nerdy & flirty25/08/2009
I have an idea of the perfect Italian place in the North End; however, I’ve never encountered such a place in the North End (maybe, I’ve gone to all the wrong places?)
Instead, I found my ideal Italian eatery in Brookline Village. Bottega di Capri is a hidden gem that I discovered on Yelp before heading out to get a new pair of frames from Vizio Optic (which was the worst service of my life, actually.) Maybe, because of the awful service from the eyeware store, I had lower standards of good service. Doubtful. I was too afraid to cook in the fraternity I stayed at over the summer because of rats. Thus, I ended up dining out for the majority of my meals. Usually, I hate prosciutto, but I ended up accidentally ordering a sandwich with it (due to the fact my Italian sucks, and I couldn’t really enunciate the difference between caprese and capri.) I wasn’t disappointed, though. Instead, I’ve now decided prosciutto can be tasty! The sandwiches were huge (as in, half a sandwich equated a meal.) When it comes to extra carbs, I’m picky. The bread was fresh, and it met my taste standards. And, the sandwich was cheap - especially given the size! Plus, the server was so friendly. Since it was my first time dining there, he gave me a free bag of chips.
In addition to being an Italian deli, they also serve other Italian dishes. It’s more of a take-out place, but there is dining room. It’s a quaint place, though, and I can’t imagine it always having seating ,especially during the prime lunch hours. However, even though it offers to-go meals, I didn’t get the sense the Italian food was any less gourmet. It looked better than a lot of the expensive North End restaurants I’ve been to. The mashed potatoes looked amazing, and had I not gone around lunch time, I definitely would’ve ordered them. In terms of healthiness, I wouldn’t say it was any less healthy than dining out in general. These days, when cooking my own pasta, I only eat Barilla Plus or Wholewheat; however, I’m sure their pasta was made from unbleached flour. Nonetheless, it still looked appetizing.
Brookline Village is a far walk from MIT, but I still plan on going back here sometime during the school year for dinner. If I took the T, it would drastically cut down the commute as it’s a few blocks off the Brookline Village stop. However, if it’s a nice day outside, walking isn’t going to kill me; plus, this place is totally worth it.
Bottega di Capri
41 Harvard St
Brookline, MA 02445
(617) 738-5333
Photo posted at 00:25
18/05/2009
I am both a cynic and a hopeless romantic. More like, I wear a cynical façade, while holding onto my ideas of romance. If a guy were to take me on a moonlit stroll on the beach for a first date, I’d be weary; however, if we had been dating for a few months, I’d find it so sweet. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I want my romances to include very stereotypical dates: dinner and a movie, breakfast in bed, lunch date at a park, etc…
I’ve always wanted to do lunch at a park. However, the Boston Common is just too crowded. So I’ve been subconsciously on the hunt for the perfect park. In my mind, said-park would be an unspoken gem. When a guy offered to grab lunch at the Cambridge Center Roof Garden, I was a little put off. Even though the date went horribly, I found the park of my dreams. Not only is it on a rooftop, but also the landscape is beautiful.
Even during lunch hours, it’s not terribly crowded. This is because it’s hard to find. I couldn’t remember directions the second time that I went there, except that I rode the elevator at some parking garage. Luckily, my friend has a superb sense of direction (or has gotten used to my very vague directions.) It’s right by the Kendall Square food courts, and I’d recommend getting a sandwich and peach tea from Au Bon Pain and then cutting through the Marriot hotel to the parking garage.
Overall, my opinion of this park is that it’s one of Cambridge’s best-kept secrets. I’m surprised that there aren’t more MIT students grabbing lunch there over the summer months since it’s so close to campus. Pack a lunch, even, this place is romantic and recession friendly.
Cambridge Center Roof Garden
4 Cambridge Ctr
Cambridge, MA 02142
Photo posted at 23:08
11/05/2009
On Brazilian Waxes
I spend more money than I should, given the fact that I’m in college, without some sort of stable income. To make matters worse, much of my money gets invested into my appearance. If money grew on trees, I’d get a manicure and pedicure every week just because I think it’s a great way to distress. I’d also probably get my hair blow dried once a week, because it’s almost always better when someone else does it.
In West Virginia, these beauty care regimines are often cheaper. For a manicure and pedicure, it’s $20-$25; whereas, it’s generally $30-$35 in Boston. These ten extra dollars every week eventually do add up. For the most part, I’ve forced myself to go without salon treatment in Boston. This term, I’ve only had one manicure/pedicure done, and I’ve only gotten one haircut. So, I felt incredibly guilty paying $80 for my Senior Ball updo.
With all these expenses to maintain appearances, I’ve found myself only justifying one major monthly hit to my wallet: Brazilian waxes. Ever since my first wax, I’ve been hooked. It just feels cleaner. In addition to this, lacy lingerie looks so much better. I justify Brazilians even when no one else sees my vagina, just because I still do, and my opinion about myself matters the most. I’m not advocating every girl gets a Brazilian, but it definitely works for me.
I used to go to Newbury Day Spa, which charges $50 a waxing. They use cloth strips, and overall, my experiences were pleasant. The place is tiny, but the workers are relatively quick and painless.
After reading Yelp reviews, I decided to try Karen Golden. She’s somewhere along BU’s campus, which makes it almost a 45 minute commute from MIT’s campus. However, if you’ve ever had a stereotype of the perfect waxer, she fits it. She is not only hilarious, but she gives good advice, in a non-intrusive way. To make everything even more awesome, she only charges $40 (only takes cash though) and she uses hard wax. I personally prefer hard wax because it’s much less painful of a rip than the cloth strips.
Even though, Karen is awesome; $40 seemed too expensive for me to shell this month after Senior Ball. After talking to Lena about this, she highly recommended Surgi-Wax Brazillian Waxing Kit for Private Parts. I’ve only tried to give myself a Brazilian once, and it ended up with me just using a razor. Therefore, I was hesitant to shell out $7 for something that might just be more of a hassle than it ‘s worth.
While the box looks sketchy, this kit is amazing because it’s a hard wax. Hardwax is so much easier to peel off rather than ripping off a cloth strip. The result isn’t the same as a salon-quality waxing, but I’d imagine with time, the user gets better results. It was definitely the fix I needed though, at a fraction of the price. However, I only managed to give myself a bikini, technically, because I haven’t been able to overcome the envisioned pain with the extra tuft of hair that makes the difference between a bikini and Brazilian.
My suggestions for using this kit is to make sure you work in longer strips. Also, apply lots of the oil; it definitely makes peeling off the wax much smoother.
I might go back to Karen Golden. I admit I almost chickened out on trying this kit, but I just couldn’t get a hold of Karen. That’s the only major flaw of her place: you have to play phone tag for an appointment. Also, it’s not exactly a classy establishment. However, I don’t think I will go to her as monthly as I did knowing that this kit gets the job done.
Text posted at 05:03
I’ve never had tapas before. Even worse, I had never heard of them until this year. Then again, I grew up in West Virginia, which meant one BBQ or fast food chain after another, with the occasional cheap fake Chinese buffet. Although I lived in Texas for awhile, I was much too young to remember the food. Before MIT, my range of “authentic” restaurants only came from summers in China. Therefore, when tapas was described to me as Spanish dimsum, I got super excited. I love dimsum, and if it were up to me, I would go every Sunday to Chinatown for it. However, I usually just do brunch on Newbury.
Nonetheless, Milena and I wanted to go out after ring delivery. After browsing through Yelp, she suggested, Toro. Although, I admit a bit of hesistation, as I wanted to engage in 28 Degrees’ dollar oyster special, I’m happy I tried it out. There was a wait (nowhere near as long as the hour quoted), but we had a party of seven. The restaurant was cramped and small, and I prefered the layout to 28 degrees, which is much more hipster. Then again, with the nature of tapas, the layout makes a bit more sense.
When it came to ordering, I had limited idea on how to pronounce items on the menu, let alone, envision the taste. Luckily, the other people knew just what they were doing. We ended up ordering several dishes, which ranged from anchovies to chickpeas. I wasn’t a huge fan of the anchovies or the potatoes. However, I loved the oysters and raw tuna. In addition to this, the bread, which is included in the meal, is quite tasty.
Interestingly enough, the best item on the menu is the corn. I enjoy corn, but this was like an orgasm in my mouth (well, not literally, ‘cause jizz usually tastes bad.) The corn definitely made me question my views on veggies, and I was quite shocked when the cheese on top of it added so much positive flavor.
To finish the meal, we got churros, which is the first time I had ever tried it. I can’t say I’m a fan of churros, but I have a feeling the restaurant did them very well; I just didn’t appreciate them.
The restaurant was on the more pricey-end for a college student’s budget; however, I’d highly reccomend it as a good place to go before hitting the club or frat parties. It’s not somewhere I’d just go for the hell of it because the scene is much too vibrant and ostentatious for such an encounter. While tapas reminded me of dimsum, it’s much more energetic, either because of the background music or the lighting. Unlike dimsum, it’s one of those places, I’d imagine would make a kickass first date, and then afterwards, the guy would take you dancing.
Toro
1704 Washington St
Boston, MA 02118
Photo posted at 04:24
