplace a stop on the freedom trail with tons of food from different vendors. This is a great place to go to pick up some dessert after your meal or for a quick lunch.
Faneuil Hall at night - James Hook & Co This is a small place that has live crab and lobsters for sale. I recommend the Lobster Roll and NE Clam Chowder. They have good prices here!
Lobster Roll from James Hook & Co. - Mike’s Pastry This place has the best cannoli’s around. It is located in Boston’s North End which is traditionally Italian. I had the Boston cream pie and Adam had the cookies and cream cannoli. This place is CASH ONLY so be aware!
A box of deliciousness from Mike’s Pastry - Places I wish I had time for: The Daily Catch to try squid ink pasta and Union Oyster House, which is America’s oldest resaurant!
Drinks
- Dillon’s This used to be a police station and is over 200 years old!
- Mija Cantina & Tequila bar has the spiciest margarita I have ever had. Beware!! It had chunks of habanero pepper and seeds in it! I had to mix it in with a second margarita to tone it down.
Spiciest Margarita in Boston “El Rojo” from Mija - Harpoon Brewery This is an awesome place that has a large bar and seating area and offers tours. We didn’t get to do a tour, because they are all booked ahead of time, but we got to sample the beer and tried one of their amazing pretzels. I have heard this brewery is much cooler than the Sam Adam’s brewery (and much easier to get to) so I am glad we got to go.
Harpoon Brewery sampler - I wanted to go to Meadhall in Cambridge near MIT. The Trolley took us around, but we didn’t have time to stop and try it! From the reviews it sounds like they have a large drink menu. I also wish I did get to have time to see Sam Adam’s Brewery as well, but I guess I’ll save that for another time!
Overall we had an amazing 3 days in Boston and probably could have stayed 2 more to see everything!! I would definitely go back again.
The Lobster Mac and Cheese was fairly easy to remake. The Bostonia’s mac and cheese was so creamy and their pasta was so thick and yummy.
You can make the dish cheaper by using less expensive cheeses and Krab instead of real lobster. Lobster is very expensive, so unless you are having a fancy dinner I would suggest going the cheaper route.
Also halving this recipe would cut the cost as well. It makes a lot of mac and cheese!
Lobster Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Flora Pasta Springs (or whatever pasta you would like)
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups 2% milk (or whole milk if you want to go big!)
- 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese mix
- 2/3 cup grated Swiss cheese (if you want to pay more $ get Gruyere)
- 1 2/3 cups grated extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigian cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- Pinch of white pepper
- 1 lb lobster meat (or Krab to save $)
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add pasta; salt generously and cook pasta to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well
- Melt butter in pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until bubbling about 45 seconds. Add milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thickened and smooth. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes (until sauce coats the spoon).
- Add Italian, Swiss, Cheddar, and Parmigian cheeses, stirring until completely melted and sauce is smooth. Season with salt and black pepper, add cayenne and nutmeg, and stir to combine.
- Add pasta and lobster (or Krab) to sauce along with white pepper and salt; stir to thoroughly combine. Pour into a casserole dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs
- Bake for 30 minutes.