Dressed in my jeans, t-shirt, long cardigan and one of my favorite scarves, I met Stacey for a day of culture at the MFA. We both wanted to check out the new wing which was recently completed.
The MFA is such a breathtaking building. Of course the exhibits are amazing, however, the building itself truly has that wow factor. The new wing is a contemporary structure of glass, clean lines and openness. There is a stunning, huge glass icicle tower sculpture in the center of the new café, which was designed by Dale Chihuly. Truly an awe-inspiring sight behold.
We decided to stop at the new café for a coffee and light bite and then continued our journey through the impressionist wing – a favorite of mine then onto John Singer Sargent and Egyptian exhibits. A very relaxing, lovely day.
It was still only 5pm, so we thought we might as well go to dinner early at Eastern Standard. I haven’t been in a while but I do love this place… a great scene, always solidly good food, fantastic, inventive cocktails and a fun, playful atmosphere. The restaurant was already buzzing at 5.30pm. We put our name down for a high-top in the bar area and grabbed a glass of wine while we waited for Stacey’s husband, Eric to arrive.
knowledgeable waiter came over with the menus and to share the evening’s specials. Not quite ready to order yet as we were a little embarrassed by feeling old and joining the ranks of the “blue plate special” crowd, we held off for a bit and enjoyed our drinks. Eric ordered a very fun beer called Saison Dupont. A deliciously, wheaty light beer in a huge wine shaped bottle.
Once we felt it was an appropriate time for adults and not old people to order, we decided on the selection of the four oysters on offer for the evening. I love oysters and how different each one can taste. These were all delicious.
I then picked my usual at Eastern Standard of Moules Provencal, tomato, fennel and white wine with a side of frites. I am a big fan of mussels and I have to say ES never disappoints on this dish. The sauce is outstanding and wonderful for bread dipping. I love the hint of fennel they add. The frites are always fantastic, skinny, salty and delicious and also good for dipping.
Stacey ordered the Jumbo Shrimp. Humungous shrimp over sweetcorn and pesto. She said it was really good. It did look amazing.
Eric settled for the Pork Meatballs, romesco sauce, leeks, green garlic cream. He said they were good, but was more excited about our final course of the cheese plate.
Our waiter was crazy busy but checked in on us often with a smile and friendly disposition and with absolutely no push to get us out of our seats for other patrons waiting for a table.
More drinks and lots of people watching – we were having a really fun time. There were some very handsome men at ES on Saturday (early evening). I have to get the girls back there soon. There was an older couple sitting next to us, who were meeting their young gay son’s boyfriend for the first time. How do we know this? Well, we are very good detectives and also we eavesdropped to a point of nearly falling off our chairs. It was so fascinating to watch the mum’s face. Not sure if she just didn’t like the young man or she just found out her son was gay. Either way, awesome people watching and eavesdropping!
Our evening ended with the Artisanal Cheese Plate of Five Cheeses. A very tasty way to end the evening (early). The blue cheese was my favorite; strong, potent and full of nutty flavor.
A super evening, even if we did start at 5.30pm and end at 9.30pm J.
