An Old School Weekend Round-Up

Who else enjoyed the amazing (yet completely unseasonable) weather this past weekend? 70 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday. Freak-eeee. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the popular millennial saying goes, so Brent and I tried to soak it up as much as we could.

On Saturday we went to brunch at Peregrine, a restaurant that opened recently in a boutique hotel. I know space is at a premium in cities, and boutique hotels tend to be on the smaller side, but when I say this restaurant was small, I'm being generous. This restaurant had maybe a dozen tables? Plus about 8-10 seats at the bar. We got there around noon and sat at the bar, and in a weird turn of events, didn't end up ordering drinks. Nothing on the cocktail list really jumped out at me, and I hate spending stupid prices on champs and OJ, so we opted out. 

Brent ordered a bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant, which was one of the highest, flakiest croissants I've ever seen. How come my croissants are never this tall?

I had the Lower East Side, which was an everything bagel, smoked salmon, wasabi cream cheese, roe and red onion. A slice of tomato would have been nice, and if they assembled it for me, instead of lining up ingredients on a plate, but everything was really fresh and delicious. Small space, small menu, but big flavor; if you're strolling Beacon Hill, it's worth popping in.

Strolling Beacon Hill was next on the agenda for us, mostly because it was a gorgeous day and it's a neighborhood we're never really in. When I saw an Open House sign, I begged Brent to go, since I was dying to see what the apartments in these classic brownstones looked like. Brent reluctantly agreed; he didn't even like going to open houses when we were buying a house, let alone some random one to satisfy my curiosity. It was an 8th floor walk up w/ a galley kitchen and small bedrooms, so of course we left there plotting how to move some money around and put in an offer.

We enjoyed the sun on our walk to Newbury Street to see if Stephanie's had decided to lug out all their patio furniture for the day; they hadn't. We snagged two seats at the crowded bar and set up shop while waiting for the SU game to start. Just before the 4pm tipoff, we succumbed to our cravings and left to get Taco Bell. The game wasn't as important as the crunchwrap supreme I planned on devouring; Syracuse won, so it was a banner day for us all. 

Sunday was even nicer than Saturday. It was gray and rainy when I went grocery shopping, but cleared up early and I was definitely sweating as a took a little stroll around the neighborhood around noon. We decided to go to the brewery near us that recently expanded with a rooftop hopservatory and patio. I can't get on board w/ calling something a hopservatory, but I can absolutely get on board with these beers and views. Looking forward to spending more time here, for sure.  

On the way home, we stopped at a bahn mi place I've heard is the best in the city. Dorchester has a huge Vietnamese population and I think they were all with us at this tiny shop at 3pm Sunday. The line slowly, slowly snaked around displays of Vietnamese candy and packaged foods for sale. The line wasn't moving slowly for any reason other than the sheer volume of people; when we got up to order our sandwiches, this tiny, superhuman woman assembled our sandwiches and sent us to the register in under 2 minutes. 

I can't begin to give this sandwich justice. Whatever sauce they slather on the bread to start is the most delicious condiment I've ever had, and as a ranch connoisseur, I don't say this lightly. The pickled veggies had the perfect crunch. The meat was tender and flavorful. What puts this place above all their competition is the bread. Everyone knows bahn mi lives and dies by their baguette, and these guys deliver. It's that thin, crunchy crust that crackles and flakes when you bite into it, raining beautiful crust all over your shirt, conversely paired with a soft and pillowy interior. If there's anyone at Bahn Mi Ba Le that wants to take me in as a baguette apprentice, I'm all in. 

Did you get to take advantage of the beautiful weather? Enjoy some delicious food and drinks? Let me know in the comments!