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Update - Recommendations for Boston - Food and Fun
One more week until I leave for Boston! My H and I are excited. We've been laughing about temperatures. Still in the mid 90s here, the low was 60 in Boston the other day. We'll be the crazy looking ones wearing ear muffs, jackets, scarves, and gloves, lol.
I already booked with Groupon a one-day hop on/hop off trolley ride tour that included a 45-minute boat ride around the Harbor. That was an MM win. The company has 3900 Yelp reviews with a 4.5/5 stars. The normal discounted Groupon was $38 for two people, but I had a coupon to bring it down to $28/couple.
We want to have lunch or dinner in Little Italy...or any really good Italian restaurant. Suggestions?
We're also looking for recommendations on "fish and chips" for H and "lobster rolls" for me.
We'll planning to book a Freedom Trail tour. I realize it can probably be self walked with a guidebook pretty easily, but the tours aren't very expensive.
We'll definitely be checking out the Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall area. I'm looking forward to hearing how "Faneuil" is pronounced because I have no idea, lol.
My H has talked about wanting to see MIT/Harvard campuses. I'm "meh" about that, but if he wants to. I'd like to see the Naval shipyards area. He doesn't want to go to Salem, he thinks it will be nothing but stuff about witches and the witch trials, and that doesn't interest him. I think it would be interesting if we had the time, but it's not a "must" for me.
We want one day-trip where we will rent a car and go tour the countryside. We'd especially like to see the changing leaves, though I realize they will be just starting to change. Good areas for that with other things to do?
What I've learned from perusing Groupon. There are a LOT of breweries and wineries! I have my eye on a tour/sampling special for a Cider brewery. There are also a lot of "Room Escape" adventures. I saw that on, ironically because it takes place in Boston, the Rizzoli and Isles tv show. But didn't realize it was a real thing. Not my cup of tea, just surprised there are a number of companies doing it.
Irrational annoyance. The fast food company, Boston Market, has commercials ALL THE TIME in NOLA. Despite the fact that the closest one is 9 hours away in Houston. Same with Arby's. None of those here either, though I think there is one in a 45-minute away suburb. Why do they waste big advertising bucks with commercials in areas they don't serve at all?
But back to Boston Market. I assumed by their name they would be all over Boston. Apparently not. It looks like there is ONE in Boston itself and one here and there in the various suburbs. Our flight comes in during the evening, so we'll probably spend our first night not really doing anything. My goal is to hit the Boston Market in Medford for dinner 
. It's only about 4 miles away from where we are staying. I have missed you so much Boston Market.
Re: Update - Recommendations for Boston - Food and Fun
We really enjoyed the JFK Library.
Visit the Harpoon brewery and tap room.
Get a cannoli from both Mike's and Modern pastry. People are either one or the other. My H is team Mike's.
I haven't been that impressed with Boston food, but a James Hook Co. roadside lobster roll is good. H always has to hit Pizzeria Regina.
I really like Salem too, though it might have gotten kind of touristy since the last time I was there.
Definitely visit Harvard if either of you like college architecture. It's really nice.
I have no restaurant recs, as it's been several years since I have been there.
I believe Faneuil sounds a lot like the second half of "Nathanial." I actually thought that's what people were saying until I saw it spelled out, lol
EDIT: Lexington and Concord is a great place for nature and leaves, if any have started to turn by that time.
In the North End (our "little Italy") you reallyyyyyyy can't go wrong with any restaurant, but I like the Daily Catch (it's tiny and cash only and doesn't take reservation though). After dinner head over to Modern Pastry (Mike's v. Modern is a bit of a rivalry - both are good but I'm a Modern gal).
"Faneuil" is pronounced "fan-u-il".
If you want some New England countryside without traveling too far I'd recommend heading to Nashoba Valley Winery - they have an apple orchard so you can buy a bottle of wine and sip while you pick. Obviously you won't be able to pick a ton because then you have a short time to eat them or pack them to go home, but it is just a nice day outside too. Down the street is also a place for delicious cider donuts (I can't remember the name....). Otherwise just know that the more north you go the more foliage you'll see.
Are you going to Downeast Cider? If so I was there a few weeks ago and it's fantastic, but maybe give them a call because they were going to be moving operations sometime this month.
I'm not a big lobster eater, but the Barking Crab is a popular spot and the Seaport area where it is has so much going on these days. Plus Harpoon is just down the street! I work in this neighborhood and I swear every Monday that a new building has gone up over the weekend.
Salem gets INSANE starting the last weekend of September with Halloween stuff...but the weekdays are pretty normal for the time being. You can take the commuter rail from North Station to Salem and be in walking distance to everything. I wouldn't go for the witch stuff, but I would go for the food. I don't know many Boston restaurants but Salem has TONS of really good restaurants. If you went, I would do a daytrip in the midmorning head to Salem, walk around, eat lunch on the waterfront at one of the restaurants, then head back to Boston. I wouldn't describe it as touristy at all, except during a couple busy summer weekends and the month of October. Weekday in September should be fine.
For the North End Bovas bakery is also really good (I think better than Mikes - though thats the one that seems to be more of a draw. Reginas pizza is also really good. We rarely go out to eat in Boston now so I can't really recommend much otherwise.
As for the weather - it was 48degrees when I got up at 630 Monday morning, but it's currently 88degrees. Sunday was in the 70s but humidity was 85%. Unfortunately you should probably pack everything that you own lol next week looks like high 70s during the day, and low 60s at night. If it's a sunny day, the afternoons are still really hot.
As for foliage - it's coming late this year is what I have heard. There are only a handful of changing leaves behind my house right now. That said, once it starts it often happens fast. You will probably have to go up to NH and Maine to see the "good stuff". The further north you go the better. If you head up that way both Portsmouth NH and Portland Maine are really cute towns with good restaurants and they both have breweries if you are interested in that at all (let me know if you are - my husband knows them all and could rec based on what you like). Both towns could be a day trip depending on your tolerance for driving (Portsmouth is 45min from me, so maybe just over an hour for you; and Portland is about 2.5 hours from you probably). Ogunguit & York Maine are just over the line and are between portsmouth and portland. Right on the water, though I'm not sure what is open/seasonal up there right now. The shape of NH makes it so that you are only in it for a couple exits on I-95 before you are in Maine so it's not really that far.
unrelated - I never see Boston market commericals. and i've never been haha!
@LillibetteV and @kmurphy2131, I just looked it up the cider place on Groupon, it is Bantam Cider in Somerville. But I'll check out Downeast Cider first or both! I love hard cider, but am really picky about it. I find the big names (ie Angry Orchard, Red Apple) are way too sweet. Though I do like Stella Artois's cider. I figured, since you all grow apples up there and it is getting into the season, there should be some great, local options.
The rise and fall of Boston Market has a bit reminded me of Chipolte. When it first started popping up about 25 years ago, people went NUTS for it and it was the new "in" fast food place. They opened one the next city up from where I lived in So. CA at the time. They've never had them in NOLA but, when I first moved here, they had about 5-6 locations in Baton Rouge. I would make a 2x/year pilgrimage with my cooler and buy a couple whole chickens. But their rise was as fast as their fall. The majority of franchises closed about 15 years ago...including the one near my hometown and all the BR ones (sniff, sniff). @kmurphy2131, their chicken is really good and really flavorful! Or at least it still was about 5 years ago when I was last in Houston.
It doesn't help that NOLA doesn't have any fast food baked chicken kind of places, like a Boston Market or El Pollo Loco. Yet, you can't throw a rock and not hit a fried chicken place, lol.
Thanks all for the restaurant recommendations, thoughts on Salem, and best places to toodle around outside Boston. I think we would want to keep our "max" out of area to a 90 minute drive (one way), because we would be returning that same night.
It is hard for me to picture because I've always lived in states that are large geographically. So the "two exits and you're out of NH" is a pretty wild concept for me, lol. Though I realize, @kmurphy2131, you're probably talking about a thin section of it. When I first moved from CA to NOLA, I decided to drive through the "thinner" section at the top of TX and then come all the way down the state of LA. That "thin" section took me all day and into the night, lol.
Fun to hear about the "Mike's vs. Modern" cannoli battle. I could be wrong, but I think the place I had originally booked on AirBnB (where the hostess accepted and then cancelled the next day) was next door to Mike's.
to keep it under 90min Portsmouth could be really good. If you are at all interested in the New England fall farm apple picking world I've never been but everyone loves Applecrest farm which is in that area. You probably don't want to pick apples on vacation, but apple cider donuts are amazing if you have never had them... mmmm I need to go get some haha So you could definitely drive up there, then go to portsmouth. It's about 1/2 a day worth of stuff to do in downtown Portsmouth, I think, plus there are tons of good restaurants in Portsmouth. If you take the scenic route vs just staying on 95 you can take the road along the coast which is a really pretty drive ( Rye NH).
Yup...we probably should have moved to the NH seacoast, we love it up there!
We do love Boston though. H has been more than a dozen times and July was my second visit. It's a beautiful walkable city (but that also has great public transit) with an air of history that feels authentic. @short+sassy hope you love it too!
Haha! I just had a funny image of cows standing around a large conference table, some of them wearing horn rimmed glasses, Power Point presentation in the background...as they are trying to map and name the streets.
NOLA is an old city like Boston, plus we have canals running through it here and there. It's a recipe for weird road stuff. I'm sure the most confusing for tourists is Canal St. is a dividing line between the French Quarter and the Downtown. Back in the old days, those were two very different sections of town. So the same streets are named one thing in the Quarter and have a completely different name as you cross Canal St.
I've heard we're also one of the only cities that can give Boston a run for its money when it comes to potholes.
The only driving we will be doing is in and out of the city for our day trip. I'm not even renting a car the whole time. So (hopefully) we will avoid confusion and time our driving to avoid traffic. At least as much as possible.
@kmurphy2131, @smerka, the apple cider donuts sound right up my alley. Both Providence and Portsmouth sound like there is fun stuff to do. My H keeps joking he wants to go to Quahog, RI. Like on Family Guy. I tease him back that I don't think there is an actual Quahog and Family Guy is a CARTOON, so they don't live there anyway, lol.
Oh yeah! I forgot they are type of clam. I've never had one. I've never even had the opportunity. (Try a stuffed quahog - added to my list of things to do).
NOLA is certainly a strong seafood city also but, understandably, it is very different seafood. We don't have lobsters or clams locally. Lots of oysters, though. You can find fried catfish everywhere, which neither my H or I like, but few restaurants carry the more traditional "fish and chips" made with cod. In fact, we have searched high and low, there is only one restaurant with a good one. And that is because it is owned and operated by a guy who moved here from Ireland.
My trip to Boston was fantastic! My H and I had a really good time. The weather was perfect, though a little chilly on the Sat. and Sun. (not this last weekend, the previous one). I was a little worried about the food, but it was great! And reasonably priced, for the most part.
You know you are in a historic city when: you've just arrived from the T-line into the main part of the city...for the first time...go to the closest trash can to throw away your water bottle. Placard next to the trash can. Oh! Apparently this was the site of the Boston Massacre.
We did a trolley tour/45 minute cruise around the harbor combo. It's such a beautiful city, especially from the water.
We also did one of the tours where the guide is dressed in costume. We visited 11 of the 16 sites on the Freedom Trail with her and then visited two more on our own.
Our last full day we went to Harvard and visited their Natural History museum.
We rented a car for Sat. and Sun. Even though, my H was vehemently against going to Salem before our trip...then he wanted to go, lol. We went on Saturday. Stopped at Boston Market for my looked forward to lunch on the way there, lol. Visited the Salem History museum and did a tour at the House of the Seven Gables. On Sunday, we went to Portsmouth. Walked around. Went to a number of museums, including a tour of a submarine.
Our favorite restaurants were the Black Rose (Irish pub in the downtown), Peter's Super Beef (down the street from our AirBnB), and both Italian restaurants we ate at...Bella Rossa? (North End Boston) and Volare (Revere Beach). The Italian food was AMAZING. I wish I could remember for sure the name of the place we went in North End. It was a slow night and we struck up a conversation with the owners. We were all just chit chatting for over an hour after our meal.
Peter's Super Beef was nothing fancy. Casual take-out sandwich place with a few tables. My H and I split a large Italian sub. SO GOOD!! I discovered what "hot peppers" means on the East Coast. They're not just peppers and they're not too hot, but that is some flavorful pickled goodness. Plus it was one of our cheapest dinners, lol. $9 total.
At the Black Rose, my H got the fish and chips he's been craving and I got the lobster roll and clam chowder I'd been craving. All of it was amazing. We had those items other places during our trip, but they were the best there.
Lots of breakfasts and coffees to start the day at Dunkin Doughnuts. You all weren't kidding about the sheer number that are in the Boston area, lol. We had two within walking distance of where we were staying. On our trolley tour, the guide told us there are 103 DD's in Boston alone.
Highly recommend Boston. Especially if you like history. Staying in Revere Beach was a great, much cheaper option on where to stay. Very convenient to the downtown (though our particular AirBnB was awful).
And we brought some cool weather back with us to NOLA, lol.