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    Boston & Philadelphia

    So I'll be spending a few days on the east coast at the beginning of September. I've arranged a couple of things already for Boston but any suggestions or recommendations on places to see/eat/drink/hear music in either city would be appreciated.

    #2
    Boston & Philadelphia

    I can give some advice about Philadelphia, but you need to provide some details about the kinds of things you like or would like.

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      #3
      Boston & Philadelphia

      If you are at all interested in art, go to the Gardner in Boston and the Barnes Foundation in Philly.

      Some previous advice.

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        #4
        Boston & Philadelphia

        As a resident Bostonian, I offer my services if needed. What dates are you here in the Hub ?

        Assuming rock/pop gigs, for Boston/Cambridge, go here
        http://wzbc.org/#concert or here
        https://digboston.com/listings/#/ or here
        http://crossroadspresents.com/paradise-rock-club/calendar/
        http://www.sinclaircambridge.com/listing/
        http://www.mideastoffers.com/me/content/upcomingshows
        http://royaleboston.com/live-music/
        http://www.houseofblues.com/boston/#calendarsearch

        Eating - any particular cuisine ?

        Drinking - we have many fine breweries and pubs. Where are you staying? I can give you a good idea what's local to your lodgings for example.

        Happy to offer other suggestions based on your ideas of what you might like to see (your interests) ?

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          #5
          Boston & Philadelphia

          ^ that sounded like Mayor Quimby in my head.

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            #6
            Boston & Philadelphia

            There are a bunch of excellent history recommendations from Helio in the linked threads, but another off-beat thing to consider is the Eastern State Penitentiary, which has some very interesting exhibits about issues with incarceration in this country.

            It also has a ridiculously cheesy "haunted house".

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              #7
              Boston & Philadelphia

              If you're in Boston and you're not eating your body weight in shellfish, you're doing it wrong. A lot of people think it's a tourist trap, but sitting at the bar at the Union Oyster House is a really great experience.

              It's an almost laughably prosperous city now, a heck of a lot different than the slightly down at heel, counter cultural town I spent summers in as a kid.

              Also, go to a Red Sox game. Fenway Park might be my favourite place in the world. Tickets are normally expensive but the Red Sox are trash this year, so you might get a deal. you'll still pay a lot for the games versus the Yankees. Have sausage and peppers after the game, nom nom nom nom.

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                #8
                Boston & Philadelphia

                I recommend Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, if you're inclined towards art installations:

                http://www.phillymagicgardens.org/

                (Full disclosure - I got married there. I don't think my picture's on the wall, or anything.)

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                  #9
                  Boston & Philadelphia

                  Philadelphia is where all the history is. Go and get shouted at by women in green uniforms.

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                    #10
                    Boston & Philadelphia

                    Also it is very cold. Wrap up well, or you'll get earache.

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                      #11
                      Boston & Philadelphia

                      Hugh Fatbastard wrote: ^ that sounded like Mayor Quimby in my head.
                      He's been demoted to Head of the Tourist Board. Sleaze finally caught up with him.

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                        #12
                        Boston & Philadelphia

                        I forgot to ask: Are you traveling by yourself, with another person, with a group of people? Also, do you already know where you're staying?

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                          #13
                          Boston & Philadelphia

                          Flynnie is spot on as usual.

                          Do you think that Boston has gentrified even more than SF? It's close in my book.

                          I spent four very happy years there, but Cambridge is virtually unrecognisable to me outside of university buildings.

                          It's also more likely to be quite hot than cold in the first week of September.

                          Another sporting idea might be a college football game, though the Ivies will not have started by then (we have this very old school elite concept that one shouldn't play college sports before classes start).

                          What weekend will you be here and where?

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                            #14
                            Boston & Philadelphia

                            It won't be cold then, probably warmer than in the UK, comfortably so.

                            I'll second Flynnie's Union Oyster House rec, it's one of those historic tourist destinations that are still good and authentic. Chowda and seafood.

                            Jacob Wirth is a good German pub, also downtown.
                            http://www.jacobwirth.com/

                            In Salem, the Peabody Essex Museum is a must, a nice mix of traditional Asian art and local maritime artifacts.

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                              #15
                              Boston & Philadelphia

                              Baseball is terrible on television but fantastic in the flesh. Don't judge the experience of going to a game by how immensely dull it is to watch on TV. I imagine that applies even more to Fenway than to the ballparks I've been to.

                              I won't comment on Boston itself because I'll be thoroughly unfair.

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                                #16
                                Boston & Philadelphia

                                Ugh, Labor Day weekend.

                                Boston is going to be heaving with tourists.

                                And the Red Sox are home to the Phillies, so I guarantee you that several thousand chuckleheads will drive up from Philly.

                                Unlike baseball, American football is much more boring in person than it is on television, so kill that idea.

                                And the Breakers aren't going to make the playoffs, so women's football isn't a possibility.

                                Second linus on the Peabody Essex, by the way.

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                                  #17
                                  Boston & Philadelphia

                                  Well, if I were you, I'd tell the family to FUCK RIGHT OFF, go to Fenway and eat a hotdog. But that's just me. The Patriots are playing a preseason game that weekend too, if you feel like torturing yourself.

                                  Mention that you're Irish as much as possible. You get free stuff like drinks and handshakes. It's great. Also, when you walk the revolutionary trail, remember to check beforehand if your fly's down. Otherwise, that would be embarrassing.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Boston & Philadelphia

                                    I was in Philly a few weekends ago for the Gold Cup third/fourth place game and final. First time there.

                                    The Barnes Foundation's current location in central Philadelphia is controversial to say the least. See The Art of the Steal, albeit the new building itself is worth a look as you pass on by en route to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Excellent burritos in the latter's canteen, and a ticket is valid for two days, which is helpful because two sessions are necessary if you want to see everything in the main collection.

                                    Highlight of my trip was three days straight of cheesesteak. Steve's Prince of Steaks is superb, just don't make Scott Walker's faux pas of ordering American and not Whiz.

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                                      #19
                                      Boston & Philadelphia

                                      FYI - I have lived in Boston and the surrounds for over 25 years, so I can agree that it has changed considerably the past decade.

                                      That weekend will be busy with the 'studnents' returning. Anyways - Salem is a great place - visit the Salem Beer Works, they always have a cask conditioned ale on tap and they have a pretty good food menu ( I was there Sunday). Witch City has great book stores and visit the House of Seven Gables then re-read the book.

                                      For drinking in Cambridge and surrounding area:
                                      John Harvard Brewery & Alehouse, Dunster St, Harvard Sq.; The Thirsty Scholar, Beacon St, Somerville; The Burren, Elm St Davis Sq. Somerville but there are so many - just check
                                      http://www.beeradvocate.com/place/city/3/

                                      You can visit and drink at the Sam Adams and the Harpoon Breweries in Boston. Harpoon is easier to get.

                                      For sports - On Saturday 5th September New England Revolution will be at Home to Orlando (and Kaka). 7.30pm kick off. Shouldn't be too hard getting tickets ($25), even though our local Brazilians will be out in force I am sure. No public transport to the stadium though. Free parking however. The stadium is surrounded by a huge outdoor shopping mall so drop the rest off there to shop and eat dinner during the game.

                                      I would also suggest taking a trip to the ICA (not far from Harpoon) and the MFA if you can't make the Gardner.

                                      If you are in Harvard Sq on Sept 4th - I'm around and always available for a lunchtime pint.

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                                        #20
                                        Boston & Philadelphia

                                        I haven't forgotten about this thread--I've been gathering my thoughts and will reply this weekend.

                                        It might be interesting while you're here to notice all the preparations for the pope's visit at the end of September. There's going to be huge swaths of the city and a major bridge to it closed to traffic then, and the latest news is that some areas will actually be fenced off. Some of the words being bandied around about this event: apopecalypse, popemageddon.

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                                          #21
                                          Boston & Philadelphia

                                          ursus arctos wrote: Flynnie is spot on as usual.

                                          Do you think that Boston has gentrified even more than SF? It's close in my book.
                                          Boy, yeah, it is close. The obvious answer is probably the same, but Boston started from a much lower baseline so it's still semi-affordable in some parts. And rents seem to be much less of an issue.

                                          I think one big safety valve for Boston in terms of the discontent you see in SF or London about housing costs is the suburbs still offering a semi-Boston lifestyle on the T. Quincy's on the red line and it's still pretty affordable to live there, if Zillow is anything to go by. Outside of Oakland, once you leave SF you're in model home suburban hell. Cambridge (the Boston one) is the obvious gentrified Boston suburb, but as far as I know Quincy hasn't changed too much and it basically feels like Boston. One of the major reasons for the techie invasion of SF is they feel, rightly, that they can't live an urban lifestyle outside of SF.

                                          Some places are nuts though - I have no idea how Charlestown and Southie got that expensive. Fuh real? And it's a real shame to lose some of the working-class edge and counter-cultural vibe that made Boston fun. The shitty bars underneath Causeway Street, the used instruments stores by Berklee, the "Irish" bars in Southie (that only served Budweiser, complaints about the Red Sox bullpen, and defenses of how Whitey kept drugs out of the neighborhood) being replaced by Irish bars with $7 a pint Guinness.

                                          I'd be curious to hear a local's take on it, maybe I'm missing out on the anomie that is everywhere in SF regarding the cost of living and gentrification. I had a spiel in this post about Boston feeling less unequal but it turns out it's almost as unequal as SF. It might be less unequal if you're a white college graduate, not somebody living in Roxbury or Mattapan.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            Boston & Philadelphia

                                            The downtown part of Philadelphia (called Center City) is pretty walkable, and there's a pretty good transit system. In early September it still should be pretty warm.

                                            For sightseeing, the main attractions are the historic sites in Old City, such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Ben Franklin museum, and the like. There are also good art and science museums on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and an anthropological museum at the University of Pennsylvania.

                                            It's a very foodie place and considered to be one of the best restaurant towns in the US, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding someplace good to eat. Some areas where they are clustered where you might want to just walk around and decide: Reading Terminal Market (home of the best doughnuts ever); Fishtown (very hipstery); 13th Street; Chinatown; South Philadelphia, where there are a lot of restaurants on Passyunk Avenue opened by chefs with national reputations but also old-school Italian restaurants, more recent Cambodian and Indonesian places, and many, many authentic Mexican eateries. Also the famous cheesesteak places Pat's, Geno's, and Jim's, though if you can get there, I recommend John's Roast Pork for cheesesteaks and roast pork sandwiches, which some people think should be the sandwich associated with the city. John's location isn't easy to get to for a tourist and is not scenic, but the sandwiches are fantastic. Don't think that not having Cheez Whiz on it is a faux pas--John's doesn't even offer it, and the owner prefers American for its meltiness.

                                            For bookstores: Barnes and Noble on Rittenhouse Square is the major chain store, but some independents exist: Brickbat (709 S. 4th St.), Headhouse (619 S. 2nd), Joseph Fox (1724 Sansom). Some good used-book stores if you're so inclined: The Book Trader (7 N. 2nd), The Last Word (220 S. 40th), A House of Our Own (3920 Spruce), Molly's (1010 S. 9th).

                                            Record stores: Repo (538 South), AKA Music (120 N. 3rd), Long in the Tooth (2027 Sansom).

                                            Drinking: Philadelphia's also a good beer town, so you ought to find lots of import and microbrew choices. Some places likely to have English football are Cavanaugh's (421 S. 2nd), Fado (1500 Locust), O'Neal's (611 S. 3rd).

                                            You might really enjoy a walk across the Schuylkill River to University City, where there's the University Museum (the anthropology one mentioned earlier), several bookstores, a good food truck scene (on weekdays), and lovely architecture.

                                            If you have any questions, let me know.

                                            Comment


                                              #23
                                              Boston & Philadelphia

                                              I watched last season's opener (United v Swansea) at Fadó and it was a great experience. Full Irish, Guinness, and football at 7am. The only downer was a local Spurs fan beside me who was pretty nice, but who kept referring to Barcelona as 'Barka'.

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                Boston & Philadelphia

                                                THE UNITED STATES TOURIST BOARD, IN FACT.

                                                Actually no, no one did. I think I have a problem.

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