Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a sports fan. It’s a running joke that I will be talking about the wrong sport at any given time. Maybe this is because I did ask how many innings were in the hockey game, or maybe when I was talking about Jim McMahon during a baseball game. Because I am up for enjoying time with my husband and friends, I will take one for the team and join them at a game or two. Jim, Steve and Debbie are sports fans and Debbie is an avid Bruins fan, so I agreed to go to two games with them this season – January 20th, a Saturday night game against the Montreal Canadians, and March 9th, a Saturday matinee playing the Pittsburg Penguins.
Prior to the first game, there was a tribute to the 1988 Bruins players who broke the Montreal “jinx” and some of the Bruins alumni from that team were introduced to a standing ovation. Even for me, it was uplifting to see.
The Montreal game was a high scoring win for the Bruins 9-4. Debbie even coaxed me into whooping it up for Danton Heinen’s hat trick! We also won the Penguins game 5-1, and no encouragement to cheer was needed. Maybe I just need exposure to sporting events to become a fan.
No Bruins game is complete until we visit our favorite beer stand (Loge 11) and say hello to the best beer girl out there, my niece, Stacy! Remember, tip big 😉
We love to stay and watch the goalie hug when they win. We got to see it twice!
Dining
The Saturday night game, we had made dinner reservation in the North End with plans to park and walk to the restaurant, then back to the game. However, it turned out to be a bitterly cold and windy night in the teens, so we changed our minds and decided to grab a bite along Causeway St. We underestimated how busy the area near the TD Garden would be before a weekend game, as Steve and Deb had found it to be manageable on weeknights previously. After trying a few establishments, we decided to try Hub Hall, the food court below the Garden, which was jammed as well. Remember, Boston dining is much easier on game day with a reservation!!
Momosan
We opted to put our name on a 20-minute wait list at Momosan, a noodle restaurant at the entrance of Hub Hall while we wandered around inside the food hall. We were very happy with our choice. The food was fast and fabulous, and the waitress was awesome and efficient.
For appetizers we ordered the yummy duck fat fries and pork gyoza (4 pork dumplings). The fries were a slightly curly, steak fry shape and were crunchy on the outside of a soft hot potato inside. Anything fried in duck fat is elevated to another level and these fries were no exception. The dumplings were served in a sizzling cast iron pan making the presentation as good as the flavor. Three of us ordered various noodle bowls that were all outstanding. Jim ordered the shrimp tempura roll which was good. It came as a California roll with the shrimp on top, which is different, but with the amount of sushi that this restaurant is pumping out, it makes sense.
Pagliucas
We finally made it to Steve and Debbie’s favorite North End restaurant, Pagliuca’s, after the afternoon game. We made a reservation which can be tricky when trying to plan for the end of a game. We figured our game started at 3pm so we made the reservation at 6:30, allowing for 3 hours for the game and 30 minutes to walk from TD Garden. We ended up arriving a couple of minutes early and were seated right away.
We got the antipasto to start, and this was a lot of food for the 4 of us. Good thing we were hungry. It had meats, cheeses, sauteed mushrooms, fried artichokes, roasted red peppers, kale and broccoli. As you can see we got into this before I took the picture.
I ordered the seafood fra diavlo which came with clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari over linguini. It was good, but it was pretty spicey! I know, I know. Fra diavlo is a spicey dish, but this was beyond regular fra diavlo type spicey. Jim ordered the shrimp scampi which he said was good. Deb and Steve both loved their dishes. Steve got pork with vinegar peppers and Deb got the chicken with vinegar peppers. Both looked delicious (but I don’t like peppers, so not for me). I only got a picture of my own because the others dug in before I could stop them to take a picture!
Café Paradiso
With all the great bakeries and dessert shops in the North End, we decided to take our sweet tooth on the road for dessert rather than order at Pagliuca’s. We went to our favorite after dinner place, Café Paradiso. This small, quaint bakery/bar only has about 10 small tables but does have wonderful table service. They also have the best dessert martinis in the North End. Deb and I got my favorite, the pistachio martini, that comes with floating pistachio gelato and a spoon. Steve opted for his usual after Italian dinner digestive drink, Limoncello. Jim, who was our designated driver, ordered a cappuccino. As if those weren’t enough, Deb and I split a mini cannoli, and Steve got a pistachio gelato. As we were sitting there savoring our desserts, two gentlemen came and serenaded us with a violin and accordion. Such a wonderful punctuation mark on a great North End experience. A perfect ending to a great game!
Until next time, keep having fun!!
Patti and Jim
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