6 Boston Bars That Transport You To Other Places




There are myriad bars you can go to if you just want a decent atmosphere and drinks. On a recent trip to Boston, however, I learned there are many bars that are more than they appear on the outside. On your next trip to the city, make sure to check out some of these bars and restaurants that transport you to other places.

The Hawthorne
500A Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

The Hotel Commonwealth is a great home base for bar hopping, as it houses three of the best classic cocktail bars in the city. However, its newest venue, The Hawthorne, takes this one step further by creating an ambiance of sophisticated comfort. As you walk in, you’ll immediately be transported to an upscale urban apartment. Oversized couches, wingback chairs, highly curated art and photography and jam-packed bookshelves transform this cocktail lounge into feeling like a classy cocktail party. Look closer at one of the bookcases, and you’ll notice it’s not just books in there, but some of Bar Manager Jackson Cannon’s favorite things, like his favorite spirits line and personal glassware. You can tell they pay attention to detail at The Hawthorne, and this continues to the bar, where Head Bartender Nicole Lebedevitch and staff craft classic cocktails with the precision of a scientist. Expect international and hard-to-find spirits and ingredients.

What To Drink: A “Phil Collins,” which has cucumber vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, yellow chartreuse and dash of cranberry bitters, or a “Dutch Oven,” made with Barrel Aged Bols Genever, 2 sugar cubes, 3 dashes regans orange bitters and soda water.




Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

Also located at the Hotel Commwealth is Island Creek Oyster Bar (ICOB), which is a “collaboration joining farmer, chef, and diner in one space.” The restaurant brings elements of the Island Creek Oyster Farm in Duxbury to restaurant guests, without any mess. In fact, ICOB is designed in a pristine white, with Gabion cages filled with tens of thousands of oyster shells making the three-dimensional walls. Additionally, reclaimed Wyoming snow fence is used to create the shutters, and wood from a restored Vermont farmhouse has been refurbished to build the wainscoting. When ordering from the menu, you’ll notice the names of small farms, each specializing in aquaculture, carefully listed next to each dish. This bar also takes a classic cocktail way of thinking, but with a local and seasonally inspired twist.

What To Drink: A “Snug Harbor Mash,” featuring crushed lime, Rich Demerara and ICOB’s house 4 Rum Blend, or an “ICOB Pilsner,” an exclusive pilsner brewed with jasmine and orange peel, and designed to be the ideal accompaniment to fried fare and shellfish.




The Back Deck
2 West Street, Boston

At the Back Deck, guests are transported to a backyard barbeque, although with more polish than sitting at a splintered picnic table. The design of the venue brings the outdoors inside, featuring three distinct backyard-inspired deck spaces bordered by walls of sliding floor-to-ceiling windows. Chefs employ the use of three high quality grills, The Woodshow Broiler, the restaurant’s biggest grill, The Montague Charcoal Broiler, used for “low and slow” cooked items and Mt. St. Helens Shallow-Box Charbroiler, the professional version of the charcoal grill. Only Hardwood charcoal is used, as it gives the cuisine a rich, smoky flavor and also allows food to sear better and stick less. At the bar, refreshing punches and coolers will transport you to summer, no matter what season it is.

What To Drink: A “West St. Cooler,” which contains watermelon, Ragged Mountain Rum, a hint of Aperol and a splash of soda, or a “Ginger Arnold Palmer,” made with lemonade and iced tea spiked with Berkshire Bourbon and a touch of Canton ginger.




Uni Sashimi Bar
370 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

While most sushi restaurants can help give you a quick Japanese experience, Uni Sashimi Bar will immerse you in all the country has to offer and more. In an intimate space, guests can enjoy innovative sashimi, a range of traditional Asian street food items and late-night Ramen. In fact, their fresh seafood is shipped overnight from Tokyo’s Tskuji market. Diners can sample famous street food items like pork belly steam buns and vegetable tempura. While you can order typical Japanese dishes and chefs incorporate traditional sushi practices, they also put an avant-garde twist on many of the selections, like combining salmon with fermented black beans and ginger, or Japanese Striped Bass with chestnut ash, roasted Brussel sprout leaves and pickled kumquats. At the bar, expect an extensive Sake menu, with headings like “traditional,” “seasonal,” “rich” and “fragrant.” Sake cocktails, Asian-inspired drinks and fusion libations are also on the menu.

What To Drink: “Sun Rising,” a mixture of Yamazaki 12 whiskey, plum sake, pear sake, Cherry Heering, orange juice and lemon juice, or “Young’s Sangria,” made with plum sake, pear sake, Churchill white port, lime juice and orange juice.




Union Oyster House
41 Union Street, Boston

While you’ll still be in a restaurant, Union Oyster House leaves guests overwhelmed with nostalgia as they dine in America’s oldest restaurant in continuous service. Established in 1826 as a restaurant, the building itself has stood as an iconic Boston landmark for over 250 years. Diners can still enjoy Union Oyster House‘s heritage, and take a peek back in time with old-fashioned tavern decor, dim lighting, weathered wood, old newspaper clippings and photographs, timeless portraits and antique furnishings. You’ll get cornbread with every meal, lobsters right from the tank, heaping bowls of chowder and fresh seafood cooked just as it was years ago, without any fancy fusion or modern spinning. At the bar, they have an impressive selection of beers, which you can sip in a laid-back atmosphere while slurping back some oysters. This is where you’ll get the best service, and where you can watch shuckers in action while hearing their stories about life in Boston and the history of the restaurant.

What To Drink: The “Sam Adams Colonial Ale.” This American Amber beer has a malty flavor, notes of caramel and pairs well with seafood.




PARK Restaurant & Bar
59 JFK Street, Cambridge

Located in the Greater Boston Area, PARK Restaurant & Bar will make you believe you’re in an antique parlor. With vintage curios like antique typewriters, artwork and photography from the ’60s and ’70s, first edition books and local maps from the turn of the century, their cocktail den retains the atmosphere of your eccentric uncle’s sophisticated parlor room. The menu is comprised of “spirited interpretations of New American classics” like the “Meat Pie of the Day” and the “PARK Patty Melt.” To compliment the theme, the bar operates under a classic cocktail philosophy, using homemade syrups, infusions, tonics and bitters to make new and old favorites.

What To Drink: “The Fireside Poet,” which is a blend of Bulleit Bourbon, Creole Shrubb, Santa Maria del Monte and Marasche Syrup or the “Old Cuban,” which has Barbancourt 5 Star Rum, Lime, Simple, Angostura Bitters, Mint and Cava.

Do you have a favorite bar in Boston that transports you to another place?

Video Tour Of Historic New England Graveyards

Cemeteries can be inspiring. I know a lot of people who will go to great lengths to avoid visiting hospitals, nursing homes, cemeteries and anyplace else that reminds them that one day they’re going to die. I won’t admit to being a fan of hospitals and nursing homes, but I like visiting old cemeteries.

They give us a glimpse into history and remind us of our own mortality. If you’re caught up in your day-to-day life and need to be reminded of the big picture, visit a cemetery and you’ll be reminded that life is short and we all end up six feet under at one point or another, rich or poor, black, white or yellow.

New England has some of the country’s oldest and most interesting cemeteries. My favorite is Old Burial Hill in Marblehead, Massachusetts, one of America’s most beautiful and oldest settlements. The cemetery was founded in 1638, some nine years after the town was first settled, and it offers a glimpse at the history of the town, plus a view of the historic center and the sea. There are more than 600 revolutionary soldiers buried at Old Burial Hill but most aren’t marked.

Many of the oldest tombstones have ghoulish likenesses of crude winged skulls, which tells me that our forefathers weren’t as squeamish about death as we are. Take a look around Old Burial Hill and you’ll understand why – life in Colonial America was precarious and health care was nonexistent – there are scores of babies and young adults buried here.

If you’re in the Boston area and you like visiting old cemeteries, definitely check out the circa 1659 Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, which is right down the street from the Old North Church in the North End, and the city’s oldest cemetery, King’s Chapel, founded in 1630 right in the hear of the city.

[Photos and Videos by Dave Seminara]

Gastronomy And Great Spas: Four Hotel And Resort Spas With Luxurious Culinary Tie-Ins

Spas have long been mixing natural and food-quality ingredients into their treatment offerings, but spa cuisine menus have often been relegated to the true destination spa resorts – the Miravals and Canyon Ranches of the travel world. While these spots are lovely, travelers often don’t have time to get away for a week of relaxation. Today, however, more and more hotels are offering healthy cuisine options to tie in with their spa menus, allowing travelers seeking relaxation for an hour or an afternoon to enjoy high-quality yet healthy options. Here are a few of our favorite easy escapes, below:

The Cornelia Spa at The Surrey
The Cornelia Spa, the newest addition to The Surrey in NYC is now offering guests small bites at The Botanical Bar, an experience integrated into the spa’s “Relaxation Library” to create a destination within the spa for lingering, lounging and experiencing tasty bites and beautiful books. Guests are served a sweet and savory refreshment that are flavorful, healthful and inspired by the botanical ingredients in the Cornelia products including herbs, flowers, fruits and spices. Post treatment, enjoy a sweet treat – The Surrey’s Signature Botanical Cookie with a lavender drizzle. The savory tasting will rotate to include amuse bouche delicacies such as orange-spiced salted almonds and a selection of orange-minted olives.

The Spa at The Mandarin Oriental, Boston Located just off prime shopping on Newbury Street, The Mandarin Oriental Boston is a top pick for leisure and business travelers alike. Those looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of city living can enjoy pampering treatments at the 16,000-square-foot spa, and head to the spa cafe for post treatment lunches or snacks.
Lake Austin Spa at Lake Austin Spa Resort
This well-known spa offers a number of culinary inspired treatments, including a number of body treatments that use local and food-based ingredients. Test the “Best of the Southwest” scrub using local mesquite, jojoba oil and pure sugar, plus a ginger tea tree mango butter foot cream or a pear and fig body polish with turmeric root. Don’t worry if you’re hungry post treatment – the resort is also well known for their superb spa cuisine, much of which is made using Texas-based ingredients or sourced from the resort’s own gardens onsite.

Fairmont’s Willow Stream Spa Brand
The energizing Willow Stream Spas, the signature spa brand of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, offer spa goers a range of signature and local spa treatments but also places a strong emphasis on food. All spa destinations offer Spa Bento Box spa cuisine as part of Fairmont’s Lifestyle Cuisine, prepared with non-processed food, as healthy, locally grown and organic as possible. They also offer Lifestyle Cuisine Plus, a new menu available upon request catering to spa guests with specific diet-dependent conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and gluten free needs, as well as unique dietary preferences including macrobiotic, raw and vegan diets.

Boston’s Galleria Umberto: America’s Best Cheap Slice Place?

The Galleria Umberto Rosticceria pizzeria in Boston’s North End is named after a stunning, ornate 19th century shopping arcade in Naples. But the interior of one of the country’s best cheap slice places is as Spartan as they come. In fact, the place resembles a cafeteria or, if you’re there at lunchtime, when the lines stretch out the door and around the block, a soup kitchen.

Boston’s North End is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the world. Despite the fact that it’s right smack in the middle of an expensive city that’s overflowing with wealthy, highly educated young people, somehow the neighborhood has preserved its distinct Italian-American character. Walk the streets of the North End on a nice day, and you’ll still see plenty of old timers sitting out on their stoops, speaking Italian.

There are dozens of good places to get pizza and other Italian specialties in the North End, but Galleria Umberto is the only place I’ve seen that consistently attracts long lines. Why? They serve damn good Sicilian-style slices of cheese pizza – no toppings! – for just $1.55.

I’ve been to Galleria Umberto (GU) three times for slices over the last few years and I’ve never waited less than about 25 minutes. But I love GU because their volume-driven business model is very 19th century. They have a razor thin profit margin, but sell thousands of slices of every day. Who opens a business these days charging ridiculously low prices, hoping to make it up with volume? Almost no one.

We have more high quality pizza places in the U.S. right now than ever before, but the prices keep going up to the point where pizza isn’t the cheap option it once was. In April, I had a chance to eat at Da Michele, one of the best pizzerias in Naples, and discovered that even the world’s best pizza doesn’t have to be expensive. That’s what I love about GU- they view pizza as a cheap staple, not a luxury.

My sons and I had five slices of pizza and two drinks and the bill came to $9.75. I can’t take them to McDonald’s for that price. Domestic beers are $3. And wines range from $2 -$2.50. Now that’s my kind of place. If you’re looking for a budget lunch in one of Boston’s most interesting neighborhoods, and don’t mind the wait, check out Galleria Umberto. What’s your favorite cheap place to get a slice of pizza?

Boston Hotel Evacuated After Suspected Drug Lab Discovery




When I think of places to hold my next meth lab, the Holiday Inn doesn’t exactly spring to the front of my mind, but apparently it did for one Peabody hotel guest. Police uncovered a suspected drug lab at a Boston area Holiday Inn in Peabody.

The suspected lab was discovered when a security guard noticed smoke coming out from under the door. “The security officers reported they saw a large amount of chemicals in the room, which was highly unusual,” Police Chief Bonaiuto told the Boston Herald. “They also said the person who rented the room had left the room and they did not know where he was. As a precaution the entire hotel was evacuated.”

All 190 guests of the hotel – including 25 children – were evacuated. At least one witness said that they were told the room was a potential meth lab, but police have not confirmed the nature of the chemicals or released information on the name of the person holding the hotel room.

“I can tell you there were numerous chemicals present in the room and it’s being followed up on by members of the Peabody police detectives unit,” the police chief was reported saying.