It was a given that a big bold vacation during the summer we were having our kitchen renovated wasn’t going to happen.
Even if I really wanted it to.
Even if I had to listen to all the stories and see all the pictures of those I love vacationing.
Even if Lance was celebrating the 15th anniversary of his 25th birthday this year*.
*Yes, we’re still doing that.
Instead, I looked upon the renovation, and the need to spend most of our down time either in our backyard or in the basement, as a great adventure.
The problem is, even legit great adventures can get boring and by mid-August, when the kitchen was pretty much done but we weren’t allowed to use it because minor things were happening every week*, I was ready for a few days away.
*Remember the Client Emotional Rollercoaster chart? Yeah, it omitted this part. This part fell even with my worst moments when the kitchen was fully gutted.
We had a too-slowly-approaching extended weekend away planned by our friend Drew* when Lance asked if I wanted to go to Cambridge with him.
*More on that later.
It didn’t matter that I had to reschedule two days of appointments, bring Lilo with us, and beg my parents to watch Stitch*, I was getting away.
*I’m being dramatic. There are times I think they wish I would go away last minute more often so they can watch him.
I’ve developed a love for Cambridge after two, now three, years in a row of visiting. I even have a short list of places I must go to eat each time, which, if you haven’t already figured out, is the whole point of this post.
Here they are:
1. Tatte
Tatte has several locations in Massachusetts and D.C., to a point that I think they might be considered a chain, but certainly without chain qualities.
The Bakery & Café was started 16 years ago in a home kitchen, which, as a home baker, I love. Even more, I love the food. My first visit to Tatte was alone, on one of my first days of residency. I ordered the shakshuka* and fell completely in love with the dish, and, of course, Tatte.
*And a croissant, of course.
2. Cicada
Lance found Cicada and it is such a great find, I almost don’t want to share it. A Vietnamese café and restaurant, Cicada’s coffees are incredible. We’ve yet to have a meal there, but we always snag pastries that they have brought in from a local bakery. Our orders are: Iced Sea Salt Shaker (Lance) and Sai Gon Latte (me).
Waiting for Cicada
Wanting Cicada
Our last day after graduation, I attended a gathering at a professor’s house before heading back home. Knowing I’d do more talking and drinking than eating, we’d planned to scoop up some lobster rolls before Lance dropped me off at the gathering.
This plan crashed and burned when we realized we couldn’t find ANY parking. I went to the gathering, and when Lance picked me up a beautiful, smiling lobster roll was waiting in the car for me.
This time, Courthouse Seafood was on the top of my list to return to.
Can you mess up a lobster roll? I don’t know. But what I do know is, theirs is my favorite so far.
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